"You really know how to ruin the moment, don't you?"
"I'm sorry, but I said I'll let you do anything to me. I just want to know more about you. Is it wrong for a wife to know more about her husband?"
"Once I tell you everything, I want you to dedicate yourself to being my real wife. I don't care what relationships you have with your previous trainer or any other man, you will become my wife in the future. Do we have a deal?"
"Yes, my love."
I was planning on that anyway…
"Sigh… I found out that I… look similar to my other self from how they react upon seeing me."
"But isn't your other self dead?"
"Yes… And his parents are on Death's doors. They most likely are not in their right mind to judge clearly."
"Did they think that you are a miracle at the end of their lives?"
"Yeah… Most likely so… It's quite the gut-wrenching sight to look at. They must have missed him greatly."
"That's… I understand your pain, dear. It must be hard to play as your other self to send them off with the best regards."
"Yeah… It was… Something… Say, dear. Do you think he regrets his life?"
Even though the question was seemingly about someone else, most of it was pointed toward the young man himself. To question someone about his life before he was brought here.
"Who? Your other self?"
"Yeah… We know that he was nothing more than a salaryman, and from my conversation with his parents, he seems to regret it."
"Regret? Did he do something bad before, like a bad marriage?"
"No… It's more about his entire life. He seems to regret being a normal salaryman when he was born as a talented learner."
Ah… He really is a mirror image of him…
"It… makes me question myself…"
"Huh?! Why!? You are not a normal salaryman, though!!"
"Yes, but what have I achieved in my life?"
"You have plenty of skills and abilities!! You are anything but mundane!!"
"Yeah, but what have I achieved with all of those… I should be more ashamed that I have nothing to my name."
"..."
Rudolf stays silent. The young man's words struck deep into her mind. Rudolf is only good at a few things, and she has achieved something extremely noteworthy. In the same line of logic, Igo Heita should be a world-class individual. And yet, he is not. Rudolf has no idea who he is before they meet at Tracen Academy.
Unbeknownst to the Emperor, the 3 Goddesses have done everything in their power to hinder Igo Heita's path to stardom in every venue except for being an umamusume's trainer. Igo Heita knows it, but for him, it's only a reminder of just how much he is under the 3 Goddesses' control. To blame the 3 Goddesses is to acknowledge that he could never win against them in controlling his own life.
"I may describe him as a normal salaryman, but… I'm just a normal trainer… We are just normal human beings. Will I feel the same way as he does at the end of my life?"
"...do you consider it normal to have kissed me, Air Groove, and Brian?"
"Huh?"
"The three of us have kissed you. Do you think other trainers have been kissed as well? Do you think it's normal to get kissed by the three of us?"
"No…"
"Then why do you say that you are normal? You are anything but normal!"
"Hmm… I don't know… Maybe you girls have kissed someone before me?"
*Grip*
"Ouch!! My dick!! My dick!! You're squeezing it too hard!!! Okay!! Okay!! I'm sorry!! You're right!! But that means I'm special because of you girls instead of anything I do myself…"
"We won't kiss you just because, dear. We are entranced by you that we branded you as special. You are not normal!!"
"I know you are trying to cheer me up, but that still sounds like you are insulting me."
"Hey!! You know what I mean!! Stop teasing me!!"
"Hahahaha… Thanks… I know that I'm special, Rudolf. I just need to create proof that I made it by my own power and not given to me by a bunch of cute and beautiful umamusumes."
"You little flirtatious man. I can assure you that you wouldn't become just a normal person. You can have a different ending than you from the other world."
"Thanks, Rudolf… I want to eat you now."
"Your ability to switch the atmosphere is truly something else–and you dare call yourself normal, darling."
"So is that a yes or no?"
*Grip*
"OUCH!! OUCH!! That hurt!!"
"Sigh… Fine… I have prepared myself for this journey to adulthood… I'm okay to do it with you."
"Adulthood…?"
"Yeah… We're going to do that, right? Sex…"
"Are you sure?"
"Huh? Isn't that what you suggested?"
"I'm more implying doing sixty-nine since we are staying in room sixty-nine."
"But wouldn't that lead to sex?"
"Normally, but I'm okay to stop just before that."
"Why?! Why don't you want to continue it with me?! The hotel has provided us with condoms!!"
"Are you sure you want to do it with me? Let's be serious now."
"YES!! I wouldn't be screaming at you if I didn't!!"
"I see… Then I'll step back then…"
"Huh?! WHY!?!? WHAT IS MISSING FROM ME?!?!"
Symboli Rudolf virtually never knows rejection. Being the Emperor, no one has the bravery to reject any request coming from her. Even if they are physically incapable of fulfilling her request, they would still agree to her request out of respect and awe for her. This is the reason Rudolf learnt how to read people. She doesn't want to burden people with work that they can't do, both for their health and for the quality of the work itself.
This is why she was hurt when the young man rejected her. She wasn't accustomed to being rejected, and she could tell from his sincerity that he wasn't lying about his feelings.
"As I said before, I don't feel like I earned your body yet."
"HUH!??!? I LOVE YOU!! ISN'T THAT ENOUGH!!?!"
"And what did I contribute to that feeling?"
"...What!?!? I don't understand your way of thinking at all!!! Contributing to my feeling?!?!? You contribute by being you!! I have fallen for you because you act like you!!! I don't see how I can explain this in a simpler way!!! I LOVE YOU!!!"
"Hmm… If I have to describe it, it's like those old stories about how a hero saves a princess from a dragon, and then they both get married."
"...you want me to be kidnapped by a dragon first?"
"It's not literally, dumbass. I just want to feel like I deserve to penetrate your pussy."
"... I… I… I could never understand you…"
"Did my value as a sex partner decrease in your mind?"
"No… It has only increased for some reason. You make me question my own sanity."
"I love you~~"
"Sigh… So what do you have in mind? What is the condition you need to fulfill to have sex with me?"
"Hmm… Maybe if one of my trainees defeats you in a race."
"Then I would never graduate to adulthood then… Can we be more realistic?"
"Okay, you fucking arrogant prick."
"You're one to say."
"Alright! Then put your condition then!"
"Hmm… If I successfully debut in the Dream Series. We will spend a passionate night together. How about that?"
"Alright then!! It's a good motivation for us. Let's see which one of our conditions is fulfilled first!!"