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Clash of Hexennacht:Volume2 Chapter 6

2016-04-08T17:35:56Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 6: Accept the Blame */

==Chapter 6: Accept the Blame==
[[Image:Hexennacht_v02_177.png|thumb]]
''I’m mad, I’m mad, I’m mad

''Even though it’s not a habit of mine

After reaching the coast, Hunter quickly prepared to construct her Normal Device for defense while visually confirming what had just happened.

Ten kilometers was not far for a Magino Frame.

After all, they were five hundred meters long.

From a human perspective, it was like having a shootout from a distance of about twenty meters.

At that mid-range they could not reach each other and they could flee if need be. That was why they used their secondary cannons to hold each other in place and then fired their main cannon. But…

“Don’t fire your main cannon right off the bat!”

Even for the Magino Device, the main cannon ate up a lot of power. It would prevent any acceleration needed immediately afterwards. After all, a Magino Device main cannon was meant to be used against the Black Witch. It was meant as a preemptive strike as she descended from the moon, so all the focus was on attack power.

Most Ranker battles were ended with the main cannon, but they could not fight with that alone. Most of the time, it would be avoided or, if the opponent had the resolve, defended against. But…

“…What?”

Hunter saw something strange.

Namely, ''nothing''.

Kagami had fired her main cannon, a deafening noise had thundered out, and the clouds had been blasted away behind the great sword. And yet…

“It vanished?”

There was nothing between Mary and Kagami’s Magino Devices. There was no light, no sound, no power, and not even any shell fragments. Also…

“Eh?”

Something else was not right: their positions.

There had been a distance of ten kilometers between them before, but now…

“Why are they right in front of each other!?”

Hunter saw the two Magino Devices approaching.

That was odd.

Before Kagami had fired, there had been a distance of ten kilometers between them. Yet now…

“They’re within five kilometers!”

It would not have been that strange if Mary had been the one to move, but a closer look showed it was Kagami’s position that had changed.

…''What is this?

After imagining what had to have happened, she gasped.

“Kagami!”

She waved toward the fighter flying through the air and pointed toward Kagami.

“Be careful! ‘That’ isn’t it!”

Kagami took action before Hunter’s voice reached her.

…''The shell was consumed!?

She had thought her opponent’s power was a cutting power, but…

“Indeed it is not ‘that’, Hunter-kun!”

At some point, Mary’s Magino Device had moved much closer. No…

…''I’ve moved closer too!?

She could only assume the distance had been manipulated with.

That raised the question of “how”, but in that case…

“I see. So it is normally used for ''this''.”

Kagami swung her Normal Device Dikaiosyne and pointed it toward her opponent.

“Fire all secondary cannons!”

Kagami laid Dikaiosyne down in the sky in front of her while it was in floating mode. The Normal Device was synchronized with the Magino Device and it controlled the firing of the various secondary cannons.

Several firing spell circles opened. The timing of the shots was set by the touch of her fingers. She similarly controlled the trajectory with the movement of her arm and then linked the Device’s movements to her gaze.

“Cry out!”

Cannon fire burst from the Device as if she were playing a keyboard and directing an orchestra.

Currently, Dikaiosyne did not have that many secondary cannons, but they made up for that with their excellent precision guidance and tracking ability. That was likely thanks to it being based on the technology found in Horinouchi’s Akerindou.

Even the secondary cannons were quite powerful and fast.

She used a wide section of the sky. The volley of guided and tracking shots gathered together into what amounted to a single shot.

The barrage of power told her opponent to aim for the gaps in time, gaps in position, and blind spots if she could.

If she was a witch, perhaps it would be an incantation that struck back.

“Fire.”

With that word, she swung both arms, spun her Device around, and fired, fired, fired, fired until the entire atmosphere shook. She released as much power as she could and it flew forcefully through the sky. But…

“It did not reach her!?”

It vanished suddenly near Mary’s Magino Device.

There was no noise and there were no fragments.

Every last shot and strike made from every angle imaginable was gone. They were not stopped and they did not scatter. They simply vanished vainly into thin air.

What was this? This opponent had a cutting power and secondary cannons, so what was this defense?

…''Is there an invisible shield there!?

As Koutarou traveled to the north coast of Tokyo Bay, he viewed the battlefield from the side.

Kagami was to the east and Mary to the west and they had both begun firing their secondary cannons.

They were five kilometers apart, which was nearly close-range for Magino Devices.

The sky connecting them was filled with the beams of light from the cannons, but also countless defense spell shields, solid sounds, and scattering lights.

However, one portion of the exchange was entirely one-sided.

Mary had not activated any defense spells.

“Is she doing this undefended!?”

Desiring a battle with no defenses was a common tactic for masochistic or self-harming witches. The more they were injured, the more they could convert that into power and send it back at their opponent.

But the maid in the passenger seat muttered something.

“You can’t see it, can you?”

After all…

“It really is invisible.”

He had no idea what she meant, but he continued watching the exchange of attack and defense in the sky.

Kagami seemed to have the advantage as she performed both attack and defense while Mary appeared to be focused entirely on attack. But…

“Koutarou! Mary’s Magino Device has not been hit at all!”

“Well observed, milady!”

He looked over to the maid in the passenger seat, gave a nasal laugh of triumph, and returned to his duties. She sent an email to the Head Maid in a spell circle, but he decided not to worry about it for the time being. And…

…''If what Lady Mitsuru said is true…

He saw it with his telescopic spell.

The two Magino Devices were once more circling Tokyo Bay clockwise in order to take up positions against each other. The black multi-scythe one was not defending in the slightest, but…

“It isn’t…reaching her?”

Kagami’s secondary cannons were vanishing before they reached the black scythes.

No sound, light, or fragments remained. It was like a giant eraser was passing over them there.

“You can’t see it, can you?” said the maid in the passenger seat. “I fully sealed that away. And I was an Armor-style witch known as the Vulcan Powder Keg. It could erase and consume any barrage and even the distance between you and your opponent.”

Kagami realized her secondary cannons meant nothing against this opponent.

…''What is this?

Every last shot would vanish before it reached her opponent.

She also recalled the very first shot, when she had fired Dikaiosyne’s main cannon.

“Was that the same as this!?”

The main cannon blast had been erased just like the secondary ones.

It was all being done by some invisible defensive power held by Mary’s Magino Device.

“Kagami!”

A transmission arrived from Horinouchi.

“Here she comes!”

Sure enough, the black scythes were accelerating her way.

She was approaching.

That Magino Device had an absolute defense and a cutting power that could slice an artificial island in two, and now it was flying straight toward her.

''Is this all?'' thought Mary.

This opponent had defeated the Rank 4 and Rank 3 and she was a Holy Knight, so Mary had wondered how much she could do.

“But she can’t do a thing against my power!”

''Then this is over,'' she thought while accelerating Magino Device Ira.

There was nothing to fear. Her opponent’s attacks could not reach her. If she charged straight in, it would work out somehow or another. So…

“Let’s go, Macabre!”

The grim reaper servant nodded on her shoulder.

“…!”

Macabre swung its scythe forward and Ira moved.

The executioner’s Magino Device was an outdated close-range model, but it could handle anyone when combined with Mary’s power. So…

“Prepare to sink, Kagami Kagami!”

She stared directly at her opponent and only had to move straight in.

She could not miss and her opponent had no way of hitting her, so she only had to go for it.

But a moment later, her telescopic spell showed Kagami doing something.

Kagami’s Normal Device was floating out in front of her.

She was using that to control the secondary cannons and the Device, but unexpectedly…

“What?”

Kagami’s right leg kicked the Normal Device toward Mary.

That Normal was controlling the Magino, so…

“…!?”

The Holy Knight’s sword began an immediate charge. It flew in a straight line counterattack toward Mary.

“Oh, that idiot!”

When the maid in the passenger seat spoke up, Koutarou had to respond.

“Lady Kagami would not make a mistake!”

“Um, so you aren’t going to deny the ‘idiot’ part?”

It was true he had thought much the same thing. But…

“Lady Kagami is not an idiot. …She is something else!”

“Um, sure…”

The maid nodded, so he decided to leave it at that. Still, it was obvious what Kagami was doing.

…''Is she testing it out!?

Her secondary cannons and main cannon had been erased.

“Are you seeing what happens with the entire Magino Device, Kagami!?” asked Horinouchi inside the spell circle.

“You have such a discerning eye, milady!”

Koutarou’s shout was followed by a collision in the sky.

The two giant structures had approached on what amounted to a head-on collision course.

“Did it hit!?”

After hearing Koutarou’s shout from her spell circle, Horinouchi saw the answer as she used her Normal Frame to fly eastward along the northern end of Tokyo Bay.

Something had happened high enough in the sky that she had to look up to see it.

Two Magino Frames had collided.

They produced the ringing of a large church bell and the rattling of an iron chain. The former was Kagami’s Dikaio-whatever and the latter was Mary’s Magino Device. It looked like they hit head-on, and…

…''Kagami’s Device was eaten into!?

Their angles were odd for a head-on collision. They were skewed diagonally.

And with a roar, the great sword suddenly accelerated forward.

It almost looked like a blade thrusting in and through the opponent.

“Did she break through!?”

“No!”

A voice reached her from a spell circle next to her face.

It came from Hunter on the east end of Tokyo Bay, southeast of Horinouchi.

The spell circle displayed the scene as Hunter saw it.

Something was visible in the sky.

“Ah…”

She could not believe her eyes.

…''What does that mean!?

After the collision, the black multi-scythe was unscathed and Kagami’s sword…

“The front armor was stripped away diagonally!?”

The situation made no sense to Hunter either.

She knew Mary had made a counterattack when Kagami’s Dikai-whatever charged toward her.

But in an instant…

…''Kagami dodged?

She must have sensed something and quickly moved the sword tip away from a direct collision with the scythe.

A moment later, a diagonal section of the blade was torn away from the front center to the starboard side.

It looked like it had been gouged out with a spoon, but something was not right. After all…

“There are no fragments or ether light!?”

What was this?

Hunter gave voice to her thoughts.

The enemy’s attack was not cutting or a projectile.

“This is annihilation!”

“Kagami!” shouted Horinouchi who must have been watching the midair movements from close by. “Get out of there!”

That was right. The collision had failed and Dikaio-whatever had a large chunk torn from it. Kagami needed to move away and recover her position. But even though the great sword’s thrusters were emitting light…

“Kagami!?”

She was not moving or responding, so Horinouchi shouted her name.

…''Is Kagami focused on resisting?

Hunter did not know why, but Kagami could not move away. Mary’s Magino Device had torn into her own, but she was still being held there as if she were being strangled.

''In that case,'' thought Hunter. There was only one possibility she could think of.

“Kagami! Do as I say!”

This was her only advice.

“Accelerate toward your opponent!”

When she heard Hunter’s words, Horinouchi looked up into the sky while soaring through the air.

And…

“Kagami!”

The image showed Kagami’s great sword fidgeting a bit in the sky as more and more of it was torn away at the point of contact.

…''Move!

She then heard a sound.

It was the low ringing of a great bell. It began as one, but then grew to two and three as the light from Dikaio-whatever’s rear thrusters grew.

…''Ah.

Once she realized what Kagami was doing, Horinouchi raised her voice.

“Do it, Kagami!”

In that instant, the large sword Magino Device fully opened its rear thrusters.

But that was not all.

The pommel-like shell creation section briefly opened just before the thrusters released their light.

“Fire!”

The main cannon had been torn apart along with the armor, but the thrusters were still functioning. So…

“If she fires a blank behind her, it will add to her acceleration!”

Bells rang and the great sword escaped the bonds of the scythe.

As the scythe rapidly swung around, the sword with damaged blade had not lost its will to fight.

They began a rapid rotation to take up the best position against each other and new clouds trailed after them in the sky.

And at the center of that rumbling, words were formed.

They came from a grim reaper.

Mary in her black witch outfit turned back toward Kagami who was also turning back toward her.

“It seems that wasn’t enough.”

She said more from there.

“But this is not enough to satisfy everyone’s grudge.”

“What?”

Horinouchi tilted her head as she landed on top of an abandoned building in the east.

She could see Tokyo Bay to the west from here. She could also see Hunter on the coast two kilometers to her left.

She looked to the two Magino Devices in the sky, but…

…''Even if I start moving now, I can’t catch up with them.

If she was going to do something, it had to be here, so she asked the question on her mind.

It was concerning what Mary had just said.

“Everyone’s grudge?”

She opened a communication line to call for Kagami, but then she heard a voice.

It was not Hunter, Koutarou, or the headmaster’s voice. She heard a noise that did not form any actual words. It was simply someone breathing in…

“——————”

And falling silent.

…''Eh?

Had anything ever brought Kagami to silence before?

“Kagami!?”

…''What does this mean?

Had Mary’s words meant something to Kagami?

Those words had shocked Kagami.

…''Everyone’s grudge?

What did that mean? Her mind raced and reached a certain fact.

The human named Kagami Kagami was not from this world.

“Kagami!?”

Just as she cried out in order to clear away her anxiety, a great noise filled the sky.

The executioner’s chain had finished turning around and it had gained a sudden burst of speed.

…''That was fast!

The scythe seemed to leap at its opponent.

“Fight back, Kagami!”

Horinouchi saw it.

Kagami’s Magino Device fired its secondary cannons while turning back toward the black multi-scythe.

But every one of those attacks was erased. The precision guided shots that had been so useful in the battle against Hunter were wholly annihilated before they reached the black scythe.

“Listen.”

Someone spoke from the sky.

It was Mary. She moved straight in toward Kagami as she uttered a certain line.

It concerned Kagami’s background and it was just what Horinouchi had feared.

“Did you never think there might already be a transfer student from another world?”

Kagami ordered Dikaiosyne to move back as it turned around.

…''The power has dropped after that last shot.

The main cannon had been torn into. It was being repaired, but she did not know if those repairs would finish in time. She was more concerned about the ether spilling from there than the ability to fire. So to buy as much time as possible, she responded to her opponent as she made her retreating turn.

“Another world? You mean…?”

“Yes.” Mary was clearly gaining ground. “My home, known as the Layered Circles World, was much like this planet. There was an army there that fought a god in order to stop a concrete phenomenon known as the Curtain of Destruction.”

Hunter hit the side of her head after hearing Mary’s explanation.

“Fantasy?”

“S-some of the European witches have backgrounds like that,” argued Horinouchi.

''But an army that fights a god?

“Crazy?”

“U-um, that would put us in the category of crazy too!”

But the voice in the sky laughed. She almost seemed to crawl toward Kagami, but she also accelerated to fill the gap.

“But partway through the conclusion, someone with incredible magical power appeared and was eventually promoted to the rank of brigadier general.”

She spoke a name.

“Kagami Kagami, it was you. Although surnames in my home world can only be two syllables long, so you went by Kaga Mikagami instead.”

“There you have it.”

The headmaster held a pot with a single flower in it, but she set it down on the reception table.

“You were not an unprecedented case, Miss Kagami. That is why your acceptance went so smoothly. It was all thanks to the excellent student who set a valuable precedent.”

Before, she had praised the flower in that pot.

“It seems flowers that scatter ether light much like this one grew in her homeland.”

But…

“All of those must have been destroyed by the ‘god’ who was another form of the Black Witch.”

''That explains some things,'' realized Kagami.

She had seen the destruction of several worlds on the way here.

The one this girl going by Mary had mentioned had been the world before this one.

“That was a circular world divided into layers to create a single giant World Pillar.”

They had a shared image in their memories.

“Then you must be…”

The girl in black answered with her head lowered. She would be in range for a second clash before long.

“I am Reese, warrior of the May clan. Do you remember me? No, I suppose you wouldn’t.”

“The fantasy-ness…just keeps growing…”

“Y-you’re pretty weird yourself, Hunter!”

“Milady! You have them both beat!”

She had named herself.

“Ha.”

She had kept this hidden for a long while and she had never expected to reveal it to this girl of all people.

“No, you wouldn’t remember. After all…” She paused for a moment. “After all, just before our world was destroyed, you fled without even trying to fight!”

“Wait!”

Mary looked to Kagami. The great sword looked almost within arm’s reach now and the girl was holding her right palm out toward her.

“Please tell me! What happened…with the destruction of that world!?”

…''You’re asking that ''now''?

Anger accompanied that question in her mind.

But her heart was the polar opposite.

It was cold.

This was wonderful.

She had expected Kagami to shout in anger and provide an explosion of emotion.

Before summer break, when the Rank 4 had fallen to the north of Tokyo Bay and when the battle with the Rank 3 had been relayed to the school early in the morning, a certain thought had come to Mary.

…''She must be here to become a target of my grudge.

This was anger. That emotion gathered up all of one’s resentment, misery, and frustration and then thrust them outward.

If she had a target for that, wouldn’t she be able to get rid of her own anger?

But that was not the case.

“Honestly…”

She could feel a tremor filling her entire body. She could tell her body temperature was dropping. She could not hold her eyes steady. This was not heatstroke. She had gotten plenty of water. But she kept thinking about so many unnecessary things.

…''I want to distract myself from who I am now, don’t I?

She understood that. She was trying to justify her anger by saying it was righteous. And she wanted to accept the mistaken idea that she only had to expel the ugly parts of herself.

She suddenly realized her expression was twisted.

“So you’re from that world.”

…''No, not “that” world.

“That was ''our'' world.”

She had seen what had become of her home. But that was not all.

“They left everything with me and then disappeared! I looked up to you and learned how to pool my magic power from you, so I was left with all the world’s magic power and then everything except for me disappeared!”

Mary allowed herself this as she spoke.

She aimed at the great sword and at Kagami.

“…!”

She fired her main cannon while charging forward.

Kagami’s mind went blank for a brief moment.

…''Disappeared?

