Ever since Oguri Cap started working at Worry-Free Sweets, Dyna could clearly feel that business had picked up.
Maybe it was the celebrity effect that came with Oguri Cap. Or maybe Mejiro McQueen had gone and spread the word after leaving that day. Either way, the bakery's profits were steadily rising.
Dyna's business philosophy was the classic small-profit, high-volume model. She herself was already used to this kind of workload, so the only one really having it rough was Oguri Cap, who had to learn everything from scratch while also working the wrapping counter.
Fortunately, Oguri Cap learned quickly. In just two or three days, she had already mastered the basics and could handle the work on her own.
Dyna had originally worried that Oguri Cap might sneak bites while on the job, but now that seemed completely unnecessary. She was practically the ideal employee—maxed out in trainability.
Now all Dyna had to do was finish making most of the day's goods in the morning, and after that she could openly slack off. Oguri Cap could handle the entire front counter by herself—register, wrapping, the whole process in one smooth line—and she was honestly even faster than Dyna.
"That'll be 3,000 yen total. It's all packed up. Thank you for coming!"
Oguri Cap's practiced movements were genuinely pleasing to watch. Dyna poured herself a cup of hot tea and nodded in satisfaction. At last, she was beginning to understand the joy of being a shop owner.
After the final customer left and things quieted down for a moment, Oguri Cap skillfully took a piece of pork floss cake from behind the counter and began nibbling at it in tiny bites.
It was not that she had somehow become more refined these past few days. It was simply that Dyna had set a strict rule: during working hours, she was only allowed to eat that much. If Oguri Cap wanted to savor it longer, she had no choice but to chew slowly like a hamster, taking one tiny bite at a time.
It actually made her look a little pitiful.
"Mmn... Boss, have you ever thought about expanding the shop? Making it bigger and stronger?"
"Hm? That?" Dyna smiled helplessly. "Not for now. Just looking at all the paperwork for chain operations gives me a headache."
One store alone was already enough to keep her overwhelmed. As for franchising or expansion, she did not even dare think about it.
Oguri Cap sank into thought, lips pursed as she smacked lightly on the pork floss.
Delicious...
But she could not bear to swallow it all at once.
How agonizing.
It felt like ants were crawling all over her body.
Dyna smiled when she saw Oguri Cap fighting such a tragic inner battle against the demon of appetite. This kind of life was wonderful. One day, she really ought to go to the URA and cancel her registration as a horse girl. After all, that debut race had only been a means of raising startup funds.
Besides, if she had already run into Orfevre during the rookie period, then the classic year was bound to be a blood-soaked storm. Sure, hiding in the lesser circuit might be one option...
But sooner or later, Orfevre would probably come looking for trouble anyway.
And the most important problem was this:
Shining Dyna had no background at all. No backing. No powerful connections. She did not even have any ties to Central Tracen Academy.
She was not a Central Tracen student.
So how could she possibly go up against the Gold family, a wealthy, powerful, and notoriously ill-reputed mob-like clan?
What was worse, she had even picked up a bit of gossip from neighboring shop owners these past few days...
This whole shopping street actually belonged to the Gold family.
Which meant Dyna was basically doing business on a knife's edge. One of these days, a thug from the Gold family might just kick open her door and barge in.
And when she thought about her history with Orfevre, it got even worse. There was even the possibility that their boss lady, Dream Journey, might drag her off to the Gold household and turn her into some toy for Orfevre to play with as a gift...
Every prediction she could imagine about the future told her the same thing:
If you do not find yourself a backer, there is no way you are surviving on this street.
So when Dyna looked at Oguri Cap, her gaze took on a faintly worldly edge.
"Ogu... are you on pretty good terms with Chairwoman Rudolf?"
"Hm? More or less, I guess. We went skating together once."
Oguri Cap muttered the answer softly. After polishing off the rest of her pork floss cake, she immediately found herself with nothing to do again.
As she wondered why the boss was asking that, a rather immature theory suddenly popped into her head.
Could it be that the boss lady and Rudolf were actually very close... but had gotten into some impulsive conflict, so now she needed Oguri Cap as a bridge between them?
Could this be one of those romantic scandals involving Tracen's rumored Emperor of the Night...?
But her endless speculation was abruptly cut off by the chime of the bell at the door.
Oguri Cap instantly shifted into work mode.
"Welcome—"
But the customer who entered looked every bit like a delinquent girl, and she was dragging along a younger horse girl whose white forelock was sitting a little crooked over her forehead.
"Take whatever you want. I'll pay for it later."
Nakayama Festa was in a terrible mood. She had just lost a weather bet with Gold Ship and, thanks to that, lost an entire month's worth of snacks. On top of that, her family had dumped this little girl named Camellia on her and told her to watch over her. She was thoroughly fed up.
This kid had clearly been brought home by Orfevre, so why was she the one stuck taking care of her now...?
She was going to France soon. Was she not allowed even a little peace before that?
Camellia, meanwhile, seemed never to have seen so many tasty things in one place before. She ran around the shop in fascination. Oguri Cap was already mentally preparing to wrap up a mountain of food for her—kids like this were always top-tier snack fiends.
But then she noticed that her boss's lips were trembling slightly as she faced Nakayama Festa.
Was the boss... scared?
"Breathe... Nakayama Festa doesn't know me, she doesn't know me..."
Dyna tried to reassure herself, though she still had to look the customer in the eye.
Once she remembered that the Gold family itself had some internal factional struggles, and that Nakayama Festa and Orfevre were probably on opposing sides, Dyna felt a little safer.
Nakayama Festa scratched at her neck. She barely had much money left, and now she still had to buy things for a kid. The more she thought about it, the more irritated she became. Right now, all she wanted was to get out of here, go home, and dump the kid on Dream Journey.
"Still... I don't remember there being a bakery on this shopping street of ours."
Nakayama Festa turned her gaze toward the chestnut-haired girl behind the counter and looked her up and down. She seemed oddly familiar.
Then she stared a little longer and suddenly understood.
"Boss lady... you're the horse girl who was ahead of Orfevre in that debut race the other day, aren't you?"
Nakayama Festa was interested now. Any horse girl who could make that arrogant, self-important Orfevre eat dirt was definitely no ordinary person in her eyes.
"Eek! Um, if nothing strange happened, then yes, that would be me... I'll pay the protection money and taxes, I swear!"
Faced with the terrifying Gold family mob, the isolated and defenseless Dyna had no way to resist.
"What are you even talking about? We just manage this street, that's all." Nakayama Festa's opinion of Dyna rose quite a bit. Perhaps in the future, this girl might do an even better job of grinding down Orfevre's arrogance. "Anyway, I didn't see any shop open here. Right?"
"Huh? R-right! There's nothing here at all! Thank you very much, Miss Nakayama Festa! Everything for you and this little one is free!"
Dyna finally let out a breath of relief. So at heart, gambler Nakayama Festa was actually a very good horse girl after all...
Only after watching her leave with the little girl—whose white cream-colored forelock looked as though it had been smeared on crooked—did Dyna's tightly wound nerves finally begin to relax.
[Nakayama Festa bond value up!]
[Current bond value: 5!]
[Intimidation from the Gold family: +5 points, pending allocation.]
[Event inspiration acquired. Skill: Pressure Resistance — better able to find a way out when facing high-pressure situations
Dyna rubbed at her forehead. This damned system had popped up again...
But when her palm touched her skin, the cool sensation made her freeze.
She lowered her hand.
A card bearing Nakayama Festa's likeness was lying quietly in her palm.
But Dyna had not consciously wanted to obtain another horse girl's power at all.
So where on earth had this card come from?
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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