Faced with Chihaya Yui's obvious concern, Xingyun Liuge explained quite openly,
"It's nothing, really. After finishing my maturing, my body's center of gravity is completely different from before. Miss Agnes noticed the awkwardness in the way I run, so she came over to claim credit. She probably wanted to trade that information for something."
Her smile was bright and clear, as if she had not noticed how important this was at all.
Chihaya Yui immediately put on a stern face and said with utmost seriousness, "That's—Little Ge, you can't just brush this off! Something could go terribly wrong!"
This was clearly an extremely important discovery—and a very dangerous one.
If Xingyun Liuge failed to adapt to the change in her center of gravity, getting injured would be easy. An early end to her racing career would be the least of it. She could even die on the spot.
Chihaya Yui grabbed Xingyun Liuge's hand, wanting to persuade her to stay calm and reasonable, then go talk to Agnes Tachyon and see whether there was any way to adjust as quickly as possible.
This should have been the trainer's job to begin with. But human and horse girl bodies were fundamentally different; there were some things that even a world-class trainer would still have to ask a horse girl about, much less an ordinary trainer like Chihaya Yui.
Chihaya Yui had a very clear understanding of her own position. Almost all of the success they had achieved on this journey was Xingyun Liuge's own doing; her own contribution had been very limited. Xingyun Liuge was simply too smart—she could adjust her tactics on her own based on the track conditions and her opponents. She needed no one to instruct her. Even trying to switch careers and become some sort of "logistics support" would be pointless. Xingyun Liuge could cook for herself, and cooked extremely well.
So all Chihaya Yui could do was handle as many miscellaneous things as possible, so that Liuge could devote herself entirely to training.
Since Agnes Tachyon had noticed something wrong with Xingyun Liuge, then as her trainer, even if she had to go grovel at her door three times with a bundle of thorns on her back, she still had to bring her over. That was what it meant to be responsible to Xingyun Liuge. It was also a trainer's duty.
But the moment Chihaya Yui seized Xingyun Liuge's hand, Liuge turned the tables, caught her hand instead, and gave it a light tug, pulling Chihaya Yui straight into her arms. Then she pressed Chihaya Yui's face against her chest and comforted her.
"Since I know about it, and still made my choice, that means I already have a plan. I'll figure it out myself. Yui only needs to keep trusting me the way you always have. I'm going to win the American Triple Crown for the two of us."
She sounded utterly self-assured, as though victory was already in the bag.
And in fairness, she had practically beaten every horse girl of her generation who specialized in American dirt racing. Not a single one had been able to shake her absolute dominance on the track. She absolutely had the right to say something like that.
After all, the Belmont Stakes was still a middle-distance race. Xingyun Liuge's stamina and explosive power were both exceptional. There was every reason to feel reassured.
Of course Chihaya Yui believed in Xingyun Liuge. She simply did not want anything to happen to her.
Unfortunately, all that concern was trapped inside her chest now, unable to come out.
Chihaya Yui struggled in the surging tide before her. The soft, warm sensation nearly swept her mind away; instinctively, she wanted to sink into it. But the obvious lack of air bore down on her from all sides—she was having trouble breathing.
Painful and blissful at the same time. That was her most direct impression in that moment.
Meanwhile, Daiwa Scarlet had asked Agnes Tachyon the same question. She wanted to know what, exactly, Tachyon had discovered.
Strictly speaking, this was Xingyun Liuge's secret. Even if her senior had noticed something, as an outsider, she should not have pried. But Tachyon had acted so mysterious about it—and then gotten stonewalled anyway—that Daiwa Scarlet's curiosity had been thoroughly hooked. It felt like a tiny kitten was scratching and pawing inside her chest, making her unbearably restless.
If it had been anyone else, Agnes Tachyon, having just been rebuffed, would never have said a word. She would simply have let them squirm under the burden of their own curiosity.
But Daiwa Scarlet was different. She was a junior Tachyon genuinely cared about.
After a moment's thought, Tachyon's smile softened into something more ordinary.
"It's nothing much. I only noticed that there was something off about her left leg. Since she doesn't need my help, it probably isn't anything serious."
Although Agnes Tachyon tried to keep a straight face, the instant the thought crossed her mind, she came up with a marvelous way to make Xingyun Liuge let her intervene, and her mood brightened instantly.
The corners of her mouth began to rise uncontrollably again, her smile once more taking on that unhinged air.
In Tachyon's eyes, Daiwa Scarlet could be stubborn at times, but fundamentally she was a very gentle girl. If she heard that a very impressive senior might be physically unwell, then she would definitely rush over and earnestly try to persuade her.
And if Daiwa Scarlet managed to talk Xingyun Liuge into it? Wonderful.
Agnes Tachyon was very much looking forward to that.
After hearing this, Daiwa Scarlet's expression visibly tightened with worry. Clearly, she did not want a horse girl with such a bright future as Xingyun Liuge to see her dream shatter in New York.
Without a second thought, she shouted, "No! I have to make Senior Xingyun take this seriously!" and ran off.
Agnes Tachyon, meanwhile, started humming a tune, idly fanning herself with the overly long sleeve of her lab coat as she began counting down.
The moment she reached one, Daiwa Scarlet returned in a panic.
This broad-bosomed young horse girl loudly demanded, "Senior Tachyon, what you said just now was true, right? You weren't lying just so you could get closer to Senior Xingyun, were you?"
Halfway there, Daiwa Scarlet had abruptly remembered something: under normal circumstances, Agnes Tachyon did not toy with her—but that comment had been aimed at Xingyun Liuge. There was no guarantee Tachyon would not spin a lie just to trick Xingyun Liuge and achieve whatever unspeakable objective she had in mind.
Agnes Tachyon tilted her head with exaggerated innocence. "Such as?"
But the curve of her smile became even more obvious, looking positively wicked, which only made Daiwa Scarlet trust her less.
"Like measuring Senior Xingyun's shoe size, or doing strange things to her feet." Daiwa Scarlet had only heard rumors. She had no idea what Agnes Tachyon might do, after all.
No one was willing to become this eccentric research horse girl's test subject, much less someone who casually called people "lab rats."
At those words, veins popped at Agnes Tachyon's temples, and she exploded.
"Measuring her bust, waist, hipline, and weight so I can continually refine the running style best suited to her, stroking and measuring her legs and feet before constructing a full three-dimensional model to assess the condition of her lower limbs, collecting sweat samples because sweat gives the clearest possible read on physical changes—do you even understand anything at all?!"
Maybe because she had gotten too emotional, she blurted the whole thing out in one breath without even pausing. The look on her face, the posture, the sheer intensity—she looked exactly like a model-kit addict discovering that some brat had ripped open the glass display case.
"Uh... s-sorry..." It was the first time Daiwa Scarlet had ever seen Agnes Tachyon this terrifying. She snapped to attention on the spot.
Agnes Tachyon barked, "If apologies solved anything, what would we need the police for? Go already!"
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
Daiwa Scarlet almost looked like a delinquent girl who had just been arrested on the spot. She turned and fled, trembling all over after being cowed by Tachyon's fury.
Only then did Agnes Tachyon clutch her stomach and burst out laughing.
"Daiwa really is amusing."
Daiwa Scarlet, of course, had no idea that her words and reactions had unfolded exactly the way Agnes Tachyon had expected, without the slightest deviation.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 150)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter190)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter222)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 190
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 215
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 200
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 115
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 130
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 85
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 90
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 60
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 61
Checking In in Demon Slayer 65
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 80
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 66
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 58
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 65
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 63
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 59
Why did they assign me to Uma 55
MYGO Beauties 56
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 45
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 49
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 36
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 15
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