The afternoon sun was perfect.
Kuroha and Symboli Rudolf deliberately avoided the more crowded training grounds.
At the edge of the academy, they found a secluded spot that was almost never used by any of the girls.
After all, if the younger runners saw it, the image would be a little too explosive. Their student council president, long since retired, was now preparing to run under the direct guidance of Tracen's ace trainer.
The instant Rudolf stepped forward onto the soft turf at Kuroha's instruction, a crisp system notification rang out in his mind.
[Uma Musume registered: Symboli Rudolf (Temporary)]
At the same time the prompt sounded, the Emperor's luxurious status panel unfolded before Kuroha's eyes without reservation.
[Symboli Rudolf (Temporary)]
[Track Aptitude: Turf A, Dirt C]
[Distance Aptitude: Short E, Mile B, Medium A, Long A]
[Style Aptitude: Front Runner B, Pace Chaser A, Late Surger A, End Closer B]
[Unique Skill: Thou... (?)]
[Domain: Emperor of the Blazing Sun! (Currently unavailable due to the Blessing having faded)]
[Skills: Debuffing Tether,Dokusenryoku (Monopolizing Force), Trick (Front), Front Runner Hesitation, Pace Chaser Hesitation, Late Surger Hesitation, End Closer Hesitation, Front Runner Fluster...]
[Speed: 1084, Stamina: 1092, Power: 1073, Guts: 1103, Wit: 1006]
...Rudolf, you really cannot judge a book by its cover.
The moment Kuroha looked at Symboli Rudolf's skill list, he was nearly blinded by the endless rows of red icons.
Nearly two-thirds of her entire skill bar was made up of red skills.
It was easy to imagine.
Back when she was still active, Symboli Rudolf must have developed her Demonic Talent to the absolute limit.
Still, after forcibly ignoring just how disgusting that skill set really was, Kuroha had to admit something.
This former ruler of Central, the Emperor, was absolutely the top runner with the most skills he had ever seen since becoming a trainer, aside from the girls on his own Chasing Light team.
A great reputation was not undeserved. She truly lived up to the name of Emperor.
That was Kuroha's honest conclusion.
Of course.
That long list of infuriating, impossible-to-guard-against instant red skills, together with the radiant-sounding name of her Domain, Emperor of the Blazing Sun, felt mismatched no matter how he looked at it...
On the track,
"Should I just run one lap?" Rudolf lightly pressed her foot against the grass beneath her, seeming a little unaccustomed to it, then turned to look at Kuroha.
Ever since competing in the URA Finals three months ago, she had been buried in student council work and had barely done any proper running on a track.
Now, suddenly standing here in sportswear again, she felt a trace of unfamiliarity she had not experienced in a long time.
"Mm."
Kuroha nodded and withdrew his gaze from the panel.
"But I'm definitely not asking you to run by yourself. If you did that, there'd be no way to see the real effect of your Demonic Talent in an actual race."
Rudolf narrowed her eyes, sharply catching the key point in his words.
"So you mean... you're planning to have someone else run with me?"
Kuroha snapped his fingers with a grin.
"Exactly. I already called over two idiots who were getting ready to skip class anyway."
"Two idiots?"
Rudolf raised a brow, puzzled.
That confusion did not last long.
Because very soon, she found out exactly who those two idiots were.
A little over ten minutes later,
"Trainer!"
A bright, carefree voice full of energy rang out from the iron gate of the public training ground.
The one who came in with that voice was a petite Uma Musume with twin tails.
Behind her followed a graceful beauty whose entire presence seemed wrapped in endless coolness.
"Yo, Rudolf. Fancy seeing you here too!"
Mr. C.B. walked in and immediately spotted Kuroha and Rudolf standing nearby.
She waved casually, then came over with Inari One.
But when they approached, they found Rudolf already standing there with her arms folded, watching them with a cool, distant gaze.
"So the two idiots planning to skip class were you two?"
"Uh... ahaha, what are you talking about? There's no way that's true!"
Skipping class frequently was hardly any secret at Central.
But being caught red-handed by the student council president was still pretty awkward.
"Inari and I just thought the weather was nice today, and happened to wander over here, that's all."
