diff --git a/server/src/middleware/arena-proxy.test.ts b/server/src/middleware/arena-proxy.test.ts
index c7a8b56..00a3821 100644
--- a/server/src/middleware/arena-proxy.test.ts
+++ b/server/src/middleware/arena-proxy.test.ts
@@ -103,6 +103,24 @@ function buildProxyingApp() {
   return app
 }
 
+// A real Node HTTP server for the proxying app itself, needed to exercise
+// the actual socket.remoteAddress lookup arenaProxy uses for x-forwarded-for
+// — Hono's in-process app.request() harness has no real socket to read.
+async function withRealProxyingServer<T>(fn: (baseUrl: string) => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
+  const app = buildProxyingApp()
+  let server: ServerType
+  const baseUrl = await new Promise<string>((resolve) => {
+    server = serve({ fetch: app.fetch, port: 0 }, (info) => {
+      resolve(`http://127.0.0.1:${(info as AddressInfo).port}`)
+    })
+  })
+  try {
+    return await fn(baseUrl)
+  } finally {
+    await new Promise<void>((resolve) => server.close(() => resolve()))
+  }
+}
+
 describe('arenaProxy', () => {
   const originalEnv = process.env.ARENA_UPSTREAM_URL
 
@@ -229,22 +247,23 @@ describe('arenaProxy', () => {
 
   it('forwards the client address in x-forwarded-for', async () => {
     process.env.ARENA_UPSTREAM_URL = upstreamUrl
-    const app = buildProxyingApp()
 
-    const res = await app.request('/api/echo', {
-      method: 'POST',
-      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
-      body: JSON.stringify({}),
+    // Drive the proxying app over a REAL socket (loopback) so
+    // c.env.incoming.socket.remoteAddress is actually populated, exercising
+    // the real code path instead of Hono's in-process app.request() harness.
+    const body = await withRealProxyingServer(async (baseUrl) => {
+      const res = await fetch(`${baseUrl}/api/echo`, {
+        method: 'POST',
+        headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+        body: JSON.stringify({}),
+      })
+      expect(res.status).toBe(200)
+      return await res.json() as { xff: string | null }
     })
-    expect(res.status).toBe(200)
-    const body = await res.json() as { xff: string | null }
-    // app.request() drives the Hono app directly (no real Node socket), so the
-    // remoteAddress lookup this proxy relies on may legitimately be
-    // undetermined here — the behavioral contract is that the header is
-    // either forwarded (non-empty) or cleanly absent, never invented/garbage.
-    if (body.xff !== null) {
-      expect(body.xff.length).toBeGreaterThan(0)
-    }
+
+    expect(body.xff).toBeTruthy()
+    // Loopback connection — either IPv4 or IPv6-mapped loopback form.
+    expect(body.xff).toMatch(/127\.0\.0\.1|::1|::ffff:127\.0\.0\.1/)
   })
 
   it('answers 502 when the arena is unreachable', async () => {