In the lab, Fujiwara Chiya was helping Agnes Tachyon sort through a pile of packages.
"Hm? Trainer Chiya, and Tachyon too… are you moving out?" Manhattan Cafe asked as she pushed the door open, staring at the parcels scattered all over the floor.
"No, we're just moving some of the equipment around."
"Guinea pig-kun said the house isn't suited for experiments with strong odors," Tachyon explained, "so we're moving the mechanical equipment to the room, and the chemical-related items over here."
"…So this place is suited for strong-smelling experiments?"
Cafe's ears drooped.
She and Tachyon shared a room, after all. Once, Tachyon had accidentally set the curtain between their sides on fire during an experiment. Cafe had thought the other side of the room was going up in flames, grabbed a fire extinguisher, and sprayed like her life depended on it.
Later, buried in a mountain of white foam, they found Agnes Tachyon sitting there in stunned silence.
It wasn't the first time something like that had happened, either.
But now that Tachyon was living with Trainer Chiya, and the two of them were more or less husband and wife, Cafe had thought Tachyon would finally graduate from mad-scientist mode and develop at least a little maternal instinct.
The result?
When Cafe chatted with her, Tachyon said she wanted to use their future children as experimental subjects.
Cafe had nearly died from sheer anger.
In her opinion, Trainer Chiya really needed to discipline his wife properly instead of letting her continue wreaking havoc.
"Yayoi-nee… ah, no, the Director said she'll install ventilation equipment in this room, so we don't need to worry about the smell," Chiya explained.
"The smell isn't the only issue. Does that mean Tachyon is still doing these experiments at home?"
"Yeah. Not long ago, one of her experiments failed and made the room completely unlivable." Chiya remembered Orfevre puffing up with anger and telling him to hurry up and call someone to clean the house. His head started throbbing all over again.
From now on, he absolutely could not let Tachyon keep doing those experiments at home.
It affected… eleven people!
"Trainer… you really have it rough."
"It's not that bad. Oh, right, Cafe. Come over to our place sometime. It's pretty close anyway."
Chiya wrapped up an expensive piece of equipment and looked up at her.
At first, Fujiwara Chiya had thought about buying a house outside. But everyone immediately said they were moving in with him too. Even though he had earned quite a bit by now, buying a house big enough for over ten people was still brutally expensive.
Mejiro Dober suggested that everyone simply move into the Mejiro estate. Forget ten people, that place could fit twice that number with room to spare.
Tachyon said she would pay half the cost if Chiya bought a large house with experimental space.
After agonizing over it for a while, Akikawa Yayoi finally gave him an idea.
"In that case, just live here."
"Here" meant the Director's residence.
Although it was called a dormitory, it was really a full-sized villa. Six large rooms upstairs, three rooms downstairs, tucked away in a relatively quiet corner of Tracen. In the past, only Fujiwara Chiya, Hayakawa Tazuna, and Akikawa Yayoi had lived there, so the place had felt almost too spacious. Now that everyone had moved in, it might be a little crowded, but there was definitely enough room.
After everyone agreed, Fujiwara Chiya officially turned the Director's residence into his home.
He had even asked Akikawa Yayoi whether it would be inconvenient for her to live with him and the uma musume.
Yayoi's answer had been refreshingly open-minded.
"What inconvenience? We're family. Of course we should live together."
Not only did Akikawa Yayoi not dislike it, she actually enjoyed living together with Chiya and his uma musume.
Or, more accurately, his wives.
On paper, the only one married to Chiya was Shirayuki, but anyone with eyes could see what his relationship with the others was like.
Shirayuki was simply the representative.
So now, Fujiwara Chiya lived at Tracen, not far from the student dormitories. It only took a short walk to reach them. In the mornings, he could see uma musume out on their morning runs passing in front of the yard. Occasionally, Shirayuki's fans would even come by to visit.
The house was always lively.
"If it's me…" Cafe clasped her hands behind her back and asked carefully, "wouldn't I be disturbing you?"
"No. Of course not."
"I was wondering why Cafe hadn't come even once. So that's what you were worried about?" Tachyon said with a grin. "There's no such rule, Cafe. Even though guinea pig-kun is married now, his house is basically the same as before. In fact, guinea pig-kun is even easier to use now."
"What do you mean… easier to use?"
"Marriage is both a contract and a restraint. Normally, it restrains two people as they support each other. But guinea pig-kun chose to restrain himself. In other words, his other half is still empty. Therefore, anyone can come over, call themselves guinea pig-kun's other half, move into guinea pig-kun's house, live with him, and eventually become guinea pig-kun's wife. Even you can do it, Cafe."
Cafe's mouth fell slightly open.
"I am not that easy! Stop saying weird things!"
Chiya could not take it anymore and flicked Tachyon on the head. Tachyon rubbed the spot, puffing out her cheeks.
"I was just joking with Cafe. Why are you taking it so seriously?"
"My only wife is Shirayuki."
"Then what are we?"
"Mm… acting wives?"
"How dishonest of you, guinea pig-kun."
"Shut up."
Watching their exchange, Cafe's lips curved faintly.
"It seems Trainer Chiya is living happily. When I have time, I'll come visit."
"You really won't come now, Cafe? I don't mind letting you sleep on guinea pig-kun's other side."
Cafe frowned.
"Trainer Chiya has the most beautiful, complete soul I have ever seen. Originally, Trainer Chiya alone was already perfectly whole. But for everyone's sake, he had no choice but to place more things inside that complete world. You are the most disharmonious among them, Tachyon. You are an impurity beside Trainer."
After shooting Tachyon a cold glance, Cafe turned back to Fujiwara Chiya.
"I bought some very fragrant coffee. When the time comes, I'll visit and taste it together with Trainer Chiya and Miss Shirayuki."
"Yeah. You're welcome anytime, Cafe."
The black-haired girl nodded and left the room.
"Tachyon, you made Cafe mad again."
"Guinea pig-kun, my conversations with Cafe have always been like this. On the surface, she's angry. In reality, she's happy."
"Are you treating that whole 'women say the opposite of what they mean' thing as a rulebook?"
"No. I've known Cafe for a long time, so I've summarized her patterns. If Cafe is truly angry, she won't respond to you. When you say something and she avoids you, that means she's genuinely angry. If she talks back, then she isn't."
Tachyon pinched her chin.
"She must have felt lonely because I've been doing experiments in the room all this time."
"Even though there's a curtain between you?"
"Even with a curtain, knowing someone is next door gives you a sense of company. Forget curtains. Even a wall works the same way."
Agnes Tachyon looked at Fujiwara Chiya.
"Knowing guinea pig-kun is right next door makes me feel very at ease too."
Meeting those dark crimson eyes, Fujiwara Chiya scratched his cheek.
"I think everyone living together really is a wonderful thing."
"What a coincidence. I feel the same."
Agnes Tachyon looped her arms around Fujiwara Chiya's neck, closed her eyes, and kissed him.
Five minutes later, Tachyon licked her lips.
"All right, guinea pig-kun. Hurry up and move everything. I still have experiments to run later, so remember to come to my room."