"War. War never changes."
"The Second Rice Paddy War, initiated by Celestial Weave and Minamino Sumire, also known in history as the One-Day War."
"With the declaration of 'Let me join in too!' from the great Lord Gold Ship, it became even more uncontrollable."
"The final result was that all the horse girls present were plunged into an inescapable abyss of mud."
"Gwah—"
On the path beside the field, Gold Ship's deep narration was cut short by a karate chop from Celestial Weave.
"That's not how it happened."
Retracting her hand, Celestial Weave looked at the now-filthy Gold Ship and said helplessly.
"Even true history is concealed by a tangible, great hand, until finally, no one knows the truth of that war."
"This is but a glimpse into the dark world of horse girls."
To her surprise, Gold Ship was unrepentant. She even dodged her and finished her concluding remarks, her words laced with metaphorical sarcasm. As the person being metaphorically referenced, Celestial Weave's lips twitched speechlessly. She said no more and just followed the others.
Strolling along the path with several horse girls, with Gold Ship waving a branch in front of her and her hands covered in mud from the work, Celestial Weave was struck by the sight of her companions' backs. This was the first time she had experienced such a scene.
Come to think of it, this was the first time she had ever gone to a classmate's house with a group of friends. Although she had become friends with Narita Top Road and the others in the previous scenario, the pressure of the main mission had left her no time to hang out with them. But this time, the start of the mission was exceptionally easy for her, who had inherited her stats. The real difficulties had not yet arrived. She had plenty of time to fool around with her friends.
Realizing this, she suddenly felt that this time was perhaps unexpectedly precious.
"What are you thinking about?" Noticing her daze, Minamino Sumire poked her arm and asked. Although they had just been fighting, it didn't mean their relationship was bad. On the contrary, the exceptionally smart Sumire could always notice when something was off with her at times like this.
Pulled from her thoughts, she turned her head. "Why did you dye your hair blonde? Do you like the color?"
Hearing this, Sumire subconsciously twirled her hair. "No real reason. I just thought it looked good. All the models and celebrities in the magazines like to dye their hair this color."
Her tone was casual, but for some reason, Celestial Weave knew what she was thinking. She remembered Sumire once telling her that to live in Kasamatsu, you had to learn to fit in. That was why she had put on the same sad face as everyone else when she wasn't actually sad about Oguri Roman's failure. Her blonde hair was the same. Dyeing it this color represented her attempt to get closer to the so-called "mainstream" during her confused period of giving up on being a horse girl.
"Didn't your original brown hair look nice?" Celestial Weave looked at the tips of her hair, which were gradually fading back to brown. She hadn't dyed her hair in a long time. The last time she had gone out with everyone had just been an excuse.
Hearing her words, Sumire blushed and subconsciously hid behind her hair. "It looks like a country girl."
"Hey, you were just saying something nice. Why did you have to take it back?" Hearing the last part, Sumire's eyes went dead, and she jabbed her in the waist with her elbow.
"What's wrong with being a country girl? You don't have to change yourself to follow the city trends."
"Aren't we going to charge onto the central circuit? When you become a star there, everyone will be dyeing their hair brown to look like you."
"What nonsense are you talking about? How could that possibly happen?" Sumire jabbed her again, but for some reason, the blush on her face didn't fade.
"The only ones among us who can make it to the central circuit are you and Oguri Roman. Have you decided on your race schedule yet?" she said suddenly, as if deliberately changing the subject.
Celestial Weave looked at her companions frolicking ahead and didn't notice Sumire's strange behavior. She thought for a moment and said, "The Gifu Gold Cup in October, the Kasamatsu Kinen in November, and the Shiwasu Kinen in December."
"That's the race schedule for this year that Chizuru and Kitahara decided on."
"They're still considering whether to enter the Kasamatsu Grand Prix next March. If not, I'll probably have to start scheduling central races."
Sumire walked with her hands behind her back, quietly kicking the small stones at her feet. After she had finished, she asked, "Is there something special about the Kasamatsu Grand Prix?"
"It's said to be the core race of the Kasamatsu spring season. If you win, you get to participate in the Haneda Hai."
"But I can't participate anyway. The Haneda Hai is deliberately scheduled on the same day as the Japan Derby, as if the local circuit is specifically competing with the central one."
"And that's a thing of the past. The local circuit is no longer qualified to compete with the central one."
"Mainly, Kitahara wants me to start the classic Triple Crown with the Satsuki Sho, but Chizuru thinks it's better to go straight for the Japan Derby, so they're at a stalemate."
Hearing the famous names—Satsuki Sho, classic Triple Crown, Japan Derby—one after another from her mouth made Sumire feel a bit dazed. This time last year, she would never have thought she would be so close to these top-tier races, or that someone beside her would be considering participating in them.
"That's such a distant goal. I probably won't be able to catch up to you in my lifetime," she said, her head bowed, her emotions hidden.
Seeing that her words were off, Celestial Weave was about to say something to comfort her, but before she could, Sumire continued, "You said the Haneda Hai is deliberately competing with the Japan Derby, right?" She turned and smiled at her.
"Then I'll just participate in the Haneda Hai. When you win the Japan Derby, I'll win the Haneda Hai."
"Don't let me... don't let us down, okay? Hero of the local circuit?"
With that, she held out her fist. Looking at Sumire, her face and hair stained with mud, her clothes wrinkled from the mud, Celestial Weave thought that she was more charming now than when she had first met her, all dolled up.
She held out her own fist and bumped it against hers. "I'll show you."
They looked at each other and smiled. Before they could continue, Kobayashi Kaze, who was walking ahead, turned around and waved at them. "You two, hurry up! What are you doing? It's not like you're on a date! What if the food gets cold if we're late getting back to Grandpa Nishimoto's house!"
Seeing her companions calling them, they acknowledged and quickly walked over to their side.
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