I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

Having dispelled his doubts with Kitahara Shinji's words and actions, the East Sea Emperor no longer questioned Rudolf's words.

Upon hearing this, she quickly realized that they were probably going to talk about something formal that wasn't suitable for her to hear. After thinking for a moment, she took the initiative to leave.

"Don't wander around outside, go back to the dorm early, don't catch a cold."

Watching the departing figure of the Emperor of the East Sea, Kitahara Shinji gave him these instructions.

"understood!"

The Emperor of the East Sea jogged away.

After watching the East Sea Emperor leave and confirming that she had disappeared from sight, Rudolf's smile gradually faded, replaced by a rather complicated expression.

Shinji Kitahara noticed her unusual behavior, but since he didn't know what she was thinking, he didn't say anything and just watched her silently.

After a moment, Rudolf realized that things couldn't continue like this. He quickly calmed himself down and sat down next to Shinji Kitahara, starting a conversation with him.

However, despite having the opportunity to be alone, Rudolph didn't immediately tell Shinji Kitahara what she had heard from the Symbol of Speed. Instead, she started by talking about serious business.

As for what the real matter was, it wasn't anything new. It was something that Kitahara Shinji had recently heard from Surugawa Tezuna about someone manipulating public opinion behind the scenes and using it to attack him.

"If you need anything, I can help you..."

"No, that won't be necessary. Rather, I'd like to ask you to refrain from interfering in this matter for the time being..."

"What's your plan?"

"It's not really a plan, but it is definitely an opportunity."

Shinji Kitahara didn't explain much, and Rudolf wasn't one to delve into things, so the topic was dropped.

After finishing that topic, Rudolph then started talking to him about some recent events and work in the student council.

And because they talked for so long, the two even had a meal together in the middle, and after the meal, they went to the student council room to continue their conversation.

Since it was past dinner time and the busy start of the school year was over, there wasn't much student council work to do today. Both Kissou and Narita Shirahito finished their work early and went to enjoy a rare rest.

As for Sirius, although she wanted to continue confronting Rudolph, the reason Rudolph hadn't sent her away before wasn't because he couldn't, but simply because she didn't know how to face Kitahara Shinji, which is why they had been in a standoff.

Now, having likely obtained the information, Rudolf casually arranged some 'coincidences' to easily shun Sirius, ensuring that she wouldn't have time to bother her until at least tomorrow morning.

Click——

After the two entered, the door to the student council room closed automatically.

Although it was a very ordinary scene, after all, that's how the student council room door is, Shinji Kitahara's heart suddenly skipped a beat for no reason, and a sense of unease crept over him.

As night deepened, a cold wind began to blow outside the window, sweeping across the layers of buildings and emitting eerie howls.

Rudolf took her seat in the main seat, while Shinji Kitahara casually found a seat and sat down, then looked up.

At that very moment, a strange sense of familiarity suddenly arose in Kitahara Shinji's mind.

Wait, this position, this angle, this feeling...

Shinji Kitahara's expression suddenly became subtle.

"......What’s wrong with you?"

Rudolf noticed his unusual behavior.

"......nothing."

Shinji Kitahara sat up straight, looking somewhat nostalgic.

"It feels like the way we were when we first met."

First meeting?

Rudolf paused for a moment, then coughed awkwardly twice after realizing what was happening.

"At that time... I was indeed not very rational."

"I understand. After all, it concerns the future of the emperor's child, so it's normal for you to be anxious."

Shinji Kitahara smiled.

"To be honest, when we first met, I thought, 'I've made you so angry, I guess my days at the academy won't be easy, and we probably won't have any more contact...'"

"But now, we're sitting in the same place again, but our mindset and our understanding of each other are completely different from before..."

"A lot has happened."

Shinji Kitahara sighed.

"Yes, a lot has indeed happened... far too much."

Rudolf also sighed, and then the student council room fell into a brief silence.

After a moment, Rudolf, seemingly making conversation, casually opened his mouth.

