The moment Agnes Tachyon had just started speaking, SS sensed something was off. Thanks to her alert, Manhattan Cafe promptly stopped Agnes Tachyon's attempt to "jump the gun."
In doing so, she also unknowingly saved Tachyon's love life.
If Agnes Tachyon were to confess her feelings to Nearl right now, she'd get nothing but a rejection—no other outcome.
To put it in gaming terms, the current Nearl was like a unique world NPC with a Justice stat of 100, a natural Friendliness of 100, and Charisma maxed out at 100—but her romance route wasn't unlocked yet.
All you could do for now was grind affection points.
So if Tachyon charged ahead right now, she'd be doomed for sure.
Though Cafe's intention was just to stop Tachyon from sneaking ahead, in the end, she actually did her a favor.
"Nearl, Tachyon really shouldn't be out in public like this today. She might cause trouble for others, so I'll take her away now."
Manhattan Cafe said to Nearl with a completely serious face, then kept one hand firmly over Tachyon's mouth as she dragged the flailing Agnes Tachyon outside.
Behind her, SS played the part of a dutiful and helpful stand-in—clearing obstacles out of the way and pointing directions.
"Then see you next time, Tachyon, Cafe."
Not minding the strangeness—or perhaps noticing Agnes Tachyon's reluctance but thinking it was a good idea for Cafe to take her back—Nearl simply ignored Tachyon's struggling.
"Alright, what should I do now?"
After placing a "Closed" sign on the counter, wrapping up the remaining tasks, and thanking everyone in the kitchen, Nearl leisurely stepped out of the restaurant alone.
"Should I go train? Or see if the Student Council President needs help?"
Walking along the path, Nearl pondered until a familiar brown-haired figure dashed right past her.
"Huh?"
The figure was so familiar that Nearl recognized her at a glance.
"C.B-senpai?"
If Nearl had seen Mr. C.B., then according to the principle of infinite light diffusion (nonsense, obviously), Mr. C.B. must have seen Nearl too, which made her absolutely thrilled.
"Nearl! Help me!"
Changing course, she sprinted straight toward Nearl.
"Hold off whoever's behind me!"
Looking at the panting Mr. C.B. in front of her, Nearl nodded and reached out to steady her.
"Don't rush, Senpai. First, tell me what's going on."
"No time for that! Just help me out for now, okay?"
Mr. C.B. seemed frantic, but Nearl remained unmoved.
"C.B-senpai, you know how I am. I won't make a decision without understanding the situation. If you want my help, you have to tell me what happened."
"Tsk."
For the first time, Mr. C.B. felt just how troublesome Nearl's rigid, by-the-book personality could be.
If she genuinely needed help, Nearl was truly the best choice—but right now, she was the one at fault. If she explained everything from start to finish, Nearl might not be willing to help after all.
"Never mind then, I'll just go."
Giving up on getting Nearl's assistance, Mr. C.B. prepared to make a run for it. But a pair of soft yet immovable hands held her firmly in place.
"Senpai, until things are clear, please stay right here. If this truly is something harmful to you, I'll see it through to the end."
"Well, ah, you don't need to go that far… How about just letting your senpai slip away for now, okay?"
Putting a finger to her lips, Mr. C.B. blew Nearl a playful kiss.
But sadly, a move that had almost always worked on Symboli Rudolf when she used to skip out had zero effect on Nearl.
"Senpai, I don't think you understand. If something is harmful to you, I'll pursue it. In other words, if you caused trouble, I won't show favoritism either."
"Guh—!"
Mr. C.B. fell silent. That reaction said it all, confirming Nearl's earlier suspicions and making her sigh, pressing a hand to her forehead.
"So you really did cause trouble?"
"Ehe?"
"Sigh…"
After waiting in place for less than two minutes, a group of formally dressed Uma Musume came running in their direction. When they spotted Nearl standing there holding onto Mr. C.B., they looked utterly overjoyed.
"Chief! We've got you now!!"
They swarmed around in a circle, trapping Mr. C.B. in the middle, and only then did they relax.
"Whew, as expected of a Triple Crown Uma Musume. We couldn't keep up at all—we really lost as Uma Musume."
One of the formally dressed Uma Musume stepped forward, took Nearl's hand, and thanked her with formal, serious respect.
"Thank you for your assistance. If our Chief had run off again, we would've lost track of her once more today."
"You call Mr. C.B. 'Chief,' and you're all Uma Musume… Are you from the URA's Regulatory Department?"
"Exactly."
The leading Uma Musume smiled at Nearl.
"Chief Mr. C.B. spends her days either spacing out or fooling around—we can ignore that—but she's always sneaking off, too."
"Every time the President comes to inspect, it's so embarrassing. I mean, she's the head of a major URA department now, yet all she thinks about is skipping work. What will people outside think of us?"
"C.B-senpai…"
"Hehe."
Nearl's complicated look finally made Mr. C.B. feel a flicker of shame. She tilted her head, stuck out her tongue, and tried to look cute.
"Let me thank you once again. We'll be escorting the Chief back now. Please do your best for the Satsuki Sho."
(Mr. C.B.: Hey, what do you mean 'escorting'?!)
But watching Mr. C.B. being led away, dejected and surrounded, Nearl didn't dwell on it.
After a moment's thought, she decided to head to the Student Council to discuss it with President Rudolf.
--+--
"…"
With her hands steepled before her face, Symboli Rudolf fell deep into thought.
"I knew C.B-senpai wasn't good at this sort of thing, but has it really gotten to the point where she can't even sit in the office and pretend? It's not like the official duties even bother her."
"So, President, why don't you just go keep her company?"
"Good sugge— Wait, no. What does that have to do with me going to keep her company?"
Rudolf retorted, a bit emotionally.
"But President, it's really obvious."
Nearl responded calmly. Normally, she might have considered Rudolf's pride, but right now, under the influence of the medicine, she was in a blunt, speak-her-mind mode—and her words struck right to the heart.
"Urk…"
Burying her face in her arms on the desk, the once-majestic Emperor now seemed at a loss.
"No wonder my grandmother's been hinting lately, asking if I'm interested in anyone. So everyone's noticed, huh?"
"Yes. From how you usually act around C.B-senpai, how much you pay attention to her, and how you've taken care of her during this reorganization—it's pretty clear."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.