"What is this feeling?" Kousei wondered.
For some reason, this woman gave her a similar vibe to Rudolf. Like Rudolf, she had the distinctive "meteor" bangs, but she was wilder and colder. If Kousei had to describe her, she'd say she was the complete opposite of the Student Council President—a delinquent leader through and through.
A dangerous aura radiated from her entire being, her muscular physique a clear warning not to approach carelessly.
The woman glanced at the Student Council gate, then at Kousei, as if considering something. Without a word, she turned and left.
Kousei stood frozen, staring blankly at the retreating figure.
"Was she just staring at the Student Council?"
"Hey! Don't block the way!"
Kousei was startled out of her reverie by someone calling out. Turning around, she saw Vice President Narita Brian approaching.
Before the woman disappeared completely, Brian noticed Kousei and gave her a knowing look.
"Ah, so that's her."
"Vice President, do you know her?"
Brian frowned. "Don't call me Vice President!"
Realizing she sounded too harsh, she softened her tone. "Just call me Narita Brian, or Brian."
"Understood, Brian." Kousei thought, She's not as difficult to get along with as the rumors suggest.
"She's a symbol of Sirius—the President's kin."
Kousei had never realized the President had a relative. No wonder she'd felt a certain resemblance between them.
"If she's related to the President, she must be incredibly strong, right?" Kousei ventured tentatively.
"Strong? She should be, considering she also bears a symbolic name," Brian replied vaguely.
In other words, no one really knew her true strength?
"What's this? Are you interested in her?" Brian asked.
"Ah, not exactly. Well, maybe a little. She seems to be constantly watching the Student Council, so I wondered if she had something she wanted to say to the President."
"Who knows? She does that from time to time. We're all used to it by now," Brian said with a shrug.
"So the President knows about this too?"
"She's Rudolf. Hardly anything escapes her notice," Brian replied with a dismissive wave, clearly unconcerned.
"I watched your competition. You're somewhat interesting," Brian suddenly shifted the topic to Kousei.
"Huh? Thanks?" Kousei stammered, her awkwardness kicking in.
Brian, equally indifferent to such formalities, scratched her head and turned to leave. "If you prove sufficiently entertaining, I might consider biting off your neck."
Kousei was taken aback. Before she could ask more, Narita Brian had already stepped through the Student Council gate. Kousei rubbed her neck and chuckled, "Bite my neck off? That's... intriguing."
Kousei realized that the ferocious aura she'd sensed in the VIP seats during the Arima Kinen must have come from Narita Brian. Central never failed to keep things interesting.
Remembering the grueling training, Kousei bought carrot juice on her way back.
"Everyone! I brought carrot juice!"
Kousei burst through the door, only to be greeted by a scene straight out of hell. Every Umamusume, including McQueen, lay sprawled motionless on the floor, unable to move. Only Fuji Kiseki remained standing, her unnervingly cheerful smile still plastered on her face.
"What happened here? Weren't you all dancing?" Kousei asked, utterly bewildered.
"Yo~ Kousei's back!" Fuji Kiseki greeted her with her usual cheerful smile.
"Um... Senior Fuji? What exactly happened here?" Kousei mustered her courage to ask.
"What else could it be? We were dancing, of course!" Fuji Kiseki replied matter-of-factly, as if Kousei's question were absurd.
Kousei surveyed the chaotic scene before her, her heart sinking. "If I didn't know better, I'd think some kind of monster had landed here, not that they were just dancing."
"Ugh..."
Kousei suddenly heard McQueen groan and rushed over to cradle her head. "McQueen, are you alright?"
McQueen's eyes widened as she clutched Kousei's collar tightly. "Do I look alright to you?"
"Well... you don't seem to be."
Kousei hadn't expected things to turn out this way. Fuji Kiseki had always been so gentle with everyone. What had made her act like this?
"Tell me, Kousei! Where did you learn this dance? Why is it so damn hard?!" McQueen's trembling grip tightened as she tried to say more, but she ultimately fainted in frustration.
Leo Durban was already foaming at the mouth. If even the two Umamusume known for their endurance were suffering like this, the others must be faring even worse.
"Um... Senior Fuji, wouldn't it be better to ease up on the training a little?" Kousei ventured tentatively.
To her surprise, Fuji Kiseki immediately turned deadly serious. "I will never compromise on the quality of our performance."
She's taking this way too seriously—so seriously it's almost comical.
"Kousei, even though you've already mastered the dance, I think there are still some areas we can refine. Why don't you join the training as well?"
"Busy, busy," Kousei muttered to herself. "The best strategy is to retreat. If I don't leave now, I'll be trapped."
I should probably avoid bothering them for at least another month, she thought.
Still shaken from her narrow escape, Kousei glanced at the project proposal.
"The funding's secured. What's next?"
One item caught her eye.
"Fashion models? How did that get in here?"
Kousei didn't recall seeing this in the original proposal, but she couldn't be entirely certain—she might have simply forgotten.
After much deliberation, she decided to bite the bullet and proceed.
To her surprise, Kousei encountered Gold City there.
Oh, it's Gold City, the beautiful young model, she thought.
Gold City was a highly sought-after model, frequently featured in magazines. Since they didn't know each other personally, they merely exchanged polite greetings.
Before Kousei could state her purpose, a staff member rushed over excitedly.
"Oh! You must be Kousei!"
The staff member scrutinized Kousei from head to toe, beaming with satisfaction. Kousei wondered, Did winning just one G1 race and placing second really make me this famous?
"Yes, that's me. What can I do for you?"
"Everything! In fact, you're the only one who can do it!"
The staff member's reaction was a little off, almost too enthusiastic. Even Kousei sensed something was amiss.
It wasn't until a rack overflowing with dazzling outfits was wheeled out that Kousei realized what was about to happen.
"Come on! Hurry up and change!"
Kousei panicked. "No! I didn't receive any notification about modeling work."
The staff seemed equally confused. "That's odd. Rudolf specifically said an Umamusume named Kousei would be coming to help out. You are Kousei, right?"
"Rudolf?" How was the Student Council President involved in this?
"Wait a moment, I'll check."
After getting Rudolf's contact information from Teio, Kousei immediately called the President.
"Hello?"
"Hello! President! This is Kousei!"
"Oh~" The President on the other end of the line seemed to have already pieced everything together.
"Listen, President! Why am I getting a modeling gig? I had no idea about this!"
The President seemed to have a ready-made explanation.
"It's like this, Kousei. The academy's facing budget constraints, so we asked you to model to help cover event expenses. Teio would be much happier knowing the money came from your own hard work, wouldn't she?"
"...Huh?"