No, it was true that the world her sister had created had been destroyed. And just as Mary had said, she had escaped that world before it happened. But…

“Wait!”

There was something she had to say.

However…

…''Is it too late!?

The rear scythe portion of Mary’s Magino Device spread out.

She could not see it, but something was definitely being fired.

What was she supposed to do about this invisible attack?

If she simply dodged, she would be back where she started. But Mary clearly had the advantage and moving in close would only get her captured like before.

''Then what do I do?'' she wondered until someone answered her.

“Kagami!”

A spell circle appeared in front of her. It was Horinouchi.

She held her Normal Device. She was not firing it, but the line of fire was displayed on the spell circle.

…''So that is it!

Kagami nodded and gave motion to everything.

She set a destination for Dikaiosyne’s turning while repairing the Magino Device.

“Charge to the point Manko showed me, Dikaiosyne!”

Hunter sensed it.

During the summer afternoon, a large chunk of the sky ''vanished''.

It seemed to have been gouged away, but that may have been an illusion. However…

“Kagami! Regain control!”

The great sword was moving in response to the scythe’s attack.

The entire thing had slid to the side, avoiding the “gouging” and remaining unharmed.

…''It didn’t hit!

That was thanks to Horinouchi.

She had most likely determined the direction of Mary’s attack. But how had she done that?

“How did you do that, milady!?”

“Even if we don’t know the path of the main cannon, it isn’t that hard to predict if you know where Kagami is and can read the orientation and slight movements of the Magino Frame. After all, it has to hit to be effective. Then I just had to determine Kagami’s exact position to send a spell circle that told her what direction the main cannon would fire in. The real problem was Kagami’s position, but…”

From the surface, she could not see Kagami on top of the Magino Device.

However, there was still a way of finding it.

Two fighters had passed by the airspace while coming almost too close to the battle.

“Representative Hunter! Did the three-point range-finding using us and the satellite come in handy!?”

It had come in way too handy. She used a telescopic spell to take a bunch of photos of Horinouchi and sent them over. Horinouchi was on top of a building, so this would give them some low angle shots they would never normally get.

“Wh-what are you doing!? Hey, stop that!”

…''You’ve gotta pay for that help somehow. Is that what you call an offering? Well, it doesn’t really matter.

“Kagami!”

This was her chance.

“Go!”

Kagami made several movements in a row.

The two F-23s flying above Tokyo Bay saw her Magino Frame fire its main cannon as it passed by on their right.

“Did she finish repairing it!?”

“No, she’s forcing this!”

Ether light was leaking from halfway down the main cannon and light burst from the starboard side where such a large chunk had been torn away.

She fired, but that destroyed the main cannon. She could not fire it a second time.

Plus, the two Magino Devices were passing each other by, so this shot would not score a direct hit. However…

“So that’s what she’s after!”

Kagami’s main cannon shell flew as if to scrape along the port side of Mary’s Magino Device.

In an instant, the light was annihilated at its destination.

This was the black scythe Device’s defense.

Kagami had dodged her opponent’s annihilation main cannon and had her own main cannon devoured by her opponent’s defenses.

The enemy’s attack and defense had been canceled out. And if they had been neutralized…

“Go, Rank 3!”

She did.

The Holy Knight’s great sword scraped the unharmed port side of its blade against the grim reaper’s scythe as if locking blades together.

They were both moving forward, so ether light sparks scattered from the long point of contact as they passed by. And…

“You’re kidding right?”

The observer pilot saw the scene while turning away from Tokyo Bay.

As the five hundred meter blades locked together, the Holy Knight and the Executioner ran toward each other.

“The witches themselves are starting a swordfight!!”

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Clash_of_Hexennacht:Volume2_Chapter_5|Chapter 5]]
| Return to [[Clash_of_Hexennacht|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Clash_of_Hexennacht:Volume2_Chapter_7|Chapter 7]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Owari no Chronicle:DC Interlude

2016-04-08T04:30:12Z

68.109.55.47: /* Interlude: The Usual */

==Interlude: The Usual==
[[Image:OnC_DC_003.jpg|thumb]]
''I am always

''Always

''Wishing for this

The pale blue expanse of the sky contained clouds that looked drawn on with a brush.

It was the winter sky and the sun shined down from its late morning height.

A train to Tokyo traveled down the Chuo Line.

It left the station building that contained a banner for a 2005 Christmas sale and it continued east.

The train picked up speed as it cut through the city that was enjoying its year-end festival.

It was midday on Christmas.

“Christmas, huh?”

A voice spoke in the Tokyo-bound train.

It came from the center of the long seat halfway down the nearly empty front car.

“Look, Shinjou-kun. An IAI food cart bus is having a Christmas sale in front of Kunitachi Station.”

“Eh? Where, where, Sayama-kun?”

“There.”

Sayama in his suit pointed out the window and Shinjou in her orange jacket tried to peer out.

“Oh, you’re right! They’re doing something suspiciously lively!”

“Yes, they are. Look over there. There is even a life-size Santa doll.”

“Oh, yeah. The Santa doll is naked and hanging upside down with a sign saying, ‘My Peter-class hard luck will protect you from Satan!’ …That can’t be right!!”

“Ha ha ha. It is within the margin of error, so there is nothing to worry about.”

“Really?” said Shinjou while Sayama laughed and looked to the station as it grew more distant.

They were moving east. As the midday sun shined on the Chuo Line to Tokyo, their train was as empty as one would expect of a rapid-service train.

They had an important “job” that night.

Every UCAT would be working together and they had the central role, so they had to gather at Mitaka where a base had already been set up.

They were scheduled to meet at three in the afternoon and Shinjou checked the current time on her watch.

“One o’clock. Even with just rapid-service, we’ll still arrive in Mitaka a little early, Sayama-kun. But Ooshiro-san said to take things easy before this big job.”

“There is something we could do, Shinjou-kun.”

Shinjou nodded, thought for a moment, and spoke up with some regret in her voice.

“Yes. If possible, I would have wanted to relax together some more.”

“Yes,” replied Sayama as he lightly crossed his arms. “I understand just how you feel. So in the short time until Mitaka…we can flirt together.”

“…I had a feeling you would say that.”

Hearing that, Sayama turned around.

Shinjou had her hair tied back behind her head and she wore a winter jacket over a white dress.

She was also glaring at him.

“Um? You do know that the world is in real danger right now, don’t you?”

“Yes, I am well aware. But…is there a law saying we are not allowed to flirt when the world is in danger?”

Shinjou groaned but finally raised a finger.

“Um,” she began. “There isn’t a law saying we have to flirt either.”

“Yes, but…we are allowed freedom of expression.”

“Kh,” she groaned again.

But then she muttered “I won’t let him win this” under her breath.

“Wh-what exactly were you planning for this flirting?”

Sayama thought on that question. What exactly was this “flirting” he was thinking of? With Baku mimicking him from his head, Sayama held his hands in empty air like a conductor and made an additional pose as he answered.

“Flirt! Ing!!”

“Wh-what was that weird shout and transformation pose for!?”

“Oh? That was not enough to understand, Shinjou-kun!?”

Sayama continued his explanation while obviously surprised that his pose had not gotten through to her.

“In other words, Sayama Mikoto can use his words alone to flirt with you in only 0.00002 seconds!”

“Oh? Then if I close off your windpipe so you can’t speak, you can’t get weird?”

“Ha ha ha. Getting violent again, I see. But that too is lovely… Flirt! Ing!”

She strangled him.

After ten seconds, he went limp and she let go.

“Honestly.”

She sat back down next to him and rested her head in her hand. She was still glancing over at him.

“This really has been an awful day from the beginning.”

“Hm? From the beginning?”

“Yes, the awfulness began in the morning.”

When she glared at him, he and Baku both tilted their heads.

“This morning? But you seemed quite happy when the sun came up.”

“Waaaah!! By morning I meant when we woke up!!”

She strangled him again and shook him.

…''Oh, no. This is going to leave a mark on my neck. And if this continues much longer and I die here, Shinjou-kun would become a criminal.

''Killing Sayama Mikoto is a greater crime than destroying the entire universe.

''If she did that, she would be imprisoned until the end of the world, but if I am going to be killed by anyone, it should be Shinjou-kun. Still, I never like to waste a good opportunity, so maybe I could frame the old man or Izumo to get them executed. But then if neither of them was caught, Shinjou-kun would gain a criminal record.

''And if that happened, she would have to have her fingers examined to take her fingerprints.

…''I cannot let someone other than me do that to her!

Therefore…

“Sh-Shinjou-kun, calm down! No matter the reason, I cannot allow someone other than me to examine your ___!”

“…Have you gone insane?”

“Ha ha ha. What are you talking about?”

Sayama laughed off Shinjou’s needless worries.

“Yes, feel free to put whatever body part you want in that ‘___’. And something adventurous would be nice, Shinjou-kun!”

Shinjou smiled a little.

…''Good. She seems to understand now.

Then she nodded a few times and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“How about you die?”

“No, Shinjou-kun, let us set aside such trivial matters and prepare the ink and inkstone.”

“What are you trying to do!?”

Shinjou panicked, stood from her seat to escape, and held her skirt down.

“B-besides, right now…I’m a boy!”

That line received a certain reaction.

There were very few people on the train already, but it grew completely silent now.

“…Ah.”

Shinjou seemed to have realized what her statement plus her current location meant. She looked down at her skirt, looked around, and blushed.

“U-um…well, uh…”

Shinjou was at a loss for words, so Sayama decided he needed to say something to help her out.

“Shinjou-kun!” He stood up. “I do not mind in the slightest that you are a boy, Shinjou-kun!!”

“Nwaah! You idiot!!”

“There is no need to be shy! Now, leap into my chest as the boy you are, Shinjou-kun!”

She leaped into his chest knee-first.

She heard his ribs creaking, but he seemed satisfied that she had complied.

“Gwoh! Sh-Shinjou-kun! How passionate! How manly!!”

“Sh-shut up. Why do you feel the need to destroy my position in society!?”

“A butt god has no need for a position in lowly human society, Shinjou-kun. The only place you need is in the absolute physical laws of the Sayama Universe.”

He placed an arm around her shoulders from the side and she glared back at him.

She tilted her head with a look of pure displeasure.

“I guess I’ll ask… How do things work in the Sayama Universe?”

He immediately answered.

“It has recently been introduced to the wonders of the video camera. And a digital one at that.”

“What kind of universe is that!? And don’t make it sound like you aren’t involved!”

She suddenly stopped speaking there.

He could see her tilting her head and frowning.

“What is it?”

“Well… You mentioning the video camera reminded me of something,” she said. “Um, I’ve never actually seen you swap out the tape.”

“What are you talking about? It is all being backed up multiple times to an online distributed file storage system using the computer hidden in the ceiling. Each individual piece is useless, but my own personal software and password can transform them into a video. …Yes, computers around the world are overflowing with you right now, Shinjou-kun.”

He had assumed she would have some kind of reaction, but when he looked to her face in front of his chest…

“?”

She simply tilted her head as if she did not understand what he had said.

He tilted his head in the same way.

“Do you have some kind of question about the grand Shinjou-kun World Domination Project I just described?”

“Well…” She frowned. “You can record video on computers?”

“—————”

He fell silent, so she tilted her head further.

“Aren’t videos recorded on tapes? I know a little bit about this, you know. They say Beta is the best so it’ll definitely survive. Isn’t that right?”

“It would seem I need to explain to you how Kashima-kun’s videos work. Not to mention what VHS is.”

“Eh? Doesn’t Kashima-san’s camera have a tape recorder built inside it? I thought it was amazing that it didn’t make a bunch of noise. And what’s VHS? Some kind of vaccine?”

Sayama decided in his heart that, when they got back home, he would explain this all to her while recording her.

''If she does not know what VHS is, I will have to have S with her V in a very H way. In fact, the cabinet meeting in my head is about to vote on the matter. No objections! Thank you. Thank you, VHS.

…''You are a treasure of Japan!

“Sayama-kun? Sayama-kun? What are you muttering about and what are you looking at? How about you die?”

“Oh, sorry, Shinjou-kun. I am fine. Just fine.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” said Sayama while watching the midday city scenery as the train ran along an elevated track.

With his arm around Shinjou from the side, he watched the city and sighed.

“The thing is…”

“Yes?”

“I was realizing that I want to ensure future generation know about someone as VHS as you.”

“…Calm down.”

“Heh heh. I cannot wait, Shinjou-kun!”

“Wait, um, uh, Sayama-kun? Are you even listening to me?”

“Yes, I am. When we get back, I will film you, play it back on a triple monitor setup, and enjoy comparing it to the real one! Yes, I will have two high-resolution Shinjou-kuns! We must return alive today, Shinjou-kun! …Anyway, what have you been trying to say?”

Since he had his arm around her, she was able to immediately tighten his necktie.

While she strangled and shook him, he thought to himself.

…''Heh heh. She is so cute when she is embarrassed. Now, this is what I call flirting.

''It is truly wonderful how she sounds so serious when saying “die” or “perish” to hide her embarrassment.

''Recently, she has not been releasing me even when I tap out, but that is just how she shows that she does not want to let me go. And I seem to have a way of always giving her what she wants.

…''She is feeling lonely, so she can strangle me as much as she wants!

Regardless, he started tapping out before long.

He was released, he caught his breath, and he realized she was looking up at him.

He wiped the sweat from his brow after that light exercise and spoke.

“What is it, Shinjou-kun?”

“Well…I was just thinking that this is how things usually go for us.”

“Kazami and Izumo seemed a little different from normal.”

Shinjou looked up to the ceiling and thought a bit, but she finally smiled.

“I’m sure they’ll be back to normal when they get to Mitaka.”

“Will they?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “Even though it’s Christmas. …Look.”

The train started to slow. Shinjou glanced around, but Sayama kept his arm around her and refused to let go.

She did not resist and simply looked out the window.

“The station area is all decorated. There’s even a Christmas tree. But…” She smiled bitterly. “Why are we the same as always in the middle of this big festival?”

“That is simple, Shinjou-kun. We are always having a festival.”

“…‘We’?”

He nodded and her expression vanished.

She hung her head and he held her even tighter.

“What put you in a bad mood so quickly?”

“Well…I was just thinking that this is how things usually go for us.”

“Of course it is,” he said. “We are those who enjoy festivals. If enjoying something is better than suffering through it – and you do not wish to be a masochist – then it is best to think of everything as a festival.”

Sayama looked to the decorations outside the station they were stopped at.

“Look.” He shook Shinjou’s shoulder to get her to look too. “The Christmas tree is so pretty, Shinjou-kun. We should have gotten one for ourselves.”

“Wouldn’t our room feel pretty cramped?”

“But it would feel even more fun. Have you ever-…?”

She shook her head before he could finish his question.

“I don’t think I’ve ever decorated a tree. Although maybe I just don’t remember it.”

“Then how about doing it with me?”

She gave him a troubled smile, but…

“Sayama-kun, you’ll be with me for all my firsts, won’t you?”

As if in response to that thought, she relaxed her shoulders and nodded.

“That’s right, Sayama-kun. …A Christmas tree would be nice. I hope we can get a really big one. And…”

“And?”

“Well.” Her expression softened. “I hope everyone, even my mom and the others, can see that tree. …I kind of feel like they’ll be able to.”

“A Christmas tree? What’s that? You want to go see it?”

A surprised voice came from the floor.

That was where a black cat sat on the wooden floor of a large, dimly-lit space.

Several rectangular sun-marks covered the stepped floor the cat sat on, but those were the marks left when bookcases were moved.

This had originally been a library, but all of the bookcases had been moved to the hallway, leaving a few desks and…

“Then quit clinging to the counter and get going, Brunhild. I want to see that Christmas tree, too.”

The small figure at the counter looked back toward the cat.

The person reading a book and sipping at a paper cup of coffee was Brunhild.

The cat then heard what she said while wearing her black clothing and hat.

“You know?” she began. “Only children get excited about a Christmas tree. It’s not worth going somewhere crowded for.”

“Hm. So you don’t have any friends to go with you?”

Brunhild crushed the paper cup in her hand.

She glared at him, so he took a step back.

“Did I…say something wrong?”

“…No, not really.”

“A-are you sure?”

The cat forced himself to start whistling.

During the intermittent whistling, Brunhild’s gaze slowly returned to the book.

After a while, the cat stopped whistling and seemed unable to stand the subsequent silence.

“Where’s Siegfried?”

“He apparently went to Okutama. He said it was to see if Hiba’s grandfather had kicked the bucket yet.”

“Hm. Everyone’s ignoring you, aren’t they?”

Brunhild suddenly pulled a coffee grinder from below the counter.

The old, hand-cranked device was heavy enough to make the entire counter shake.

“U-um…”

The coffee grinder blocked the cat’s view of Brunhild’s face.

She placed beans inside, grabbed the handle in her fists, and started cranking away.

Sounds of scraping and crunching filled the library as Brunhild seemed to enter a trancelike state.

“Heh heh heh heh heh. Destruction is simply wonderful!!”

“C-calm down. Let’s calm down, Brunhild! Something unpleasant might have happened, but calm down!”

“Then,” she said while coming to a stop.

After a short pause, she continued speaking while holding the handle like she was praying.

“Why didn’t Siegfried give me a Christmas present?”

“Well…”

She immediately interrupted.

“Wrong! You have one more chance!”

“I-I hadn’t even said anything yet!!”

“What? You sure are slow.”

“Y-you’re a tyrant! An absolute tyrant!”

She expressionlessly told him to “just get on with it” and sweat began pouring down his face.

He desperately thought for about five seconds.

“Oh! I know!”

“…Yes?”

He responded to her quiet question by stretching out his body and puffing out his chest.

“Just think about it! People only give presents to children and given your actual age- Wait! I was wrong! Forget I said anything! Please!”

