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Horizon:Volume 6B Chapter 27

2017-12-28T23:45:20Z

162.158.134.85: Simple fix.

==Chapter 27: Silver Wolf at a New Home==
[[Image:Horizon6-B201_201.jpg|thumb]]
''I

''I am not a dog

'''Point Allocation (Wagging Tail)

Asama breathed a deep sigh as she walked.

She was on the way from the Asama Shrine to the Main Blue Thunder.

The sun was just beginning to move lower in the sky. The sign frame that Hanami held up said it was 2:30 PM.

The study camp had already been dismissed on Okutama’s bow deck, so everyone was beginning their next action.

Masazumi and the others had gone to the Student Council Room to prepare for the next meeting and the Mouri and Houjou people had gone to their diplomatic buildings. Asama had changed the Mouri clan’s main shrine setting as asked. She had expected it to be a lot of work, but…

…''It went surprisingly smoothly…

Mouri’s main shrine had been the Suga Shrine. That was an old shrine that was connected to Susanoo’s slaying of Yamata. The shrine did not have a wide reach, but it had long produced its own unique brand of powerful combat spells.

Asama viewed it as a shrine that took full advantage of its strengths as an individual.

Mouri’s main shrine rights had been temporarily transferred from that Suga Shrine to a Kantou shrine.

Asama had wondered what shrine that would be and now she had her answer:

“Atsugi’s Mishima Shrine…?”

Atsugi’s Mishima Shrine.

That was one branch of the Mishima shrines. It was located at the center of Kantou.

According to Terumoto…

“Mouri was originally known as the Ooe clan and worked for Kamakura. Atsugi’s Mishima was there at the time. Mouri broke off as a branch family and so on, but if we are to use the Mouri name in that land, it would be best to shift our rights to the Mishima Shrine. That should result in the least amount of interference.”

That was true, but it showed real commitment to make the Mouri’s main shrine a branch shrine instead of the primary shrine.

Was that restriction meant to show that they needed Asama’s assistance? However…

…''Figuring out this kind of divine work is pretty fun…

It felt a lot like a game when she found unexpected connections or made predictions.

“The Mishima Shrine that Terumoto-san asked for belongs to a conglomerate where the Ooyamazumi Shrine and main Mishima Shrine are above it and one of its gods is closely related to the Asama Shrine’s…”

One of the Mishima gods was Ooyamatsumi, the father of Sakuya who was worshiped by the Asama Shrine.

Ooyamatsumi was a harvest god that covered both the mountains and the sea. There was a story of him sending his daughter Sakuya and her older sister Iwanaga as wives for the heavenly god Ninigi.

In other words, a harvest god had given his power to a descendant of the heavenly gods.

However, Ninigi had taken Sakuya as his wife, but as for Iwanaga who was sent with her…

…''She was a little too extreme for him, so he chose to not take her as a wife.

The official explanation had been that she was ugly, but for the history recreation…

“Beauty standards are different in every age, right?”

Once someone mentioned that, the busty and flat chest factions had gotten into a bare-handed fistfight, the plump and slender factions had started using joint locks on each other, and even the longhair, ponytail, blonde hair, and black hair factions had rolled up their sleeves to join the brawl.

They had ultimately settled on a gray zone solution of “nominating someone who matched the sensibilities of that age”, but Ooyamatsumi had been enraged when Iwanaga was sent back and he had said the following to Ninigi:

“Iwanaga was the daughter in charge of lifespan, so now your descendants will have a set lifespan. End of story!”

That had led to a response heard over and over in the Age of the Gods:

“You didn’t tell me that!!”

However, researchers suspected that Sakuya, who had something of a fiery personality, would never have allowed her children to have a set lifespan. So there was a basic consensus on what would have happened next:

“That had to have ended badly.”

“That would have ended very badly.”

“Her father would not have escaped unharmed.”

And the Iwanaga incident created an odd trend in the ancient Divine States:

“The more extreme your fetishes, the longer your lifespan.”

That was what had led to the blossoming of the genre fetishes supported by Shinto.

That somewhat troublesome father god was worshiped at Mishima, but…

…''Sakuya set fire to the maternity room, so her husband Ninigi must have had a rough time…

This time, the daughter god’s shrine had set things up for the source of that troublesome family.

But Mouri’s original main shrine, the Suga Shrine, was also very interesting to Asama.

“Ooyamatsumi is the grandfather of Kushinada, wife of Susanoo.”

Kushinada’s parents were not Sakuya and Ninigi, so Sakuya would be their aunt.

…''Neshinbara-kun would probably like this kind of story…

In fact, there was no probably about it.

However, Asama thought Mouri’s shrine history followed an interesting genealogy.

In Kantou, they had used the Mishima Shrine that worshiped Ooyamatsumi, but they had later come to use the Suga Shrine that worshipped Susanoo, grandson-in-law of Ooyamatsumi.

It seemed like the generations of gods and humans had matched up by pure coincidence, but…

“They probably followed the best possible course.”

She felt some awe because she was the Asama Shrine Representative.

Meanwhile, the processing had gone surprisingly well.

Mouri had been registered to the Mishima Shrine long ago, so that shrine had only needed to dig up the old records.

The registration settings were from about 400 years ago, but the Kamakura Shogunate had been primarily made up of the long-lived. Whether or not some of that blood was included in the Mouri family tree was more of a Neshinbara topic.

To start with, Asama sent a request to rewrite Mouri’s original local shrine registration with the Mishima Shrine to make that their main shrine.

Then she worked out what shrines the Mouri clan had been registered with between Mishima and Suga when they moved from Sagami to Aki.

“…Mouri split off in Echigo too, didn’t they?”

The original Ooe clan came from the Kyoto area and the group that joined Kamakura was special.

The Kamakura Mouri clan had spread to Echigo, Aki, and Choushuu. After that, the main group in Aki had created what was now known as the Mouri clan.

So Asama confirmed the historical main shrines of each Mouri branch. She made sure none of their main shrine settings were still active.

“Okay, that looks fine.”

After making sure she had not entered anything incorrectly, she changed the Suga Shrine registration to a secondary shrine setting. She sent a registration request to IZUMO and only a few seconds later…

'''<Main Shrine Setting: Mouri Clan: Suga Main Shrine → Mishima Atsugi Branch Shrine: Intermediary – Asama Main Shrine: Setup Complete: Asama-sama has earned 5000 IZUMO Points>

…''Oh, maybe I should buy a black disk with those points…

Meanwhile, the Mishima settings were automatically transferred over and rewritten.

Hanami had likely automatically arranged a few parts of that.

But that mostly ended it. The interference settings and restrictions release would have to wait until after IZUMO sent the main shrine data to Mouri.

Terumoto would likely tell Asama what she wanted and needed done. A third party could not interfere until they knew that. So…

“I can help out with some other things…”

Asama breathed in and faced forward.

She was on the familiar path to the Main Blue Thunder.

…''We’re inviting Mouri and Houjou here for a strategy meeting this evening, aren’t we?

They had to decide on the rules for the duels.

They could not exactly use the Student Council Room, so they had decided to use the Main Blue Thunder instead. However…

“Hmm…”

Asama suddenly came to a stop.

She looked down at what she held in her right hand.

Her right fingers grasped a wicker bag, which contained…

“…A sleepover set.”

She had come to a stop because she was unsure if she should really be bringing that, but then…

“Huh? Asama-san, why are you just standing there!?”

Adele saw Asama just about jump off her feet.

She did not actually leave the ground, but her entire body shook as if stretching upwards.

…''Is there anything Asama-san can’t do…?

''And she always goes all out with her shtick,'' thought Adele as Asama slowly turned around.

Adele predicted Asama would be mad or would make some kind of ''tsukkomi'', so she put together a response in her mind. However…

“Ahh…”

Asama sighed when she looked back over her shoulder and saw Adele.

It was a breath of both relief and relaxation. She finally fixed her summer uniform’s collar and spoke.

“Don’t scare me like that, Adele.”

“Oh, um, uh.”

Adele had not predicted this reaction.

If anything, it was timid.

…''U-umm?

Adele could not figure out why Asama would be acting this way. However…

“Sorry. D-did I catch you at a bad time?”

“Eh? No, not really. …Why would it be a bad time?”

…''I was asking because I don’t know!

But once Asama brought her breathing under control, she looked the same as ever.

And…

“Adele, are you on the way to the Main Blue Thunder too?”

“Judge. I bet I’ll get some snacks if I get there early!”

“…If you’re starving, I could give you a piece of candy.”

“I’ll take it!”

Asama gave her a brown sugar candy wrapped in bamboo leaf, so she immediately ate it.

“It’s so sweet! Hopefully it will last until dinner.”

“I really don’t think that’s possible. …Huh?”

Asama looked to the Main Blue Thunder on their right.

Adele looked in the same direction, although Asama’s breasts were in the way. Asama then grabbed her shoulders.

“—————”

She wordlessly pulled her back below the eaves of a store.

They were at a clothing store three buildings away from the Main Blue Thunder. They were now shaded from the summer sun, but…

“Um, Asama-san?”

“Oh, yes. Just a moment.”

Wondering what this was about, Adele looked out from behind Asama and toward the Blue Thunder.

She saw someone standing in front of it.

They held a suitcase in front of the entrance.

“The 5th Special Duty Officer?”

Mitotsudaira sweated in the sun.

…''I actually came…!

No, there was nothing weird about coming here. They were having a meeting here.

And her mansion had been destroyed in the battle with Sanada’s Terrestrial Dragon. Torahide’s claws had flown over, broken through the mansion’s roof, and destroyed the interior, but now that she thought about it…

“…Those weren’t the ones I was swinging around, were they?”

If she had done this to herself, the insurance would not pay out, so she wanted to avoid that.

Whatever the case, she no longer had a house. She had brought a set of equipment to the Student Council Room, but she could not just leave it there.

And if they finished their plans with Mouri today, her mother and father would arrive. And they were clearly planning to spend the night.

As their daughter, it was her duty to deal with any problems that led to. She wondered how long she would have to prostrate herself to make up for it if the Main Blue Thunder was destroyed. ''An amateur prostration might not be enough.

But she was concerned about something else as well.

…''What will happen to me if I start living here?

Her mother had said Mouri and Hexagone Française had no intention of paying to reconstruct her mansion, so she would have to use her savings, earnings, and meager insurance payout. But…

“That isn’t nearly enough for a mansion in the surface city…”

She had needed to move before due to the situation on the Musashi, but that had been relatively cheap because it had only been shifting the existing mansion from one place to another. Constructing something from the ground up was another matter entirely.

She wanted a home.

That was her honest desire, but if she paid rent, she would have less money to pay for reconstruction.

…''The fastest method would be to sell my company…

But she was provisionally second in line to ruling the Far East. Nobles, merchants, and politicians would sometimes show signs of trying to build connections with her and that could feel troublesome.

She knew who her king was, so she preferred to ignore those extra matters, but selling her company could create such a connection.

''So,'' she decided in her heart. ''I will live in this building before me to show that those connections will not work with me.

However…

…''It isn’t right to use the relationship with my king to eliminate a personal annoyance of mine.

More and more thoughts filled her mind.

She had brought some sleepover luggage here, but could she really step through that door?

She knew her king would be there, but what would he think when he saw her luggage?

“…That’s right.”

She felt like there would be no saving her if she saw a look of surprise on his face.

But she felt like it would all work out if he would accept her.

She felt like she could leave everything with him if he said he was glad she had come.

So what would happen?

She kept thinking, but before any of that, she wondered if her king would eventually notice that she was waiting here.

Even if she had her king’s support, a knight was not to set foot inside her king’s home.

She wanted her king to notice she was here. But at the same time…

…''It isn’t right for a knight to make her king come out and greet her either.

So she would not call for her king.

She was standing perfectly still in front of the house and its door. What would people think she looked like here?

“I think I know.”

The thought suddenly hit her.

…''A guard dog?

…''N-no!?

A dangerous word had entered her mind.

''No. That is not what I look like.

''I mean, a guard dog is watching out for people arriving, so it would have its back to the door.

She was facing the door, so she was not playing a guard dog’s role.

''Yes, that’s right,'' thought Mitotsudaira. ''This is certainly nothing like a dog sitting at the entrance waiting to be fed.

Then another thought hit her.

…''This is the same as a dog waiting for its master!

What was she supposed to do about that?

Yes. She could not face the door and she could not face away from the door either.

“I just have to face sideways!”

Asama saw Mitotsudaira fidget for a while and finally turn to face away from them.

Why was unclear.

Adele tilted her head while watching along with Asama.

“Is that what I think it is…?”

“Adele, do you understand Mito’s bizarre behavior?”

“Well…it looks a lot like how a well-behaved dog will sit to the side of the entrance so it doesn’t get in its owner’s way. I guess that does suit the 5th Special Duty Officer pretty well.”

“No, um, that can’t be it. Because, uh, Mito isn’t a dog.”

But it was true Asama had thought “oh, she’s wagging her tail” earlier.

However, Adele did make some sense.

Mitotsudaira was waiting.

One important factor of her relationship with him was gaining her king’s approval.

A knight could not beg her king for things, so the king had to accept the knight as a matter of course. That was one type of ideal relationship.

Was the silver wolf using this to seek that ideal?

Yet if anyone visited, it would be obvious she was waiting.

But as Asama watched the girl change position again as she waited in front of the door…

…''That is a lot like Mito…

She was bold in her actions, but that boldness was always directed outwards. Her one weakness was on the inside.

If her king no longer needed her, she would lose any direction for that boldness.

She would lose all meaning and strength. She would simply lose her destination.

Instead of a knight headed somewhere, she would become an unmoving knight who protects her current location. To Mitotsudaira, that would mean no longer being her king’s knight. She would only be a knight of Musashi who acts only when it would protect Musashi.

That was of course a valid course for her life. That was the original definition of a knight of Musashi.

But she had wanted a different path and it had been given to her.

So she waited.

She waited for her king to open the door either coincidentally or intentionally.

She had to understand that this was like a game. And once she was satisfied with her game, she would probably open the door herself. However…

“…Yes.”

“Eh?”

Adele looked over and Asama realized she was blushing herself.

“No, um…”

How was she supposed to explain this?

As she watched Mitotsudaira in profile, she saw the silver wolf tensing her shoulders a bit and occasionally taking deep breaths to calm herself.

“…She looks like she’s having fun.”

Asama started to feel jealous, so she corrected her thoughts.

She reminded herself that she would probably act just like that if she was the one standing in front of that door.

Mitotsudaira patiently waited.

She was good at waiting. She had waited years before her king started forward.

