As a species born from humanity, the Uma Musume have remained an unsolvable mystery to this day.
Science has exerted every effort, yet it still cannot determine why, despite having bodies identical to humans, the physical capabilities of Uma Musume surpass humanity's by such a massive degree.
It defies convention, contradicts logic, and lacks reason.
It's simply absurd.
People began to see them as aliens.
However, the Uma Musume, through their actions, continually shattered the preconceived notions humans held of them.
From ignorance to fear, from anger to worship.
Until now, they have become synonymous with dreams and hope.
Uma Musume, a name symbolizing perseverance and effort.
This bizarre phenomenon deeply interested Agnes Tachyon, herself an Uma Musume, in her own race.
Having exhibited extraordinary intelligence from a young age, she threw herself wholeheartedly into the study of Uma Musume.
She dedicated herself to this cause, heedless of the cost.
Peak strength, unmatched speed, agile forms.
She wanted to know the true limits of this perfect physique.
To this end, Agnes Tachyon began consulting materials and reading historical texts. Finally, she came across the legend of the 'Three Goddesses'.
'Do you know the legend of the Three Goddesses?'
The first line began.
They were the world's first Uma Musume, like deities from a story, possessing the symbolic 'ears' and 'tails' of hope from the very moment of their birth.
They nurtured many descendants, passing their abilities down to the girls of future generations, continuously creating brilliant and dazzling miracles through them.
It's really... utterly fascinating.
Agnes Tachyon was thrilled.
History and reality, legend and truth, fused together through word-of-mouth. She read the various conjectures about the 'Three Goddesses' in the stories.
Legend says they birthed the entire world of Uma Musume.
Legend says they possessed the ability to communicate with souls from other realms.
Legend says they possessed speed like the wind, difficult for the naked eye to follow.
—So, do you believe in the legends of the 'Three Goddesses'?
Snapping back to reality, Agnes Tachyon found herself completely captivated. She yearned to learn the truth of the Three Goddesses, to reach the endpoint of that ultimate speed.
She began researching self-obliviously.
Through drugs, through machinery, through every possible means, she sought to enhance the Uma Musume body, to make them faster, faster!
She hoped her research could help the Uma Musume reach the limits of speed.
That is, the domain of the 'Three Goddesses'.
That's right, everyone is a test subject. You, me, everyone, all of us, prostrate on the ground, become the steps to construct that supreme Tower of Babel!
In the research lab, the long-exhausted Agnes Tachyon laughed with wild abandon.
"Are you alright?"
A voice pulled her back to reality.
Unnoticed even by Agnes, a black-haired girl had arrived beside her, asking with concern.
Agnes hadn't even realized she was drenched in sweat, gasping for air.
She was breathing heavily, nervously.
Cafe…
How strange.
Meeting the other girl's eyes, Agnes's consciousness wavered for a moment, as if two souls had touched. The sheer, mind-impacting shock made her heart tremble.
What in the world… was that?
Fragments of memories flickered intermittently in her mind, throwing her thoughts into chaos.
Shaking her head, she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, wiped the sweat from her brow, and glanced again at the black-haired girl before her.
It was gone…
That soul-stirring sensation had vanished.
In the golden eyes, there was only a faint trace of concern and puzzlement.
Her gaze held no answers for Agnes.
'Could it be a problem with my endocrine system, causing brief hallucinations? Prolonged intense work coupled with lack of rest could indeed lead to such phenomena.'
'It must be because I've been too tired lately…'
Agnes comforted herself.
But for a moment there, she had truly seen her own life experiences, from birth, flashing before her eyes like a panorama.
"No, I'm fine," she said, shaking her head. Her expression shifted between tension and confusion a few times before settling into her usual, confident smile. "But how rare for you to show concern for my well-being. Are you feeling sympathetic, perhaps ready to change your mind and obediently accept the experiments?"
"Experiments?"
"Exactly, my dear Cafe! This is my hard-earned masterpiece!"
As she spoke, she excitedly retrieved a bottle of glowing liquid from a counter filled with experimental potions. It was bubbling incessantly with a glug-glug-glug sound.
This very suspicious-looking item was presented right before [the girl].
"I've put tremendous effort into developing this potion, which allows luminescent material to permeate muscle tissue without causing any gastric reactions. Just one sip, and every muscle fiber of yours will glow with a unique radiance," she boasted.
"Well? Isn't this an invention greater than an X-ray machine? Sometimes you don't even need to tell them; just sneak it into their food to achieve the goal. It's a research result that a clunky machine could never accomplish."
She seemed immensely confident in her potion, which had the color of aqua regia.
As she offered it to Sunday Serenity, a slightly pungent, nose-stinging odor wafted from the bottle.
'This person called Agnes Tachyon… might be a rather dangerous individual?'
But just as she was excitedly explaining and moving the frightening potion closer to 'Cafe', she suddenly stopped.
"Hmm?"
Standing still, she rested a finger on her chin, narrowed her eyes, and made a puzzled sound.
"That's strange… today, you seem… a bit different from usual?" she asked.
"…What do you mean, different?"
Her heart immediately started leaping around. Sunday Serenity barely suppressed the impulse to slap her unconscious and tie her to a chair, asking in a low voice, "What kind of change?"
"Where is the difference…" Agnes muttered to herself, a flicker of conflict in her eyes. "It's like an indescribable 'aura', or something about the 'feeling'."
Simply put, the girl before her gave Agnes a constant signal that 'she isn't Manhattan Cafe'.
Judging purely by appearance, she was no different from before. But the conflict between her senses and her consciousness made Agnes doubt herself.
Just what was the problem?
She didn't understand.
Seeing that Agnes couldn't pinpoint anything concrete, Sunday Serenity finally relaxed.
Whether in demeanor or action, she had replicated the real Cafe one-to-one. If even that could be seen through, then it could only mean that Agnes Tachyon must have been spying on Cafe quite a bit in her spare time.
But just to be safe, she changed the subject.
"By the way, what did you skip class to come back for?"
"Skipping class… Ah, it's still class time. Good question."
She nodded. "For research, of course."
After the earlier shock, the previously drowsy Agnes was now more alert than if she'd drunk coffee.
She wanted to thoroughly study the races of Narita Brian, the Uma Musume who was the center of attention for the upcoming [Japanese Derby].
Reviewing the recordings repeatedly, Agnes discovered that Narita Brian possessed terrifying potential. If she could get her to drink the potion for research, she would undoubtedly obtain incredible data.
The prerequisite was how to get her to agree.
No, even without agreement, just getting her to drink it would be enough.
How exactly to do it was what Agnes had come back to ponder.
She hadn't made up her mind yet, because the Student Council's recent movements had been somewhat strange, and it was unclear what they were busy with.
And Narita Brian was also a member of the Student Council.
--+--
"Reports from the Discipline Committee: no abnormalities detected at the dormitories, school, training grounds, cafeteria, library, and other locations. No traces of unauthorized outsiders found."
In the Student Council room, a girl with pragmatic black mid-length hair and a cold gaze—an ice beauty whose very being seemed to push people away—spoke while holding a report.
"Mm, thank you for your hard work," replied Rudolf, who was sitting at the desk reviewing documents, with a nod.
However, after finishing her report, the other girl didn't immediately return to her post. Instead, uncharacteristically, she remained standing where she was.
Noticing the shadow in front of her hadn't moved, Rudolf looked up at the motionless girl and asked, puzzled, "What is it, Air Groove? Is there something missing from the report?"
"It's time you told me," a cool voice reached Rudolf's ears. "Why is the Student Council going to such great lengths to patrol the school, President Rudolf?"
--+--
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.