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

"Wine mulberry,"

The blonde girl's tone was no longer as gentle as before, but she also did not deliberately lower her voice to bluff.

She declared naturally.

"Tomorrow, I will run at full speed. No matter what happens, I will not give you an inch on this two-kilometer track."

"I know."

Poetry and Wine answered extremely quickly, without the slightest surprise, and without even turning to look at her.

"If you dare to hold back against me on the track..."

She tightened her grip on the coffee can slightly, denting the aluminum can.

"I will be very disappointed."

Poetry and wine suddenly made me understand my own feelings a little better.

Because they feel unworthy of equal connection, they yearn to affirm each other's existence through a heartfelt sprint on this cruel yet absolutely fair track.

For her, a fight where she gives it her all is the only kind of respect she can accept, one that is free from pity.

'Could this ultimately stem from my inferiority complex...?'

The black-haired girl fell silent.

Narita stared at her for a moment.

"We have a long career ahead of us."

She flashed a determined smile.

"We will be meeting on the field for the next three years."

"I'll take your words as a compliment."

"It's not a compliment."

"I'll accept this as a compliment."

Poetry and wine did not refute her further; she lowered her head and took a sip of coffee.

The slightly bitter liquid spread on the tip of his tongue. Poetry and Wine frowned slightly, but did not put down the jar.

Another long silence followed.

This time, it was Narita who spoke first, speaking softly as if to herself.

"To be honest, when I first received the match list for the Yayoi Prize and saw Sake-san's name, my first reaction wasn't nervousness, but rather..."

She paused for a moment, then winked discreetly at Poetry and Wine.

"Happy."

Poetry and Wine's hand holding the coffee stiffened slightly, and she turned her head to look at Narita Road.

"Because I know,"

Narita continued speaking.

Despite the chilly evening breeze of early spring, the blonde girl's eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.

"No matter what the result is tomorrow, as long as Jiu Sang is on the track, there will be no perfunctory, compromising, or taking chances. It will definitely be an extremely pure race."

The breaths of poetry and wine became disordered, and she remained silent for a long time.

Just as Narita thought she was going to use silence to avoid the issue again and began to look back at the distant lawn, Poetry and Wine finally spoke.

"Me too."

Narita Road could hear it clearly.

She didn't cheer, or rush over to hug him excitedly as usual. The girl smiled gently and looked back at the twilight that was gradually deepening above the training field.

"Then run well tomorrow."

"Ah."

Poetry and Wine stood up and held the empty coffee can in their hands.

"I'm going to eat."

"Wait me a moment--"

Narita quickly stood up, picked up his gym bag, and hurried after him.

"I'll go as well."

The sound of their footsteps echoed one after the other on the stone path at the edge of the training field.

As dusk settled and the streetlights began to twinkle, two slender shadows appeared side by side.

……

The following day, Zhongshan Racecourse.

The atmosphere on the day of the Yayoi Sho was completely different from that of the Singapore-Malaysia race a few weeks earlier, which was attended by almost only acquaintances.

As the most important preliminary race on the way to the Satsuki Sho, the first step towards the classic treble, this G2-level race attracted a large number of sports media and enthusiastic veteran horse racing fans.

The shutter of the telephoto lens clicked, and scrutinizing gazes from various professional perspectives were cast toward the contestants.

Inside the arena, a dozen or so racehorse girls are walking around the track in order of their numbers, showing themselves off to the spectators in the stands.

Poetry and wine walked in the middle and back of the procession.

She was wearing her familiar black outfit, perfect for the final battle.

The girl's dark eyes were slightly lowered, her gaze focused intently on the grass in front of her.

She paid no attention to the occasional discussions or questions about her that came from the stands.

The atmosphere at the competition was more tense than I had imagined.

The horse-riding woman who walks ahead of poetry and wine is Naritaji.

The purple outfit made Narita look even more dashing, and today the blonde girl completely suppressed her usual gentleness and good temper.

Her horse ears, which usually swayed gently with her mood, stood straight up at this moment.

Narita's purple-gold eyes stared straight ahead, his steps steady and full of power.

Even just walking around in the entertainment circle, you can clearly feel the pressure she brings.

As he turned the corner, Narita glanced back out of the corner of his eye.

'Good luck, Mr. Jiu!'

'...'

Poetry and Wine clenched her fists slightly, unsure whether she felt happy or simply excited.

