"Ara~, has Z-chan already reached the age to encounter this, hasn't she?"
Maruzensky was the first to break the silence, looking at Zero like an old mother would, watching her child grow up.
"Please don't use such strange terms, Maruzensky 'Senior'." Zero retorted back, deliberately emphasized the last word on her sentence.
"But I'm still so young (fake sobbing)..." She let out a fake cry that even a particularly dull person wouldn't be fooled by it
Actually, what's Spe-chan's full name, Special something?
(TL: bruh I realized that she has been calling Special week Spe-chan or little spe the whole time. I don't get why though this is here though.)
Perhaps understanding something, Rudolph and Mr. CB exchanged glances before returninh to their usual selves.
"Alright, then, what do you want to know?"
"I only know that Uma Musume who have activated their Domain and those who haven't are in completely different realms."
"Mhm, that's correct." Rudolf nodded.
"However, this is not without a price. Or rather, before confirming its activation, no one knows what the Domain will be like, how strong it is, or what the price will be. Perhaps there is no price, or perhaps using it once could lead directly to your retirement." The Emperor said this while observing Zero's reaction.
"Heh…" Zero let out a mocking laugh, dismissing the other's gaze like it was nothing.
"Then I ask you, Symboli Rudolf." Her gaze turned to the one who held the title of 'Emperor', whose eyes showed a slight displeasure at Zero's nonchalant demeanor.
"Knowing that you will definitely become stronger if you do it, would you be scared by unknown potential side effects and stop?"
"Naturally not." A hint of approval flashed in the Emperor's eyes.
"Then there's your answer, isn't that right?"
"But that doesn't necessarily lead to a good outcome. Are you truly mentally prepared?" This was her last attempt to dissuade her.
"The first time we met, you asked me what my ideal was, didn't you? My answer then is my answer now."
Symboli Rudolf paused, recalling the then-young Uma Musume's absolutely arrogant reply.
"Indeed, I underestimated you. Very well, I will tell you everything that I know, but whether you can activate it depends on your own fortune." She chuckled self-deprecatingly.
After receiving some currently known information, Zero said goodbye to everyone and left the Student Council Room, leaving behind her usual delivery of snacks.
———
A few seconds after Zero left.
"By the way, what exactly did Z-chan say to you back then?" While happily eating the delicious desserts, Maruzensky's curiosity was piqued from the conversation before, and she asked.
Mr. CB, who was devouring the grilled meat Zero had specially prepared for her and Narita Brian, also looked at the Rudolf, her face full of curiosity.
The Emperor stood by the window, watching Zero's retreating figure. Hearing the question from behind, she didn't turn around.
"That was the most arrogant, yet most ambitious goal I have ever heard in my life. When I first heard it, I even dismissed her without hesitation, advising her to choose a more realistic dream." The Emperor's expression seemed to be reminiscing about that day two years ago.
————Flashback———
That day, she, as always, was watching the debut races of the new students. No matter how much time passed, the sight of those green Uma Musume running for their ideals in their debut races still made her blood boil in excitement.
But one Uma Musume failed to run. The reason was because a staff member's oversight that made the gate not to open probably.
And the Uma Musume, who instinctively tried to burst out, crashed right into the gate.
That was a speed of one kilometer per minute with a very high explosive burst moment of the start. The impact directly dented the gate, but this also meant that the Uma Musume was severely injured.
The Emperor was furious at the time. The staff member who conducted the inspection that day was immediately dismissed and paid for the child's medical expenses.
Afterward, when the Emperor felt she should visit the other party out of both duty and kindness, she found that the other party was still training with a blood-stained bandage wrapped around er head, which made her blood pressure skyrocket.
"Who is your Trainer?"
"It has nothing to do with him. He doesn't even know that I'm training, nor does the hospital know that I snuck out."
"Then, as Student Council President, I order you to go back and rest. This is not the time to be willful." Even with those words, the child did not reply.
"I know you're sad because you lost the race due to external factors, but you don't need to jeopardize your future for this. I can see you have great talent. Just rest well and you can run again when you recover." She thought the child was lost because she lost the race and decided to recklessly harm herself.
"I am well aware of my injury. It's actually not serious." Saying this, the child untied the bandage before Rudolf could stop her. The wound underneath was almost fully healed, almost as it there was no injury there.
"!!"
"Then, Ms. President, may I continue my training now?" The child seemed to be displeased at having her training interrupted.
"...Why are you telling me this?"
"If I get taken away for research, it will only be because you leaked it. Then I'll just settle the score with you before I get taken away." There was no reverence for her in the child's voice or words, making Rudolf rather curious.
"What is your dream?"
"Me? If I had to say, I want to reach the pinnacle."
"Oh? Do you want to surpass me?" The Emperor also became interested. After all, many aimed after her, but truly few aimed to surpass her.
"You?" The other party glanced at her, completely disregarding her, which made the Rudolf frown.
"You are very strong, at least for me right now, but compared to my goal, you are just the big stumbling block on my path to achieving my dream."
Hearing the other party's words, the Emperor naturally thought of what the pinnacle in her mouth was.
The Three Goddesses...
"Are you joking? This isn't funny, and it's not realistic. I advise you to choose a more practical dream."
"I won't change! If I don't even have the courage of challenging them, how can I reach that height? What other reason would there be for me to even step onto that racetrack in the first place!"
"This is disrespectful to the Three Goddesses!"
