Mejiro McQueen immediately went to the washroom to check the body. She didn't know that when she stepped on the scale, the [McQueen] floating behind her had a face flushed blood-red, looking as if she wanted to die from shame. When Mejiro McQueen saw the weight, which was clearly higher than last time, she was silent for a good while before pulling up her clothes and pinching the soft flesh on her stomach. Her expression immediately darkened.
She had just seen the calendar. Only one week had passed here since her last visit. How did this girl's weight increase so much in such a short time? Did she sneak out to binge-eat again? And that trainer, Okino, doesn't he know how to manage her? It's really no wonder this girl loses to Rice Shower in the Tenno Sho.
Didn't her "substitute" run last time put any pressure on this fatty rice cake? Mejiro McQueen was confused. If someone took over her body and did that, she would definitely find a way to work hard and improve herself, to do better. After all, you can lose to anyone, but you cannot lose to yourself!
"Are you watching?"
Mejiro McQueen muttered to the mirror: "I don't know if you're watching, but I'll assume you are. I'll only say one thing: you should at least manage your weight. As a Mejiro 'Young Lady' and a horse girl, you can't even manage basic body maintenance?"
It's not easy to lose weight in reality after getting fat, especially since their constitution gains weight easily.
As a Mejiro McQueen, she knew this very well. If she couldn't get her weight back down before the race, it would affect her speed and stamina consumption during the run. This wasn't like a game, where it's just a simple debuff status.
Waaaaah—
[McQueen] let out a wail.
"No! I only ate a little! Really, just a little! But it just shot up! I already cut my portions in half, and I've been training more... This shouldn't be happening! No matter how I think about it, it's not my fault! The body just put on weight by itself..." she said, making excuses she didn't even believe.
She had reduced the total volume of food when she snuck snacks. But because she reduced the volume, to compensate, she doubled the portions of the things she loved but didn't dare eat much of. And those desserts were all high-calorie bombs. So, although the total volume was halved, the actual calories absorbed were much higher.
This was [McQueen]'s magical thinking. She even felt she had eaten less, and it was her body's fault for getting fat. After all, she did eat less (volume)!
Mejiro McQueen decided to check [McQueen]'s schedule to see if there was anything special today. Don't tell me I have to run a race for her again? Once was enough.
She had no interest in being [McQueen]'s substitute, especially not in this body. The chance of failure was too high. If there was a race, [McQueen] couldn't blame her for skipping it.
Thankfully, nothing special was scheduled for today. However, she did see a mark on next month's Japan Cup.
Seeing [McQueen] planned to run the Japan Cup, Mejiro McQueen was surprised. The Japan Cup is a tough G-grade race. It would be simple for her to win, but for [McQueen], it should be pretty difficult, right?
Wait! Mejiro McQueen suddenly realized. The race is in two weeks, tops! What was this idiot thinking, sneaking snacks at a time like this?!
Mejiro McQueen felt her blood pressure rising. "Don't tell me I was swapped over here just to help this fatty rice cake lose weight?" She felt sick.
[McQueen] heard her, heard her call her "fatty rice cake," and shouted angrily: "You! I'm not a fatty rice cake! I just gained a little weight! I can lose it quickly! Stop talking nonsense!"
Mejiro McQueen was truly speechless. If she could go back, she'd go back right now. She didn't want to stay in this weak body for another minute, let alone help this fatty lose weight.
Damn it.
You have your fun, and I get to suffer, is that it?
She was starting to suspect that fatty caused this summoning. Why else would this happen?
But, as annoyed as she was, she looked at the identical figure in the mirror. In the end, she suppressed her emotions, went out, changed into her training clothes, and headed to the training grounds.
Anyway, she'd be here for a day at most. When she goes back, the fatigue and pain from the training will be for that fatty to enjoy. It's not like she'll be pulled back again tomorrow, right?
