What did it feel like?
Standing near the finish line, Li Ze dragged her heavy legs around slowly while calming her chaotic breathing.
Only one thought occupied her mind.
That one-length gap.
Completely crushed.
The fact had been proven beyond doubt.
One length wasn’t a huge margin.
But the humiliation was overwhelming.
Symboli Rudolf— No.
The Emperor— Had never taken her seriously at all.
“How do you feel?” “Fine, Big Sister Tazuna.
You don’t need to comfort me.
It’s not like this is my first failure.” The person asking was Tazuna.
In front of her, Li Ze didn’t need to worry much.
She only needed to lower her voice enough that nobody else overheard.
Tazuna naturally understood what Li Ze meant.
Anyone else hearing those words would’ve assumed Natsume Reiko had lost many private races before.
In reality…
She was referring to Natsume Sawa’s life.
Children who grew up in welfare homes often experienced far more than other children their age.
“You still care a little, don’t you?” Tazuna could hear the faint unwillingness beneath Li Ze’s words.
People who genuinely didn’t care…
Usually didn’t say things like that.
“Being kept exactly one length behind for an entire race…
“That’s a pretty rare experience.” The girl stated the fact calmly.
The odds of encountering something like this were comparable to discovering a genius who deliberately controlled their exam scores…
Or running into a giant panda in the wild.
Rare enough to become news online.
Especially since the runner was Symboli Rudolf.
When was the Emperor’s previous race?
Li Ze couldn’t remember.
At least several years ago, probably.
If people learned that the Emperor had personally participated in this evaluation race…
Reiko would probably lose all peace and quiet.
Li Ze glanced around.
Almost nobody was nearby.
Right.
On the way here, she had barely seen anyone.
This was a remote corner of Tracen Academy.
The course itself was maintained beautifully…
But it was obvious almost nobody used it.
Even a rarely used track is still turf?
Tracen really is rich.
Compared to dirt tracks, turf cost significantly more to maintain.
When Li Ze rented his own grounds, his former teacher had explained some relevant costs.
Dirt maintenance was still barely acceptable.
Turf?
Forget it.
Go to sleep and dream instead.
This was yet another reminder of Tracen’s enormous financial strength.
And Li Ze was grateful for it.
At least there hadn’t been many spectators watching her completely one-sided defeat.
So the humiliation remained limited.
“Natsume Reiko.
“Do you mind if I call you Reiko?” “Please call me whatever you prefer, Senior Empress.” “Don’t call me Senior Empress.
Air Groove is fine.” Air Groove stepped forward.
“First, I want to tell you not to take that race personally.
The Emperor wasn’t deliberately trying to humiliate you.
She simply got excited after discovering someone unusual.
“An Uma Musume like you is rare even throughout history.
“I apologize on her behalf.” Rudolf had gone too far.
The girl’s aura had wrapped around her and produced no effect at all.
That alone would damage anyone’s confidence.
Worse…
Rudolf had maintained exactly one length for the entire race.
That was practically telling Reiko to give up.
This was also why Air Groove came to speak with her…
Rather than Rudolf herself.
Meanwhile…
Li Ze thought: Of course I’m special.
There probably isn’t a second person in this world who can transform from human into Uma Musume.
Three Goddesses above, if people discover this, am I going to get captured and dissected?
I’m not really upset.
I’m not that petty.
But does Symboli Rudolf seriously have no concern for a newcomer’s mental state?
One length.
Just hearing that distance annoys me now.
Her inner thoughts churned endlessly.
Her exterior remained perfectly calm.
Li Ze replied: “Senior Air Groove, it’s fine.
I expected this result.
“Senior Emperor was already a famous Uma Musume years ago.
“As someone who only recently became a racing Uma Musume, I still have much to learn from her.” Such an excessively polite answer made Air Groove’s expression slightly unnatural.
President…
President…
Look at what you’ve done.
Wouldn’t your conscience hurt after bullying such a polite junior?
The last Uma Musume Air Groove remembered being this courteous…
Was Silence Suzuka.
Girls like this were so reassuring.
A hundred times easier to deal with than…
Gold Ship.
Gold Ship.
And Gold Ship.
Complaint letters about a certain Gold Ship were practically becoming a small mountain in the student council room.
But what could anyone do about that willful girl?
Even her Trainer couldn’t control her.
Most Uma Musume possessed at least some peculiar habit or personality flaw.
Even Tokai Teio depended slightly too much on Symboli Rudolf.
So encountering someone as polite as Natsume Reiko…
Air Groove felt almost moved.
“If you’re feeling pressure, spend the next few days relaxing.
“Go sing.
“Rest.
“Whatever works.
“Just adjust your mentality.
“Otherwise, whether during training or competition, your performance will suffer.” “I understand.
Thank you for your concern, Senior Air Groove.” Air Groove didn’t know what else to say.
After sighing, she continued: “Reiko, I can give you the result now.
“Your auditing-student qualification is approved.
“But we’d still prefer if you became a formal Tracen Academy student.” “I see.” “Yes.
“The Emperor and I both hope you’ll enroll officially.
“You’re a genius.” “I’m…
“A genius?” Li Ze genuinely paused.
I’m a genius?
Nobody understood her situation better than herself.
She was merely an ordinary person relying on system abilities to enter races.
She hadn’t even worked as hard as everyone else had for years.
What kind of genius was that?
Nice Nature and the others would probably build resistance to her skills soon enough.
The race against Rudolf had taught Li Ze something important.
Her skills themselves…
Did not become stronger.
After a short pause, she added: “Thank you for the compliment, Senior Air Groove.
“But I don’t consider myself a genius.
“I’m simply an ordinary Uma Musume with a little talent.
“I’ll think carefully about officially enrolling in Tracen Academy.
“But there’s a high chance I won’t change my mind.
“I apologize in advance.” “There’s nothing wrong with refusing.
We respect personal choices.
“But may I ask why you don’t want to enroll?” That question made Li Ze silent for a moment.
She hadn’t expected student council members to value a newcomer like her so highly.
So she hadn’t seriously prepared an explanation.
The true reason was simple.
Too many secrets.
Transmigration.
The system.
Transformation.
Those weren’t things outsiders could easily learn.
A secret was called a secret precisely because it couldn’t be told.
But she couldn’t say that aloud.
So…
She needed another reason.
During her pause, Li Ze thought about the idea of secrets.
Then she asked: “Senior Air Groove…
“Do you like crowded places?” “If you mean standing on a stage and receiving the cheers of tens of thousands…
“Yes.
I enjoy that.
“If you mean being constantly watched by fans during ordinary daily life…
“No.
I don’t.” Air Groove divided the question into two situations.
“In my case…
“I dislike both.” Li Ze maintained her practiced smile.
“I don’t like crowded places.” ————————————————————————————— Thank you so much for reading until the end.
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