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Last Embryo Volume 8 Chapter 3 Part 9

「Of course, I don’t mind. Although I do have to wonder if a goat wet nurse from Western Mythology will really know my true name?」

But can a western goat know my name?「

「Of course. There are only a handful of candidates who are familiar with the inner working of the Bureau of Onmyou and who possess Divinity originating from Uka no Mitama no Kami… which leads me to believe that you must be the mother of the famous Doujimaru, Abe no Seimei… Myobu Kuzunoha-sama, correct?」

「Oyaya?」

Youkai fox woman clapped her hands together in pleasant surprise, while Asuka also turned pale when she finally remembered something.

Speaking of Kuzunoha, she is known as the mother of 「Abe no Seimei」the strongest onmyouji that ever existed, and although she is not enshrined as a deity, she is a prominent fox deity that is widely known as a messenger of Uka no Mitama no Kami… and her visibly exhilarated mood suggests that Alma has hit the jackpot with her words.

As Asuka began to break into a cold sweat again, Alma glared at her master with a sharp gaze.

(Goodness gracious. All those hints that I gave you, and that was the best conclusion that you could make? I mean really, The Nine-Tailed Fox was defeated by an onmyoji, and the person we’re meeting with right now belongs to the Bureau of Onmyou! Didn’t I explain it right before we reached the mansion?)

(I-I’m sorry……!)

Asuka was getting more and more timid without being able to say anything back to Alma.

Another part of the contract that Asuka made with Alma, who was the wet nurse of the Chief God Zeus himself, was that she would always follow obey and follow her teachings until she becomes a full-fledged member of society. In that sense, the two of them were not master and servant, but rather a teacher and her student, and Alma’s current reprimand hit Asuka that much harder because she had her study and learn about Abe no Seimei and everything related to him, including his mother, Myobu Kuzunoha, before.

However, instead of getting angry, Kuzunoha simply giggled elegantly as she raised her ears while looking at this amusing student-teacher exchange.

「There’s no need for you to worry, Asuka-chan. I have grown accustomed to people mistaking me for Tamamo no Mae at first glance, but whenever they do that, I cannot stop myself from pretending to be a little bit of a meanie to them.」

「No, no, I was the one who was being rude rude here! After all, it’s a well-known story that the Abe family and Tamamo no Mae are arch-enemies, and I have heard it too of course. It’s only natural to get irritated if you get mistaken for your son’s arch-nemesis.」

「As long as you understand that, then that’s fine with me… fufu. Asuka-chan, just like the rumors say, you’re a child worth making fun of. I see you have raised her with great care.

「Of course. That is what our contract requires of me after all, and I intend to keep its terms to the end.」

Alma made a clenched fist and emphasized. It seemed like a terrible thing to say in front of others, but now was not the time to be pointing that out. At that moment, Asuka simply swore deep down inside of her heart that one day she will become someone capable of talking back to Alma without any issues.

「That brings us back to the main topic… As a reward for taking care of this incident, I would like to ask Kuzunoha-sama to act as our intermediary with the Bureau of Onmyou.」

「Hmmm…. in other words, that means you want to talk to Doujimaru, right?」

The two looked at each other with a little surprise., since Dojimaru is the childhood name of Abe no Seimei.

「Well, it would be helpful if you could do that… but is that okay? Abe no Seimei-sama should now be the owner of the Bureau of Onmyou, right?」

「Yes, that’s true. If I let Doujimaru easily meet a young lady who doesn’t have a home base, he might think less of you, but Asuka-chan helped me with the entertainment district’s issue, and then there’s Lili too, so I will do that for you, yes…」

Kuzunoha nodded her head.

Asuka and Alma were surprised, because they thought they were going to take a new trial because of the incident, but if they can meet Abe no Seimei soon, it would be better for them.

However, it is not good to jump to conclusions too quickly.

Kuzunoha’s physical condition looked pretty bad, so Asuka was pondering whether to change the date of the meeting, Kuzunoha clapped her hands as if he had come up with a good solution.

「Oh, think I just came up with a good idea! As a reason for recommending you to Doujimaru, let’s make Asuka-chan the third candidate for the position of the 「Floor Master」of the North Side!」

「Excuse me?」

「I understand, let’s go with that.」

「Hey, Alma!」

In contrast to Asuka, who was taken aback by Kuzunoha’s sudden recommendation, Alma immediately nodded, saying that she was onboard with the idea.

