Chapter 139: The Figure She Admired
"Excuse me, but… excuse me, could I have something to drink… anything at all?"
Shutou Haruhime sat tensely on the sofa.
"I brought green tea and coffee."
"Thank you, Segai-kun."
The young man sitting across from her gestured toward the drinks placed on the glass table.
"Fuu… this is good tea… indeed."
"If it’s difficult for you, you don’t have to force yourself to use polite language or standard speech."
"…That’s a relief, it is."
Seeing that Haruhime’s stiffness wouldn’t ease, the young man decided to try a different approach.
"Could you explain about the special skill you listed on your application?"
Haruhime’s eyes widened. After taking one breath, she spoke.
"…It made a grown man cry."
She braced herself.
"A man who broke a world record in a certain game before thousands upon thousands of viewers, crying out as he did. Just for shaving off less than a second of time, he was that deeply moved. His figure was truly that of an athlete."
Slowly, carefully choosing her words.
"I’m just a little runt, no good at sports. My dialect makes me bad at socializing. I even stopped going to school, so I can’t say I’m good at studying either."
But from her heart spilled something that strengthened her tone.
"Even someone like me can challenge the world’s best through RTA. I can show people my challenge. And that, sets me ablaze!"
People call that fighting spirit.
"Shutou-kun, I should’ve been clearer."
"Hm?"
"I only wanted you to explain RTA directly to Segai, since she doesn’t really know it."
With a small body but great spirit, Shutou Haruhime—later to be called the Sake-Drinking Child—was a challenger through and through.
"Aaaaah… I just want to crawl into a hole…"
"I’m truly sorry."
"No, you showed us a wonderful spirit."
"…I’d forgotten my first resolve."
Top Chat: A little girl?
Top Chat: Are you okay?
"Elf!"
"What is it?"
"I want a drink! Anything will do!"
"Mm."
Top Chat: Eh?
Top Chat: We know exactly what’s about to happen here.
Top Chat: Elf-san just hands it over without hesitation lol
"Gufoh!?"
Top Chat: Whoa
Top Chat: She splashed it everywhere lol
Top Chat: MAJOR DISASTER
"Cough, cough… Wh-what possessed them to sell this as a product…? Seriously…"
"Feeling more awake now?"
"Thanks to you. Seems I’ve been half-asleep for quite a while."
"There’s another one if you want?"
"No, I really don’t. Absolutely not."
Top Chat: Elf-san lol
Top Chat: Please let her end this cool for once
"Hey, Elf."
"What is it?"
"Is a woman lame for running away from the world record she failed to reclaim, and wasting time on restriction runs instead?"
"Yeah."
"Is a woman lame for being satisfied just because she managed world-record pace until halfway, even though she couldn’t even finish a full run after so long?"
"Yeah."
"Is a woman lame for letting someone else hold the controller mid-run?"
"Yeah."
"Then what should I do?"
"The sake-drinking child already knows the answer."
"True. I do know it. A runner has only one duty."
Top Chat: Little girl…
Top Chat: Go, little girl!
Top Chat: Run, little girl! Run!
"I’ll run! I’ll reclaim the world record right here on this stream, so you lot, watch with your eyes wide open!"
Top Chat: Hell yeah! Let’s gooo!
Top Chat: Uoooooh! The little girl’s back! She’s running again!
Top Chat: Little girl! Little girl!
Top Chat: Fastest in the world! The sake-drinking little girl!
"I’ll give you all the gift of tears of inspiration!"
Once burdened with inferiority, this girl had now risen to where countless viewers pinned their hopes of witnessing the fastest run in the world.
"President, did you… plan all this?"
"Unfortunately, I’m not the schemer you think I am, Segai-kun."
The young man called president and the suited woman called Segai gazed at the streaming screen of Elf. On it, Shutou Haruhime—the Sake-Drinking Child—was declaring her quest for the fastest record.
"I merely had a hope. That if it was Elf-san, she could reignite the flame in the sake-drinking child’s heart."
"Why couldn’t it be you, President?"
"A company can only provide its talents with the right environment. I can’t imitate what Elf-san does."
"…I don’t think that’s true. But I understand. It’s almost time—what about Kagahara-san?"
"Leave her waiting in the other room until it’s settled."
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