Aren't Those Two A Perfect Match?!

Over half an hour later, inside the Central Treisen Academy cafeteria.

"...So that's how it is. Good thing I didn't say that in front of Trainer Yasui, or it would have been so rude."

Sitting at the dining table, Einis Fushin sighed with emotion:

"When I was delivering packages, I never imagined he was already a trainer despite being so young, and that he'd even led Little Kita to win two races in a row.

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

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

Kitasan Black said with excitement and gratitude: "I only just arrived at the academy this year, so I haven't taken many of the courses yet. There's so much I don't know, and my training results haven't been very good either.

"But the trainer hasn't looked down on me at all; he's been so patient in guiding me through both training and races.

"It's just so wonderful to have met a trainer like him!"

Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka, who were also sitting at the table, began to laugh.

"You can't entirely call it luck, though."

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

"It's also because of your enthusiasm and kindness, Little Kita."

"Enthusiasm... and kindness?"

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

"I think so too."

Following up on Daiwa Scarlet's words, Vodka smiled:

"I chatted with Daiwa a bit the other day and only then realized that you two met after you bumped into Anjing-kun."

Kitasan Black's face turned bright red in an instant.

"Senior, why... why are you suddenly bringing that up...?"

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

Vodka waved her hand with a smile:

"After confirming it with Daiwa, I realized that both you and Anjing-kun were trying to save a child, which is why you accidentally collided.

"Come to think of it, Anjing-kun's physical fitness is truly impressive; he was perfectly fine after being hit by you like that.

"But the main point is that you are very kind and enthusiastic, 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 dragged him to the hospital for a check-up afterward, you wouldn't have known he was a trainer, and the subsequent signing of the agreement wouldn't have happened.

"I think perhaps it was your enthusiasm that touched him, which is why Anjing-kun wanted to become your trainer."

Kitasan Black nodded thoughtfully.

"That's true. Back then, when Teio-senpai told me to let the trainer guide me, I thought he would refuse just like the other trainers. I never expected him to agree right away."

Summarizing the situation, Vodka nodded with a smile.

"So you see, luck, enthusiasm, kindness, and many other factors—that's what created the bond between the two of you."

She then turned thoughtful for a moment.

"But speaking of luck...

"Little Kita, being able to meet Anjing-kun really can be called great luck.

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

"You might actually have a real chance."

The topic had shifted suddenly to the Japanese Derby; while it sounded a bit abrupt, none of the four Horse Girls present felt surprised.

The fastest Horse Girl wins the Satsuki Sho.

The luckiest Horse Girl wins the Japanese Derby.

The strongest Horse Girl wins the Kikuka Sho.

This was a widely circulated saying among trainers and Horse Girls.

There was enough logic behind this saying.

The Satsuki Sho is 2,000 meters long—the shortest of the Triple Crown—and both the pace and the final sprint demand an extremely high level of speed.

The Japanese Derby has been known as the race to "determine the strongest of the generation" since its inception; in reality, this race holds more significance than the other two.

Whenever there is a chance to challenge this race, no Horse Girl will ever give up.

This makes the pre-race selection and competition for the Japanese Derby exceptionally fierce, and the participating Horse Girls can truly be called the strongest of the Classic Year.

Since it is the Classic Year, the competitors' experience has not yet reached a certain level of depth. Coupled with the fact that the 2,400-meter course is a full 400 meters longer than the Satsuki Sho, it is indeed very easy to miss out on the championship without a certain amount of luck.

The situation for the Kikuka Sho is much simpler.

The 3,000-meter distance is not something everyone can run, let alone compete against a crowd of Strong Enemies; the difficulty is self-evident.

"The Japanese Derby, huh..."

Hearing the name of the race, Kitasan Black's eyes filled with longing and excitement, though she quickly took a deep breath and shook her head.

"I'm definitely looking forward to that race, it's true."

"But Trainer always tells me that instead of looking too far into the future, I should focus on completing every training session and running every race well."

"And as for things like luck... Trainer doesn't seem to care much about that; he values things he can actually see and touch."

"If it were Trainer, he'd much rather spend his time figuring out all sorts of training methods than worrying about luck."

"Like that... what was it called? What machine was it again?"

"A drone, it's a drone."

Vodka couldn't help but chuckle as she added the correction.

Nearby, Daiwa Scarlet and Einis Fushin also wore amused expressions, and Daiwa Scarlet then said thoughtfully:

"It's true, Anjing-kun does give off a very pragmatic vibe... Looking at it that way, Little Kita has always had a down-to-earth personality, so you two really are a good match."

"Yeah! I think so too..."

Just as Kitasan Black excitedly nodded, Vodka suddenly stood up in a frenzy.

"The two of them are a good, good match?!

"Daiwa?! What on earth are you saying?!

"That kind of thing is... way too early for Little Kita, isn't it?!"

Before anyone else could react, the Horse Girl who usually appeared bright and straightforward suddenly flushed deep red and slammed her hands over her nose.

Soon, a streak of bright red began to seep through her fingers; she was clearly having a nosebleed.

"No, no way, this topic is too stimulating... Daiwa, what on earth are you thinking about..."

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

While Kitasan Black panicked over Vodka's nosebleed, Einis Fushin and Daiwa Scarlet both developed matching headaches.

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

"It's more like, what are you thinking about?"

One of them pulled out a tissue to hand to Vodka, while the other began to explain to Kitasan Black.

"This senior of yours has always been like this; she can't handle romance topics at all. She gets so worked up that she gets a nosebleed the moment she hears one."

"We even took her to the hospital for checkups back when we were at the academy, but I guess she's still the same..."

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

"Hey, Vodka, do you feel any better?"

Meanwhile, Kitasan Black stood there stunned.

Romance? We weren't talking about romance just now...

Ah! Could it be what was said earlier...

A match?

H-how could that lead to thoughts about romance?

We were clearly just talking about how Trainer's personality and mine are similar...

Vodka Senior is really something else, I have no idea what she's thinking... Wait?

Originally amused by her senior's bizarre train of thought, Kitasan Black suddenly felt a jolt in her heart.

Without realizing it, she felt a bit guilty and glanced at her seniors.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she quietly lowered her head to look at her feet, her toes curling slightly of their own accord.

Come to think of it, on the day of my Debut Race, with so many people watching, Trainer helped me change my shoes as if no one else was around...

He... he doesn't seem to care about those things either, so...

He shouldn't be thinking about things like romance, like Senior does, right...?