Chapter 278

Up at the podium, Fe fidgeted, her gaze sweeping across the collected student body—her peers. Hands clenching at her side, she took a deep breath, then, impressively, spoke with a voice that didn’t quaver despite her obvious nervousness.

“Good morning, everyone. Today, my partner and I will be presenting an exciting breakthrough, one that I believe has wide-reaching implications for our field. As artificers, we strive to identify, modify, and enhance magical artifacts for the betterment of society—but I believe there’s a power source that we haven’t properly delved into, even in cutting-edge research facilities like this very academy. Together, my partner and I have created a prototype that harvests this energy to great effect.”

Zoey’s eyebrows raised as Fe gave their introduction to the class. With the anxious energy she had been giving off, Zoey had expected the sheepgirl to be a stuttering mess—or at least for her to stumble. But she delivered it as adeptly as a professional speaker. Certainly better than Zoey could have.

The composure didn’t last. After a deep breath and starting to elaborate on what, exactly, their project was, her voice quavered.

“The technology we’ll be demonstrating today makes use of an, ah, novel energy source that I became aware of thanks to a set of particularly ... strange artifacts I had a chance to work on.” Those artifacts were definitely Zoey’s. The messed-up chronology didn’t seem to pierce the dream logic. “Specifically,” Fe continued, her professional facade slipping further with each word, eyes shying away from the audience, “it’s, um, l-lustful energies.”

Lustful energies.

Those words hung in the air before a surprised murmur went through the crowd. Zoey fought an amused expression away, trying to stay professional.

The susurration seemed to be as much from the outrageousness of the words as from intrigue in Fe’s claim. Were these—admittedly imaginary, if perhaps based on real classmates—people genuinely interested in the functional merits of “lustful energy”? Zoey guessed this was a room filled with Fe’s peers, not just in name but in attitude as well.

“T-the first stage of our presentation will be the collection of such energies, and afterward, we’ll show what uses it might have. For now, my colleague will perform the collection process,” Fe squeaked, rushing the words out before fleeing the podium, her hard-garnered composure having run out.

Which meant Zoey was up. She took her place in front of the podium, scooping the harness out of the backpack and holding the apparatus up for the class to see. The strips of black leather covered in arcane runes were as interesting to look at as the first time: fetish gear made into a magical artifact.

She wondered whether the runic symbols meant something to Fe or if they were nonsense. They certainly meant nothing to Zoey. She had no idea how magical items worked in this world. It was possible to fabricate them, she knew, though the large majority came from shards.

“Right,” Zoey said, sweeping her gaze across the sizable crowd and finding herself oddly nervous. Despite being certain this was fake, it felt real. She wasn’t terrified of public speaking, but she wasn’t the kind of person who loved it either—especially with zero preparation. “As Fe explained, this ... ah, device ... collects and stores sexual energy for later use. Pretty innovative stuff, and it took a lot of work to make.” She turned to Fe with a grin. “While we could just talk about the theory behind it, where’s the fun in that? Empirical evidence is better, no? I’m sure you all want to see the whole process, not take our word on it. So, the first step is getting the energy, as Fe said, and after that, my partner and I will display what it can be used for. I hope you enjoy.”

The last bits of Fe’s plastered-on professionalism crumbled as Zoey advanced on her with the harness in hand, a predator-like grin on her face as she stalked her prey. Even more than usual, Zoey felt like pouncing on the girl. Was it the fluffy white hair and sheep horns, the blatant timidity?

Vaguely, Zoey was conscious of the crowd of students watching her, a sea of both men and women across many species. They leaned forward in their seats, interested, either academically or more personally, in the developing situation. She could feel the excitement in the air; it tingled across her skin. To be fair, Zoey herself would’ve been thrilled by what should’ve been a stuffy collection of academic presentations being interrupted by two girls publicly fucking in the ‘name of science.’ This would’ve been the highlight of the class—or the year.