"You're trying to analyze your own physiological reactions? Good. Then now, allow me to offer you the most direct, most complete 'raw data.' Let you experience, firsthand, what it feels like when a single cell is fully invaded, possessed, and remade by an overwhelmingly powerful virus."
He pushed her thighs apart with one knee. Yanked the white silk dress up to her waist. Pulled her panties down her legs and let them fall.
Eru's body was shaking. Her knowledge, her theories, her composed persona, all of it was draining out of her by the second.
"Senpai..." she whispered, eyes searching desperately for Fuyumi.
Fuyumi sat motionless on the floor a few meters away. She did not turn her face away. She had been ordered to watch.
Seiji pushed in.
A sharp, broken sound came out of Eru's throat. Her back arched. Her hands clawed at the carpet. Her eyes went wide.
He didn't pause. He sank himself fully and held there for a moment, letting her body absorb the sheer fact of what was happening.
Then he started fucking her.
Slow at first. Watching her face. Each thrust drove a small, helpless sound out of her mouth that she could not stop.
"Subject's response," he murmured into her ear, voice mock-clinical. "Pupils dilated. Respiration shallow and rapid. Vocal cords producing involuntary high-pitched output. Pelvic muscles contracting around the foreign body. Initial assessment: subject is failing her own objectivity test."
"D-don't..."
"Don't what? Describe yourself? You're the researcher, Chitanda-san. The data is right here."
His pace got harder. The carpet rubbed her bare back. Her thighs were spread wide on either side of his hips. Her white dress had been pushed up to under her arms. Her small breasts bounced with each thrust.
She tried to close her eyes.
He gripped her chin, forced them open.
"Look at your senpai while I fuck you. Both of you. Look at each other."
Eru was forced to turn her head.
She saw Fuyumi.
Fuyumi was on her knees on the floor a short distance away. Her head was lowered, her hands gripping the hem of her own skirt so tightly her knuckles were white. Her body, too, was trembling faintly.
"You see?" Seiji's voice came at her ear, the murmur of a devil. "She's trembling too. Is she sad for you? No. She is remembering the first time I 'studied' her this way. She envies you. Envies the unique 'first time' experience you are having right now. Soon enough, the two of you will get used to it. The two of you will work together, like the most professional pair of research assistants, to help me with all of my 'experiments.'"
Those words shattered the last fragment of Eru's spirit.
She looked at her senpai with empty eyes. As if she had felt the gaze, Fuyumi slowly raised her head.
Their eyes met.
One girl was being publicly executed. The other was being forced to watch her own past replayed in front of her.
In that moment their fates were cruelly bound together.
Seiji fucked her harder. The sound of his hips slapping against her thighs filled the room. Eru's breath broke into ragged gasps. Her body was responding without her permission, her hips lifting up to meet his thrusts, her face flushed deep red, tears streaming down her temples and into her hair.
"Cum for me."
"N-no..."
"It wasn't a question."
He drove deep and ground his hips against hers. His hand slid down between them and pressed his thumb to her clit. Two slow circles.
Eru broke. Her thighs clamped down. Her pussy clenched hard around his cock. Her back lifted clear off the carpet. A long, shattered cry tore out of her throat that she could not bite back.
Fuyumi closed her eyes. Did not look away. Was not allowed to.
Seiji held himself deep through her orgasm. Then started fucking her again, hard, drawing every last shudder out of her until she was lying limp under him, eyes hollow, lips parted, tear tracks drying on her face.
When he came, he held himself buried to the hilt and emptied into her.
She did not cry out anymore. She just shook, and shook, and her body refused to stop.
In that moment, in Seiji's mind, the system chime rang out, cold and clear.
[Congratulations, Host. Successfully conquered Eru Chitanda. Stage One Reward: Infrasonic Pest Repulsion and Neural Interference System.]
A double satisfaction pulled the corner of Seiji's mouth into a cold smile.
