36TH GEAR - PIGGYBACKS, AWARDS, AND AN OVERKILL

During the last second, everything was clear from the point of view of Flu. She was literally above Captain Haruka at that time, and she knew that the distance between them was just one meter.

Even if Flu is already that close to Captain Haruka's back, Captain Haruka did not use Bloodfire Nitro to blast away. There might be two reasons: first, she might miss touching the last Checkpoint Tower if she cast a boosting spell that close. And second, she might have run out of mana. She has already used her full power on that Bloodfire Accel in an attempt to reach the checkpoint.

Flu was able to see the opportunity to strike Captain Haruka's back instead of racing towards the Checkpoint Tower. Her fingers made a swift touch to the opponent's left rear, and the repelling effect of both protective magical barriers launched the two away from the last Checkpoint Tower as the timer goes zero!

Beep!

A pink magical circle point indicator manifested on Captain Haruka's back! And then-

Fweeeeeeeeet!

The referee blew the whistle and raised his hand.

"Game set! The score is 6:5! The winner of this match is Fluonessia Asahime!"

The crowd cheered upon witnessing the end of a nail-biting match! It was a spectacular game that earned praise from Speedmages around us. They are adoring the pink-haired miracle princess and her awesome display of speed spells!

"Haaah."

Captain Tezza sighed next to me. He looked at me with a satisfied smile and approached.

"I admit defeat, Mister Wardenorth. Miss Asahime may be a rookie, but you made her play like a pro. You really are the son of your father."

"Thanks. Good game!" I smiled.

"Nice fight." Captain Tezza waved and then left.

As soon as Captain Tezza exited the scene, I saw Flu walking towards me. She is sweating and gasping for air like a dog. Her tongue is even out while she draws breath. I'm pretty sure she needs my help, so I immediately ran toward her.

"Flu!"

"I did it, Coach! I did it!" Flu energetically waved her hand. But then she immediately tripped on her foot! "Wah!"

"Watch out!" I immediately caught her before her face kisses the ground.

I realized that my right hand accidentally touched her soft breast, but she did not pay any mind. She just smiled at me like a kid, still celebrating her victory against the Bloodfire Captain. Flu clenched her fists and tried to raise them in the air, but she was too exhausted. All she can do now is smile.

"Tahahaha. I'm sorry, coach. I exhausted all my stamina, so you will have to carry me to the bench. I'm such a failure after all."

"You're not a failure. You are a winner." I said as I softly let go of her body before she notices my hand on her breast. I sat down and gave her a piggyback carry.

"Tahahaha. Thank you, coach. That win is for you too."

I felt Flu's arms tighten, and her face was so close that I could feel her breathing on my neck. I lifted the pink-haired Speedmage and started walking until...

It took mere three seconds until I realized that Flu was already sleeping on my back.

She did her 100%, no, more than that. She exceeded her stamina's limits just by doing those nightly training of ours and having a stressful Speed Battle the next day. She took the matches seriously while having fun doing it. Of course, she would be tired. She deserves this rest so I will just let her get her sleep.

When we arrived at the front of our bench, our seniors from Merry Knights Guild gave us a smile of victory.

"Nice determination and guts, Flu!" Cruzo beamed as he gave another thumbs up.

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"Ssssshhhhhh!" Ericka shushed the noisy panda man. "Are you blind? Flu is sleeping."

"O-Oh, sorry!" Cruzo covered his mouth.

Ericka held her hips and cocked her head while maintaining a grin. "My goodness, Flu really loves Speed Battles. That fight was awesome, and she even beat another Cool Escape Captain."

"Yeah, right," I said with a smile.

"Hey, make sure you take care of her!" Ericka switched her tone now that she is scolding me. "I don't mind you two training until dawn, but as her coach, you should know when to stop!"

"So you knew, huh?" I muttered. I thought our nightly training was just kept between Flu and me.

"Of course! I am the president after all!" Ericka stood tall, puffed her chest, and held her hips like a superhero.

All of a sudden, I heard a soft voice just beside me. It was Flu, and she seemed to be murmuring something. I think she's sleep-talking.

"Yes, coach... please train me harder... drill it on me... punish me more... taha hahaha..."

My face went pale. What the heck is she talking about in her sleep?

"Hey, are you sure you two are just training during the night!?" Cruzo asked.

"Of course!" I cried.

I want to drop this pink-haired idiot off my back for causing a big misunderstanding!

