"Hey, have you heard? That pastry shop on the shopping street has opened recently! The owner is super cute, and the pastries are cheap and delicious!"
Mejiro McQueen had been hearing that over and over for the past few days.
The horse girls around her were all talking about the same shop, and every last one of them was full of praise for its sweets. Even though she had already made it clear to her family that she was dieting to control her weight, she could not help growing just a little curious about the place.
Just sitting there and listening to her classmates talk was already enough to make an embarrassing little tear form at the corner of her mouth.
Using a book to shield her face, McQueen wiped away the drool no one was supposed to see, then suddenly slapped her desk and sprang to her feet, startling the classmate beside her.
"McQueen, you seem really fired up today!"
"Ahem. I'm going to do some extra swimming practice. I got a little carried away just now—sorry for interrupting you all!"
McQueen picked up her shoulder bag and hurried out of the classroom. Her classmates were still marveling at how diligent the young Mejiro lady was, but in truth, McQueen had noticed that it was almost time for the pastry shop they had been discussing to open.
According to the information she had gathered, the shop only opened during limited hours each day: from eleven in the morning to one in the afternoon, and from five in the evening to seven at night. Not only that, but quantities were limited too.
She had originally worried she might not be able to find the place, but the moment she stepped out of the school gates and saw the endless line stretching ahead, she realized she would not need to search at all. She just had to obediently join the queue.
While waiting, she was restless with anxiety, terrified that everything would be sold out by the time it was her turn. Fortunately, as the line slowly inched its way to the storefront, she could still see that at least half the sweets in the display case remained.
The shop was called Worry-Free Sweets.
When McQueen pushed open the door, the bell above it rang out with a crisp, pleasant chime. Behind the counter, Shining Dyna was busy serving customers. Without even looking up, she said automatically,
"Welcome. Feel free to pick out whatever you'd like."
"Excuse me, what would you say is the house specialty here?"
McQueen had seen more than her fair share of bread and sweets in her life, but the aroma inside this shop was simply too unique.
It felt completely different from any other bakery.
The sweetness in the air was filled with the taste of love, reminding her very much of the bread her mother used to make when she was little—
Even if those loaves had always ended up burnt in the end.
And while the proprietress looked quite young, her manner with customers was remarkably polished. Her long chestnut hair was neatly groomed, and the square glasses perched on her nose made her look even softer, almost like an excellent student at Tracen Academy.
"As for the house specialty... huh?! McM—M—"
After packaging something for another customer, Dyna finally looked up at McQueen, only to freeze mid-sentence.
That was Mejiro McQueen. The real, living Mejiro McQueen!
"Mc?"
McQueen, too absorbed in the fragrance around her to notice that her cheeks had gone slightly pink, looked at Dyna with smoky violet eyes full of expectation. At the moment, her mind was completely occupied by sweets and bread, so she did not pay much attention to the odd sense of familiarity she felt.
Dyna gave a small cough and pointed toward one of the display cases.
"If you want bread... the Wheat Fragrance Bread is our signature. And for sweets... the white chocolate cake is a pretty good choice."
"Oh, then I'll take one Wheat Fragrance Bread and one white chocolate cake."
McQueen nodded and chose exactly what Dyna recommended. At checkout, she had already prepared to hand over two thousand yen, so the price Dyna quoted nearly made her jaw drop.
"That'll be six hundred yen total, including the packaging. Thank you for your patronage."
Dyna skillfully sealed the box and slipped it into a plastic bag, only to pause when she saw McQueen holding two one-thousand-yen bills.
"So... so cheap...?"
Pulling out one of the bills and handing it over, McQueen took the change and put it into her shoulder bag, unable to stop herself from marveling at how affordable the shop was. At prices like this, it felt as though they were barely charging more than the cost of ingredients.
Could she even make back the utilities bill like this?
McQueen had originally intended to leave right after paying, but in the end she looked back at the young shop owner.
Then, as her brain finally managed to reclaim the territory that had been overwhelmed by the scent of fresh bread, a thought surfaced.
Hadn't she seen this shop owner before... in one of Gold Ship's videos...?
Perhaps it was only her imagination, but McQueen decided she had to ask.
She was certain the owner had some kind of connection to the Gold family.
