The Genius Scientist's Identity Is Revealed
The Scholar Society Exchange Meeting was in full swing.
“Siira.”
“Yes?”
“It’s Siira, you fucking moron. You came here for an interview and you can’t even get the name right? Calling a brain-dead idiot like you a reporter—.”
“What a shitshow.”
“You think so too, huh?”
The news had been in an absolute frenzy for days, completely dominated by stories about the discovery of the soul. All the coverage of the World’s Enemy that had been flooding the airwaves had vanished without a trace. It made sense. The abilities possessed by the World’s Enemy were perfect for letting a small group of elites enslave the masses, after all.
Those with the power to steer the news cycle would naturally want the World’s Enemy to fade from public memory. They would negotiate in secret among themselves rather than openly highlight the Enemy’s traits and risk making ordinary people wary.
Proving the existence of the soul was the perfect distraction. After all, it was the great mystery humanity had longed to unravel throughout its entire history. If the soul’s existence was confirmed, it could lead to proof of the heavens and hells spoken of in every religion.
“So? What are you going to do about it?”
“Hmm… I suppose it’s about time I showed my face.”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
Humans are driven to explore secrets. It is simply our nature. We conquered darkness by uncovering the secret of fire, birthed civilization through the secrets of agriculture, and created science itself by prying open the secrets of the universe.
Humans are a species that cannot leave secrets untouched. We are more curious than cats. In a situation like this, trying to hide my identity until the very end might end up exposing the fact that my credentials were fabricated.
That would be problematic.
“The fact that you’re Regalia’s subordinate. In other words, that you’re a researcher at Evils Enterprise. Once people learn that, this uproar should calm down somewhat.”
“I suppose so. I can pick up a degree while I’m at it, too.”
“Exactly. The board has been whining nonstop that we’re paying far too much salary to someone without even a doctorate… If it gets out that you’re a candidate who might win the ABC Award, that complaining should die down nicely.”
And so I decided to announce my identity. The world would finally learn who the genius scientist was—the one Evils Enterprise had kept hidden so carefully all this time.
The moment my identity was revealed—that a mere nobody without a doctorate was the research partner of a genius who had left his mark on the field of biology—the world erupted.
After my identity was exposed to the world, the first reaction from the public was pure disbelief. They simply couldn’t accept that a researcher with nothing but a bachelor’s degree could have produced so many groundbreaking results.
After all, even the contents of the paper were incomprehensible to most doctorate holders. Claiming that things like the anti-gravity device or the ultra-compact circuits had been invented by someone with only an undergraduate degree sounded completely absurd.
While curses against both Evils Enterprise and me flew from every direction, the person actually being cursed—me—didn’t react at all.
“Eight. Um… are you okay?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“It just seems like everyone’s only talking shit about you.”
When I heard Vira’s words, I let out a hollow laugh. The person who was supposedly worried about me was the one actively spreading the news? For a second it was almost too ridiculous, but I simply shrugged as if it didn’t bother me.
“From the start, the boss and I manipulated public opinion to go exactly this way, you know?”
“…You’re the one who did this?”
“Yeah. What do you think would’ve happened if the news had only sung my praises? If they’d gone on about how amazing my achievements were, calling me a once-in-a-century genius scientist or whatever?”
“Well…”
Vira tilted her head, but the truth was that kind of coverage would have been terrible. Sure, it would feel good for a moment. But that was it.
People would swarm me with excessive attention, and in this world, too much attention is directly linked to danger. After all, this is a world where villains who believe in their own superpowers and do whatever they want actually exist.
Now that I was a Scholar member, countless corporations, city governments, and even the military would offer me protection… but while they might avenge me, they couldn’t prevent villain attacks in the first place.
“It would be a huge pain. The number of people targeting me would skyrocket. I’d get ambushed by villains every time I stepped outside… No matter how good Vira is, that would get annoying fast.”
“Is that how it is…?”
“Yeah. Exactly. Besides, the salary I get comes from the boss, not from the people cursing me online. Why should I care about public opinion? How many markets does Evils have a monopoly on? Even if people try to boycott after seeing this, it won’t make a dent in sales.”
Suppose the citizens became disillusioned with Evils Enterprise because of this incident and launched a boycott. Was that even possible? The answer was simple: no.
Even outside of E City, which Evils completely controlled, the company had used my technology to monopolize countless markets. Citizens might stop buying, but corporations couldn’t afford not to.
“Still, getting cursed at has to feel bad.”
“Even when you’re doing great, there will always be people who curse. In the end, the people who want to curse will curse.”
“If you’re fine with it, then I guess it doesn’t matter…”
“Above all—I’m a villain, aren’t I? Since when do villains fear being cursed at?”
“Ah, right. That’s true.”
She let out a belated exclamation, as if she had only just remembered. It seemed she usually forgot the fact that she herself was a villain. Honestly, how dense could one person be? No matter how much the villain organization avoided acting like traditional villains, forgetting the fundamentals was going a bit far.
“Anyway, I have to head to the Scholar meeting again today. You should rest.”
“Wait, today too?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve been so busy lately. When will you be back today?”
“…I’ll contact you before I head back.”
“Nice!”
Leaving behind Vira, who was rejoicing as if she had been granted vacation time, I climbed into the vehicle Scholar had sent once again.
By now the trip to Scholar felt as familiar as going to my own lab. As soon as I arrived, the usual faces appeared.
“─O God. Please accept your humble servant’s prayer first.”
“Ah, what is it this time…”
The moment I stepped inside, Dr. Kuroi dropped into a deep bow. I quickly glanced around to make sure no one else had witnessed the scene.
Being bowed to by a middle-aged man was the kind of thing that invited all sorts of misunderstandings. No matter how many times it happened, I could never get used to it. Especially knowing that Dr. Kuroi wasn’t apologizing for any wrongdoing but was instead prostrating himself in pure, religious reverence.
When I pulled him up and asked why his faith was acting up again, Dr. Kuroi looked at me as if I had said something incomprehensible.
“The paper you published, my God. I have read it. While others may believe it to be Dr. Siira’s achievement, these eyes of mine can see your craftsmanship shining through every line.”
“And? What does that have to do with anything?”
“I studied the paper. The formula you used to represent the existence of the soul looked strangely familiar. Upon presumptuously analyzing it, I realized it bore a striking resemblance to the grace you once bestowed upon Lucia…”
“…Excuse me?”
I couldn’t hide my bewilderment. The circuit I had installed in his android resembled the shape of a soul? That was the first I was hearing of it.
I immediately began comparing the circuit inside Lucia’s head with the formula I had written for the soul. At first glance they looked nothing alike. But when I simplified both the circuit and the equation and analyzed them through topological geometry…
Oh… Surprisingly, they were indeed similar.
What the hell.
The implication was simple. Without realizing it, I had created a being that possessed a soul. No wonder Dr. Kuroi had thrown himself to the floor in such a frenzy the moment he discovered the truth.