The Scout
─Yeah, so that’s how it is?”
“Yes, boss.”
Omega, the man who could effectively be called the ruler of Z City, let out a low groan as he listened to his subordinate’s report. The information concerned the pianist he had met at the corporate exchange party not long ago—the partner Regalia had brought with her.
The miraculous artist who could make the tycoons of every major corporation fall head over heels with a single performance. The genius pianist who seemed to dance down from the moon itself. Information on Raemon.
‘So the kid got kidnapped once, and Evils shelled out more than a hundred million dollars to get him back…’
The story had been confirmed through the villain who was currently locked up in a detention facility and the bank employee who had monitored the transfer in real time. No matter how powerful Evils Enterprise was, they couldn’t hide everything perfectly. Especially not from someone on a similar level.
Spending a hundred million dollars to rescue a hostage was astonishing. Handing over that much money to kidnappers without any guarantee of actually getting the hostage back was practically gambling, even for the chairman of a megacorporation.
The fact that they had sent the money despite lacking certainty. The fact that the sum was a hundred million dollars—something even a corporate chairman couldn’t casually move. And the fact that it was far too enormous an amount to spend on a mere artist. All of it pointed to one conclusion.
Raemon’s true identity.
“…I see. So that guy is—”
Evils Enterprise had been producing absurd scientific results lately. Circuitry the size of a palm with computational power surpassing cutting-edge computers. An anti-gravity device already rumored to have its ABC Award win locked in. Those were just a few examples.
Even before, Evils had been a megacorporation with technological prowess unmatched in E City, but not to this degree. He had suspected there was a reason. And now the missing link had connected.
“He was the developer of that technology.”
The scientist Evils Enterprise kept hidden so tightly. Having identified Raemon’s true identity, Omega smiled faintly.
“─You’ve shown an opening! At last!”
The gap Regalia hadn’t managed to hide completely. The crack that had formed through a series of coincidences—Omega had luckily discovered it first and claimed it for himself.
The first thing he did after learning the truth was block the information so no one else could find out. He would have loved to simply eliminate the villain who had witnessed everything and the bank employee, but there were people out there—‘detectives’ who could piece together the truth from a death—so he couldn’t.
“Erase the witnesses’ memories.”
“Yes, understood, boss.”
“And schedule a meeting with the mayor of E City. Tell him I’ll be visiting officially.”
“Understood.”
Having arranged his schedule in an instant, Omega began eagerly anticipating the moment he would meet that man—and the moment he would bring him to his own city.
“Huh? Isn’t that Eight-nya~?”
“Leviathan?”
“Call me Levitang!”
I was resting in the lobby of the villain organization’s headquarters when I tilted my head at the sight of Levitan, who had come in for work. She usually worked as a police officer on the side and rarely set foot in the villain organization unless necessary.
“What brings you to headquarters?”
“Whaaat~! That’s so mean! You’re acting like I’d never show up unless I had business… I got vacation time, y’know~!”
“Ah, so you’re on leave.”
Levitang said this and made a V sign with her fingers, proudly announcing that she could come to the villain organization for the next week. Her diligent attitude made me inwardly exclaim in admiration.
Who on earth shows up for work on their vacation days? If she hadn’t told us and just stayed home, no one would have even known she was on leave!
She was the very definition of a workaholic. As I stared at her with my mouth agape, Levitang beamed and twitched her trademark rabbit ears.
“Wanna play with me too, Eight~?”
“I’d like to, but… wouldn’t it be boring if I came along? We’d have to bring Vira as my bodyguard.”
“Then Vira can play with us too~!”
Levitang didn’t seem to mind at all that she was spending her precious vacation time hanging out with someone like me. She really was the ultimate social butterfly of the organization—no one came close.
It would have been rude to keep refusing when a girl was inviting me so earnestly. I nodded and told her I understood, then passed the message on to Vira.
As expected, Vira’s face lit up at the chance to escape this stuffy villain headquarters and soak up some sunlight.
“With Levitang? Then no problem at all!”
The two of them immediately headed to the changing room and reappeared in casual clothes in the blink of an eye, while I waited in the lobby still wearing my lab coat.
A few moments later, the two who had changed looked me up and down and frowned slightly.
“Eight. You’re seriously planning to go out dressed like that?”
“Just asking, but… you don’t have any other clothes?”
When I nodded at Levitan and Vira’s words, the two exchanged glances and nodded at each other.
