TESTC 02
The Evil Scientist Is Too Competent – Chapter 2
Click, clack—
The sound of leather shoes echoed down the long hallway. I was humming to myself as I walked, shoes that had been gifted to me tapping against the floor. Two members of the organization spotted me from afar and instantly froze stiff.
They looked like raw recruits suddenly running into a general on a casual stroll. The moment they saw me, they snapped to attention, raised their hands, and shouted in unison:
“Hail Evils! Good morning, Scientist!”
“Ah—good morning.”
I gave them a casual wave. They hurriedly passed by, moving briskly past me, and I couldn’t help but sigh. When I first joined this organization, I don’t remember being treated this way…
Honestly, I have no idea how things ended up like this.
If there’s a problem, it must’ve been that the first person I ran into when I fell into this world… was the Boss.
When I first opened my eyes in this city, I thought I’d been kidnapped while asleep. How could I not?
Buildings in a thoroughly modern style. Rows upon rows of skyscrapers like those in New York City.
So the thought that I’d somehow ended up in another world didn’t even cross my mind at first.
But it didn’t take long for that assumption to collapse.
[Beastman ahead, stop right there.]
“Ha-ha! Catch me if you can!”
A police car with wailing sirens was chasing after a man sprinting on two legs. That’s right—a man.
The problem was, the police car couldn’t catch him. A regular human outrunning a car? If someone like that existed back on Earth, they wouldn’t be dodging cops in the street—they’d be sweeping every medal at the Olympics.
I stood there, dumbfounded, when suddenly the giant electronic billboard on a building lit up with breaking news.
[Breaking news: A terrorist attack by a villain has occurred in City G. Residents of nearby cities are advised to immediately evacuate to the nearest shelters—]
“…Villain? Terrorist?”
On the screen, a villain was blasting explosions from his hands while spandex-clad heroes fought back.
In that moment, I realized—I hadn’t been kidnapped. One of my earlier guesses had been right after all.
The architecture, the setting… this wasn’t just “America-like.” This was a world straight out of an American comic book.A fantasy world where heroes and villains, superpowers and demi-humans, were all real.
And me? I was just an ordinary guy. No powers, nothing special.
As befit a comic-book world, people only gave me curious looks for being an East Asian with black hair. Nobody came up to mock me or pull their eyes into slits. Makes sense—when non-human species walk around freely, discriminating over skin color alone would be absurd.
Thanks to that, I could wander around the city without trouble. And as I did, I realized a harsh truth: this wasn’t my world. My money, my cards—none of it worked here.
That meant one thing—I had to find a job. Fast. Because in a modern society, being penniless, homeless, and without an identity was a death sentence.
‘And I can’t count on the police either…’
Sure, maybe this world didn’t have ID cards like Earth. But if it had cops, it had bureaucracy, and they’d have ways of finding out who people were. And since no one here could vouch for me… best case, they’d treat me like an illegal alien. Worst case? Prison or deportation.
‘Well, work is work. There’s gotta be something I can do.’
If it came down to it, I was ready to do manual labor. So I went from shop to shop, asking for work. Most of the owners were kind enough to hand me a glass of cold water, smiling at me.
“So, you want to work at my place?”
“Yes! I’ll do anything, whatever you need—!”
“And what’s your ability?”
“…Huh? I don’t have one.”
“Get out.”
Turns out this world didn’t have racism—it had power-ism. No ability, no job. I couldn’t even get hired for convenience store night-shifts.
After getting turned away by over a dozen shops, the sun was setting. Twilight—the hour of dogs and wolves. The time when you couldn’t tell whether someone approaching you was a good Samaritan… or a villain looking for prey.
I crouched in a dark alley, shivering against the cold and hiding from people.
‘What the hell… how’s someone without powers supposed to survive in this world?’
I had nothing—no powers, no ID, no education, no money, no one to vouch for me. Not even manual labor would take me. In a city built for the powered, the powerless like me were less than untouchables.
All I could do was curl up in fear.
“—Sitting here sulking all by yourself, huh?”
Click.
