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Last Embryo Volume 3 Epilogue Part 3

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

「That’s right…Wait, don’t steal the best part from me, you showstealer!!」

Homura angrily retorted at Jin, who just apologized causually and continued as if nothing happened.

「My bad, my bad, sorry. But the Nobel Peace Prize was built upon that wish, then.」

「Yeah. I suppose saying he worried about the rumors doesn’t make it all that surprising… but come to think of it., going by the poems he wrote, you’d expect him to be a rather pure person. Also, his pure wish acted as a guiding beacon for humankind’s future didn’t it? His deeds managed to overcome the rumors even after his death.」

「And by that you mean…?」

「I mean that since we are alive now, we have a chance to change the rumors about us. If you hate being called the Oathbreaking Hero, then you just have to sincerely follow the rules of this Game and win fair and square to change the way others perceive you.」

With those words, Homura finally decided which card he was going to take from among Arjuna’s remaining ones, grabbed it…

「YES!!! Oh yeah!」

And placing his final pair of cards down on the table, he raised his fist in a victorious gesture.

「This time sweet, sweet victory goes to me, baby! No matter what they are, as long as they are games from my world I can handle them all with ease!」

「Eh? You say that, but if you asked me then this game is highly, if not mostly, reliant on nothing but blind luck.」

「Blind luck? Stop with such nonsense, card games are all about strategy, and I had my own one that allowed me to seize the victory. But to give credit where credit is due, I also have to thank Arjuna for his contribution to my win.」

「Myself? And how exactly did I help you win?」

「You serious, Arjuna? When it comes to you, your expressions are so easy to read that calling you an open book would be an insult to all the open books in the world.」

「That is exactly what I meant by this game relying on luck. Whoever is going to pull the cards from Arjuna will always have an overwhelming advantage.」

The way in which Jin worded this obvious truth was mean to say the least. But for some reason, Arjuna was not disappointed with his loss. Moreover, he was quite pleased with the game’s results.

He smiled when he looked down at the Joker card that was the only one remaining in his losing hand. It was drawn in a way that represented it as a figure with two halves: one angelic and one demonic. In a way, it was exactly how Arjuna thought about himself. He jeaned back in his chair and laughed in his usual, self-deprecating way, overtaken by the hilarity of the duality of his existence.

「Achieving a victory without breaking the rules, huh? Yes, that sounds about right. Since I have been chosen as a participant in this 2^nd War for the Sun’s Authority, then at the very least I should make sure to give this task everything I’ve got. I think that this might actually be my true wish that I want to see fulfilled here.」

「Hey now, don’t go saying depressing things like that. You are fighting together with us now, you as long as that stands you have to play nice and make sure that you will follow all of the rules down to the letter, you understand?」

「Fufu, yes, I understand that perfectly. So until the day when we will part our ways will come, you will have my full cooperation in all of your endeavours.」

(Oh? Now that’s curious.)

Jin Russell raised an eyebrow in surprise. While it was true that Arjuna has joined forces with 『Avatara』, it is safe to say that he was never truly with them, always behaving in a tense manner, as if he was a string on a bow that has been drawn out too much and was about to snap at any given moment. But now it looked that string had loosened up enough for him to be able to smile in a genuine way.

The similarities between Homura and Arjuna brought a little smile on Jin’s face, but he made sure that none of those two noticed that.

(……I see. Perhaps what he needed all along was a normal friend like this boy.)

Only realizing something so simple just now also made Jin feel ashamed that he did not notice that his judgement has been wrong this entire time. Now a part of him regretted awakening Arjuna from his ancient slumber on the top of one of the sacred mountains of Little Garden in the way he did, but at that time it seemed like the best course of action to him.

『Avatara’s』 aim was to win the 2^nd War for the Sun’s Authority, and in order to turn that dream into reality, they needed to make as many powerful individuals as possible join them under their banner. Because of that, Arjuna, the strongest warrior of the Indian Pantheon and a Demigod related directly to Indra at that, he was someone who 『Avatara』 wanted to have on their side at all costs.

After all, the official rules set for the 2^nd War for the Sun’s Authority stated that the only ones able to participate in it were supposed to be those who had human blood flowing through their veins, and since Arjuna spent thousands of years sleeping in a state where his Spiritual Energy did not undergo a full transformation into the Divinity characteristic for Divine Spirits, he was truly a perfect Player for this sort of job. And if Saigo Homura could be used by them to keep his reins in check….

(Then maybe, just maybe… telling him all about the circumstances that surround us will not be that bad of an idea.)

If that is how he is, then he might just be able to look objectively and understand; about 『Avatara』, the group of the Sun Kings who united under the banner of a single Community and chose to go against anyone and anything that might stand in their way; about the goal that awaited at the end of the mission they wanted to accomplish, and also… about their common enemy whom they could not allow to emerge victorious in the current War for the Sun’s Authority no matter what.

*Pin pon pan pon!*

Just as the three of them were about to leave the bathhouse area, they stopped when they heard the sound of a pre-announcement jingle. It came not from your typical speakers but rather from the ones made from giant sea shells, which made it fit quite nicely with the otherworldly theme, but if the creators of this train went with the trouble of making the speakers look like that, then couldn’t they have done something with that generic, bland intro as well? Because Homura thought that having something so bleak play from such extravagant speakers was a kind of a huge waste.

After a moment of brief silence, a voice belonging to one of the members of the Great Gift Game Committee rang out from the shell, echoing clearly throughout the entire wagon.

「Uhm… testing, testing… is this thing working? One, two, three, one two, three… there, all set. *Ekhem* This is the Giant Spirit Train 『Sun Thousand’s』 Administration HQ with the message to all Players from Lord Uka-no-Mitama: 「Dear Players, I wish you all luck in the upcoming Gift Games and I hope that each and every one of you is going to have a pleasant trip on this Giant Spirit Train!」Also, Lord Uka-no-Mitama was gracious enough to bring some of his famous rice along with him, so the Giant Spirit Train’s Cafeteria will be serving it to all of the passengers later today! We hope that all of you will join us so tha we could all enjoy this delicious treat together!」

During the brief pause in the announcement, Homura could swear that he heard a sound of fox-ears energetically perking up.

「We have also received other messages from other Divine Spirits, but for the sake of brevity I will refrain from reading them right now. If the opportunity presents itself, they are all going to be read by the lovely Miss Kuro Usagi later, so all of you who are her fans will definitely have something to look forward to~~♪!!!」

「Kuro Usagi is fine and all, but who are you, young lady?! Give us your name, please!!!」

「Tell me your address! And your three sizes!!!」

「Do you have a boyfriend?! Or are you not seeing anyone at the moment?!」