Uma Musume: Slacking Professionally

Chapter 259 259: Uma Musume: Slacking Professionally [259]

After finishing his talk with Rice Shower and the others, Kitahara left the warehouse with a frown.

Behind him, Doto's face was bright red, and in her arms she held Mixed Grains, who had once again fallen victim to Kitahara's heavy-handed suppression and had gone completely limp, her gaze so unfocused it had practically drifted away.

As for how that had happened...

Well, naturally, it was because after Kitahara's little speech, Mixed Grains had immediately rekindled her desire to pounce on him and put that desire into action on the spot—only to be mercilessly suppressed by the now-alert Kitahara once again.

After that was over, Kitahara escorted them back to the dorm first. Then, after thinking it over for a while, he turned and headed toward Agnes Tachyon's lab.

He had already gotten a general idea of what was in the experiment logs, but the data itself was also extremely important, and with his current level of knowledge, he could not make heads or tails of it. He needed a professional to help analyze it.

"Hm? Guinea Pig-kun, what are you doing here?"

Agnes Tachyon, who had been in the middle of an experiment, turned to look at Kitahara, surprise flashing through her eyes.

After her confession yesterday, she had assumed he would spend the next while avoiding her. Why was he coming to her on his own instead...?

"Don't tell me you missed me? Or have you finally come to your senses and decided to sneak over to me for a little something...?"

Click.

As the door lock slid shut, Agnes Tachyon's voice seemed to lock up with it.

Watching Kitahara lock the door, draw the curtains, and then walk toward her without a word, Agnes Tachyon instinctively shrank back a little, her throat going faintly dry.

Hey, hey... don't tell me this blockhead has actually blossomed...

But before she had more than a few seconds to let her imagination run wild, Kitahara was already standing in front of her. He opened a few pictures of the experimental data tables on his phone and held them out to her.

"Tachyon, can you help me take a look at these?"

As he spoke, Kitahara noticed that her expression looked a little strange, and asked with some confusion, "What's wrong? You don't look so good. Are you feeling unwell?"

"...No."

After a brief silence, Agnes Tachyon took the phone from him, though for some reason, she did not look particularly pleased.

That bad mood only lasted for a moment, however. As soon as she got a clear look at the data on Kitahara's phone, her attention was completely caught by the contents, and her brows gradually drew together.

This was strange... what was this...?

Sensing that something was off, Agnes Tachyon started flipping through the pictures on Kitahara's phone one by one, and with each page, her frown deepened.

Seeing how focused she was, Kitahara did not interrupt. After thinking it over, he found a place to sit nearby and began sorting through the information he currently had on hand.

And so, with only the sound of fingers sliding across a screen, time gradually passed, and the sky outside slowly darkened.

At long last, when Agnes Tachyon reached the final image, her brows were knit tight. She backed out of the picture viewer, checked the photo album to confirm there were no more files, then looked up at Kitahara.

"Guinea Pig-kun, where did you find all this?"

Faced with Agnes Tachyon's question, Kitahara did not hide anything. He gave her a general account of what had happened—well, the parts involving Karai Risa, at any rate.

And after hearing him out, Agnes Tachyon's frown deepened even further.

"So that's why. I was wondering why so much of this data looked so strange..."

"What is it? Is there something wrong with the data?"

"The data itself isn't the problem. The problem is probably how that data was obtained."

After a pause, Agnes Tachyon continued.

"These records aren't complete, so I can't determine everything she did. Even so, I can say with near certainty that at least some of the data here could only have been obtained through experiments on living subjects—actual live-subject experiments."

"And not just that. If my estimate is right, whoever produced this data has an abnormally clear grasp of Umamusume anatomy. The experimental records frequently include test data for all sorts of Umamusume organs."

"That's not the kind of thing you get from formulas or computer simulations. It's very likely she has actual Umamusume biological samples on hand for testing, and probably not just a few of them. She may even have a stable 'supply' channel..."

A stable "supply" channel...

Hearing that, Kitahara tapped his finger a few times, then spoke up.

"Hold on, let me contact someone I know. He should have data on missing Umamusume cases. I'll see whether I can get him to help investigate."

"That would be best."

Agnes Tachyon nodded, then continued, "Then what do you plan to do about this woman named Karai Risa? My recommendation is that you go find the Chairwoman and Hayakawa-san right now and have them detain her."

"I know you can handle yourself in a fight, but that woman came out of the Umamusume Research Institute. And based on this research data, it's hard to say whether she has anything dangerous on hand..."

Kitahara thought Agnes Tachyon's suggestion over for a while, then shook his head.

"No. I'm going to wait and see for now."

The reason he had decided to wait was not because he was being merciful or hesitant. It was simply because there were other things to consider.

For one thing, while Agnes Tachyon's interpretation certainly made the situation sound severe, that did not necessarily mean it was completely accurate. There might still be some misunderstanding buried in it, and they needed to investigate and verify things further before deciding on any concrete plan.

And for another, even if it turned out Karai Risa really had carried out some horrifying experiments, simply confirming that and arresting her would not be enough. They needed more solid evidence, not just a few photos taken off a phone screen.

Even assuming they did obtain evidence, an arrest still needed to be planned carefully. That was true even before factoring in whatever dangers might arise during the capture itself, or whatever hazardous materials she might have in her possession. There was also the matter of that possible "supply" channel behind her.

Before they fully understood the situation, Kitahara could not justify risking tipping her off just to grab Karai Risa alone. At that point, not only would it fail to solve the problem completely, it might even ruin any chance of sweeping the whole thing up in one go.

After hearing Kitahara's concerns, Agnes Tachyon considered them, then agreed.

"Then I'll leave the decision to you, Guinea Pig-kun. If there's anything else you need my help with, or if you get more materials, you can come to me. The source of these records may be questionable, but their value is still considerable..."

"Yeah, I know."

Kitahara nodded and moved to leave.

But just as he stood and was about to walk out, he suddenly remembered something, and the step he had just taken came to a halt.

"What is it, Guinea Pig-kun? Is there something else?"

"Well... sort of."

After hesitating for a moment, Kitahara decided to be honest.

"It's about that 'power' inside me we researched before... Recently, there have been some new developments, and I've also gotten some new information..."

The instant she heard that, Agnes Tachyon perked right up.

"What kind of developments?"

"Specifically, it seems that when I'm asleep, that power unconsciously leaks out and forms the kind of halo around me that you've seen before..."

"That does sound pretty serious."

Remembering what it had felt like when she looked directly at the light coming from Kitahara, Agnes Tachyon's expression grew more serious.

"But as things stand, I can't think of any way to solve that. It's not as though you can simply stop sleeping, and those lights seem to have a kind of penetrating property—ordinary barriers can't block them..."

Kitahara struggled with himself for a moment, then slowly spoke.

"No. That issue has already been solved... or at least temporarily alleviated."

"Hm?"

Agnes Tachyon blinked, then looked at him curiously.

"How? Did you discover some new information?"

"Not me. And the source is unclear. As for the method itself..."

After a pause, Kitahara spoke in a rather complicated tone.

"To put it as plainly as possible... Umapyoi."

Agnes Tachyon: "...?"

What even was that?

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