"Doo-doo-dah-dah~"
Today was another one of those days when Gold Ship dropped Camellia off at the bakery.
Nakayama Festa had already flown to France, and from what Dyna had heard, things were not going very well over there. All she could really do was wish her the best.
As she watched Camellia idly swaying her crooked white blaze from side to side, Dyna let out a quiet sigh. At first, she had only thought the girl probably lacked the talent to win a graded race. But Sea the Stars and Cody's Wish had both told her something even harsher: Camellia's odds of winning even an open Listed race were vanishingly small.
Still… that did not necessarily mean she could not run in graded company. If Camellia herself wanted it, then earning enough prize money in Listed races to show up in a few graded events was still a perfectly viable path.
What Dyna found stranger was something else entirely.
Sea the Stars had told her that Camellia's best distance was actually 2500 meters and beyond—staying races.
That claim had been so bizarre Dyna had found herself giving the girl a long, careful look.
Small. Frail. Delicate.
A child built like that, and her best distance was supposed to be long-distance racing?
To Dyna, that was deeply uncanny. In her mind, long-distance races belonged to heavy-duty bruisers.
By contrast, Nakayama Festa had only managed fourth in her prep race, and on the current Arc forecast charts she was ranked tenth among the likely winners. Dyna had also spotted another familiar name further down the list—Danon Dream, ranked eleventh, just below Festa.
"Hmm… she's already won two G1s now? Danon Dream…" Dyna murmured. "She was the one who ran into my chest in the Marcel Boussac, wasn't she?"
She still remembered it.
After that race, when she'd showered, she had noticed a faint bluish bruise on the pale skin there. It had faded away before she even finished rinsing off, and she had not felt any pain at all. If Danon Dream's name had not appeared on this list again, Dyna might have forgotten the whole incident.
A classic-age horse girl going straight into open company was both a challenge and a gamble. If she won, then glory would follow, naturally. But from Dyna's perspective, Danon Dream's chances were honestly slim.
That said, these were only forecasts based on what everyone knew right now. No one could say for certain how much Danon Dream might grow in a month.
At the very least, Dyna intended to watch the Arc broadcast when the time came.
For now, though, she had more immediate concerns—namely the reporters trying to pry useful material out of her ahead of the Kikuka Sho. They needed something sensational to boost their numbers.
What amused her far more was this:
Orfevre had won the Kobe Shimbun Hai as the tenth favorite.
That got rid of the "Maiden Winner" label hanging over her, but it had simply been replaced by a new one: "Kobe Shimbun Hai winner."
"Don't tell me she's going to end up like Journey," Dyna muttered, "stuck wearing some ridiculous nickname all the way to the end of her career before she finally wins a G1."
She had expected the forums to be a battlefield—Orfevre fans on one side, detractors on the other, and a glorious war breaking out across the thread. Instead, to her surprise, most people seemed to have a fairly accurate read on Orfevre's level.
Even the comments were more or less grounded:
"Honestly, if Orfevre just picked a G1 where Glory Dyna isn't running, she could probably win one. Her ability is real. It's not that she's weak."
"Exactly. The problem isn't talent. She just can't stand the idea of a 'grassroots' horse girl like Dyna sitting above her head."
"It is kind of funny, though. The way she keeps getting battered senseless by Dyna."
"Honestly, doesn't the boss lady kind of remind anyone else of Oguri Cap? Except even more grassroots? At least Oguri actually attended a local Tracen branch."
Dyna leaned against one hand, smiling faintly without realizing it.
"Well… in that case, Orfevre should consider herself lucky. Next year, my goals won't be here anymore."
The thought had sprung up in her heart almost the moment she returned from England:
She wanted to settle things with Van Gogh.
Because, in all likelihood, next year would be the year they fought over the title of the world's strongest horse girl.
No matter what, to the international racing world, Glory Dyna would still be seen first as a Japanese horse girl. That alone was already a disadvantage in the ratings and perception game. The only answer was victory—real, indisputable victory. Five G1s in a year. Six. Seven. Eight. Maybe even nine.
She would force the judges to acknowledge it with sheer results:
Glory Dyna was the strongest horse girl in the world.
Not even Van Gogh would be allowed to touch that title.
"Whoa…" Camellia's eyes went round. "Big Sis Dyna's eyes just got really scary… Is this what a racehorse girl is like? So cool…"
Though she had no racing talent to speak of, Camellia's sensitivity as a horse girl was oddly sharp. She could feel the aura Dyna was unconsciously giving off, and in her childlike imagination, it looked as if Dyna's eyes had begun to glow red.
To a little girl, glowing eyes belonged to heroes and super-powered characters in anime and tokusatsu.
Cool beyond belief.
Far away, in a dingy office, a scruffy, stubble-jawed man flicked ash from his cigarette and tapped the old laptop in front of him. On the screen were the profiles of Glory Dyna and Orfevre, painstakingly compiled from his own notes taken at the track.
"This is where it gets interesting," he said.
His female coworker shot him a weary look. "Yamazaki, you're a reporter. Shouldn't you be focusing on what's actually coming up? The Arc, the Sprinters Stakes, the Shuka Sho—any of those would make more sense. The Kikuka Sho isn't until the end of the month."
She crossed her arms and added, "Wouldn't Curren Chan, with her three straight sprint stakes wins, be the more worthwhile story right now?"
Yamazaki gave a smoky laugh and snapped the laptop shut, tucking it under one arm.
