Just as Kitasan Black found herself caught in a dilemma...
Thud.
"Ow!"
Tsubasa Hayate clutched her head and stared blankly for a moment before seeing that the culprit who had chopped her on the head was her friend, Ribbon Keiko.
"Keiko...? Why did you hit me?"
Ribbon Keiko withdrew the hand she had just used to chop Tsubasa Hayate's head, not looking the least bit apologetic.
Instead, she quickly glanced over Futanari Shingang and Duramente with something akin to reassurance, then smiled at Kitasan Black and abruptly changed the subject.
"What Little Kita has there... should be information on her opponents for this Arima Kinen, right? I just heard Senior Clear Sky's name.
"Competing against a senior like that... Little Kita must be under a lot of pressure, huh?"
In an instant, Kitasan Black's expression turned serious, her gaze growing solemn.
"Senior Clear Sky..."
She quickly flipped through her little notebook, stopping at one page as she pressed her lips together.
"This year... she took first in the Nakayama Kin-Bai in the first half of the year, first in the Kyoto Kinen, and then...
"First in the Naruo Kinen, first in the Takarazuka Kinen, first in the Kyoto Daishoten...
"She's already won three in a row, and then her next race...
"Is the Tenno Sho Autumn... where she's entered as the favorite."
As she spoke, her eyes shifted. She raised her head, looking past the Horse Girls in the cafeteria who were eating heartily or chatting and laughing, toward the distance.
"Racing against a senior like that... I'd definitely be under a lot of pressure, but...
"Crown-chan... must be under even more pressure right now, right...?"
At that, everyone at the table couldn't help following Kitasan Black's gaze.
Satono Crown was not there, but everyone knew that Kitasan Black was