The Evil Scientist is Too Competent-Chapter 168: The Great Rabbit Incident (4)

The day Eight and the Watcher reached an agreement, the Moonlit that had descended to Earth abruptly stopped moving.

People were bewildered by the sudden stillness of the Moonlit—especially those who had hidden them from Evilusroids and grown dependent on their assistance.

No matter how much they cried or begged, once the Moonlit stopped, they never restarted. Furious, people turned their anger toward Evilus Corporation.

“Awaken Evilus—awaken!”

“Provide one android per person!”

“Bring back the Moonlit! She was my girlfriend!”

Protesters gathered outside the Evilus headquarters—users who had relied on the Moonlit without succumbing to brainwashing, families of those forcibly ‘reformed’ and later reverted, and corporate spies who had secretly taken Moonlit units for research.

Watching the commotion from his window, Eight frowned.

“Why are they protesting here?”

“Because you destroyed the Moonlit with the Evilusroids,” Regalia replied.

“I shut down the internet rumors. Word of mouth must’ve spread, but for this many to gather at once... it means professional agitators are involved.”

In other words, someone stood to benefit from this chaos—and they’d engineered it for their own gain.

Eight was already considering hacking into their bank accounts for payback when Regalia’s next words made him pause.

“What if we let them use the Moonlit?”

“...What?”

“You said it yourself—machines forcing people’s personalities to change is unacceptable. But doesn’t that mean it’s fine as long as it’s not forced?”

Regalia’s words struck a nerve, leaving Eight momentarily speechless. She was right. Even on Earth, brainwashing had its uses.

It was a method employed to reconstruct shattered personalities, rehabilitate criminals who had forfeited their rights, or treat severe trauma under professional care.

Like drugs—dangerous when abused but invaluable in medical settings—application and context were key.

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“...You’re not wrong, but...”

“This could be a chance to pioneer android-based therapy. Maybe even start a company. How about ‘Evilus Therapy’?”

“That sounds sketchy.”

“What? Where’s the problem? I think it’s a great name!”

Ignoring Regalia’s indignation, Eight quietly gathered his thoughts.

The problem wasn’t brainwashing itself but its misuse. He hadn’t advocated banning it entirely—he’d used hypnosis and brainwashing several times in this world, albeit only in emergencies or for life-saving purposes.

And this world already had a market for such treatments—hypnosis and psychic therapy weren’t uncommon. Introducing android-based psychological therapy wouldn’t be an issue.

Sure, the existing industry might collapse, but considering therapists were mostly wealthy elites, it wasn’t a major concern.

“...Fine.”

That day, Eight relayed the proposal to the Watcher. With the condition that brainwashing could only be performed on authorized individuals, the Watcher accepted without objection.

And so, mechanical therapists emerged to replace psychic therapists.

*****

“Ahahaha—!”

Children shrieked with laughter, racing around as if bombs would explode if they stopped moving.

Their father watched them with a soft smile before glancing at the android beside him. It resembled a cute rabbit plush toy—his child’s favorite. A Moonlit.

Since the Moonlit had been assigned to their household, his daughter’s laughter had returned. She’d barely stepped outside since losing her mother, let alone smiled. This was a remarkable transformation.

“Daddy! Daddy!”

“Hmm?”

“Are you gonna marry Bunny Sis?”

“...Huh?”

Blinking in confusion, the father tilted his head, but the Moonlit, interpreting the child’s words as a question, responded carefully.

[I currently lack organs designed to fulfill a male’s sexual needs. However, if desired, I can construct them.]

“What the hell are you saying—in front of the kid, no less?! L-Lyla! That’s not what she means, okay?”

“But I like Bunny Sis! I wish Bunny Sis was my mommy!”

“That’s a little...”

As if being asked to marry a beastkin wasn’t enough, now it was a beastkin-shaped robot?

He considered himself open-minded, but even he found this request hard to accept.

Children really didn’t have boundaries. Or maybe it wasn’t openness but sheer ignorance—they simply didn’t know better.

Giving his daughter an awkward smile, he stole glances at the Moonlit before speaking.

“Daddy will do his best to find you a mommy, okay? Just wait a little longer—”

“No! I want Bunny Sis! I wanna marry Bunny Sis!”

“L-Lyla...”

[I am ready anytime.]

Staring at the Moonlit proudly puffing out her chest, the man couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed.

Similar scenes were unfolding all over the city. Parents who had strained relationships with their children, couples on the brink of breaking up, and estranged families yearning to reconnect—all flocked to the Moonlit for help.

With psychological therapy becoming so easily accessible, people turned to the Moonlit for even the smallest concerns. It was covered by insurance, and the fact that they also got a versatile android for personal use made it all the more appealing.

Watching this unfold, Eight took a sip of his coffee.

“You okay with this—?”

“With what?”

“You know, this... This is exactly what you were trying to stop—.”

At Six’s comment, Eight nodded. It was true. He had fought to stop the Moonlit. His reason had been to prevent people from being brainwashed like this.

And yet, looking at the current situation, it seemed most of humanity had willingly embraced hypnosis and brainwashing. Standing by and letting this happen felt like a sharp contrast to the fiery resistance he had shown not long ago.

Of course, Eight had his justification.

“I was trying to stop it from being forced. I wasn’t trying to ban its use entirely.”

“...Isn’t that basically the same thing—?”

“No. It’s completely different.”

Storing genetic information in databases for law enforcement, monitoring every location in real time, and expecting citizens to comply unquestioningly with government demands—opinions on these practices varied widely.

Some considered it a reasonable trade-off for maintaining order, while others viewed it as an appalling violation of rights. Which side was correct? There was no definitive answer. But—

“People should at least be able to decide for themselves what happens to them.”

Eight saw himself as a form of balance. Forcing something on others, even if it was supposedly for their benefit, was the absolute worst approach.

Take science, for example. Imagine Eight used his Earth-derived technology to advance this world’s civilization—destroying its foundations in the process—and hypnotized people into becoming machine-like workers obsessed only with productivity and self-improvement.

Would they still be able to protest after the fact, saying this wasn’t what they wanted? It wouldn’t matter by then.

Eight knew he could become that kind of tyrant. He’d seen it happen too many times in the world he came from.

That’s why he chose to get angry on others’ behalf.

To protest and resist when others wouldn’t—or couldn’t.

Even if no one ever understood his reasons or actions.

“Besides, you’re the last person who should be saying this.”

“Huhhh—? Me? What’d I dooo—?”

“You were forcibly isolated from society because of your powers, remember?”

He gave Six a pointed look, and she finally seemed to recall her own experiences of being oppressed and controlled. Letting out an awkward chuckle, she scratched the back of her head.

Humans were such flawed beings—so flawed that they could, without hesitation, recommend to others the very same injustices they had suffered themselves.

This was exactly why someone needed to remain steadfast—

To enforce rules and boundaries.

Even if it made them seem rigid or suffocating to others.