As they played, the topic gradually drifted away from the game itself.
During a break between rounds, Dream Journey looked at Wang Ziding with concern in her eyes:
"What's wrong, Little Lilac? You seem a little sleepy. Was training too exhausting? Then let's stop here and get to bed early."
Wang Ziding, who had been staring at the dice in her hand, suddenly looked up.
"Huh? I'm not sleepy, it's just..."
After hesitating for a moment, she quickly nodded and admitted frankly:
"I've been a little distracted."
Dream Journey pondered for a moment. "Were you thinking about training? Or... the entrance exam?"
A flicker of nervousness flashed through Wang Ziding's eyes, quickly replaced by a look of seeking advice.
"You guessed right, Senior. I found myself thinking about that without realizing it.
"These past few days, I've been training alongside all of you, and I think I've been working quite hard.
"Although I still have many shortcomings when it comes to cornering techniques, which showed clearly in today's training, I've also received guidance from all of you, Grandpa Iminami, and Trainer Yasui.
"But whenever I think about the exam, I... start to panic a little."
The other Horse Girls stopped shaking their dice cups and exchanged glances.
Nakayama Celebration was the first to stand, a gentle smile on her face.
"We've played enough anyway. I'll clean up, and you girls can have a proper talk with Little Lilac."
With that, she briskly began gathering the dice and dice cups scattered across the floor.
Kitasan Black shifted closer to Wang Ziding, reaching out to gently pat her shoulder as she encouraged her softly.
"Little Lilac, it's perfectly normal to be nervous.
"When I enrolled, I was a complete bundle of nerves too.
"Especially when I took the entrance exam with Diamond-chan.