After Christmas came New Year's.
However, for Symboli Speed and Tokai Natural, still in France, this had little meaning.
Those more concerned with it were...
"The next event is Hatsumode, huh..." Symboli Rudolf murmured, a bit troubled.
Clearly, within less than a year, she'd already grown uncomfortable being constantly watched by the Symboli Family.
Standing beside her, Symboli Sirius gently adjusted Rudolf's earrings. "You are still the Emperor."
Being Emperor meant serving as the public face—even if Rudolf had passed all power to Symboli Sirius.
Even if the Shogunate stripped the Emperor of power, they couldn't eliminate him, could they?
So, during an event like Hatsumode, where many eyes would be upon her, Symboli Rudolf absolutely couldn't afford any slip-ups.
At least, on the surface.
Once Sirius had helped Rudolf finish dressing, she spoke up: "Aren't you planning to recruit new members for the Student Council?"
"…No one suitable has come along yet."
Rather than bluntly saying all the candidates were unqualified, Rudolf chose gentler phrasing: "So the Student Council's workload remains troublesome."
Symboli Sirius cast a sideways glance, clearly catching Rudolf's carefully concealed expression.
Without exposing her facade, Sirius simply went along with it. "Need my help?"
"I can manage alone."
Politely declining Symboli Sirius's offer, Rudolf swiftly changed topics to avoid further questioning. "And what about you? How's everything going with the Symboli Family?"
"There were a few troublesome ones popping up occasionally, but most have been dealt with."
Dropping her hand, Sirius signaled she'd finished fixing Rudolf's accessories. "There shouldn't be any issues for now."
"You're no longer officially handling family affairs, yet you're still stuck dressing me up."
"It's simply what needs to be done."
Turning away, Symboli Sirius spoke again, "It's about time we go."
"Is it already…?"
"Yes, it's time."
...
"Are we going to the shrine for Hatsumode this year?"
Looking at Maruzensky seated across from her, Mr. C.B. asked this question.
Yet even Mr. C.B. herself felt little enthusiasm.
While Hatsumode was a yearly tradition, especially among Uma Musume racers who often performed the custom at New Year—
But…
Without the third person usually seated at their table, neither felt inclined to attend Hatsumode.
Thus—
Maruzensky gave no answer.
Only after a prolonged silence did she finally reply, seemingly to the previous question, "We won't go this year."
"I see…"
Hearing Maruzensky's decision, Mr. C.B.'s voice also grew quieter.
Clearly, she didn't want to go either.
Listening to Mr. C.B.'s subdued tone, Maruzensky turned her gaze aside.
Her phone lay on the table, ready for use. If they called now, it would probably be daytime over there.
Yet…
Their eyes both rested on the phone lying between them.
As though their thoughts were synchronized, both realized they were thinking of the same thing:
Contacting Tokai Natural.
Silence gradually swallowed up the house, already lacking the feeling of home.
Both wanted to contact Tokai Natural, yet neither dared to dial.
Eventually, their heads lifted simultaneously.
In that brief moment of their eyes crossing paths—
Each understood something clearly.
"If you want to call Natural, just go ahead. No one's stopping you, right~? It's just like how you found Natural in the first place," Maruzensky said casually, as though she hadn't been staring at the phone moments ago.
"How could I possibly disturb Natural? If anyone should do it, it's obviously you. You were the one who took her in, after all."
An instant counterattack.
Yet, after this short exchange, both fell quiet again.
A simple truth now lay clearly between them:
Both of them had completely seen through each other.
Thus, this round...
Ended in mutual defeat.
...
At eight o'clock in the evening, Tokai Natural stood before the mansion gate, pulling out her phone.
It was the final day of the year. By Japanese tradition, she should have already received several New Year's greetings by now.
Yet only a single message waited on her phone, reminding her there weren't many people thinking about her.
But even a single message still warranted checking.
[Yayoi-san, Happy New Year! I'll be counting on you next year too.]
[I know it probably hasn't hit midnight yet on your side, but it's already New Year's here, so consider this an early greeting!]
[Sakura Chiyono O]
Reading that short message, Tokai Natural's lips curved into a small smile as she pushed open the door.
"Happy New Year!"
"Happy!"
Two voices greeted her simultaneously.
The voices quickly received Tokai Natural's reply, "Yes, Happy New Year. So, what are we eating this year? Have you prepared the ingredients?"
"Ingredients?"
Faced with Tokai Natural's sudden question, Symboli Speed looked completely confused.
"You know, the thing I asked you to buy yesterday."
Natural's reminder suddenly jogged Symboli Speed's memory. "Oh, you mean… Ah! The soba noodles! Honestly, it's been so long since I've followed that tradition."
"So, did you buy them?"
The repeated question made Symboli Speed hesitate. "I think I did…?"
"You think?"
Tokai Natural's gaze narrowed, fixing squarely on Symboli Speed.
Under that pressure, Symboli Speed started feeling oddly nervous.
"We're in France anyway, it shouldn't matter too much if we skip it this time, right?" Symboli Speed tried to casually evade. "Besides, you can't really buy soba noodles here easily, so I only managed to get buckwheat flour. We can just rest tonight, no need to cook so much. Is that okay?"
"Is that okay!" Mochizuki echoed enthusiastically, her words completely ignored by her mother.
"At least you bought the buckwheat flour, right?" Tokai Natural pressed further.
"I bought all three kinds of flour."
"Then it's fine."
With that, Tokai Natural walked past Symboli Speed and Mochizuki. "I'll make the soba noodles now, so you two wait a bit."
"Soba noodles!"
"Eh? You're making them now?"
"We should still have enough time!"