“…You’ve gotten clever in the worst possible way lately.”

“By the way.” The cat prepared his hind legs to make a quick escape as he asked. “Why do you want a present in the first place?”

“Because…I feel like he would have given Gutrune one.”

“Hm? So you want him to treat you like a child?”

One second after asking, he ducked down and covered his head, but Brunhild did not send an attack his way.

“…?”

Confused, he looked up and found her with her chin resting on the coffee grinder.

Her partially-opened eyes were looking right at him.

“Maybe I do.”

“…Do what?”

“The thing is,” she began. “I lost my parents when I was a kid and didn’t have an enjoyable childhood. My time with the princess and the others was fine, but ever since losing 1st-Gear, there hasn’t been any love around me.”

“Ha ha ha. You’re placing responsibility for your own personality on others, aren’t you?”

“Heh heh heh. You’re placing your own life in someone else’s hands, aren’t you!?”

The cat quickly retreated, but Brunhild only snorted.

The cat saw her lean back in her chair, cross her arms behind her head, and sigh toward the ceiling.

“This really is boring…”

“Th-then, Brunhild.”

The cat made a suggestion.

“How about I give you a present?”

“…Such as?”

There was a tone of interest in her question, so the cat started thinking.

“Um…”

''This has to be something really good, so…

“How about the corpses of a dozen cicadas I caught during the summer? You can use them in a ritual, can’t you?”

“Do you think I’m a witch or something?”

“Y-you clearly are!!”

Hearing that, she looked at the hat on her head.

“Maybe so,” she said as she lifted it up and let a small bird poke its head out.

She straightened up and rested her chin on the coffee grinder again.

“Well, something would be better than nothing. Okay, if you’re going to get me something…”

A smile appeared on her face as she looked down at him.

“Listen. There’s something I want.”

“Eh? Wh-what? What is it!? A victim!? Or a sacrifice!? If you get one of those, I can avoid getting tied up, can’t I!? …So which is it!?”

“Are you picking a fight with me!? …Listen.”

She pointed at him and jabbed her finger forward with each word.

“I. Want. Your. Remorse.”

“…My remorse?”

The cat tilted his head.

After tilting it for five seconds, twenty seconds, and then a full minute, he slowly lowered his hips.

“What exactly…do you mean?”

“…Oh? You show it all the time. After I scold you.”

“So my remorse…is collapsing limply to the floor?”

“If that’s what your remorse is, then yes! Now, give me your remorse for my present!”

She stood up and approached, so the cat made a run for it.

“A present, hm?”

A male voice could be heard on a sunny street corner.

A man in a somewhat worn-out lab coat stood in front of a house on a narrow road. The house’s nameplate said “Kashima”, the man had a leather bag in his right hand, and he adjusted his glasses and collar with his left hand.

“Now, then.”

He calmed his breathing and started to open the door.

That was when the wooden door suddenly opened from inside.

Sandal-wearing footsteps and a woman’s voice reached him from the rectangle of darkness.

“Welcome home, Akio-san.”

A woman with short black hair stepped out with her eyes bent and narrowed.

“It’s good to be back, Natsu-san. I-…”

He trailed off because Natsu was holding a baby to her chest when she stepped out.

The baby was wrapped in a white cloth while she looked to her mother and father and spoke to both of them.

The quiet “ah” caused Kashima to narrow his own eyes.

“Daddy’s home, Harumi.”

He breathed a small sigh of relief.

Natsu must have seen the tension leave his shoulders because she nodded.

“I’m glad you’re all right.”

A note of relief filled her voice.

[[Image:OnC_DC_025.jpg|thumb]]

During the early morning two days before, his workplace had been destroyed in an “earthquake” and everyone inside – him included – had evacuated thanks to the early warning they had received.

However, relatives like Natsu had only been informed the following day and the evacuated people had been missing at that point.

She had apparently been incredibly worried until he had contacted her at about ten. When he had called then, she had apparently been about to visit his parents and she had burst into tears as soon as she heard his voice.

Then a horribly unreasonable hour of scolding and kindness had followed.

However, he had needed to take care of some things afterwards, so he had not come home until now.

It had been a while, but he was returning home just like always.

It looked like Natsu had calmed down by now, but she was still relieved to actually see him with her own eyes. That may have been why her left hand was tugging on his lab coat.

“Please call me sooner next time. …I don’t want to hear whether you’re okay or not from someone else.”

''Who’s supposed to contact her if I died?'' he wondered, but he decided it would be best not to say that given the circumstances. So…

“I’ll always return home as long as you’re protecting our home …Isn’t that right, Harumi?”

He tried to touch his daughter, but Natsu turned around to move Harumi away from him.

A quiet “ah” escaped him and she looked over her shoulder at him and laughed quietly from her throat.

“The naughty Santa who waited until Christmas morning to come home doesn’t get to touch Haru-chan.”

''Now that’s a harsh punishment,'' he thought in silent shock, but he did not apologize. After all, his late return had been due to work he needed to do last night and the two of them had decided he would not apologize for any work that protected his family.

So instead, he spoke in an intentionally playful voice.

“To show my remorse, I changed from red to white clothes.”

He shrugged and Natsu tilted her head while still smiling.

“What is it?” he asked when faced with her confusion.

“Did putting on white clothes also white-out your memories of the present you mentioned on the phone?”

His body temperature dropped by three degrees.

He had indeed mentioned a present he had bought when speaking with her before the “earthquake”. It had been an IAI Christmas Mystery Bag. Specifically the “Pine” one that cost thirty thousand yen. He had used an X-ray device and an MRI to check the contents, then used a conceptual scan, and finally gotten the bomb squad to open it. After tossing all the dangerous items in Atsuta’s locker, he had repackaged it with what he had bought himself to create what he called the True Mystery Bag.

“It’s not that I forgot. It was lost in the earthquake.”

“Haru-chan? Our Santa didn’t forget our present. He lost it. And in an earthquake no less. Sounds like a magician from an RPG, doesn’t it? …He destroys, but he can’t create.”

Kashima’s body temperature dropped even further as Natsu rubbed her cheek against Harumi and laughed again.

“Sorry, Akio-san. Since you were safe, I decided to get back at you for all the worrying you put me through.”

When she put it that way, he could only accept it. It did not seem fair, but he decided she was making sure he did not need to apologize for making her worry.

However, there was some darkness remaining on her face. He knew why and, even though he did not say anything, she put it to words without hiding anything.

“Akio-san, you have work tonight too, don’t you?”

“I’ll be back,” he replied.

He had already told her over the phone that he needed to prepare for work at the Kanda branch next year since the main building had been destroyed.

That was a lie.

He had “work” in the city tonight. And this work required him to become a soldier even though he had an important office position. It was possible he could lose his life and it was even possible the world could be destroyed.

…''But…

“I’ll definitely be back.”

He said the same words he had once said in his heart.

Natsu turned back around to face him. There was no smile in her eyes, her mouth opened, and she trembled a little, but…

“Okay.”

She forced a smile and nodded. That motion caused something to spill from the corners of her eyes.

She must have noticed the tremor in her eyes because she wiped at the top of her cheeks with her fingers and turned her back. She quickly moved inside the house and put on a cheerful voice.

“A-Akio-san…will you be leaving right away?”

“I think I can wait until this evening. I’m sure Atsuta at least will be late.”

“In that case…”

Some of the strength truly had returned to her voice now and she asked a question while removing her sandals in front of him.

“It may be midday, but how about we have a party here while thanking Atsuta-san for always being late?”

“A party?”

“Yes.” She turned around and showed him a real smile. “This will be Haru-chan’s first Christmas after all. So can’t we?”

By the time she asked that, a trouble look had reached her face. Her cheeks were flushed, but that was probably from embarrassment. When he thought about it, they had always celebrated Christmas by eating out before Harumi had been born and her family had no real Christmas traditions since her parents had followed strict Japanese customs.

''A party a child would enjoy must be an adventure for her,'' he realized. So…

“Good idea.”

The expression on her face when she heard that made it hard to tell whether she or Harumi was the child.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and stepped inside. ''I’m home,'' he said in his heart.

“Well, I’ll bring you a present tomorrow. Santa hit someone with his sleigh today, so he’ll be a little late. But…Natsu-san, you already have the party ready to go, don’t you? The food’s all cooked, isn’t it?”

“Eh? W-well… How did you know?”

She sounded troubled and he squeezed her shoulder in lieu of an answer.

He brought his cheek in close.

“Ah,” she said while shrinking back and looking him in the eye, so he looked right back.

Her eyes were a little damp from crying a bit earlier.

Those black eyes closed and her chin turned upwards.

He nodded as she gave a small demanding wave of her head.

“You asked how I knew you had the food for the party cooked.”

“?”

“That’s because I could smell vanilla essence on you.”

She blushed. Harumi also moved at her chest, so she might have been worried about how she smelled too.

But Natsu closed her eyes and spoke in a somewhat displeased voice.

“Th-that is, um…my smell.”

“Is it? You smell this sweet?”

“Yes.” She waved her head again with her eyes still closed. “It has a flavor too, but it’s bitter, not sweet. I learned that today.”

She laughed from her throat and Kashima brought that laugh into his mouth. With that, he began their party for this holy day.

“A party, huh?”

The sun shined on some white trucks at a parking lot in the mountains.

That sunny mountaintop parking area was in Yamanashi.

There were twelve giant white trucks in the large parking lot and they were arranged in three rows of four.

A couple of people could be seen on the roof of the central truck.

A blonde maid sat in the center with a woman in a lab coat resting her head on her lap.

The woman stared up into the sky.

“A party…” she muttered again.

The maid whose lap she was resting her head on tilted her head.

“Will you be dancing? We can reduce the strain on your body, Lady Miyako.”

“Hmm.” The woman named Miyako brought a hand to her forehead in thought. “The thing is, Moira 1st.”

“Yes, sir. What is it?”

“Think about it. You’ve seen my mom, right? Our Christmas traditions were pretty half-assed.”

“Half…assed?”

''I am not used to that adjective,'' thought Moira 1st.

Miyako gave a deep nod at her own word and said more.

“We would celebrate it, but we’d eat sushi and take a yuzu bath. …I don’t remember ever having a cake.”

“I see.” Moira 1st nodded while thinking that cooking would be an easy task. “Then let us make one, Lady Miyako. Before we leave for Tokyo.”

“Eh? You can do that?”

Miyako looked up at her and Moira 1st nodded back with a smile.

“Yes, sir. One of these trucks is your own personal kitchen. We can make ancient or modern Japanese, Western, or Chinese food. In fact, we could even make some dubious African cuisine. All of the ingredients are fresh, so they only need to be prepared with 3rd’s techniques.”

“If any of that’s alive, let it go. No, wait. You’re not supposed to release non-native species. Well, whatever. …More importantly, isn’t that a waste of money when we aren’t even spending half a day on the road?”

“3rd-Gear’s future is dependent on your health.”

Moira 1st smiled and spoke so Miyako could hear.

“I have determined it is an excellent deal to only need a single truck to manage all of the food for the person supporting 3rd-Gear. Besides, if my management has been perfect, your body weight should not have changed more than 100g since summer.”

“Eh?” asked Miyako as she reached for her stomach.

After a while, she looked up in surprise while rubbing her belly.

“Come to think of it, you’re right! I never step on the scale, so I’d have never noticed!”

“U-um, Lady Miyako? I feel like a young woman should try to manage her own health at least somewhat…”

“But those scales can’t measure out the grams for experimental materials. Why would I use something like that?”

“Oh, is that so?”

''Is that how it works?'' wondered Moira 1st with a tilt of the head.

Miyako smiled and said more.

“But are you sure I should eat a cake? I might gain weight? I’m not used to eating them.”

“Not to worry. We will calculate out all of the carbohydrates and fiber to make an accurate yet slightly altered cake.”

“Altered?”

“Yes, sir.” Moira 1st nodded with a serious expression. “3rd’s techniques are capable of making a perfect reproduction of a cake, but then the taste would never change. That is why we add in just a little bit of fuzziness. For example, when measuring the ingredients, we will ask the old lady from the house out back to do it or we will use an analog clock with a nearly dead battery to measure the cooking time. And with that added thrill, we will make…”

She clenched her right fist with the serious expression intact.

“A mayonnaise cream cake since you love mayonnaise so much!!”

“Wait a minute. I’m not familiar with that cooking process, but what kind of flavor is that?”

“Eh? I-it is mostly mayonnaise cream, the sponge cake will have a lot of the sweetness removed, and fruit seemed like it would be a poor flavor match, so we will use fresh cucumber and lettuce.”

“You know what? That’s called a mayonnaise sandwich. And wouldn’t it be a little rich?”

Moira 1st started to think. She held a vote with the others over their shared memory, they chatted a bit, they scheduled the day’s TV broadcasts to be recorded, and they discussed whether they should triple record “It’s Christmas Mito Kimon 2005” since Miyako liked the show. After sorting through everyone’s opinions, Moira 1st summed them all up for a final decision.

She let out some excess heat with a sigh and then she smiled.

She wiped the artificial sweat from her brow and opened her mouth to state her conclusion.

“In other words, you want to eat a sandwich on Christmas, don’t you!?”

“Stop thinking about mayonnaise. And about cakes. Making a tart would probably be safer.”

“I see.”

Moira 1st nodded just as a blonde girl climbed up onto the edge of the truck.

Sensing the smiling figure, Miyako turned toward her.

“Moira 3rd?”

“Yes.”

After climbing up, the girl dove toward Miyako to lie next to her.

“Stop that.”

Moira 1st frowned, but Moira 3rd did not care. She used her spread hands to slap at the truck’s roof.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, Miyako! Presents!!”

“Presents?” asked Miyako with a chocolate cigarette in her mouth.

“Yeah,” said Moira 3rd as she rested her head in her hands. “We’ll be giving you one, so you give us one too! Please, please, please!”

“Moira 3rd?” cut in Moira 1st. “Lady Miyako is still a low-payed part-time worker, so asking her for too much will wear down 3rd’s finances.”

“My wallet is supporting an entire world?”

Miyako stared into the distance from Moira 1st’s lap, but…

“Well, whatever.”

She turned toward Moira 3rd without getting up from the other maid’s lap and she crossed her arms.

“What do you want, Moira 3rd?”

“Well…”

The girl spoke with a smile in her voice.

“Your first time on Christmas!!”

“——————”

Moira 1st’s artificial senses detected an iciness in the surrounding air.

Her sight devices also detected a cold sweat pouring down Miyako’s face, but after a while Miyako replied in a shaky voice.

“U-um? Moira 3rd? That doesn’t refer to a normal Christmas celebration…”

“I know! It’s something important, isn’t it!? I read a magazine filled with naked women they were selling in that store over there, and it said something about giving that to someone! …It’s a present, isn’t it!?”

Moira 1st froze up in thought as she tried to decide whether to stop her or not, but then her younger sister said even more.

“And when Gyes heard me talking about it, she hit me a bunch and explained that – and I quote – ‘th-that refers to something incredibly important’!”

Only then did Moira 3rd seem to realize that everyone else had fallen silent.

“Huh?” She tilted her head. “Can you not give me that, Miyako? Do you not have a ‘first time’!?”

“W-well, it’s more that…um…I’m all out.”

“Ehhhhh!? Th-then who did you give it to?”

“Well, Apol-… Hey, why are all of you listening in!?”

As soon as Miyako blushed and shouted, footsteps scurried away from behind the truck. The shouting voices all came from maid dolls.

At the same time, someone else arrived on top of the truck. The woman had a red suit and an equally red face.

“Oh, it’s Gyes! Eh? Ah, hey! Where are you dragging me by the collar? Waaaahhh!!”

“Sorry!!”

Gyes bowed with a complicated look on her face before leaping into the distant forest with Moira 3rd in tow.

“Ah! Gyes! What are you doing!? You need to treat me more like a first time than this!! More like a first time!!”

“Do not say things people will take the wrong way!!”

Metallic sounds of impact rang from the forest and Moira 1st sighed.

But in her lap, Miyako covered her face in her hands and tried to keep from laughing.

“She sure is dumb…”

“Yes, sir. I apologize for my unfortunate sister.”

“It’s fine. No one’s more unfortunate than me. So do what you can to support me.”

She sighed and rolled onto her back, but she still had a hand on her face to cover her eyes.

“Hey,” she said to Moira 1st. “I’ll think of a present for all of you later. And as for what I want, well…”

“Yes, sir?”

“I want everyone to make it back safely tonight.”

Moira 1st directed her auditory devices’ input into her shared memory as Miyako continued.

“If we don’t do that, everything will derail like it did ten years ago.”

“…Yes, sir.”

At that point, a maid with short blonde hair climbed up onto the truck.

It was Moira 1st’s other younger sister, Moira 2nd. The glasses-wearing maid named Violet was with her. They had apparently finished servicing the gods of war and weapons inside the trucks. They gave a gesture saying everything was ready to go.

They were in Yamanashi, so they could reach Tokyo by evening if they left now.

However, Moira 1st suggested to the others that they wait a bit to leave. At least until Miyako stopped covering her face with her hand.

Everyone of course replied with “yes, sir”, and Miyako spoke up even though she could not hear any of that.

“Yeah…”

She raised her right foot and dropped the sandal’s heel down onto the truck’s roof.

A dull sound accompanied her next words.

“Let’s all come back.”

But the roof did not give a response.

Moira 1st knew that the god of war inside this truck was blue.

“It will be okay, Lady Miyako.”

Moira 1st gently brushed her master’s hair.

“We will all come back.”

She nodded and hoped Miyako would cheer up.

“After all, we all need to eat your special mayonnaise tart.”

“Noooo!!”

''Eh?'' thought Moira 1st as Miyako raised her hands in resignation and took in a deep breath.

