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

Is it a subconscious concern about the pressure on your ankle?

On the track, Lingzuan Qibao, who was jogging at a steady pace, heard this.

The gray horse ears, which had been drooping slightly with the rhythm of its steps, suddenly trembled.

"Ugh... so perceptive first thing in the morning..."

The girl's breathing was slightly rapid, and strands of silver-gray hair clung to her cheeks.

"I only... slacked off a tiny bit..."

She started muttering habitually, "I'm so tired," and "I really want to go back to sleep."

Her voice was soft and sleepy, but her body's instincts as a racehorse girl were more honest than her conscious mind.

The next second, she took a deep breath, and the cold air filled her lungs, instantly waking up her dormant muscles.

As the thigh muscles tense and relax instantly, that explosive power travels along the spine.

Her silver-gray ponytail suddenly swung up in the morning breeze, whipping out an arc that was even more powerful and sharper than before.

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

The sound of the specially made horseshoes striking the ground became crisper and more rhythmic.

Poetry and Wine watched the stopwatch tick away, the interval numbers shrinking rapidly.

A barely perceptible smile curved her lips as she deftly pressed the counter button with her thumb.

drop.

……

Or perhaps it was in the trainer's office one afternoon.

The blinds cut the originally glaring sunlight outside the window into dappled light and shadow, which were spread diagonally on the ground.

Tiny dust particles floated in the air, dancing erratically in the beam of light.

The room was completely quiet, with only the faint "squeaking" sound of whiteboard markers rubbing against the smooth surface.

Poetry and Wine took off their sunglasses and put on a pair of silver-rimmed glasses.

The lenses softened her gaze, making her appear less aloof and more intellectual and scholarly.

Why do you like covering your eyes so much?

Diamond Treasure glanced at Poetry and Wine unconsciously.

The tip of her pen gently tapped across the densely packed data charts on the whiteboard.

This is a model she developed by combining the original owner's remaining memories with theoretical knowledge, and she stayed up all night analyzing it.

"Qizi, look here."

Her pen tip touched a red mark.

"I have already built models for the opponents we may encounter next."

"If you encounter a leading horse like 'Crimson Flash' with extremely strong explosive power in later matches, you absolutely cannot make the same careless choices in the mid-game as you did in your debut match."

"Uh-huh…"

Sitting across from the desk, Lingzuan Qibao was currently fretting over the complex pace curves and energy consumption formulas on the whiteboard.

In her view, those twisted and tangled lines were on the same terrifying level as the English exam paper.

She rested her chin on her hands.

My eyelids felt like they were weighed down with lead, and they started to droop uncontrollably.

The gray head slowly, little by little... fell down...

It looked just like a chick dozing off in the warm afternoon sun, with its silver-gray horse ears drooping softly on its head.

"Qizi?"

A soft call, tinged with a hint of coolness.

"Yes! I'm listening! I'm definitely not asleep!"

As if electrocuted, Lingzuan Qibao sat up abruptly, the movement so large that it almost knocked over the chair.

She even wiped non-existent drool from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, looking rather guilty.

I stayed up too late last night…

Seeing their leader putting on such a show, Poetry and Wine sighed helplessly.

She took off her glasses and rubbed her temples.

Without uttering any words of blame, Poetry and Wine simply pulled a peeled mint from their pocket.

With a gentle push of the finger.

The candy slid precisely down the smooth tabletop to Diamond Treasure's hand.

Diamond Treasure has several tiny wounds on its hands.

'Wound?'

Poetry and wine were examined carefully.

'It couldn't be self-harm, could it? Kids this age are such a hassle...'

She shook her head and stopped thinking about it.

"Hold this in your mouth to perk yourself up."

"Um... thank you, Xiao Jiu."

Diamond Treasure was overjoyed and quickly stuffed the candy into his mouth.

The cool, refreshing minty flavor exploded in my mouth instantly, shooting straight to the top of my head.

