Beside Deep Impact stood a Horse Girl with long black hair. Though her hair color differed from the former's, the contours of their faces were strikingly similar.
"I know Little Kita is excellent, but..."
The black-haired Horse Girl gave a light laugh tinged with concern. "This is the Japanese Derby, after all.
"And when she was little..." She trailed off.
"Careless? Clumsy?"
Deep Impact picked up, "Something like that. But honestly, I think she's different from what you said, elder sister."
The black-haired Horse Girl froze for a moment. Deep Impact watched the racers running across the track and continued:
"She... is actually quite clever.
"Running the outside lane in the Japanese Derby does consume more stamina, but that's nothing compared to losing her rhythm. The most important thing is to stay steady.
"More importantly... never mind, that race is still five months away."
Shaking her head, Deep Impact stepped forward, her gaze gradually focusing on the figure at the very front of the pack.
"For Horse Girls, what race isn't fought with everything they have...
"It may sound clichéd, but when everyone is giving it their all, the only one you really have to fight is yourself...
"Understand that sooner, Kitasan Black..."
The wind rushing head-on at the lead position pulled her bangs straight back. Her well-adapted eyes stared straight ahead without flinching, while Kitasan Black's folded-back ears twitched faintly.
The track ahead was visible at a glance. The turf was unexpectedly neat and dry, barely affected by the races held earlier today.
There were a little over a hundred meters until the Third Turn. At her current pace, she would enter it in about ten seconds.
The breathing behind her was close, only one and a half horse lengths back.
There were signs of disorder, too. They