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Last Embryo Volume 4 Chapter 2 Part 2

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

One of them was Saigo Homura, Asterios’ current master as well as one of the Players participating in the 2nd War for the Sun’s authority. The other one, the blue-haired boy was named Arjuna. He is the son of Indra, one of the key figures of the Indian mythology, and someone who should have been allied with 『Avatara』, a Community gathering those who called themselves the Sun Kings, making them Saigo Homura’s enemies.

And yet, right now, because of some rather bizarre twist of faith, those two who should be standing at the opposing sides of the barricade were now fighting together in the Exhibition Gift Games. Or rather, they tried to fight together in the Exhibition Gift Games, because that rather loud argument of theirs should speak volumes about how that partnership of theirs has turned out, which was quite strange when Asterios thought about it.

After all, Arjuna, as a Demigod – a hybrid of half-human and half-god – descending from the lineage of the Chief Gods of one of the Outer World’s biggest mythologies should possess a divinity and fighting abilities that should be vastly superior to those of any other participant, which should make him the most reliable companion to have at your side. . .

「God damnit! Fuck! When I heard that the last Exhibition Gift Game is going to be based on a card game, despite my worries I decided to be enthusiastic since that was our last chance to snatch a victory for ourselves, but who would have thought that the one who would end up stabbing me in the back is going to be the very same guy whom I have considered to be my partner. . . ?!!」

「Stop being so melodramatic about it! It was going so well until about halfway through the Game. To be honest, I do not understand why did my strategy has failed.」

「Because being good at handling the bow and being good at card games are two entirely different things, Arjuna. Maybe it might be too late to be asking this now, but what was your plan for winning that game anyway? How did you wanted to turn the tide of that game in your favor when you never played that kind of card game before and ultimately ended up losing ten rounds in a row?」

「W-Well I was hoping that fortune would eventually come back to me, just like it always did. Eventually.」

「Aaand there it is, the very reason why we lost today! That, and also the fact that you would not be able to keep a poker face even if your life depended on it, just like during that friendly card game of ours in the baths! If I could read you like an open book, then you can be pretty damn sure that everyone else could do the same!」

Hearing the words that were like the flaming thorns digging right into his sides, Arjuna dropped his shoulders in a dejected manner. Listening to the bickering between the two from the sides, Ayazato Suzuka broke into a bitter smile.

「Bro, I do not think you need to lay into him like that anymore. If you think about it, we are the ones who should be blamed our loss this time, because it was our decision to give him the benefit of the doubt and allow him to handle that Game solely on his claims that he is good at card games. So as you can see, we are at fault here for being unable to predict that his loss was going to be the one of such epic proportions. But only a little bit.」

「Yes, Sis, I believe you are right. Only a little bit though.」

Being shit-talked by the two “siblings” Arjuna was shrinking by the second under the intensity of their passively-malicious glares. He could understand why Saigo Homura was angry at him, but it looks like Ayazato Suzuka was not going to let him off the hook that easily either. Asterios, who missed out all of that, simply ran towards the three of them and called out:

「I am sorry for being late. And I am also sorry for your loss in the game just now.」

「Ah, Asterios! So you have managed to find this place on your own, huh? Good for you! How long have you been here?」

「I only arrived just now. Also. . . I do not fully understand what is going on here, but do not bully Arjuna too much, okay? As a true warrior he might be taking each and every loss equally seriously, but this was just a card game, right?」

「This is not about something so simple as my pride as a warrior! This is about the repayment of my debt!」

「But even so, helping you repay your debt does not mean that Homura will be staying here in Little Garden just for that purpose alone, right? And it is definitely not up to you to decide that for him. And the way I see it, since he is not the one who has made that debt in the first place, no one should even hold it against him and chase after him if he decided to ditch helping you with that debt of yours and go back to living his life in the Outer World.」

Ditch helping Arjuna with his debt. . . after hearing Asterios’s opinion on it, Homura closed his eyes and fell deep in thought. While it is true that he had no intention of staying in Little Garden for longer than it was absolutely necessary and planned to return back to Japan after this whole Great gift Game thing was finally done, but the thought of leaving Arjuna alone with his little debt pickle has never once crossed his mind, because he was someone who would never do something as scummy as that.

「Oh. . . oh! Y-Yeah, now that I think about it, this whole debt situation originally had nothing to do with me, and Queen did say that after all of this is over I will be free to go back home! But the thing is. . .now that I have already been roped into it, leaving the job halfway done would only leave a poor aftertaste in my mouth, so I might as well see it through to the end.」

「Exactly. And since Arjuna is a member of the Indian Pantheon of Gods and one of its most esteemed heroes, then surely he must be ready and willing to take responsibility for his actions and be ready to repay his own debt. Is that not right?」

「Y-Yes, of course! I was fighting with that exact intention from the very beginning!」

Arjuna seemed to not have any objections to that, even though his voice did stutter a little just now. He nodded his head while looking visibly relieved. Knowing that he will not be left alone with his troubles must have been greatly reassuring to him. With one of his apparent worries solved, he sat down on his seat and laughed powerlessly while looking extremely exhausted.

「. . . . . . . . . . .We have been had. Completely and utterly played like a goddamn violin. If I knew that this was how it was going to turn out, then at the very least I would have made sure to enjoy that game to the fullest.」

「See, this is one thing that both you and Homura actually have in common: you guys are both too serious, as if someone shoved a bundle of broomsticks up your butts! It just so happens that both of you excel at something that the other one cannot do, so with that in mind, should the two of you not watch each other’s backs or take a step back to calmly analyze the situation whenever the situation demands it?」

Both Homura and Arjuna felt a little bit offended by how accurate that remark of hers was and how close to home it hit them. Truth to be told, they both belonged to the same category of people: the kind that hated losing and had difficulties coping with defeat, especially such a crushing one like the one they have experienced today, but thankfully, it was exactly that thing that allowed them to understand each other better.

They might have had some difficulties with communicating their intentions to one another properly shortly after they met, but now that they have been through a number of battles and challenges together they have discovered that their compatibility with one another was not bad at all, so as long as either of them will not do anything stupid or they will not make any bad decisions that would drag both of them down, they should be able to work as a team and produce great results. Theoretically at least.

「So, what are you going to do now? We were going to have a meeting to evaluate our performance throughout all of the Exhibition Gift Games, so if you do not have anything better to do then feel free to come with us.」

「Oh yeah, you should definitely do that! Maybe we will come up with something that will help you deal with that competitive spirit of yours and. . . 」

At that time. . .