He finally stopped moving. He pulled out of her slowly, watched the cum start to spill out between her thighs onto the carpet. Then he raised his head and looked at Fuyumi, whose face had gone bone-white.
He gave her a new order, no emotion in his voice at all.
"Fuyumi. Your kohai seems to be a little weak from the 'research.' Go. Comfort her. The way I taught you."
...
...
The first light of morning slid into Seiji's study. The floor-to-ceiling windows were enormous. The light came through, clean.
The air still carried the residue of the previous night's debauchery.
Eru Chitanda knelt silently on the floor. She was folding the pure white slip dress. The dress had been ruined past recognition. She folded it carefully, meticulously, as though carrying out a sacred and sorrowful ritual. Her long black hair was a little tangled. A few strands clung to her cheeks. Her face was pale, but utterly without expression.
She did not dare raise her head. She did not dare look at the other two people in the room.
Beside her, Fuyumi had changed into a sharp black skirt suit.
She was quietly brewing coffee for Seiji. She seemed, at the moment, to be merely an efficient component in the room, untouched by any of the filth around her. Only the faint sound of bubbling from the coffee pot betrayed an inner state that was not nearly as calm.
Seiji lay on the sofa. He wore only a silk dressing gown. He took in the picture in front of him with great interest. The picture was a work of art: a saint just defiled, and a woman emperor forced into complicity. Together they formed a beautiful scene that mixed degradation with submission.
His gaze settled on Eru's hands. Those hands trembled faintly as they folded the dress.
"Skilled hands." He smiled and broke the silence of the room. "It seems the Chitanda family's manners really are quite something. Although, this dress has lost its purpose. Have Fuyumi take it away in a moment."
Eru's hands paused. Then she went on folding, as though she had not heard.
"What, you can't bear to part with it?" Seiji's voice was full of teasing mischief. "It is your first 'experiment uniform' as a 'research subject.' For you, it should be quite a memorial item, no? Shall I have Fuyumi frame it for you? Hang it on the wall. So you can be reminded, every day, where and how your 'curiosity' was satisfied."
The words slid into Eru's ears like a venomous snake. Her body jolted. She finally raised her head. In those clear violet eyes, fire sparked for the first time. Fire mixed with shame, fury, and hatred.
"You..."
"What about me?" Seiji met her gaze with a smile. "I am only helping you record the 'research' process. Chitanda-san, you must remember your identity at every moment. Every emotion of yours is part of my research. Just now, your performance is 'rage.' Interesting. But still not 'professional' enough."
He turned his eyes to Fuyumi. "Fuyumi. Tell your kohai what expression a 'professional' assistant should wear in this moment."
Fuyumi walked over with the brewed coffee. She set it respectfully in front of Seiji. She kept her head down. Her voice was steady, like someone reciting from a textbook.
"I should... maintain calm, and remain ready to receive the master's next instruction at any time."
"Did you hear that?" Seiji picked up the coffee and took a small sip. "Your senpai is already a very fine research specimen. You should learn from her."
He set the cup down and opened the enormous holographic screen in front of him. On it appeared the interface of the [Infrasonic Pest Repulsion and Neural Interference System]. The interface was cold, full of futuristic precision. The reward he had received the previous night.
"Look." He pointed to the screen. "This is the 'answer' you have purchased with one night of cooperation. Beautiful, isn't it?"
Eru was forced to raise her head. She looked at the complex interface. The data streams unfurled like a tree of life. Her damnable curiosity stirred again, against her will. She could read part of it. The basic theory of acoustic frequencies and bioelectromagnetic fields. But the core algorithm at its heart was scripture from another world, completely beyond her understanding.
This was... that "answer"?
"Today, I will let you see, with your own eyes, how this 'answer' demonstrates its power." Seiji leaned back on the sofa. His tone was that of a director arranging a scene. "My plan is simple."
"First. Kengo Yamamoto, that fool, after every conventional method has failed, will inevitably choose the most stupid, most direct path. He will set fire to the fields and destroy the evidence. Fuyumi, our intelligence network shows... when does he move?"
