It's hard not to admit that Dr. Sugar Lights' research and technical prowess is genuinely reliable.
Although she hadn't yet experienced just how formidable those mechanical Uma Musume could be, Dream Weaver had already given her seal of approval based solely on two stints behind the wheel of that wheelchair.
"But normally, doesn't someone else push the wheelchair for you?"
"Why am I, the one sitting in the chair, the one acting as the driver…?"
Sugar Lights steered her wheelchair—loaded with who knows how many mysterious, high-tech gadgets—carrying the three of them back to the clubroom.
Upon seeing their destination, Dream Weaver hopped off the chair with a light thump, practically lugging Hishi Miracle along with her.
"With great power comes great responsibility, after all."
"Professor Lights, have you considered adding an acceleration booster to the ST-2? It'd be even better if it could fly!"
Dream Weaver set Hishi Miracle aside and began running her hands over Sugar Lights' wheelchair with sparkling eyes.
Meanwhile, Agnes Tachyon used her oversized lab coat sleeve to poke at the still-dazed Hishi Miracle, a dangerous smile inadvertently spreading across her face.
"If she's in this state…"
"It might just be worth a shot."
From out of nowhere, she produced a vial of some concoction and made a move as if to shove it right into Hishi Miracle's mouth.
Perhaps sensing a mortal threat, Hishi Miracle—whose eyes had been spinning like dizzy swirls just a second ago—instinctively pulled her neck back.
Catching sight of Agnes Tachyon's terrifying grin, she shivered and bolted, ducking right behind Dream Weaver.
Sensing movement behind her while she was still inspecting the wheelchair, Dream Weaver looked back.
She found Hishi Miracle crouching there, seemingly hiding from something.
Looking down, the girl's hair looked like a big, fluffy white marshmallow, and Dream Weaver couldn't resist reaching out to give it a good rub.
She arched an eyebrow and spoke to the culprit, Agnes Tachyon.
"Seems you've got quite the reputation at school. The moment she saw who you were, she scrambled."
"I can only say that everyone at Tracen lacks the idealism required to sacrifice oneself for science," Agnes Tachyon replied, waving her sleeves with a sigh of resignation.
Unlike Sugar Lights, who could tinker with machines in solitude, her potions required subjects. Even if she experimented on herself, she would always run into the dilemma of a small sample size.
"But fortunately—"
"I have my dear Guinea Pig now. I expect our research progress to skyrocket from here on out."
As she spoke, she hurried over to Dream Weaver's side, crouching down just like Hishi Miracle had, and poked at Dream Weaver's thigh with an investigative gaze.
"What sturdy legs. To think they support such staggering technique."
Dream Weaver looked down at her own legs. They were as fair and smooth as jade, showing no outward signs of being "sturdy."
Perhaps it was just the nature of being an Uma Musume; no matter how high her stats climbed, she never developed those exaggerated, bulging muscles.
She reached out to push the curious Agnes Tachyon away and said somewhat helplessly, "I promised to help with your experiments and I'll keep my word. But before that, we have something much more important to handle."
That said, she pulled up a visibly flattered Hishi Miracle and looked her straight in the eye, her expression serious.
"Hishi Miracle-san."
"H-here!"
Probably guessing what Dream Weaver was about to say, Hishi Miracle shouted her response nervously. But after speaking, her lack of confidence flared up again, and she reminded her cautiously:
"Dream Weaver-senpai, is the Uma Musume you're looking for really me? Are you sure you didn't mix me up with Hishi Amazon or Hishi Akebono?"
"I'm just the plain, ordinary Hishi Miracle, you know. I might not even be able to win my debut race. Do you really want to sign someone like me?"
Faced with the insecure Hishi Miracle, Dream Weaver didn't say much. Instead, she simply patted the girl on the shoulder.
"Don't call me senpai anymore."
"Eh? But if I don't call you senpai…"
"Just call me Trainer!"
Looking at Hishi Miracle, whose eyes had turned back into dizzy swirls, Dream Weaver spoke with absolute conviction.
"Even though this is my first time being a Trainer, I've picked up quite a bit of theoretical knowledge. Combining that with my experience on the turf and the help of these two top-tier geniuses—"
"I will definitely mold you into a G1-class Uma Musume!"
Hearing that, Hishi Miracle snapped out of her daze. The term "G1-class" was simply too shocking; she had never in her life imagined her name being linked to such a phrase.
She swallowed hard, her heart a mix of longing for the future and sheer trepidation. She nodded gently.
"I understand, Dream Weaver… no, Trainer Dream Weaver!"
Seeing that she had finally recruited her contracted Uma Musume, a relaxed smile broke across Dream Weaver's face. She gave a grand wave of her hand toward Agnes Tachyon and Sugar Lights.
"Great! Then without further ado, let's get started!"
"Started… with what?" Hishi Miracle asked, confused.
Before she could wrap her head around it, Agnes Tachyon and Sugar Lights dragged out a pile of equipment designed to test an Uma Musume's physical capabilities.
"First, we'll test your latent physical stats here in the clubroom. We'll move to the training ground for the rest of the projects later."
Dream Weaver laid out a rough plan, referencing the procedures Chizuru Haibara had used on her, combined with her own experience and the proposals provided by the two scientists.
Since this was a proper scientist's clubroom, there was no shortage of pens and paper for recording data.
Dream Weaver grabbed a sheet and began scribbling away. By the time Sugar Lights and Agnes Tachyon had roughly calibrated the machines, her plan was mostly finished.
"This will be the schedule for today. Miracle, take a look and see if anything needs adjusting. I'll modify it on the spot based on your feedback."
Following the principle that one knows their own body best, Dream Weaver handed the written plan to Hishi Miracle.
Honestly, Hishi Miracle felt that since she had only just become a contracted trainee today, there was no need to rush. They could have gone to the cafeteria for a celebratory meal and left the rest for tomorrow.
But seeing how hard the three of them were working, Hishi Miracle couldn't bring herself to say no. She reached out and took the paper.
The contents on the front didn't seem too taxing—mostly height, weight, lung capacity, and at most, a bit of blood for Agnes Tachyon to analyze.
"Oh, I thought it was going to be exhausting! If it's just this for the first day, even I can handle it!"
Just as Hishi Miracle was about to nod confidently in agreement, Dream Weaver suddenly offered a reminder.
"Oh, there's more on the back page."
Hishi Miracle obediently flipped the paper over. The very first item she saw made her face pale instantly.
Written there in bold letters was: Extreme Endurance Test. As for the method, it was simple enough: just keep running until you can't.
She tried to comfort herself, thinking this was probably the hardest part, but as she looked further down with a trembling heart, she realized every single item that followed was a "heavyweight" challenge.
If she actually finished all of this today, she feared she might have to say goodbye to Tracen Academy then and there.
"Miracle, do you think there are any other tests we missed?"
Dream Weaver, the master of "demon-style" training, was completely oblivious to Hishi Miracle's internal breakdown as she asked for her opinion with genuine sincerity.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.