Inside the stewards' room, several somewhat elderly men repeatedly reviewed the race footage. Even for them, as the panel responsible for officiating the event, this was the first time they had ever seen such a serious incident occur in a debut race.
No matter how many times they watched it, the facts did not change. Orfevre's diagonal interference had directly slammed into Shining Dyna, who had been running normally forward, and on the final straight she had escalated even further, intentionally obstructing another horse girl's progress. That much was beyond dispute.
The only thing everyone in the room felt thankful for was this:
At least Shining Dyna had not suffered a truly serious accident because of Orfevre's interference—something like falling outright...
"Since we have already established that Orfevre committed a violation," the old man seated in the center said slowly, "the next matter is to seriously deliberate the appropriate penalty."
As a veteran with decades of experience judging races, his opinion carried the greatest authority at Niigata Racecourse.
And so, a heated discussion began over whether Orfevre should simply be demoted in placing, or have her result voided altogether.
Outside, meanwhile, Shining Dyna still had her ears pinned back and was baring her teeth at Orfevre. Then she lowered her head to look at the arm that had been struck during the race. While the adrenaline had been pumping, she had barely noticed it, but now that the competition was over, a numb, stabbing pain filled her entire arm.
Getting rammed by bad luck itself probably felt about the same.
Their feud was now firmly established.
As Dyna swung her arm hard, trying to restore feeling, she also came to understand something else: the power condensed from other horse girls through sheer will did not merely grant strength. It could also affect how certain horse girls visually perceived her.
Everything that had happened out on the track just now was because, after Dyna used that power, Orfevre had instinctively mistaken her for that hated old rival—Apple.
The rain still had not stopped. On the results board, first and second place continued to flash uncertainly. Race staff draped a raincoat over Dyna's shoulders and led her under a shelter. Just as a staff member handed her a cup of hot water, the track doctor came hurrying through the rain with a medical kit in hand.
"Is it a sharp pain? Or is your arm completely numb?"
The doctor casually dropped the medical case onto the ground and had his assistant rummage through it for the necessary tools while he began examining Dyna's injury the old-fashioned way.
"At first it was just a bit sore. Right now... it's a lot better. I can still put strength into it."
As she answered, Dyna bent her arm, intending to flex her bicep a little.
But there was absolutely no intimidating display of strength to be seen. Aside from her chest, Shining Dyna was an exceedingly slender horse girl.
The doctor immediately stopped her from making the motion again. Taking a splint from the assistant, he fixed Dyna's arm in place. Horse girls were naturally active creatures; even after securing the injury properly, they still had to be warned again and again not to overdo it.
"You always prepare for the worst. Once the rain lightens a little, we'll take you back to the hospital for an X-ray. Only after we confirm nothing serious is wrong can we let you go."
"Eh... like that... all right."
They had only just finished stabilizing her arm when, from the other side, a racecourse official in a suit came hurrying straight toward Dyna under an umbrella. His polished shoes and clean trouser hems were already splattered with mud, but he seemed not to notice at all.
"Miss Shining Dyna, how is your condition?"
While tidying up his medical kit, the doctor answered in her place. "Preliminary diagnosis suggests a minor impact injury. We still need hospital imaging to determine the state of the bone."
"We are here regarding the interference issue on the final straight. The footage clearly shows that during both the middle stages and the final stages, Orfevre engaged in diagonal movement and deliberate obstruction. After deliberation by the stewards, Orfevre's result from this race has been annulled. In addition, she will be suspended for three months and required to relearn proper racecourse conduct for Uma Musume."
The man withdrew an official document approved by the review panel from his briefcase and handed it to Dyna with her uninjured hand. Then he bowed apologetically.
"In the future, we will do everything possible to prevent this sort of incident from happening again, and we will also improve the pre-race theoretical instruction and warnings given to horse girls."
For Orfevre to cause such a sensational scandal in her debut race was troublesome enough for the Central authorities.