Mr. C.B. gave an awkward laugh as she smoothed it over, all while quietly edging closer to Inari One and secretly pinching her.
Then she shot her truant partner a vicious glare.
'This is all your fault! You had to message your trainer at exactly this time and ask if he wanted to come out and play with us!'
'And now look what happened. We got caught on the spot!'
Inari One winced from the pinch and rolled her eyes.
The next moment, as if instantly understanding all the rich meaning in Mr. C.B.'s gaze, she fired a look right back.
'What was I supposed to do?'
'He's usually at the training grounds with Teio and McQueen at this hour. How was I supposed to know he'd suddenly say he was dragging me over here today?'
'And besides, he was clearly the one calling for me. Why did you insist on coming along for the fun of it?!'
Inari One glared at Mr. C.B. speechlessly.
But to her surprise, her skip-class partner had no intention of answering that soul-piercing question head-on.
Mr. C.B. very naturally looked away, let out a leisurely whistle, then turned to Kuroha and asked,
"So, Trainer Kuroha, what exactly did you call us here for?"
She paused, her pale red eye shadow and slightly long lashes making her look cute and lively as she raised a brow.
"And why is Rudolf here too?"
"Nothing major."
Kuroha waved a hand casually. At the same time, the system notification for registering Mr. C.B. rang in his ear once again.
But he paid it no attention and simply pointed toward Rudolf, who was standing nearby with her arms folded and her presence fully unleashed.
"In a bit, I want the two of you to get on the track and run two laps with Rudolf."
"Hm? Run with Rudolf?"
Mr. C.B. first pointed at herself in surprise, then turned to look at Rudolf beside her.
The moment she caught the strange red glow deep in Rudolf's eyes, as though it were already building and ready to overflow at any second, her whole face instantly crumpled with misery.
"Oh, come on... do we really have to? Running with Rudolf is torture. It's not fun at all."
Even though she said she did not want to, there was no real fear in her tone.
Or rather,
even back then, when she had been mercilessly crushed on the track by Symboli Rudolf and treated like a speed bump, she had never developed the sort of psychological shadow other Uma Musume had from the Emperor's overwhelming pressure.
Her reason for refusing was very simple.
She just genuinely thought running with Rudolf, while being messed with by all that weird red light, felt especially... especially disgusting...
...
Kuroha was not surprised by that answer.
If it were any other top-tier runner, one who had never raced against a gate-type runner before, they naturally would not think there was anything particularly wrong with running alongside Symboli Rudolf.
But Mr. C.B. was different.
At her peak, she had been sniped by the Emperor herself and directly dragged down from the throne.
Of course she knew just how revolting gate-type runners could be.
Kuroha stroked his chin and thought for a moment, then said in realization, "You still won't do it even if it's just one lap?"
As he spoke, he extended his right hand toward Mr. C.B., palm facing upward.
Buzz.
A glowing "Spirit Bomb" of seven-colored light instantly condensed in his palm.
The girls could not see it.
But after freeloading around the Chasing Light team so many times, Mr. C.B. was already extremely familiar with this opening motion from Kuroha.
In an instant,
the eyes that had been full of resistance lit up on the spot.
"Well... about that..."
Mr. C.B. immediately put on a smiling face and shamelessly moved closer.
"Now that I think about it carefully, it really has been a long time since I ran on the track with Rudolf!"
"Old friends need to reconnect once in a while, right?"
Seeing that, Kuroha could only shake his head with a helpless smile.
He said nothing more and directly pressed that cluster of seven-colored light gently against the girl's full chest.
The light instantly sank into her body.
Mr. C.B. narrowed her eyes in delight, her entire body seeming to overflow with endless energy.
However, standing nearby, Rudolf watched the entire scene from beginning to end.
"Chitose... she's that used to it already? She already knew this power existed?"
Watching the natural familiarity in their interaction, Symboli Rudolf lowered her eyes slightly.
"That means Maruzensky and Chitose... both knew before I did?"
For some reason,
watching the scene before her, the always composed and magnanimous Emperor felt an extremely subtle, inexplicable gloom rise within her heart.
(End of Chapter)
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