Horse Girl, Your Friend is Fighting Her Way Out of the Horse Racing Track

'...Is she alright?'

Poetry and wine are thoughts that linger silently in my heart.

The image of her collapsing on the cold floor last night, crying uncontrollably, is still vividly imprinted in her mind.

She could easily sense the other person's helplessness—wanting to grasp something but unable to grasp anything.

However, poetry and wine don't like this feeling...

"Poetry and wine? Poetry and wine?"

Naritaji's voice rang in my ears, tinged with obvious worry.

Poetry and wine brought her back to her senses, and she turned her head.

"what happened?"

Are you spacing out?

Narita looked at her with some concern, his purple-gold eyes filled with worry and confusion.

"The teacher just asked you if you wanted to get a textbook, but you didn't react. Everyone's watching you."

Poetry and Wine then noticed that the students around them were indeed looking at them with curious eyes.

"Oh."

She nodded, stood up, and followed the other freshmen to the podium to collect their books.

The homeroom teacher handed her a thick stack of textbooks, a formulaic smile on his face.

"These are all the textbooks you will need this semester. If you have any questions, feel free to ask your teacher or classmates."

"Thank you."

Poetry and Wine accepted the book, offered a brief thank you, and then turned and returned to their seats.

When she returned to her seat, she had a thick stack of textbooks in her hands.

Mathematics, Chinese Language, English, History, Biology...

There are also some textbooks for professional horse racing courses.

Main character: Chapter 274 - Looking forward to it

Poetry and Wine arranged the books neatly on the table, then opened the top math book and began listening to the lecture.

But her mind was still unsettled.

Did those words that touched on the other person's wounds last night really work?

Or... just making things worse?

Won't that cause that person even more pain?

'never mind.'

Poetry and wine told me in my heart, and my fingers unconsciously drew circles on the notebook.

'It's none of my business.'

'I was just... forced to do it.'

She tried to convince herself in this way, suppressing her inexplicable concern and guilt deep in her heart.

But the black-haired girl's fingers kept unconsciously drawing circles of anxiety.

Break time between classes.

"Ring ring—"

The moment the bell rang, the atmosphere in the classroom instantly became lively.

The students got up one after another, some stretched, some lay on the table, and some gathered in twos and threes to chat.

Narita turned around and started chatting with the students behind him, discussing the questions from the class they had just finished.

Poetry and Wine remained seated, staring blankly at the playground outside the window.

She didn't really like this lively atmosphere.

The sounds of laughter, talking, and moving tables and chairs mingled together, like countless hands desperately tugging at her nerves, making her feel irritable and exhausted.

She took out her earplugs from her pocket, ready to put them on to block out the noise.

Just as she was about to put on her earplugs—

"Poetry and wine."

A cold voice sounded behind her.

The poet paused for a moment, his hands still holding the wine.

She turned her head.

Ai Mu stood beside her seat, her hands neatly placed in front of her, her purple eyes staring straight at her.

The sounds in the classroom seemed to become muffled at that moment.

The two of them just stared at each other like that.

The surrounding students seemed to have noticed the unusual situation as well, and whispers rose and fell among them.

"Hey, isn't that Orihime who admires him? What's she doing here?"

"Is she talking to a freshman?"

"That's strange. Doesn't Orihime usually travel alone?"

Poetry and wine paid no heed to the gazes and whispers.

She simply looked quietly at the silent girl in front of her, waiting for her to speak.

After a long silence, Orihime, who admired him, finally spoke:

"...Thank you for last night."

The sound was so soft that only those who were nearby, like poets and wine drinkers, could hear it.

Poetry and Wine were taken aback when they heard this; they hadn't expected the other person to come over specifically to thank them.

"nothing."

She looked away, her tone somewhat uncomfortable.

"I just couldn't sleep, so I was just taking a walk. I happened to run into them."

"No."

Ai Mu shook her head, her tone becoming even more resolute.

"Thank you."

She paused, as if organizing her thoughts.

"If it weren't for you... I might..."

"It will be alright."

Poetry and wine interrupted her, and her voice softened slightly, a rare occurrence.

"You are stronger than you think...

"..."

Ai Mu was silent for a few seconds, a complex emotion flashing in her dim eyes.

Then she gave a bitter smile.

"Maybe."

She turned to go back to her seat, but after taking two steps, she stopped.

The brown-haired girl's silhouette appeared particularly frail in the sunlight.

"Poetry and wine."

"Ok?"

"Can we train together in the future?"

Poetry and Wine looked up at the figure with its back to them.

"why?"

"because……"

Ai Musou turned her head, and for the first time, a faint light appeared in her eyes.

“You said I don’t run for nothingness.”

"So, I... want to stand on the starting line with you."

Poetry and Wine stared at her for a few seconds.

There was expectation, unease, and a hint of cautious probing in the other person's purple eyes.

After a long silence, Poetry and Wine nodded.

"it is good."

Upon hearing this...

A faint smile curved the corners of Orihime's lips.

"Ah."

She responded softly, then turned and slowly walked back to her seat.

The whispers around them grew louder.

Are they friends?

"No way, Orihime actually initiated a conversation with someone?"

"Who exactly is that freshman?"

Narita looked at this scene, blinked, and leaned over in surprise, asking in a low voice.

"Poetry and wine, do you know Orihime?"

"Not counting."

Poetry and Wine withdrew their gaze, staring again out the window, their fingers gently stroking the headphone cord.

"It was just a coincidence."

"I see..."

Narita nodded thoughtfully.

She always felt that the atmosphere between the two of them was somewhat subtle.

They didn't seem like strangers, but they weren't like close friends either.

But she couldn't quite put her finger on what was so subtle about it.

Outside the window, the winter sun shines on the playground.

Several elementary school students were training on the track, their cheerful laughter drifting into the classroom on the wind.

Poetry and Wine stared at the running figures, their fingers unconsciously drawing circles on the notebook.

'Shall we run together...?'

She silently repeated in her heart the words that Orihime had just said.

'Isn't my original purpose to recuperate?'

But in any case, she had already agreed.

Well then... let's just take it one step at a time.

after a while.

The lunch break bell rang.