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Last Embryo Volume 3 Chapter 6 Part 1

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

After defeating around 30 Stymphalian Birds in a row, Tokuteru clicked his tongue in displeasure.

(Damn it, there’s just no end to them, huh?)

Without letting go of his Vajra, which was still in the form of the staff, he carefully observed his surroundings.

Under any normal circumstances, he wouldn’t result to using Vajra or striking his enemies with lightning bolts. After all, when faced with a God of War like him, no opponent would be able to put as much as a scratch on him, no matter what kind of smaller deity or monster they were, and the same rule could be applied to Arjuna. The way things were right now, they were able to just continue to mow down their enemies without the need to get serious at all.

But that was not what this Exhibition Match was about. Using the back end of his staff to repel more Stymphalian Birds, Tokuteru stood back-to-back with his son.

「So, how’s it going, you stupid son of mine? Since it’s a Game, maybe you should try to enjoy it a bit more, huh?」

「Please, do not jest in such a manner, father. Unlike you, I am not a battle maniac who does not see anything else in the world besides fighting.」

「That is not what I meant by that. If you haven’t realized it yet, this Game is also made for the purpose of entertainment, so our purpose here is to make sure that the audience is enjoying themselves. I we won’t give them what they want, then surely our debt won’t be count as repaid. And do not forget that you are the one who made it in the first place!」

「Khh… I understand that much, so stop lecturing me like you know any better!」

Vexed by Tokuteru’s words, Arjuna drew his bow again and let the next few arrows in frustration. If he was his usual self, doing something like that would be unthinkable for him, but since he was perfectly aware of what brought them into this mess of a situation in the first place, he couldn’t help it to behave in such a rash manner.

In the mythology of the Indian Pantheon to which both Indra and Arjuna belonged, the entire society has been based on a hierarchical caste system, with the four main Castes being Brahmin, the Monk Caste in charge of performing the sacred rituals; Kshatriya, the Warrior Caste to which the men from the nobility belonged; Vaishya, the Middle Caste composed from the ordinary citizens who weren’t fit to become Brahmin or Kshatriya; and Shudra, the Workers Caste of slaves and laborers forced to work for the members of the higher Castes, be it as their servant-slaves or in the fields, cultivating the nation’s agriculture. Being born in the age where those four Castes were the most prominent, Arjuna has carved his name both in history and mythology of India as Kshatriya, the warrior from the second highest Caste. In a sense, it was the most blessed of Castes with the privilege of commanding the entire country in the matters of both war and politics, but they were also bound by one peculiar rule which proved to be fatal here in Little Garden: if they were challenged to a game or a duel, they had no right to refuse said challenge.

Sighing with a slight smirk on his face, Tokuteru poked fun at Arjuna.

「Good grief, can you imagine how hard I laughed when my spy in 『Avatara’s』 ranks informed me that you have fallen into a debt of 200,000 『Thousand Eyes』 gold? What kind of a crushing defeat have you experienced for the overall sum to grow this big, huh? In that area you have already bested me, since my highest debt in that currency was only 190,000 gold.」

「Then that is not too much of a difference between us!」

Unable to endure the humiliation any longer, Arjuna yelled back at his father. With so small of a difference, there was one thing that perfectly summed up their situation, but was better of left unsaid to not increase the amount of their wrath any more: like father, like son. Perhaps they really needed some third party to final tell them that, then maybe, just maybe they would be able to get along with one another much better than the currently are.

On the flipside, Uesugi, who was listening to their conversation from afar almost dropped dead on the spot when she heard the numbers Tokuteru mentioned just now.

「B-Both of them have a collective debt of 390,000 gold?! How badly did they lose and what kind of game were they playing that made them throw so much money down the drain?!」

「No, that’s not all. Tokuteru only said that it was the highest debt that he made. If we take all of the debts that he has made across the span of his entire life, then I think the total amount will easily reach over a hundredfold of that 390,000.」

Homura mercilessly pointed that out while holding his hand against his chin. Hearing him say that, Tokuteru quickly glanced back at him, which meant that he probably hit the jackpot with that assumption.

Even if they were only playing dice, it needs to be remembered that gambling should not be taken lightly. Ever. As for the game itself, dice existed since as early as the days of the ancient Assyrian empire in the 8^th century B.C when it was used as a religious ritual, or sometimes even as a method of changing the final sentence during the trials of criminals. That was the kind of dated gambling game it was. At some points in their lives, there were even nobles who gambled their entire fortunes on something as fickle as the roll of the dice, and sometimes, even kings were losing or gaining entire kingdoms because of it. Ultimately, it can be said that dice were on the same level as ancient Egypt’s Senet or Rome’s Nine Men’s Morris.

But no matter how elaborate and complete the explanation would be, it still wouldn’t change the fact that Uesugi couldn’t understand any of it. Having all of his misdeeds and failures exposed, all that Arjuna could do was to look back at the with an expression of heartfelt apology written all over his face.

「I am truly sorry for dragging you into my problems, young man from the Outer World. I wanted to play a Game against the winner of the previous winner of the 1^st War for the Sun’s Authority with her Sun Authorities as the prize, but before I could even realize it, we were already playing with the money as the replacement. As I was losing more and more, in order not to burden my comrades with the debt, my father offered to take my debt over… but never in my wildest dreams would I ever expect him to push it off to you Players from the Outer World without a second thought.」

「Well that makes two of us, because I would also never suspect him of stooping so low! When I first arrived in this world, I thought all I would have to do was to win this entire thing, but lo and behold, now I have to drag a debt that isn’t even mind around with me! Do you know how fun that is?! So funny I could die from laughter!」

「Words cannot express how truly ashamed I am.」

Arjuna said while dropping his shoulders.

Uesugi, however, raised her brow as if she finally understood something.

(I see. Make him lose the game of dice just like in the legend and place him in Homura’s care after temporarily separating him from the rest of the 『Avatara』. I have to say, that might be a brilliant move, even though the one who’s come up with it is that idiot Tokuteru.)

In Indian mythology, there was a time when Arjuna did suffer a crushing defeat in a game of dice, causing both him and his siblings to be exiled from the country as a result. That is probably why Tokuteru thought that he might capitalize of that defeat of his in order to separate his son from the rest of the 『Avatara』 scum.

「If that is really how it is then I guess it cannot be helped, but hearing of the details will have to wait until later. With that said, can you help us solve the puzzle of this Game, Saigo Homura? But first, do you even know anything about the Sun Authorities?」

「I studied most of them whenever I had some time on my hands to spare, since studying has always been what I was best at.」