37: Sophia, was the game helpful at all?
37 rushed over as Sophia descended from the "playground".
37: Were the problems fun, inspiring, or perhaps dull?
37: Should the results be logged or just discarded in a corner of the lab?
Sophia: Well, they weren't as dull as I expected. Breaking down the logic was pretty straightforward ...
Sophia: For a kid just arriving on the island, it's a decent puzzle.
Sophia: If I'd played these as a kid, I might have warmed up to math more—perhaps I'd even have understood the whole "everything is numbers" thing a little sooner.
Sophia: But in the here and now, they don't feel very practical, nor enlightening.
37: Oh ... I see.
37: No luck, it seems. What could we be missing?
With obvious disappointment, 37 flipped through the notebook once more, diving deep into her thoughts again.
It was getting dark, and the others began leaving the beach.
It seemed 37's games didn't yield any results.
For her assistant, this seemed like the expected outcome—these games appeared to be more of a basic educational tool than something profound.
37: Hmmm—
Sophia: It’s time for dinner, we’ve run out of the time we requested from 6—there's ...
37: No, wait ... ! It's not over until I go for dinner ...
37 stared at the grid lines on the beach, as if she was rooted there.
The puzzle represented by these numbers would be on her mind all night, replacing thoughts of roasted rabbit and honeyed bread.
Although it was clear that this number sequence didn't hold any profound meaning at first glance, what if everyone just hadn't looked deep enough?
Sophia: ...
Sophia: ... I have some free time tomorrow morning. Maybe we can give it another shot then.
Sophia: When Apollo first rides out chasing the dawn, we might discover a fresh perspective.
37: ... ?! Do you think so?!
Sophia: Otherwise, you'd stay here all night?
Sophia sighed, once again realizing she was indulging 37.
Sophia: I don't understand, 37. Why are you so convinced there's some hidden significance in this sequence of answers?
37: Huh? Because it's right there!
37: I feel it, if only vaguely. When Hugh jotted down these numbers, they contained a strong emotion ...
Sophia: ... So, you're going with your intuition?
Sophia: Intuition ...
At the mention of that word, the girl's expression dimmed.
Back in her childhood before she came to the island, when she was known as an "arcanist", she was familiar with this term.
Sensing, listening, understanding, beseeching, being fiercely focused, and seizing inspiration. It was all familiar to her.
But she couldn't see the flash of genius whenever she pleased, playing around with them as if she was catching butterflies.
What did having such an ability really mean?
37: Sophia—come on!
37: If you don't get to the canteen now, only the soup base will be left!
37 had maneuvered nimbly over a line of seagull footprints, and waved to beckon Sophia ahead.
Sophia: ...
Sophia: Ho ... Hold on, I'm coming!
And remember, not every question needs an answer.
We have more important things to do now.
