Last Embryo V3 Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was the height of summer.

The rays of the sun that were burning the skin strengthened by each passing day and exhibited their menace to its fullest. In Tokyo where the top temperature was constantly being updated for the past three days, many people had collapsed from heat stroke.

While sweat dripped down from her gorgeous golden hair, Kudou Ayato, who looked utterly drained due to the suffocating heat inside the car, called out to the female driver.  

"......Uesugi-san."

"Yes?"

"Modern hell......is probably something appropriate to call the summers in Tokyo. The heat haze rising from the roads, tap-water that's warmer than even a person's skin, as well as broken air conditioners that are useless even if you set them to their maximum output. Having to attend school or go to work every day while being crippled by this triple handicap is truly the karma of the human world. After studying and working on and on, just what lies at the end of it all? Just where is humanity headed to? What I'm trying to say is, uh, can't you do anything about this just this once with your divine power?"

Ayato unfastened the first button on her blouse and gave a truly exhausted sigh.

For her who grew up while being taught ladylike manners, this was unusually careless of her.

Her voluptuous chest that was way too developed for her age, with slight sweat trickling on it, looked so alluring that the eyes of the opposite sex would be glued to it.

Despite the fact that the school she went to allowed regular clothes, she would undoubtedly be summoned by the student counselling if they were to see her in her current appearance. It was a mystery how one could look so improper despite having only a natural body.

In contrast to her, Uesugi, the woman with a black ponytail, who was sitting in the driver's seat, was wearing her full suit in this terrible heat.

She mercilessly answered without a shred of hesitation.

"Sorry, but I can't do anything about it."

"Can't you somehow make an exception?"

"I can't. Endure it."

She replied immediately. Again, she was quite merciless. She was the very definition of unapproachable.

Her iron will to keep silently driving in this murderous heat without batting an eye was probably an example that even Ayato should have followed.

But that was that, and this was this.

It was suicidal to spend the summertime in Tokyo without using even an air conditioner. More and more people were collapsing from heat stroke every single day, and the media was making a fuss about the matter.

While exhausted, Ayato looked out the car's window.

"If it were Prith, she wouldn't have neglected the car’s maintenance......but it can't be helped I suppose. It wouldn’t be wrong of me to say that my skills have grown dull because I’ve been spoiled by the convenience of the modern civilization. . This will be a lesson in self-discipline, I suppose."

"Would enduring this heat even serve as a form of discipline? If you've grown blunt, you simply need to reforge yourself. I don't mind keeping you company as a distraction from this heat."

It appeared that even she was annoyed by the heat. Her tone and the way she spoke was rougher than her usual self too. However, Ayato lifted her face with apparent surprise plastered on it.

"Uesugi-san, you will help me with my training?"

"That's right. Although I'm acting as a substitute for Prith-sama, this matches with my actual line of work more so than playing attendant like this."

"That's...a great idea indeed. I couldn't ask for anything more. I would definitely like to have a match with you whenever you have time."

Uesugi had said it over her shoulder out of desperation, but Ayato had unexpectedly clung to the proposal.

If Ayato understood who she really was, she wouldn't have been able to carelessly say something like wanting to be kept company with in training.

As she stopped the car at the red light, Uesugi looked at Ayato through the rearview mirror and asked.

"I'm sorry if I raised your expectations, but I have never trained someone. Are you still fine with it?"

"Just having a match with you would be an honour. If The Dragon of Echigo - Uesugi Kenshin, member of the world-famous group of war gods, 'Twelve Devas', and the bearer of 'Bishamonten's' Divinity, were to help me with my training, that would be the best that I could ask for. I also wanted to vent in regards to my family issues."

Ayato said Uesugi’s name with respect.

If anyone heard what she had said, they would have no doubt jumped from surprise.

Ayato crossed her legs in amusement.

"Ever since we first met, I've had my suspicions about you, Uesugi-san. Although I've happened to hear a rumour about Uesugi Kenshin being a woman, when you appeared before my eyes just like that, I couldn't help but be shocked. With this chance...I would like to hear about the various heroic tales regarding the Battles of Kawanakajima in detail and experience them for myself."

"Oh? So in the end, you have an eye on my secrets too?"

"That is true, but it's also true that I wish to have a match with you."

Ayato proudly answered while disregarding appearances.

Uesugi responded with an unusually amused voice.

