"Fuuh…"
A long, steady breath escaped Rudolf's lips.
There was nothing quite like a shower after a grueling run. The water felt divine, washing away the salt and grit of training along with the physical exhaustion. It couldn't wash away every kind of fatigue, of course, but it certainly cleared her mind. As she walked down the hall, contemplating her next move, she spotted the person everyone had been talking about.
"Ah, Rampage. I trust you're in good health?"
"Have I ever been anything else? Yours truly is always full of beans. Even back when my aunts and uncles were giving me grief, I'm pretty sure I was the picture of health."
The girl was Mejiro Rampage—a girl who was more often the center of a rumor mill than not. And, more importantly, she was the one opponent Rudolf now yearned to face on the turf more than any other.
"It seems the stars have finally aligned," Rudolf said. "I've been granted a letter of recommendation from the Matriarch."
"Ah, so one of the slots I gave 'U-chan' went to the President, huh? Though, knowing 'Su-chan,' I figured she'd just hand it to you and tell you to name your price."
"I heard you're expanding the recommendation slots."
"Something like that."
Rampage held a unique position. As the founder of this new endeavor, she possessed more authority in this specific arena than even the URA. That said, she had no intention of hoarding that power. She had already begun the process of handing over recommendation rights to the URA, who would eventually take over the management and operations. She had left the final say on the recipients to Uranus… but if Uranus believed in someone, Rampage was willing to do the same.
"Based on how the first one went," Rampage continued, "I decided to split the middle-distance division into 2000m and 2400m."
"Splitting them?" Rudolf asked, intrigued.
"Yeah. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that having middle-distance at 2400m and long-distance at 2500m was just too redundant. There wasn't much point in the distinction. But even a mere hundred meters makes a massive difference, and the four-hundred-meter gap between 2000 and 2400 is even bigger. So, I took the plunge. This way, we can pack in way more runners and give the regional circuits the boost they need. Besides, the Finals and the Legends are supposed to be festivals, right? The more, the merrier."
Rudolf nodded, the logic clicking into place. The 2400m was often called the "King's Road" of middle-distance, but many argued it was practically a foot in the door of long-distance. Creating a separate 2000m bracket was a sound judgment; it was a distance where even natural milers could hold their own if they had the grit.
"And which one will you be entering?" Rudolf asked.
"Honestly, I'm good either way. I was leaning toward the new 2000m just for the hell of it, but as the inaugural champion, I can't exactly snub the 2400m."
Rudolf allowed herself a small, internal smile. I wasn't wrong. Choosing to be recommended for the 2400m had been the right call.
Having answered her question, Rampage leaned back, her eyes narrowing with a sharp, knowing glint. It was her turn to play the interrogator.
"Say, Madam President… would it be wrong of me to say 'good job'?"
Rudolf blinked, momentarily taken aback. "Remarkable. Can you read my mind now?"
"Let's just say I rolled a Natural Critical on my Luck and Psychology checks."
Rudolf didn't quite grasp the meaning of the slang, but she couldn't help but laugh. There was a sense that with Rampage, anything was possible, and yet there was a strange, undeniable logic to it that Rudolf found immensely entertaining.
"In the end," Rudolf mused, "you retired before I ever had the chance to recruit you into the Student Council. It's a shame; I truly wanted you by my side."
"Hey, I felt bad about it, okay? That's why I help out with the paperwork every now and then. I even took that 'Student Council Liaison Trainer' gig, so cut me some slack."
"Heh… quite right. You are taking responsibility. Though, eventually, I'd like you to take responsibility for me as well."
Rampage smirked. "The Emperor and the Tyrant… is it finally time to see who sits on top?"
"You'd better include the 'Prince' in that, too," Rudolf added, referring to Teio. "If you don't, she'll never let us hear the end of it."
"Eh, let her get mad. It's not like it bothers me."
Rudolf smiled. She knew Rampage wouldn't actually do anything to truly upset Teio. For all her flippant attitude and casual posturing, there were few girls as loyal and sincere as the one standing before her.
Rampage pulled out a herb cigar and held it between her lips. "Still… skipping the Dream Trophy League to come here? You must have had a hell of a row with the URA."
"To be perfectly honest? It was an absolute mess. The URA brass were breathing down my neck, demanding I prioritize the Dream Trophy League."
"Figured," Rampage grunted.
Now that they had lost the 'Golden Egg' that was Rampage, the URA was becoming increasingly desperate to stop Rudolf from jumping ship to the Legend Races. They had blocked her from participating in the first year—a frustration she had shared with the likes of Ramone and CB.
"When Sirius casually waltzed into the Legends that first year," Rudolf admitted, a hint of steel in her voice, "I was furious. Ramone, CB, and I… we all were. We acted like children."
"Oof… tough break for the seniors."
Rudolf looked away. She couldn't help it. Looking at the lineup for that first year… she had missed her chance to run against the TTG generation she so admired. It was a stinging regret. But it was that very regret that led the Triple Crown winners to make a pact: Next time, we're getting in. No matter what.
"I had to enlist everyone," Rudolf explained. "My parents, the Matriarch, the whole Symboli family. In the end, I even had to ask Lord Uranus to pull some strings. And even then, the URA directors wouldn't let go. I was desperate enough that I eventually had to use my own life's ambition to convince them—my goal of creating an era where every girl can find happiness."
"Yikes. Sounds like a pain in the ass. You should've just told me; I would've gone in there and cleaned house for you."
Rudolf didn't doubt it. It had been an exhausting ordeal, and the thought of letting Rampage bulldoze the opposition had crossed her mind. But this was a selfish desire; if she didn't win this fight herself, it meant nothing. Moreover, she had been insulted by those who thought they could manipulate her just by parroting her own ideals back at her.
"I told them straight," Rudolf said firmly. "It is true that such is my goal. However, what does 'happiness' actually mean? If I do not understand the meaning of that joy for myself, how can I ever hope to build an era where others can find it?"
Rampage grinned around her cigar. "Nice line. 'I'll save the world as a side-effect of rescuing my own heart.' I love that kind of crap."
In this moment, it didn't matter that she was the Student Council President of Tracen Academy. It didn't matter that she was the "Emperor," or a scion of the Symboli family. This was the act of a single girl named Symboli Rudolf, pursuing her own joy.
She wanted to run. She wanted to compete. It was that simple. And she knew the girl in front of her would give her exactly what she was looking for.
"This will be my last Legend Race before things get too busy as a Trainer," Rampage said. "Should be fun."
"Indeed. Ramone and CB are looking forward to our clash as well."
"Bring it on."
With that, Rudolf parted ways with Rampage.
She walked a few paces, then stopped.
"Yes," she whispered to the empty hallway. "I am looking forward to it, too… to my final race."
Her expression as she said it was a complex tapestry—a lingering shadow of loneliness, swept away by a clear, radiant sky.
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