Symboli Rudolf said nothing. Even when Air Groove gently nudged her shoulder a few times, the dignified student council president remained silent, even averting her gaze.
Narita Brian stood before her, her eyes lowered, likewise refusing to look at Rudolf.
The girls who had once built up the student council side by side now seemed trapped in an awkward deadlock, one that had rendered them unable to communicate anymore.
Air Groove pressed her lips together. She knew this was hardly a good time to speak, and yet she still opened her mouth.
"Brian, head back first. The president will, later—"
"Air Groove!"
Narita Brian suddenly cut her off. The heavy exhaustion in her voice made Air Groove feel her eyes sting.
They had once walked this road together for years, pouring untold effort into this student council.
So why, why had things suddenly become like this...
"I want an answer right now."
At Brian's insistence, Rudolf abruptly stood. She rounded the broad president's desk and moved to leave the student council office.
A hand suddenly caught her wrist.
Brian's gaze sharpened as she held Rudolf back.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to eat!"
For once, the president, who always carried herself with composure, showed a hint of loss of control. Her reddened eyes were wide as she nearly snapped the words out.
But Brian did not shrink back. She remained just as calm, her lowered eyes never once lifting.
"Then give me your answer."
"What do you think this place is?!"
"It's a place I devoted years of my life to!"
The sudden rise in her voice stunned Rudolf into stillness. Even the hand caught in Brian's grip seemed forgotten for a moment.
"I want to resign," Brian said. "If you won't let me keep the vice president position, then give it to another horse girl if you want."
Rudolf found Narita Brian strangely unfamiliar.
That girl who had once blazed so brilliantly that Rudolf had seen her as a successor now seemed worn through by the weathering of years.
"That position can only be yours..."
"But I won't stay anymore. I want to go look for my path again."
Rudolf closed her eyes in pain.
Brian thought Rudolf knew nothing, but she had no idea that one day, after forgetting something in the lounge and going back for it, Rudolf had accidentally overheard a conversation between Hayakawa Tazuna and Tōjō Hana.
At first, she had been furious at Tazuna's proposal. In the end, what shocked her was Tōjō Hana's decision—she had let go so easily, without even fighting for Brian the way she had once fought for Silence Suzuka.
Air Groove slowly stepped between the two girls locked in confrontation, pain written plainly in her eyes.
Rudolf was her senior, her guide, the one who had always led her in the student council.
And Narita Brian was the friend who, beneath Rudolf's imposing authority, had always given her confidence and encouragement.
Naturally, she did not want Brian to leave. But at this moment, she could not stand on Rudolf's side either.
"Let Brian try one more time," Air Groove said softly. "You want to keep that seat for her too, don't you?"
At her words, Rudolf suddenly opened her eyes.
These two girls were the ones she had relied on most within the student council. And now that they stood together opposite her, Rudolf could not even describe what that felt like.
Turning her face aside, she said each word slowly and heavily:
"She's leaving the team."
"Yes."
"She's going to Teruizumi Shinji's team!"
Rudolf's voice was low, but to her surprise, though hoarse, Air Groove's reply remained steady.
"I know."
Narita Brian stared at them in shock. She had been convinced no one else knew, yet her two fellow council members had apparently known all along.
Rudolf, in turn, looked at Air Groove in confusion.
If there was anyone in the student council who disliked Teruizumi Shinji most, it ought to have been Air Groove.
"Our trainer can't satisfy Brian's ambitions anymore," Air Groove said. "And in this academy right now, isn't he the only one who might be able to?"
She did not want to say his name. But at this moment, even she had to admit that man's ability might truly be enough to help her friend escape the mire she was sinking in.
Stepping past Rudolf, Air Groove took Narita Brian's hand.
The usually expressionless girl finally showed sorrow. She had felt the grief in Air Groove's heart, and she too was saddened by the farewell that had now become inevitable.
"I believe you can do it," Air Groove said. "I'll be here waiting for you to come back."
Brian nodded hard.
She honestly had no idea whether Teruizumi Shinji would accept her. But hearing Air Groove speak to her like this made Brian feel that even if she had to stand outside his lounge for an entire day and night, she would make him understand her resolve.
She wanted it so desperately—to win a G1 once in her older-horse year. That regret, which had haunted the better part of her racing life, made her want to seize what was probably her last chance.
She turned and walked toward the door. Rudolf did not stop her.
The student council president seemed to have aged years in an instant. The sight of her hunched back made Brian's heart ache.
So she only glanced once, then did not dare look again. With Rudolf silently allowing it, Brian feared that if she looked too long, Rudolf might change her mind in the very next second.
She pushed open the heavy door.
The sunlight that greeted her spilled down clear and bright, and only then did Brian manage to draw in a deep breath.
Turning her head slightly, she saw Hayakawa Tazuna and Tōjō Hana standing there. The two women wore completely different expressions—one gentle and encouraging, the other heavy and dim.
Brian could not help but think of the good times she had shared with Tōjō Hana.
Their memories together had not all been regret, dullness, and exhaustion. Back then, in that most spirited time of all, there had been passion between them—something that even now, when Brian thought of it, still stirred a sense of longing.
But after that came the long string of defeats, and Tōjō Hana's attention became more and more divided. Brian had gradually lost her place among the team's core runners.
All she could do was watch the younger girls rise one after another, standing atop podiums she herself had once reached—or failed to reach—under the guidance of the trainer with whom she had once shared such perfect understanding.
They had finally come to the point where they had to part ways.
That woman had her career to pursue.
And Brian had her dream to chase.
"Shall we go?"
Tazuna's voice broke the silence between horse girl and trainer.
The two of them nodded almost at the same time. The old tacit understanding between them could now only show itself in trivial little things like this.
"I'll be in your care."
Brian addressed Tazuna with solemn sincerity.
Her determination had never been clearer. She knew exactly what future she wanted.
That man was the only hope she could see.
And with that thought, it was as though she had returned to those days not long after Teruizumi Shinji first signed with Offside Trap. How could she ever have imagined back then that she herself would one day be walking the road to ask him to take her in?
A faint curve touched her lips.
Brian did not know whether it was born from beautiful hopes for the future or from a trace of mockery toward herself.
But no matter what it was—
On this journey, she would do everything in her power to fight for it.
Her last chance.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 138)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter155)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter172)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 158
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 144
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 165
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 140
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 120
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 95
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 80
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 50
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 40
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 50
Still playing traditional Honk 30
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin