"It seems everything is going smoothly. The next step is to persuade Orfevre to become Trainer Ikezoe's Uma Musume. Can you handle that, Air Groove?"
"... I cannot guarantee success, but I will try."
Meanwhile, in the Student Council office, Symboli Rudolf and Air Groove were discussing the arrangements for talented but unmanageable students at Tracen Academy while handling daily Student Council affairs. Now, with the addition of three new Trainers, many of their previously unsolvable problems seemed to have easy solutions. The biggest issue was whether these students would accept becoming these Trainers' assigned Uma Musume.
Even the uncontrollable Gold Ship, whom the Student Council had simply given up on, now had a potential Trainer. And so, the biggest remaining problem was Orfevre—another troublesome Uma Musume from the Gold Family.
"Sigh... Is there not a single Uma Musume from the Gold Family who won't give me a headache?" Symboli Rudolf felt her brain start to throb at just the thought of the Gold Family's Uma Musume. One Gold Ship was troublesome enough, and she was finally somewhat under control, but what they were supposed to do about Orfevre, Symboli Rudolf truly didn't know.
"Orfevre has been called a 'Tyrant' since she was young in the Gold Family," Air Groove said while refilling Symboli Rudolf's coffee.
"Orfevre was timid by nature as a child, but when she threw a temper tantrum, she was incredibly stubborn. It was difficult to dissuade her from doing something once she made up her mind. And, to hide her timid nature, she adopted a rough exterior as a disguise."
"However, she truly has a beast within her, Air Groove. And once unleashed, she will become invincible on the racecourse," Symboli Rudolf replied, sipping her coffee. "Currently, Trainer Ikezoe seems to be the most suitable person to unleash her potential, but we need to convince both of them to accept this."
"When the time comes, take Narita Brian with you. See if you can persuade her. You could also try having Gold Ship persuade her through Trainer Imanami."
"...I will do my best." Air Groove didn't hold much hope for this but still nodded in agreement.
But just then, the sound of quick steps came from outside the Student Council office. Amidst a muffled reminder, "Don't run so fast" by Hishi Amazon, the Student Council door was thrown open with a "bang," and a sweet, yet panicked, childish female voice immediately rang out.
"Prez! Something bad happened! Everyone is acting so strange! Everyone at Tracen is sick!"
A petite Uma Musume rushed directly towards Symboli Rudolf. Before anyone could react, she threw herself into Symboli Rudolf's arms, panicking as if a flood or a monster were chasing her.
Both Symboli Rudolf and Air Groove knew exactly who the newcomer was. Symboli Rudolf's face showed a gentle expression, rather than her usual authoritative tone, and she asked very kindly:
"What happened, Teio? What's wrong with everyone at Tracen?"
"Everyone is acting so strange! Prez, listen to me!"
The Uma Musume called "Teio" by Symboli Rudolf finally looked up, revealing a white streak of hair very similar to Symboli Rudolf's. Her hair color and appearance were also very similar to Symboli Rudolf's, as if a miniature version of Symboli Rudolf had suddenly appeared.
This Uma Musume was Tokai Teio, whom Symboli Rudolf had always doted on. She was the darling, and mascot, of the entire Student Council and even Tracen Academy.
Although Tokai Teio's Debut Race was still far off, she had already garnered much attention, both within Tracen Academy and from the public. Everyone was looking forward to her achieving accomplishments rivaling the "Emperor's," and perhaps even surpassing Symboli Rudolf's, to become the new legend of Tracen Academy and the entire Uma Musume world.
—Of course, none of this had even started yet. The current Tokai Teio was merely an immature rising star who hadn't even participated in her Debut Race.
"Listen to me, Prez! Today I saw Gold Ship actually training! Doto and McQueen were also beside her, together with two new Trainers I'd never seen before!" (T/N: Truly world-shaking news.)
Tokai Teio then quietly whispered to Symboli Rudolf, "Even though I know McQueen has been on a diet, now it seems like Gold Ship is too! It's the first time I've seen Gold Ship actually training! And with McQueen too!"
"...Perhaps she suddenly had a change of heart? Maybe their relationship improved," Symboli Rudolf said vaguely, despite already knowing the answer, but still trying to soothe Tokai Teio's emotions without revealing anything yet. "That's not so strange, is it?"
