I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

"Because there's no need to go back."

Speed ​​symbol interrupted Rudolf's words, looking at her serious yet somewhat angry face, and after a moment of silence, suddenly lowered his head.

Just as Rudolf was puzzled by the symbolism of speed and wanted to ask why, a very faint laugh suddenly rang out in the quiet study.

The laughter was very soft, but because it was nighttime and everything was quiet, and Rudolf's hearing was among the best of all the horse girls, he was able to hear it faintly.

Upon hearing the laughter, Rudolf's first reaction was not that the person in front of him was laughing, but rather that he began searching for other people in the study.

After searching unsuccessfully for a long time, he turned his gaze incredulously to the symbol of speed in front of him.

Is that her... laughing?

That old woman actually laughed?!

Rudolf could hardly believe his ears.

As a horse girl from the Symbol family, although she later joined Treson, she lived in the Symbol family for many years and spent a lot of time with Speed ​​Symbol.

Even so, in her memory, the symbol of speed never smiled at her.

Even after asking every other member of the family from beginning to end, not a single person could give a definite answer.

And even when the answer is affirmative, it's mostly from older people, who are talking about her laughter when she was young.

but now......

Under Rudolf's shocked gaze, Speed ​​Symbol slowly raised its head. Although the smile was gone, the emotion in its eyes, different from before, was still easy to discern.

What do you mean by "there's no need to reply"?

For some reason, after hearing that laughter, even though logically speaking, a good mood usually means easier communication, Rudolf suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

Especially after she looked up at her, the ominous premonition intensified, making her feel uneasy and even giving her a vague urge to turn around and leave.

"It means literally, there's no need to reply to your message."

Speed ​​symbol looked at her, and the corners of his mouth gradually turned up.

"After all, you've already gotten together with him without even needing my information, so why should I go out of my way and cause trouble for myself?"

"I already told you, I didn't meet any blind dates at all. I spent the whole day—"

The words stopped abruptly.

Rudolf's body also froze on the spot.

Speed ​​symbolized that he didn't rush to speak. He picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, and then looked at her again.

"Hmm, good, it seems you've realized the problem."

She put down her teacup, a slight smile playing on her lips, and looked at Rudolf, who was frozen in place. She slowly crossed her hands, a playful expression on her face.

"Well, Rudolf?"

"How do you feel about the blind date I arranged for you?"

Chapter 229: Let Him Go

Seeing Rudolph completely unable to move in front of him, Speed ​​Symbol didn't rush to say anything. After revealing the truth, he leisurely sipped his tea.

Then, after an unknown amount of time, Rudolf gradually came to his senses.

The doubts that had arisen in her mind before but had not been answered began to combine and gradually outline the whole picture of the event.

Perhaps to many people, her bringing Shinji Kitahara along, and the subsequent events, all seem like coincidences.

Speed ​​Symbol was merely watching from the sidelines, and because it noticed the two of them getting together, it didn't give her any further information.

But Rudolf doesn't think so.

Upon regaining his senses and the ability to think, Rudolf immediately realized that everything, from beginning to end, was arranged by the symbol of speed.

Because before that, she had been using Shinji Kitahara as a shield, telling the symbol family that he was her boyfriend.

Although she and Speed ​​Symbol certainly knew it was just an excuse, it was predictable that she would ask Shinji Kitahara for help with this blind date.

After she returned home, Speed ​​Symbol consciously monitored her information, ostensibly to prevent her from causing any trouble, but now it seems that she was actually laying the groundwork for a later relaxation of control.

Because speed symbolizes what she could foresee, the first thing she would do after leaving was to message Shinji Kitahara and try to get him involved.

At that moment, when Shinji Kitahara knocked on the door and answered, she was quite relieved, wondering why he had been able to come so quickly.

But now that I think about it carefully, it wasn't a coincidence at all. It was just that Speed ​​had anticipated her movements and made preparations in advance.

Afterwards, although Speed ​​Symbol wasn't in the social gathering, Anti-Rudolph was certain that their every move would be under the watchful eye of this old woman.

After figuring all this out, Rudolf's face slowly flushed red.

The 'emperor' who used to hold himself to high standards and could calmly handle any situation experienced for the first time what it felt like to 'want to find a crack in the ground to crawl into'.

"So, this was all part of your plan, wasn't it?"

Suppressing his shame, Rudolph raised his head and looked at the symbol of speed, his face burning red.

"If you wanted to tease me and make fun of me, then congratulations, you've achieved your goal."

Even though Speed ​​Symbol has revealed the truth of the matter, Rudolph doesn't think Speed ​​Symbol really wants her to go on a blind date with Shinji Kitahara; at most, he's just making fun of her.

But Speed ​​Symbol seemed somewhat puzzled by Rudolf's words.

That's strange. She's already gone this far, so why does this girl still think she's just making fun of her?

Well, even Speed ​​Symbol admits that a large part of the reason she did this was indeed for fun.

The problem is that she had already explained the situation, and given Rudolf's intelligence, he should have realized that she genuinely intended for him to go on a blind date.

