Chapter 20: Chapter 20: The Breeding Experiment
Unexpectedly, the scene in the underground workshop wasn't as gruesome as one might have thought.
In fact, it wasn't gruesome at all.
If anything, it was rather... suggestive.
More than a dozen men and women were gathered there, completely naked, the atmosphere thick with an erotic tension. The entire screen was filled with scenes that left little to the imagination—completely unfit for description.
What the...?
A wild orgy?
Atram, you bastard, you're having way too much fun!
Roy's eyes widened as he scanned the screen back and forth.
There were only three men—Atram himself, a burly guy, and one frail figure—and the rest were women.
And that frail figure? It was none other than Aki Tomoya.
The other man, the burly one, had been brought from the refugee shelter at the same time as Aki.
No, looking closer, Atram wasn't even participating. He was just sitting there, watching with an amused smile. The only ones "engaged in activity" were the burly man and Aki Tomoya.
And even then, they were both utterly passive.
Aki Tomoya's face was deathly pale, full of resistance and fear. He tried to crawl away but was quickly pulled back.
The burly man seemed to have a bit more strength left, but even he looked haggard, as though he was close to being completely drained.
Atram watched, thoroughly entertained, his grin wide.
What the hell is going on here?
Roy stared at the screen, his mind racing.
Is Atram really this bored? Or this generous?
As Roy's eyes swept over the women, none of them seemed familiar. He recalled that the wave of refugees this month had started with an influx of people claiming to be from another world.
Since the beginning of the month, there had been three waves of refugees arriving at the Fuyuki City shelter.
Roy, as part of the city's guard, had been present for each wave.
The first wave had no familiar faces. The second seemed the same, until he saw Ai Hayasaka, whom Rin Tohsaka had secretly taken in. The third wave included Shiina Kasha and Aki Tomoya—people Roy knew. The rest were just nameless faces.
So, among the refugees, only Ai Hayasaka, Shiina Kasha, and Aki Tomoya were people Roy recognized.
Why would Atram have two of these refugees in an orgy?
Magicians never do anything without a purpose. They are always calculating, willing to go to any lengths to achieve their goals.
Magicians are also incredibly busy. Roy had to save up an entire year's worth of vacation just to get a few days off, and even then, there were still emergency missions popping up. Yet, Atram, as busy as he must be, had time to oversee two people in a debauched scene. What was the point?
Unless...
"...Lord Roy, that's enough. Please, stop the familiar."
A voice, thick with suppressed anger, cut through Roy's thoughts.
He snapped back to reality and glanced over at Shiina Kasha, whose face had turned a disturbing shade of pale.
Not suffering? Doesn't seem like he's having a terrible time to me! How dare he ask me to plead with my master for help?
That scene... It was practically searing her eyes!
"Kasha, I think this situation is more complicated than it appears," Roy said, reading the storm brewing in her expression.
"That's a—uh—refugee and a local resident. This is likely not just some party... but an experiment."
"...An experiment?"
Shiina Kasha ground her teeth together, glaring as if the word itself was something disgusting.
"Magicians don't waste their efforts on frivolous things."
Roy waved his hand, severing the magical link to the brass bird and recalling it.
"Magic, by its very nature, evolves through research and experimentation. Even something as fundamental as the concept of procreation can be studied, manipulated, and ultimately controlled to form new magic."
"Atram is probably running some kind of reproductive experiment. Specifically, it seems to involve breeding between refugees from other worlds and local inhabitants."
Three waves of refugees had already arrived.
From the very first wave, some refugees had openly claimed to be from another world.
With the growing number of refugees, such claims could no longer be hidden.
Most magicians didn't care, though. They knew parallel worlds were real, so the idea of refugees crossing over from other parallel worlds wasn't particularly shocking.
Especially since none of these refugees possessed any supernatural powers. They were all just ordinary people.
Sure, it was surprising that these people had crossed over from other worlds, but in a place like Fuyuki City, strange things like this weren't unheard of.
Ten years ago, Zelretch, the Second Magician who held dominion over parallel worlds, had appeared in Fuyuki City.
Many assumed that Zelretch had been involved in these crossings.
But magicians, as everyone knew, were beings with little regard for morals. Even with Rin Tohsaka's laws in place, it wouldn't be surprising if some of them still tried to use these refugees for their own experiments.
Atram, apparently, was one of them.
"Breeding... experiments?"
Shiina Kasha's face contorted in disgust, as though she had just swallowed something foul.
"Yes. Judging by how worn out they look, it's been going on for several days now. I'd say they were forced into it."
Roy hazarded a guess.
Perhaps there had been some excitement in the beginning, but after days of relentless activity, even the strongest man would be utterly drained. It wasn't surprising that they both looked ready to collapse. Overdoing it could quite literally be the death of them.
Roy's reasoning seemed solid.
Aki Tomoya's reluctance to share what had happened to him now made perfect sense.
If Roy himself had been caught in such a situation, he'd probably find it hard to talk about too. And if someone else found out—especially someone he knew—it would be a social death on a scale worse than anything imaginable.
Shiina Kasha's expression shifted wildly, her chest heaving with rapid breaths.
The first thing that flashed through her mind wasn't Aki Tomoya.
It was the day she had been brought to the refugee shelter.
"Didn't expect there'd be such high-quality goods among this batch of refugees. That woman, and the man over there—I'll be taking these two!"
That dark-skinned bastard had said those very words!
And his aim had been to use the refugees for breeding experiments!
If she had been taken by that man, what would her situation be now?
Would she be trapped, surrounded by men, forced to endure unspeakable things until she got pregnant? Would she be powerless to resist under the overwhelming authority and strength of a magician? Even if she fought back, would she be hypnotized, stripped of her will, unable to protect herself or her own identity?
What a nightmare!
The mere thought of such a scenario made Shiina Kasha tremble uncontrollably. She wanted to scream, to banish the horrifying images from her mind.
For the first time, she truly understood what it meant to fear magicians.
Her body shook violently as she hugged her knees to her chest, sinking to the floor. Fear coursed through every fiber of her being.
"It's alright, don't be afraid. I'm here..."
She felt the gentle hand of the boy beside her, patting her back, his voice soft and calming.
It took a while for her to regain her composure.
And for the first time, she felt an overwhelming surge of gratitude toward Roy for having taken her away from that nightmare.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥰 Support the translation and help me grow.🤓
Read upto 20 Extra chapter in Patreon