Hoofbeats Toward Year's End

The evening after the Queen Elizabeth Cup.

As expected, the area in front of Yodo Station was packed with people.

Not only were there devoted racing fans who had come specifically for the G1, but there were also plenty of office workers heading home after work and high school students whose club activities had ended. At six or seven in the evening, there was no chance of leisurely getting onto a train.

They walked to the restaurant they had booked beforehand. Along the way, queues had already formed outside the izakayas and barbecue restaurants.

Even Kyoto was like this.

Still, perhaps only Tokyo could cram Japanese, Western, and Chinese restaurants—impossible to identify from the outside—between rows of high-rise buildings.

Following the map app's directions, they soon spotted the restaurant surrounded by a wooden fence.

The interior was more spacious than expected, with enough distance between the tables that it did not feel cramped.

Most of the customers were young couples or families with children. It was a little more upscale than an ordinary izakaya or family restaurant, but it lacked the stiff atmosphere of a high-end Western restaurant.

The moment they entered, the trainer and jockey, who had been passionately discussing Major League Baseball, immediately lowered their voices.

After giving their name to the approaching staff member, they were shown to their seats.

The staff member removed the "Reserved" sign and replaced it with menus.

In the brief moment they took the menus, the forks, knives, and napkins had already been laid out.

Majima ordered a pasta set with steak without much hesitation, and Sasagawa, encouraged by him, ordered the same large portion set.

When the menu came back to him, he asked about the serving size of the set meal, then honestly ordered only pasta.

They made a simple