3 bar menu

Last Embryo Volume 6 Chapter 1 Part 11

She also emanated a calm yet sufficiently intimidating air which prompted even Asuka to take a few steps back, allowing You to handle this matter in her own way.

「If. . . if my guess turns out to be correct and 『The Youngest Child of Gaia』 really is the monster that I think it is, then if we were forced to fight it, then I do not think we could have ever emerged victorious from that battle, even if we all fought it together. This is a Gift Game, so all the Players participating in it should know that there is always a possibility of losing your life while aiming to complete the Game, and against such a monstrosity the weaker Players are definitely going to die, but what about the native people of Atlantis? Is what you are trying to do here not simply getting them involved in that whole mess against their will?」

「. . .」

Tokuteru’s answer was once again silence, but this time You clearly saw that he was hesitating before he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Once again, those acts had exactly the same meaning as if he was handling her the answers on a silver platter, but even so, You still waited for Indra to speak up and explain everything with his own words.

If things went especially south, Players could always retire from the Game, and that would be the end for them. But although they were forbidden from killing one another, the possibility of death from any other reasons and sources should be par for the course for them. 2nd War for the Sun’s Authority was supposed to be the ultimate trial only for the strongest and fiercest of warriors, so it would not be all that strange if a truly might enemy appeared as the final boss of the first Gift Game of the War as well, and if people died while attempting to fight it. . . . well, that cannot be helped.

However, it was all different as far as the native inhabitants of Atlantis were concerned. They have nothing to do with the Gift Game itself other than being asked by the Organizers to accommodate the Players in their villages and provide them with the opportunities for participation in smaller Gift Games, so at best, they could be classified as little more than local collaborators, and You had no doubt that even if the first Gift Game only lasted for about a day or two so far, the communities of the natives must have already been hit pretty hard by everything that has happened, related to the Gift Game or otherwise. Also, apparently this entire continent does not have any kind of a Guardian Deity that would protect them in their choice if need, and according to You’s personal observations thus far, none of the natives seemed to have possessed a Gift or any other kind of Divine Blessing, so right now, being here felt more like a timeslip into an era that has long since passed in the Outer World rather than being in a different world with a different beliefs and culture.

And that is exactly why Kasukabe You felt that it was her obligation as a Floor Master to do something about it. After all, the natives of Atlantis probably did not want to get themselves involved involved with the 2nd War for the Sun’s Authority in the first place, because from what You could observe, they already had their hands full with trying to live decent lives in this harsh land where it was impossible to survive against various beasts and mythical monsters that roamed the land free, just like that rock giant everyone seemed to be talking about and Asuka had to deal with, so forcing the natives to play hosts to a conflict that they had nothing to do with was nothing short of cruel, and so You decided that this just cannot stand.

「I realize that I might be too young for shouldering the responsibility of being a Floor Master, but that role has been entrusted to me in good faith, and so I fully intend to carry out my duties and fulfill the obligations that are tied to it to the best of my ability. And the way I see it, the Gift Game that is being carried out here is clearly the one that disturbs the order of Little Garden, and should therefore have proper legal measures taken against it. What do you say about that, Indra?」

「. . . hmm. 」

When he was faced with yet another difficult question, Tokuteru once again had a difficult time answering it. Of course, the natives of Atlantis were prepared for this situation form the very beginning, but since how they were appointed as the facilitators of this Gift Game and their circumstances are top secret matters related to the Gift Game itself, there was no way for him to talk about it with You, because if he did that, it would have been the same as if he handed her the conditions for achieving victory in this Game on a silver platter.

(Well, she has me by the balls, there is no use to pretend otherwise. If it was Izayoi, then he would have figured everything out simply by analyzing the movements and actions of the enemy and observing the state of the natives and he would have moved in on his own without needlessly grilling anyone for answers, but that he is out of commission such a convenient course of action is absolutely out of the question.)

With Izayoi, everything was always nice and simple, because he was doing whatever he wanted however he wanted without ever looking back to check if his actions were inconveniencing everyone around him or those in power involved.

If it was him that Tokuteru would be talking right now, he would not even have to say a single word. All he would have to do would be to show him his best King of the Gods trademark smile, and that would be it.

But with Kasukabe You things were never going to be that simple, especially not since one of the first things that she said was questioning if the actions that the Organizers of the 2nd War for the Sun’s Authority were right to begin with, and it became pretty evident that she was not going to let Tokuteru go without getting her answers first, and on top of that, she was throwing fastball after fastball at him. If that is her while in her 「Floor Master Mode」turned on. . . then Tokuteru realized that there might just be no way for him to weasel his way out of being interrogated by her, but even so, her questions were just too specific and of too delicate nature for him to spill any beans even at the cost of getting even deeper under her skin than he already was, so first thing’s first he took a deep breath and then said:

「I am sorry. I thought that I would be able to answer at least some of the questions that you might have had for me, but it turns out that I cannot give you a proper answer to even one of them. There is just not much that I can say to you with the authority that I was given, and there is nothing that I can do about it even if I truly wanted to.」

「Well, if that is what you are going to insist on, then I guess there is not much that we can do about it now, is there? It just cannot be helped. I am just going to have to deal with this problem by using all of my authority without asking anyone for permission. Is that okay with you?」

「. . . Yeah. Do whatever you want, I am not going to try and stop you.」

「Such a half-hearted reply is not enough for me. I want you to give me a green light as the leader of {The Heavenly Army}. Will you give me your reply now? Or am I going to have to wait Gods know how long to get it?」