It seemed Victor had completed his mission and successfully brought this guy back to the country, but Freya never expected he would actually attend the same school as her.
Well, maybe it wasn't that surprising. After all, she didn't even recognize most of her own classmates, and this David was apparently from the neighboring class, so of course she wouldn't have known.
Facing the admiring gazes of the others—especially Amy's exclamation of “Wow... that's amazing!”—David immediately wore a highly satisfied expression. He cleared his throat and said, “Ahem, let me give you all a little introduction to the extraordinary world!”
“First of all, to be absolutely clear, supernatural forces do indeed exist in this world. Beneath our seemingly mundane, ordinary world lies another hidden world—the extraordinary world!”
“People with supernatural powers live in this world. On the surface, they look no different from ordinary people—they eat, work, and sleep—but they actually live by an entirely different set of rules. They seek out powerful treasures, make allies, hone their strength, and fight against terrifying enemies! These people are collectively known as extraordinaries!”
Andrew said, “Are you saying that anyone could be an extraordinary? Maybe there's even an extraordinary among the few of us here?”
Hearing this, Freya couldn't help but shrink back slightly. Andrew wasn't wrong at all; there really was an extraordinary among the people present... Oh, wait, Freya was currently in her main body, which was technically still just an ordinary person.
At this, David said, “In theory, yes. But extraordinaries aren't that common. You can't just run into them anywhere. Obtaining supernatural powers is no simple task, so their numbers are extremely small.”
“It was precisely because I couldn't find a single clue after searching for so long in Auxerre and throughout the kingdom that I decided to look abroad. I went all the way to the Fanipaca Empire, and I actually found something! I joined a real extraordinary organization called the Mind Research Association!”
“You can probably understand that a real extraordinary organization wouldn't just hand you a potion and make you an extraordinary the moment you join. You have to go through a series of trials first to test your character, your aptitude, and your loyalty to the organization.”
Amy played along eagerly and chimed in, “And then? And then? Did you succeed?”
Hearing this, David's expression stiffened. “Uh... unfortunately, I was just a hair away from succeeding. Right when I was about to make it, my dad actually hired a bounty hunter, who stuffed me into a sack and dragged me all the way back. After all, I did sneak off to the empire on my own. Sigh.”
It had to be said that, just on this point alone, the fact that this guy had managed to travel all the way to the Fanipaca Empire on his own was impressive enough.
David paused, then continued, “Anyway, let's not talk about that. Let's get back to the extraordinary world! Even though I didn't get any supernatural powers, my time at the Mind Research Association wasn't for nothing. I learned a lot of closely guarded secrets!”
“From what I know, there seem to be many choices in the extraordinary world. The Mind Research Association I visited seems to master the power of the mind. They can easily know what other people are thinking and read their minds. It's incredibly powerful!”
You were probably just working as a waiter in one of their storefronts, Freya complained silently. Meanwhile, Andrew voiced his own skepticism out loud, “Mind Reading? But... that doesn't sound like a particularly powerful ability. With enough training, even ordinary people can do something similar just by observing micro-expressions, body language, and minor habits, right?”
“Are you sure you weren't scammed?”
David retorted, “How is that possible? Besides, mind reading isn't all they can do. They can also... also... modify other people's memories! Influence their will! Even forcibly control their bodies!”
Freya could tell that David was making up those last few points on the spot. Though he had actually gotten the memory modification part right, forcibly controlling other people's bodies was not an ability of the Mind Pathway, at least as far as Freya currently knew.
At this point, Freya finally understood. David did indeed know a tiny bit about the extraordinary world, but it really was just a tiny bit. He didn't even know about potions, let alone pathways and ranks. He was only capable of showing off in front of the even more clueless Amy and the others.
Andrew said, “Modifying memories and forcibly controlling others? Now that does sound pretty impressive. But... the goal of our 【Supernatural Research Society】 is to search for clues that might be related to supernatural forces and see if we can obtain supernatural powers ourselves. So David, what you're telling us isn't of much practical use.”
“After all, it's not like we can all pack up and head to the empire to visit that Mind Research Association right now, can we? Do you know of any other places where supernatural powers might exist?”
David patted his chest. “Don't you worry about that. Since I was able to find the first one, I can naturally find a second!”
Andrew asked, “Then... may I ask if you have any other clues right now? What do you plan to do next?”
David said, “Uh... nothing really. For now, I have to go to school first. After all, school starts tomorrow, and I really have to attend classes, or my dad will beat me to death.”
Andrew: “...”
Freya couldn't help but cover her mouth and let out a soft giggle. She was starting to feel glad that she had accepted Amy's invitation. This club... was actually quite fun. Just listening to everyone chat, share stories, and make wild guesses was highly entertaining.
Although David seemed completely pathetic in Freya's eyes, to the others, he was the most knowledgeable person there so far. Before long, he had completely blended in with the group.
With eight people—exactly four boys and four girls—they chatted for a while longer. Seeing that it was getting late, Andrew said, “Why don't we call it a day? We'll continue at the same time next week. In the meantime, I'll have to trouble everyone to keep an eye out. If you come across anything that might be related to the extraordinary world, write it down, and we'll study it together next time.”
As they left Andrew's house, Amy's face was still flushed with uncontrollable excitement. “See? I told you supernatural forces really exist in this world!”
Freya could see that Amy was truly passionate about this, so she said, “If that's the case, doesn't that prove the ghost you saw at home is highly likely real? And that the exorcist your father hired might actually be an extraordinary? Why don't you go ask him?”
...
Rate on N.U.