<>

The Speed Battles continued on and on. The sound of the Checkpoint Towers and magical circle point indicators beeping became the normal sound of the training camp. There are occasional crowd cheers from the audience, and the sound of the whistle sometimes rattles me up for no reason.

We left Flu who was sleeping in her tent, hugging her big pillow. Ericka switched her Speedmage Suit out for her, so she's sleeping safe and sound in her pajamas. She continues to sleeptalk which is kind of worrying.

When it was lunchtime, Ericka was visited by Captain Tezza once again. If the bench of Merry Knights Guild is a shop, the lightning captain should be regular by now.

"Congratulations on winning all your Speed Battles." Captain Tezza cheered. "I knew that Merry Knights Guild has their hidden potential that is often overlooked during the past years, and now you shine in this Joint Training Camp."

"Thank you." Ericka bowed politely.

"As a reward for winning all your matches, I will give you an award." Captain Tezza said.

"Award?" Ericka smirked. "Oh, of course! I am the President of the Merry Knights Guild after all!"

Here we go again. Prez is getting all the confidence she can scrape in the barrel. Her ego is too easy to raise, which is why she gets so worked up and nervous for fear of any mistake. She's getting our wins over her head!

"Bow down so that I can give you your medal." Captain Tezza said.

"Without hesitation~" Ericka bowed.

Captain Tezza revealed something that she has been hiding on her back the entire time. It was an all-too-familiar name tag that has the "USELESS PREZ" words in it. When Ericka finally raised her head, Cruzo and I could hardly contain our laughter.

"Pffft! Ahahaha!" Cruzo held his aching stomach.

"You deserve that medal!" I hollered at our useless president.

Ericka cocked her head for a second, confused why we were making a fuss. When she looked at her chest, she saw the large name tag that she tossed away before her Speed Battle.

"Whyyyyy! Why should I wear this!" Ericka cried like a little bitch.

"Don't you remember the rules of the punishment? I let you remove that name tag so that you can move freely during our Speed Battle. But since our match has ended, you have to wear that nametag again!" Captain Tezza chuckled.

"Don't worry, you will just have to wear that name tag for a couple more hours," Cruzo said.

"Oh, it doesn't matter. She's still our useless Prez even after this training camp!" I laughed.

Cruzo and I snickered and then we both made a high-five to each other, unaware that our useless president was brewing down anger in her fists. Ice gathered on her knuckles to harden them, and then-

Bam! Kapow!

Cruzo and I both suffered brain damage as our Prez's fists were launched on the top of our heads! Cold smoke began to unleash from our lumps due to the impact!

"Ouchie..." Cruzo and I groaned due to the pain.

"If I hear more from you two, I am going to freeze your crotches until your balls fall off!" Ericka roared.

"Y-Yes, Ma'am." Cruzo and I answered like children who just got whipped by our mother.

Captain Tezza was laughing in the background because of this comedic event. Then she looked at us three with a change in topic.

"Anyway, aren't you interested in Vincent the Teleporter's match? I know you fought the Speedmage Champion a few days ago, but I thought you'd be interested."

"Huh? Is he playing right now?" I asked while rubbing the lump in my head.

"Their match started a while ago. Maybe we can still catch up and watch." Captain Tezza said.

"I'll pass," Ericka said. "I will watch over Flu, so you two can go."

"Thank you, Prez!" Cruzo said.

"Besides, I don't want to see those smug faces of you two. That will at least give me a few minutes of peace." Ericka said with dry sarcasm.

That seemed like a threat to me, so I grabbed Cruzo out of the Merry Knights Guild bench and went out. Captain Tezza also followed and then she led the way.

There are lots of people watching for the Speedmage Champion. Walls of Speedmages spectated this fight, not just on the stage, but even around the Triangle. But even with such obstruction in our visions, we still knew what was happening in this Speed Battle.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

The Checkpoint Towers continued to beep like a magic phone's ringtone. That only means one thing: Vincent the Teleporter is showing his true might by teleporting from tower to tower. He must have used his Omnitouch spell again.

Cruzo bulldozed through the crowd of people, and Captain Tezza and I just followed. It was very handy for us to have a big fat friend that can push away the audience to get the front seat.

We finally made it to the front, but unfortunately, the match timer is at an end.

Three.

Two.

One.

Fweeeeeeet!

"Game Set! Vincent Shadowseek wins the match with the score of 101:4!" The referee announced.

Over one hundred points!?

Just how is anyone even supposed to fight a Speedmage that can teleport?