Rudolf's arrival had nothing to do with following Kitahara; it was pure coincidence.
For various reasons, Rudolf hadn't found the chance—or perhaps had subconsciously avoided—speaking privately with Kitahara for quite a while. Only today did she finally decide to meet him.
Initially, she went to Kitahara's dorm room. Finding no one there, she'd been about to send a message asking his whereabouts when a passing admirer informed her they'd spotted Kitahara heading toward the corner of campus.
She deliberately refrained from calling ahead, hoping to catch whoever was trying to sneak away—intending a mild scare as a deterrent for future escapades.
What she hadn't expected was the identity of the culprit she found there: Tokai Teio.
This complicated things significantly.
Ever since learning that Kitahara had no blood ties to Teio—and was actually her trainer—Rudolf had sensed their once-stable relationship growing uncertain.
Normally, as someone who viewed romance through a Darwinian lens, Rudolf wouldn't hesitate to jump into the fray herself. She had confidence in her ability to prevail.
But this wasn't an ordinary battle—not with Tokai Teio involved.
Truthfully, Rudolf had begun to genuinely see Teio as her daughter. After so long together, her feelings had grown far beyond the simple dynamic of President and successor.
If Rudolf truly joined this battlefield, how would she handle her relationship with that child…?
Even the so-called "perfect" President found herself haunted by that question, sometimes unconsciously avoiding Teio altogether.
Had she known Teio was here, she definitely would've summoned Kitahara via phone to avoid an awkward confrontation. But now…
Rudolf sighed softly, quickly masked any unnecessary feelings, and greeted the pair with her usual composed smile.
"My, Teio, are you playing turtle?"
Turtle…?
Initially mortified at being caught, Teio bristled immediately, her childish pride flaring as she hastily protested.
"I'm not a turtle! It's just… when I went out, I didn't wear enough clothes. Trainer-san tried giving me his, but I refused, so we ended up… warming up like this…"
"Ohhh~"
Rudolf drew out her reply teasingly, nodding with exaggerated interest.
"So, you ran outside without even realizing how lightly you dressed? That's rather careless, isn't it…?"
"I wasn't playing around! I—"
Teio's voice abruptly cut off.
"Then what exactly were you doing?"
"...Anyway, I wasn't playing!"
Teio sulked indignantly.
Seeing Rudolf clearly enjoying teasing Teio, Kitahara cleared his throat, gently steering things back on track.
"Alright, President Rudolf. I'm sure you didn't come all this way just for small talk. It's nearly dark—shall we discuss what's important?"
Rudolf shrugged lightly, then turned to Teio.
"Teio, I need to discuss something important with… your trainer. Work-related, serious business."
Still reassured by Kitahara's earlier explanations, Teio didn't suspect anything unusual in Rudolf's words. Recognizing it was probably official business she shouldn't overhear, she promptly offered to leave.
"Don't run around too much. Head straight back to your dorm—it's cold," Kitahara reminded her gently.
"I got it!"
Teio jogged away quickly.
Rudolf watched until Teio completely vanished from view, her gentle smile gradually fading, replaced by a far more complicated expression.
Kitahara sensed something odd in Rudolf's demeanor but remained silent, unsure what exactly troubled her. After a brief silence, Rudolf steadied herself, sat down beside Kitahara, and started the conversation carefully.
Although she'd secured this chance to be alone with Kitahara, Rudolf didn't immediately bring up the issue she'd learned about from Symboli Speed. Instead, she first addressed something more pressing—though not entirely new to Kitahara: the recent orchestrated smear campaign against him that he'd already discussed with Tazuna Hayakawa.
"If necessary, I could lend a hand—"
"No, there's no need. Actually, I'd prefer if you didn't intervene just yet…"
"Do you have some kind of plan?"
"I wouldn't exactly call it a plan, but it's definitely an opportunity."
Kitahara didn't elaborate further, and Rudolf wasn't one to pry unnecessarily, so the topic quickly passed.
From there, Rudolf shifted to lighter subjects, filling him in on recent Student Council activities and ongoing tasks. The conversation stretched on comfortably; eventually, they even took a break for dinner, returning afterward to continue their talk inside the Student Council office.
With the busy start-of-term season finally behind them and evening already deepening, the Student Council had little work left. Air Groove and Narita Brian had wrapped up early, eagerly enjoying their rare moment of leisure.
As for Sirius—though she'd previously been determined to confront Rudolf—the President had easily managed to divert her attention today with carefully arranged "coincidences." Rudolf was confident Sirius would be too occupied to interfere until at least tomorrow morning.
Click—
After they entered, the Student Council room door closed automatically.
It was completely ordinary—just how the door functioned—but a strange sense of unease tugged inexplicably at Kitahara's heart.
Outside, night settled in deeper, wind gusting eerily through the buildings, moaning softly against windows and walls.
Rudolf sat down in her usual seat while Kitahara took a random chair nearby. As he glanced up, a peculiar sense of deja vu suddenly overwhelmed him.
Wait… This seat, this angle, this exact feeling…
His expression turned odd.
"...What's the matter?" Rudolf asked, noticing his sudden shift.
"...Nothing, really."
Kitahara straightened in his chair, nostalgia briefly coloring his voice.
"It just feels strangely similar to our very first meeting."
First meeting?
Rudolf froze momentarily. Realizing his meaning, she coughed softly, embarrassed.
"Yes, back then I was… not entirely rational."
"I understand. It was about Teio's future—of course you'd be upset," Kitahara replied warmly. "To be honest, at that moment I assumed I'd thoroughly offended you. I thought my days at the Academy would become miserable and our paths would never cross again…"
"Yet here we are again, sitting in these same seats. Our feelings and how we see each other are completely different now."
"So many things have happened," Kitahara sighed wistfully.
"Yes… a great deal has indeed happened," Rudolf echoed softly, and silence settled briefly between them.
After a pause, Rudolf casually broke the quiet, as though searching for any subject to grasp.
"Oh, right, Trainer Kitahara—I remember you once mentioning that you'd remotely coached an Umamusume during your childhood…"
"Could you tell me more about that?"
---
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