Without warning, someone appeared and ruffled my hair. A soft hand messed it up, and a faint scent of milk tickled my nose.
I looked up. A young girl stood before me—not an ordinary one, judging by the suited bodyguards behind her.
“…Sorry.”
I brushed her hand away and stood up quickly. Getting involved with someone like this could only end badly, so I turned to leave.
But the girl had no intention of letting me go.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Guh—!”
With a playful voice, she grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and sat me right back down. Then she leaned in to meet my eyes. She was short, so she didn’t have to bend much.
And when our eyes met—I felt it. A strange, overwhelming presence. Like standing face-to-face with the President of the United States.
Swallowing nervously, I opened my mouth.
“…Wh-what do you want?”
“A gloomy man crying all alone in a back alley? Anyone would be curious.”
“I wasn’t crying…”
“I can see everything.”
She chuckled, then gently urged me to share my troubles. The oppressive aura I’d felt earlier melted away, replaced by a comforting warmth—like being held in a mother’s arms. Somehow, my resistance to confiding in this stranger, a child no less, slowly faded.
And so… I told her my secret.
I came from Earth.
I have no powers.
No home, no money, no identity, no one to rely on.
I am… nothing.
…
…
“…Mhm. I see.”
“…Huh?”
Her calm response made me realize—I had spilled everything. Without even noticing.
Whether she believed me or not, I was screwed. If she did, I could be locked up as an experiment. If she didn’t, I could be handed over to the cops as some lunatic.
But instead, she said something completely unexpected.
“You’ve nowhere to go, then. In that case, come live at my house!”
“Eh? What do you mean—”
“No worries. My house has plenty of spare rooms. You’ll use one. Don’t even think about refusing!”
She grinned at me.
“Because I have so many questions for you.”
And just like that, I was taken to her home.
The home of a girl whose name and identity I didn’t even know.
“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Regalia. But you can call me Ria.”
At least now I knew her name.
Name: Regalia
Ability: Majesty of the King
Description: Exudes charisma equal to that of a sovereign.
“This is…”
“This is my home!”
The mansion we arrived at by car was enormous. The kind you only see in movies or dramas. Even knowing she wasn’t ordinary, I never imagined she’d live in a place like this.
“Hehe—surprised? Didn’t I say there are plenty of rooms?”
“Yeah, but… I didn’t expect this.”
“Kitty, show him to a room. Oh—has he eaten yet?”
“…Not yet, actually.”
“Then bring something simple.”
She waved and disappeared. When I asked her attendant, Kitty, where she’d gone, the answer floored me once again.
“The young lady has gone to bed. Children must be in bed before ten if they want to grow properly.”
“…Wait, how old is she?”
“Why do you want to know? Don’t ask unnecessary questions.”
“…Sorry.”
“Follow me. Dinner will be brought to your room.”
The room she led me to was as luxurious as the mansion itself. The bed was soft as clouds, the blankets smelled fresh.
A little later, Kitty rolled in a cart.
“It’s late, so it isn’t a proper dinner.”
“This is more than enough.”
On the cart—steak. If this wasn’t “proper,” then what was?
I dug in, clumsily cutting with knife and fork. Kitty frowned.
“You’ve found a roof for tonight thanks to the young lady’s whim. But don’t assume it’ll last. Once she loses interest, you’ll be back on the streets.”
“…I know.”
“Either prove you’re useful, or keep coming up with stories that hold her attention. One way or another, find a reason to stay.”
With that firm warning, she left. And she was right. The only reason I could rest here was Regalia’s fleeting interest. If I wanted to stay longer, I’d need to prove I was worth keeping.
‘…But is that even possible?’
Luckily, the opportunity came quickly.
“All done!”
“Oooh—!”
Regalia clapped her hands in delight at the sight of a moving toy robot. It whirred and squeaked as it walked, and she beamed with joy. Seeing her happy made me smile too.
I hadn’t expected such excitement from something so simple.
‘Well… she is a kid.’
Who would’ve thought a child would be so thrilled just because I built a robot that could shoot beams from its eyes?
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