They're a Perfect Match?!

Half an hour later, at the cafeteria of Central Treisen Academy.

"...So that's how it was. Good thing I didn't say that in front of Trainer Yasui. That would've been so rude."

Sitting at the table, Einis Fushin sighed.

"When I delivered the package, I never imagined he was so young and already a trainer. And he's led Little Kita to two consecutive wins.

"Little Kita, you're so lucky to have met such an amazing trainer."

"Mm-hmm! I think I'm really lucky, too!"

Kitasan Black said excitedly and gratefully, "I only came to the Academy this year, so there are lots of lessons I haven't taken yet. There's so much I don't know, and my training results haven't been very good.

"But Trainer has never looked down on me. He's always been patient with me, whether during training or at races.

"I'm so glad I got to meet a trainer like him!"

Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka, who were sitting at the table too, laughed.

"I wouldn't say it was all luck."

Daiwa Scarlet reached out and patted Kitasan Black on the head.

"You're kind and warmhearted, too, Little Kita."

"Kind... and warmhearted?"

Kitasan Black blinked. "Why do you say that, Senior Yamato...?"

"I think so, too."

Picking up where Daiwa Scarlet left off, Vodka smiled.

"I talked with Yamato a little a few days ago and found out you and Anjing-kun only met after you bumped into him, Little Kita."

Kitasan Black's face instantly turned bright red.

"Senior, why... why are you bringing that up all of a sudden...?"

"Don't worry, I'm not making fun of you, Little Kita."

Vodka waved her hand with a smile.

"Afterward, I checked with Yamato and found out that you and Anjing-kun were both trying to save a child, and that's why you accidentally bumped into each other.

"Come to think of it, Anjing-kun's constitution is pretty impressive. You hit him that hard, and he was still fine.

"But the main point is that you're kind and warmhearted, Little Kita.

"Think about it. If you hadn't gone to save that child, you wouldn't have bumped into Anjing-kun.

"And if you hadn't insisted on taking him to the hospital for a checkup, you wouldn't have found out he was a trainer, and the two of you wouldn't have ended up signing an agreement.

"I think maybe your enthusiasm rubbed off on him, and that's why Anjing-kun wanted to become your trainer."

Kitasan Black nodded thoughtfully.

"That's true. When Teio-senpai suggested that Trainer could coach me, I thought he'd turn me down like all the other trainers. I never expected him to agree right away."

After summing it all up, Vodka smiled and nodded.

"So you see? Luck, kindness, warmth—and all sorts of other things—are what brought the two of you together."

Then she paused, looking thoughtful.

"But speaking of luck...

"Little Kita, meeting Anjing-kun really was lucky for you.

"Looking at it that way, the Japanese Derby...

"You might have a pretty good chance."

The conversation had suddenly shifted to the Japanese Derby, which might have sounded abrupt, but none of the four horse girls at the table seemed surprised.

The fastest horse girl won the Satsuki Sho.

The luckiest horse girl won the Japanese Derby.

The strongest horse girl won the Kikuka Sho.

It was a saying widely shared among trainers and horse girls.

And it made a certain amount of sense.

The Satsuki Sho was a 2,000-meter race, the shortest of the Triple Crown. Both pacing and the final sprint demanded tremendous speed.

Ever since its founding, the Japanese Derby had been said to "decide the strongest of the generation." In truth, it meant more than the other two races.

No horse girl with a chance to compete in it would ever give up the opportunity.

That made the pre-race selection and competition for the Japanese Derby exceptionally fierce. The entrants could all be considered among the strongest competitors of the Classic Year.

And since it was their Classic Year, the competitors hadn't yet gained much experience. Add to that the fact that the 2,400-meter course was a full 400 meters longer than the Satsuki Sho, and without a bit of luck, it was easy to miss out on the championship.

The Kikuka Sho was a much simpler matter.

Not everyone could run 3,000 meters, let alone face off against a whole field of strong rivals. It was easy to imagine how difficult it was.

"The Japanese Derby, huh..."

At the mention of the race, Kitasan Black's eyes filled with longing and excitement. But she soon took a deep breath and shook her head.

"I'm really looking forward to that race.

"But Trainer keeps telling me that instead of worrying about the future, I should focus on finishing each training session and running each race well.

"And as for luck... Trainer doesn't seem to care much about that. He cares more about things he can see and touch.

"If it were Trainer, instead of thinking about luck and stuff, he'd rather spend time figuring out all kinds of training methods.

"Like that whatever-its-name-is machine... Huh? What was it called again?"

"A drone. A drone," Vodka supplied, unable to hold back a laugh.

Nearby, Daiwa Scarlet and Einis Fushin were smiling, too. Daiwa Scarlet then said thoughtfully,

"That's true. Anjing-kun seems like a very practical person... And Little Kita has always been down-to-earth, too. The two of you really are a perfect match."

"Yeah! I think so, too..."

Kitasan Black nodded excitedly, but Vodka suddenly jumped to her feet.

"They're a perfect ma-match?!

"Yamato?! What are you talking about?!

"This is too soon for Little Kita, isn't it?!"

Before anyone else could react, the horse girl, who seemed so cheerful and straightforward, suddenly turned bright red and clapped a hand over her nose.

Soon, a streak of red seeped between her fingers. She was obviously getting a nosebleed.

"N-no, I can't. This topic is too stimulating... Yamato, what are you thinking...?"

"S-Senior?! W-what's wrong with you?!"

While Kitasan Black panicked over Vodka's nosebleed, Einis Fushin and Daiwa Scarlet both looked exasperated.

"...Vodka, you still haven't gotten over that?"

"Shouldn't you be asking yourself what you're thinking?"

One of them pulled out a tissue and handed it to Vodka, while the other explained things to Kitasan Black.

"Your senior has always been like this. She can't handle romance talk at all. She gets so worked up whenever she hears it that she gets a nosebleed.

"We took her to the hospital for checkups several times back at the Academy. I can't believe she's still like this..."

After explaining, Daiwa Scarlet shook her head helplessly and leaned toward Vodka with concern.

"Hey, Vodka. Are you feeling any better?"

Kitasan Black, meanwhile, froze.

Romance? They hadn't been talking about romance just now...

Oh! Could it have been what they'd just said...

A perfect match?

H-how did that have anything to do with romance?

They'd only meant that Trainer and I had similar personalities...

Honestly, Senior Vodka. What was she even thinking... Huh?

She had been laughing at her senior's bizarre leap in logic when Kitasan Black suddenly felt something stir inside her.

Without thinking, she glanced at the seniors, a little guilty.

When she saw that no one was paying attention to her, she quietly lowered her head and looked at her own feet, her toes curling slightly.

Come to think of it, on the day of my debut race, with so many people watching, Trainer changed my shoes as if no one else was around...

He... doesn't seem to care much about that sort of thing, either. So...

He wouldn't be thinking about romance or anything like Senior, would he...?