As Urara stopped short in front of King and pumped a fist into the air. "Yeah, I found you!"
She bounced on her toes. "King! You had me worried sick! I've been looking all over the school for you. I thought you were gone!"
"Uh... thanks, I guess?" King replied with an awkward smile.
Meanwhile, another voice spoke up behind her, walking from a distance.
"So that's who you were looking for?"
King's ears twitched.
Immediately, she peeked over Urara's shoulder, realizing.
There were two more figures behind her.
"You see, King!" Urara explained proudly.
"Since I couldn't find you, I asked them to help me!"
Suddenly, King's eye twitched again.
"And they are...?"
A terrible feeling began brewing inside her.
Before anyone could answer—
One of the figures suddenly leaped forward.
Spun dramatically through the air.
And landed directly before them.
"Hm hm hm!"
She threw out both arms.
"Making her way to the ring!"
"The high-flying!"
"Gravity-defying!"
"Dynamite force of nature—"
"EL CONDOR PASA!!"
She then struck a dramatic pose while wind seemed to blow through her hair despite there being none.
At that, silence followed.
King and Yuiji simply stared.
Both were completely dumbfounded.
Meanwhile—
El Condor Pasa proudly maintained her pose.
Not moving an inch while Urara's eyes sparkled.
"WHOA!"
"That's so cool!"
"Can I try?"
"Can I try?"
"Please?"
"Just once!"
"Can I do the spin too?!"
But right before El was about to answer—
"Hm Hm Hm! Of course, you can—!"
Suddenly—
"GYAH?!"
She winced in pain, and everyone turned.
Another figure had appeared behind her without anyone noticing.
Some that was more graceful and more composed.
And currently gripping El's tail firmly.
Too firmly.
"G-Grass! Grass! Tail! Tail!" El protested as she struggled.
"My, my."
The newcomer smiled elegantly.
"I apologize for whatever disturbance my confidant may have caused."
She then gave a polite bow while still holding El's tail.
"It's... okay," King replied awkwardly.
"Pleasure to meet you. You must be King Halo, I presume?"
"Yes?"
"Wonderful."
The girl smiled.
"My name is Grass Wonder."
"And I'm here because your friend over there believed you had been kidnapped by a sewage monster."
"Sewage monster?!" King nearly choked.
"What is that supposed to mean?!"
Meanwhile, Urara eagerly raised her hand.
"Well, you see!"
"I read about it in my manga yesterday!"
"It was really, really scary!"
"So when you disappeared, I thought maybe it got you!"
King stared.
Then pointed dramatically at Urara.
"It's fiction!"
"FICTION!"
"But what if it's based on a true story?!" Urara argued.
"It isn't!"
"How do you know?!"
"Because sewage monsters don't exist!"
"That's exactly what a sewage monster would want us to think!"
"THAT MAKES NO SENSE!"
With that, the two of them spent the next few minutes arguing about the sewage monster, neither willing to admit defeat...
...
...
...
A few minutes after they settled down...
Haru Urara turned and gazed across the vast training grounds.
"Whoa!"
"This track is still so big!"
Her eyes sparkled as she looked across the field.
Then—
"How about we race each other right now?!" she suggested brightly, "I can't to run the track!"
Immediately, King Halo raised a hand.
"Sorry, Urara... Not when I'm literally in the middle of traini—"
"Sure, why not?"
But another voice interrupted.
And King was taken aback, "What—?!"
It was Grass Wonder, who had somehow already agreed.
"Since I brought my tracksuit as well," she added.
And at the same time, a recently liberated El Condor Pasa raised a hand.
Still rubbing her sore tail.
"S-Sure!"
"Condor is always ready!"
"Yeah!" Urara cheered.
"Let's race together!"
King stared at all three of them.
Then deeply sighed, turning back toward Urara.
"What about you?"
"Huh?" Urara blinked.
"Did you bring your training clothes too?"
King pointed at her school uniform.
"Don't tell me you're planning to run in your skirt."
Urara blinked a few times.
Then her entire body jolted.
"Oh no!"
The realization struck her like lightning.
Her ears stood upright.
