"Staaaaare~~~"
Tachyon cradled the cup of black tea Nearl had brewed for her, glaring fiercely at Manhattan Cafe sitting across from her with an expression that screamed mortal enemies.
"Cafe, my friend, I never imagined your will could be so weak. What's this called? 'Out with the old, in with the new'?"
"..."
Manhattan Cafe sipped her coffee in silence. Whether it was because Tachyon had caught her or because she knew she was in the wrong, she didn't utter a word.
"Shameful! I completely misjudged you, Cafe. How does this align with your aloof, solitary character setting?"
"With Nearl here, those things don't matter anymore."
Cafe's mumbled reply left Agnes Tachyon utterly speechless.
"Ahem!"
Really, what more could Tachyon say after Manhattan Cafe's declaration? What ground did she even have to stand on?
On the surface, she and Nearl had zero connection, complete strangers.
And judging by Cafe's demeanor, she and Nearl were already far more than casually acquainted. Tachyon couldn't find a single angle to exploit.
'Damn it. I could cause a scene, but that'd be beneath me.'
The silent Agnes Tachyon gulped down her tea, using the action to mask the frantic whirring of her thoughts.
'I need to find a way to strike up a conversation with Nearl. What happened when I was shrunk is absolutely off-limits. Need another entry point.'
Perhaps spurred by Cafe's head start, a sense of urgency and unease Tachyon couldn't fully comprehend was churning inside her, pushing her to act fast.
Naturally, Tachyon noticed this feeling.
But trusting in her own rationality and leaning into her "mad scientist" persona, she conjured up every justification to convince herself this was necessary.
'Wanting to get close to Nearl makes perfect sense. She's the Strongest, after all. Even I, holed up in my lab, have heard the rumors (Manhattan Cafe had been happily reading the newspaper back then; after she left, Tachyon absentmindedly flipped through it and saw Nearl's photo).'
'Whether it's tricking her into being a test subject, recording her physical data, or even extracting minute tissue samples, any of it would propel my research forward.'
The more she thought, the more excited she became.
The mad scientist's brain was practically trembling.
'Think about it. My ultimate goal is to uncover the hidden, ultimate limits within an Uma Musume's body, right?'
'I just hadn't found one worthy of my attention before. Symboli Rudolf was barely suitable, but she's so inflexible, a real hassle. That's why I resorted to using myself as the experiment.'
'But even a genius like me won't deny the possibility of an Uma Musume more gifted than I am appearing in the world. I just hadn't encountered one yet.'
'But Margaret Nearl! The undefeated record-breaker, Golden Pegasus, The Radiant Knight! With titles like those, she's undoubtedly a superior specimen.'
'This could finally free me from my obsession with restoring myself. From every angle, Nearl is the perfect guinea pig.'
After this whirlwind of self-justification, Agnes Tachyon had openly convinced herself that getting closer to Nearl was perfectly reasonable.
'Well, if we're not on good terms, I'd never persuade her to be my test subject. No choice, I'll just have to befriend her. I'm really going above and beyond for the sake of science.'
Comforted by this dubious logic, Agnes Tachyon set down her now-empty teacup and scanned the room for Nearl.
But...
"Nearl, how do I do this step?"
"Ah, this part. It might be a bit advanced for you, Cafe. Here, watch my hand movements and the wrist flick."
'These two!! Are they just ignoring my existence?!'
Nearl was handling something at the kitchen counter when Manhattan Cafe, claiming she didn't know how, simply slipped right in front of Nearl.
Cafe was always the petite, delicate type of Uma Musume who inspired protectiveness, though she usually wore a cold mask.
'But where's your usual aloofness and solitude now?! Where did this shy act come from? A version update? Or are you a robot who gets a new personality with each program rewrite?'
A sense of crisis. An overwhelming sense of crisis!
'This sudden chill I feel must be from lack of sleep these past few days, plus not eating today. My bodily secretions are out of whack. Yes, that must be it.'
Tachyon stared, utterly dumbfounded, watching Cafe and Nearl interact, feeling completely excluded.
A vivid image flickered in her mind: herself, left behind in the snow.
And then, to demonstrate more easily, Nearl covered Cafe's smaller hand with her own, guiding her through each step personally.
Her head, leaning in to speak, had unconsciously dipped lower, now level with Cafe's nestled within her arms.
'Guh! Look at that expression on Cafe's face! Those rosy apple cheeks and her eyes darting sideways every now and then. Is she even learning anything?'
The little figure in Tachyon's mind roared, smashing a whole shelf of potions.
"Tachyon, you haven't had lunch, right? This is for you. It's all I had to work with."
A gentle voice, and a delicious-looking meal held out before her. A wave of familiarity crashed over Tachyon.
'Right... back when I was small, she was this gentle with me too.'
The image in her mind overlapped perfectly. Agnes Tachyon instinctively accepted the food and took a bite.
'Wait... the nutritional balance... it's perfect? And this texture and flavor...'
It finally clicked.
'This is my usual meal! So Cafe was getting my food from Nearl all along?'
Clenching the metal spoon between her teeth, Tachyon looked up at Nearl, who had returned to cleaning the kitchenware behind the counter.
For a moment, her emotions were a tangled mess.
But soon, her eyebrows shot up, as if she'd had an epiphany. Confidence and her signature manic energy flooded back.
'Of course! This is the perfect assistant heaven-sent for me!'
'Unprecedented physical prowess, a gentle and tolerant personality that can handle me, capable of managing my daily life efficiently, on good terms with Symboli Rudolf to secure funding... could there be a more perfect candidate?'
Once Agnes Tachyon made up her mind, hesitation vanished.
Whatever her earlier doubts were, the only thing left was to charge ahead!
The benefits of having Nearl as an assistant far outweighed any potential downsides she could imagine. Even a purely scientific analysis would lead her to act.
"Nearl, I have a grand plan to change the world. Care to lend me a hand?"
Striding right up behind Nearl, under Cafe's vigilant gaze, Tachyon gave the hem of her white lab coat a dramatic flourish and issued what she considered a perfectly reasonable invitation.
"No way!"
Cafe was the first to refuse, but she was met with Agnes Tachyon's confident grin.
"I'll convince her."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.