After confirming Tokai Teio's situation, Speed Symbol only had one last thing to resolve here.
"Is that so, is it in that place? Hmm, okay, I understand."
The call was hung up, and Speed Symbol finally confirmed Rudolph's whereabouts.
This time, when going to see Rudolph, Speed Symbol did not intend to scold her like she did when Rudolph was a child,
because such a scolding was not very effective for someone who could already be considered an adult.
Moreover, if Rudolph was truly an adult with mature behavioral capacity, she would probably have already...
Thinking of this, Speed Symbol just followed the address sent by Sirius Symboli, walking straight ahead.
Finally, Speed Symbol arrived at the Old School Building.
When she graduated from Tracen Academy, this Old School Building had not yet been decommissioned,
so for Speed Symbol, this path was still somewhat familiar.
It's just...
"It's already abandoned here..."
The surrounding paddy fields entered Speed Symbol's sight, and her words were full of emotion.
After all, the Old School Building here was not like this back then.
However, for Speed Symbol, it felt quite good that this place had become like this.
After slightly shifting her gaze, Speed Symbol saw the entrance to the Old School Building.
The orange-red sunset had already dyed the area of the Old School Building red,
looking like Ultraman Jack, a popular show in Speed Symbol's era, always making people feel that something significant was about to happen.
After taking a slight deep breath, Speed Symbol walked to the entrance of the Old School Building.
At the entrance, there was an already opened padlock.
Speed Symbol knew Rudolph was inside.
Pushing the door open and walking in, after walking around the first floor,
Speed Symbol found the room where Rudolph Symboli was, based on the scattered dust on the ground.
Looking at the locked door, Speed Symbol did not knock.
She just pushed it directly.
The door, which was not locked and not even tightly closed, was pushed open.
And Rudolph Symboli was in the room.
Looking at Rudolph, Rudolph was also looking at her.
The two of them stared at each other like this.
After a long silence, Speed Symbol sighed:
"You know what I'm going to say, right?"
"Yes."
"Then come with me to see Shizen."
"No."
...
"Reason?"
Sighing deeply, Rudolph Symboli's expression was very conflicted:
"I'm not ready to let go yet, I still hope to make amends."
Speed Symbol, hearing Rudolph say this, was only stunned for a moment.
She hadn't expected her granddaughter to be so determined.
But, thinking of this, Speed Symbol ultimately just retracted her gaze:
"Alright, then the next thing is something else. Are you ready?"
Speed Symbol had always been strict with her family's upbringing,
and she would not overlook this just because the other person was her granddaughter.
So, now was the time to properly educate Rudolph.
"Ready."
——————
Afterward, Rudolph Symboli did not return to Tracen Academy on time.
According to the news released by Sirius Symboli,
Rudolph Symboli seemed to have had some problems during her standard training at home.
Therefore, she would not return to Tracen Academy for the next two to three months.
Similarly, Sirius Symboli would also not return to Tracen Academy in the short term to take care of Rudolph.
"So, you really didn't take any protective measures?"
Sirius Symboli, sitting by the hospital bed, put down the Tracen Academy tabloid in her hand,
then turned to look at Rudolph Symboli.
Rudolph Symboli's current situation was not good.
After all, when Sirius received Speed Symbol's call,
Rudolph seemed to have been on the verge of death, right?
Although she had recovered a lot now, recalling a certain previous question,
Sirius Symboli's expression changed slightly.
Sirius Symboli's expression was not noticed by Rudolph.
Rudolph Symboli just remained silent, finally giving a slight response:
"Sort of."
The response was simple, but...
Recalling the broken trees she saw that day, Sirius Symboli knew that the situation at that time was definitely not that simple.
But...
Sirius, who turned to look at Rudolph Symboli, stood up after a long silence:
"Right, your physical condition is quite dangerous. In the future, you might..."
"Not be able to race anymore, right?"
Rudolph Symboli had long anticipated her own physical condition.
Her responding voice had little emotional fluctuation; she just looked at Sirius Symboli.
The gaze focused on her made Sirius Symboli turn around, her back to Rudolph, and leave the ward.
Sirius Symboli's departure made Rudolph Symboli turn her head.
Only half of her vision could see the scenery outside the window.
It was already mid-February, and the cherry blossom trees planted outside the Symbol Family hospital had already begun to bloom.
Falling cherry petals swirled in the air.
Rudolph Symboli simply turned her head back from such a sight.
The colorless ceiling seemed to tell Rudolph Symboli what she should do.
But just as she had told the other party at the time, Rudolph Symboli was not yet ready.
She still held a glimmer of hope.
During her years as part of the Tracen Student Council,
Rudolph Symboli knew full well what kind of consequences a lingering shred of hope in her heart could lead to.
After all, many Uma Musume had met their end in darkness precisely because of such hope.
Therefore, Rudolph Symboli had never intended to retain hope from the beginning.
She simply couldn't let go of the hand that tightly clutched hope.
It was only then that she realized the mindset of those Uma Musume who clung tightly to every last bit of hope.
That thought, powerful enough to make one disregard everything else,
entangled Rudolph, making her want to go to Tokai Shizen.
"If only I could let go," Rudolph, entangled by those glimmers of hope, thought.
"I'm home!"
Tokai Shizen's voice made Speed Symbol, who was holding Mochizuki, look up at the grandfather clock.
It was nearly five o'clock, a little later than her usual return time.
Noticing this, Speed Symbol released Mochizuki, letting her play alone, and then spoke,
"Business has gotten much better."
"It's because of that Uma Musume from before."
"You mean that Uma Musume whose dad had to leave because of company matters, and you let her stay at the shop?"
"Yes, after that day, her dad brought a few friends to eat at my place."
At this point, Tokai Shizen's expression brightened considerably:
"Then more and more people started coming every day. I might have to consider closing once I run out of ingredients, otherwise it could drag on for a long time."
"It won't interfere with you taking care of Mochizuki, will it?"
"No."
"Eh~ I can take care of Mochizuki too..."
"I am her mother."
"...Alright, you're right."
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded over 40 chapters of this story on Patreon.
If you're enjoying it and want to read ahead, feel free to check them out here:
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thanks a lot for your support, it really helps me keep going.