However, even if she was told that she was Uesugi Kenshin, she couldn't help but be curious.

There was not a single Japanese who hadn't heard of The Dragon of Echigo and the Avatar of Bishamonten, Uesugi Kenshin.

She was the one who had her name first spread as the strongest military commander of the Warring States period.

It was said that Uesugi Kenshin, who fought against the leading military commanders of the Oda, Takeda and Houjou families, had been through seventy battlefields and had only lost no more than two of them.

She, who made a name for herself as the peerless general, took the name 'Bishamonten's Avatar' for herself and adopted two flags as her own; one that depicted the character ‘Bi', representing 'Bishamonten' and one that depicted the 'Warring Dragon', representing the 'Immovable Wisdom King'.

Her being in charge of 'Bishamonten's' Divinity wasn't something too unsettling. Instead, the main issue was her gender.

Just like Ayato had said, there were indeed theories about Uesugi Kenshin being a woman.

Especially in the report written by the Spanish special envoy which had specific evidence supporting the 'Uesugi Kenshin is Female’ theory. There were still songs that doubted Uesugi's gender remaining even within the country itself and they couldn't just be disregarded as mere folklore either. That said, the main issue was that just one look and it would be understood that an intervention from the gods was essential for protecting her secret.

Because even if she merely just sat there, quiet and unarmed, she looked every bit like the perfect Japanese woman.

If she untied her long, glossy hair, coupled with her transparent skin that was like pure-white snow, just about anyone would be fascinated by her.

The way she looked in a kimono on their first meeting was still profoundly etched into Ayato's mind.

When she stands, she's like a white peony. When she sits, she's like a tree peony. When she walks, she's like a lily flower───so much that those words appeared in her mind. She had a physical body - the outer appearance of an 18 year old girl and was close to her in age, so she had long been someone Ayato wanted to talk with.

Perhaps she had been charged with some sort of mission, and had manifested as a Divinity Holder, naming herself the representative of the guardian god 'Bishamonten'. Ayato was probably too curious about it.

"Fufu, alright then. I was also interested in the martial arts of Western Europe. When Prith-sama manages to return from her overseas business trip, my guard mission will also come to an end. After that, I'll keep you as much company as you like."

Uesugi pushed down the accelerator with a bit more strength and accepted the match while revealing a slight smile.

It wasn’t long until they reached their destination, 'Canaria Family Home'.

Remembering that her chest was in full view, Ayato’s cheeks tinted red, and she fastened the button on in a flustered manner as she reflected on her current mannerism.

"By the way......which country did Prith head to?"

"What, you haven't heard of it?"

"I wasn't the direct employer; it was my mother. I was told that she was heading towards America along with Senpai's brother.....err, with Izayoi-san, but..."

Ayato continued with a serious expression on her face. If one were to speak of America, it was the place where the ‘Bull of Heaven’ had originated from. She was probably wondering whether a new incident had occurred there.

As Uesugi hesitated on how to start the topic, they had just arrived in front of the orphanage.

"I understand. Let's talk about that matter together. It seems Tokuteru also just came back."

"Tokuteru-san came back?"

Ayato looked at the orphanage garage in surprise.

Tokuteru's beloved car was undoubtedly parked there.

Stopping the car, Uesugi lightly wiped the sweat off her face, then opened the door to the escorted Ayato.

"Since that incident three months ago, we have also changed our outlook. Now that Saigou Homura has learned about Little Garden, there's no point in us hiding our existence from him. So we concluded that it would be better to clear everything up and cooperate with him."

"I-I see. But I wonder if Senpai and Suzuka will accept it?"

Ayato knit her brows from unease.

After all, it was hard to imagine that they would just believe it all if the person who had raised him since childhood suddenly said something like "You know, I am actually Indra!". They would probably just laugh it off.

However, Uesugi replied proudly.

"Tokuteru will make them believe him by any means. Despite how he looks, Tokuteru is a garbage like man made up of human pus, on top of being a womaniser and a drunkard. There aren't many who are so similar to Indra's Divinity. Rather, they would definitely see the connection when he declares his real name."

Uesugi nodded with confidence.

Divine Spirits whom subordinates called useless gods without a shred of hesitation weren't many in number either.

He didn't look that useless of a god from Ayato's perspective. However, she would probably see his faults the more time she spent with him. At any rate, today was the important day where they would map out their course.

