My erection had never gone away since we'd started talking about this project. It was still rock solid even after all these hours. If anything it seemed like it was getting harder. That made sense, though, considering what I knew now about the power of pheromones.
My assistant was less enthusiastic. She was trying her best to understand, but the poor girl obviously didn't grasp just how important this was.
"I'm sorry, master, I just don't see why you'd need a perfume that smells like…that," she said hesitantly. Her fluffy ears had almost retreated into her hair, giving her the look of a puppy waiting to be scolded. But instead I just patted her head gently.
"Ah, it can't be helped," I said reassuringly. "You're still new to the perfumer's craft. I can't expect you to fully appreciate the magnitude of what I'm trying to achieve here."
She looked at me as if I were insane.
"But—" she began.
"Don't worry, my dear," I interrupted. "You'll see soon. You might not have the experience to recognize that the holy grail of perfumery lies within our grasp, but with my continued guidance and your hard work, I know you will one day reach that pinnacle with me."
Her eyes widened in surprise. Then they narrowed suspiciously.
"Master?"
"Yes? What is it?"
"Are you sure you're not just a pervert?" she asked bluntly.
That used up the rest of my patience. "…enough," I said dismissively. "Let me see your notes. Did you get everything down?"
"Uh-huh," she replied, handing over the pages from her notebook. The scent list alone was four full pages long!
"Good job!" I exclaimed happily. "Now, as I explained, the aroma of an aroused male's penis is extremely complex. There are thousands upon thousands of different compounds responsible for what laymen refer to simply as its "musky odor"—each contributing their own unique characteristics. And some of those components may actually trigger other chemicals in the body to produce additional sensations."
I could practically hear the gears turning behind her pretty blue eyes. This was clearly a subject close to her heart.
"And you want to create something that mimics the whole thing?" she guessed correctly.
"Exactly," I confirmed. "The goal isn't merely to smell like sex. We also want to feel it. To simulate the sensation of arousal so perfectly that any woman who smells it would instantly become wet without ever having seen or touched a man's genitals."
"Wow," she murmured reverently. "So…what do we need to start with?"
"Well…" It wasn't the most decisive strategy, but it was my best bet. Dog girls were known for their keen sense of smell—something I openly envied her for—and they could detect subtleties in a fragrance that were completely lost on humans. Although she lacked my years of expertise, it was conceivable that she could not just pick up on things far beyond my abilities, but also identify potential aromatic sources that could be used to produce the right formula. "You'll need to lend me your nose. We'll examine some live specimens."
"Live specimens?!" she gasped. "Like real penises?! Are we really going through with this plan?"
"Come on, I'm sure you've stuck your nose in more embarrassing places," I reminded her lightly. She blushed furiously. "Oh, and although I said 'live specimens', I obviously don't have the luxury of keeping my cellar stocked with young, virile human males, so you'll have to make do with me."
Saffron had turned bright red by now, but she nodded anyway.
"All right then," she said, getting up off her chair. Her tail swished back and forth nervously as she approached me. Conveniently enough, I had been sitting there with my pants around my ankles for the past hour; it was the most sensible thing to do once it was clear that my erection wouldn't calm down any time soon.
My assistant's nostrils flared as she got closer, taking deep breaths of the air. Her ears perked up, too, as if she were honing in on something. She took another step forward, until her nose was almost touching my crotch, whereupon she inhaled deeply again. Then, she paused, as if trying to find the right words to fully convey what she had just experienced. I waited patiently for her to summarize her thoughts. I had taught her everything I knew about the perfumer's vocabulary, and now it was time for her to put it to use.