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

"Ah."

Ai Mu closed her eyes, rested her chin gently on Shi and Sake's wet hair, and patted her back lightly with her other hand.

“I’m terrified of water… When I stepped into that mud puddle, I thought I was going to drown again…”

"Ah."

"I lost the game, I feel so useless..."

"It's not your fault."

A hint of sadness flashed in the eyes of the man who admired Orihime.

She was not only comforting the girl in her arms who was being treated like a younger sister, but also comforting herself who was filled with resentment.

"It's just that the rain is too heavy today."

The underground passage remained dark and cold.

The two defeated men embraced tightly in the darkness.

Poetry and Wine could no longer suppress their sobs. Like a child, she cried out in the arms of the adoring Orihime, her tears soaking through her victory dress.

The usually aloof and cold Ai-Shiki knelt quietly in the muddy ground, gently protecting the person in her arms.

They let time slowly pass in this long and bitter outpouring.

After an unknown amount of time, the girl's crying gradually subsided in the dark underground passage, leaving only intermittent sobs.

The rationality of poetry and wine slowly returns as emotions are released.

Due to prolonged crying and lack of oxygen, her vision was still somewhat blurred, but her sense of touch had become exceptionally clear.

She could feel her warm tears soaking through the other person's thin battle uniform, and she could smell the lavender scent mixed with rainwater.

A tremendous sense of shame belatedly welled up in Shiyuji's heart, and she actually cried without any regard for her image in the arms of the woman she admired, Orihime.

"……sorry."

Poetry and Wine spoke in a muffled voice, her voice heavy with a nasal tone from crying.

Somewhat awkwardly, she withdrew her hand from Orihime's shoulder and tried to step back a little to create some distance between them.

The woman who admired Orihime noticed her hesitation.

She didn't forcefully pull him into her arms or immediately pull away. Instead, she naturally and gently released her arms, following the force of the poem and wine, without making the poem and wine feel embarrassed or awkward.

"Give."

In the darkness, a dry towel was handed to me.

This must be because Orihime originally prepared it for herself, but now she chose to hand it directly to Shi and Sake.

"Wipe your eyes, otherwise they'll hurt when the cold wind blows outside."

Poetry and Wine lowered their eyes and reached out to take the towel.

She hastily wiped away the tears and mud from her face, secretly glancing at the person beside her out of the corner of her eye.

Ai Mu's originally beautiful and neat final outfit, which hadn't been soiled even during the match, was now smeared all over the chest area by her tears.

"Your clothes..."

Poetry and Wine bit her lower lip and said somewhat shyly.

"It's okay, anyway, everyone lost badly in this rain today."

Ignoring the dirt on her clothes, Ai Musashi casually bent one leg and sat down on the dusty floor, side by side with poetry and wine.

"I failed too."

Ai Mu Shiri suddenly spoke, her deep purple eyes fixed on the flashing emergency light at the end of the corridor.

The act of wiping his face with poetry and wine stopped.

She turned her head and looked at the dark brown-haired girl beside her with some surprise.

Just now on the track, all her attention was focused on overcoming her fear of water and catching up with Narita, and she had no idea what was happening in the middle group.

"I've stalled."

The tone of Orihime's voice, filled with affection, was so calm it was heartbreaking.

"I also thought I was doomed. Watching the Belvedere Opera and Narita Road from behind, that feeling of helplessness must have been incredibly despairing, right?"

Poetry and wine brought tears to my eyes once again, an uncontrollable surge of emotion.

She could understand that Orihime was willing to reveal such painful truths to comfort herself.

"But... I'm scared."

Poetry and Wine lowered their heads, their fingers twisting the white towel tightly, their voices trembling with frustration.

“I have a phobia of deep water. When I get wet in the rain, I think about the feeling of suffocation... Narita-ji and the others are not affected.”

"I can't do it. I'm just a coward who can't even overcome his own inner demons..."

"Poetry and wine."

Her admiration for Orihime turned her head, interrupting her self-doubt.

The brown-haired girl's purple eyes shone brightly in the dim light.

"They are indeed a more dazzling presence today."

Ai Muyu paused slightly, then spoke with utmost seriousness.

"But how could someone like you, who would cross the wilderness alone in the rain out of concern for me, possibly be a coward?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Yu Jiu raised his head, his swollen eyes reflecting the calm face of the woman he admired.

"It's not your fault that you're afraid of water. The fact that you were able to run to the end despite that fear is already brave enough."

A gentle smile appeared on Orihime's lips.

"So don't belittle yourself. My sister shouldn't look so dejected."

The suffocating gloom in the corridor has quietly dissipated considerably.

The two sat quietly in the darkness for a while, listening to each other's breathing gradually become steady.

"Thank you, sister... Aizhi... Sang."

Poetry and Wine took a deep breath and rediscovered a bit of her resilience.

"I'm just telling the truth."

Ai Mu Shiki withdrew her gaze and stood up first.

She reached out and patted the dust off the hem of her victory dress, then turned around and offered her right hand, gloved with a half-finger glove, to Poetry and Wine, who were still sitting on the ground.

