When Agnes Tachyon looked his way, Yasui Makoto couldn't help but feel deeply uncomfortable.
He was already bad at handling these Uma Musume with extremely peculiar personalities, let alone guessing what exactly she was thinking right now.
Contrary to expectations, Yasui had assumed Agnes Tachyon would start spouting bizarre things upon returning—like taking tissue samples or human experimentation.
But instead, she behaved exactly like the middle-aged doctor, calmly and professionally explaining Kitasan Black's current physical condition, along with giving a few medical suggestions.
Caught slightly off guard by her professionalism, Yasui Makoto unintentionally shifted his attention toward those details and suggestions.
Maximum oxygen uptake, lactate threshold, fast-twitch fiber ratio, muscle stiffness, reaction time, body fat percentage…
Based on these metrics, Kitasan Black's condition was excellent. Most were well above average, precisely in line with what would be expected from a G1 Uma Musume in her Classic year.
The advice was straightforward: simply maintain her current training program.
Besides all that, Agnes Tachyon specifically pointed out one particular metric.
"Average heart rate… 26, huh? Looks like my previous hypothesis was correct."
Putting down the report, Agnes Tachyon looked at Yasui with deep curiosity. "As expected, you realized exactly what Kitasan Black lacks."
"We've known each other for quite a while now, so let me be direct."
"Could you make a copy of Kitasan Black's training logs for me?"
Yasui Makoto, who'd been absorbed in Kitasan's medical report, suddenly jerked his head up, staring at Agnes Tachyon with a peculiar expression.
"…So, you were aiming for that from the very start?"
"Well… not entirely."
A strange, unreadable smile appeared on her lips, yet Agnes Tachyon's eyes turned increasingly serious.
"You should know clearly what that heart rate—26 beats per minute—means, right?"
Yasui hesitated briefly. Although unsure about Agnes Tachyon's true intentions, after a brief thought, he nodded.
The figure Agnes Tachyon mentioned was Kitasan Black's current average heart rate.
A normal human's average heart rate ranged between 60 and 100 beats per minute. Uma Musume, however, had stronger cardiac muscles, and thus needed only around half that frequency to supply energy more efficiently to their bodies.
Specifically, the average resting heart rate for Uma Musume was typically between 30 to 40 bpm.
Among athletes, there was a condition known as "athlete's heart," and this applied equally to Uma Musume.
The clearest indicator of an "athlete's heart" in Uma Musume was an exceptionally low resting heart rate.
A lower heart rate meant the heart needed fewer beats to meet bodily demands, which also meant it could provide more powerful energy bursts when necessary.
Yasui Makoto had already known this theory well before becoming a trainer. Immediately after signing the contract with Kitasan Black, he had confirmed this condition specifically.
Kitasan had an excellent foundation and an exceptional physique.
However, certain key indicators hadn't yet fully developed to match that physique's potential—one of which was her heart rate.
This meant even if she wanted to raise her speed further in training and races, the limitations in energy supply would hold her back.
Upon confirming this, Yasui had intentionally designed training routines with intensity close to the upper limit. His aim was precisely to enhance cardiac function while avoiding injury.
But there were many precise considerations behind this method—and listening to Agnes Tachyon's words, it seemed like she'd noticed his unusual insight from the start.
So… how exactly had she discovered it?
As Yasui silently puzzled over this, Agnes Tachyon suddenly flashed out from behind the desk. She pressed both hands on the back of Yasui's chair, leaning forward to stare directly into his eyes.
Her crimson eyes widened fiercely, her gaze blazing as if she wanted to pierce through his entire being and reach deep into his soul.
"I don't know how you trained yourself, but if you were an Uma Musume…"
Her first few words were calm enough, but soon her voice began to tremble, rising to an agitated, almost ecstatic pitch.
"You'd unquestionably become one of the greatest in history!"
The sleeves of her white coat swung wildly beyond her fingertips, several thin, dog-eared notebooks tumbling from inside.
Before they hit the floor, the suddenly manic Uma Musume grabbed them and rapidly flipped through the pages.
"Cardiovascular system! Internal circulation! Muscle strength!"
"Perfect! Simply perfect! The physical metrics you displayed during your previous hospital check-up—absolutely flawless!"
"I… I've never seen a human body so impeccable, so beyond criticism!"
"But…"
Her voice suddenly dropped, twisting into deep regret mixed with trembling frustration.
"What a terrible waste… It truly is a tragedy that you aren't an Uma Musume…"
"Otherwise, the absolute limits sleeping within our legs—just how far could we run?"
"What hidden wonders lie beyond that barrier? What breathtaking scenery might we glimpse beyond the final limits of possibility…"
Her gaze grew distant, lost in a fantasy-like trance.
Immersed in that vision, her expression grew increasingly feverish, as though the entire world had vanished, leaving only her wild pursuit of speed and ultimate extremes.
Her fingertips trembled slightly, tightly gripping the curled edges of her notebooks. Her other hand reached upward, as if trying to grasp some distant, unreachable dream.
Then suddenly, as if struck awake by an icy gust of wind, Agnes Tachyon's manic expression instantly vanished, replaced by suffocating stiffness.
She froze like that for a long, awkward moment, as if time itself had stopped.
Then, to shatter the oppressive silence, she forced a stiff, slightly distorted smile onto her face.
Mechanically, she pulled a candy from her pocket, shoved it clumsily into her mouth, and began chewing slowly, deliberately.
Each chew seemed to help her wrestle her wildly surging emotions back under control.
After several slow bites, she gradually lifted her head to look back at the stunned Yasui Makoto.
Grinning again stiffly, she blinked, the last traces of madness not yet faded from her eyes:
"My apologies, Yasui-kun. I probably frightened you just now. And also…"
She nodded slightly toward the equally dumbfounded doctor beside them, then turned her gaze back to Yasui.
"About the earlier question—if possible, how about that training log?"
Still sitting frozen in the chair, Yasui Makoto stared speechlessly at Agnes Tachyon, whose emotions had just gone through a rollercoaster ride right before him.
Her previous mad expression still flickered vividly before his eyes, and her impassioned words continued echoing in his ears, leaving him deeply shaken.
Amidst his shock, he suddenly felt an uncontrollable sense of understanding and sympathy.
He himself had once chased speed and sought the absolute extremes with that same madness.
If he hadn't, perhaps he wouldn't have become an extreme acrobatics athlete renowned in his former world—nor would he have ended up in this world after that fateful accident.
Perhaps it was precisely due to the same relentless pursuit, the same lingering regret, that Agnes Tachyon now harbored such profound, unshakeable frustration, becoming so stubborn in her quest for the unknown limits.
Of course, perhaps she'd always been this obsessed from the very beginning.
"I understand…" After a moment of internal turmoil, feeling a deep sense of empathy toward Agnes Tachyon, Yasui Makoto drew a slow, steady breath and finally spoke:
"I'll copy Kita-chan's training logs for you, along with some of my personal notes."
"But you must promise they'll only be used for your personal research, and without my explicit permission, absolutely must not be shared with any third party."
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T/N: Agnes x Yasui...?
4 chapters since i was gonna update yesterday but didnt, bonus chaps are tomorrow and uhhh no character note for thisweek
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