Symboli Rudolph's Perspective
A week has passed since the Tenno Sho, yet the world remains obsessed with the fallout. It is only natural, I suppose, but the public's frustration has reached a boiling point after being barred from the NHK Mile Cup this past Sunday. Sensing the unrest, the URA announced an emergency press conference for 7:00 PM tonight. Standing alone at the podium will be my grandmother, Speed Symboli.
Of course, I intend to watch. We've gathered in the Student Council room—Air Groove, Mr. CB, Rice Shower, and Brother. Five of us, waiting to see what the "Old Hero" has to say. I am intensely curious to see how Grandmother intends to handle the wolves of the media.
ーーー Student Council Room ーーー
"President, the connection is live," Air Groove announced.
"Thank you, Air Groove. Grandmother gave me the gist of the agenda, but I wonder how much she'll actually reveal."
"And what is the official agenda, President?" Air Groove asked.
"The suspension of public race attendance. A predictable topic, given the circumstances."
CB leaned back, crossing her arms. "But isn't it a bit late for that? Everyone already knows why it's happening. Listening to a formal speech now feels… pointless."
"Perhaps," I replied. "But we may learn something new from the way she presents it."
Rice looked up at Hachiman. "Um… Big Brother? Are those reporters from before still outside the gates?"
"They probably realized we weren't going to break our silence and migrated over to the URA," Hachiman said, his eyes fixed on the screen. "To me, if their first instinct is to ask the organization for a comment rather than seeking the truth, they aren't even worth answering."
"You truly won't give them anything?" Air Groove asked. "They've come quite a long way just to see you."
"They don't have the answers I'm looking for," Hachiman muttered. "Talking to them is a waste of breath."
"Oh! Hachiman, look—she's on!" CB pointed at the screen.
The television flickered, showing Speed Symboli taking her seat. She wore a practiced, professional smile, but her eyes remained cold. Dead cold.
Moderator: "The time has come. We will now begin the press conference regarding the suspension of public race attendance through the month of May. We ask that all questions remain on topic. First, a few words from URA Vice-Chairman, Speed Symboli."
Speed Symboli: "Thank you all for making the time to join us today on such short notice. I look forward to our discussion."
Moderator: "Thank you. We will now move immediately to the Q&A session."
The conference proceeded with agonizing normalcy. Grandmother answered every question with poise and precision, but that was all she did. To an outsider, it was a textbook PR move. But as I watched, a sense of dissonance began to itch at the back of my mind. Something was wrong.
Moderator: "That concludes the scheduled portion of the conference."
"Well, that was straightforward," Air Groove noted. "A standard briefing."
"Yeah," CB added. "Nothing really happened, did it?"
Hachiman: "..."
Rudolph: "..."
"...Big Brother? President?" Rice asked softly.
"Is something the matter?" Air Groove pressed.
"I feel a strange sense of unease," I admitted. "Grandmother was too polite. It felt unnatural."
"...It's starting now," Hachiman whispered.
"Eh?" everyone else gasped.
"Look at her hands," Hachiman said. "Speed Symboli has been more expressive since the start. I noticed it when we met in Kyoto. When she's calm, she rests her right hand over her left. But when she's agitated—when she's truly feeling something—her left hand goes on top. Right now, her left hand is on top. She has something left to say."
I stared at the screen. To notice such a minute detail… Brother's observational skills are truly terrifying.
Speed Symboli: "Thank you for your time today. However… I find myself deeply disappointed. Disappointed that this conference has turned into a meaningless exercise—for both me and for all of you."
The room on the screen went stone-cold silent. The reporters froze. Grandmother's gaze had turned sharp enough to draw blood.
Moderator: "Um... excuse me? What exactly do you mean by that?"
Speed Symboli: "Oh? Do I really have to spell it out for you?"
Moderator: "...I am ashamed to admit… yes."
Speed Symboli: "Fine. Let us start from the beginning. Every one of you in this room began by offering an apology to me—or rather, to the URA. I find that incomprehensible. We have done nothing to deserve an apology from you."
"B-but..." one reporter stammered. "The decision to ban spectators was a URA decision, wasn't it?"
Speed Symboli: "Indeed. We made the decision. But in doing so, we were merely honoring the resolve of a single trainer. Tell me… are we truly the ones you should be apologizing to?"
The silence stretched. On the screen, no one spoke.
Speed Symboli: "...I see. You still don't understand."
She took a slow, deep breath, her eyes scanning the room like a predator.
"How truly foolish you are. All of you—and the masses who stood at the Kyoto Racecourse."
The reporters audibly gasped.
Speed Symboli: "I will say it once more: your apology videos and letters to the URA are worthless. They mean nothing. The reason is exactly what I just stated. If you truly felt remorse, would your apologies not be directed toward Rice Shower? Who was it that you buried under a mountain of insults? What was the actual cause of this ban?"
I felt a chill run down my spine. So that was the dissonance!
Speed Symboli: "A few days ago, I contacted Hachiman Hikigaya, Rice Shower's trainer. I asked him about the apologies she had received. The result left me simultaneously stunned and enraged. The number of letters sent to us at the URA is beyond counting. But the number of apologies sent to Rice Shower? I could count them on one hand and still have fingers left over. The only people who truly understand the weight of this situation are those few who reached out to the girl herself."
Grandmother leaned into the microphone, her voice dropping to a dangerous register.
Speed Symboli: "This may be perceived as an insult, but I shall say it regardless. To those who hurled abuse at Rice Shower and Hachiman Hikigaya, only to turn around and 'apologize' to the URA: you need to re-evaluate your character. I do not see a shred of moral integrity in you. To put it plainly… it is painfully obvious that you don't care about what you did. You only care about getting your entertainment back."
"I knew she'd say something," Hachiman muttered, "but I didn't think she'd strip them bare like that."
Speed Symboli: "Self-serving, far-fetched, and hypocritical. Those are the only words that fit. I have never been more repulsed. My only hope is that the near future proves me wrong, though I doubt it will."
Without another word, Grandmother stood up and walked off the stage.
The moment the screen went black, CB reached out and clicked the TV off. The room was silent. We all had a lot to process.
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