"Tachyon, I can explain."
"You don't have to explain anything to me, guinea pig-kun. What you choose to do is your freedom. As your uma musume, I have no reason to interfere with your affairs."
Agnes Tachyon watched the two of them with glittering interest.
"However, as an experimental subject, I do find your behavior quite fascinating. So, what are you planning to do next? Start with a little foreplay, sample the taste, stir up some emotion, secrete a little dopamine… or are you skipping straight to the main event?"
"I'm not that far gone…"
"Oh? Really? Then could you ask Shirayuki to move her hips for a moment? I'd like to see whether that part of you is as stiff as your mouth."
Fujiwara Chiya wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole.
"Seems it isn't only Shirayuki. Your desires are quite intense too, guinea pig-kun."
Agnes Tachyon's lips curved. Her dark red eyes gleamed with open amusement.
"I already locked the door for you. Now no one will come in and disturb you. Honestly, once your emotions get going, you really stop caring about anything, don't you? Did you think no one would ever visit the office?"
In truth, Fujiwara Chiya had only wanted to hug Shirayuki.
If she turned around, it would be more comfortable.
That was all.
Unfortunately, Agnes Tachyon had caught them at the absolute worst angle possible.
Just as Shirayuki was about to climb off Chiya's lap, Agnes Tachyon walked over to them. She bent down and studied them with unsettling seriousness.
"…Tachyon?"
"Your ear is wet. Did she lick it just now?"
Agnes Tachyon stared at the clear sheen on his earlobe.
"Mm, well…" Fujiwara Chiya stammered.
Technically, Agnes Tachyon had misunderstood.
But also not completely misunderstood.
She had already filmed the two of them earlier. What was he supposed to argue at this point?
"Does this make you feel pleasant?"
"I guess…?"
Fujiwara Chiya had no idea why Agnes Tachyon was asking.
Shirayuki, meanwhile, was frozen stiff, too scared to move.
Agnes Tachyon watched for a moment.
Then she opened her mouth and gently bit down on Fujiwara Chiya's ear.
"Mm…"
"Ah…"
Shirayuki and Chiya both made a sound at the same time.
"Tachyon?!"
Her tongue traced the shell of his ear.
Their bodies trembled together.
"I see…"
Agnes Tachyon licked her lips, carefully observing their reactions.
"What are you doing?"
"Recording data," Agnes Tachyon said. "I told you, didn't I? I'm very interested in guinea pig-kun's self-crossing. Which means I want to know what the two of you normally do together."
Huh??
What kind of logic was that?
Fujiwara Chiya could not follow her thought process at all.
"This affection is also rather difficult to categorize. In guinea pig-kun's eyes, Shirayuki is not merely an object for pleasing yourself, is she? In that case, your feelings toward her are also extremely worthy of study."
Right beside Fujiwara Chiya's ear, Agnes Tachyon breathed softly.
"Tachyon, enough. Stop teasing me."
"What's wrong, guinea pig-kun? Are you starting to feel something? In that case, your understanding of yourself may be about on par with my understanding of you. Did you know? Human microexpressions betray their true thoughts. As long as one knows how to observe, it's quite easy to infer what the other party is thinking."
"What do you mean…"
"I mean, even if I don't know what you feel, and even without any shared-sensation ability, I can still make a fairly accurate guess by observing your expression."
Agnes Tachyon lightly nipped Fujiwara Chiya's earlobe again.
Watching the two of them react, she laughed.
"It feels good, doesn't it, guinea pig-kun?"
"Stop it, Tachyon…"
"I'm merely stimulating your desire. You didn't seem like you intended to continue, so I had no choice but to assist you. Are you embarrassed? For humans, this is a necessary process, you know. One link in the continuation of life. I don't believe guinea pig-kun has any need to feel ashamed."
Fujiwara Chiya could not tell whether Agnes Tachyon was messing with him or if she genuinely thought that way.
"Oh, right, guinea pig-kun. You promised before that you would give me a sample of your seed, didn't you? Were you planning to do that through Shirayuki? Or…"
Agnes Tachyon pointed at her mouth, licked her lips, and whispered into his ear.
"Would you like me to help you?"
"Sorry, Tachyon. I was wrong. I'll never do this sort of thing in the office again."
In the end, Agnes Tachyon stopped pressing him.
Shirayuki also obediently climbed off Chiya and sat on the sofa.
"Ahem. So, Tachyon, what did you come here to discuss with me?"
Fujiwara Chiya forcibly restrained the urge to burrow into the ground. Clinging to the shattered remains of his dignity as a trainer, he asked Agnes Tachyon his question.
Sipping black tea, Agnes Tachyon said, "I came to discuss Meek. She enters the Zone by relaxing her thoughts."
After saying that, she ate a cookie, then offered one to Shirayuki beside her.
The girl shook her head and gave her a smile that looked suspiciously like an attempt to curry favor.
My guinea pig-kun…
Their hormone secretion had already been unusually strong to begin with. Now that they had crossed that line, it had become even more intense. Shirayuki's female body was seeing a rapid increase in estrogen, her figure growing softer and more shapely by the day. As for Chiya's male body, just standing near him was enough to catch a tempting scent of hormones in the air.
Agnes Tachyon was not particularly interested in that sort of thing.
It did not matter who guinea pig-kun ended up with, as long as he continued obediently serving as her experimental subject.
And yet, after watching those two go at it like that, even Agnes Tachyon found her own emotions being tugged along.
If you two enjoy playing so much, perhaps I should try joining in.
That had been her thought just now.
Unfortunately, guinea pig-kun had backed down in the end.
Otherwise, Agnes Tachyon really would have liked to obtain a proper sample.
"You've already read what I wrote?" Fujiwara Chiya straightened his posture. "I'm not completely sure either, but based on my senses, that was the Zone. Shirayuki and I tested it. She can briefly block out bodily perception."
Absolute focus and absolute relaxation produced the same effect.
It sounded ridiculous, but that was exactly what had happened.
Both states reached the realm of selflessness.
"World-shaking experimental results often begin with accidental discoveries. I've researched the Zone for so long, yet I truly never considered this direction before. Guinea pig-kun, you've given me a new hint. However, there are still too few research samples at present. I'll need to trouble guinea pig-kun to continue observing Meek."
"Yeah. I'll tell you what I find when the time comes."
"You are becoming more and more like an assistant. At this point, guinea pig-kun could easily serve as my assistant. Unfortunately, habit is not so easily corrected. Once a guinea pig-kun, always a guinea pig-kun. From now on, that will remain your exclusive title. I won't be changing it."
"No need to change it. I'm used to being called that anyway."
The corner of Agnes Tachyon's brow lifted in visible delight.
"In that case, I won't disturb you any longer. Do try not to start hugging Shirayuki again the moment I leave."
"I told you, I won't!"
"Well… I am not trying to stop you. It's simply that many people come and go around the office. If someone sees you, it will be troublesome. If the two of you truly cannot hold back, you may come to my research lab. Hardly anyone visits there normally. I can clear out some space for you two to use."
"N-No, that won't be necessary…"
"You will need it eventually."
Agnes Tachyon gave him a meaningful smile, then turned and left the room.