Last Embryo V3 Chapter 8

Chapter 8

───Spirit Train 'Sun Thousand' - Panorama Wagon.

　　　　Large bath with a view on the Ley Lines.

One of the wagons of the Spirit Train was used as an outside scenery viewing spot. Right now the train had only just departed and was still merely travelling on the surface of the river. When it would finally start travelling through the sea and earth veins, however, people would have the opportunity to admire the scenery of the Ley Lines from this wagon. The dining hall and a big bath inside this carriage were used as relaxation spots for entraining Players and other guests.

Homura and others learned about this place and decided to treat their fatigue in the public bath until it was time to contact Izayoi.

After all, this day had been filled with too many surprises.

Such as when the recognition money was embezzled by Tokuteru.

Or them being forced to participate in a Gift Game. Because of Tokuteru again.

And even being saddled with the debt of Tokuteru's son.

Without a doubt, the day had been too eventful. Mainly because of Tokuteru. He would've been found guilty for this in the outer world for sure. There was no compassion for a useless god.

But now, their turbulent day had finally come to an end.

The veil of darkness had completely covered the sky. This was their trip to another world, something that didn't just happen every day, so they were surely allowed to enjoy their share of fun moments.

"...Wow, this is great."

Homura's first impression of the panoramic room was summed up in that single phrase devoid of strong emotions. He was a scientist, not a poet, so it was somewhat understandable, however, his reaction was too dull even with that taken into account.

Girls' group, on the other hand, was devouring the brilliantly decorated room with sparkling eyes.

The intricate candle lamps made out of glass were honed to the tiniest of details with exquisite skill. Their stunning craftsmanship asserting itself so strongly, that it made one worry that they would lessen the scenery outside.They were, however, barely giving off a glow of a heat haze so as to not obstruct the view of the stars.

The tiny spirits gathered in the meshing light of a lamp and a star were bustling about as if to fill the place with colour.

A feat they could achieve only by the virtue of being pure beings with pure souls.

The spectacle made Suzuka lose her weary expression, replacing it with her best smile of the day.

"Ohh... A lot has happened. Things finally start to look like a proper trip to another world, don't you think?"

"Yeah, we have really been through a lot... Most of it was related to Tokuteru's debt, though!"

"N-Now, now. I'm sure Tokuteru-san's favour will prove to be useful in future. More importantly, let's head for the panorama wagon bath. Will you be coming along, Kasukabe-san?"

"Yup. Taking a bath before a meal is good for digestion."

You nodded with her eyes glued fixed in the direction of the dining hall.

Ayato responded with a strained smile and walked through the bath curtain.

"Well then, Senpai. See you later."

"Have fun. I don't mind if you stay late. Just take your time."

Leaving those words behind, Homura disappeared behind the curtains.

Ayato and the others headed for the girls' bath and reached the changing room. She touched her clothes which reminded her about the climate of the daytime.

"It was midsummer in the outer world, so Little Garden's climate feels really nice."

"You are right. It's a season of seduction during which you can faintly see Aya-chan's pink bra through her sweaty blouse."

"...Uh, please just stop with these kinds of jokes. I'm not even sure how to react," said slightly embarrassed Ayato while covering her chest.

"Well, I was holding back with these kinds of jokes around you, Aya-chan, but I decided to increase the dosage bit by bit so you can build up some resistance!"

Suzuka’s reply was followed by an uncanny smile. You, who was in the middle of undressing next to them, stared at Ayato's chest and gave a small nod.

"Yeah...you really are just someone else with a similar name."

"Wait a minute, Kasukabe-san. I'm not going to ask who exactly were you comparing me to just now, but you judged it based on my chest, didn't you?"

"Having big ones is a good thing."

"That's not what I'm asking about!"

"Mind if I touch?"

"Yes I do!!"

Ayato quickly swatted away the devilish hand reaching for her. Again, again, again, and again, the encroaching hands were knocked down, and You frowned in dissatisfaction.

"...Stingy. You are stocked with boobs, it wouldn't hurt to share a bit with me, would it?"

