"Hmm… That girl sure is something, huh…"
"She is Sunday Silence after all. She is pretty well known for having a lot of screws loose on their head."
"I wasn't talking about that. I understand her completely. I was talking about her running skills. Those were world-level."
"That is to be expected from a Dream Series runner, trainer. Didn't you watch them with big sis Ramonu?"
"..."
It may sound like a snarky remark from him, but the way he can understand Sunday Silence is out of the ordinary. Those monsters are living in their own world, completely isolated from the lower-level racers. Not only because they're running faster than anyone, but nobody can understand them either.
If twinkle series runners are babies, then those monsters are PHD graduates. The gap in knowledge and experience is simply far too wide for the babies, so they look alien. And yet, he can understand Sunday Silence's train of thought instantaneously and play on the same beat as her.
"Igo Heita…"
I can't lose you. No matter what I need to sacrifice, I will have you.
"Hm? What's wrong, Pres?"
"Eh?"
"Why did you call me just now?"
"Ah… No, it's nothing."
"Apologies for interrupting, Trainer Igo. But are you alright? You have just dueled three Umas after all, surely you are tired."
Suddenly, Air Groove shoves Rudolph aside until the latter falls face-first onto the turf. The once dignified Emperor has tasted the dirt of defeat for the first time.
"Kinda… But it's nothing compared to the prize I won."
"Tch… Lucky bastard…"
"What's that, Brian? You are a sore loser and need to be put in your place."
"How can you people stand him?"
"That's the secret, Senior Brian. You don't."
"I'm going to pour milk into your coffee, Cafe."
"I will become Tachyon's assistant."
"Okay! We do not need to escalate that much, Cafe."
"So Trainer Igo, since you're tired, perhaps I could help you by washing your clothes? That way, you could focus on training your team."
"Eh? Will you really? Aren't you busy as well?"
"Of course. We are the ones who forced you to play when you're supposed to be training, after all. I would glad–We would gladly take responsibility for it."
"We or Oui?"
To Brian's snarky remark, Air Groove kicks a rock with her Uma might. The rock flew straight and hit Brian right on the center of her forehead, causing Brian to fall unconscious. Another Triple Crown Champion is down from the Empress's attack. Another one, and she'll have a hat trick of putting down the Triple Crown Champions.
"I see… You don't need to worry, Air Groove. It's Rudolph and Brian's fault, not you. If anyone owes me anything, it's those two idiots. Besides, you should be angry at them. Because of them, you are now my property."
Why are you so chivalrous at a time like this?! Just treat me like a lowly maid and tell me to wash your clothes!! Do I need to wear a skimpy maid outfit for you!?
"It's only a one-time thing, Trainer Igo. It's not like we have become your property for our entire lives. Besides, you don't need to trouble yourself, Air Groove. The trainers' dorms are equipped with state-of-the-art washing machines. All Trainer Igo needs to do is throw his dirty clothes and be done!"
"Ah! Rudolph is right!! I forgot about those! Don't worry, Air Groove. I got this under control."
"Ahahaha… I'm glad… Ahahaha…"
*STOMP*
"AAAHHH!! MY LEGS!!"
In her barely contained state, the monster inside Air Groove stomps on Rudolph's legs. Air Groove's ears are pinned back, her tails are swishing aggressively, and her feet are stomping the ground. All these signs point to the fact that Air Groove can barely keep herself in control, which scares the living shit out of Rudolph.
"Uuuuh… Trainer Igo… Please let Air Groove wash your clothes."
"Huh? Why? Weren't you the one who said that I can use the state-of-the-art washing machine?"
"Of course~ It's all Rudolph's fault~~"
The masked monster grabbed both Rudolph's and Brian's ankles. Her fingers dig deep into their feet like how a predator would dig their teeth into their prey to prevent them from escaping.
"If you excuse us, Trainer Igo. Until we meet again~~"
"Wait! Wait! Please save me!! Help!!"
Everybody can feel that something is off with Air Groove, but nobody was dumb enough to interrupt her. All they did was watch as the top of the StuCo walked away with Rudolph digging her fingers into the ground. If someone asked where StuCo was, the young man would just tell them to follow the claw marks on the ground.
"Teio!! Teio!! Please save me!! Please!!"
"Aren't you going to help your Pres, Teio?"
"Mmmhhh… I'm afraid of an angry Air Groove, so nope!"