“Please just make a normal cake!!”

“Cake. E.”

“E.” “…” “Elves.”

“S, so…strangulation.”

“N.” “…” “Nab.”

“B, so…bully.”

“…” “Y.” “Year.”

“R, so…rape.”

“…” “Your words” “seem a little” “harsh.”

“Harsh? But Sayama and the others often use and say them. Like Shinjou.”

“Shinjou?”

“Shinjou does to Sayama. First, strangulation.”

“Strangulation.” “Neck.” “Pressure.” “Asphyxiation.” “Execution.”

“Proof that they get along.”

“Friends?” “Nice?” “Friendly?” “Strangulation?” “Execution?”

“Sometimes uses knee. Uses midair flying knee.”

“…Friends?”

“Yes.”

“Understood.” “Trust you.” “Incomprehensible culture.” “But.” “Respect.” “Shinjou.”

“Shinjou said stop bullying. Said was mental rape.”

“Understand.” “Comprehend.” “Similar.” “Resembles.” “Appare Tono-sama.”

“Similar? Similar? Usual joke?”

“Good.” “Is good.” “Gooder.” “That is wrong.” “Then bad?”

“D, so…deserts.”

“What is that?”

“Sayama says everyone gets ‘just deserts’ based on flags.”

“S?”

“S.”

“S.” “…” “Sweets.”

“A Christmas cake? Why are you bringing up sweets?”

A suspicious voice filled a small apartment.

The nine square meter room was lit by the midday sunlight coming in through the window as the room was being cleaned.

A single person stood in the center of the room. It was a dark-skinned boy in a leather jacket.

His gaze was directed downward toward the room’s closet and its closed bottom shelf.

“Why do you want to eat a cake and gain weight, Heo Thunderson?”

“I-I didn’t say that, Harakawa.”

Heo’s voice came from the closet’s sliding door.

Something was moving inside the closet, so the door would sometimes shake a bit as if something were pushing against it.

“It’s just…you have to have a cake on Christmas.”

“I see.” Harakawa nodded. “A nice creative statement. By which I mean it will be creating additional weight for you.”

“Wh-why do you have to look at everything in a negative light!?”

Harakawa listened as the closet door defended the cake idea.

“C-cakes are delicious! …And deliciousness is justice! I always take the side of justice, so I’ll protect everything delicious!”

“Fine, but make sure all you do is protect it. That should solve everything. I’m sure the cake’s descendants will prosper. And by descendants, I mean mold.”

The closet door fell silent at that, but after a while…

“Can I take back what I said and become a hunter?”

“You certainly abandoned the side of justice quickly. So what are you going to do? Take the side of evil and become a destroyer of all things delicious by adopting a thorough scorched-earth policy?”

“I-I can’t destroy cakes! Cakes are meant to be eaten.”

''I don’t see how that’s any different,'' thought Harakawa.

“It doesn’t matter, but hurry it up, Heo Thunderson. I’m ready to go already.”

“Eh? Th-that was fast.”

“No, you’re just slow. The Yokota group will have already left.”

Everyone was on the move. Some were arriving from western Tokyo and others from Yamanashi, but they would all check in at the Mitaka Station base before scattering around Tokyo.

Harakawa and the others were supposed to gather at Mitaka as well.

And Harakawa felt a need to arrive there before any of the others.

…''If we don’t, who knows what kind of rumors they’ll start in order to pass the time.

He could easily imagine what Sayama, Shinjou, Kazami, and Izumo would say if they were late.

“Ha ha ha. Harakawa must be late because he is flirting with Heo-kun again, the pedo bastard.”

“D-don’t call him a pedo. That’s not nice to him or Heo. At least call him a lolicon bastard instead.”

“That’s the same thing. But you second years sure have interesting tastes…”

“Yeah, but personally, I have to wonder if Heo will turn out to be quite the Holstein in the future.”

“Ryuuji-kun, what is a Holstein?”

“Ha ha ha. Mikage-san, she would never be able to hold a candle to you. The trick is to have a nicely balanced size.”

Hiba and Mikage unexpectedly yet naturally joined the imaginary conversation, but it did not seem out of place. That made Harakawa shudder and he felt an unpleasant sweat on his back.

…''This isn’t good.

If they were delayed any further, he was certain exactly that situation would play out and the entire group would decide their delusions were factual.

They would all be looking at him as a pedo hoping for a Holstein.

Plus, the comments would activate Heo’s right brain, she would say something strange, and his peaceful life would be enveloped in destructive flames.

…''Oh, no.

Just as he thought that, the closet door spoke.

“U-um, Harakawa? Why are you being so quiet?”

After asking that, she seemed to realize something.

“Ah! D-don’t tell something happened to your brain!?”

“Shut up and come on out.”

“Eh?”

The closet door sounded surprised and continued more hesitantly.

“B-but, Harakawa, I’m still naked. N-no, a-are you that…that interested in seeing me the way I was born!?”

“If I was interested in fetuses, maybe I could understand what goes in you people’s brains.”

“Oh, come on, Harakawa. Don’t be like that.”

“Hurry up and put some clothes on!!”

“O-okay,” replied the door.

A moment later, he heard a dull sound as something moved inside the closet.

Something had slammed into the shelf above from below.

“Hh.”

Heo cried out in pain, rolled to the right, and crashed into the right wall.

“Eek.”

She rolled back the other way and hit what sounded like the bookshelf.

“O-ow! Why now!?”

She quickly tried to sit back up and hit the shelf above once more.

Harakawa heard a dull sound, something falling over, and then ten seconds of silence.

“…Heo?”

He called out to her, tilted his head, and found this strange.

“Are you done playing around?”

“Playing around!? This isn’t a game! I was serious!”

“You were seriously running into things? Then I’m sorry I interrupted. I’m leaving.”

He turned his back on the closet.

…''This is hopeless. I’ll be here all day if I play along. She can get to Mitaka by train, but I need to go on ahead for my own safety.

But…

“Ah, p-please wait!”

Heo opened the closet door and rushed out with her bag.

When he saw the tears in her eyes and the sports bag, he realized he may have gone a little too far, but at the same time…

“…Where are your clothes?”

“Eh?”

She looked down and realized she was naked.

“—————!”

She blushed, threw the bag aside, and quickly dove back behind the closet door.

He heard her quickly rummaging around inside the storage box in the back of the closet.

“Y-you’re mean and perverted, Harakawa! You tricked me into coming out naked!”

“That’s an incredible accusation there. Personally, I think it has more to do with you losing all common sense as a human being.”

“I-it doesn’t matter!” she shouted back as he heard the rustling of cloth.

He then heard her opening another box, but then…

“Ah.”

After her voice of realization, all of the sounds came to a sudden stop.

Harakawa was not sure what was going on.

“U-um, Harakawa? This is…a little hard to admit, but…I-I think all of my clothes are in that bag.”

He shoved the bag into the closet and heard a scream as it was swallowed up by the darkness.

He immediately heard it being opened and rummaged through.

“U-um, oh, this…and this…goes on the bottom…no, this is goes on top…top, top, bottom, bottom…”

“Heo Thunderson, I think you’re missing something right now.”

“Wh-what is that? …There we go.”

“Are you dressed?”

“Yes,” she said in delight. “I just finished putting on my T-shirt!”

''How slow can you be?'' he wondered but left unsaid. She was incredibly fast when it came to running or derailing conversations in strange directions, but she was slower than average in everything else. If he said anything here, there were decent odds she would come out in only her T-shirt.

And what would everyone say then?

“Oh, dear. Heo, why are you sporting the naked T-shirt look? I don’t remember teaching you about that contradictory genre.”

“Roger! Roger! What is the naked T-shirt look!?”

“Testament. I believe it is a variation on the ancient Japanese tradition of Kanpu Masatsu. You wear unnecessarily light clothing when it is cold to train your mind and you use trade friction to achieve complete victory. It is a magical tradition for international relations. Some take it to another level by sitting below a waterfall.”

“I see, I see. What a frightening country Japan is to find a magical resolution to their international issues!”

After imagining that much, Harakawa grew truly worried about his future.

But before long…

“Okay, all done! I’m dressed!”

Delighted that she had dressed herself on her own, Heo left the closet.

When she stepped out into the light, she raised her arms a little and spun around once to show off the clothes.

“W-well? Did I put them on right? …Does anything look wrong?”

“Well…” Harakawa slowly opened his mouth as he quietly looked at Heo’s clothing. “Why are you wearing a track suit? And why is it a hand-me-down from my mom?”

Heo looked down at the reddish-brown track suit with worn-out white lines along the sides.

“I-is there anything wrong with it?”

“…Where are your own clothes?”

“In the bag.”

“All of them? In that small bag?”

He saw her nod and then she responded as if it were perfectly normal.

“I only have two sets of clothes.”

“Are you a character from a kids manga? …What happened to the money I gave you?”

“That all went to toward shoes and bike shorts for the track team.”

He mentally hung his head.

…''Dammit.

He physically hung his head as well before placing his hands on her shoulders.

“This was my fault. It really was…”

“Wh-what was? Why are you giving me a look of pity!?” She clasped her hands together. “I-I have enough to get by in my school life and the landlady said she would give me some of her clothes from when she was young, s-so I’m doing just fine.”

In his heart, Harakawa honestly apologized to Heo’s parents who he could never meet.

“I was too careless and it’s made you live like a poor person…”

“I-I am not poor. What about me makes you say that!”

“How about…all of you?”

“Eh? Eh?”

She grew flustered and he sighed.

He thought about the contents of his wallet and then noticed she was barefoot.

“…Let’s go. There’s got to be a cheap clothing store around here somewhere.”

“Eh? Wh-why?”

“If you show up in that red track suit, it’ll cause nothing but unfortunate rumors.”

For a moment, she only stared at him, unsure what to say, but eventually…

“H-Harakawa! I-if you add on an extra expense like this, we won’t have anything to eat and we’ll be a living version of the Dialogue on Poverty! Oh, b-but if that happens, I’ll earn us some money! I’ll help work to support us!”

“What is the state of our finances in your mind? No, never mind.”

Harakawa grabbed Heo’s bag.

“Buy everything you need with less than ten thousand yen. Including a coat. You’ll be changing into your armored uniform when we arrive, but we’ll be taking the motorcycle. You need something warm to wear.”

Heo suddenly embraced him from behind.

“…!?”

He gasped in confusion and heard her ask a question while clinging to him.

“Is this your Christmas present to me!?”

“…No. This is the bare minimum of what you need to be a civilized human being, so I can’t let this count as a Christmas present.”

“I don’t mind!”

''You should,'' thought Harakawa while also feeling depressed that he could not deny how poor they were.

But Heo said more while pressing her cheek against his back.

“Heh heh. I’m feeling lucky today. My lucky word is destitute! My lucky color is reddish-brown! I hear American UCAT is having a Christmas present lottery to cheer everyone up, but I’m sure I can win something today! Like a Christmas cake!”

“Win that and you’ll get fat.”

“D-don’t worry. When I win, I’ll share it with everyone.”

''Talk about counting your chickens before they hatch,'' silently complained Harakawa.

“But thank you so much for wanting me to look nice, Harakawa. Choosing all my own clothes down to the underwear is a first for me.”

“This is a first for me too, Heo Thunderson. Being so thoroughly misunderstood, that is.”

“Eh?”

Harakawa reached a hand behind his back and tousled her hair.

“Well, as long as your brain is happy, Heo Thunderson. This is far better than the night before last, so try to always keep the following mindset.”

He took a breath.

“This will be a happy night no matter what happens.”

“Where do you think my happiness is?”

A sleepy boy spoke at a table.

He rested his tired face on a table in the back of an underground dining hall with “US UCAT Yokota Base” written on the white wall.

A foreign man in glasses looked his way.

“Hiba, to be honest, I feel like the two of us live in similar circumstances.”

“R-really, Roger-san!? You’re just as unnaturally unlucky as I am!?”

Hiba perked up and Roger pushed his glasses up his nose.

“Well, not as much as you,” said the man quietly.

“Th-then that’s no good at all! You’re just pretending to understand me! Oh, I just wish I could distance myself from the world like some kids these days!”

“I believe the world is already keeping its distance from you whether you like it or not.”

“Wh-what are you talking about!? Unlike my upperclassmen, I’m a pretty normal person!”

''Then you’re aware how close you are to being an abnormal person?'' wondered Roger.

After all, the main force of Team Leviathan was made up of inhuman people with carnal thought processes who were constantly intoxicated on the trippy narcotics produced in their own brains. But the truly frightening part was how none of them were aware of it.

The truly insane were always insane to the core, so…

…''They have no idea how crazy they are.

For that reason, they were convinced they were as normal as the people around them.

Hiba had called himself a “pretty normal person”, but he was using the worst possible examples to compare himself to.

Your average crazy had no chance in the face of Team Leviathan.

Roger was impressed that Hiba could call himself only “pretty normal” when compared to them, but he also decided to keep his distance.

“Um, Roger-san? What are you sitting there thinking about?”

“My apologies. I was thinking about how best to protect myself.”

“Hm… I’m not sure what you mean, but it must be tough.”

After the immediate threat commiserated with him, Roger decided to change the subject.

“Where is your partner?”

“Oh, Mikage-san’s asleep. She didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Really?”

“She apparently can’t sleep well without her usual pillow.”

Roger guessed the “apparently” was because they had been in different rooms. Mikage would have been using the empty room for a female officer located next to the medical room while Hiba would have been on the top bunk of a room for six male personnel. And before he had gone to sleep, his roommates had said the following to him:

“Hey, boy. We have three things to tell you before lights out.”

“Eh? But I brushed my teeth and did my homework.”

“No, no, no. Not that. First, this room is for bachelors. Second, we have all of our equipment so we can be deployed at any moment. And that includes night vision goggles.”

“I see…”

“And finally, one of us in here is gay.”

That was when the lights were turned out.

Roger had not checked whether that was a tasteful American joke or not, but he did know Hiba had not gotten a wink of sleep.

Then again, there was another reason Hiba and Mikage had not gotten much sleep.

“We didn’t get to bed until after fixing the destroyed runway…”

Hiba yawned as he lay his head on the table.

“Mixing concrete in the late December chill is hellish work. And I didn’t get to take my bath or shower with Mikage-san.”

“Tes. I do not know about the bath, but you destroyed the runway yourself. That was your own fault.”

Then Roger tilted his head.

“But why didn’t you use Susamikado when repairing the runway?”

“Because if I used Susamikado to mix the concrete, the feedback would make Mikage-san’s hands all rough.”

“It must be tough,” said Roger this time.

Hiba must have been used to hearing that because he smiled without nodding.

“I had her watch since I couldn’t have her help me, but…”

“But?”

Hiba answered Roger’s question with a sleepy nod.

A serious look came to his face and he clenched his fists on the table.

“You see… When Mikage-san was crouching down in her winter gear with the nighttime scenery behind her, she was just so, so, sooo cute! She was wearing so many layers she looked really round! A-and she was holding a can of coffee in both hands! …Isn’t that great!? Isn’t it!?”

Roger decided not to argue with someone who had bags under his eyes.

…''Calm down. Calm down, Roger. This is what they call a jab. A careless response will drag you into it.

Perhaps to fight back against his memories of the previous night, Hiba crouched down on top of his chair to mimic Mikage. He grabbed a virtual can between his hands, focused his eyes on the empty air, and said things like “Ryuuji-kun?” or “Isn’t it cold?” And then…

“It’s so wonderful! It’s like…ahh! I can’t express it in words!”

''Please. Please stop trying to demonstrate it with your actions.

Roger considered getting up from his seat.

The other people in the dining hall were gradually focusing in their direction, so if he did not escape soon, he would be seen as no different from the boy in front of him who was putting on a one-man-play.

…''But…

He had a feeling that moving put him at risk of being attacked by this sleep-deprived mental beast.

As Roger hesitated, sleepy Hiba opened his eyes wide and hung his head.

“A-and you know what else? Sh-she’ll go like this and shrink down against the wind. She looks a little displeased, but she endures it in silence! It’s so lovely! A-and she did the exact same thing back at November 15, 2003, 4:18:21! And…”

''Oh,'' thought Roger. ''It might already be too late.

Suddenly, a stir ran through the dining hall.

Just as he wondered why, someone stepped out from the corridor.

It was a girl with black hair and white pajamas.

It was Mikage. With slippers on her feet and a pillow under her right arm, she looked around sleepily.

She could not hide the sleepiness in the loosely focused eyes she turned left and right.

“————”

She finally spotted who she was looking for.

She stared at Hiba and Roger’s table for a few seconds and everyone’s gazes gathered on them during that time.

That girl had the strongest god of war not just in Team Leviathan but in the entire world.

Some relief appeared on her slack expression and she walked over. The sound of her slippers was surprisingly steady.

“…Ryuuji-kun.”

“Yes! And you know what else!? When the can was empty, she set it down on the asphalt and spun it like a top for fun! Why is someone like her in this filthy place? It’s full of rotten bachelors with one predatory gay one mixed in. And I know I’m saying some awful things because I’m so sleepy, but there’s no way Mikage-san would really be here. This must be a hallucination!”

“Hallucination?”

“Wow! Even the hallucination’s voice is cute!!”

After celebrating, Hiba mimicked Mikage’s current tone of voice and movements.

“Hallucination?”

Three seconds passed.

“Ah, that didn’t sound anything like her! If only it did, I could enjoy her all on my own!”

Everyone started giving him truly pitying looks, but Roger did not. He knew this boy was capable of much more.

But as the boy gave odd shouts on his own, Mikage grabbed his hand.

She passed her black hair through his fingers, wrapped it around the fingers, and had him tug lightly.

“Hallucination?”

Hiba stared at the hair wrapped around his fingers.