"B-but!" However, Tokai Teio still said in a panic, "I also saw Orfevre at the track! And she looked super angry! She was so scary when she ran that no one even dared to go near her!"
"I've never seen Orfevre so angry before. Everyone is so strange today, Prez. I think some weird disease is spreading in Tracen! Has some strange drug from Agnes Tachyon's lab leaked out again?!" (T/N: What do you mean by 'again'?)
"...That would usually be the most likely case, Teio, but this time it's not Agnes Tachyon's fault."
Symboli Rudolf found it a bit amusing, but inwardly, she was quite pleased with Tokai Teio's discoveries. After exchanging a glance with Air Groove, Air Groove understood and voluntarily left the Student Council office, allowing Tokai Teio and Symboli Rudolf to be alone for a while.
"Teio, you should know about the three new Trainers who recently arrived, right?"
"Hmm? Yes, I do. They're the top three scorers for this year's new Central Trainer Qualification exam, right? I heard that they're the most outstanding new Trainers the URA has seen in years." Tokai Teio, of course, knew these well-known facts at Tracen Academy. Then she tilted her head and asked, "Why are you asking this, Prez?"
"Actually, from what I know, Mejiro McQueen and Gold Ship seem to be under the same Trainer, who is this year's top scorer, Trainer Imanami. Although they have yet to become his officially assigned Uma Musume, I think they are going to seal the deal pretty soon."
"Meisho Doto is also Trainer Wada's Uma Musume now, and as for the matter with Orfevre... we'll know later." Symboli Rudolf kept her in suspense. Not because she wanted to, but because Orfevre's situation was still unclear to her, and she didn't dare to speak too definitively in case of any accidents.
"Ah? McQueen has already found a Trainer? Then I can't fall behind either!"
But Teio didn't truly care about the situation regarding the Trainers. Her main concern was that Mejiro McQueen, whom she had always considered to be her greatest rival, had already acted so quickly, snatching up this year's best Trainer. She absolutely couldn't fall behind!
"Alright! I've decided! I'm going to compete with McQueen in her Debut Race! If I win against McQueen, I will be one step ahead and can easily go find Trainer Imanami to be my new Trainer."
"...Not so fast, Teio. Your Debut Race is still a long way off. McQueen will definitely debut before you. You still need to wait."
"Aww—no way?!"
Teio let out a cry of unwillingness. She didn't want to be behind McQueen in any way. Although she wasn't particularly clear about the true skill level of Takatoshi Imanami as this year's highest-scoring Trainer, she just didn't want to be slower than Mejiro McQueen.
What Mejiro McQueen could do, she definitely had to do too! There was nothing that she, the invincible Tokai Teio, couldn't do! So, the Trainer she chooses absolutely cannot be worse than the Trainer McQueen chose!
And looking at the restless Tokai Teio in her arms, wasn't Symboli Rudolf thinking the same thing? She was currently very concerned about Tokai Teio's future Trainer. She also wanted to choose the best Trainer for Teio, to let her continue her legacy, and even surpass it.
That was why she was so attentive to the three new Trainers. She was looking, looking for the Trainer most suitable for Tokai Teio, so that this child could gallop freely on the racecourse and fully display her talents.
But currently, it seemed that all three Trainers had their unique characteristics and strengths. With each of them representing a path that Tokai Teio could take, it made Symboli Rudolf somewhat indecisive.
So she wanted to wait a bit longer. While Tokai Teio's Debut Race was still some time away, she wanted to verify whether these three Trainers truly had the skill set and personality traits she believed were needed for Tokai Teio to shine... "Actually, Teio, I..."
"Knock, knock, knock." Just as Symboli Rudolf was about to say something, the Student Council door was suddenly knocked, drawing the gazes of both Tokai Teio and Symboli Rudolf. Symboli Rudolf opened her mouth without thinking, "Come in."
"Click." The door opened in response, revealing Ikezoe's face, unable to hide his joy. Without a second thought, he walked in and said,
"President, I've found my Uma Musume! She's here to register!"
"...What?"
However, Ikezoe's words made Symboli Rudolf completely stunned, instinctively feeling that something had gone horribly wrong.
And when Ikezoe walked in, holding Curren Chan's hand, Symboli Rudolf finally realized that the encirclement she had set seemed to have been broken, and that things were not developing how they should...
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I wonder who Papa Rudolf would choose as her daughter's Trainer?
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.