The day after the Spring Stakes, Hanshin Racecourse still had two extremely important races on the schedule.
Racing fans were still basking in the excitement of Light Dyna winning the Spring Stakes disaster-relief race and Victoire Pisa taking the Dubai World Cup. On March 27, at Hanshin Racecourse, the G1 sprint Takamatsunomiya Kinen and the relief race Mainichi Hai were held as planned.
Since the Mainichi Hai would be the final special disaster-relief race, it still drew a packed house despite being only a G3, boosted by the atmosphere from the Takamatsunomiya Kinen and the relief event itself. More importantly, word had leaked that for the entire day's awards ceremonies at Hanshin on the twenty-seventh, the presenter would be none other than Light Dyna.
That was simply too good.
"Um, this outfit goes on like this, right? This button… Oguri, can you help me fasten it?"
Standing in front of the mirror, Dyna stared at herself in the JRA ceremonial horse girl uniform. The moment she turned slightly, she felt the fabric pulling tight in all the wrong places, and the whole thing was making her deeply uncomfortable. On top of that, one of the buttons had been placed in an absolutely ridiculous spot.
One of them was on the side of the torso. Whoever designed it clearly hadn't considered people with special circumstances at all.
Standing behind her, Oguri Cap helped fasten the two horribly placed buttons, finally getting the complicated outfit fully secured.
"So why did I even agree to this in the first place…?"
Thinking back to the Hanshin staff who had shown up at her room early that morning, Dyna felt like she must have nodded before her brain had caught up. And now here she was: the only award presenter at Hanshin who had never received any formal guidance or etiquette training.
Wada and Opera O had already left early, since they still had training and race preparations to make for Curren. That left only Oguri at Dyna's side. Having seen ceremonial horse girls countless times before, Oguri had spent the whole morning giving Dyna crash-course coaching.
"You hold the medal tray like this… the banner like that. Yeah, Boss Lady, you're picking it up fast…"
Oguri had seen more than her fair share of award presenters, and in her opinion they were almost always gray-haired. Watching their chestnut-haired boss lady wear the uniform now, she honestly couldn't stop feeling that something about it just looked… off.
It was as though JRA had designed the outfit specifically for gray-haired girls.
No one really knew why the passing rate for etiquette exams was so high among gray-haired horse girls, but in any case, Dyna was only a temporary fill-in today, and Hanshin had no other uniform to give her.
Since she wasn't racing today, Dyna had gone back to wearing her regular framed glasses, which lent her an even more bookish, refined air.
"Do your best, Boss Lady. There are just as many people at Hanshin today as there were yesterday."
Oguri's final reminder only made Dyna even more nervous.
Of course, she wouldn't be presenting alone. The two other ceremonial horse girls would be her support.
"Good morning, Miss Light Dyna. Looks like we're coworkers today."
One of them was such a pure, bright silver-white that she almost seemed to shine. In terms of looks, she was absolutely top-tier among horse girls. The other had a darker, ash-gray coat, but carried herself with so much poise that Dyna felt like she had no advantage whatsoever standing between them.
Dyna tried to bow, but the uniform restricted her too much to manage it, so she settled for shaking hands instead.
"Good morning. I'll be in your care today…"
"Don't be so nervous. Just act like yourself."
"Right. Miss Light Dyna only needs to step onto the stage and either place the medal on the winner or drape the banner over her. The biggest race today is probably the Takamatsunomiya Kinen in the afternoon, since that one has a proper trophy. We can still teach you the best way to handle it during the lunch break."
The two of them clearly worked together often, and through their easygoing chatter they practically pushed Dyna along until they reached the presentation area. The winner still hadn't arrived yet, so they had a moment to wait.
Two gray-haired girls with one chestnut-haired girl between them only made Dyna stand out more. With so many camera flashes hitting her at once, she desperately wanted to shield her eyes with her hand. But seeing that the two girls beside her remained perfectly still, she forced herself to endure it.
When the winner, Princess Stormrain, arrived, though she had already caught her breath, sweat still clung to her body. The moment she spotted Light Dyna, she immediately bent forward and lowered her neck, offering it up for the medal.
"Congratulations. You're now the winner who's made it through the gates into the Twinkle Series. Do your best from here on out, okay?"
As Dyna placed the medal around her neck, a warm smile naturally surfaced on her face. She had complained the whole time that she wasn't suited to this sort of thing, but once the work actually began, she still threw herself into it with her full attention.
