The Evil Scientist is Too Competent

Lying on her bed, Aile stared blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought. The events of the day replayed in her mind, each scene bringing a wave of overwhelming embarrassment so intense that she wanted to bury herself.

She kicked her legs in frustration, almost breaking her bed in the process, before finally calming down enough to confront her feelings head-on.

‘So that’s it... I like him... I like the Scientist.’

She had suspected it for a while. Being near him made her heart race inexplicably. Sometimes it was so comforting that she felt completely at ease, and other times it pounded so hard it hurt.

But this was an emotion she had never received or felt for anyone else in her life—so, naturally, it had taken her far too long to recognize it as love.

If Snowah hadn’t pointed it out, she might never have realized it on her own.

‘...Wait. Then what the hell did I do today?’

Reflecting on the day’s events, Aile realized she had effectively created a rival for herself—and even made a non-aggression pact with her!

Of course, that so-called pact was meaningless. It wasn’t legally binding, nor did it carry any real power. It was just a verbal agreement, without signatures or obligations.

And yet...

Precisely because it was so informal, Aile couldn’t bring herself to break it.

‘Snowah... She did it for me.’

If Snowah had chosen to push Aile aside and aggressively pursue Eight, there would’ve been no stopping her. Aile wouldn’t have even realized her feelings in time, and the two would have ended up together without question. After all, even Aile had to admit that Snowah was a beauty—a former magical girl whose looks and charm ranked among the top of her kind.

But instead of selfishly claiming Eight for herself, Snowah had awakened Aile’s feelings and promised to compete fairly. She’d even offered to teach Aile about fashion and makeup, going as far as to schedule a weekend outing to help her improve.

Breaking that promise now—just because she thought she might lose—would make Aile the worst kind of person.

Villain or not, Aile still carried the pride of a magical girl. She couldn’t stoop that low.

‘Okay. I’ll win this.’

Resolving herself, Aile began searching for someone who might know Eight better than she did—someone who could give her an edge.

And then, a certain person came to mind.

*****

“Eight? Isn’t he either impotent or gay?”

“W-what?!”

The next day, Aile nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Vira’s blunt remark.

She hadn’t expected words like “impotent” or “gay” to come out of her mouth.

“Why would you say that?!”

“Well, Leviathan and I tested him a few times, you know? Even when we went to the beach together, we tried seducing him, but he didn’t so much as glance at us.”

“M-maybe it’s just because your chest is too small...?”

“Excuse me—?!”

“S-sorry! I mean, Leviathan has a bigger chest, right?! Yes!”

Aile immediately apologized under Vira’s sharp glare. Though Vira still didn’t look particularly pleased, she let it slide.

Hearing Vira’s words sent Aile into a spiral of doubts she’d never considered before.

What if Eight wasn’t straight?

‘Now that I think about it... I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look at a woman.’

Not her, not Vira, not Leviathan.

Not even the heroine-types or the magical girls—women so beautiful they could captivate anyone.

Even when he looked at the Saint, whose divine beauty could mesmerize anyone, his eyes had always been indifferent.

The only things that ever seemed to excite him were science and the discovery of new mysteries.

‘No way...’

Could he really not be into women? Aile bit her lip nervously.

Vira, noticing her unease, raised an eyebrow.

“What’s wrong? You okay?”

“N-no! It’s nothing!”

“Hmm... Well, if you want, I can just ask him directly for you.”

“N-no, that’s fine!”

Her curiosity battled against her fear of the truth, but fear ultimately won. Aile shook her head and quickly left the room.

As she walked toward the department store to meet Snowah, her steps felt unbearably heavy—and it wasn’t just because of her recent weight gain.

*****

At the department store, Aile spotted Snowah waiting for her and forced a smile.

“Uh, hey—Snowah.”

“Aile. You’re early.”

“I-I’m later than you...”

“Hehe, I just got here fast. Well then, shall we go?”

Snowah naturally linked arms with Aile as they walked, creating a picturesque scene that drew gasps of admiration from passersby. The two women were so stunning that they seemed like figures from a painting.

Had they been merely attractive, perhaps some daring individuals might have approached them. But their beauty was on a level that ordinary people wouldn’t dare touch—especially Snowah, a magical girl famed for her looks, and Aile, who hid her explosive figure beneath a gloomy aura.

Unbothered by interruptions, they entered the department store and headed straight for the women’s clothing section. Snowah subtly shifted the conversation toward Eight as they browsed.

“Have you figured anything out? What Professor likes, maybe?”

“Ah, um, well...”

When Snowah first suggested forming an alliance to win Eight’s heart, Aile had thought it was a ridiculously one-sided deal in Snowah’s favor. Surprisingly, though, it wasn’t.

Thanks to Aile, Snowah had easy access to information about the mysterious Eight. And as the saying goes, know your enemy and you’ll never lose a hundred battles. Learning more about Eight was crucial to her strategy.

Unaware of Snowah’s ulterior motives, Aile cautiously shared what she knew about him.

“Well, he likes solving puzzles. Whenever there’s a tough problem, his eyes light up...”

“I see. Does he enjoy teaching?”

“Umm—when he was tutoring me, he seemed pretty happy...”

As Aile talked, Snowah struggled to hold back her questions. Just what kind of relationship did these two have? Eight had even tutored this so-called villainess?

Considering that Aile was part of an evil organization, Snowah could already guess what kind of person Eight might really be. If he wanted to hide it, he should’ve done a better job—Aile was practically an open book.

But instead of pressing the issue, Snowah decided it was smarter to keep extracting information while the opportunity lasted.

“That sounds nice. Asking him questions, supporting him like a secretary... it’s very charming.”

“S-Snowah?”

“Yes? What’s wrong?”

“Well, um... what if the Professor isn’t straight?”

Snowah froze mid-step, her hand brushing across her lips as she considered the idea.

Was this another lie to push her away from Eight?

No—it didn’t seem like that. Aile’s anxious expression and nervous tone made it clear that she genuinely believed it. So someone must have put the idea in her head.

“Did Professor say that? That he doesn’t like women?”

“N-no! He never said that, but... he just doesn’t seem interested in women.”

“Tsk, tsk—you don’t get it, Aile. That’s just how men are. Acting uninterested in women is a way to get attention. Well, I didn’t think Professor would be like that, but still.”

“R-really...?”

That doesn’t sound right...

Aile wasn’t entirely convinced, but Snowah’s confidence made her hesitate. Snowah might have been a loner like Aile, but she seemed much more experienced in matters of romance.

And just like that, Aile’s worries about Eight possibly being gay evaporated. Before she knew it, Snowah had already dragged her into the store.

“First of all—let’s get rid of that ridiculous dress.”

“B-but it’s cute...”

“No way. You can’t win over Professor with something like that. Don’t worry—I’ll style you from head to toe. Trust me.”

Snowah didn’t wait for a response before grabbing armfuls of clothes from the racks. One, two, three—before long, the pile had grown into double digits, and Aile’s enthusiasm drained from her face.

“Go try them on.”

“A-all of them?!”

“Yes. Every single one. We’re shopping all day today.”

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“Ugh... ughhhh...”

Aile wanted to go home.

But instead, she reluctantly stepped into the dressing room, clinging to the hope that this might help her win Eight’s heart.