After about twenty seconds, he jumped down from the chair and stood straight up.

“Wow, it’s the real one! I-I’m sorry, Mikage-san! How could I ever mistake the real one for a hallucination!? Even if my hallucinations are really high-def, th-the real deal is still the best! It’s so the best!”

“Why is it the best?”

Roger watched as Hiba sweated profusely at Mikage’s innocent smile and question.

Hiba hesitated for about three seconds.

“W-well…because you’re alive!”

“I see.”

She took the hand her hair was wrapped around and placed it on her forehead.

Then she smiled.

“You can touch me too.”

Roger heard the sounds of weapons being prepared behind him.

He looked back and even saw someone practicing their tackle with dynamite wrapped around their stomach and someone swapping out their gun’s ammunition for armor-piercing rounds.

Regardless, Mikage sat in the seat next to Hiba.

“I can’t sleep without you nearby, Ryuuji-kun.”

“Y-you can tell if I’m nearby?”

“Nn,” she nodded.

Several red dots of laser sights appeared on Hiba’s face, but he only shooed them away like mosquitoes. His focus was on Mikage.

“But h-how can you tell? My scent? O-or my charm!? I get it! I’m just overflowing with charm!!”

“Nn. I don’t think that’s it.”

“You’re right. It couldn’t be that, could it!? Why am I saying something Sayama-san would say!?”

“You get along well.”

“Kwaaah! You’re horribly mistaken there, but I’ll agree to anything you say! That’s fine by me! …But really, how can you tell I’m nearby?”

“Nn,” replied Mikage.

But…

“Nnn…”

She may not have known herself, so she glanced up toward the ceiling and searched for the right words.

“Well,” she said after a while. “Toshi always notices when you try to peep on me, right? She puts on a headband and charges into the bath with a spear to jab into the wall where you’re peeping.”

“Yes, she attacks from the peephole’s blind spot, so I’ve nearly lost my life a few times there.”

“Nn. But I think I’m starting to reach that level.”

''What level is that?'' wondered Roger as Hiba smiled.

“Wow! Then next time I try to peep, I have to go for a long-distance naked-eye zoom or you’ll notice!?”

Roger stayed silent and someone tapped his shoulder from behind.

Before he could turn around, he was passed a small memo.

“Why do people insist on peeping?”

Roger wrote back a reply to that philosophical question.

“I do not want to know.”

If he gave a careless answer, he would end up known as someone who understood that boy.

''But,” he thought. ''Does this make me a boring person?

''But,'' he also thought. ''Boring is enough for me.

That lifestyle had not steered him wrong yet and god seemed to be testing him lately with all the ridiculous people surrounding him.

If he too was an interesting person, then who would support the world?

…''Yes.

He saw himself as the breakwater between the peaceful world and the abnormal world and it reminded him of an event from his childhood. Catherine, a popular girl in their town, had confessed to him and they had dated for three days. But…

“You really are boring, Roger.”

She had then broken up with him. That had felt a lot like what he was currently feeling, but that had been a sad memory. He had prepared a coupon for the suspension bridge he had been planning to take her to on the third day, but he had fed that to the goats and holed up in his room doing jigsaw puzzles for a week.

His younger siblings had tried to cheer him up and he could hear their voices again now.

''That’s right! That’s right, Roger!

''Roger! Roger! Being ordinary is important! The world wouldn’t work without a ton of people like you! You’re like a human gear! Roger! Roger! That made you feel worse!?

''Kwaaaahh!!”

“—————!!”

He had clenched his fists and made a quick recovery, but he had sworn to never get along with the abnormal.

And the first step to that end was standing up from his seat and facing forward.

“…?”

The two of them were sitting in neighboring seats, leaning against each other, and…

“…”

They were sleeping.

Mikage’s cheek was resting on Hiba’s shoulder as he leaned a bit back in his seat.

Roger heard them snoring.

“Now, then. Those of us from the second group need to leave for Mitaka in an hour.”

He relaxed his shoulders, looked up to the ceiling, and spoke in an exasperated tone.

“So it is a bit early to fall asleep for the holy night.”

“Those two sure were fast asleep.”

Someone spoke in front of a long counter.

The person in front of the school’s dining hall counter was a boy in a leather jacket and jeans with a student council armband on. The green armband said “President – Izumo Kaku”.

He was speaking to a girl working in the cooking area who wore an apron over her uniform.

Her uniform had a nametag that said “Kazami”.

Kazami replied with her back to Izumo and the counter.

“They sure are carefree when the world needs them if it’s going to gather together.”

“Yeah, but this is fine,” said Izumo with a bitter smile.

“They probably got everything sorted out and stuck everything where it needed to go.”

“That sounds somehow dirty coming from you.”

Kazami stopped working to glare over her shoulder, but Izumo did not seem to realize why.

She half sighed before continuing.

“It’s a little frightening how normal everything is around here.”

“Oh! So you want me to comfort you!? That sure was a roundabout way of getting to that!!”

“Die. …Now, about today’s lunch.”

“Th-that’s even worse than a flat-out rejection!”

Kazami raised the Chinese knife in her hand, so Izumo put up his guard.

“You know?” she began while sighing and lowering her hand.

She began chopping some lettuce which made a nice fibrous sound.

She could hear the light sound of the knife on the cutting board and she felt the tactile feedback in her hand.

“Oh, it gouged into it. This cutting board sure is soft.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone call a cutting board ‘soft’ before.”

As soon as Izumo said that, Kazami pulled the knife from the board and it slipped from her hand.

A moment later, she heard a solid sound from behind her.

The entire room had grown quiet, so she slowly looked back.

“…”

The knife had stabbed into the shallow crosspiece running along the counter.

Just below it, Izumo was frozen in place with his back bent to peek out from behind the counter.

She looked to his face two centimeters below the knife.

“Oh, sorry, sorry. …Why do you look so nervous?”

“Y’know…” he replied while slapping the side of the knife stabbed into the crosspiece. “Are you trying to kill me!?”

“Oh, c’mon. I wasn’t looking that way and I didn’t have any killer intent. …If you’d died, it would’ve been an accident.”

She waved a hand and gave him a bitter smile, but he glared at her and grabbed the knife.

“Then what’s this knife? Why did it come flying my way?”

“Hmm,” she thought.

…''Why did it?

''What am I supposed to say at times like this?'' she wondered.

After a moment, she found the answer, so she opened her mouth.

“Well,” she said casually. “Because I’m clumsy.”

Izumo nodded, turned around, raised his hands toward everyone in the dining hall, set the tempo for them, and then lowered his hands to get them all to speak at once.

“No!!!! That’s not clumsiness!!!! It’s carelessness!!!!”

“Oh, come on.” She was nearly pushed back, but she held her ground. “Th-this is a common mistake!”

“Eh?”

Everyone but Izumo fell silent.

…''Huh?

''Did I mess up? More than I thought?''

As those strange phrases entered her heart, she heard whispering voices from the dining hall.

“Apparently that’s common for her.”

“I’ve been thinking. Isn’t it great being boring?”

“Now that I think about it, was the ‘mistake’ the fact that she threw the knife or the fact that she didn’t hit him with it?”

The voices spread. After all, there were plenty of UCAT members here too since they had nowhere else to go after the “earthquake” two nights before.

A lot of them were staying in the shelter set up in the gym, but they got their food here in the dining hall.

Izumo reacted to all those voices by glancing behind him.

After a bit, he faced her again.

“Isn’t that great, Chisato? It looks like they’ve cleared up some of the misunderstandings about you.”

“That is not ‘great’!”

She decided to defend her case and spread her arms to prove her innocence.

“Th-this mistake is common between Kaku and me. I’ll accidentally knock him off the roof, try to jump over him while he’s asleep and accidentally knee him in the side of the head, sneeze while cleaning his ears and accidentally jab it on in there, or wake him up in the morning by kicking him out of the bed.”

“I just realized I go through a lot on a daily basis.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to think I should probably apologize.”

Kazami pulled the knife from the crosspiece, stood within arm’s reach of Izumo, gently tapped her shoulder with the back of the glistening knife, and put on a slight smile.

“Sorry, okay?”

“Th-that just makes me feel less safe!”

Kazami frowned when everyone in the dining hall nodded in agreement.

“Th-then how am I supposed to apologize?”

“Putting down the knife would be a great start, so how about it?”

She did as she was told and started removing the apron too.

“Wait, Chisato! Leave the apron on!”

“…You’re into some weird things.”

She glared at him and he averted his gaze for some reason.

“N-n-n-n-no, I was just thinking you should continue working is all.”

“Oh? …And you like that?”

He crossed his arms at her casual question.

“Well…” he groaned. “I guess I might be for it if you’re already doing it, but it isn’t anything I would go out of my way to have you do.”

“…I did not expect you to make a serious analysis of that.”

“Calm down.” He held out his hands to stop her and then spoke up in a refreshing voice. “But either way, we can’t do that here! Right?”

She grabbed knives in each hand, so he took a defensive pose. Everyone behind him took the same pose and began to evacuate.

This was the usual scene, so she sighed in the silence left afterwards.

“Well, just let me focus on my work. If I’m not done in an hour, I can’t bring it with us.”

“Hm? We’re not eating that lunch here?”

“Do you really think everyone’s going to have a proper meal before going to Mitaka?”

After answering his question with a question, she looked down at her hands.

The countertop contained bread with the crust cut off, that crust, some vegetables, and some ham.

“We can have a late lunch with everyone.”

…''Although that’s just an excuse to have us all gather together again.

Deep down, she felt this might be the last chance for them to do that, so she wanted to take advantage of this time since she had the chance.

…''I sure am weak.

That was when she realized Shinjou had not come to the dining hall even though she had supposedly woken up.

She had visited Shinjou and Sayama’s dorm room during the morning of this important day, but the two of them had been asleep.

Kazami had said she would be making something in the dining hall and Shinjou had replied with sleepy eyes.

“Okay…”

An extended “nn” had followed.

Shinjou had only panicked about being seen after Kazami had left and closed the door.

Shinjou should have visited the dining hall like usual to fix Sayama’s lunch, but she had not done so. Given the time, they might have left for Mitaka already.

''Either Shinjou or Sayama might be trying to be nice,'' thought Kazami. ''Maybe they want to give us time to think and some work to distract us from any needless worries.

…''But even if so…

“I guess it doesn’t matter.”

Kazami set back to chopping up the sandwich ingredients.

While she was cutting off the bread crust, she began to wonder if she was making this lunch in a forced attempt to make this like “usual” times.

…''But…

“You don’t make food for eight without a really good reason.”

She normally only made enough for herself and Izumo or enough for four at the most, but now she was making enough for eight.

Just cutting everything up was three or four times the work. And she would need to add an extra 15% for what she ate to stave off her own hunger.

''Oh, no. If I keep swinging this knife around, I’ll get all muscular.

“Kaku, would you mind helping?”

“Eh? Why?”

“To preserve my beauty and your life.”

“…That’s quite the combination of reasons there.”

He apparently had no intention of helping.

''Well, that’s the usual too,'' she thought with a mental shrug.

…''The world is continuing like usual, everyone is here like usual, and they’re all doing everything like usual.

“Then why am I fighting this unusual battle against eight servings of lunch?”

“Don’t stop, Chisato. Stop and we won’t get any lunch!”

“You’re right,” she said as she resumed working.

The work took several times longer than normal. If anyone said it was not any good after all this, she would kick their ass, but she doubted any of those starving people say that.

They would scarf it all down disappointingly fast.

“Honestly…”

Preparing lunch for everyone on her own made her think of something.

“Am I everyone’s mother?”

“Yeah, except for one. I’d be the dad.”

Izumo said it so casually that her heart skipped a beat.

She kept her back turned so he would not notice.

“Um…”

''I need to change the subject. Maybe about who should be on next year’s student council or about tonight.

''Umm, umm…

“Hey, Kaku, these sandwiches are a lot of work, so could you at least prepare the meat and bread?”

As soon as she said that, Izumo began doing an impression of her father.

“Wow, mama! We get your special sandwiches today!? Papa’s feeling needlessly motivated now!! …How was that, Chisato!?”

Filled with needless motivation of her own, Kazami threw a knife his way.

“This is a holy day, so be quiet!”

“A holy day, huh?”

Shinjou spoke on the station platform.

She was on the western end of Mitaka Station’s first platform. A leisure table and some chairs were set up behind her as she stood alone in her armored uniform.

Sayama had left the station to check on the plans for that night.

She was the only one here and it had only taken her a few minutes to set up the table.

“I should have brought a book or something…”

Unsure what to do, she peered out in front of the station.

She could sense the coming battle there.

She could even see fighter jets with folded-up wings on the main road at the center of all the large green military vehicles.

Among it all, she could see people in blue, white, and black armored uniforms, as well as…

“Christmas preparations…”

Everything inside the concept space would have its destruction percentage increased if it was destroyed, which would affect the version outside the concept space, so they were not allowed to remove or damage structures unless it was necessary for combat.

By the time she had arrived and changed into her armored uniform, a young member of American UCAT had been undergoing a summary trial for the crime of property damage. The charge was simple and it had to do with the fried chicken restaurant in front of the station.

…''That Otaky Fried Chicken’s Colonel Otaky was dressed in a Santa outfit, but he stripped the colonel naked.

The summary trial applied the Code of Hammurabi using a majority vote, so the accused was currently standing naked in front of the restaurant. They had taken pity and allowed him to keep his socks on, but that seemed to make it even more bizarre to Shinjou.

And at the same time…

…''Sayama-kun did something bad again.

It had happened just as the judgment was made.

He had nonsensically said “I see” before crouching down in front of her.

“Now, then.”

He had touched the lower stomach part of her armored uniform.

“…Eh?”

Before she could react, he had made his next move.

He had removed the front latch on the white part protecting her between the legs.

With a small metallic sound, the flexible white armor usually attached to the front of the left and right hip parts peeled away due to its own weight.

“Eh? Eh?”

She had watched helplessly as the white material seemed sucked in between her legs while pulled by the attachments on the butt side. It had moved like a swing and her hands had been unable to keep up.

…''Eh? Ah, wait!

Once she had remembered she only wore defensive stockings below there, she had come back to her senses.

“—————!!”

She had blushed and quickly closed her knees.

Placing her hands between her legs had been both a good and bad move.

She had managed to cover herself, but the flexible white armor had been hard to grab as it dangled from her butt like a bandage and (more importantly) she could not kick the idiot in front of her.

Speaking of that idiot…

“Now, Shinjou-kun! Will you punish me!?”

After some thought, she had realized she could keep her knees together for a flying knee kick. That had added a new move to her repertoire.

Luckily, everyone had written it off as “the usual” and paid little attention.

She had wanted to complain that they neither helped her nor said anything to Sayama, but gathering too much attention would have been embarrassing.

…''This really is how things usually go, isn’t it?

The depth of her sighs simply would not decrease.

Still, things were moving around her and time was passing.

She could hear the vehicles moving on the road and the aircraft passing by overhead.

According to the clock in front of the station, it was currently just before two in the afternoon.

They had seven hours until they had to start moving.

…''That’s when we’ll settle everything.

She started to say something about that, but…

“…”

She found she could not say anything.

Everyone was doing what they had to do and placing great fulfillment behind themselves.

But…

…''Something still seems lacking.

But she was not quite sure what. Nothing actually was missing, so she wondered if she was simply spoiled.

“It is true a lot of good things have happened lately.”

''I really am spoiled,'' she complained with a bitter smile.

…''Who would have thought I could ever think that?

She felt she and the environment around her really had changed.

Not even a year had passed since that moment in the spring.

This time last year, she had never imagined this would have happened or she would feel like this.

It was all so unexpected.

…''Oh.

Something like a word filled her heart.

It was like finding something at the bottom of some cold water, but she felt some heat in it.

“I know what this is…”

''It’s my emotions,'' she thought.

Her emotions had begun to move and had filled her with heat, so…

“Now that I know that heat, I don’t want to let them cool back down…”

Before, she had been neither hot nor cold.

And the one who had taught her she held this heat inside was someone who held a biting chill inside.

He could be cold, but in his depths, he never, ever froze over. The current kept moving, it never soaked through and vanished, and it felt like it would drop to the greatest depths if left alone.

They had made it this far together.

“…Did I make a horrible mistake?”

As she muttered those words, she heard a sound.

It was an electronic sound mimicking a music box.

It came from the Christmas decorations at the stores in front of the station. The music would play at set intervals and it seemed two in the afternoon was one of those times.

She could not hear it very well with so many people and vehicles moving around, but it definitely reached her.

It began with Jingle Bells, then a song asking Santa Claus to hurry, and finally…

“A hymn…”

The intro set her heart in motion and that feeling escaped as a voice.

“Silent night, Holy night

“All’s asleep, one sole light,

“Just the faithful and holy pair,

“Lovely boy-child with curly hair,

“Sleep in heavenly peace

“Sleep in heavenly peace”

The music ended after the first verse, but her throat trembled as if asking it to continue.

''Yes,'' she thought. ''I’m glad I have words.

The uncertain thing in her heart could not be accurately expressed in writing or song, but if she could use words to inspire similar feelings, she could share this uncertain thing. So…

…''I want to share it.

“That’s right.”

She was not someone who simply gained something. Most likely…

…''I want to share what I gain.

If she lacked something now, it was that.

The more emotions one felt, the more they wanted to share what they had felt. There was no limit to that and that sense of lack was created specifically when one had everything they needed.

It may have been the ultimate form of being spoiled.

But her precious person was a representative for the entire world, so…

“It’s the ultimate form of supply.”

As opposites, they fulfilled the duality of supply and demand.

She smiled at that realization and heard a voice behind her.

“Shinjou-kun.”

It was Sayama’s voice and his footsteps followed.

