"What happened... why did my lifespan extend by the time of a G1 race just now? Teio won the race, but I got the feedback?"
"Could it be... that the judgment of this ability can ignore the limitation of playthroughs? As long as it's a charge I've signed with in the past, if they win a race, I can—no, if that were the case, it should have reacted in the previous playthroughs. It definitely wouldn't have only started when Teio won the Satsuki Sho."
"Could it be that Stay Gold happened to win some race overseas at this time? But is it really possible to be so coincidental?"
His lifespan had increased, yet there was not a trace of joy on his face. He was now wholeheartedly thinking about what was going on with this unexplained lifespan. Who on earth had won the race for him?
Or was it that he, who had only had one charge in each playthrough, didn't know? If his charge got second or third place, there would actually be a reward? That's not possible either. It hadn't been uncommon for his charge to get second place in the past. Why was this playthrough an exception?
"It can't be that the three goddesses suddenly had a burst of kindness, right? It shouldn't be. In so many playthroughs, which one wasn't more miserable than this one? I don't seem to have ever seen them give me a discount."
He couldn't quite figure it out. He only felt that his mind was in a mess. And without realizing it, he had already, under the guidance of C.B. and Ardan, slowly walked from the stands to the racecourse tunnel, waiting for the return of his two charges after the race.
"Trainer Kitano."
And at this moment, a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts. And when he and the others turned their heads, they found that Symboli Rudolf, with particularly conspicuous dark circles under her eyes, accompanied by Mejiro Palmer, was still walking towards them with dignity.
"President Rudolf (Sister)." After seeing the familiar person, he and Ardan greeted her almost at the same time. However, compared to his bright and direct gaze at Rudolf, for some reason, Ardan seemed a little afraid to look her sister in the eye, her gaze quietly dodging a little.
For some reason, Ardan always felt that her sister's eyes seemed to be a little sharper than usual... although Ardan knew very well that her sister's smile was trained through etiquette training and was almost fixed on her face, but this time, her smile made Ardan feel a little more fake than usual.
This fake smile made her feel very uneasy in her heart, and she always felt an inexplicable sense of guilt... as if she had done something to be sorry for her sister behind her back.
Fortunately, with the nearby Invincible, who had noticed something, gently pulling her sleeve, she finally calmed down and returned to normal.
"Trainer Kitano, you seem to be in much better spirits than when we met a few months ago."
And Rudolf walked up, and after looking him up and down, a hint of joy clearly flashed in her eyes. In a good mood, she couldn't hide her smile and said in a rare joyful tone:
"I still remember the first time I saw you, you were still in a wheelchair. Your recovery during this period is actually so good. Now I feel that you can not only walk, but even jog a few steps."
"Just lucky... of course, it's also thanks to my charges who have been taking care of me." And the moment he saw her, a possibility suddenly occurred to him. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he murmured to himself in his heart:
"If all of this is impossible... then it seems there is only one explanation left."
"Rudolf, could it be that without me and Teio noticing, she secretly completed the contract agreement between me and Teio?"
After thinking it over and over, this seemed to be the only possibility he could think of. After all, if Tokai Teio was not his charge, then it would be impossible to explain the fact that his lifespan had increased just after she had won the race. His ability could not lie to him.
And the one who had the power to do all of this seemed to be only Symboli Rudolf. As the student council president, her room for maneuver was astonishingly large. And only with her official seal could the contract agreement officially take effect.
"But even so, how did she do it? And why did she do it? What was her motive?"
"Isn't she afraid that Teio will find out about this?"
He couldn't figure it out. Let alone himself for the time being, but it was impossible for her not to consider Teio's feelings. Even without the mother-daughter-like relationship from the last playthrough due to his interference, she should still be training Teio as her own disciple. How could she not respect her choice?
And what was the risk of the matter being exposed, which might cause a rift in her relationship with Teio, for? In this playthrough, her relationship with him should not be good enough for her to be willing to take this risk for him, right?
—Or is it that she has already remembered?
