The workshop was currently at 29 degrees Celsius, which was four degrees above Kaito’s preferred operating temperature. The culprit was leaning against his primary workbench, her skin radiating a low, amber hum that made the air shimmer.

  "The chair is recalibrated for your bone density," Kaito said, wiping a smudge of Elven mana-residue from the brass headrest. "But we have a conductivity issue. Elven skin is porous; yours is essentially organic armor. The vacuum draw won't penetrate your epidermis without a medium."

  Xenia pushed off the bench, her massive frame casting a shadow over the Mk. I Chair. "A medium? I gave you the crystal, human. Now give me the relief. My blood feels like it’s boiling."

  "It technically is," Kaito noted, checking his thermal scanner. "Your core temperature is 43 Celsius. You’re red-lining. To bridge the gap between the chair’s electrodes and your primary nodes, I have to apply a high-viscosity conductive gel. Manually."

  From the shadows of the back storage nook, a sharp intake of breath echoed. Era was still there, ostensibly "verifying the safety of the equipment," but her violet eyes were fixed on Xenia with a mix of bureaucratic disdain and raw, unadulterated curiosity.

  "You’re staying for the show, High-Born?" Xenia rasped, her predatory grin widening as she began to unbuckle her leather chest-piece. "Careful. You might learn something about real output."

  "I am merely ensuring this... creature... doesn't damage the Magistrate’s property," Era countered, though she didn't move toward the door.

  [Objective: Initiate Tier 2 Calibration (Monster-Type)]

  [Required Action: Manual Application of Conductive Lubricant]

  [Warning: Client Arousal Levels are a Direct Variable of Mana-Discharge]

  Kaito picked up a jar of thick, translucent blue gel. "Strip to the waist and sit. I don't have time for the territorial posturing. I have a rent deadline in three weeks."

  Xenia didn't hesitate. The leather armor hit the floor with a heavy thud, revealing the ste-grey, corded muscle of her torso. Her breasts were heavy, tipped with dark, sensitive points that pulsed in time with the amber glow of her skin. She sat in the chair, the leather creaking under her mass.

  Kaito stepped between her spyed knees. He didn't look at her with lust; he looked at her like a mechanic looking under the hood of a heavy-duty truck. He scooped a handful of the cold gel and pressed it against the center of her chest, right over her sternum.

  Xenia let out a low, guttural growl as his hand moved in slow, firm circles. "It’s... cold. Gods, human, your hands are like ice."

  "Standard heat-sink effect," Kaito muttered. He moved his hand lower, spreading the slick lubricant over the ridges of her abdominal muscles toward the intake port located just above her navel. "The gel facilitates the electron flow. If I don't coat the secondary nodes on your inner thighs, the chair will cause localized electrical burns. Open your legs further. I need clear access to the femoral conduits."

  Xenia obeyed, her breath hitching as Kaito knelt between her thighs. He sthered more of the gel onto his palms and began to rub it into the sensitive skin of her inner p. The contrast was stark—his pale, thin hands against her dark, powerful limbs.

  "Kaito..." Xenia hissed, her head snapping back against the headrest. Her hips gave an involuntary twitch as his thumbs pressed into the junction where her heat was most concentrated. "The 'conductivity'... it’s starting to feel like something else."

  "That’s the friction-coefficient of the gel," Kaito expined, his eyes fixed on the way her skin was beginning to flush a deep, bruised purple. "And the fact that your mana is trying to ground through my touch. Stay still. I’m moving to the dorsal vents."

  He stood and walked behind her, leaning over her shoulder. His chest pressed against her back as he reached around to apply the gel to the underside of her heavy breasts, lifting them with a clinical ck of hesitation to ensure total coverage.

  In the corner, Era’s hand gripped the stone shelf so hard it cracked. "This is... highly irregur," she whispered, her face burning.

  "It’s maintenance, Magistrate," Kaito said, snapping the leather restraints over Xenia’s wrists. "Now, activating the draw. Xenia, the hobgoblin nervous system is more reactive than the Elven one. The 'rebound' will be violent. Brace the core."

  He pulled the lever.

  The workshop didn't just hum; it roared. The violet crystal turned a deep, blood-orange, matching Xenia’s signature.

  The scream that tore out of Xenia wasn't one of pain. It was a raw, primal sound of total system-purging. Her body bucked with terrifying strength, the brass bolts of the chair straining as the machine tore the "dirty" heat out of her. The conductive gel began to sizzle, turning into a fine mist that smelled of musk and iron.

  "Flow rate at 4.0!" Kaito shouted over the din, his hands firmly on her shoulders to keep her from snapping the frame. "Manual override! I have to stabilize the ventral port!"

  He reached down, his hand sliding over the slick, gel-covered skin of her stomach and pressing firmly into the heat-source between her legs. Xenia’s eyes went wide, her pupils flooding with amber light as she reached a catastrophic peak. Her back arched so hard her spine made an audible pop, and a wave of pure, kinetic mana bsted outward, knocking a row of beakers off the shelf.

  [Tier 2 Calibration: 100% Complete]

  [Data Points: +150]

  [Client Satisfaction: Critical Max]

  The machine died down. The orange glow faded into a soft, simmering embers-light. Xenia was limp, her head hanging, a string of saliva trailing from her lip as she breathed in deep, ragged gulps. The blue gel was everywhere—on her skin, on the chair, and coating Kaito’s forearms.

  Kaito stood back, checking his watch. "Nine minutes. High efficiency, though the cleanup time will be tripled."

  He looked over at Era, who was staring at Xenia’s trembling, half-naked form with a look of stunned realization. The "territorial" friction was no longer about bureaucracy; it was about the fact that Xenia had just experienced something Era now realized she wanted again.

  "Magistrate," Kaito said, his voice as ft as ever. "Since you’re still here, you can assist with the post-session wipe-down. It’s part of the 'Verification' you were so concerned about. I need to check the brass leads for warping."

  "I... I will do no such thing!" Era stammered, though she took a step closer, her eyes locked on the slick, muscur curves of the hobgoblin.

  Xenia lifted her head, a dazed, predatory smirk on her face. "Don't be shy, High-Born. There’s enough gel for both of us. And the human... he’s got very steady hands."

  Kaito ignored them both, already opening his ledger. "Thirty silver total for the day. That covers the wire, the lubricant, and a 5% dividend for Xenia. The business is finally in the bck."

  He looked at his two clients—the High Magistrate and the Hobgoblin Enforcer—and mentally calcuted the "Acoustic Dampening" blueprints he’d need for the next instaltion. If the Guild patrols caught wind of the high-decibel discharge coming from a Rust District celr, he'd be answering to Captain Thorne before the gel had even dried.