"Mm! Um… Miss Light Dyna, you have to keep doing your best too! I really love watching your races… After losing five maiden races, I honestly didn't want to keep being a horse girl anymore… But after I saw your Marcel Boussac and your Shortwave Cup, I thought… I had to at least try."
"Anyway, please keep running. I'm a dirt specialist, but I still want to become the kind of horse girl who can shine on other people the way you do!"
Princess Stormrain seemed to be a very shy girl herself. By the time she finished speaking, her whole face had turned red, and she hurried off as though fleeing the scene.
"Ah… she ran away."
Dyna tilted her head slightly. This was the first time another horse girl had ever said something like that to her, and her own cheeks felt a little warm now too. But soon enough, she had to leave as well, because the second race—the 1400-meter dirt maiden—was about to begin.
There were five races that morning in total. Once Dyna settled into the role, she began handling it with surprising ease, drawing open admiration from the two senior ceremonial horse girls. If every newcomer they had to guide were as easy to train as Dyna, their jobs would be so much less exhausting.
During the midday break, Dyna naturally ate with the two seniors. After lunch, they gave her a quick lesson on how to present a G1 trophy.
Dyna had experience receiving awards, but presenting them was another matter entirely. All she could do was watch the seniors' movements closely and try to imitate them.
"Look, there's really only one trick," one of them said. "Steady hands, steady feet, steady steps. That's enough. A lot of presenters get too much into their own heads and act like they're holding the most precious treasure in the world. It's easier if you just imagine it's a big drinking cup."
Oddly enough, that advice helped a lot. Once Dyna let her imagination do the work, she stopped feeling quite so tense.
The Takamatsunomiya Kinen was Hanshin's eleventh race of the day and the main event. As one of the races that crowned the king of sprinters, it didn't have quite the same overwhelming grandeur as middle-distance giants like Tenno Sho (Autumn) or the Takarazuka Kinen. But in a moment like this, it still had to fulfill its role as a G1.
In the stands, there was also someone Dyna knew well enough to recognize at a glance.
Orfevre.
After the Spring Stakes, Orfevre had not left Hanshin immediately. She had stayed because she'd heard Dyna would be participating in the awards the next day.
As for why she had wanted to stay… she wasn't entirely sure herself.
Maybe she'd wanted to watch Dyna make a fool of herself onstage. But once she thought about it, that had never been realistic. Dyna was the sort of horse girl who treated everything she did with absolute seriousness.
"Orfe, something's off about you lately."
Iketoe had returned carrying two boxed lunches. The two of them had been sitting in the stands together all morning. Since he'd gone to buy food without asking what she wanted, he had simply bought her the same thing he was having.
Seated side by side, Orfevre picked halfheartedly through her lunch, staring at the track being maintained below.
"Trainer… am I really never going to beat Light Dyna?"
"Huh? What kind of nonsense are you talking about? My Orfe can beat any horse girl out there. You're just not fully mature yet. Why are you putting yourself down now? Where's that edge of yours?"
Iketoe was genuinely startled by the question. The Orfevre he knew had always been brimming with confidence. Doubting herself like this was not a good sign.
Silent, Orfevre kept eating, her violet eyes shifting away from him. The moment her thoughts drifted to that infuriating chestnut-haired girl, her teeth clenched in resentment. Then she accidentally bit down on a hard bit in the rice and immediately regretted it, her jaw aching.
"At the Satsuki Sho… I'm going to get my revenge. In Tokyo. I definitely will."
That was the last thing Orfevre was still thinking about before she ended up at the medical office.
After the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, Hanshin's twelfth and final race of the day was the Mainichi Hai G3, also designated as a special disaster-relief race.
After a full day of work, Master Dyna at last got to peel off the ceremonial uniform and change back into comfortable casual clothes. Sitting in the break room and gulping down water, she finally felt the tension drain out of her body, to the point that she nearly went limp.
The two senior presenters, however, had not changed out of their uniforms at all.
Noticing Dyna's puzzled look, they explained, "We've still got our weekly evaluation after this. Of course we can't change yet. Next week we'll be working at another racecourse, so we commute all over."
So… this job was even harder than Dyna had imagined.
Still, her own work here was finished. Hanshin had even given her a special commemorative medal. Dyna found herself wondering whether she should install a dedicated honor display inside the shop.