Homura, Ayato and Suzuka were also free now that summer vacation started.

There were plenty of matters that needed to be settled before the Sun Authority War began. Even if Tokuteru's group didn't present themselves as Divine Spirits, just calling themselves people from Little Garden would be fine too.

Straightening herself, Ayato pumped herself and opened the door to the orphanage lobby───but at that moment...

The loud screams of both Homura and Suzuka came from the orphanage.

　　　　＊

"───And now, let's begin the twenty-fourth trial of "beating Mikado Tokuteru to death"!!!"

"Wait just a bit! That's not something that calls for a court!"

"Shut your shitty mouth, defendant!!!"

"You bastard, even a saint's patience can last up to twenty-three times!!! This time even this Suzuka-san's patience has burned out!!! My anger meter went beyond the limit now. God damn you!!! Just stay still and accept this fair and generous witch trial!!!"

The voices of three people striking the desk were heard.

The two of them were directing a gaze filled with scorn and anger towards Mikado Tokuteru. Their expressions looked demonic due to their sheer rage.

Ayato and Uesugi exchanged shocked looks in front of the orphanage lobby.

"It seems there's quite some tension going on there......w-what should we do?"

"Entering like this would be awkward, I suppose. Let's check what's going on first."

Putting their ears on the lobby door, they listened in on the situation inside.

It appeared that Homura and Suzuka were one-sidedly delivering their judgment.

Homura wasn't giving Tokuteru a chance to defend himself and smacked his face with the bankbook.

"Charge!! Someone has embezzled the cash bonus, as well as the support money in the orphanage's account book! The only people with access to it while I was in Europe to investigate the epidemic were Suzuka, Ayato, and Tokuteru!!! Thus, the prosecutors conclude that these crimes were due to embezzlement by Mikado Tokuteru!!!"

"Straight to conclusion!? W-Where's your proof!? Proof that I'm the offender!?"

"Evidence number one! The total amount of money that has gone missing is 500 million yen! Naturally, withdrawing that amount from an ATM is impossible! Prosecutor Suzuka!"

"Based on this evidence, the prosecutor who accepted this appeal from the accuser has sought information from the neighbouring affiliated bank! In response to the questioning, the receptionist lady provided this testimony, "Orphanage money you ask? If it's that, the usual uncle came and withdrew the full sum~♪", with a smile on her face!"

"And now, the judgment!! He is Guilty!!!"

"Guilty!!! Guilty indeed!!!"

"W-Wait a minute! Objection! That evidence is insufficient!! Where's your evidence that the ‘usual dandy uncle’ in the employee's testimony is me!!?"

""The regular who embezzled the money from the SAME bank twenty-three times in a row has the nerve to say that? You human scum!!!""

The two screamed as they both drove flying knee kicks right in Tokuteru's skull.

Tokuteru, who was kneeling beside the sofa, bounced away and hit the wall, no longer able to move. It appeared that the time for him to defend himself had ended.

While breathing heavily, the two heaved the biggest sigh they could manage and shrugged their shoulders in unison.

Among all that───there was another youth who hadn't participated in the conversation and was merely staring blankly at them with his mouth partly open.

He was Asterius - the youth who was in the custody of 'Canaria Family Home' ever since the 'Bull of Heaven' incident that had occurred three months ago.

He currently lived in the orphanage while working at the nearby French food restaurant 'Don Bruno'. He was suddenly dragged along without any explanation and was now sitting in the judge’s seat in his restaurant apron.

After fixing his breath, Homura turned to the confused Asterius and asked.

"Now, Chief Judge Asterius. Your fair judgment and the guilty verdict please."

"C-Calm down Homura. You suddenly dragged me here from the middle of work and told me to be the chief judge...Sorry to say, but in the first place, there was no concept of money in the period I was born in. That's why I don't really understand the charge or even the reason that made you so angry. If I may add, I feel more guilt towards the fact that I slipped out of work at lunchtime when it's the busiest time of the day."

He was probably brought along as a third party, seeking for the minimum discretion, but he didn't really understand the situation and so he picked up the now mostly empty bankbook.  

He understood labour obligation, but it seems that he still couldn't fully comprehend the equivalent exchange of this age. He probably thought of money as nothing but the extension of bartering.