Fuyumi answered immediately. "Reporting, sir. Yamamoto's mercenary unit is expected to act tonight at midnight."
"Good." Seiji nodded. "Then step two of the plan: turn this arson into a joke. Step three: tomorrow morning, before your father, before those desperate officials, before all the media, stage a 'miracle.' I will, in a way that admits no rebuttal, eliminate the pest crisis."
He paused. His gaze swept across Eru and Fuyumi. The corner of his mouth pulled into a cruel smile.
"Then comes the final step, the most important step. I will make your father, of his own free will, like offering a sacrifice, 'present' everything the Chitanda family possesses, to me. Including you. I will make him believe this is a blessing the gods have granted his family."
Eru's face went paper-white. She finally understood. What this man wanted had never been only her body. He wanted everything they had. Their family. Their dignity. Every shred of will they possessed as human beings.
"Now," Seiji picked up his private phone and dialed his assistant. He pressed the speakerphone button. "Time to send the announcement for our miracle."
The line connected. The assistant's respectful voice came through. "Sir, what are your orders?"
"Notify the patriarch of the Chitanda family, and every Ministry of Agriculture official still in Kamiyama." Seiji's tone allowed no contradiction. "Tell them that tomorrow morning at six o'clock, in front of the Chitanda family's main field, I, Seiji Fujiwara, will appear in person. I will demonstrate for them a 'miracle' that will completely eliminate the pest crisis. Tell them to wash their eyes clean and prepare themselves to witness the descent of a god."
The assistant on the other end paused for a beat, then answered immediately. "Yes, sir! I'll see to it at once!"
Seiji ended the call. He looked at Eru, who had been struck dumb. He laughed softly.
"There. The announcement is out. Now, let us appreciate together. Appreciate the desperate, fascinating struggles of these mortal creatures, in the hours before dawn arrives."
...
...
Sasaki, the Ministry of Agriculture official.
He had already withdrawn to his hotel and was preparing to return to Tokyo the following day.
He took the call from Seiji's personal assistant. He heard the line: "Mr. Seiji Fujiwara will personally arrive at your location tomorrow morning at six, to demonstrate a miracle."
His first reaction was disbelief.
"A miracle?" After hanging up, he laughed in front of his subordinates. "Has that Fujiwara heir lost his mind? Who does he think he is? Amaterasu-omikami? We assembled the country's top experts. We deployed the most advanced chemical agents. None of it worked. And he is going to come in alone and produce a miracle?"
A young official echoed him. "Indeed, Sasaki-san. This is absurd. Perhaps he means to use this as an opportunity to humiliate the Ministry of Agriculture for our incompetence."
Sasaki gave a cold snort and lifted his glass of wine.
"Let him do what he wants. I'd like to see what kind of magic trick he can pull off tomorrow morning. A privileged second-generation heir of a conglomerate, talking like that. Perfect. The media can see for themselves how arrogant and ignorant these conglomerate dynasties really are."
His mouth said one thing, but in the depths of his heart a faint unease had stirred.
The Fujiwara conglomerate. The very name carried the weight of a force that ordinary reasoning could not measure. He decided he would go to the field tomorrow after all. With a half-mocking, half-desperate state of mind. The kind of "treating a dead horse like a living one" mentality of a man with nothing left to lose.
...
The Abundant Future office.
Kengo Yamamoto, through his inside man at the Ministry of Agriculture, learned of Seiji's "announcement" almost the instant it went out.
He was in his office, celebrating the success of his plan with his closest subordinates.
When he heard the news, he froze for a moment, then erupted into open, unrestrained laughter.
"Hahahaha! A miracle? Did I hear that wrong? That Seiji Fujiwara, the one who only knows how to play with women, is going to perform a miracle?" He laughed until his eyes nearly watered. He slammed his palm on the desk. "Have the women of Kamiyama drained the last of his brains out of him?!"
