Chapter 12: I, Miss Billionaire
"50 minutes up!" the butler reminded. "Just 15 laps to go, and you need to finish them in 40 minutes according to the plan."
Yuka hummed in response, scanning the training ground. Besides those infantry students who had already finished their task and were waiting at the finish line to have a laugh, only five mecha students were still running, including Yuka herself.
Leading the pack was a tall guy with brown hair, followed by another boy who seemed like his sidekick, constantly handing him water and massaging his shoulders since the start of the run.
Then there was Ayoi, her face flushed red, gasping for air, and Yuka herself. To Yuka's surprise, a small, skinny boy she had noticed earlier was also persisting. He wobbled at the end of the line, looking like he might collapse any second.
Ayoi slowed down a bit, and when Yuka caught up, she panted, "Yuka, how come you're not, not sweating?"
Yuka calmly replied, "Uh... hmm... I have this pore issue."
Ayoi naively believed her, nodding and then asking, "Then, why, why aren't you out of breath?"
Yuka, feeling her non-existent conscience, continued to fib, "Though I only have C+ stamina, I was born with high lung capacity."
Enlightened, Ayoi responded, "Oh, I see. Let's run together, then."
Yuka looked affectionately at this sweet and naive girl, nodding in agreement, "Sure."
Yuka had already figured out her plan. At her current pace, she was sure to fail, but it would help maintain her 'fragile' disguise. Also, failing continuously in the future wouldn't raise any suspicions. Besides, this wasn't the only time she'd be graded; she could just score a bit higher in future tests to keep her average around 60%.