In full view of everyone, Golden Master's punch landed on her own face.
Forget the spectators in the stands—even Luminous Dyna herself was stunned. It had happened so suddenly that she only reacted after seeing the swelling rise on Master's cheek. She lunged forward at once and grabbed the hand the other girl had raised again.
"What are you doing?!"
Dyna suddenly realized just how frighteningly strong Golden Master was at that moment. It took both her hands to barely restrain one of Master's.
Golden Master looked at the shorter girl clutching at her with cold eyes, then flexed her arm and tore free from Dyna's grip.
"This has nothing to do with you. You won, undeniably. The glory of the Derby… I still couldn't beat you."
"And what does that have to do with hurting yourself?!" Dyna snapped, unable to understand at all. "You lose one race and this is how you treat yourself? Is it really that serious?"
By now, hurting herself had crossed a line Dyna simply could not accept. So this time, she had no intention of letting Golden Master off so easily.
Perhaps Dyna still did not fully understand what races meant to horse girls, or the weight each race could carry for them. That was why she could say something like that.
For some horse girls, different races meant entirely different things.
Dyna's understanding of racing was still shallow. From her scattered memories, she knew about honors like the Classic Triple Crown, the Autumn Triple Crown, the Spring Triple Crown—sweeping three races in a row and the prestige that came with it. But she had overlooked the meaning that certain individual races could hold for a horse girl herself, or for her family.
Take the Mejiro family, for example. For generations, they had chased the Spring Tennosho. Nearly every Mejiro born into the family carried the duty of winning that race. Every failure there meant falling short of family glory. The sense of defeat tied to that loss was nothing like any ordinary race.
And for Golden Master, the Triple Crown races were exactly the races she had wanted most to win.
Losing the Satsuki Sho and then the Derby had already dealt her an enormous blow. And to lose both to the same horse girl—to one she thoroughly despised—made it all worse.
Golden Master took a deep breath, then let out a strangely relieved smile.
"I see."
At those soft words, the look she gave Dyna gained a kind of hostility that could never be reconciled. It was the first time Golden Master had shown genuine racing hostility toward Luminous Dyna.
Having been flung aside, Dyna stared at her in confusion.
"I see? What are you even talking about…? No matter what, you still can't go around hurting yourself!"
She truly wanted to pry open Golden Master's skull and see what was inside, but the murky darkness rolling off her made Dyna instinctively shrink back.
For Golden Master, unlike Dyna, family was a constant presence. She had a household waiting for her to win. Sisters who cared for her at all times. A younger sister who wanted to make her smile and cling to her.
As that thought hit her, Dyna suddenly felt like she could not breathe. In terms of a racing career, she had left Golden Master far behind. But in life itself… the happiness Dyna had always thought she possessed seemed pitiful compared to what others had.
Golden Master no longer seemed interested in tangling with Dyna any further. Though her hand hung at her side, it remained clenched.
"You really don't understand. Luminous Dyna—you don't even run for yourself, do you? Tell me, how does it feel to win the Derby?"
Run for herself?
Dyna froze.
It was true. Ever since the earthquake, what she had carried had been the wishes of those children in Chiba. As for her own wishes… she had never really made plans for herself during the Classic year. Any plans she did have had all been pushed off into her older years. This whole year, she had simply lived under the weight of other people's expectations, step by step, under Wada's guidance.
"I… I'm happy I won the Derby!"
The words came out stiff, unnatural. Dyna felt like some half-human creature in front of Golden Master's pressure.
Golden Master understood far too well what Dyna lacked.
The giant behind them all, the structure of family, history, inheritance—Dyna had never had any of it.
"You sound fake. Even now, you don't understand what it means to win the Derby. And when the Kikuka Sho comes, you'll still be like this."
Her tone was flat as still water, but every word poured into Dyna's ears.
Yet even so, perhaps because some part of her had let go, Golden Master still gave the victor the bare minimum of acknowledgment a loser owed.
"But at this point, I should still congratulate you."
"Congratulations on becoming the strongest horse girl of this generation in Japan. Japan's number one. And also… on achieving an undefeated two crowns."
Then she turned and walked away.