His subordinates fell into the same flattering laughter. "Indeed, Yamamoto-san! He is courting his own humiliation! When he arrives tomorrow morning and finds nothing but a field of scorched earth in front of him, who knows what kind of expression he'll wear!"
"No! That's not enough!"
A vicious gleam flashed in Yamamoto's eyes. "The plan is moving up. Have the mercenaries act now! I won't wait until midnight! I want it now! Right now! Burn those damned fields to ash! Then I want the media to take a picture of Seiji Fujiwara standing in front of a field of cinders, helpless, looking like an idiot! I want him to be the laughing stock of all Japan!"
He raised his glass with arrogant abandon. "To our coming victory. And to that fool's public humiliation. Cheers!"
...
Inside Seiji's suite, the consequences were already falling on Eru.
Seiji's intelligence network had intercepted Yamamoto's latest order almost the instant it was issued.
He looked at the screen. The red dots representing the mercenary squad began to move toward the Chitanda fields. A cruel smile spread across his face.
He did not act immediately. Instead he turned his head and looked at Eru, kneeling on the floor.
"It seems someone is in even more of a hurry than we are." He pointed at the red dots on the screen and spoke to her. "Yamamoto's arsonists have already set out. Within the hour, the land of your family will be charred ruins. The land that holds centuries of your family's blood and labor."
Eru's body shook violently. The color drained from her face. Without thinking, she tried to stand.
"No! We have to... we have to stop them! Call the police!"
"Call the police?" Seiji laughed softly. "Naive young miss. In a place like Kamiyama, do you think the police can move faster than Abundant Future's mercenaries?"
He turned to Fuyumi. He gave her a command that could only be called venomous.
"Fuyumi. Call your kohai. Use your own phone."
Fuyumi's whole body went rigid. She knew what the master wanted to do.
"Boss..." For the first time she looked at Seiji with something close to pleading in her eyes.
"Hm?" Seiji's gaze went cold in an instant.
Fuyumi immediately dropped her head. Her voice trembled as she answered. "Yes, boss."
She took out her phone. Under Seiji's cold gaze, she dialed the Chitanda family residence. She had even been ordered to put it on speakerphone.
The phone rang for a long time before it was picked up.
The aged, exhausted voice of Eru's father came through the line. "...Hello?"
Fuyumi glanced at Eru on the floor, whose face had gone the color of ash.
She closed her eyes. Then, in the prearranged tone of voice, urgent yet carefully restrained, she said:
"Chitanda-ojisan, it's me, Fuyumi Irisu. I just received a very urgent message. The people of Abundant Future may be planning to move against your fields tonight. Please... no matter what... tonight, please have Eru stay close to Mr. Fujiwara. He is the only one who can protect her."
Having said that, on cue, she immediately ended the call.
Seiji nodded, satisfied. Then he turned to admire the look on Eru's face, which had drained of every drop of color and now held only despair and humiliation.
He had let Eru hear, with her own ears, how her senpai had personally "sold" her to him. With a justification so reasonable, so neatly packaged.
"Now, do you understand?" Seiji walked over to her and crouched down. He took her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him. "Your family. Your land. Your safety. Everything you have. All of it hangs by the single thread of my will. I can save them. Or I can... appreciate watching them be destroyed."
He opened the holographic screen in front of him. He pulled up the [Neural Interference System] interface.
"However, I am in a good mood today. Let me show you, with your own eyes, how a god punishes the ants who do not know their place."
He looked at the screen. The red dots representing the mercenaries had reached the edge of the forest bordering the fields. He extended a finger and tapped lightly on the screen.
"Activate Neural Interference Mode. Power output: ten percent. Parameter setting: directed disruption of spatial perception. Lock circular path."
On the screen, the red dots staggered, as though they had suddenly been drunk. They began to wander in confused circles inside the forest. Their straight-line distance from the fields, instead of shortening, grew further apart.
"What are they doing?" Eru asked, watching the strange display, the question slipping out without thought.
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