Crossover: The Problem Human of [Arcadia]

"What, someone is capable of creating a Last Embryo?"

Mata asked through a mouthful of apple, her eyes wide with disbelief.

A Last Embryo wasn't something just anyone could make.

Other than Little Garden's Central Core, which operated with all the logic of a lunatic, who would even think of creating one? Wasn't that just asking for trouble?

Indra hesitated before lowering his voice, "You know Ryo always—"

Before he could finish, Mata sprayed apple bits everywhere.

"Good grief!" She stared at him as though he'd lost his mind. "Indra, what's wrong with you? You're actually suspecting your own great-grandson-in-law? That's seriously messed up."

Indra's face darkened.

"It's not that! Maybe... I've just been traumatized by that kid lately!"

He rubbed his forehead. "But think about it. Ever since Ryo Yagami arrived in Little Garden... has anything gone peacefully?"

"Sure," Mata answered without hesitation. "There has."

Indra blinked. "Like what?"

She grinned. "Zeus finally became a Three-Digit. Now I can camp outside his house and ambush him. That's definitely good news."

"..."

Indra's mouth twitched. "Mata, I'm serious. My instincts are telling me Ryo has something to do with this."

"Don't forget... He's the lunatic who dared auction off Vishnu's Spirit Rank."

"...When you put it that way..." Even Mata started feeling uneasy.

Thinking it over... ever since Ryo had entered Little Garden, one major incident after another had followed.

The changes brought about by World War II.

The King of the End incident.

The Godslayer War.

The emergence of the Trickster.

Algol's ascension.

And that utterly ridiculous auction where Indra himself had been sold off.

Granted, only one or two of those incidents had been directly linked to Ryo.

But when you looked at them together, it became increasingly difficult to dismiss them all as coincidence.

After a certain point... Too many coincidences stopped being coincidences.

Even Mata began to look suspicious.

Still, there was no way she was going to be the one picking a fight with Ryo. She wasn't interested in making enemies.

So she simply smiled. "If you're that suspicious... why don't you summon Ryo to the Heavenly Army's Hall of Heart Inquiry?"

The Hall of Heart Inquiry was the Heavenly Army's interrogation division.

Created by the Heavenly Court for historical reasons, it was essentially Buddhism's version of an Inquisition.

Once someone walked through those doors, every secret they'd ever buried would be dragged into the light. Even stealing candy as a child wouldn't stay hidden.

For interrogating suspects, there was no better place.

Indra immediately rolled his eyes. "Interrogate my ass. Do I look like the kind of man who'd throw his own great-grandson-in-law into that place? Once he steps into the Hall of Heart Inquiry, he'll look guilty whether he is or not."

The Heavenly Army might have been Little Garden's official enforcement organization... But plenty of powerful factions had their eyes on it.

If Ryo were summoned over, those people would twist everything they could. Even if he were completely innocent, they'd make sure enough dirt stuck to him that he'd end up having to cut himself open just to prove he'd only eaten one bowl of noodles, not two.

Indra would have to be out of his mind before sending Ryo there.

"If you're not going to interrogate him, then what exactly are you planning to do?" Mata looked thoroughly entertained. "Don't tell me you expect that little fox to confess voluntarily."

"And even if he did... Could you actually protect him? Or are you planning to dump the blame on Ouroboros again?"

If someone had to shoulder responsibility for everything happening in Little Garden, there was only one organization everyone would point to.

Ouroboros.

Whenever something impossible happened, blaming Ouroboros was always the first choice.

Even now, despite the Tricksters stealing headlines, it couldn't compare to that old veteran scapegoat.

Back in the day, whenever disaster struck Little Garden, some Heavenly Army member secretly embedded within Ouroboros would inevitably step forward and solemnly declare: "Yep. That was us. Ouroboros."

It was practically their trademark.

The ultimate fall guy.

"..."

Indra thought for a moment before shaking his head. "This isn't something we can pin on anyone. And it's not something we should investigate too deeply."

