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Last Embryo Volume 8 Chapter 4 Part 8

If he meets a demon hiding its power somewhere in Little Garden, it will surely make him lose his mind.

「Uh… so what was it? I am one of the Navigators in that Great Gift Game thing?」

『That’s it. My disciple will guide you to the next stage of the War.』

The last words were the words Abe no Seimei threw at Asuka and all of them. In reality, only Asuka, Ayato, and Tokuteru contacted the Ying Yang Division, but Izayoi’s being here may have been due to some kind of fate.

「So he’s really your Navigator…..Where will the second round be?」

『The location is Rome, the capital of Italy. There will soon be a big event that will shake the world happening there, so you should head there with my disciple.』

「Huh!? No, wait a minute, Master! Even if you suddenly tell me to go to Rome, it would not be convenient for me…」

『…? Did your convenience ever mattered?』

「Well… then, at least about the travel expenses…」

『There’s no way I’m giving you my own money for them. Are you stupid or what?』

「Well, then next time we meet, I’ll definitely punch you, so prepare yourself, you stupid master!」

Tsuchimikado Shinpei spewed out flames of anger at Seimei.

However, even if it they go to Rome, navigating it won’t be easy, so now that they got in touch with someone who is involved in the management of the War, it would be best to extract as much info from him as possible.

Sakamaki Izayoi approached the phone and began asking questions.

「You said there will be a big event in Rome. Some kinda annual event?」

『No. If such an event were to happen once a year, the whole world would be in chaos.』

「… Then it’s an event that happens once every ten years?」

『Yes. At least that much time between them is necessary.』

The expression of Izayoi, who mulled on Abe no Seimei’s answer became more and more serious. It may have been a question and answer that Asuka and Ayaka couldn’t understand, but it was probably more than enough information for Izayoi.

A big event in Rome, Italy. It is only happens once every ten years. If it happened every year, the world would be thrown in chaos. With this information in mind, Izayoi posed a final question.

「Is that event going to start soon?」

『YES.』

*Gan!!!* Izayoi kicked down a nearby bookshelf and quickly left the room. It’s uncharacteristic of him to hit things like that, and on top of that, where is he going without a Navigator?

Asuka and Ayato hurriedly stopped Izayoi.

「Hey, wait a minute, Izayoi-kun! Since we were able to meet the guide, why don’t we head there together!?」

「I think so too. It was an unexpected turn of events, but I think this is also a fate. If we head to Rome together…」

「I don’t have that kind of time. Every moment counts here. Depending on the situation, I may be disqualified, so don’t guys shouldn’t follow me.」

Sakamaki Izayoi, whose anger was rising, left those words behind and dashed away, leaving everyone who was there stunned and dumbfounded as they watched his back.

Tokuteru was the only one to complain to Abe no Seimei on the other side of the phone.

「You… you’re still rotten to the core.」
『Ahaha~ I’m sorry, President. He was purer and more naïve than I thought, so I just wanted to make fun of him. I didn’t think he’ll be able to grasp the whole picture with just that information and head to Rome alone. So trouble some, so troublesome.』

Abe no Seimei slapped his forehead while saying that. Asuka and Ayato, who were listening to the entire story also asked with a tense look.

「You said that earlier, but I can’t stop thinking about that part with stopping unnecessary deaths.」
「I agree. I don’t know if it’s a Demon Lord Game or not, but if this is a legitimate Gift Game sanctioned by the Little Garden’s guardians, then isn’t it unavoidable to question the decency of the Game that involves killing?」

The two denounce Abe no Seimei and Tokuteru with harsh voices.

Gift Games are often played with unreasonable rules, but it’s too vicious to start the game with death. Even more so if it takes place in the Outer World.

Tsuchimikado Shinpai also asks him with a stern look in his eyes:

「What going on here, master? I believe in you, but given the circumstances even I am starting to have doubts.」

『This is all I can tell you. It’s okay to confirm the truth with your own eyes. If it’s you guys, I’m sure you’ll reach the truth.』

The call with Abe no Seimei ended there.

Asuka and the others can’t tell if the voice was really Abe no Seimei. But if someone is unfairly taking lives for the sake of the Gift Game, it should never be overlooked.

