"Guinea Pig-kun, I finished analysing the thing you gave me."
"How was it?"
"Water content, four percent. Fat, eighteen grams. Protein, four point three grams…"
"I'm not asking about the nutritional content. I'm asking whether there was anything strange inside."
"No. It's just a perfectly ordinary walnut. Since you asked me to investigate it, I even had it verified by a professional institution."
"There's nothing wrong with it at all?"
"Mm. There's nothing wrong inside it."
"What do you mean inside? Was there something on the outside?"
"I detected an excessive amount of hormones on the surface of the walnut. Guinea Pig-kun… did you do anything to it before bringing it over?"
"No. I just carried it normally."
"Then the hormones on the walnut should simply be from your body fluids. Fascinating."
"What is?"
"The data is even more exaggerated than what I detected from Shirayuki back then. Were you perhaps in an excited mental state when you touched the walnut?"
"No…"
"I see."
Agnes Tachyon fell silent for a while on the other end of the call.
"How long until you come back, Guinea Pig-kun?"
"Two months. The Prix Niel is almost here. Once that race is over, the next one will be the Arc."
"How is Shirayuki's training going?"
"Proceeding normally."
"In that case, don't train together with her."
"I've already started avoiding that."
"How clever of you, Guinea Pig-kun."
Agnes Tachyon said, "Your hormones will seriously affect an uma musume's emotions and judgement. If they are exposed to them continuously for too long, addiction may also occur. You need to be careful about that. Keep yourself calm and don't always think about that kind of thing. I know that isn't easy for you, Guinea Pig-kun, but when desire rises, the hormone concentration can increase several times over. At that point, anyone who smells it may lose control… Of course, if making the other person lose control is your goal, feel free to ignore what I just said."
"I'm not trying to do that. Wait, addiction? I thought if someone was exposed to the same stimulus for a long time, they'd get used to it. Like with smells."
As if speechless at Fujiwara Chiya's poor knowledge, Agnes Tachyon went quiet for a moment.
"Some things work that way. Some things don't. Hormones that directly stimulate the nerves are very prone to addiction. But there's no need to panic. Even if addiction occurs, it's harmless. You don't need to worry about any negative physical effects. That said, Guinea Pig-kun, the fact that you're asking this means you've had high-intensity contact with someone, haven't you?"
How was he supposed to answer that?
He had.
And not just with one person.
Shirayuki and Rice Shower.
One had been in constant high-intensity contact with him, while the other had practically tasted him from top to bottom.
Hearing the man's question, Agnes Tachyon had already guessed most of the situation.
"It's fine. You can reduce the frequency first, keep some distance, and calm yourself down. If you really can't do it, Guinea Pig-kun… then just stay addicted. With your current stamina, it won't exactly be a problem for you to handle uma musume."
What was he supposed to do?
He had no secrets in front of Agnes Tachyon.
Even with only a few words, she could see right through him.
But that was also why he dared to tell her anything.
"Oh, right, Guinea Pig-kun. While you were away, I secretly drugged Darley. Do you know what happened?"
"Hah? You drugged Darley!?"
Fujiwara Chiya was shocked on the spot.
"Hey, Tachyon, don't use my assistant as a test subject. What if something goes wrong?"
He was willing to be Agnes Tachyon's guinea pig, but that did not mean others were willing too. Those people did not have any particular friendship with Agnes Tachyon. If something went wrong and they reported it to the student council, Agnes Tachyon would face severe punishment.
And since he was not there, he would not even be able to plead for her.
"That's the important part. The drug I gave her had no effect at all. Under normal circumstances, even if my medicine doesn't produce a positive effect, there should at least be some negative effect, and usually a very obvious one. But after Darley took it, nothing happened. Guinea Pig-kun, I suspect that person might be…"
Before she could finish speaking, the call was cut off.
When Fujiwara Chiya called again, Agnes Tachyon had completely changed her tone. She said that her experiment must have gone wrong and that Darley had nothing to do with it, leaving Fujiwara Chiya full of question marks.
In the end, they chatted casually for a little while before saying goodbye.
Agnes Tachyon reminded him, "Come straight back after the race. Don't keep playing around in Europe."
"I was thinking the same thing. But you're even more anxious than I am. Don't tell me you miss me?"
Fujiwara Chiya teased.
"Mm."
"…"
"Ah. Is that so… Then I'll come back earlier."
Hearing her answer without the slightest hesitation, Fujiwara Chiya suddenly did not know what to say.
That experiment maniac, whose head was always full of experiments…
Fujiwara Chiya felt a vague, strange feeling toward Agnes Tachyon.
After hanging up, he began thinking about what she had said.
Keeping himself calm and maintaining distance from uma musume was not an easy thing.
Why?
Because ever since that night with Rice Shower, she had completely entered clingy mode. Whenever she had time, she would stick close to him. Even when her friends invited her out, she refused.
Rice Shower had returned to the way she used to be, always following beside him.
But in the past, Rice Shower had not had many friends, so she could only stay with him.
Now, Rice Shower was addicted and did not want to leave his side.
This was not good.
It was too unhealthy!
How could such a youthful, beautiful girl think about that kind of thing every day?
Ever since that day, Fujiwara Chiya could no longer see Rice Shower as a little girl.
Her soft waist, her slightly fuller figure, and her rounded thighs all carried a mature charm. Even when Rice Shower called him "Onii-sama," he could no longer treat her purely as a younger sister.
Rice Shower was already an adult.
With such a clingy girl following him around every day, how could Fujiwara Chiya possibly remain calm?
The moment he became excited, Rice Shower would cling to him.
When she clung to him, he became even more excited.
Then Rice Shower would become even more attached…
It was simply a cycle of addiction.
To prevent himself from falling into a pit of depravity, Fujiwara Chiya decided to keep some distance from Rice Shower for now.
Of course, he absolutely could not say that himself.
Otherwise, Rice Shower would become teary-eyed and say "no" again and again, and Fujiwara Chiya would never be able to withstand it.
This matter could only be handed to someone else.
And the person Fujiwara Chiya chose was Shirayuki.
Aside from Rice Shower, Shirayuki was also clingy enough.
Although it felt a little strange to say this, to the current Shirayuki, Chiya was like food she needed to replenish her energy every day. She had to take in his scent, and she had to do it until she was satisfied. If she went a day without it, her whole body felt uncomfortable, and even her training became listless.
The actions Fujiwara Chiya had once taken, deliberately making close contact with Shirayuki so she would get used to it, had turned into a hidden danger.
Not only had Shirayuki failed to get used to it, the situation had grown worse and worse.
Fingers, chest, ears.
Shirayuki used every possible method to make herself comfortable.
Fujiwara Chiya felt he might not be able to hold out much longer.
Looking at the race schedule, there were only a few days left.
Fujiwara Chiya did not want anything to happen before the race.
So he decided to let Shirayuki take Rice Shower with her and help her quit her addiction to Chiya.
It was killing two birds with one stone.