"Two minutes, twenty-four point nine seconds!" Akasaka, the announcer, shouted at the top of her lungs. "Last year, the British contender Jupiter Island won the Japan Cup with a record of two minutes and twenty-five seconds flat. Today, this Horse Girl from France has shattered that record and made history!"
"Cheer, everyone! Cheer for the birth of a new King!"
Though Akasaka was Japanese, she was first and foremost a professional Horse Girl sports commentator. Since a foreign runner had claimed victory on the Tokyo turf, it was only right to offer her a thunderous ovation—especially since she had just rewritten the history books.
This was a moment to be remembered; the entire audience owed Le Glorieux their highest respect.
The cheers rose like a tidal wave. Some fans wept, heads in their hands as their favorites fell, but far more erupted in joy for Glory's triumph.
Glory waved to the crowd. Then, she turned toward Fujimaru Ritsuka's direction and offered a radiant, heart-stirring smile to the Trainer she hadn't seen in so long.
The spectators, oblivious to the context, assumed the smile was for them, and the cheering grew even more frenzied.
Upon noticing where Glory was looking, Twin Turbo's mouth fell open, her expression turning a shade of defeated gray.
The Central JRA's Maruzensky already had questionable motives—seemingly wanting to "snatch" Fujimaru Ritsuka away to Central, or perhaps even worse. And now, a powerhouse from France had appeared. What was going to happen to the future of the Kasamatsu Horse Girls?
Twin Turbo: QAQ
Turbo instinctively looked toward Oguri Cap, hoping their strongest member would show some backbone. She realized clearly: to keep Fujimaru Ritsuka, Oguri's strength was absolutely essential!
Fortunately, Oguri Cap was staring intently at Glory.
Turbo breathed a small sigh of relief, but a sudden, strange worry gripped her. She was afraid Oguri hadn't grasped the gravity of the situation and only cared about competing with Glory.
Turbo took two cautious steps forward, peeking at Oguri's face.
Currently, Oguri's hands were gripping the railing tightly, her azure eyes shimmering with the light of pure excitement.
A new record. A new King. This was exactly what she yearned for.
Fujimaru Ritsuka had told her that the winner of the Derby was the strongest Japanese Horse Girl of her generation—national level. But the winner of the Japan Cup was the strongest Horse Girl in the world on Japanese soil—world level!
The strength and status of the latter were clearly higher, because a Derby winner was only the best among their peers, while a Japan Cup winner had to defeat champions across multiple age groups.
"It's so good..." Oguri murmured. "The Japan Cup. Next year, I'm going to run in the Japan Cup too."
The girl's hands tightened unconsciously. She was breathing heavily, fueled by the adrenaline of Glory's victory. Seeing the over-excited Oguri, Ritsuka smiled and patted her head, helping her calm down.
"..." Twin Turbo grumbled internally: Just as I thought. Oguri has zero worldly desires. She's probably just a total airhead who hasn't thought about the 'vixen' threat at all.
Turbo's brow drooped as she sighed to herself: Well, I guess that's fine too.
When Maruzensky was testing them, Turbo realized that Oguri was a simple girl. She relied on Ritsuka instinctively, almost to a point that blurred boundaries, but she had no concrete concept of romantic love. To an outsider, this made Oguri a perfect teammate—she was "pure."
Of course, it was also possible that Oguri mistook her dependence on Ritsuka for familial affection, which was probably why she said things about seeking "fatherly love."
Turbo's gaze drifted downward, wanting to see what kind of feelings Miss Glory harbored for the Trainer, and that's when she saw something terrifying.
Twin Turbo: OoO
Under the pressure of Oguri's "heavy hands," the innocent metal railing had actually begun to warp and twist! If this continued, the thing would definitely snap, and they'd have to pay for the damages!
A trip to Tokyo already cost a fortune. If they were slapped with a repair bill, their wallets would be DOA!
Turbo looked left and right before whispering frantically, "Oguri, Oguri! Look at this! Trainer, help us!"
Twin Turbo: QAQ
If possible, she didn't want to disturb Ritsuka. She wanted to be his most reliable assistant to earn a place in his heart. To do that, she needed to be able to solve problems independently.
But the current situation was way beyond her pay grade.
What did it mean when Oguri Cap twisted a stadium railing into a pretzel just by getting excited? Did Horse Girls really have that kind of strength? Were they even in the same dimension?
Twin Turbo was too kind-hearted; if she were more calculating, she could have paid the bill from her own savings to make Ritsuka owe her a favor, then later told Oguri: "Oguri, you wouldn't want the Trainer to have to do 'certain things' to pay off your debt, would you?"
If she thought that way, she'd be making the most "authentic" Japanese Horse Girl sounds!
Hearing Turbo's warning, Oguri looked down and realized she had caused trouble. Her whole mood shifted to panic.
Fujimaru Ritsuka had noticed the railing long ago, but he had a solution, so he hadn't interrupted Oguri's "venting" and instead focused on calming her down.
Since they both noticed it now, there was no point in delaying.
Ritsuka leaned in close to Oguri's ear and whispered a few words.
His warm breath hit the tip of Oguri's ear, making her whole body jump. It was a subtle, hair-raising sensation. After the initial shock, a more delicate, almost pleasant feeling swept through her from head to toe, nearly causing her to let out a questionable groan.
She instinctively curled her toes and squeezed her hands harder, making the railing let out a clear metallic groan.
Oguri was startled and quickly let go, but that strange sensation was still buzzing in her brain, and a suspicious blush crept onto her face.
If Myny hadn't been distracted by Glory, she would have teased Oguri mercilessly.
Seeing this, Ritsuka put some distance between them but continued to whisper. Oguri nodded repeatedly, then took a deep breath and grabbed the railing with both hands.
