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In a survival situation, rope is an indispensable tool that can mean the difference between life and death. Shelter construction, securing safety, efficient transport... a single length of rope may not seem like much, but its uses are limitless. It dramatically expands the possibilities for getting through harsh environments safely.
Apparently.
The reason I say "apparently" is because I am a complete beginner with absolutely no knowledge of any such thing.
"......Is this actually right?"
I stared at the rope in my hands and asked, uneasy. The worn, battered thing bent and curled every which way, and there was no way anyone could call what I'd done "tied."
"Ahh...... well, it has a kind of shape, doesn't it?"
She stretched her small body up and peered at my handiwork. Stay Gold's frame is compact — under one-hundred-forty centimeters — and yet there's a strange presence to her that makes it feel as if she's looking down at you.
"But you said the bowline was the easiest, didn't you?"
"It is easy. It is — but... yeah, yours is a little artistic, I have to say."
With a soft chuckle, Stay Gold gently slipped the end of the rope from my hands. This impromptu rope tutorial had started on a whim of hers during a break from race analysis. "It never hurts to know," she'd told me, and I'd gone along with it readily enough — but she was lecturing with such unusual seriousness that I had begun to wonder whether she just wanted an excuse to skip training.
"Right — first, you make a loop. Then you take this end and thread it through, like this — see? Once you've got it this way, a tug and it comes right apart. It's a knot people use a lot when traveling."
"You really are at home with this."
"On a journey, rope is literally a lifeline. You use it to keep your luggage from coming apart, to set up a tent... honestly, if you've got one rope, you'd be surprised what you can manage."
As she demonstrated, her fingers moved without hesitation — and that was oddly cool to watch.
Stay Gold is whimsical and hard to pin down, but at moments like this she becomes remarkably patient and unhurried — and somehow older-seeming.
"Right then, once more. Your turn this time."
"O-okay...!"
I took a deep breath and gripped the rope. My fingers were trembling.
Stay Gold gave a quiet smile and laid her small hand over mine.
"Ah, you don't need to tense up that much. Traveling and tying knots are both easier if you relax your shoulders, don't you think?"
"......Traveling and tying knots — together?"
"They're similar. In both cases, 'when they come loose, they'll come loose.' So when you tie — do it with care."
The way she put it sank into me in a strange way, and I nodded.
Make a loop, thread the end through... Stay Gold's hand gently withdrew.
"I...I did it......"
"Oh! That's not half bad."
Guided by Stay Gold's hand, the knot finally taking shape — and at that moment, her expression shifted.
Those eyes, the color of dissolved twilight, flashed with a single gleam of laughter.
"Right, then...... next, let's move on to advanced applications."
"Huh, advanced applications?"
"Yes. When you're traveling, there are times when you have to restrain something troublesome — not just your luggage."
"Something troublesome......?"
I tilted my head, wondering what she meant — and Stay Gold took hold of my wrist, lightly. The very next moment, with impressive dexterity, she began winding the rope around it.
"Huh, wait? St-Stego......?"
"Better not to move around too much. It's quite well-used, so it might chafe. This is handy in situations like when you've been attacked by a villain on the road. Like this... there."
The rope slid smoothly, and before I had any chance to resist, it had wrapped around both wrists. The tightness wasn't painful or frightening — the strangely comforting feeling was entirely because her fingers were being far too careful.
"......There, done."
In an instant, both my hands were lightly bound together in front of me.
"Oh......wow......I really can't move......!"
"See? Just combining a few basic knots — and yes, it's that easy to restrain someone. A fine application, wouldn't you say."
"I, for my part, would rather not have an occasion to use it......"
I looked at her hands as she worked, recalling the knot she'd just taught me. The movements were calm, deliberate, and somehow compulsively beautiful.
Thinking so, I gave voice to one question.
"Hey, Stego. Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"This...... how do you undo it?"
In that instant, she stopped her hands dead.
Those twilight-colored eyes seemed to smile, softly and somewhere out of reach.
"Ahh...... the undoing, is it. Do you want to know?"
"Of course! I'd also like to get back to the race analysis soon——"
"——Then let's proceed to the practical phase."
"Practical......?"
——A bad feeling.
"Wait, what's that look? What are you thinking of——whoa!"
Thump. A weight descended.
"Hey——! Why are you on top!?"
"Hmm...... it's easier to explain things when we're close, isn't it?"
"Explain WHAT!?"
Stay Gold held me down with a single finger as I tried to get up. No matter how grown-up a woman one might be, a human cannot overcome an Uma Musume's strength.
"I said not to thrash around — it's dangerous. Come on, whoa there, easy now."
"How am I supposed to stay calm——?!"
No matter how much I struggled, Stay Gold deflected everything with effortless ease. An annoyingly relaxed performance. When I squirmed on the sofa, she bent down to look at me, and those eyes swayed close.
"So? You wanted to know how to undo it, didn't you?"
"......I want to know! But this situation is absolutely not right!!"
"Then you'd just have to push me off."
"Ughhh!"
Stay Gold let out a quiet laugh in her throat.
"Mm. What a nice view. You'd agree, wouldn't you?"
"If you were bored of race analysis you could have just said so!"
"That's part of it. But — well, I just got the impulse."
"Nobody should act on impulses like this——!"
And so the continued race analysis was replaced by uphill training.
The end.
The true villain is——