"By the way, Trainer Kitahara, I remember you mentioning before that you once remotely mentored a horse girl when you were a child..."

"Could you tell me the specifics?"

Chapter 241: Guilt

Guidance from childhood?

Shinji Kitahara was somewhat puzzled by the question posed by Rudolf.

What's so special about guidance? It's basically a weaker version of a trainer. They can't be with the horse girl all the time; they can only analyze and deduce based on available data to come up with a training plan...

In Shinji Kitahara's opinion, there's really nothing to say about these things.

However, since Rudolf brought it up, Shinji Kitahara couldn't very well refuse outright. After thinking for a moment, he decided to have a brief chat with her about it.

Once she realizes there's nothing left to talk about, she'll naturally change the subject.

"The guidance I received before..."

Leaning back slightly against the chair, Shinji Kitahara crossed his arms and slowly began to reminisce.

.......

Regarding the matter of guidance, it was Speed ​​Symbol who first brought it up.

After discovering Shinji Kitahara's amazing talent in horse-themed incidents, and considering Rudolf's rebellious nature at the time, she suggested, somewhat out of amusement, that Shinji Kitahara be put in charge of Rudolf during a meeting.

A peer of similar age, and unrelated to the symbolist, might be someone Rudolf would agree to.

Speed ​​Symbol thought so at the time, but unfortunately, although it was a good idea, before she could verify Rudolf's attitude on the matter, Shinji Kitahara directly rejected it.

As for Shinji Kitahara's reasons for refusing, one reason is, as Speed ​​Symbol previously stated, that he didn't want to cause trouble, and the other reason is that he didn't feel he was qualified to become a trainer.

After all, although he had helped many horse girls at that time, he had never been a trainer, had not received any formal training, and did not even know anything about the relevant field. It was impossible for him to take on the role of a trainer.

Although he didn't agree to be the child's trainer, he thought that his senior, Ma Niang, had actually taken good care of him.

So, although he didn't think he had the ability to take on the responsibilities of a trainer, Shinji Kitahara felt that he could still do some things if it was just about providing advice and guidance from the sidelines, so he offered to help in that regard.

And then, everything began.

Although I didn't understand or even have any experience with trainers before, I wanted to help the child in a practical way, rather than giving random instructions that would only make things worse.

So, after that, Shinji Kitahara began to study knowledge about trainers.

As for the learning materials, since he was working for the Symbol family for free and also wanted to see what the kid's potential was, the Symbol family took over the project and brought some materials with him every time he went to Kitahara Shinji's place.

Because it was his first time being a trainer, and he was naturally interested in this kind of thing, Shinji Kitahara studied very hard and improved very quickly.

But even rapid growth takes time.

"At the beginning, I didn't know anything either. Although I tried my best to learn and produced a plan to the best of my ability at the time, however..."

Even now, Shinji Kitahara can't help but blush when he recalls that initial plan.

"Although I had anticipated that the proposal wouldn't receive much praise, I never expected that the senior colleague would tell me the very next day that the kid had torn it up..."

Tear it up...

Upon hearing this, Rudolf, who was standing to the side, seemed to remember something and awkwardly shifted his gaze.

She remembered that such a thing had indeed happened, although she couldn't quite recall the specific details of the plan because it had been so long.

But she did remember that when Speed ​​Symbol gave her the first proposal that day, she thought they were deliberately messing with her, and then they tore it up right in front of her...

I felt pretty good and relieved right after tearing it up, but now...

Before Rudolf could think further, Shinji Kitahara continued speaking.

"When I heard the news, I was sad for a while. After all, although I knew that the plan was terrible, it was something I had put a lot of effort into, so it was still a blow to hear that it had been torn up..."

"But as you know, I might not be good at many things, but I have a good attitude, so I wasn't upset for long. I quickly started studying and researching again, and then came up with a second plan..."

"This time the situation is much better than before. Although, according to that senior colleague, the child didn't look too happy when he received my second proposal, at least it wasn't torn to shreds again..."

Ah, that's true.