The short time spent standing here was nothing compared to the agonizingly long wait to see if her king would move or not.

“Oh, you’re here, you’re here.”

The door suddenly opened.

The nudist was there.

Right in front of her.

''Eh?'' thought Mitotsudaira while unable to react to the sudden occurrence. But before she could take another breath, the nudist descended the Main Blue Thunder’s step and took her luggage.

If she did not let go of the luggage, he would end up taking her hand and pulling on it. That was when she came back to her senses.

“…Um, my king?”

“Hey, were you waiting long? I thought you’d probably be showing up about now.”

Hearing that made her heart skip a beat because she thought he might have seen her. However…

“I knew you’d probably arrive first, so I thought I’d open the door so you could come right in.”

“M-me? First?”

“Who would be first but you, Nate?”

“Oh, uh, well…”

As she tried to figure out how to answer that, he pulled on her hand.

They stepped up into the entrance and he guided her inside. For a few hesitant steps, she was unsure if she should let him pull her or if she should actively follow him.

She ultimately decided to “not fight it”.

“…Ah.”

Once inside, she realized something.

There was no one there.

She was first.

Kimi would of course be in the back, but there was no one else.

This was best for a knight who was meant to stand by her king’s side.

And a thought occurred to her.

…''I’m glad no one else arrived while I was waiting.

If someone else had gone in before her, she would not have been able to feel this emotion.

This was nothing more than being the first to arrive, but she was glad she had come so early despite her hesitation.

…''Yes.

She breathed a sigh of relief and satisfaction and her king gestured toward the bottom of the shoe rack.

“Come on in, come on in. Also…”

He smiled and looked at what she held.

And he asked a question.

“You’ll be staying here now, right?”

Mitotsudaira tried to think about what he meant.

She tried to think about how this would look, what her mother would say, and what her friends would say, but…

“…Judge.”

She managed to say it, albeit quietly. And then…

“Judge…!”

She repeated herself. Meanwhile, she felt heat gathering in her cheeks and in her entire body. She was not confident she could restrain herself once that heat gathered beyond its limit.

…''That’s right.

There was something she had to say here.

“I look forward to living with you, my king.”

She said it.

She hoped he felt the same way.

And she hoped her king had not just been talking about tonight or until she could rebuild her mansion.

Then her king reacted.

“Ah.”

“…Ah? What does that mean?”

“Well, um, Nate?”

“Y-yes, what is it?”

“Umm,” said the nudist while raising his hands toward her.

It was clearly a “wait a second” gesture. However…

…''Wait. Don’t tell me…

Had she been mistaken, so he had to correct her?

She felt the heat in her body begin to fade.

That was exactly when he asked his question.

“This is a permanent thing, right?”

Kimi flipped through a sign frame while lying on her bed.

They would have a lot of visitors today. Enough that her brother would need help with the cooking. She knew she could get help from herself, Asama, and her mother at the Blue Thunder.

…''Horizon’s cooking would be good for some laughs, but is that what we want today?

They would all need to work hard regardless, but coming up with a menu in advance was important. So she thought about what they had stocked in their home’s storeroom and ice room as well as what they could get sent over from the Blue Thunder.

“…Oh?”

She knew her brother and his knight were speaking in the restaurant area.

But she heard something hard hit the floor in there.

The knight had likely dropped her luggage.

She knew what had happened. The wolf would have sunk down to the floor.

She had spoken with Kimi’s brother and he had said something she did not expect. Kimi knew that had to be the situation.

…''How delightful.

She and her brother were no longer alone. Horizon was there too, but…

…''As someone who stands on the borderline, they are “alone”.

Kimi was in a complicated position where she was turned a bit toward those two who were “alone together”.

“I’m so thankful for that.”

She had always been afraid of what would happen if something happened when she only had her brother.

And if something happened to one or the other of them, then there would only be the one left.

But now he had a knight who would share in all that.

He would probably bring in more than just her, but the wolf was the one her brother was the most ''aware'' of.

The knight had arrived as she was meant to and they had confirmed their relationship with each other.

…''A wolf would probably be so happy she pissed herself…

What was she supposed to say about a silver wolf that sank to the floor while wetting herself?

Kimi made sure there was some meat on the menu while smiling and rolling in her bed. She felt amusement tickling at her heart.

“They say a happy life can pack on the pounds, but is it supposed to take your legs out from under you?”

Mitotsudaira thought about standing up.

…''U-umm.

She had to stand up.

Besides, she did not even know why she had sunk down to the floor.

If she had her king’s trust and this was what he wanted, then she only had to hold her head high and answer him.

She could not stand up.

More than her hips being weak, it was her knees that could not support any weight.

She could not believe it.

But her king simply held his palm out toward her.

“Wait just a second, okay?”

“…Eh?”

The nudist ran to the kitchen. For no apparent reason, he shook his hips twice in the entrance, but that was probably a ritual of his.

And her king soon came back.

He held a long knife and he stood in front of her with it.

“Umm, Nate Mitotsudaira.”

“Your God Mosaic is right in front of me, so I’m a little worried about this situation.”

“Just bear with it for a moment. Um, Nate.”

“Y-yes?”

He had told her to bear with it, so there had to be some meaning to this.

So she waited and her king suddenly continued.

“You listening?”

“Yes.”

“Nate, I hereby reserve you to be my knight once I become a king.”

Umm.

“To do it right, I’m supposed to hit you on the head with the blade, right?”

“I would die!”

Why could she not imagine herself dodging her king’s attack?

But she knew what he was doing.

“Are you knighting me?”

“This is the best time, right?”

“W-well,” hesitated Mitotsudaira. “Will you keep this a secret?”

“Yeah, we’ll just do it like this for now. I briefly considered doing it using the topknot, but…hey, don’t give me that look! Anyway…we can always do it properly if there’s a good chance later on.”

But…

“Since you’re coming to live here, I thought this was the time for now.”

After that, he tapped her shoulder with the flat of the blade.

“Keep helping me out, okay?”

Hearing that, she took in a breath and…

“Judge.” Mitotsudaira bowed her head. “My body and soul are yours to command. And I offer my services to you.”

The ceremony was no more than words. They were not actually binding a contract or exchanging divine protections.

But her king said, “I’m supposed to rub perfumed oil on your forehead, right?”

“That is one method.”

“…I guess it wouldn’t be right to use the oil from the bacon I was cooking earlier, would it?”

“I-I am not that much of a meat lover!”

“In that case,” he said while crouching down.

…''Eh?

He parted her bangs and then she felt something warm and damp on her forehead.

He had pressed his lips against her and then licked her.

He had clearly tasted her.

“There.”

“…M-my king?”

The mix of suddenness and surprise led Mitotsudaira to quickly raise her head. Her king sat in front of her and rubbed her head.

“You prefer it this way, right?”

“Well, it does seem appropriate…but why so suddenly?”

“Judge. Nate Maman licked my forehead when I was sleeping in her bed before, so I figured that was how Loup-Garous did things.”

…''Even he knows you licked him, mother!!

''But given what happened here, way to go, mother!!

''You never know what consequences something will have,'' noted Mitotsudaira as the nudist seemed to grab her head to more roughly rub it.

“Umm.”

He stood up and hurried back to the kitchen to put away the knife.

In the short time that his back was turned, Mitotsudaira pressed her right middle finger’s nail against her forehead.

That was where he had tasted her. She pressed the silver nail there to confirm the location.

“—————”

Then she brought the nail between her lips.

She wrapped her tongue around it and sent the contents of her mouth to her throat as if swallowing.

…''Nn.

She sensed her king’s scent.

She might forget this scent, but she wanted to make sure she would not forget what happened here.

…''We have shared secrets, but this secret is mine alone.

She realized her king would have learned her flavor as well, so this made them even. After using that reasoning to convince herself, she stood up.

She placed her dropped luggage in a corner of the restaurant area.

“My king.”

“Yeah?” he said while walking back in.

“May I go stand watch outside for a bit? …The smell of bacon in here is making my stomach growl.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 6B Chapter 26|Chapter 26]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 6B Chapter 28|Chapter 28]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 6B Chapter 26

2017-12-27T22:16:06Z

162.158.134.85: Minor edit to grammar in one sentence.

==Chapter 26: Staller on a Curved Path==
[[Image:Horizon6-B169_169.jpg|thumb]]
''I did not go the wrong way

''I started down the wrong path

'''Point Allocation (Summer Heat)

Kiyomasa saw Miyoshi Nyuudou frantically wave his hands side to side.

“P-please wait! You are jumping to conclusions!”

He seemed to have something to say for himself.

…''I suppose Sanada is technically part of Hashiba’s forces…

Kiyomasa sighed and asked another question while still running.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“Testament. Due to some connections from my past, I have sided with Hexagone Française and I stopped by here to perform some espionage on the way there.”

“Intruder!!”

“P-please wait! You are jumping to conclusions!”

He seemed to have something to say for himself.

“For one thing, Hashiba and Hexagone Française have yet to properly open hostilities!”

That was true. They were of course still enemies, but it was worth considering how to handle this situation.

Kiyomasa sighed and asked another question while still running.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“Testament. I will eventually be your enemy, so I came here for some espionage and found some young girls confirming their mutual friendship with a run. I caught the scent of youth and-…”

“Intruder!!”

“P-please wait! You are jumping to conclusions! I am no one suspicious! I merely arrived for some espionage and felt my heart flutter at the sight of some young girls!”

“Intruder!!”

“Please calm down! If you do, I am sure you will understand how pure my heart is! Young girls, youth, and a conversation while running! Ahh, how could I not feel my heart flutter!?”

“Kiyo-dono, how about we beat him up now?”

“Testament!” she agreed while Seikai whipped the horse drawing his cart.

The cart quickly accelerated.

“Ah. You’re trying to get away, aren’t you?”

“If my words cannot convince you, I have no other choice!”

Seikai stood up in the accelerated cart’s driver’s seat and swung his arm. He swung it toward the girls as they quickly picked up speed.

“Farewell, pure souls…!”

“W-wait! That cart is stolen!”

“Ha ha ha. We shall meet again tomorrow!”

A metal beam sticking out from a pile of materials hit Seikai on the back of the head.

With a solid sound, his body flipped through the air and over the materials loaded on his own cart.

He fell off.

But Kiyomasa and Fukushima had only just picked up speed.

They had to slam on the brakes when their enemy met this unexpected fate.

But by the time they stopped, they had already passed him by and were even further away from him than before.

“Oh, no…!”

The surrounding students were not warriors, so they could not capture Miyoshi Nyuudou.

So Kiyomasa turned around and ran. Fukushima was right there alongside her.

“Kh…!”

And she accelerated.

“Headfirst Fall…!”

Fukushima used Headfirst Fall for a short dash that quickly filled the gap between her and Miyoshi Nyuudou.

Miyoshi Nyuudou hit the ground rolling, stood back up, and began running once he noticed her.

…''He is surprisingly fast!

He was a ninja.

Fukushima was a samurai. Based on their combat styles, he would be faster on his feet than her. So if she was to catch up…

“…”

She had to use Headfirst Fall.

She needed to catch up in a hurry. If she could delay him by just a bit, Kiyomasa could arrive in time.

…''Of course, we are fortunate that we can fight him as a pair.

After all, they had no weapons.

Miyoshi Nyuudou, on the other hand, did. He appeared unarmed, but…

…''Here it comes!

He swung his arm toward them as he ran.

That thick demonic arm contained an emblem tattoo. That black pattern formed writing when he swung his arm and twisted his muscles.

“Sermon Cannon!!”

Ether light raced along his arm and left his hand as a glowing projectile.

In response…

…''Right!

Fukushima dodged. As the bullet passed her by, she deflected it to the left.

It hit some materials being transported and exploded.

The bursting light and the blast itself were weak, but it made a lot of noise and the surrounding Azuchi people finally noticed what was happening.

“…Enemy attack!?”

The workers were only the rear guard being used to transport materials.

Most of those who could actually fight had been sent to defend the levee construction.

…''So we have to do something here.

Fukushima had a sudden thought.

'''Llaf:''' “Takenaka-sama, were thou the one to determine the distribution of combat personnel here?”

'''Kuro Take:''' “Oh! So you noticed my excellent job, did you? Is there some kind of problem?”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “At least leave some guards here…!”

'''6:''' “More importantly, stop delaying work on the starboard side as well…!!”

'''AnG:''' “Calm down, Shouroku. Not that I know how hard you’re all working there.”

…''That is very true!

But the situation was what it was.

Everyone had reflexively come to a stop.

They were unsure if there was any danger nearby them.

If they had been trained, they would be able to make a few different decisions. They would immediately decide whether to fall back to safety or to defend against the danger.

But if they had not received combat training…

…''After hesitating, someone will be unable to bear the pressure and they will flee.

That would be dangerous. Everyone would think “me too”, seek that “uncertain safety”, and begin moving every which way.

So before that happened…

“…!”

Fukushima accelerated between the stopped people.

Her eyes were focused on her enemy.

Everyone had stopped and become obstacles, but he was slipping his large body between them.

It was like water.

The more obstacles there were, the faster he seemed to move.

And as Fukushima pursued him…

“Kh…”

She was hurrying, but…

…''My movements are rough!

She grazed people and dug up the dirt beneath her.

Part of her thought that was fine. That was just how her acceleration worked. After all…

“Headfirst Fall…!”

It had its origins in Minamoto Yoshitsune’s surprise attack.

Yoshitsune had appeared on a cliff behind the enemy formation and, as everyone else thought about taking a detour around, she had jumped down from the cliff. It was a technique for relying on your horse to descend a cliff. So if Fukushima was using that to accelerate…

…''Of course it is going to be rough.

It was a wild technique.

''But,'' she thought. ''Headfirst Fall provides a falling acceleration focused on speed, so it should be used by the person in the lead.

It was not a technique for use in a crowded area. So…

“…Now, then.”

Fukushima sought to reach “the lead”.

Kiyomasa saw something as she ran: Fukushima jumped as she ran out ahead.

…''Oh, dear.

It was a great leap. The girl in a black track suit soared up onto some materials being transported.

And Fukushima placed her left foot on those materials.

A moment later, she disappeared.

…''Headfirst Fall!

She had poured almost all of her strength into acceleration.

As if to prove it, she appeared atop some materials a short distance away and then vanished again.

She next appeared on the back of a carthorse and then on the roof of a materials storehouse.

“——————“

''I can’t keep up with her,'' thought Kiyomasa.

Strengthening her body with a spell simply was not enough.

She was clearly following “after” Fukushima, not following “along with” her.

