Umamusume's days are numbered

"A pleasant morning should start with waking up at 10 a.m., brewing a cup of hot black tea, enjoying a ready-made morning tea, and sitting by the window thinking about what to eat for lunch."

Alice took a leisurely sip of her still-scalding hot black tea, sitting by the laboratory window and looking down at the world outside: "Watching the students busily working on weekdays reminds me of the hardworking ants, tirelessly pouring all their energy and vitality into the competition..."

“So I said,” Alice’s voice suddenly turned cold, “what are you doing here at this hour?”

Opposite Alice, three chairs were placed side by side. Platinum lay half-dead on one of the chairs, her legs dangling on the floor, holding a Japanese language book open to cover her face, motionless.

"You worker ant, hurry up and fulfill your duties, dedicate your life to this great cause until you die! Aren't you a racehorse girl? What kind of racehorse girl are you, lying here like this?"

Alice saw Platinum's ears twitch listlessly, which she considered her response.

It's been three days since the Satsuki Sho ended, and Platinum has maintained the same state. He was so enthusiastic and practicing extra sessions before the competition, but now even getting to school is a struggle.

If you say it's unrelated to the competition, then I wouldn't bother with her; maybe I could even get some fresh research data. But the Satsuki Prize isn't the end, it's just the beginning. The Japanese derby is fast approaching.

Compared to the Satsuki Sho and Kikuka Sho, the Japanese Derby has a longer history and a more important status, being the most prestigious of the classic Triple Crowns. The universal distance of 2400 meters tests the comprehensive abilities of the competitors, and the derby horse that wins it can almost be considered the strongest of its generation.

The Japanese derby is less than a month away... and Platinum is still lying here, living a life of debauchery!

How can we win like this?

...That's why I hate emotional children the most. Alice sighed almost imperceptibly.

Didn't you win the game? Why are you depressed if you won?

Alice rested her chin on her hands and looked Platinum up and down: "Go make up with her."

"Go find Rudolph now and make up with her."

To restore Platinum's spirits, the one who tied the knot must untie it.

There was no movement under the Chinese textbook.

Alice raised an eyebrow, stood up, walked over to Platinum, and took the textbook off her face.

"How long do you intend to maintain this cold war with Rudolph Symbol? Rudolph Symbol is your nominal trainer; without her signature, you don't even qualify for the Japanese Derby, do you understand that?"

"Rudolph is a symbol that is closely related to your daily life. You can't live without her. What's the point of staying here? In the end, you have to reconcile with her no matter what."

Alice took the textbook off her face, and Shirogane spread her hands to cover her eyes.

"How can I reconcile with him in this situation...?"

Platinum has considered these issues, and it's not that it hasn't thought about seeking reconciliation with Rudolf.

But... it's just too embarrassing!

He confessed his feelings without thinking, then argued with her without thinking, then ran away without thinking, and now he's going back to make up with her, as if none of that ever happened.

They're not like the men in black who can just flash a camera and forget everything. How could they possibly pretend it never happened?

Alice felt both annoyed and amused: "Whose fault is this?"

"Who was it that impulsively thought they could win and rushed up to confess their feelings?"

"Stop talking..." Platinum writhed in the chair like a tapeworm.

"Oh, so you think: I like Rudolf, so she likes me too?" Alice said sarcastically. "There's no emotional foundation between us, no ambiguity, no mutual testing, and you just impulsively started charging in?"

"Stop talking..." Platinum had even turned his ears away.

Alice, on the other hand, became increasingly candid in her speech. She genuinely thought Platinum was incredibly stupid for creating such a mess for himself, and she simply had to get it off her chest.

"Everyone says that confessing your feelings is the clarion call of victory, and for most people, it's about tearing down the last barrier between two people. But you, you're treating it like the opening act of a circus performance, aren't you? Use your brain now and think about it carefully. Do you really think Rudolph would accept your confession? If you were in Rudolph's shoes, would you accept it?"

"There are plenty of girls around him, why would he choose you? Everyone in school knows the story of Mejiro Mineki and Tokai pursuing Rudolf, the symbol of nature. Guess why neither of them has succeeded yet?"

"Oh, could it be that the chocolate I gave you for Valentine's Day caused some misunderstanding? Are you some kind of sissy? Giving you a piece of chocolate means I like you? And I'm going to promise you a lifetime together?"

