The Evil Organization’s Recruitment Ad Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Is that Office Love, Senpai?

 

With the information Ikeno gave, Neito consulted Tsurugi before agreeing to apply for the position on the research lab.

Developing modified humans and weapons, the research lab was an important a.s.set to Metallica. If Neito, who had no faction supporting him, went into a different department, there was a huge chance of his position being unstable.

Since that would be the case, he needed to establish his full authority of the research lab.

Again, if Ikeno’s information was right, the head of the section that the compet.i.tion winner was from would receive a great amount of influence in Metallica.

Neito, who had been constantly fighting in the front lines, needed to make a good impression on the company with the first department he would handle.

That was why he chose the research lab as his first step.

He didn’t tell Tsurugi, but he also had an interest on cheering for Maki as a partic.i.p.ant of the compet.i.tion.

Maki’s concept was using bio-technology to create [physical enhancements by the transformation of the mental energy and strength increase that came with growth], which was different from the mainstream cyborgs.

On the other hand, Maki’s compet.i.tor, a man called Keith, was developing a proposal for the mainstream cyborg concept of [the acquisition of unchangeable superhuman strength by a built-in external super energy supply and drastic modification of the body]. He was under Ikeno as the position of science adviser in the global management department.

As the first section’s chief, Ikeno probably thought of taking Keith’s idea before Maki’s.

Neito didn’t know whether he could defeat Ikeno, but there was no other option. He must win.

A month after Neito put through his application for the research lab, it was announced that the research lab was going to be split into two, and Neito would be a.s.signed to the second section of the lab. The same went for his subordinates. It seemed like Metallica commonly rea.s.signed its members as a whole.

Research lab Section 2 Chief:                                Komori Neito

Research lab Section 2 a.s.sistant Manager:      Tsurugi F. Gardner

Research lab Section 2 Research Chief:             Mayuzumi Maki

Research lab Section 2 Board Member:             Anice Jairus

Research lab Section 2 Board Member:             Niina Kazuma

Other than them, there were five technicians, and twenty-one other workers. Neito headed about thirty people in his new workplace.  The farewell party at the Okinawa branch ended up being quite exciting, but he was scolded by the GA department for drinking too much and eventually suffered from a hangover.

[But still, the research lab is quite far don’t you think? Are we there yet? I’m getting bored with looking the sea.]

Riding Metallica’s exclusive cruiser, Neito and his group departed from Tokyo Bay and headed out to the open ocean. The yacht was fully equipped with a kitchen, truly made for long distance luxury travel. They were scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning, which meant that they would be spending the night at sea.

Niina was whined in disappointment.

[It’s obvious that the island would be far off into the sea, seeing that they don’t want it to be easily discovered.  If

you’re a man, don’t grumble about it, Niina.]

[‘Kay…]

Tsurugi tried cheering Niina up. This was a common occurrence for this team.

[Nate, do you want coffee?]

[Ah- yeah. Thanks.]

Anice was really good at pouring coffee. Neito, who was looking out into the sea, went in and took a seat on the sofa.

The research lab was registered under the main office, but technically they acted independently from the main office. They needed to prepare various equipment for the experiments, and seeing the possibility that they might get attacked, it was obvious that Metallica would keep the location of the research lab secret from its employees. Thinking about this, Neito took a sip of coffee.

The sofa was U-shaped [コ], and Maki was sitting across him. She was the type of person that put huge amount of sugar in her coffee.

[By the way Chief Komori, we finally can work together! This makes me so happy!]

Maki was clearly excited. For some reason, she seemed nervous when she tried talking to Neito, but her expression was light and cheerful.

[? Yeah. I’ll do my best not to bring you down in your compet.i.tion. And you can call me the usual Neito. We’re co-workers after all.]

[….Yes! Again, I look forward with working with you… Neito-kun.] Maki laughed happily. Her joyous face made her even more attractive.

Ah~ she’s very cute.

[Hmm? Is that office love, senpai?]

[T-That’s n-not it… umm…!!]

Maki turned red after Niina tried teasing them.

[Are you stupid? How did you come to that conclusion?]

Neito tried to shut him up. Niina was usually a carefree person, and opted to making jokes. Neito finally found a common ground where he could speak to Niina regularly.

[Are you stupid? How could you interpret it like that? You’re so sly Nina.]

Anice mimicked what Neito said and added some side remarks.

[…Ah …um, that’s right Niina-san. Please don’t make fun of us.]

A bright and happy atmosphere surrounded us.