“The others have arrived. And just when we were going to do some flirting too.”

“Yeah,” she said while holding the platform railing.

The footsteps and voice approached from behind.

It was the usual way of things, but…

…''Surely…

Surely everyone’s “usual way of things” contained a relationship like this.

They had a reason to feel lacking specifically because they were fulfilled.

And because of that…

“We decide to be with each other in a way that isn’t satisfied with simply being together forever.”

She muttered under her breath and turned around.

The station platform was not in its usual state.

Everyone stood there in armored uniforms.

It was all the usual people.

Kazami and Izumo carried a bucket together.

Hiba and Mikage looked somewhat sleepy.

Heo and Harakawa held a box with fancy wrapping.

All of the others were apparently here too.

And Sayama approached her.

“Now, let us have a late lunch, Shinjou-kun.”

He grabbed his outstretched hand with her own and she took a step toward him.

This was the usual way of things.

It was their precious “usual” that would continue to allow them to gain things and share them with each other.

They had done this in the past, they were doing it now, and they would surely continue to do so in the future.

She faced her precious person in that group she would never grow tired of.

…''I’ll always take his hand like this, and…

She would take a step forward alongside him.

So…

“—————”

Shinjou did so now as well.

She hoped that doing so would allow her to share what she felt in her heart.

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</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 4B Chapter 43

2016-04-06T00:56:26Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 43: Passersby on the Road */

==Chapter 43: Passersby on the Road==
[[Image:Horizon4B_0293.jpg|thumb]]
''When the trumpeter sounds the warning

''A collision will occur there

''At lightning speed

'''Point Allocation (On the Deck)

The sky was there. It was the orange of approaching night.

The wind was there and a chill was there, but one thing was lacking and Tenzou knew what that was.

…''Our view of the heavens is blocked!!

They stood at the very back of the Honjou ship’s deck. The Sviet Rus ship was based on a Far Eastern design, but the deck was flat and had a shallow forward slant to keep the snow off and block the wind. So when looking to the top…

…''There’s an open space matching the size of the ship.

Honjou Shigenaga and a combat unit mostly made up of demons stood there.

Standing among them should have given one a view of the entire sky overhead, but…

“Marfa’s ship has a support transport ship below! …Marfa’s ship is approaching! It will reach us in thirty seconds!!”

''That’s close by,'' thought Tenzou. The black hulk floating upside down appeared to be almost directly in front of them. The sky exposed around them was already being crushed by the boxy shape of the giant hulk. Even now, the black ship’s bow seemed to be stretching out toward them as it advanced.

Shigenaga raised her voice.

“Here it comes! Get ready!!”

It was indeed coming.

Behind Tenzou, Mary grabbed the sleeve of his coat.

“Is it going to hit?”

He shook his head to say no. It would not hit at this trajectory and angle.

Then he realized why she had judged this differently.

“Mary-dono, once we return to the Musashi, how about we add the transport district to our evening walking route.”

“Eh?” she asked, but she quickly realized what he meant. “If I’m used to seeing ships approaching, I won’t get so mistakenly afraid?”

“I was simply talking about the route I wanted to share with you on our walks.”

“Then we’ll have to stop by the transport district’s unique food stand that Lady Naito was telling me about.”

''What a wonderful future,'' thought Tenzou when he saw her smile.

'''Gold Mar:''' “Um, I told her about that place, so I can lie in wait and spy on you.”

'''10ZO:''' “That’s just scary! Why does this Technohexen have to scare people like that!?”

They had a divine transmission connection with those in Mito, so that just left one question.

…''What do we do here?

Marfa was cooperating with P.A. Oda, but since it qualified as a Sviet Rus civil war, they could not interfere as diplomats. However, an investigation by the Provisional Council had discovered no Testament descriptions of Novgorod rebelling after the purge. So…

…''This battle is less a Sviet Rus civil war and more of an interpretation beyond the Testament descriptions. That means we can intervene.

That was why Masazumi had left the decision with them.

She wanted them to produce results if they could.

And now the enemy was here. The upside-down black hulk was charging their way.

Tenzou saw the structure of the battlefield. The movement was straight ahead and overhead. It was on the upper surface of this ship and on the upper surface of the upside-down fleet approaching them. They were approaching as if to push in at the vertical space between them.

The decks of opposite orientations were rapidly approaching and this created something.

“The decks are going to pass by at extreme close range!?”

Exactly that was about to happen.

As the wind of their relative speed blew through, combined dead warriors stood on the upside-down deck, but the ship moved to bring the two decks even closer.

“Get ready!!”

Shigenaga’s voice arrived just as the vertical gap between decks fell below five meters.

The wind was compressed, the vertical space shrank to about three meters, and fog formed only to burst out from the ships. The sound distorted, everyone’s bodies groaned under the pressure, and yet Shigenaga’s voice pierced the sky.

“Charge, comrades!”

“Testament!!”

The people standing in front of Tenzou’s group moved forward.

As if to accelerate the instant of collision between the passing decks, those standing in each other’s sky raised their weapons and rushed forward.

“Exchange the Sviet Rus ''privet''!!”

Everything was running.

Both sides signaled their charge with trumpets. Those whose assault spears had trumpets on the shafts converted their lung capacity into sprinting and noise and converted their leg strength into speed.

The leg strength of the demons and of the combined dead was added on top of the ships’ speeds, so their acceleration led straight to a clash. The blaring of trumpets grew even louder.

“Ahhh!!”

The music in the front clashed.

Immediately, countless sounds of destruction rang out. Within that compressed noise, the armor and blood of demons and the dead flew through the air and the notes of brass instruments played clearly.

“Fill the gaps!!”

Before the cacophony of the clash could fade and faster than the fragments of instruments could blow away in the wind, the next wave of pressure clashed. They were attacking in waves. The assault trumpet spears had thrown the front lines into disarray, so…

“Sledgehammer unit!! Open the way!”

On both sides, those wielding mallet-shaped hammers in not just both arms but four or even six arms clashed at high speed. Their charge lasted only an instant. The number of blows was far greater. But they poured on heavy and destructive attacks while targeting the gaps created by their comrades who had clashed earlier.

“Take this!!”

The clash between upside down and right side up was built on top of the ships’ speeds.

The sounds were more of piercing than striking and a great variety of things sprayed out into the air.

But a path had been opened. Rather than crumbling, a definite opening had formed.

Due to the speed of the ships passing by, the battlefield never came to a stop. Both sides were forcing a clash at the front of the decks that were moving toward each other.

The rearmost forces of both sides were already on the move. They had great speed. And knowing that the enemy awaited beyond the holes opened in their battle lines, they followed those opened paths.

“Ohhhh!”

They struck.

Their attacks and defenses passed by in an instant and they were blown away. But they all bellowed the same thing in that instant.

“Zdravstvuyte!!”

They all exchanged greetings with their enemy as they blew them away and continued forward.

This was the ''privet''.

“Zdravstvuyte.”

“Zdravstvuyte!”

“Zdravstvuyte, comrades!”

The entire battlefield was now a scene for attacks given and attacks received in greeting. Those intent on providing a greeting continued running. As for those who showed an opening or were too slow…

“Do svidaniya.”

“Do svidaniya!”

“Do svidaniya, comrades!”

The different-colored armor, shells, and blood of fallen comrades and of the enemy burst into the wind as they built up speed. The pressurized wind created between the two ships sent everything outwards. The two decks seemed to scrape together and that wind seemed to push their legs onward and their faces back.

They all leaned forward to break through that wind, lowered their hips to take advantage of their ship’s buffering spells, and did their best to put up with the blow. But…

“Greet them some more!” shouted Shigenaga “It’s the polite thing to do!!”

As they burst through the wind, their racing footsteps sounded more like thunder than physical blows.

They accelerated.

The sledgehammer units had left the ranks of both sides in complete disarray, so the next wave took a path to stab into the enemy’s slowed front line.

And that wave was…

“Pickaxe unit!!”

“Testament!!”

Countless crescent moons of steel danced between the scraping decks.

With no restraint or guilt, the demons slammed those weapons forward while dashing. The noise was more of destruction than of metal. Some were pierced through, some were repelled, some were blown away, and some were beaten down, but…

“Ohhhhh!!”

It was all directed forward.

A great sound rang out. It was music. Trumpets played after them. The remnants of the assault trumpet unit could still give sound to their willpower, so they lined up alongside the advancing crescent moons, leaned back, and filled their lungs with air.

“——————”

Their footsteps sounded like peals of thunder. Fragments of music flowed out within it to maintain appearances. The music from both sides intertwined and finally found a common link. Then the speed of both sides noticeably grew.

As they accelerated, power gathered in the narrow space between artificial heaven and earth.

Just before it exploded, they all gave a shout.

“Come on out, main unit!!”

Before that cry could reach them, a group rushed up from the back of both sides.

This was their main force. It was their leader and that leader’s personal unit, and they formed the…

“Assault unit!!”

The passing by had surpassed the midpoint and both sides were seeking the aft of the other’s ship.

Approximately thirty people rushed in that direction. Shigenaga’s unit raced forward with her in the lead, but Marfa’s spear-wielding assault unit protected her and the eight-legged bone horse she rode.

Shigenaga saw Marfa running forward from the back of the battlefield, but she quickly removed her gaze from Marfa. She instead looked beyond the enemy.

“The sky is in view, comrades!!”

The scarlet-dyed sky could be seen beyond the decks moving in opposite directions as the heaven and earth.

Their greeting was ending.

Eventually, everyone with her looked in the same direction and opened their mouths.

“Testament!!!!!”

''An excellent response,'' thought Shigenaga while honing herself for the clash by taking a deep breath.

It only took an instant.

Marfa’s vanguard suddenly moved to either side.

“…!?”

The enemy made a sudden move in front of her eyes. They threw aside their assault spears and entirely focused on dispersing.

…''What is this!?

They rapidly prepared themselves on the left and right, leaving Marfa’s skeletal horse defenseless.

“A spell firing unit!?”

Shigenaga mentally clicked her tongue as she caught on to Marfa’s plan.

…''Just as we shift from mid- to close-range, she switches over to long-range spell firing!?

Shigenaga’s side had assumed this would be a close-range attack, so they could not react to a long range attack. Marfa had intended to ensure a successful attack by drawing them close before acting.

Shigenaga knew it had been intentional.

Even for demons, activating spells while running was not easy. If their speed dropped or they screwed up the spell activation, their front line would collapse. Plus, they could not allow Shigenaga’s side to catch on.

That meant this had to have been planned in advance.

“Did you set up this sudden approach and ''privet'' so we wouldn’t have time to prepare ourselves and put together countermeasures, Marfa!?”

Marfa did not respond. She simply shook her head to the side atop her racing bone horse.

Her tiger skin scarf danced in the wind.

That acted as a signal. While spread out in a fan shape, the enemy spell attack unit opened spell ''sankt okno'' while still running. They immediately received approval and let the power of the spells explode toward Shigenaga’s unit.

Eight flame cannon blasts were fired and they easily filled the gap between the two units.

…''In that case…

Shigenaga took action. She made a leap. It was a large step forward. Those behind her frantically raised their speed.

“Commander!?”

She ignored them as a way of telling them not to worry about it.

The enemy was already attacking, so…

…''I have to make it!!

She swept her right hand forward and made her charge before the gathering flame shells could collide with everyone. That motion produced…

…''My divine spell!!

A shield of light appeared. It was a rectangular Far Eastern tower shield. It was based on the heroic story of the historical Honjou Shigenaga blocking an enemy cannon blast with his shield.

“Honjou Shield!!”

'''<Multiple activation: confirmed>

Shigenaga saw her spell shield split into multiple shields. The light composing each one grew thinner, but a total of sixteen raced out to the left and right like they were being shuffled. They accurately stopped the enemy projectiles.

“Endure!”

They did as she wished. The flame shells exploded, but they burst out from the surface of the shields. And so Shigenaga sent her body forward to catch up with the outstretched hand.

However, she did not stop there. She bent her elbow again, and…

“Take this!”

By thrusting her right arm forward again, the Honjou Shield was launched forcefully forward.

This was a shield attack. As Marfa’s spell users moved forward and prepared their second shot, the shields collided with them and knocked them away.

All sixteen Honjou Shields scattered light and gave the narrow space a coloration different from the evening sky.

Shigenaga leaped in while Marfa approached on her skeletal horse.

As Marfa defenselessly kneeled atop the horse, Shigenaga drew her sword and charged toward her.

There was still some distance between them, but she accelerated forward.

“Marfa!”

Marfa did not reply, but she did speak with a calm look on her face.

“You are making me angry, Shigenaga.”

Shigenaga felt like the words stabbed into her.

[[Image:Horizon4B_0307.jpg|thumb]]

She did not know why, but then Marfa made a sudden move.

She stood up, reached around to her back, and pulled something out from behind her. It was…

“A Logismoi Óplo!?”

The giant black and white weapon in the enemy’s hand resembled a bow.

And Marfa did not stop there. She raised the bow and calmly aimed it.

It had no arrow, but…

…''So this is what she was after!

Shigenaga was blown backwards by an impact more powerful than her acceleration.

An attack had reached her.

Shigenaga was not the only one blown away.

All of Marfa’s enemies – the Sviet Rus warriors on Shigenaga’s side – were knocked backwards by the sudden blow.

“…!!”

They were hit just above their heart. Some had their chests collapse inwards and some had their breastbones shattered, but they were all sent flying backwards.

Honjou Shigenaga was sent especially far. That was partially due to her lighter weight, but she bounced thrice off of the decks above and below as she was sent more than one hundred meters backwards.

It looked like they had taken a hit from a powerful bow, but someone directly faced all of the demons who had been beaten down.

It was Marfa.

On the battlefield of passing decks, she raced forward on her skeletal steed in pursuit of Shigenaga.

“Sorry I couldn’t keep my promise with Masamune and the others.”

That racing knight returned the bow to her back and drew a sword from her waist.

It was a long sword for use on horseback. It was an unnamed sword in an undecorated plain wooden sheath. Still upside-down, she raised the sword high toward Shigenaga who was trying to get back up.

“I will use all my strength, so let this sword strike finish you off.”

Without even slicing through the sky, the blade moved smoothly toward Shigenaga.

Shigenaga had yet to get back on her feet.

She placed her arms on the deck to raise her upper body, but the rest of her would not follow.

The previous attack was sticking with her and she knew what it had to have been.

…''A Logismoi Óplo attack!

That was Maska Orge, the Logismoi Óplo of wrath.

Chancellor Kagekatsu had once told her what it did.

…''Simply looking at the target of your anger hits them with an arrow strike to match the degree of that anger!

The wielder did not even need to fire an arrow. And the previous arrow strike had not pierced through her body.

“Is that the extent of your anger for me!?”

Shigenaga punched the deck to get up. Her lower body was still weak and her legs slipped below the knees, but she did not care. She faced Marfa as the woman approached.

“Don’t underestimate me!”

Shigenaga hit the floor to force her knees in close.

She stood up. She raised her legs and moved each part of her body into an upright position.

“Stand, comrades! None in Sviet Rus shall bow to a traitorous former Vice Chancellor! Remember that this icy land brings only death to any who cannot stand!”

“Testament!”

They all filled their bodies with the tremor of breath and attempted to follow her.

…''Will we make it in time!?

Her heart told her no. But even as she decided that was the rational conclusion, she saw everyone around her moving toward the approaching blade.

Even if they could not stand, they desperately worked to stop Marfa as if clinging to her.

''Good,'' she decided. ''Whatever happens here is fine as long as they maintain their stubborn spirits.

So…

“Marfa!”

She raised her left hand in front of her chest. Her right hand held the sword she had held onto even when sent flying so far.

“Aim here. Or am I so inexperienced that you have time to focus on others!?”

Her heart did not tell her “no”, but she did not know if that was due to her discipline or if it was a simple fact. However, she did raise her sword as if pulling at it with her right hand.

Her intent was to counter Marfa’s attack.

If she missed, she would die. Marfa responded to that determination with her straight blade.

But just as Shigenaga thought the attack was coming…

…''!?

She saw the color red to Marfa’s left.

It was fire.

One of the spell users she had hit with her Honjou Shield had recovered and their fire shell was flying straight toward her.

She could not avoid it and she could not prepare her Honjou Shield in time.

Protecting one’s leader was only natural, so there was nothing wrong with this.

Shigenaga realized that the enemy was just as stubborn.

“Well done!”

But with that praise, she also wondered what to do. She had too little internal Blessings built up inside herself to use the Honjou Shield in such quick succession, but…

…''I have no choice!

As soon as she made up her mind, a few shadows suddenly appeared.

Four giant boxy forms approached from the left and right of the narrow battlefield.

“Cargo containers!?”

A line of color was attached to each wooden cube.

That color was silver. They were silver chains and Shigenaga knew who used those.

“Musashi’s 5th Special Duty Officer!?”

“Judge!” yelled Mitotsudaira.

She named herself as she swung the silver chains to slam the containers into the enemy.

“I am Nate Mitotsudaira, 5th Special Duty Officer of Musashi Ariadust Academy’s Chancellor’s Officers. I will assist Sviet Rus to end this battle which runs counter to the Testament descriptions!”

The silver wolf swung her arms for even more strength and let loose a howl.

“Take this!”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 4B Chapter 42|Chapter 42]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 4B Chapter 44|Chapter 44]]
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</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 4B Chapter 42

2016-04-03T03:05:03Z

68.109.55.47: mistake in the last edit

==Chapter 42: Protester in the Frame==
[[Image:Horizon4B_0263.jpg|thumb]]
''What is stereotypical

''Yet not stereotypical?

'''Point Allocation (The Unexpected)

On the diplomatic ship floating in the Mito sky below the Ariake, Ookubo’s broadcast played from the sign frame opened above the upper deck’s garden.

