Part 2
---[Underwood] VIP room, Gry's bedroom.
Amongst the VIP rooms within the Great Tree, there are also those that are specially made for Eudemons. A spread of hay for the ground and a water point which is directly from the Great Tree itself.
Gry currently resided in such a room after being injured in the previous battle.
Izayoi had carried the consolation prize into the room. The gunny sacks full of food that were swiped from the Harvest Festival the night before.
Guessing that the raw meat might pose a bit of a problem if left overnight, Izayoi went to find people to get them grilled or cut into bacon pieces to be cooked.
Taking a huge bite into the chunk of meat that hung to a piece of bone, Izayoi nodded in satisfaction.
"I've always wanted to try taking such a huge bite to eat meat."
"Ho? And why is that? Don't humans usually use utensils to dine?"
"That's right. But there's also this difference in the feeling. Won't you agree that just biting into the meat and tearing it from the bone makes it feel much more enjoyable?"
Izayoi gave a hearty laugh before tearing off another chunk of meat with his teeth.
Giving a wry smile in response, Gry got back to pecking at the chunk of meat held within his front talons.
While they were busy with their meals, the door suddenly opened without as much as a knock. And a pair of nekomimi[56] Father and daughter walked in.
"Wa, dad, it's regular customer-san here as well!"
"Oh, isn't it the 'No Name's boy? You came to visit too?"
"I guess so…..Nn? It seems like you've brought some good stuff as well?
Glancing behind the two of them, Izayoi could see that there was a cask of wine beside the gunny sack that they brought.
Seeing how they just barged in and start laying out all the stuff they brought, Gry's wry smile remained on his face.
"Garol, I think that the act of bringing wine to a patient leaves much room for comments."
"This? Oh, so you aren't going to drink?"
"No, that's not what I said. But the responsibility to insist on the drink will not lie with me, but best left to you, Garol."
"Well said. It's all the fault of this uncle who insists on drinking with you in the early morning."
Having pushed all the blame off themselves, Izayoi and Gry accepted the wine poured for them.
Without complains, Garol was the first to toast.
"Come, for the second day of the Harvest Festival…. A toast to our injured hero!---GanPai![57]"
*Chink!* Their glasses were brought together in a toast.
Hearing the choice of words for the toast, Izayoi guessed the reason for Garol's purpose for visiting Gry.
[….I see… It must be due to the matter regarding that Horse Meat.]
Though they were from different Communities, it was still a member of the Alliance that had publicly insulted Gry's valor and it required an apology. Their visit was partially out of that reason, and also the fact that they did see Gry as a real hero, one that deserved a gathering like this.
One needn't apologize or pity a hero----Since it's cheers and praises that he should receive.
"Oh right. Is it true that the Horse Meat is Gry's brother?"
"……Nn. Communities that revolve around Eudemons do not have concepts such as marriage. Hence they can have children without much care about race."
"Oh~Seems like a trouble when it comes to inheriting the family heirlooms."
"No, that's not true for us Eudemons. The choice for the heir isn't by bloodlines, but based on the strength of the candidates. Hence, it isn't a problem where Draco Greif decides to have his babies. But…."
Garol paused awkwardly as he shifted his gaze to Gry.
Gry sighed and seemed to laugh at himself.
"That's something that happened ten years ago. In the duel with Griffith, I had lost and had to leave [Underwood]."
"……what?"
"It was during the time when [Draco Greif] Alliance first expressed its willingness to help [Underwood]. Griffith only learned of my existence then and he had complete confidence in his bloodline---especially the blood from his father. Hence he saw a pure blood Gryphon like me to be a thorn in his side."
"……Hmm?" Izayoi tilted his head in puzzlement.
"Wait a moment. Isn't that Horse Meat a so called third generation of Eudemon? And that he has a Gryphon and Longma's bloodline to make him a strongest type?"
---'Longma' is a crossbreed between a horse and a dragon. A type of Lesser Dragon, a Longma has the appearance of a horse with dragonish scales covering its body. Its abilities include the control of water and lightning. And Griffith was the crossbreed between a Gryphon and a Longma to produce a Hippogriff.
Gry and Garol knew about that but they still gave a depressing sigh.
"That fellow has so much self-confidence in his bloodline that it has come to a stage of pure arrogance."
"Even then, for that young urn Griffith, the real pride isn't the fact that he's from a Gryphon and a Longma...it actually stems from the pride he holds for his father, Draco Greif."
Izayoi punched his fist into his other palm as he saw the linkages already in his mind.
"Oh, so it's that. In other words, he just couldn't stand the fact that he had a brother looking so similar to his father."
"Yes, that's the thing. At the very least, it shouldn't be his own younger brother."
