"Uh… well… that… that might be impossible."
Scratching the back of her head with one hand, Eternal Meteor shook her head at the teacher, who was still burning with rage.
Where was she supposed to find parents for the teacher to sign? It's not like she had a "parent voucher." And even if she did, it'd have expired a long time ago.
"What did you just say?!" the teacher snapped, practically spitting the words through clenched teeth.
This was the first time she'd encountered a student this troublesome. How dare she refuse?
No—students like this needed a heavy hand. If she didn't correct this crooked sapling now, wouldn't it grow up completely lawless?
With that thought, she yanked open her desk drawer, pulled out the student roster, and started searching for Eternal Meteor's name as she spoke.
"Fine. You don't need to go home and talk about it tonight. I'm calling your guardian right now!"
But the teacher heard no answer. She looked up—and saw Eternal Meteor still wearing that faint smile.
The teacher nearly lost control of her temper.
She completely failed to notice the helplessness inside that smile and dropped her gaze again, continuing her search.
Found it.
The instant her eyes landed on the four characters "Eternal Meteor," the teacher let out a cold chuckle and traced her finger across the row—sliding all the way left—until she reached the "Family/Guardian" column.
And then—
It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over her head.
No. It was worse.
It was like ten fire trucks had blasted her point-blank.
Her fury went out so fast it was almost comical.
Her finger began to tremble uncontrollably. She looked up at Eternal Meteor, then down at the roster, back and forth, eyes nearly bulging out of her skull.
Her throat bobbed twice. After hesitating, she finally forced herself to ask:
"Could it be that you…?"
"Yeah," Eternal Meteor said calmly. "It's exactly what you're thinking."
So that's why…
With that confirmation, the teacher suddenly understood. That was why Eternal Meteor hadn't been afraid. She wasn't being defiant—she was… composed in a way that came from somewhere else entirely.
The teacher lowered her eyes again, staring at the name written in the guardian field:
Symboli Rudolf.
She took a deep breath, trying to pump herself full of courage.
Does that mean I should just back down? No. Absolutely not.
Even if it risked her job, she had to correct this idea of using authority like a shield—
"Even if you and President Rudolf are—"
At the same time, Eternal Meteor spoke:
"Yeah. I don't have parents…"
Both voices stopped mid-sentence—like a tape jammed in a recorder. Only a few awkward, confused sounds escaped.
Their brains spun furiously to process what the other had just said… but Eternal Meteor's CPU clearly ran hotter—maybe because she had two cores.
"Teacher, let me see that roster," she said.
The teacher still looked half-frozen, so Eternal Meteor simply took the sheet from her hands and began searching for her own name.
Whoever printed this—what's wrong with their brain? Why cram everything onto one page? Would printing two pages kill you?
Staring at the tiny, sesame-seed-sized text, Eternal Meteor cursed internally.
Meanwhile, the teacher finally finished processing all that information—but she still couldn't find the words. She could only stare blankly at Eternal Meteor.
Her earlier words kept echoing in her head:
"Tomorrow I want to see a parent's signature on your paper!"
"I'm calling your guardian right now!"
Guilt came crashing down like a tidal wave. Just imagining herself in the student's position made her feel sick.
And then she remembered Eternal Meteor's expression when she'd demanded the signature—how she'd gone momentarily blank.
That hadn't been "ignoring" her.
That had been the teacher ripping open a scar—and then, thinking it was attitude, digging the blade deeper by threatening to call the parents.
Now it was done.
Too late for regret. Regret didn't undo anything.
When Eternal Meteor finally found the line and saw the name Symboli Rudolf herself, her emotions turned into a pie chart—helplessness, gratitude, confusion, all tangled together.
She truly didn't understand why Rudolf cared about her affairs to this extent.
The two of them fell into an uneasy silence.
In the end, the teacher cautiously tried to speak first.
"Um…"
But Eternal Meteor cut in before she could finish. She glanced at the wall clock.
"Ah, it's getting late. Teacher, you need to eat too. I'll head out first. I'll go get the signature from the President."
She turned and left.
The teacher looked like she was about to cry.
No! That's not what I meant! I was going to invite you to eat together! And forget the signature—really, I don't want it anymore!
She opened her mouth to call Eternal Meteor back—
啪.
The office door shut. Eternal Meteor had closed it behind her as she left.
The teacher slowly lowered the arm she'd reached out with. She thought Eternal Meteor simply didn't want to see her anymore, and she scolded herself silently.
Seriously… I just tore open her wound, and I still thought it was a good idea to ask her to eat with me. I didn't think at all…
But Eternal Meteor actually didn't mind much.
As she walked, she stared at the absurd answers and that catastrophic score and began to wonder whether she should just forge a signature.
Then she immediately vetoed it.
There was no way the teacher hadn't seen Rudolf's signature before. If she got caught, it would be a whole new mess.
Better to be honest.
Having decided, she folded the test and stuffed it into her pocket, then headed for the cafeteria.
Heaven and earth could wait—eating came first.
She licked her lips as she strode toward the stairs, hoping today's menu had some meat dishes.
And then she got stopped at the staircase by two people who had clearly been waiting for her—still uneasy:
Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio.
The three of them chatted while walking toward the cafeteria. Once McQueen and Teio confirmed that Eternal Meteor didn't seem depressed or shaken, they finally loosened up and started joking around with her.
"So how did you even take that exam?" Teio grinned, poking Meteor. "Want Emperor Teio to tutor you—owowow! Let go!"
Eternal Meteor mercilessly kneaded Teio's ear.
"Meteor," McQueen asked, "can I see your test paper?"
"Sure."
Meteor pulled it out of her pocket and handed it over—without the slightest shame.
Not knowing was not knowing. She could learn later.
As McQueen unfolded the paper, her facial muscles began to twitch.
She glanced at Eternal Meteor—still horsing around with Teio—and truly, genuinely did not believe these were answers a normal horse girl could produce.
"Let me see too!" Teio demanded.
Just as McQueen was about to lose composure, Teio snatched the paper away. The moment she saw the answers, she froze, stunned—so stunned she didn't even react to Meteor still rubbing her ears.
"…Honestly," Teio muttered at last, dead serious, "I don't think I have the confidence to tutor you anymore."
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 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
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