Standing where she was, Daiwa Scarlet watched her two friends' retreating backs helplessly, then shook her head and looked apologetically at Kitasan Black.
"Little Kita, they won't make Grandpa and the others angry, will they?"
"Huh? No, no, they won't."
Kitasan Black waved her hands repeatedly. "Actually, Grandpa told me a long time ago to make more friends and invite them over to play.
"Crown-chan, Diamond-chan, and Kobayashi-chan come over to play all the time.
"Back then, this place hadn't been remodeled into this yet. It was a huge garden.
"We used to play hide-and-seek in the garden, catch butterflies and bees. It was so much fun!"
"I see..."
Sighing in relief, Daiwa Scarlet nodded, then a glint flashed through her eyes.
"Then... I won't hold back either."
Whirling around, she charged toward Gold Ship and Vodka.
"So one of you is a chaser and the other's a late-runner—what kind of terrible pace are you setting?!"
Daiwa Scarlet's change had been so sudden that Kitasan Black stood stunned for a while before recovering. She looked to the side, amused yet a little embarrassed.
"...Ahaha, the upperclassmen really are energetic. Special Week Senpai, do you want to go run with them too?"
The one still standing beside Kitasan Black was Special Week.
When Kitasan Black asked, Special Week had been watching her friends with a nostalgic, gratified expression.
Hearing the question, she looked over and waved with a smile.
"I'll pass on running for now."
After thinking for a moment, she asked instead, "Little Kita, aren't you going to run around and play with them?"
"I'll pass too."
Kitasan Black shook her head, looking a little embarrassed.
"Before the Spring Stakes, I wanted to practice more, so I ran up here by myself over the weekend.
"I didn't tell Trainer about