Symboli Rudolf is a very strong Uma Musume.
At the same time, she is a very strong woman and an incredibly confident leader.
Unlike the soft, mild mannered fan creations he had seen in his past life, the current Symboli Rudolf was undoubtedly at her absolute peak.
Even though she was just a high school student, she stood tall within Tracen Academy like a titan.
Like a true Emperor, she controlled the trends of the entire Uma Musume industry and actively forced them to change.
During this time of radical reform at Tracen, it was Symboli Rudolf’s very existence that stabilized everyone’s hearts.
A disturbance?
Don’t worry, Symboli Rudolf is here.
Feeling uneasy?
Don’t worry, Symboli Rudolf is here.
As the seven time G1 champion who ushered in a new era of Uma Musume racing nationwide, her presence alone was enough to make countless Trainers and industry workers scream, cry, and break down in a frenzy.
Not to mention, the reforms she proposed were genuinely correct.
The industry really did need to change.
If it was the right thing to do, Symboli Rudolf would do it.
No matter what outsiders said or thought, she would push forward without looking back.
Because she is Symboli Rudolf, the Emperor of Tracen Academy.
Allowing all Uma Musume to run freely on the turf—that was her greatest wish.
As for them becoming nutrients and stepping stones for her own legend, that was a matter for the Dream Trophy.
Once they reached the Dream Trophy, it was a completely different story.
Unlike the young horse girls recklessly burning their youth, Symboli Rudolf only desired to harvest the fully matured fruits that had ripened on the branches of the Dream Trophy.
“Perhaps one day I will sheathe my blade and become a normal high school girl, but that day is not today,” she said casually.
“You actually realize you’re not normal?” Akira asked.
“Of course.
I am the great Emperor, naturally, I am different from ordinary high school girls.
I have far too many things to consider, and those rebels constantly want to drag me down from my throne.
As the Emperor, possessing great power also comes with the obligation to discipline the masses.”
“…”
Then could you please stop treating my room like your own home and chuckling at a book of cold puns?!
Looking at the Emperor who had monopolized his only bed—claiming the chair was too uncomfortable—Akira was furious but didn’t dare speak up.
Watching her flip through the joke book he had bought to better blend in with the older janitors, giggling to herself, it was hard to imagine this soft looking high school girl was the same razor sharp Emperor from before.
But that was the reality.
In truth, Symboli Rudolf was perfectly aware of everything happening around her.
The negative rumors spawned by the reforms, the backlash from the massive staff cuts, the angry crowds protesting outside—she knew all of it.
No matter what gentle words you use to describe their suffering or their future, it is pointless.
This is a reform.
We must cut open our own flesh and dig out the diseased rot to survive.’
‘If we do not carve out this bloated disease, we will never be able to move forward with a new, lighter system.
I have given them an opportunity.
They can pass the exams, earn the recognition of the Uma Musume, and secure a place in the new industry.
But those lacking professional skills will simply be eliminated.’
‘That is why I will not pity them, nor will I publicly express my stance.
Doing so would only be an insult to the present.
I will simply use my running and my superior results to prove that I am right.
This is necessary.
Once I do, all the protests and outcries will naturally disappear.
That is all there is to it.’
Yes.
Symboli Rudolf made this decision fully knowing the chaos it would cause and exactly how many people would be hurt and broken by it.
She knew that many familiar faces—people who had supported her for years—would be laid off and abandoned.
But she went ahead and did it anyway, without a moment’s hesitation.
Because, according to the data Symboli Rudolf had gathered, ever since her miraculous debut, all Uma Musume support teams and related industries had begun to expand in a grotesque, deformed manner.
Malicious incidents and tragic accidents were happening endlessly.
That was why she decided to use her influence to push through these reforms, completely cutting off the rotting flesh and tumors living parasitically on the URA.
But it was incredibly difficult to reconcile the image of the tyrant who made such cruel decisions with the figure sitting behind Akira right now—suppressing her giggles, covering her mouth, and shaking her shoulders as she read terrible jokes.
(TL:Dad jokes are funny, they are funny okay?)
It seemed that only in moments like this did Symboli Rudolf revert to the adorkable, pun loving girl that Akira knew from the games before he reincarnated.
And now, Akira was about to do something she probably wouldn’t like very much.
Staring at a question in his textbook, Akira cleared his throat and asked over his shoulder:
“By the way, Symboli Rudolf.
What was your first thought after your failed expedition to America?” (TL:Yikes)
“Are you trying to dig up my painful memories?
Well, actually, my first thought was that I wanted to change this bloated, messy industry.
I ran to carry the expectations of others, but back then, even when I felt physically unwell, I was forced into that overseas expedition by the team.
I was ultimately diagnosed with suspensory desmitis1.
That was the moment I realized this industry had to change.”
“But the standard answer in the textbook says: ‘You felt incredibly sorry to all the Uma Musume fans for letting them down, and you cried in agony in the break room. This chapter was taken from novelping . com without permission.
As a Trainer, one must bravely assist the Uma Musume out of her despair.’ This is a very important empathy question on the exam.”
“Ignore the standard answer.
Just remember my words.”
“Then what about when I take the exam—”
“I am the examiner.
I recognize your handwriting.
I will judge it accordingly when the time comes.”
“…”
What is this?
Trading power for looks?
She has the power, and I’m the pretty face?!
Looking at Symboli Rudolf—who was lying on his bed, completely engrossed in a joke book he bought from a secondhand store, casually waving her hand to signal that everything was fine—the image of this woman became increasingly fractured in Akira’s mind.
(I know she said she wanted to let loose a little here, but isn’t this way too loose?!
Or rather, do she and Mr.
C.B.
even see me as a man at this point?
Even someone like me, if I really tried…) (TL:You can’t beat an uma dawg)
Never mind, better just leave it as a thought.
Glancing back at Symboli Rudolf one last time, Akira obediently turned back to his chair and continued studying the Trainer manuals.
But very quickly, a vibration from beneath his books caught his attention.
Unlocking his phone, he saw that out of his four Uma Musume contacts, the one who talked the most had sent another message.
[Deep Impact: Ojisan, Ojisan!
Are you in your dorm right now?
Can I come over to play?!]
“…?”
(Deep Impact?
What are you doing coming over in the middle of the night?)
Staring at the message on his phone, invisible question marks popped up over Akira’s head once again.
Suspensory desmitis is the inflammation or injury of the suspensory ligament in horses, a vital shock-absorbing ligament in the lower leg.
It is a leading cause of equine lameness that can affect the proximal origin, mid-body, or branches of the ligament.
I google this but you get what I mean