Suddenly, the sound of clashing metal rang out again. Under Oguri's "force," the railing actually returned to its original shape!
Twin Turbo: ???
Turbo was completely lost. Wait, we're Horse Girls, but since when can we do that? This is definitely, definitely not right! This isn't a battle manga or a gag anime!
In reality, a Horse Girl's strength couldn't do that. Even with Oguri's natural talent, she could only manage some minor destruction.
Ritsuka had used a small bit of Projection Magecraft to restore the railing. The reason he spoke to Oguri and had her do it was simply to give her a sense of participation, preventing her from obsessing over her mistake or feeling guilty—and, coincidentally, to use her as a cover for his magecraft.
Now that the problem was solved, Ritsuka clapped his hands to get the girls' attention and lead them to the Winning Stage. "Even if there's a language barrier, there's a lot to learn from an international Horse Girl's live performance. You all should pay close attention."
On the other side, after a brief rest, Southern Jet and Dyna Actress changed into their performance outfits to serve as backup dancers for Glory.
Southern Jet was the runner-up, and Dyna Actress took third. In regional races, they wouldn't have even set foot on the Winning Stage; that was a glory reserved for the victor. But in Central races, things were different: the silver and bronze medalists had to go on stage to dance and provide chorus for the champion.
At a glance, it looked like sharing the glory, but some said it was proof of "winner takes all"—the strong humiliating the weak, while the losers served as mere background decoration.
Fujimaru Ritsuka remained neutral on the matter. He found the "conspiracy theories" a bit odd. This was a gentle world; where did all this intrigue come from?
In comparison, he felt a bit sorry for Triptych. Glory's final move—"Roar, my..."—ahem, the black flame spear array had shattered her Domain, causing her to lose instantly and get overtaken by Dyna Actress, finishing in fourth.
Because of this, after crossing the line, the other Horse Girls' faces were full of terror. When they looked at that petite figure, it was as if they were looking at an incomprehensible monster.
Before long, the anthem of victory echoed over Tokyo Racecourse.
Everyone believed that the legendary journey of these Horse Girls would continue, and they would use their unshakeable faith and tenacity to write new chapters.
However, that very night, Glory held a press conference. She announced that having achieved her goals, she would be retiring from the Twinkle Series to transfer to the Dream Cup.
The news shocked the French public and left Japanese fans lamenting. Countless people wailed on social media, with some even writing long essays commemorating Glory's career and begging her to reconsider.
So, where was the person in question now? Was she carefully considering the matter or responding to her fans' expectations?
Browsing the news online, Ritsuka looked curiously at the petite girl sitting across from him. "Is this really okay? You clearly still have plenty of energy left."
"That's quite a rude thing to say, Trainer-san. I remember you weren't like this before," the petite girl said, feigning displeasure. Her expression said: I'm angry, come coax me, Ritsuka.
In a sense, those were her true feelings. What Glory didn't say out loud was: Trainer-san, didn't you used to respect our personal decisions the most? Why are you being so hesitant now?
But for Ritsuka, this "hesitation" was natural. Switching to the Dream Cup might seem like just changing tracks, but in reality, it was no different from retirement.
If an athlete still had the ability and strength to keep running, even their rivals wouldn't want them to move to the Dream Cup. Wasn't this just a "win and run" scenario?
Ritsuka naturally didn't want Glory to leave the active circuit just yet, and he tried to persuade her. But Glory had made up her mind. Her voice was firm: "Trainer-san, this is my final decision. It won't change. I've even planned out what comes next."
The girl sat in her seat, playfully swinging her legs with a triumphant smile.
First, she wanted to express her gratitude to a certain Trainer who had always helped her, so she decided to stay in Japan!
Resting her chin on one hand, she tilted her head slightly and gave him a composed smile. "Trainer-san doesn't seem very surprised. Did you already have a feeling?"
Her tone was light, as if she weren't leaving the stage but embarking on a new expedition—just like her journey to Japan.
"Of course I'm surprised," Ritsuka lied smoothly. "I'm so surprised I don't even know what expression to make. Why would you think of this? To me, I'd be much more relieved and excited if Glory kept running. After all, I'm Glory's biggest fan."
"Hehe~" Hearing Ritsuka's words, Glory's voice ended on a bright, upward note.
But precisely because Ritsuka said that, Glory wanted to stay in Japan even more. If she just left things as they were, new Horse Girls would definitely appear around Ritsuka—maybe a "Brother-con" type, a "Princess" type, or even a childhood friend. That would be very bad.
Even if a "front-running" strategy didn't always win in the end, if she didn't take decisive action now, the probability of failure would skyrocket!
It was just a race; how could it be more important than the Trainer?
Glory continued, "Didn't Trainer-san say he found a very promising Horse Girl and wanted to teach her properly to overturn the Japanese Horse Girl landscape? Since you're doing something so big, how could I just stay on the sidelines?"
Technically, this had nothing to do with Glory as a French Horse Girl. To be blunt, it was in the interest of French Horse Girls for the Japanese ones to stay weak.
But since Glory had put it that way, how could Ritsuka say something so tactless? He looked moved and said, "With Glory joining us, it's like giving a tiger wings! Thank you, Glory!"
"Hehe~ It's no big deal. In a bit, Trainer-san should introduce us to each other, just so they don't get the wrong idea."
In truth, Glory was thinking: I'm a French Horse Girl and I know nothing about the situation in Japan. It's only natural that I'll have to trouble the Trainer a lot... if the other Horse Girls 'misunderstand' our relationship, there's really nothing I can do about it, right?
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Musume: Oguri Cap Grand Order (119 Chapters – Ongoing)
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