While we were heading for the Teleportation Gate, Fors-san seemed to have gotten into the mood as she began to give some sort of lecture on Special Individuals.
[To begin with, have you ever heard that there are two types of Special Individuals: Congenital and Acquired?]
[Ahh, I’ve heard of that. There are species in which being a Special Individual is something they’re born with, while there are species whose Special Individual state is something they acquired and evolved into, right?]
[Indeed, that is the current common understanding. However, I personally feel that there might be types other than these two. For instance, Elves may be a species that evolves into a Special Individual later in life, but even if that’s the case, I don’t think it should be definitely stated that Congenital Special Individuals could never be born under that species. Currently, there simply isn’t any precedent, but there’s still a possibility that a Congenital Special Individual could eventually be born under that species.]
Now that she mentioned it, it does seem like a plausible perspective. Only the Acquired Special Individuals in that species may have been confirmed, but the idea that Congenital Special Individuals could also be born under that species is indeed a plausible possibility.[Moreover, as I mentioned earlier, the physical characteristics of the High Elves don’t change very much. This certainly may not be the case for every species, but usually, Special Individuals have distinguishing features that can be recognized at a glance, such as a change in color or unique characteristics on a part of their body.]
[Ahh~~ Right, the transformation that occurs for the Elves would be internal, so it’s slightly different from the other examples.]
[Yeah, it is as you said. This is purely my hypothesis, but rather than being Special Individuals, High Elves could just be a growth stage that regular Elves attain under certain conditions, and a true Special Individual Elf has yet to be born. Having such a thought holds its own romance, don’t you think?]
[It does give off this feeling of looking at something unknown, doesn’t it?]
[Right, isn’t it? Well, I’m not exactly a Special Individual Specialist, but as a researcher, I could feel this subject’s charm.]
As I was walking leisurely along the street, listening to Fors-san happily talking about this subject, she suddenly pulled me by the hand.
[Ohh, now that is quite a rare material. If I have such a thing in hand, it might open up new approaches for my ongoing research project. Hmmm, but the one over there seemed even more unusual…… I could smell it…… the scent of research!][Yes, yes. Let’s leave that to another time.]
[N- No way, can’t you just wait for a moment!? If I were to miss this opportunity, there’s a chance I won’t acquire any more of those……]
[Come now, we’re almost at the gate.]
While we were walking, her attention would often be drawn away by her research just like this time, so if we weren’t holding hands, I would have lost sight of her immediately.
In fact, it seemed that Fors-san had caused quite a lot of trouble to Laguna-san and the others…… It did make me curious which of them is better at getting lost, her or Tre-san……
[I wonder why? I feel like your treatment of me is becoming increasingly rougher. Should I be glad that the emotional distance between us has shortened, or should I lament that you’ve started responding to me like Laguna and Hikari did? This is quite the dilemma.]
[……Does Hapti-san treat you in a different way?]
[Ahh, as for Hapti…… Compared to the instances of me getting lost, Hapti gets involved in financial troubles far more frequently. She drew Hikari and Laguna’s attention more than I did. However, she’s quite clever, as she even uses their vigilance to skillfully manipulate us and make money for herself. Good gracious, Hapti was so much of a troublemaker during our adventure that my tendency to getting lost is getting overshadowed.]
How much of a troublemaker were you, Hapti-san…… No, guess I should be asking Alice that huh? Well, it is true that even back at the Six Kings Festival, Neun-san said that she was more of a troublemaker than Fors-san was, and the fact that Fors-san had described her should mean that she’s that much of a troublemaker.
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [It’s to the extent where in their party of four, all three of her party members said she’s the biggest troublemaker.]
