The Evil Scientist is Too Competent

"[I have not forgotten.]"

"What? What do you mean by that...?"

R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at freewebnovёl.ƈom Only.

"This concludes the press conference."

The desperate pleas of journalists calling after Regalia echoed even through the TV speakers. Yet Regalia, known as the "Iron-Blooded Businesswoman," paid them no heed as she left the press room without a second glance.

As the news ended, I couldn’t help but let out a wry chuckle while watching from the lab. When had she started preparing all of this?

"Probably from the very beginning."

Mr. Clear—the assassin who killed the boss. Once she had uncovered his identity, the boss had managed to learn an astonishing amount about him. From the fact that he had existed since before humanity’s dawn, to the revelation that he had been created by someone for a specific purpose.

She had also discovered that he had been acting under the influence of numerous corporate leaders.

At the time, I had found her unusually calm upon realizing this. But it wasn’t that she had forgotten or decided to let it go. She had simply been lying in wait for the perfect moment to unleash everything at once.

"So even her order for me to prepare for battle... was part of her method to handle me?"

For Evilus Corporation to go up alone against 25 cities was a monumental undertaking. A war. The kind of conflict where no one could predict the winner and where both sides would suffer irreparable damage, even if victorious.

There was no way I would have allowed that to happen. If the boss had commanded me to prepare for war, I would have done so with ruthless efficiency, wiping out the other cities without hesitation.

But the boss had ordered me to prepare for battle instead. That meant two things. First, she was reining me in, ensuring I didn’t prepare excessive firepower. And second...

"It means the other corporations are no longer worthy of being called opponents in a war."

She had no intention of escalating this into a war. And why would she? Who in their right mind would want to go to war with the world’s most powerful corporation? Faced with the overwhelming strength and moral high ground of Evilus, the other corporations had only one option left.

Surrender.

To prostrate themselves and beg for mercy.

Even if it meant sacrificing a limb or two in the process.

The corporations had no other choice.

*****

Regalia followed through on her declaration with bold, earth-shattering actions. Her first stop was the headquarters of Alpha Laundry in A City, once the most prominent corporation in the world before being overshadowed by Evilus Corporation.

She wasted no time when meeting with Alpha Laundry’s chairman and stated her objective outright.

"I’ll settle for one person."

"...Is it my life you’re after?"

"No. The one who ordered my parents’ assassination five years ago."

The chairman of Alpha Laundry had been replaced three years ago. The current chairman was the son of the previous one, who now lay on his deathbed, awaiting the inevitable. In essence, Regalia was asking this man to sell out his own father.

"Is that really all it will take?"

"I have no intention of spilling unnecessary blood."

"Very well. My father will no doubt be pleased to know he still has some use, even at the end."

But the man before her was no ordinary individual. He was the master of a corporation, a machine wearing the guise of humanity, with reason and pragmatism replacing compassion.

Had the dying old man still held power, perhaps the situation would be different. But in his current state—having relinquished everything—his life was worth far less than the corporation he had once led.

"And what do you intend to do with him?"

"That’s not your concern."

"If this had happened two years later, the trash I’d need to deal with would’ve changed."

"Hah, such crude words for someone so young."

After taking custody of the former chairman, Regalia moved on to other corporations with unrelenting momentum. Predictably, many of these companies still had the same leadership from five years ago.

These individuals refused Regalia’s demands.

"Hah! No matter how powerful Evilus Corporation is, this is tyranny!"

"Hmm... tyranny, you say? An interesting word. It makes me wonder what kind of tyranny my parents committed to warrant their assassination."

"That was... it was necessary to maintain social order."

"You’d make a better comedian than a chairman. My sides are splitting at the nonsense you spew."

Of course, Regalia didn’t immediately resort to summoning her underworld enforcers to drag these executives away. She was there as the representative of Evilus Corporation, engaging in negotiations. The strength of shadowy power lies in being wielded from the shadows. Under the light, she used a different kind of power.

"Scientist? Clean up Y Corporation."

[Understood, boss.]

Click.

As Regalia calmly made a call in front of the defiant chairman of Y Corporation, he tilted his head in confusion. Moments later, his secretary burst into the room, delivering urgent news. The chairman’s expression hardened as he listened.

Shaking with fear, the chairman fell to his knees and begged.

"I-I was wrong! I admit my mistake! If you want my life, take it—please, just spare the company!"

"You spoke of social order, didn’t you? I’m quite fond of that term myself. Now, experience it firsthand."

With a measured click of her heels, Regalia walked away. The chairman collapsed into a pitiful heap, sobbing uncontrollably.

And he had every reason to.

That day, Y Corporation’s stock price plummeted 30%. The next day, it dropped another 30%. Day after day, the decline continued for an entire week, showing no signs of recovery. Despite all their resources, Y Corporation couldn’t reverse the trend.

At a hastily convened shareholders' meeting, the chairman was ousted for his failure to stabilize the stock. Furthermore, the hidden assets of his family mysteriously vanished.

Having witnessed Y Corporation’s downfall, the remaining corporate leaders lost their will to resist. Whatever method Evilus had used to manipulate the stock market—whether through sheer financial power or advanced technology—it proved that they could easily destroy even the largest corporations.

What followed was a cascade effect. One fell, then two, then three. Like dominos toppling, the chain reaction unfolded.

"You’ve come as well?"

"Hah, and you said you’d never show your face here."

"...I couldn’t let my entire family die just to save myself."

"Don’t pretend to care about your family. You were dragged here after being ousted by your children, weren’t you?"

With the exception of the now-defunct ruler of Z City, the leaders of the 25 cities gathered in one place. Some were retired, but all of them still wielded power beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

They were individuals who could decide the lives of tens of thousands with a single word. Their gathering radiated an aura of grandeur, like a pantheon of gods in the age of myth.

And then—

Click, clack.

"So, she’s finally turned ten, I hear."

"Is it true Evilus has mastered even the passage of time?"

"And to think that girl is so beautiful..."

Amid the fallen aristocracy, a single queen descended. Regalia entered the hall, her mere presence overwhelming everyone there. Without a word, she took her seat on her throne, crossing her legs in a strikingly elegant pose.

Though her posture exuded allure, no one dared to look directly at her. Terrified of meeting her gaze, the assembled rulers kept their heads bowed.

"I learned many things from my parents, but there’s one thing I never learned."

Propping her chin on her hand, Regalia spoke.

"I never learned how to summon that assassin."

"That assassin... you mean?"

"The one who killed my parents. The one you hired."

Some of the rulers flinched at the mention of assassination, but Regalia continued unfazed.

"It was said that summoning him required the agreement of the majority of those who ruled the 26 cities. Conveniently, 25 rulers are gathered here today."

"..."

"Summon him. Put out a request to have me killed."

"Lady Regalia, that’s..."

"Why? Can’t you do it? Then let me make it simple. If that assassin isn’t summoned to kill me right now, I’ll kill all of you."

Can’t do it?

Then die.

Faced with Regalia’s unyielding declaration, the trembling rulers reluctantly reached a unanimous decision. In a surreal turn of events, they sent out a request for an assassin to kill the woman sitting before them.

And thus, their request reached the guardian said to protect the world. Regalia waited patiently for Mr. Clear to appear before her.

But no matter how much time passed, Mr. Clear did not come.