Rudolf checked the time and, seeing how late it was, sent everyone else off to sleep first. By the time she finished processing all the paperwork, it was deep into the night.
"It's already this late… I wonder if Meteor's asleep."
She pulled out her phone—1:00 a.m. Rudolf hesitated, torn between crashing in the student council room or going back to the dorm.
"No… I have to go back and check."
What if Eternal Meteor slipped out again to hurt herself and Rudolf didn't notice…? Rudolf didn't dare follow that thought. Her pace quickened.
She quietly opened the dorm door.
Meteor was asleep in bed.
Only then did the tight knot in Rudolf's chest loosen.
"Looks like she did take what I said to heart."
Not wanting to wake her with noises from changing clothes and such, Rudolf quietly backed out.
"Whew. I should go sleep a bit too."
Rubbing her aching neck, she headed back toward the student council room—
completely unaware that tomorrow had even higher blood pressure waiting for her.
The next morning, Rudolf was in a rare good mood. She opened the gift box and found the "Cold Jokes Collection" inside. Smiling, she thought:
When Air Groove comes in later, I'll tell her a couple. Let her relax after yesterday's grind.
Then—
ring ring ring—
her phone call shattered the daydream.
She looked at the caller ID.
Tokai Teio.
A bad feeling crawled up her spine—the same kind of dread she'd felt the night she went searching for that little menace.
"President! Something's wrong! Turn on the Tokyo Sports Cup—now!"
Rudolf listened to Teio's frantic voice, already half-convinced she knew exactly who was involved…
while the other half desperately refused to accept reality.
She turned on the TV and switched to the channel.
Reality punched her in the face.
"Let's welcome our #1 most popular, Eternal Meteor! Let's see if she can create another miracle today!"
"Even though she seems to be injured, you can tell she's extremely confident going into this race."
Rudolf started trembling. Her hand shook so badly she nearly dropped her phone.
On screen, Meteor appeared—holding up one finger to the camera—
and she still hadn't even removed the bandages on her head.
Just hearing the commentary was enough to make Rudolf's blood pressure spike.
Seeing Meteor herself made Rudolf's heart ache, violently, like she was having a medical episode.
This has to be a hallucination…
But Teio's voice on the phone—worried, urgent—dragged her back to reality.
Rudolf forced herself to say she'd investigate, then hung up.
She felt like she was about to pass out from sheer rage.
She behaved last night. She slept in bed like a normal person.
And then today she pulls THIS?!
But first, she needed to find out which trainer had signed Meteor's entry form.
Letting a horse girl who'd just debuted—and was still injured—enter a race?
If it were an OP-level event, maybe you could argue there was some reason.
But a G3?
That wasn't just "irresponsible."
That was "someone needs to be hit with a chair."
Rudolf opened the computer and logged into the internal system.
Just let me find out who signed it. I swear I will—
…Huh?
On the entry form were two signatures.
Both read: Eternal Meteor.
Rudolf reflexively rubbed her eyes.
The double signature didn't disappear.
She took out her glasses and put them on.
Still two signatures.
Subway. Old man. Phone.jpg.
Her face twisted like she'd bitten into a whole lemon.
Clinging to one last shred of hope, she searched the trainer registration list.
And there it was—
Eternal Meteor's smiling ID photo.
Rudolf's eyes shut.
She slumped back in her chair.
After a long moment, she pushed herself up with one hand on the desk, pulled out her phone, hesitated—
then called Maruzensky.
"It's me. Meteor entered the Tokyo Sports Cup. I need you to drive me there. Yes—right now. I'm heading to the parking lot."
After hanging up, Rudolf closed her eyes and took several deep breaths.
Then, like someone walking to the execution grounds, she headed for the parking lot.
Meanwhile, Teio was eating breakfast in the cafeteria, but the food tasted like cardboard.
Her entire attention was on the race.
She'd originally gotten a LINE message from Twin Turbo telling her to watch the race—
but she happened to catch the competitor list shown before the start.
She hadn't noticed anyone else.
The moment she saw the name "Eternal Meteor", she didn't believe it.
She rubbed her eyes—
then immediately called Rudolf.
Remembering the silence on the line, and the way Rudolf's voice afterward sounded like she was speaking through clenched teeth…
Teio finally accepted that it was real.
"Teio," Mejiro McQueen said beside her, worry written all over her face as she watched the bandaged Meteor on screen, "didn't you say Meteor just got discharged yesterday?"
"…Yeah," Teio murmured. "But all we can do now is trust she won't push herself too hard…"
On the track, Eternal Meteor spotted that Twin Turbo hadn't noticed her yet.
Grinning, she crept up behind her—
and slapped both hands down hard on Turbo's shoulders.
"YAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The scream was pure prairie-dog panic.
Meteor nodded in satisfaction.
Yep. Twin Turbo's weird shriek really is soothing.
Shame I haven't seen Tamamo Cross lately. If I could hear both, my life would be complete.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Twin Turbo whirled around—then froze.
"…Y-you… you weren't you hospitalized yesterday?!"
"Hospital yesterday, racing today," Meteor said breezily. "That's totally normal."
"Normal my ass! And your head—are you seriously okay?!"
Turbo's tone softened into genuine concern when she noticed the bandages.
"Relax," Meteor said confidently. "I just heard 'Twin Boozehead' scream. I'm in perfect condition."
"It's Twin Turbo! And just you wait—my Great Escape is going to leave you in the dust!"
"Sure thing, Two-Turbo," Meteor replied, totally unfazed. "I'll be waiting."
"It's TWIN—TU—RBOOOO!!"
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 80)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 80)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 74)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter20)
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