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Last Embryo Volume 7 Interlude Part 1

INTERLUDE

… Suddenly, I found myself dreaming of the time when he was still travelling around the world together with Canaria.

The wind of the Spain’s Iberian Peninsula, which was blowing in through the open window, was gently caressing my cheeks.

Judging by the porcelain-white cityscape, this must have been during the time when we went to the Strait of Gibraltar in order to see 「The Ends of the World」. As for the reason for us coming here, it turned out like that because Canaria said that it might not be a bad idea to confirm the local mythology since I said that I wanted to study the Greek Mythology again.

As I was sipping on my cup of cocoa while sitting next to Canaria, I was flipping through the pages of a magazine while pondering on a certain peculiarity of this place called Gibraltar.

「… huh? So wait, Gibraltar is a territory belonging to Britain now and not to Spain?」

「Yes, that is correct. Since the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 that ended the Spanish succession war, it has been established that the soverignity over this region shall be given to Britain. The British army is even stationed here, see?」

Canaria said while pointing towards the flag of the Great Britain waving outside of the window. I only nodded with a 「Fumu.」and pointed my own finger towards the traffic below us.

「Because this place is located far from the territory of the mainland England, the people inhabiting Gibraltar are actually pretty diverse. About 25 % of the population of Gibraltar is British, 25 % is Spanish, 19 % Italian and 11 % Portugese. The rest of the people living in this area are those who came here from the companies that are based abroad, spies, smugglers etc. This landscape can only be so unique precisely because it is situated so far away from the mainland of the country that governs it.」

The city of Gibraltar is quite a mix of races indeed. Outside the window of the room where we were staying, I could see a wide variety of races from both the east and west sides of the ocean.

Gibraltar is also known as Europe’s last colony, but it’s equally known for its people who get along with each other very well. Although it is called the last colony, even though there were no conflicts or religious clashes between the island’s inhabitants, many values melted well and changed into the city with its current characteristics.

Well, it seems that smuggled goods such as cigarettes, alcohol, and cannabis are also running rampant here, but the people here are mostly using it for their own amusement.

The pattern of this land alone is quite interesting, but admiring it is not the purpose of our visit here.

The Strait of Gibraltar has been regarded as 「The End of the World」 in the ancient Greek world.

I was reading a collection of Greek myths that was published in a local magazine, but when I read a certain sentence, I frowned.

「Atlantis, the legendary Lost Continent that floated on the waters beyond the Strait of Gibraltar… huh? Oi, Canaria. By 「Atlantis」, they mean that legendary continent that was supposedly located somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean?」

「That’s right. It is said that the people who lived on that continent were able to experience a real Golden Age of humanity.」

「Golden Age of Humanity, huh? But then, why does this magazine also state that it was none other than Zeus himself who sank Atlantis to the bottom of the ocean? What do they mean by that?」

I asked her in confusion while tilting my head to the side.

According to the legend, Zeus, the God of Lightning and the Chief God of the Greek Mythology was the one responsible for the sinking of Atlantis along with the barbarians that inhabited it. And while we’re on the topic of Zeus, the Chief God of Greek Mythology, it needs to be stated that he is a genuine Divine Spirit that is tremendously popular in both the eastern and western parts of the world.

The belief in the ancient Greek Gods dwindled over time and became more and more obsolete until the modern day, but ever since the renaissance period and the restoration of civilization in an artistic sense that came along with it, his name has been kept from being forgotten, and thanks to that he managed to leave his mark everywhere on heaven and earth.

But the question remains: why did someone like Zeus, a divine being of such unfathomable power sunk Atlantis to the bottom of the ocean along with all the people who lived on it at the time?

Hearing my words, Canaria chuckled and hit the magazine that I was holding.

「Try to read it more carefully. Doesn’t the article say this? Is there a sentence that Zeus destroyed the old mankind and created the new mankind in its place?」

When Canaria pointed that out, my gaze shifted to the article in the magazine again.

「I have always been saying that mythology and human history are always connected with one another in some way. I also think that it can be inferred that there is historical significance in specifying the humanity that lived on the continent of Atlantis as the Old Humanity…… fufu. I wonder if the current you is going to be able to solve this mystery, Izayoi-kun?」

Canary provoked me with a grinning and disgusting smile.

Recently, I have come to realize that there is always some kind of hidden meaning behind it when this woman provokes me with a smile like this.

This is a wicked smile that says that if I do my best and figure it out, I will be able to find an answer to a super difficult question that no one else before me was able to reach. The brat that I was back then was always half annoyed when she was asking me such questions, but the other half was ambitious and would always accept Canaria’s challenges regardless of what they were.

「Hmm… In short, there was no such thing as 「Old Humanity」, the continent of Atlantis didn’t exist at all and it’s all just a big metaphor, right?」

「My oh my Izayoi-kun, what a hopelessly non-romantic answer. Besides, there’s no twist in such an answer, and it is omitting the process.」

Canaria rested her elbow on the table, looking pretty bored. I ignored it and simply continued to talk.

「There are four mysteries that must be solved in order to talk about the continent of Atlantis. First, if the Lost Continent of Atlantis really existed somewhere at the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar, then there should be a high possibility that some traces of it should have remained there even to this day, and if they are not, then why is that? Second, If the Lost Continent of Atlantis really disappeared, then how exactly did it disappear? Third, even if that was just used as a metaphor, what are the exact definitions of 「Old Humanity」and 「New Humanity」. And finally the fourth: if that was all just a big cover-up, then what is the real significance of Atlantis’s legend? Well, now that we have divided the larger issue into these four smaller ones, we cannot talk about Atlantis any further before we solve them all.」

In and out of themselves, traditions and legends are pretty much meaningless and won’t remain in this world for long. Whether oral or written, they are all records born in the great flow of history.

「If the continent of Atlantis really existed on the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar, then surely it would have left some physical evidence of its existence behind even after it was sunken down, like ruins, or traces of everyday life. Hell, even the flotsam like the fragments of a broken pot or something along those lines would have been enough to suffice.

「That’s right. After all, the tracks of Humanity’s everyday life can remain for thousands of years with the right conditions. That is why it is so strange that even in modern times, where scientific progress has made it easier to trace the history of the stars themselves, we still can’t find any traces of the continent of Atlantis’s existence.」

After confirming that Canaria agreed with my words, I took out a map of the Atlantic Ocean’s floor from my pocket and opened it.

「Well, from a geological point of view, the possibility that the continent of Atlantis actually existed in the Atlantic Ocean is highly unlikely, but it is not a complete zero.」
「Hou hou? Now that is some pretty flexible opinion for someone like you, Izayoi-kun.」