It wasn't that Alice was being sarcastic; she was genuinely furious. Imagine you're playing a horse racing game, and you finally find a beautiful, exceptionally talented pony, one in a million. You carefully train and comfort her, and she finally achieves some success in races—and then she becomes a clown, comes back depressed, stops training, and stops racing. The triple crown is about to slip away; anyone would be anxious in that situation.

“Most importantly—” Alice took a deep breath, “couldn’t you talk to me before you confess? If all else fails, we still have the option of drugging each other, right?”

Alice was angry not because Platinum had confessed his feelings so boldly, but because he hadn't even consulted her before doing so.

If you discuss it with me, the two of us can ambush Rudolf, knock him to the ground, and give him a quick dose of the drug. That would be a piece of cake, and you could do whatever you want with him.

Yes, Alice has a very poor sense of social justice.

"Stop talking, ahhhhhh—" Platinum screamed as she sprang up from her chair, clutching her eyes. "Don't remind me of that day! I wish I could punch my past self to death!"

"What should I do now? I want to make up, and I know it's my responsibility, but words spoken are like water spilled; how can I take them back?"

"...This question has really stumped me." Alice was taken aback. "How about this, I'll give you a bottle of medicine, and you secretly pour it into the cup that Rudolf symbolizes..."

"You're also out of ideas, aren't you?!"

Episode 207 Maruzensky's Perspective

"Heave-ho." Representative Qianming carefully lifted the Monster Canister, gently placed it on a protrusion on the student council desk, and then slowly released it...

"Oh, it's standing!"

Seeing the metal can of the Devil's Claw perfectly positioned on Rudolf's symbolic head, Representative Chiaki clapped and cheered.

The man walked over and placed a thick stack of documents in front of the desk, then casually took the drink that Rudolf was symbolically carrying on his head.

"Please stop teasing the president. Besides, shouldn't the president pull himself together?"

"Ah, my masterpiece!"

Ignoring Representative Qianming, Rudolf, who was slumped over his desk, symbolically raised his head wearily.

"Hmm... I've had a lot of things piling up these past two days."

"I'm sorry, I'll try to adjust my mood as soon as possible."

“But it’s been three days since the Satsuki Sho ended, you know?” Representative Chiaki crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side. “Ever since then, you’ve been looking listless.”

"You're not upset just because my junior beat your junior, are you?"

That's right, Chiaki's presence at the student council wasn't because she wanted to handle student council affairs—she was mainly there to watch her juniors compete.

Shacogre is the promising junior whom Chiaki has been carefully nurturing. As for the junior symbolized by Rudolf, it goes without saying that he is referring to the Emperor of the East Sea.

In the Satsuki Sho race, Tokai Teio finished sixth, an unprecedented defeat. Shacogra's performance was also poor, finishing fifth, a full horse length ahead of Tokai Teio.

There was a knock on the student council door. Rudolf, seemingly oblivious, stared blankly at the documents in front of him. Representative Chiaki and Kiss exchanged a glance, and Kiss opened the student council door.

"I've come to check on the chairman—oh dear, he still looks quite sad." Maru Zenki walked in and closed the door behind him.

"Do you know what's going on with the president right now?" Kiss covered his lips with his hand, watching Rudolf symbolize his absent-mindedness as he fiddled with the pen in his hand, and secretly whispered to Maru Zenki, "Even on White Day, the president was able to complete his daily work on time, but now it seems like even his normal daily attendance is taking a lot of effort."

Actually, it's somewhat predictable, since Rudolf's symbol changed to this form after the Satsuki Sho ended... It must be because of the Tokai Emperor or the Platinum.

But I really can't figure out what kind of setback could have turned the stalwart student council president into such a pathetic state.

The last time I saw Rudolf's symbol look like this was when he returned home after a failed overseas expedition.

"Well... I know a little about it, but it's not my personal business to disclose." Maru Zenski smoothed his hair and glanced discreetly at the student council's layout.

Narita Shirahito is not here. The current student council consists of four people: Rudolf Symbol, Kashiwagi, Chiaki Representative, and Maru Zenki.

"I was a little worried, so I wanted to come and see if I could help in any way."

The gas tank immediately understood.

She lifted the documents she had just placed on the desk with one hand, grabbed Representative Chiaki's arm with the other, and said to Maru Zenki, "Then I'll trouble you to stay here and keep the chairman company. The chairman has too much work backlog, and it seems we need to help her finish some of it."

Representative Qianming immediately put on a bitter face: "Wait a minute—I haven't heard of this at all?"

