NOVEL NEXT Chapter 99
“Hu-hu-hung～.”
Regalia hummed along to the children’s animation song she had seen on TV. She had every right to do so.
The incident—being detained by Hisberk, the president of Company D—was indeed shocking for her, but everything got resolved well, didn’t it? Considering the gains and benefits she obtained from Company D, she thought being detained a few more times wouldn’t be so bad.
Of course, that was partly because she defeated Hisberk and the scientist had helped him create his kind, but…
While organizing the benefits she received from Company D to plan on expanding Evilus Corporation, the phone suddenly rang. It was a call from the secretary’s office.
“─What is it?”
[Uh, Chairwoman… um…]
Receiving the call from the secretary’s office, Regalia furrowed her brow. Pretending to understand what was going on, Regalia hung up and let out a deep sigh that was hard to believe came from someone who had just been humming a tune.
“…A hearing.”
It was said that there would be a hearing regarding Evilus Corporation by the administration of City E. Considering that Evilus Corporation was essentially the owner of City E, it was clear that this wasn’t the will of City E, but rather an opinion coming from above.
In other words, it was the opinion of the federal government…
That was easily understandable. Even if Regalia and the scientist used every means and method to conceal this incident, they couldn’t hide the repercussions.
While they successfully kept the fact that City D was partially destroyed under wraps, they couldn’t conceal the fact that Dragon Company handed over its benefits to Evilus Corporation. That was something that couldn’t be hidden.
‘Well, it was getting dangerously close.’
With this incident, how many cities had Evilus Corporation extended its influence over? Including City Z, which was forcibly occupied, City B, and for some reason, the favorably inclined City H, that made a total of five cities.
The emergence of a monopoly in five out of twenty-six cities was undoubtedly a thorn in the sides of existing corporations.
Not every city had equal power, but the influence of Evilus Corporation, having taken control of five cities, was equivalent to about twenty percent of the world’s power.
That was an excessively large amount of power for a single corporation to possess.
Others would surely want to bite back from other cities.
“This is a big deal.”
The fact that a hearing was to be held meant that Regalia had to attend. That was a huge problem.
The fact that Regalia was the owner of Evilus Corporation was supposed to be a secret. It was not just for any other reason, but it was clear that if word got out that a ten-year-old kid was running a corporation, it would create all sorts of problems…
Without a proper way to overcome this, she let out a sigh and glanced at the nutritional supplement on her desk. The very thing that the evil scientist from her evil organization had made for her.
‘…I guess I have no choice but to ask for help?’
She didn’t particularly want to rely on the scientist—
But it couldn’t be helped.
The moment had come when she’d have to ask even a monkey’s paw for help.
* * *
“My heart feels heavy…”
“Is it arrhythmia?”
One day, Ayle suddenly came and blurted out. I didn’t even look at her as I replied. After all, I had confirmed during a recent health check that Ayle had no particular problems.
What could it be? Ayle was still in her teens. Unless she had a genetic illness from birth or a major problem with her diet, it would be hard for her to have any issues.
“That’s not it… it’s just that my clothes are…”
“Clothes? What’s wrong with your clothes?”
“My, my chest has gotten bigger, and the magical girl outfit is a bit small…”
As Ayle spoke, I couldn’t help but glance at her chest. Noticing my gaze, Ayle subtly puffed her chest out even more.
After turning my head as if to apologize, I thought about her age for a moment.
“The growth plates must have closed ages ago… is it fat?”
“N-no! My, my belly fat has even gone down!”
Ayle wrapped her arms around her abdomen and bent down. Though she confidently showcased her chest, she seemed quite embarrassed about showing any belly fat.
Given her reaction, I was quite convinced that she was likely just gaining weight, but it was a fact that her clothes had indeed become smaller on her.
“I’ll fix the clothes, so leave them here.”
“Can we・not・make it smaller?”
“What?”
“Right now, it feels too big… because it’s big, my body looks heavy, and… and, the scientist doesn’t like it if it’s too big, right?”
“Ayle, you’ll get stabbed for saying that outside.”
I wouldn’t mention who, but saying such things regarding Miss Ra with the BC surname was a complete no-no. Wanting to reduce her chest size? It was like a wealthy kid saying he wanted to earn less money because his tax was too high.