Dyna spun after her and saw Golden Journey, Dream Journey, and Camellia gather around Golden Master at once. Golden Journey was already using a handkerchief to dab at the blood on her split lip, and Camellia was stretching up on her toes, offering her a fruit candy.
Of course.
No matter how good Dyna's relationship was with the people around her, could it compare to blood relatives?
Dyna said nothing. She turned back toward the stands.
There was still the winner's parade, wasn't there…? Then photos with the press? And the winner's stage that evening, to thank the fans for their support… that was the schedule, right?
She asked herself over and over in her mind.
Wrapped in the winner's sash, she completed the circuit, endured the photography session, and finally slipped away through the dedicated passageway, returning alone to the lounge.
She kicked off her high heels one after the other, then stepped barefoot onto the cold floor.
The chill seeped through the white stockings on her feet and ran straight into her skull.
Standing before the washroom mirror, she saw herself.
Her eyes were veined with red, the bloodshot whites giving her whole face a dark, hard-to-read air.
She should have gone to Wada and Opera O at once to share the news of the Derby win.
So why, right now, did all she want to do was shut herself away somewhere quiet?
Fake happiness. Meaning.
Golden Master's words echoed on in her head.
When had she learned to smile like that? Probably when she had first started trying to survive in society. If she had not learned that skill, she could not have lived. Over time it had become instinct—always thinking about pleasing others, about making other people feel at ease.
Thunk.
Something lightly tapped the top of her head.
Dyna turned and saw Cody's Wish standing there, holding a book and knocking her gently on the head with it again and again.
"Miss Cody's Wish…?"
Dyna did not understand why Cody's Wish had started tapping her all of a sudden, but she trusted there had to be a reason. So the two of them simply looked at each other in silence.
At last, Cody's Wish gave a faint sigh and lowered the book.
"Dyna, tell me—do you dislike being tapped like this?"
"If it's Miss Cody's Wish… then there must be a reason, so I don't—"
Before she could finish, the look Cody's Wish shot her made her jolt. She had never seen such a stern gaze on her before. Or perhaps it was closer to frustrated that you should know better.
"Set personal feelings aside and answer me. Do you like being hit on the head?"
Dyna suddenly became afraid of every possible answer.
Was Miss Cody's Wish starting to dislike her? Because she had looked so weak in front of Golden Master despite being the winner?
"I… I don't like it."
She finally forced the words out, still looking straight at Cody's Wish. It took all the courage she had.
Hearing that, Cody's Wish set the book aside.
"Then did you enjoy being lectured by Golden Master just now?"
Normally, the victor was the one who lectured the defeated—not the other way around. No matter how reasonable Golden Master's words had been, Luminous Dyna was still the winner. A loser had no business speaking down to her like that.
Cody's Wish had been simmering ever since. She had no intention of letting her girl get bullied like this.
"I… I don't know. What Golden Master said was right. I really don't understand the emotions tied to racing."
That was the truth. Because she had not been born a horse girl, Dyna still could not grasp those intangible "racing spirits" the way other horse girls seemed to. It felt like everyone else possessed them but her.
Cody's Wish sighed and gently stroked the top of Dyna's head.
"In that case, maybe all you need to do is keep winning, right? What you carry are other people's expectations. As long as you win, that's enough. Your real life doesn't exist on the track, does it?"
"Mm… but I…"
Miss Cody's Wish's hand was so warm.
And maybe she was right.
Luminous Dyna was not a horse girl by nature. Deep down, she was still more accustomed to living as a human being. Right now she had simply taken on too many other people's hopes for victory, that was all. That was how she had lived through this entire Classic year.
Perhaps amused by how much Dyna now resembled a little hamster, Cody's Wish ruffled her hair harder.
"All right. Think about it properly. It's best if you understand. But if you don't, that's fine too. After all, you only promised yourself you'd carry other people's expectations through this year's Arima Kinen, didn't you? Once this year is over, you'll be free to live for yourself. Whether that means retiring, or continuing to run by your own will—either way, the chains will be gone."
"Ah—my hair…"
Her hair had been rubbed into a bird's nest, but Dyna found herself sinking into the affection in Cody's Wish's hand. The touch had that broad, careless American warmth to it, but it was still so comforting.
"You have me and Sea the Stars now. We're your good friends, no matter what happens."
