Half an hour later, Daiwa Scarlet sat in the steaming bath with both hands covering her face.
She had thought she understood Agnes Tachyon perfectly—thought she had that senpai's personality pinned down exactly.
Who would've guessed Tachyon could actually be serious?
No—wait.
Not serious.
Just spectacularly bad in a different way.
What kind of proper senpai used wording like that to trick her own kouhai?
Scarlet's face was red with embarrassment.
She had racked her brain so earnestly trying to figure out how to save a "misbehaving" Tachyon, only to find out that from the very beginning Tachyon had just been sitting back, waiting to watch her make a fool of herself.
But that was Scarlet misunderstanding Tachyon's intentions.
Tachyon had never meant to mock her or laugh at her. She had only wanted to give Scarlet a push—help her cross the boundary called admiration and properly step onto the battlefield.
After all, admiration was the emotion furthest removed from understanding.
If Scarlet kept going on and on about how amazing Seiun Ryoka was, then when was she ever supposed to step into the realm of love?
That was why Agnes Tachyon had played a little trick on her. What she had really wanted to say was:
Just kiss her already. She won't be able to handle it.
Unfortunately, Scarlet was far too shy where these matters were concerned, so Tachyon had ended up having to take the field personally and demonstrate it herself.
And then she got "arrested."
Soaking in the hot water, Agnes Tachyon let out a long sigh.
At first she had deliberately sat some distance away, wanting to leave Scarlet room to calm down and think things through. But after watching Scarlet stew in misery for a while, she quietly shifted over to sit beside her.
Tachyon lightly poked Scarlet's arm with a finger.
"Daiwa, you were praised. Ryoka acknowledged you. That's something to be happy about."
Since Scarlet was her junior in the family line, Tachyon was being unusually patient with her.
If it had been Forest Bonfire or Fire Fastener instead… well, heh.
Even if it had been Manhattan Cafe, Agnes Tachyon would never have been this gentle. She would only have turned into a cryptic gremlin, prodding and needling them in infuriating ways to draw out their potential for the sake of pursuing the limits of racehorse girls.
Right now, only Daiwa Scarlet and Seiun Ryoka received treatment like this from her.
When Scarlet still didn't respond, Tachyon stretched lazily and said on purpose,
"Or maybe… I should research that kind of drug after all?"
Truth be told, this wasn't the first time the thought had crossed Agnes Tachyon's mind.
Back in America, she had already considered it. But she had worried about being punished by Rudolf Symboli, worried that Scarlet would be dragged into it and looked at strangely too, and worried that Ryoka would keep her distance from then on.
So she had never done anything.
Later, after arriving in Britain and racing Ryoka again, she had stomped that thought flat and decided never to consider it again.
Even so, Tachyon would never have explained any of that—not briefly, not in detail—not even to Scarlet. This was one of her own little secrets, and no matter what, she had no intention of telling anyone.
So then why bring it up now? Wasn't that just playing with Scarlet's feelings again?
Actually, no.
It was precisely because the other person was Daiwa Scarlet that Agnes Tachyon could say something so outrageous with complete confidence—because she knew Scarlet would absolutely reject it.
And things unfolded exactly the way she had expected.
Even after being thoroughly toyed with by this whole topic—so badly that she almost felt it would've been better if Tachyon had simply gone through with the crazy plan—Scarlet still firmly rejected such a rotten method.
Once Tachyon saw that Scarlet was finally willing to speak again, she deliberately turned her face away as if to give her space.
In reality, though, she quietly pinched her own ankle and thought:
You really are an absurdly dangerous woman, Ryoka.
That said, she didn't exactly dislike it.
After all, she had always been a bit of a freak.
Back at Central, the other girls had all treated her that way too, keeping their distance from her.
Granted, that was largely her own fault, but…
If she was destined to leave the track halfway through, then there was no point in forming ties, was there?
To harbor expectations for the future on your own, to forge bonds on your own, and then to be crushed in the end by cold reality—
That kind of ending was the worst, wasn't it?
So Agnes Tachyon had decided to become a free racehorse girl, one who would never be bound by anyone or anything.
Aside from the occasional little headache caused by Daiwa Scarlet, hardly anyone else could stir her emotions.
Not even the so-called Emperor, Rudolf Symboli.
Until Seiun Ryoka appeared.
The first time she heard the name Seiun Ryoka had been completely by chance.
It was just another ordinary day—Agnes Tachyon, as usual, had deliberately set her outing schedule to avoid the other racehorse girls, only to run into Tokai Teio.
Well, "run into" was putting it a bit generously.
It was entirely one-sided. Tokai Teio, busy downing honey drinks and grumbling endlessly to herself, hadn't noticed Tachyon at all.
From Teio's muttering, Tachyon learned that some local-track racehorse girl had rejected Rudolf Symboli's olive branch—and had then brazenly gone on to announce plans for overseas campaigns.
Japan's racehorse girls couldn't even defend their home turf at the Japan Cup.
And now one of them was talking about racing abroad?
Tachyon just laughed it off and forgot about it.
Until the day the Hong Kong Gold Cup was held.
That was when the thought suddenly resurfaced:
Wasn't there some ridiculously arrogant local-track girl who really did go overseas?
That was Agnes Tachyon and Seiun Ryoka's first meeting.
One of them was on a television screen.
The other was holed up in her own cluttered little nest.
Ryoka's dazzling performance in the Hong Kong Gold Cup captivated Agnes Tachyon completely.
Tachyon felt, deep down, that this might be the strongest racehorse girl she had ever seen.
Even Rudolf Symboli was nowhere close.
Because no matter how many devices she used, no matter how much data she fed into a computer, she simply couldn't calculate Ryoka's true strength.
How had she taken those corners at such speed?
Why was she so confident, despite this being her first time on the international stage?
And what was with that absurd, unreasonable speed?
Was she even obeying the laws of physics?
Question after question filled Agnes Tachyon's mind until she nearly blacked out on the spot.
Only after a long while did she stagger to her feet, swaying, and breathe out a scorching sigh.
From that moment on, she had been consumed by interest in Seiun Ryoka.
She wanted to know the secret behind Ryoka's monstrous strength.
She wanted to know everything about this racehorse girl who seemed wrapped from head to toe in fog.
The mere thought of her existence was enough to excite Tachyon to the point she could barely contain herself.
If she could calculate the secret behind Seiun Ryoka…
Then maybe—just maybe—she would be able to find the possibility that could carry her own future forward.
Join here to read ahead.
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 180)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl 285
"Is this chat group even serious?" 150
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (This matter is completely finished.)
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 255
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 210
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 305
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer (This matter is completely finished.)
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 130
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 155
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 120
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 155
My Harem Is Indescribable 105
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 110
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 110
Still playing traditional Honk 96
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 95
What Should I Do After Switchi 51
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 105
Checking In in Demon Slayer 95
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 105
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 95
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel (This matter is completely finished.)
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 95
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 90
Why did they assign me to Uma 80
MYGO Beauties 75
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 80
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 100
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 120
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 65
The Uma Musume Who Became 70
I'm Definitely Not the King of 105
After Maxing Out Every Class 110
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 95
I, the Elden Sword Saint 60
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 60
No One Knows Pokémon Better 60
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 69
From Trilobites to Titans 57
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 75
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 86
An Anime Heroine Darkened 60
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 70
Honkai: The Fire Devil 70
Honkai Transformation Cards Volume2/30
Age of Heroes, I'm Just a Back 60
Uma Musume Has No Weird Fan Le 74
At age 8, she co-starred with 45
Honkai: Schicksal Media 53
An Extremist in a Slice-of-Lif 30
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