On the hotel rooftop, at the center of the makeshift conference venue, Laugus had just revealed the answer to his first question, only for even more doubts to arise in everyone's minds.
The people gathered here might not all be geniuses capable of advancing civilization by themselves, but none of them were idiots who could have a problem laid out before their eyes and still fail to notice it.
With Laugus' revelation, everyone felt as though some invisible barrier in their minds had shattered. It was like stepping outside the game board and suddenly viewing everything from an outsider's perspective.
Sitting alone in the very front row, the Third Primogenitor Giada narrowed her eyes at the middle-aged man onstage.
Subtle fluctuations of Magical Power spread from her body as her gaze quietly swept across everyone present, eventually settling on the communication device suspended above the venue.
...Forget it. It's not as though any of this is something that needs to be hidden. I'll see what he's planning first.
After some thought, Giada abandoned the idea of simply killing everyone here.
As long as nothing that absolutely couldn't be made public came up, she intended to remain a spectator and enjoy the show. She had no desire to break her promise.
And the past of the Three Primogenitors clearly wasn't some forbidden secret.
"World No. 1, which I personally named the Mythical World, and World No. 2, which I named the Primogenitor World, developed with an extremely high degree of similarity. The same technological progress, the same path of civilization, and the same mythological stories. The two worlds are simply far too alike."
"Of course, if that were all there was to it, then while the situation would certainly be remarkable, it still wouldn't have been enough for me to conduct a dedicated study. After all, there is already a theory that can explain such a phenomenon. Parallel worlds..."
Laugus paused there and looked questioningly at Giada.
Understanding that he was asking whether he could reveal the origins and history of the Three Primogenitors, Giada gave a mocking laugh and nodded indifferently.
"Do whatever you want. We've never tried to hide where we came from."
Even now, he was still pretending to be courteous and asking her permission as a formality.
This entire conference had been organized by him. Wasn't the information that came afterward supposed to be the bait he'd prepared to lure her in?
Whatever.
Giada didn't mind playing along to see what Laugus had come up with.
Her curiosity had already been thoroughly piqued anyway.
"Thank you for your generosity, Your Grace, the Third Primogenitor..."
Having received Giada's permission, Laugus ignored her derisive chuckle, cleared his throat, and continued.
"On the surface, World No. 1 and World No. 2 possess such similar civilizations and cultures because they are parallel worlds. But what happens when we look more closely?"
Laugus snapped his fingers.
A virtual butterfly suddenly appeared above the conference venue, beating its wings. Even the currents of air produced by those wings were clearly simulated in the projection.
Within the image, the air stirred by the butterfly passed through the clouds, gathering strength along the way until it finally reached a continent on the opposite side of the planet and unleashed a violent storm.
"In everyone's understanding, World No. 1 and World No. 2 are merely parallel worlds, which would explain why their histories are so similar. But after investigating them, I discovered that the actual course of history in these two worlds could hardly be more different."
"The earliest choice determines the final destination. Just as the flap of a butterfly's wings can eventually produce a storm on the other side of the world, even the slightest deviation can cause an enormous butterfly effect."
The projections of the butterfly and storm vanished.
In their place appeared scenes depicting the development of different mythologies, showing the histories of India, Olympus, Norse Mythology, Takamagahara, and many others.
"I named World No. 1 the Mythical World. As the name suggests, its defining characteristic is that these myths and legends actually exist. Things that are merely stories in World No. 2 are real in World No. 1."
"Absurd as that may sound, it is still largely consistent with the natural historical development of that world..."
Laugus paused again and snapped his fingers a second time.
The mythological projections disappeared, replaced by an image of a planet.
The high-definition projection rapidly zoomed in from an orbital perspective, allowing Epsilon to clearly see a massive fortress resembling a spacecraft descend from space and crash onto the surface.
"World No. 2, which I named the Primogenitor World, is far more unusual. According to my investigation, its earliest civilization originated from a space fortress belonging to a civilization from another planet..."
Within the projection, the space fortress came to rest before a human settlement that was unmistakably from ancient times.
Tiny humanoid figures emerged from the tribe one after another and approached the slowly opening entrance of the fortress.
