"Race schedule... Right!"
Kitasan Black's expression shifted.
"There's something I never found the right opportunity to mention. When Little Anzu, Mikki-chan, and I went to Izu, we ran into a reporter..."
As she spoke, she explained how they had happened to meet Otoya Shiyuezi, then took out her phone.
"...After that, we exchanged contact information and talked a little about racing.
"But I felt like I should wait until A-Zhen had made the arrangements before bringing it up. And... once we've finalized things on our end, Miss Otoya could probably find out from the website anyway, so maybe there's no need to tell her.
"Anyway, when I talked with her, I never clearly said what races I'd be entering next."
Anjing Zhen listened carefully to Kitasan Black's account. When the subject finally came to a pause, he unconsciously exchanged glances with Agnes Tachyon and Daiwa Scarlet, clearly seeing the approval and praise in their eyes.
For the Shining Series, interviews and publicity from media reporters were indispensable. Every race needed extensive promotion to generate enough buzz, and the Horse Girls involved would become more famous as a result.
From that perspective, Horse Girls themselves also needed interviews and publicity. In reality, though, such things were a Double-Edged Sword.
Most Horse Girls were highly sensitive to popularity and enjoyed it. With more people supporting them, they performed better in races. They truly were beings born to run and to shine upon dazzling stages.
Yet too much of anything was never good.
If someone's popularity reached a certain level, reporters from every outlet would not only inconvenience her daily life, but could also affect her training and races.
Kitasan Black nearly being swarmed at the train station during her trip to Izu was one example. In racing history, there had indeed been