"Sorry, but I'm not interested in that instant-kill kind of racing. The Sprinters and the Shuka are all yours. I'm going all in on preparing for the feast that'll be the Kikuka Sho."
"You—!"
She wanted to complain, but Yamazaki was already halfway out the door, leaving a mountain of work behind for her.
In truth, she did not mind all that much. She was a Curren Chan fan anyway. If she was lucky, maybe she could snag a photo with Curren herself at the Sprinters. An autograph was not out of the question either.
And the Shuka Sho had its own appeal. Could Whale Voyage really wash away her shame there…?
Just thinking about it made her excited.
Downstairs, Yamazaki slid into his battered old car and fastened his seatbelt. He had originally considered interviewing Orfevre directly at Central Tracen.
Then he changed his mind.
There was no point interviewing the loser. A declaration from the strong—that was the fuel that mattered. For a journalist like him, that kind of thing was a stimulant all its own.
His engine coughed to life like an old man hacking up his lungs.
After the Kikuka Sho, I'm making the paper buy me a new car.
That was the thought he had as he lit another cigarette.
By the time Yamazaki reached the bakery, Dyna had already closed early.
Gold Ship had come to pick up Camellia—apparently the academy had some kind of free activity day going on. Gold Ship herself had good news lately as well. For all her usual chaos, when it was time to be serious, she could really deliver in training.
Not that Dyna took no credit for that. She had worked hard to fill little Gold Ship's head with proper thoughts. Otherwise, poor trainer Nishizaki would probably have been suffering even more than he already was.
Though, admittedly, his terrible habit of touching horse girls' thighs remained unchanged. By now he had taken so many kicks for it that it was almost impressive. The real mystery was how his body was still sturdy enough to survive it all.
Knock knock knock.
Someone was at the door.
The shop was closed, so Dyna stood up from the sofa and stretched. None of the regulars ever knocked like that. They always gave one token tap and let themselves right in.
"Coming—who is it?"
She opened the door and was immediately hit with the thick smell of tobacco.
Standing outside was a tall man, a little unkempt, but with the kind of features that would have been genuinely striking if he put in the effort.
"I'm reporter Yamazaki," he said, holding up his press pass. "I think you may have seen me before?"
Dyna looked at the pass, then at him.
And yes—once he said it, she remembered. That absurdly massive camera he carried in the winner's area. And the articles under the name Yamazaki that had written about her in almost embarrassingly glowing terms.
"You're that Yamazaki? The one who keeps covering me?"
"The one and only." He twitched his pass between two fingers. "I'd like to do a pre-Kikuka Sho interview, if you're willing to spare the time."
Dyna was about to refuse on principle, but he added, "I'll be recording it, but I'll leave the recorder with you. I'll write everything up in front of you. If there's anything you don't like, I'll delete it right there."
That made her blink.
A reporter who voluntarily surrendered the recording?
"Aren't you going to need that later?" she asked. "For the paper? For fact-checking?"
Yamazaki pulled out a little notebook and waved it. "Just need your signature here and that's enough to prove we spoke. Promises are something you say to people—but they can also be written where people can see them. If no one believes me anyway, what difference does it make? For me, getting firsthand material is enough."
The man was so odd that Dyna ultimately let him in.
The actual interview turned out to be much more ordinary than she expected. He asked about her preparations for the Kikuka Sho, her thoughts on the Triple Crown, and whether Orfevre's win in the Kobe Shimbun Hai changed how she was approaching the race.
Nothing too invasive. Nothing private.
When the formal part was done, Yamazaki flipped his notebook open to the first page.
"Just sign here and we're finished."
Dyna signed, took the recorder he offered her, and then noticed he still had not made any move to leave.
Yamazaki folded his hands and asked, "As a private question—what has your impression of Orfevre been, from your debut until now? I mean apart from the fact that she's lost to you all those times."
Dyna leaned back into the sofa and thought about it for a long moment.
"If I really set the races aside…" she said at last, "then I'd say she's the kind of horse girl who really likes standing above others. I probably can't be fair about her, though. She left me with too bad an impression in my debut."
"Understandable," Yamazaki said. "Still, I can't help admiring the fact that she keeps trying to fight you even knowing she can't win. That takes courage, doesn't it?"
From his tone, it was obvious enough that he was one of her fans. He was not particularly fond of Orfevre either.
Then he asked, "One more thing. You mentioned next year earlier—don't tell me you're planning to retire after your classic season?"
Dyna shook her head.
"No. Next year I'll basically be overseas the entire time. I'm not planning to run in Japan at all. Dubai to America."
That finally made him look genuinely stunned.
A single overseas campaign was one thing.
An entire year abroad was another.
But if the horse girl in question was Glory Dyna… perhaps it was not impossible after all.
"When you decide to announce that publicly," Yamazaki said, standing, "I won't run a word of it before then. You have my word."
Dyna nodded, and after a few more casual remarks, he finally left.
Outside, he paused, glanced back once at the little shop, and smiled to himself.
The expectations of the Triple Crown were already large enough.
But if her eyes were truly set beyond Japan…
Then the story ahead would be much bigger than anyone here yet understood.
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 150)
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 (Chapter190)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter225)
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 195
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 Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 225
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 210
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 115
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 130
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 85
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 90
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 100
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 75
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 60
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 71
Checking In in Demon Slayer 75
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 80
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 66
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 58
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 65
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 63
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 59
Why did they assign me to Uma 55
MYGO Beauties 56
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 45
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 49
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 36
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 35
The Uma Musume Who Became 30
I'm Definitely Not the King of 35
After Maxing Out Every Class 35
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