"Um, Miss Owner... this may be a bit rude, but I still wanted to ask. Are you connected to the Gold family somehow? I feel like I've seen you before in one of their recordings...?"
"Hm? N-no... no connection at all. You must be remembering wrong, Miss McQueen!"
Dyna hesitated before answering, then immediately lowered her head and busied herself with tidying the packaging boxes to hide her panic.
Yet after McQueen left, the more she thought about it, the stranger it felt.
I don't think I ever told her my name... and we're certainly not close enough for her to call me that so naturally.
Dyna, for her part, had never imagined that a verbal habit she had picked up long ago would create yet another point of suspicion for a McQueen whose brain had already been half melted by the smell of bread.
By this point, McQueen had mentally attached a neat little Gold-family-related label to Shining Dyna.
Her blurry memory also gradually sharpened.
She remembered now: the shop owner had appeared in Orfevre's debut race—and had even been injured because of Orfevre's foul play.
"Tch. As expected, the horse girls from the Gold family have no sense of boundaries no matter where they go."
McQueen shook her head, then carried her bread back into Tracen and headed for the Spica training room.
Back in the shop, Dyna stayed busy right up until closing time before finally getting a moment to rest. Then she spotted Oguri Cap standing pitifully outside the door, having arrived at the exact wrong moment once again.
She was clutching a few bills in her hand, but her ears were already drooping in dejection.
Even Dyna started to feel a little bad for her.
This was the eighth time Oguri Cap had shown up right at closing time. Being that unlucky was honestly enough to make anyone feel sorry for her.
"Miss Owner... I'll come back next time..."
Oguri Cap sounded utterly miserable.
But this time, Dyna stopped her.
She had already come to the shop so many times and still had not actually tasted a single piece of bread—only stood outside sniffing the aroma and drooling. It was almost too tragic to bear.
Dyna invited Oguri inside, rubbed her forehead, and sighed softly.
"I'll make an exception and prepare an extra serving for you today... after all, I've seen your face at closing time so many times now..."
The moment she heard that, Oguri Cap's previously drooping ears and tail seemed to gain a will of their own, snapping upright as stiff as poles.
"R-really?! Miss Owner, you're so kind!"
"Mm... making one extra portion isn't much trouble."
Dyna took flour, sugar, and other ingredients out of the cabinet, then skillfully measured them into bowls before adding water and kneading the dough.
At the same time, she was quietly turning over another thought in her mind.
Her hands were practiced enough that she no longer needed to watch the cutting board, so her gaze drifted toward Oguri Cap instead.
Handling so many customers all by herself was still a bit much. If she could hire another employee...
And if that employee happened to be someone as popular as Oguri Cap, then perhaps things would become much easier. It might even help draw in more customers.
After all, Dyna only priced her bread and sweets at about fifteen percent above ingredient cost. Her monthly revenue was, at best, only just enough to break even.
Rent and utilities were the real major expenses.
She still had the prize money from her debut race to support her for now, but she could not keep living off that reserve forever.
Oguri Cap might be a very good opportunity.
And if Oguri Cap were around in the shop, then even if Orfevre from Tracen Academy came knocking, Oguri Cap might at least be able to protect her.
After all, standing above Oguri Cap was Symboli Rudolf herself.
Dyna was not really worried that Rudolf would start keeping an eye on her over a single debut race. She was Ashi-dor, not Kuri-dor.
Besides, Oguri Cap was such a superstar that it was perfectly natural for Dyna to know her name on sight.
So, gathering her courage, Dyna asked:
"Um... Oguri Cap, would you be interested... in working part-time at my shop?"
"How about 950 yen an hour? And... and..."
Dyna knew perfectly well that Oguri Cap was not short on money, so the hourly wage alone had almost no appeal.
Oguri Cap loved to eat.
So Dyna decided she would offer the one thing only she could provide.
"And every day, you'll get my special staff meal... plus a dessert allowance!"
Oguri Cap selectively filtered out the part about wages.
All she heard were the words special staff meal and dessert allowance.
Almost instinctively, she slammed a hand down on the counter and answered:
"I'll do it!"
Crack.
A line split across the oak register counter under her palm.
Then it kept spreading.
And finally, before Dyna's stunned eyes, the entire thing broke cleanly into two pieces.
"And... I'll pay for the damage..." Oguri Cap said in a tiny voice.
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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