Garol sighed due to the many confusing feelings he had which he drowned in a cup of wine. From Garol's standpoint, both of them were the sons of his best comrade who stood and bore arms with him in battles. Though he might want them to make peace and find a common ground to agree on, he was still an outsider, not of blood relation and did not have the right to butt into their matters. Hence, Garol could only look from a distance and hope that both of them can live and grow up well… well enough to put aside their misgivings for each other in the future.
"Come to think about it, this is the first time that I've talked to Uncle like this. Ojou-sama and Kasukabe have been under your care for so long and it would seem that I'm late to have only greeted you now."
"Nah, there's no need to stand on ceremony with me. We already have much history with you [No Names], so there's no need to take it to heart." Garol laughed heartily.
Izayoi couldn't help but feel warm inside due to Garol's words. Though [No Name] had been destroyed once, but the strings of relation with its old friends have not be totally severed yet.
"So how is it? From the perspective of a former strategist of the previous [Floor Master], do those girls stand a chance?" Izayoi asked nonchalantly.
Garol hesitated before placing his cup down.
"About that…Let's start with Yō-Oujo. I believe that she is almost near completion. If we take away the flaw of taking matters into her own hands by herself, she would not require any more special training. It's even possible to leave it to her to grow stronger by herself."
--- As expected of Koumei's daughter, Garol thought to himself while smiling.
"Oh? That sounds really good."
"Nn……All the more reason for me to be drenched in cold sweat when they had that commotion yesterday. If that child becomes serious, that lad Griffith might become mincemeat in just one hit." Garol gave a long sigh.
Though Izayoi felt that it would have been great news if the punch did reduce a certain someone to mincemeat, he did not allow that thought to be voiced out.
"Looks like there's no need to worry about Yō……and about Ojou-sama?"
Hearing Izayoi's question, Garol's face changed.
Pouring rum into his cup, he answered in a cautious manner: "……Asuka-oujo has a much bigger problem."
"How so?"
"Her Gift is very strong. I've not heard of evaporating a metal bar with just a Gift that's supposed to give a small spark for lighting kindling."
"That's quite something." Izayoi's words was not a sarcasm for he was truly in awe.
He had not seen Asuka's own Gift in action. This is because he had only seen Asuka using Deen in battles. And that made Garol's input as a piece of information that was good for reference.
"The current problem is….. There isn't a suitable Gift for that child. Do you know how many Gifts she has destroyed in the past two weeks? Twenty-four. Gifts aren't any simple consumable product that can be bought off the shelves. If only she can use them with care. Haiz~" Garol gave a sigh again.
The reason for the sigh was because of Asuka's great talent in her Gift. And it can only be called a problem due to the expenses.
"To limit the expenses, I've given her many lessons on the use of strategies in battle to come up with counter-tactics…but judging by her character, I've a feeling that it will not work. Hence, what we can do currently is to replace the Gift when she destroys one."
"Hey, that's too wasteful."
"Hahaha! But for us, it is quite a profit!" Carol laughed cheerfully.
However, the financial situation of [No Name] wasn't that all that bright. A strong Gift that can withstand Asuka's power must be found as soon as possible---Izayoi vowed silently.
"Though it might not seem right for me to say it, but Ojou-sama does have quite an interesting talent."
"Not as exaggerating as yours right? To be able to destroy the strongest species with just one punch. If you want to talk about strange, I would say that you are much more strange, Izayoi."
Gry managed to join in at last and Izayoi replied with a loud laugh.
Even so, Garol just rubbed his chin while saying in a serious tone:
"I'm not clear about your situation…but I can at least see a clue about the source of Asuka's Gift."
"Ooh? Really?"
"Nn. I fear that the child is a kind of -----Atavistic phenomenon."
Izayoi's hand that held the cup froze in mid-air, having made it halfway to his mouth.
"……You mean it is a kind of trait that skips a generation or two?"
"What I mean is much different, but yet similar. What you meant was Intergenerational trait that occurs between generations. But this child is much different. If my deduction is right, her spiritual power---Could be due to a Divine being possessing her when she was born."
" ……?"
" Nn… Let's take for example, a couple that's unable to conceive a child travels to pray for a child from a god that governs child-birth, the child's relations would consist of the father, mother and the God. At this point, do you follow me?"
"Oh, that is much simpler to understand. I got it already."
"Good. Then, in this kind of situation, the child will become a being of higher standing in the mortal world. And I fear that Asuka is the result of a repetition of this same process for more than ten generations."
Izayoi's eyes grew wide at those words.
"More than ten generations…of reproduction with the aid of God's gift?"
"The one who endows the gift of reproduction might not be a god. It can be a demon, a spirit…. But considering her abilities, it would seem that it is an 80-90% possibility that she has the protection of god---which can also be phrased as the human who is closest to being a God. Because the power of that child is undoubtedly at the end that [Gifts]."
" OOoh?" Izayoi let out a breath in admiration.
Though he had heard of Asuka's power, this was out of his expectations that she would have such a talent.