In a daze, as if thinking of Ardan's obvious signs of recovering her past memories on Christmas Eve, he suddenly thought of this possibility and couldn't help but turn his gaze to the gentle, smiling Rudolf in front of him.
"Huh? What's wrong, Trainer Kitano?" As if noticing the change in his eyes, Rudolf, who was extremely tired but was in high spirits at the sight of him, also asked with some confusion.
"...President Rudolf, I hope you will take good care of your own body. Your current situation does not seem to be very optimistic."
Yes, this seemed to be the only possibility. Now that he had figured all this out, he also finally understood her motive. That's right, it could only be the "memory" of the two of them and Tokai Teio in the previous playthrough that could make her willingly take such a huge risk.
She must have already seen the pendant that I had held in my hand at that time... she must have also remembered our past in our childhood, which was why she had made so many efforts in this playthrough. Was it out of guilt for misunderstanding him, and wanting to make up for it?
As for her secretly handling his contract with Tokai Teio... it was probably because she wanted to restore their former relationship, like parents taking care of their daughter—that was the only beautiful memory they shared besides their childhood.
And Tokai Teio was the representative who entrusted the wishes of both of them.
Her doing this was probably just out of her own little thoughts. Just like him, she couldn't say her inner guilt to the person, so she had to secretly do something the other person didn't know to comfort herself.
In fact, he really wanted to open his mouth and tell her that she didn't need to do anything with such a guilty psychology. He didn't care about those things in the past. They were still childhood friends, still Teio's best "parents."
But when he thought that if she remembered all of this, but she hadn't taken the initiative to say it to him... it might be because she felt she had no face to recognize him. He also silently gave up the idea of revealing this layer of shame between them.
After all, his "fatal blow" to her in that playthrough, if not for an accident, would have caused a great blow to her. If she just wanted to silently do something for him to make herself feel less guilty, he thought the most decent way for her was to convey his "gratitude" to her.
If he rashly broke through this layer of window paper, he didn't dare to think what she would do... since she herself didn't want to say it, then he would just cooperate with her.
"Trainer Kitano... were you just concerned about my body?"
And the moment he said this, Rudolf, who was somewhat mentally sensitive due to fatigue, keenly noticed the change in his attitude towards her and was immediately stunned.
And after the daze, what occupied her heart was the joy of being responded to. This was perhaps the only good news she had received in these months after being repeatedly impacted by C.B. and Palmer—his undisguised concern for her.
Especially since his slightly familiar and kind gaze... how long had it been since she had seen this man show such an expression to her?
For a moment, feeling as if all her fatigue had been swept away, she also quickly shook her head, trying her best to show her best side to him, and said softly:
"I have been feeling a little tired lately, but compared to me, you actually need to pay more attention to yourself. Don't neglect taking care of yourself."
"I'm fine. C.B., Ardan, and everyone are taking care of me." And he also turned his gaze to the horse girls beside him, and then smiled gently at her. "A while ago, I asked C.B. to send some fatigue-relieving potions to the student council. I wonder if you have used them well?"
"Mm, I've already used them. The effect is very good."
This was a lie. She had not used the potions he had sent at all. At that time, when she heard that these potions could relieve a horse girl's fatigue, she had given them all to Tokai Teio and had her roommate "Mayano Top Gun" report to her at any time whether Teio had used them as she had said.
After hearing what C.B. had said about Teio's ending in her previous life, she had fallen into a great panic. She was very afraid that the Tokai Teio of this life would repeat the same mistake. She was even more afraid that her tragedy would happen again in front of him—she didn't dare to think what his reaction would be if all of this was witnessed by him, who knew nothing about it.
In her previous life, she had already failed to fulfill his last wish to take good care of her. In this life, if she couldn't even take good care of her, she didn't know what face she would have to see him if all of this happened in front of him.
Therefore, after suffering a series of blows, all her attention was focused on their "only child"... she was much more concerned about her than about her own situation.
"President! And everyone is here!"