This of course meant Fukushima would catch up to the enemy, but also…

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “Fukushima-sama! You’re moving too far out ahead!”

She called out to her, but…

“—————”

There was no response.

…''Not again!

Yes again.

Fukushima was focused just like during their run earlier.

She must have been thinking about something because she was failing to monitor her situation.

This time, she was probably focused on pursuing the enemy.

During training, taking time to think was important.

But at the moment…

“…!”

A stir ran through the surrounding people as they noticed Seikai and Fukushima.

They began to move. Some cried out in surprise and others in confusion.

“————!!”

The frightened and panicked crowd got in Kiyomasa’s way.

Fukushima realized she had caught up to the enemy.

They were on a waterway. It was a small artificial river that passed through the wheat field.

It was about 5 meters wide and about a meter lower than the wheat field on either side.

The water was less than 10 centimeters deep and small stones were lined up below the water.

This was probably the “path” Miyoshi Nyuudou had used to approach the Azuchi. He kicked up the water as he ran about 10 meters ahead of her.

She heard something from the Azuchi behind her while she kept up the pursuit.

“—————”

Everyone was raising their voices after finally noticing the chase.

Fukushima initially interpreted their distance from the Azuchi as distancing him from the work site.

That meant the enemy could no longer do damage to the others or to the Azuchi.

She was also well aware that leaving the Azuchi increased the risk to her. After all, she had no weapons and she was lightly equipped. She was also short on spells and divine protections.

She told herself she had to give up the chase after he had made it a certain distance away.

…''As long as I keep that in mind, I should be fine.

She would not pursue him too far.

Of course, she had achieved impressive results by continuing the pursuit during the battle against the gods of war on the transport ship. So she decided she had to pursue and approach him to a certain extent.

So she did so. And…

“—————”

Miyoshi Nyuudou accelerated.

He looked back her way and his narrowed eyes definitely focused in on her.

She knew why he had looked back: The waterway bent to the left up ahead.

The waterway was a level lower than the surrounding wheat field.

The wheat growing there hid the waterway from view after its leftward curve.

If she was careless, he could use the terrain to ambush her.

He likely intended to make clever use of this. His feet audibly kicked up the water as he turned his body around and…

“Sermon Cannon!!”

He fired a shot at lower hips height. And it was not a rapid shot.

It was a slow ether projectile that was more released than fired.

Fukushima realized the enemy was luring her in.

The speed and position of his shot was all the proof she needed.

Miyoshi Nyuudou had targeted her hips which were essentially her center of gravity while running.

If she was hit or if she blocked it, the blow to her center of gravity would bring her to a stop.

And it was slow.

A faster shot would have more force behind it, but then the bullet would reach her sooner.

Since he was trying to buy enough time to escape, it was better for him if the bullet took its time reaching her.

And the slower bullet allowed for more accurate aiming. So dodging it was her only option.

However, the direction in which she dodged was the problem. There was water below her, so crouching would slow her down.

If she jumped above it, she would expose her entire body to projectiles. Even with Headfirst Fall, she could not change direction while in the air with no footing.

So it had to be left or right.

But dodging to the left would be dangerous.

The curve up ahead was to the left. If she dodged left, she would be hugging the inside of the corner, but the higher ground and wheat on the left would be in the way. As soon as she entered the corner without being able to see ahead, he could hit her with a counterattack.

Right would be safer. However…

…''That would delay me around the left corner!

That would mean widening the gap between her and the enemy.

Fukushima sensed Miyoshi Nyuudou’s calm. He had fired one shot as if placing it in the air behind him, but that had given him several different advantages. He had likely been trained for this. Meanwhile…

…''If only I had Ichinotani…!”

Then she could have absorbed his attack and continued forward without losing any speed.

The enemy shot approached.

She had to make a decision. So…

“Headfirst Fall…!”

She accelerated.

Seikai grabbed water in his hand.

He scooped it up in his large palm. He held it up so some shadows fell through it and the scene behind him was reflected in the water’s surface that floated like a bubble between his fingers.

The wide angle of the reflection showed him a wide area behind him.

He saw something odd in the center of that makeshift mirror.

Fukushima disappeared in an instant.

…''A girl’s form vanishing in a river awash with summer sunlight…!

He viewed it poetically thanks to his usual habits, but he did not slow his running legs.

The enemy had not actually disappeared.

He indeed saw a movement in the water mirror he checked in a hurry.

It was down below.

Due to the curve of the bubble-shaped water mirror, it was hard to follow movement toward the bottom.

On top of that, Fukushima had taken an unexpected action.

She had leaned over to duck below the Sermon Cannon shot he had fired.

In Seikai’s view, ducking below it had been the 2nd best answer.

The best had been to dodge to the right and take the outer corner. Even if she was delayed by that, she would be safe and she could make up for the delay later.

She could not dodge to the left or above because that would expose her to danger.

Below had been the second best option, but…

…''Ducking down reduces her speed!

However, the enemy had not ducked down. She had leaned to the side as if collapsing into the water. And…

“She accelerated!?”

She had launched her leaning body forward to maintain her speed.

…''I see!

This enemy’s acceleration spell did not strengthen her body. It accelerated her from her footing to the direction her feet took her.

She was not running; she was falling.

So what mattered was the indicated direction, not her stance. She could fall headfirst or back-first.

And the enemy made her leap. Her forward “fall” took her below the bullet and, just as she finished passing below it, she righted her body and accelerated herself forward.

There was no hesitation in any stage of her triple fall.

“Impressive!”

Seikai swung his left arm. By twisting his arm, he altered the connections of the tattooed emblem to reload. The bullets seemed to wrap around his left arm and moved from there to his body like large rosary beads. Then he slammed them into the firing spell on his right hand.

“Sermon Cannon Machinegun!”

He fired them in quick succession.

The glowing bullets punched into the waterway’s wall.

The fist-sized shots were fast and fired in rapid succession.

Their firing sounded more like blowing wind than a roar and it was joined by the loud noise of reloading.

In the lead, Seikai ran while facing backwards and kicked up the water.

In pursuit, Fukushima ran while leaning forward and kicked up the water.

Seikai was the first to make his way around the left corner.

He hugged the inside of the corner to make the most of his lead.

And while the waterway’s wall provided cover, he fired ether bullets so they would pass through the other side. And he sprayed them up to down.

For Fukushima, this created a horizontally-sweeping barrage that covered the inside of the corner to the outside of the corner.

“How about that!?”

Seikai shouted that while falling back and that was when Fukushima made her approach.

She took a center route. It was the same route as the one on which she had ducked below the previous shot.

She had not changed her route in response to the random vertical spray of bullets from Seikai. She simply ran, and…

“…!”

She removed her jacket. A moment later, she grabbed the ends of the sleeves, scooped up water like the jacket was a basket, and swung it in front of her.

“…Take this!!”

She released her jacket toward the barrage cutting across at just below chest height.

The water had not had time to soak in, but the jacket struck the barrage with the weight of the water it surrounded.

Even if it was not officially meant for combat, student equipment was given defensive abilities and divine protections. That and the weight of the water was consumed by the enemy bullets.

Of course, the destructive ether bullets would not be stopped by something like that.

A few shots hit it, tore through the water and jacket material, and pierced through.

This was not completely bulletproof.

But the bullets that hit the jacket and water were slowed just a tad. And Fukushima took aim for the gap that created.

“Headfirst Fall…!”

She used her acceleration to throw herself sideways through the air.

She led with her right shoulder, twisted her body, and shifted into a Fosbury Flop.

She kicked off the water’s surface and moved quickly enough that the water only splashed up after the fact.

But not even that was enough. She had launched herself face-up in the air, but the later bullets were going to reach her.

That was why she turned herself around.

She began a midair spin to shift from face-up to face-down. She pointed her belly down and moved her right leg to kick at the water’s surface.

“————”

Her toes breached the water’s surface and reached the stones below.

She had her footing. And just then…

“…!”

She used her acceleration not to pass through the barrage but to pull herself out of it.

Even so, a few of the bullets still had the speed and trajectory needed to reach her. Because she had twisted her body starting from the feet, her face was furthest away and it had not quite left the barrage.

But she had seen them. And she could instantly grasp the trajectories of just a few.

So she could dodge them.

She cleared the barrage using her twirling and accelerating body along with physical strength centered on her head.

A few strands of hair were taken by the barrage of ether bullets.

But that was all.

She had cleared it. The next acceleration was already entering her body.

Behind her, the abandoned jacket and water belatedly burst.

That spray could not keep up with Fukushima as she moved forward.

She fell forward.

Seikai watched the enemy’s movements.

She was catching up. The enemy approached with enough speed to do that.

Seikai thought while moving at a speed so great that the kicked-up water looked slow.

…''In the summer sun, I am splashing water in a stream while playing a game of tag with a girl.

He instinctually arranged the scene into poetic terms, but he really did wish he lived in a world like that.

Needless to say, reality was cruel. Reality was nothing like a poem, so he was instead being pursued by an accelerating girl who blasted water explosively into the air.

That was a problem.

The enemy’s charge would not stop. She had done an incredible job of forcing her way through his barrage.

He was impressed how she had combined her jacket and the water to escape that tight spot. However…

…''Why!? Why would you remove your jacket while behind cover!?

An athletic girl had removed her jacket in a stream below the summer sun.

Such a wonderful scene. So he wished he could have seen it.

“Unacceptable!!”

Seikai scattered gunfire. He fired close-range at the enemy who was rounding the corner. He spread his three demonic fingers and fired the ether bullets along them.

“Take this!”

He launched the 3-way ether bullets.

Fukushima saw the enemy’s 3-way scattershot. And she shifted her position.

She chose to dodge Miyoshi Nyuudou’s attack.

The Sermon Cannon was an ether cannon attack based on the massive Internal Blessings of his species and released with a spell.

He normally launched the ether bullets as if pushing them with his right palm.

It was a large palm and looking at it told you the angle at which he would fire.

But the palm was pointed downward when he fired this scattershot along his fingers.

If fired in the direction of his palm, it should have flown downward. But that was not what these bullets did.

They followed his fingers and were pushed out from the tips.

''In that case,'' thought Fukushima.

…''The enemy’s scattershot must be controlled by the spreading of his three fingers!

When targeting someone using his fingertips, it was difficult to intentionally “divert” the shots.

Miyoshi Nyuudou had the middle of his three fingers aimed at her.

So Fukushima leaped into the gap between his middle and outer finger.

“Headfirst Fall!”

She made it.

But Miyoshi Nyuudou reacted by swinging his right arm as he fell back.

He added a winding motion to the bullets.

The rapid-fire sermon bullets formed a horizontal wave and drew something like a whip with their trajectories. They flew past Fukushima, collided with the waterway’s wall or the water’s surface, and filled the air with clumps of dirt and spraying water.

But Fukushima immediately responded to the motion of the enemy’s bullets.

She followed suit.

…''I can do this!

The bullets had speed and density, but they came in a wide 3-way spread. This was much easier to dodge than a blade or spear tip aimed at her.

Before this, she had fought opponents whose every attack was meant to be lethal.

Compared to that…

“———!”

She crouched low and jumped forward.

Just then, two things happened before her eyes.

First, Miyoshi Nyuudou leaped backwards.

Second, he closed his fingers.

He greatly compressed the density of the barrage and fired all three shots toward her face while she stayed low.

The distance between them had not shrunk. He had matched his jump to hers.

…''He predicted my action!?

She wondered how but found no answer. She simply dodged the barrage.

“Oh…!”

She lowered her body and plunged her head into the water.

She let her stance collapse as much as possible to dodge the bullets.

Her head, shoulders, and chest struck the water and bathed in the scent of algae.

But she had dodged them.

The sweeping air passed overhead. Or rather, over-hips since that was the last part of her to drop down. That was proof that the enemy bullets had passed her by.

She had made it through.

But she was in a dangerous position now.

Plunging to the bottom of the river while accelerating would only lead to self-destruction.

So she first thrust her hands forward below the water. She grasped the bottom of the river as if trying to plunge her hand into the stones there.

At the same time, she slammed her forehead against the riverbed.

Water splashed up as her forehead broke through the water and collided with the stones at the bottom.

But that provided three points of support: her hands and her forehead.

It was a lot like the preparation for a handstand, but that would only make her a target.

She needed to force her hips to the left, spread her legs, and…

…''Spin them to the side…!

A handstand would have swung her legs straight up, but she swung them around to the left instead.

With a forceful twisting of her arms, she took a face-up position while twirling around.

Her skyward vision saw the enemy.

He was aiming his three fingers at her while falling back.

He continued to fire and she was still being pursued by his winding bullets.

So she removed her arms. She released her hold on the riverbed and used her legs to launch herself.

Her left-swung legs pulled her body over.

Her hands and head left the riverbed.

“————”

She now stood on the left wall of the waterway.

She was standing, but her body still had its momentum. So she used that as her initial speed.

“Headfirst Fall…!”

She accelerated and shook the water from her body as spray.

Fukushima chose to run starting with her knee.

After all, she was accelerating from a wall. She first had to right her horizontal body.

But landing vertically in the waterway would create a dangerous time lag as she stood back up.

So she fell knee-first. She was nearly horizontal and she sent her knee into the water.

“…!”

At the last second, she kicked her toes into the water.

When her lower leg hit the riverbed, it could provide acceleration.

So that was what she did.

She began a forced falling acceleration while in something resembling a crouch.

She released it while positioned low and nearly horizontal to the water’s surface.

“…Oh!”

She pulled her opposite knee close to her chest to make the next stride.

With each step, she accelerated.

And as she moved forward, she lifted her hips.

To run along the river, she slammed each step backwards and accelerated.

She lifted her hips, fixed them there, and did not raise her upper body.

If her body shook from the force of stepping on the riverbed, she would lose the force needed for her run. If she was to build up her speed, she had to keep her hips high and swing her upper body to match the rhythm of her legs.

…''Here I go!

The enemy had predicted her previous action.

So this time, she included a motion that crisscrossed her legs as she ran in an arc. And…

“—————”

Fukushima grabbed a handy stone from the riverbed and threw it.

She threw it outside the path of the shots that Miyoshi Nyuudou fired while swinging his arm around. It flew in a high arc.

She had thrown it so it would hit before she arrived. And with this timing…

…''It will obscure his view!

In the end, Miyoshi Nyuudou moved to avoid having the falling stone obscure his view.

“…”

The enemy took a large step back.

From Fukushima’s perspective, he somewhat increased the distance between them. That step was added to the shrinking distance between them, so they were about a step and a half apart now.

But she had made him jump back.

It was now her turn to match his timing.