「Ayato-san, let’s go after Izayoi-kun! We should still be able to catch up to him in time!」

「Okay. Tokuteru-san, what are you going to do?」

「I can’t go because I have something else to do. From here, there is no choice but for the Navigator to go with the Players. Is that okay with you too?」

「Of course. I might not be a member of the police, but how can I sit quietly and do nothing when people die unjustly?!」

Tokuteru’s mouth cracked a little when he heard Tsuchimikado’s determination.

The three of them run after Izayoi, and chased him into the storm. Luckily enough, they caught up to him at a nearby convenience store, where he asked them about their intentions.

「The fact that you came after me means that both of you are angry at this unreasonable Game, right?」

「Probably jus the same as Izayoi-kun is.」

「It’s the same for me. I’m sure Gang Leader-san feels the same way.」

「Well, that’s true, but would you stop calling me a gang leader, it’s really embarrassing.」

Tsuchimikado Shinpei asked them for correction while sounding annoyed. However, it is a part of Kudou Ayato’s bad habit to tamper with other people’s names, and it will not be easily corrected.

「Understood. I’ll explain it briefly, so the three of you should head to Rome first. I’ll meet with Shiroyasha a little later.」

「Shiroyasha?」

「Yeah. Shiroyasha, who was the winner last time and had the majority of the Sun Authorities is one of the best advisors for this Game. I’m sure she’s also involved in the composition of the Game itself.」

Shiroyasha is in a position to change the victory conditions of the Game. She must have anticipated it.

「I understand. After listening to the explanation, let’s head to Rome first.」

The four of them nodded to each other and decided to look back on the flow of things up until now.

* * *

「Well, we got three hints from Abe no Seimei earlier: A big event will be held in Rome, If it happened every year, the world will be thrown into chaos, it doesn’t start until someone dies. The most important of these tips is tip number 2. The scale of the world’s chaos and the frequency of the world’s chaos are included in it. At the very least, if it continuously happens every ten years or so, we know that it is not something inherently evil.」

「Izayoi-kun, what about hint number 3 then?」

Izayoi agreed with Asuka’s words.

「It’s a big event in Rome, and it won’t start unless someone dies. There’s only one answer that can be derived from that information. In Rome, the Conclave should be held soon.」

「Con…?」

「….clave?」

Izayoi looked at Asuka and Tsuchimikado with a wry smile.

「Ayato-ojousama, you know what a Conclave is, don’t you?」

「Of course. You’re talking about the election of the new Pope by the Roman Cahtolic Church, right?」

A conclave is an election in Vatican City where cardinals choose the next pope. The cardinals meet to elect a new pope, and only if the pope is elected by more than two-thirds of the votes will a new era with him at the helm be born.

However, Ayato suddenly tilted her head in wonder.

「But that’s strange. Basically, the pope has a lifetime tenure, so a conclave is not something that can happen simply because somebody wants it to.」

「Isn’t that always not always the case? It’s possible that the current Pope, Leo XXI, is thinking about abdicating while he’s still alive.」

Ayato was amazed at Tsuchimikado’s remarks.

If the Pope were to abdicate while he was still alive, it would be a big event. It would be impossible to proceed secretly because various reports will be made to inform believers around the world about it

「 Izayoi-san, with all due respect, I have never heard of any rumors about him wanting to abdicate during his lifetime, and I don’t think that’s something that can be decided on overnight.」

「Of course. That’s why the Conclave this time is going to be a sudden one.」

「A sudden…?」

「… Conclave?」

The two looked at each other and tilted their heads. Izayoi looked tensely in the direction of Rome in the distance.

「Yes. And the words 「Crown」 and 「Paradigm Shift」 in the victory conditions…. Considering the situation, they probably referred to a Triple Crown. So most likely…

Izayoi cut off his words. It’s an incident that he was afraid to even mention. But now that he explained it this far, he had to tell the others the full truth.

Izayoi, who was covering his mouth, slowly spun his next words while exhaling deeply.

「… the current Pope is going to be assassinated.」

「T-The Pope!?」

「A-Assassinated?!」

「Yeah. The Victory Conditions said to cause a Paradigm Shift… so in the second round of the War, the winner is going to be the person who assassinates the Pope.」