The sight of those two locked in an embrace hit Grass Wonder like a bolt from the blue. Her mouth, which had just opened, snapped shut again. Before either of them could notice her, she slipped into the shrubbery beside her and hid.
What was going on?
Lately, Shirayuki had been acting as if she had something extremely important to do. The moment class ended, she vanished without a trace. Grass Wonder couldn't find her no matter where she looked, and she had been wondering where Shirayuki kept sneaking off to.
Then, after a few twists and turns, she found her.
In Trainer Chiya's arms.
What were they doing?
Grass Wonder remembered that Shirayuki and Chiya were relatives. If the two of them spent time alone together, that was perfectly reasonable.
So even hugging a little should be fine… right?
Her fingers dug into the tree trunk.
Grass Wonder stared at them. The two of them weren't doing anything in particular. They were simply sitting quietly on a bench.
Everything looked normal.
Except for the blissful expression on Shirayuki's face, like she was about to melt into a puddle of happiness.
Was that reasonable?
She had never looked that happy in a girl's arms.
Grass Wonder waited for a while, but nothing else happened. In the end, with a complicated look on her face, she quietly crept away.
She felt that there was something strange between Shirayuki and the trainer, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what. Considering they were relatives, it would be awkward to suddenly barge in and interrupt them.
So Grass Wonder decided to hold back for now.
She would find a chance to ask about it later.
On the bench, Shirayuki and Chiya sat there in a daze for a long time. Then they slowly opened their eyes. After letting out a deep breath, Fujiwara Chiya felt his whole body clear up.
As expected, that feeling of being so closely connected really did relax the mind.
It let him sink completely into a state of selflessness.
Just now, Chiya had felt as if his body had vanished. The thing sitting on the bench was no longer him, but a shapeless, formless mass of air, capable of sensing everything around him.
Including Grass Wonder.
"..."
Grass Wonder?
Once his ability to think returned, Fujiwara Chiya finally recalled that Grass Wonder had been nearby earlier. She had been crouching in the shrubs, staring at them without blinking, then got up and left after a while.
Her movements, her expression, her demeanor, every single action had been within Fujiwara Chiya's perception.
At last, Chiya understood why Happy Meek could judge the landing point of a ball so precisely, and why Shirayuki could tell who had arrived even when her back was turned.
The so-called Slow Zone was this powerful perception.
Fujiwara Chiya had seen the light.
He needed to get used to this sensation, then bring it onto the racetrack.
The two of them stretched.
Speaking of which, what should they do about Grass Wonder? She seemed to have misunderstood…
No.
She had not misunderstood.
She had just happened to catch them.
Still, this time, she and Chiya had not done anything strange. If Grass Wonder saw them, then so be it. For once, Shirayuki had a clean conscience. A straight shadow feared no crooked light.
But, yes, doing this outside was a little too bold.
What if Shirayuki lost control and got too absorbed in it? What if she and Chiya ended up lying in the grass, melting into each other, only to be discovered by someone?
That would be a disaster.
After considering all the trouble that could cause, Shirayuki decided they needed to find somewhere quiet.
The office was no good. People came and went.
The rear garden was no good either. Some uma musume went there to look at the rapeseed flowers.
The park was also risky, since someone like Grass Wonder could suddenly come wandering by at any moment.
After counting through the options, there seemed to be only one place left.
Agnes Tachyon's laboratory.
Fujiwara Chiya suddenly remembered what Agnes Tachyon had told him before.
"You'll have a use for it eventually."
He hadn't expected her words to come true so quickly.
That girl…
Just how far ahead could she see?
The longer Fujiwara Chiya spent with Agnes Tachyon, the higher her value rose in his mind. Those dark-red eyes of hers seemed to see straight through everything.
Fujiwara Chiya suspected that Agnes Tachyon's eccentric, half-mad personality might be precisely because she knew everything, understood everything, and knew the consequences of it all. That was why she could act without fear.
Maybe she had even predicted that he would come looking for her.
And just as Fujiwara Chiya expected, when he told Agnes Tachyon that he wanted to use the lab as a training ground for the Slow Zone from now on, Agnes Tachyon's lips curved into a smile.
"The sofa is yours. I've already cleaned it up."
Agnes Tachyon pointed toward the freshly replaced sofa cover, then to the spacious tea table beside it. It was wide enough for one person to lie down on.
As for the troublesome experimental drugs, Agnes Tachyon had cleared most of them away. Since Shirayuki had deleted her experimental data, she had been forced to terminate several experiments that were already halfway complete.
Agnes Tachyon had cried for several minutes over that.
"Tachyon, did you know I was coming?" Fujiwara Chiya asked.
"Mm. I knew."
Agnes Tachyon admitted it without the slightest hesitation.
"You were absolutely going to come here, guinea pig-kun. To you, this room is the last paradise untouched by the outside world. Here, you don't need to worry about being disturbed by outsiders."
How ironic.
A room that no one used to want to enter had become the only place where Fujiwara Chiya could relax.
From loathing her, to understanding her, to revering her now, Fujiwara Chiya's feelings toward Agnes Tachyon had continued to change.
"Everyone really doesn't know the real Tachyon…"
Thinking about how there were still people who feared Agnes Tachyon, Fujiwara Chiya couldn't help feeling a little emotional. As long as someone spent enough time with Tachyon, they would understand where her charm lay.
Her vast knowledge.
Her relentless nature.
Those things had made Agnes Tachyon one of the few people Fujiwara Chiya trusted the most.
"Not understanding is the natural state of things. Being wary of strangers is a biological instinct."
Agnes Tachyon placed the black tea on the table.
"How long do you think we've known each other, guinea pig-kun?"
"Hmm…"
"Two years," Agnes Tachyon answered for him.
"Six days is enough for someone to leave an impression on another person. Thirty days can change a person's entire life. And two years is long enough for someone to be reborn."
Agnes Tachyon sat down beside Fujiwara Chiya.
"That is exactly what happened to you, guinea pig-kun. In your eyes, I stopped being the Agnes Tachyon you first met a long time ago."
Fujiwara Chiya smiled and took a sip of black tea.
"Mm… does this taste better than before?"
"No. You've simply gotten used to it."
Agnes Tachyon crossed her legs and answered softly.
After a cup of black tea, the two of them began discussing business.
"So, have you already figured out the Slow Zone? That was fast, guinea pig-kun. I thought you might not understand it before going to Europe."
"It went all right. Happy Meek was the one who taught me the method."
"Oh? That little white horse…"
A long time ago, Agnes Tachyon had thought about tricking Happy Meek into becoming an experiment subject. But every single time, Happy Meek somehow saw through her lies with terrifying precision. Because of that, Agnes Tachyon had always been interested in her, yet could never find an opportunity.
Who could have imagined that an unknown little white horse would be so incredible?
She had even surpassed Agnes Tachyon's understanding for a time.
One day, Tachyon would catch her.
"So, what you need now is to get used to it, correct?"
"Exactly. That's why I want to borrow the lab."
"Using the word 'borrow' is incorrect."
Agnes Tachyon's dark-red eyes gazed at him faintly.
"From the moment you became my guinea pig-kun, this became our room."
A strange feeling welled up inside Fujiwara Chiya's chest. He coughed a few times.
"I see. Then should I call it… coming home?"
"Heh."
Agnes Tachyon only smiled, saying nothing.