She made a crouching jump that matched the position and timing of his landing.

She would be aligned with the center of his chest when he landed.

“Headfirst Fall…!”

She spun around backwards in midair.

She launched a spinning axe kick that carried the acceleration of Headfirst Fall.

Her falling acceleration gave it the same force as landing from a great height. She supported herself with her left leg which scraped and slid along the riverbed.

She was sending her full bodyweight toward the enemy.

Even if the attack was not as effective as hoped, turning her back protected the front of her body and she could use the rebound of the kick to jump the other way and put some distance between them.

And even if the enemy stopped his three-finger rapid-fire and instead fired from his palm…

…''His palm is pointed downwards!

That was why she had not jumped in from below despite her crouching stance.

If she was below, he could intercept her from his palm.

But by staying low to the ground, the enemy was forced to continually attack downwards. That meant he could not raise his hand.

That allowed Fukushima to make this axe kick with any possible counterattack suppressed.

…''Also…

Fukushima thought, ''Given our distance from the Azuchi, I have to settle this here.

So she made her attack. She leaped to the inside of the right arm he swung around.

“Seiyah…!!”

She launched her accelerated right heel.

In that instant, she heard a voice. It was Miyoshi Nyuudou’s.

“You leave me no choice.”

Fukushima saw Seikai take a certain action after those words.

He slightly spread his three fingers once more.

It was a small movement, but it was enough for the ether bullets to stop traveling down his fingers.

The new ether bullet moved to his downward-facing palm.

It was loaded into the center of his right hand, but he would have a hard time sending it toward her. She was already moving past his hand as she launched a backwards axe kick.

His counterattack would not arrive in time. The palm blast was meaningless, but he released it regardless.

He clenched his hand.

His large palm and three fingers squeezed the ether power while his wrist turned.

A moment later, the ether bullet exploded in his hand.

With a loud noise, cracks ran through his solid hand and the force opened his three fingers once more.

“Oops.”

Fukushima saw the recoil launch his hand forcefully upwards.

But moving upwards brought his fingers to a certain location:

“Straight ahead.”

He had turned his wrist because he had predicted this.

He had used the recoil of the misfire to rapidly pull his right hand upwards. He had accepted damage for this movement.

“Here goes.”

Fukushima’s axe kick dropped down on Seikai’s hand.

The next ether bullet would be loaded in his right hand at almost the same moment that her heel would strike that same hand.

…''Am I going to hit!?

If she did, that bullet would misfire too.

As a demonic long-lived, Seikai had natural armor, but the previous misfire had still damaged his hand. If a human like Fukushima was exposed to that, it could easily take off her foot.

She made up her mind in a split second.

While spinning her body, she twisted the leg supporting her. She turned her toes in the opposite direction of her movement.

“Headfirst Fall!”

Seikai saw the ether bullet fly out of his raised right hand and into the sky.

And Fukushima had been launched into the air.

She whipped up the wind as she flew to a height of about 7 meters, but it was more of an explosion than a jump that had launched her.

She had not been hit. Her acceleration spell had malfunctioned.

She had not just crashed into a wall of speed. The next burst of acceleration had reached her body in a broken form and sent her in an uncontrollable direction.

It was a lot like receiving a physical blow.

She was launched without any consideration for how she would land, her entire body was doubled over, and she was twisted to the left.

At this rate, she would fall into the wheat field to the right without her speed dropping much at all.

The effects of the malfunctioning acceleration spell must have remained with her as she flew in a large arc, but all she did was stab into the waves of wheat.

It was over.

The wheat field groaned and the wind swayed back, but there was no sign of the enemy moving within the wheat.

…''Should I say that I won?

Seikai looked to his right hand.

The raised palm had large lacerations in it.

Meanwhile, his opponent would have taken damage from the speed crashing into her, but her fall had been cushioned by the wheat.

“I doubt she received any lasting injuries.”

He compared their injuries and compared that to the result of the battle.

…''Now, then.

He clenched and lowered his hand as it began dripping blood.

He heard a voice in the distance.

“Fukushima-sama…!”

It was Katou Kiyomasa.

The height of her voice suggested she was running down a path between sections of the wheat field.

A blonde girl was running through the summer sun in search of her friend who had collapsed into the wheat field.

“…A splendid scene to imagine.”

He wanted to see it for himself, but that would put his life at risk. He had confirmed the state of the Azuchi, so withdrawing was most important now.

“I now have quite an odd story to tell. …A fight with the Ten Spears.”

Now, then.

“How will our Great Teacher and the others view this result and what will it tell them of the future?”

<noinclude>
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| [[Horizon:Volume 6B Chapter 25|Chapter 25]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 6B Chapter 27|Chapter 27]]
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</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 6B Chapter 25

2017-12-26T22:45:29Z

162.158.134.85: Minor errors.

==Chapter 25: Cheerful Girls Making Preparations==
[[Image:Horizon6-B123_123.jpg|thumb]]
''Before a battle

''You do not take a breather

''You take a breath to bring everything in order

'''Point Allocation (Worry)

There was a large wheat field below the summer sun.

It was a vast area. A forest created a dark shadow beyond the distant horizon and mountains rose from beyond even that.

The field contained so very much wheat.

The shadows of waterways occasionally cut across its green surface.

And a few giant forms were stopped on that vast wheat field.

They were aerial ships.

The red and black ships dotted the plain from south to north.

Countless black transport ships moved around those giant ships and traveled to and from the north.

To the north was the silhouette of a manmade structure beyond the plain. It was a long horizontal wall that surrounded a city.

Occasionally, some silhouettes could be seen moving around that city wall.

They were clearly larger than the wall itself.

“Those are the reinforcements for Hexagone Française. Is it a dragon unit?”

A voice spoke in the center of the wheat field.

A solidly-built figure stood in that expanse of green. He was a man with a single horn on his head. He was…

“I, Miyoshi Seikai, cannot help but remember our Sanada land when I see that many dragons. Goodness gracious.” He pulled out a ''tanzaku'' and jotted something down with a portable brush. “ ‘In the distance / below the summer sun / dragon and man are no different / ah / just like the tranquil days of yore.’ ”

He nodded.

“Yes, objective and vibrant. None of the manga-like focus on excitement and nothing more.”

With that, he looked ahead.

There was a giant ship there.

It was not nearby. It was a long way away, but its great size threw off his sense of distance.

“To me it appears so distant. But to the Azuchi, I must appear so close.”

Transport ships were moving around the Azuchi.

While loaded with cargo, those black ships flew incessantly northward before returning once more.

There were more than just a few of them. They came in many sizes and had numbers greater than a hundred.

A closer look showed more of them arriving from the south.

The cargo on the southern ships was brought here and that cargo was then carried from here to Paris.

Seikai placed a hand on his forehead as he viewed them.

“Are those carrying the materials needed to flood Paris?”

''This is a major operation,'' thought Seikai.

But Paris was a large city. Flooding it would be difficult without going to this extent.

And he knew what to be most impressed with.

…''The fact that Hashiba has the power to pull it off.

A single commander was going to submerge an entire city in a short period of time.

That meant a single commander’s power and authority would complete the largescale construction needed to surround an entire city.

For Hashiba, creating or destroying a city would likely be a simple task.

“I see…”

Seikai and the others had viewed the battle at Magdeburg from the Musashi.

Hashiba had fought to destroy an entire city there.

…''They were not done with that and that was not all they could do.

They had flooded Magdeburg by damming up the river with transport ships.

They would likely do that again here, but the construction of the embankment around them was going to be on a larger scale.

That way no one could find fault with their history recreation.

They had made it to this point by gradually building up trust, connections, and management techniques.

“Why?” muttered Seikai as he viewed the transport ships traveling through the sky. “Why don’t they simply ignore the history recreation when they have so much power?”

Hashiba’s policy here seemed clear.

“They will not allow anyone to find fault in their actions.”

That was why they followed the Testament and did not hesitate to accept losses.

''But,'' thought Seikai. ''Why are they so insistent on that?

“Because…”

Sweat dripped from his forehead to his right cheek as he said that.

It was hot.

Because it was summer. Below the wavy shadows created by the wheat, the morning earth retained some of its chill.

But that would not last much longer. The earth would soon heat up and the temperature would quickly rise.

''Besides,'' he thought as he viewed the vast wheat field.

…''The wheat really should have been harvested by now.

Since it had so much green during summer, it had to be the second crop of the year. But since it was a little too early for a second crop…

“Hexagone Française is working to mass-produce food, aren’t they?” said Seikai. “They are a powerful nation, after all.”

…''Some of the nations are looking to the future like this.

No, most nations had to be doing that. Even the small ones were thinking several steps ahead in order to survive.

But something seemed off about Hashiba. They strictly followed the history recreation and they did not hesitate to accept losses.

“They are ensuring no one can find fault in them… but what are they looking ahead to with that?”

Seikai nodded.

And he finally wiped the sweat from his brow.

“They may not be all that different from us…”

The Ten Braves were currently enemies of Hashiba.

But they would eventually side with Hashiba and fight the 2nd Siege of Ueda and the Osaka Campaign.

So they could not simply face Hashiba as an enemy. However…

“Here I, Seikai, am planning to support Hexagone Française.”

He had effectively fled from Sanada. This could easily cost him his inherited name.

But he had a reason for it.

…''This is the reason we are Unneeded.

They had once planned to work directly for Hashiba.

They had been the 7 elites chosen as Hashiba’s Seven Spears. Including the others around them, there had been 10 in all. They had attempted to inherit those names, but they had failed.

They had fought the current Ten Spears and been defeated.

After that, they had wandered and been accepted by Sanada.

They had taken the Celestial Dragons as their teachers in order to inherit new names.

It was that past that made them who they were now.

But there was one question that had to be on all of their minds.

“What would happen if we fought the Ten Spears now?”

…''Now, then… It is not like me to think of such things.

But their Great Teacher had joined Hexagone Française’s forces as if taking the lead for them.

As if he intended to strike back at the people who had robbed his students of their future.

…''Only failed students would allow him to do this alone.

And Seikai was the oldest of them.

So if anyone was to do this, it had to be him.

So here he was. And…

“Taking this ship on would not be fun.”

He looked up at one ship of the Azuchi and breathed in. And then…

“I should probably do some recon as a gift for our Great Teacher.”

With that, he vanished.

There was nothing in that vast wheat field to hide him and none of the wheat was pushed out of the way. However…

“————”

A humming voice with the rhythm of a chanted sutra could be heard moving west, toward the Azuchi’s lead ship.

“Um, Fukushima-sama?”

Kiyomasa called out to her right as she ran.

They were near the Azuchi’s lead ship.

The wheat had been harvested and the exposed ground had been packed down by the repeated landings of transport ships. The cargo had initially been loaded and unloaded with lifts in the LOLO method, but now they were using the RORO method.

While that was carried out, Kiyomasa and Fukushima ran along a walking path marked out with rope.

They were not in a hurry anywhere. They were simply running to maintain their physical condition.

They had already done this once in the early morning, but the way they held their bodies changed in the afternoon.

During summer, the rising temperature loosened their muscles.

To adjust and tighten their muscles, they ran. They could normally perform this conditioning with spells and divine protections, but this was enemy territory.

They wanted to familiarize themselves with the local weather.

…''Or is that a sign of how worried I am?

Kiyomasa followed that thought with spoken words.

“Unlike in the morning, the sun will shine on us when we move to starboard, so be careful.”

Each of the Azuchi’s ships was about a kilometer long. Taking a wide circle around it was a 2km run. They were making two circuits at their own pace, but…

“Fukushima-sama?”

The other girl was not responding.

Kiyomasa saw that Fukushima was staring forward and a bit down as she ran.

She was obviously lost in thought. And…

…''Oh?

The ground at her feet was shimmering.

The wavering light looked a lot like a heat haze and it was not an illusion.

While she ran, Fukushima would sink lightly down on her ankles and have her toes cross from either side. Each time, she attempted to activate Headfirst Fall, her acceleration spell.

“—————”

But she would cancel it partway and it would vanish.

That light shook the air and formed a heat haze in the shadow of the Azuchi.

A large wagon carrying materials passed them by.

It contained materials for the scaffolding that would be used to construct the walls for flooding Paris. Metal beams stuck out onto the walking path, so Kiyomasa moved out of the way.

Fukushima, however, did not.

She lightly twisted her body and continued facing forward.

“…”

“Fukushima-sama!”

Kiyomasa was sure it would hit her.

…''Huh?

But then she saw something.

Fukushima’s body passed right through the scaffolding material that stuck out to the side.

It was not that it did not hit her.

To Kiyomasa, it looked like Fukushima had continued running forward, hit the material, and yet “passed through” it.

…''Eh?

She did not understand, so…

“Fukushima-sama!?”

There was a sharp tone in her voice now.

Just then, Fukushima’s shoulders shook.

“What is it, Kiyo-dono!?”

Rapidly turning around was a mistake.

She slammed the side of her head into a different metal beam that had been passing by behind her.

With a dull sound, Fukushima crouched down. The cart’s driver looked back.

“Hm? …Huh? Did I hit you, 1st Spear!?”

He sounded so confused because that should never have happened.

But Kiyomasa recalled what had happened just before that: Fukushima had strangely “passed through” the beam.

…''What was that ?

This was not the time to analyze that.

But she realized they were gathering even more attention.

Now was not the time to be worrying everyone. The Spears were the foundation of everyone’s attack and the core of their defense, so she bowed to them with a smile.

“No, her hair just got tangled with mine a bit.”

They all nodded in understanding.

An elderly man shouted over at her while loading a cart with flowers to decorate the inside of the ship.

“You’re just the epitome of grace, aren’t you!?”

The driver and everyone else laughed at that and Fukushima stood back up.

“My apologies. …Please continue working immediately.”

“Testament!”

They all replied in unison and resumed moving.

Kiyomasa looked to the transport ships rising into the sky and sighed.

“Um, Fukushima-sama?”

“Huh?”

“You dodged the metal beam sticking out from the cargo passing by, didn’t you?”

Fukushima looked back at her with no change to her expression.

Her shapely eyes remained motionless for a few seconds, and then…

“…Huh?”

She looked troubled. Also…

“I dodged a metal beam? …But I hit it.”

“No, not that one. You dodged the first one that was in front of you.”

“Well, I do sometimes subconsciously dodge on reflex.”

…''Umm, that’s not what I meant…

How was she to explain this?

“You see…”

“What is it?”

Kiyomasa held her left arm up in front of her eyes.

“Think of my arm as the metal beam.”

“And what did it do?”

“Testament. It approached your forehead like this.”

