After explaining, Duramente saw that Kitasan Black and the others were all standing there in a daze. She waited a few seconds, then nodded and turned away.
"Excuse me. Little Kita, Crown, you both do your best too."
Only after Duramente's footsteps had faded away for quite a while did Satono Crown take a deep breath at the dining table.
"Duramente... she really works hard. All right—!"
She picked up her tray and stood as well.
"Then I'm heading to the counseling room too!"
When Satono Crown rose, Kitasan Black was slightly startled.
She had originally thought her friend was going off to train too, so the latter half of her sentence caught her by surprise.
"The counseling room... does Crown-chan have something troubling her?" She unconsciously stood as well, looking at Satono Crown with concern.
"Me? No, not me."
Satono Crown smiled and waved her hand. "It's Koushou Hayate."
"Koushou?"
After a brief pause, Kitasan Black asked with concern, "Did something happen to her?"
Knowing how kindhearted her friend was, Satono Crown did not hide anything and began to explain.
She and Kitasan Black were classmates, with Satono Crown serving as their class representative. Koushou Hayate was also in their class.
Treisen Academy divided students into classes based on their grades, and the Horse Girls assigned to the same class all had excellent results before enrolling.
Second, first, third, third—Koushou Hayate's results in her Debut Race and the three races that followed could be called outstanding. However, she was injured during training before her fifth race, the Wakakoma Stakes, and had no choice but to withdraw.
Then, in her sixth race—the previous Mainichi Hai—perhaps due to the injury's lingering effects, Koushou Hayate had only finished fifth.
Ever since the Wakakoma Stakes, up until now, this Horse Girl had often