Even if she became a 「Floor Master」,the guardian of order that protects Little Garden, as long as she would have to deal with the shortage of people, that would work against her in getting the support of the Community that would become her Sponsor.

Asuka’s goodness could have been conveyed without asking, but she herself knew all of her other abilities were still under development.

「Well, putting the matter of rampaging dolls in the City of Flowers aside… Asuka-chan, you got rid of the mythical beasts that were rampaging in the South Side, and you’re also appreciated in various other places, aren’t you? It seems that Asuka-chan also has many strong friends, right?」

「B-but that was not thanks to my own power…」

「That’s right. Those things were achieved not with Master’s personal strength, but Deen and Merun are another story entirely. They are Master’s assets whom Master recruited to her side on her own. And since Master has such capable allies by her side, they will be more than enough to fight as 「Floor Masters」.」

「… Alma.」

Mixing real intentions into their harsh words, the two once again strongly recommend Asuka to be the 「Floor Master」.

Moreover, in the East Side, her best friend, Kasukabe You, was alone in the position of
「Floor Master」herself, so maybe Asuka should take that recommendation so that she could stand proudly next to her the next time they meet each other.

「I… I understand. I will respectfully accept the recommendation for the「Floor Master」position .」

「That’s what I like to hear♪ Then there are some conditions for recommendation that need to be fulfilled. First off…」

Thus, Kudou Asuka was recommended as a 「Floor Master」of the North Side under several conditions:

1) Be diligent every day and acquire the behavior and skills suitable for a 「Floor Master」.
2) Successfully get through the first round in the 2nd War for the Sun’s Authority.

Only when these two things are achieved, Kudou Asuka will be appointed as the 「Floor Master」.

* * *

「Well, and that is more or less what happened.」

「「「「Hoho, I see!」」」」

「When did the number of people increase so much?!」

Sakamaki Izayoi and Kasukabe You, who joined up while Asuka was speaking, nodded to each other many times with a deeply moved expressions.

In particular, Kasukabe You held Asuka’s hand with her eyes shining and said:

「Congratulations, Asuka. Now we are both 「Floor Masters」.」

「Ah, thank you. For now this will only be a provisional title, but when everything is settled, I hope you’ll be there to help me as my senpai in this, Kasukabe-san.」

「Not to worry! At that time, I’ll throw all my work onto Izayoi and rush to you as soon as possible!」

「Oi, hold your horses, Kasukabe. You’re still the leader here, remember?」

「I’ll return those words right back at you. Don’t think you can run away from running the Community forever.」

*BLEH!!!* You turned away after showing Izayoi her tongue, and the rest of the girls nodded in agreement with her.

Izayoi, who realized that he was outnumbered, changed the subject.

「By the way, when you said 「the Sponsor who is familiar with the Outer World」is it possible that you were referring to that Bureau of Onmyou thing?」

「Yes, that’s right. The Bureau of Onmyou was ostensibly closed in the second year of the Meiji era, but in fact it was active as a secret organization in Japan. In the time of Izayoi-kun, they should still operate as some kind of secret organization, right?」

Izayoi’s expression was dyed with the color of curiosity like never before.

The Yin-Yang Division, a secret organization that should not exist in the Japanese government. It’s an organization that stirred the curiosity of Izayoi just by hearing about it. All the more so if it exists in the original time axis of Izayoi.

「Well, I’m looking forward to seeing it. If you ever meet that organization in the Outer World, I’d like to join you.」

「I don’t mind, but I won’t give you any information, okay?」

「I know, I know. It’s just to sate my own curiosity.」
「Well, here comes the next cup of tea. Let’s drink it before it cools down.」

「Yeah, let’s have it.」

*Gashan gashan!* The lanterns walked in while making noise.

When the tea is poured with the shout of 「Lantern!!!♪」, the five people talked about what kind of incidents have occurred in the last three years and what kind of brave achievements they have made.

After that, Izayoi, Kuro Usagi, Asuka, and You took turns taking care of Community management errands and vacations for a few days, deepening their friendship for the first time in three years.

And after staying there for about a week, Asuka and Izayoi left 『No Name』.