Maruzensky's scream erupted so loudly that Rudolf heard it before she even reached the exam room door.
Rudolf was walking back with the questionnaire she'd retrieved, but the moment that shout hit her ears, her blood ran cold—she thought something had happened to Eternal Meteor. She bolted, slammed the door open so hard it made a huge bang…
…and then realized no one in the room even cared about the noise.
"Maruzensky—what happened?!" Rudolf demanded, already panicking.
Meteor was sitting safely in the chair, so Rudolf's heart loosened for half a second—only to tighten again.
Did the exam find something?
She turned to Maruzensky, but Maruzensky wasn't looking at her at all—she was staring at the doctor with a stunned, disbelieving face.
Rudolf followed that gaze.
The doctor spoke calmly, but the content landed like a bomb:
"Based on the wound-healing speed, I only had a suspicion at first. But after reviewing the X-ray… judging from bone age, Miss Eternal Meteor is clearly not yet hon-kaku."
"What did you just say?!" Rudolf blurted out.
She'd always assumed Meteor was just petite. It never crossed her mind that this could be about hon-kaku (i.e., "fully maturing / hitting the developmental stage").
Rudolf's eyes snapped to Meteor.
If Meteor hadn't even matured yet…
Then how old was she when she started wandering?
And suddenly Meteor's "acting like a grown-up"—apologizing obediently when she messed up, keeping herself tightly controlled—became even more horrifying in implication.
If that was her life, then her world-weariness made awful sense.
Honestly, not being world-weary would be the strange part.
Meanwhile, the person at the center of this… had absolutely no idea what kind of emotional crater she was causing.
Meteor was still internally bragging to X:
"Even without hon-kaku I can crush other horse girls—so once I do mature, won't I be unbeatable?"
X replied with surgical cruelty:
"Try living long enough to get there first."
One sentence. Direct hit. Meteor sank instantly.
She cut off the exchange—more accurately, she unilaterally blocked X out of spite—and then felt a chill down her back. Someone was staring at her.
When she turned—
Rudolf and Maruzensky's expressions nearly made her jump out of the chair.
Rudolf's jaw was clenched so hard it looked like her teeth might crack. Her face was twisted with rage, eyes feral—like an enraged tyrant ready to execute someone.
Maruzensky was even worse in a different way: silent, expressionless, calm to the point of abnormal… and staring so steadily that it made Meteor's skin crawl.
"Y-you… what's wrong? Don't scare me," Meteor stammered.
The professional horror-movie troll of the past two days was finally the one being scared—she felt like fish on a cutting board, waiting to be butchered.
Seeing the fear (and the genuine concern) on Meteor's face, Rudolf and Maruzensky both forcibly adjusted their expressions. They managed smiles, then turned back to the doctor.
Rudolf spoke first—because she'd arrived late and hadn't heard the full assessment, and she refused to relax without hearing it clearly:
"Doctor… how is Meteor's recovery?"
"No major issue," the doctor said. "The wound is healing quickly. But there's something else—who is Miss Eternal Meteor's guardian?"
Three voices answered at once:
"It's me." (Rudolf)
"It's me." (Maruzensky)
"Nobody!" (Meteor)
"…Huh?" The doctor's brain visibly left orbit.
"Uh… so which is it?" he asked.
Under Rudolf and Maruzensky's combined stare, Meteor folded first and looked down. Then even Maruzensky lost to Rudolf's razor-sharp gaze and stepped back with a little wave.
Rudolf stepped forward.
"It's me."
The doctor immediately fired the next question:
"Do you usually pay attention to her diet?"
"…No," Rudolf admitted.
Rudolf closed her eyes, inhaled, and reopened them—ready for the lecture. Given Meteor's past, she already knew where this was going.
The doctor tapped the film in his hand, stared sternly at Rudolf, and began writing as he spoke.
"Malnutrition—serious malnutrition. Her bones are noticeably thin. Bone-density results show severe calcium and vitamin deficiencies, which makes her joints comparatively fragile. You need to be more careful going forward. Take this prescription to the pharmacy. That's all."
"Yes… understood," Rudolf said.
Even though she'd expected it, hearing it out loud still hit hard. She took the prescription under Maruzensky's complicated gaze, thanked the doctor, and brought Maruzensky and Meteor out to the lobby.
Meteor sat down—then immediately stepped on a landmine before Rudolf could ask anything.
"President… you keep saying 'hon-kaku' and stuff. What exactly is that?"
Meteor was trying to defuse the topic before it exploded later. Better to play dumb and keep her "vagrant persona" consistent.
Even X was impressed.
She's good at lying.
Rudolf could only sigh. What could she even say in public? She decided she'd find a children's education book later and explain it properly.
Instead, Rudolf handed Meteor the questionnaire—now slightly wrinkled from being clenched in her hand—along with a pen from her pocket.
"This is the questionnaire we agreed you'd fill out. I'm going to get your medication. Meteor, you must fill this out seriously. Understood?"
"Yes, yes," Meteor nodded vigorously.
Rudolf patted her head, then stood up. After telling Maruzensky a few things, she left to get the prescription filled.
Meteor looked down at the questions… tilted her head…
…and it was like a giant question mark popped above her head.
"What is this? 'Do I often think about suicide'???? Is this a psychological survey?!"
X cackled.
"That means you've officially been classified as mentally ill. Hahahaha."
Meteor ignored X's mockery and started filling it out.
She genuinely didn't think this kind of form had any real value.
Because seriously—
Who would knowingly answer honestly when they're being investigated?
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 90)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 95)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter70)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter70)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter60)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 20
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 20
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