"A call from Symboli Rudolf? Nope. Not picking that up."
The moment the Emperor's name flashed across his screen, Sakuraba Ryo declined the call without hesitation.
Nothing good was going to come from answering it.
His instincts were screaming that much.
Then he suddenly remembered that, back in Kasamatsu, he seemed to have made some kind of agreement with Central's student council president...
If Oguri Cap won a G1 at Central, he would consider taking a job at Tracen Academy...!
Crap.
At the time, he had been absolutely certain there was no way Oguri Cap could ever win a G1, so he had said it to Symboli Rudolf without thinking too hard about it...
And now he had gone and dropped a rock on his own foot.
Bzz—bzz—bzz—!
The phone rang again almost immediately.
The name on the screen was still Symboli Rudolf.
Sakuraba's mouth twitched.
"Oh, come on. She's really not letting me go, is she..."
Thankfully, what Sakuraba had told Symboli Rudolf back then was only that he would consider whether to stay at Central or not. He had not spoken too absolutely, so at least he had left himself a way out...
But...
Sakuraba had a strong feeling Luna-san was going to find some other way to keep him at Central for good...!
That would be very bad.
Just remembering how Symboli Rudolf had said she did not merely want him to work at Central, but wanted to give him a huge salary too, was enough to make his scalp tingle.
It was already hard enough dealing with the fact that the Umamusume under his management kept winning races, and now she wanted to pile a salaried job on top of that too?
Hell no. Get lost.
He had to run.
He had to get out before Symboli Rudolf found him!
"I just sent Norn back to Kasamatsu. If I turn around and chase after her now, that'd look way too weird..."
"For now, I'd better not go back to Kasamatsu. I'll head to Hokkaido and lie low for a while instead..."
...
"...Why did he hang up on me again?"
Looking at the second declined call, Symboli Rudolf's beautiful brows drew together slightly.
"Maybe he just doesn't want to see you?"
From the nearby sofa, Maruzensky teased her.
"How could that be!"
Symboli Rudolf rejected the possibility at once.
"Sakuraba-san must be busy and unable to answer."
"Really?"
Maruzensky still sounded unconvinced.
"But doesn't Sakuraba-san mostly do business on the Regional Circuit? What could he possibly be so busy with at Central?"
"..."
That left Symboli Rudolf speechless, her crimson-violet eyes wavering slightly.
D-Does Sakuraba-san really not want to see me that badly?
No, that couldn't be.
How could that possibly be the case?
Sakuraba-san must simply not have heard the phone ring.
That had to be it.
"Maruzensky, go tell Tazuna-san that if she sees Sakuraba-san anywhere on campus, she should bring him to me."
"Eh... is that really necessary, Rudolf...?"
Maruzensky arched a brow. Hayakawa Tazuna was extremely popular around Tracen Academy. If she asked the students on campus to help find someone, Sakuraba would basically have nowhere to run.
"What do you mean, necessary or not? I only want Sakuraba-san to come here and rest for a bit. Is there some problem with that?"
Symboli Rudolf smiled at Maruzensky with perfect gentleness.
"Uh... well, as long as you're happy, Rudolf."
Seeing her put it that way, Maruzensky had no answer and turned to go find Hayakawa Tazuna.
Well, inviting Sakuraba-san over like this was maybe a little unfair...
But Maruzensky did not mind all that much.
After all, she had something she wanted to talk to Sakuraba-san about too.
...
At that very moment, a man in a black cap, sunglasses, and a fake mustache was making his way down the roads of Tracen Academy.
That man was none other than Sakuraba.
After rejecting Symboli Rudolf's calls several times, he had quickly assembled this disguise in preparation for his escape.
Who knew whether the student council president might get mad out of embarrassment and personally come after him?
Sakuraba felt there was real value in disguising himself.
As long as he could hold out until he got through Tracen Academy's gates, he would be free to make a clean getaway.
Just then, he spotted two Umamusume coming toward him from across the road. Sakuraba's brows jumped, and he instantly dived into the bushes by the roadside.
Just to be safe, it would be better if nobody saw him while he was trying to leave campus.
And right then, the conversation between the two passing Umamusume drifted into Sakuraba's ears.
"Why do you think Tazuna-san suddenly asked us to help look for someone?"
"No clue. I heard the student council president is looking for him?"
Those words hit Sakuraba like a bolt from the blue.
Wait.
Luna-san, you really sent people out to catch me?
I was only joking, and you actually did it?!
Good thing I had the foresight to disguise myself early!
Otherwise I probably would've been caught already!
Heh heh heh. The higher the road, the higher the devil!
This game of hide-and-seek was over before it even began, my foolish Luna-san!
"Eh? The student council president herself?!"
"I heard she even checked the school security footage..."
"That person seems to be in disguise too?"
Wh...
What...?!
Holy crap, ref, I'm calling foul!
Someone's cheating here!
Who uses technology to hunt people down?!
That's not fair!
While Sakuraba inwardly lodged his complaints against Symboli Rudolf, the two Umamusume kept talking.
"I heard the person is wearing a hat..."
Hearing that, Sakuraba silently removed the cap from his head.
"And apparently sunglasses too..."
Sakuraba's mouth twitched as he silently took off the sunglasses as well.
"And not just that—they're supposed to have a mustache too!"
"Pfft... why does this person even have that many disguise props? Hahaha."
"Right? I was shocked too when I heard. Is the President looking for a circus clown or something? Why do they have so much disguise gear..."
"Hahaha."
At that line, sweat broke out across Sakuraba's forehead, and he tore the fake mustache off his face in one yank.
The hell was that?
Girl, what you just said was unbelievably rude!
Who are you calling a circus clown?!
Damn it!
I knew it—there's not a single good Umamusume at Central!
Talking crap about me again!
And they can't even outrun Oguri!
A student council president full of schemes.
And a chairwoman's secretary who leaks information too...
It's so over.
Sakuraba felt his opinion of Central's Umamusume sinking fast.
Damn it, I've got to get out!
Now that they already knew he was in disguise, there was no point keeping it up anymore.
What mattered now was getting out of Tracen Academy as fast as possible!
If the other side could mobilize the whole school to look for him, then there was nowhere on campus left that was safe!
Run!
Break out at top speed!
As long as he could get out of the academy before they found him, he would be fine!
Decision made, Sakuraba sprang out of the bushes and took off running!
He charged straight for the academy gates!
As long as he could make it there...!
But in his panic, Sakuraba was so focused on running that he slammed straight into someone.
He had been sprinting at full speed, yet after colliding with that figure, he was the one who fell.
He tumbled across the ground, then looked up in shock at the person standing before him.
"Oh? Sakuraba-san, whatever is the matter?"
Hayakawa Tazuna extended a hand to the fallen Sakuraba, wearing a gentle smile.
Looking at the kind smile on the gentle woman before him, Sakuraba closed his eyes.
All was lost.
---
T/N: all was lost