"Disrespectful!? If one only intends to exist under their protection without striving for progress, that is the greatest level of disrespect there is!"
"You simply don't know what kind of myth that is, you simply don't understand how strong they are!"
"I know, of course I know, that's why I decided to challenge them."
Seeing the child's unyielding attitude, even she, whose personality had begun to mellow, got angry. In a fit of pique, she blurted out words she immediately regretted.
"But now you've even failed your debut race! Even if it was due to external factors, your failure is a foregone conclusion. Your dream failed from the very beginning!"
Then she felt a gaze that made even her, at the time, feel a pang in her heart.
"Is that so… It seems in your eyes, I'm still just that loser, right?" The young girl was trembling slightly as she spoke, not from sadness, but from anger. It was clear from the look in her eyes.
"I…" Rudolf realized what she said, wanting to apologize, that what she said was impulsive and disheartening, but the apology couldn't be uttered, cut off by the child as soon as the first syllable was spoken.
"Then simply watch. Watch as I show you how wrong you are! I'll show you what kind of Uma Musume is standing before you!"
After saying that, the girl continued her training, ignoring Rudolf completely.
A month later, the child started her second debut race, employing the [Great Escape] strategy.
She accelerated the entire way, her speed increasing every second. The other Uma Musumes, despite giving their all, couldn't close the distance between them no matter what.
Finally, after she crossed the finish line, some of the Uma Musume behind her jogged slowly to finish the race, while others simply stopped in place, looking as if they were questioning life.
Normally, such a large gap would only show as a 'big difference,' but that distance was so terrifying that on-site personnel had to measure it, eventually yielding a result.
The difference between the first and second place was a full 50 lengths.
This was only because the race was a 1600m mile race. If the distance had been longer, seeing her show no signs of fatigue after crossing the finish line, she could have pulled even further ahead, far exceeding the record of 32 Uma Musume lengths set by the Uma Musume named Secretariat in another race.
Even though this was just a debut race, or rather, precisely because it was just a debut race, it seemed even more terrifying.
After that race, almost all the participating Uma Musume became withdrawn, looking at that child as if she was a monster. Some Uma Musume even now get weak in the knees by just hearing her name.
It was a despair-inducing 'big difference.'
Not surprisingly as she, all by a herself, crushed the dreams of the other participating Uma Musume, perfectly embodying the Emperor's theory of "Eclipse first, the rest nowhere," to the point t it seemed so merciless.
After that race, Rudolf sought out the child again.
"How was it? I can go even faster; there was no need to use my full strength."
Extremely arrogant, but the Symboli Rudolf knew that this was the girl's retaliation for her previous words.
"I apologize for my previous words, but if possible, I hope you can help those children regain some confidence. Your actions were truly…"
"Do I need you to tell me? If I didn't think you'd come over, I would have already dealt with this. Rather, if it weren't for you, they wouldn't have experienced such despair."
The other party continued to oppose her until the very end, leaving the Emperor to ponder alone.
"My ideal will never change, my goal is only that sole peak. This is just the beginning. Next, I will let you know that I can do it, and that only I can do it." Before leaving, she left a remark, still extremely arrogant words, but for some reason, Symboli Rudolf felt the child's tone had softened a lot.
After that, starting from the next race, she never again used such a terrifying difference in length, The distance she pulled ahead varied in each race, but it would always be at least one length.
Some said her debut race was just a fuke, but more people preferred to believe that she was waiting for a true opponent to arrive.
Symboli Rudolf didn't expect to be lectured by this child, who was much younger than her. However, it was precisely because of this incident that she understood the meaning of the words the other had spoken of that day.
She had wished to stop the child that day not just because it was disrespectful to the Three Goddesses, but also out of concern for her—
Concern that she would excessively pursue victory for this dream no matter what,
ultimately shining brightly like a star for but a moment, then plummeting into a bottomless abyss, while also missing the people who supported her and letting down those she loved.
But in the second debut race, she displayed her strength, showing that she possessed power that didn't require her to be obsessed with it.
Then, through her subsequent actions, she demonstrated that she wouldn't forget everything around her due to an obsession with victory, nor would she ignore the defeated. As the price for defeating them, she would carry the ideals of the losers forward with her.
Later, when the other party earned the title of the [Absolute King], the Emperor silently changed that title in her heart.
The [Kind Ruler]
———End of Flashback———
"Even now, that child is still the same, gentle to everyone. Rather, I was truly too abrupt back then. But it's quite childish to hold a grudge from back then all the way to now, haha."
"So what is it, already?!" Maruzensky looked at Rudolph, who was still standing there, smiling and reminiscing, and pouted in dissatisfaction.
"Ah, I apologize. If I had to say, it's probably about climbing a mountain."
"What mountain?"
"The 'Highest Peak' that we all look up to." Rudolph raised a finger and said with a smile.
"Ah, speaking of the highest (saikou) peak, it's also time for us to discuss with them. Let's go (sa, ikou)."
"…"
Maruzensky and Mr. CB's motivation decreased.
(Mood: Awful)
PS: This chapter mainly explains why the protagonist dislikes the Emperor. By the way, the Emperor often plays the villain in fanfics, haha.
==========
I'm a newbie translator and wanted to add more uma fics for more people to read. if there are any errors, multiple of the same text or sentence, let me know.
The credits and orginal story is: 传奇马娘想好好谈恋爱 and belongs to: 起始之零