Tokai Natural's group had been staying at the secluded rehab training base for roughly a month.
After all, Teio hadn't yet reached honkaku-ka; prolonged training wasn't appropriate.
And now, they'd already reached their final week in this small town.
In this month's time, Tokai Natural had gradually become familiar with this place.
Yet even after becoming familiar with everything here…
There was still one room Tokai Natural dared not enter.
Every time she passed that room, Tokai Natural subconsciously ignored it.
But…
Now, with only one week left before their departure...
Tokai Natural had no choice but to confront this room.
Because the original plan was to confess everything to Mochizuki over this summer break.
So now, she stood alone before the room at the very heart of the house.
Staring at the tightly shut door in front of her, Tokai Natural wanted to raise her hand, yet found that the arm she'd easily lifted countless times before now felt as if bound by a heavy weight.
She didn't have the courage to open this door.
The reason was simple. She had once spent nearly ten months confined in that small room.
If not for knowing that pregnancy typically lasted around forty weeks, Tokai Natural might have reached an even more outrageous conclusion.
But whatever the specifics, her experience in that room had left Tokai Natural too afraid to enter again.
Thus, in the end, she turned away—and headed in another direction.
And due to her dread of that room, Tokai Natural didn't notice someone else, who constantly worried about her suddenly falling ill, silently trailing behind her.
Only after Tokai Natural had left the wooden door behind and disappeared around a corridor corner did Mochizuki quickly walk up to the door.
Staring at the closed door, Mochizuki didn't understand why her mother had stood there without opening it.
But some questions didn't need much thought—one only had to push open the door to find the answers waiting inside.
So, Mochizuki did exactly that.
An unlocked room could be opened by anyone.
Upon opening it, Mochizuki saw a room furnished only with a single bed.
Besides the bed, there was nothing else inside.
Seeing the sparse interior, Mochizuki was confused.
She couldn't understand why her mother had lingered so long outside this particular room.
But recalling the expression on her mother's face, she instinctively knew she shouldn't ask, so Mochizuki turned away, leaving the room behind.
The next day, Mochizuki saw her mother standing again outside that same room.
And again on the third day.
But by the fourth day...
Mochizuki finally approached her.
"Mom!"
Her overly loud voice startled Tokai Natural.
"Wh-what's wrong?"
Her voice shook slightly, clearly unsettled by Mochizuki's sudden shout.
Seeing her mother like this, Mochizuki fell silent. She quickly stepped to her mother's side before finally speaking again: "Mom, you've stood outside this room for days now."
"..."
Mochizuki's blunt statement made Tokai Natural avert her gaze.
Observing her mother's reaction, Mochizuki waited silently for a dozen seconds before asking, "Did something happen?"
"It's just something from the past…" Tokai Natural murmured, finally shifting her attention back to Mochizuki.
And only then did she notice that Mochizuki's hand was already on the doorknob.
"I already looked inside; there's only one—"
At this point, Mochizuki turned to face her mother: "Mom, what exactly are you afraid of?"
"I…"
Tokai Natural again fell silent for several seconds, unsure where to even begin.
Mochizuki carefully studied her mother's complex expression, yet couldn't understand what had caused it.
Ultimately, after struggling for nearly a full minute, Tokai Natural finally spoke: "I'll tell you tonight."
Hearing this, Mochizuki simply nodded.
Seeing her daughter nod, Tokai Natural cast another glance at the still-closed door.
She still had no intention of opening it.
Noticing her mother's gaze shift past her, Mochizuki stood quietly for another dozen seconds before finally turning her own gaze away. "Mom, let's go. We'll open this door tomorrow."
Using gentle force, Mochizuki turned her mother away from the room, then continued to push her gently forward.
Tokai Natural allowed herself to be guided away without further words.
She only turned her head slightly, her gaze lingering on the door until the last moment.
...
Symboli Rudolf finished packing her last belongings and glanced at her reflection in the wardrobe mirror.
"Do these glasses make me look a little too old…?"
Gazing at herself in the mirror, Rudolf muttered to herself.
During this period when Tokai Natural had completely ignored the news—
Symboli Rudolf had fully stepped down, even holding the public apology press conference already.
Today marked Rudolf's last day at Tracen Academy.
Tomorrow, she'd board a plane bound for the farthest possible location from the main islands of Japan.
Irabu Island—a place from which you could practically take a boat straight across the sea.
And given Okinawa's complete indifference toward the Uma Musume industry, no one there would recognize Rudolf either.
Considering all these factors, Irabu Island was essentially the perfect, ideal place for Rudolf to live.
Of course, Rudolf had one additional reason for choosing this location:
The Uma Musume population in Okinawa hovered at roughly one percent—rare, but not nonexistent.
And factoring in Okinawa's disinterest in Uma Musume racing, Rudolf's arrival wouldn't attract any unwanted attention.
Naturally, Rudolf had also considered living in rural towns elsewhere, but given her notoriety, Rudolf knew she'd inevitably attract attention anywhere on the four main islands.
So, her choice to settle on Irabu Island was hardly surprising.
And besides—for someone like Rudolf, rather than waste time agonizing over an already-decided destination, it made far more sense to worry instead whether her casual outfit made her look too old.