Several beings wearing space-age protective suits stepped out from within, their appearance clearly different from that of the people on the ground.
The scene changed again.
Those beings sat upon a raised platform and pointed in a certain direction, while the figures below carried enormous stones on their backs and obediently followed the orders of those seated above them.
"With technology thousands of years ahead of the ancient people of that era, along with the Magical Power they naturally possessed, these visitors from beyond the planet successfully enslaved every race living in the world at the time."
"In what is now World No. 2, they are known as the Deva Clan. Of course, that part isn't especially important, since Cain eventually destroyed them..."
Another projection appeared.
A man with unmistakable Vampire features pressed something.
The next image was that of a nuclear explosion.
"Admittedly, the way that civilization was destroyed is absurd enough that I could establish an entirely separate research project around it, but that isn't the subject of today's conference, so I won't go into detail here. An explanation will come later."
"For now, all you need to know is that the civilization known as the Deva Clan produced a traitor named Cain. He created the unique Vampire race of World No. 2, which is entirely different from the traditional Vampires found in World No. 1, and destroyed the Gods of the Deva Clan. "
"All that remained were three members of the Deva Clan who became the Primogenitors of Vampires, along with a large number of remnants of the previous civilization known as The Cleansing..."
You practically know more about this than I do!
Sitting below the stage and listening to Laugus recount her own history, Giada's smile stiffened slightly.
She was starting to regret giving him permission to talk.
Broadly speaking, he still didn't know as much as she did, but there were certain obscure details even Giada herself had never known.
"Let's put the previous civilization aside for the moment and return our attention to the main subject of today's conference..."
Paying no attention to Giada's reaction, Laugus continued his explanation.
The projections above shifted once again.
This time, they displayed the natural development of civilization itself. Wars, nations, religions, and the occasional fleeting appearance of supernatural phenomena.
"After personally questioning the Third Primogenitor, I confirmed that after the destruction of the Deva Civilization, the Three Primogenitors never again deliberately interfered with the development of civilization. At the very least, they never intentionally did so."
"Once the former Deva Civilization lost control of the world, Humans, Elves, Therianthropes, and the other races that had once been enslaved by the Gods of the Deva Clan gradually developed into what we now know as World No. 2."
"Now, pay attention to one particular point."
"The Church of World No. 2 developed as though the Three Primogenitors didn't exist at all. Its mythology also became exactly the same as that of World No. 1."
"Even the Contract Demons of unknown origin with whom the Witches make contracts simply appeared out of nowhere. They were not brought to this world by those extraterrestrial visitors."
At this point, Laugus revealed a confident, meaningful smile.
Epsilon and the others below merely watched him in silence.
They didn't particularly care about any of this. After all, he wasn't talking about their world.
The amused smile on Giada's face, however, disappeared.
Her deep emerald eyes remained fixed on Laugus, revealing nothing of what she was thinking.
Azazel and the researchers in their small circle, who were watching the conference through the continuous transmission technology Laugus had prepared in advance, also stared at him solemnly.
Every one of them was among the finest scientists of their respective factions.
Naturally, they understood exactly what he was implying.
"Under normal circumstances, a world's history should resemble that of World No. 3, the world where I lived. Reality changes over time, and people record those changes as history, while mythology develops differently from one world to another."
"Alternatively, you get something like the myths of World No. 1, where the experiences of actual mythological factions became known to people and were recorded as legends. There are still some strange inconsistencies, but it is at least understandable."
"But don't you find the development of World No. 2 bizarre?"
"Its civilization developed while practically ignoring reality itself, as though its history had been forced into place by some Deus ex Machina."
"The mere flap of a butterfly's wings can create a storm on the other side of the world. Yet despite enormous deviations in the very foundations of reality, the technology, culture, and religion of World No. 2 still somehow developed until they became astonishingly similar to those of World No. 1."
The conference venue had already been quiet.
Now it became utterly silent.
Aya Tokoyogi's smile grew increasingly unrestrained. From time to time, she even nudged Natsuki Minamiya, who remained tied to the chair beside her and was deep in thought.
