After handing off the investigation to Rudolph, Shinji Kitahara stopped fretting about Kazuya Kudo and returned to his daily routine.
He scrolled through his phone, browsed forums, and chatted with other trainers in group chats. He took some time to offer guidance to Agnes Digital, whose race was approaching, and to give Grass Wonder a little encouragement. After training, he went to the lab to check on a reluctant Agnes Tachyon. Back in his dorm, he searched online for the materials and tools he'd need for Nice Nature's upcoming care, all while idly petting the little black rice ball in his lap.
Just like that, a day passed.
The sun rose on the second day.
He washed up, ate, and went to the training grounds as usual. After exchanging greetings, the horse girls began their daily training, and Shinji pulled out his phone, ready to slack off.
But he'd been lounging for less than fifteen minutes when Symboli Rudolph appeared beside him. Gazing at Tokai Teio training in the distance, she spoke calmly.
"I've finished looking into what you asked for. There are indeed a few things worth noting."
Hearing this, Shinji froze, nearly dropping his phone.
What? She's already done?
Shinji had heard that Rudolph was remarkably capable and efficient. He didn't doubt it; after all, she wouldn't have been able to stand on equal footing with the Chief Director as a student, or be revered as the 'Emperor,' without some serious skills.
But this was just too damn fast.
Preparations, planning, assigning personnel, conducting interviews, gathering information, cross-referencing, and organizing...
Shinji had estimated the whole process would take at least four or five days. Not to mention, with the influx of new students, the student council was already swamped. Plus, Kazuya Kudo was extremely well-connected within Tracen Academy, which would severely limit their investigation methods if they wanted to remain undetected, dragging things out even longer.
Yet, after just one night, Rudolph said she was finished and handed him the file.
As he checked it, he realized the report wasn't just fast; it was incredibly complete and detailed, containing information he hadn't even requested. It was as if she had turned Kazuya Kudo's life inside out.
"How did you do it?" Shinji couldn't help but ask.
Symboli Rudolph didn't hide anything. "I told the Chief Director I needed access to the trainer database to match the new students with trainers and had Air Groove copy the files for me."
"Then, under the pretext of finding a trainer for a young up-and-comer from the Symboli family, I had Narita Brian ask around with the students he used to train."
"Finally, I used some off-campus connections to look into his financial flow..."
As she explained, Symboli Rudolph herself felt a bit puzzled. The on-campus part was straightforward. After Shinji left, she had spent about ten minutes devising a strategy and then had Air Groove and Brian put aside their work to execute it. They had worked together for years, so their high efficiency was no surprise.
The strange part was the Symboli family's attitude.
She had figured that while her request would likely be approved, that old woman, Speed Symboli, wouldn't make it easy. Even if she didn't deliberately obstruct her, she'd at least throw a few taunts her way.
But nothing of the sort happened.
Not only was there no obstruction, but the Symboli family's cooperation was startlingly good. They were compliant and responsive to every request. In fact, they had anticipated many of her needs, sending the information to her email the moment she asked. That old woman, Speed Symboli, hadn't said a single word.
This wasn't normal.
Rudolph wasn't naive enough to think they were being so cooperative simply because they deemed the matter serious. After mulling it over, she concluded it must have something to do with Shinji Kitahara.
But she didn't press the issue.
From their conversation yesterday, she had confirmed that Shinji was unaware of the Symboli family's involvement. Asking him would be pointless. She would have to find time to get the information out of that old woman, Speed Symboli.
While Rudolph was lost in thought, Shinji scanned the file. His finger stopped on a particular piece of information, his brow furrowing.
A hospital...
According to the file, Kazuya Kudo had a habit of visiting a patient at a Tracen-affiliated hospital every week, a routine he never missed, even during his 담당's race preparations. In recent years, the frequency of these visits had increased from once a week to at least three times a week, basically whenever he had free time.
Furthermore, according to his former horse girls, Kudo was extremely reluctant to talk about it and had never told them anything. Some graduates seemed to know the reason but never spoke of it, only saying it was his personal matter and they shouldn't pry.
Shinji tapped the file, his eyes narrowing.
Is he being blackmailed? Does someone need an organ transplant? Or is it something else...
Whatever. I'll find out when I go see for myself.
Not long after reading the file, Shinji told the horse girls he was stepping out and left the training grounds with Eclipse.
Kazuya Kudo was in the middle of a training session and wouldn't be free for a while. Shinji, not one to procrastinate, decided to use this opportunity to investigate.
To his surprise, Symboli Rudolph asked to go with him, saying she wanted to judge Kazuya Kudo's character with her own eyes.
Shinji didn't refuse; it would have been pointless to. After all, she was the one who got him the file. She didn't need his permission to go.
Thus, a short while later, Shinji Kitahara, Eclipse, and Symboli Rudolph stood at the entrance of the hospital. Instead of going directly to the patient's room, they first spoke with the medical staff to get some information.
Normally, such information wouldn't be disclosed to outsiders, but the person asking was Symboli Rudolph. When she added that it was for student council work, the nurse hesitated only for a moment before speaking.
"It's not really a secret. That young lady has been here for many years, and many people know about her and Mr. Kudo. It's alright to tell you..."
The patient's name was Yotsuba Clover, a horse girl. She wasn't a student at the main Tracen Academy, nor at a regional one. She wasn't even a racehorse girl.
The reason...