"I don't have a lot of them, don't word it in a way that would invite misunderstandings!"

Hearing her retort, Suzuka swallowed her breath in realization.

"A lot of boobs...a lot of big boobs...? The likelihood of Aya-chan's previous life being the one of a milking cow remains non-zero...?"

"Absolutely not! Okay. That does it. Suzuka, if you don't drop this topic, I'm not going to treat you even if you follow me the next time I go to an all-you-can-eat cake buffet. Enjoy losing your weight."

"Gah, are you going to betray me now, sister! Aren't we the sworn friends who signed the Search and Devour contract! And it was you who begged me many times to go in together because you had trouble going in alone so... looks like it's not this Suzuka-san who'll be troubled by it. Sure. Go and gain excess flesh by yourself."

"Huh!? No, that's not what I was trying to...!?"

Alas, it was impossible for a Kouhai to win against her Senpai in a quarrel from the start. Angry Suzuka's seemed to suddenly lose all her warmth. I can't mess this up, Ayato thought as she quickly tried to patch things up. 

Meanwhile, You put her hand on her chin, gazed up at a distant star, and muttered, "...An all-you-can-eat cake buffet... Yeah, that has a nice ring to it. I also wanted to try checking it out at least once when I was in the outer world."

"Why not? Let's just do that here in Little Garden! It seems the cafeteria of this panorama wagon is an all-you-can-eat place too! Actually, Suzuka-san is famous as the Cookie Monster back in her hometown!"

"I see. A nickname quite unlike mine."

If Suzuka was a Cookie Monster then You was a chef’s doom incarnate. If they ever had a showdown, the kitchen would undoubtedly turn into a scene from hell.

"...Hmm? Wait, doesn't that mean that You-san is a person from our world?"

"Yup. Izayoi, me and another girl called Kudou Asuka were summoned together."

Hearing the explanation, Suzuka tilted her head in wonder.

"...Kudou? Is she someone related to "Everything Company"?"

"Nope. Besides, isn't "Everything Company" a big conglomerate centred around Europe? She is a pure Japanese person. The kanji of their names are probably just pronounced the same."

"I see. Is that person going to show up in these Sun games?"

"I'm not sure. At the very least, it seems to be possible to join midway, so she might."

"...Is that so. So she hasn't applied yet..."

There was no emotion in Ayato’s voice, however, the other two didn't catch her muttering and obliviously continued to put their folded clothes on the shelves.

"By the way, Suzuka-san."

"Suzuka is fine. Both I and Homura would find it very unsettling if Iza-nii's friends started calling us with honorifics."

"I see. In that case, why were Suzuka and Homura summoned here? Do you two have a history of being competitive eaters?"

"I just followed Homura. Brother is actually researching something amazing even if he doesn't look that way."

"Researching? What kind of thing?"

"I'm not really sure, but it's some kind of Particle Bodies. What was it again, Aya-chan?"

Hearing Suzuka's question, Ayato compose herself and spoke in a boastful manner with her hand to her chest.

"Saigou Homura-senpai is researching the third perpetual motion — the 3S Nano Machine Units. His achievements as the lead researcher have been recognized and he has been permitted to participate in the battles of this Little Garden of Gods. Suzuka and I were probably allowed to tag along as people related to him."

You, wrapped in a big towel, frowned for the first time hearing that.

"Researcher...of Particle Bodies? And moreover, 'Saigou'?"

"What about it?"

"Uhh, hold on. Homura's surname is written with the ‘Sai’ of west and ‘Gou’ of hometown, right?"

"...? Well, yeah?"

"So...it's not ‘Karma’ of ‘West’...it's not that ‘Saigou’, right?"

The two girls affirmed with quick nods. Neither Ayato nor Suzuka had any recollection of the name "Saigou" she mentioned, and moreover, Homura didn't have any relatives. They had never heard anything about him having relatives outside of the orphanage.

Kasukabe You still didn't relax however and remained for a while with her arms folded, until she suddenly recalled a past conversation and clapped her hands.

