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"What are you doing?"
Seeing Fox busy with the equipment, Earle frowned and spoke.
"Mr. Earle," Fox replied, glancing up briefly before lowering his head back to the microscope. "You actually had time to come here? That's rare."
"I came to have you do something," Earle said, his brow furrowing. "Pull up the information on 48-B1-ME. I want all backups, cloud files, and related data."
"Send them to me."
"Not a copy."
Fox paused, looked up again, and smiled.
"That sounds... strange. It doesn't sound like you want to review the data."
"It sounds like you want to erase it."
"Let me think," Fox continued casually. "A microwave weapon that vaporizes water and disperses water-based chemicals..."
"Did you lose it?"
"...Do you know why I transferred you here, Fox?" Earle stared at him for a moment, then removed his glasses and began wiping them with a handkerchief.
"You're too smart."
"So smart that I have to be wary of you."
"Are you trying to get me to say it's an honor?" Fox replied. "No. Making you wary instead of desperate is an insult."
"Heh. Sharp tongue," Earle said. He finished wiping his glasses, put them back on, and tossed the handkerchief onto the floor.
"I'm merging the Applied Sciences Division with another department."
"You're fired."
"You used company resources during work hours to research projects unrelated to Wayne Enterprises."
"Understood?"
"Are you talking about this?" Fox asked, picking up a bottle of green liquid beside him.
"I don't recall Wayne Enterprises developing something like that," Earle said with a cold smile. "So I don't think I need to explain what you were doing."
"This wasn't developed by Wayne Enterprises," Fox said calmly.
"It was commissioned by the owner of Wayne Enterprises."
"I never gave you an order like that-"
Earle froze mid-sentence.
Fox's smile sharpened.
A fox, living up to his name.
"So you already see yourself as the owner of Wayne Enterprises?"
Another voice spoke from behind Earle.
Earle swallowed.
His stiff body turned slowly.
The person he least wanted to see stood there.
Bruce Wayne.
"I really didn't expect this, Mr. Earle," Bruce said, shaking his head slightly. "It seems it's time for you to hand over your position."
After that, there was little left to say.
Earle tried to argue.
It was pointless.
Claiming ownership of Wayne Enterprises in front of Bruce was already enough to seal his fate.
Adding the matter of the stolen microwave weapon only made things worse.
Earle was fired.
No surprises.
Afterward, Morin arrived "just in case" and hypnotized him, ensuring the League of Assassins wouldn't notice anything amiss.
Fox's promotion shocked nearly all the company's directors.
The official announcement stated that Earle had voluntarily stepped down due to age and declining mental condition, and had personally recommended Fox as his successor.
What nonsense.
Anyone who believed that explanation was out of their mind.
Old?
Fox was clearly older than Earle.
And no one sitting on Wayne Enterprises' board was stupid.
Every one of them was sharp.
Earle must have crossed a line.
The excuse was just to save face.
As for why they didn't choose another director-
After seeing Fox and Bruce chatting amicably together...
And then watching Fox immediately present a complete IPO plan...
They all "understood."
So that's how it was.
Bruce's playboy image had been an act.
He had pretended to accept Earle's authority while secretly approaching Fox-the man Earle had suppressed and sidelined.
Fox must have agreed to countless conditions.
In exchange, Bruce backed him.
Fox took the position.
Bruce took control.
Fox was a puppet.
Bruce Wayne was the real master.
Terrifying.
The directors' gazes changed instantly.
Gone was the polite disdain reserved for a useless rich kid.
What remained was genuine respect.
And deep fear.
Bruce could fire any of them.
And he had demonstrated ruthless precision by removing Earle the moment he moved.
This was a warning.
They all understood that much.
So when Bruce asked if anyone had objections to the IPO plan-
Everyone agreed without hesitation.
Bruce was confused.
Were these people always this cooperative?
Weren't they supposed to be on Earle's side?
His confusion lasted until the next morning.
When he saw the newspaper.
There were plenty of "smart people" out there.
Overnight, public opinion flipped.
Bruce Wayne was no longer "the playboy who only knows how to spend money."
He was now a billionaire with a "deeply calculating mind."
A man who had "fooled all of Gotham."
The true controller of Wayne Enterprises.
Bruce: "..."
I didn't do any of that.
If there really was a mastermind-
Bruce turned his head.
"Did you foresee this?" he asked Morin, who was calmly sipping tea nearby.
"Is that a bad thing?" Morin replied. "Look. You're on the front page today."
"It's been a while since someone overshadowed the Batman headlines."
"Even if it's still you, in a way."
While training Bruce, Morin had dragged him around wrecking various places.
Batman's name had already spread.
Falcone was still furious.
It didn't matter.
"It's not bad," Bruce said slowly. "It's just... this isn't who I really am."
"Are you planning to correct the media?" Morin looked at him strangely.
"Fine."
"I'll tell them you go out every night in a black suit causing trouble."
"I'll let them know Batman is actually Bruce Wayne."
"If I do that, you won't just be on the front page."
"You'll own the entire paper."
"That won't be necessary," Bruce said quickly.
He knew better than to argue.
So he changed the subject.
"By the way."
"I think I felt what you mentioned before."
"I can use it now."
"Really?" Morin said. "Show me."
"Okay."
Bruce wouldn't joke about this.
He followed the sensation he remembered, moving the energy within his body.
The light around him dimmed slightly.
"That's interesting," Morin murmured.
"Is this an innate skill?"
At the same time, Morin was genuinely impressed.
As expected of the protagonist.
As expected of one of DC's top characters.
Ridiculous.
I made it up.
And you actually pulled it off?
Is protagonist luck really that absurd?
"I'm not sure," Bruce said. "I just followed what you said."
"I used the mana naturally."
"And then this happened."
He lost focus while talking.
The effect faded.
"If I'm not mistaken," Morin said, placing a hand on Bruce's shoulder and sending mana into him, "it doesn't just devour light."
"There's emotional manipulation too."
"Come on."
"Try again."
The so-called "innate skill" had been something Morin mentioned casually during training.
A complete whim.
Morin taught Bruce magic partly out of curiosity-what would Batman with magic look like?
And partly to exploit Bruce's "protagonist aura" to expand his own magical foundations.
The results were an unexpected bonus.
Morin hadn't even planned to charge money.
Bruce just paid too much.
To be honest, Morin was still wondering whether that money counted as experience points.
He could only hope.
As for this "innate skill."
It came from Morin's random fabrication.
The content was simple.
The all-purpose "follow your heart."
According to incomplete statistics, across movies, TV shows, and comics, this phrase had an activation rate of over eighty percent for protagonists.
Say it to a protagonist-level character, and there was a high chance they'd enter a powered-up or enlightened state.
Then turn the tables.
Morin genuinely hadn't expected Bruce to succeed.
Now, by having Bruce cast it with mana, Morin wanted to understand how Bruce's version differed.
And learn it himself.
With Morin's intellect, memorizing spells was trivial.
There was no such thing as spreading himself too thin.
Learning everything was only natural.
With Morin's support, Bruce cast the spell again.
This time, backed by Morin's immense mana, the effect was nearly ten times stronger.
Morin restrained himself.
Bruce's body couldn't handle more.
A sphere of "dark light" spread from Bruce, forming a domain.
Within it, light was devoured.
And a subtle mental attack pulsed beneath the surface.
"Light absorption. Fear-based emotion..."
Morin confirmed the effects and began analyzing the structure.
As expected.
There were differences.
Not errors.
Incomplete theory-now being filled in.
"This is a huge gain."
Morin memorized the changes.
And nodded, satisfied.