After all, no matter how you look at it, Shinji Kitahara is an exceptionally talented individual who perfectly matches, and even surpasses, the conditions set by the Symbolist family.

Moreover, the speed symbol could also know about the interactions between these two in the academy through some informants, who knew that the two usually got along very well and even took care of the child (East Sea Emperor) together.

Under these circumstances, for her to do something like this, anyone with a sound mind could see that she genuinely wanted to bring them together, but now...

Since he was in a rare good mood, Speed ​​Symbol didn't bother with beating around the bush and directly stated his purpose.

"There's no need to be suspicious. I can tell you, I don't have any ulterior motives. I just want you two to get along."

"......Really?"

"of course it's true."

Speed ​​symbolizes tranquility.

"Now that things have come to this, why would I need to lie to you?"

To be honest, Speed ​​Symbol felt she had made herself quite clear, and from the information she had heard, Rudolf should also be interested in Kitahara Shinji.

At this point, after she, representing the symbolists, expressed clear support for them, Rudolf, aside from feeling ashamed, at least seemed relieved, if not completely relieved.

To her surprise, after she finished explaining, none of the reactions she expected occurred; in fact, Rudolf seemed even more wary.

This little girl...

Just as Speed ​​symbolized doubt, Rudolf looked directly into her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Alright, it's come to this, I concede defeat, you win this round."

"So, is it alright to stop here?"

Faced with Rudolf's sudden words, a hint of confusion appeared in the Speed ​​Symbol's eyes.

"Rudolf, what are you saying?"

"Still playing dumb?"

Rudolf took another deep breath, suppressing the shame in his heart, and spoke calmly.

"Alright, since you're still pretending to be stupid, I'll just be blunt."

She stared intently into the eyes that symbolized speed, and said seriously.

"Kitahara, he's actually my younger brother, isn't he?"

Speed ​​symbol: "...?"

After a while.

As Rudolf explained, a burst of suppressed laughter erupted from the study, piercing the darkness that symbolized the family home.

And it lingered for a long time.

......

the other side.

Sirius's room.

The quiz game continues.

However, the atmosphere in the room has changed dramatically compared to the beginning.

Shinji Kitahara remained seated in his chair, but Sirius had somehow moved to sit opposite him, and the distance between them was getting closer and closer.

Furthermore, as the distance closed, although Sirius managed to maintain a calm expression, the anger in his eyes became increasingly apparent, and he was so hard of hearing that his ears were practically popping out of his head.

Long hair, short stature, calm personality...

Serious, dry humor, the perfect model...

The more Sirius inquired about Kitahara Shinji's preferences, the angrier he became.

Although she had only asked a few questions casually at the beginning, which just happened to fit the characteristics of her and Rudolf, she only realized it afterward—at least that's what she thought.

But after discovering that Kitahara Shinji's answers all leaned towards Rudolf, she began to consciously use the characteristics of the two as options, asking Kitahara Shinji which one he liked.

Admittedly, Shinji Kitahara also selected many of her special features, but overall, Rudolf's features were more numerous—no, much more numerous.

This made Sirius very unhappy.

After all, she and Rudolf had been compared since they were children.

It's not that she hates Rudolph, but simply because they are Geminis, and Geminis at that, with strong self-esteem and a competitive spirit, their struggle was destined from birth.

Now, although she didn't know why, after feeling that Kitahara Shinji's answer was clearly biased towards Rudolf, Sirius felt like she was being overshadowed by her.

Moreover, it wasn't just the ordinary feeling of being outmatched; it was more like the pain of losing a three-peat competition.

However, Sirius's question was already very obvious, almost to the point of directly asking him whether he liked Rudolf or her, Sirius.

But the piece of wood still didn't realize the real key point and was still agonizing over whether it was normal or not.

Fortunately, Sirius was a sensible person. Although the blockhead opposite her was infuriating, especially his innocent look that showed he didn't realize anything, it made her furious.

But she eventually suppressed her anger and, realizing that things couldn't continue like this, took the initiative to end the situation.

"Never mind, let's change the subject."

Sirius sighed.

Kitahara Shinji was stunned.

"Huh? Does that mean you admit I'm normal?"

"I--"

Looking at the innocent-looking face opposite him, Sirius almost couldn't help but swear.

Even so, Sirius couldn't help himself.

"Kitahara, sometimes I really wonder if there's anything solid in your head."

Sirius looked at him and said sincerely.

"Think carefully, among all the normal people you've ever met, has there been even one who has those traits you have?"

"I think there are quite a lot."

Shinji Kitahara answered frankly.

"No, Sirius, don't be angry yet. I admit I'm a bit special, but think about it, Eclipse, Tachyon, Digital, Tea House, and... compared to them, aren't they all much stranger than me?"

Faced with this question, Sirius instinctively wanted to say, "How could that be? Who could be stranger than you?"

But after a fraction of a second of thought, her last shred of reason made her swallow her words.

Well, she had to admit that although Shinji Kitahara was indeed strange, compared to the group of monsters and freaks in his team, he seemed relatively normal.