"...I see. Ayato and Asuka also have homonymous surnames by chance. I suppose these kinds of coincidences do happen. Besides, he doesn't look like a Demon Lord no matter how you look at him."

"D-Demon Lord?! That Senpai who wouldn't even harm a bug?!"

"What the, that sounds hilarious!! If Homura was a Demon Lord, I feel like he'd get one-shotted by a Hero's punch!"

"Well, now I understand what you meant by Homura being a total opposite of Izayoi."

You smiled faintly and faced towards the bath.

"Now then... Let's jump in, shall we? There are several kinds of them, but let's start with the standard one. Let's go, you two."

"Aye aye, sir!"

"Suzuka. In this case, the correct word is not ‘sir’ but ‘ma'am’."

The three made their way to the large public bath with Suzuka reflecting on Ayato’s off-hand remark.

　　　　＊

Meanwhile in the men's section of the bath...

Homura disrobed and entered the bathhouse quickly. People around him had him for someone who earnestly devoted everything to his research and lacked any hobbies but, in reality, he was a boy that could take an interest in and enjoy just about anything. And if that something was a public bath of another world, that fascination would know no ends.

But rather than the bath itself, it was the realization of the fact that he was actually here that had him shocked in the first place.

(Wow... There are barely any humans here...!)

It wasn't only the Players that had come to take a bath.

It went without saying that the bath was full of races like Demi-humans, Demons, Demi-Dragons and such, but the most shocking was the fact that the Giants, clearly bigger than the entrance door, were taking a dip here as well. Homura didn't know which retort to go with first.

Incidentally, according to the information board, it appeared that there was also a Eudemon-exclusive bath too.

As he was trying to figure out which side should he enter from, a Unicorn that just happened to be there lightly pushed his back with its horn from behind.

"Wha-, h-he-, what the!? What business does a Unicorn have with me?!"

"No business, really. Your presence simply resembled someone I haven't seen for a long time. Could you be related to "No Names," virgin boy?"

"I don't understand what you are saying at all, but I'm somehow sure it was quite rude!"

Though, it would've been more problematic if a boy his age wasn't a virgin.

The Unicorn realized that its words weren't being understood, so it tapped on the bulletin board with the tip of its horn instead.

To Homura’s surprise, the creature seemed to be recommending a particular bath to him.

"...? You are telling me to go there?"

"Indeed. Humanoids gather primarily in this area. And it gives you a beautiful view of the starry sky above. One wouldn't enjoy it during daytime as it tends to be occupied by Spriggan Fairies, but now's your chance, virgin boy."

"I see. Since you are recommending it, then I'll check it out. ...But for real, stop talking as you please just because I can't understand you."

Homura parted with the Unicorn and proceeded towards the panorama bath at an easy gait. That said, it took quite some courage for him to walk side by side with what could only be described as carnivorous beasts.

(Crap...If I knew this was going to happen, I would've come with Tokuteru or Porol.)

Homura was a human who wouldn't harm a fly. Therefore, even though he wanted to believe that the Eudemons wouldn't attack the Players out of the blue, he still wanted someone to be here with him right now.

That made him visibly jumpy and, finally, one of the bystanders could no longer bear to watch him look out for danger at every step. Homura felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey, you. You are the one who appeared in the exhibition, right? Are you here alone by chance?"

"Eh? Ah, yes. What about it?"

Feeling the tap, Homura turned around. The owner of the unfamiliar voice was someone taller than him but their ages seemed to be about the same. He could see an unreliable-looking smile under the stranger’s longish bangs.

However, judging by the fact that he dared to call out to someone in this bath, the guy must have had some steel in his backbone.

"Right...If you like, would you like me to show you around? I doubt you can relax with all the various races that are present, right?"

"That would be a big help. I just arrived from another world, so I'm a bit out of my depth. This bath is clearly bigger than it appears, what's going on here?"

"Well, I don't really know the inner workings of its structure. Maybe Queen lent her talents to make it happen... Oh, right, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Jin Russell. I'm a Player of the Sun Authority War just like you. Nowhere as important though."

