Early morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten.
Unable to sleep after tossing and turning, Agnes Tachyon rose from her bed.
She slowly put on her clothes, intending to take one last look at yesterday's experimental results in the lab before class began.
For her, weekends were the only remaining time free from oversight.
Agnes Tachyon had spent almost all of her holiday on research.
For this, she had even gone nearly two days and nights without closing her eyes.
But the progress of her research was far from satisfactory.
Time was insufficient, data was insufficient, samples were insufficient.
Even her energy, likewise, was not enough.
Prolonged concentration had inevitably caused Agnes Tachyon's focus to scatter.
The rows of crossed-out marks on her record sheet glared sharply, stinging her eyes.
Each character seemed to mock her, telling her she had been wasting her efforts all along.
The further she went, the more problems emerged.
Continuous failures, coupled with declining experimental efficiency, had rendered most of Agnes Tachyon's efforts fruitless.
Though in the past, her experiments had often failed too.
But during such precious time, the stagnant experimental data still struck a blow to Agnes Tachyon.
Her body kept signaling its need for rest, yet she felt not the slightest desire to take a break.
If only she had used a smaller dose of the reagent, if only she had run a few more verifications, perhaps she would have succeeded...
Even after the weekend ended, lying in her dorm room, Agnes Tachyon's mind continued to replay the experimental scenarios.
Before leaving, she had placed the final reagent on the lab windowsill to cool and settle.
It all depended on how this experiment turned out.
The sky was faintly bright.
The school building was empty.
She walked up to the third floor and arrived at the research lab.
In no hurry to enter, Agnes Tachyon crouched down, searching for something on the floor.
Soon she found it—a translucent plastic sheet that had fallen to the ground, nearly blending in with the floorboards.
Just as I thought…
She narrowed her eyes.
The item she had wedged in the door had fallen.
Someone had entered the room while she was away.
She stood up again.
This was already who-knows-how-many-times now.
The other party seemed well aware of her connection with the 'Black Ghost' and stubbornly kept searching her room for clues.
But unfortunately.
Ever since discovering her room had been broken into, Agnes Tachyon had grown cautious.
She didn't choose to hide the 'Ghost's' data. Instead, she began writing similar information among her other failed experiment records and placed them on the data rack.
Deliberately hiding it would only expose her intentions.
Since they wanted to look, let them look their fill.
Only, how much of it was real, how much was false, and how much had been encrypted by Agnes Tachyon's own mind—that was for them to figure out.
In a few months, or maybe years, they might eventually decipher the real experimental data.
Approaching the windowsill, Agnes Tachyon looked at the vial placed there.
The color inside had changed, shifting from its original bluish-green to a purplish-red.
"Hmm…" Agnes Tachyon leaned down, carefully examining the solution inside.
Then she tore off a sticky note from the desk, wrote 'Waste Liquid' on it, stuck it to the vial, and placed it in the cabinet.
Impurities had appeared in the solution.
Experiment failed.
Agnes Tachyon suspected the cause might be that it was disturbed during the settling process.
She then looked up at the triangular bracket wedged between the window and the wall above.
Another vial of solution was still there.
Fortunately, she had anticipated this situation earlier and specially prepared two vials of reagent in different locations.
Without drawing the curtains, there was no way the other party could have discovered this vial placed at the top of the window.
She moved a stool, stood on tiptoe, and stretched hard.
Finally managing to retrieve it.
The color of the solution inside was strikingly bright cyan-blue.
Agnes Tachyon's eyes widened slightly.
Finally, some good news.
The solution color matched her theory.
According to the original experimental plan, drinking this potion could temporarily alter a person's bio-waves, tuning them to a frequency similar to the 'Ghost's'.
That way, even without that suit, one could make contact.
To fully understand the other, experimental instruments alone were far from enough.
Direct contact was necessary.
Now, her research had finally taken another step forward.
Taking a small sample of the solution into a test tube, Agnes Tachyon tucked it into her pocket.
All that remained was the trial.
Find someone to drink it, make contact, then refine it.
Until the perfect potion was created.
Thinking this, Agnes Tachyon left the research lab.
There was still some time before class.
If she went back now, she could catch a little more sleep.
Just as Agnes Tachyon left the school building and headed toward the dorms, a figure in training clothes jogged slowly into view.
"Rudolf…?"
Agnes Tachyon unconsciously spoke the name.
And the other person saw her too.
"Hey, Tachyon."
Symboli Rudolf greeted her. "Up so early, here for morning training too?"
"No, I was just…"
Her voice abruptly halted.
Remembering what she had just done, Agnes Tachyon quickly corrected herself: "Yes, I'm here for morning training too."
"That's rare. I hardly ever see you so motivated."
Rudolf had never seen Agnes Tachyon engage in voluntary training before.
Now she was being so proactive.
Could it be that her racing blood had awakened too?
Agnes Tachyon's ears gave a slight twitch.
"Just recently felt the urge to run, it's nothing special."
"I see, is it because of the Acting Chairman's new rules?"
Rudolf asked.
Had to admit, though the methods were a bit radical, they were certainly effective.
The students' training efficiency had noticeably improved compared to before.
The number of Uma Musume skipping class and training had clearly decreased.
The last time she'd seen trainers so serious and responsible was back during that booming period at the center, soon after the big tournaments.
By the time Rudolf entered her own classic period and came to Tracen Academy, the trainers' enthusiasm had already faded considerably.
Now, though, it seemed to be trending back toward its peak.
"Yeah, something like that." Agnes Tachyon patted her drowsy head.
"Quite an impressive acting chairwoman. To thank her, I almost feel like sending her a few bottles of medicine, wishing her good health."
Rudolf nodded.
It seemed Tachyon also thought highly of this acting chairwoman, even considering her health.
"But Rudolf, I'm surprised you're up this early too."
"Normally, I'm used to handling paperwork at the student council before class. It's quietest then, my mind is sharper, so efficiency is higher."
But now.
Rudolf showed a somewhat helpless smile.
"Old habits are hard to break, and I couldn't fall back asleep anyway, so I figured I might as well come out for morning training."
"Well, you'll adapt gradually." Agnes Tachyon nodded.
"It's getting late, Rudolf. I'll see you at school."
"You're heading back already? Not continuing with training?"
"I'm done."
"Done?" Rudolf's eyebrows rose slightly.
"But… Tachyon, you're not even sweating."
Hearing this, Agnes Tachyon stopped walking.
She saw the other's puzzled gaze.
'Were you really training?'
Rudolf's eyes seemed to hold that question.
Looking at the dormitory so close by, Agnes Tachyon couldn't help but sigh.
"Rudolf, if I drop dead from overwork today, you'll definitely share the blame…"
"Hmm? Tachyon, did you say something?"
"Never mind." Agnes Tachyon shook her head.
"You're right. Not sweating hardly counts as morning training. Looks like I need to push myself a bit more."
"In that case, want to join me?"
Rudolf offered the line she'd prepared long ago.
"Go easy on me, I'm not in good form today."
"Don't worry, it's just a warm-up. Nothing strenuous."
Rudolf gave a relaxed smile.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 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!
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If you guys wanna check it out.