However, at this moment, a sweet childish voice interrupted their conversation. A moment later, they both noticed at the exit, Tokai Teio in her racing silks running over with cheerful steps.
And seeing his proud "daughter," he and Rudolf both showed a joyful smile almost at the same time and said in unison:
"Teio, congratulations."
"Heehee, it's just the Satsuki Sho. Save the congratulations until I win the undefeated Triple Crown!"
However, although she said so, from her proudly raised little head and her constantly wagging ponytail, it was clear that she was still very pleased.
Especially when she saw that both of them were here to congratulate her, she felt her heart was about to jump out with joy. Her and her inner "voice" had almost the same first reaction, which was to share her joy of victory with the two of them and get more praise.
And as if she had gotten carried away, she seemed to have even forgotten that she was not a contracted horse girl under him. At this moment, under the gaze of him and a large group of horse girls beside him, she put her hands on her hips and said proudly:
"Hmph, now you know my strength, right? I am invincible. Any idea of challenging me is foolish."
"Teio..." And Rudolf also pulled her with a bit of a headache, signaling her to stop. The reason was on the other side, Gold Ship and Nakayama Festa, who had returned to the team after her, both had a slightly not-so-good expression.
"Kitano-chan..."
And Gold Ship, who had lost the race, rarely showed a dejected expression. But fortunately, under Teio's gaze, he took the initiative to go forward, rub her hair, and answered with a comforting tone:
"Don't be so disheartened. Next time, we'll just win it back."
"Mmm..." And Gold Ship, whose hair had been ruffled by him, her original bit of awkwardness also quickly dissipated. Instead, she also showed an unconvinced expression and nodded seriously. "Next time, I will definitely win it back!"
"Mm." After feeling her mentality had recovered, he finally turned his gaze to Nakayama Festa, who had performed the most abnormally in this race.
"Festa, we need to talk..."
"—I'm sorry, Kitano, but I'm not in the mood right now. Let's talk later."
However, before he could speak, he noticed her tremble all over. Her originally slightly guilty and wandering eyes also flashed with a hint of panic and unease. She almost immediately fled the scene, as if she was afraid that something very terrible would happen.
"Festa?"
"Don't worry, we'll go after her." And at this time, Oguri Cap and Tamamo, this ash-haired duo, also took the initiative to follow her. They knew that her current mood was unstable, and they absolutely could not let her run around alone.
"Don't worry, Oguri and I will definitely bring her back!"
"...I'm counting on you." Looking at the chasing Oguri and Tamamo, he could only nod and trust them. And fortunately, at this time, Gold Ship on the side took the initiative to come to his ear and tell him her guess about her sister's inner thoughts. "Nakayama-nee is probably afraid that she performed badly this time and you're going to kick her off the team. This time, she went all out against Teio and still got this result. It must be a big blow to her."
"Kitano-chan, you'd better talk to her in a few days when her mood is better—you'd better not kick her off the team."
"Do I look like that kind of person?" And after hearing her words, he finally understood why she was so panicked. After all, she herself was a little unconfident because of the gap in talent. This time, she had lost so badly. It was normal for her to have some wild thoughts.
But this misunderstanding had to be cleared up as soon as possible... he couldn't wait for her to bring it up.
And behind him, Rudolf and Tokai Teio, at the moment Gold Ship and Nakayama Festa appeared, had focused all their attention on them. Their expressions were different, and the emotions in their hearts were also very different...
When Rudolf saw this scene, her originally somewhat annoyed mood, but in the next moment, the words that C.B. and Palmer had said to her echoed in her mind again, about her feelings for him...
"Stop deceiving yourself, Rudolf."
"Do you really love him? Or are you just in love with a memory of him?"
Do I... really know the current Kitano? The person he cares about most now may not really be me... can I accept this fact?
And compared to her complex emotions from anxiety to unease, and then to the extinguished passion, Tokai Teio, at the moment she noticed his full attention was focused on her two "defeated opponents," what appeared in her heart was the strong emotion of that "inner voice."
This emotion was called "unwillingness" and "jealousy."
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