Homura furrowed his brows towards Asterius who seemed lost and troubled.

"Ah, that's right. There was indeed no money system in the bronze age where the Minotaur lived."

"Asterius-kun is someone who lived in BC 2000, isn’t he?"

"That's how it is. If we are talking about a simpler version of bartering compared to now, there was one back then too...but I guess they couldn't use food stocks for fair trial as well."

"T-That's right! The evidence has no meaning if the judge can't understand it! Also, I as the accused wish to call an advocate! I'll call someone skilled from my company right no-"

"Very well, then I shall take on that job."

Uesugi flung opened the door with proper timing.

Ayato became flustered from being found out that she was eavesdropping on them.

Tokuteru's face turned pale as he screamed.

"Geh, Uesugi! Wait a sec I didn't call you!"

"Don't be modest. I was about to call King Enma, but he is in the middle of a business trip. I swear upon the name Uesugi that I would be fair in my judgment."

"No way in hell! I called for an advocate! No one called a shady muscle-brain judge like you!"

That was precisely the case. However, no one raised any voice of compassion.

Uesugi took out the fashion glasses that she used for work and began to summarise all the provided evidence.

"Let's summarise the evidence proving that the accused is the supposed offender.

　① The bank account that was harmed could only be operated by Mikado Tokuteru, Ayazato Suzuka and Kudou Ayato.

　② The person at the bank counter has testified that the withdrawer was a man.

　③ Furthermore, since Mikado Tokuteru had taken a massive debt in Kabukichou last month, he had an adequate motive too."

"Wh-, How do you kn-"

"AGAIN!? You made another debt!!?"

"What kind of woman did you get tangled up with this time!!? Was it a poor young girl who was sold off by her parents in a foreign country!!? Or was it a widow who was tricked by an emerging religion!!? Or maybe...or maybe this time it was an illegal immigrant who was purchased for organ resale!!?"

Ayato clapped her hands as if she had guessed something.

"......Ah, embezzling the subsidy for such reasons......."

Ayato had no idea about the embezzlements until this day, but if there were such unspeakable reasons behind them, it couldn't be helped that they stayed a secret. If they had gotten the police involved and told the full truth, then even those girls who he ended up saving would've been called to the court. As Homura and Suzuka also understood the situation, they stopped at just personal punishment───but that was one thing, and this was another.  

"Guh......I guess It's useless to play dumb now if you know that much......!!!"

"No, you've already been busted for quite a while now. Just stay still and accept your judgment."

Uesugi calmly showed a thumbs down, revealing a guilty verdict. No mercy at all.

"......And so? How much is left?"

"None. I ended up spending all of it to save a pair of siblings who got rolled up in a certain incident."

"Are you an idiot!!?"

"It's 500 million...500!!! It's not 500 thousand, or even 5 million... it's FIVE HUNDRED! Just what did you do to spend all of that in such a short amount of time SHITTYTERU!"

The siblings with furious expressions kept shouting "you are guilty!!!".

They wanted to hit him a couple more times, but there was no time for that.

This situation left them with no food for tomorrow.

It was decided that Homura would be paid his individual cash reward in half month after the Europe expedition. In other words, they were now penniless. As matters stood, the orphanage would dry up completely.

"Damn it......what should we do? If he used it to repay his debts, I think he's not lying when saying that he has no money on hand now. What should we do, Brother?"

"It looks really bad, Sister. This is the second biggest pinch ever since the founding of this orphanage. If it were the usual, we'd let him off after a punch, a kick and 3x refunding of it, but the money involved this time is on another level. There’s no time to go to another world. In this case, I can only think of evening it out by selling Tokuteru's organs..."

"S-Senpai. Suzuka too. Tokuteru-san could have been in an unavoidable situation. I'll pay up the living expenses in advance this time, so can you settle the matter with just that?"

Saying so, Ayato took out a card from her bag. Seeing the black card Suzuka's expression brightened up, but Homura's stayed dark.

"No......I have already borrowed a lot from you, Ojousama. I don't want to borrow any more than I already have humanely. If you add it to Tokuteru's tab, then the talk is different, but I don't want to trouble you, to be exact, I can't ask for two million yen...."

"It's okay. I'll split the bill with Tokuteru-san and Senpai with 9:1 ratio. Pay it back not with money but with your actions, okay?"

"......Ah, so in the end, Homura was also affected by that loan."

