The sudden blare of an alarm startled everyone inside the research institute—
"What's going on? Are we under attack?"
"Who would attack the Fertility Research Institute? And this alarm... it sounds different from the others."
"That sound... doesn't it sound like it's coming from the monitoring room?"
...
As everyone was murmuring amongst themselves, Linke, the staffer on duty in the monitoring room, burst into Director Samson's office like a madman. He didn't even bother to knock, simply shoving the door open and rushing inside. "Director, I have a report!"
"Report what? And what's that noise outside?" As the door swung open, the fading sound of the alarm drifted in. Samson stood up, frowning as he asked.
"Director, I'm on duty in the monitoring room today. We just received a data transmission—the natural conception monitoring system registered a hit. That's what the alarm is for; it's to alert us."
The stern expression on Samson's face shattered. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. His eyes went wide as he stared intently at Linke, his voice tight. "What did you just say?"
He didn't even notice the tremor in his own voice.
Even though Linke had recovered from the initial shock, his heart was still pounding in his chest. At the question, he quickly repeated what he had just said.
Natural conception!
He hadn't misheard. Samson pinched his own thigh hard, just to make sure he wasn't dreaming!
"Quickly! Access their identification data immediately! We have to find them as soon as possible!"
Samson had now recovered from his shock, an irrepressible excitement bubbling up from within.
My God, natural conception!
After hundreds of years, the Empire finally had another case of natural conception!
However, Linke, who should have left as soon as Samson gave the order, remained rooted to the spot. Samson couldn't help but ask, "Why are you still standing there?"
Now that Linke had calmed down, his brain was working again. "Director, we never updated the natural conception monitoring system. It can receive the signal, but it can't capture or record the individual's identification data. In other words, all we know is that a female in the Empire has successfully conceived naturally. We have no way of knowing who she is."
It was an agonizing feeling, like seeing money on the ground only to find it's under a sheet of unbreakable glass when you try to pick it up.
Samson immediately realized what this meant. A few years ago, every system in the institute had undergone a massive upgrade—except for the natural conception monitor. At the time, many had even argued for decommissioning the system altogether. Their reasoning was that since no female in the Empire had conceived naturally for centuries, it was impossible that one ever would.
Keeping the system active, they argued, was just a waste of the Fertility Research Institute's budget.
But the conservatives on the other side felt that natural conception was the only hope for the Beastman race. Even if the system served no practical function, it should be kept as a constant reminder, a way to motivate the researchers to push their explorations further.
In the end, the system was preserved, but it was never upgraded.
Which was why, now that the impossible had happened, they were completely powerless.
Realizing this, Samson slammed his fist on the desk. The force of the blow was a testament to the fury in his heart!
Natural conception!
This was natural conception!
If they could have found the individual right away, they could have collected invaluable, first-hand data. But now, because of those naysayers, they had lost the perfect opportunity!
This would be a setback for the reproductive evolution of the entire Empire.
Indeed, countless scientists had theorized that the greatest obstacle to gene fusion was reproduction itself. The inability to conceive naturally meant that a perfect Gene Fusion Expert could never exist.
Humankind would be unable to achieve true evolution.
"Gather everyone in the conference room, now."
*
Lu Xia had no idea that the Empire's Fertility Research Institute was holding a major meeting because of her. Even if she had known, she wouldn't have cared.
Because, as she had discovered, nowhere in the entire Empire were pregnancy tests sold.
Presumably, since no one had any need for them, such things simply didn't exist. But for her, this was a huge problem.
'If I go to a hospital for a check-up now, won't I be treated like some rare specimen and get hounded?'
'I still don't get it. How could I be pregnant?'
'I was only intimate with Graces that first night... although it happened many times. But isn't he a 'defective product'? Isn't he supposed to be infertile?'
'The whole reason I had sex with him was, first, to establish our contract of submission, and second, because he couldn't have children!'
'So what's going on?'
She looked down at her flat stomach, still unable to accept reality.
In truth, Lu Xia wasn't the only one having trouble accepting reality. The old butler driving the car was also questioning his very existence.
'Duke Lu Xia... is pregnant!'
'A natural conception!'
'My God, if word of this got out, who would believe it?'
'And yet, it was all real. He had seen the proof with his own eyes.'
He'd had his share of shocks lately, but none had been as staggering as this!
'Weren't the genes responsible for natural conception supposed to have disappeared from the population completely?'
'How could a natural conception have occurred!'
'And Graces... isn't he the 'defective product' male from Duke Leslie's family?'
'How does a 'defective product' get someone pregnant?'
'He just didn't understand!'
'He was utterly baffled!'
And so the master and servant, sitting in the same hovercar, found themselves troubled by the very same conundrum.
So much so that when Graces came home from work that evening, he immediately sensed that the atmosphere was off. The way both the old butler and Lu Xia looked at him held a strange, unreadable quality.
"Graces, do you have time for a physical examination tomorrow?" Lu Xia was the first to speak. 'This can't be my fault, so the problem must be with him.'
Graces paused, momentarily stunned. Though he didn't understand why Lu Xia wanted him to get a check-up, he didn't refuse. He simply nodded. "I can. What do you need me to get checked for?"
"Just your genetics," she said. 'Maybe this guy isn't a 'defective product' at all,' she thought. 'He could be some powerhouse with an incredibly high gene fusion rate. We've all been deceived!'
Hearing this, Graces pursed his lips. "May I ask why you want me to get this kind of examination?"
Lu Xia didn't answer him directly. Instead, she said, "We'll talk after the results are in. Butler, you will accompany him tomorrow."
The unspoken message was clear: she wanted the old butler to watch him and make sure he didn't have any opportunity to falsify the results.
The old butler gave Lu Xia a look of perfect understanding.