Ch.303303. Boris Leitman

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A few days before Darwood Campbell would engage in a duel with a giant mecha dinosaur equipped with a laser cannon.

Professor Boris Leitman’s workshop.

“Heh, heheh, heheheh…”

With laughter that seemed to have abandoned all dignity and decorum in some gutter corner, a woman with disheveled hair set down her tools on the workbench.

Another masterpiece was about to be born under her hands.

Spanners, nuts, bolts, and small pieces of steel.

From these, she had crafted joints, arms, legs, and sharp teeth and a tail…

It was a model based on creatures known as “dinosaurs” that supposedly lived in the Paleozoic era.

The difference from the actual creatures was that this one was made entirely of steel.

“So cool…”

She muttered with sparkling eyes.

While most professors at the Demonic Spire are individuals with knowledge far beyond simply being called “scholars” in various fields, what they choose to research with that accumulated knowledge is entirely up to the individual.

Among them, this was Professor Boris’s purpose.

“If I made it bigger, it would be even cooler…”

Someday, just once.

She wanted to see a massive steel beast of actual size striding about.

It had been her cherished wish ever since she first encountered dinosaurs and fell in love with them.

As she indulged in such fantasies while letting out undignified laughter, suddenly the doorbell rang from outside her lab.

“Excuse me. Is Professor Boris in there?”

“Ah, P-Professor Mobius…!”

She said, rising from her seat while breaking out in a cold sweat.

Meeting other Demonic Spire professors was already overwhelming for her, but this person in particular was the most difficult to deal with.

When she opened the door, outside stood a person wearing an inscrutable glass-like smile.

“Is there a problem?”

“N-no! Nothing at all…!”

Professor Boris was extremely awkward around people.

The notion that studious people lack social skills is, in most cases, close to being a prejudice.

While it might be an inevitable phenomenon when one spends more time with books than people, communication skills are nonetheless essential for establishing oneself in society.

It would be disrespectful to apply such a statement to people carrying the impressive title of Demonic Spire professors.

Except for one person.

Professor Boris Leitman, standing right here.

A genuine loner who had never done anything in life except study and research, never had a romantic relationship, and couldn’t even make proper friends.

“…”

While she stiffened awkwardly and fumbled about,

Professor Mobius naturally entered her workshop, and through his mechanical eye, he caught sight of the mechanical dinosaur model she had made.

And then.

For an instant, a mixture of disgust and contempt flashed across Professor Mobius’s face.

An expression full of the sentiment that he couldn’t understand wasting energy and mental power on such “trivial matters.”

“…”

Boris bit her lip until it bled.

Yes.

She knew very well how the “purpose” of her knowledge pursuit was regarded.

An eccentric’s delusion. A useless obsession.

That’s why she was always treated as a loner and oddball even within the Demonic Spire.

‘…Knowledge and research are valuable in themselves…’

Knowledge doesn’t necessarily need to be useful.

It can make people happy, enrich them.

It can become someone’s future and dream.

-It’s super cool, Boris!

Sometime in the past.

Someone who sympathized with her foolish fantasies.

The image of someone who listened with sparkling eyes came to mind.

‘…Professor Astrid.’

As she recalled that name.

“I came to receive a report on your achievements this quarter.”

A topic that was absolutely dreadful for Professor Boris dropped.

“A-achievements…?”

Boris rolled her eyes nervously in response to Professor Mobius’s question.

Although she had sent social skills and communication to some distant place, she still understood what this person meant.

Since Professor Mobius took control of the Demonic Spire, all researchers in each department had to produce certain “results” to receive materials necessary for their research.

“Frankly, you’re in a somewhat dangerous position.”

In that sense, the words that followed were practically a death sentence for her.

“The mechanical engineering department that Professor Boris oversees showed the lowest sales to our ‘sponsors’ last quarter, and this quarter as well.”

“B-but, all the sponsors ever want are weapons that kill people-“

“They are generous people who provide research funds to the Demonic Spire. Shouldn’t we do at least that much for them?”

“…”

Knowledge is.

Not meant to be used for such things.

Professor Boris trembled violently as she squeezed out her voice.

“I-I don’t want to make such things-“

“I said results, Professor Boris.”

Boris flinched at the coldly delivered words.

“Research is important, of course. But knowledge without proven practicality is utterly useless, isn’t it?”

“Uh-“

“Have you forgotten why Professor Astrid received ‘disciplinary action’?”

“…”

Boris’s body began to shake much more severely.

She knew very well what had happened to Astrid, who had frequently opposed Professor Mobius.

Professor Mobius’s bizarre reptilian-colored mechanical eye rolled once.

“You wouldn’t want to end up like that, would you?”

“…”

The sound of her dry swallow echoed unusually loudly.

“…I’ll try my best.”

“That’s more like it.”

At those words, Professor Mobius once again wore a smile on his face.

Of course, it was an expression devoid of any humanity.

His own body had already distanced itself from humanity anyway.

While the Demonic Spire was full of madmen who used their own bodies as experimental subjects, the modifications this man had made to his body were enough to make one’s skin crawl.