"I didn't!"
At that, King Halo simply sighed.
"I knew it..."
She rubbed her forehead.
"So, why don't we just do it next—"
Before she could finish—
Urara suddenly raised a finger.
"Then I'll just run without my skirt!"
And immediately she reached for it.
Instantly, every single person nearby froze.
Then—
"PLEASE DON'T!"
All of them lunged at once.
Even Yuiji.
A frantic scramble followed as they collectively stopped Haru Urara from carrying out what she genuinely believed was a reasonable solution.
Only after several seconds of panicked persuasion, Urara finally relented.
"Aww... okay."
"Geez..." King muttered in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Yuiji rubbed the back of his neck.
"Actually..."
Everyone turned toward him.
"I don't really disagree with the idea of the race."
King blinked.
"Huh?!"
"As a matter of fact, it could help me evaluate you."
Yuiji pointed toward the track.
"I still need more information on how you perform against other runners."
"Seeing you compete directly might help me understand your strengths better."
King paused.
"That..."
She frowned thoughtfully.
"That's actually a decent idea."
"See? I told you!" Urara immediately chimed in.
"But you're still not allowed to join."
King snapped her head toward her.
"Eh?!"
"Why not?!"
"You forgot your tracksuit, and that's a straight disqualification."
"But I want to run with everyone!"
"It sounds fun!"
"Maybe next time," Grass Wonder gently suggested.
"We can all do it together once again when you bring your tracksuit next time."
Urara's ears drooped.
"Awwww..."
"But, what if—!"
As the discussion quickly devolved into Urara's constant protesting over participating in the race, the group once again descended into playful arguments and laughter by the trackside.
And for a brief moment, the afternoon training grounds felt a little livelier than usual.
But far from them, a lone figure coincidentally saw them and watched from afar.
And standing near the academy pathway was Ishida Kai.
Silently, his gaze rested on Urara.
The words Rudolf had spoken earlier replayed in his mind.
"Guide her toward a less difficult path."
"So she can have another chance within this institution."
There, he still didn't understand, squinting his eyes as he fumbled over it.
What path?
What chance?
What was Rudolf trying to tell him?
His brow then furrowed, and yet no answer came.
Instead, it only instigated more questions.
Eventually, Ishida just shook his head and turned away.
Slowly walked off...
...
...
...
A few days later...
After classes had ended for the day, a familiar scene unfolded once again.
One student remained inside the classroom while everyone else had already left.
And naturally...
That student was Haru Urara.
This time, however, the person sitting across from her wasn't her old teacher from Kouchi.
Instead, it was Ishida Kai.
Yet somehow, the atmosphere felt remarkably similar.
Because the expression on his face was one every teacher eventually developed.
The expression of a man questioning every decision that had led him to this moment.
In his hands rested a stack of recently graded quizzes.
A simple academic assessment.
One designed to evaluate the students' current academic abilities and identify areas that require improvement.
For most students, the results had been acceptable.
Some were excellent, some average, and some need additional help.
Then there was Urara.
Ishida lowered his eyes to her paper once more.
Just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
And...
...He wasn't.
2 / 100
A score so horrifying it felt fictional.
Especially within Tracen Academy.
And the worst part?
The majority of the questions had been multiple choice.
A twenty-five percent chance of guessing correctly.
Yet somehow—
Urara had achieved a result that actively fought against probability itself.
It was so impressive in its own way that Ishida was almost tempted to frame it.
Especially, in all his years of teaching, he had never seen anything like it...
Eventually, he set the paper down.
Then, slowly, he turned to Urara.
"So..."
He forced a smile.
"Tell me, Urara."
"How exactly did you manage to score this quiz so... astonishingly?"
Across from him, Urara's eyes immediately sparkled.
"Whoa!"
"Did I score so well that you wanted to tell me personally, Teach?!"
"That's amazing!"
"Please praise me! Please praise me!"
At that, the smile on Ishida's face instantly twitched.
"N-No...!" as he objected.
"Not that."
"Definitely not that."
His hand pressed against his forehead.
"It's actually the opposite, Urara."
The pink-haired girl blinked while tilting her head slightly.
