The greenery of nature swayed before my eyes, as if a portion of a forest had been transplanted into this room. Considering that this place was the cutting edge of machinery and science, it was a scene shocking enough to knock someone off their feet.

Swish— Aussolion lifted her teacup. Every time the long sleeve of her robe swayed, an imperceptible breeze seemed to blow.

Her very existence embodied nature itself, making it clear that she was no mere human, but a being rightly called a fae.

An Elf.
On Earth, elves were well-known. From a genius author’s novel to their portrayal as otherworldly beauties in the hands of otakus from the Far East, elves had been depicted in a myriad of ways.

“May I ask the reason?” I inquired.

“Hm?”

“The reason why I can’t publish the paper.”

Aussolion was the one who raised the plagiarism accusation against my thesis. But she admitted that she knew I hadn’t plagiarized her work. So there had to be a significant reason why she went to such lengths to block my paper.

Why would the first member of the Scholars’ Association do something like that? According to Regalia, the members of the Scholars’ Association were free from any interference by governments or corporations.

She said the reason she took the risk of inducting me into the Scholars’ Association was because of that freedom. The same applied to Aussolion, standing before me now.

The Scholars’ Association conferred a status where one needn't be concerned about the opinions of others—that was the privilege that came with membership.

“It’s a very personal reason, and I find it quite embarrassing to admit.”

“I don’t mind. Personal reasons are often the most important, especially for people like us.”

“You say dangerous things... Very well. Since you’ve been so honest, I’ll tell you. I’m a researcher for Dragon Corp.”

"...You made the Dragon Bone Soldiers?"

“They were created by my employer.”

Her words were shocking. The fact that she worked for Dragon Corp didn’t surprise me—after all, I myself belonged to Iblis Corporation.

But the fact that the Dragon Bone Soldiers weren’t her creation, but her employer’s, hinted at many things.

That the chairman of Dragon Corp might actually be a dragon.
Or that she, too, had crossed over from another world, just like me.
As I stood silently, processing this revelation, Aussolion spoke quietly.

“The fact that you uncovered the secret of the Dragon Bone Soldiers is remarkable. Science continues to astound me. Though I loathe to obstruct such a brilliant discovery for personal reasons, I am bound by my contract.”

"...A contract? If you'd like, I could release you from it."

“It’s not just a written contract. It was a spoken agreement, a very sacred one.”

At those words, I recalled a conversation I had with Arima. People from other worlds never break promises—not even verbal ones.

Even without physical restraint, breaking a promise is seen as foolish. Words are said to carry sacred power, and in a world where individuals possess superhuman strength, those words hold even more weight.

Written agreements were for the lower, primitive beings whose words held no power. Such beings were beneath them.

It seemed that this elf, too, had made a pact—a promise imbued with the power of words.

'Could I break that kind of promise... with my abilities?'

Theoretically, it seemed possible, but I couldn’t be sure. I had never tried it. Just because the result might be the same didn’t mean the process would be identical.

In any case, one thing was clear—Aussolion was bound to Dragon Corp’s chairman by a contract she couldn’t break. She had to protect his reputation, even at the cost of her own.

“Do you really think it will be such a problem if this paper gets published?”

“A servant removing a pebble from the path of their king isn’t because the pebble is dangerous—it’s simply the duty of a loyal servant.”

“So, Aussolion, you intend to keep hindering me until I withdraw this paper...?”

“Honestly, I don’t want to fight a fellow member of the Scholars’ Association, but yes.”

“Very well. I will withdraw it.”

At my words, Aussolion’s eyes flashed in surprise. Apparently, she hadn’t expected me to give up the publication of my paper so easily.

“Are you sure? You gain nothing by withdrawing it...”

“Nothing? I’ve gained plenty from this meeting alone.”

"...I don’t understand. If you think you’ll just submit it somewhere else, think again. That’s—”

“No, I won’t do that. I’ll destroy the paper completely.”

Despite her confusion, Aussolion didn’t argue. After all, she had gotten what she wanted.

After retracting the paper and destroying it entirely, I left the Scholars’ Association with a smile.

