Click—
The door to the Student Council office opened. Starlight walked in slowly, carrying her unfinished breakfast.
She looked around and saw only Symboli Rudolf, sitting not far ahead in a pose of deep, pretentious contemplation, and Air Groove, who was dutifully organizing documents beside her.
In the lounge area, the chestnut-haired Maruzensky was carefully savoring black tea, enjoying a leisurely morning.
"So you've arrived, Divine Starlight."
Rudolf's lips curled into a smile as she rested her chin on her interlaced fingers. Approaching the desk, Starlight tilted her head in confusion.
"What is it, Madam President?"
Rudolf didn't speak. Instead, she pushed the form from the previous day toward Starlight.
"I didn't expect you to be under such pressure lately. You've become quite mentally unstable."
Starlight picked it up, glanced at it, and immediately protested.
"That's not right! My mental health is perfectly fine."
"I don't care. The doctor entrusted you to me, asking the Student Council to look after you for the time being. Therefore, you will be staying here at the Student Council for a while."
"But I want to go back to class~"
Seeing Starlight's "earnest student" act, Rudolf reached out toward Air Groove.
Understanding the signal, Air Groove placed a tablet in her hand. After a few taps, Rudolf turned the screen toward Starlight.
On the screen was surveillance footage of Starlight sleeping during class.
"You sleep through every single lesson, and you have the nerve to say that to me?"
"Ahaha... well, you see, it's because I was dreaming about you, Madam President! I wanted to stay with you in my dreams a little longer, which is why I was so reluctant to wake up."
From the back, Maruzensky set down her teacup and let out a soft laugh.
"Haha, I didn't know Luna's charm was so great. Did you dream about this onee-san too, Starlight-chan?"
"Haven't I told you not to use that name in public?" Rudolf snapped.
"Blehh~"
Maruzensky wasn't intimidated by Rudolf's pressure at all. She stuck out her tongue, turned back, and continued drinking her tea.
Shifting her gaze away, Rudolf looked back at Divine Starlight.
"None of you Ash-hair Uma Musume are ever any less than a handful. Go and bring the one who's crouching and sneaking food over here as well."
(T/N: That's racist.)
Rudolf took a deep breath and pointed her finger at Oguri Cap's position on the screen.
"Can I finish my meal first, President? I've been training all morning, and I'm starving..."
Rudolf stared at her for a moment. Seeing the dust on her training gear and the running shoes she hadn't even had time to change out of, Rudolf eventually waved her hand in resignation.
"Fine. Go ahead and eat first..."
"Come over here, Starlight-chan. Sit by onee-san..." Maruzensky called out with a wave and a smile.
"Eh, no thanks. I'm quite dirty. I'll wait until I've changed into my school uniform."
Finding an empty spot, Starlight simply squatted down, placed her bag on the floor, and pulled out a sandwich. She unwrapped the plastic film and began taking large, hungry bites.
Witnessing this, Rudolf found Starlight somewhat amusing. She turned to Air Groove and said:
"Get her a bottle of milk."
"Understood."
Surprised, Starlight took the milk handed over by Air Groove. She smiled and thanked her, then, without standing on ceremony, downed it in one go.
After stuffing the bottle and trash into a plastic bag, Starlight stood up.
"President, I'm going to go call Oguri Cap now."
"Mm..."
Watching Starlight's departing back, Rudolf furrowed her brow in thought.
'Though the outcome is a bit different from what I expected, now that she's on my turf, there will always be opportunities, won't there...?'
A few days later at the Student Council.
Rudolf sat at her desk with a dark, gloomy face. It wasn't hard to tell from her expression that she was very unhappy.
And the reason?
"Starlight-chan~ Waaaah... why did I lose to that jerk Narita Brian again?!"
Hishi Amazon, who usually never stepped foot in the Student Council office, was currently sprawled across Starlight's lap, acting like a spoiled child and crying out her grievances.
Reaching out to stroke the other girl's somewhat messy hair, Starlight comforted her.