Kiyomasa pressed the arm against her forehead but moved her head forward, as if pushing the arm out of the way.

“You went like this and seemed to slip through it or pass through it, so you ended up on the other side.”

Fukushima watched as Kiyomasa pressed her arm to her forehead a few times.

They were below the summer sky, but also in the giant shadow formed by the Azuchi. And after a while…

“…Pff.”

“Y-you don’t have to laugh at me.”

Kiyomasa felt heat rising in her cheeks as she clenched her fists and protested.

Fukushima held her right hand to her mouth and raised her left hand to say “wait”.

“N-no, Kiyo-dono, I am just not sure what thou mean by that…”

“I’m asking you because I don’t understand it myself.”

“So thou did that because thou truly do not understand?”

That seemed to really tickle her funny bone. She turned her back for a while, but eventually turned back around and took a breath.

“My apologies. I am really sorry about that. I am sure thou only did that because thou are worried for me.”

“Yes, yes. That’s right, that’s right. That’s the entire point of this, Fukushima-sama.”

Kiyomasa knew she was glaring and Fukushima cleared her throat.

“Hm. I truly must apologize because I do not remember that at all.”

“…It isn’t something you were practicing?”

“Not intentionally, no.”

Fukushima took two steps closer and then took Kiyomasa’s arm.

“Was it…like this?”

She took the appropriate stance with Kiyomasa’s arm as the metal beam.

They were facing each other with Kiyomasa posed like she was elbowing the other girl.

But she figured this would help explain it, so she did so.

“Testament. And you seemed to pass right through this arm…”

“Hm,” said Fukushima as she moved forward without warning. She was leaning forward a bit and she took a step forward while holding up Kiyomasa’s arm.

“Oh?”

Her face ended up in Kiyomasa’s chest.

Everyone working in the area turned back at once.

'''6:''' “Work to port seems to be falling behind. …#1 and #2, any idea why?”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “…Uhhh, not a clue. No.”

'''AnG:''' “Hey, the connection is back. Wa-…”

'''Kimee:''' “…Hm? Did she get cut off again? Well, whatever. Am I connected?”

'''Llaf:''' “Ohh, welcome back. But thy connection does seem unstable.”

'''6:''' “Just do your work…”

''Hachisuka-sama just scolded us,'' thought Kiyomasa.

…''But I really messed up my positioning this time.

It was only natural for ''that'' to happen if they were facing each other head on.

Fukushima looked up at her.

“Kiyo-dono, that would have been a disaster if thou had activated the Giant Breasts Defense.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t seem to have that skill…”

Kiyomasa moved alongside Fukushima and held her left arm out in front of the other girl’s face as if throwing a backhand blow.

“Getting back to what happened before…I think it was ''like this''.”

“I see. So the metal beam moved in from the front…and I moved forward.”

Fukushima must have been pondering her previous mistake because she did not move herself.

Instead, Kiyomasa moved her arm toward Fukushima’s forehead.

“The beam moved like this…”

She moved her arm right up to Fukushima’s forehead.

It made contact.

She held it there for a few seconds and noticed the sweat on their skin.

“Well?”

She removed her arm and saw Fukushima’s wrinkled brow below it. The girl tilted her head.

“—————”

Fukushima did not seem to understand, but Kiyomasa did not understand either.

“Do you have any ideas?”

“…Eh? Oh, Kiyo-dono, can thou do it once more?”

“Testament. …Like this?”

“No, um, with more force this time.”

''Wouldn’t that be dangerous?'' she thought as she swung her arm.

She stopped at the last second.

She had made an accelerated swing of her arm with the hand relaxed. But Fukushima stared unblinkingly at it as it stopped before her eyes.

She was highly focused.

After a while she nodded. And…

“Kiyo-dono, please swing all the way through with that same force.”

“Testament. …Like this, right?”

''She plans to really do it,'' she realized while swinging her arm.

She intended to swing her arm all the way through.

So she went for it.

And she indeed swung all the way through.

…''Eh!?

She heard the sound of bone being struck and felt an impact in her elbow.

The hit caused Fukushima’s knees to give out below her.

“Ow.”

The problem was that Kiyomasa had not expected to actually hit. The nerves of her elbow seemed to short-circuit because a powerful tingling raced up her arm and through her shoulder.

They both crouched down and held their forehead or elbow for a few seconds.

“K-Kiyo-dono, thou are more skilled in martial arts than I knew.”

“N-no, I just train my arms a lot.”

“Umm, what are you two doing?”

Katagiri walked up.

Katagiri had been going for a run.

He lived a primarily indoor life, but the past few days had taught him it was important to build up some strength. After all…

…''I want to be manly…!

He knew a few days was not going to make a huge difference, but he hoped doing this long term would help him grow taller and stronger.

By the time he had grown tall and built up some muscle, he expected the Warring States period would be over. Then he could go to Musashi.

…''Or that was my plan anyway.

“What are you doing?”

The two girls here had much more experience training their bodies, but they were crouched down on the ground.

The two of them had fought an intense battle just the other day, so he wondered what had happened.

“Have your injuries gotten worse?”

“N-no, that’s not it at all.”

Kiyomasa stood up and rotated her arm so he could see. Beyond her, Fukushima also stood up and fixed her collar. And…

“Katagiri-dono, are thou out on a run?”

“Testament. I had some things to think about and I thought I could start training my body.”

“My, are you planning to fight on the front line?”

Katagiri thought about that one.

…''I have to get to the point where I can say I am.

''A boy needs to be able to show off,'' he thought as he answered Kiyomasa.

“Testament. I am thinking about going to the front line if necessary.”

As soon as he said that, a wave of chatter spread through their surroundings. The voices quickly spread outwards in a game of telephone.

“Hey! Katagiri-san says he’s going to the front line!”

“Ehh!? Katagiri-san is coming with us to the front line!?”

“Yeah! Katagiri-san is coming to the front!”

That exchange and cries of surprise made a full circuit of the area around the Azuchi.

After a while, the wave of voices arrived back from the other side.

'''Kuro Take:''' “Katagiri-kun? What is this I’m hearing about you ‘coming thrice and covering Mori-kun with lassi’? Some weird sex thing?”

'''□□凸:''' “No! How did it end up like that!?”

“Now, now.” Kiyomasa smiled bitterly and waved her right hand back and forth. “This just means everyone is worried about you, Katagiri-kun.”

“I want to be the kind of guy people don’t have to be worried about!”

“Testament.” Kiyomasa nodded and opened a ''lernen figur''. “Takenaka-sama? Katagiri-kun apparently wants to go to the front line.”

“Yay, super high damage!” replied Takenaka on the ''lernen figur''.

…''Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?

This was the first he had heard of this. Or rather, he had not said anything that definitive.

And what was Takenaka’s response about?

“W-wait just a second! What’s this about me and super high damage!?”

“Eh?” said Takenaka. “You promise you won’t run away if I tell you?”

…''I don’t like the sound of that…!

But someone else spoke up to bring an end to that conversation.

It was Fukushima and she took a breath first.

“Even if Katagiri-dono is showing some fighting spirit, isn’t sending him to the front line going a little too far?”

“…R-right!? That’s going a bit too far, isn’t it!?”

“Testament,” agreed Fukushima. She then placed a hand on her chin and looked at him. “So try not to push thyself too hard and work to accomplish only what thou can, Katagiri-dono.”

“But I’m still going?”

“Oh? You aren’t going?”

Kiyomasa looked and sounded truly surprised.

Then she lowered the ends of her eyebrows.

“Um, sorry. Was I mistaken when I said you would be going to the front line?”

Every part of Katagiri’s body and soul begged him to say “testament”, but…

…''Kh.

He held back.

Because he had to be manly.

A real man could not fall back from the front line just because Kiyomasa was worried.

Yes, there were times when he had to make himself do something. That was his duty if he was to meet Musashi’s lewd shrine maiden once more.

''So I need to fill my heart with lewd shrine maiden power.

…''There it is, there it is, there it is! It’s rising from my imagination!

''Okay,'' he thought while clenching his right fist in his heart.

“No, you were not mistaken. …I will go to the front line!”

“Are thou serious, Katagiri-dono!?”

“I am!”

“We had thought the enemy would have their god of war unit on the front line, so we were planning to fortify our front line with spell barricades and have our main forces fall back. …But thou will be going to the front line!”

…''Ehhhhhhhhhhhh!?

''Not only is this the first I’ve heard of that, but you’re not even playing fair here!'' he thought to no one in particular.

'''Kuro Take:''' “Ohh… I think this is going to be even more brutal than I expected.”

'''□□凸:''' “Please stop making this sound even worse than it is!”

'''Kimee:''' “Then let’s look at just the facts: without us to bomb the enemy’s front line, you might end up with a direct clash between both sides’ front lines.”

Just the facts was bad enough.

But he did have a thought about what he had heard.

'''□□凸:''' “Is the situation really that bad?”

'''6:''' “Are you dumb?”

'''Tsurugi:''' “Koroku! Don’t say that about Katagiri-kun! His brain has been producing tons of anxiety-inducing chemicals!”

'''□□凸:''' “Do I have no rights as a human being!?”

But Kiyomasa took a breath and spoke.

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “We’re busy preparing for the flooding, so we haven’t given much thought to how exactly we will attack Paris. How much progress have we made?”

'''6:''' “About 30%. I’ll head out if need be. …Genbu’s gravitational control can position and drive in the materials all at once.”

“More importantly,” said Koroku.

'''6:''' “#3 and #4, things are looking pretty touchy where you are.”

Koroku was referencing the situation in Kantou.

…''What does that mean?

The information on Kantou had not reached them yet, but there was a reason Koroku knew about it.

'''6:''' “I was given administrative control over the transport ship fleet yesterday, so the high-level divine transmissions are reaching Genbu. According to those, the battles between Musashi, Houjou, and Mouri will primarily be done with duels. Is that right, Takenaka?”

'''Kuro Take:''' “Oh, drat… I was hoping to inform you only after they had worked things out a little more. Sorry about keeping you in the dark, Yoshiaki-kun and Wakisaka-san.”

'''Kimee:''' “Well, it’s definitely an annoying situation for us. And that’s really all we need to know.”

'''□□凸:''' “Um, what exactly does that mean?”

Katagiri tried asking.

It was Angie who answered him.

'''AnG:''' “It means Shouroku didn’t read the atmosphere…”

'''6:''' “I was just facing reality.”

'''Kimee:''' “Oh? But people look to reality either because it’s fun or because it’s worrying.”

'''6:''' “I’m aware of that and I’m not going to deny it.”

After a pause, Koroku continued.

'''6:''' “Thank you.”

'''Kimee:''' “For what?”

'''6:''' “For not using my younger age as an excuse to overlook that I failed to read the atmosphere.”

'''AnG:''' “Now you’re making me blush.”

'''6:''' “I wasn’t talking to you…!”

Fukushima raised her right hand beyond Katagiri’s ''lernen figur''.

“What happened here and what does it mean?”

“Umm…”

How was he supposed to explain this? While he tried to come up with something, Kiyomasa smiled a little and did it for him.

“Hachisuka-sama caused Takenaka-sama some trouble by not reading the atmosphere, Yoshiaki-sama pointed out that she was doing so because she is worried, Hachisuka-sama thanked her, and Wakisaka-sama said she was blushing, but that was wrong.”

…''I’m not sure that’s quite right!

But Fukushima crossed her arms and nodded.

“Koroku-dono is at a tricky age, isn’t she?”

It was a mystery how much had gotten through to her, but she seemed to have reached some kind of understanding.

And as the Ten Spears’ negotiator, Katagiri wanted as much information as he could get.

“So what happened in Kantou?”

'''AnG:''' “Is Tsugy there? …Hey, did our connection just get a lot cleaner?”

'''6:''' “Genbu is amplifying the signal.”

'''AnG:''' “Way to go, Shouroku! You can eat the snacks in my room!”

'''6:''' “The key?”

'''AnG:''' “Let’s not go crazy. Just give up already!!”

That exchange was borderline incomprehensible, but scarily enough, it made sense to those two.

But the name Wakisaka had alluded to was one they knew well: Ootani Yoshitsugu.

He was a data entity created from a program and he was under Hashiba’s direct command. That made him very similar to the Ten Spears who acted as Hashiba’s personal warriors, but he worked as a representative of the “Hashiba forces”.

It was a lot like the Ten Spears were the Chancellor’s Officers and Ootani was a Committee Head.

He had only had his official release recently, but circumstances had meant his development period had been close to their training period. And…

'''Nari Nari Nari:''' “What was that about Ootani-kun?”

'''AnG:''' “Testament.”

Wakisaka answered.

'''AnG:''' “Koumon-sama took a running start and used a table to send Tsugy blasting off, causing the Keichou Campaign.”

'''Super Justice:''' “Not true! How can you lie like that when I am right here!?”

'''AnG:''' “…Kime-chan, Tsugy isn’t listening, so can you say something?”

'''Super Justice:''' “Indeed. I ask that you omit the complicated circumstances leading up to it and simply state the final result.”

“If you insist,” sent Yoshiaki.

'''Kimee:''' “The final result was as follows: Ootani exploded in the sky, causing the Keichou Campaign.”

'''Super Justice:''' “Not true…! No, that actually is true, but it is not a proper explanation!”

'''6:''' “Lame… Exploding in the sky… So lame…”

'''Super Justice:''' “It was an honorable explosion in the sky! We are discussing the moment in which justice failed, so how can you call it lame!?”

''They’re having a tough time there too…'' realized Katagiri.

But Fukushima crossed her arms and spoke.

'''Llaf:''' “In other words, Ootani-dono exploded on a table and that means the Keichou Campaign?”

'''Kimee:''' “More or less.”

'''Super Justice:''' “Less! Very much less! …Fine then. I will send you the report I wrote, so please check that!”

'''Llaf:''' “How long is it?”

'''Super Justice:''' “Testament. I wrote it in about 3 seconds, so assuming a piece of parchment holds 400 characters, it would be about 3000 pages. Even when accounting for I/O errors, you should be able to read it in about 5 seconds.”

'''6:''' “To be polite as possible, are you stupid?”

'''Super Justice:''' “Heh. It is illogical to call a program stupid. What about me do you think is stupid?”

'''6:''' “Your very existence.”

'''Super Justice:''' “N-no fair! Why am I responsible for something I have no control over!?”

''He still isn’t used to how we do things,'' realized Katagiri.

But he sort of understood what Ootani was saying.

…''The enemy is trying to liberate Kantou?

'''□□凸:''' “Which nation is attempting to carry out the Keichou Campaign?”