As the air duct pulled Chiaki out of the student council room, only Rudolf Symbol and Maru Zenki remained in the spacious room.

Maruzensky looked at Rudolf Symbol, who was playing with a fountain pen with a blank expression, and found it somewhat novel and amusing. He moved a chair over and sat down opposite her.

"Since you're so worried about her, then go and make up with her."

"That child is feeling very conflicted and must be very vulnerable right now. He needs your comfort."

Rudolf paused his symbolic finger, then gently placed the pen on the table.

"I've been thinking about this a lot these past two days."

Rudolf pursed his lips and said, "I know that going to find that child and making up is the best choice right now."

The Japanese derby is just around the corner. Platinum needs to be in top form before the derby.

This matter couldn't be dragged on any longer; the farce had to come to an end. If the children were to take the initiative to make up, Rudolf would truly be mortified.

"But... I said such hurtful things to her, I really don't know how to say it back."

This guilt stems from the origin of their argument. Initially, their conversation proceeded normally. What truly led them to their current predicament was Rudolf's thoughtless slap.

From the perspective of Rudolf's symbolism, she must correct that people-pleasing personality, but she overlooks the environment in which Platinum grew up.

Furthermore, it revealed only the tip of the iceberg of painful memories.

"I'll never see my mom and dad again... I miss them so much..."

The thought of that phrase makes Rudolf feel like he could suddenly wake up in the middle of the night and slap himself twice.

To impose one's own standards on others is itself another form of arrogance.

She arrogantly believed that failure would help her grow when dealing with the East Sea Emperor, and arrogantly believed that Bai Jin's personality needed correction.

The end result was that both sides were hurt.

It's laughable that the student council president claims to be trying so hard to protect the students.

Therefore, the dilemma of confessing one's feelings comes second; what truly troubles Rudolf is—

"I'm thinking, maybe I'm not suited to be a senior who can educate others," Rudolf said with a wry smile.

"It might be much more effective to hand over the training of the East Sea Emperor and Platinum to Nishizaki Ryu.

After hearing Rudolf's symbolic words, Maruzensky's brow furrowed with deep worry: "Rudolf..."

"You're just running away from things." Maru Zenki didn't say this aloud.

"So you just want to run away." But someone blurted out what Maruzensky had swallowed.

...There's a third person? Maruzensky and Rudolf turned their heads as Elisako swaggered in, grabbing the Monster Energy drink from the table along the way.

“I’m here on behalf of Platinum.” Alice pursed her lips. “She’s not going to class, not going back to her dorm, not going to training, and just holed up in my lab eating my dry rations. You two can stand it, but I can’t.”

"I order you two to get out of here and get married immediately!"

Episode 208: Creating Conditions Where None Exist

Alice also had something to say.

It's fine if you two are having a cold war. You can each grab a big sword and start a duel on the training ground, no one will care. Just don't let it interfere with your training.

Compared to the current symbolism of Rudolf, Alice, as an outsider, sees things much more clearly.

Platinum cannot exist without the Rudolf symbol at this stage. The Rudolf symbol is both a pillar of reality and a pillar of spirit for Platinum. If the Rudolf symbol were to withdraw at this point, it would be utterly doomed.

Rudolph might feel guilty, perhaps believing others could have done better. But this isn't about who does it better. There's no such thing as the best trainer, only the most suitable.

Simply put, at least in terms of trainer selection, Platinum is indispensable to Rudolf.

The current situation is easy to resolve, in Alice's eyes.

"You two, get out of here and get married right now!"

While Alice may mock Platinum, she still has to serve this little devil. If Platinum is depressed because his confession was rejected, why not just let him succeed?

"...This matter is not so simple." Rudolf paused for a moment, then slowly said, "The conflict between the two of us is not here now."

"But rather..."

“I know.” Alice picked at her ear, giving him a look that said she was already tired of hearing it. “So you’re going to say again that your words hurt someone’s feelings, right?”

Alice doesn't know how complicated Platinum's family situation is, but judging from Rudolf's current dejected state, it's probably some kind of untouchable minefield. This is also why Rudolf is so remorseful. A conservative estimate is that he lost both parents and his entire family.

Platinum's dependence on Rudolf as a symbol likely stems from this. Even Alice herself believes that Platinum's feelings for Rudolf as a symbol are more familial than romantic.

Unable to receive affection from parents and relatives, one must seek solace in another. Rudolf symbolizes bearing the responsibilities of a relative without possessing the identity of one, easily leading to an emotional misalignment.

"In that case..."