The Tenno Sho Autumn and Japan Cup gave Kitasan Black a great deal to think about.
As usual, she spoke with Anjing Zhen about it with almost no reservations.
And as usual, she received understanding and comfort from her Trainer.
Yet she had kept hesitating over that relieved yet shameful thought, unable to say it aloud.
This wasn't a thought she should be having, nor was it one a Horse Girl should have...
As a Horse Girl, no matter how strong the opponent was or what race it was, she should give it her all...
How could she hope for her opponent to weaken, then feel relieved because of it?
If Trainer and everyone else found out I had thoughts like this...
They'd probably be very disappointed in me... wouldn't they?
Perhaps because she had never dwelled on such matters before, Kitasan Black wasn't truly troubled by the thought after it arose, yet it still surfaced from time to time, irritating her for a while.
The thought was like a mosquito in summer—one of those especially loud, fast-flying mosquitoes.
When her mind was occupied with other things, such as training or racing, she could usually ignore it.
But once the busyness was over and things grew quiet, that irritating buzzing sensation would linger at her side.
Still, not everything over the past month had been so emotionally complicated.
Satono Diamond, her childhood friend who had known her since they were little and had come to Central Treisen Academy with her as they had promised, had successfully made her debut during this time.
At Kyoto Racecourse, in the 2,000-meter Debut Race, she had been the top favorite and finished first.
More than that, having witnessed the debut race herself, she knew just how brilliantly her friend had run.
She passed through