Although the JRA had come to her door wearing miserable expressions and begging for help, Rudolf Symbol, as the student council president of Central Tracen, ought to have extended a helping hand. After all, her dream was to create a world where every horse girl could run to her heart's content.
But it was precisely because she held that dream that she found the JRA's conduct so infuriating.
She had worked so hard to push for institutional reform. The uproar over the Satsuki Sho had already made the JRA hear the voices of the fans. Even if the rules truly could not be changed overnight, then at the very least they should have shown Xingyun Liuge and her group some sincerity, shouldn't they?
Xingyun Liuge had already gone out and won both the Two Thousand Guineas and the Kentucky Derby, and yet the JRA still had not even prepared the most basic gesture of reconciliation?
Honestly, this went beyond mere arrogance.
So Rudolf Symbol really wanted to say to the person before her, I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do.
But she did not want to see Xingyun Liuge driven completely away from Japan, so she asked instead, "What exactly did the board say?"
The answer was simple: they would provide every form of support they possibly could.
Rudolf Symbol's ears nearly flattened against her head.
Not even a contingency plan? They can't even put together a proper show of sincerity?
Noticing the disappointment in Rudolf Symbol's gaze, the executive secretary acting as messenger hurriedly changed tack.
"The board is already doing everything in its power to push through reform. If nothing unexpected happens, then next year—no, before this year's Japan Cup—the supplementary registration system will officially be implemented. From then on, there will never again be a situation where an outstanding horse girl with proven ability is barred from competing in the Classic Triple Crown."
"And as for personal compensation for Lady Xingyun, the board is prepared to send out its finest team, entirely at her disposal, to accompany her in conquering the world."
To be fair, the executive secretary was actually rather proud when he said this.
Going abroad to challenge Europe and America had long been one of the board's cherished ambitions. They wanted to prove to the world that Japan also had mighty horse girls, that the Japan Cup would no longer be trampled on at will by foreign competitors.
The Japan Cup was the home ground of Japanese horse girls. Yet from 1981 up to last year, 1987, only two Japanese horse girls had managed to win it against international competition.
That was practically the same as telling foreign horse girls, Girls, it's free loot if you just show up.
Perhaps because of that humiliating reality, the JRA had taken a crooked path and started hardening the turf year by year.
By now, Japanese turf had practically become "full-on concrete in disguise," though foreigners preferred to call it "high-speed turf."
That was being polite, honestly. Some of them openly suspected that the devious Japanese had simply laid sod over concrete and dared call it grass.
Now Xingyun Liuge had shown signs of dominating both mile races and middle-distance events alike.
For the JRA, it should have been a desperately needed shot in the arm.
Instead, because relations had soured so badly, that "shot in the arm" was starting to look more like a heart attack.
So the executive secretary did not dare look pleased. He simply wore a bitter expression and begged Rudolf Symbol to help.
Rudolf Symbol was a horse girl too, and she had given Xingyun Liuge some assistance in her overseas campaign. Surely Xingyun would give her a little face, wouldn't she?
That was why the JRA, top to bottom, hoped Rudolf Symbol could provide them with a staircase—some face-saving step down—so that Xingyun Liuge could come down from her side too, and then everyone could be happy together.
If this dragged on any longer, the JRA felt like it might truly be drowned under the sheer weight of public outrage.
Looking at the so-called number three figure in the JRA, sweating rivers in front of her, Rudolf Symbol found herself sweating too.
No wonder it wasn't raining outside. This man had single-handedly made the air around her unbearable enough already.
Did Xingyun Liuge need the JRA's "talent support"?
Maybe, perhaps. But the JRA had done no real fieldwork in the past two years. If they only started researching conditions after arriving on-site, then by the time they figured anything useful out, the daylilies would already be cold. What kind of compensation was that supposed to be?
As for money, Xingyun Liuge could already sustain herself entirely on prize winnings. More than that, her commercial value had already exploded—hotels and restaurants were tripping over themselves trying to offer her services. Why would she need the JRA to show up and curry favor now?
What a joke.
So Rudolf Symbol took a breath and set her face.
"If you want my help, fine. But I want absolute autonomy—and full discretionary authority on the ground."
Otherwise, what if she somehow managed to make peace with Xingyun Liuge, only for the JRA to turn around and say afterward, That was Rudolf Symbol acting on her own?
As student council president, Rudolf Symbol understood these old fossils all too well: only after you stabbed them once and made them afraid would they finally sit down and talk properly.
Inwardly, she thought, In that sense, Xingyun's approach was unexpectedly correct. You really can't show these people even the slightest softness.
Elsewhere, Xingyun Liuge had long since guessed that the JRA people would join up with Rudolf Symbol. So she simply took Chihaya Yui with her and boarded a helicopter—through Secretariat's connections, no less.
After all, she had helped Risen Star quite a bit. Naturally, that gave her every right to ask Secretariat for a favor.
Seeing Secretariat personally acting as the pilot of the helicopter, Chihaya Yui's entire brain went numb.
She was just a completely ordinary trainer, one nobody had ever heard of. What on earth had she done to deserve having the great Secretariat herself fly them around?
Granted, she knew perfectly well that Secretariat was doing this purely as a favor to Xingyun Liuge, and had absolutely nothing to do with her, Chihaya Yui, as the trainer.
Xingyun Liuge hoisted up the luggage and stuffed it all into the helicopter in one go. Then she turned around and extended a hand to Chihaya Yui.
"Come sweep across the world with me, Yui!"
The smile on the girl's face was so confident, so pure, that even the blazing sun seemed dim beside it.
The spinning rotor blades whipped Chihaya Yui's hair into chaos, and tugged at her heartstrings too.
She unconsciously reached out her hand, but still managed to say, "Isn't this a little too sudden, Xiao Ge? Aren't you going to say goodbye to Rudolf—or to March and the others?"
Keeping it from Rudolf Symbol made sense, since the JRA people were with her. But March and the others were different. No matter what, shouldn't Xingyun at least tell them? Better yet, make arrangements for their travel too?
Xingyun Liuge had of course already taken care of all that. Fujimasa March and the others would also be heading on to Maryland. Since they had already come this far, of course they were going to stay and witness the final outcome, weren't they?
So Xingyun Liuge grabbed Chihaya Yui's hand and said with absolute certainty, "Don't worry, Yui. We have all the time in the world ahead of us."
Before the words had even finished, Xingyun Liuge pulled.
In one clean motion, she yanked Chihaya Yui straight into her arms.
For a fleeting instant, Chihaya Yui had the strange illusion that Xingyun Liuge had somehow grown a little taller.
The helicopter rose into the air, as though tossing all the past grievances and frustrations back into that hotel below. By the time Rudolf Symbol finally felt that the helicopter's sudden arrival and equally sudden departure were a little suspicious, it had already dwindled into a tiny black dot on the horizon.
Standing by the window, Rudolf Symbol found that she simply could not put her mind at ease.
She swept one arm sharply through the air and gave the order:
"Get the car ready. Immediately. We're going to the airport. We'll take the nearest flight to Maryland!"
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 138)
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 (Chapter155)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter172)
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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 158
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 144
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 165
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 140
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 120
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 95
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 80
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 50
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 40
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 50
Still playing traditional Honk 30
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