"Yuki-chan."
After class that day, Grass Wonder cut Shirayuki off before she could make her usual escape. She planted one hand against the wall beside her, trapping her in place with a perfect kabedon.
"Wh-what's wrong, Grass?" Shirayuki's heart screamed, Oh no. Outwardly, she forced on a smile.
"A few days ago, I was taking a walk in the little park and accidentally saw you with Trainer," Grass Wonder said. "I wanted to ask… what exactly were the two of you doing?"
For the past few days, Grass Wonder had been tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep. That question had been burning a hole through her chest.
And today, she had finally found her chance.
"Me and Chiya?" Shirayuki's eyes slid awkwardly to the side. "We were just chatting. Talking, that's all. You know, Chiya is… someone very important to me, so sometimes I keep him company like that."
"Really? You were only keeping him company?"
"Of course."
At least, that was true for that day.
"I've got to go, Grass. There's still something I need to do for training. I'll talk to you later."
With that, Shirayuki bolted like smoke in the wind.
Grass Wonder stood there, staring blankly after her.
She had thought that after being intimate with Yuki-chan, her position was already rock-solid.
Apparently, not even close.
The worry she had only just managed to set down came swinging right back up again.
Meanwhile, Shirayuki arrived at Agnes Tachyon's lab. Fujiwara Chiya was sitting on the sofa.
"I'll gradually increase the ambient noise," Agnes Tachyon said, "and have you two get used to noisy environments while maintaining your state."
"Got it."
"Then let's begin."
Agnes Tachyon placed headphones over both of their ears.
On the racecourse, the two of them would be separated, so the sounds reaching them would be different as well. Tachyon intended to simulate that with two separate sets of audio.
Before long, Fujiwara Chiya frowned and opened his eyes.
Agnes Tachyon jotted down the time and decibel level.
"Next, the second set."
After three continuous rounds of testing, Agnes Tachyon said, "It appears the difficulty was too high right from the start. In that case, let's switch to external playback first."
"Sure…"
Fujiwara Chiya rubbed his ears. Trying to remain calm inside two separate audio channels was not easy.
During the test, the curtain in the middle of the room was lifted.
A black figure walked in.
Long black hair spilled down to her waist. Her golden eyes swept over the people on the sofa.
"Cafe, why are you here?"
"I was reading next door…" Manhattan Cafe's ears drooped. "Then I heard a roaring crowd from this side."
For a moment, she had thought Agnes Tachyon was hosting an actual race in her lab. The noise had made her head buzz.
"Ah, my apologies," Agnes Tachyon said, not sounding sorry in the slightest.
"What are you doing?"
"As you can see, I'm training my guinea pig-kun's Zone."
"Zone?"
"You haven't seen it before, have you?"
"No…" Manhattan Cafe paused. "Wait. Does that mean Trainer Chiya already knows?"
"Hah?"
"About the other half of the Zone." Manhattan Cafe looked at the two sitting on the sofa with their eyes closed. "'Friend' told me before. No matter how much Shirayuki trains her Zone, it will remain incomplete. Unless another person enters the same state, she will always be affected by her body."
"Why have I never heard you mention this?"
Agnes Tachyon was still in the middle of researching it, yet Manhattan Cafe apparently already had the answer.
If that was the case, why had she kept quiet?
Tachyon and Cafe might not exactly have shared happiness together, but they had at least suffered together. Their bond was already sturdy enough, yet Cafe had still hidden something from her.
"Because Trainer had to discover it himself," Manhattan Cafe said. "If he didn't discover it on his own, he wouldn't be able to understand it."
She walked over to Shirayuki's side, her golden eyes softening as she looked at her.
"Is there anything else you haven't told me?" Tachyon asked.
"No. Once Trainer understands all this, he will become a very powerful uma musume."
"Is that so? Then there's nothing left for you to do here. Go on, Cafe. Don't disturb us."
Agnes Tachyon waved her hand, shooing her away like an annoying fly.
Manhattan Cafe's expression turned displeased.
She was the one whose room had been filled with a ridiculous racket, and she had not even lost her temper yet.
She glanced at the two people sitting on the sofa, already sunk into a meditative state, then sighed.
Fine.
She would leave.
Even though she rarely spoke with Trainer Chiya, Manhattan Cafe rather liked the strange sensation of his soul being both severed and closely connected at the same time. Recently, the two souls had become completely entangled, inseparable, yet still retaining their own distinct features.
It was beautiful.
Manhattan Cafe had never seen a soul like that before.
"Oh, right, Cafe," Agnes Tachyon added. "For the next while, guinea pig-kun will be training here, so you should go somewhere else."
"…Huh?"
"What's wrong? Are you saying you can't make even a small sacrifice for our Empress's victory?"
"No, but where am I supposed to go?"
"Let me think. The hallway. The bathroom. The rooftop. Or the training grounds."
"None of those places are especially suitable for reading…"
"You can also stuff in some earplugs and read in the room."
"…"
After hesitating for a long while, Manhattan Cafe reluctantly nodded.
Fine.
Earplugs it was.
Compared to outside, she still preferred her own cozy little room. That faint chill inside was wonderfully comfortable.
After sending Cafe away, Agnes Tachyon continued the experiment. They went through more than ten rounds, and Fujiwara Chiya gradually became able to enter a meditative state even in a slightly noisy environment.
"Guinea pig-kun, how long until you leave for Kansai?"
"One week."
Fujiwara Chiya dug a finger at his ear, where the static was still echoing.
"One week…" Agnes Tachyon murmured. "At this pace, you won't make it in time. Once you're over there, don't forget to keep practicing."
"You're not coming with me?"
"Me?" Agnes Tachyon shook her head. "This is your race, guinea pig-kun. Whether it's the Osaka Hai or the final Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, there's nothing more I can really help you with. If I went, I'd only get in your way."
"You wouldn't."
"Didn't you ultimately choose Shirayuki precisely because you're always unconsciously taking care of everyone else's feelings?" Agnes Tachyon said. "Only she can make you truly let your guard down. If I went with you, your attention would shift to me. And if I disrupted your plan because of that and caused you to lose the race, well, that would be quite the sin."
"It's definitely not that serious."
"Guinea pig-kun, I know you far too well."
Agnes Tachyon reached out and touched Fujiwara Chiya's cheek.
"Instead of thinking about me leaving, why not focus on the present?" she said. "At least, I'm still here right now."
Agnes Tachyon sat beside Fujiwara Chiya. On that pale, almost frightening face of hers, a curve appeared that he could not quite understand.
"Speaking of which, I was the first person to discover guinea pig-kun's secret, wasn't I?"
"…Yeah. Back then, you had me completely dancing in the palm of your hand."
"Haha."
Agnes Tachyon laughed softly.
Then she turned her head and faced Chiya directly.
"In that case, guinea pig-kun, how about indulging one selfish little request from your very first collaborator?"
"What request?"
"For these last few days, you, me, and Shirayuki will stay in this lab. We'll train your ability, chat, and pass the time together, right up until you leave for Kansai, and then for Europe."
Fujiwara Chiya looked at the faint glimmer in Agnes Tachyon's eyes.
Then he nodded.
"Okay."