That morning, the ground lay blanketed in white.
After completing the usual morning inspection, they removed the flower stand that had stood in the stable for several days.
Flowers, carrots, amulets, and even a considerable number of horse figurines—there were almost too many to handle.
After finally clearing away some of them, they lowered their head to glance at their watch while wiping away sweat.
It was already past six, and quarter past was fast approaching.
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Friends and relatives would arrive around seven thirty, and the officiant even earlier, so everything had to be finished before then.
Tables and chairs for the friends and relatives attending the interment ceremony to rest on, incense burners and other ritual items that would soon be needed, fruit and sweets for the offering, a Bluetooth speaker that might come in handy, and foldable canopies to keep off the snow—all of it was moved to the newly completed gravesite. Even Zepp, who had been full of enthusiasm at first, looked utterly exhausted by the end.
Yet before he could even catch his breath, the ranch welcomed its first visitor of the day.
The officiant was Dr. Kobayashi, whom Ravide had driven into town to collect from the hot spring inn.
"My condolences, Kitano."
Dressed in ceremonial robes utterly unlike his usual fashionable attire—clothes previously seen only in reports and posts online—Dr. Kobayashi first gave a solemn bow after getting out of the car, then offered those words.
The original plan had only been to find a monk with some connection to the racing world, but after asking around among friends and relatives,
Dr. Kobayashi, who had been recuperating in Hokkaido while undergoing cancer treatment, received word of it.