TESTC 05

Chapter 5 – The Evil Scientist Is Too Competent

“Wahahahaha! Scientist! Good morning!”

“Eh? Ah… good morning.”

The day after I handed Galm the tonic, I went to work at the villain organization—only to nearly jump out of my skin when he greeted me so warmly. Could a person change this drastically overnight?

Maybe he ate something weird. Well, he’s a beastman tiger, so maybe he chewed on some strange weeds. Suspicious of his sudden friendliness, I looked at him with narrowed eyes. As if he could feel my gaze, Galm stopped for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter.

“Hahaha! No need to be afraid! I’m not here to pick a fight!”

“Ah, yes… of course.”

“On the contrary—if anyone dares to mess with you, tell me! I’ll take care of it.”

“Uh… thank you…?”

“But actually, Scientist, I do have a favor to ask…”

Ah, there it is. So that’s why he was being so friendly. People don’t just change like that. He clearly wanted something from me.

Yesterday he was all stiff and businesslike, and now suddenly he’s my best buddy? What could he want? Borrow money? Ask me to quit? But no, he was smiling too much for it to be the latter.

To my surprise, it was neither of those.

“That potion you made yesterday. I’d like a few more.”

“……What? Ah, you mean the tonic.”

“Tonic? You call something like that just a tonic?”

Galm gave me a look of awe, while I just tilted my head in confusion. Whatever he meant, at least it wasn’t bad news. He wasn’t asking me to lend him money or co-sign a loan. Just to make a few more tonics.

That was an easy request.

“If you think it’s worth using, you should tell the boss directly. Then she’ll officially order production…”

“Scientist. Are you really satisfied with that?”

“Satisfied? Not really satisfied or dissatisfied. I just…”

After all, I wasn’t inventing anything new. I was just copying products from Earth—reproducing formulas I already knew. I hadn’t racked my brain, nor spent huge sums. Satisfaction didn’t even factor in.

Of course, ideally I’d prefer to do nothing and still get paid. But since Regalia recruited me as the organization’s scientist, I had to do the bare minimum. Even if it was barely at undergraduate level…

But for some reason, Galm’s face flushed red, and he suddenly stood tall, as if I’d said something profound.

“I see. So I just have to tell the boss, right?”

“Yes. I can make you a few more easily enough, but for steady supply, it’d be better if…”

“Good. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure your treatment is taken care of.”

“…Sorry? My… treatment?”

Leaving behind those cryptic words, Galm stormed off with an intimidating aura. I sat there, wondering if I’d accidentally said something wrong.

No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out what had upset him.

.

.

Top floor of Evils Corporation headquarters.

In the president’s office, a commotion broke out.

“You can’t just barge in—”

“Silence!”

BANG!

The door slammed open, and Galm strode inside. Regalia, used to such scenes, calmly set down her quill.

“Really now, Galm. Even if you miss me, did you forget where you are? There are procedures.”

“Bah! I’ve no time for procedures.”

Scoffing, Galm dropped himself onto the sofa, lounging comfortably.

“You already know why I’m here, don’t you?”

“…Ah. If you mean yesterday’s report—I heard. You regained your prime strength? Congratulations. We poured countless resources into that, and it never worked…”

“It’s thanks to that scientist’s potion.”

“…What did you say?”

Regalia blinked, sure she’d misheard. Then she stared at him, as if demanding confirmation. Galm shrugged—why would he lie?

Yes, she had ordered Eight to make something useful for him and Ayle. But “something useful” was supposed to mean minor support gear.

“He restored Galm’s body to his prime? In a week?”

It was absurd. Galm wasn’t supposed to belong in some back-alley villain group at all.

Beast King Galm.

A former soldier, a legend whose name was etched into countless battlefields. If not for his beastman heritage, he might have risen to general. But because of racial prejudice and certain mishaps, he’d been forced to retire. In truth, he should’ve been rotting in prison, if not for the sheer weight of his war merits.

Yet not even his wealth or connections could heal his broken body. Nothing in the world could.

And now this “scientist” had fixed it in one week? Impossible. And yet—she couldn’t deny what she’d seen with her own eyes yesterday.

“…I see. As expected of the talent I picked up.”

“About that talent—he doesn’t seem too satisfied with his current treatment.”

“What? What’s wrong with my organization? We have the best benefits in the industry!”

“For a scientist of his caliber, that’s only the baseline. Think about it. He’s the genius who made a potion that restored me to my prime in just one week.”

“Ugh… that’s true…”

So what was enough for him? Regalia frowned deeply, lost in thought. Then Galm grinned slyly and relayed what he thought he’d heard.

“He told me, ‘This is nothing. I’m not satisfied with such small results.’”

“…Even after such an achievement?”

“Yeah. And one more thing. He said he was disappointed in you, Boss.”

“What…?”

“He said, ‘Are you satisfied with just this? I can do more. I can do anything—so give me real work.’”

…He never said that.

But in Galm’s eyes, that was what Eight meant. The Beast King thought he’d seen into the scientist’s true heart.

He’d come here to report it—not just for Eight’s sake, but for Regalia’s. If Eight got frustrated and left for another organization, it would be a devastating loss.

“…Fine. If you insist, then I should trust him more.”

“Good. For starters, distribute his potion to all our members. If they drink it before battle, even grunts will be able to fight off low-ranked heroes.”

“…That strong? Even I want to try one.”

Hearing Galm praise someone so highly was rare. Regalia’s interest in the potion grew rapidly.

If it was really that effective… could she downgrade it and sell it to the civilian market?

After all, she wasn’t just a villain boss—she was the CEO of a world-spanning megacorporation. A product that good would not be left to gather dust.

‘For now, I’ll just give him more projects.’

If Eight had heard her thoughts, he would’ve fainted on the spot.

.

.

“And so, your next task is to make something useful for Ayle.”

“…What?”

Barely a week since I joined, and I already had a second assignment.

I stared at Regalia with all the despair of a man facing execution. She just smiled cheerfully, tilting her head as if to say: What? You don’t want to? Want me to throw you out on the street?

With tears welling in my eyes, I nodded.

“Y-yes… understood.”

“Oh, and by the way—the potion you made? We’ve decided to distribute it to the whole organization.”

“…Sorry, what?”

“Mass production. I’m counting on you.”

“…Ah. Aaaah…”

The tears I’d been holding back finally burst forth.

And so I fell into despair, imagining the endless overtime awaiting me.