Huh?
Frankel in a swimsuit?
For a moment, Dyna thought it had to be a hallucination brought on by jet lag. But even after taking off her glasses and wiping them carefully on the hem of her dress, the figure lying on the beach chair remained exactly the same.
There was no mistake about it. The only person on the beach was Frankel.
Because there was no one else around, the sight somehow gave off a lonely feeling.
Dyna herself had no idea why she had wandered all the way down to the beach. She did not know this scenic spot at all; she had simply been walking around aimlessly and ended up here.
When she saw Frankel in a traditional bikini, Dyna awkwardly turned her head away rather than look directly at the lovely figure on display. The horse girls she usually saw at Tracen's swimming pool all wore school-style one-piece swimsuits, so even if she looked over, she would not see much skin. But this was Europe. The culture among horse girls here was much freer.
"Oh? Miss Dyna~ You woke up much earlier than I expected. Is that because you've been to Europe before?" Frankel removed her sunglasses and hooked them at the curve of her chest. Compared to Dyna, she was merely "a little bigger," but compared to most horse girls, Frankel was unquestionably in a class of her own.
Called by name, Dyna could no longer keep her head turned away out of politeness, so she forced herself to look over and answer, "Yes. Since I've been here once already, I adjusted pretty quickly. But I only stayed around Longchamp for about a month back then, so I'm completely unfamiliar with everywhere else."
Europe had plenty of places worth seeing, but Dyna had never been especially interested in its culture. To her, the cultures of the East held much more appeal. One practical reason was that she was simply not very comfortable with alphabet-based writing systems. Chinese characters just felt more natural to her.
"In that case~ would you be interested in walking around the shopping street with me?" Frankel invited her, making no move whatsoever to change clothes. Since the entire beach had been privately booked, she could stroll into the shopping district in a bikini if she felt like it. There would only be shopkeepers around, and because Frankel had paid generously, they were all too happy to provide excellent service for the next few months.
Unless the other person was Orfevre, Dyna was terrible at turning down requests. So in the end, she agreed to Frankel's invitation. But when she saw Frankel really was planning to leave the beach wearing nothing but that pale bikini and a pair of woven sandals, Dyna could not help being stunned.
The openness of European horse girls was something she was certain she would never be able to imitate. Simply putting on that kind of swimsuit would already have required every scrap of courage she possessed.
And so the two of them set off along the stone-paved path of the shopping district: one horse girl in a lace-up bikini, the other wrapped from top to bottom in a long dress.
"Mhm~ look, this section is mostly for luxury goods," Frankel said, acting as their guide while introducing the shops and districts that had been hidden in darkness the previous night. "Clothes, shoes, cosmetics. Most of the people who come here are the sort who can afford to leave Golden Crescent Beach with bags full of purchases. And over there is the food district that's busiest at night. When the place is crowded, the smell of charcoal hangs in the air until sunrise. But right now it's only us, so we can do whatever we want."
Although the shops were all open, the total lack of people coming and going still felt a little strange to Dyna. Frankel had already explained that she had privately reserved the entire area, but the sight remained surreal.
"Oh, right~ aside from the food district, the rest still has to be paid for. Though if you want, you can always put it on my tab." Frankel blinked at her and glanced toward the luxury area as if silently urging her to go buy something expensive.
After all, Galileo had once told her that the most effective way to win a girl's affection was simple: if she wanted something, just buy it. Do not overthink it. Do not make a fuss. Just pay. According to Galileo, that was the height of cool in the eyes of both horse girls and men alike. And Frankel happened to be naturally talented in exactly that area.
She watched expectantly, only for Dyna to shake her head.
"That won't be necessary. I don't really use those kinds of things in daily life, so buying them would just be wasteful. I'd rather save the money and spend it on more food."
Crack.
Frankel practically turned to stone.
This was not how it was supposed to go.
Had Galileo and all those upperclassmen lied to her? Weren't all girls supposed to like shopping? Was she really that unlucky—that the one girl she had fallen for just happened to dislike shopping?
Frankel refused to accept that.
But since Dyna had clearly said she did not want to go, Frankel could not very well keep pushing. So she checked the time and decided to take Dyna somewhere for a meal instead. It would be private time for the two of them, and Dyna happened to be hungry as well.
Thus, Frankel got her wish and spent a meal alone with Dyna.
There was only one horse girl in the world who was not enjoying herself at all, but it was hard to say who.
Back at the lodge, Wada woke up feeling sore all over, though his mind was in excellent shape. As an adult man, he adjusted much more easily than the horse girls. Now fully awake, he washed up, left his room feeling refreshed, and leaned against the banister at the top of the stairs, gazing up at the sun hanging overhead.
It felt a little hot. Probably because he had not changed clothes yet.
He had not been standing there long before Opera O pushed open her own door. She was clearly fresh out of bed, her hair sticking out wildly in every direction, with no sign at all of proper styling.
"Good morning Ryuuji Britain's time really is hard to get used to," Opera O said in a soft, limp voice, half draping herself over the railing as if she were about to collapse.
Wada laid a hand on her back and rubbed a few times. "If you feel that bad, go back and rest. If you sleep until evening, you'll probably feel better. Otherwise, try to stay awake until tonight."
Opera O's back was nice and soft under his hand. Fortunately her pajamas were thick enough that there was no risk of accidentally brushing against anything awkward.
"No! If you're already this energetic, there's no reason I can't manage it too. I'm going to change… right, what are we doing today again?"
Her thoughts were clearly scrambled. She had opened the door and then simply stood there, trying to sort through the mess in her head.
