The experiment itself was fairly simple.
Agnes Tachyon asked the questions, Shirayuki answered them, wrote down the time for each response, and then Fujiwara Chiya sent over his own answer sheet with both his answers and timestamps written on it.
After four rounds, Agnes Tachyon declared the experiment finished.
Fujiwara Shirayuki stood up. "That's it?"
"Yeah. This is enough," Agnes Tachyon said as she compared their answers.
It really felt like she hadn't done much at all.
If future experiments were always this easy, Shirayuki thought she could accept them.
"By the way, Tachyon-senpai, what exactly can you tell from this kind of experiment?"
Agnes Tachyon continued writing notes as she answered.
"Your changes, and the connection between you and Chiya. At the moment, your thought processes seem to run in sync, but because of differences in habit, the patterns of your thinking are no longer the same as before. More importantly, Trainer Chiya's thought speed is currently faster than yours, and his mind is more flexible."
"Chiya?"
"It may be related to the brain itself. Even if the consciousness is the same, the brain is different. This body of yours belongs to a middle school student whose brain is still developing, while Trainer Chiya is a university-educated adult who never neglected his studies and genuinely trained his mind. His thinking ability is clearly stronger than yours."
Agnes Tachyon looked at the times written on the answer sheets.
"So it seems that, aside from consciousness, you and the trainer don't really share anything else. But the transmission between your minds has almost no delay. How is that possible? Brainwave transmission? If so, there should be some way to block those signals between you. And what about distance? How far can this transmission reach?"
If it worked even from opposite ends of the world, that would be absurd. Even network calls couldn't achieve zero delay.
In any case, what was happening to Fujiwara Shirayuki was not something that could be fully studied in one day, and Agnes Tachyon had no intention of rushing it. There was plenty of time. A little at a time, every day, would be enough. That way it would not burden Shirayuki too much either.
"That's enough for today. If I need another experiment later, I'll call for you. Here, take this as today's thank-you."
Agnes Tachyon handed Shirayuki a dark green gift bag. Inside it was an elegant box.
Written on it was the word Gyokuro.
"Tachyon-senpai… this wouldn't happen to be gyokuro tea, would it?"
"I think that's what it's called."
"Isn't this stuff absurdly expensive?"
Even Chiya would never dare give something this costly as a present.
"I don't know. Someone gave it to me during a holiday. I thought it was black tea, but it turned out to be green tea, so it's just been sitting there. If you like it, take it."
This wasn't a matter of liking it or not.
Shirayuki looked down at the tea in her hands.
This stuff… could cost two hundred thousand yen per half-kilo. It was the kind of tea only wealthy households or old noble families would drink, and even they usually only served it for honored guests.
Could it be…
"Tachyon-senpai… are you some kind of rich girl?"
"People used to call me that a lot."
Shirayuki's eye twitched.
So she had completely misjudged her.
Who would have thought the most infamous experiment fanatic in Tracen also came from that kind of background? Judging from the way she treated something this expensive so casually, Agnes Tachyon was definitely from a distinguished family.
"I'll just take one packet. Please keep the rest, Tachyon-senpai."
"What? I gave it to you. I don't need it."
"No, no, I absolutely can't accept all of this. Seriously."
Fujiwara Shirayuki had no intention of taking a gift worth tens of thousands of yen over such a minor experiment. She would never be able to sleep soundly if she did.
Carefully taking just one packet, she tucked it into her pocket like treasure, then put the rest back and placed it carefully on the shelf for Agnes Tachyon.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now, Tachyon-senpai."
"Alright."
After Shirayuki left, Agnes Tachyon returned her attention to the experiment.
If the two of them were beginning to develop different modes of thinking, then perhaps it was possible to let Shirayuki develop the instincts of an Uma Musume while the trainer supported her from the side. If the strengths of both brains could be fully used, then they might be able to think from multiple viewpoints at once.
That would be a tremendous advantage in long-distance races.
The problem now was how to train Shirayuki's ability to think in multiple layers.
Forcing attention onto two things at once was one option, but if efficiency was the goal, it would probably be faster to start with self-recognition.
Self-recognition meant bodily awareness.
In other words, habits.
So in the end, it still came back to that.
Agnes Tachyon reached her conclusion.
She stood and began searching the shelf for books related to training habits, only for the box of gyokuro tea to get in the way.
What a nuisance.
She reached out as if to shove it aside, then paused and lowered her hand.
Taking care of your guinea pig was also part of being a researcher.
She'd put it in Trainer Chiya's office later. If he liked it that much, then that was probably the best place for it.
Meanwhile, back in the dorm, Shirayuki carefully stored away Agnes Tachyon's gift, took off her outer layer, and prepared to wash up.
Tomorrow was the start of the break.
At last, she could finally relax for the first time in a while. Tonight she would sleep early and wash away all the fatigue that had built up over the past few days.
Explaining problems to those girls had completely drained her. The teachers who did this every day were practically iron men.
Muttering that to herself, she stepped into the bathroom.
Just as she turned on the shower and began rinsing off, she heard the dorm room door open outside.
"Shirayuki… are you in there?"
It was Mejiro Dober.
"I'm here. Welcome back, Dober-onee-chan," Shirayuki called through the door.
"In the bathroom? You're showering?"
"I just started."
"I see…"
Dober muttered something under her breath, then fell silent. Shirayuki didn't think much of it and reached for the soap.
At that moment, the bathroom door clicked open.
"D-Dober-onee-chan!?"
Shirayuki turned in surprise.
Dober stood there wrapped in a bath towel, looking tense and visibly nervous. Her knees were pressed together, one hand gripping the towel at her chest and the other holding it firmly in place.
"Sh-Shirayuki…" Dober greeted her stiffly. "I wanted to bathe with you… is that alright?"
During the study camp, Dober had already said that if they were going to act like sisters, then they should do sister-like things. Shirayuki had agreed to that at the time.
Looking into those slightly misty eyes, Fujiwara Shirayuki swallowed.
"…It's alright."
Her tongue almost tied itself in a knot.
The sight in front of her carried far more impact than she had expected. Above all else, it was Dober's flustered, delicate expression that made the biggest impression. It was impossible to reconcile this shy girl with the cold, beautiful Dober she was used to seeing.
Shirayuki turned away, trying not to stare, but she could still feel heat rising in her own face.
Once she had permission, Dober stepped inside and shut the door behind her.
Then she sat behind Shirayuki.
"I'll scrub your back first. When I used to bathe with Ryan-onee-chan, I would do the same for her."
"Alright… then I'll leave it to you, Dober-onee-chan."
"It's fine. I'll be fine. Really…"
Dober kept muttering to herself for some reason.
Then she reached out and touched Shirayuki's back.
The moment her fingers brushed over that smooth skin, Dober's body stiffened.
"D-Dober-onee-chan?" Shirayuki asked, her voice trembling slightly. "If you're going to scrub my back… shouldn't you use the towel?"
Shirayuki had always been more physically sensitive than most. The simple touch of Dober's hands sent a strange, unreal sensation through her, so strong it made her thoughts go blank for a moment.
Seeing Shirayuki's dazed expression, Dober hurriedly picked up the towel.
"Shirayuki… I'll help you wash up properly now."
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A/n: Here is an extra chapter for today, since I'm trying something new for the translation. But tomorrow there will be only four new chapters, since I don't want to mess up my five-chapter routine.