Eternal Meteor sat on the floor for a moment to recover her strength. She politely refused the staff's attempt to support her, and—under the audience's enthusiastic applause—walked back toward the dressing room.
The moment she pushed the door open, she saw Symboli Rudolf sitting inside, clearly waiting.
Rudolf stood up as soon as Eternal Meteor entered, her expression tight as she strode right up to her.
Eternal Meteor watched Rudolf's tall frame completely block the ceiling light—shadow swallowing Rudolf's face and trapping Eternal Meteor in that darkness.
A chill shot through her spine.
Holy—why does this feel like the "kidnapping route" in some sketchy eroge?!
Her fur practically stood on end. She didn't even care that her ankle started hurting again after the performance—she was ready to bolt.
Then Rudolf spoke.
"I'm sorry."
The words hit faster than Eternal Meteor's feet.
Her thoughts stalled for a beat as she stared at Rudolf's unusually tense face—someone who almost never apologized, now doing it awkwardly, earnestly.
Eternal Meteor snapped back to herself, rubbed her face, and put on a bright smile. Then she stepped in close with deliberately light, casual footwork.
"I was just— mm?"
She raised a finger and pressed it gently to Rudolf's lips, stopping her mid-sentence.
Rudolf froze.
Eternal Meteor took a breath, summoned her courage, rose onto her toes—and began to stroke Rudolf's head and ears, slowly and carefully.
"It was my fault. President, you don't need to apologize at all." Her voice softened. "I know you were just worried about me. I'm genuinely grateful."
Rudolf's cheeks tinted with a faint red she tried very hard not to show.
Eternal Meteor immediately decided she'd pushed far enough and started to withdraw her hand.
In her mind, she was already smugly narrating:
Still just a girl, huh—easy to soothe. And wow, Rudolf's ears are so soft. She always holds them so upright, but they're basically velvet…
And as for her earlier ugly crying?
Eternal Meteor shoved it deep into a mental vault and pretended it never existed.
X, still echoing in her head, sounded offended on principle.
"You're seriously shameless."
Eternal Meteor was about to fire back—
when the dressing room door opened again.
The Worst Possible Timing: Witnesses Arrive
A voice came in mid-sentence:
"That performance was really something. Next time I'm driving, I'm definitely playing that song. I even picked up Teio on the way—"
And then another voice piled on immediately:
"It was sooo dazzling, Teio here was totally stunned— huh?!"
The two newcomers froze at the sight in front of them.
Because what they saw (or what Tokai Teio's brain invented) was:
Eternal Meteor wearing a gentle, tender expression (Teio couldn't actually see her face properly—this was 100% imagination)
Eternal Meteor on tiptoe, touching Rudolf's head
Their eyes "locked" in a dramatic, affectionate gaze (in reality she was just silencing Rudolf with a finger—also 100% Teio imagination)
And the obvious question:
What is their relationship?!
Teio's internal worldview took critical damage. Her mouth fell open and a disbelieving sound escaped.
"W-what—?!"
And then, from behind them—
"Daaamn~"
A whistle.
Chiyoda Representative had arrived.
She'd been traveling for the past few days. Then she got a message from Maruzensky saying Rudolf had "brought a super cute underclassman into her dorm," and Chiyoda—being Chiyoda—rushed back purely for the entertainment value.
She'd arrived near the end of the winner's stage and didn't bother meeting up right away. After it ended, she called to confirm the location and came over to congratulate them—
only to shove her way in at the exact moment Teio screamed, and get treated to an absolutely priceless scene.
Damage Control—and the Counterattack
Rudolf panicked internally.
The last thing she needed was rumors flying around that the student council president was "kidnapping minors."
Even if Eternal Meteor was the one acting bold—none of that mattered once gossip got loose. If the story spread, Rudolf's presidency would be finished. She'd be lucky if Speed Symboli only broke her legs metaphorically.
Eternal Meteor, however, calmly pulled her hands back, turned around, and began explaining to the three of them with a completely normal face.
Whatever she said, it was convincing enough that everyone accepted it quickly—
everyone except Teio, who gave them a few suspicious extra looks before finally letting it go.
Then Chiyoda Representative exploded.
"HAHAHAHA—Rudolf! You got comforted by the junior! HAHAHAHA!"
She laughed so hard she collapsed to the floor, pounding it like a drum, completely ignoring Rudolf's rapidly darkening expression.
Seeing Rudolf's face turn into something resembling charcoal, Maruzensky immediately intervened.
"Alright, I'm taking Meteor to handle her race prize money."
She grabbed Eternal Meteor and Teio and briskly walked them out—fast enough that you could tell she was trying to prevent a homicide.
That left only:
Chiyoda Representative on the floor, still laughing
Rudolf, standing over her
Chiyoda laughed until she couldn't breathe—then suddenly noticed the room had gone silent.
Only a pair of legs remained in her field of view.
She looked up.
And felt like she'd been drenched with ice water.
Rudolf's voice was perfectly calm.
"Done laughing?"
Chiyoda, sensing the grim reaper:
"Uh… no?"
Rudolf stepped closer, helped her up—so gently it almost felt like mercy.
And then the execution dropped:
"Go back and process the documents you left untouched while you were traveling."
"I kept them all for you."
Chiyoda stared at Rudolf's smile—the kind that didn't show anger at all.
Which meant it was worse than anger.
She imagined the mountain of paperwork.
Inhaled.
And screamed like someone getting slaughtered.
"NOOOOO—!!!"
Outside, Maruzensky heard the pig-kill scream echoing from behind the dressing room door.
She tightened her grip on both their hands and walked even faster.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 50)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 70)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 50)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 54)
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