The greenery of nature fluttered before my eyes. It seemed as if a portion of the forest had been brought here. Considering that this was the place furthest from nature, at the forefront of machinery and science, one might be astonished.
Swish– Aushilion lifted her teacup. Every time her long sleeves swayed, I felt a wind that shouldn’t be felt.
It signified that her very existence embodied nature, and thus she was rightly called a fairy rather than a human.
Elf.
A being quite famous on Earth.
From the novel of a genius writer to being portrayed as surpassing the limits of royalty by otaku in the Far East. A lineage that had been consumed in various ways.
“May I ask why?”
“Hmm?”
“The reason why that paper shouldn’t be published.”
Aushilion was the one who raised suspicions about plagiarism in my paper. But it seemed she also knew I hadn’t plagiarized her work. The reason she was trying to prevent the publication must be of significant importance.
Where exactly could there be a reason for the first member of the Scholar to do that? Regalia said Scholar members were freed from the interference of all governments and corporations.
The very reason she admitted me into the Scholar, risking her own exposure, was that. It was likely the same for Aushilion before me.
A position where one didn’t have to look over their shoulder. That was the privilege of a Scholar member.
“It’s a very personal reason, so it’s a bit embarrassing to say.”
“It doesn’t matter. Personal reasons are the most important reasons, aren’t they? Especially for people like us.”
“You speak dangerously. But fine. If you say so… I am a researcher affiliated with the Dragon Company.”
“…You made the Dragon Bone Soldier?”
“My employer created it.”
Aushilion’s words were shocking. It wasn’t particularly surprising that she was associated with the Dragon Company. After all, I was part of the Evilus Corporation.
However, the fact that she didn’t make the Dragon Bone Soldier but that her employer did hinted at a great deal.
Was the president of the Dragon Company really a dragon?
Was there a good chance she transcended into this world alongside a dragon?
Aushilion began to speak quietly, as I was left stunned in silence.
“I am amazed that you uncovered the secrets of the Dragon Bone Soldier. Once again, I’ve come to know the greatness of science. Yet to hinder such a remarkable discovery for utterly personal reasons is quite uncomfortable. But alas, I’m bound by such a contract.”
“…A contract? If you wish, I can easily break it.”
“It’s not just some simple contract scribbled on paper. It was an oral agreement. Very sacred.”
Hearing that, I recalled the conversations I’d had with Arima. People from this world never broke their promises. Even oral ones.
To break a promise without a physical restraint was an utterly foolish act. Words carried sacred power, and in a world where individuals possessed superhuman strength, it was even more potent.
Only those deemed inferior and lowly were said to adhere strictly to promises marked in documents.
The elf before me must have made such a promise. A promise imbued with power…
‘Could I have broken a promise made by ability…? Can’t I do that?’
Theoretically, I thought it possible, but I couldn’t be sure. I hadn’t tried it. One shouldn’t assume that if the results are the same, the processes are identical.
In any case, what was certain was that Aushilion was tied by an unbreakable contract with the president of D Company. To the extent of compromising her own honor to maintain his prestige…
“Do you think it would be such a problem to announce that?”
“Much like a servant clearing rocks from a king’s path, not because that rock would be fatal to the king—this is simply a matter of duty.”
“So, Aushilion, you mean you will continue to obstruct me until I withdraw this paper…?”
“Honestly, I don’t want to fight with fellow Scholar members—but yes.”
“Very well. I shall withdraw it.”
Aushilion’s eyes widened in surprise at my response. It seemed so astonishing to her that I would so casually give up the publication of my paper.
“Are you sure? Isn’t it the case that nothing beneficial comes from withdrawing?”
“Nothing beneficial? This meeting alone has been exceedingly fruitful.”
“…I can’t understand. If you think you can submit it elsewhere, stop right there. That’s—.”
“No, it’s not that. I will dispose of this paper as it stands.”
Receiving the promise to completely dispose of the paper, Aushilion looked as if she couldn’t comprehend it, but since that was what she wanted, she did not refuse.
Having officially withdrawn and completely discarded everything related to the paper, I left the Scholar with a smile.
