"Agnes Tachyon—"
Platinum stood in the bathroom, her teeth gritted.
Who would've thought that first thing in the morning, she'd be whipped and tormented by Agnes Tachyon... Had she somehow traveled back to primitive society?
Not only was she woken up by that blaring suona, but she also had her mouth forced open and was fed all kinds of medicines, then chased around by Tachyon riding a bicycle.
No joke, it was obvious—she had become Tachyon's new lab rat.
And now, Agnes Tachyon was telling anyone who'd listen that she was Platinum's personal pharmacist... Platinum suspected that by noon, even Symboli Rudolf would hear about it.
By then... the entire school would know that Agnes Tachyon had acquired a new little guinea pig!
Platinum braced one hand against the bathroom wall, the other covering her face, her complexion pale. She could already imagine the agony that awaited her.
Just one morning, and Tachyon had already put her through hell... If this became her daily routine, Platinum felt she might as well jump off a building.
She pictured it now—Agnes Tachyon jabbing her with all sorts of needles every day, making her run marathons around Tracen Academy while carrying a giant tire, with Tachyon perched on that very tire, shouting through a megaphone at her...
The mere thought of such a bleak future made Platinum tremble all over.
No. This future—I refuse to accept it!
"I must break free from this future—"
"What future?" A soft footstep sounded behind Platinum.
The voice was languid, slightly low. Just hearing it, Platinum could picture the owner—someone with a terrible temper, an unpredictable personality, a sadistic streak when pushing others, and those scarlet eyes.
"Nothing." Platinum's ears drooped instantly, and she pursed her lips behind her back.
Better not to fight a losing battle. Tell people what they want to hear, and ghosts what they want to hear.
But soon, Platinum's ears perked up again, and her tail stood straight.
"What are you doing in here? Get out!"
"You need a shower, but I don't?" The owner of the voice stepped right up beside Platinum. It was Agnes Tachyon.
As everyone knew, Platinum, for reasons she couldn't quite explain, was deeply opposed to bathing with others.
Normally, she'd sneak out of school to wash up, or just wipe herself down with a hot towel. After all this time, not a single member of Team Spica had ever seen Platinum bare it all.
But today, she had no choice—it was her first morning training session, and under Tachyon's supervision, she'd sweated more than usual. Going to class all sticky was pushing past her limits.
So today, Platinum had no choice but to use Spica's bathroom.
Even then, she'd tried to make excuses and schedule around everyone else, waiting until they were all getting ready for class before sneaking into the empty bathroom.
Who would've thought that even with all that caution, she'd still been ambushed by Agnes Tachyon!
"Then couldn't you wait until I'm done?"
"There wouldn't be enough time. I may seem idle, but I still have to attend class, you know."
"What do you even need class for?"
"Gotta maintain attendance, don't I?"
With that, Platinum heard the faint patter of a shower starting beside her.
"Why aren't you opening your eyes? Shy?" Then, Tachyon's teasing voice reached her.
"..."
Platinum didn't reply. This time, Tachyon had hit the mark. For some reason, she felt inexplicably guilty.
Would it work to just make a run for it now?... No, she hadn't even rinsed off the soap yet...
With two hands, if she covered the top, she couldn't cover the bottom, and vice versa.
In the end, Platinum just slapped both hands over her eyes.
Fine, she'd cover neither! Just the eyes—out of sight, out of mind!
"Heh... You know, looking closely, you're actually kinda cute... If only you were more obedient." Tachyon's voice murmured by her ear.
Then, at the same time, a cold hand rested on Platinum's shoulder. She jolted, leaping back a full step.
"Really? That's how you're gonna play it, you pervert?"
I knew there was something off about Agnes Tachyon—her preferences are clearly questionable. Couldn't even keep the beast inside her restrained?
Platinum instantly felt another layer of gloom settle over her future.
For a long while, no sound came from the bathroom. Just as Platinum thought Tachyon might have quietly left, she heard a soft sigh.
"Sorry."
"If you're really sorry, then stop sneaking into my room later—"
"No, no, I'm not apologizing for that." Agnes Tachyon shrugged. "Tomorrow continues as usual."
"You jerk!" Platinum was furious.
"What I'm apologizing for is... last night, I took those pills you gave me to Tokyo University for analysis."
"The results weren't ideal. I ran IR spectroscopy and XRD on the tablets, but the chromatograms came out very... oh, right, you wouldn't understand."
Tachyon shook her head. "Anyway, identifying the components is trickier than I thought. Figuring out the exact composition of those suppressants you're taking might be a longer process than I anticipated."
But that wasn't what Platinum focused on.
"You said... you went to Tokyo University last night?"
If she remembered correctly, when she'd slipped out of Tachyon's lab, the night was already deep.
After that, not only had Tachyon not rested, but she'd rushed out again without stopping?
And then, this morning, she'd prepared all those... nutritional meals and supplements for her? Though Platinum wished she hadn't.
"Ah, don't worry about it." Tachyon pushed her bangs aside under the shower stream.
"And don't be touched. It's just that when I see a drug I've never encountered before, I can't contain my excitement, heh..."
"The facilities here at Tracen are too basic, so I had no choice but to ask a favor from the professor next door. Their lab was already closed, so I had to go get the key in person... Should've registered my fingerprint last time."
"By the time the excitement wore off, I realized there was no point sleeping anymore."
"Long story short, you'll need to give me more of your suppressants. And the timeline for preliminary results might be longer than you expected... mentally prepare yourself."
Even though Tachyon said that, Platinum felt a slight stir in her heart.
She wasn't an ungrateful jerk. Agnes Tachyon might be scary, but after this... she felt a little touched.
"Tachyon, you..."
"Also, your form this morning was utterly terrible. You didn't learn a thing I taught you. If this continues, I'll have no choice but to extend your training hours."
"Tachyon, you jerk!"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 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.