Chapter: 23
After finishing my performance and returning to my original spot, I was greeted by gazes filled with admiration and surprise that were noticeably different from before.
“… You were truly amazing.”
“Ah, it’s nothing special.”
“Nothing special, huh? Don’t you see the looks everyone is giving you right now? You’ve just skyrocketed your market value with that one performance.”
The first to approach me, Rize, was practically showering me with praise that bordered on adoration. It was quite embarrassing, but it seemed I had successfully led her to misinterpret who I was.
Rize, now convinced I was some sort of skilled pianist, asked me with a tone overflowing with curiosity.
“By the way, Mr. Raemon. What do you do for a living? I’m somewhat well-connected in the art world, yet I’ve never heard of anyone with talent like yours…”
“I’m just an ordinary person. I receive a bit of support from the esteemed Regalia.”
“… An ordinary person, you say?”
“Yes.”
At my statement, Rize frowned as though my words made no sense at all.
But I stood tall. What could she really do about it?
If I say I’m an ordinary person, then I am one!
*
“—Then I’ll come see you next time.”
“Let’s do that.”
Having finished her conversation with the business executives, Regalia sighed internally before pivoting directly towards the scientist, who was casually chatting away.
As much as she wanted to rush over to him just as he finished playing the piano, she couldn’t. After all, she was the head of the Evilus Corporation, with many obligations to fulfill as the leader. This party was just an extension of her work.
As she approached the area filled with heirs, those who recognized her wore reluctant expressions and subtly backed away. For them, Regalia was a figure who felt both near and far. While they remained fledglings, she was already a giant in motion.
“That semiconductor will likely be impossible to complete in the next ten years, right?”
“Hm— so where do you think it’s best to invest?”
“Well, if it were me, I’d probably—”
The scientist was having a laid-back discussion with the heirs. This fact irked Regalia. How could he be so nonchalant when she had endured so much hassle because of him, yet he continued to laugh and chat away?
Regalia approached the scientist with a slight frown. The moment he realized she was there, he slowly turned his head.
“—You.”
“Oh, my benefactor has arrived. Madame, how did you find today’s performance?”
Watching the scientist begin to act nonchalantly, Regalia initiated a conversation with him through her gaze.
—Since when did you develop such skills?
—Why didn’t you say anything before making such a scene?
—Didn’t I tell you to refrain from causing trouble?
However, the scientist either failed to pick up on her true feelings or was willfully missing the point as he delivered an utterly nonsensical response.
“It seems Madam was also satisfied with today’s performance? Well, it was indeed a new piece I hadn’t played for you until now.”
“… Yeah. I was surprised.”
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest!
Why did he suddenly go and insert himself into that situation?!
What if he made a mistake? What would he do if his performance was poor and he faced harsh criticism? What could he possibly say in his defense?
Clearly, the scientist had not considered any of these outcomes, or perhaps he was so brimming with self-confidence that he simply saw no issues at all. He stepped up on stage and showcased his abilities.
Thanks to that, everyone who was curious about his identity vanished, replaced instead by a growing number of individuals eager for his attention. For Regalia, that was a whole new level of annoyance.
“I want to hear that performance again when we get back.”
To translate this to the scientist, who seemed to be oblivious to the underlying meaning—
It really meant: “Just you wait until we get home!”
*
The party came to an end.
As everyone returned to their respective cities, Rize sat in her vehicle with her eyes shut, recalling the sonata she had heard that night.
It felt like the sweet melody of a full moon rising in the night sky was swirling around in her ears. The performance that had played was stubbornly stuck in her mind.
Trying to hum along based on her memory, it came out awkwardly. If only she could find and listen to an album of it, but alas, as it was an original composition, it simply didn’t exist.
In other words, the piece she had heard tonight was one she would never get to hear again—unless she somehow brought the performer back to play it once more.
‘He was truly a unique person.’
Rize thought about the performer she had met tonight—the partner that Regalia had brought along. He hadn’t easily succumbed to her seductive attempts. If she thought about all the men queuing up to offer everything to her just for a glance at her skin, it was indeed remarkable.
Moreover, considering that her allure stemmed not just from her beauty, but also from her skills, it was even stranger.
‘How did he evade my charm?’
Until now, there were only a few occasions where someone managed to resist her powers.
Either the person possessed a superpower so incredibly strong that they could disregard hers.
Or they were an ancient old man whose physical desires were practically non-existent.
Or they were a homosexual man who had no interest in women.
Outside those exceptions, no one had ever escaped her charm. Remarkably, her abilities even worked on other women—so the idea that an adult man could resist them was simply absurd.
He didn’t seem to be gay either; she distinctly remembered the heat in his gaze when he had looked at her chest. He quickly averted his eyes, but it was that primal glint reserved for males.
‘He certainly didn’t appear to have any special abilities…’
An utterly unprecedented situation.
She found herself intrigued by this unforeseen circumstance.
‘I want him.’
As an heir of a conglomerate representing an entire city, Rize had obtained everything she had ever desired up until now. This was truly a rare case of discovering something she wanted but couldn’t immediately acquire—a sensation she felt for the first time.
So this was what it felt like to have an unrequited crush, to be driven by an insatiable desire, huh?