‘Clearing a king’s path may be a servant’s duty, but...’

It wasn’t wrong. I, too, often took reckless actions in order to clear the path for my boss. But if I thought about how my boss would clutch his head in frustration every time I caused a mess, it wasn’t always true that a servant’s loyalty benefited their king.

This time was no different. Aussolion wouldn’t tell her employer—who I suspected was a dragon—what I had discovered about the Dragon Bone Soldiers.

The chairman would never realize that one of his Dragon Bone Soldiers had been taken, or what I had done to it.

'I had intended to compete fairly, using machines.'

In a market where androids were being recruited, I had planned to compete on even ground using androids. But if the opponent played their hand first, there was no need for me to stick to the rules.

After all, I now possessed a dragon’s molar extracted from the Dragon Bone Soldier. And I had the technology to replicate it. I even knew how to use the molar to create more Dragon Bone Soldiers.

‘It would’ve been troublesome if they had filed a patent.’

Was it because they didn’t want to reveal even a part of their technology, or were they confident that no one could reverse-engineer their Dragon Bone Soldiers? In any case, there was no patent on the Dragon Bone Soldier.

This meant that no matter how many I created from the molar, there was nothing Dragon Corp could do.

“Let’s compete, fair and square.”

The evil scientist has never lost to an opponent on the same stage.
Not once.
Not to anyone.

"Ch-chairman. Here is the report you requested..."

"Hm. Very well."

The chairman of Dragon Corp, Hisberk, glanced over the report handed to him by his subordinate, furrowing his brow slightly. They were all unusual individuals, but none were the singularity he sought—none were extraordinary enough to rival him, someone from another world.

What he was looking for was a singularity, not just a slightly exceptional human, but someone with the power to change the world.

'Nothing... Could it be that this singularity has been here for as long as I have?'

Impossible.

Hisberk had fallen into this world centuries ago, and he had been searching for someone like himself ever since.

And yet, all he had found was Aussolion, who had crossed over with him. No traces of anyone else.

Well, his search had slowed down considerably over the last hundred years or so...

"A being specialized in hiding its identity...?"

Thinking back to the one who had wrested control of his Dragon Bone Soldier and blocked his detection spells with technology that even his draconic brain couldn’t comprehend, Hisberk mused that this singularity might indeed be someone adept at concealing their existence.

If so, it made sense that, despite being a singularity, they could remain hidden. After all, everything was digitalized in this world. With the right technology, making a living while staying under the radar would be simple.

'Still, it’s strange. In a world like this, one would expect them to be itching to showcase their abilities.'

Hisberk himself had been unable to restrain himself from unleashing his magic when he saw the primitive abilities these so-called "superhumans" displayed.

If this individual truly were a singularity like him, they must be struggling to suppress the urge to display their powers...

'What extraordinary patience... To go to such lengths to hide themselves.'

As Hisberk was reveling in the entertainment of this new mystery, his secretary suddenly knocked urgently on the office door.

Upon receiving permission, the secretary rushed in, hastily presenting the news report they were holding.

"C-chairman! This is...!"

"Hmm? Slacking off to watch the news during work hours, are we?"

"That's not important right now!"

Hisberk turned his gaze to the screen, and upon seeing the headline, he froze.

[Iblis Corp Targets Dragon Corp’s Androids! Offering Latest Model at Just $99—]
[Performance Superior to Dragon Corp’s Dragon Bone Soldier...]
[<Demonstration Video> Playing]

Watching the video, Hisberk instantly realized that the android in the footage wasn’t a mere machine. It was a being just like the Dragon Bone Soldiers his company produced.

They had created the same thing, yet the competitor was selling it at half the price. There was no way they could compete.

“What should we do, Chairman?”

“Hmph... Hahahahaha—!”

“Ch-chairman?”

But Hisberk wasn’t concerned about the price at all. His focus was solely on one thing—the fact that Iblis Corp’s android was the same as the Dragon Bone Soldiers he had made.

“So there you are!”

After centuries of solitude, the wait was finally over.
His kin had finally appeared in this world.
And that was the only thing that mattered to Hisberk.