"Mr. Kudo and Miss Clover met back in elementary school."
"According to Miss Clover, Mr. Kudo used to be very withdrawn. He rarely spoke at home and didn't have many friends at school, but his grades were excellent."
"Miss Clover, on the other hand, was cheerful and popular, but her grades weren't so great."
"So, their teacher suggested she find a friend with good grades to help her study, someone who could tutor her..."
"And Miss Clover chose Mr. Kudo."
"She said she felt her other friends were too indulgent. They wouldn't just fail to supervise her; they'd probably get distracted by her. So she wanted to find someone who seemed a bit intimidating."
"But according to Mr. Kudo, she saw him all alone and felt sorry for him, so she used it as an excuse to get close."
"I don't know who's telling the truth, but that's how it started."
"Miss Clover said they didn't get along at first. Mr. Kudo had a bad temper back then and was always scolding her. Not cute at all."
"And according to Mr. Kudo, Miss Clover was the one who went too far, always climbing trees to get bird's nests and catching fish in the river, but never studying. She even tried to drag him along."
"As they kept clashing, they slowly got to know each other, and their relationship improved, though Mr. Kudo never softened his attitude towards her."
"He felt her attitude towards studying was too lax, that she'd become a good-for-nothing in the future."
"But whenever he said that, Miss Clover would cover her ears, shake her head, and chant, 'I'm not listening, I'm not listening.'"
"After this happened many times, Mr. Kudo, seeing he couldn't persuade her, finally asked what she wanted to do with her life. She couldn't just wander around forever, right?"
"Miss Clover said she felt a little guilty when he asked, so she blurted out that she wanted to be a racehorse girl to get him off her back."
"She thought Mr. Kudo would be angry. She was a rather small horse girl, and her physical abilities weren't just average, they were below average. She knew she couldn't become a racehorse girl; she was just trying to placate him."
"But that day, Mr. Kudo didn't get angry. After a long silence, he said that in that case, he would become a trainer."
"Miss Clover was shocked. He had previously told her he wanted to be a police officer. She didn't know why he suddenly wanted to be a trainer."
"'Because I think a certain idiot would probably die of stupidity without me looking after her.' Miss Clover said that was Mr. Kudo's exact words."
"It took Miss Clover a long time to realize who the 'idiot' was. She gave him a kick and ran off."
"And from that day on, Mr. Kudo started studying even harder."
"Although Tracen had made exceptions and hired underage intern trainers to exclusively handle their childhood friends, that was only if the person was capable of being a trainer."
"So, Mr. Kudo wanted to study hard, skip grades, and become Miss Clover's exclusive trainer as a peer."
"Miss Clover was very happy at the time. Even though it meant he couldn't be by her side for a while, they could be together forever in the future."
"But that's when the accident happened."
"On his way home from school one day, the young Mr. Kudo was targeted and kidnapped by human traffickers."
"Because he had been studying late, there was no one else around. Only Miss Clover, who had gone to check on him, saw what happened."
"She chased after them without hesitation. The traffickers, terrified by her identity as a horse girl, didn't even realize she hadn't even started her full-scale growth."
"In their panic and the darkness of the night, the traffickers didn't see the road ahead and drove off a steep slope over ten meters high."
"Mr. Kudo was dragged down with them. To protect him, Miss Clover jumped down after them."
"She held onto him, using the experience she gained from years of climbing trees and playing in rivers to keep him safe. He didn't even have a scratch when they landed. The traffickers, however, were all dead."
"After surviving, Mr. Kudo was ecstatic and was about to say something to her when he noticed her mangled legs and her pale face from blood loss."
"Mr. Kudo says he doesn't remember what happened after that."
"But according to Miss Clover, Mr. Kudo, who hadn't exercised since deciding to become a trainer and whose two frail hands couldn't even win a tug-of-war against one of hers, managed to carry her on his back for over a kilometer to the nearest inhabited area in just over ten minutes before passing out. Even while unconscious, he kept calling her name."
"But even so, he couldn't save her legs."
"A fall from over ten meters high, without full-scale growth, and bearing the weight of two people... it was a miracle from the Three Goddesses that she even survived."
"Afterwards, Miss Clover had no regrets. She said that if she could go back in time, she would jump without hesitation, because there was something more important to her than running, more important than her own life."
"Later, Mr. Kudo wanted to give up his goal of becoming a trainer, but Miss Clover persuaded him not to."
"She said she could no longer run and wanted to see Mr. Kudo witness the running of other girls in her place."
"It was a lie. Miss Clover had never wanted to be a racehorse girl; she just wanted to be with him. Now, she just didn't want him to give up on all the effort he had already put in because of her."
"So, Mr. Kudo became a trainer, from a rookie to a veteran, and then a legend."
"His reputation grew, his income increased, and the girls he trained became more outstanding with each generation."
"The only thing that never changed was that he would call Miss Clover every night and visit her at least once a week, never missing a visit even during his busiest times."
"And that has continued to this day."
After the story ended, the room fell silent.
Symboli Rudolph seemed to want to say something, her lips trembled, but in the end, she just sighed.
As for Shinji Kitahara, after a moment of silence, his expression grew solemn, and he looked up.
"Can I meet Miss Clover?"
"Well..." The medical staff member looked troubled and glanced at Symboli Rudolph.
Rudolph was silent for a moment, exchanged a look with Shinji, and sighed.
"Take us to her."
"...Alright."
-------
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