As expected of Aya-chan, Suzuka said in admiration.

Asterius, who was sitting in the seat of a chief judge, confirmed the time...and quietly sighed to himself, seeing that lunchtime was about to end.

　　　　＊

───Three months after the rampage by the 'Bull of Heaven'.

The pandemic that was caused by the infectious disease had settled down after the distribution of the 'Star Particle Bodies' that 'Everything Company' had manufactured, and it was safe to assume that the losses were kept to a minimum.

Their developer, Saigou Homura, also went to the affected region overseas and observed the conditions of the patients there and the removal of the pathogens that were spread in the soil. The two kinds of Particle Bodies that he had discovered there were confirmed to be very close in nature to the 'Star Particle Bodies' that he himself had developed.

Everyone present, who had helped to wrap up Mikado Tokuteru in a bamboo mat and hang him up, asked for details from Uesugi.

She who got an invitation from Little Garden, as planned, tried to reveal their───the 'Twelve Devas' identity. However, Mikado Tokuteru's desperate pleas made her think otherwise.

Sitting cross-legged on the sofa, Homura processed her words.

"......Hmm. So, Tokuteru and Uesugi-san are from Little Garden, huh."

"You don't seem to be surprised."

"Well, yeah. When I heard that Ayato was from another world......from Little Garden, I already had more or less figured it out. Besides, that call I got from Tokuteru on the day of that Typhoon seemed way too suspicious no matter how you look at it."

While scratching his head, he recalled the event over two months prior.

That day when they were summoned to Little Garden───there were two people who contacted Homura and asked whether 'something unexplainable' had occured.

First one was Kudou Ayato, the young lady of ‘Everything Company’.

And the other was this president of an international security service and secret agent employment company───Mikado Tokuteru, who was now wrapped up tightly in a mat. Although that was his current state, he was in fact quite famous in that industry, enough that even Homura had heard about his fame.

After all, it was a mercenary group of choice for 'Everything Company' that was among the top five fanatical conglomerates of the world.

From an escort of an important person to advance elucidations of terrorism, he had such an extensive information network that it was hard to imagine from such an individual.

Many came to refer to his group as 'War Gods' due to their combat power that, if turned hostile, they would be able to erase the target without letting them even raise a single shriek.

......Such a nickname was quite unimaginable to be referring to the same guy who was now tied and hanged up.

"I'm aware that Prith-san is a superwoman, but I just can't see anything amazing when I look at Tokuteru. He easily makes debts. And embezzles."

"So, what kind of monster is this useless guy connected to? Is it a god of poverty or something?"

"Well, I'll keep that a secret for his sake. But well, his true name is something that you'd find quite fitting if you heard it."

Uesugi looked at Indra with a scornful glare.

His weeping voice was heard from within the mat, but no one sympathised with him.

Ayato cleared her throat and got back to the topic.

"With that said, Uesugi-san's true identity───"

"I mean, that's pretty obvious without needing to spell it out."

"Her name, 'Uesugi Kenshin', says it all. I don't know if she's a representative of the Uesugi family or what, but I think she should've put a bit more effort into hiding her name, don't you agree?"

"......Ugh."

Uesugi pouted in objection but stayed silent.

It wasn't as if she chose to go with her real name because she herself wanted to.

Divine Spirits or Divinity Holders raised the density of their Spirituality with faith, and just the act of lying about their name made it decrease. Also, for her, who got resurrected as Bishamonten's representative, lying about her name would be equivalent to showing disrespect towards her chief god. She used her real name because of such circumstances, so it was a bit hard for her to stomach the way he worded it.

Not taking notice of her displeasure, Homura and others continued talking.

"But still. It's great that the Game is held during the summer holiday. But what exactly should we do?"

"If you open this invitation, you will be resummoned into Little Garden. You guys are allowed to move between the worlds as an exception, but please leave all questions for when you get to the ceremonial opening hall."

Uesugi took out the invitation letter marked with the banner of 'Queen Halloween'.

Last time it came as an email, but this time it seems that it was an envelope.

It was a notice of the event that may change depending on the Queen's whims, but it was still better than it being too erratic, suffering inconvenience.

"Then, without delay..."

"Ah, w-wait a minute! Before that, I have something to say!"

As they were about to open the invitation, Mikado Tokuteru's scream came from within the mat.

