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Last Embryo Volume 1 Chapter 8 Part 1

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

Editor: Weasalopes

Great Tree of Underwood, Inside of the Bathing Area.

The City of Water, which always prided itself with its beautiful landmarks, vistas and sceneries went through a drastic change in a matter of minutes, replacing the merry mood of excitement caused by the commencement of the Gift Game between Shirayuki-hime and the newcomers with the one of chaos, fear and confusion. There were so many refugees wanting to seek shelter inside of the Great Tree that they were even filling the caves dug all the way from the underground water veins to the brim, and many of the room were filled with those who have been wounded as a result of the 『Bull of Heaven’s』 rampage. Right now, more than anything else it looked like a scene taken straight out from a war-turn battlefield. Normally evacuating that many people would have taken at least 3 hours, but thanks to Kuro Usagi’s warning and the decisive and quick actions of the Underwood’s governing body, the whole process was finished much quicker than that, thanks to the joint efforts of Porol, Sharol, Shirayuki-hime and Kuro Usagi in particular. They were working tirelessly without resting to ensure that no one would be caught by the water overflowing from the riverside, and now that it was all done and over, Kuro Usagi had no strength to do much else than to lay sprawled on top of Shirayuki-hime’s head.

「*Yaaawn* I’m beat!!! Who would have thought that conducting a rescue operation is such a stormy weather would be so physically taxing? Now I have to say that I respect the Communities that specialize in this kind of work all the more.」

「I have to agree with you there, Lady Kuro Usagi. It’s true that it was very tiring, but if it wasn’t for you and your valliant efforts, I’m sure we wouldn’t have been able to save as many people as we did in such a short time. Even without much of your former strength, you still did your best, and that will always be praiseworthy.」

「No, not at all. I was only able to help because you were there to back me up, Lady Shirayuki-hime. As expected of a Water Goddess!」

Shirayuki-hime and Kuro Usagi were throwing compliments back and forth between one another. It has to be said though, that if it wasn’t for the two of them then many of the Underwood’s residents would have been taken by the overflowing rivers. If would have been an entirely different story if they were dealing with just one river; in that case Shirayuki-hime could have carried the rescue operation with just her Gift alone, but the system of waterways in the City of Water was more complicated than that, branching out throughout the entirety of Underwood like a maze where it was impossible to spot everything with the reach of a single pair of eyes alone.

Thanking Kuro Usagi for her continued hard work, Shirayuki-hime lowered her from her head and transformed into her human, white kimono-clad form, after which she pointed towards the top of the Great Tree and said:

「It seems that the both of us got soaked to the bone, huh? Putting me aside, you should warm your body as soon as possible to avoid catching a cold, Lady Kuro Usagi. Thankfully, there is a large bathhouse dedicated to Underwood’s special guests on the floor just above this one. I would strongly advise heading there with along with those girls as soon as possible.」.

「W-Would it really be okay for me to do that? Maybe I should stay and see if there’s anything I could help with first?」

「Trust me, it is fine. You just go and enjoy yourself, and I will explain everything to the higher-ups of the 『Six Scars』. You had it rough ever since yesterday, so no one will hold it against you if you take a moment to relax.」

「…. Okay. If you put it that way, then I will take you up on your kind offer.」

With her rabbit ears happily raised, Kuro Usagi headed towards the bathhouse on the upper floor.

「Good grief, always trying to put the needs of others before her own, this girl is truly hopeless.」

Shirayuki-hime shook her head with a slight smile.

「Alright then. Now that we’ve got little miss workaholic out of the way, time to look for more people in need of help, shall we?」

Reverting back to her giant serpent form, Shirayuki-hime entered the waterway in order to search through the Underwood one more time.

Meanwhile, at another part of the Great Tree…

「Suzuka! Are you alright?! Suzuka!!!」

Ayato, while still being completely drenched, rushed into the sickroom Suzuka was supposed to be in while screaming out her name. Finding his place took her a good while, and so, she was a bit more restless than ususal.

The first one to greet her was Homura, who cast her an annoyed glance as he covered one of his ears.

「Lady Ayato, please, do keep it down a notch, okay? I think you made my ear bleed just now.」

「Ah! I-I’m s-sorry.!」

Quickly covering her mouth and with her cheeks dyed bright red from embarassement, Ayato approached the bed at the side of which Homura was sitting, his back against the wooden wall of the room. Suzuka was laying there, sound asleep. I didn’t look like her life was in any immediate danger, and her skin still had the same, healthy color, so it must have meant that she was alright. Overwhelmed with relief, Ayato felt like she could collapse on the ground at any moment, unable to stand on her shaky legs.

「Oh thanks goodness she’s okay! That wound looked like it was really bad, so I was afraid her life might have been in serious danger… so you managed to find someone with a medical Gift, senpai?」

「Yeah, luckily enough. She was treated almost immediately, so her life shouldn’t be in any source of dander anymore.」

Unlike Ayato, who couldn’t have been happier that Suzuka was safe and sound, Homura kept looking at her with sad eyes.

Just then, a voice of someone who was searching for them rang out across the room.

「Excuse me, is Mr. Saigo Homura in here?」

「??? Yes, I am here. What is this about?」

When Homura walked to the door and peeked outside to see who was searching for him. He saw Porol Gundark who looked at him with a deadly serious face.

「You’re Saigo Homura, right? Then that makes things a lot easier. Would you mind coming with me? I need to hear what exactly happened during your Gift Game with Lady Shirayuki-hime.」

「Understood. Ayato, watch after Suzuka while I’m gone, okay? The doctor said that her condition is stable, so go and have her take a bath once she wakes up. And while we’re at it, maybe you should have a soak yourself as well. I am not an expert on the subject, but even I know that staying so drenched for too long cannot possibly be good for your health.」

「Y-Yeah, alright. I… will be sure to do that. And… and thank you for worrying about me, by the way.」

Ayato notice that there was still a tinge of anxiety in Homura’s voice, meaning that he was reluctant to leave before Suzuka could wake up, but since he had no other choice, he had to go and leave Suzuka in Ayato’s care for the time being. So when Homura left the room after looking over his shoulder and nodding at her, she took his place beside the bed and waited just like he asked her to do.