Of course, if that size caused inconvenience in daily life, it would make sense to reduce it. Even on Earth, there tends to be a tendency to avoid excessively large chests as they disrupt beauty standards.
“Your size isn’t pathological, so it’s fine. If you want to reduce it, I recommend a diet.”
“What does the scientist think…?”
“I prefer larger ones.”
“I-I suddenly want to make my chest bigger…!”
“I like the natural size more.”
“Cancel that…!”
Seeing Ayle continuously change her stance made me giggle. It seemed she didn’t quite get the meaning of chatting about such topics with women.
There was no need to step on the poor girl’s heart, so after receiving the magical girl outfit from her, I slipped it onto a mannequin. Since she could gain or lose weight in the future, I planned to add a function that allows the outfit to grow or shrink naturally.
‘Guess I’ll have to rewire the circuits from scratch. How annoying…’
Thinking about the circuits needing to be adjusted every time the outfit expanded or contracted already gave me a headache. I began hoping there was someone with superpowers in this area to find a shortcut.
It would’ve been nice to call the Scissor-Us who made Ayle’s magical girl outfit before, but unfortunately, she was captured and detained by heroes a few months ago.
In the end, I had to do this myself. Just the thought of working hard already made my fingers tingle, and then the sound of clack-clack boots creaked in. The absolute last sound I wanted to hear.
“─Scientist, are you there?”
“…Yes, Boss. I’m here.”
“You seem lacking in spirit. Are you feeling unwell?”
“When I saw your honorable presence, I completely recovered.”
“That’s quite a joke.”
Regalia, making a childlike clack-clack sound with her boots as she entered the laboratory, glanced back and forth between Ayle, who was contemplating whether to get off the sofa, and me, before speaking up.
“You two seem to be getting along well? I didn’t expect this much fondness when I first brought you here.”
“B-Boss, what brings you here…?”
“Is it a bad situation if I’m here? If I interrupted something, I could leave right now.”
“N-No, not at all! I feel like I’m the one who is interrupting… W-Well, I’ll just go now, Scientist!”
Ayle, who only sensed the situation at times like this, quickly grabbed a snack bag and exited the lab. Left alone with the Boss, she took the spot on the sofa where Ayle had just been and gestured for me to come closer.
As I rushed over, the scientist’s white coat billowed around me as Regalia got straight to the point.
“I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Yes, please go ahead.”
“I want you to make me into an adult.”
“…Excuse me?”
The conversation I had just had with Ayle rushed through my mind, nearly leading to a misunderstanding. The Boss was not someone who would harbor such feelings. She was far too old for that.
In that case, the truth of this statement likely meant that she genuinely wanted me to make her into an adult.
“What’s the matter?”
“Is it possible?”
“It’s not impossible… but if you tell me why you need it, I can adjust accordingly.”
The Boss then explained the call she had just received. Other cities had caught wind of the situation Evilus Corporation was in—namely, what happened with Dragon Company.
Thus, they requested a hearing for Evilus Corporation. Now it had become necessary for us to appear in an official capacity. Hearing this made me frown in disbelief.
“I left no traces at all… The buildings have all been restored, and I hacked all the satellites and cameras, so there shouldn’t be any video evidence left.”
“However, you didn’t hide the exchange of benefits.”
“Ah…”
Hearing her words made me realize that even if I had concealed material evidence, there were certain things that couldn’t be hidden. What I had concealed was tangible evidence. The kind of evidence that police or prosecutors would rely on.
But what other companies discovered were circumstantial evidence. There was absolutely no material proof, but they could still infer that something had happened with our corporation.
And for a businessman, such circumstantial evidence was enough. Most entrepreneurs were giants and superhumans running one corporation first and foremost.
Even without any evidence, they were the kind of mad gamblers who would push forward with merely a gut feeling.
“─Alright, Boss. I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Do you prefer large breasts or small?”
“……What?”
I tossed out a joke recalling Ayle’s earlier comment. However, seeing the Boss’s face harden, I suddenly realized I had made a mistake.
What I had said to Ayle had just bounced back to me. This was exactly the kind of topic that should never be brought up with others…