When Symboli Rudolf and Kiryu came out of the room, they happened to see several people comfortably resting in chairs.
They were sucking on ice cream, looking very relaxed.
Leisurely, as if able to forget all worries.
"What are you all doing?"
Kiryu was somewhat speechless. In such a short time, how had the shop turned into this state?
Except for McQueen, everyone else's expressions looked to convey an unspoken happiness.
As for McQueen, she sat with her back to them, muttering to herself.
She completely avoided looking this way, at the sweet ice cream.
When Symboli Rudolf, following behind Kiryu, came out and saw the people present, she paused slightly.
"Fine Motion, Mejiro McQueen? How are you two here as well?"
Kazuo was a little surprised. It seemed Symboli Rudolf remembered the names of everyone in the academy.
For Symboli Rudolf, who had many duties and a very dense schedule of races and training recently, remembering the names of Elementary School Division new students was already quite astonishing.
"President?"
The two also paused when they saw Symboli Rudolf.
After all, the person they had seen on screen just two days ago was now in front of them, and her attire had a strong contrasting style compared to usual.
The President wearing glasses gave people a more gentle, subtle, intellectual, and tranquil simple beauty.
"So they're all from your academy?"
Kiryu quickly understood the situation and shook his head indifferently.
After all, he wasn't very interested in these things. He walked straight to his younger sister and said, "Did you buy ice cream? There's still some left, right? Give me one, I'll eat it back in the studio."
Aoi simply rolled her eyes at her brother, then pointed to a neatly arranged box of ice cream on the side and said, "I saved this for you. Take it with a grateful heart!"
Although she outwardly always showed disdain for her elder brother, Aoi would always remember to save a portion for him.
He couldn't help but sigh, but this sentiment didn't last even a second—
When he saw the name written on the boxed ice cream on the table.
[Octopus Soy Sauce]
"Hey! What's with this dark cuisine-like flavor!?"
Aoi completely ignored him. Instead, she intimately leaned towards Symboli Rudolf and said, "Miss Symboli Rudolf, you must be tired from sitting for so long, right? I specially saved a portion of ice cream for you. It's a small token of my appreciation, please accept it~"
"Mm… Thank you."
The President smiled very humbly and did not decline Aoi's kind offer, directly accepting the ice cream she handed over.
Kiryuuin focused his eyes, and good heavens, he felt even more overwhelmed by the psychological disparity.
"Hey! Why is mine octopus soy sauce flavored!? And Symboli Rudolf's is Haagen-Dazs!???"
"Bei~"
Kiryuin Aoi, without a word, made a face at her older brother and said, "Don't you like takoyaki a lot anyway? I specially chose it for you, don't you like it?"
"No... liking it and this are two different things, aren't they!?"
"It's good that I didn't give you wasabi or natto flavor!"
"So you really are trying to murder your own brother!?"
"Anyway, you boys can't tell the difference between Bavarian cream pudding and regular pudding. What's the point of fussing over the flavor?"
"That's discrimination! It's naked discrimination!?"
"Then can you tell the difference between a cookie and a biscuit?"
"Hmm... aren't they both baked?"
"Hmph... you silly older brother... to think that someone might reluctantly marry you in the future... wait, what if even that kind of person doesn't appear?"
When Kiryuin Aoi dealt with her brother, her words were utterly merciless, quite venomous.
The two siblings spoke like a crosstalk performance, going back and forth, one line after another, and seeing this, the others couldn't help but smile.
"You two siblings have such a good relationship."
Symboli Rudolf couldn't help but exclaim.
"No we don't! / No we don't!"
"Don't copy me! / Copy me!"
"Still copying! / Still copying!?"
"Hmph! / Ha!"
The level of their tacit agreement, in some ways, made one marvel that they were indeed siblings.
The relationship between them and Kazuo and Xiao Bei was a contrast, but what they had in common was that they cared for each other and regarded each other as closest kin.
Kiryuuin sighed helplessly, probably feeling that arguing with his younger sister further would be fruitless, so he took his ice cream and retreated to his room alone, extremely depressed.
Meanwhile, Symboli Rudolf looked at Kiryuin Aoi, who was still pouting, and took out a small object wrapped in cloth from her bag.
She handed it directly to Kiryuin Aoi.
"Kiryuin Aoi... right? It's a pleasure to meet you. Your brother has always taken good care of me. I believe we didn't have a chance to meet before because you were studying at the academy. This is a welcome gift for you, a small token of my appreciation. I hope you like it."
At that moment, Kiryuin Aoi was a mix of shock, pleasant surprise, and excitement.
Covering her mouth, she could hardly believe that Symboli Rudolf actually knew her name and wanted to give her a gift.
Imagine, your admired idol suddenly stands before you one day, says she knows you, and wants to give you a gift—
This sudden, immense feeling of happiness felt as if it would knock her out, and Kiryuin Aoi almost went weak in the knees and fainted on the spot.
She tremblingly accepted the small gift from Symboli Rudolf.
"C-can I open it and look at it now!?"
Symboli Rudolf smiled very gently, "Of course."
Opening the cloth wrap, a tiny metal horseshoe charm lay in the center of the white satin, and engraved on it was "Symboli Rudolf" in elegant, handwritten script.
The others also cast envious glances; Symboli Rudolf was already a revered figure at the Main School, so the preciousness of such an item was self-evident.
Of course, while envying, they also marveled as competitors.
When would they also achieve such high popularity like Symboli Rudolf?
And Kiryuin Aoi was now speechless, her excited face flushed.
"This gift... I will definitely cherish it!! I will wear it with my Trainer's badge!!"
"Hmm... I remember you are a Trainer from the Branch School, right? Then I also hope we'll have a chance to meet on the racecourse in the future."
This was an encouragement, and even more, an expectation.
To receive affirmation from her idol, Kiryuin Aoi felt that no matter what, she had to fulfill this promise.
The method was also very simple: one day be able to participate in an all-star race like the Arima Kinen, and this also meant that she needed to lead Miko to a stage where she could compete alongside the Emperor.
"I will! I will definitely work hard!! Miko!!"
Kiryuin Aoi excitedly turned to look at Miko. Facing her Trainer's expectation, Miko just calmly nodded and briefly replied, "Oh."
But the weight of that reply was self-evident.
Kazuo looked at the charm, and suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he quietly turned his head to look towards the inner room, and sure enough, someone was cautiously peeking through the doorframe, observing everything.
Seeing Kazuo look over, he immediately closed the door again.
They really have a good relationship... Kazuo also sighed with such sentiment.
He should occasionally make time to call and check on his younger sister.
PS: There are two more chapters tonight. Let's push through, give some votes and some razor blades.