"So, let me get this straight. You're feeling unwell because the streamer didn't go live yesterday, you got disappointed, and then you couldn't sleep?"
In the Student Council room, the air had gone rigid.
Air Groove stood with her arms crossed, her icy gaze fixed on the "Emperor" sitting ramrod-straight on the sofa.
Everyone at Tracen Academy knew there were two reigning figures in the Student Council: an Emperor and an Empress.
On paper, the Emperor—the Student Council President—held absolute authority.
In reality, when the Empress truly lost her temper, even the Emperor knew better than to test her.
At this moment, Symboli Rudolf had her head lowered, forcing an awkward little smile—like a child being scolded by a strict guardian.
When Rudolf returned to the Student Council earlier, Air Groove had asked after her condition, then pressed and pressed about what happened the night before.
Rudolf, of course, couldn't tell the real reason, so she tried to dodge with vague excuses.
Unfortunately for her, Air Groove wasn't stupid. One look at Rudolf's evasive behavior and she knew something was off.
After a sustained interrogation, Rudolf had no choice but to come clean—until it finally became… this.
"And now?" Air Groove's brow knit tighter, her voice dropping another degree. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"N-no… it's not like that…" Rudolf mumbled, still not daring to lift her head.
"Not like what?"
"It's not a streamer… It's Radish-sensei… He's just… really amazing…"
"…!"
Facing Rudolf's utterly unrepentant expression…
Air Groove snapped.
…
By the time the storm passed, the day's work was back on the table.
"I've finished most of today's tasks," Air Groove said, tone businesslike again. "The remaining contract applications are on you, President."
"I understand. Leave it to me."
After being lectured for what felt like an eternity, Rudolf didn't dare show even a hint of slacking—she could still feel the warning heat of Air Groove's anger.
Air Groove nodded, satisfied, and left the Student Council room.
The instant the door closed, the sternness she'd been wearing fell away, replaced by a long, quiet sigh.
I did something unforgivable to the President this morning… and then I had to act angry, too.
Air Groove's lips tightened faintly.
Air Groove… you really have become a "bad woman," haven't you?
And the applications…
She'd been able to leave with a clear mind because she'd already checked the stack before Rudolf came back. There was no sign of the one she'd been worried about—the contract between Wu You and Chiemi Representative.
Only then had she allowed herself to relax.
"As expected of the Director," she murmured under her breath. "Meticulous."
Then another thought slid in.
"Still… who exactly is this 'Radish-sensei' that has the President this invested? Maybe… I'll take a look later."
With that, her footsteps faded down the hall.
…
Watching Air Groove's back disappear, Rudolf finally let out the breath she'd been holding.
She returned to the desk, picked up the thin stack of contract applications, and began reviewing them one by one.
There weren't many. With Rudolf's efficiency, she cleared them quickly.
"…Chiemi still hasn't signed," Rudolf sighed without meaning to.
But she could understand it.
Chiemi might already have a trainer she cared about, but getting to the point of signing took time—careful time.
Not everyone was like Rudolf and Wu You back then, a pairing so instantaneous it had practically been love at first sight.
Work done, Rudolf slipped her phone out of her pocket and tiptoed to the door. She pressed one ear—smack—flat against the wood and listened.
After a long moment, convinced Air Groove wasn't about to launch a surprise inspection, she finally returned to her chair, opened the familiar video app, and stared at her feed.
"Tonight…" she whispered, violet eyes flickering with a hope she tried to hide, "will he stream?"
She tapped into her following list, intending to pass time by replaying old clips.
Then—
The door slammed open.
Rudolf jolted, instantly hiding her phone.
"President—!"
She looked up.
It wasn't Air Groove.
Tokai Teio stood there, bouncing in place, holding two cups of honey drinks.
"President! Are you feeling better?!" Teio trotted in and thrust one cup forward. "Here! Honey special for you!"
Realizing it wasn't Air Groove, Rudolf's shoulders loosened. She accepted the drink and sighed.
"Teio… how many times do I have to say it? Next time, knock."
"I know, I know~ Oh! And President, besides the drink, I've got something else for you!"
"Hm?"
"Today I went to the Director's office to grab documents for Air Groove, and when I got back, I realized I accidentally stuffed a few sheets into my school bag. So I brought them over!"
As she spoke, Teio rummaged through her bag and pulled out several application pages, handing them over.
Rudolf took them automatically—this sort of Teio-style chaos was so common in the Student Council that no one even flinched anymore.
"Okay, then I won't bother you while you work Bye-bye"
"…All right. Just remember to close the door."
"Got it~"
A soft click, and the room fell quiet again.
Rudolf shook her head with a small smile and lowered her gaze to the papers.
The moment her eyes landed on the top page, her violet pupils contracted sharply.
In the "Umamusume Name" field was a name she knew all too well:
Chiemi Representative.
Her brown ponytail flicked as Rudolf's expression softened into genuine satisfaction.
"Haha… already? That was fast. So Chiemi and her trainer really were 'love at first sight,' too~"
Seeing a friend walk a path so similar to her own stirred a warm, sympathetic approval.
"Let's see who this trainer is—who could make Chiemi… sign…"
Her voice trailed off.
In the next second, Rudolf's smile froze.
She shot to her feet.
Both hands slammed down onto the desk—bang—hard enough that it sounded like the solid wood might crack.
Her eyes locked onto the trainer's name.
A name she had carried in longing, in guilt, in sleepless nights, until it had carved itself into her bones—
Wu You.
-------
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