"Dr. Eight? Dr. Kuroi? Is something wrong?"

The head of the organization returned, looking puzzled as he glanced back and forth between Dr. Kuroi, who stood there in a daze, and me. He was holding a stack of documents, likely the forms necessary to apply for research funding.

I forced a laugh as I took the documents from him. The head of the organization gave me an apologetic look.

"I apologize, Dr. Eight. Dr. Kuroi can be a bit arrogant and eccentric, but he's not a bad person…" "Oh, it's fine. We weren’t fighting or anything." "I'm glad to hear that, but… are you really okay, Dr. Kuroi?"

The head gave Dr. Kuroi a suspicious glare, making it clear just how often Dr. Kuroi must have shown off his arrogance. However, Dr. Kuroi seemed completely oblivious to the head’s sharp gaze. He absentmindedly waved his hand and trudged off somewhere, looking as if he had just experienced a major disappointment.

"I-I said it's fine. Well, I’ll be going now… Dr. Eight, I hope you stay well."

"Dr. Kuroi…?"

The head of the organization watched Dr. Kuroi leave with a look of amazement, as if he had just witnessed something incredible.

"Incredible. Dr. Kuroi actually used honorifics with someone." "Has that never happened before?" "Never. Even when he was invited to join Scholar, he was arrogant. We didn’t say much because he was that skilled, but still…"

After reminiscing briefly, the head quickly explained how to fill out the forms. Once I completed the necessary sections, detailing the research I planned to conduct and what I needed for it, I handed them over to him. He skimmed through the forms, nodded, and gave me his response.

"For this type of research, you should receive around 100 million dollars in funding." "Is that all?" "If you can prove that you’ve used all the initial funding on your research, you can apply for a second and third round of funding, provided there’s no embezzlement involved." "…Has anyone ever done that?" "No, not yet. Everyone here is genuinely dedicated to their research."

The head seemed to assume I would be equally sincere, so he didn’t offer any warnings. How naive. I could complete my research with just a dollar and pocket the remaining 99 million.

It’s not like the world’s wealthiest people are going to whine if I don’t return any leftover funds. Essentially, I now had a new wallet to draw from besides Regalia—one I could tap into whenever I wanted.

I felt a slight thrill, like a married man who just discovered a secret stash of money his wife doesn’t know about.

"So, do I just wait now?" "Yes. The research funds should be deposited into your account within a few days." "Excellent."

I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the money that would soon be at my disposal. But then, a question popped into my mind, and I turned to ask the head.

"Come to think of it, Scholar is a secret organization, and they went to great lengths to blindfold me and prevent me from bringing a guard—so how come Dr. Kuroi can bring Lucia along so easily?"

"Hmm? Well, that’s because Lucia is a robot Dr. Kuroi created himself, isn’t it? We can’t exactly control the tools someone makes themselves. Humans can betray us, but tools won’t."

"…Ah, I see."

From the head’s words, I realized that androids had only recently been developed, and Lucia, Dr. Kuroi’s creation, was the only one currently in existence.

It was far too early to start talking about granting robots rights. Society hadn’t even bridged the gap between humans and beastfolk yet.

It was simply too soon for people to accept truths that transcended species…

Back at the Eblis Corporation headquarters, I found Aile snickering to herself as she scrolled through something on her phone in my lab. When I sneaked up next to her, I realized she was spying on some magical girl’s social media account.

Aile's obsession with magical girls showed no sign of waning. Even though she could meet magical girls whenever she wanted as an evil magical girl herself, here she was, lurking on Instagram.

Honestly, who would ever believe that this girl, who spends her nights wielding a whip against magical girls, was the same one eagerly stalking their social media accounts? Watching her now, she seemed like any other run-of-the-mill magical girl otaku.

Her expression occasionally hardened, though, especially when the magical girls subtly revealed their identities or when their daily lives were exposed.

For Aile, who had dropped out of high school, the vibrant lives of those girls must have seemed dazzling. No wonder she was filled with a creeping jealousy every time she saw them.

"Aile, why don’t you go to school too?"

"Kyaaa-!"

Startled, Aile dropped her phone onto her face. Rubbing her reddened nose, she looked up at me, her expression a mix of confusion and surprise.