'''Super Justice:''' “Testament. …All three: Mouri, Houjou, and Musashi. Tomorrow, they will be using duels to complete the Tensho Jingo Conflict, the Siege of Odawara, and the Siege of Bitchu Takamatsu Castle. Also…”

Also…

'''Super Justice:''' “It seems we will be able to read the details of those duels before long, but after they complete those duels tomorrow and exchange or distribute the resultant benefits, I believe they intend to begin the Keichou Campaign.”

'''Llaf:''' “What is the situation for Takigawa’s group?”

'''Kimee:''' “It doesn’t seem like she plans to contact us. And it would be difficult to forcibly contact her while she’s in Houjou territory. …We do know that three of the Sanada Ten Braves have joined her and they will be fighting the 2nd Siege of Ueda alongside the other battles.”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “How will Yoshiaki-sama and Wakisaka-sama’s group be taking part?”

'''Kuro Take:''' “That’s going to be a bit tricky… If the Keichou Campaign is coming up, intervening in the Siege of Odawara might be dangerous. You aren’t equipped for back-to-back battles, are you?”

'''AnG:''' “Eh!? We have to head back that same day? But we haven’t had any fun yet!”

'''Kimee:''' “If we do head back, it will be after having some fun. …Takenaka? It’s true we aren’t equipped for back-to-back battles. We mostly have equipment for one-on-one battles and anti-surface weapons, so we aren’t prepared at all for the Keichou Campaign that will probably involve a fleet battle leading into the Kantou Liberation. We’re in Shimoda south of Odawara, so if it does come to back-to-back battles, would it be faster to fly over to Edo to swap out equipment?”

'''Kuro Take:''' “We didn’t take any Technohexen equipment to Edo…”

'''AnG:''' “We can manage with some ether fuel Orei Metallo. Technohexen can do more than just fire coin bullets. It might have poor fuel efficiency, but there’s a lot we can do.”

'''Kuro Take:''' “Then sending you to Edo would be an option. I’ll make a decision after giving this more thought.”

Just as Katagiri saw those words on his ''lernen figur'', a stir ran through the people transporting materials near the Azuchi.

“Waaahhh! Some ero ero is falling from the sky!!”

'''□□凸:''' “What are you doing, Takenaka-san!?”

'''Kuro Take:''' “Oh, sorry, sorry. I have so many tricky things to work out, so I stepped outside for some fresh air. But the Azuchi’s deck is just so high up. …Ah, sorry. A little more to the right this time.”

“Waaaahhh! Now the ero ero is falling this way!”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “Takenaka-san! Please stop sending it overboard! You’re surprising everyone!”

They were usually up on the deck and out of the way, but it was certainly panic-inducing while down below.

The working students screamed and moved away from the ship.

'''6:''' “Hey! You’re delaying the work on the port side! Stay near the ship!”

It was awful through and through.

But there was nothing they could do about it, so Katagiri decided to end the conversation for now and let Takenaka make her decision about Kantou. However…

“Achoo!”

He had apparently grown chilled in the Azuchi’s shadow.

He wanted to be manly, but his sneeze sounded awfully childish to him.

…''I need to pull myself together.

As he thought that, he saw Kiyomasa smile.

“You should probably hurry into the sun. There is something we would like to test out here.”

“What you were doing before?”

“Thou could say that, yes.”

“Waaaahhh! The ero ero is curving in the wind!”

It was a lot like a video game.

“They all have such excellent observational skills.”

“I’m getting used to all this and that’s worrying me…” said Katagiri.

''It isn’t pleasant at all,'' he thought as he took a breath and resumed running.

“I’ll go on ahead! After completing a circuit, I think I’ll return to the ship and help Takenaka-san!”

“Things sure are lively there. Let’s keep up our work here while staying in touch with Takenaka.”

Yoshiaki took a breath and looked ahead.

There was a stone-paved slope leading downwards before her eyes and wooden buildings lined either side of it. She could see the ocean further down, but…

“With a name like Atami<ref>Atami means “hot ocean”.</ref>, I was imagining a scorching sea, but it isn’t that at all. Right, Kime-chan?”

“They apparently suggested actually making it that way when remaking the ruins of the hot springs town into the modern style, but they rejected the idea. The other nations had to place their embassies here and the nonhumans of Oushuu would have had a hard time entering the ocean that way. Because a lot of them are from cold areas.”

“How do you know that?”

“Researching your destination is important, Ootani.”

“Testament,” replied Ootani at their feet.

He was in a Mouse form.

Angie would sometimes try to scoop him up without warning.

“Could you stop that?” he would ask. “I am not a toy.”

It was amusing how he would immediately dodge and run away.

They were currently in the diplomatic district of Atami.

…''This place is surrounded by defense barriers to make it a noncombat area for diplomatic relations with other nations. But…

“There’s no one here.”

“Kantou still hasn’t calmed down since our Hashiba forces arrived. Diplomacy was always focused more in Edo than anywhere and there’s no point in moving their diplomats to Houjou with the Siege of Odawara approaching. …If there is any reason to do diplomacy with Houjou now, it would be to work out where Houjou’s assets will end up after Odawara…”

“It seems Houjou intends to transfer most of it to Matsudaira,” said Ootani.

“It’s nice having an analyst who heard things on site.”

They descended the slope. Most of the buildings were recreations of the ruins using modern reinforced wood. They had apparently been inns originally, but most of them had small gates out front and functioned as embassies for the other nations.

…''Are they also used as sanatoriums for Kantou and the surroundings areas?

She saw the names of Nanbu, Nitta, other small nations, and even some large reservations.

“There can’t be good turnaround with a bunch of sanatoriums packed in at one place. I saw two Satomi buildings earlier.”

“…They probably just think diplomacy is important even if Houjou is an enemy.”

They would sometimes pass by an automaton in charge of managing the city.

They were calm enough to exchange a bow with the automatons. In fact, the embassy they were staying at hired a lot of them.

“I hope Kanitama can make it.”

“She can receive a map via divine transmission once she arrives in Atami, so she should be fine.”

Angie seemed to be quite fond of that underclassman.

Yoshiaki thought that was a good thing because Angie could be quite shy.

…''She’s quick to categorize people into “like” and “dislike” categories.

Yoshiaki could not decide if she was jealous or not that Angie never noticed she was doing that. But…

“We need to do what we can too.”

The ocean was visible at the bottom of the road.

The embankment of the ruins was long side to side and reinforced with stones.

They sensed the scent of salt water as they walked along.

“The ocean.”

That dark blue expanse spread out horizontally.

…''It looked bluer when seeing it from above.

But now it was so dark. And…

“We can see it.”

From Atami in the north, they could see Odawara on the peninsula’s coast which was visible to the left.

Odawara was surrounded by walls.

Angie viewed the walls that slowly rotated like a typhoon.

That was likely where Odawara Castle was located. Houjou and Mouri’s aerial fleets were gathered there.

Those several hundred ships hovered in the sky around Odawara and moved to and from the surface below. That motion never ended and swapped out with other ships.

“The movement is slow, but it is a lot like a storm,” noted Ootani.

“Angie, time to get to work.” Yoshiaki opened a Magie Figur. “We saw this from the sky too, but it was so distant. Let’s assess their forces as much as we can from this fixed viewpoint. …Ootani.”

“Just tell me what you need.”

“A local specialty!”

Tsugy looked up at her for just a second, and…

“————”

“Ah, Tsugy! You ignored me, didn’t you!?”

“I do not want to talk about it, so leave me alone!! N-now, Yoshiaki-sama! Hurry up and give me a command!”

“Testament.” Yoshiaki gave Ootani a command. “A local specialty.”

Tsugy took off running and dug down into the ground. After a while, he came running up from an unexpected direction: behind them.

“Here it is! The Steamed Flipover, a Far Eastern pizza cooked using the heat of a hot spring!”

“Yeah, isn’t there a rule that it can only be flipped over once? I bet you bought that from the Kansai embassy.”

Angie and Yoshiaki took the food wrapped in bamboo leaf and found it was fairly warm. They unwrapped it to find the scent of the sauce, which suggested it was from a Mediterranean nation.

“Here, Tsugy.”

“Unfortunately, I cannot eat solid objects,” he said with a bow. “But I appreciate the thought.”

“Okay, if you say so!”

“Angie, don’t talk with your mouth full.”

“Testament,” she replied before noticing that Tsugy was eating an ether fuel snack.

She took a breath.

“Is there anything to do before Kanitama gets here?”

“Observing Houjou and Mouri to analyze their forces. And relaying divine transmissions between Edo and Hashiba’s unit. We have to work with Edo to keep an eye on the movements of the anti-Hashiba aerial fleets in the Edo region.”

“Is your aerial knowledge another reason you two were sent here?” asked Ootani.

“Testament. …After a while, we’ll fly to the west of the peninsula.”

Angie peeled back the bamboo leaf to expose the Far Eastern pizza as she thought about Yoshiaki’s words.

…''The other side of the peninsula…

“That’s a disputed region thanks to the fall of Takeda, right? Until the Tensho Jingo Conflict, anyway.”

“Testament. We need to see what the surrounding clans are doing. …Angie, you spotted a few bases on the way here, right?”

So she had noticed.

That made Angie a little happy, but also bashful.

“I was staring blankly down at the ground and I just happened to see some odd shadows and lights in the mountains and forests.”

“Once the Siege of Odawara begins, those will be used to monitor the Houjou region and wait for the chance to make their move. So…”

Yoshiaki opened a Magie Figur.

It was a camera and it was set up to amplify the brightness for use at night.

“This is the compression type that Weiss Hexen excel at. I’ll set these up in the sky, Angie, so you give me the locations. I’ll make it look like I’m out on patrol as a mere precaution and activate them with a time delay so they won’t notice.”

“We have so much to do.”

“We do,” agreed Yoshiaki. And, “Ootani, you infiltrate the diplomatic district’s divine transmission system and see what the other nations are doing. You don’t have to actually read the contents.”

“Ohh, there’s actually a job for you, Tsugy! Now you can earn your keep!”

“I came here to work!”

“Wasn’t it for justice?”

“Y-yes, I am glad to see you understand!”

The way he cleared his throat showed that even data entities were living beings.

But then Yoshiaki’s shoulders drooped.

“Yeah, that’s probably about it.”

Once she had jotted down notes on the jobs they had to do, she finally faced forward.

The ocean was there, but a turn to the left showed the walls of Odawara along the coast.

“Takigawa-san’s group is beyond that fleet. …It doesn’t look like we’ll able to drop by to say hi.”

“And yet we could fly that distance in just two minutes.”

“Shall I make a visit?” asked Ootani.

“You can’t. The Kanie Castle is a Houjou ship. Their divine transmission line uses the Houjou local god, so your infiltration would set off some alarms.”

“Then when will we meet up with Takigawa-san?”

''Good question,'' thought Angie.

…''A this rate, it would probably be during the Keichou Campaign.

Originally, they were supposed to intrude in the Siege of Odawara and support Takigawa there.

But since they could not contact Takigawa, they could not arrange things in advance. Since they did not know her intentions, their plan had been to let her fight as she wished while they supported her from the outside.

“If we thought of it as a rescue operation, we would fly in from above. And while we drew the enemy’s attention by charging in from above, Kanitama would move in from below. I had thought we could do it like that.”

But things had changed.

It was clear now that this would be more than just the Siege of Odawara.

Fighting both the Siege of Odawara and the Keichou Campaign would require the appropriate preparations.

And they had received further news about the Siege of Odawara they had hoped to force their way into:

“They’re planning to use duels…”

“Does that mean everything we discuss here could be entirely invalidated?”

“Testament. …We won’t be able to do anything about Odawara or Takigawa-san. Since Ootani already went and warned them once, we’ll have a hard time saying anything to Musashi while they play Hashiba’s part. …Perhaps we should make a complaint when they determine the rules for the duels.”

“This is all because I failed to stop them when I intervened earlier…” said Ootani.

“You take things too seriously, Tsugy. Letting them know that Kime-chan and I are watching was more than enough.”

Despite what she said, Angie was not sure what they would do. Then Yoshiaki smiled and spoke.

“Angie? At times like this, we have to find what it is we need to do. Then we do whatever it is we ''can'' do. And we keep doing it. That’s the only way to change the situation.”

“What if it changes for the worse?”

“Making sure that doesn’t happen is one of the things we need to do.”

Yoshiaki then shoved the contents of her bamboo leaf wrapper into her mouth.

…''She’s the composed type, but she’s actually more focused on speed than staying calm.

While Angie thought that, Yoshiaki turned toward her again.

“What is it, Angie?”

“Heh heh heh.” Angie gave a nasal laugh and mimicked Yoshiaki’s previous warning. “Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

Yoshiaki’s bitter smiles were always so wonderful.

Angie noticed a smile on her own lips as well. And despite Ootani’s tilted head…

“I bet the others are saying things like this too.”

Kiyomasa lightly stretched her arms and her whole body.

She filled her lungs with the summer afternoon air in the Azuchi’s shadow.

“Okay, Fukushima-sama. We never solved that mystery, but let’s finish our run for now. Katagiri-kun already went on ahead.”

“Testament. The battle is tomorrow, so we must not lose our focus.”

''My, my,'' thought Kiyomasa.

…''But you were distracted because you were too focused.

However, she left that unsaid.

The girl was not aware of it, so telling her would only make her hesitate further.

So Kiyomasa remained silent and nodded back. Fukushima calmly lined up alongside her.

“————”

And they began to run. They stepped forward to run next to the materials being transported.

Their first few steps were slow, but they soon picked up speed to match the length of their paces.

They passed through the people’s shadows once more and then Fukushima spoke.

“Kiyo-dono.”

“Testament. What is it?”

“Later, thou will be using the ship’s pool for rehabilitation from thy injury, won’t thou?”

“Oh, yes. I do things like create a platform on the water and balance on top of it.”

“Testament. I would like to spar with thee then. …Lately, I have felt somewhat lacking in strength.”

Kiyomasa smiled a bit that Fukushima had chosen now to reveal that she had lost confidence in herself after their defeat. Because while they ran, Kiyomasa was the only one she could tell.

Of course, Kiyomasa was also the only one with the skill to train properly with Fukushima. However…

“I’m something of an unconventional spear user. If anything, I’m more of a sword user.”

“No, Kiyo-dono. Thou are the more conventional one between us.”

They argued over who was more unconventional until they reached the bow.

There they entered the sunlight. Their bodies warmed up as they ran alongside the materials being transported.

“Testament. Then let us spar up top after this run.”

“Testament. I look forward to it. Then we can take a break at the festival on the deck.”

