"Meteor!"
"Little Meteor!"
"…Huh?"
Two thunderous shouts slammed into Eternal Meteor's ears. She jolted out of her daydream, reflexively turning toward the voices—only to flinch when she saw the two figures sprinting at her, both wearing expressions that made her stomach drop.
"W-what? What's wrong?? Why are you grabbing me?!"
Rudolf reached the bedside first.
She seized Eternal Meteor's wrist, yanked her arm up, and forced her palm open with her fingers—spreading it flat like she was inspecting contraband. Only after confirming there was no sharp object hidden there did she finally exhale.
That scene when she opened the door… it had genuinely looked like Eternal Meteor had decided to do something irreversible—especially with the way she'd been staring at her wrist and laughing to herself. Rudolf's mind had blanked instantly, leaving only one thought:
Stop her. Now.
So she'd lifted Eternal Meteor's arms up like she was holding a white kitten, pinning her upper body in place with sheer panic and grip strength.
Maruzensky, just as tense, arrived at the bedside and leaned in close, scanning Eternal Meteor's face. Only after confirming there were no tear tracks did she ease—just a little.
"…So what's with you two?" Eternal Meteor muttered. "I don't think I did anything?"
"You want to think again about what you looked like?" X shot back, utterly done with her. "Hmm?"
X couldn't even find the energy to be polite. Imagining things was one thing. But creepy-laughing with your head down—in a hospital bed, of all places—was tailor-made to scare the hell out of people.
"…I cooperated for all the tests, didn't I?" Eternal Meteor tried. "President, you don't have to stare at me like that."
Because Rudolf was still holding her, Eternal Meteor had to face her directly. She lifted her head—and froze.
That normally majestic, imposing face… was wearing an expression she'd never seen before.
What kind of expression was it?
So tight with fear and worry that it was practically overflowing—spilling straight into Eternal Meteor's chest, heavy and warm and unfamiliar.
"What were you thinking just now?" Rudolf demanded.
Eternal Meteor snapped back to herself—then immediately short-circuited.
That look pinned her in place. The words she'd prepared earlier vanished. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out—just a useless, dumb little "uh."
"Meteor." Rudolf softened, realizing her tone had come out too harsh—almost like a threat. She let go of Eternal Meteor's arms and took a step back, forcing a smile onto her face.
At least, what Rudolf thought was a smile.
Her voice was gentler when she repeated it—though it still trembled despite her control.
"Can you tell me what you were thinking about?"
Eternal Meteor was panicking internally.
Her brain—normally a fountain of schemes—was dead silent. She couldn't produce a single believable excuse.
She couldn't possibly say she'd been thinking about opening the Domain again. Rudolf would erupt.
Still… her brain wasn't completely dead. She could still crack jokes. She just couldn't find an answer that would keep her alive afterward.
Under Rudolf's increasingly haunted stare, Eternal Meteor swallowed, met her eyes head-on, and tried to look trustworthy while cobbling together a lie piece by piece.
"I—I was just, um… thinking about the winner's stage. President, you saw it, right? I pulled another huge win."
Nice. Solid. Keep going.
She hurriedly stacked more words on top.
"So I started imagining how I'd perform on stage, and… just thinking about it made me laugh."
"Ahem."
Maruzensky suddenly coughed twice.
Both of them turned—and she pointed at the wet stain on the blanket, then gave Eternal Meteor a long, suspicious look. A look that made Eternal Meteor's forced smile look more tragic by the second.
Rudolf turned back too—wearing the exact same expression now.
Eternal Meteor immediately broke into a cold sweat.
"…If I say I got too excited and spilled water by accident, would you believe me?"
The words came out so fake even she didn't buy them. She tried to hypnotize herself into thinking it was a good excuse anyway.
In the end, Rudolf and Maruzensky exchanged a glance and—silently—dropped it.
They hadn't come here to interrogate her.
They'd come to make sure she was alive, coherent, and still reachable. If she could talk, that alone was already a victory.
"Hey—wait, I can walk on my own!"
Rudolf pressed the call button at the bedside.
Then, to Eternal Meteor's utter disbelief, she simply bent down and lifted her off the bed—careful and gentle, like she was holding something fragile as a feather.
"Be good," Rudolf said quietly.
She placed Eternal Meteor onto the neighboring bed, checked that her clothes weren't wet, then stepped out into the hallway to wait for the nurse.
The room fell quiet.
Eternal Meteor sat there, still stunned—replaying the sensation of being carried—while Maruzensky's lips slowly curled upward.
"Maruzensky, what are you doing? Don't smile without saying anything—this is scary."
A shadow fell over Eternal Meteor's face. She finally snapped back and looked up—only to see Maruzensky wearing a downright wicked grin.
Her heart lurched.
"Wah—hey—my face—stop!"
"I'm not stopping," Maruzensky declared.
Her hands descended like an evil sorceress's, kneading Eternal Meteor's pale cheeks with relish, occasionally reaching up to flick and rub the big ears that kept twitching.
Eternal Meteor could've broken free whenever she wanted.
But she didn't.
Maybe it was for Maruzensky's sake. Maybe she understood that Maruzensky needed to let the fear out somehow—needed a way to loosen the knot in her chest before it snapped.
So Eternal Meteor played the part: looking reluctant, protesting weakly, but subtly cooperating.
Because she knew that truth better than most:
A string pulled too tight doesn't stay strong.
It breaks.
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 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
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 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
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