Before she knew it, Kitasan Black was speaking more and more excitedly, her cheeks faintly flushed with exhilaration and her eyes shining with fiery light.
Yet at the same time, she could clearly see that Oguri Cap had not been swayed in the slightest by her emotions from beginning to end.
The pale blue eyes that seemed to be meeting hers held nothing but earnestness and calm.
Though she was somewhat at a loss, Kitasan Black vaguely felt that Oguri Cap was about to say something very important.
The excitement that had been building inside her gradually faded. She pressed her lips together and, with a trace of confusion, cautiously asked:
"So, Senior... was I wrong?"
Oguri Cap fell silent for a moment. That brief silence seemed to freeze time itself.
Then, the corners of her lips lifted into a faint smile.
"No..."
She spoke softly, her tone as gentle as the warm spring sun.
"For the people back home who support you...
"For the opponents who gave everything they had...
"For your Trainer...
"And for the person you admire..."
She glanced outside the kitchen, and the smile on her lips deepened once more.
"There's nothing wrong with wanting to win races for those reasons.
"It's just..."
In an instant, an image flashed through her mind like lightning.
It was as though glass had shattered with a crisp sound, only for an incomparably vast world filled with endless possibilities to reveal itself beyond the fragments.
Then, as if time had reversed, the shattered thing returned to normal, as though nothing had happened.
Yet the world beyond those fragments remained as clear as if it had materialized right before her eyes.
Her smile gradually faded, and her expression became earnest and calm once more. She looked back at Kitasan Black, meeting