What happened at noon that day when they returned from the stud station to the farm.
As the rear ramp of the horse transporter was being lowered, a ginger-and-white cat suddenly leaped out of the roadside ditch.
"Oh, it's a stray cat!"
For some reason, Zepp's eyes widened with excitement.
"No, it probably belongs to one of the nearby farms."
As he said that, he lowered his gaze toward his feet.
The cat looked somewhat larger than average, with a rather sturdy build. If it really was a stray, maintaining that kind of weight through a Hokkaido winter was quite impressive.
So he asked Rachel Ho to lead Anna back to the stable, then took out his phone and prepared to snap a picture of the friendly-looking cat.
But when he looked again, the ginger-and-white figure had somehow already climbed back over the ditch on its own and perched atop the pasture fence.
"What a cute kitty! If it's a stray, how about we take it in, President?"
Apparently having heard from Rachel Ho that the farm had received such a special visitor, Kikuchi rushed over eagerly before even properly putting on his outdoor boots.
Even the deputy farm manager, who had complained all the way about being unbearably sleepy, hurried over as soon as he parked the horse transporter.
"But we're already short-staffed at the farm, and it'd be troublesome if it got sick during this season."
Faced with the employees' suggestion, he hesitated after glancing at the cat, which remained motionless atop the fence.
Although he had worked with all kinds of animals for a long time as a horse breeder and former veterinarian, he had never had any particular fondness for common pets like cats or dogs.
It was true that he knew all too well how