At last, Eternal Meteor received her race prize money.
The very next day, she pushed a safe into the dorm—one that was practically as tall as she was.
It had a telescoping handle, a one-piece cabinet structure, a keypad whose number layout could be randomized, fireproof certification, and—most absurd of all—five centimeters of thickened alloy plating.
This single purchase alone wiped out nearly half of her winnings.
"You seriously think this thing is going to work on horse girls?" X asked.
Watching her struggle to maneuver it, X honestly couldn't understand what she was thinking. For horse girls who could drag around industrial tires like toys, wouldn't a fire axe and a few good swings be enough to crack it open?
"This is called psychological security," Meteor snapped. "Do you even understand that concept?"
"Sure, sure," X drawled. "Just don't cry when you've burned all your money—especially after a certain idiot horse girl wired her merch funds into someone else's bank account."
Meteor ignored him and focused on the safe.
Rudolf really had helped her a lot. Money given was money given. Worst case, she'd just run a couple more races and earn it back. And besides—Rudolf was her trainer. No need to think about splits or percentages.
"Whoa," Meteor murmured, eyes sparkling. "This lock linkage mechanism is so cool…"
After setting a password, she cracked the door open slightly and tilted her head to watch the internal bolts extend and retract along the side.
She repeatedly hit lock and unlock over and over like a kid who'd just gotten a brand-new toy—so absorbed she didn't even notice someone standing behind her.
"Meteor. What is that?"
"AHHH!!"
Meteor's ears practically exploded upright. With a loud bang, she slammed the safe door shut.
Her heart pounded as she thanked every god she could think of that she hadn't opened it all the way. She'd gotten too excited and forgotten herself.
"It's nothing!" she said too quickly. "Absolutely nothing. Just… everyone has little secrets, okay?"
Rudolf looked at her, tense and jumpy, and guessed it was probably a diary or something. After all, Meteor was around that age.
But still…
Did she really need to go this far?
A small sting pricked Rudolf's chest. Did this child not trust her? Rudolf felt a bit sad—convinced, somehow, that she presented a very proper, trustworthy image, completely lacking self-awareness of her own controlling tendencies.
"By the way," Meteor said, trying to steer the topic away, "did you come back to get something, President?"
"Mhm. I forgot a document."
Rudolf nodded calmly.
In truth, she'd come back to retrieve an analysis report on Eternal Meteor—she planned to discuss it with Maruzensky.
She had already spoken with Meteor's homeroom teacher as well… and when that teacher came to see Rudolf afterward, she'd looked like she was about to resign on the spot. Rudolf ended up spending half the conversation comforting her.
Rudolf kept her expression neutral, reached into the drawer of her bedside table, pulled out a single sheet of paper buried among a stack of documents, then said goodbye and left the room.
Meteor watched Rudolf's departing back for a long moment before turning back to the safe.
"What now?" X asked.
"She's acting off," Meteor replied casually, still fiddling with the safe. Her ears swayed back and forth as she spoke, like it didn't matter. "She's hiding something from me. When I asked, her expression was noticeably more tense than usual."
"You can actually tell that?"
"If you think about it, it's pretty easy to guess," Meteor said. "Especially since I already had a rough idea back at the hospital."
"So what is it?"
"You guess."
Hearing X's instantly irritated silence made Meteor's whole day feel brighter.
She happily entered the password—then, before opening it fully, she carefully locked the dorm room door.
This was the kind of thing Rudolf absolutely could not see.
Even if Rudolf suddenly came back, at least Meteor would have time to react.
Once everything was secured, Meteor finally swung the safe door all the way open.
And hidden in the darkness within was…
A life-sized Eternal Meteor plush doll.
"…I often wonder if something is genuinely wrong with your brain," X said flatly.
Meteor, however, was fascinated. She hugged the doll and examined it from every angle—stroking the hair, poking the cheeks, prodding at the craftsmanship—
Then she lifted the doll's skirt.
Her face fell with immediate disappointment.
With a sigh, she set the doll onto her bed.
That entire sequence of deeply questionable behavior was so shameless that X couldn't even bear to watch.
"You don't get it," Meteor said, putting on a wise, serious tone. "This doll is an extremely important tool."
"Yeah," X replied. "For helping you sleep at night?"
"You've got it backwards."
Meteor shook her head like a master explaining the mysteries of the universe.
Then she positioned the doll on its side as if it were sleeping, pulled her blanket up over it, and covered everything until only a white-haired back-of-the-head was visible.
"Seriously," Meteor said admiringly, "it was totally worth paying extra for custom hair and ears. Even this close, it looks flawless."
"You really do want to die early, don't you?" X said sharply. "I warned you."
At this point, it was obvious what Meteor was plotting.
She wanted to keep doing secret late-night training, but she was afraid Rudolf might come back in the middle of the night—bathroom trip, check-in, anything—so she made a decoy.
"You don't understand," Meteor muttered. "That feeling—like I'm one step away from breaking through into a Domain—it's unbearable."
"Oh, sure," X snapped. "Just like when you were obsessed with learning a perfect break from the gate. How much blood did you vomit then? Don't tell me you've already forgotten."
"As long as I'm still alive, it's fine."
Meteor genuinely didn't care.
She could endure minor injuries. And this body's recovery speed was absurd—fast enough that most damage wouldn't affect her at all. As long as she didn't go too far, she'd be mostly fine by the next morning.
No one would notice a thing.
So why not train like hell?
If you can't be trained to death, then not training until you're nearly dead is just wasting talent.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 31
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 27
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 26
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