“Run!”
As the starting signal sounded, Yuriko and Nomily sprinted forward simultaneously, two figures racing down the track.
Yuriko and Nomily maintained a similar pace, appearing evenly matched.
In reality, Yuriko was intentionally controlling her speed.
She had been observing Nomily since the start, refusing to accelerate further once she gained a lead of half a body length.
Nomily’s speed really wasn’t that fast to Yuriko.
By the halfway point of the race, Yuriko’s breathing remained steady.
In contrast, Nomily was beginning to lose her stamina after multiple attempts to overtake Yuriko, and her speed was even starting to decline.
‘It seems this is the extent of her abilities. Well, compared to an average person, it’s actually not bad.’
For the last 100 meters, Yuriko decided to pick up the pace for a final sprint.
Nomily, who had been trailing closely behind, noticed Yuriko’s acceleration.
Even though her breathing had become ragged, she gritted her teeth and pushed herself into an all-out sprint.
However, no matter how much she accelerated or pushed her legs, the distance between her and Yuriko only grew wider.
The gap in their physical fitness was not something that could be bridged by willpower alone.
Nomily could only watch as Yuriko pulled further away.
‘Damn it! Why can’t I catch up? Why am I losing even in endurance, the one thing I’m good at?!’
Nomily’s breathing grew frantic, and her mind followed suit.
Her running rhythm broke, causing her foot to clip the ground.
Losing her balance, she went crashing down.
Running at full speed, the momentum sent Nomily rolling forward. she tumbled across the track several times before finally coming to a stop.
She had fallen. Now, she didn’t have the slightest chance of winning.
Because she had exhausted all her strength while running, she couldn’t properly protect herself during the fall.
Her knee scraped against the synthetic track, leaving a long, bloody trail.
‘I’m going to look like a fool. Falling in the middle of a match… the classmates are definitely going to laugh at me.’
Nomily forced herself up and looked ahead. During the time she had spent falling, Yuriko should have already crossed the finish line.
To her surprise, Yuriko wasn’t at the finish line; she was still the same distance away as before.
‘Why did she stop?’
Under Nomily’s confused gaze, Yuriko slowly walked back toward her.
“What are you doing? Why didn’t you just cross the line?”
Yuriko crouched down in front of Nomily and helped her turn over, saying, “That sort of thing isn’t important. What matters is that you fell, Kipling.”
Nomily had abrasions on her wrists and knees where the skin had been torn away.
The injury on her knee was particularly severe, leaving the wound raw and bleeding.
She hadn’t cried despite such a heavy injury. It seemed Nomily was more resilient than the average girl.
“Don’t touch me! I don’t need your help!” Nomily tried to struggle, but Yuriko’s strength was terrifying. She was held down firmly.
“Stop acting out. An injury is no small matter.”
Yuriko’s tone suddenly became stern, contradicting the easygoing aura she usually projected. For a moment, Nomily was stunned.
‘What’s this? Why is she suddenly so fierce…?’
Yuriko gently poked the area near Nomily’s knee. Nomily’s body suddenly flinched, and her expression twisted in pain.
“Hiss, it hurts!”
“Now you know it hurts?”
The other students, who had been watching the spectacle, finally rushed over. Some of them began to express concern for Nomily’s condition.
“Whoa, that looks like it hurts!”
“Nomily, are you okay?”
“Who among us is good at healing magic? Go help her!”
While the students were still discussing what to do, Yuriko had already placed her hand over Nomily’s wound.
A green magic circle formed in her palm. As the circle rotated, a gentle energy surged into Nomily’s injury, beginning to repair the damage.
Yuriko was using Intermediate Healing Magic. It was currently the only intermediate-level spell she had mastered, and it happened to be useful now.
Having spent so much time in the Mafia and getting into so many fights, it was impossible not to get hurt.
Whether it was her or her subordinates, everyone ended up injured to some degree.
Thus, she had learned healing magic from Phantom. It was the magic she used most frequently and was best at.
Under the healing magic, Nomily’s wound repaired itself at a visible rate.
Eventually, only the blood remained to prove there had ever been an injury there.
“How is it? Does it still hurt anywhere?”
Yuriko asked with concern.
Nomily shook her head. The effect of the magic was excellent; it had relieved the pain while repairing the wound, leaving her with no discomfort at all.
“The wound is healed. Can you let go of me now?”
As Nomily spoke, she tried to break free from Yuriko’s grip, but the pressure from Yuriko’s hands didn’t lighten at all.
“Hey, why haven’t you—”
Before she could finish her sentence, one of Yuriko’s hands hooked under her knees while the other supported her back, lifting her up directly.
Nomily’s eyes widened.
Why had she been picked up so suddenly? And she was being held in a princess carry?!
Yuriko looked down and said in a slightly softer tone, “I’ll take you somewhere to rest.”
“Are you kidding? Put me down! I can walk myself!”
Nomily resisted violently, but she had long since run out of strength.
Her resistance was limp and ineffective.
“Stop pushing yourself. You don’t actually have any strength left, do you?”
“Ugh…”
Nomily lowered her head. Yuriko was right. Even though the other girl wasn’t actively restraining her anymore, she didn’t even have the strength to scramble out of Yuriko’s arms.
Her entire face turned beet red from shame.
Under the either surprised or admiring gazes of their classmates, Yuriko carried Nomily toward the edge of the field.
From an angle where no one could see, the corners of Yuriko’s mouth were almost impossible to keep down.
‘No, I can’t laugh. If I laugh, the persona I just put on will crumble.’
Yuriko suppressed her urge to smile.
She hadn’t expected this match to have the unexpected bonus of letting her play the role of the caring classmate, helping her establish an image of someone who looked out for others.
After thinking through every sad thing she had ever experienced in her life, Yuriko successfully suppressed her grin and brought Nomily to the bleachers.
“Rest well here for now.”
After settling Nomily on the bleachers, Yuriko turned and left.
Once Yuriko was gone, two female students who were on good terms with Nomily walked over and sat beside her to chat.
“Ruri is really amazing. She’s actually stronger than Nomily. I feel like she could even compete with Olesia or Longyu,” one girl teased.
The other girl immediately countered, “She might have a chance against Olesia, but forget about Longyu. She’s from the Dragon Tribe! Last time, she threw a shot put right out of the sports field!”