"Cafe-senpai… I think I just saw you walk out through the front door?"
"Hmm?" Manhattan Cafe tilted her head. "No. I just finished brewing coffee."
As she spoke, she placed the cup on the table, her gaze drifting to the half-open music box.
"This… I clearly put it away. How did it come out again?"
What do you mean came out again? Can it move on its own?
Closing the music box, Manhattan Cafe took a string from a drawer and carefully wrapped it around the box.
Once it was secured, she placed it into a wooden case.
"Sorry. This happens occasionally," Manhattan Cafe said as she sat beside Shirayuki. "These things… if you're not careful, they will escape. You didn't touch it, did you?"
"No."
"That's good."
Manhattan Cafe let out a small sigh of relief.
"Cafe-senpai…" Shirayuki wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead. "That thing… it's not some kind of cursed object, right?"
"No. It's just a music box that runs away. Though sometimes… it attracts unpleasant things."
Hearing such vague and mysterious words, Shirayuki shuddered and quickly took a sip of coffee to calm herself.
The rich aroma filled her mouth, but she had no mood to appreciate it.
There were too many questions, and she didn't even know where to start.
"Cafe-senpai, I actually came to see Tachyon-senpai. I remember she should be in this room… right?"
"If you're looking for Tachyon, she's on the other side." Manhattan Cafe pointed toward what looked like a wall of stars. On closer inspection, it was actually a curtain dividing the room into two parts.
"Shirayuki, you're not here because she forced you, are you? This isn't the first time she's done something like that. She's tricked quite a few students into coming here for experiments. If you're being threatened or coerced, you can tell me. I can help you deal with it."
"No, she didn't threaten me… well, maybe just a little."
"…Tachyon…"
Manhattan Cafe stood up, clearly ready to go confront her.
"Wait a second, senpai!"
Seeing her about to charge in, Shirayuki quickly stopped her.
"She did threaten me before, but that's already been resolved. Agnes Tachyon won't use that kind of thing to force me anymore."
"That kind of thing?"
"…Some things that are hard to talk about."
Manhattan Cafe sat back down.
"Shirayuki, don't give in to Tachyon's demands. If you always go along with her, she'll only push further. She's troublesome, but she won't actually carry out her threats. It's mostly just talk. If she tries anything again, just ignore her."
That was the conclusion Manhattan Cafe had reached after years of knowing her.
"Got it." Shirayuki nodded seriously.
After finishing her coffee, she stood up.
"Then I'll head over. Senpai, the coffee was great."
"You're welcome… come again sometime."
Lifting the curtain, Shirayuki stepped through. Brightly colored liquids in glass containers came into view.
Who would've thought these two rooms were connected?
Science on one side, mysticism on the other. It was a wonder those two hadn't clashed.
A girl in a white lab coat stood at the workbench. When she saw Shirayuki, she looked surprised.
"Trainer? How did you come from that side?"
"Knocked on the wrong door."
The thick curtain blocked sound well, so Agnes Tachyon hadn't heard anything from the other side.
Shirayuki took out the glasses.
"Tachyon, this ran out of battery."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Not enough capacity, huh… got it. I'll check it later." Agnes Tachyon took the glasses, then looked Shirayuki up and down a few times. "By the way, you didn't run into anything strange in Cafe's room, did you?"
That question made Shirayuki's spine go cold.
"I… did."
"Oh?"
"I saw Cafe walk out of the room… and then another Cafe came out from inside."
"I see." Agnes Tachyon looked unsurprised. "You should avoid going into her room casually. Strange things tend to happen there."
"Even you're saying that? Aren't you supposed to believe in science?"
"I do. That's why I'm researching her unusual constitution. Last time I touched a vase in her room, all my research data suddenly caught fire. Three months of work turned to ash. I cried for quite a while."
Shirayuki's eye twitched.
For someone like Agnes Tachyon to cry, just what kind of existence was Manhattan Cafe?
"Around Cafe, unexplainable phenomena happen often. If you don't want to get caught up in it, don't make her angry. An angry Cafe is very frightening."
"I feel like the only one who could make her angry is you…"
Agnes Tachyon didn't deny it.
"Oh right, I have something for you."
As if remembering something, Agnes Tachyon took out a black box from a drawer. Inside was a silver ring.
The familiar shape made Shirayuki hesitate.
"…A wedding ring?"
"Hmm? You can think of it that way if you want."
"For me?"
"Of course."
"No, no, no. I've been your trainer for less than a week. Isn't it a bit strange to suddenly propose?"
"Then would you prefer to build a relationship first?"
"Isn't that the usual process?"
Agnes Tachyon laughed.
"Just kidding. It's not a wedding ring. It's an experimental sample."
"A sample?"