"There, there~ winning and losing are just part of the game. We'll just work harder to beat her next time. Don't be discouraged~"
"Starlight-chan~"
"Alright, alright, you're getting tears all over my skirt."
As she spoke, Starlight used her other hand to pick up a game piece and place it on the board on the table.
"Checkmate!"
It appeared to be the final move. Starlight looked at the board and spoke with a smile.
"How impressive, Starlight-chan. Let's go another round, I feel quite confident that I can beat you this time."
Sitting on the sofa opposite her, Maruzensky issued an invitation, sounding a bit unwilling to accept her defeat.
"Sure~"
Standing behind Starlight, Fuji Kiseki was patiently combing Starlight's hair, her eyes filled with nothing but tenderness and focus.
'Tsk... how did things end up like this?'
At that moment, the door to the Student Council office swung open, and a lively voice rang out.
"President! Class is over... Yay! Starlight-senpai, good morning~"
Tokai Teio cried out excitedly upon seeing Divine Starlight sitting on the sofa.
"Good morning, Teio. Are you out of class?"
Teio skipped over and sat down next to Starlight, pulling out a drawing.
"Look, look! This is the Winning Outfit I designed. How is it? Isn't it super cool—"
Taking the paper, Starlight nodded in praise.
"Oh~ it definitely has your style, Teio. And I can see shades of the President's outfit in it too."
Indeed, it was a white military-style dress uniform with a red half-cape design.
Watching the harmonious scene before her, Rudolf felt like she was on the verge of tears.
'My Student Council—!'
"President, stop staring. There are still quite a few documents here that need correcting."
Air Groove's voice broke through Rudolf's brooding as she placed a thick stack of files on the desk.
With trembling hands, Rudolf had no choice but to shift her gaze away from the cozy atmosphere and focus on the work in front of her.
As the lunch break approached, everyone else left. Only our dutiful Madam President remained, diligently laboring away.
Suddenly, a cup of hot tea was placed on the desk. Rudolf stopped her pen and looked up.
The golden eyes that stared back at her were full of mirth, the corners of her lips were naturally turned up, and strands of silver hair drifted down.
"You seem busier today than usual, Madam President..."
"Starlight? You didn't go to lunch with the others?"
"I had some pastries here. I'm not very hungry yet, so I'll wait for you, President~"
Slightly stunned, Rudolf eventually waved her hand.
"I still have quite a bit to process. If you keep waiting, it might cut into your noon nap."
"Well~ am I getting in the way of your work by staying here?"
"No, that's not it..."
"The Trainer has something to do and will be arriving late anyway, so please let me stay for a while."
Rudolf couldn't help but chuckle softly and shook her head.
"Suit yourself."
"Thank you, Madam President."
Sitting in a nearby chair, Starlight picked up a book from a nearby shelf and began to flip through it.
The midday sun shone through the window. Rudolf stared at the silver-haired Uma Musume beside her, dazed for a long moment.
'Perhaps, this isn't so bad after all.'
Feeling refreshed, she lowered her head and resumed her work.
After an unknown amount of time, having finished auditing the last document, Rudolf slowly set down her pen.
When she looked up again, Starlight had already fallen asleep leaning against the back of her chair.
Stretching her wrists, Rudolf stood up and walked over to her. She gently reached out and patted the girl's small face.
'So soft and bouncy...'
Feeling this sentiment inwardly, Rudolf spoke in a gentle tone.
"Starlight-san. Starlight..."
"Nn... mumble... Oh, are you finished?"
"Yes, the work is done."
"Then let's go."
Rubbing her eyes, Starlight stood up and prepared to take a step. Having apparently slept too soundly, her legs didn't quite have their strength back yet. Divine Starlight tumbled directly forward.
"Eh?!"
Oof—
Feeling the white ball of fluff dive into her arms, Rudolf was momentarily stunned.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Thank you, President. My goodness~ I really fell fast asleep, didn't I?"
Unconsciously turning up the corners of her mouth, Rudolf lectured her:
"Be more careful next time. Wait until you're fully awake before standing up."
"Mm-hmm, you're absolutely right."