Rize hummed the tune of the piece she had heard earlier, and with each repetition, her longing only grew deeper and deeper.
*
Name: Rize
Ability: Allure
Description: Wraps around the target like a serpent. Once struck, there’s no escape.
*
“─Scientist, do you happen to have two lives?”
“Huh?”
“Why are you acting like this—!”
Upon returning to headquarters, I found myself on the receiving end of Regalia’s lecture. Honestly, I did feel a bit wronged, but her words did carry some weight.
“All you had to do was stand quietly by my side! Why on earth did you start playing the piano there?!”
“Well, it’s because I couldn’t let the people around me get too curious about my identity…”
“If you needed to entertain them, you could have played a somewhat famous piece! Why choose such an absurd performance—!”
“It is a famous piece…”
The masterpiece is one that no one on Earth is unfamiliar with—upon hearing that, Regalia stared at me, utterly dumbfounded.
Feeling the intense glower from her, I quietly lowered my head and acknowledged my mistake. Yes, apparently even that was not allowed…
Honestly, this was the most frustrating part about being in this world. The gap between this world and Earth. You couldn’t just bring over anything—be it science or art—without running into trouble.
“Anyway… you don’t have anything else you’ve kept from me, do you?”
“Well… it’s just that I don’t know what I don’t know.”
“Tell me everything! You’re good at drawing? Great at sports? You should tell me anything you’re better at than others!”
“I can’t draw, and I can’t do sports either. How am I supposed to win against people who can run faster than cars with bare hands?”
“What about other things? I really want you to let me know in advance if you’re about to cause any more trouble!”
Regalia was stamping her feet and raising her voice.
While being scolded wasn’t the moment to think this, it felt a bit endearing, like a child throwing a tantrum.
However, as if she could read my thoughts, the boss suddenly unleashed a wave of intimidation and looked down at me.
“—Focus. You don’t have time to be slack!”
“… Yes. I was wrong.”
“Haah— really. Just because it looked fun doesn’t mean you should pick it up…”
After scratching her head in exasperation, Regalia left a final warning before heading back to her room. The clock had already far surpassed the time when a young child should be dreaming sweetly. She had likely forced herself to muster the energy to chew me out.
Knowing exactly how hard it was to battle against fatigue, especially for a child, I felt a pang of guilt as I returned to my own room.
I vowed to be more careful next time.
*
The next day.
On a day when the rain was pouring down like a madman, Ayle came whining into the lab, completely soaked.
“Really…! Scientist…! Please make me a weapon!”
“… Just barging in, what’s that about? Why do you look like a drenched rat?”
“Well…!”
Ayle explained that a wildly speeding car had splashed her as it raced past a puddle, and when she finally came to grasp the situation and intended to transform into a Magical Girl for revenge, the car was already far out of sight.
Hearing this, I couldn’t help but ask in disbelief.
“Are you seriously planning to take revenge just because you got splashed a little…?”
“Don’t say that…! Aren’t you angry? One of our comrades got soaked…!”
“It’s not that I’m not angry, but it doesn’t warrant making a weapon for revenge.”
However, Ayle continued to shake in frustration, as if she wouldn’t feel satisfied until she took matters into her own hands. Every time she clenched her fists and trembled, drops of water would drip from her skirt and hair.
I worried she might catch a cold in that condition—I urgently sent her to the shower to change out of her wet clothes. But when she returned, she was still stewing in anger.
Vira, who had listen to her story quietly, suddenly seemed to remember something and exclaimed.
“That sounds like a villain.”
“A villain? Are there even villains in this city?”
“It’s someone who operates in other cities.”
Mospped.
A villain who drives like a maniac in a supercar.
A lunatic who ignores traffic laws like signals and lane lines and simply speeds at will.
Upon hearing this, I asked incredulously.
“Wait, how is driving a supercar villainous?”
“He’s so fast that no one can catch him. It’s said his superpower is driving.”
“How can driving be a superpower…?”
The reasons behind him becoming a villain and not having been caught so far were absurd in every aspect, but for Ayle, it was different. Once she learned that she had crossed paths with a villain, she passionately asserted to me.
“Mr. Scientist…! It’s a villain…!”
“Yes, I heard.”
“Being humiliated by a villain…! This is a disgrace for the Evil Organization…! You told us to keep our pride intact…!”
Seeing Ayle throw my own words back at me, I realized I needed to be mindful of what I said in front of these kids.
Otherwise, it would surely come back to bite me. It’s not for nothing that old folks say “the tongue is the root of all evil.” I sighed and glanced at Ayle.
What would happen if I didn’t grant her request? There was a high likelihood that she would start ignoring everything I said. Kids tend to sulk over the smallest things.
“So you really want revenge, huh?”
“Yes, yes—!”
“It doesn’t have to be a weapon, right?”
“Yes, huh—?”
“What’s the point of just beating them up with violence?”
From what I had heard, this villain was a speed freak.
Such types couldn’t simply be subdued with brute force.
The only way to take revenge on them was as follows.
“You’ve got to stomp them down in their own territory.”
However, there was one problem.
‘It’s barely been half a day since the Boss told me not to cause any trouble…’
Well, I didn’t think it would count as causing trouble.
Most importantly— the one causing the trouble was going to be Ayle, not me!
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