"Dash! Dash! Woooo—!"
Eternal Meteor was tearing down the track at ridiculous speed—while sitting in a wheelchair.
As she swept past Gold Ship, she slapped the brake on one wheel with her right hand. Under Gold Ship's thoroughly appreciative gaze, the chair swung into a clean, perfect drift. The tires squealed, leaving a thin black arc of rubber, and Meteor slid to a dead stop right in front of her.
"Gold Ship—YOU ARE MY SUPERHERO!!!!"
Gold Ship visibly basked in it.
She planted her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and wore a proud grin that refused to come off. Her eyes practically screamed Keep going, keep praising me.
Meteor obliged with a few more lines of worship until Gold Ship finally shook her head hard, dragging herself back to sanity. Then she glanced at Meteor's right leg—secured in a rigid brace—and her expression turned a little more serious.
"But… your leg. Are you sure you're really okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Meteor waved it off with a bright smile.
Honestly, if this was purely up to her, she wouldn't even care about an injury this minor. She could get up and run whenever she felt like it. This body recovered fast enough that even running on a fracture didn't scare her.
But Rudolf acted like she'd been shattered into pieces.
Just thinking about yesterday gave Meteor a headache.
After Rudolf asked the doctor and got the green light to discharge her, she immediately went full "museum conservator." Every treatment option was chosen as if Meteor were a priceless, fragile work of art that might crumble if someone sneezed too hard.
When the nurse said the brace was optional—"Either way is fine"—Rudolf insisted on the strictest, most immobilizing version available.
Then, when it was time for Meteor to get out of bed, Rudolf even asked for a wheelchair.
Meteor had wanted to ask right there: My leg is strained, not broken. And it's not like both legs snapped. A cane would be plenty.
And when the nurse actually rolled a wheelchair over, Meteor had to physically stop Rudolf from buying an electric one on the spot.
Sure, Rudolf could afford it. That wasn't the point.
The point was that hospital pricing made Meteor's skin crawl. Why pay a ridiculous markup when she could order something better online for less?
A manual chair would arrive in two days, max. And Meteor wasn't some delicate princess who refused to touch anything without a motor.
She was just… curious.
Because she really wanted to know what it felt like to floor it in a wheelchair.
Unfortunately, during the train ride back, no matter how hard she searched shopping apps, she couldn't find a model rated above thirty kilometers per hour.
She'd started scratching her head in frustration—only for Rudolf, sitting beside her, to immediately spiral into concern again. Meteor ended up spending forever explaining that nothing hurt, she was fine, her head wasn't dizzy, and no, the injury wasn't "spreading."
It was exhausting.
Meteor truly didn't understand why Rudolf had suddenly become like this. Her protectiveness had broken through the ceiling.
Being cared for was nice, sure—but this was… a lot.
And it wasn't like she hadn't noticed Maruzensky silently shaking her head the entire time, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Even getting off the train, Rudolf carried Meteor down in Maruzensky's helplessly resigned stare. The wheelchair didn't get used at all—it went straight into the car trunk like luggage.
Only after they arrived on campus did Meteor finally end up back in the chair, with Rudolf pushing her toward the dorms.
At one point Rudolf even tried to call Fuji Kiseki to see if there was anyone on the first floor willing to swap rooms.
Meteor fought that plan with everything she had, and Rudolf reluctantly abandoned it.
So there they were—Rudolf pushing her through the dorm entrance.
Meteor looked up.
And saw the staircase.
Her throat bobbed.
She had a very strong feeling she knew what was coming next.
Sure enough, no matter how hard Meteor waved her hands and shook her head—no matter how insistently she said she could manage by holding the railing—Rudolf didn't even entertain the idea.
In an almost absurdly gentle voice, Rudolf said, "Be good," and simply lifted her out of the wheelchair.
And not just any carry.
A princess carry.
Meteor's soul tried to leave her body.
She struggled. Rudolf didn't budge.
Meteor struggled harder. Rudolf still didn't budge.
In the end, Meteor gave up completely and just lay there in Rudolf's warm arms, staring up at Rudolf's chin in a daze—like her brain had short-circuited from sheer embarrassment.
Then a horse girl passed by, saw the scene, and froze with her mouth wide open.
The girl slapped a hand over her lips to keep the scream from escaping, eyes bulging with the kind of joy that only gossip could inspire.
Meteor, upon witnessing this, wanted to cover her entire face with both hands and pretend reality didn't exist.
If she didn't see it, it wasn't real.
That was how it worked.
Just imagining tomorrow's rumors made a migraine blossom behind her eyes. Teen horse girls had bottomless energy for this kind of thing.
And then there was the second wave of horror:
Tokai Teio.
If Teio heard the rumors… Meteor wouldn't just have a headache. She'd have tooth pain.
She'd only just managed to improve things with Teio. She couldn't let it get wrecked overnight.
And judging from how worried Teio had been, Meteor was clearly at least friend-tier now. Losing that would feel like throwing away hard-earned progress.
Fine. Tomorrow I'll explain it properly.
If that didn't work, she'd bribe Teio with sweets—something honey-based.
Though Meteor's own taste ran in the opposite direction. She believed desserts shouldn't be overly sweet.
Teio, on the other hand, was a sugar-devouring creature.
So if she was going to make something, she'd have to add extra sugar—painfully extra.
Meteor kept stacking these thoughts on top of each other, trying to dilute her humiliation with planning, until they finally reached her room and she could breathe again.
But even as Rudolf carefully laid her onto the bed, Meteor caught it.
A flicker of apology in Rudolf's eyes.
It was gone in an instant, like a reflection on glass—but Meteor had seen it clearly.
Why?
Why was Rudolf treating her like she might shatter at any moment?
Meteor stared at Rudolf—so careful, so attentive—and felt a strange unease coil in her chest.
She wanted answers.
And the truth was… she was missing a key piece of the puzzle.
Something that had happened between Rudolf and the doctor—something Meteor knew nothing about.
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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