“This isn’t a ‘let’s go have fun’ situation anymore~.”
“Let’s hit the department store first.”
“…Excuse me?”
The moment I heard “department store,” a horrifying premonition washed over me. Just as I feared, the two dragged me to the shopping mall, where I was forced to become their life-sized dress-up doll.
A living mannequin. After changing in and out of dozens of outfits while dealing with the two of them, I finally reached a level they found acceptable.
“Still not quite there yet~!”
“Hmm… but I suppose this is right on the passing line.”
They looked me over from head to toe in the style they had chosen, then smiled as if satisfied and moved on. The hellish shopping trip was finally over, and sweet freedom had arrived.
“Then let’s head back home now…”
“What are you talking about? We came out to play, so now we have to have some real fun. Right?”
“Ah…”
After spending hours just changing clothes, I finally remembered why I had left headquarters in the first place. Today was Levitang’s vacation, and I had come out to spend time with her and build some friendship…
I had gone through such torturous shopping that I had nearly forgotten the original purpose. I sighed and asked where we were going next, but Levitang insisted that since we were already at the department store, we might as well buy clothes for themselves too.
“It’ll be a hassle to come back later! Let’s just shop for our stuff while we’re here~!”
“Ooh~ As expected of Levitang! So smart!”
“Ugh…”
And so I ended up watching the women shop, complimenting outfits that all looked identical to my eyes, revisiting the same stores to try on the clothes we had set aside earlier, running around until my feet were practically blistering…
After several more hours, I was finally released and collapsed onto a chair at a café table. Spending time with two stunning beauties would have made anyone else’s eyes roll back in their heads, but I couldn’t call it enjoyable. Not in the slightest.
“Thanks to Levitang, I got to shop for the first time in ages. This guy never leaves his lab, you know?”
“Really~? Then should I come again tomorrow?”
“Maybe we should?”
“…Tomorrow too?”
“Yup! My vacation’s a whole week, after all~!”
Learning that Levitang’s vacation lasted a full week—and that I would have to endure this hellish schedule again tomorrow—filled me with despair from the very thought.
Part of me wanted to just collapse from some mysterious illness… but I couldn’t even do that. If I tried to fake it, the boss would summon that back-alley doctor with the face full of scars again, and the doctor who came running would immediately see through my act.
“Haa…”
“Hello there.”
While I was busy sighing nonstop, a man suddenly appeared from somewhere and sat down across from us as naturally as if the seat had always been his. His movements were so smooth that both Vira and Levitan were a beat late in reacting.
“─Eight!”
“Out of the way~!”
The moment Vira pulled me into her arms and stood up, Levitan launched a kick at the man sitting in front of us. But the man in glasses casually blocked Levitan’s kick and reached into his coat.
I stretched my hand toward my watch, half-expecting the man in the suit to pull out a pistol, but instead he simply took out a single business card and offered it to me.
“This is who I am.”
“…Omega Industries?”
While Levitan flinched at the name, I accepted the card Mu offered and took out one of my own fake business cards in return.
“This is who I am.”
“I already know. Mr. Eight.”
“…Who is this guy?”
“There’s no need to hide it. I came here knowing everything. That you are the legendary pianist Raemon and, at the same time, the scientist working for Evils Enterprise.”
Mu said this while adjusting his glasses. Sunlight reflected off the lenses, making his face gleam. With a refreshing smile as bright as the sun itself, Mu made his proposal.
“─Mr. Eight. Would you consider coming to our Omega Industries?”
“Is this a scouting offer?”
“Yes, it is. We will provide you with the best treatment in the industry.”
“For example?”
“Hey! Eight!”
While Vira glared at me in panic, I simply shrugged my shoulders at her. It wasn’t like I was actually going to accept. Couldn’t I at least hear what kind of salary they were offering? Evaluating one’s own market value was every working adult’s secret dream.
And of course, I was a working adult too. I had no intention of abandoning loyalty and running off to Omega Industries, but I could at least listen to the number and brag about it to the boss later, couldn’t I?
Confirming my positive attitude, Mu smirked and pulled out a smartphone. He typed in a number and held it out to me.
When I saw the amount on the screen, my expression hardened. Mu must have thought I was shocked by it, because the corner of his mouth curled up even higher.
“How is it? It’s significantly more than what you’re currently—”
“─It’s not enough.”
“…Pardon?”
Surprisingly, the amount Mu had presented as the best treatment in the industry was different by several digits from what I currently received. Several digits.