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Last Embryo Volume 2 Epilogue Part 2

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

But it truly was only for an instant.

Just as he expected, the landscape of his native land has lost its colors along with the passage of time, and the townscape that he once gazed upon changed from the one that was engraved upon his heart to the point that now it almost looked like something completely different to what he used to know, but there was nothing that could have been done about it, because the times he was living in dated all the way back to the BC era, meaning that the passage of time would unavoidably change the things that he used to know beyond his recognition. Moreover, it would be rather strange and unsettling if the land didn’t go through any kind of growth even after so much time has passed.

「… Even this hill has changed completely.」

「Oh, could it be that this place is familiar to you?」

「Yes, I… I guess you can say that. If memory serves me correctly, the Knossos palace should be not far away from here.」

「Yup. So, what do you say, wanna go there?」

「That would be appreciated.」

After leaving the house, all four of them began walking towards the Knossos palace. While they were on their way, all three of them gave Asterios a brief self-introduction, after which the arrived at their destination, the biggest tourist attraction on the entire island of Crete. As they were crossing its gates, all of them had a lingering feeling that from now on they were going to keep each other company for a long, long time.

But Homura’s group was not the only one that was currently staying on Crete.

Having been transported there in a similar fashion as Homura and the others, Izayoi trembled in anger as he raised a small shout towards the sky.

「Why…. Why was I the only one who got kicked back to the Outer World even though the Giant Spirit Train got returned to Little Garden with all its passangers?! You really think this is funny, you shitty Queen?! Because let me tell you that it is not! What kind of bullshit harassement is this?!」

(Although knowing her it was a prank without any real meaning at all in the first place, but still…!!!)

He barked indiscriminately. Apparently even someone like him could become quite desperate when pushed to the brink far enough.

But as a matter of fact, he understood why it had to be like that this time. Taking the nature of the Labyrinth into consideration, it was only natural for Izayoi and the others who used the gateway located in the Knossos palace to enter it to be ejected back on Crete. Seeing both Izayoi and Tokuteru return while being covered with wounds all over their bodies, Pritt, who finished tending to Gry’s wound a long time ago greeted them with a wry smile.

「As much as I would like to say that this entire trip to Greece was utterly meaningless, I guess we cannot really say that, even if we wanted to, huh? After all, we did manage to come into contact with the members of the infamous new 『Avatara』, who are being hailed as the Players with the highest chances of winning the 2^nd War for the Sun’s Authority, so I would say that this was quite an impressive achievement in and out of itself.」

「You say that, Tokuteru, but have you forgotten that all of the Players would inevitably meet each other during the opening ceremony? Because if I remember correctly, that was one of the requirements for participation.」

Pritt asked while tilting her head to the side curiously, but Tokuteru, instead of silently cursing as she expected, just shook his head.

「That’s not what I meant by it. As it turns out, a son of mine is one of 『Avatara’s』 members.」

「What?! You mean Arjuna, that son of yours?! Was he the one who injured you like that?」

「Exactly. In order to qualify for the entrance to the Authority War he turned himself into a young lad again, but he was as strong as ever. He defeated me so fast that even I was surprised. And, if I am to be honest, that was quite troubling.」

Finishing his explanation, he sat on the ground, cross-legged and hit his knee in frustration. But even though he looked like he was angry, it was not the same kind of anger that he felt when his son insulted him during their battle in the Labyrinth. Being a Divine Spirit that was even older than him, Pritt found it extremely unusual.

「I’m surprised at how gracefully you took that loss, you know. Knowing you, I honestly expected you to be tearing your hair out and screaming in blind rage.」

「Well, that’s because I know that there must have been someone who tempted that idiot into joining the 『Avatara』, because there’s no way in all hells that he would do something so outrageous of his own volition, so all of my anger should be directed towards that person, and I can always give my foolish son an earful after that when I’m done with that someone.」

He might have been trying to hide it, but Tokuteru was literally burning with fighting spirit.

While it was true that he must have been quite attached to the romanticized version of the 『Avatara』 that consisted of the Kings related to the sun, Arjuna must have been only a guest in their ranks and should still be treated more or less like an outsider among them. As for the conditions for the Final Selection, those who wished to participate in in must either possess at least one Sun Authority or be related to the sun itself in some way, so there definitely must have been some kind of mysterious Sponsor who tempted Arjuna to take part in this insanity while remaining in the shadows.

「Before the opening ceremony starts, I think it would be good for us Twelve Devas to have a meeting and talk this matter through and decide who is going to participate in this Final Selection.」

「Huh?」

Izayoi couldn’t believe his ears when he heard what Tokuteru said just now.

「Hey, now wait just a goddamn minute! 『Twelve Devas』 are the 『Heavenly Army』, right?! So aren’t you guys one of the Sponsors of this thing?!」

「No, we are not, although Kuro Usagi seems to be participating as one of the Judges. The only ones allowed to manage all of the Gift Games and establish their rules are the winner of the previous War for the Sun’s Authority and the Community of their choosing. As for the rest, you will probably learn everything once you attend the opening ceremony itself. On that note, what are you going to do before then?」

Once again, Izayoi was at a loss for words from Tokuteru’s question. Someone would probably come pick him up when it was the time for the opening ceremony, but other than that and the fact that he should still be included in his family’s register, he was nothing more but one penniless man without any posessions whatsoever. He was confident that he should be able to get by just fine until it wa the time for the Final Selection to commence, but as for getting by without actually causing any sort of trouble… well, let’s just say that he wasn’t so confident about that particular thing anymore.

That being the case, there was only one course of action left for him to take.

「Okay, so like, hear me out, okay, Mr. Company Big Shot? Do you think that you could perhaps spare a room and a working place for this one guy and his pet Gryphon?」

「What, you’re including me in it as well? Because just to let you know, I am perfectly fine with just spending all that time holed up in some nice, cozy forest…」

「Shut up, you’re going to make things worse! And besides, staying in a forest? What would you have done if some brat spotted you purely by accident? They wouldn’t be able to sleep at night due to the excitement, boast about it to all heir friends until they would be called a braggart and become the target of bullying, all one after the other. Do you want that to happen to some random kid? No, you don’t, because that wouldn’t be nice now, would it?」

「U-Ughhhh… muuu……」

Even though Izayoi words sounded super far-fetched, it was not like there was not some merit of truth and probability to them. And besides, it might have been on a slightly different scale, but its not like things like that didn’t happen to him in Little Garden either. Also, there was this 「The Boy Who Cried Wolf」 thing to consider.