It dispelled the sticky sleepiness.

After winning the Diamond Treasure debut tournament, Poetry and Wine, as trainers, also received a share of the prize money according to the rules set by URA.

Although it's not much, it's still much better than the dire straits of life in the real world.

The mints I carried with me were one of the things I bought after receiving the prize money.

The rare abundance of the black-haired horse girl finally allowed her to indulge her habit of planning ahead and storing things.

I stuffed a power bank, candy, a towel, a water bottle, and... what else into my bag?

The black-haired horse girl shook her head and then continued telling the Diamond Treasure the rest of the story.

……

It was probably around dusk one day.

In the strength training room at Treson Academy.

There's no smell of grass like in a training field here.

There was only cool-toned lighting and the dull metallic sound of machinery colliding.

"Last set of squat jumps, ten. Keep your balance and hold on."

"Hoo... Ha... Nine... Ten!!"

As the last movement landed, the muscle soreness reached its breaking point, and Diamond Treasure was completely exhausted.

The blue and white figure being pursued is called Miracle: Is Chapter 75 about to begin?

She fell backward without any regard for her image, sprawling out on the yoga mat in a "T" shape.

His chest heaved violently, as if a bellows was pulling at the breath of the diamond-like treasure.

Sweat dripped down her chin and the ends of her hair, soaking the mat beneath her in a large, dark stain.

Its silver-gray tail drooped limply on the floor, motionless.

The diamond treasure has burned out.

Just then.

Suddenly, my vision went dark.

A dry, white towel with a faint fragrance was gently placed over her face.

It blocked the glaring incandescent light overhead.

Immediately afterwards, a sports drink bottle with the cap already unscrewed was handed to her within easy reach.

Diamond Treasure didn't say thank you.

She simply let out a long sigh under the towel, then expertly grabbed the towel and wiped her face haphazardly.

I straightened my aching body, took the water bottle, and gulped it down.

There were no earth-shattering vows, nor the dramatic conflicts or declarations of bond found in action-packed manga.

For the rest of the week, the two lived their daily lives in this peaceful and tacit manner, going back and forth between two points.

Occasionally, in the stillness of the night, as I gaze at the moonlight outside my window, a sense of reverie arises inexplicably.

She sometimes even worries about what will happen if one day she actually completes all the travel events.

Back to the impoverished reality...

Will she find the mundane life there unpleasant?

Forget it.

"I still need to pay back the money to Ennis Wind God..."

"Wait, the debut competition isn't even over yet..."

"Maybe I'm a genius in real life, and I could easily beat a Game 1 match?"

With his mind filled with random thoughts, Poetry and Wine drifted into a deep dream.

……

This Saturday.

The day arrived when Diamond Treasure and Poetry and Wine had agreed to travel together.

The sky over Fuchu City, Tokyo, had a sickly grayish-white hue.

This grayish-white color surpasses even the gloom of a typical overcast day.

It can be described as a paleness that is almost solidified.

Like the ashes left after countless colors have been stripped away.

There was no clear blue sky as expected, not even a sliver of blue light appeared.

The sky was eerily quiet.

There were no birdsong, no wind.

The thick clouds, like a quilt soaked in dirty water, pressed low over the pointed clock tower of Tressen Academy.

There are no gaps between the cloud clusters.

They pressed tightly together, forming a continuous, lead-gray dome.

It's as if all you have to do is stand on tiptoe and reach out your hand.

You can then touch that suffocating, incredibly sticky dampness.

In the trainers' dormitory.

The morning light peeked through the gaps in the curtains, casting a pale gray shadow on the floor.

Poetry and Wine stood by the window, clutching their phones tightly in their hands.

The black-haired horse's deep eyes were slightly narrowed at this moment, and a shallow line unconsciously appeared between her brows.

The cold white light from the phone screen reflected on her slightly pale face, making her look unusually unwell today.

She had refreshed the weather forecast page countless times.