Not only had he replaced his entire nervous system with nano-kevlar that Boris herself had created, but he also had a mechanical eye synthesized with Astrid’s bioengineering, magical engineering prosthetics, and holy relics filling his body in place of organs…

‘…Was it evolution or something that was his goal…’

Boris recalled such a term.

Just looking at what he had done to his own body clearly revealed his maniacal obsession with that goal of creating a new humanity.

He didn’t hesitate to spread the Demonic Spire’s knowledge to the outside world and greedily collected wealth and materials, all for that purpose.

The notion that he couldn’t end his life within the framework of being “human.”

“…”

And just by meeting his eyes, she could tell.

This man is a monster.

Someone who would do anything to achieve his aims.

“…Well, in that regard, I do have one proposal.”

And just from the following sentence.

That fact became exceedingly clear.

Professor Mobius picked up her small dinosaur model from the workbench with his finger and continued speaking.

“I’d like you to properly ‘handle’ just one person, Professor Boris.”

“…”

“Then, I’ll fully support whatever research you want for this… toy of yours.”

With those words.

Boris could only silently watch as Professor Mobius dumped her model straight into the trash can.

●

And then.

A miracle happened.

That was the only way Boris could describe it.

“…Isn’t this incredibly well-made?”

“…”

“It’s a T-Rex, right? A T-Rex?”

The man was looking at the remains of the model that Professor Mobius had thrown in the trash—now haphazardly pieced back together—with sparkling eyes.

My goodness.

An actual human being showing such enthusiastic appreciation for a creature that most ordinary people barely gave any thought to.

“…I-if you mean a T-Rex, then yes…”

She stammered out those words.

Darwood Campbell.

The biological son of Professor Astrid, with whom Boris had originally been close.

This man had recently openly confronted Professor Mobius, and as a result, she was now tasked with “crushing” him as much as possible—a request she had received from Professor Mobius.

They were meeting for a brief briefing before he would face Boris’s “masterpiece,” prepared to collect data on magical energy.

But the briefing about the experiment had already flown out the window. As soon as he entered her lab, he began looking around with sparkling eyes.

“I really loved T-Rex. For a miniature to have this level of accuracy is absolutely insane. How much research did you put into this?”

“R-really? You can tell how amazing it is?”

“Yes. The arm detail especially-“

But.

This man.

“…”

Really loves dinosaurs.

Loves them very much.

He was listing every single detail that Boris had carefully incorporated into the miniature.

‘W-we’re actually communicating…!’

He was the kind of person whose likability could only increase.

It felt like she had finally found a companion who understood her “work” that no one else ever did.

She felt like she might tear up.

“…”

The problem was.

She had to crush such a man with her own hands.

The upcoming “experiment” would pit her worst invention against this man.

“But.”

As she was thinking about this.

Suddenly Darwood approached her.

“Why have you been looking so gloomy?”

“Huh? Huh?!”

Boris jumped in surprise and threw her body backward with all her might.

For someone who had never properly had friends, let alone romantic relationships, this close contact was—

Blood rushed to her face. Her head felt like it was boiling.

“N-no! I-I just naturally have a gloomy expression-!”

“I understand what you must have heard.”

In response to her reaction, Darwood calmly stepped back and continued.

“You must have heard something from that Mobius guy, right?”

“…”

“Professor Astrid told me. You’re definitely not someone who would want to cooperate with him.”

“…”

Boris’s lips quivered.

That was correct.

But how could she defy Mobius? She already knew painfully well what would happen if she did.

In that sense.

Therefore, now.

Wasn’t she driving this man into a deadly situation with her own creation?

As her eyes trembled with such thoughts.

Suddenly.

“Hey, it’s fine. Whatever you’ve prepared, I’ll handle it all.”

Those words fell with a light voice.

“…Huh…?”

Even so, where was this confidence coming from?

Thinking this while looking at Darwood Campbell.

“In exchange, promise me one thing.”

“W-what promise?”

“If I successfully overcome your experiment, spend just one day with me.”

“…”

Boris’s mouth gaped.

“…Why…?”

“So I can seduce you.”

“…”

Boris’s mouth gaped even wider.

No.

What on earth was he saying?

“…Why, no, what does that even mean…?”

“I’ve been thinking. This is only the second time I’ve been genuinely angry at someone. The first guy who made me angry, I tore him apart on the spot. But I can’t do that this time, so it’s a bit frustrating.”

I don’t understand what he’s saying.

As Boris thought this while blinking her eyes.

“So I calculated the fastest way to achieve my goal.”

“…”

“It’ll take about 5 days.”

“…”

“For that, I think I should start by seducing you, Professor.”

“…”

“…Was that difficult to understand?”

Boris nodded vigorously.

It was a gesture filled with genuine sincerity.

At this, Darwood Campbell made a “hmm” sound while stroking his chin.

He seemed puzzled why she couldn’t understand.

“So, I’m going to kill that bastard Professor Mobius within 5 days.”

“…”

“And since I need your help for that, I’m going to make you fall head over heels for me first-“

“…”

Still.

She had no idea what he was talking about.

Everything needed explanation from start to finish.

But Boris could be certain of one thing.

‘Ah.’

This man.

In some ways, he’s much crazier than Mobius.

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