At this point, the JRA had descended into complete chaos.
By the time Xingyun Liuge won the 2000 Guineas, Japanese racing fans had already begun to see her as the pride of Japanese horse girls, the savior of Japanese racing itself. And after the Kentucky Derby? That sentiment had only exploded further.
After all, she had accomplished a feat even the Emperor herself had failed to achieve: going overseas and defeating British and American horse girls head-on.
The legend of an undefeated Triple Crown. The victory in the Japan Cup. Those were the glories Rudolf Symbol took the greatest pride in, and they were also hailed by nearly every Japanese person as towering achievements. People had cheered for her, celebrated her, and thought, There has never been such a perfect beginning.
Though that line of thinking would probably make Katsuragi Ace cry herself unconscious in the restroom. After all, she was the first Japanese horse girl to win the Japan Cup, the one who ended the era of foreign horse girls running rampant across Japanese turf, and she had even beaten Rudolf Symbol head-on. And yet…
Still, none of that mattered now.
Victory was what mattered. Taking the stage on the world scene was what mattered.
Almost everyone had thought that defeating foreign horse girls on home turf—on tracks they were unfamiliar with—was only the beginning. What really mattered was sweeping the world and showing foreign horse girls the true strength of Japan.
And so came the overseas campaigns of Sirius Symbol and Rudolf Symbol.
The results, however…
Sirius Symbol had gone abroad alone and achieved little. Rudolf Symbol, hampered by injury, had managed a "fine" sixth-place finish in America. As for the fact that the race in question may or may not have had only seven entrants… well, that was all in the past now. There was no point dwelling on it.
In any case, the Symbol girls had failed abroad, and with that, the breath Japan had barely managed to draw was snuffed out.
If even the mighty Emperor had lost, then how could anyone else hope to win?
It was as though the very momentum of Japanese racing had had its spine broken—though in truth, that was not entirely the case.
But now a brilliant horse girl had appeared out of nowhere, crushing British horse girls on their own turf, defeating a field of American powerhouses in Kentucky, even blowing out the so-called Secretariat's masterpiece. What did that prove?
It proved that she was, at the very least, Japan's own Secretariat.
How could that not set people's spirits aflame? How could they not want to shout themselves hoarse for her victories?
And once that happened, a whole series of unavoidable questions resurfaced in the public consciousness:
Why had Xingyun Liuge gone overseas with NAR's support?
Why was there no professional team accompanying her campaign abroad?
Why did she never mention the JRA in international interviews, speaking only of Kasamatsu Tracen and the Tokai Regional Racing Association?
Surely no one in the JRA had embezzled support that should have gone to Xingyun Liuge… right?
By now, things had gone far beyond the point where they could be contained by arresting a mustachioed comedian in an izakaya or preserving the jobs of postal workers.
The newspapers had long since reported Xingyun Liuge's bold declaration, placing special emphasis on the fact that "outdated institutions have plunged horse girls into an absolutely unfair mire." Some editorials went so far as to declare that every last JRA executive ought to commit ritual suicide and apologize.
The JRA had tried holding press conferences, insisting that they were actively negotiating, that they would absolutely guarantee fair and just treatment for horse girls, that they had already sent an executive director to speak with Xingyun Liuge, and that they would certainly deliver an explanation that satisfied the public…
But those efforts had produced almost no results.
To be specific:
Not a single window in the JRA headquarters remained intact, and no one had come to fix them.
Some employees had loudly and publicly sided with the racing fans, even threatening to resign.
More extreme still, some staff had opened the doors for the enraged public, letting in enthusiastic citizens who kindly delivered cocktails to upper management.
In the end, only one office was burned down—but judging by the fact that several men in their nineties came forward to confess, the matter would likely be quietly dropped. Not only were the authorities unable to find the actual culprits, they would now have to spend money feeding these so-called criminals steaming bowls of white rice.
It might sound exaggerated, but in idolized horse-girl Japan, the JRA leadership had overnight become the enemy of the majority of the nation.
They were practically street rats.
Even kindergarteners knew the story now: Japan had produced a great hero among horse girls, but that hero had been persecuted by a bloated, useless JRA and driven from her homeland, perhaps never to return.
How could anyone possibly accept that?
Merely cursing the JRA black and blue no longer felt satisfying enough. More and more people were becoming radicals, and the situation was clearly growing worse by the day.
The stage had already been set, and everyone could choose the role they wanted to play.
On the night of the welcoming banquet, Xingyun Liuge had handed Rudolf Symbol a cane, leaving her more than enough dignity, and said:
"Miss Rudolf, are you going to become the scapegoat—take responsibility and resign, drawing the JRA's fire so the public fury can be appeased—or…"
Until Rudolf Symbol produced actual results, Xingyun Liuge had no intention of returning to Japan.
The JRA wanted to open a VIP lane for her and invite her straight into the Japanese Derby and the Kikuka Sho?
Pah.
Did they think that alone would make her forgive Japan? Dream on.
Why would she ever come back to race there?
She intended to nail the JRA to the pillar of shame and leave them there forever. And she meant for Rudolf Symbol to be the one to hammer in the nails.
As for the exchange?
For now, Xingyun Liuge would refrain from accepting transfer offers from Britain and America.
If Rudolf Symbol chose to become the scapegoat… well, that was even better. Then Xingyun Liuge would have even less reason to return to Japan. No—rather, she could return as a foreign horse girl and rampage across Japan's turf and dirt alike, showing everyone what true cruelty looked like.
Xingyun Liuge was convinced Rudolf Symbol would not make the wrong choice.
That was why she had given her that cane made of yew wood.
Which meant the executive director's judgment had been completely off the mark. He thought Rudolf Symbol was wracking her brains to calm the chaos and salvage the situation. In reality, what Rudolf was really thinking was:
How do I solve the JRA's problems and pacify public opinion as quickly as possible?
Perhaps by starting with letting Oguri Cap run in the Japanese Derby?
Since the JRA was already willing to create a special route for Xingyun Liuge, why not instead direct that gesture of goodwill toward Oguri Cap?
In Rudolf Symbol's view, that horse girl had made it clear before that she wanted to run in the Japanese Derby. She was also from the same hometown as Xingyun Liuge. Surely Xingyun would understand such a move as a sign of Rudolf's sincerity—and of her determination to reform.
But just as Rudolf Symbol contacted the Symbol family, urging them to move at once, before their answer even came, she realized just how thorny the situation truly was.
That "gray-haired Cinderella," that "gray monster"—
had arrived in Baltimore.
"…"
Looking at Oguri Cap—fatigued to the bone, yet somehow with Kitahara Jones in her left hand and Shinzan Hikaru slung under her right arm—Rudolf Symbol slowly raised a question mark over her head.
Wait. How did you even get here?
Oguri Cap replied, "I rode… that iron bird thing. I think it's called… airplin?"
Rudolf Symbol: "?"
It was, of course, an airplane.
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 (Chapter160)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter175)
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 163
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 150
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 170
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 145
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 125
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 100
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 90
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 55
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 66
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 55
Still playing traditional Honk 35
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 35
What Should I Do After Switchi 24
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 35
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 27
Transmigrated as Sukuna 27
Checking In in Demon Slayer 32
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 44
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