"Putting everything else aside, this is the student dormitory at Central Tracen. Security couldn't possibly be so lax that a small child like this could just wander in."
Nearl held little Tachyon in her arms, giving her a slight heft.
"And this outfit... a normal child wouldn't dress like this. She's shrouded in mystery..."
Staring intently at the child in her arms, Nearl's face remained cool as she reached a hand towards the girl's head.
Was she planning to silence the child for good? (Just kidding!)
Of course not. Nearl was simply following a sudden impulse, a desire to offer some affection.
Her slender, elegant hand gently stroked the little one's head, Nearl's expression filled with tenderness.
Holding a young child like this felt like a distant memory.
She still recalled helping Director Komori look after the children at the orphanage all those years ago.
Back then, it seemed she was much the same – holding her younger brothers and sisters, telling them stories while simultaneously calculating the day's expenses in her head.
Thinking back on it now, those were truly difficult, yet fulfilling, days.
"This won't do. Maruzensky is still waiting for me downstairs. I should take this child down; perhaps the senior will know something about her origins."
With this plan in mind, Nearl carefully tucked the white lab coat more snugly around little Tachyon and began walking towards the dormitory entrance.
But the movement was halted by Tachyon's sudden squirming and the small hands that clutched at Nearl's collar.
Nearl stopped in her tracks, glancing down in confusion.
The little one in her arms was no longer fast asleep.
Instead, she was blinking hard, fighting through obvious drowsiness to keep her eyes fixed on Nearl.
"Well, hello there. What's the matter? Do you have something you want to tell me?" Nearl whispered softly, bending her head with a caring tone that made little Tachyon's face flush bright red.
It wasn't out of shyness or a budding crush, of course.
It was just intensely embarrassing to be treated like a child.
"Don't... call anyone else."
But even in her mortified state, Tachyon's mind was still sharp.
Having this seemingly reasonable Uma Musume look after her shrunken self was far preferable to letting someone like Maruzensky, who was always looking for amusement, discover her current state.
Whether considering the difficulty of burying this black mark once the drug wore off, or the sheer humiliation she'd feel upon regaining her normal size, letting this golden Pegasus be the only one aware of the situation was clearly the lesser evil.
After all, when faced with two evils, one must choose the lesser.
"…"
Nearl watched the child in her arms silently, her gaze calm. She neither agreed nor refused.
But Agnes Tachyon slowly ceased her struggles, leaving only the sound of her rapid, shallow breaths.
She was no naive little girl. The hardships and experiences of recent days had taught her one thing: silence was not consent. It always, always meant a cold refusal.
'Hah, have I been influenced by this juvenile body? Placing my hopes on others... since when did I start entertaining such uncertain thoughts?'
Little Tachyon closed her eyes, cold thoughts churning in her mind. She had already resigned herself to the future where Maruzensky would broadcast her pathetic state to the entire world.
What she needed to consider now was how to maintain her standing at Tracen Academy going forward, and how she would apply for research funding in the future.
If the consequences of her current experiment were made public, not only would research with such severe side effects be out of the question, but likely all her other projects would be banned as well.
'My luck is so abysmal I don't even have the energy to sneer.'
Just as Agnes Tachyon was wallowing in this lament, she suddenly became aware of something.
'Strange... she's not moving? This Uma Musume isn't walking anymore?'
A faint, inexplicable flicker of hope stirred deep within. Little Tachyon tentatively cracked her eyelids open a sliver.
She saw that Nearl had now sat down on a chair, holding her with one arm while the other hand was writing something on a piece of paper.
Noticing little Tachyon's scrutinizing gaze after she finished writing quickly, Nearl smiled and ruffled her hair again.
"What is it? Is there something else you need to tell me?"
"What... are you writing?"
Tachyon managed with effort, unsure if it was the drug's effect, but she felt her energy waning rapidly, her mind increasingly unwilling to function.
"This? It's a note I'm going to toss out the window to Maruzensky-senpai. You don't want to see anyone, right? I'll stay with you, but it's not good to keep the senior waiting indefinitely, so I'll ask her to leave first."
Folding the paper, Nearl gently placed little Tachyon on her own bed.
"I'll be gone for just a moment, no more than three minutes. Can you bear being alone for that long?"
Seeing the little one nod, Nearl smiled and praised her. "Good girl. Wait for me to return."
With that, she turned and left, leaving Agnes Tachyon on the bed staring after her retreating back.
"This woman... she's really something. She'd definitely make a great friend in the future. No, judging by her character and how she handles things, she'd probably even excel at the roles of wife and mother."
Muttering to herself, little Tachyon rolled over on the bed, wrapping the blanket around herself until she resembled a Pegasus burrito.
"Eww... the surface of this blanket is so rough. It's scratching my face."
But despite her verbal complaints, her actions told a different story.
Agnes Tachyon buried her face in the bedding and took a deep breath. A faint, elusive fragrance enveloped her.
"But it smells really nice... What is it... some special... incense...?"
Drowsiness washed over her. Tachyon knew the drug's side effects were finally taking full hold. But for some reason, she was surrounded by an overwhelming sense of safety.
"Still don't know... her name... Might make a qualified test subject... Zzz..."
She fell asleep.
Thus, when Nearl returned, she was met with this heartwarming scene: the young, adorable little Uma Musume completely curled up inside her blanket, hugging her pillow, her soft, rhythmic breathing echoing gently in the small bedroom.
"Asleep? It seems she was truly exhausted."
Nearl slowed her movements, quietly closing the door. She walked to the bedside and sat down, gently smoothing little Tachyon's hair.
"It's already 9 o'clock. You must remember to wake up before lunch, otherwise we'll both go hungry," Nearl said, gazing at the enigmatic little Uma Musume and offering a small joke.
"Oh, and after you wake up, I'm definitely taking you for a bath. A child can't afford to be unclean."
As she spoke, Nearl brought the hand she'd used to stroke the girl's hair up to her own eyes, inspecting it with a sigh.
"See? I just touched your hair, and now there's a layer of grease on my hand."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 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!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.