A week had passed since the Oka Sho.
After a brief period of relaxation, Fujiwara Chiya threw himself back into intense training. The first crown was over, and next came the second crown, the Oaks. The distance was twenty-four hundred meters. For Shirayuki, this distance was honestly not easy at all. Right now, she was mainly focused on mile races.
Stamina, endurance, and most importantly, her constitution.
Whether her body could withstand such a trial or not, these were all problems Shirayuki needed to solve during the preparation period.
Inside the laboratory, Shirayuki told Agnes Tachyon about what had happened during the previous race. When Chiya collapsed, Tachyon had also been nearby. After glancing quickly at Shirayuki in front of her, she more or less reached a conclusion.
Today, she had called Shirayuki over. Combining it with Shirayuki's description, Agnes Tachyon summarized,
"It seems there must be a condition for entering the Domain. Namely, you must lose control over one of your bodies. Only then can you achieve one hundred percent concentration."
Judging from the situation at the time, that was indeed the case.
However, it was strange.
Agnes Tachyon said, "You clearly have two brains. When one enters a state of extreme concentration, the other should still be able to function normally. Why would this happen?"
"Maybe because of the soul?" Shirayuki said tentatively.
"The soul?"
"Cafe said my soul is in a state where it has been split in two. Then there was something about needing to possess the same goal, and so on. It sounded really mystical, but I understood the part where she talked about the Domain."
Agnes Tachyon slapped her forehead.
She had already given up on expecting any professional terminology from Trainer's mouth. And if Manhattan Cafe was involved, then that was no longer something Agnes Tachyon could currently touch.
"Can you recall the feeling of entering the Domain?" Agnes Tachyon asked.
She was extremely curious about the Domain. After all, the uma musume who could enter the Domain were all beings who stood at the top of the world. They were not people she could afford to provoke. Symboli Rudolf, Maruzensky, Narita Brian, and so on, each one was a famous uma musume with a terrifying reputation.
If she dared to make a move on those people, her laboratory would probably be blown away.
Trainer being able to enter this realm was simply a huge help to her.
"It requires a lot of conditions."
"What conditions?"
Shirayuki gave a rough description. After thinking for a moment, Agnes Tachyon repeated,
"So the main point is self-perception. You need to feel that you are in the middle of a tense race. There is a way to do that."
Shirayuki vaguely had a bad feeling.
She was afraid Agnes Tachyon would come up with some bizarre stunt, like using an electric chair to stimulate pressure points in the body and create a sense of tension. Agnes Tachyon had done things like that before.
"American Tracen recently developed a device that can upload an uma musume's brainwaves to a computer. It allows an uma musume to run inside a virtual reality world."
"Hah? Virtual reality? How is that possible?"
"It exists."
Agnes Tachyon opened her tablet and showed Shirayuki.
Inside was a researcher in a white coat who had developed something resembling a headset. It came together with a metal box. The researcher explained the device's application in English. It could be seen that the equipment uploaded a person's consciousness into a computer and constructed a virtual training ground.
Shirayuki's mouth fell open in disbelief.
"Japan also has similar research, but the progress is quite far behind. American Tracen already has the first batch of prototype machines."
Looking at the purely virtual world constructed inside, Shirayuki reluctantly pulled her gaze away.
"Even if that thing can simulate a tense racing environment, there's no way we can get one."
"Who said we can't? Reservations are open on the official site right now."
"It's already being sold?"
"Of course."
Agnes Tachyon opened the link. Shirayuki looked at the price on the page and immediately sucked in a breath.
It was indeed for sale, but this thing was obviously not intended for private personal use. It was for uma musume training schools and institutions. The price was almost equal to her entire year's salary.
"I plan to order one. Once it arrives, we can begin the experiment."
"Wait, you're buying it now?"
"The sooner we begin, the better. Since the first batch of models is already out, there's no need to wait for the next batch."
That's not the problem here.
This device, what should she call it… a full-dive device? Its price was not something a student could afford.
Unless they were a rich kid.
Ah, right.
Come to think of it, Agnes Tachyon was also an ojou-sama.
The way Shirayuki looked at her immediately changed.
Agnes Tachyon always acted like a mad scientist, but she was indeed a genuine young lady from a wealthy family. Every electronic device in her room was expensive. After Shirayuki agreed to help Agnes Tachyon with her experiments, the other girl had bought a whole pile of additional equipment. Shirayuki did not know the exact price, but it was probably something that a working person like her could never afford.
"After you buy it, can I play with it?"
"Mm? I'm buying it for you. Right now, you're the only one who can enter the Domain."
Suddenly, Agnes Tachyon's image looked incredibly tall and majestic in Shirayuki's eyes.
Although she had not become Agnes Tachyon's trainer with the intention of leeching benefits from a rich woman, facts had proven that Agnes Tachyon was not completely the experiment-obsessed maniac she appeared to be. When Shirayuki said she was not feeling well, Agnes Tachyon would stop the experiment and give her rest recommendations based on her symptoms.
Agnes Tachyon's family occasionally sent her food, and Tachyon basically packed all of it up and gave it to Shirayuki. Even if Shirayuki treated everything Agnes Tachyon gave her as payment for the experiments, it was more than enough.
And now, Agnes Tachyon had bought a full-dive device.
Of course, Shirayuki did not think Tachyon would give it to her, but she had the key to the laboratory. She could basically come over whenever she wanted. As long as she did not touch the prepared medicines or experimental materials, she was free to use the things inside.
Whenever Shirayuki occasionally wanted to stay somewhere quiet, she would come here too. In the eyes of other uma musume, that was utterly unthinkable. After all, this place was basically like a demon's den to them.
But for Shirayuki, it no longer was.
There were already quite a few of her belongings on Agnes Tachyon's desk, placed there for convenience whenever she came over.
By now, she had already become part of the demon's den herself.
"I chose express shipping. They should deliver it within a week," Agnes Tachyon said while operating her tablet. "Maybe we can figure out a way to control the Domain before your next race."
"Maybe. But right now, the problem isn't the Domain…"
Agnes Tachyon's hand paused.
"It's the distance, isn't it?" she said.
"Mm. My legs might not be able to handle it."
"Do the cooling patches not work?"
"They work, but if I run a full-power race, it might be difficult. The heat in my legs gets too high. After the Oka Sho, I felt like my legs were burning."
Agnes Tachyon fell silent for a moment.
"I do have a way. Before those patches were improved, their effect was only average. If I adjust the composition ratio, they should become much better."
"Can you make more of them? I'll be doing endurance training during this period."
"I'll do my best…"
Even though she had already raised Trainer's request to the highest priority, there were still some things she had to finish first.