Her roommate watched her leave with a strange look. Because [McQueen] had already explained everything, those close to her knew the truth about the Kikuka Sho. So Ikuno Dictus immediately knew something was wrong.
After Mejiro McQueen left, she decisively took out her phone, opened the Tracen Academy group chat, and sent a message.
Ikuno Dictus: "@Everyone, the Kikuka Sho Mejiro McQueen has appeared. She just changed into her training clothes. Destination should be the training grounds."
The message was sent. Three seconds passed. The chat exploded. Ikuno Dictus watched the noisy chat with an expressionless face, silently pushed up her glasses, and then started changing her own clothes to go watch the show. If she hadn't sensed that this McQueen's aura was a bit off, she would have gone up herself. For now, it's better to let the group members go first.
At this time, Mejiro McQueen, walking to the training grounds, had no idea her arrival was known to everyone.
She first bought a can of black coffee from the vending machine downstairs, then went to the training grounds to warm up. She hadn't even started the real training, just the warm-up, and she could already feel this body was in bad shape.
It's awful.
She didn't know why [McQueen] never learned her lesson, getting fat time and time again. The discomfort of this state, the pain of dieting... isn't that enough to fix her gluttony? If it was just one indulgence, she could understand. After all, she had indulged before too. But to never learn... she really couldn't understand.
She's a horse girl! A competitor! How irresponsible! The more McQueen thought, the angrier she got, and she started running to vent her anger. Honestly, it was painful. It reminded her of that hellish year in "Training Mode."
Although this was just a "fat" debuff, that year's memory was truly the darkest time in her life. Just recalling a little bit gave her psychological trau-
ma. So her mood didn't improve from running; it got worse and worse, and a heavy aura radiated from her.
If this were a game, her mood would definitely be at "Awful." You could see her making frequent mistakes in training, and her skill activation was disjointed. She was still powerful, but her running style had lost its elegance and magnificence. She was more like a raging beast.
Mejiro McQueen's low mood even affected her perception. She didn't notice that, at some point, a crowd had gathered to watch her train. Although McQueen was in bad shape, the powerful skill effects plus her ZONE-enhanced speed were still stunning to the audience.
Symboli Rudolf and the other student council members also arrived, watching the aura-wreathed McQueen. They were all silent for a moment.
They never thought that after just a short time, she would reappear having mastered such a deep domain (Zone). Now they were certain this was the Mejiro McQueen who had won the Kikuka Sho. The original [McQueen] could not have grasped such a high-level domain.
Everyone just watched her run lap after lap. They didn't know why she was training so intensely, but seeing that palpable "killing intent," everyone was smart enough not to interrupt. They felt if they did, they might actually be killed.
After about 3500 meters, feeling the body was about to collapse, Mejiro McQueen finally stopped. Behind her, [McQueen] looked like she was about to die from exhaustion. Because [McQueen] shared some of the body's senses, she couldn't escape the high-intensity training at all.
Returning to her starting spot, McQueen opened the can of black coffee and drank it in small sips. Even now, she maintained the dignity of a Mejiro lady, showing no sign of weakness.
Symboli Rudolf looked at Team Spica, and said to Trainer Okino and the others, "Let's go."
"Uh, yeah."
Trainer Okino felt a bit guilty.
He looked at the murderous McQueen and felt he might know the reason. Although [McQueen] did sneak out to eat, her disguise skills weren't great, so Okino actually knew she was sneaking snacks on the weekend.
It couldn't be that [McQueen]'s weight went up, could it? Okino's scalp tingled. Do I really have to go see this Mejiro McQueen right now?
Although it was [McQueen]'s fault for sneaking food, as her trainer, he had failed to manage his horse girl. He felt he was also in trouble. Am I going to get beaten up if I go over there? Okino nervously watched the President's (Kaichou's) back as she walked ahead.
At this moment, only the "Emperor's" figure gave him any sense of security. Even that Mejiro McQueen wouldn't beat him up in front of the Emperor... right?
...
[Get 20 chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"]