After that, while chatting with the Boss, I decided how to make her look more mature.
“Make it look natural. I mean, naturally. Got it?”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Well then, I’ll be off—I’ve got a lot of preparations to make for the hearing…”
With that, the Boss left the laboratory, leaving behind only the lingering scent of oranges in her chair as proof of her presence. With my eyes closed in silence, my head filled with the refreshing fragrance.
The sweet scent inspired thoughts on how to help the Boss grow up naturally.
‘Ask for her to grow up naturally…’
There were indeed many ways to make the Boss look like an adult. I could create a hologram that would deceive people by covering her up, or control an adult-shaped robot from the outside pretending to be the Boss.
The Boss could wear an adult-sized robot suit and move that body herself, or even become an adult for real.
With countless methods at hand, my job was to find out which one suited the Boss best.
First to be discarded was irreversible growth. That meant surgery making it impossible to revert back to a child.
‘Even if I make the Boss an adult, she should always be able to return to her original state whenever she wants.’
Making someone an adult was quite simple. Just increase the number of cells through cell division. Back when clone slaves were all the rage, there were stories about creating many slaves overnight using this method.
However, growing someone in such a straightforward and dumb way had huge problems. It would shorten the subject’s lifespan and forcibly developing the body would increase the chances of various disabilities.
I couldn’t put the Boss through such a risky surgery. I couldn’t possibly turn her into a disabled person, and she always needed to remain our mascot.
‘So what’s left? Only holograms, robots, or reversible surgery…’
Thinking of unforeseen accidents or psychics, holograms and robots were also dangerous. What if a psychic could see through disguises or reveal the real form?
In the end, what I needed to create was an age-masking potion, something that would allow her to switch between adult and child bodies at will.
I remembered seeing the recipe online on YouTube when I was a kid. I couldn’t afford the materials back then, so I just skimmed through the recipe and looked at the results.
I never expected I’d actually be making it in this world. Reliving my childhood memory, I began concocting the potion to make the Boss an adult.
* * *
On the day of the hearing.
Regalia sat in the waiting room, waiting for something.
“…Is it still not here?”
“Yes, no news yet…”
“We’re going to be late at this rate…”
The potion the scientist promised had yet to arrive. At this rate, she’d have to show up in front of the cameras in my current body, and the world would publicly know that a ten-year-old brat was running the Evilus Corporation.
Of course, there wouldn’t be much of a problem in City E. Regalia wasn’t ruling just because she was the rightful heir; she was using her superpower—the Majesty of Kings—to do so.
But outside? No one would trust a company run by a ten-year-old kid. Anyone who would would either be a scammer or a lunatic. No matter how much Regalia proved her abilities as the descendant of the former chairman, that was just the reality.
The stock prices would crash, all investments would dry up, and Evilus Corporation would wither away. Not to mention, today’s hearing was a scheme by rival companies to tear Evilus Corporation apart, complicating matters even further…
‘Hurry up and arrive…’
Time passed. Before she knew it, it was time to enter the hearing. Regalia began fidgeting. Seeing her, the guards tried to make her stop shaking her legs, saying it wasn’t fitting for a lady, when suddenly, Vira rushed in.
“Miss! I brought it!”
“Too late!”
“I-I’m sorry! There’s something here that blocks teleportation…”
Regalia barely had time to scold Vira when her face broke into a smile, realizing that the Boss wasn’t genuinely angry with her.
So, Vira handed over the pill she received from the scientist to the Boss. As soon as Regalia took it, she gulped it down without even a moment’s hesitation.
The moment she felt the pill beginning to dissolve in her stomach—
“Ugh—!?”
Her body started to swell. Her limbs elongated, her shoulders broadened, her chest and hips began expanding. Her hair grew until it reached her lower back, and her skin tightened around her growing muscles and bones.
Sizzle—! The children’s dress she was wearing couldn’t handle the newfound volume and ripped apart while Regalia realized she had instantly become an adult.
Looking down, she saw her larger-than-life chest blocking her view of the floor, drawing envious looks from Vira and Kitty standing beside her.
“—Kitty. Where’s the clothing?”
“…It’s ready.”
“Change into it right now.”
After changing clothes, Regalia faced a significant problem. None of the clothing fit her enlarged figure.
It wasn’t that the clothes wouldn’t fit. However, her chest and hips were too accentuated; it looked less like something suitable for the hearing and more like an outfit for seducing men…
“I-I’ll go get new clothes immediately—.”
“No, it’s already too late. We’re going as is.”
“B-but, Miss?”
“What’s the big deal? Even if there are uncouth folks getting worked up over my body.”
Regalia replied with a light laugh.
“It’s just because my body is too perfect.”
“Miss…?”
The two guards sensed something had shifted with that statement.
It wasn’t just her body that had grown; it felt as though Regalia’s disposition had changed too. They could feel it.
“—When will the president of Evilus Corporation take her seat?”
“Good question. None of us have all day. Dragging this out isn’t going to do any good…”
The officials in E City began to grumble here and there. They had started to feel excitement at the possibility of witnessing the president of Evilus Corporation in person.
Rumors spread about her being a robot made of machines, selling her emotions to a devil and gaining luck, or being a ten-year-old kid—unreliable tales like these floated around.
The leader of a corporation that dominated an entire city was a shrouded figure, beyond the reach of mere public servants.
“—Regalia of Evilus Corporation has arrived.”
With the guard at the entrance announcing, the officials looked toward the entrance with mixed anticipation. What sort of monstrous being would appear, they wondered…
As the door swung open, everyone standing by could only swallow hard. A beautiful woman in a dangerously tight outfit walked in, her heels clicking with authority.
“What the…?”
“Holy…!”
“Even so, that outfit is a bit…”
Vulgar.
The very first emotion felt by the officials and councilors upon seeing Regalia was just that. The dress hugged her body so tightly that it almost looked deliberately small, and the length of the skirt seemed more suited for a nightclub than a hearing.
However, once they got beyond that outfit and saw her face, the moment they encountered the Majesty of Kings radiating from Regalia’s entire being, they felt not a shred of lust.
What they felt was solely reverence for someone standing above them. The sacredness directed toward a king existing just beneath a god.
“I am Regalia, president of Evilus Corporation.”
Her casual tone was natural. Yet, not a single official had the audacity to challenge or question her. In fact, if she had shown any respect, they would have been incredibly bewildered.
Her disrespect was simply that natural, as natural as fish living in water…
“I have something to inquire of you—”
Looking down at the officials and cameras before her, Regalia opened her mouth.
“—Let’s see you try.”
I’ll give you a chance to speak.
Even with Regalia’s permission, no one dared to look up at her.
They could barely keep their heads down, struggling just to speak.
