What the hell is that woman up to…?
With the ball drawing to a close, Sirius sat at a small table along the edge of the dance floor, brow tightly furrowed as she watched Rudolf beside her—calm as ever, even wearing a faint smile. Suspicion sat heavy in Sirius's eyes.
Kitahara sat at the same table, replaying the feel of the dance from earlier.
As he reviewed it, he also mulled over whether any of it could be applied to Umamusume training—so absorbed he didn't notice the strange tension beside him at all.
As for the other three, they would've liked to stay near Kitahara longer.
But with the ball nearly over, Satono Diamond and Kitasan Black were called back by their families for being too young, and Mejiro Ardan—still freshly recovered—was also whisked away by her butler, her household clearly unwilling to take chances.
Something worth mentioning: when those two households took their girls, they each handed Kitahara a business card bearing their family crest and invited him to visit sometime.
On the surface, Kitahara smiled and agreed, of course. But what he thought inside was… well…
The moment he got back to Tracen Academy, he planned to stash those two cards away and never, ever get involved with them in this lifetime.
Kitahara was thinking. Sirius was doubting. Rudolf was smiling.
At the very end of this social gathering, the three of them—each with their own thoughts—sat in silence until the final song.
And then, as the music faded, the ball ended at last, and this disaster-prone event finally came to an end.
As the volume dropped, guests exchanged farewells and streamed out of the hotel.
The three-person "matchmaking" trio didn't rush to leave. Not because they didn't want to bolt—just that, compared to everyone else, they still had one thing unresolved.
"I still haven't gotten anything," Rudolf said, checking her phone. "What about you two?"
No messages. No matchmaking. Nothing.
When she looked up, the hall had mostly emptied, and with night already deep, it didn't look like any more "matchmaking" was going to happen.
Kitahara and Sirius both scrolled through their own phones, then shook their heads as well. Neither had received any further information.
At that, even Kitahara and Sirius felt something faintly off—like the numbers didn't add up.
If one person's matchmaking meeting got "forgotten," you could call it luck. If it happened to two, you could chalk it up to coincidence.
But three at once…
It wasn't impossible. Just absurdly unlikely.
"Um… I have a theory," Kitahara said, raising a hand and offering it carefully.
"Is it possible everyone eligible who came to this social gathering was told that by their elders, but there wasn't any specific match arranged—meaning the whole venue counted…?"
"…I think Trainer Kitahara's theory is pretty plausible," Sirius said, agreeing immediately.
Rudolf thought for a moment, then nodded as well. As far as she could tell, it was the most reasonable explanation.
Unfortunately, the moment they accepted that theory, all three of them simultaneously recalled the chaos they'd been dragged through all day—and their expressions turned… complicated.
After an awkward stretch, with the hall nearly cleared out, they decided not to linger and prepared to leave.
But as they stepped out of the hotel, Kitahara was about to say goodbye and head back to Tracen Academy when Rudolf spoke up and stopped him.
"Trainer Kitahara. You're not seriously planning to go back like this, are you?"
Kitahara blinked, baffled. "Is that a problem?"
"It's not that it's impossible," Rudolf said, folding her arms as she glanced into the darkness ahead.
"But if I were one of those families… even if they couldn't make contact with you at the ball for various reasons—and couldn't publicly hound you—privately, they'd have far fewer scruples."
Sirius chimed in too, wearing a knowing, amused look as she eyed Kitahara.
"Trainer Kitahara, want to make a bet? I bet the second you step out there, you'll get swarmed. Question is: how many families?"
Hearing that, Kitahara stared into the dark, shivered, and slowly pulled back the foot he'd half-stepped forward.
"Uh… then what do you think I should do, in this situation…?"
"Simple," Rudolf said. "Come with us."
She walked to a sedan in the parking lot that practically screamed money, took out her keys, unlocked it, and got in. Then she beckoned to Kitahara and Sirius.
"Get in."
