"Why is there still no message—!!"
Eternal Meteor rolled around on her bed, clutching her blanket like a lifeline. She kept wriggling until she'd wrapped herself up into a plump spring roll—only then did she finally stop.
No matter what she tried—videos, novels—every five minutes she'd snap back to her chat with Gold Ship to see if there was anything new.
"Goooold Shiiip… where aaare you~?"
Knock knock knock.
Right as she dragged out Gold Ship's name, a knock suddenly came from the dorm door.
Meteor's ears shot straight up.
No one should be visiting.
And it definitely wasn't Rudolf.
She held her breath, eyes locked onto the door handle, then silently slid off the bed—barefoot, not even daring to put on slippers.
When she reached the door, she leaned into the peephole.
…Empty.
The corridor was completely deserted.
Damn it. What is this, a haunted house bit?
Then her brain caught up: this was Tracen Academy.
No random "dangerous intruders" were going to appear outside her door—if anything, it was just some prank-happy idiot.
And besides, this world literally had the Three Goddesses. Ghosts and demons weren't exactly supposed to be part of the daily schedule.
Not to mention… she had that unknown presence on her, too. If something really did show up, it wasn't leaving in one piece.
Once she'd reached that conclusion, the next step was obvious.
Oh, you like scaring people?
Fine.
"Eh? Why is nobody here…? Weird. I swear I heard something…"
Meteor murmured to herself in a puzzled, harmless tone—quiet enough to sound real, loud enough to pass through the door.
On the other side, Gold Ship was crouched low beneath the peephole, listening. She clapped a hand over her mouth and snickered.
Then she popped up fast, pressed her eye to the peephole, and waited for the scream.
"AAAAH!!"
Perfect.
A shriek burst from inside—followed by rapid click-click sounds, like someone was desperately locking the door.
Gold Ship grinned.
What she didn't know was that Meteor's mouth was currently stretched into a grin so wide it almost reached her ears.
No way she'd been scared.
And those clicks weren't locking.
They were unlocking.
Now came the finishing move.
Meteor lowered herself down as silently as possible, then—
THUD.
She flopped backward onto the floor. At the same time, she deliberately knocked over the crutches beside the bed.
And then… nothing.
No movement. No sound.
Hearing the impact, Gold Ship's expression changed instantly.
"—Meteor?!"
She pounded on the door. No response.
She grabbed the handle, about to kick it in—
…and it swung open.
Gold Ship didn't even process that detail. She rushed inside and dropped to her knees beside Meteor's body.
"Meteor!"
She stuck her fingers under Meteor's nose.
…Breathing.
Relief surged through her—then she reached for the philtrum to do a pressure pinch, while her other hand fumbled for her phone to call emergency—
"That was a prank."
Meteor's crimson eyes snapped open.
And in the same motion—
BAM.
She drove a punch straight into Gold Ship's abdomen, fully expecting to admire a perfectly curled white shrimp on the spot.
She'd controlled the strength, of course. She wasn't trying to send Gold Ship to the hospital. This was just messing around.
…But the result was wrong.
Gold Ship didn't fold.
The "hit" felt… off.
Meteor froze, then jerked her head up.
Gold Ship wore a slow, predatory grin.
The look in her eyes practically said: That's it?
"…Why are you fine?!"
Gold Ship stood up like she'd just shrugged off a breeze. Then she casually pulled something out from under her shirt—
A dictionary.
She bent down and waved it in front of Meteor's face.
"Pocket dictionary, kid."
Meteor blinked once.
Then punched again.
BAM.
This time, Gold Ship collapsed into a cooked shrimp for real, clutching her stomach and rolling across the floor with a strangled howl.
Meteor rose, reached for her crutches, and stood up with a calmness that felt entirely undeserved.
"For your future reference," she said sweetly, "never relax your guard until you've confirmed you're safe."
Gold Ship kept rolling and groaning.
Meteor gave her two small kicks with her slippered foot.
"Enough. I held back on purpose. Stop acting."
"…Oh."
Seeing she wasn't getting sympathy, Gold Ship obediently pushed herself up, brushed off the nonexistent dust, and looked at Meteor with mock curiosity.
"So, Meteor… aren't you afraid I'll get you back when you're not looking?"
"I have two answers."
Meteor lifted one finger.
"First, I'll cry and go tattle to the President."
Gold Ship visibly broke into a cold sweat.
Meteor lifted a second finger, grinned—
…and with the exact same smugness, pulled a dictionary out from under her own clothes and waved it back at Gold Ship.
They stared at each other.
Then, as if the universe had demanded it, they both burst out laughing.
"Gold Ship, you really are fun," Meteor said between laughs. "Fine. I won't tell the President you tried to scare me."
"Oh wow," Gold Ship replied dryly. "Thank you for your boundless mercy."
Meteor wiped at the corner of her eye, still grinning.
"But why'd you come all the way up to the dorm? Didn't we agree to meet at the field yesterday?"
Gold Ship casually hooked a thumb over her shoulder.
"Rudolf told me to. She's worried you'll get hurt going down the stairs alone."
"…She what?"
Before Meteor could finish processing that sentence—
Gold Ship moved.
She swooped in, caught Meteor around the waist, and lifted her clean off the floor in one smooth motion.
Meteor's brain blanked.
Then her entire face went bright red.
Gold Ship's first instinct—completely unhelpful—was to bounce her slightly as if weighing her.
"…You're light," Gold Ship muttered. "Like, suspiciously light."
Meteor's flailing snapped Gold Ship back to reality.
"HEY! Why are you holding me like that?! Put me down!"
If being carried by Rudolf was merely embarrassing…
Being carried by Gold Ship made Meteor want to relocate to another planet and file a formal request to erase the memory from human history.
And worse—
"It's a princess carry again?!" she screeched. "Do you people not know any other carrying method?! Piggyback would've been fine!!"
This wasn't even "romantic humiliation."
This was bro humiliation.
The kind that burns your soul.
Meteor kicked and squirmed, but Gold Ship's arms only tightened, effortlessly turning all resistance into background noise.
"Alright, alright," Gold Ship said, completely unbothered. "Stop wriggling. Let's go see your new wheelchair."
"My crutches!" Meteor shouted desperately. "I didn't take my crutches!"
This was her last chance. If Gold Ship put her down for even one second, Meteor would escape like a greased eel and never be caught again.
Gold Ship glanced back at the crutches with open disdain.
"You won't need those anymore," she said, voice bright with hype. "Come witness new technology."
Then she carried Meteor out of the dorm.
Meteor's scream echoed down the hallway.
"NOOOOO—!"
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
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 32
Uma Musume: From Beginner 26
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