Just as everyone's attention was drawn to the horse girls on the field—

In a rather inconspicuous, shady corner at the very top of the stands, a dark brown figure was quietly leaning against the railing.

Ai Musou wore a black baseball cap pulled low, and the high-necked sweater with its collar turned up mostly concealed her usually striking and aloof temperament.

She came alone, and even her trainers didn't know that she had bought a ticket and come to Zhongshan Racecourse by herself.

No, it seems she hasn't found her trainer yet.

But no one could say anything about her.

As a race that also aims for the classic Triple Crown, it is perfectly reasonable and justifiable for Saima Musume to come and observe its strong contemporary rivals, Narita Road and Poetry & Sake, in advance.

As the procession slowly passed beneath the stands, Orihime's purple eyes naturally darted past Naritaji's radiant blonde hair and landed on a girl dressed in black.

She couldn't explain why.

The black-haired girl walked in the sunlight, her steps normal, her expression calm, looking no different from any other contestant.

Ai Mu Orihime lowered the brim of her hat, making no sound, and simply watched the figure walk into the entrance of the underground passage.

……

Fifteen minutes later, in the rest room of the underground passage.

"Please proceed to the racetrack entrance to prepare for the Yayoi Sho horse race."

The enthusiastic voices of the staff rang out over the loudspeaker.

The already tense atmosphere in the lounge was completely ignited. Several of the less skilled female riders instinctively clutched their clothes, their faces turning slightly pale.

Poetry and Wine stood up and put the things in their hands into the locker.

The metal cabinet door clicked shut.

She stood at the door for a second and took a deep breath.

The black-haired girl walked forward.

As you pass through the dark underground passage, the blinding sunlight of early spring and the overwhelming sound crash down on you like a tsunami the moment you step out of the tunnel.

Main character: Chapter 337 The Competition

"Ladies and gentlemen! This is the touchstone for Zhongshan Racecourse on the road to the spring peak. The Yayoi Sho race is about to begin!"

The commentator's passionate voice resonated through the massive speakers that filled the stadium, stimulating everyone's eardrums.

"Gathered here today are the elites of the younger generation, determined to make their mark on the classic triple crown route! Who will be the first to escape to the Satsuki Prize?!"

Poetry and wine flow through their own gates.

Her gaze did not linger on the stands.

The black-haired girl lowered her head, feeling the texture of the grass beneath her feet. It was drier than on the day of her debut competition, and the resistance was more pronounced when she stepped on the horseshoes. This made her feel a little more at ease.

She stepped through the cold, metallic gate.

"Most of the female horses have already entered the gate."

The two-kilometer track stretched out ahead.

The area inside the gate was narrow and quiet. Poetry and Wine heard the heavy breathing of the horse beside them, and the pounding of their own hearts in their chests.

'Don't lose to Naritaji.'

'absolute.'

Poetry and wine slightly lowered his center of gravity, his hand resting on the cold, icy gate panel.

'I will keep winning until the day my lucky sign arrives.'

A somewhat awkward thought surfaced in my mind.

Poetry and Wine didn't want to look bad in front of Naritaji; they wanted to rightfully defeat Naritaji and then Kichijo.

In this way, she can be more assertive when facing Diamond Treasure and Narita Road.

After all, they had all been defeated by auspicious signs, while poetry and wine defeated auspicious signs. Doesn't that mean poetry and wine had the upper hand in their interactions with them? (Questionable)

Three gates away, Narita took a deep breath, his purple-gold eyes fixed on the first bend ahead.

"boom--!"

All the gates sprang open violently in an instant.

The two-kilometer battle erupted without warning.

"They've started! All the female racehorses have had an extremely smooth start, with no one missing a turn!"

Accompanied by the commentator's almost hoarse shout, more than a dozen figures sped off like eagles across the green field of Zhongshan Racecourse.

Grass blades were torn apart by the rough trampling of horseshoes, and dirt flew everywhere, stinging slightly as it hit the cheeks.

The wind began to howl in my ears.

The vision of poetry and wine narrowed rapidly the moment we left the gate, leaving all irrelevant sounds behind.

【attention】

She cut into the inner lane, squeezing forward along the edge of the crowd, her shoulder almost brushing against the arm of the woman on her left. There were only fast-moving bodies on both sides, with no way to retreat.

To avoid damaging their bodies too much, Poetry and Wine used a running method that involved running first.