In journalism, timeliness is everything, and with an event as big as the Yayoi Sho, it only took a single night for the hastily printed reports to flood the shelves of every street corner, and every news section online to be updated.
Overnight, the name and image of Margaret Nearl became known throughout the nation.
If before, her fame was limited to the Uma Musume circles and their fans, now people from nearly every walk of life had at least heard of her.
"Hey, have you seen that Uma Musume's races? She's incredible!"
"That's The Radiant Knight, right? Of course I watched. So cool."
"But it seems she can't run in many races now."
"It's the Classic Triple Crown. I heard she missed the entry deadline. What a shame..."
Discussions like these, steered by certain media outlets, gradually swelled until discontent with the URA's rules began to saturate every corner of the internet.
"What kind of lousy rule is this! No contingency measures for accidents? Who exactly is this rigid regulation trying to annoy?"
"First it happened with Oguri Cap, and now again. Two such outstanding Uma Musume unable to compete in the Classics. This event is becoming a joke. 'The Premier Stakes Without Its Strongest Contenders'—what a lame punchline."
"A bunch of bureaucrats who only know how to fudge things. You could tie a dog to the desk and it'd do a better job!"
The uproar of complaints was absolutely overwhelming. Even the personal details of top URA officials were dug up and plastered all over the net for everyone to share and ridicule.
This kind of verbal assault wasn't something easily endured anymore. The high-ranking URA officials were finally starting to feel the heat.
Fuming in their respective offices, they summoned the heads of the public relations department and gave them a thorough tongue-lashing, but what good did it do?
"Damnit, where did all these busybodies come from? And now they're staging protests? Do we just have to lie low for a while?"
Grumpily sipping the finest tea sent by a sponsor, their hearts were filled with resentment.
"Once things calm down, that Uma Musume who started all this won't know what hit her!"
Crack!
The moment the words left his mouth, the teacup in his hand shattered from some unseen force. Scalding tea drenched his trousers, like boiling water on a hog.
"Yowch!!"
The pain was extraordinary. He leapt to his feet, not even caring that his shoes flew off, frantically slapping at the scalded area.
But someone wasn't done with him yet.
The water spilled on the floor, guided by some unseen force, made intimate contact with a power outlet.
The current then traveled through this medium to reach the fellow who, distracted by the burning pain, hadn't noticed his shoes were gone.
Zap!
"Guh!"
His eyes rolled back, his body stiffened bolt upright, then he fell backward with a heavy thud.
He'd been shocked unconscious.
"Hmph."
Only then did a certain, unnamed Byerley goddess in the heavens withdraw her gaze.
--+--
In a certain cafe, Mr. C.B. was chatting face-to-face with a rather unremarkable, ordinary office worker.
"Thank you for your trouble. This must have posed quite a risk for you. I'm truly grateful you were willing to lend us a hand."
Standing up, Mr. C.B. bowed to the person before her, which made them rather embarrassed.
"Not at all. Even though I'm a URA employee, I couldn't do anything. All the ideas and methods came from you Uma Musume. I just... quietly procured some documents. Confidential, yes, but that's all they were."
"Nonsense. With these documents, our counterattack will have much more solid footing. You've already helped us tremendously. Please let me thank you. Is there anything I might be able to do for you?"
"Ahem!"
At this, the office worker coughed twice, looking somewhat hesitant.
"Well... could I get a photo with you and an autograph?"
"?"
Hearing this, Mr. C.B. tilted her head in confusion, then let out a soft 'pfft' of laughter.
"Of course. How many would you like?"
"I-if possible, let me take three!"
He suddenly declared loudly. Now Mr. C.B. understood what the instant camera hanging around his neck was for.
A short while later, the satisfied fan departed. Only then did Mr. C.B. flip through the documents in her hand.
"A rejected proposal to relax the entry conditions for the Classics Triple Crown... and a signature."
Seeing this, Mr. C.B. nodded with satisfaction.
"This is more than enough to serve as the catalyst for change. Time to give Rudolf a call."
But just as she was about to take out her phone, an Uma Musume—wearing a scarf, a hoodie, and sporting a carrot mask over her face—suddenly appeared and sat down in the chair opposite her.
Mr. C.B.'s dialing motion halted. She looked at the Uma Musume before her, then glanced around, noticing no one else was paying them any attention.
"Hello? Can I help you?"
"…"
Mr. C.B.'s question received no verbal reply. The Uma Musume before her reached into her clothing and directly produced a mobile phone and some slips of paper.
"Here."
Accompanied by a pleasant, youthful voice, these items were pushed across the table to Mr. C.B.
"Um, what are these?"
"Give these to the Emperor."
Without answering the question, the tightly-wrapped Uma Musume, from whom only a pair of white horse ears peeked out, showed no intention of explaining herself. She left those words and turned to leave before Mr. C.B. could stop her.
"A strange one. Who is she?"
Puzzled, Mr. C.B. began to examine the phone in her hand. Surprisingly, this clearly well-used device had no password.
A gentle swipe unlocked it. As the lock screen vanished, what appeared before Mr. C.B. was a chat interface.
"This is!"
Her beautiful eyes widened sharply. The chat log on the phone was filled with shady dealings.
[Release Margaret Nearl's merchandise a week early. Use average quality stuff to pad it out.]
[Secretly adjust the royalty split a little.]
[Just time it right. Negotiate the licensing rights before they notice.]
"Collusion between manufacturers and some people in the URA? Is this what Rudolf mentioned? What a bunch of scoundrels!"
Gritting her teeth, even the usually cheerful Mr. C.B. couldn't help grinding her molars.
"Is this the first time? Looking at how practiced this seems, they're probably repeat offenders..."
Thinking this, she noticed the little Uma Musume had also left some slips of paper. She hurriedly took them out to look.
"Contracts... or rather, informal ones, scribbled down casually..."
After reading through all the papers, Mr. C.B. let out a sigh of relief.
"These are the contracts mentioned on the phone. Just who is she, to be able to get her hands on this stuff? Ah, well. That's a headache for Rudolf. Anyone who could give me this is definitely an ally."
With that thought, Mr. C.B. placed the call to Rudolf.
"Hey, I'm done on my end. And I've got a huge surprise you won't believe."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.