Aren’t we supposed to be a group trying to create weapons of ma.s.s destruction to conquer the world? We don’t look like that from the outside… Well that’s fine.

But they had things they needed to do.

[Well, that’s that, I’ve been thinking. Since we’ve have all the main members here, why don’t we decide our roles as board members and our policies before we arrive?]

[I agree. We are, after all, racing against time here. We’ll listen to what you have to say first.]

Tsurugi was the first to agree with Neito’s idea. The others also followed.

[…eh, well, I suppose.]

For the past few days, Neito wasn’t able to sleep soundly.  He had been studying the functions and development of the research lab.

Neito, who only did office work, tried making effort on understanding how he should manage his team efficiently.

[For that compet.i.tion, there are a lot of things we need to do: we need to manage and remodel the new department, check the battle capability of the cyborg prototype as well as look at the reports on the performance a.n.a.lysis. After that…]

Niina, who wasn’t listening until this point, raised his hand.

[Ah, should I do it? I think I would be the one most suited to do that job, and I really don’t want to partic.i.p.ate with the daily training and all.]

It was a light-hearted suggestion, but Neito was thankful for it. Actually, he also had thought the same. This would take some of the burden off from Neito. Niina may not look it, but he was more suited for mental tasks rather than ones that were physical. Recently, Niina had started taking interest in their work. Neito didn’t know whether it was because of himself, but he was glad he could help Niina develop himself.

[Is that so? I’ll leave it to you then.]

[‘Aye.]

[What’s left is the testing of the weapons. We need to run motion-simulation for the weapons that are going to be used by the cyborg… Can I count on you for this, Tsurugi?]

It wouldn’t be possible for anyone other than Tsurugi to do it, and he’d be able to do more than what was necessary for the test. Even if he was up against a sword, Tsurugi was strong enough to break its blade with an ordinary sharp knife. Certainly, his keen eyes and strategical thinking contributed to this.

[Understood, Boss.]

Tsurugi formally thanked him. It felt a bit weird for Neito, but Tsurugi was truly grateful for the task given to him.

[What about me, Nate?]

Anice was frantically moving about, trying to appeal to Neito.

[Anice will be a.s.sisting me in my work.  You’ll be moving around quite a bit, is that okay?]

[Yeah! Okay~ ♪!] (EDN: music note was in the original, so I put it in.)

Although Neito knew he was favoring Anice because of her [special situation], and that he shouldn’t get too close with her past a certain degree, seeing the always bright and cheerful girl by his side made him reconsider.

[So, we still need to do the revision and the improvements on the cyborg and talk about the compet.i.tion but… it’s already getting late. You can go to your cabins and rest.

Neito already thought of a plan for the compet.i.tion. But, he still needed to do something before he could announce it in front of everybody.

Everyone obeyed his words, and proceeded to each of their cabins. Neito, who stayed behind, went up to the deck. He gathered his thoughts and spent his alone time to strengthen his conviction.

[…….]

The night breeze was calming. Neito leaned on the railings and gazed up into the night sky full of stars.

The compet.i.tion was about constructing a cyborg. To determine the winner, they would let them fight, and the winner would become the concept prototype which Metallica would adopt.

Like what Ikeno said, this was a very crucial project.

He needed to win. The darkness inside him said to do it. Still, Neito was worried.

[…… I’ll do it. Just wait and see.]

Neito murmured to himself, absorbed in his thoughts. He didn’t know how much time he spent on the deck, but his worries seemed to fade away.

It was then at this moment,

[Hmm? Neito-kun? What happened? You’re here and not resting?] It was Maki. She seemed like she had just came out of the cabin and her body was wrapped in a stole. (EDN: stole is a woman’s shawl.)

[Ah, yeah. I was just thinking to myself. What about you Maki-san, why are you here?]

[Ah, is that so… I’m sorry for interrupting. I just couldn’t sleep and, well, I ended up here.]

[Eh…? What, no, you weren’t interrupting me at all!]

Maki was panicking, and looked distressed.

But Neito didn’t mind that. It was about time he said it.

Below the starry night, Neito proceeded to tell her his thoughts.

[I know what Maki-san truly feels.]

[Eh-?! …I-Is that so…?]

For some reason, Maki face turned bright red. Her face was naturally fair, and he could clearly see it from the lights emitted from the cabins.

[? …ah, yeah. I know. That’s why I can’t say these words with such ease.]

[… Yes… Yes…]

Maki kept staring at Neito. This time, it was his turn to be nervous.