"……Even so, her Atavistic condition may have another reason."
"And what is it?"
"Unless one is born a god, just by bloodline alone isn't sufficient to become a deity. For humans to become a deity, the accomplishment is [Meeting the quota of Believers]. Though my previous theory brought up the eligibility, it lacked the accomplishment."
Just when Izayoi's a step away from being fully convinced, Garol began to drink his wine solemnly.
Izayoi also raised his cup to his lips while wordlessly urging Garol to continue.
"Lad, have you heard of the theory of intersecting World Planes---called more simply as [Paradigm shift]?"
"…Yes to the former, but it is the first time hearing the latter."
"Really? Then you have to listen up. This will be very important for Asuka-oujo."
Placing down his cup, Garol leaned forward with a serious expression on his face.
Izayoi and the others had also sat up straighter, showing their focused attention.
"---[Paradigm shift] is not limited to humans or about humans, but a milestone that helps to demarcate an observation regarding a type of life form. Take for example, a large scale war, or a huge change in the biological evolution due to a natural disaster. That time period will be called a [Paradigm shift]. These events will be big enough to change the later generations and bringing an end to the previous generation. And to progress, bearers of various [Gifts] will appear. Hence when tracing the background of a Community, one can often find the corresponding legend or history of the actual person."
"…I get it now… But how does it relate to Ojou-sama?" Izayoi asked in puzzlement.
In reply, Garol's gaze was sharpened. "Lad, the time period of that lass should be not long after the defeat of Japan isn't it?"
" ….So it's that!"
Izayoi finally understood and nodded his head vigorously.
Garol seemed to feel comforted as he continued: "My fear is that she's a candidate for [Patriot who saves his war-torn lands] or a similar idol. Born to a rich organization with a bloodline that is close to a Divine being. Though she might not be well known as of yet, she already possess the qualities to be the vessel that rebuilds the country's soul."
Hence, [Patriot who saves his war-torn lands], that sort of generic faith chose Asuka to be its host and gave her an intangible Gift and spiritual power. Allowing her to be born with a spiritual power that's supposed to be obtained through a lifetime of accumulated accomplishments.
"Awakening as a God due to the troubled times……No, in this case it should be a demigod that is more suitable. Since the life of a higher life form is a different species and Asuka's power is that of an undeveloped god…Even so, this theory still has an unsolved mystery. To summon Asuka over to Little Garden, there must be a convergence of possibilities--- In other words, we should be able to observe the same phenomenon from different timelines. If it were by other methods of summoning, it would be unusual as well as unique…Lad, have you got any clue on it?"
"……"
Izayoi propped his chin up with his hand, seemingly deep in thought. But in actual fact, he wasn't even considering the question.
Japan in Sakamaki Izayoi's knowledge of it, had never recorded "Kudou Asuka" in its history. Garol's hypothesis of [Convergence of possibilities] would hence exclude her.
[However, there was still a mystery. According to recorded history, in the period of Zaibatsu(financial conglomerate) dissolution, there were only four major zaibatsu of Imperial Japan. Whereas, Asuka seemed to have told him---'I'm from the fifth biggest financial conglomerate in Japan'.]
Of course, that could easily be a misunderstanding on his part and the conversation may not have occurred.
Though it might be just an exaggeration from Asuka, at the very least, Izayoi had not heard of the existence of [Kudou Zaibatsu].
Hence, this made it a very insignificant but extremely irritating discordant note in the piecing together of information.
If the discordant sensation was due to the mysterious [Kudou Zaibatsu]---then, there might be a forking in their world pathways even before Asuka and Izayoi's time and spreading them far apart.
"……I understand your words, Uncle. Thanks a lot, it really is quite a good reference material."
"Really?"
"Nn, to thank you, my elder, let's drink some more! Here!"
Izayoi laughed out loud as he carried up the wine barrel to pour into Garol's cup. He poured so much that rum started to overflow from the brim.
"Wa... Hey! This year's rum has been seasoned well. Don't go wasting it!"
"Then, just drink up from the place that it spills from, isn't that right?"
"That's just too unreasonable a request!" Though Garol said that, he still placed his mouth to the cup's edge and downed it in a mouthful.
Seeing how Garol was sporting enough to drink it in a way befitting a [Six Scars]' previous leader, Gry broke into a laugh after having sat silently listening to their conversation all this while.
"Dad's going to retire after this Harvest Festival. So let's drink our fill as part of our early celebration for him!"
"Nn. When the time comes for you to hold the retirement and official handing over ceremony, please invite me along. I will be there to return the favor for you visiting me when I'm recuperating."
Hearing Carol and Gry's words, Garol rubbed the back of his head bashfully.
On the other side of this conversation, Izayoi remembered something that almost slipped his mind until the matter of Garol's handing over was mentioned.
[I wonder if that chibi-sama …Has he succeeded in forming an Alliance?]
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