"Teio!! Don't leave me here!! Teio!! TTTEEEEIIIOOOOO!!! HHEEELLLPP MEEE!!!"
The desperate plea of the Emperor fell on deaf ears. Air Groove is the Empress. If anyone is going to be extremely scary when they're angry, it will be her.
"Alright… With that out of the way, let's go back to training."
"At least leave a few seconds to mourn, trainer."
XxX-XxX
"I'm back!!"
..
..
..
"Ah… She is still out, huh?"
After a long day full of bullshit, Goldship is finally back to her dorm. She barges through the door, expecting to surprise her roommate, but all she found was an empty room. Goldship had expected her friend to return, and the room to be rowdy again, but it seemed she had to pause on that agenda.
"Sigh… Well, at least I have a fun trainer now."
Goldship couldn't contain her disappointment. She might not voice it out loud to her roommate, but being in the room alone isn't fun. Especially when everyone around her could be heard having fun with their roommate. All Goldship does in the room is simply scrolling through her phone, and that gets boring really quickly for someone as eccentric as Goldship.
"Hmm~~"
After Goldship locked the door behind her, she instantly undressed herself. Goldship rarely ever gets sweaty since she possesses a lot of stamina, but the skirmish with Igo Heita somehow makes her skin watery. It's mostly because of the difference between a race and a football match. Goldship is built for long marathon running for medium and long-range races, but a football match mostly consists of sprinting. In a marathon, Sweat on a patch of skin would evaporate before said patch of skin would need to sweat again. This is why Goldship doesn't look as sweaty after a marathon.
But a sprint is different. A sprint starts and ends in a much shorter time span compared to a marathon, so the sweat would not have enough time to evaporate. This is worse in a football match where a player may need to sprint multiple times in short succession. Especially when a rookie is dueling a pro.
During her duel, Goldship had to use her race-ending kick multiple times, which she normally only uses once. This is mainly because the kick trade stamina for acceleration and velocity. Goldship's strategy of being an End Closer would mean that she will have a fuck ton of energy during the late-race, and she can sacrifice that to her kicks and win the race.
The duel was different. Even if Goldship catches up to the young man, he would just trick her and force her to stop and then start sprinting again and again. This, of course, drains Goldship of her stamina and makes her sweat like crazy.
"Ooohhh… Bastard…"
Under the warm water of the shower, Goldship couldn't stop recounting just how much fun she had dueling the young man. Ever since becoming his trainee, Goldship's days had been filled with nothing but nonsense and stupidity. A heaven for her. Yes, she has to put on some effort to train now and then, but it's a sacrifice she is willing to make.
"Mmmhh~~ Hhuummmm~~ Mmhhmm~~"
Goldship hums a cheerful tune as she dries herself. She opens her wardrobe and debates with herself. Should she put on actual clothes? It's just herself her so why should she bother, right? She decided to just go to bed with nothing but her underwear.
"Oohh~~ Yaaaawwwwnnn~~"
Curse that bastard for sucking me. It makes me… so… sleeeppyy….
"Zzzzzzz…"
.
.
.
.
.
"Uuuh,,, Where am I?"
Goldship is awoken in an empty void. There is nothingness for as long as her eyes can see. She can't even see what she is standing on. For all she knows, she is standing in the air.
"A lucid dream? Cool! But there's nothing here for me to play with."
Goldship was angry at herself for dreaming of an empty void. A lucid dream where you take control of your dream is rare, and she wasted it on nothing but an empty void.
"Bah! This is–Umh?"
Goldship was about to protest, but something caught her attention. It was a figure standing on the horizon. Goldship swears she had swept her face, so how can she miss something so obvious? The logical conclusion is that it had just appeared now.
"Hello! Are you the Demon Lord?"
"Do not be afraid."
"Eh?"
The figure grows larger, or more precisely, it was approaching Goldship so fast that her brain thought it was growing. The figure closes the distance more and more, and its silhouette begins to distort as its features are registered by Goldship's eyes.
"WAIT!! WAIT!! WAIT!!"
"Do not be afraid!!"
Goldship turned around and was about to run, but she stopped. The figure is now on the horizon that Goldship is facing. The distance is still the same as before and is quickly approaching. Goldship turns around again, and the figure is now standing where she is facing.
"WAIT!! WAIT!! I'M SORRY!! PLEASE!! I'M SORRY!!"
"Do not be afraid."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"