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Last Embryo Volume 1 Chapter 5 Part 1

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Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

Editor: Weasalopes

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City of Water, Underwood.

The restaurant governed by the 『Six Scars』 Community.

Heeding Kuro Usagi’s suggestion, Homura, Suzuka and Ayato made their way to the riverside restaurant where they were able to observe the Spirit Train, which was going back and forth between the water’s surface and the area under it in regular intervals of about 10 minutes to their heart’s content. Many of the guests were apparently doing the same thing as them, because the terrace where they were sitting was filled to the brim with customers. Currently, their table was filled with many high-class-looking dishes, like the grilled Sakurami bird, Peryton’s ham with fried eggs and giant pumpkin soup. But even with all those delicacies before them, their eyes have been glued only to the Spirit Train, watching its every departure and the ride back.

「Oh!」

Every time the train was going back and forth, it sprayed cascades of water that danced around in the air before they turned into spectacular rainbows, followed by loud cheering from everyone who was lucky enough to witness it. And now, with that magnificent sight right in front of hm, Homura was joining the chorus of admiring voices without a care in the world.

「Ooohhh!!!」

Now they were all watching it disappear to the bottom of the river while leaning over the terrace’s fence, and when it was finally gone, Homura coughed, returned back to his seat and said while crossing his arms in an exaggerated manner:

「… Hmm, not bad, not bad at all. I have to say that it was pretty OK.」

「Nobody believes you, so stop lying ad be honest with yourself, Bro. It was super fun, right?」

Suzuka laughed, seeing right through his bluff, which made Homura lower his head and sulk a little. Giggling at the amusing situation, Ayato elegantly brought the cup with black tea in it to her mouth and took a sip.

「What a pleasant surprise. I thought you didn’t have any hobbies besides science, but as it turns out, you like trains quite a lot, don’t you, senpai?」

「No no no, it’s not like that, Aya. It’s not that Homura likes just trains, he like all vehicles in general. You see, back in the day, when Big Bro Iza was still with us the two of them loved to make plastic models of planes and cars together.」

「Stop spouting unnecessary nonsense, Suzuka. You’re going to give her the wrong idea.」

Homura got even more sulky than before. Surprised even further, Ayato blinked a few times. Most of the time she saw him engrosses in nothing but research, so seeing him deriving enjoyment from anything else than that was a new and rare experience for her, since all she knew about his hobbies and pastimes up until now was that he was occasionally reading books during holidays. Sitting right beside them, Kuro Usagi was also listening to their conversation with an amused smile on her face.

「That is something new to me as well. Those plastic models you talk about are something you assemble yourself and then collect to display before others, right? Di didn’t know that Izayoi had such a cute hobby when he was younger.」

「He was only doing that to humor me. We often competed against one another to see which one of us would build them faster, or make the cooler-looking one… come to think of it, those competitions were the only ones where I was able to beat Big Bro Iza without breaking a sweat.」

A nostalgic smile bloomed on Homura’s face. But it was only for a brief moment, after which he immediately went back to sulking. Grinning smugly, Suzuka poked him in the cheek with her finger.

「I can make fun of him all I want, but the truth is that I was much the same as him: we were always clinging onto Big Bro Iza and depended on him for anything, a fact we realized all too well when he went missing.」

「Is that so?」

「Yes. Well, to be honest, I think that deep down in our hearts we all understood that he was that type of person who would just up and vanish one day. But even though we knew that, it was still too sudden for us when it actually happened. Since tha time we faced many hardships and had to learn to overcome them by ourselves.」

「Suzuka…」

With a serious face and voice Homura placed his hand on Suzuka’s shoulder as she continued to talk about the bygone days with a sad smile. Kuro Usagi also showed a concerned face, and her ears dropped a little bit.

「When you say hardships… do you mean all the trouble Izayoi left behind as a problem child?」

「No, of course not. I mean, he was hopeless beyond repair, being arrogant, self-centered and hedonistic at the same time… but he was never someone who would just leave the mess he himself made for his family to clean up after him.」

「That being said, the fights and brawls he picked were always of the deadly serious caliber, like when he was teaming up with the likes of Don Bruno, Old Man Ushimatsu or later with Canaria-sensei, picking fights with the strong people or those who were high on the social ladder and calling it just his little hobby to kill the boredom…」

「That’s right. He always used to say: {Those with power should use it to fight strong opponents, for that is the definition of cool!} or something along those lines, but that was only a cheap excuse he liked to throw around. If I remember correctly, his favorite motto was…」

「The heavens did not create a man above me!」

「Pffffffffft!!!!!!!!!」

Hearing that made Kuro Usagi spit out the tea she was drinking at the moment. Most likely she thought that it was very much like him to say something so bold like that, but it didn’t change the fact that it was an incredibly stupid motto to live by.

「That is, well, uhm, how can I put it delicately… that sounds like Izayoi alright. So he was living his life like that even back in his home world, huh?」

「He was not someone who would change his way of life simply because the place he lived in changed. If you knew him for three years then you should have at least known that much, don’t you think so, Kuro Usagi?」

「Fufufu, I guess that’s true enough.」

She shook her rabbit ears while giggling cheerfully. But even though the talk they were having right now was a pleasant one, it wasn’t really getting the general conversation anywhere, so it was about time to change the subject. She coughed a few times to make sure that she got their undivided attention.

「Now then, everyone, let us proceed with the feast. But as we’ll do that, it is high time for this Kuro Usagi here to finally tell you the basics about this world: The World of Little Garden!」

Suzuka got visibly fired up, while Homura’s expression became more serious. Ayato, on the other hand, kept her face calm the entire time. With the confirmation that they’re all listening to her, Kuro Usagi pulled out a single card from the pocket of her skirt.

「Well then everyone, should I start with the usual catchphrase? I should, shouldn’t I? Okay, here it goes! Welcome to The World of Little Garden! We have summoned the three of you to measure your qualifications for the participation in the Gift Games, in which only those who have been blessed with Gifts can participate!」

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