Sugar Lights, Liberty Island, and Hishi Miracle sat in Dream Weaver's ready room, aimlessly killing time.
They had no idea why Dream Weaver wasn't there, nor could they fathom why Agnes Tachyon had bolted out of the room without a single word.
Since they were working with next to zero information, staying put felt like the only logical move. Rather than running around like headless chickens, it made more sense to wait right here in the ready room.
After all, it wasn't like Dream Weaver or Agnes Tachyon would just abandon them. If they just waited, word would eventually reach them.
Still, logic aside, sitting in a waiting room was mind-numbingly boring.
Hishi Miracle stared at the spinning loading icon on her phone screen—a little circle that seemed destined to rotate for eternity—before collapsing onto the sofa with a pathetic groan.
Maybe the signal backstage was just terrible, but she couldn't even use her phone to distract herself.
Tossing the device aside, she rubbed her head restlessly against the sofa cushions. The more she fidgeted, the more bored she became, until she finally sprang up and shouted at the other two in the room.
"Seriously, where did Trainer and Tachyon-san go?!"
"They couldn't have ditched us to go on a private date, could they?!"
"Master would never do something like that," Liberty Island replied. She was sitting at the vanity, holding one of Dream Weaver's spare ribbons against her bangs to see how it looked, glancing at Hishi Miracle's reflection in the mirror.
"They're probably discussing the post-race events with the organizers. This Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was special, so there's bound to be some kind of grand celebration planned."
"Then what about Tachyon-san? If it's just business, Trainer could handle it. Why did she have to go too?"
"Maybe as an interpreter? Master doesn't speak French. Tachyon-san is a brilliant scholar; it wouldn't be strange at all if she knew multiple languages and went along to translate."
"Then why didn't they ask Dr. Light?!"
Hishi Miracle pointed toward Sugar Lights, who was currently staring into space from her wheelchair. Hearing her name, Sugar Lights blinked, but before she could get a word in, Hishi Miracle kept hollering.
"Dr. Light knows just as many languages as Tachyon-san!"
"Eh... me? Well, that's true, but..."
Sugar Lights' voice was drowned out by Hishi Miracle's rising volume.
"Does this mean Trainer likes Tachyon-san more than Dr. Light?!"
"That... I don't think that's the case... right?"
Sugar Lights pointed at herself, looking a bit hesitant. But Hishi Miracle didn't wait for an explanation.
She scurried over to the back of the wheelchair, gripping the handles as she declared, "Exactly! As a fellow adult, how could Dr. Light lose to Tachyon-san?"
"Doctor! Use your invincible super-knowledge to prove it to Liberty-chan over there! Tell us exactly where Trainer and Tachyon-san are right now!"
Looking at Hishi Miracle's sparkling eyes—eyes brimming with absolute, misplaced confidence—Sugar Lights felt, for the first time, that she might have underestimated the girl.
Based on this relentless string of questions, Hishi Miracle didn't seem like the simple-minded little filly she used to be.
"Hehe, I can grow too, you know," Hishi Miracle said, rubbing her nose proudly, as if sensing the doctor's transparent thoughts. "I came up with all that just now while I was bored. Pretty impressive, huh?"
So, the way to make an idiot smart is through boredom, Sugar Lights thought. It wasn't entirely unbelievable.
There were plenty of legends at Tracen Academy about trainers who went into the "basement" and came out looking like they'd reached enlightenment. Staring at the ceiling of a ready room probably had the same effect as staring at a basement wall.
Just as Sugar Lights was wondering if she should add a "Zen Meditation Mode" to her virtual diving system, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.
She pulled it out to see a call from Agnes Tachyon.
Instead of answering immediately, she glanced around.
Seeing that Hishi Miracle had gone back to chatting with Liberty Island, she gave a small nod. So she really was just making small talk, she thought as she picked up.
"Get to the infirmary. Now."
Agnes Tachyon's voice was cold and sharp on the other end. Sugar Lights froze; she had never heard Tachyon sound so grim. She snapped into focus, pressing for details.
"What happened? Is something wrong?"
"There's no time. Just get over here!"
Before Sugar Lights could ask anything else, the line went dead. Tachyon had hung up as if she were in the middle of a dire emergency.
Staring at the darkened screen, Sugar Lights felt her brow furrow. In that moment of silence, a memory clawed its way to the surface.
Before the Arc had officially begun, she had pressed Agnes Tachyon for details regarding "the formula." Unlike students like Hishi Miracle or Liberty Island, Sugar Lights was a researcher herself.
She didn't believe in "miracle drugs" that came without a price. Even if Dream Weaver had returned to her peak form, there had to be a limit—a breaking point.A side effect.
In the chaos of the race, she hadn't let herself dwell on it. Seeing Dream Weaver's miraculous victory had almost made her forget the worry entirely.
But now, the mention of the infirmary combined with Tachyon's unprecedented tone brought it all crashing back.
No... it can't be...
Sugar Lights felt a sharp pang in her chest. Her heartbeat thundered so loudly she could hear it in her ears, and a wave of nausea and dizziness nearly sent her toppling from her wheelchair.
But there was no time to compose herself. Tachyon was never this serious.
The infirmary... no, something unthinkable must have happened to Dream Weaver!
Gripping the armrests, she forced a strained smile toward Liberty Island and Hishi Miracle, who were still talking.
"You two wait here for a bit."
"I'm just heading out to use the restroom."
Without waiting for a reaction, she pushed her wheelchair and hurried out of the room.
She couldn't let them know. Not yet. Liberty Island and Hishi Miracle were in the heat of their youth; if they heard about this now, they'd lose their minds.
Keep the secret. Wait until things are under control, then tell them gently.
That was the duty of an... of an adult.
Sugar Lights gritted her teeth, pushing her wheels in silence toward the medical wing.
The silence persisted until she reached the infirmary door. Her hand reached for the handle, but she hesitated, her fingers hovering over the cold metal.
After ten long seconds of silence, she finally steeled herself and threw the door open.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.