But Then Again

After hearing Kitasan Black's account, Anjing Zhen sent Tokai Teio a message and arranged a time to meet.

He really didn't like getting involved in work on his days off. And judging from Tokai Teio's brief reply, she didn't seem to be in much of a hurry, either.

So it wasn't until Monday at noon that he made his way to the Student Council Office.

The moment he stepped inside, he backed right out.

Behind the desk sat Tokai Teio, wearing a pair of eyeglasses.

Beside her was a horse girl with brown short hair and red eyes patterned like Venetian blinds.

She wore an oversized white trench coat, its sleeves so long that anyone would be tempted to grab them and tie a knot.

Her hands were hidden inside the sleeves, and she held a steaming cup of black tea through the fabric.

She had been chatting with Tokai Teio, but when she noticed someone come in, she glanced over. Her eyes lit up.

"Heh heh heh, long time no see, Anjing-kun..."

Before she could finish, Anjing Zhen had already backed out into the hallway.

He looked up at the plaque on the door.

There was no doubt about it. This was the Student Council Office.

So why was Agnes Tachyon here?

Inside, Agnes Tachyon had been momentarily startled by his retreat. She curled her lips and looked at Tokai Teio.

"Am I really that scary?"

"Ahaha, well..."

Tokai Teio gave an awkward laugh, pushed up the eyeglasses on the bridge of her nose, and cleared her throat.

"Trainer Yasui, please come in. Doctor Sovetsky has a good suggestion, and I think you should hear her out."

Anjing Zhen had actually already come back inside.

He wasn't sure what Agnes Tachyon was up to, but leaving without a word would have been terribly rude.

Even if the rumors about human experimentation weren't baseless, with Tokai Teio here as President, Agnes Tachyon probably wouldn't actually suggest anything outrageous...

Probably?

"Good afternoon, both of you."

Puzzled, Anjing Zhen asked:

"So the person who wanted to see me wasn't the President, but Doctor Sovetsky?"

"More or less."

Before Tokai Teio could answer, Agnes Tachyon said with a glint in her eyes:

"I happened to watch Kitasan Black's race the other day. It was an outstanding victory.

"Congratulations. Your first horse girl won her very first race. Anjing-kun, you really are no ordinary person."

...What did she mean, "happened to watch"? She'd definitely been keeping an eye on him ever since the day he visited her clinic, hadn't she?

And what was that about him being no ordinary person...

So now she was even more eager to do all sorts of strange things to him, wasn't she?

After grumbling to himself, Anjing Zhen grew even more confused.

A month had passed since his hospital visit, and he had barely been in touch with Agnes Tachyon during that time.

At his last checkup, the horse girl had said his physical condition was perfectly healthy. She had never asked him to come back for another examination, either.

So if she really had been keeping tabs on him—or on him and Kitasan Black—did she actually have some weird idea in mind?

But when it came down to it, he had simply started exercising on his own at an early age. His physical fitness was quite good by human standards.

By comparison, a powerful horse girl like Kitasan Black seemed much more worthy of attention, didn't she?

As he pondered this, he heard Agnes Tachyon change the subject.

"I have another consultation shortly, and I imagine you have training to attend to, Anjing-kun, so I'll get right to the point."

She took a sip of black tea, then spoke in a persuasive tone:

"I took a quick look at the publicly available race entries. You've chosen the Classic Frontline for Kitasan Black.

"Winning the Triple Crown is no easy feat. You must have planned quite a few training sessions, right?

"For example, pace work?

"I asked Teio about it earlier, and she said you haven't applied for a training partner yet.

"I happen to have someone in mind. Would you be interested?"

Anjing Zhen wasn't surprised that Agnes Tachyon knew so much about the upcoming races and training.

Like those of other active competitors, Kitasan Black's racing schedule was public. It only took a quick search to find it.

As for how she knew about the training, the reason was simple.

Agnes Tachyon hadn't just been an active horse girl; she'd also been the Satsuki Sho champion.

From her Debut Race through the Satsuki Sho, she'd won all four of her races. Before the Satsuki Sho, she'd garnered nearly sixty percent of the support, making her the most popular competitor by far.

Thanks to her astonishing winning streak and the incredible speed she'd shown on the track, the industry had dubbed her the "Faster-than-Light Particle."

Rather than say that a horse girl like her was guessing at Kitasan Black's training plan, it was more accurate to say she was casually sharing her own championship-winning experience.

As she'd said, Anjing Zhen had indeed arranged plenty of training for his horse girl, including pace work.

As the name suggested, this training involved working alongside another horse girl. It helped develop racing instincts and could also be used to figure out the most suitable running style.

Generally speaking, trainers with enough experience had several horse girls under their care and could even invite well-known competitors, so finding a training partner wasn't a problem.

Anjing Zhen, however, didn't have that kind of network. He could only apply through the Academy's official process.

It was hard to say what sort of horse girl he'd get that way. Most of the time, they weren't particularly strong—sometimes even weaker than Kitasan Black.

After all, stronger horse girls had their own training to focus on and little time to help others with pace work.

But having someone was better than having no one. What's more, Kitasan Black had accomplished the initial goal in her Debut Race, as planned. Now they needed to consider her best running style, so pace work couldn't be abandoned.

Anjing Zhen had already filled out the application, but he hadn't submitted it yet.

He wasn't used to changing plans once they were set, and he couldn't figure out why Agnes Tachyon had suddenly offered to help.

After thinking it over, he shook his head.

"I'm very grateful, Doctor Agnes Tachyon, but please forgive my bluntness. I've already filled out the application, and I'm not very fond of changing plans once they're settled. Besides..."

"Daiwa Scarlet."

"...Then again, for Doctor Sovetsky to take time out of her busy schedule to help me and Little Kita with our troubles, it would be terribly rude of me to refuse outright. And I'm very interested in the training partner you've suggested. Please, forget I said anything before. I have nothing but gratitude for your kindness."

Anjing Zhen changed his tune without batting an eye.

"Oh? So you accept, Anjing-kun."

Agnes Tachyon raised an eyebrow with interest, curled her lips into a smile, then stood and stretched.

"In that case, I won't keep you two any longer. I have another consultation shortly. Goodbye."

The horse girl left as quickly as she'd announced she would. Soon, only Anjing Zhen, looking surprised, and Tokai Teio remained in the office.

"President, what was Doctor Sovetsky...?"

After a moment's hesitation, Anjing Zhen looked toward Tokai Teio.

Noticing the question in his eyes, Tokai Teio thought for a moment.

"To be honest, I was surprised, too.

"The night before last, Sovetsky suddenly called me and said she wanted to find a training partner for Trainer Yasui.

"I asked her why she'd suddenly decided to do that, and she only said she was very interested in you and Little Kita.

"Trainer Yasui has probably heard some of the strange rumors about Sovetsky...

"But I can assure you, in my capacity as President, that her experiments... well, they've never caused any real harm.

"And when I heard who she was suggesting, I thought it would be a good thing for both you and Little Kita.

"After all, it's Daiwa Scarlet.

"Trainer, you know how strong she is, don't you?"