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Last Embryo Volume 5 Prologue Part 5

「A number of them, all across different eras and civilizations. And while they were indeed dangerous and strenuous ordeals, it will not be an understatement to say that if the Gods did not present humankind with those trials, then it is possible that the history of humanity might have went in an entirely different direction from the one it is heading towards now, or possibly it might have even disappear completely.」

「Dissapear completely? Is that not kind of an overkill?」

「Perhaps, but that is just how it is with Gods and humans. And now that you have been set on this path. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . then you should be able to achieve deeper understanding of the relationship between these two as long as you manage to fulfill this Game’s Victory Condition, that is to say: discover the mystery of the Chief God’s declaration.」

Clearly in a superbly good mood, Almathea smirked and continued to push forward. Approaching Asuka from the side, Suzuka asked her in a quiet whisper.

「Miss Asuka, who is Miss Almathea, exactly? She has an intellectual atmosphere around her and she seems to be pretty knowledgeable about Greek mythology, but other than that, I really cannot get a proper grasp of her.」

「Well, there should be nothing strange about that, because she is one of the Goddesses of Greek mythology.」

「A G-Goddess?!!」

「Yes, a bone-fide Goddess, and not just any Goddess at that. She is the one who took the shape of a goat and acted as a nanny for Zeus, the King of the Gods in Greek mythology, and even fed him her own milk.」

「SAY WHAT? ! ! ! ! ! !」

Suzuka could not stop herself from yelling. According to what Asterios told her, the Chief God mentioned in the Victory Conditions for this current Gift Game was most definitely Zeus, the Greek God of Thunder and the ruler of all the other Gods who resided on Mount Olympus. So if Almathea was a nanny of someone as amazing as him, then it perfectly explained why she spoke as if she already knew the answers to all of the questions and mysteries that this Gift Game might be throwing at them.

「B-But then. . . . . . . . . . is, is it really okay for her. . . . . . . . . . . . ?」

「「Is it okay for her」? What do you mean?」

「What I mean is. . . . . . . . . . well, you know. . . . . . . . . if she is someone who already knows the answer to the Game’s key mystery, then is it not that having her participate in the Game is basically like the highest possible level of cheating, the one where there will not even be any kind of competition with the other Players involved. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?」

「Ah, so that is what was bothering you? In that case, you do not have anything to worry about. My purpose is to help master grow and mature, not to make her win by handing her the victory on a silver platter. I might offer her an occasional hint here and there, but I will never, under any circumstances, give her an outright answer. That is something that she has to obtain on her own.」

「. . . . . . . . And there you have it. If she was anything else then I would have classified her as my 「Personal Servant」, but since she is a Goddess, I am afraid that something like that s not going to fly. *Sigh*. . . . . . . . . . . 」

After letting out a heavy sigh, Asuka also proceeded through the side hole in the cliff. Suzuka immediately followed after her, and the first thing that they noticed when they moved a bit further in were two things: that even though a deep, dark rift was sprawling out beneath their feet, the inside of the cave was strangely bright, and the reason for that became immediately apparent when they lifted their eyes upwards.

Looking up at the ceiling, which was placed deceptively high above their heads, they noticed that something there was twinkling in the same way that the stars on the night sky do.

And that something were the myriads of tiny, light-emitting bugs that seemed to be feeding on the luminescent moss that was covering the entirety of the cave’s ceiling. The blanket of light that they created covered the ceiling of the cavern in its entirety, illuminating the path towards their destination.

The entire chamber has been filled with umbrella-like stalactites, whose elongated shadows looked like eerie human faces in the dim light provided by the bugs, making them stand in direct contrast to the solemn stalagmites that grew out of the ground like giant fangs or broken bones. Occasionally these two formations grew so tall that they actually combined with each other, giving the impression of the stone pillars or columns that supported the entire structure from collapsing under its own weight. At first Suzuka thought that this place was rather strange and kind of intimidating, but the more she looked around, the more she noticed that it was actually reminiscent of something akin to a temple.

Just as they were about to arrive at a place nearest to the innermost part of the chamber, Alma, who was walking at the forefront the entire time stopped them from going any further by spreading out her hands.

「Please wait, both of you.」

「What is wrong, Alma?」

「We are not alone here. Master, please exercise extreme caution.」

Asuka and Suzuka both tensed up when they heard how serious Alma’s voice was when she gave Asuka that warning. The fact that someone else managed to arrive here way before they did means that whoever they were, they must have been someone who also managed to figure out the mystery behind the Victory Conditions, and that was something that could not be achieved by anyone who possessed just your average amount of intellect. That alone made them extremely dangerous.

Using the stalagmites growing out of the ground to hide herself in their shadow, Alma took a peek at the innermost part of the cavernous chamber, but before she could see who the other party was, she first heard their voice echoing across the surroundings.

「. . . . . . . . . . Yes, I know. . . . . . . . . I realize that. I can do this alone with no problems if it is just that much. Really now, you are worrying about this way too much, James.」

It was a voice of a young girl.

(. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a girl?)

Alma thought to herself, only to be completely captivated by what she saw in the very next moment, unable to look back even if she wanted to.

Beautiful hair that shined elegantly like the threads of liquid gold. Even in the faint light of the bugs at the ceiling, she could still see each strand of it flowing in the air as they emitted their own light, more delicate and fleeting than the smallest, most fragile flame of the torch that was about to die out. Since she was a Goddess, Alma has lived in this world for a very long time, but the times when she saw such magnificent color of blonde heir, she could count them on the fingers of one hand. Every time the girl moved or shook her body from side to side, it made her look like a playful small animal that was boasting about its magnificent coat of fur to the surroundings.
「What is going on out there, Alma? What do you see?」

Asuka asked, leaning closer to her horned companion.

「A lone girl. It sounds like she is talking to someone. . . . but how is se able to do that? And what is that black thing that she is holding. . . .and that thing near her ear . . . ?」

「What? Let me see!」

Asuka asked, leaning forward to see what exactly Alma was talking about. . . . . . . . . . . .

「Oh? If I am seeing correctly, that should be a rotary dial telephone and its receiver.」