[I know that Maki-san is a strong person. In order to fulfill your dreams, you entered Metallica and gave it all your effort. It’s because you’re such a person, that I…]

[…Yes?]

Maki took a step and approached Neito. Her eyes were tearing.

[I want to make your dreams come true. So!]

[Yes…!]

[I know that it is important compet.i.tion, but I’ll do the best I can, so I want you to approve in using me as the person to be remodeled for the project!]

[…Huh…eh?]

Maki froze for a moment, and uttered nothing.

E-Eh? That’s weird. Maybe I said it in a strange way. Is it just me or is the flow somewhat different from what she expected? Aah, umm. Explain. I need to explain it to her.

Neito hastily continued.

[I first thought of requesting Tsurugi for this matter. He would be far stronger than me when remodeled, but then I thought, that would be meaningless. I’m not boasting, but my battle capabilities are very low. But if I were to undergo the remodeling process, maybe I can become stronger and create a dramatic appeal to the company by showing the effectiveness of the concept.]

[Ah, umm…wait… please wait a moment!]

Maki is redder than before, and her ears were even red. I wonder what’s wrong with her. Maybe something embarra.s.sing happened… Is my fly open? No, it’s properly closed.

While Neito was thinking what happened, Maki regained her composure and replied.

[…Fu-, yes. I’m sorry, I’m okay now.]

What was that all about? Neito decided to ignore it, and continue.

[I think this is the best way we can do it. Even if we win the compet.i.tion and other people come to use it too, I want to be the one to be first experimented on. You know how people above level 4 have some of their body parts remodeled right? If I were to be a remodeled, I would be in charge of my own remodeling and not have to rely on the main branch.]

[…It, it would be as you said but…]

Formally, Neito could issue his request as an order from a superior officer, but he didn’t want to resort to that.

He knew the Maki he entered Metallica with and her desperate feelings about the compet.i.tion. Back then, Neito told Maki at the Oden shop, [We’ll change the world together]. It was an important compet.i.tion.

To Maki, it was the most important thing to her. That’s why Neito needed her approval of using him as the test subject.

Neito held Maki’s hand and said his thoughts.

[I will take over this world! Even if I get called a good for nothing, I’ll crush whoever is in my path. I don’t care if they’re on the side of justice. I still plan on moving forward! I won’t ever destroy Maki-san’s dream..!]

[…Umm.]

Maki gave a soft reply.

It was only then Neito noticed it. They were too close. Well, it was in order for him to hold her hand, but still. Neito immediately let go of Maki’s hand.

What was I thinking? Holding a girl’s hand? Wow, so gross. I’m sorry. I just got carried away. Well, it was as Izumi-san in the sales department had said, I get carried away too easily. I need to reflect on his words more…

[I-I’m sorry!]

[No… Neito-kun is really savage. You only think about evil things. Jeez~]

Maki jokingly said to him while laughing.

[Eh? But… what other things could I be thinking about…?]

[It’s okay if you don’t understand it!]

[…Then, how about it?]

Neito was anxious for the reply, but in return, Maki held his hand and answered.

[Of course. If Neito-kun desperately requests of it, then I’ll chose to accept it.]

[Really?!]

[Yes, my concept [Spiritual Silhouette] requires mental power rather than physical energy. I’m sure Neito-kun will…ah! We need to do a remodeling suitability exam first! If you aren’t fit enough, then you’ll have to undergo training.]

[Y-Yeah.]

Maki’s eyes which were teary from before, became full of excitement.

[B-ut! My apt.i.tude test is really hard, so please be sure to fully prepare for it!]

Pointing her finger at him, Maki tried to sound tough. That was why Neito replied in a strong manner.

[That’s how I wanted it! I’ll show you the power of the person who rose out of the GA department!]

[I’ll be looking forward to it! …Fufufu.]

[Hahaha, it’s really getting cold. Shall we go in?]

[Ah, no. My face is burning so I’ll stay behind for a bit…]

[Is that so? Then I’ll go on ahead. Good night.]

[Good night too.]

While Neito was returning to the cabins, he pondered a little.

From reading Maki’s concept, it seemed that the [Spiritual Silhouette] remodeling would take the appearance of the person’s core spirit. If an innocent girl was to transform, she would take the shape of an angel. If a hot blooded man was transformed, then the form would be like a minotaur.

Well then.

If I, a villain willing to destroy the world just to change it, were to be remodeled, what kind of spirit would I possess?

[…I wonder what kind of monster might come out…?]

Neito was a bit worried, but his soul inside was burning fiercely.