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Last Embryo Volume 7 Interlude Part 3

「There are many boundaries in the world: old and new, rich and poor, religious and atheist. There is a big, unsurpassable wall between the boundaries of the spiritual and the physical world, and that wall can effectively be called 「The Ends of the World」.The existence of that wall that can never be crossed is the limit of human beings. Unless someone appears who will be able to overcome this wall, it may be difficult for Humanity to advance to the next stage of its evolution…」

The wind blowing from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea gently swayed the Canaria’s hair. Seeing her lonely profile, which I had never seen before, made me question her background for the very first time.

She has a visa that allows her to fly around the world freely, which is already mysterious in and out of itself, but her personal connections with various dignitaries and companies in different countries around the world are also a head-scratching mystery.

I thought that I was simply travelling with w wealthy person from some random country, but she doesn’t have an aura of such person around her at all.

If I had to describe the woman named Canaria in one sentence, it would be a mysterious woman with many mysteries about her… even though she was not sexy enough to be called mysterious in my opinion.

If I were to accurately describe her, I would have to say that she’s a radio wave-like woman who occasionally starts saying radio wave-like things.

Strangely enough though, if someone else beside me had said it, I would have laughed it off, but whenever such words were coming out of her mouth, Canaria’s words always had this strange power to find their way deep inside of me.

「…………….」

The wind continued to blow softly, and time passed quietly between the two of us.

Strangely enough, this quiet time that we spent feeling the wind in the private room was not an unpleasant one. For me, who was basically a misanthrope who didn’t have the experience of spending such a quiet time with someone at the time, it was an especially precious experience.

I quietly glanced sideways at the profile of Canaria, who continued to look out the window with a sorrowful face.

She always seemed so arrogant and confident, showing off her wickedness and the depth of how much smarter she was than anyone else, and because of that it was difficult for me to guess what could this woman be looking for in a place known as 「The Ends of the World」, since the Canaria I know has never shown such an expression before.

I always had her pegged for a strong woman who would have never allowed herself to show even the slightest hint of her weaknesses before anyone else… and that is exactly why I didn’t like the sad look on her face at that moment.

「Canaria, this is not like you. If you have a problem with anything, why don’t you say it clearly?」

「Hee? So you are saying that you are going to solve my problems for me, Izayoi-kun?」

「It depends on what those problems are going to be, but I will at least listen to what you have to say.」

I encouraged the conversation with my irreverent words. I can’t help but to feel that allowing her to continue to be in this state is going to spell trouble, and sometimes it is a travel companion’s duty to listen quietly to what the fellow traveler has to say.

「…………Fufu. Well then, I guess I’ll talk to you about it this time. Once you’ve finished answering, you can feel free to forget all about it.」

「Oh, you can talk as much as you like. I’ll give you a big friggin’ service today.」

When I bowed down and nodded, Canaria chuckled and opened her book.

「I will take you up on your word then. For example… let’s see. To tell you the truth, this world will be destroyed in the not too distant future.」

「Hou hou? Throwing me right in the middle of a pretty big story now, are you?」

「Hardly. As far as I myself am concerned, I am sure that I will be able to save Izayoi-kun’s world. Some of the Celestial Spirits might try and come to interfere with my plans, but as a Poet, I am capable of cutting of the temporal continuity and reducing the power of the Celestial Spirits to interfere only in this world outside of Little Garden. That is why it is impossible to save only Izayoi-kun’s world.」

「………? Hmm… Uh-huh.」

「But you know what? I can save this world only because you are here in it, Izayoi-kun. I won’t be able to save any of the other worlds because you are not in them. There’s also a possibility that if I chose to save your world, then all the others might perish as a result.」

「Hmm…. And? What else?」

For just a moment, I could swear I saw a hint of sorrow in Canaria’s eyes, but it soon disappeared and turned into her usual, self-mocking smile.

「Back in the past, the me from back then has already possessed a pretty sharp mind. Right after I learned the truth about this world’s imminent destruction, I was fuming with anger and wondering if and how such unreasonableness could ever be forgiven, and my comrades and I even cursed at the bastards who allowed it in the first place… but in the end, my partner, who barely survived the disaster that has befallen us, and I spend quite a long time wandering around the Outer World looking for something that would give us a shot at revenge… yes, we wandered for such a long, long time… until one day, by pure chance, we happened upon the boy who would be our key to victory.」

By chance… yes, it was a meeting by chance. Or at least now I know that this meeting was the one that happened by chance.

When Canaria was looking for a person who was researching The Astral Nanomachines, The Star Particle Bodies, she happened upon a certain baby embedded with the original Star Particle Bodies corresponding to those belonging to the 『Origin』.

The kidnapped baby then grew up without knowing why it had those mysterious powers inside of it, and it also grew up while constantly worrying about them being a source of potential conflict between it and the others.

「…For the sake of the world, for the sake of a greater cause, and while continuously piling up various reasons and excuses on top of one another, I chose to turn my eyes away from my own perfidiousness. However, recently I have been getting more and more confused about whether it was the right thing to do or not. In the end, the conclusion that I have arrived at was that it was the same thing that the enemies towards whom I was burning with so much anger would do.」

How uncool of me, she muttered while combing her hair with her hand.

Walking the exact same path as the enemies against whom she once felt nothing but a burning flood of anger. After I heard her say that, I understood why something like that would become a thorn that pierced Canaria’s heart and continued to torment her.

She let out a long and heavy sigh, and then Canaria looked at me with all the sincerity she had in her eyes.

「Izayoi-kun. I hold the power to realize a bright future for mankind in my hands. I have the power to save the future of this world. So should you only so wish…」

「Canaria.」

I interrupted Canaria’s monologue by cutting her off mid-sentence. I am also pretty sure that at that time I glared at her with pretty angry eyes that were telling her to cut the crap out.

「I have no idea what the hell are you even talking about… but I have to admit that I am a little bit disappointed in you. If I may ask you, then don’t just go and push the results of the bet on the dice that you yourself rolled onto me, cause it makes me want to throw up.」

「……..」

「On top of that, let me tell you something else, okay? The Canaria that I know is a woman who does not half-ass anything she is involved in and does not fight the battles that she knows she cannot win. She is the kind of woman who is capable of doing anything that is necessary for her to achieve the desired result as long as she puts her mind into it. Also, I don’t remember agreeing to go on a journey with a woman who would give up on me only halfway through it. If this is a game in which you rolled the dice while believing in the possibility of your victory, then make sure to see that game through to the end.」