Slacking Professionally at Tracen [12]

Symboli Rudolf—the legendary Uma Musume of Tracen Academy and president of its Student Council.

The undefeated Triple Crown winner, the reigning Emperor who claimed seven crowns, Rudolf was not only admired for her unmatched record but was also the esteemed young lady of the Symboli family—one of JP’s largest and most influential Uma Musume families.

According to rumor, she was even slated to be the next head of the Symboli family.

But even setting aside her prestigious lineage and impressive victories, her position as Student Council President alone made her an extraordinary figure.

Unlike ordinary schools, Tracen’s Student Council wielded real power. Under Rudolf’s leadership, its influence had expanded dramatically, governing school regulations, financial resources, and even distribution of research materials. It had grown to rival the authority of the Chairwoman herself.

While trainers and staff affairs remained under the jurisdiction of the Chairwoman and school administration, issues concerning students belonged exclusively to the Student Council—a known fact even the Chairwoman couldn’t override.

Thus, outside speculation suggested Rudolf had been intentionally placed at Tracen by the Symboli family to exert control over the academy, although this was only a rumor without solid proof.

But none of this mattered to Kitahara Sota.

He’d joined Tracen simply looking for an easy paycheck. Family feuds, power struggles—none of it concerned someone as determined to slack off as himself.

As long as the paychecks kept coming, he didn’t care who he worked for. And if the money ever stopped flowing, he’d simply take Eclipse and resume their carefree wandering across JP. Given his skillset, they’d hardly starve.

Regarding Rudolf’s reason for calling him here today, he already had an idea:

Tokai Teio.

This rising star of the middle school division had been discovered and personally recruited to Tracen by Symboli Rudolf herself.

Their relationship was famously close, and rumor had it that Rudolf was grooming Teio as her successor, devoting immense time and effort to her training.

So, naturally, when the kid she’d been painstakingly nurturing suddenly chose a random nobody as her trainer—without even discussing it with her mentor—anyone in Rudolf’s position would find it hard to accept.

While Kitahara pondered these things, Narita Brian led him to the Student Council office. After knocking and receiving permission, he pushed the door open and entered.

What greeted him wasn’t a typical Student Council room, but a spacious, elegantly furnished office. Rows of desks and chairs were neatly arranged, each piled high with files and paperwork. Rather than a student-run office, it looked like a professional workplace.

And seated at the largest desk in the center of the room—one covered in the tallest stack of paperwork—was a brown-haired Uma Musume with purple eyes and a distinctive white streak in her hair, looking like a mature version of Tokai Teio.

Symboli Rudolf, the uncrowned Empress of Tracen.

“Trainer Kitahara, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she greeted first.

“Nice to meet you as well, President Rudolf,” Kitahara replied politely.

After exchanging brief pleasantries, Rudolf gestured for Kitahara to take a seat opposite her and then began explaining why she’d summoned him.

Contrary to his expectations, Rudolf didn’t immediately start grilling him about Tokai Teio. Instead, she began by sincerely thanking him for catching last night’s stalker.

“The Chairwoman already briefed me on what happened. You have my gratitude for stepping in. That an incident like this occurred at all is a failure of the Student Council, and we’ll handle the rest properly.”

She paused briefly, carefully observing Kitahara’s expression, then suddenly shifted topics.

“By the way, Trainer Kitahara, can you think of anyone at Tracen who might hold a grudge against you?”

A grudge?

Kitahara blinked in confusion, then shook his head decisively. “No.”

Is she joking? I haven’t even been here three full days, and most of my time was spent slacking off. Forget making enemies—I barely know anyone yet.

If anything, the only person who might hold a grudge against him was sitting right across from him—considering he’d effectively “stolen” Tokai Teio from her, at least in the eyes of others.

“That is indeed odd, then…” Rudolf murmured thoughtfully.

She hadn’t suspected him anyway, having already checked his records and confirmed he’d only recently joined and hadn’t had conflicts with anyone.

“Did something happen?” Kitahara asked curiously.

Rudolf didn’t hide it. “You should check the school forum yourself.”

Hearing this, Kitahara pulled out his phone and opened the forum. He quickly realized it had been entirely overtaken by the news he’d first noticed that morning—all discussing his relationship with Tokai Teio.

Not only had the volume of posts skyrocketed, but their content had shifted dramatically as well.

Previously, reactions had mainly been disbelief or disappointment over Teio’s choice, nothing more.

But now, alongside the pessimistic and regretful comments, aggressive accusations had emerged. Some users were openly speculating about behind-the-scenes manipulation, questioning Tracen’s fairness, and even publicly demanding Rudolf herself come forward with explanations. The Student Council itself had become a target of suspicion.

“This is no ordinary situation,” Rudolf declared firmly. “Someone’s deliberately smearing your reputation and trying to spark conflict.”

As Rudolf spoke, Kitahara’s expression slowly shifted:

First disbelief, then confusion, before settling into…joyful excitement?

What incredible luck!

Ever since he caught that stalker last night and had been cleared of suspicion so quickly, he’d been quietly regretting the missed opportunity to ruin his own reputation, reducing the interest from troublesome Uma Musume.

Yet just as he’d begun worrying about how to sabotage his image himself, someone else had generously done the job for him. It was as if he’d wished for a pillow, and someone had handed him one immediately.

Perfect.

“Trainer Kitahara, are you…?” Rudolf asked hesitantly, puzzled by his odd expression.

“I’m fine. I’m just too happy—no, I mean too sad about this whole situation,” Kitahara quickly corrected himself.

But his joyous expression was impossible to hide, causing Rudolf—who had been closely studying his face—to inwardly question her judgment.

Could it be that this trainer has…a few screws loose?

Fortunately, an Emperor was an Emperor, after all. Quickly suppressing the odd feeling in her heart, Rudolf cleared her throat and continued speaking.

“In any case, that’s the current situation. The Chairwoman and I are already investigating. However, you need to be careful, Trainer Kitahara.”

“Particularly your personal safety. As far as I know, Teio has many passionate fans here at Tracen. Some less rational individuals might act impulsively toward you.”

Her warning sounded vaguely like a threat, but it wasn’t. As Tracen’s Empress and heir apparent of the Symboli family, Rudolf hardly needed to rely on crude intimidation tactics.

If necessary, making one trainer disappear would pose little challenge for someone of her status.

“I understand. I’ll be careful,” Kitahara nodded calmly.

They continued discussing the matter briefly, with Rudolf repeatedly asking whether he’d inadvertently offended anyone, and Kitahara firmly denying each time.

Finally, after confirming Kitahara genuinely had no idea who might hold a grudge, Rudolf ended her questions.

With Rudolf no longer speaking, Kitahara naturally stayed quiet as well, resulting in a brief silence.

But moments later, Rudolf broke it.

She straightened slightly, her expression no longer casual, now exuding the aura of authority she was famous for.

“Trainer Kitahara,” she spoke seriously, her eyes locked onto his. “Aside from what we’ve just discussed, there’s something else I need to talk about with you.”

“Could you explain exactly what’s going on between you and Teio?”

—

This is a fan translation of 人在特雷森，专职摆烂 by 多功能复读机 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!