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Last Embryo Volume 6 Chapter 2 Part 9

「Well? What about that? Are you not going to say anything more about it?」

「. . . I am sorry. While I do have an idea of what that might be, I would not like to give you the information about her that might prove to be false in the end, so I would like to verify them first. . . . . . but even then that would not be of any good to you.」

「W-Wow, in other words, that girl is someone so amazing that you would actually have to double-check your information?」

「No, that is not what I meant. I do not know if it is going to have anything to do with that girl per se, but if the symbol on her t-shirt is really the 「Triple Tiara」that I am thinking about, then it might just turn out that her Sponsor might be one of the most influential organizations in the Outer World. And also. . . . . . . . . . . I think it might be pretty possible that this Sponsor of hers, whoever they turn out to be in the end, might prove to be one of Queen Halloween’s allies.」

These unexpected words of Ayato and the sour tone in which she spoke them surprised everyone else, but after carefully thinking about it they understood why she spoke them in the way that she did. Since Kudou Ayato is Queen Halloween’s servant, Queen’s Knight, her goal in the 2nd War for the Sun’s Authority would be to participate in it to spread the glory of her master as much as possible. At least, that is how it would be under normal circumstances.

However, right now her prime objective was to protect Saigo Homura and his friends, and if anyone were to ask her id she would consider herself one of the possible Victory Candidates, then she would have to shake her head and say no. But the most important thing here was something different: the fact that as long as she was one of Queen Halloween’s chosen champions, she could not be giving information about any other of Queen’s champions or her allies to Asuka and You, because they are both the members of the Community that rivalled Queen Halloween in the War. Even if she wanted to talk to them about it, she just could not do it, because that would be tantamount to betraying her master.

「It is okay Miss Ayato, we understand. We are going to return to the topic of this girl later. . . .but for the time being, it looks like the event is about to start. Are you ready, everyone?」

「Oh snap, really? Wait a minute then! Miss Lalah! If it is not a problem, then I would have a question for you as well!」

You, who approached Lalah in a short run raised her hand to get her attention and then asked:

「Uhm, Miss Lalah, I just wanted to ask if there were any people who went down to the underground Labyrinth in advance, or perhaps went in using another entrance?」
「Now, I wonder about that. I am afraid that I do not have the authority to be talking about it in any more detail.」

She did not outright confirm or denied it, but instead answered in a half-hearted manner. And since most of the Players who were going to participate in this Gift Game looked like they are not of that high of a rank, then it could be entirely possible that maybe the really good Players have been separated from the rest of them and were already in the Labyrinth, but just entered it from the other side, so it would actually be in their best interest to prepare themselves for the possibility of having to fight against the really strong opponents while in there.

「The time to begin is almost upon us. Inside of the Labyrinth there will be multiple clues pertaining to how to satisfy the Victory Conditions for the currently ongoing {Lost Continent Of Atlantis} Gift Game and it is up to each and every one of you how you are going to decide to explore the Labyrinth once you find yourselves inside . . .  but there is one thing that I want all of you to understand.」

While staring at the faces of all of the participating Players, Lalah raised her index finger into the air.

「From this point onward, you are all going to be subjected to the risk of death, and it is not going to be the death as a result of the battle between Players. I mean that the monsters that are lurking in the Labyrinth will kill you if you allow them to or take them too lightly.」

Lalah advised them all that the possibility of death was very much real in this lesser Gift Game. It was extremely rare to see such a direct warning being issued to the Players in a Gift Game, since they have been created by various Gods and Demons so that they could test their mettle against one another, so in such a setting death was always a given that nobody dared t question for even a moment, because plying the game at the risk of dying was pretty much an everyday occurrence here in Little Garden. But since Lalah actually went and warned them about it, then it could be looked at as her way of telling them that they should constantly be on their guard and high alert because that is how difficult this Game was going to be.

「With that being said, I want only those who are prepared to put their lives on the lines and are not afraid of the possibility of losing them to proceed beyond the gate and into the Labyrinth proper. And for those of you who do decide to enter. If at any point in time you decide that this Game is proving to be too much for you, then leave the Labyrinth and come to the eastern settlement. There, we promise that we are going to be sure to help you however we can, no matter what your situation might be.」

Now that Lalah was done speaking, the gate that was previously closed opened itself up before the waiting Players. Asuka and the others stood right in front of it, while the others were gathering close to one another in order to consult themselves and reaffirm their own strategies.

「Since we have already come this far, there is no reason to hesitate. Let us clear this Game faster than anyone else!」

「If there are going to be multiple stone monuments inside, then it would be best if we split up to cover more ground while looking for them.」

「While the human wave tactic would not be all that bad of an idea here, we have to make it as efficient as possible to also reach the monster at the very bottom of the Labyrinth, so I think we should split into two groups: one that is going to focus on looking for the monuments, and the other that is going to make a beeline for the depths of the Labyrinth and confront whatever it is that is lurking there.」

「 . . . .It kinda feels like we are playing an RPG Dungeon Crawling game here.」

「「Huh?」」

Not understanding what she was talking about, Asuka and Uesugi had a bunch of question marks floating above their heads. Embarrassed about what she said, Ayato took a step back and lowered her head. However, You was only one who seemingly understood what she was trying to say by that.

「Ahh, now that I think about it, you are actually kinda right. Well, I never played any of the games from that genre myself, but is that what is popular in your times, Ayato?」

「I do not know about it being popular, but I know for a fact that Suzuka and Homura-senpai enjoy these types of games. But if anything, then I am surprised that you know what RPG games are, Miss Kasukabe.」

「Really? Well, I will have you know that I have also played some games back in the day. Nobunaga’s Outlook, The Struggle of the Three Kingdoms or The Seven Cosmo Night Rounds series, these were the kinds of titles that I was biased towards.」

Ayato had to blink for a few times at the discovery of Kasukabe You’s quite surprising hobby.