A pond in the garden had been converted into a summer pool and Masazumi was reading at the edge wearing only a shirt and the bottom of a two-piece swimsuit. Her butt sat on the stones of the pond’s edge and her legs soaked in the water up to the shins.

“So the Ariake isn’t actually sealing anything off. That’s probably to avoid any backlash from the workers and residents and to help build their hatred of war.”

…''I can’t believe this.

The only ones being kept out were the members of the Student Council and Chancellor’s Officers. Noriki, Ohiroshiki, Hassan, Itoken, and Persona-kun were apparently working like normal on the Ariake. The Tachibana Couple were also continuing as normal there. Shirojiro and Heidi had been let inside, but they were restricted to their merchant work.

There was no divine transmission restriction between them.

They apparently wanted to set this up as the Student Council and Chancellor’s Officers versus the Committee Alliance.

However, Masazumi’s group had been forbidden from making any kind of public announcement. As their statements and actions were the target of protest, they were being restricted until the following day’s special student general assembly. The ones being protested were being detained until such time as they were judged.

“That girl takes things far too seriously. Take this and this and this.”

The Aoi Sister wore a cream-colored swimsuit and splashed water at the large sign frame above the pond. The splashing water caused the floating sign frame to distort and Asama spoke up from the pond stone she sat on while managing the divine transmissions.

“Ah! Stop that, Kimi! Keeping that thing going isn’t easy, you know!?”

“Then find a way to distract me. Like this.”

The Aoi Sister pulled on Asama’s leg and the girl in a white and red shrine maiden swimsuit produced a splash.

…''They sure are full of energy.

But since they were normal people, that may have been for the best.

…''A shrine maiden that rivals a warship gun and a normal person who can deflect an attack from one of Hashiba’s Ten Spears, huh?

Just as Masazumi began philosophically wondering what a “normal person” was, something cast a shadow over her head. She looked back and saw Naomasa in a black swimsuit. She twisted the straw hat on Masazumi’s head.

“We’re counting on you tomorrow.”

Naomasa then entered the pool with her false arm holding a tray of food. Next Naito and Naruze arrived in swimsuits that matched the colors of their Technohexen outfits.

They made quick flaps of their wings to make a long leap.

“Looking from above, this is the deepest part.”

They jumped in with their wings raised as much as possible. A spectacular splash filled the air, so Asama and the others shrieked and fled the area. As for Naomasa…

“Hey! What if you get water in our drinks, you two!?”

“Um, Masa… This isn’t my spring, so maybe alcohol isn’t the best idea,” commented Asama.

“Heh heh heh. Yes, your place has shown quite the hospitality lately.”

Meanwhile, Ookubo continued speaking overhead. She was assuring the people there would be no change to the Musashi’s current operations.

“Whatever the world chooses to do in the future, the people of Musashi need the influence provided by the nation of Musashi. That is why I believe we should repair and arm the Musashi.”

''That’s true,'' thought Masazumi. Then she realized the foundation of Ookubo’s policy.

“She’s going to follow what we’ve started, but change the direction in which it takes us.”

That was true of remodeling the Musashi, acquiring the Logismoi Óplo, and of ending the Apocalypse.

“We will continue what we are already doing. The budget for those actions is already in motion and even if that is reorganized, we cannot revoke Musashi’s position as a nation until the Peace of Westphalia. Musashi is not a small nation, so I am not saying we should change what we are doing. That will remain the same, but we must change direction on the political front in order to reach Westphalia in peace.”

“Oh? Then Milad-…Ookubo-sama, what exactly are you proposing? Give us an outline.”

“Well,” said Ookubo as she placed a hand on her chin.

“She’s good at this.” Kimi looked up at the sign frame while teaching Uzy the flutter kick. “She knows how to present herself, so she’ll be a lot of trouble. Flat politician, she’s a lot like you.”

“I haven’t the slightest clue how to present myself.”

Masazumi sighed as she rested her cheek on her hand, with the elbow on her crossed legs. The Aoi Sister pointed at her saying “That’s it! Right there!” but it was a mystery what she meant.

On the overhead sign frame, Ookubo faced Kanou and spoke.

“You asked what I am proposing, but I would like to ask you something first.”

''That’s an odd way of arguing,'' thought Masazumi. ''Why ask a question when asked about your proposal?

However, she knew what effect it would have and why Ookubo had done it. She was implicitly saying that everyone already knew what she was proposing.

By setting it up like that, even a normal opinion would sound valuable. And even if it was an incorrect opinion, people were more likely to carelessly accept it. By making it sound like a foregone conclusion, it was harder to hold doubts about it.

…''So what is that setup leading to?

Ookubo continued on the screen.

“Why must Musashi go out of its way to fight to resolve its problems?”

Ookubo slowly inhaled.

She faced the portable filming shrine held by a member of the PR Committee, but she did not smile yet.

…''I need to keep things serious here.

A lot of people would be seeing her for the first time. Looking too calm would make people think she was not taking this seriously. She was a challenger here, so there was something she had to say while looking straight at them.

“On the political front, I have determined that Musashi has the national power needed to maintain peace and stop the Apocalypse. So…”

How about this?

“Things are different than they were at Mikawa. The Musashi is being remodeled and has lost a battle, so I believe it is time to take another look at our current policy. After all, if we do not change that policy, we will be dragged into an unavoidable fight along with Oushuu and Sviet Rus. We have no close relationship with any nation at the moment, so I believe this is the perfect time to have this discussion.”

She said “so” again.

“Tomorrow, I wish to hold a special student general assembly at which we can debate with and make suggestions to the Vice President and the rest of the Student Council and Chancellor’s Officers.”

She inhaled and lowered her head just once.

She next needed to make a request to everyone watching.

But she would not make it right away. Everything she had just said and her serious attitude were still alive within the viewers. If she made her request in the same way, it would sound the same as everything else. It would lack impact.

A proper speech needed shifts in tone. After all…

…''Everything I’ve said this far is essentially meaningless.

What mattered was that the people took her side at the special student general assembly. Everything thus far was nothing more than setup and meant for the wonderful people who had been willing to actually listen to her argument.

What came next was for the majority of people who only wanted to see the very end of what she had to say.

Those people had not listened so seriously to what she had to say. They had not truly understood it and had simply nodded along.

How could she get those people to remember her?

Ookubo raised her head and looked straight forward, but…

“—————”

…''Now I breathe out.

[[Image:Horizon4B_0271.jpg|thumb]]

She looked ahead to the screen displaying her image, said nothing, and yet felt the relief of completing a large job.

She relaxed.

She even vocalized the sigh.

She cast aside her previous serious mood and tension in a way everyone could understand.

Then she nodded and smiled toward everyone watching.

''Good job,'' she really did think while narrowing her eyes. ''Good job listening to what I had to say.

And with that in her heart, she only had one thing to say.

“Please keep me in your thoughts.”

She closed her eyes in a smile and lowered he head again.

“Wow, that’s just not fair…”

Heidi spread her mouth horizontally and bent back in the Marube-ya shop on the main street of Okutama’s surface residential area.

A sign frame from Masazumi opened next to her face.

'''Vice President:''' “Augesvarer, what do you think as a merchant?”

“Well,” said Heidi as she looked to the front of the shop. With his best business smile, Shirojiro was selling vegetables to the women still living on the Musashi. For some reason, he was rubbing his hands together as he sold the radishes and green onions.

“Ha ha ha. Everyone, today’s produce is ecofriendly and naturally grown! Just look! The tip of this green onion is so wonderfully green! Cook it and it becomes so sweet and delicious! A set of five is a bargain at only five times the price of one!”

'''Azuma:''' “But all of that sounds completely normal. Is that because there’s something wrong with me?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “I love how Shiro-kun’s sales talks run on pure momentum and transform him into an idiot! Oh, and just to be clear, he isn’t sacrificing his personality for money. Money is everything, so we use it to draw out a new side of our personality!”

'''Vice President:''' “Um, sure… Please continue.”

Heidi let Erimaki manage the sign frame from atop her head as she carried a wooden container of natto in straw out from the back of the shop.

'''Marube-ya:''' “Well, you see? That Glasses Committee Head probably isn’t like us or you.”

'''Vice President:''' “Eh?”

'''Asama:''' “Um, Masazumi? She did set you apart, so I don’t think you need to get so depressed you collapse onto your side. Look, Tsukinowa doesn’t know what to do.”

''Masazumi’s getting better with her reactions,'' thought Heidi with a smile as she lined the produce up in front of the shop.

“Okay! We just got a shipment of Mito natto! This is the fresh natto that our Mitotsudaira protected by barking and running those Hashiba bad guys out of town! It has Mitotsudaira’s sniff approval!”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Lies! There were several blatant lies in that!”

'''Me:''' “That’s right! Nate doesn’t bark or sniff at things! She only smells the air when there’s meat around and she only climbs up high for a growling song when she gets all excited!”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Um, my king? Some things are unavoidable traits of your race. Like smelling at the air when there’s meat around…”

'''Hori-ko:''' “Oh? Then Mitotsudaira-sama. What about this lamb kebab cooking next to the yakisoba?”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Eh!? …Th-that is, um, a vegetable! Yes, a vegetable!”

It seemed to be pet-feeding time for the Russia group. Heidi checked over the sign frames as Erimaki finished compiling each one.

“Musashi’s guard unit – in other words, the guards for the Chancellor’s Officers – is apparently treating this as an ‘internal incident’ since Futayo hasn’t done anything. They will stop any harm that might come to the normal people and students or if the normal people try to harm the officers, but otherwise – in other words, in a clash between an officer and a member of a Committee – they’ll probably treat it as a duel. That leaves me curious about the VIPs who aren’t officers… How are things with you, Azuma-kun?”

'''Azuma:''' “Eh? Nothing’s happening here. Besides, I’m looking after Miriam today because, um, well, she can’t move much since it’s that time of the month.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Your shtick really has changed. …If you’re looking for a new shtick, you can always consult me.”

'''Azuma:''' “Then, um, Naruze-kun? …Do you have a spell or something to lessen the effects of that time of the month?”

This had nothing to do with her, but Heidi felt a shiver down her spine. She used the power of prayer to send out thoughts of “Send this my way!” and “We can make a ton of money off of this!”

But…

'''Gold Mar:''' “Ga-chan, your nose. Your nose is bleeding.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Heh…heh heh. Why would you do that again? You might as well be holding meat out while dancing in front of a bear just before hibernation… L-listen, Azuma.”

'''Azuma:''' “Judge. What is it?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “I’m pretty sure Miriam knows a way to stop that, so tell her there’s a way the two of you can stop it together. See if she’ll tell you what it is.”

'''Azuma:''' “Okay. She’ll know what I mean if I ask like that? Then I’ll go ask her.”

Heidi felt an even stronger shiver.

…''Is Azuma-kun the kind of kid who can be kidnapped for a ransom pretty easily?

'''Marube-ya:''' “U-um, are we just ignoring all the officers that didn’t choose to join you?”

'''Asama:''' “No, since I’m handling the divine transmissions, those ones are apparently cut off from us. There’s really no helping it, though.”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “Lately, I’ve been thinking you play a much more active role than I do, Asama-chi.”

'''Sticky King:''' “She fits right in, so I see no problem. It’s not good to say things that will distance people.”

'''Obscene:''' “Agreed! Asama-kun is the ace shooter that fires us to our destination! She is most welcome on the front line!”

'''Asama:''' “Um…”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Ignoring the lamenting shrine maiden, this really is a troublesome situation. …The normal members of the committees are one thing, but the Committee Heads have a fair bit of authority. They can bring their views to the Secretary, Treasurer, and the Special Duty Officers.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh. But those Committee Heads can’t directly confront that anteater owner, can they? They report to the Special Duty Officers, Treasurer, and Secretary.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “That’s where the special student general assembly comes in. That lets them ignore the Special Duty Officers, Treasurer, and Secretary and speak to even the Chancellor.”

“It’s a real problem,” sighed Heidi. “But I guess it’s good that things on the Musashi aren’t stagnating. …We might be officers, but we’re also running a business here.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “That’s the trick right there… We’ve been busy lately, but that’s why we didn’t notice the Committee Alliance putting together this event. Although looking back, things were continuing a little too ‘normally’.”

'''Vice President:''' “That’s probably because Ookubo is just that good at bringing things together. I’m betting the other Committee Heads don’t see this as that big a deal.”

Heidi was not surprised to hear that. There were some athletic types taking positions here and there with opinion boxes, but…

'''Marube-ya:''' “It just feels like an event has begun. It’s just that we’d normally be informed in advance, but this time we weren’t.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh. That would be how normal people like us see it. This was well done. If they weren’t planning to cause a huge commotion, the preparations would have been low-key as well. They dropped hints here and there to let those at the Committee Head level know this was happening and they controlled the information so it didn’t leak out.”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “Can they really control the information like that?”

'''Vice President:''' “They can.”

''That’s right,'' thought Heidi who typed up advertisements and made sales talks.

'''Marube-ya:''' “I think this was setup quite a while back.”

''Probably so,'' agreed Masazumi as she thought about Ookubo’s true intentions here.

When had she started planning this? Masazumi could make a decent guess.

“My guess would be it was setup around the time of the Armada Battle. When we were fighting, when the Musashi was repaired, and when we were away from the Musashi, the Committees did a lot to support us from the side.”

“But how did they set this up?” asked Naomasa as she adjusted her swimsuit that had built up water inside it.

Masazumi adjusted her hat and nodded.

“Judge. …We can’t spend much time on things right now. As the representative of the cities, she would have been the target of the students’ parents and they would have let her know what they thought about welfare, divine transmissions, the economy, and life on the Musashi. And of course, most of those opinions would be ones of unease. Especially when it concerns their children. But if the Representative Committee shared that listening work with the other committees when it related to their fields of work, the other Committee Heads would begin gathering Musashi’s anxieties and sending them to the Representative Committee Head.”

Meaning…

“After the Battle of Mikatagahara, we distributed the people between the eight land ports in Mito so their anxieties could not unify and would remain smaller individual issues. That is still in effect. …But the Committee Heads who gathered those complaints are unable to view those anxieties as individual things, so it builds up inside them.”

“Heh heh. Just like an inexperienced village doctor catching all of the small illnesses of his patients and becoming horribly ill himself. They say the common cold is the beginning of all illness, but…wait, does that include sexual diseases! Does that mean catching cold leads you to do things in need of censoring!? Well, Asama!? Does it!?”

Masazumi ignored that sister, but then she wondered if the girl was like that around town as well.

…''Actually, I guess I already know the answer.

“Um, the Committee Heads will understand just how dangerous the people’s worries are for Musashi at the moment. And that’s why they’ve left all the decision-making with the Representative Committee Head since this would normally be her job. After that, Ookubo only had to tell them that ‘after considering the people’s feelings, let’s confirm some things with and suggest some things to the Student Council’ and ‘this is our final chance to present this possibility to them’.”

“Well, none of that’s a lie. …So she just changed how they would interpret the information?” asked Naomasa.

“That’s right,” agreed Masazumi. “She’s acting like we have control of everything, and that’s why the Committee Heads and Musashi residents haven’t reacted too much. This is not a coup d’etat meant to overthrow us; it’s only a suggested change of policy. And that suggestion will change this life of unpredictable battle to a life of stable peace. Things on the Musashi won’t change all that much, no matter who is right here. But…”

But…

“With Ookubo, they might not have to go through any more war.”

“It sounds like the deck is really stacked against you, Masazumi. …I mean, you love war.”

“W-wait, Asama! I take extreme issue with part of that!”

“Eh?”

Asama fell silent. The Aoi Sister eventually tapped her on the shoulder and everyone in the water pressed their foreheads together and began whispering.

''What’s this about?'' wondered Masazumi as Asama left the circle first and raised her hand. She had a bit of tension in her eyebrows.

“Listen, Masazumi. This is extremely hard to say, but…”

“Judge. What is it?”

Asama presented their conclusion.

“Pretty much every time you have a meeting with another nation, the conclusion seems to be ‘This means war!’ ”

Masazumi thought on Asama’s words.

…''Is that true?

Was it? Could it be? She brought a hand to her forehead and went through her memories.

…''There was Mikawa and, um, England…

She counted them up on her fingers.

“Maa?”

…''Oh, yeah, yeah. I’m fine. I’m just thinking. I feel like my very identity is being shaken. I’m fine, I’m fine.

''But why am I sweating so much when I’m so lightly dressed and have my legs in the water? Calm down, Honda Masazumi. You’ve always been a pacifist. Counting it up does seem to show a concerning past and future, but try to stay positive here. Yes, take a positive view of war. No, that’s not right.

But she did reach a certain answer.

“Wait! Listen. Just wait, all of you!”

“What is it?”

She did not let their legitimately confused looks get to her.

“Listen,” she said while raising a finger. “At the discussion we had in Magdeburg’s Avalon, we didn’t go to war with any of the nations at that meeting!”

“Isn’t that when you announced ‘We’re gonna go crush Hashiba! Have a nice day!’?”

When she heard Naruze’s comment, Masazumi collapsed limply onto her side.

…''Huhhhhhhhhh?

She felt like there was something wrong with reality or like her view of the world was out of sync with the facts. Meanwhile, she heard distant voices in the center of the water.

“S-see, Naruze? You were so blunt that Masazumi can’t recover!”

“She really has gotten better with her reactions… And I think I can use that collapsed pose, so don’t move until I’ve made a sketch.”

“Hmm. Is Seijun singing a strange ‘loo loo loo’ song?”

“I am not!”

She sat back up, but that did not change a single thing about reality. Not that she had any reason to think it would. But she did want to try fighting this, so she said what she could.

“Um, I take those meetings and negotiations seriously, don’t I?”

