It was all Darley's fault for asking such strange questions.
Now Fujiwara Chiya's head was a complete mess. Souls, blessings, bloodlines, all of it sounded like she was trying to send him off for breeding.
I'm a trainer.
And I'm your superior!
Who talks to their boss like that?
Fujiwara Chiya felt as though he had been toyed with.
When he arrived at the laboratory, Agnes Tachyon looked up at him.
"Guinea Pig-kun, you're rather late today."
"I was delayed a little. I spoke with the assistant trainer for a while."
"Speaking of which, Guinea Pig-kun, that assistant trainer is strange."
"I think so too. She suddenly started talking to me about the Three Goddesses' blessing and things like that."
Hearing this, Agnes Tachyon stopped moving.
"Tell me what she said."
Agnes Tachyon seemed extremely interested, so Fujiwara Chiya described everything Darley had said in the office. Agnes Tachyon's mouth fell half-open, as if she had heard something incredible.
"So there's also that kind of theory…"
Agnes Tachyon showed a rare expression of shock.
"If that really is the case, then perhaps part of the secret of uma musume is hidden in the blood… Wait, then why…"
Agnes Tachyon began thinking deeply.
Fujiwara Chiya could not help interrupting her. He felt that if he let her continue, she would not figure it out for several hours. He had not come here to explore the mysteries of uma musume. That kind of thing should be left to biologists, or to research maniacs like Agnes Tachyon.
Agnes Tachyon came back to herself and coughed a few times. However, the way she looked at Fujiwara Chiya had changed.
"Guinea Pig-kun, I think the assistant trainer is correct. If uma musume rely on genes to determine talent, then an uma musume who possesses the genes of both parents would undoubtedly be the strongest. In other words, your future child could become an extraordinary existence."
"Why are you starting to think about that too?"
"I have always been searching for the mystery behind the Domain of uma musume. I want to find the limit of uma musume speed. Guinea Pig-kun's appearance gave me hope. But now, I have seen an even greater light."
"Hey, don't tell me you're talking about…"
"Exactly."
Agnes Tachyon's tone rose slightly.
"Guinea Pig-kun's future child. She would definitely make excellent experimental material."
"Don't even think about it!"
Fujiwara Chiya refused on the spot.
It was not enough for this person to drag him into experiments, now she was reaching toward his future child too? Fujiwara Chiya would never allow that.
Wait, did Agnes Tachyon plan to keep pestering him even after graduation?
"Well… I know Guinea Pig-kun would never hand over a child for research, so I'm also prepared to contribute."
"What?"
"As long as it is my child with Guinea Pig-kun, there should be no problem. Once she grows up and becomes a powerful uma musume, we could use her to explore the limits of uma musume speed. In that case, Guinea Pig-kun should be able to accept me using her for experiments."
"Accept my foot! Have you gone mad from doing experiments? Why are you also discussing breeding with me now?"
"What's wrong with that?"
Agnes Tachyon said it calmly.
"I have been at Tracen for quite a while. Aside from Shirayuki and Café, the only person I have a favorable impression of is Guinea Pig-kun. No one else can interest me at all. So if I had to choose someone as a partner, I cannot think of anyone other than you."
"You just casually dropped something unbelievable. Are you saying you like me?"
"I don't really understand things like liking. But it is true that you are the only male who can catch my attention."
Fujiwara Chiya looked at Agnes Tachyon's face.
Even after saying something like that, Agnes Tachyon's expression barely changed.
Fujiwara Chiya rubbed his forehead.
He never expected that this mad scientist would actually develop an interest in him. To be precise, it probably was not "liking," but "caring." Fujiwara Chiya could not understand what he had done to attract Agnes Tachyon's attention so much.
Was it because of the peculiarity of him having two bodies?
Or was it because he had accompanied Agnes Tachyon through experiments every day without complaint, causing her to unconsciously develop a favorable impression of him?
No matter how he thought about it, this was too strange.
Fujiwara Chiya could not accept it.
"Even if you don't consider me, you should consider uma musume. In the next few years, your children might create a new boom in racing. Everyone could advance into international competition together. At that point, the entire industry would flourish. Guinea Pig-kun, you could become a great man who changes the whole industry by yourself. Central would be proud of you. Don't you want to contribute to the uma musume industry?"
"Contribute, my ass. Your brain has short-circuited."
Agnes Tachyon really was treating him like a stud.
He should never have told her about this.
Now she had caused another strange problem.
It was all Darley's fault…
Thinking this, Fujiwara Chiya suddenly shivered. He felt as though someone was watching him from the doorway. He abruptly stood up and opened the door.
The hallway outside was completely empty.
Not a single person was there.
Strange.
Was it just my imagination?
Fujiwara Chiya returned to the room.
"Guinea Pig-kun? What are you doing?"
"Nothing… Enough of that. Didn't you call me here for an experiment? What are we doing?"
"I want to see how far your influence on Shirayuki can reach. We have already confirmed that your training can affect Shirayuki. Then does the VR device produce the same effect? I'm also curious whether you, in human form, can enter the Domain of uma musume."
"That should be impossible, right?"
"How would we know without trying? Have you ever considered what would happen if you and Shirayuki entered the Domain at the same time?"
"At the same time…"
Entering it once was already hard enough. Now she wanted both of them to enter at the same time?
Was she joking?
"In any case, let's try it first. If we don't experiment, we won't gain anything."
"Fine. Let's try."
Fujiwara Chiya lay inside the VR pod. Agnes Tachyon activated the equipment. Soon, his consciousness was uploaded into the virtual world, and the connection on Shirayuki's side was also cut off.
Sitting in the office, Darley narrowed her eyes, as if she had sensed something. She let out a quiet sigh of interest.
"Oh? This thing is rather interesting."
"I placed twelve AI uma musume inside. Go race them, Guinea Pig-kun."
"Hah? You want me to race twelve uma musume?"
Fujiwara Chiya's voice came through the speaker.
"Don't worry, Guinea Pig-kun. With your current strength, you shouldn't lose too badly. And the more intense the race, the easier it is to enter the Domain. Go and defeat uma musume with a human body. I'll teleport you into the gate. No need to thank me."
"What!?"
On the computer screen, with a flash of white light, Fujiwara Chiya appeared inside the starting gate.
He stomped his foot and angrily took a starting stance.
Agnes Tachyon watched him silently.
What she had said earlier had not all been teasing.
At the very least, the part about being able to accept him was true.