6 AM the next morning.
Rudolph, who had just woken up with a heavy head and a slightly elevated body temperature, felt that her condition might not be good.
After all, she had slept outside the door for a whole night during the New Year period.
After shaking her head, Rudolph stood up again. The feeling of a heavy head had not yet dissipated, but for Rudolph, this physical condition was already enough.
"Wake Yayoi up, then send her back to Tokyo."
Rudolph Symboli said this, looking towards the door.
Her apartment door was still tightly closed.
It seemed as if no one had entered or exited at all.
Seeing this, Rudolph rubbed her head, then realized another problem: perhaps she should prepare breakfast first.
Noticing what she needed to do, Rudolph walked towards the distant convenience store.
After purchasing some instant food at the convenience store, Rudolph returned to the apartment building.
Standing in front of the apartment door, Rudolph raised her hand, but then lowered it. She didn't know if it was a good idea to enter at this moment, after all, Tokai had just experienced those things because of her last night.
But after a moment of contemplation, Rudolph Symboli still inserted the spare key into the keyhole and opened the door.
Her apartment was quiet, as if nothing had happened.
Rudolph Symboli, noticing this, merely looked up at her bed on the mezzanine.
Due to the position of the bed, Rudolph couldn't see Tokai at all.
But, even without going up to look, Rudolph could understand that the other person was still sleeping.
So, she simply placed the instant food on the low table, then turned around and left the apartment again.
After leaving the apartment, Rudolph stood at the door once more. She looked at the distant scenery, recalling some past memories.
In this recollection, time reached seven o'clock.
And at this time, Tokai finally woke up.
Looking at the ceiling unusually close to her line of sight, Tokai was silent for a few seconds, then finally noticed where she was.
Tokai, noticing this, merely opened her mouth.
She still remembered what happened last night, but now… thinking of Mejiro Sanfeng interrupting her words last night, Tokai just rolled over: Perhaps she shouldn't think about those things.
With this thought, Tokai got out of bed.
Then, she saw the breakfast placed on the low table, just barely enough to meet a person's needs.
Tokai, noticing this, turned her head towards the door.
She knew that Rudolph had been there while she was sleeping.
And looking at the closed apartment door, Tokai was silent for a few seconds.
She thought she should perhaps prepare breakfast first before seeing Rudolph, but her intuition told her she should go see Rudolph.
After a brief thought, Tokai chose to follow her intuition.
Opening the door, she saw Rudolph with her hands on the railing, looking into the distance.
Looking at the other person like this, Tokai called out her name: "Rudolph?"
"Ah, are you awake? Do you need to rest a bit longer?"
Rudolph, saying this, turned her head to Tokai, her expression changing quite a bit: "If you need some time to clear your head, I'll take care of your food, clothing, and accommodation."
Looking at Rudolph's words, Tokai just slightly raised her head: "Um, I want to clarify some things."
Saying this, Tokai walked to the other person's side, looking at the same scenery as her: "In the Old School Building, there's a room with some things carved on it. I want to know what happened there."
Rudolph Symboli paused for a second upon hearing this question.
She had originally thought that Tokai wouldn't notice what happened there.
But… recalling what happened back then, Rudolph Symboli frowned. If Tokai were to think about it, she might realize that all the problems she was currently facing were actually due to that promise to tell her name the next time they met, and the promise was proposed by Shizen.
Moreover, Irabu Island doesn't have a large hospital, and Okinawa, due to the extremely small number of Uma Musume (probably less than 50), lacks specialized doctors who can provide medical care for Uma Musume.
If Shizen were to realize that the fault lay with herself, what would happen to her body and mind would be unknown. If she were to faint, it would be like a patient with a heart condition but no cardiologist, which could lead to Tokai's death. So… Rudolph, thinking of this, made a judgment: she could not tell Tokai the truth, at least, she could not let her realize that she was the creator of the mistake.
After making the decision she ought to make, Rudolph responded: "If you want to hear it, I can explain."
Rudolph's refusal wasn't clear, which made Tokai fall silent. She didn't know if she should ask.
But, in the end, she still spoke: "Can you tell me? I feel like those things are very important."
Tokai's request made Rudolph fall silent, and then after several minutes of silence, Rudolph spoke:
"That happened a very, very long time ago. I wasn't even five years old then."
"That day I ran away from home, and you met me in the park. You had also run away from home then, but couldn't find a place to stay."
"I knew about the Old School Building then, so I took you there, in a semi-coercive way."
"After that…"
Rudolph, speaking up to this point, looked at Tokai: "Since you've been to the Old School Building, you must have seen the charcoal at the entrance of the Old School Building, right?"
"Those were from the firewood burned when you took care of me."
Rudolph's face showed little emotion, and Tokai was listening.
Those things were too distant for Tokai, so she could only choose to believe.
But no matter how she looked at it, the truth shouldn't be like this.
And Rudolph continued: "Then, I had you take care of me."
"Even the bedding placed there was something you found nearby."
"And as for what happened after that…"
"Was it the third day or the fifth day of living there?"
"I kicked you off the bed while I was sleeping, and then you came down with a high fever."
"I remember your temperature then, and I ran away."
"If it weren't for someone who discovered us frequently entering and exiting the Old School Building to check on you, you might have already died."
After finishing this almost entirely "false" story, crafted to prevent Tokai from dying on Irabu Island,
Rudolph then looked at Tokai: "That's roughly how it happened. As for the marks, you drew them to count how many days were left before you could leave."
"And the newer one, I drew it on purpose."
Looking at Tokai, whose face showed no particular emotion, Rudolph spoke again: "How about it? This truth?"
"..."
Listening to Rudolph's words, Tokai fell silent.
She couldn't tell if the story was true.
However, based on her behavior last night, Rudolph shouldn't have told such a story.
But... that inexplicable feeling of nausea, as if she had been deceived, made Tokai say what she ought to say:
"Rudolph, you're disgusting."
"Indeed, I feel the same way myself."
Rudolph, who said this, looked at Tokai: "Do you still want to stay and clear your head?"
"Rudolph, I..."
Tokai, not knowing how to answer the question, looked at Rudolph, stared at her for a few seconds, and then swung her hand.
After an overly crisp slap, Tokai walked away from Rudolph.
Watching Tokai's receding figure, Rudolph squatted down, burying her head between her knees, her heart filled with pain and bitterness.
She couldn't tell Tokai any of the truth, simply because Okinawa couldn't provide any treatment for Uma Musume's unique illnesses.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"