In the research room, Agnes Tachyon had just been slapped in the face with a stack of deciphered dialogue by Air Shakur. Picking up the fallen papers from the floor, she scanned the translated text, a keenly interested smile spreading across her face.
"Well, well, I never thought you had such a helpful side to you, Shakur-kun. You've really worked hard. Though, of course, it would've been even better if you'd been a bit gentler with your delivery."
Teasing as she spoke, Tachyon paid no mind to the other's sour attitude, her mind swiftly organizing the information contained in the text.
"Cut the crap, Agnes Tachyon. You knew all of this, didn't you? Both the online intel that's completely different from what you told me, and the task of making me decipher it—it was all your doing!"
Air Shakur, furious at having been used, snapped at Tachyon.
"Hahaha~ Shakur-kun, I haven't done anything at all. From start to finish, I've been as quiet as a child, just sitting here peacefully in the research room."
"Could it be that my simply sitting here has upset you? If so, maybe the problem isn't with me."
"Fine. I'm taking these things back."
"Wait! Ahem, even if this matter has nothing to do with me, could I not be at least one percent at fault? No—actually, I am at fault. I'm truly sorry, Shakur-kun. I've reflected deeply on it. Please let me finish reading these."
Watching Tachyon's face change expressions almost instantly, Air Shakur clicked her tongue in annoyance, pulling over a nearby chair and sitting down.
After all, her reason for coming here was to hear Tachyon's thoughts.
Someone who'd been studying Uma Musume history and physiology as long as she had would surely know whether the dialogue was genuine or not.
"Would you like some black tea, Shakur-kun? I've recently gotten my hands on some high-quality leaves." Tachyon asked, as if to ensure Air Shakur would wait patiently beside her.
"No need. Just hurry up and read… I still have to head back soon."
"Got it, got it. Next time, do me a favor and write a bit larger—it's easy to misread when it's all cramped together."
"You're so annoying!"
Finally having read through the entire dialogue line by line, Tachyon habitually rested her chin on her hand, a thoughtful expression settling on her face.
Time ticked by. Just as Air Shakur was about to lose patience from waiting, Tachyon finally spoke.
"You know, the physical structure of an Uma Musume is no different from that of a human. Whether it's their bones or their muscles, everything conforms to human anatomy."
The only distinctions, if any, would be the ears and tail.
But it was precisely because of these two features that an Uma Musume's physical capabilities could surpass an ordinary person's by three to five times.
Exceptional Uma Musume even reached levels seven or eight times beyond the norm. To regular humans, they were untouchable superhumans—heights an ordinary person could never reach, no matter how much they trained.
This led to one question.
Why was the physical prowess of Uma Musume so vastly superior to that of ordinary people?
According to biological logic, organisms with similar structures shouldn't exhibit such huge disparities in physical ability. Yet humans and Uma Musume completely overturned this theory.
And even now, research into Uma Musume had yet to yield any groundbreaking progress. Humanity remained troubled by this very question.
Illogical, unscientific—almost as if they were creations of the gods, transcending human understanding and perception of living beings.
The reason Agnes Tachyon was so deeply fascinated by Uma Musume was precisely because within them lay something unknown, something beyond ordinary comprehension. And the unknown filled her with intense curiosity.
A drive to explore that far exceeded the norm led her resolutely into the ranks of researchers—analyzing the running of Uma Musume, measuring their physical data, striving to uncover hidden elements in their biology that medicine had yet to verify, all to unravel the secret of why Uma Musume could run so astonishingly fast.
That was why Tachyon had come to this academy composed of Uma Musume—this institution where all competitors raced to determine the fastest among them.
To solve this mystery that no one, from ancient times to the present, had ever been able to crack.
"Of course I know that," Air Shakur scratched her head. "But what does that have to do with our topic?"
"Shakur-kun, it seems your observational skills still need work," Tachyon shook her head.
The connection was immense.
"It says here that every Uma Musume inherits the bloodline of the Three Goddesses, and that running is the method to awaken this lineage. Doesn't that offer a completely new line of thinking?"
Her dim, dark red eyes—seemingly capable of drawing in everything around them—fixed on Air Shakur.
Intimidated by Tachyon's presence, Air Shakur fell silent, quietly listening as she continued.
"We've all fallen into a misconception. We believe the reason Uma Musume can run so fast lies in some specific physical structure that differs from humans—perhaps the way their bones connect, or an unusual arrangement of muscles. But whichever it is, it's always tied to structure."
This was also because the ears and tails of Uma Musume left such a distinct impression, instinctively leading people to search for obvious physical differences.
"But in reality, the source of an Uma Musume's power might not be any of these."
Tachyon waved the deciphered papers in her hand.
"Blood—that might be what makes them different."
"Are you joking with me? Uma Musume blood has been studied long ago. It's the same as an ordinary human's."
"It's not the same, Shakur-kun," Tachyon interjected suddenly. "Think carefully. How did those people conduct their research?"
"Hah? They just… researched it, that's all." Air Shakur wasn't specialized in the field of biology, so her knowledge in this area fell considerably short of Tachyon's.
"That's one way to put it, and not entirely wrong—standard research procedure." Tachyon nodded.
"Extracting blood from the body, placing it in instruments, waiting for analysis results, comparing them with normal humans, drawing conclusions. Yes, it's a perfectly standard experimental process."
"What's wrong with that?"
"It's precisely the first step that's problematic." Tachyon looked down at the records.
In every research process, an essential step was extracting the blood from the body!
"This is just my hypothesis, but perhaps the difference between Uma Musume and normal humans lies in their blood—that it exerts a special effect while still inside the body!"
It's possible the original Uma Musume were pure-blooded descendants of the Three Goddesses. Over time, through survival and reproduction, this bloodline grew increasingly diluted.
But even so, their blood remained unique.
Hearing this, Air Shakur felt as if her mind had just exploded.
Indeed, as Tachyon said, modern medical research on Uma Musume blood was conducted entirely outside the body. In fact, it was impossible to study the blood while it was still inside. All theoretical foundations relied on external cultivation and instrument analysis.
If what Tachyon suggested was true—that an Uma Musume's abilities stemmed from their blood within the body—it would be an earth-shattering discovery for the entire Uma Musume world.
"Marvelous, Shakur-kun, absolutely marvelous! It seems my efforts weren't in vain. Luring you into solving this problem was the best decision I ever made."
Clutching her stomach, Tachyon let out a genuinely pleased laugh.
"So now you admit it… Well, whatever."
Not having the heart to ruin Tachyon's rare good mood, Air Shakur rubbed her head, deciding to let the matter drop.
Just as Tachyon began gathering all the mentioned information together, there was a sudden slide—the door was pulled open, and Manhattan Cafe walked in, her face etched with conflict.
"Hey, Cafe, you're back early. Weren't you at the student council?"
"Agnes Tachyon…" Hesitating, Manhattan Cafe approached her.
As much as she didn't want to do this, she had no other choice left.
"Could you… help me stop Gold Ship?"
--+--
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.