The boy calling himself Jin Russell scratched his head with a helpless smile.

Enticed in by this pleasant smile, Homura also introduced himself once more.

"I'm Saigou Homura. Though I suppose you would know that since you watched the exhibition... Let's get along."

"Pleased to meet you. While we are walking, mind telling me a bit about the exhibition? 200,000 "Sun Thousand" gold coins sure is something, huh?"

"Ah, so it came down to that after all…. Well, this is a good opportunity. I wanted to complain to someone about it anyway and vent some of the frustration while it still burns."

Homura agreed to tell the story and they proceeded towards the target bath.

Jin heard about Homura's situation with Tokuteru and others.

He heard how a youth called Arjuna made a debt, and that he was related to Tokuteru. That, as a result, Homura had no choice but to take part in every exhibition from tomorrow on.

The part-story, part-rant conveniently finished as they finally arrived at the bath the Unicorn indicated.

Jin took in Homura's story with interest and when it finished, he put a hand to his chin.

"...Heh. So you aren't exactly participating in the Sun Authority War out of your own volition, are you?"

"Well...My participation has already been decided before I realized it. Regardless of how dangerous a situation it was, opening Queen's invitation letter makes me the fool."

"I wouldn't exactly say that. At the very least, your life was saved and as long as there is life, there is hope too. So be thankful for that. Let's talk about that Arjuna if you don’t mind? Think everything will go well?"

"I wonder about that. I haven't talked to him that much, so I can't say. And I'm not really that familiar with his legend."

"...I see. You might want to be careful around him. He is not called the Oathbreaker Hero by mistake. I think rejecting him, even by force if necessary, is a choice too."

Perhaps you are right, mused Homura while soaking himself in the bath.

For some reason, Jin kept the conversation on the subject of Arjuna.

"If you don’t mind me doing it, I could tell you about his legend."

"You know it, Jin?"

"It is famous, after all. There is even a familiar theme in his legend regarding debt. At that time, his entire country was swindled from under him in a game of dice."

Hearing that fact so abruptly shocked Homura so much that he leapt up from the bath.

"A c-country?! He lost a country in a gamble?!"

"That's right. He's a gambling maniac, so to say. Because he couldn't stop himself until he won it all, he crossed the final line and lost everything. In the end, even his wife was snatched away in a bet."

Seriously!? Homura went back to submerging himself in water with a strained smile. He couldn't understand Arjuna's logic at all. What could go so wrong for him to become like that?

Actually, he was married at that age? Homura's mind was a jumble of conflicting thoughts and he couldn't digest the new facts fully.

Jin averted his gaze in a sympathetic manner and continued once more.

"I can also explain why he came to be known as an Oathbreaker Hero if you want... How about it?"

"Hmm... No need. While it does sound like an interesting story, it doesn't seem like it would be of any use."

Homura started to swim in the spacious bath.

Jin’s eyes went wide. He was not expecting that answer at all.

"...Why? Are you going to unconditionally trust him even after hearing what I just said?"

"I mean, that's just a legend, right? The truth might be quite different."

"There is no smoke without fire."

"Perhaps.... But, you know, those tales are created from someone's subjective point of view, aren't they? It's one thing if it's necessary to solve a game, but it's rude to judge someone based on rumours someone else started."

Homura continued to float in the bath. There wasn’t much emotion in his voice.

The monster Minotaur that he had met just recently had turned out to be a completely different child than what the legends said.

Thus Homura judged that being influenced by legends that were built on individual prejudice and misplaced self-righteousness was dangerous in Little Garden.

"Besides... And this is just my intuition speaking, I don't think he's that bad of a guy. He might have created a debt, but that's because he lost in a game, right? I'd smack him if it was done out of delinquency, but I don't think he did anything that outrageous considering this Little Garden is made up of games. That's why, I can't say anything until I've had a good talk with him. I'll think about him being an Oathbreaker or whatever after that."

"...Oh? That’s quite an unexpected view to have. It seems you are quite fair towards others."