Although he turned silent when everyone directed cold gazes at him, it seemed the situation didn't allow him to falter here. He forcefully tore off the bamboo mat and escaped, then took out two shining cards from his bag and passed it to the siblings.

"I'll give you two these Gift Cards. You don't have them yet, right?"

"Gift Cards? What are those, Bon festival gifts?"

"Year-end gifts?"

"They aren't...New Year Gifts, are they?"

Ayato followed along the sibling’s jokes a little embarrassed.

Tokuteru continued without minding them.

"If you have these Gift Cards, you can carry all your weapons and daily emergency items with you at all times. Be sure to put the Gifts that you manage to obtain in these cards."

"......Oh? So in short, they are 4D cards with a take-out function."

"You can think of it that way. Moreover, based on my assumption of how the next Game will be, I've stored all the Gifts in them that might be necessary. As long as you don't lose them, they'll prove to be useful in various situations. ......Well, they turned out to be more expensive than I thought. I didn't think it would reach nine digits."

Tokuteru scratched his head awkwardly.

Everyone widened their eyes in shock as if they took a sudden hit, not believing what they just heard.

"Nine digits....then the 500 million you spent was for..."

"Sorry, I spent it all on these Card contents! I thought they'd be cheaper, but I was kind of sized up more than I thought, or maybe my general conduct was to blame, so yeah, what I'm trying to say is.......I'm really sorry about that. If I knew you'd be summoned to participate in the Sun Authority War, I would've made more useful Gifts for you. The fact that I've been out of touch with the Game's organizing committee for a long time had backfired on me. I'll definitely return the money I embezzled so, please, forgive me for this."

He shrugged his shoulders with a sigh. It seems that the 'Siblings who got rolled up in a certain incident' that he mentioned earlier referred to Homura and Suzuka.

He tried to prepare the Gifts for winning through the Sun Authority War in this world, but he was forced to spend unexpected expenses. It seemed that was the whole truth of this incident.

"Ayato. Your new arms that the Queen prepared for you are also included in Homura's Gift Card. Please confirm it later."

"F-For me too?"

"Of course. You are the biggest battle power among the three of you no matter how I look at it, so it's best to strengthen your power further. Suzuka, you can store the "Kaitenjuu" you stole from Shen Gongbao in them as well."

"I-I see. That seems quite convenient. I'll go grab them!"

Suzuka ran back inside her room.

Moving on, Tokuteru now faced Asterius.

"Asterius. Your situation is quite complicated. You are currently treated as a 'Property' of Homura's group. It's also possible to treat you as a player, but with the Gift Card, there's more useful way. For that reason, are you okay with being treated as their property this time?"

"I don't mind, but can you explain?"

"I'll explain that after the Game starts. So just stay in the orphanage for now. If my predictions are correct, you remaining here will prove to be more useful for the predicament."

Hearing Tokuteru's proposal, Asterius send a questioning glance at Homura.

Homura's group, with Asterius included, had only four participants. It was hard to say if decreasing that number even further would be a wise move.

However, Homura nodded unexpectedly easily.

"Isn't it fine? Besides, you can't just skip the work at Don's restaurant without even giving him prior notice, right? No other shop would hire someone with unknown origins like you."

"......Are you sure?"

"If Tokuteru says he has a plan, it's better to go along with what he says. Uncle Mikado is quite reliable when it comes to things other than money."

Right? Homura said jokingly.

But Tokuteru didn't reply to those words.

Then, as he finally looked towards Homura, he asked with a serious expression unlike any before.

"......Homura. Finally, there's one thing I have to ask you no matter what."

"W-What is it so suddenly?"

"Are you really sure you want to participate in the Sun Authority War? Do you───Saigou Homura, fully understand what it means to take part in this Authority War?"

From the words that he spoke, everyone held their breaths. Those weren't words the usual him would ever say, but ones that were full of dignity befitting the one who carried the name of a 'War God'.

Tokuteru asked that to Homura......with a face that he had never displayed to the children of the orphanage in these five years since their meeting.

───About Homura's reason for participating in the Sun Authority War.

Queen, the one who summoned him into Little Garden, had promised a generous reward, but that was close to ex-post-facto acceptance. A hindsight bias, so to speak. Albeit he cleared the Labyrinth of the Minotaur, Saigou Homura was far from being the directly related party even to this day.

