Floria was dozing on the sofa in the living room of their new base when Wanri, who was by her side, suddenly asked her a question.
“Wanri. Speaking of which, what’s going on with the monster territories around here? Have the wolves and foxes increased and is something changing?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
In response to Floria’s question, Wanri, who had taken human form to rest, tilted her head.
“No, I mean exactly what I said. Do monsters not fight over territory or anything like that?”
“Territory… Hmm. I wonder?”
As Wanri said that, her expression became one of contemplation for a while.
Eventually, Wanri looked up and began to speak slowly.
“I think not much has changed, but that’s just my guess. Of course, with our arrival, there might have been more skirmishes with larger species.”
“Is that so?”
Floria, who had expected a grand territorial dispute, looked at Wanri with wide eyes.
Wanri then nodded slightly at Floria.
Normally, people imagine that monsters are constantly fighting over feeding grounds.
And within that, there’s a top monster, and a pyramid-like structure forms with it at the head.
Therefore, each place has a dominant existence that maintains a balance within a certain range.
However, Wanri’s words indicated that this way of thinking was not possible to confirm, even if it wasn’t completely denied.
Of course, it’s not that monster fights don’t happen at all.
It means that the relationships between monsters are, in reality, looser than expected.
Seeing Wanri nod, Floria crossed her arms and tilted her head.
“I thought there would be a dominant existence at the top.”
“At least I don’t know of any such existence. Nana probably doesn’t either. Besides, if such an existence were here, they wouldn’t allow this mansion to exist.”
“…Ah. That’s right.”
It had been built so naturally, and protected by a barrier prepared by the gods, that she had completely forgotten, but Wanri was indeed correct.
It’s obvious that the wolves and foxes are active around this mansion, so if such a being existed, they would have come immediately.
However, she had never seen such a strong person appear around the mansion.
Several months have passed since the mansion was built, so the possibility of it being neglected indefinitely is low.
Considering that, it is natural to assume that there were no dominant monsters in the surrounding area to begin with.
Wanri’s words made it clear that there were no dominant beings.
However, if that’s the case, then the leader species during the Great Flood would be quite a distorted existence compared to the normal state of monsters.
“Then why do leader species come into being?”
Leader species are beings that command monsters regardless of their species.
Floria had thought that the dominant beings who ruled an area would sometimes transform into leader species.
At Floria’s question, Wanri’s face became troubled.
Even Wanri didn’t know the answer to that.
As if to help Wanri, Kousuke, who had been silent until now, interjected.
“Setting aside why leader species are born, I can imagine one way they come into being.”
Floria turned a surprised gaze towards Kousuke, who had started talking about such a thing.
“What. Did you know, Kousuke? Then you should have told me.”
Floria had been researching the process of floods.
It was also her duty as queen in the past, and she continued it as one of her life’s work.
To Floria, Kousuke replied, shaking his head.
“No, I don’t know… In fact, it’s not even a hypothesis, just pure speculation?”
“I see. Well, even so, please tell me.”
Floria knew well that Kousuke had a cautious attitude towards speculation and conjecture.
The way he spoke now meant that Kousuke truly considered it mere speculation.
Nevertheless, Floria felt it was worth listening to.
This was because the very act of Kousuke bringing it up this way meant it didn’t contradict what Wanri had just said.
Kousuke, his gaze meeting Floria’s, nodded once before speaking.
“First of all, if the dominant being of an area becomes a leader species, it doesn’t explain the emergence of multiple leader species.”
“That… that might be true.”
If there was a dominant being in a certain area, and that dominant being evolved or transformed into a leader species, then that leader species would command all the monsters in that area.
This would leave no room for the multiple leader species observed during the Great Flood to emerge.
It’s not impossible for leader species that appeared in different locations to cooperate, but even so, a being that commands monsters always appears during a Great Flood, so the possibility is extremely low.
Kousuke had something that could explain it more clearly.
“The first is that among the same species, a being that becomes a leader emerges. That is, beings like Nana or Wanri. Then, such leader-like beings evolve or change into leader species.”
When Kousuke said that, Floria tilted her head with a look of incomprehension.
“No, I’m sorry, but that sounds no different from what we’ve been talking about so far?”
Beings like Nana and Wanri could be called dominant beings that command an area.
Floria thought to herself.
However, Kousuke shook his head in response.
“I think you’re thinking that because you’re focusing on Nana and Wanri’s strength?”
After prefacing it like that, Kousuke continued.
Of course, Nana and Wanri possess a level of strength far beyond that of other monsters.
However, what’s problematic isn’t just that, but the fact that they try to interact with species other than their own.
The most typical example is in the new base, where wolves and foxes live together.
This is partly because they are Kousuke’s familiars, but more importantly, it’s due to the presence of Nana and Wanri, who command them.
If Nana and Wanri weren’t there, Kousuke wouldn’t have let them live together.
It’s Nana and Wanri who make that possible, and to become a leader species, one must possess such qualities.
This is because during a flood, monsters of completely different species are almost always mixed together.
Listening to Kousuke’s explanation, Floria’s face became serious as she crossed her arms.
“In short, a monster that becomes a leader species inherently possesses the disposition to be friendly with other species from the start?”
Floria wondered if such a thing could exist, given it was a nature quite unlike that of a monster.
“Well, ‘friendly’ might be an exaggeration. And besides, I told you earlier. It’s just speculation.”
“…Indeed, if this were officially revealed, they would think I’ve lost my mind.”
Monsters are called monsters precisely because they never associate with other species and engage in conflict with humans.
What Kousuke just said could fundamentally overturn that.
Floria let out a deep sigh internally, thinking that this was the kind of topic Kousuke would bring up to pass the time.
It was more like a urban legend, this speculation of Kousuke’s lol.
Since it’s impossible to witness the actual emergence of leader species, it’s impossible to verify.
