I recalled how Tre-san had once joked with Falce-san that she was only lost because the world itself had cursed her. At the time, I thought she was just being dramatic, but I never imagined her words were the literal truth.
Shiro-san clearly knew something. Shiro-san, are you the cause of this?
(In a sense, yes, I am the cause. It is a very old story, but back when I had just created this world, I conducted various experiments by modifying its inhabitants. Kuro once described my past self as someone who watched the world with indifference, but that isn't entirely accurate. While it is true my interest was not deep, I was less of an observer and more of a researcher watching the results of my tinkering. Of course, the only reason I began such trials was because the Earth God advised me that it would be beneficial to try experimenting...)
Come to think of it, I remembered that Trinia initially consisted of only the God Realm and the Demon Realm. Based on Shiro-san's tone, I could assume she had modified the creatures of the Demon Realm quite extensively.
(Indeed. One reason the Demon Realm possesses such vast diversity compared to other worlds is due to those past experiments. I fundamentally used the humans from the world created by the Earth God as a template and added various modifications to create life forms unique to this world.)
That explained why so many Demons were humanoid—they were based on humans. It was fascinating to hear the history of the world directly from its Creator. So, was Tre-san also born as part of those experiments?
(Yes. With the exceptions of Kuro and Alice, the Six Kings and Ein were among my earliest modifications. Since I had not yet learned how to calibrate my power, some of them became powerful enough to destabilize the world. Following that, I exercised more restraint, focusing their traits on specific specialties.)
Isis-san had mentioned that Shiro-san created her using the soul of the Great Evil God of Despair, so it made perfect sense. It also explained why the Six Kings and Ein-san were so disproportionately powerful compared to other Demons. Tre-san must have been one of the later modifications.
(Precisely. While it is not all of them, a considerable number of the current Six Kings' Executives—the Duke-class and high-tier Count-class members—are products of my experiments.)
Wait, there are really that many?
(No, there used to be far more... but Alice eliminated about eighty percent of them, drastically reducing their numbers. My interest had shifted elsewhere by then, so I didn't particularly mind.)
I recalled the Great Purge of the Demon Realm. Alice had hunted down and eradicated powerful Demons she deemed evil, and apparently, a huge number of Shiro-san's experiments were among them.
(To return to the matter of the Tre before you, Kaito-san, I modified her to be a "free" existence. I granted her an ability akin to an Authority that causes obstacles to her actions to naturally recede. I suspect that is the root cause.)
The pieces finally fell into place. For instance, if Tre-san was with Cento-san and Cien-san and her curiosity suddenly pulled her toward something, factors that would impede her—like her companions' attention—would naturally slip away without her even intending it. Cento and Cien wouldn't even notice her leave. Even detection magic would fail because, in a broad sense, being tracked is a hindrance to her intent.
Tre-san’s easygoing nature meant she just went with the flow once she got separated, which made it nearly impossible to find her. At least, not until she had satisfied her own curiosity and finished whatever she was doing.
(My original intent was to create a being with boundless, spontaneous mobility. The tendency to get lost was merely an unintended side effect.)
Shiro-san had mentioned her interest shifted before the Great Purge, so she hadn't bothered to track Tre's progress until my thoughts jogged her memory. Still, if it was Shiro-san's influence, it made perfect sense. At this rate, I bet Falce-san's dreadnought-class sense of direction is Shiro-san's doing too...
(No, I had nothing to do with that. I know nothing about it.)
So Falce-san was just naturally, hopelessly bad at navigating!?
Serious-senpai: "Looking back, many Six Kings' Executives are unique anomalies unlike anything else. It makes sense that Shiro was meddling with them."
???: "Not all of them, though. Beings like Ozma-san and Camellia-san are apparently naturally-occurring Special Individuals that Shallow Vernal-sama never touched. In a way, they represent the absolute peak of what a naturally born Demon could achieve back then, which just goes to show how terrifyingly far above the curve the Six Kings are."
Serious-senpai: "So she stopped tinkering around the time she created the Human Realm?"
???: "Exactly. By the time the Human Realm was established—roughly 19,000 years ago—Shallow Vernal-sama’s interest had shifted entirely toward Kaito-san. She hasn't modified anyone since."
Serious-senpai: "Got it... What about Lilia?"
???: "She's a Bug of the World."