It was as if she was asking, "When did you get here?" I just smiled and shrugged.

"How long have you been standing there…?" "Let’s see… since you liked that photo of the magical girl in a swimsuit?" "Kyaaa-!"

Aile let out a piercing scream that was anything but ladylike, hastily pulling out some money and offering it to me, pleading for me to forget what I saw. The bills were crumpled, having been stuffed into her skirt pocket, but it was still quite a bit of money for a kid to carry around.

However, it wasn’t nearly enough to bribe me.

"Hmm, not enough." "P-Please… If the money isn’t enough, I’ll do anything…" "Did you just say you’ll do anything?" "Eek!"

Realizing what she had just said, Aile instinctively hugged her arms to herself, shaking her head frantically.

"I-I mean, not that I dislike you or anything, but… I’d prefer something a bit more romantic, you know, in a loving relationship…!" "Let’s get you back to school, Aile." "…Huh?" "School. Let’s go."

But instead of relief, Aile’s expression darkened even more at the mention of school. She looked as though she’d rather go through with the embarrassing scenario she had just imagined than return to school.

"I’d rather just strip. Should I do it now?" "Is it really that bad? Why?" "You wouldn’t understand… How much of a nightmare school is for a loser like me…" "You could start fresh at a new school." "T-That’s impossible. High school is a jungle…! Those beasts will sniff out a loser like me in no time and tear me apart…!"

Aile frantically explained how she, being powerless, wouldn’t survive in that wild environment, and that she’d be devoured on her first day back.

Listening to her made me realize how deeply troubled she was, which only strengthened my resolve to get her back into school.

"I’ll go with you." "…Huh? You’ll come with me?" "Yes. I can’t attend high school with you, but what about college? No one would openly bully you there, and I could be with you."

I wanted Aile to experience more of the world and see new things. While most people go to college to secure a job, Aile didn’t need to worry about that.

Without the pressure of grades or a future career, college would be an excellent place for her to meet a diverse range of people and broaden her horizons, helping her break free from the dark cage she had locked herself in.

Fortunately, the idea of attending college with me seemed to excite her, as she began to grin, probably imagining herself enjoying a rosy campus life alongside me.

I felt a bit guilty, though, since I hadn’t mentioned that I wouldn’t be going as a student.

‘I’ll talk to Scholar about arranging a faculty position for me.’

They could probably make that happen. They’d already offered me a PhD if I submitted a paper, so surely they could arrange a professorship as well.

"Are you really going to go with me…?" "Yes. You can pass high school equivalency exams and focus on college entrance exams. I’ll tutor you." "A private tutor, just the two of us…!"

I wasn’t sure what Aile was imagining, but she started grinning again. Was she that excited about studying? Seeing her so happy made me smile too.

First, I’d have to make an energy drink for her, something that would keep her up for a week straight. Maybe something that would help her retain information better too.

H City was constantly at war with the enemies of the world.

The monstrous creatures that crossed over from other dimensions never stopped, attacking day and night, weekdays and weekends, holidays and festivals.

Today was no different. As the magical girls fought and were on their way back, they groaned at the sight of a black veil spreading across the city.

"Not again…!" "That damn evil magical girl!" "Can’t we catch a break?!"

Exhausted from their previous battle, the magical girls reluctantly turned back to the battlefield.

There, standing alone, was the evil magical girl, muttering something to herself. As the magical girls strained to hear, they grew puzzled.

"…The dot product of vectors a and b is a·b = ab +…" "Is she… reciting a math formula?" "Did she eat something weird?" "What’s going on?"

As the magical girls watched in confusion, the evil magical girl suddenly snapped out of it and, realizing they were there, slowly raised her staff.

"Heh, welcome…" "…Are you feeling okay? You look exhausted." "Do I? Well, you’re right…"

The evil magical girl swung her staff lazily.

"I’ve been under a lot of stress lately, so I thought I’d come and beat you all up." "You crazy—! And I was actually worried about you!" "Hahahaha! I’ll beat you all senseless!"

The magical girls scattered as spells flew at them, but as always, they couldn’t avoid the evil magical girl’s attacks.

As the pitiful cries of the magical girls filled the air in H City, the wicked laughter of the evil magical girl echoed alongside them.