In the student council office at Tracen Academy, Sakuraba Ryo found himself sitting on that familiar sofa once again.
And across from him, as ever, sat that familiar Emperor.
At the moment, Symboli Rudolf had one leg crossed over the other, one elbow resting on the desk, her hand supporting half her face as she looked at Sakuraba with a puzzled expression.
"Sakuraba-san, why were you in such a hurry to leave?"
"..."
Her voice was soft and lingering, and it made Sakuraba swallow nervously.
"It was nothing. I just remembered there were important matters back on the Regional Circuit that needed handling, so I was planning to head back early."
"Really?"
Symboli Rudolf blinked, one elegant brow lifting slightly.
"But if you simply wanted to go back, there was no need for a disguise, was there~? Couldn't you have just walked out through the front gate openly and honestly?"
You know perfectly well why I couldn't, Sakuraba grumbled inwardly as he looked at the student council president putting on such an innocent act.
"Oh, right."
Symboli Rudolf lightly brought her hands together, a sunshine-bright smile on her face as she spoke to Sakuraba.
"Since Oguri Cap has already won the Japanese Derby, what do you think about that matter we discussed back at Chukyo Racecourse, Sakuraba-san?"
There it was.
Just as he thought, the conversation had come back to this.
Looks like there's no dodging it after all. Better answer seriously.
"Didn't I already say it back then? Even if Oguri won this race, I would only consider whether or not to join Tracen Academy. Consider—not join outright."
"..."
At that, the smile on Symboli Rudolf's face stiffened slightly.
"...Could it be that you have concerns about the compensation, Sakuraba-san? If you think the salary is too low, I can offer you even more."
The moment she brought up paying him more, Sakuraba's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Still trying to buy me over with money, huh?
Do I look like that kind of person?
No. He had to make this absolutely clear.
"Luna-san, I'll just be honest."
"I don't want to work at Tracen Academy."
"Wh—?"
Symboli Rudolf's eyes flew wide open.
"Why? Is it because the terms I'm offering aren't good enough? We can talk about that. There's no need to reject me right away, Sakuraba-san."
"It's not about the terms, Luna-san."
Sakuraba shook his head.
"I think working at Tracen Academy as it is now has no future."
"...?"
That claim left Symboli Rudolf even more shaken.
"How could working at Central possibly count as having no future? Sakuraba-san, that's quite the joke."
Though her tone sounded normal enough, Sakuraba could still hear the faint tremor hidden underneath it.
Yes. That's it.
Inwardly, Sakuraba grinned as if a plan had just come together.
That was right. In most people's eyes, a position at Central was unquestionably a promising one, which made it hard to come up with any convincing reason to refuse it.
But Sakuraba was different.
From the very beginning, he had never intended to accept this job.
So what he needed to do now was not come up with a tactful excuse.
What he needed was to make the HR manager in front of him—Luna-san—dislike him.
And very quickly, Sakuraba came up with an idea.
Symboli Rudolf was the student council president. Naturally, that meant she represented the face of Tracen Academy...
Once he took that into account, the answer became simple.
All he had to do was say things that discredited Tracen Academy.
"Luna-san... no, I should say, Emperor... do you really think Tracen Academy, as it is now, is in the right?"
That was what Sakuraba said to Symboli Rudolf.
"Sakuraba-san, what exactly are you trying to say...?"
At those words, Symboli Rudolf narrowed her eyes slightly. The playful look disappeared from her face, and her expression gradually turned serious.
"What's your evaluation of the fact that an Umamusume from the Regional Circuit was able to defeat the Umamusume at Central?"
Sakuraba threw out the question first.
"...You can't possibly be suggesting that the Regional Circuit is better than Central, can you?" The moment he raised the issue, Symboli Rudolf immediately grasped the implication behind it.
"I admit Oguri Cap is an exceptionally strong Umamusume! But... in the end, she's only an exception. There are so many Umamusume on the regional circuit, and yet Oguri Cap is the only genius to come out of it, isn't she? The future still lies with Central! Oguri Cap is just a special case!"
"A special case? Heh."
A smile Symboli Rudolf could not read appeared on Sakuraba's face.
"Oguri Cap isn't a special case."
"Don't forget—there's another Umamusume from the Regional Circuit making waves at Central right now~"
"Wh...?"
"Nishikino Cross... no, maybe you haven't heard that name. This one would probably be more appropriate."
Looking calmly at Symboli Rudolf, Sakuraba spoke the Umamusume's name.
"Tamamo Cross."
"You've heard that name, haven't you~?"
At that name, Symboli Rudolf's expression turned complicated.
Of course she knew the name Tamamo Cross. The gray-haired Umamusume who had racked up graded race wins in the first half of the year and been hailed by the media as the White Lightning—how could she, as student council president, not know that name?
But the truth was, that was all she knew.
What puzzled her even more now was why Sakuraba was bringing this up here.
Very soon, Sakuraba gave her the answer.
"Tamamo is one of the Umamusume I invested in too."
"?!"
Completely ignoring the shock on Symboli Rudolf's face, Sakuraba continued as if nothing had happened.
"Tamamo and Oguri Cap. Two Umamusume in a row under my hand have become top-level runners."
"And yet the Umamusume at Central—the ones you place such hope in—were unable to defeat either of them. So how do you explain that?"
"What if there are more future stars like them out there on the Regional Circuit, just waiting for someone to uncover them?"
"Promising talents who can't make it because of the Regional Circuit's facilities, girls who never receive proper development, girls whose talent gets buried because of it..."
"And isn't this very situation the result of what Tracen Academy is like now?"
"So, you see..."
"I'm not coming to Central."
"I'm going to bring my talent to the Regional Circuit and let it shine there!"
"I'm going to become an investor who helps others!"
Sakuraba thumped his chest and said it all with complete sincerity, as though every word came straight from the deepest part of his heart.
Only he himself knew the truth.
Most of that entire speech was complete nonsense he had made up on the spot.
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T/N: heres ur updates :3 meeting the 4 chaps a week quota :3
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