‘Clearing the king’s path is a servant’s duty…’
That wasn’t wrong. There were times I, too, had acted without speaking to pave the way for the Boss. But thinking about how every time I did so, the Boss would grab my neck in frustration, it didn’t necessarily mean a servant’s loyalty was always beneficial to the king.
This was no exception. Aushilion wouldn’t disclose to her employer that I had realized something about the Dragon Bone Soldier. That is, to the president of D Company who was suspected of being a dragon.
The president would never recognize that one of his Dragon Bone Soldier had been taken, nor what had been done to that Dragon Bone Soldier.
‘I was planning on having a fair competition with machines, you know.’
Since I was recruiting androids in the market, I wanted to have a fair match. However, if the opponent made the first move, there was no need for me to play fair.
What did it matter, when I had the dragon’s tooth extracted from the Dragon Bone Soldier in my hand? And I knew I had the technology to produce this tooth and that I could use it to create a Dragon Bone Soldier.
‘Had I patented it, it would’ve been a headache.’
Did they not want to disclose any part of the technology, or did they have the confidence that no one could reverse-engineer their Dragon Bone Soldier? The Dragon Bone Soldier had not been patented.
In other words, no matter how many Dragon Bone Soldier I produced using this tooth—there was nothing D Company could do about it.
“Let’s fight fairly.”
The evil scientist has never lost against an opponent standing on the same stage.
Not even once.
To no one.
*
“Chair, chairman. Here’s the report on the person you mentioned…”
“Hmm—yes.”
The president of the Dragon Company, Hisberk, squinted slightly as he skimmed through the materials handed over by his subordinates. They were all peculiar individuals, but none of them was special enough to claim they came from the same world as him.
What he sought was a singularity. Not just a slightly extraordinary human, but a being with the power to change the world.
‘None… Could it be this singularity has been here for a very long time, just like me?’
That couldn’t be.
Hisberk had fallen into this world hundreds of years ago, and he had been searching for someone like himself for a very long time.
And yet, he had only found Aushilion, who tumbled into this world with him, without a single trace of anyone else.
Well, he hadn’t been searching much for a century or so, but…
“Is it a being specialized in hiding its true identity…?”
Recalling the figure that took control of the Dragon Bone Soldier from him, evading detection with an incomprehensible technology even to a dragon’s brain, it was plausible that such a being could excel in hiding its identity.
If that was the case, it would be entirely feasible to conceal one’s existence, even as a singularity. After all, weren’t all things digitalized in this world? If one possessed singularity-level technology, earning just enough to survive would be exceedingly simple.
‘On the contrary, it’s all the more surprising to see one live while concealing such technology. Falling into this kind of world, one would want to show off their abilities and go crazy, wouldn’t they?’
Hadn’t Hisberk felt the same way? He couldn’t stand seeing people exhibit such primitive powers that couldn’t even be called magic while he had been trying to unleash his magical prowess.
Indeed, if the opponent was truly a singularity like him, they must have been anxious to showcase their abilities…
‘A person of extraordinary patience. To hide their identity to such an extent.’
Just as Hisberk was laughing out loud at the newfound entertainment, his secretary knocked hurriedly at the office door.
Upon being allowed in, the secretary rushed in, urgently presenting the news broadcast he was watching.
“Chair, chairman! This…!”
“Hmm? Isn’t it time for work, not to slack off…?”
“That’s not the important part!”
When Hisberk turned his gaze to the news screen, he paused upon seeing the headline.
[Evilus Corporation! Shooting D Company’s androids! Offering the latest androids for just $99─]
[The performance of the unit far exceeds D Company’s Dragon Bone Soldier…]
[[Playback simulation video]]
As Hisberk watched the video, he realized that the android in it was not merely a machine puppet, but a being akin to the Dragon Bone Soldier his company had created.
They had produced the same thing, yet their competitor was selling it for merely half the price. There was no competition.
“What should we do, chairman!”
“Ha, haha, hahaha—!”
“Chair, chairman?”
However, Hisberk didn’t pay heed to that petty price. His sole concern was one thing. The fact that the android produced by Evilus Corporation was identical to the Dragon Bone Soldier he had created.
“There you are—!”
The loneliness that had persisted for endless years had finally come to an end.
Finally, his kin had arrived in this world.
Hisberk focused solely on that fact.
