"Let's welcome our third contestant—Eternal Meteor!"
To roaring cheers, Eternal Meteor walked up onto the stage at an unhurried pace, in a great mood—tossing her jacket up and catching it again as she walked.
When she reached the very front, she caught the garment as it dropped from above, hooked it by the collar, and draped it over her shoulders like a cape—then, to thunderous applause, she strutted off the stage with maximum swagger.
And, just like her mood, Rudolf—back at Tracen Academy—was also in a very good mood.
Because lately, Eternal Meteor had been sleeping properly every day. At night, she wasn't sneaking out and wandering around anymore.
…Except that wasn't true at all. What Rudolf had been seeing every night was just a doll. Eternal Meteor had been training until 4 a.m. almost every night, abusing the fact she "wasn't afraid of sudden death" and pulling insane all-nighters.
And her grades had been great too—clearly she'd been studying hard. Every night before bed, she even read books.
Also not true. Her "good grades" were the result of her mercilessly torturing X into feeding her answers. Her nightly sweet-talk never repeated itself, and the "reading before bed" was just a way to force herself to fall asleep faster—so she could get up and train at night.
And she'd even stopped being picky about food. Sometimes Rudolf would eat breakfast with her and Teio, and the carrots Rudolf put in her bowl were getting eaten normally.
…Okay, fine. That part was true—only because Eternal Meteor didn't want to corrupt Tokai Teio and turn her into a picky eater. Whenever she ate alone, she still only went for meat dishes.
Still, from Rudolf's perspective, everything was improving. Eternal Meteor was clearly becoming more social, more willing to talk to people.
At this pace, Rudolf estimated that in less than a year, Eternal Meteor might return to a "normal" mental state.
And today's workload wasn't too heavy. Christmas was coming soon—once she finished her tasks, she'd even have time to pick out gifts for everyone.
…But what would Eternal Meteor like? She could ask Teio for ideas later.
In high spirits, Rudolf got back to work—her pen moving faster than usual.
But as time passed, she felt like she'd forgotten something.
Then her eyes swept across the desk calendar, and she realized exactly what was wrong.
These past few days, Eternal Meteor had been sleeping hard every morning. Especially on weekends—sometimes Rudolf would return to the dorm in the late morning and Eternal Meteor would still be asleep.
So why had she gotten up with Rudolf this morning?
A powerful déjà vu hit Rudolf all at once.
The same kind of morning.
The same good mood.
The same "early-rising" Eternal Meteor…
And the same—
Rudolf stared at her phone on the desk.
Right on cue, it vibrated.
When she saw the caller ID—Tokai Teio, same as last time—Rudolf closed her eyes, sighed heavily, and answered with a sinking feeling.
"President! It's bad!"
"…Which race?" Rudolf asked immediately.
The moment Teio said those words, Rudolf already knew what had happened.
"Huh? The Challenge Cup!"
"I understand."
After she hung up, Rudolf could practically feel her blood pressure spiking again.
Eternal Meteor had gone all the way to Hanshin Racecourse, too.
And since it was Saturday, even just reaching the train station would take time. By the time Rudolf got there, Eternal Meteor would probably already be on the train back.
That race interval was ridiculous—was she seriously treating her body like it didn't matter at all?
Still… if she had to look for silver lining, at least it was only a G3. She hadn't tried to jump straight into G1 or G2.
If Eternal Meteor had entered a G1, Rudolf would've caught it earlier anyway—because entry forms for higher-grade races passed through the student council president's hands.
Otherwise… Rudolf truly feared Eternal Meteor's fierce competitiveness might push her into activating her Domain if she ever fell behind.
Given her talent, that wasn't some low-probability scenario.
But judging from how she'd run in her last G3… she probably wouldn't meet anyone strong enough to force her hand this time.
That thought finally let Rudolf breathe out a little.
She really didn't want to see Eternal Meteor lying in a hospital bed again.
She opened the drawer, pulled out a remote, turned on the TV, and began watching the broadcast.
"Why did you sign up for another G3?" X asked, genuinely confused.
In his memory, Eternal Meteor wasn't the type to avoid challenges. If anything, she should be going for G1 or at least G2 by now. So why enter a G3 she'd already crushed by a huge margin?
"Because I want to try activating my Domain," Eternal Meteor replied. "I don't want to wait until I face someone I can't outrun before I use it. I need real race testing first."
She might have figured out how to open the Domain and was gradually exploring how far she could push it, but training was training. If she didn't test it in actual competition, she wouldn't feel secure.
What if she needed it later—and it failed at the critical moment?
Unacceptable.
Eternal Meteor didn't want a single blemish of "loss" in her history.
So she chose G3: if she "played too hard" and things went sideways, she'd still have room to salvage it.
Why not run an OP-level race instead?
Because she'd already gapped a G3 field by a mile—dropping down to bully OP would get her absolutely roasted.
As Eternal Meteor walked through the competitors' tunnel, two young men who were already seated were practically vibrating with excitement.
The race hadn't even started, and their bucket of popcorn was almost empty.
Ever since watching Eternal Meteor's previous race—the sheer spectacle of that massive winning margin—they'd become obsessed. They'd been tracking every entry list, waiting for her name to appear again.
When they saw she was in this race, they arrived four hours early just to claim the best seats.
"What do you think? What style will Eternal Meteor use to win this time?"
"Probably a runaway lead again. Last time she did both a deep closer and a runaway… but the deep close was only because of a bad start."
"But what if she switches tactics to throw off her opponents?"
No matter how they argued it, neither of them doubted one thing for even a second—
Eternal Meteor would win.
She would blaze across the track again, shining as she passed, and leave an unforgettable mark in every spectator's heart.
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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