After saying goodbye to Miss Ardan, whom she'd run into earlier, Nearl quickened her pace and hurried back to Mr. C.B's apartment.
But the moment she opened the door, the scene inside took her by surprise.
There was Mr. C.B—who hadn't returned all night—sprawled face-down in the entryway, her left hand still stubbornly pointing forward.
She was wearing the exact same clothes as the day before, only now the cuffs of her sleeves were visibly stained, and her hair was a tangled mess. It was clear she hadn't cleaned up all night.
Nearl knelt down on one knee, gathered Mr. C.B into her arms, and gently shook her.
"Please wake up. Are you alright, Miss C.B?"
After some shaking and the occasional light pat on the cheek, the woman in her arms finally opened her eyes.
Those once bright and clear blue eyes now looked dry and vacant, with dark shadows underneath—a sure sign she hadn't slept a wink last night.
"Ah… Little Nearl? Am I… home already?"
Mr. C.B struggled to focus her gaze, finally recognizing the face in front of her as that of the guest she'd taken in just yesterday.
"Yes, Miss C.B, you're home. But what happened to you? Did you run into some kind of trouble?"
Nearl frowned deeply. Seeing Mr. C.B—who had been so kind to her—in this state worried her greatly.
"Ah~ It's nothing… Just blame that damned 'Tofu Tyrant'… Sorry, Little Nearl, could you help me to bed? I…"
Before she could finish, Mr. C.B's spirit gave out completely.
Her eyes closed, her head lolled to the side, and she sank into a deep sleep right there in Nearl's arms.
"..."
Nearl gazed down at her with concern, then carefully slid one arm under Mr. C.B's knees and lifted her gently.
She rose slowly, doing her best to keep her movements steady so as not to disturb Mr. C.B's slumber.
The bedroom wasn't far. Nearl pushed the slightly ajar door open with her foot and laid Mr. C.B down on the bed with care.
Out of courtesy, Nearl didn't remove Mr. C.B's outer clothes. She only took off her shoes and pulled the covers over her.
Watching Mr. C.B sleep as soundly as a little pig, Nearl couldn't help but wonder what exactly she had been through.
"Earlier, Miss C.B mentioned 'Tofu Tyrant'… I wonder what that means?"
Making a mental note of it, Nearl decided to head to Central Tracen to ask around.
After all, Mr. C.B was still a student here—chances were, she spent most of her time within Tracen's grounds.
"Should I ask Miss Hayakawa first?"
Nearl closed the bedroom door behind her, murmuring to herself.
--+--
"Tofu Tyrant? Hehe~~"
Standing guard at the school gate, Miss Hayakawa burst into laughter after hearing the whole story—though she did politely cover her mouth with her hand.
"Miss Hayakawa, is there something funny about that?"
Seeing the ever-gentle Hayakawa Tazuna laugh like that, Nearl realized there must be some misunderstanding behind the term.
"Haha, if she knew Mr. C.B was calling her that, well… let's just say life would get even harder for Miss C.B from now on."
Having finally calmed down a little, Hayakawa Tazuna wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and explained to Nearl.
"Do you know who the current Student Council President of Central Tracen is?"
"Of course. That 'Emperor' of the racetrack—Symboli Rudolf."
Nearl nodded; that was common knowledge, after all.
"Actually, before Miss Rudolf took over, it was Mr. C.B who served as Student Council President."
"But she never had much patience for paperwork, so as soon as Miss Rudolf emerged as a capable successor, Mr. C.B immediately stepped down. Although, for various reasons, she was persuaded to stay on as vice president."
"She wasn't too happy about that, so she started giving Miss Rudolf nicknames behind her back."
At this point, part of Nearl's question was answered—but it still didn't explain why Miss C.B had been so utterly exhausted.
Miss Hayakawa admitted she didn't know either.
"I'm not sure about that part. But you could always go ask Miss Rudolf herself."
Seeing that Nearl still seemed puzzled, the Green Demon suggested she head straight to the Student Council Room.
--+--
"So you came to me because of this?"
Seated in her office chair, Symboli Rudolf took a sip of tea from the cup beside her, then gazed with interest at Nearl, who was sitting on the sofa.
"Yes."
Nearl was also holding a cup of tea—poured for her earlier by Rudolf herself. Judging by the water level, she had already taken a sip.
"I don't mind telling you, but it might shatter whatever image you have of Mr. C.B."
Rudolf clasped her hands together, covering her mouth and nose. Her expression darkened noticeably.
"Then again, that woman doesn't really have much of an image left to protect."
Seeing this, Nearl could already guess most of it.
'It seems Miss C.B's exhaustion is closely tied to President Rudolf.'
Still, she felt somewhat relieved. After all, Symboli Rudolf was someone you could trust—whatever happened, Miss C.B was probably fine.
With that in mind, Nearl took a calm sip of tea. But the next moment, when she saw the Emperor pull something out from under her desk, she choked on her drink.
"Cough cough… Why on earth do you have a doll of Miss C.B, President Rudolf?"
It wasn't that Nearl lacked composure—it was just that the scene was beyond imagination.
There was Symboli Rudolf, her face shadowed with displeasure, dragging out a life-sized doll of Mr. C.B from under her desk. And because the doll was so large, she had to hold it with both arms.
So what unfolded before Nearl was nothing short of bizarre:
A visibly disgusted Rudolf, cradling a life-sized doll of Mr. C.B like a little girl clinging to her favorite toy. The contrast between Rudolf's stern expression and such fan-like behavior was simply too jarring.
"Don't look so surprised. Mr. C.B had this custom-made herself."
Propping the doll against the side of her desk, Rudolf regained her usual dignified demeanor.
"Even though she's a member of the student council, she slacks off every day, dumping all her work on me.
To keep me from noticing, she even went so far as to make a dummy to fool me. Don't you think that's going too far?"
"A little," Nearl admitted.
Hearing this, and matching it with what she knew of Mr. C.B, Nearl found the president's account believable.
"So yesterday, I went straight to Senpai's house, bagged her up, and carried her back to the student council room."
"..."
Nearl's expression turned complex.
'That's literally a crime, Madam President…'
"I locked her in the student council room and personally supervised her until she finished all her work."
At this, Symboli Rudolf let out a cold snort.
"But I wasn't too harsh—I only made her handle all the paperwork she'd secretly piled onto me these past few days."
"So Miss C.B was up all night, trapped here doing paperwork?" Nearl concluded.
"She brought it upon herself!"
Symboli Rudolf's tone was full of annoyance.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.