Just as Fukushima said that, Kiyomasa noticed something.

…''Oh?

A cart carrying materials was moving alongside them. But…

…''That’s strange.

They had made their way around the bow.

The bow was pointed toward Paris. Since the materials were meant for the flooding of Paris, they should all have been bound for the bow.

So why had these followed them all the way around the bow?

…''Did we have any materials being sent needlessly around like that?

Kiyomasa looked at the cart of materials.

She recognized the person in the driver’s seat.

It was a familiar face.

But it had been so long that she could not recall the person’s name. And she was afraid to be mistaken, so she asked the others.

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “Um, everyone? Do you remember that group of 10 that, um, we fought a few years back?”

'''6:''' “Himeji’s Yakiniku Three Musketeers?”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “No, those were ad campaign characters for a yakiniku shop. Fukushima-sama soloed them all and there were only 3 of them.”

'''AnG:''' “Then do you mean Nagahama’s Eight Fish Legions?”

'''Kiyomasa:''' “I remember a drunk Takenaka…-san saying ‘Eh? The Eight Wish Legions?’ and challenging them, but I don’t think that’s who I mean.”

'''6:''' “Those were so hard to tell apart since their names were all ‘Fish-sama’, ‘Fish-shi’, ‘Fish-san’, and so on.”

'''Black Wolf:''' “I think it was just that we defeated them before we could hope to learn which was which…”

'''Kuro Take:''' “Umm, then was it the Eight Swordsmen of Roman History?”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “Their catchphrase was ‘we are dying to discover the best parts of Rome’, but they were discovered as corpses in some catacombs on the first day of the duels which made their catchphrase literally true.”

'''Kimee:''' “Yeah, I doubt they meant it like that…”

That third one had even had an appropriate connection to Roman history, but that was not what Kiyomasa was looking for here. Also, they seemed to deal with numbered groups a lot. Of course, they were one themselves.

'''□□凸:''' “If it was someone we fought, then wouldn’t it be the other candidates for the Seven Spears?”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “Testament! That’s it. Thank you very much. …I couldn’t think of it since we took that position for ourselves.”

'''□□凸:''' “You’re welcome. But, Kiyomasa-san, what about them?”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “Well, Miyoshi Seikai Nyuudou is right here next to us.”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “…Then he’s an intruder!!”

''Eh?'' thought Kiyomasa.

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “U-um, aren’t the Sanada Ten Braves on Hashiba’s side?”

'''Kuro Take:''' “But we didn’t call for them here.”

'''6:''' “Why is he here?”

“Then,” said Fukushima outside the divine transmission. “Why not ask him?”

“Good idea…”

Kiyomasa tried asking as she ran.

“Um, Miyoshi Nyuudou?”

When she called out to him, he turned around in the driver’s seat.

“Testament. …What is it?”

''It really is him. Thank goodness,'' thought Kiyomasa as she got right to the point.

“Why are you here?”

“…That would be a long story.”

“Could you sum it up for me?”

“Fine then.” He nodded. “I arrived here to find two young girls confirming their mutual friendship with a run. I caught the scent of youth and decided to bask in that lively atmosphere.”

Hearing that, Kiyomasa nodded once.

Then she breathed in and shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Intruder!!”

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 6B Chapter 24|Chapter 24]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 6B Chapter 26|Chapter 26]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 6B Chapter 24

2017-12-22T23:20:49Z

162.158.134.85: Error fixed.

==Chapter 24: Familiar Faces on the Sanctioning Deck==
[[Image:Horizon6-B097_097.jpg|thumb]]
''It comes without warning

''It has value

''And it never comes again

'''Point Allocation (Chance Meeting)

What Masazumi saw was more like shattering light than an explosion.

The ether forming Ootani’s body broke apart and scattered through the sky. This was actually the very first time a data entity had ever been destroyed, but from a noncombatant’s perspective…

'''Vice President:''' “That was flashy.”

'''Asama:''' “But we’ll have to be fully transparent with all the information we collect here…!”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Eh!? What!? Why!? Couldn’t you sell that for a lot of money!? C’mon, Asama-chi! Give us that data! We can sell it to line our pockets!”

'''Worshiper:''' “Do you have any intention of doing honest business?”

''It’s always money with them,'' thought Masazumi as she watched the ether light in the sky.

A few pieces were blown away and began to fall, but…

'''Mal-Ga:''' “He might have transferred himself into one of those. …Well, he shouldn’t be able to recover right away with that much damage.”

'''Vice President:''' “So we managed to incapacitate him…is that it?”

'''Novice:''' “It would be a problem if Ootani Yoshitsugu retired before Sekigahara. If he didn’t want to retire, then the Testament Union would probably get after us for it.”

…''Yes, that’s a problem too.

Masazumi turned toward the sky to port.

Naito and Naruze were waving her way while using gravity to enter freefall.

''I’m glad I noticed,'' she thought as she waved back.

She saw Horizon, Mitotsudaira, and Asama do the same. The idiot instead wiggled his hands side to side in a gesture that made use of his full body.

'''Mal-Ga:''' “It pisses me off that I get what that gesture means…”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Should we shoot him?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Hm… We’re too close for it to make good practice.”

'''Me:''' “Y-you think I’m a target or something, don’t you!?”

'''Hori-ko:''' “And I have determined it would be meaningless at the moment due to Asama-sama’s super defense barrier.”

'''Asama:''' “No, no. It’s not much.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh heh. Hear that, Technohexen!? Tremble in fear of Asama’s Giant Breasts Defense that can deflect your attacks with a barrier that only qualifies as ‘not much’! Boiiiiiing!!”

'''Asama:''' “Wh-why does this idiot always have to nitpick what I say…!?”

That was just how she was. But while everyone regained their normal atmosphere, Masazumi had some other things to focus on.

“Princess, I would like to have this diplomatic ship make a temporary landing at Musashi – Tama’s diplomatic port. Is that okay? ''For the purposes of sightseeing, of course.''”

“Testament. And ''while we’re at it'', see if they can make any repairs that might need doing. …The maids can rest in Musashi’s diplomatic residence. Have them prepare for the quarantine.”

''Then I will do the same,'' said Ujinao.

Her uncle, Ujiteru, looked to the sky and ground from the starboard edge.

“Musashi, hm? …It might not be a bad idea to land there for the first time. In fact, I like the sound of that!”

…''The Musashi must seem strange to foreigners.

''Did I find it strange?'' wondered Masazumi because that seemed like so long ago now.

It was two years ago. At the time, she had been nervous before arriving, but once she was there, she found a city and a daily life to live. She had quickly been swallowed up by her busy schedule. But unlike her…

…''It might be an interesting place for tourists.

A sign frame appeared while she thought about that.

'''10ZO:''' “Masazumi-dono, I have made a visual estimate of where Ootani Yoshitsugu landed down below. Shall we pursue him?”

'''Vice President:''' “No, the surface is Houjou’s jurisdiction. But send me the estimated location because they should want that.”

''Anyway,'' thought Masazumi as she took a breath.

'''Vice President:''' “Having three nations work together is a lot of work. Would it be best to have them linked through Asama to protect Musashi’s data?”

'''Asama:''' “Yes. Tenzou-kun, tell me if there is anything you’re concerned about related to the quarantine process. Once that is done, I would like Mary to look over the ether side of things. We’re playing catchup here, so I want to get as much of this done as possible.”

'''Scarred:''' “Judge. …You want us to help protect Musashi, don’t you? Master Tenzou, let’s do our very best.”

''There’s so much more work to do now,'' thought Masazumi with a mental sigh.

Of course, it had been obvious this meeting would change some things, so she had already planned for an extra burden.

But on the other hand…

“Mouri and Houjou have shown off quite a fighting force.”

Houjou Ujiteru and Seki Masasada.

She was not very familiar with the latter, but they were clearly not people you wanted as an enemy.

Ujiteru gave a nasal laugh as if in response to her thoughts.

He had an automaton body, he had just the hilt of a sword at his hip, and it was connected to a scabbard-shaped fuel tank. He looked their way and approached with a confident swagger.

“Time to liberate Kantoooooou!! Sounds great! Isn’t it great!? Hellooooooo! Houjou will be destroyed either way, but I’m delighted I can participate in such a major event! My blood is pumping at this opportunity to do something importaaaaaaant!”

Masazumi saw Ujiteru take a few steps and stop in front of them.

He relaxed his stance and rested his center of gravity on his right leg.

He looked casual, but even an amateur like her could tell that stance allowed him to move at a moment’s notice.

On top of that, he spoke. But first he slapped his cheeks to remove the loose smile there.

“Kuhahhh! …I’m just along for the ride, but I plan to enjoy this. My niece, Ujinao, is in command, but I can’t fight my own character. I’m in a brand new body, so I’ll be moving around all I waaaant!”

He raised his eyebrows in a smile on his maid automaton face.

That seemed strange, perhaps because automatons did not smile.

''What a strange character,'' thought Masazumi as she asked a question.

“…Houjou Vice Chancellor. How long have you had that body?”

“Testament! Due to a reason I won’t get into here, I had already been automaton-izing my body. It feels fantastic! But this was the first time to completely remake my body. …It’s pretty great. Everything feels so clear and comfortable! I can just tell I’m inside a machine and it’s the most wonderful feeeeeeeeeeeeeling!”

“That isn’t what I meant,” cut in Masazumi. “Why a female automaton? …Shouldn’t you have chosen one that looks more like you?”

“Don’t be silly! I was given the perfect chance to try out a new model, so why would I choose the same thing I had before!? Also. A female one is a lot more amusing than some middle-aged man! Don’t you get that!?”

''Sorry, but no I don’t.

The world was a large place. And this man was supposed to be a politician.

…''I bet my dad would be furious if he saw this.

“Hey! Koni-tan! I just summarized my Masazumi’s negotiation with Houjou and Mouri!”

“Judge! There was some confusion in the middle there, but that was some incredible skill! While watching that footage, I went ahead and made Houjou Ujiteru and Seki Masasada action figurines for my brand’s golem line! I must have been inspired because it took me no time at all!”

“Ohh, you even shaped their hands for holding weapons! Middle-aged men are fine, but the female action figurines are where it’s at! Okay, Koni-tan, let’s have a battle between those ones you made and the aerial figurine warriors I brought with me! Pewwwwwwww. B-b-b-b-boooom! There, yours were sent into retreat by my aerial bombing!”

“S-surprise attacks are cheating, Nobu-tan!!”

…''My dad and the rest of the council aren’t at all interested in that kind of thing.

Did Ujiteru like to play with dolls and saw his own body as the greatest doll of all?

'''Vice President:''' “A cosplayer Vice Chancellor can’t be fun to deal with.”

'''Me:''' “Whaaaat!? Seijun, why are you giving me that look!? Do you want a costume too!? I can get Bell-san to make one for you!”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “My king, you get your costumes from Suzu?”

'''Bell:''' “Eh? Oh, yes. So does…Kimi-chan.”

'''Asama:''' “I guessed as much when I saw the stitching while doing laundry.”

'''Bell:''' “But his shrine maiden…one is…from you, right?”

'''Asama:''' “W-well, I, uh, ordered that so he could, um, work part-time at the shrine.”

'''Hori-ko:''' “Now, everyone, Asama-sama is having a difficult time explaining herself.”

As everyone began bickering some more, Masazumi nodded in her heart.

…''Well, I suppose they do make automatons in Houjou.

She worked to keep a smile as she spoke to Ujinao.

“Is your Vice Chancellor working to improve Houjou’s image by demonstrating your automaton technology? I can see why Houjou is known for its business acumen.”

“Huhhhhh!? What are you talking about!? This is purely a personal hobby, you foooooool!!”

Ujiteru pointed his thumb at his own chest and showed off his teeth.

“It’s Uji-terrific!”

Behind him, Ujinao swung a scabbard into the right side of his head.

'''Flat Vassal:''' “That was certainly something.”

'''Bell:''' “Eh? B-boke? …Tsukkomi? Which was…it?”

'''Righteousness:''' “These are the people we were fighting all this time…?”

'''Unturning:''' “There are always so many wonderful memories of the past.”

'''Righteousness:''' “Let’s not lie to ourselves!”

'''Scarred:''' “Anyway, who are Master Houjou Ujiteru and Lady Seki Masasada?”

“That’s a good question.” Tenzou crossed his arms. “Houjou Ujiteru is – for better or for worse – said to be the strongest Houjou commander in this age. It was Ujinao-dono’s father, Houjou Ujimasa, who inherited the Houjou clan, but Ujimasa-dono was more the civil leader type. Ujiteru-dono, on the other hand, is the combat type. Ujiteru-dono has greater influence in the Warring States period and he occasionally plots to take over Houjou.”

“That is how things tend to be done in this age.” Mary placed a hand on her cheek and smiled bitterly in her shirt and blue tights. “If I could fight, would I have been like that?”

“If you had that kind of power, I think you would have used it to assist Elizabeth-dono.”

Mary’s mouth fell open when he said that.

It was a look of surprise.

Specifically, it was the look of being caught off guard by something.

“Oh, um, I, uh, meant based on who you are now. The Testament descriptions are a different matter…”

“I’m glad that didn’t happen.” Mary smiled. “Because if I had helped my sister, it might have been even more difficult for you to steal me away. And if I, um, had the power to back it up, I probably would have tried negotiating with you to get you to stop. I would have said…”

Mary made a grand gesture and used a tone to match.

“Let us see just how long you can endure my oral technique!”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Oral technique…!?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Okay! Okay! Keep things the way they are! Just like that! I’ll be right there, so wait for me!”

'''10ZO:''' “Stay awayyy!!”

Tenzou made sure Mary had not noticed the exchange on their sign frames.

Then he looked around.

He saw everyone feigning ignorance while turning their ears toward him and Mary.

…''They’re going to try something after the fact again, aren’t they?

But he had something to tell Mary.

“It is true stealing you away would have been difficult if you were helping Elizabeth-dono.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “In that case, he would have had to fight the Fairy Queen immediately after Walter.”

'''Uqui:''' “Now that would have been an impossible challenge.”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “More importantly, she would have just cut him down during their date in London.”

''We might as well end the conversation right there, Naomasa-dono.

However, these were two different things.

“But no matter the situation…”

Tenzou recalled what he had said during his confession.

…''Back then, I said, um…

“Even if you refused and resisted, I would have stolen you away.”

Heidi gave a quiet whistle while calculating out her credit sales.

…''I-I don’t like the sound of that whistle!

But someone moved beyond her. Narumi faced Urquiaga.

“Should I have resisted more?”