Tokuteru was asking about his reason for fighting, the requirement to become a true Player in order to compete in this Game of Gods and Demons.

"......My reason for fighting, huh?"

He hesitated for a bit. He understood that it was something that he needed to clarify. A reason for fighting, for taking action, if there were no such thing, then it would become difficult to motivate himself when he gets caught in a dilemma.

Homura himself thought over that matter considerably over the past two months.

For Saigou Homura───There was no real reason for him to fight in the Authority War.

But there was one to participate in it.

Although the 'Bull of Heaven', the source of Taurus and the monster called 'Minotaur', both originated from Little Garden, the reason behind his summoning was the Star Particle Bodies. And the previous battle was the result of the abuse of said Star Particle Bodies.

Tens of thousands of people suffered from just one battle over an Authority.

Saigou Homura had to take part in the Authority War, even if just to find out the enemy that had caused such a calamity.

"There's......no reason. I feel bad for Queen, but I'm not aiming for anything like fame in another world or the overall victory. But I think that I will try my best anyway since I'm participating after all."

"......So you are still going to participate, anyway?"

"I have no other choice. At the very least, monsters like 'Bull of Heaven' were all summoned due to the abuse of Star Particle Bodies. I can't overlook an organization like that. ......It's just that, I've focused more on thinking about finding out the true identity of the enemy, so I didn't really think about other matters. That's why I won't do anything too unreasonable. If I die the orphanage would be out in the cold, I have to avoid that at any cost."

Learning everything about the organization that abused the Particle Bodies.

He was taking part in it for that reason and hadn't considered achieving victory at all.

Tokuteru nodded several times as if processing those words, then he eased his expression and nodded once more.

"To find the enemy that abused the Star Particle Bodies, huh......that's right. That is the best reason to keep your motivation at its maximum. Above all, it suits you."

"I think so too. ......But well, if I had to ask for more, I wanted to have a match with Iza-nii at least once."

He showed a bitter smile and shook his head.

If what Scáthach said was true, Izayoi would lose his right of participation when he turned 20.

He wanted to seriously compete with him at least once before that happened. These were unmistakably his true feelings. When this Authority War comes to a conclusion, the point where Saigou Homura and Sakamaki Izayoi's paths intersect would also come to a definitive end.

But there's nothing to do about it if their circumstances strayed from each other.

They had surely cut their ties on that day five years ago and lived on planets that were completely separated from each other.

"If it's possible, I want you to tell me about Iza-nii's investigation results even if it's just when you are free. I think I might be able to guess who the enemy is from that, and if all goes well, Iza-nii and I might be able to get them with a pincer attack."

Sakamaki Izayoi, from his homeworld.

And Saigou Homura, from Little Garden, would pursue the mystery of the enemy.

Accepting the conclusion Homura reached, Tokuteru stood up while patting his back with a smile.

"If you've thought through that much, there's nothing more I need to say. ......Well, It's a Game without the risk of death. So finally, have fun and come back. After all, it's a journey to another world that doesn't happen every day."

"Yeah, that's the plan. The first stage of the research is also completed and it has entered the next one. Now, if the ‘Genome Tree’ project goes smoothly, then we can also start talking about the concrete construction plan for the Environmental Control Tower. I'll go enjoy the brief holiday."

They bumped fists with each other.

With this, he heard everything Mikado Tokuteru had to say.

Finding the opportunity, Uesugi raised a hand and said.

"With the current summoning, Tokuteru and I would also be accompanying you up to the Spirit Train. In reality, it wasn't me but Prith-sama that was invited, but she was given a job to accompany Sakamaki Izayoi."

"Ah......well, it's a reasonable selection. There should be no one aside from Prith-san among Tokuteru's subordinates who would be suitable for Iza-nii. Are you fine with that, Uesugi-san?"

"It was a command from my chief god. It's inevitable. Besides, I often show up in Little Garden as a special envoy. I'll at least take care of the reward part."

Although her way of speaking was a bit overbearing for someone who was hired, she was still reliable nonetheless.

When Suzuka packed up her bags and returned to the lobby, they all touched the invitation together.

"Okay then......let's go!"

She then broke the seal with high spirits.

The moment the wax seal on the invitation was torn, the surroundings were covered in light───

───And they were dropped from 4000 meters in the sky.

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