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

'subsidy.'

Her brow twitched slightly; she hadn't expected that Rudolf would say exactly what she had been worried about.

Money is indeed a problem.

The card the chairman gave her had a lot of money, but she couldn't use it indefinitely without feeling guilty, so it wouldn't last long.

She had been making do, but there's a limit to how long you can make do.

"I see."

She finally spoke with a hint of helplessness.

I'll get back to you in a while.

Rudolf looked at her symbolically, remained silent for a moment, and then gave her a gentle smile.

"Okay. I'm always here."

She turned and walked towards the exit of the training field.

The emperor's long, dark brown hair fluttered gently in the winter wind, and his silhouette cast a long shadow in the sunlight as he walked away.

Poetry and Wine stood there, watching the direction where the shadow disappeared, and stood silently for a long time.

The winter wind picked up again, sending the last few fallen leaves from the track into the grass.

Poetry and wine take a deep breath, stand back at the starting line, and then start running again.

Main character: Chapter 295 - Went to watch the game again

Two days later, in the early morning.

Today is the day that the debut competition for Aimu Orihime begins, and the sky has just begun to turn grayish-blue.

The waiting hall at Shinagawa Station was already bustling with people, the sound of suitcase wheels rolling echoing across the wide floor, and the automatic ticket gates beeping softly.

The radio broadcast information from each line in a calm female voice on a loop.

Poetry and Wine stood in front of the electronic screen in the waiting hall and glanced up at the timetable.

【Tokyo→Kyoto No. 15, 07:33】

Twenty minutes left.

She was carrying only a small black backpack, which didn't weigh much.

Last night, while tidying up, she spread her backpack out on the bed and thought for a long time.

The last things I put in were my wallet, phone, a folded light jacket, and an umbrella.

In reality, it's highly unlikely to rain today, so the main purpose of bringing an umbrella is probably just for sun protection.

But considering the long journey, she thought it would be safer to bring it along.

Aside from that, I didn't bring anything extra. It's a day trip, so I didn't need that much.

She was wearing a dark gray hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled back, and her black hair, though styled, still looked a bit messy.

Poetry and Wine glanced down at the ticket in his hand, tucked it into his coat pocket, and then walked toward the ticket gate.

Swipe your card, enter the station, and follow the signs down the passageway leading to the Shinkansen platform.

The wind on the platform came from the tunnel entrance, causing the hem of her clothes to flutter gently.

Poetry and Wine stood at the waiting line, pulled his backpack straps up, and then put his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.

There weren't many people on the platform; most were office workers in formal attire. Some were looking down at their phones, while others were leaning against pillars with their eyes closed, maintaining a proper distance from each other.

She looked up at the clock above the platform.

There are about twelve minutes left.

Poetry and wine's gaze falls on the tracks.

The straight, silver track stretching into the distance, bathed in cold white light, gave off an inexplicable chill.

The tunnel entrance was pitch black; you couldn't see anything.

Poetry and wine did nothing; she quietly gazed at the dark entrance, seemingly lost in thought.

Will it be painful?

Immediately realizing what she was thinking, the black-haired girl quickly shook her head and turned to think about other things.

'Debut competition...'

She recalled the scene in the classroom the day before yesterday.

Ai Musou walked to her table and stood there, then spoke in a flat, monotone voice.

I have a competition the day after tomorrow.

Will you come?

At that time, the purple eyes of the woman who admired Orihime were very calm, and there was no extra expression on her face, but Shi and Jiu still sensed each other's expectations.

Perhaps influenced by the strange dream, she accepted the invitation without much thought.

"it is good."

Recalling his actions, Poetry and Wine unconsciously clenched his hands in his pockets, then released them.

For a while, she almost considered backing out, or rather, she wanted to find a reason not to go.

It wasn't that she didn't want to go; the main problem was that she didn't know what she could do if she went.

At least she had a clear reason for participating in the Narita Road race.

The two had met and spoken before, and the other party had helped him a lot, so he should indeed agree to the request.

However, the relationship between Orihime and Orihime is more complicated and harder to define.

They weren't strangers, nor did they seem like ordinary classmates.

Poetry and wine cannot explain what forms in the stairwell late at night.

'sisters?'

Why would I think that way?