At best... His suspicions would remain suspicions.

Not to mention His great-granddaughter, Kuro Usagi, was with that brat. Oh, so was his daughter, Asura.

He could afford to fall out with almost anyone, just not Ryo.

Unless he truly intended to sacrifice his own peaceful retirement.

"Then telling me all this is pointless." Mata rolled her eyes. "After all that... you've basically just been talking nonsense."

At that, a meaningful smile spread across Indra's face. "We can't investigate deeply... That doesn't mean we can't keep an eye on him."

He glanced around conspiratorially before leaning toward Mata. He looked remarkably like one of those shady DVD vendors who used to lurk around marketplaces in the '90s.

"So... Has the battlefield surveillance from the Divine War come in yet?"

"...What are you talking about?" Mata put on an innocent expression.

"Oh, quit pretending." Indra rolled his eyes again. "I refuse to believe you didn't station people around Mars to monitor Ryo and Artemis' fight."

He snorted. "Honestly... I'd bet that if you walked ten meters around that battlefield, you'd step on five different war correspondents hiding in the bushes. Everyone's dying to know what Ryo's Another Cosmology does."

"It'd be stranger if nobody was spying."

Then he added confidently, "If you, Prithvi Mata, really didn't send anyone... I won't set foot in the pleasure district anymore."

The bold declaration lasted all of two seconds before he immediately softened.

"Come on, big sis. Hand it over. I'm not trying to hurt Ryo. I'm his great grandpapa-in-law... "

"You're just trying to dig up leverage so he'll behave himself." Mata looked at him like he was hopeless. "And you say you're not trying to harm him."

Technically... That wasn't entirely false.

But she knew what he was really after.

He was terrified of getting dragged into another one of Ryo's disasters. Or perhaps he wanted to redirect the next disaster toward someone else.

Either way, he was fishing for useful information.

'You're the commander of the Heavenly Army. Do you really have to be this underhanded?'

The accusation immediately made Indra leap up like someone had stepped on his tail.

"What nonsense! I'm doing this for the Heavenly Army! If we don't keep an eye on Ryo and understand what he's capable of... Who knows what kind of catastrophe he'll cause next?"

Mata stared at him... For a very long time.

Unfortunately, Indra's shamelessness remained completely unshaken.

Eventually, she sighed and handed over a stack of documents. "The Mars operation only just wrapped up. The remaining reports are still being compiled. I'll send them over later."

She paused. Then smiled mischievously. "By the way... Once the fight started, Ryo spent the entire battle trash-talking Artemis. And from the looks of it, it actually worked."

"Trash talk?" Indra skimmed the report before bursting into laughter. "He even held back his strength while fighting Artemis? Beating up a physically weak Four-Digit from Greece has really gone to his head."

"If Artemis had gotten angry enough to break through into the Three-Digit ranks and make up for her shortcomings... He would've been in serious trouble."

"But she didn't." Mata grinned. "So he got away with it."

"Fine, fine." Indra waved dismissively. "I'll study these reports myself. I want to see exactly how strong that brat has become."

"Then enjoy." Mata stood.

After saying goodbye, her figure vanished from the conference hall. Only Indra remained.

Once she was gone, Indra lazily pulled out a pair of reading glasses and slipped them on.

Squinting through the lenses, he began carefully reading Ryo's intelligence file.

He wanted to know... Just what secrets that kid was hiding.

And whether those secrets had anything to do with these suddenly emerging Last Embryos.

It was a question that deserved serious investigation.

Indra read carefully. Very carefully.

A short while later, soft snores echoed through the empty conference chamber.

_ _ _

Mars, Barren Plains—

While waiting for Leticia to return, Ryo heard a familiar series of notification chimes from the attached forum.

It was the distinctive alert used only when the Evil Dragons reported back to him and Algol after completing a mission.

Hearing it, Ryo narrowed his eyes.

Without drawing attention, he casually swept his gaze over the hidden observers lurking all around the battlefield.

The corners of his lips slowly curled into a faint smile.

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