For her trainer, it was even more of a headache.
Not to mention, Shining Dyna did not even have an enrollment record at Central Tracen Academy. She was an unaffiliated wild horse girl—and a rare one at that, having just won a sparkling debut race.
If this got publicized too widely, handling it would become extremely difficult.
"I understand... and, um, where do I go to collect the prize money?"
Compared with placings or prestige, Dyna cared far more urgently about getting paid. She wanted the money as fast as possible so she could go eat an absolutely magnificent meal...!
"The prize money will be transferred into your personal account before five this afternoon. Considering your injury, I would recommend canceling the winner's stage performance."
Dyna nodded at once. "Mm, then I'll go get checked out with the doctors first. I'll leave the rest to you. And... I won't need to take winner's photos or anything, right?"
"Ordinarily, the winning horse girl takes a commemorative photo together with her trainer. But given your special circumstances... that can be waived."
Since she could leave early, Dyna naturally had no intention of lingering any longer at this accursed Niigata Racecourse.
After all, that tyrant who had lost her result was still around somewhere with nowhere to vent her temper. If Orfevre caught hold of her now, Dyna would be in serious trouble.
The Golden Gang's notoriety was well known.
Escorted by race staff, Dyna left Niigata Racecourse together with the medical personnel in an ambulance.
And that moment of her boarding the vehicle just happened to be seen by those two rabid Uma Musume fans from earlier.
"Hey, did you see that? The winner, Shining Dyna, left in an ambulance. Don't tell me Orfevre's hit just now actually fractured something?"
The short, stocky man could not help breaking into a sweat, though the drifting rain quickly blurred it away.
The tall man swallowed hard. "No... think positively. Maybe it's only a routine check. Even though Shining Dyna didn't appear for the photo session, the revised result can't be fake. Before the race started, I was fully supporting Orfevre—but now, even I have to say that what she did on the final straight was honestly baffling."
Most people were shocked by Orfevre's collision.
Very few stopped to wonder why Orfevre had wanted to ram someone in the first place.
[Debut race victory! ... Orfevre's result annulled. Current bond value: -50. Gained 40 points!]
[Interfered with by Orfevre during the race; elbow soft tissue contusion sustained. Acquired skill: "Read Through" — able to better grasp the situation while moving left and right; field of vision slightly broadened.]
[Acquired trait: "Rapid Recovery" — can quickly eliminate race fatigue and rapidly recover from any injury short of serious damage such as fractures.]
[Current injury: elbow soft tissue contusion. Estimated recovery time: 1 hour.]
Dyna's body swayed with the motion of the ambulance. As soon as it left the racecourse, the doctor had immediately used the onboard equipment to give her a full examination. Only after confirming that it was merely a minor soft tissue bruise did he finally relax.
"Doctor, I'm really fine. One night's rest is more than enough."
Even so, it was only after reaching the hospital and properly finishing treatment that the doctor finally allowed Dyna to leave.
Watching the young horse girl's retreating figure, the doctor looked down at the paperwork beneath his hand.
The line marked Guardian was blank.
A horse girl of this age without any guardian...
She really was a pitiful, yet strong child.
Dyna took the last train back to the bakery located in Tracen's commercial district. When she pushed open the door and smelled that drifting flour-dust scent, she felt that living alone was not so bad after all.
"Well then, starting tomorrow, it'll be a brand-new life!"
Clean up the storefront, use the prize money to catch up on the utilities, then rely on her pretty good baking skills to conquer the stomachs of the girls at Tracen!
She wondered...
Would one of the Mejiro heiresses take a liking to her craftsmanship?
If she could get herself kept on as a private pastry chef, then...
Sure, she would be a bit tired, but for the rest of this life she probably would not have to worry anymore...
Still, the Mejiro family seemed to have some ridiculous connection to the Gold family too, so Dyna decided it would be better to remain an independent pastry chef.
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 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 31
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 27
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 26
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