After organizing Mihono Bourbon and Rice Shower's post-True Blooming data, the time had come for the afternoon.
Once everyone had arrived, Kuroha thought it over for a moment, then had Nase Fumino take charge of teaching the two girls first.
After all, McQueen was currently being looked after personally by the Three Goddesses, so Fumino did not need to worry too much about her for the time being. It was the perfect chance to drag her over as extra labor.
It could also count as letting her build up experience for training new runners of her own next year.
As for Aoi Kiryuin, she continued overseeing Tokai Teio's training.
After arranging everyone's training assignments, Kuroha did not stay idle either. He turned and headed straight for the academic affairs office.
He officially entered the two girls' information into his team roster and changed their status to "active."
...
Central Tracen Academy.
After making his way through a pile of tedious forms and stamp approvals, Kuroha stepped out of the academic affairs office and could not help rubbing his slightly throbbing forehead.
He paused at the entrance for a moment, already planning out what to do next.
Then his gaze shifted, and he walked straight toward the student council building.
Since he was already here, he might as well take care of Rice Shower's matter too.
Kuroha was not especially good at teaching red-type tactics, so he needed a specialist to handle it.
A gate-runner needed another gate-runner to teach her.
So the question was this:
In all of Central Tracen Academy, who was the strongest gate-runner of them all?
Without question, it was their invincible Triple Crown Uma Musume.
The Emperor, Symboli Rudolf.
When Kuroha arrived outside the student council office, the hallway was silent.
The room inside also seemed quiet, though for some reason there was a faint sense of movement from within.
Knock, knock.
Kuroha raised his hand and knocked on the door.
After several seconds of silence, a cool and imposing voice came from inside.
"Come in."
So she was there.
Kuroha heard that, the corners of his lips lifting in a smile as he pushed the door open and walked in.
"Luna, long time no see."
At the broad desk, Symboli Rudolf was buried behind a towering mountain of documents.
The stern face that had instantly straightened into proper president mode at the sound of a visitor collapsed the moment she realized it was Kuroha.
It was like the air had been let out of her entirely.
There was even a rare trace of dejection between her brows.
"I was wondering who it was. So it's you..."
Symboli Rudolf let out a sigh, tossed the fountain pen in her hand onto the desk, and leaned back in her chair.
That lofty aura of the Emperor vanished without a trace.
"So what brings you here to inspect my work today? Isn't Teio's Satsuki Sho only a few days away?"
"With Teio's current level of ability, do you really think the Classic Triple Crown is enough to count as a stumbling block for her?"
Kuroha walked over and sat down on the sofa with complete ease, then skillfully began making tea.
If anyone else had said that, Symboli Rudolf would already have put on a stern face and started with, "Don't underestimate Central."
But the one saying it was Kuroha.
So all she could do was smile helplessly.
"So what, then? Did you come here today just to keep me company while I go through paperwork?"
"Not exactly..."
Kuroha glanced at the mountain of files on her desk, which somehow looked even taller than it had at the beginning of the year, and there was amusement in his eyes.
"I just finished handling Bourbon and Rice's active registration, so I thought I'd stop by and see our hardworking student council president while I was at it."
"What's this? Buried alive in paperwork again?"
"It's because the Classic Triple Crown is about to start. And on top of that there's the scheduling for all the spring races lately, plus the files for the newly enrolled girls..."
Symboli Rudolf rubbed the space between her brows, then glared at Kuroha and added in complaint, "And on top of all that, someone stole away Maruzensky."
"She used to slack off sometimes, sure, but she always got the work done for me in the end."
"Now I barely see her at all."
"Uh... that's a thing too..."
Kuroha felt a bit awkward at that.
Come to think of it, when he had left that afternoon, Maruzensky had still been in the lounge wearing pajamas and reading something leisurely.
At this hour, she was probably out driving around at illegal speeds.
With no intention of selling out his wife, Kuroha gave a light cough.
"Maruzensky is probably taking care of some personal matters. She may need a little time lately."
"Is that so..."
Symboli Rudolf studied him suspiciously for a moment, but still waved it off casually.
The two of them chatted like that for a while.
They talked about recent amusing incidents around Tracen, then about how things had been going for each of them lately.
The mood was relaxed and comfortable.
As they talked, Kuroha's gaze fell on the precarious mountain of files in front of her. He raised a brow and finally spoke up on his own.
"With this much work, if you're doing it alone, you probably won't finish until next week. Want me to help with some of it?"
At those words, Symboli Rudolf stopped what she was doing and shot him an annoyed look.
"No one offers favors for nothing. Out with it. What are you after this time? It can't be that your conscience suddenly kicked in."
Kuroha laughed, spread his hands, and put on an innocent expression.
"Listen to yourself. Can't I just feel bad for a friend and want to help her with some tedious work?"
"Fine. I'll pretend that's the truth."
Symboli Rudolf let out a light huff, though the corners of her lips could not help curling upward a little.
They had known each other for years.
Naturally, she knew full well that with Kuroha acting like this, he was definitely here to ask for something. But since free labor had practically delivered itself to her door, there was no reason not to use it.
She did not stand on ceremony. With a casual motion, she picked up a thick stack of files from the mountain and shoved them to the other side of the desk.
"If you're so free, then these are yours. If you don't finish them, don't expect to leave through that door today."
"Yeah, yeah."
Kuroha laughed helplessly and began flipping through the papers.
Very soon, the only sounds left in the office were the scratch of fountain pens across paper and the crisp rustle of pages turning now and then.
The light of the setting sun spilled in through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, stretching their shadows long across the room.
In that rare pocket of quiet, the two of them worked in tacit understanding on the files before them.
As a man who had already stepped onto the path toward godhood, Kuroha's stamina and memory far surpassed those of ordinary people.
Files that looked unbearably tedious to anyone else were barely worth calling work to him.
...
Who knew how much time had passed.
"Haa..."
Symboli Rudolf finally finished checking one last file. After signing it, she let out a long breath and stacked it neatly to one side.
"Mm... that should do it."
Looking at how much her workload had shrunk, the girl smiled in satisfaction.
But when she turned her head, intending to see how things were going on Kuroha's side, she discovered that the man had already piled all his completed documents off to one side.
At that very moment, he was holding a white porcelain cup and leisurely taking a sip.
"...You finished all of them?"
Symboli Rudolf sounded a little disbelieving.
But after Kuroha merely raised a brow at her, she could only walk over in resignation and flip through the documents herself.
Then she returned to the sofa, poured herself a cup of tea, and drained it in one go.
"Come to think of it, if you hadn't come to see me, I would've gone to find you myself soon enough," Symboli Rudolf said, setting down her teacup with an easy smile.
Kuroha blinked in surprise and asked, puzzled, "Find me? If it was urgent, you could've just called."
He had not expected that, aside from him wanting to trouble Symboli Rudolf over Rice Shower's matter, she also had business with him.
"A phone call wouldn't work. It had to be face-to-face."
Symboli Rudolf replied calmly.
When she noticed the confusion on Kuroha's face, the girl gave a soft laugh and raised a pale finger, tapping her own forehead.
"Remember now?"
Seeing that familiar gesture, Kuroha suddenly understood.
Wasn't that the same motion from before the New Year, when he had some free time and infused Symboli Rudolf with a bit of the Power of Blessing?
(End of Chapter)
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