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Last Embryo Volume 4 Interlude Part 5

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

「This youth has betrayed us after the collapse of the Great Federation already happened. I can guarantee it. Besides, think about it, Heracles! Do you really think that someone like him, an extremely devoted husband could truly bring himself to betray the Community his wife was a Cornerstone of?」

「L-Leticia! Are you really sure that he is someone you can put your trust in so readily?!」

「Yes, I am sure of it.」

Leticia asserted that she trusted Orpheus and what he was saying, and that there was nothing wrong with that. Heracles smiled gently when he heard her words, as if the thorns embedded into his chest have finally been removed.

「I see. . .  that is good. Truly, I am so glad. . . 」

A heartfelt relief. A smile that showed that he has obtained peace of mind. No matter if you are an ordinary man or the greatest of heroes, doubting those whom you consider old friends is always a painful experience.

Seeing a lion-like beast of a man like him smile in such a gentle, innocent way should have been nostalgic, but even though this smile was directed at him, it only caused Orpheus to feel pain gripping at his own heart.

「Haha, this smile is so unfair, you know? This is exactly why I always said that you Latin pretty boys are so dangerous!」

「Dan. . . gerous?」

「That is right, dangerous! This kind of smile is exactly what causes maternal instincts to unconsciously and indiscriminately trigger one after another in every woman who happens to see it, which is why you guys ended up having so many problems on that front . . . no, while I would love to talk about it some more, we have to leave that story for some other occasion. We really do not have time.」

Now that Heracles did not want to straight up kill him, there was no reason to open up the old wounds, all the more so since the topics of love and faithfulness could lead up to another sort of trouble if one were to dig around those subjects too deeply.

Lamia, who has simply remained a spectator for the drama that has been unfolding before her eyes became a little sulky due to feeling like she was left out of the conversation.

「Hmpf! Listen, Orpheus! I do not mind hearing what you have to say, it does not mean that we are going to tell you anything about 『Uroboros』 in return! I hope you realize that?」

「Well, I guess we shall see about that. After all, Orpheus’s last wish was that we listened to what he has to say first.」

「Huh? Last wish? But I thought that it has already been agreed that I am not going to get killed?」

「But you did not specify that we also have to forgive you. Now that you have lost your Authority of a Poet, you are no better than a mid-tier, second class hero, or maybe even less than that. Surely the last will of someone like that cannot be all that valuable as they make it out to be?」

「Alright, that’s it! Now I am officially hurt! I have never been treated in such a way, so I am actually having trouble deciding how I should react to this, you know?!」

「Then simply accept it. That it the punishment for your sin of betrayal.」

「Is that punishment not kind of light?!」

Orpheus said, holding onto his forehead as he lamented his current position. I would seem the fate of a poet who does not sing and compose poems anymore is always miserable, no matter the world you are in.

「Ekhem!」

Lamia, who coughed in order to direct everyone’s attention back to her stood up and crossed her arms on her chest.

「Well, whatever I guess. Very well. If you listen to us, then you will also be allowed to become. . . no. You will join 『The Third Uroboros Alliance』!」

「Third Alliance?」

「It will be way faster if we just show you. Look at this Community flag.」

And then she unfolded the 『Uroboros』 Community flag. Heracles has seen it before, but this one was different from what he knew.

When people draw Uroboros, a being that symbolizes eternity, repetition and infinity, it is usually represented by a snake that is eating its own tail. However, the one that Lamia presented to Orpheus and Heracles had three dragon heads eating their three tails depicted on it.

「Three dragons. . . is it like that for the purpose of representing the Community’s internal structure?」

「Yes. As you probably know, 『Uroboros Demon Lord Alliance』 is an enormous Community, so in order to make controlling all of its members more easily, it has been divided into three Sub-Communities.」

「Lamia and I belong to the Third Alliance, which is responsible for fighting on the front lines. Up until three years ago, the leader of this branch was a Demon Lord named His Highness, but now the leadership has been entrusted to Lamia. As for the leaders of the First and Second Alliance, the only one who actually showed himself up to fight personally was the Demon Lord Maxwell.」

「Uhm, aunt Leticia? I was originally in the Second Alliance, remember? But the rule is that the leader of the Third Alliance was to be chosen from among the Second Alliance, and for that someone to be me, does that not prove just how amazing I am?!」

Lamia laughed, visibly proud of herself, but what she said made Heracles furrow his brows a little.

「But then, who was responsible for saving this girl?」

「I do not know if we can call this being saved, but it was possible due to the help form a certain someone from 『Uroboros』. I was informed about that fact a few months ago by someone who claimed to go by the name of Mr. James, after which I came to lend her my aid.」

「It looks like aunt Leticia does not like James very much, but I can guarantee that he is a fine gentleman. He even promised me to arrange is so that one day the two of us could live together with my mother again!」

Lamia shouted joyfully while clinging onto Leticia’s arm. For a very brief moment her expression became clouded by shadow, and she smiled back at her.

「At first I felt really bad about doing all of it behind the backs of everyone from the 『No Name』 Community, but then I realize that this might be a unique chance to gain inside information on how 『Uroboros』 is operating.」

「It is quite okay. I have no reason to distrust your words.」

These were simple yet powerful words. Leticia smiled at Heracles to thank him for his kindness, to which he replied to her with his eyes that it was no big deal and that she does not need to thank him.

「All right. I am glad that we managed to explain quite a number of things amongst ourselves, but I think it is about time we moved to the most important subject that we have yet to discuss. Mainly. . .  Orpheus, what did you mean when you said that 「We do not have much time」? What was that all about? I thought that all of the 「Final Trials of Mankind」have already been defeated and we would not have to worry about them anymore?」

Heracles then asked a very plausible question.

Orpheus claimed that the crisis that was about to hit them would bring disaster not only to the Outer World, but to Little Garden as well, but ever since Azi Dahaka was defeated by 『No Names』 three years ago, nothing of the sort ever happened. Even now, as they were having this conversation, the gentle winds continued to blow all across every corner of Little Garden in the same way that they always did, and there was no rumors and signs pointing towards the possibility of the appearance of another vicious Demon Lord.

「Yes, that is indeed what I said. However, in this particular case, the problem is not with the Demon Lord itself, but with the irregularity associated with it. A tragedy that would normally be unnoticed by anyone, happening silently in a closed-off corner of history. A sacrifice that no one even knew about. An irregularity that happened before another turning point in humanity’s history,「The Third Energy Revolution」.」

Orpheus weaved his grim thoughts into even darker words.

A tragedy and sacrifice that only he, Canaria’s teacher, knew about, that for some inexplicable reason got lost in the world of Little Garden.

「It’s conclusion. . . surely it is going to be a sorrowful one. But this is definitely something bigger than 『Uroboros』, 『Avatara』 and everything that came before them.」

「So somebody has to do something about it? It that that kind of incident?」

「I am afraid so. That is why I . . .」

「No, I will be the one to care of it, so you should wait right here.」

Heracles turned his back to Orpheus and walked towards Lamia. Then he knelt on one knee in front of her and declared with powerful words:

「Demigod Heracles, son of the Chief God Zeus from the Greek mythology. Here and now, I hererby swear to join the 『Uroboros Third Alliance』!」