After finalizing the last of the documents, Rudolf turned to gaze outside the window.
Given her increasingly efficient work habits, Rudolf could handle the entire Tracen Academy Student Council paperwork within a single morning.
Now finished, Rudolf had plenty of time to overlook the campus from this window.
This had become one of her rare ways to pass the time each day.
"President, here's the application for some empty rooms."
A quiet voice interrupted Rudolf's contemplation.
She simply turned her head toward the speaker.
Meeting Rudolf's steady gaze, the council member froze for a second.
Rudolf stood up calmly. "Leave it on the desk. I'll handle it later."
At her instructions, the council member quickly placed the file down and swiftly retreated.
This sudden new task forced Rudolf to abandon her pastime and return to her seat.
Requests to use empty classrooms weren't unusual.
After all, Uma Musume often had peculiar interests, making such applications common.
Rudolf's job mostly involved coordinating these requests and assigning rooms accordingly.
But seeing the name "Agnes Tachyon" on the application, Rudolf's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Of course, there were some inappropriate—or outright dangerous—requests that required immediate rejection.
Agnes Tachyon's applications typically belonged in that category.
Though Agnes Tachyon had recently begun contemplating whether to use the academy's basement instead.
Yet…
Looking at this particular application, Rudolf remained silent for a long moment before finally sighing.
If it had been any other time, she would have immediately rejected this request.
But now…
Rudolf understood clearly:
If she rejected it, Agnes Tachyon's request would likely never be approved in the future either.
After all, Maruzensky would soon handle these matters, and Maruzensky definitely wouldn't approve something like this.
If rejected again, Agnes Tachyon would almost certainly construct her own underground lab instead.
Given how inherently dangerous Agnes Tachyon's experiments sounded, Rudolf felt it was safer to place her somewhere visible.
Thus, for the first time ever, Rudolf reached a different decision:
[Application Approved.]
After making this unusual judgment, Rudolf picked up the next classroom-use application.
...
By the time she finished processing this week's batch, several hours had already passed.
Now, even those Uma Musume who'd trained late into the evening had already finished, gradually settling down to rest.
At this late hour, even if Rudolf looked outside the window, she'd see nothing.
Sighing lightly, Rudolf quietly spoke to herself, "Time to leave."
But just as she stood up, the Student Council room's wooden door opened again.
This time, it was Hayakawa Tazuna who entered.
She stared at Rudolf, eyes full of worry. "Rudolf-san, about the—"
"I know. It's the Climax Series, right?"
Rudolf stepped forward calmly. "I'm already prepared."
With those words, Rudolf walked straight past Tazuna without hesitation.
Stunned by Rudolf's directness, Tazuna briefly froze.
This behavior from Rudolf made Tazuna suddenly realize something crucial.
Perhaps this outcome was exactly what Rudolf had intended all along.
Thinking this, Tazuna turned back—but saw only Rudolf's figure receding down the corridor, school bag in hand.
...
Nearly two weeks had passed since Tokai Natural arrived at the rehab facility.
Due to the area's infrastructure, Natural had almost nothing to do most of the time.
Though she usually enjoyed browsing her phone, here the things she really wanted to watch rarely loaded properly.
Plus, with essentially no entertainment facilities available, Natural spent most days extremely bored.
Still, occasionally something interesting popped up.
Like, for example—
[The Climax Series Is Driving Uma Musume Mad!]
Seeing that sensational headline, Natural's expression shifted slightly as she clicked open the news article.
After quickly skimming, she found nothing particularly noteworthy.
But…
Natural keenly sensed this article subtly directing blame toward Symboli Rudolf.
Normally, a report like this couldn't possibly get published—such things usually disappeared long before making it public.
But now…
"Besides, the timing doesn't seem right either."
Muttering to herself, Natural recalled the TV news she'd watched several months ago—
Back then, the story had announced Rudolf's approval of the Climax Series.
Only three or four months had passed since then.
Problems surfacing so quickly shouldn't have been possible…
Just as she was lost in thought, Natural's gaze shifted slightly, catching sight of Roman and Teio walking past, fresh from the baths.
Watching the two pass by, Natural quickly pushed the matter out of her mind.
Whatever trouble Rudolf faced didn't particularly concern her.
Right now, Natural had far more pressing problems to handle.
Namely—how exactly to confess the truth to Teio.
Telling Tokai Teio the truth wasn't a simple task, otherwise Natural wouldn't have hesitated for this long.
Plus…
She glanced toward Teio briefly before quickly averting her gaze again.
She doubted Teio would easily accept such a revelation.
Thinking of this, Natural sighed softly before turning her attention back to her phone.
Closing the news article, Natural opened YouTube and clicked on a cooking-related video, intending to study how these videos were typically made.
Mochizuki did mention it might be worth trying to upload something…
If Teio accepted her, then once Teio's full awakening occurred, expenses would skyrocket.
Having an additional income stream certainly wouldn't hurt.
And as for that sensational news just now?
Natural had already mostly forgotten about it.