Shaking his head in distress, Shi Yujiu recalled the night he loved Orihime and how she cried beside her.

"What's your name?"

Then came a bitter smile.

"What a strange name."

Because of all this, she packed her backpack, set her alarm, got up early this morning, and came here.

A deep whistle sounded in the distance, followed by announcements on the platform.

【のぞみNo. 15,まもなく入ります. The inner side of the white line is the lower part. 】

Poetry and wine remained unmoved; they simply stepped back behind the waiting line.

The silver-white car emerged from the tunnel entrance, speeding along the tracks with a strong gust of wind.

A gust of wind howled, whipping up a gust of air that momentarily tousled the hair and clothes of everyone on the platform.

The ears of poetry and wine were blown down onto his head, his hair flew up, covering half of his face.

She didn't dial, but simply turned her head slightly, squinted her eyes, and watched the train slowly slow down amidst the roar, finally coming to a smooth stop in front of the platform.

With a soft click, the car door opened.

Poetry and wine followed the flow of people into the carriage, found their seats, window seat, row E, number 14.

She put her backpack on the luggage rack, pulled up the hem of her sweatshirt, then sat down and looked out the window.

Passengers continued to board the train on the platform, and station staff walked back and forth on the platform holding confirmation sticks.

The loudspeaker came on again, announcing the precautions before departure.

Poetry and Wine leaned back in his chair, rested his elbows on the windowsill, tapped his knees lightly with his fingers, and then stopped.

Departed on time at 07:32.

After a slight jolt, the train started moving.

The platform of Shinagawa Station slowly receded from view.

The dense urban buildings gradually receded into the distance, their gray rooftops appearing blurred in the morning mist.

The countryside began to open up, with fields and low trees flashing past the window.

A more expansive winter field appeared in the passersby's view, with withered yellow grass spreading out and stretching all the way to the edge of the misty mountain shadows in the distance.

As the train sped up, the scenery outside the window gradually blurred into flowing blocks of color—gray, brown, white, with occasional touches of dark green—constantly surging backward.

The carriage was quiet, with no one speaking except for the low, rumbling sound of the wheels rolling over the seams of the tracks.

Poetry and wine, gazing out the window, thoughts drift slowly with the scenery.

'Star?'

She looked at the glittering thing in the sky with some confusion.

How can you see stars during the day? It's probably just your imagination.

Poetry and Wine sighed softly, turning their gaze from the window to the small table that had been laid over in front of them.

The tabletop is light gray and feels smooth and cool to the touch.

Her fingers rested on the edge of the table, idly feeling the subtle texture of the tabletop, and paused for a moment.

There are still two and a half hours left.

The wait is still long.

Poetry and wine—she chose not to dwell on it any longer. She closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, letting the hypnotic vibrations of the train slowly carry her thoughts away.

The light from outside shone through my eyelids, but it wasn't too glaring.

The heater warmed the air inside the car to a gentle warmth, mixed with a slight leather scent.

'Just going to watch the game, that's all, don't overthink it...'

The black-haired girl gradually fell into a deep sleep.

The train continued westward, moving smoothly and quietly along the tracks toward Kyoto.

Main character: Chapter 296 has arrived.

About forty minutes later, as the train passed near Nagoya, the view outside the window changed to an endless alluvial plain.

The winter sun slanted through the thin clouds, making the withered yellow fields on the plains appear somewhat dazzling.

Poetry and wine have opened their eyes.

She wasn't sure if she had actually fallen asleep or had just been spacing out for a while.

The situation in the carriage was no different from before. The commuter sitting diagonally in front of her turned a page of the newspaper, and a strange passenger took over the seat opposite her. That was all.

She moved her elbow off the windowsill, sat up straighter, and then glanced down at her phone screen.

08: 17.

There's still almost an hour left.

She turned off her phone screen and leaned back in her chair.

Someone was talking quietly in the carriage; the voice was very low and intermittent, and the content was indistinguishable.

The station name was announced over the loudspeaker, followed by a brief stop, after which the train started moving again and picked up speed once more.

The scenery outside the window began to flow again.

Poetry and wine's gaze fell on the windowpane, where a blurry outline was reflected.

In fact, it was her own face superimposed on the fields rushing past the window.

She stared at the outline for a while, then looked away, her gaze returning to the distant mountain shadows.