"Huh?"
Meanwhile, Ishida glanced down at the paper once more.
"To be honest..." he added.
"I still don't know how you managed to enroll in this academy."
"But with academics at this level..."
He sighed.
"You won't last long here, Urara."
"Whoa..." Urara was taken aback slightly.
"You sound almost exactly like Rudy!"
"Rudy...?"
Ishida paused.
"Oh..." Then realization struck as he muttered it under his breath.
"You mean Rudolf."
Then, before he could continue—
Urara clenched both fists.
"Don't worry, teach! I'll just have to do well in races!"
Her eyes sparkled with determination.
"I'll win lots and lots of races!"
"Then I don't have to worry about the test and finally stay in Tracen!"
Ishida froze.
"Finally stay in Tracen...?" he repeated as the phrase immediately caught his attention, and confusion appeared on his face.
But Urara simply continued.
"After all, I made promises!"
"I promised I'd win more races and make the world a smilier place!"
"I also promised my mom I'd become the best version of myself."
"And also..."
Her smile softened.
"I promised to keep smiling all the way to my finish line."
"So when I meet Mary-chan again..."
"She'll be proud of me, too!"
At that, Ishida went silent for a minute.
Before he finally murmured.
"I-I... see..."
"But still..." he continued.
"Academic performance is just as important as racing."
"You can't simply ignore academics because you prefer racing."
"It's all about balance, Urara."
With that, Urara immediately puffed out her chest.
"Hm hm hm! Well! That's not what Rudy told me about the three chances to stay in Tracen!"
"What?" Ishida was taken aback again.
"What do you mean by that—?"
Before he could ask another question—
Urara visibly jolted as she noticed the clock on the wall.
"Oh no!"
"I have to go now, Teach!"
"Huh? Wait—" Before Ishida could protest, Urara continued.
"I need to go train before it gets dark outside!"
"Otherwise, King might get angry at me for returning to the dorm late again!"
Instantly, she hurried toward the door, already waving at Ishida.
"Bye-bye, Teach! See you tomorrow!"
"Wait, Urara!"
"I'm not done talking—"
But he was too late.
The moment he stood up and chased after her—
Urara had already bolted out of the classroom, and her footsteps already echoed down the corridor.
"Training, training, training~!"
"I can't wait for training~!"
The cheerful singing gradually faded into the distance while leaving him completely behind.
Ishida then remained standing at the classroom doorway.
Still holding the quiz paper while staring at that fading pink gremlin, muttering in disbelief.
"Geez..."
"What with that girl...?"
Only after Urara had completely disappeared from sight did Ishida finally move.
With a sigh, he returned to his desk and began packing his belongings.
The classroom was now quiet and empty.
Just as he preferred.
Until—
His hand stopped.
His eyes drifted back toward a certain paper resting atop the table.
Urara's quiz.
The infamous score of two.
And the words she had casually spoken earlier resurfaced in his mind.
"Three chances to stay in Tracen..."
"Three chances to stay in Tracen...?" he muttered.
For nearly a minute, he simply stared, thinking.
Trying to piece everything together.
Then he abruptly shook his head.
"W-Why do I even care?"
He folded his arms.
"It's not like I have an obligation to know every detail about her."
A sigh escaped him.
"Except..."
His brow furrowed.
"Why did Rudolf specifically ask me to look after her...?"
His gaze lowered toward the paper as he casually picked it up in his hand.
"Is something... going to happen to her?"
"Is something..."
The question lingered in his head, yet no answer came.
Eventually, Ishida exhaled.
"Forget it."
Carefully, he returned the quiz to the pile.
Then he finished organizing the rest of his desk, thinking the day was over.
It was time to head back to the staff room and call it a day.
At least, that had been the plan.
Because somehow, without realizing it...
He found himself walking through the academy grounds.
Past the corridors.
Past the classrooms.
Past the staff offices.
Until—
He stopped.
The sight before him finally made him realize where his feet had taken him.
The training track.
The very place Urara had said she was heading.
Then slowly, Ishida rubbed his forehead.
"What... what the hell am I doing...?"