The emergency lights overhead, which had been flickering, stabilized at that moment, casting a dim yet warm glow that illuminated the hand that Orihime, who admired her, had reached out to her.

P.S.: This volume was supposed to be about Tanaru, but it feels like his screen time is decreasing the more it's written.

Main character: Leave request

I'm very sorry, I've been too busy to find the time to write.

You're right, but you're not entirely right either. From one perspective, you're partially right, but from another, you're wrong. It's not entirely wrong, but rather there's a slight discrepancy between the two. If we ignore this slight discrepancy, then what you said is certainly right. However, examining your statement more rigorously, it becomes wrong. In fact, upon reflection, what you said might be right in a static world, and what you said might be wrong from a metaphysical perspective. But from a developmental perspective, what you said might be right in a dynamic spacetime, and what you said might be wrong from a dialectical perspective. What you say at this moment might be right or wrong, and what you say in the future might be right or wrong. In short, to sum it up, to consider the whole picture and evaluate it in the context of past and future events, you're right, but you're not entirely right either. From one perspective, you're partially right, but from another, you're wrong. It's not entirely wrong, but rather there's a slight discrepancy between the two. If we ignore this slight discrepancy, then what you said is certainly correct. However, examining your statement more rigorously, it becomes incorrect. In fact, upon reflection, what you said might be correct in a static world, while what you said might be wrong from a metaphysical perspective.

Main character: Chapter 356 Someone is about to lose

"Leave your tears and weakness in this deserted corner."

Ai Mu looks down at the poetry and wine from her high vantage point, her tenderness deeply hidden in her eyes, her gaze returning to its calm state.

"If you're feeling really down, you can come to me."

Looking at the hand in front of him, Poetry and Wine's heart began to beat faster.

Putting aside previous failures, we will evolve from soft and glutinous liquor into hard and robust liquor.

Poetry and Wine took a deep breath, and forced a stubborn smile onto his lips.

It was just that his face was covered in smears from crying, which made him look unexpectedly funny.

She reached out and firmly grasped the hand of the woman she admired, Orihime, and with her strength, she stood up from the cold floor.

"Ah."

Poetry and wine wiped away the tears from the corners of their eyes, and with a pout, they said somewhat angrily.

"I won't lose again! Of course..."

She looked at Ai Mu and Orihime, her tone becoming somewhat unnatural.

"Including you."

"How presumptuous! I'll wait and see."

Ai Mu replied calmly and released her hand.

The two exchanged a glance, then simultaneously turned their faces away somewhat awkwardly, without saying anything more.

They turned and left the dark corner side by side, heading towards the brightly lit exit at the end of the passage.

The rain finally showed signs of weakening, gradually transforming from dense, fine threads swaying in the wind into tiny raindrops.

……

The exit of the passageway at Zhongshan Racecourse.

Poetry, wine, and the love of Orihime have changed out of their original winning outfits and put on the uniform of Treson Academy.

Despite having already given a quick rinse in the locker room, Poetry and Wine still felt a faint fishy smell of rainwater lingering in their hair.

Moreover, because they took the competition so seriously, they are now experiencing waves of aches and pains all over their bodies, like being pricked by needles.

Poetry and Wine stood in the shadows at the exit, watching the scene not far away.

Narita was surrounded by her trainer and a group of enthusiastic schoolmates.

Trainer Watanabe was frantically draping a thick, dry towel over Naritaji's body, muttering something as he handed him a steaming cup.

Although Narita's eyes were still a little red, he had recovered his spirits and was full of energy, assuring everyone of the next victory.

On the other hand, the departure of a good opera is like a grand finale parade.

She stood at the door, dressed in the armor of a victorious Satsuki sage, surrounded by sports reporters with their long lenses and microphones.

The newly crowned overlord effortlessly delivered her magnificent victory declaration to the camera.

Some cheered, some crowded around.

This is a privilege reserved for those who stand at the center of the spotlight.

As Shi Yujiu watched this scene, her expression turned somewhat melancholy.

She increasingly felt that the person who invented the winner's stage must be an extremely bloodthirsty audience member.

When a girl in a ponytail is defeated by her friend or peer by a narrow margin in a race, she is usually extremely disappointed.

But at this point, the loser still has to put on a brave face and go to the winners' stage, then watch his triumphant friends occupy the main seat and vent their joy.

He himself had to make expressions that met the audience's expectations, even though they knew he was very sad.

I imagine many viewers simply enjoy seeing this heartbroken little pony girl still manage a smile.

Namo San, what a bloodthirsty audience.

This is another side of the Uma Musume Pretty Derby world.

Okay, actually these are the strange thoughts that Poetry and Wine forced themselves to make a heart gesture with a blank expression on the winner's stage, which still managed to elicit cheers from the audience.

Back to the present.

Compared to Narita Road and the Good Opera, the area around Poetry, Wine and Love for Orihime was unusually deserted.

Both of these extraordinary individuals are known for their eccentricities and mysterious appearances at midnight. If they had a trainer, that trainer would be truly fortunate.

However, Orihime's roommate, Maki, came to watch Orihime's match, but because Orihime wanted to avoid her opponent, she only told Shi and Shu that she came alone.

"Let's go."