"What a disgusting kind of weather."
Eternal Meteor stood at the edge of the tunnel exit leading onto the track. Her small hand extended outward, fingers pressed together, palm up.
Fat raindrops kept falling from the sky, quickly pooling in her palm into a little puddle.
She flicked her hand. The patter of rain striking the grass filled her ears, and the sound made her irritation rise.
Thinking about having to run in this curtain of rain made her mood sour. She truly hated the feeling of being soaked through.
"Meteor!"
A voice—sickeningly sweet—called from behind. Eternal Meteor didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.
"Yo, Teio."
"Why are you just standing here not moving?" Tokai Teio hopped around from behind to the front, hands clasped behind her back, grinning with confidence. "Don't tell me you remembered our promise and got scared—too scared to step onto the track? Hehe."
So you still remember that promise, huh? Maybe you should also remember what kind of situation we made it in.
Eternal Meteor didn't answer. She just gave Teio a dead-eyed stare.
After a moment, Teio seemed to recall it too. Her bright laugh wilted into an awkward one.
"Th-then… I'm going. Don't forget the wager."
She blurted it out at top speed, cheeks turning red. Then she splashed through puddles, disappearing into the stadium to the roar of the crowd.
But as she ran, a strange thought flickered through her mind.
…Why did Eternal Meteor look a little taller than before?
That wasn't supposed to happen even after "full development," was it?
Maybe she imagined it.
Whatever—this wasn't the time for that. Focus on the race.
Teio shook her head, lifted her arms, and waved to the stands.
"And now entering: the 9th runner, second in popularity, still undefeated—Tokai Teio!"
"Judging by how she's charging in, this heavy rain doesn't seem to be an obstacle at all!"
"Exactly."
The announcer and commentator provided timely introductions—though honestly, who here didn't already know?
Eternal Meteor stayed inside the tunnel, glancing left and right, waiting to confirm she was the last one before stepping out.
Not because she wanted a dramatic final entrance—besides, the "final entrance" was actually the second-to-last runner.
She simply didn't want to get rained on.
If she could delay even a little, she would.
Otherwise she'd have to stand out there, soaking wet, waiting while other runners made their entrances. Better to stay here and watch other people get drenched.
Once she confirmed there was no one beside her anymore, she was just about to step forward—
—when hurried footsteps came from behind.
"Hah… looks like I'm not late."
The footsteps stopped at Eternal Meteor's side. She glanced over and saw a red-haired horse girl—hair like burning flame—patting her chest with a "barely survived" expression.
"Wrong," Eternal Meteor said smoothly. "I'm actually sneaking in to watch. The race already started."
"Huh?!"
Seeing her face shift like an opera mask change, Eternal Meteor couldn't help laughing out loud.
"Got you. Come on—don't keep everyone waiting in the rain too long."
"Y-you—! Just you wait!"
After throwing out the threat, the red-haired girl puffed her cheeks and stormed out ahead of Eternal Meteor.
The moment she stepped out of the tunnel, the stands erupted in the loudest cheers she'd ever heard.
Wait… my popularity is this high?
Eternal Meteor smugly touched her nose, unable to stop the corners of her mouth from lifting—
—and then her smile dropped straight off her face.
"ETERNAL METEOR!!!"
"Eternal Meteor, you can do it!!!"
Her hand froze awkwardly in midair. Her neck turned in stiff, jerky motions toward the back.
Behind her, the white-haired shorty—beaming—waved lightly to the crowd.
So those explosive cheers weren't even for her.
"And now, the final two runners are entering! Approaching now are the 7th runner, Blue Flowing Memory—"
"—and our number one in popularity: the 13th runner, undefeated, and with a massive margin in every race she's entered—Eternal Meteor!!!"
"I'm already excited to see what Eternal Meteor brings us today. Two undefeated runners—Tokai Teio and Eternal Meteor—will prove here which of them is the true winner!"
Blue Flowing Memory's mouth twitched.
Seriously? This bias is shameless.
Why did she get that whole paragraph of hype while Blue Flowing Memory got her name read and that was it?
Even Tokai Teio—who was only mentioned as part of Eternal Meteor's intro—got more words than she did.
What, like this race only had two people in it?
Blue Flowing Memory puffed her cheeks again, clearly annoyed.
And she wasn't the only one.
Everyone who could enter this race had real skill, and plenty of them were proud. Being treated with such obvious imbalance left a lot of them dissatisfied.
They all stared hard at Eternal Meteor and Tokai Teio, who were greeting the crowd.
Every single one of them made the same decision:
They would use this race to prove their strength—so everyone who looked down on them would regret it.
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 138)
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 (Chapter155)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter172)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 158
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 144
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 165
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 140
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 120
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 95
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 80
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 50
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 40
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 50
Still playing traditional Honk 30
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