"You're responsible! You have to take responsibility!"
Stella wrapped her arms around Derek Su's waist and rubbed her head against his chest, refusing to let the matter drop.
"That was an accident..."
"I don't care! You touched me, so you touched me! Is Master planning to walk away and pretend it never happened? You jerk!"
Stella was getting better and better at throwing accusations around.
Before he could even defend himself, she had already branded him guilty.
"I never said I wouldn't take responsibility," he replied with a wry smile.
Stella immediately stopped nuzzling him. She raised her head and gave Derek Su a sidelong look. "Then how does Master plan to take responsibility?"
Derek Su instinctively averted his gaze and stared up at the ceiling. "Well, I'll... take responsibility like that..."
Faced with Stella's relentless questioning, all he could do was retreat.
But Stella had no intention of letting him off so easily.
She straightened up on Derek Su's lap, cupped his face in both hands, and forced him to look her in the eye.
"If I take first place in the first stage of Panlong Mountain, will Master agree to one tiny request?"
Derek Su stared at Stella. Their faces were less than half a fist apart, close enough to clearly feel each other's breath.
He had no idea how Stella managed it. She ate pineapple every day, yet even her breath smelled sweet.
It was as though every pineapple she ate turned directly into honey.
The girl before him looked as though she had stepped straight out of a painting. Perhaps because she was not a carbon-based lifeform, there was not a single fine hair or pore visible on her face. Her fair, delicate skin was as smooth as freshly peeled egg white, without the slightest blemish.
Derek Su's heart began to race, and even his breathing became cautious.
He stammered, "O-okay. W-what do you want?"
"If I take first place in the first stage of the Panlong Mountain Circuit..." Stella pursed her lips and spoke one word at a time. "Then Master has to become my... my... um... queen!"
Although the two of them were already very close, they had never officially defined their relationship.
Stella considered that extremely important. Without a proper title, she always felt there was a chance Derek Su might fly away at any moment, or fall for someone else like Zane had. But once she officially became his girlfriend, Derek Su would definitely take responsibility.
"What? Your queen?" Derek Su froze.
What kind of bizarre turn was this?
He quickly realized what Stella meant, and his face flushed red, but he could only avoid the subject.
"I'm the Pineapple King, and you'll be the Pineapple Queen!" Stella stroked her chin and nodded solemnly. "But don't worry, Master. Even with three thousand beauties in my harem, and even though I already have Consort Purple Lightning and will definitely win over the Great Thunder Rebel King someday, you'll still be the only one I favor."
Seeing Derek Su still staring blankly at her, Stella decided to say it outright.
"I mean my boyfriend."
She lowered her head, all traces of her earlier domineering confidence gone. Her eyes shifted away from Derek Su's as she nervously twisted her fingers together in front of her chest, her face bright red.
"Um... I mean, w-will you be my boyfriend?"
That was how it worked in the books.
She was simply following their example.
First, two people became boyfriend and girlfriend. Then they could get married, and after that, they could grow old together.
Some couples might argue and break up.
Even married couples might get divorced.
But Stella was certain she would never argue with Derek Su.
After she had gone this far, Derek Su would hardly be a man if he continued standing there in a daze. There was never any doubt about his feelings for Stella. He simply lacked experience and sometimes had no idea how to express them. Now that Stella had taken the initiative, all his hesitation disappeared, and he naturally accepted.
"No problem! I agree!"
"Really?" Stella's heart leaped with joy.
She looked up at Derek Su, her sparkling eyes filled with delight.
"Of course. I'll even make a pinky promise with you."
Derek Su held out his little finger with a perfectly serious expression.
"Oho, Master, you really know what you're doing~" Stella gave him a sly, teasing grin and hooked her little finger around his. "Pinky promise, sealed for a hundred years! Whoever breaks it is a total fool!"
Finally, they pressed their thumbs together.
"The pact is sealed!" Stella cheered.
Their relationship had been heading toward this point all along.
Making the provincial track championship a condition merely gave Stella a goal and allowed their relationship to become official in a more natural way. It did not feel forced, and neither of them had to feel awkward.
...
After cuddling for a while, Derek Su and Stella continued reviewing the profiles of the competitors in the provincial track.
Aside from Lucy Luo of the Glory Peak Club and Eternity-01, both of whom warranted caution, two competitors who had passed Advancement Races in the first half of the year also caught Derek Su's attention.
"Meisel and Meister... Interesting. They're actually twins!"
The profiles of the two competitors were reflected in Derek Su's eyes.
They came from the world's No. 1 club, the Demon King Club, and the world's No. 9 club, the Immortal Sword Club, respectively.
Meisel had taken first place in three Advancement Races during the first half of the year.
Meister had taken first in two.
Both pilots partnered with top-tier Mecha Girls equipped with special skills.
Meisel's Mecha Girl was Thunder-01, a speed-type Mecha Girl whose special skill generated a large electric field. Every Mecha Girl within its range would have her piloting commands scrambled. A command to turn left might make her turn right instead.
More importantly, Thunder-01 could use this special skill multiple times. She had activated it five times during the Silverstone Advancement Tournament.
Meister's Mecha Girl was Black Fortress, model HB-01, the same model as Gray Castle. The Advancement Races he had won were also Mermaid Bay and the Brana Ruins.
However, Black Fortress's special skill was different from Gray Castle's. Instead of force field control, she could cause earthquakes.
More precisely, she released shockwaves.
Any Mecha Girl caught within the shockwave's range would be violently knocked off balance.
In races like the Brana Ruins and Mermaid Bay, where all competitors started at the same time, Meister had used this ability to eliminate ninety percent of the field right at the starting line.
Even those who avoided elimination were injured by the shockwave and left dizzy and disoriented. Their condition naturally deteriorated for the rest of the race, leaving them with no chance of competing against Black Fortress.
"I have a feeling Thunder-01 will compete in the first stage..." Stella frowned as she considered the possibilities. "Black Fortress probably isn't good at speed, just like Gray Castle, so she'll definitely compete in the second stage. What happens if Purple Lightning runs into Black Fortress? Can she withstand Black Fortress's shockwave?"
Derek Su fell silent.
The second stage of the provincial track was a downhill battle race.
Multiple Mecha Girls would start simultaneously. Everything would be fine if Purple Lightning did not encounter Black Fortress, but if she did, a single shockwave might be enough to make her crash.
Judging from the footage, Black Fortress's shockwave covered an even wider area than Gray Castle's skill, leaving almost no room to evade it.
There would be no need to worry if Imperial Scale competed instead.
Imperial Scale could withstand even a Super Tornado, so Black Fortress's shockwave would certainly have no effect on her.
But...
The second stage of the provincial track held a different meaning for Purple Lightning.
Chloe Qin would also be competing in that stage.
Should he make a last-minute substitution?
Derek Su found himself caught in a difficult decision.
...
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