As Kitahara Shinji spoke, a hint of reminiscence flickered in Rudolf's eyes.

Because the second proposal was on a completely different level compared to the first one, and it was only half a month apart, she had no doubt that the two proposals were written by the same person.

As for the quality of that plan at the time, it certainly couldn't compare to the customized plan provided by a trainer who was with you at all times.

However, it also incorporated many of Shinji Kitahara's own insights, and there were many commendable points. Therefore, Rudolf accepted it for the time being. Although he did not completely copy it, he did borrow many ideas from it in his later training.

Later, perhaps out of interest, or perhaps because Shinji Kitahara had more free time, he focused on studying trainer knowledge for quite some time and would frequently produce a solution that was at least an order of magnitude better than the previous one.

As for Rudolph at that time, since he had just left the Symbol family but still had some contact with them, he had heard that the Speed ​​Symbol was preparing a team of trainers for her and wanted to take charge of her training.

Given that Shinji Kitahara was highly productive at the time, and his pace of progress seemed beyond human capability, it was natural to assume that these solutions were made with the help of the team behind the speed symbol.

Moreover, after locking onto this perception, partly because she was going through a rebellious phase at the time, and partly because she wanted to annoy the old speed, Rudolph made things particularly difficult for what she considered to be the 'team' during that period.

"During that time, although I was not sure, I always felt that the child seemed to be targeting me."

"Besides the regular training programs, they've started attaching a bunch of random questions to my replies, questions that even experienced trainers might not be able to answer..."

"Fortunately, by then I had already accumulated a considerable amount of knowledge about horse girls through my travels. Although this knowledge provided limited help in training, it was enough to handle those problems very well..."

"...That child is indeed a bit immature."

Although at the time it seemed fine, Rudolph thought she was making things difficult for the team behind the speed symbol.

Looking back now, Shinji Kitahara was already struggling financially at the time. He was busy finding food for Eclipse all day long, and also giving her guidance for free. Instead of being grateful, she just kept making things worse...

But to Rudolf's surprise, after she said that, Shinji Kitahara shook his head.

"There's no question of whether he's sensible or not. That child doesn't know my situation, and judging by the timeline, he should have been about the same age as the current emperor back then, or maybe even younger..."

"That senior colleague asked me back then if the child was annoying, but I actually thought she was quite good. At least the fact that she could think of those questions shows that she is indeed smart and caring..."

"However, after I expressed my judgment, the older woman seemed very dismissive. She not only mocked my assessment but also said that her child had a terrible temper and had even been more aggressive than her own mother..."

cough cough-

A cough interrupted Shinji Kitahara's recollection.

"...Sorry, I choked a little."

Rudolf sat in his seat with his head down, his face looking somewhat red for some reason, and his eyes were also somewhat evasive.

After scanning Rudolph over her and confirming that she was indeed alright, Shinji Kitahara spoke again.

"To be honest, I don't really doubt that the child has a bad temper."

"After all, according to that old woman, the child is related to her by blood, and that old woman's wickedness is among the worst I know, and she is also extremely violent..."

"As her blood relative, it's normal for her to have a bad temper and be a bit irritable, not to mention that she tore up my project proposal before... Are you upset again?"

"......Um."

Rudolf lowered his head and pretended to pat his chest to cover up his embarrassment.

Just as she calmed herself down and was about to let Shinji Kitahara continue, a hand appeared in front of her, holding a glass of water.

"Have some drink first, to calm your nerves."

Shinji Kitahara handed her the water, watched her drink a few sips, and after she stopped coughing, he simply sat down opposite Rudolf and started talking face to face.

"Let's get back to the child. Although I don't think that old man was lying, I still believe that even if the child has a bad personality and may have violent tendencies, there is still a glimmer of light in her heart."

“I carefully reviewed the questions she asked me and came to the conclusion that those questions could not possibly be about her.”

"Because many of these problems would affect her health and racing. If she really had so many problems, or even just one-tenth of them, she would never have been able to become a racehorse girl."