Clearly, Aya Tokoyogi had already obtained what she'd come here for.
"Theoretically, comparing only two worlds isn't enough to determine which one is correct, while World No. 3, which shares no corresponding relationship with the first two, cannot serve as a reference either."
"However, I must thank my Elf friend who wishes to remain anonymous for providing the Master's quote that served both as evidence and as the original inspiration for her research project..."
It was obvious that Laugus found reading this passage aloud deeply embarrassing.
But his pride as a researcher wouldn't allow him to conceal the source of his evidence.
"If myths actually existed in reality, then they shouldn't be called myths in the first place. These two worlds are like some web light novel that completely ignored the fact that mythology changes as a reflection of historical and ideological change, then forcibly copied the myths over without ever considering how reality should logically develop if those myths were actually real."
(The above was Cid's genuine complaint to Eta after reviewing the developmental histories of the two worlds.)
Laugus fell silent for several seconds.
Then, in a tone that was difficult to describe, somewhere between admiration and speechlessness, he continued.
"While I personally cannot understand my friend's blind worship of this Master, those words did make us realize something."
"There is a third hypothetical world we can use as a model. A fully mythical world whose actual history differs in certain respects from both World No. 1 and World No. 2."
"Let us assume that there is a Root world, and that World No. 1 and World No. 2 are both parallel worlds that developed as branches of that Root world."
"If so, the discrepancies between mythology and reality in both worlds become understandable."
"They are the result of the world's corrective force."
"Under this theory, even individual inconsistencies in the mythology of World No. 1 can be explained. For example, the Old Testament and New Testament versions of biblical mythology, because both versions originated from that same Root world."
Silence.
An eerie silence spread through the audience.
Apart from Epsilon and her companions, everyone present understood how extraordinary this theory was and what it implied for them.
It meant their fates had already been determined.
Not the kind of predetermined fate found in Olympus or Norse Mythology, where there was still some room to maneuver.
No matter what they did, no matter what path their factions chose, the world's corrective force would forcibly drag everything back onto its predetermined course.
And resistance?
Even something as enormous as extraterrestrial Deva invading World No. 2 and enslaving its native inhabitants had ultimately been erased by this so-called corrective force.
What could they possibly do to change an unknown fate that had already been decided?
"Hahaha..."
Just as the entire venue sank into silence, a woman's laughter broke through it.
Giada covered her mouth, but she couldn't hide the amused smile curling across her lips as she looked at Laugus onstage with obvious interest.
"Not bad. Not bad at all. I have to admit, your theory is fascinating. It would explain that inexplicable rebellion back then, as well as the sudden appearance of Spiritual Energy, which is the opposite of Magical Power..."
Although her words sounded approving, Giada's smile grew wider and wider.
A trace of coldness, however, entered her eyes.
"But what does any of this have to do with what I originally asked for? You obtained confirmation from me, but I still haven't received what I wanted."
"You're not planning to play me for a fool, are you?"
Faced directly with Giada's killing intent, Laugus showed no fear.
He merely glanced at the device in his hand with a slightly puzzled expression.
Only after reading a message someone had sent him did he respond.
"How could I possibly do that, Your Grace, the Third Primogenitor? In fact, what you want to know is precisely the focus of what comes next."
"It's simply that this project was conducted jointly by me and three other people. I can't claim the results for myself alone."
"Two of them only joined the project because doing so helped them accomplish their own objectives. But my Elf friend who wishes to remain anonymous was the one who originally proposed the project. She deserves to have her name attached to it as well."
"Then where is she?"
"...It seems she suddenly doesn't want to appear. Is she worried her identity will be exposed?"
Laugus spoke hesitantly.
He still couldn't understand why his friend had suddenly refused to speak remotely, almost as though doing so would reveal who she was.
As a seeker of knowledge and a researcher pursuing the truths of the world, how could she possibly resist the opportunity to reveal such a monumental discovery to the world?
One of Laugus' proudest achievements, after all, was that his former experimental base had eventually become the world's center of knowledge.
"Of course, there's no need to worry. Since my friend doesn't wish to appear, I'll present her part on her behalf."