He had no idea what Rudolf was plotting, but out of trust in his… friend, Kitahara climbed in without hesitation.
"Er… so, where are we going…?"
"The Symboli family," Rudolf said, pressing the pedal. The car began to roll.
"More precisely—the Symboli main house."
"…You said where?"
Kitahara blinked.
"The Symboli main house," Rudolf repeated evenly.
And, as if she could already predict the direction Kitahara's thoughts were about to spiral, she explained before he could start getting weird ideas.
"You caused a scene earlier. You didn't think you could just walk away unscathed, did you?"
"Even if you slip away quietly, they'll have ways to dig up your information and come looking for you anyway."
"If you want to prevent that, simply leaving isn't enough. The best move is to make them think you've already reached an agreement with one faction—so the rest will back off."
"Of course, I won't deny that I've always wanted you working for me. Bringing you to the Symboli side isn't just solving your problem—there's a bit of selfishness in it."
"But I can guarantee this: if you don't want to, I will never force you to do anything."
"And what happens tonight, I'll keep between us, including from the Symboli family. Once we arrive, you'll stay somewhere no one will stumble onto."
"After you spend the night, we'll send you back tomorrow. That way, others will assume you have ties with the Symboli family, while no one in the Symboli household will know what actually happened—or even if they do, Sirius and I will smooth it over for you."
"What do you think?"
With things laid out that far, there was no way Kitahara could refuse.
"Then I should message Hayakawa-san and the others," he said. "Tell them I'm staying out tonight…"
"You can," Rudolf said, "but I'd suggest you keep our movements confidential. No mistakes."
"Yeah. I know."
Kitahara nodded, unlocked his phone, and began typing a message to Hayakawa-san.
A moment later, just as he hit send, a new chat window popped up—Tokai Teio's icon.
Huh? Wasn't this kid sick? Why is she still awake this late?
He opened it, mildly puzzled, and saw Teio had sent him a long string of New Year's greetings—then, at the end, an apparently casual question about where he was, and who he was with.
Remembering what Rudolf had just said about secrecy, Kitahara thought for a moment, then replied that he'd gone out to take care of something and wasn't with anyone else. Then he left it at that.
…Something about this feels off.
He stared at the "Read" status on the screen, a faint crease forming between his brows.
From what he knew of Teio, their chats never ended this quickly.
Once Teio started talking to him on LINE, the message count always hit double digits, and most of the time it ended with her last reply. But now…
Maybe the fever's draining her, so she doesn't have the energy?
That seemed plausible enough. Kitahara didn't think too much of it. He sent two more messages—some concern and reminders—then closed his phone.
Up front, Rudolf felt her phone buzz in her pocket a few times too, but with her driving, she didn't check and left it for later.
After that, with tires whispering against the road, the car rolled through the gates and into the Symboli main house's estate. Under cover of the night, Rudolf and Sirius escorted Kitahara out of the car.
"So… what now…?"
Standing there, taking in the surroundings, Kitahara was deeply unsettled—like a lamb that had wandered into a wolf den.
At his question, Sirius thought for a moment.
"Then I'll go find someone and get a room set up for you, so you can rest—"
"No."
Before Sirius could finish, Rudolf cut her off.
"That old woman probably just got back. If you go looking for someone now, there's a good chance you'll expose him—and in this place, word travels fast. Anyone can find out he came… except her. She absolutely cannot."
She didn't name names, but the other two knew exactly who Rudolf meant.
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Sirius frowned. "We've already brought him in. It's not like he can just… not have somewhere to stay."
"Who says there's nowhere?" Rudolf turned to Sirius, voice calm.
"He can just pick one of our rooms."
Silence.
Kitahara and Sirius both froze at the answer.
Before either of them could respond, Rudolf continued.
"Oh, and compared to my room, Sirius's room probably has more things a guy might be interested in. Also, I still have Student Council work to handle tonight, and I might have to stay up, so I recommend you go with her."
She looked straight at him.
"What do you think, Trainer Kitahara?"
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