Too focused on the race situation, Satono Crown and the others did not hear Oguri Cap and Aoba Recall talking.
Some distance away...
"Mr. Anjing, is Little Kita's position... really okay?"
As he asked urgently, Saburo Kitajima stared tensely at the racers, one hand gripping Anjing Zhen's arm beside him.
As though attending an important occasion, the old man wore a solemn kimono. His graying hair was meticulously groomed and even carefully waxed.
Yet the hair over his forehead was slightly disheveled, and fine beads of sweat had formed at his temples, making his originally dignified, formal bearing look somewhat bedraggled.
The hand gripping Anjing Zhen was covered in wrinkles, with several veins standing prominently on its back. That only added panic to his disheveled appearance.
Unlike the previous races, when he watched from the very front, Anjing Zhen was in the VIP area toward the back of the stands this time, alongside Oguri Cap and the others.
The binoculars he never put down while watching a race were still raised before his eyes, giving him a clear view of the race.
Several hundred meters directly opposite the stands, the Starting Gate was being towed away.
The track where the Starting Gate had stood extended to the right, its slope visibly growing steeper.
At the very back was a Horse Girl in a dark blue Victory Outfit, with chestnut short hair.
Her small face was taut, her cheeks puffed out. With a hint of helplessness and unwillingness in her eyes, she stared straight ahead and chased with all her strength.
Ahead of her was a massive pack, seventeen Horse Girls sprinting forward in a wedge formation.
The rear of the wedge was gradually narrowing, while its front grew increasingly sharp.
Though the race had only just begun, the two Horse