"Eh— please don't, President! Don't you have work to do?"
Blinking, Rudolf looked down at the pile of documents still stacked on her desk.
Ignoring the peculiar look Air Groove was giving her from the side, she spoke plainly.
"I do, but not much."
"Ahaha... You should focus on your official duties first. How about this: I won't take my day off tomorrow and I'll come to the Student Council instead, okay?"
"...Hm, I suppose that works. Very well, let's do that. By the way, once your Racing Outfit is finalized, send me a photo. I'll help you look it over."
"Thank you, Madam President! With you helping me check it, I feel much more at ease."
Hearing Starlight say this, the corners of Rudolf's mouth curled up involuntarily.
"Mhm, naturally."
After hanging up the phone, Rudolf sat back down, looking quite pleased with herself. Several gazes drifted toward her.
"What are you looking at? Do you not have work to do? The Idol Selection Race is coming up soon— shouldn't the preparations be set up in advance? Get moving! Especially you, Amazon!"
"Yes, yes, I'm going~"
Pouting, Hishi Amazon got up reluctantly from the sofa, grabbed the report beside her, and headed toward the gymnasium.
As for why Rudolf was playing favorites— glaring at the other Uma Musume while specifically singling out Amazon?
Well, honestly, Amazon was always clinging to Starlight's— no, she was always "slacking off in the Student Council."
That's why she had to be lectured sternly.
Standing up, Rudolf adjusted her slightly crooked necktie and glanced at Air Groove.
"Um, Air Groove, I have some business to attend to and need to step out. You take charge of the Student Council for now."
Watching her retreating back, Air Groove's expression was extremely complicated.
"Honestly... now that she has a little Uma Musume she's fond of, she treats our Vice President like this? Luna is too much," Maruzensky remarked, appearing at Air Groove's side at some point and patting her head in sympathy.
"It's not quite that bad. Still, do you want to help me share the workload?"
"Hello? Little Chiyo? Great, I'll come find you right now. Mhm, you're doing wonderful~ Chiyono O will always be the best in my heart."
Without responding to Air Groove, Maruzensky picked up her phone and quickly made her exit, looking very busy.
Sitting at what was originally Rudolf's workstation, Air Groove looked at the empty Student Council room and felt a small internal collapse.
Ding-dong—
Divine Starlight: [Air Groove-onee-san, I'm going out to play for a bit. Is it okay if I bring you that small cake I promised you tomorrow instead?]
Air Groove: [Thank you...]
Turning off her phone, Air Groove felt a warmth in her heart.
'No. When I think about such a cute, heartwarming little girl being abducted by Rudolf and forced to listen to those bone-chillingly cold jokes every day, I can't stand it!'
'Sorry, President, it can't be helped. Starlight is too precious, I have to stop you...'
In Rudolf's dormitory (which happened to be across from Starlight's).
Standing before the mirror, she looked at herself.
She was wearing quiet, flower-rimmed glasses, a plain green short-sleeved top, and tight leggings, and her belt was actually a blue silk scarf.
This entire outfit looked exactly like something a middle school dean would wear.
Despite this, our Madam President felt quite satisfied.
"Good, this will do. Let's go! I'm very confident leaving things to Air Groove, after all, she has been my right hand for many years."
Grabbing her small satchel, Rudolf headed out to find Divine Starlight.
The Shopping District.
It was morning, the sunlight was bright, and the crisp coolness of autumn had finally settled in.
Beside Starlight stood Rice Shower, dressed in a coffee-colored one-piece dress. Atop her head was her small white top hat, and she held a small white purse with both hands.
"Starlight, y-yesterday's Winning Live went very smoothly, didn't it?"
"It did! Rice's dancing was amazing. You must practice really hard usually, right?"
"Mhm... Zenno Rob Roy praised Rice before, saying my flexibility is very good."
"It seems her eye for talent is quite good then," Starlight replied.
Hearing this, Rice Shower's face turned slightly red, and two options appeared in front of Starlight.
[Option 1: Adorable baby Rice, of course we have to walk while holding hands~]
[Option 2: Rice is a mature girl, and you've only just met, better forget it.]
Glancing at the options before her, Starlight's hexagram pupils flickered.
"Rice-chan~ Shall we hold hands?"
"Eh... Th-this... if it's Starlight-san, i-it's okay."
"Hehe, Rice-chan love~"
Taking the girl's slightly cool, petite hand, Starlight gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Should we head to the place the designer specified first, or wander around for a bit?"
Hearing this, Rice reached out to open her bag to grab her phone.
Seeing her struggle, Starlight quickly helped hold the bag steady so Rice could unzip it easily.
"Thank you..."
Nodding her thanks with squinted, smiling eyes, Rice pulled out her phone to check the time and notifications.
"Um, actually, there's still over two hours left. Starlight... wherever we go, Rice will follow your lead," Rice said with a smile.
[System Detection: Option 1 confirmed. Reward: A pair of custom-made running shoes.]
'Hm? Running shoes again? True, I should change my shoes soon, that other pair is already...'
"Rice-chan."
"Mhm? What is it?"
"I have a gift I want to give you. Can you come with me for a moment?"
"Eh? Okay."
Inside a café, Rice looked at Starlight sitting across from her with a mix of confusion and pleasant surprise.
Opening her backpack, Starlight pulled out the custom-made running shoes she had received as a reward.
"These are for you, Rice..."
Because they were custom-made, the shoes would naturally adjust to the wearer's foot size.
Yesterday, after training ended, Starlight had gone to the clubroom with Rice. Though they were hidden quite well, she had still spotted the stack of boxes in the corner.
The sight of the ruined shoes peeking out from within had deeply moved Starlight.
"Eh!? R-really?!"
Rice gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Mhm. This is my gift to you, so please don't reject it. I hope you can wear them during your training," Starlight said, pushing the shoes toward her with a smile.
Rice quickly reached out to take them. As her fingers brushed against the soles and the fabric, she paused for a moment.
Her eyes grew moist, and her voice trembled with emotion.
"Ri—Rice thanks you, Starlight-san... This is the first time I've ever received a gift this nice. Thank you."
'The quality is so high, the price must be very expensive, yet Starlight-chan just gave them to me like this...'
"It's nothing. If you can shine on the racetrack in the future, that will make me very happy."
"Mhm! Rice definitely won't... she won't let your expectations down, Starlight-san!"
Clutching the running shoes tightly, Rice gazed at the silver Uma Musume before her.
In this moment, she felt she had truly grasped the happiness that her name was meant to signify.
The two chatted over desserts in the café, and soon enough, the appointment time with the designer arrived.
Led by Rice, the two Uma Musume arrived at a place resembling a boutique.
"Oh my~ You're finally here! Please, you two, have a seat over here," the designer greeted them with a smile, wearing square-framed glasses and a measuring tape draped around her neck.
"Hello. This time... this time it's both me and my friend. Is that okay?"
"Of course it's no problem! You two are the champions of yesterday's Sankei Sho, aren't you? The race already had high hype, and now that two Uma Musume tied for the win, it'll give those news reporters plenty to write about."
Pulling out sketches and two forms, the designer sat with the two Uma Musume at a round table to begin their discussion.
At that moment, outside the shop, Symboli Rudolf spotted Starlight and Rice through the floor-to-ceiling window.
The corners of her mouth curled up slightly as she stepped into a flower shop directly across from the boutique.