It would be a pretty good way of advertising their impeccable reputation. After all, a major race winner had to be trustworthy.
"Boss Lady, the car back to Tokyo is already waiting downstairs. I've loaded all the luggage you asked me to bring."
Like a perfect butler, Oguri had handled every task Dyna had asked of her.
Dyna still had to return to Tokyo and continue running the shop. More importantly, her next race—the Satsuki Sho—would also be held at Tokyo Racecourse, less than a month away.
She needed to throw herself into preparation.
"All right. Thanks, Oguri. Then I'll be heading back now. Thank you for taking care of me today."
"We hope we'll be the ones handing you your award at the Satsuki Sho," the bright white-haired senior said.
And with that, they parted ways.
Once Dyna got into the car, she lasted only a few minutes before falling asleep. By the time they reached Tokyo in the dead of night, Oguri had to wake her.
Since it was so late, Oguri naturally stayed the night at the shop. There was only one bathroom, so Dyna bathed first, leaving Oguri to change into one of Dyna's pajamas afterward.
That proved one thing quite clearly: properly fitted clothes really mattered.
Even on Oguri, Dyna's pajamas were loose—especially around the chest.
Though the Simmons mattress was plenty large, Dyna still made a bed for herself on the floor and pushed Oguri onto the mattress instead. Her hospitality was always top-tier, so she insisted Oguri take the bed.
Oguri ended up rolling around restlessly on the soft mattress, while Dyna on the floor fell asleep almost instantly, slipping straight into a dream.
In the dream—
"Ugh… Cody's Wish, can't you just let me rest properly for one night?"
Sitting on the grass, Dyna yanked up clumps of blades one fistful at a time.
Cody's Wish leaned casually against the railing of the racecourse and tilted her head.
"This one isn't really my fault. Whatever you're thinking about before sleep tends to shape your dreams afterward. Looks like you still can't get Longchamp out of your mind…"
They were indeed in Longchamp Racecourse this time. But unlike her previous dreams, there were no horse girls and no spectators. It was utterly silent.
"I think this is fine. I can just lie down here, go to sleep, and then wake up when morning comes."
As she said it, though, Dyna realized that this would make it a dream inside a dream. Strange.
"Even inside a dream, you want to sleep? Maybe there's something that wants to see you."
Cody's Wish looked into the distance, as if she could still see the year 2009 there.
Cody's Wish remembered it well.
In 2009, the racing world had witnessed a miracle.
A miracle called Sea the Stars.
A miracle star carrying the blood of Urban Sea, born beneath countless expectations. In a single year, he conquered six G1s. Then, in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, he smashed through the malicious encirclement around him and, from the same position his mother once had, exploded from the turn with a razor-sharp finishing kick.
A perfect, flawless miracle that would happen only once in a lifetime.
"Sea the Stars," Cody's Wish murmured softly. A long time ago, she had already sensed that same kind of presence hidden within Dyna's body—a free soul just like her own.
"So you've finally stopped hiding? At the very least, you should come meet Dyna in person."
Her English drifted on the wind across the empty racecourse.
Only now did Cody's Wish understand why Dyna had come here.
Dyna, meanwhile, was only confused. Who exactly was Cody's Wish talking to? Yet as the sky darkened and rain threatened, it seemed the weather itself was trying to herd them beneath the covered stands.
"So dreams really can have rain too… I thought that was only something you dreamed right before wetting the bed."
"As long as you don't think in that direction, it's fine. There just seems to be another horse girl who wants to meet you. Like me, she's a free soul left behind by a retired horse girl."
As Cody's Wish said that, she felt the powerful presence drawing nearer from the tunnel.
"There are more… horse girls?" Dyna blinked. She had heard it too now—the crisp, measured sound of high heels striking the ground.
"I'm sorry if this is sudden. I had hoped I wouldn't disturb Miss Cody's Wish."
The approaching horse girl had long hair that flowed in layered waves, each tip dyed with streaks of blue-violet.
"Well… I think I should probably leave the two of you alone for now. But before I go, I'll say one thing: you ought to be a little more honest. Being so mysterious isn't always a good thing."
After saying that, Cody's Wish departed on her own.
And Dyna was left face-to-face with a horse girl she did not know at all.
Join here to read ahead.
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My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
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I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
Summoning an Evil God, but the 41
Supernatural Multiverse 45
My Harem Is Indescribable 35
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 46
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