"Exactly." Agnes Tachyon took Shirayuki's hand and slid the ring onto her finger. "This will help you confirm your identity."
A faint warmth spread from the ring, as if something had been activated.
"Trainer, if you keep relying on your current way of identifying yourself, you'll be exposed eventually. You can't guarantee everyone will call you by the right name. Especially in conversations, saying something only one of you would know could cause serious trouble. This ring will help with that."
Agnes Tachyon held her hand.
"From now on, the one who feels this sensation is Shirayuki. The one who doesn't is Chiya. You are two completely different individuals. But distinguishing alone isn't enough. You'll need to develop different habits for each body, or people familiar with you will still notice something off."
Shirayuki touched the ring.
"What kind of habits?"
"Think of it like your two hands. You write with your right hand and cook with your left. Over time, they develop different proficiencies. You need to do the same. Train your two bodies to have different instincts."
"I see. You want Shirayuki to become completely different from me."
"Quick to understand, as expected." Agnes Tachyon nodded. "Your thoughts are connected, but your bodies are different. Eventually, your thinking will adapt to each body. Shirayuki will think like Shirayuki. Chiya will think like Chiya."
That way, no one except Agnes Tachyon would notice anything unusual.
"Is this part of your experiment?"
"No. It's mostly just a way to help you stay hidden." Agnes Tachyon shook her head. "If your identity is discovered… it would be inconvenient for me."
"…Didn't you threaten to expose me before?"
"Because it was the most efficient method." Agnes Tachyon tapped her chin. "I know it was extreme, but building trust from scratch would take too long. My reputation isn't great, and my research wasn't progressing. So I figured it'd be faster to use that reputation to pressure you."
Her crimson eyes seemed to see through everything.
"Think about it. Without evidence, even if I revealed your identity, no one would believe it. Just like Cafe. She says she sees strange things, but how many people actually believe her?"
Agnes Tachyon chuckled.
"Even if you did nothing, I couldn't really do anything to you. At most, I'd just show up and stay in your room every night."
"So you were bluffing from the start."
"Exactly. I'm that kind of terrible person."
Her honesty left Shirayuki with nothing to say.
"In any case, remember the sensation from the ring. It will periodically send a signal so you always feel it. Think of it as a marker. It proves you are Shirayuki. And this will be the last time I call you 'trainer.' From now on, I'll call you Shirayuki. Understood?"
"Understood."
Shirayuki continued feeling the ring.
"Um… Tachyon, I can't take it off."
"Call me Tachyon-senpai. And yes, it adjusts automatically to prevent slipping off. It's quite a precise piece of work."
"That's impressive… but why can't I remove it?"
"Why would you need to? It's waterproof, dustproof, and helps you remember your identity. There's no reason to take it off."
"…You put it on a pretty specific finger."
Her left ring finger.
"It will come off automatically when the battery runs out. If you don't like it, just wait about two weeks."
"That's a long time. The battery lasts that long?"
"It doesn't consume much power."
"…Alright. Got it."
Shirayuki looked at the ring on her finger and nodded.
"I'll try to separate the two identities as soon as possible. If there's nothing else, I'll head back now. Tachyon… Tachyon-senpai."
"See you, Shirayuki."
After she left, a black figure stepped out from behind the curtain.
"Cafe, it's rare to see you come over here," Agnes Tachyon teased.
"You didn't do anything strange to that girl, did you?" Manhattan Cafe asked, clearly concerned.
"Don't accuse me like that. My relationship with Shirayuki is perfectly normal."
Manhattan Cafe gave her a doubtful look.
"What, go ask her yourself if you don't believe me."
"…No. Never mind."
She turned away.
"If you continue targeting your juniors, I'll report everything to the student council."
"I didn't do anything to her. Really."
"Make sure that stays true."
Manhattan Cafe returned to her side of the room.
Agnes Tachyon let out a long breath.
If Manhattan Cafe reported her, she wouldn't just be put under confinement. She'd likely be suspended.
Her experiment had finally started progressing. She couldn't afford to fail now.
And as for targeting Shirayuki…
She had no intention of doing that.
Despite everything she destroyed, Agnes Tachyon treated what was hers with care.
"…Shirayuki."
She gently swirled the liquid in her hand.
"Will she become the Uma Musume who reaches the pinnacle of speed?"
After leaving the lab, Shirayuki returned to the dorm.
Agnes Tachyon had told her to develop different habits, but hadn't specified how.
Fortunately, she already had an idea.
Femininity.
If she could make Shirayuki's body more feminine, it would naturally separate from Chiya.
It might sound strange, but Shirayuki decided she would rebuild herself from scratch.
She would become the ideal woman she imagined.
Feeling the ring on her finger, she made up her mind.
First, she would consult Mejiro Dober.