"Because I want them to be fair with me too. ...So, yeah, it's meaningless to try to rile me up."

Homura looked at Jin with a big grin. Jin also returned a troubled smile while scratching his head.

"Ah. So you realized it, after all?"

"You are like an open book. Besides, you are a Player too right, Jin? There's no way I would just swallow an unsubstantiated tale from an opponent just like that."

"It as you say. But well, I saw the chance so I thought I'd try my luck once."

What a cunning fellow you are, thought Homura as he also smiled in satisfaction. This little chat was particularly enjoyable for him since, having devoted his life to Particle Body research, he never enjoyed a time where he could trade pointed remarks like this with someone of the same age.

He sat cross-legged inside the bath and suddenly looked at Jin with curiosity.

"I explained my circumstances. Now it's your turn, Jin."

"Mine?"

"Yea. Since you came to stir trouble right from the start, it’s obvious you knew that Arjuna belonged to our — no, in this case, it's better to say — Queen's Community, I guess? Anyway, it means you knew that he was in the same Community as us, right? Who told you that?"

Whoops, looks like I stirred up a hornet's nest, thought Jin and looked away. Indeed, he couldn't arrive to that conclusion just by watching the exhibition match.

Thus he could only have called out to Homura while already fully aware of his circumstances.

"Well, will you tell me now? Just who told you that?"

"Hmm...well, I don't mind answering, but…," he said, playing up his reluctance. Since Jin was able to have a fun conversation for the first time in a while, he wasn't against divulging some information. But answering that particular question required him to expose the information provider.

Eventually, he just looked without a word towards the shade of a pillar.

Homura followed Jin’s gaze. And just as expected, he caught a momentary glimpse of a boy's silhouette. Jin stifled a burst of laughter with a hand.

"It can't be helped. Just give it up. All things said, in the end Homura is your benefactor who paid off your debt as a loan to you."

"...So be it. As you say, it is not my intention to burden him any more than this. And I also want to correct your lies, Jin."

A very apologetic blue-haired youth emerged from behind the column.

Seeing Arjuna show himself, Homura sighed in extreme displeasement.

"...Right. So that's how it really was, huh."

"Did you predict this?"

"More or less. In that case, the Community you belong to would be..."

Jin grinned and waved off Homura, as if trying to say “Don’t finish your thought.” After all, this was a large, publicly accessible bath. A fair place where anyone could face anyone with nothing but a loincloth to their name.

Bringing outside disputes here is extremely boorish, postulated Jin Russell, the tactician, in his mind with a smile, conveniently turning a blind eye to his own faults. He couldn't help but laugh at his frank cunningness.

Arjuna closed the distance to them with big steps and glaring at Jin all the time, the more displeased the closer he got.

"Jin. Since you already revealed my past, I want you to correct what you said."

"Correct? What exactly?"

"I'm talking about the story of me losing a country in a dice game! I've been saying all this time, haven’t I? That I was just caught up in the events?! That the actual gambling maniac was my brother, not me!? I don't remember ever becoming too addicted to dice gambling!"

Hearing his heated complaints, Homura and Jin exchanged glances.

It seemed that that was the reason why Arjuna looked so dissatisfied all this time.

Homura offered him a pitying gaze. Having heard that the blue-haired boy had a gambling maniac of a brother, made him relate to Arjuna a bit.

"Alright! I got it! This is a good opportunity, so let's go have a talk at that sauna lounge over there. And it's just the time to fix Jin's forked tongue."

"I'm hurt. That was the only lie I told. Besides, Arjuna is at fault too. Knowing that you squandered 200,000 gold coins, I don't think I can believe your protestations of not being a gambling addict."

"A-As I said, that was supposed to be staking Sun Authorities, but before I noticed..."

"Yeah, yeah, sure. You were swindled. Since this is a rare opportunity, though, why not celebrate with a game? There should be some card games in the sauna lounge..."

The three made their way inside the sauna lounge while chattering.

It was about an hour later when the broadcasting started in the entire panorama wagon.

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