When she woke up again, the sky was completely dark.
Turning her head to look around, Rudolph Symboli saw Sirius, with her head slightly bandaged, sitting by her hospital bed.
Sirius Symboli was also looking at her.
The two of them just stared at each other.
Looking at the other, Rudolph Symboli wanted to sit up, but in the end, she chose to give up on such an action.
Lying on the hospital bed, she turned her head, with her back to Sirius Symboli, looking at the window outside the ward.
The sky had already fallen into darkness.
Rudolph Symboli propped herself up with one hand to sit up.
She touched her body.
"You're looking for this, right?"
Sirius Symboli, holding Rudolph Symboli's phone, looked at her.
"Mm…thank you."
Saying this, Rudolph Symboli took the phone from Sirius Symboli's hand.
It was Rudolph's own phone, but because of the previous conflict, the originally intact screen had already shattered.
Looking at the cracked phone screen.
Rudolph Symboli simply entered the unlock password and opened the phone.
She opened her contacts.
And called Speed Symbol.
Before long, the call was connected.
"Rudolph, is something wrong?"
There was no question in her words, because Sirius Symboli's previous inquiry had already made Speed Symbol realize something, so she wasn't surprised by Rudolph Symboli's call.
"Grandma, I…I, want to ask something."
Rudolph was a little hesitant, she was afraid that the result she would get would be exactly that.
Listening to the slight tremor in Rudolph Symboli's voice, Speed Symbol, standing by the River Thames, looked up into the distance.
London Bridge looked the same as when she last saw it.
And watching this scene, Speed Symbol recalled the question Sirius Symboli had asked her.
A slight premonition was conveyed.
"At that time, when I ran away from home…what was the name of the other Uma Musume who was sent back."
The doubt in her words gradually disappeared.
As if she already knew the answer.
And then, Speed Symbol gave her response:
"Tokai Shizen, is there a problem?"
Hearing this response, Rudolph Symboli lowered her head.
Sirius Symboli couldn't see her expression, and after a few seconds, Rudolph Symboli spoke again: "Sorry, I disturbed you, Grandma."
With that, the call spanning half the globe completely ended.
Rudolph Symboli kept her head down, preventing Sirius Symboli from seeing her expression.
Several minutes later, the silent ward once again had some sound.
"Shizen, how is Shizen doing."
"Emotional agitation led to a chain reaction of her pre-existing medical conditions. She is still in a coma."
Sirius Symboli, who gave this response, sighed: "Maruzensky and Representative Chiaki are with Tokai Shizen."
"No matter what happens, both of them will take good care of Tokai Shizen, so don't worry."
Rudolph Symboli, who learned that Tokai Shizen was doing well, was silent for a few seconds: "I…"
"I made a mistake."
"Without a doubt."
Sirius Symboli's agreement did not cause much fluctuation in Rudolph Symboli's emotions.
Rudolph Symboli raised her head and looked out the window: "If you make a mistake, you should pay the price."
Saying this, Rudolph Symboli propped herself up.
She had to get out of bed before she could do what she needed to do next.
"What are you going to do?"
Seeing Rudolph Symboli's behavior, Sirius Symboli stood up.
She was worried that the other party would do something dangerous.
"Where are the Tokai Teio investigation results!"
The moment Rudolph Symboli stood up again, the aura of an Emperor once again overflowed from her.
"It's being compared with your genetic sample, the results…"
A sound rang out, this time it was Sirius's phone.
She answered the call…"Mm."
"Okay."
"I see."
"I understand."
Hanging up the phone, Sirius Symboli looked at the other party.
And the moment their eyes met, Sirius Symboli realized.
The Emperor was already on the verge of shattering.
It was a situation like that of the last emperor, fully displayed before Sirius Symboli.
"Are you sure?"
"What are you going to do!?"
Sirius Symboli's voice was anxious as she questioned Rudolph Symboli; she could probably guess what he intended to do.
"I am Rudolph Symboli, the emperor acknowledged by the Uma Musume."
A more powerful aura than before completely overwhelmed Sirius Symboli.
Looking at Rudolph Symboli, Sirius Symboli was silent for a few seconds, then nodded: "Tokai Roman is innocent."
Having confirmed the outcome, Rudolph Symboli merely straightened his body, but he did not act; he just fumbled with his jacket.
Finally, Rudolph Symboli took out a small seal stone.
The seal stone in his hand was warm and smooth, completely unaffected by the previous struggle.
Rudolph Symboli simply tossed the seal stone to Sirius: "It's for you."
Saying this, Rudolph Symboli left the hospital room.
Sirius Symboli looked at the seal stone in her hand; she knew it was Rudolph Symboli's personal seal, and Sirius Symboli understood what that meant given that most documents required Rudolph Symboli's approval.
Turning her head, Sirius Symboli only saw the closed door.
The tightly shut door seemed to tell Sirius Symboli that everything was over.
————
Time rewound slightly.
Opening the shop door, Maruzensky and Representative Chiaki saw a restaurant where only Sirius Symboli was present.
Sirius Symboli's presence brought a hint of unease to Maruzensky.
But knowing the relationship between Sirius Symboli and Rudolph Symboli, Maruzensky merely suppressed her unease.
Compared to Maruzensky, Representative Chiaki was much more agitated.
"Where's Shizen!"
A direct question.
Representative Chiaki's question only made Sirius Symboli stand up: "She's at the hospital. Rudolph was here earlier, and Miss Tokai fainted due to emotional distress. I took her to the hospital."
The calm, simple words further fueled Representative Chiaki's anger.
But Maruzensky stood in front of Representative Chiaki: "Which hospital is Shizen in? Which room?"
"I'll go there too. I'll tell you two once I arrive."
————
Recalling how Sirius Symboli had merely led them to the hospital room door and then left, Maruzensky's face showed self-reproach.
"If I had realized why Sirius was looking for Rudolph then, perhaps..."
Looking at Tokai Shizen's face, Maruzensky took a deep breath, then raised her head: "Chiaki."
"Huh?" Representative Chiaki, whose thoughts were interrupted by Maruzensky, looked at Maruzensky.
"Let's send Shizen away."
"Send her away?"
"Staying here, she'll only run into Rudolph, won't she?"
Maruzensky's words made Representative Chiaki fall silent, so she looked at her: "Send her where?"
"I don't know, but anywhere far from Japan will do."
Without mentioning the person's name, merely stating "far from Japan" was enough for Representative Chiaki to understand Maruzensky's meaning.
So she looked at Maruzensky, whose expression showed no softening.
Maruzensky's expression made her lower her head.
After several minutes of silence, Representative Chiaki gave her answer:
"...Okay."
-------------------------------
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