Symboli Rudolf questioning whether Sirius Symboli had gotten too close to Kitahara sounded… a little strange.
After all, she was the one who'd wanted Kitahara and Sirius to get along in the first place. Now that the two of them were interacting more and more frequently, she should be pleased.
In fact, during the first few days of their improving relationship, Symboli Rudolf really had been in a good mood. She'd even briefly wondered if she could immediately use Kitahara as an intermediary to smooth things out between them.
The problem was that after observing them for several days, Rudolf noticed a minor issue alongside her delight:
Their relationship seemed to be progressing a bit too quickly.
Initially, the speed at which the two got acquainted had been entirely normal. But ever since that earlier attack, Sirius Symboli had started finding reasons to visit Kitahara more and more frequently.
So far, there hadn't been any qualitative changes between them—not even a hint.
However, as someone who'd been Sirius's sworn enemy for years, Symboli Rudolf knew Sirius's "type" all too well, and thus realized:
If things continued at this rate, forget taking their time—keeping their relationship "normal" for even a single quarter would be a miracle.
If Kitahara were an ordinary Trainer, then whatever happened between him and Sirius Symboli would be Sirius's own business. Rudolf wouldn't voice an opinion, much less interfere.
But the problem was that, according to her own inference, Kitahara likely carried Symboli family blood—making him Rudolf's close relative. And she and Sirius Symboli were also closely related. Which meant this situation was, to put it mildly, not exactly harmonious.
Rudolf knew the ideal solution was to simply tell Sirius Symboli the truth, honestly and plainly, right now.
But the problem was—she couldn't do it.
Leaving aside Symboli Speed's situation, Rudolf's own relationship with Sirius Symboli made telling her something this humiliating completely impossible.
But not telling the truth was fine. The title of Emperor wasn't for nothing—Symboli Rudolf quickly thought of another approach.
"Sirius. I'm sure you've seen Teio's performance for yourself."
With her hands clasped, Symboli Rudolf's expression became serious, without a trace of guilt.
If anyone else saw Rudolf behaving like this, they would probably believe her—assuming she was simply concerned for Tokai Teio, without suspicion.
Even Sirius didn't react immediately. After hearing Rudolf and seeing her earnest expression, she subconsciously began reflecting on her recent actions.
But before Sirius Symboli could think deeply for more than a few seconds, as the words sank in, an abrupt sense of wrongness rose in her chest, causing her brows to knit.
Wait. Something's off.
Others might not realize, but as Symboli Rudolf's longtime sworn enemy—and, in a certain sense, her childhood friend—Sirius Symboli knew better.
Because of Rudolf's past experiences in the Symboli family, and everything she'd absorbed since arriving at Tracen, her views on romance had become absurdly skewed.
She'd always embraced free love—fighting for one's feelings, with the winner taking all and the loser gracefully exiting. Calling it "romantic Darwinism" wouldn't be an exaggeration. It was also one of the key reasons Tracen's chaotic "Tracen Album" atmosphere had become so rampant.
Yet, despite this, Rudolf had deliberately kept Sirius behind today to discuss Tokai Teio…
Was Rudolf simply caring too much and losing perspective?
After all, Rudolf had interfered before when Tokai Teio was choosing a Trainer—an incident that had left a bit of a black mark. With that precedent, it wasn't impossible she'd meddle in Teio's love life as well…
No—!
Sirius Symboli raised her head, finally pinpointing the strongest source of her unease.
Rudolf's attitude was far too serious right now.
According to Rudolf's usual behavior, she shouldn't be interfering in Tokai Teio's romantic affairs at all. If anything, she'd be more inclined to view it as a form of training and let Teio fight for herself.
And even if she did interfere, a minor issue like this wouldn't warrant Rudolf holding Sirius back for a serious one-on-one conversation.
But once Sirius realized this, the questions in her mind didn't lessen—they multiplied.
Why was Rudolf doing this?
With Sirius's straightforward nature, normally she'd have immediately confronted Symboli Rudolf directly.
But today, for some reason, just as the question reached her lips, Sirius Symboli glanced at Rudolf's earnest face—then swallowed the words back down.
Because she'd caught the scent of something unusual.
Regarding Teio's feelings, Sirius was certain Rudolf wasn't lying. Teio's affection was obvious to everyone—except perhaps one particular blockhead.
But the real issue was that while Rudolf's words sounded plausible, she was ignoring one critical point:
Compared to Sirius Symboli, the one claiming Sirius and Kitahara had become too close… seemed even closer to Kitahara herself.
Perhaps even too close. After all, from childhood until now, Sirius had never seen the "Emperor" behave this intimately toward any man.
Given that, combined with Rudolf's current behavior, a rather bold hypothesis began to form in Sirius Symboli's mind—and the look in her eyes as she regarded Rudolf gradually changed.
This woman…
She's not seriously planning to steal a man from her own kouhai, is she?
...
Elsewhere.
While Sirius Symboli's gaze gradually changed, the conversation between Kitahara and Mejiro Ardan was also nearing its end.
It had to be said—as a young lady from the Mejiro family, Mejiro Ardan had both charisma and eloquence. She was an exceptional conversationalist.
Initially, because of the Mejiro family name, Kitahara had been slightly wary around her.
But after they talked for a bit, Mejiro Ardan had expertly brought up her identity as a "paranormal enthusiast," using Sunday Silence's existence as a conversational opening—effortlessly dispelling Kitahara's doubts.
Regarding the blind date issue, Kitahara didn't really want to discuss it, yet under Ardan's skillful guidance, she still managed to draw out a fair amount of information from him, bit by bit, and quietly stored it away.
Even after gaining a clear sense of Kitahara's troubles, Mejiro Ardan took no immediate action.
Not only did she avoid offering help, but afterward, when their discussion shifted to ghosts, she didn't mention the previous subject again—as though it had merely been a casual topic of conversation.
Only after their conversation concluded and they parted ways did Mejiro Ardan, somewhere out of Kitahara's sight, take out a small notebook. She quickly wrote something in it, smiling softly as she put it away.
She seemed to be in quite a good mood.