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Last Embryo Volume 7 Chapter 3 Part 2

「I wonder… is it possible that there rewards in the main Game will encourage that kind of violence?」

「Huh? Master, didn’t you notice?」

When Alma deliberately surprised her, Asuka puffed out her cheeks.

Suzuka, who was holding the albino girl in her seat a short distance away, was also deep in thought.

「Doesn’t that mean that the reward might be pretty rough depending on the content of the Game?」

「Yes. Everyone is on such a high alert precisely because that fact has remained hidden until now.」

It is more than likely that only a few people haven’t noticed that at this point. And since this is the 2nd War for the Sun’s Authority, then there is only one possible reward that the participating Players might want to obtain.

After looking at everyone and confirming that they are all ready to accept what he was about to say, Heracles proceeded to speak his next words quietly.
「The reward for achieving victory in the Main Game… is a forced requisition of a Sun Authority designated by the winner.」

「……. !!!」

Even though everyone probably expected that to be the case at this point, it didn’t change the fact that hearing it from one of the Organizers caused the Players to be at a loss for words.

It truly is an exceptional reward.

Ayato, Asuka, and everyone else beside them all gasped at once.

That information means that if things end up with the worst possible scenario, then the power of the Sun Authority, which gives the user the power to command beings of one of the strongest species known to Little Garden, might as well fall into the hands of the Demon Lords.

Aside from that, there was no human present in the training ground whose eyes didn’t shine with excitement at the prospect of them obtaining such immense power, which is capable of shattering and changing heavens and earth according to the user’s will.

However, among all those Players, there was one whose reaction was altogether different from the others.

Izayoi gritted his teeth with an immensely stern expression.

(I expected something like that to happen… but this is still pretty bad. We absolutely cannot Allow 『Ouroboros』 to obtain the Snake Charmer, since that Sun Authority is our best shot at gaining influence over WHO.)
The thirteenth constellation of the zodiac, Opiuchus, The Snake Charmer, is currently in the possession of the 『No Name』Community.

In reality, it is a Sun Authority that can only be lent out when the 「Floor Master」

receives a devastating blow or when a powerful Demon Lord appears, but due to the overlap of events such as all of the incidents involving 『Ouroboros』 and the revival of the demon lord Azi-Dakaha, it has been decided that for the time being it was to be owned by the『 No Name』Community whose current was appointed as the new 「Floor Master」.

(The Opiuchus constellation… it is the Sun Authority deeply connected with the World Health Organization under the United Nations and its secret side due to it having the snake staff as their emblem. If 『Ouroboros’』goals reach even beyond the 2nd War for the Sun’s Authority, then it is more than likely that this is the first Sun Authority that they are going to be targeting, since it is in our possession.)

Of course, there are many other Sun Authorities that hold different powers, but The Snake Charmer is the only one that can directly interfere with the organization from the Outer World. In the worst possible case, they will have to protect it at all costs, even if it might mean that Izayoi might sacrifice his own Sun Authority of Leo in order to do so.

Now that it has come to this, there are two things that he must confirm with the highest priority.
Izayoi raised his hand and asked Heracles:

「I have a question for the Organizer. May I, Heracles?」

「I don’t mind, but Players can only ask questions to the Organizer once per stage. In addition, if you ask questions here, you will be disclosing information to other Players, but I trust that is entirely okay with you?」

Izayoi hesitated for a moment, but immediately nodded and continued.

「If you can only ask one question per the Community, then I would rather ask it here and now.」

「If you say so. Ask, and I will answer.」

「Alright. My question is whether or not there is a possibility that the winner will obtain secondary information when they take away the Sun Authority from other Players.」

Hercules tilts his head slightly.

「What do you mean by 「secondary information」?」

「For example, the information who owns which Sun Authority, or what kind of powers are possessed by the other Sun Authorities?」

「Oh, so that is what you meant. Such secondary information cannot be obtained by the winner. It is actually the other way around: forced requisition of the sun Authority will only be possible when the winner personally appoints the holder of the Sun Authority they want to obtain, but they need to find out the information on their own.」

「Good.」

Izayoi nodded and took a step back.

The next one to ask her question was Misha, the young girl dressed in casual clothes.

「I also have a question! There are only three prerequisites for participating in the Great Gift Game, right?」

「…??? Is that the question you wanted to ask?」

「Ah, no, no, no! Not about that! The main topic of my question is going to be this next one. As far as I am aware, the prerequisites for participating are to either possess one or more Sun Authority, possess a weapon or a Gift that has some sort of connection to the sun and the myths and legends related to it or to win the preliminary competition and thus gain entry for the main competition. There are only these three and nothing more. Now if we assume that some Players gain entry through option number one passed the qualifications and entered the main competition… is it going to be possible for them to continue participating if all of their Sun Authorities will be taken away from them?」

「No, the pattern that you described shall result in their immediate disqualification.」

All the Players who heard that shuddered in fear. Even Ayato broke into a cold sweat as she put her hand on her mouth.

(I… I see… If a Sun Authority holder who passed the preliminary stage loses their Authority in the main competition, it is going to disqualify them from further participation. So even if someone passes the qualifications with only one Sun Authority, does that mean that James has the ability to instantly disqualify them?)

Izayoi and Misha were probably concerned about the very same situation, and hence the questions that they asked.

The reason James didn’t immediately exercise his right was to threaten the participants with the 「Right of Forced Requisition」acting as a bargaining tool.

Those who noticed that fact all at once realized the real danger of disqualification in this Game.

Alma then raised her right hand and asked:

「I also have a question. Are the Community participation qualifications for patterns 2 and 3 permanent, or is there perhaps a time limit or some other kind of limitation?」

「Hmm… that will be explained in greater detail at the start of the second round, but it’s possible to answer that question now as well.」

「Then could you please do so?」

「Participation qualifications for patterns 2 and 3 are in effect until the end of the second round. Communities that have not obtained their own Sun Authority in some way by then will be disqualified on the spot. It means that some of the Communities you will be in a situation where they will own more than one Sun Authority.」

(T-that’s bad… this is more troublesome than I imagined…!)

In other words, almost all participants are in a situation where their actions are going to be bound by James.
But now that the situation is clear, there is still a way to take action against it.

Thanks to Izayoi, Misha, and Almatea asking the core questions one after another as if they were reading each other’s minds, all the Players in the training ground had a full grasp of the situation.

(1) It is not a good idea at present to go against James as it may lead to the loss of the Sun Authority.
(2) James himself doesn’t know who has which Sun Authority and how many of them
(3) If they were to easily expose their hand and the number of cards they had in them right now, it would only lead to James having more negotiation material, thus putting the Players who exposed themselves and their Communities at a disadvantage.