Cody's Wish said it lightly, then withdrew her hand.
But Luminous Dyna caught her hand in both of hers and set it back on top of her head, moving it there herself.
"Mm… I'll remember that. So… pet me more, Miss Cody's Wish."
The sensation of her silky hair beneath her palm made Cody's Wish laugh helplessly.
"All right. Pet, pet, pet, pet…"
It would have been a very heartwarming scene—
except that to anyone else, it looked as though Dyna was holding empty air with both hands and using it to pet herself on the head.
At least, that was what Opera O and Wada saw when they stepped into the room. Since the washroom door had been left open, and they had entered without making a sound, Dyna only noticed them once they were already sitting on the sofa—while she was still holding Cody's Wish's hand.
"Well… given that she just won the Derby undefeated, I guess we can understand being a little overwhelmed," Wada said, carefully not mentioning what he had just seen. If he did, Luminous Dyna might actually murder him.
In a fluster, Dyna smoothed her hair back down, grabbed a pair of flats from the shoe cabinet, and put them on before hurrying over to sit opposite them.
"I was just trying out hairstyles…"
She offered the explanation weakly, though even to herself it sounded utterly unconvincing. After all, trying hairstyles did not usually involve holding invisible hands over your own head.
"Mhm."
"Mhm."
Neither of them believed a word.
Dyna felt utterly powerless. In the end, she gave up on explaining and sat there primly, which only made the silence more awkward.
Wada rubbed the tip of his nose.
"Congratulations on winning the Derby. Looks like I didn't hold you back after all."
"That's not true at all! Mr. Wada helped me a lot! I'll still be relying on you for the Kikuka Sho too…"
The way the two of them reflexively blamed themselves nearly made Opera O laugh out loud. So she slapped a hand onto the table and declared,
"You're both amazing, all right? Why are you both so lacking in confidence?!"
She really did find the pair of them funny.
But now that the Derby had been won, there was still more than four months until the next big target. That meant there was time to rest and prepare.
"Um… Mr. Wada."
"Yeah?"
Dyna scratched her cheek with one finger.
"I want to go straight to the Kikuka Sho."
"Straight there? That's fine—more than fine, actually," Wada said at once. "Honestly, I was already going to suggest the same thing. The Spring Stakes, the Satsuki Sho, and the Derby—three consecutive races in the first half of the year is already a lot. If you then tried to run a trial before the Kikuka Sho on top of that, it wouldn't be ideal."
Dyna's proposed summer camp would be abroad too, which meant extra travel and extra time adapting to the environment. Going straight to the Kikuka Sho really was the best option.
"That's good! Then we can leave in early June. My friend said everything there is ready—they can start whenever we arrive. Which means the earlier we go, the earlier training can begin!"
That was what Troph had told her. In fact, less than half a month after Dyna first asked, the whole venue had somehow been prepared. The speed alone had been astonishing.
Dyna did not know whether that had involved some kind of money-based superpower, but who cared? Having a place to use at all was what mattered.
The only thing was that she now owed Troph a favor. She would pay it back later. Troph was a soft, sweet little French bun; it was not like she would ask for anything outrageous.
There was just one thing Troph had refused to tell her no matter how much she asked:
who exactly the other horse girl joining them would be.
At first, Dyna had wondered whether Troph had somehow invited Seabird-senpai, but that made no sense. Seabird was buried in company matters—there was no way she would spare time for another horse girl's summer camp.
Could it be Frankel from Britain?
Impossible. Frankel's name was already far bigger than Dyna's, who was still just a horse girl from Japan's little corner of the world. Dyna did not have enough face to imagine something like that.
Then again… who knew?
Maybe it would really be someone unexpected.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 142)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter181)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter103)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter192)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 173
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 166
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 110
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 190
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 165
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 156
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 81
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 102
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 120
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 80
Uma Musume: I Want All 95
I Can Copy Unique Skills 84
Summoning an Evil God, but the 66
Supernatural Multiverse 83
My Harem Is Indescribable 75
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 81
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 75
Still playing traditional Honk 55
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 60
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 55
Checking In in Demon Slayer 60
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 65
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 35
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 35
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 39
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 58
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin