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Last Embryo Volume 4 Chapter 2 Part 6

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

What Suzuka said was absolutely correct. Subjectivity is something that is always going to get in the way of translating any given text with 100% accuracy and remaining as faithful to the source material as possible.

In a sense it could even be likened to the translators very own Original Sin due to how unavoidable it was and the fact that it is always going to stay with them whether they like it or not, for as long as the task of understanding the words of different languages and translating them into your own language is going to continue to exist. It is exactly for that reason why all the legends and mythologies in the world tend to differ slightly from one another depending on which part of the world you are going to hear about them in: because depending on the person who was responsible for translating them, the fine details and conventions might get changed in order to be better accommodated by the native culture and the language of the translator.

But as long as they would be able to get their hands on the original text, even if it would only be in the digital format, it would have one undisputable advantage: the original contains the truth, and nothing but the truth, without any kind of alterations already being made to it. The information they will be able to obtain from it could be put into a unique use only possible here in Little Garden for the purpose of this specific Gift Game.

「Okay guys, listen now. For the time being, we need to keep this information a secret, so that means that we absolutely cannot talk about it to anyone besides the four of us, understand? If Suzuka and I manage to decipher some more information from that digital version of that stone Plato’s tablet, we will let you know immediately. But before we move on from that. . . Asterios.」

「Hm? Yes, what is it?」

「Do you have anything you could possibly add to what we discussed just now? Anything at all?」

「Why would you think. . . oh, right. You thought that I might know something related to Atlantis because I also hail from Greece and was made a part of Greek mythology because of my past as a Minotaur. . . well, I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am afraid I have nothing of substantial value to add to the discussion.」

「I see. I am sorry for bringing it out of the blue like that, but in our current circumstances it was definitely worth a try to ask.」

Even though he said that, Homura still looked a bit disappointed that they did not get to learn anything else. That being said, even though their current situation could be said to not be the best under the sun and that they could indeed use every bit of information available to them in order to up their chances of winning 『The Lost Continent of Atlantis』 Gift Game as much as possible, it was still strange to see him reacting in such a way.

Suzuka said it herself earlier: 「The tablet with the information on 『The Lost Continent of Atlantis』 was written between 400 and 300 B.C」. however, the time when Asterios was alive was more than one thousand years ago. If the continent of Atlantis was a real continent, it might not have been unrelated to Asterios, but. . . but he himself has denied ever hearing about this 『Lost Continent』. And if the Prince of Minoa, one of the largest maritime nations at the time, did not know anything about it, then no one else would know.

Asterios gently shook his head.

「You do not have to be sorry, Saigo Homura. You probably thought that I might know something about it due to Crete being an island nation and the fact that both Atlantis and I are connected to Poseidon in some ways, but my background as the 『Bull of King Minos』 and the folklore surrounding 『The Lost Continent of Atlantis』 simply do not match with each other. However, there is a possibility that I might remember something useful when we will arrive at Atlantis proper and start exploring the continent, so when that time comes be sure to call upon me and ask me about it again.

「Okay, I understand. I will make sure to tell that to Lady Ayato when we will rendezvous with her later.」

「Hmm? Randez-vous? Later?」

Asterios tilted his head to the side and looked around while mumbling to himself. He only just now realized that Kudou Ayato, the master of his master, was nowhere to be seen.

「Where is Ayato, actually? Did she not participate in the Exhibition Gift game with you?」

「Ah, yes, we decided that this was probably for the best. You see, when it comes to playing card games, she is pretty much the same as Arjuna, which is to say, she royally sucks at it and cannot make a poker face even if her life depended on it. Originally she said she was going to watch the Game from the audience seats, but from what I managed to see, she was dragged away. . . or perhaps abducted by Miss Scathach and Miss Uesugi somewhere around the middle part of the match, so thankfully she was spared the sorry sight of how majestically we screwed up.」

(Abducted? That was. . . curiously worded.)

Arjuna thought. Scathach was supposed to be Kudou Ayato’s master in martial arts, so why would she need to go to such lengths? He then showed a face upon which confusion was mixed with worry.

「Was it really okay to leave her alone with that woman? I heard various stories about her, and while it is true that when it comes to martial arts it will be no exaggeration to call her a true fighting guru who achieved everything that there was to achieve, I also heard that even among the members of the Celtic Pantheon of Gods, whose members are said to value individual strength and power above everything else, she is said to be especially fixated on those qualities. And if that is the case, then how can you be so sure that she is going to be fine, while in reality Scathach might very well force her to go through unreasonably tough training that might as well leave her broken, both in body and in spirit?」

「Oh, if that is what you were worried about then you can rest easy, because I think there is no way something like that is ever going to happen. She has been giving me lectures in the art of mythological interpretation for the past few days, and in my opinion, she is someone who follows logic and has a lot more common sense than initially meets the eye. But enough about that, It looks like things are about to be kicked into high gear over there.」

Cutting their conversation short, Homura pointed towards the stage with his head. Judging by the looks of it and the fact that the area that surrounded the stage where the last Exhibition Gift Game took place, the preparations for Shiroyasha’s announcement have finally been completed. When 『The Demon Lord of the White Night』 and Kuro Usagi finally stood in the center of the stage, the latter extended her arms widely and had her rabbit ears stood up with the *USAA!!!* sound as she declared loudly and cheerfully:

『All right everyone, this is it! The moment you have all been waiting for! The first official stage of the 2^nd War for the Sun’s Authority is almost upon us! We will be landing in the Lost Continent of Atlantis shortly, so all of the participating Players as well as the parties related to them are requested to have their 『Contract Document』 at hand and take a look at them~~!』

Kuro Usagi’s high-spirited voice echoed throughout the entire Giant Spirit Train. Since they are announcing that the train will shortly arrive at The Lost Continent of Atlantis, then it would have to mean that it was about time for the organizers to give an explanation of what are the rules of the first official Gift Game in the 2^nd War for the Sun’s Authority are going to be. While having her appearance displayed for every passenger of the Giant Spirit Train thanks to all of the 『Laplace Eyes』 that were able to share what one of them was seeing between all of them and display that image as they were movie projectors, Shiroyasha took out her own Geass Roll with another overly theatrical gesture and rolled it out before bringing it closer to her face so that she could read its contents for everyone to hear.

『Okay everyone, make sure to clean the wax off your ears and listen carefully. . . or not, you can just consult your own Geass Rolls! Anyway, the rules for the first official Gift Game in the 2^nd War for the Sun’s Authority, 『The Lost Continent of Atlantis』 are as follows. . . !!!』

As soon as Shiroyasha finished speaking and the words began to materialize on the Geass Rolls belonging to all of the Players, Homura and the others glued their eyes to the document he was now holding in his hand, eager to what the exact contents were going to be.