Wada almost laughed, but managed to keep it from showing. A faint smile still tugged at his mouth. "In that case, let's go wake up Sharpmind. We can eat something together. You're hungry, right?"
"Hm? Oh, that's true." At his reminder, Opera O belatedly covered her stomach, which let out a long, mournful growl before falling silent again. "What about Dyna?"
"Dyna's been out for a while already. Didn't you see her room was locked?" Wada pointed at the electronic lock.
"I see… Then she's probably gone out with Treve and Frankel. In that case, there's nothing to worry about."
Opera O went back into her room to change while Wada headed off to wake Sharpmind.
Meanwhile, one member of the reception staff was perched up in a tree with binoculars, watching the exchange between Wada and Opera O. He lifted the walkie-talkie beside him and said, "Looks like they're all awake now. At this hour they're probably going to eat. When does our plan begin?"
"I'll check with Miss Frankel. She just informed me that she is currently on a date with Miss Dyna."
"A date? Things are progressing that fast already? Miss Frankel has only known her for one day. Truly worthy of Miss Frankel!"
Of course, nobody on the other end bothered to mention that the "date" existed only in Frankel's own mind. Still, the fact that anyone actually believed her was rather astonishing.
Then again, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Frankel was the one pursuing Dyna. Even so, for this staff, that fact alone was shocking enough. They had followed Frankel for years and had never once seen her so utterly taken with another horse girl—especially not one she had only just met.
Usually, it was other horse girls chasing after Frankel.
Since all the key guests were now awake, the staff decided to wait for Frankel's further instructions before proceeding with the rest of the plan.
Those instructions were relayed to Frankel just as she was sharing drinks with Dyna.
"Mm? One second. Someone's trying to reach me." Frankel had kept her phone in hand the whole time, since bikinis did not exactly have pockets, and she had not thought to bring a bag when she ran into Dyna. The upside was that she felt every vibration the instant a message came in.
Dyna nodded, cradling a cup of British black tea in both hands. She did not know much about tea, so her only real opinion was that this one tasted quite good.
And after spending this much time together, Dyna could finally manage to look at Frankel's outfit without total panic. Part of that was because Frankel had eventually bought herself a light jacket from a clothing store and thrown it on. Apparently even she could feel chilly once she stepped away from the beach.
Frankel had one earbud in, so she heard the update immediately and was delighted. She decided the plan could begin now. The first few scheduled activities could just as easily be moved to nighttime. After all, she had expected them to wake around dusk. Since they were all awake already, there was no point delaying.
"All right then~ let's head back, shall we?" Frankel drained the rest of her tea in one go and extended a hand toward Dyna, blinking.
Dyna swallowed down the last of hers in a series of quick little sips and nodded. "Sure. We've been out long enough, and I've more or less gotten familiar with the area. Thank you, Miss Frankel~"
"You can just call me Little Fan Why be so formal? Let's be good friends" Frankel said with a cheerful grin, walking ahead. Each hop she took made her sandal heels tap crisply against the ground, while her tail swayed behind her in a lively arc.
Neither of them spoke much on the way back. But once they reached the beach, Dyna noticed that the empty stretch of sand they had left earlier had been transformed. Now it was set up with barbecue grills and a stage, almost as if someone were preparing for a party.
"Ta-da a welcome ceremony!" Frankel slipped off her sandals the moment she stepped onto the sand. Where they flew off to, no one knew, but someone would surely recover them later. "Treve and I came up with it together. We wanted to surprise all of you, so we didn't tell anyone. It was originally supposed to start tonight but since everyone's already awake, we moved it up."
"Wow… I think this might be the first proper party I've ever attended." Dyna's eyes lit up. Seeing the brand-new barbecue equipment practically made her rub her hands together. These were all top-grade tools and ingredients prepared by professional chefs. She suddenly became curious how her own cooking would measure up.
"If you like it, then that's what matters Wada's here too. In that case, the party that belongs only to us begins now"
Frankel clapped her hands like the sound itself was the official starting signal.
The firework display had originally been part of the plan too, but since the sun was still high in the sky, it had to be postponed. Later, when the mood reached its peak, fireworks would be the perfect finishing touch.
What surprised Dyna most, though, was that Frankel could apparently drink alcohol. Watching her clink glasses with Wada and remain almost completely unaffected after several hours made Dyna start to doubt whether Frankel was really a horse girl at all.
The final event was, naturally, the delayed fireworks show. Dyna, meanwhile, had become completely engrossed in an all-out culinary showdown with the team's master chef. Her chestnut-red eyes shone with fierce competitive spirit.
"The last time I saw Dyna make that face," Opera O said, chewing on the steak Wada had just handed her, "was when she was beating up Orfevre on the track."
Treve, sitting beside her, immediately recognized the name. "Orfevre? I feel like I've heard that before."
"Of course you have~ Didn't Dyna tell you? In her debut race, Orfevre nearly rammed her into the hospital."
Treve's expression changed at once. "That horse girl is that awful?"
"She's the worst." Opera O nodded solemnly.
Treve nodded as well. "Then if she ever dares show up in France to race, I'll teach her what a French blade really looks like. I'll hit her so hard she won't know east from west."
"Well, getting her to travel abroad would be difficult. Besides, you haven't even debuted yet, right? The earliest you'd be able to enter open mixed-company races would be your classic year."
"I debut next year! That means the year after, I can enter mixed-company races! If she's still racing then and dares come to France, I'll pay back every bit of what Dyna suffered!"
Treve had long since run out of goodwill toward Orfevre.
If Orfevre dared to come, Treve really would make her go flying.
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 147)
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 (Chapter185)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
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 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
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 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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