“Ho ho? It is too late to claim you weren’t really trying.”

“You don’t seem to understand this was no more than the girl recognizing the boy’s effort.”

''I can never tell how serious they are with their threats.

Next to them, Muneshige smiled bitterly.

“There was nothing like that for us.”

“Judge. That’s right, Master Muneshige. Because we had an official battle.”

''The couple that readily accepts that is quite something too.

Meanwhile, Mary’s cheeks flushed and she cleared her throat.

“We are getting off topic, Master Tenzou.”

“Oh, no, no. That was just to make sure you understood. …Isn’t that right, Neshinbara-dono?”

“…Oh, are you done?”

“N-not the reaction I wanted!!”

“Calm down,” said Neshinbara. “Crossunite-kun more or less summed up Houjou Ujiteru. But to add a bit, you remember Mayoress Marfa who was in charge of Sviet Rus’s Novgorod, right?”

“I do, but what about her?”

“Do you remember that she inherited the name of Uesugi Kagetora before inheriting a Shibata name? Kagetora was a heroic figure who was expected to inherit the Uesugi clan after Uesugi Kenshin passed away. But Kagetsuna got the better of him in the fight over succession, so he fled Houjou, was cornered, and committed suicide.”

'''Four Eyes:''' “That suicide happened on the way to ask for assistance from his homeland of Houjou. In other words, Uesugi Kagetora was originally from Houjou and was later adopted into the Uesugi clan. And he was Houjou Ujiteru’s younger brother.”

'''Novice:''' “Wh-why would you just come out and say it! I still had a long way to go before getting there!”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Didn’t she do that ''because'' it was taking so long?”

'''Hori-ko:''' “Really, Mitotsudaira-sama? When fighting your morning battle, don’t you want to give a thumb’s up and say ‘I did it…!’ when you finish an unexpectedly long one?”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “That’s tru-…why is everyone looking away!?”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “Adele, you sometimes shout ‘yes!’ and ‘all right!’ in the stall. You probably don’t realize you’re doing it, but you really need to be more careful.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Now I need to redo my storyboard… Well, I wasn’t too satisfied with how I’d drawn the dog, so that’s perfect.”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “What are you drawing!? Stop making things up and only draw what’s true!”

''Isn’t that why she’s redoing it?

But Mary was tilting her head.

“Is there a direct connection between Novgorod’s Mayoress Marfa and Master Ujiteru?”

“Since they are inherited names, there doesn’t have to be.”

“Judge,” said Mary, but Tenzou had a question.

“Does something bother you about that?”

“Judge. If they had a direct connection, it would mean Master Ujiteru is also a demon on Lady Marfa’s level.”

“Yes, that part is true, I think.”

Someone answered her.

It was Narumi and she looked up at the diplomatic ship.

“There is no direct connection, but since one of them was a demon, I believe there was a general idea that it would work out as long as the other one was too. …Houjou Ujinao is from a demonic long-lived family and Ujiteru is from an Indian demon family.”

Specifically…

“The Asura fighter god type. I believe another one was their Vice President. Or am I misremembering?”

''I see,'' thought Masazumi as she watched the automaton crouch down and hold his right cheek.

Behind her, Ujinao sighed.

“Do not worry, uncle. …I used the back of my blade.”

“D-don’t get so cocky just because you’re my niece.”

“So you want me to chop off your head again.”

That was not a question.

Ujiteru silently stood up, removed his own head, and lifted it up.

After a few seconds, he returned it to his neck.

“Heh hehhhh! Chopping off my head is useless! You iiiiiiiiiiiidiot!”

“Then I will slice it in two.”

“Waaaaait! Do that and I’ll die! You’d think you have devil horns saying things like that! Oh, wait! You do! Never mind then! I’m going to live my life the way I want! Hey, don’t chase meeee!”

Masazumi saw a blade grow out of Ujiteru’s back.

And Ujinao nodded once.

“Please be quiet.”

“W-wait, that was my sp-sp-sp-spinal c-c-c-cor-arrrrgh!? Watch it!”

…''I’m not sure which one is more impressive.

Meanwhile, a glasses maid walked by.

“Princess!”

It was Seki Masasada. She ran over toward Terumoto.

She was in such a rush that she entirely ignored her surroundings. That told Masazumi something:

…''Oh, she’s worried about her master.

Some might see it as the beautiful love between a master and a servant. ''There’s a similarity to Mitotsudaira there,'' thought Masazumi. And then…

“Princess! I can’t! I-I just can’t do it!!”

“No, you were really cool. Just keep it up like that.”

“I-I caaaaan’t!”

''Huh?'' thought Masazumi as she saw Seki quickly hide behind Terumoto.

She must have used some kind of special technique because the large maid uniform was entirely hidden behind Terumoto’s slender form.

'''Silver Wolf:''' “That’s impressive. I can’t see her at all. I suppose I should expect that from the head of the Seki clan.”

Mitotsudaira commented on the situation while removing her silver chain from the table.

And…

'''Wise Sister:''' “You know who she is, Mitotsudaira!?”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “…I’m not sure why you’re so excited, but she’s fairly well known in Mouri. According to the Testament, Seki Masasada is the representative of the Seki clan, a ninja group that serves Mouri. The Seki clan began doing spy work during Motonari’s era and guided a number of operations to success.”

'''Novice:''' “It was the Seki clan that supported the destruction of the Amako clan and the Battle of Itsukushima from behind the scenes. They also assisted the fierce Mouri commander Sugihara Morishige when he hunted down Yamanaka Yukimori who we know better as England’s Walter Raleigh. Masasada is the Seki Representative who served during Terumoto’s era.”

''I see,'' thought Masazumi.

She made occasional checks of the Chancellor’s Officers Almanac, but…

'''Vice President:''' “I need to go back over the people who only recently inherited names and made their debut. I need to keep up on that boring sort of work too.”

'''Sticky King:''' “Wouldn’t there have been a notice on the Testament Union’s divine transmission site?”

'''Vice President:''' “It leaves a record when you browse it, so I can’t do so carelessly. This was a lot easier before K.P.A. Italia fell to Hashiba.”

In central Musashino, largescale repair work was underway from the surface to the underground.

Two people sat below the eaves of a small rest area on the stern end of the ship.

It was short-sleeved Ookubo and Kanou.

The banging of construction hammers rang through the air as Kanou viewed a sign frame and looked below the shadows. She tilted her head toward Ookubo whose face was covered in the shadow of the eaves.

“Milady, if the Vice President needs that done, I could check on it or monitor the divine transmissions for that sort of information. I should be able to put together a report for her.”

“No. We don’t need to do anything until she asks.”

Ookubo glared into the distance while bringing something to her mouth.

It was shaved ice. The rest area behind them doubled as a snack bar and people were at work inside. They were all in high spirits and wearing the uniform that had been chosen by survey.

They wore automaton maid uniforms.

“Yes, but they forgot to mention on the survey that all of them are men.”

“Why did everyone just assume that snack bar workers would be women?”

Stubbly and muscular maids served shaved ice or yakisoba to the customers. They all spoke far too rapidly and loudly while rolling their r’s.

“Wellllllc’me! Strawb’rrrrry flav’r!? Comin’ rrright up! …Master.”

“Okayyyy, got it! Thrrrrree ik’yaki! …Master.”

“Heyyyy, mist’rrrr! Sorrrry ‘bout the wait! That’ll be 100 yen! Come agaaaaain! …Master.”

Kanou faced forward and looked up at the diplomatic ship with smoke and ether light mist rising from its port side.

“Milady, isn’t the ‘master’ part entirely unnecessary?”

“If they stopped that, the costumes would be too confusing.”

“Anyway.” Kanou took a bite of shaved ice dyed red by strawberry syrup. “I should find a way to check the Testament Union site without leaving a trace.”

Just then, some text appeared on her sign frame.

'''Asama:''' “What should we do, Tenzou-kun? IZUMO will be monitoring the Testament Union site in order to gather information, so should we have them send that our way?”

'''10ZO:''' “No, gathering intelligence is my job. I’ll ask a member of my Special Duty Unit who is familiar with that sort of thing. They should be able to check what the site says in a day or two.”

Ookubo and Kanou watched that arrangement in silence for a few seconds.

Finally, Kanou turned around with eyebrows raised.

“Milady! Now! Now is the time! Say we will do it! Otherwise, they will get there ahead of us!”

“Why would we accept defeat instead of waiting for the request to come in, Kanou-kun!?”

“You need to think of defeat as a form of victory! You do them a favor so they are indebted to you!” Kanou placed a hand on Ookubo’s shoulder. “Milady, I will bring a second and third bowl, so you take it easy and work out a method on your own!”

Asama saw Masazumi raise her eyebrows after checking her sign frame.

“Ah. …Hey, Crossunite, Asama? It looks like you don’t need to bother. Kanou sent me a divine mail saying Ookubo will handle it.”

“Committee Head Kanou? …Ookubo-san must be so busy.”

“Yes, she was more or less in charge of Musashi during our study camp… Anyway, it does help if I don’t need to use any of my people for this,” said Tenzou on the sign frame. “Now, if you all have managed to catch your breath, can I ask Asama-dono to perform the purification? I am going to work with the port to set up an emergency quarantine on Tama.”

“Understood. If this ship is landing on the Musashi, we will be given a lot of authority over it. Their diplomatic privileges will prevent us from doing much inside the ship though, so what should we do about that?”

“After what happened with Ootani, I imagine Mouri will want the ship purified. …Hey, Mouri Terumoto.”

Terumoto turned around when Masazumi called out to her.

She had likely heard the conversation.

“Yeah, take care of that. Just make sure you do my room and their rooms from the hallway control system. And while you’re at it, can you change our shrine birthplace setting?”

“Huh!?”

Asama reflexively voiced her surprise.

Masazumi and Horizon turned toward her.

“Is something the matter, Asama-sama?”

“No, it’s just that…well, she wants me to redo their birthplace setting…and change it even…”

“Huh? I don’t really get it,” said Toori. “What does that mean?”

“Well.” Asama nodded toward him. “It means to change Mouri’s primary shrine.”

It seemed to take a second for the meaning to sink in.

Masazumi eventually frowned, Horizon tilted her head, and the idiot…

“So that’s it! I’m impressed!”

“You understand, Toori-kun?”

“Huhh!? Course I do! What’s that skeptical look for!? I-it means, um, uhh, well…can you please read between the lines already?”

“Yes, yes.” Asama lowered her shoulders and then turned toward Terumoto. “Mouri’s current main shrine is on Hexagone Française land. I believe it is the Suga Shrine. It was built where Susanoo is said to have defeated Yamata no Orochi.”

“Testament. I want to change that main shrine to one Mouri holds here.”

“I assume this is a temporary thing because a nearby one will give you an advantage during the Kantou Liberation…but this will reduce your rights a fair bit, you know?”

“I don’t mind,” said Terumoto. “I’ve already discussed it with them. And it’s a long way from here to Mouri’s Suga Shrine. Hashiba has some high level ley line divine transmission technology, so we would be in serious trouble if they cut the Suga Shrine off from the network.”

Asama understood what she was saying.

No matter how largescale the backup, it could be unstable at a distance. And even smaller scale backup could be quite stable from nearby. When comparing the two, the latter would be the safer option.

But even so…

“Why ask the Asama Shrine?”

“I just wanted the help of a major Far Eastern shrine. You can communicate with the Suga Shrine over divine transmission and you can handle the process with the local shrine. Also, intermediaries are important in Shinto, right?”

''That is true,'' thought Asama.

In both marriage and employment, intermediaries like matchmakers and referrals were important. Going between two different sides and ensuring no impurities formed between them was an important Shinto job.

So…

…''Oh, so Houjou was an intermediary that brought Mouri here.

That directed Asama’s focus back toward Terumoto. ''She’s stricter than I thought she would be.

She did not say “surprisingly”, but did that mean she had been observing her properly? Or had she already felt that during the previous battle? Either way…

“Understood. I will be your intermediary and arrange for the change of shrines.”

“Oh? You can do that, Asama?”

“After Mikawa was lost, the large shrines like Atsuta and Ootsubaki were moved to the Musashi, so I have some experience in it. The method itself has been the same since ancient times, so I’ll be fine. There will be just one difficult part.”

That was…

“Trying to keep Mouri’s privileges from being reduced any more than absolutely necessary.”

“Asama-sama, isn’t there anything you can do about that? Make it simple.”

Asama placed a hand on her chin and thought about Horizon’s question.

“Hmm…”

The change of shrine process had been the same since ancient times. That made it very difficult to find any way of intervening in it. But Horizon…

“Understood.” Sweat poured down her expressionless face. “I will provide you with snacks while you work. I have determined that something with gold in it would be best. Now, the real challenge will be figuring out how to make gold…”

“Wait, you’re headed in a very strange direction there, Horizon!”

“Hmm,” said Toori. “Then I think I’ll make something and bring it to you.”

“Eh?”

The fire had spread in an unexpected direction. Her thought had been to find a way to fulfill the request, not to ask for anything like this.

“Um, no, you don’t have to…”

“Great idea! We need to keep Tomo motivated, so please do, my king.”

Mitotsudaira said that as soon as she walked over after putting away her silver chain.

'''Asama:''' “Mito…!”

Asama sent a message to just the silver wolf who gave her a smiling sidelong glance. And…

'''Silver Wolf:''' “I saw you looking at me yesterday. The look on your face said you wanted a present. …I don’t always like having everything for myself and Horizon seems all for it, so why not just go with it?”

''She’s unstoppable when her mom isn’t around…'' thought Asama.

“I’m not telling you to do it here and now,” said Terumoto with a smile. “You can figure it out down there. Once we land, I would appreciate it if you made this a priority.”

Once she said that, the sky slowly began to move.

The diplomatic ship was descending.

…''Honestly…

Asama had more work to do, but she also felt like she had more reasons to be in a good mood.

Then Masazumi clapped her hands together and spoke.

“Okay, we managed to confirm our situation and objective here. But even if we do handle the Siege of Odawara with duels, we still have to figure out what to do about the Tensho Jingo Conflict and the Siege of Bitchu Takamatsu Castle.”

“In that case,” said Ujinao. “How about we hold a meeting on the Musashi this evening to discuss the number of duels for the Siege of Odawara and how to handle our various interests in this war? Also…”

Also…

“I suggest we include the Siege of Bitchu Takamatsu Castle in the Siege of Odawara’s duels. This is all a pain, so it seems best to use the same rules for everything.”

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| [[Horizon:Volume 6B Chapter 23|Chapter 23]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 6B Chapter 25|Chapter 25]]
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