“Yes, of course you do. You’re always saying confusing things…which always leads to war.”

“Everything I do is for the Far East, isn’t it?”

“Yes, you do everything you can for the Far East…which always leads to war.”

“I generally try to cooperate with the other nations, don’t I?”

“Yes, you do generally try to get along with them…which always leads to war.”

“W-wait! Why does it always lead to war!? I strongly oppose that!”

“That’s right.” Asama nodded. “I may have been the one that brought it up, but I don’t think Masazumi brings us to war every single time! So let’s not treat her like this.”

Naruze showed Asama a chart drawn up on a crop mark frame Magie Figur. Asama looked confused, so…

“If you add it all numerically like this and then list it like this, then it comes out like this.”

Asama nodded a few times and then faced Masazumi again.

“Understood. Looking at it statistically, you have been seriously doing everything you can for the Far East while trying to get along with the other nations…which always leads to war.”

“Are you all my enemies!?”

“Heh heh heh. But looking at it this way, you’re quite the frightening warmonger. Show the slightest opening and you’ll bring war to them.”

“W-wait! They generally bring the war to us! I’ve never done that!”

“In other words, you’re a tempter ''seme''.”

She had never heard that term before but could take a good guess what it meant, so she decided not to think about it any further.

“Anyway,” sighed Asama. “Don’t worry, Masazumi. Tomorrow’s special student general assembly is an internal affair, so I don’t see how it could possibly lead to war.”

…''Talk about setting a low bar…

But she needed to stay positive. If she could avoid leading this to war, that was a wonderful achievement.

…''Huh? Why am I feeling so horribly depressed?

“Now come on over here,” said the Aoi Sister. “We’ve got food.”

“That’s right, Seijun,” added Naito. “You have a lot to do tonight, like putting together a strategy for tomorrow, don’t you? Then you need to relax while you can.”

“No, no.” Masazumi waved her hand back and forth before gently tapping her chest over her shirt. “I’ve never swam before. Okay?”

“Oh…?”

They all exchanged a glance and smiled.

Before she realized where this was going, she was thrown into the water.

Two people stood on a snowy hill.

Lined up in the evening sky were a demonic long-lived in an M.H.R.R. uniform and a boy in a P.A. Oda uniform with a black down jacket over the shoulders.

They were Shibata Katsuie and Sassa Narimasa.

The few ships of the advance fleet and people quickly setting up camp were below the hill behind them and both of them had some ''insha kotob'' open.

The ''insha kotob'' were for work and other matters, but they were both hitting the “approved” button without even really looking at them. Occasionally, Katsuie would speak up.

“Hey, small fry, take this work more seriously. I feel sorry for the people who made this data.”

“Shibata, the idiot next to me isn’t even hitting ‘approved’; he’s just closing the frames. I think the odds are pretty good he has no idea how divine mail conversations work. Yes, as the upperclassman, could you say something to that idiot?”

Katsuie looked to Narimasa’s other side, the side he was not standing on.

“Hmm, Naru Naruuu? There’s no one there. Are you hallucinating? Hmm, you okay there? If you’ve gone crazy, should I knock some sense back into you? Hmm?”

“D-damn you…”

'''Taki:''' “You two love that act, don’t you?”

“Oh, hi, Takigawa. What do you need?”

'''Taki:''' “Did you read the divine mail I sent you?”

“Shaja,” replied Katsuie as he showed his teeth to the female ninja in the ''insha kotob''. “Ichimasu, things are getting interesting on the Musashi, aren’t they? First it looks like they’re going for a meeting with the three nations, but now they’ve got a special student general assembly? It’s just one event after another for the brats on that giant ship! I bet they’ll have festival stands out, so I kinda want to stop by with Lady Oichi!”

“Oh, then why not just go?”

A snowball hit the side of Narimasa’s face.

“Damn you!”

They both crushed snow with enough force to form ice balls and threw them back and forth at full strength, but they eventually took a break. As they did, Katsuie breathed a deep white sigh.

“Well, I guess we can think of this as Musashi peeling back the mask a little.”

“Really?”

“Narimasa.”

When Katsuie called his name, Narimasa pushed up his sunglasses and looked his way.

“Whaddya want??”

“Wowww! What was that ‘whaddya want’!? You push up your sunglasses like this and then…’whaddya want’!? Really!? ‘Whaddya want’!? This kid must think he’s ''so'' cool!!”

“Shut up, you son of a bitch! You’re the one that got all lovey-dovey while chowing down on the fruit tempura Oichi made! What was that ‘these strawberries are so good’ nonsense!? They had grated radish on them!”

“What!? If Lady Oichi grates it, a radish is a fruit! You didn’t know that, kid!?”

“Takigawa, can you do something about this guy? He’s a giant pain in the ass.”

'''Taki:''' “Yeah, Niu-chan’s over here too. So Naru-kun, you should probably just give up and play with Toshi and Michi.”

“No, those two are all obsessed with what Matthias and Hashiba sent over. They can get pretty nerdy, so I can’t keep up with them at times.”

'''Taki:''' “Why not find a hobby?”

“I used to have one.”

Shibata’s eyes widened and he pointed over saying “Eh? What was it?”, but Narimasa ignored him.

“I’m not telling you. Anyway, Shibata, you seem pretty cautious about Musashi. Is there a reason for that?”

“Shaja. It’s simple, you moron. What haven’t you done since coming to P.A. Oda?”

“Lived a trouble-free life under a superior who wasn’t an idiot.”

'''Taki:''' “To be blunt, you’ve been pretty blessed by your surroundings, Naru-kun. You haven’t dealt with any infighting since coming to P.A. Oda, right?”

“I do throw rocks at my stupid upperclassman.”

An ice ball with a rock inside hit him in the face, so their “snowball” fight heated up for a while.

“And isn’t it better to not have infighting? It’s a pain in the ass.”

'''Taki:''' “But the Oda clan had some during the issues over the inheritance of our master’s name.”

Inside the ''insha kotob'' Takigawa crossed her legs in her seat on the Shirasagi Castle’s bridge.

'''Taki:''' “The previous generation worked to combine the Mlasi forces and the Oda clan, but pushed a little too hard on that and had to retire to make up for it.”

“Shaja.” Katsuie nodded. “The clan split into two factions over the inheritance of our master’s name. Interestingly, I’m part of the main force now even though I was with the opposing faction.”

“Are you lecturing me like an old man? Please spare me.”

Narimasa sighed, shrugged, and turned his back on Katsuie.

“Could you upperclassmen stop expecting those of who came in later to do the things you all ended up doing? Isn’t it your duty to make sure we don’t have to do that kind of thing?”

'''Taki:''' “You sure take this seriously, Naru-kun.”

“Stop teasing-…”

He raised his voice, but stopped himself, sighed, looked back, and lowered his head.

“Sorry.”

Katsuie brought his hand down in a karate chop onto Narimasa’s lowered head and it clearly produced a dull sound.

“Ow! What was that for, you idiot!? You have no idea how to control your strength, do you!?”

“Then use that weak head of yours to think, small fry. If you’re going to follow the Testament descriptions…then Sassa Narimasa meets his end rebelling against Hashiba.”

“But before that and after we lose our master, I end up under your command as we fight Hashiba and Toshi. Hashiba will be our enemy by then.”

“That’s the whole point,” said Katsuie. “Your super excellent upperclassmen were telling you that it’s okay if you end up like us, no matter how it turns out that way.”

“What? Who are you calling excellent?”

“Don’t forget the ‘super’, small fry. Do you want me to create a human-shaped stamp in the snow with you? Do you?”

Katsuie laughed quietly.

“But that isn’t for a while. For now, we need to enjoy the situation we’ve got.”

“Shaja. You don’t have to tell me that. I was always planning to go all out here.”

The two of them looked north from the hill.

They were looking at an area several dozen kilometers away, past a large snowy forest in the distance.

“That’s the southwestern edge of Sviet Rus’s livable zone. There’s not even forty kilometers from that field to the city beyond it. We had an excellent guide.”

He nodded.

“Marfa of Novgorod, hm? She still looks down on everyone, but she led us in the right direction.”

Katsuie gave a nasal laugh.

“Hashiba pulled some strings to get Marfa the inherited name of Shibata Shigeie, right? So to ‘cooperate’ with us, she guided us into Sviet Rus territory and will prove her cooperation with a battle. And that’s just about to begin. Sounds good to me. Especially with the nice bait that’s shown up.”

He pointed his chin toward some shapes in the eastern sky. They were small and distant, but they were clearly there.

'''Taki:''' “Given the time, I assume that’s the Musashi diplomatic ship and Honjou Shigenaga’s escort fleet. I’ve recorded their cannon fire patterns and number of shells used, so should I send that over?”

“No,” replied Katsuie. “It wouldn’t get to her soon enough, and it wouldn’t matter for what she’s trying to do.”

'''Taki:''' “She? Oh, you mean Marfa.”

“Shaja,” responded Narimasa as he too looked to Honjou Shigenaga’s fleet. “Given the time, she should be making her attack soon.”

As he spoke, a wind blew through the eastern sky.

A shape suddenly appeared in front of Honjou Shigenaga’s escort fleet.

It was a black multi-layer warship that measured over eight hundred meters long. It was structured like shoe soles stacked on top of each other.

'''Taki:''' “Oh!? That reading!? Is that a stealth hulk? Now that’s rare!”

“I was raised in the mountains, so I can’t tell anything beyond its wafer-like multi-layer structure. Still, let’s see what she’s prepared to do. We’re not about to accept any half-assed ‘cooperation’. But…” Katsuie tilted his head and groaned. “I think that Marfa puts too much focus on emotions, strength, and connections between people. Well, that might be just right for such a cold region.”

Meanwhile, the black hulk flew toward the Honjou fleet with a few transport ships accompanying it.

It was on a collision course.

Honjou Shigenaga’s escort fleet for the diplomatic ship had noticed the enemy.

“Captain! Enemy detected eleven kilometers away to eleven and ten o’clock! The ether reading is of an old Sviet Rus Kraken-class armed hulk-type! The scan says it belongs to Novgorod!”

With that report, barriers opened on the left and right above the festival courtyard. These were physical ones, not spell ones. Toori tilted his head as they connected to the upper deck to keep out the external air.

“Hey, Shigeko? Do those cover everything? That’s kind of excessive.”

“Testament. Are you saying you wish to view the battle? …There is a lift to the top. I’ll show you the way.”

“H-hold on!” cut in Mitotsudaira “What is going on!?”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Shigenaga while dismissively waving a hand and shoving yakisoba into her mouth. “This is the quickest way to understand the problem Sviet Rus is currently facing.”

“Eh?”

Mitotsudaira gave a puzzled look as Shigenaga opened a ''sankt okno'' and sent some instructions.

“Don’t let them pass by in silence, comrades! The time of demons is not yet upon us, so we must give a greeting to our fellow travelers. And let us bring them to a stop to teach them that this snowy land is not welcoming of outsiders!”

“So it’s hand-to-hand combat, captain!?”

“Testament! Listen, comrades! I’m sure you’re sick of using these cannons to fight. But the time has come! The time to display our great physical strength has come! The decorative flowers of cannon fire are only for the day. Once night falls, it is the crescent moon that shall decorate the sky! All ships, release your ceiling defense spells. It’s time for the famous Sviet Rus ''privet''!”

As she spoke, the wind split apart in the sky ahead.

They saw the black hulk there. It belonged to Novgorod, but there was something odd about it.

It was upside down, so the flat upper deck was pointed down. And…

“The enemy ship only has its front defense barriers active! It’s coming in for the ''privet''!”

A group of the amalgamated dead stood on the long upper deck of the multi-layer hulk. They were upside down, but they prepared for action at the stern of the ship.

And the individual at the very front was magnified in a ''sankt okno'' that opened in the sky.

She wore a black-dyed Sviet Rus uniform with extra decorations attached. An eight-legged horse made of bones stood to her side and the tiger-skin scarf around her neck blew in the wind. The very end of the scarf contained the two kanji of the name Kagetora.

Mitotsudaira spoke up when she realized what that name meant.

“Nagao Kagetora!? Is that former Sviet Rus Vice Chancellor and Novgorod Mayor Marfa!?”

Her tone of question carried a “but”, so she continued with a frown.

“Can we assume Novgorod has betrayed Sviet Rus and joined P.A. Oda?”

“Testament. We were keeping that hidden, but I guess the secret’s out now. …To be completely accurate, she’s the former Vice Chancellor, she’s Mayor of Novgorod, and she was one of the successors to Sviet Rus. She was also a good friend of Current Chancellor and Student Council President Uesugi Kagekatsu. And now she’s an enemy and a traitor. She is…”

In the ''sankt okno'', the woman’s expression changed. She brought her eyebrows together and stared ahead at them.

And Shigenaga spoke toward that gaze.

“Marfa ‘Vedma’ Boretskaya.”

With that resolute statement, the ceiling revealing both the sky and the enemy was closed.

At the same time, a ship-wide announcement played.

“The enemy ''privet'' will arrive in two minutes and thirty-seven seconds!”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 4B Chapter 41|Chapter 41]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 4B Chapter 43|Chapter 43]]
}}
</noinclude>

Owari no Chronicle:Volume14 Chapter 29

2016-04-03T03:02:30Z

68.109.55.47: /* Final Chapter: The Ending Chronicle */

==Final Chapter: The Ending Chronicle==
[[Image:OnC_v14_1071.png|thumb]]
''I have realized it

''So…

Two rows of cherry trees blossomed below the blue sky.

The road between the trees led to a cement wall surrounding a vast area of land. The open entrance on the western end was surrounded by stone gateposts engraved with the words “Taka-Akita Academy”.

A sign on the gate said classes were out for spring break and the gate itself was open with no one passing through it.

If one did pass through the gate, they would reach a central road also lined by cherry trees.

A faculty building was located directly ahead from the entrance and the second year general education building was located to the north of that. A single figure was visible there.

A young man in a suit stood on the second floor emergency staircase landing with a small boar-like animal on his head.

As he rested his elbows on the railing and looked out across the campus, the wind blew and cherry blossoms scattered.

Then the emergency exit behind him opened.

A woman in a white dress stepped out with a black binder in one hand.

The woman held her skirt down with the hand she held the binder in lest it blow too far up in the gentle wind.

“Wow, it’s pretty windy, Sayama-kun. Maybe I shouldn’t have worn a skirt.”

“Please do not suggest things that would kill my motivation, Shinjou-kun. Panty shots at school are a valuable thing.”

“I did wear a girl’s uniform a lot during our third year, you know?”

“It feels completely different with personal clothes.”

“Is that how it works?” asked Shinjou as she lined up next to Sayama.

When she viewed the blowing cherry blossoms below the blue sky, she realized she had seen this same scene in the past.

Today, Sayama had invited her to visit some graves, stop by some familiar places, and then go to UCAT.

The idea had likely started with an email from Izumo and Kazami: “We’ll be back for a bit, so if you have nothing better to do, we could keep you company.”

The message had only arrived one day in advance, so those two were the same as always.

The school was the first place Sayama had brought Shinjou.

…''He hasn’t forgotten.

He then turned toward her and asked a question.

“How were things inside, Shinjou-kun?”

“Hm? …I think the interior’s changed a little. Also there was a painting from the art club and some photos in front of the Kinugasa Library. There was a photo of the National Defense Department, of Old UCAT, of our parents, and…of us.”

The photo of them was from two years ago when the student council went on a going-away trip for Izumo and Kazami.

They had gone to the mountains around Mt. Ikoma and found the spot at which their parents and the others had taken their photo.

“I never thought I would once more find myself standing in the same place as that lecherous old man after we finished all that. It was sad that I was not able to hang up any posters in the mountain cabin during that trip.”

“You were supposed to be in charge of food, so you really need to stop making jokes where you open up your bag to reveal it’s all goods modeled after me. Also…”

Shinjou pointed at the neighboring school building to change the subject.

Three people were walking along the hallway on the first floor.

“I passed by them earlier.”

The one in the lead was a girl in a girl’s uniform who had long black hair. She occasionally touched the red cloisonné pendant hanging from her neck as she showed the other two around the academy.

“She’s apparently going to be the next student council president.”

“Does this school have some kind of rule about the president being someone who repeated a year?”

The two walking behind her were a boy and a girl.

The girl wore personal clothing and held a cat. She also had a white IAI musical instrument case hanging from her shoulder.

The boy also in personal clothing seemed to know the girl and seemed confused why the girl and president were speaking like they knew each other.

“Do you think they will inherit what we left behind in this school?”

“I don’t know. But did you hear what Ooshiro-san’s been saying? Just like your grandfather, someone apparently had an orphanage made after the Great Kansai Earthquake.”

“I certainly would not know anything about that.”

''Yes, you do,'' she thought, but she said something else instead.

“Whoever it was apparently gave it the strange named of the Hero House.”

Sayama said nothing, so Shinjou said nothing more either.

But she seemed satisfied with that as she held her hair against the wind and leaned her back against the railing.

She looked to the wall in front of her.

“————?”

Perhaps due to the angle of the sun, she saw writing on the wall. Someone had used their finger to write in the sand and dust there.

There were twelve rows of writing and the middle ten were as follows:

'''1st-Gear: Fafnir Custom

'''2nd-Gear: Yamata

'''3rd-Gear: Typhon

'''4th-Gear: Mukiti

'''5th-Gear: Black Sun – White Creation

'''6th-Gear: Vritra

'''7th-Gear: Four Dragon Brothers

'''8th-Gear: Wanambi

'''9th-Gear: Zahhak

'''10th-Gear: Ragnarok

Those ten had faded a good bit, but the two rows above and below them were brand new, as if they had only just been written.

Above 10th was the following:

'''Top-Gear: Noah

And below 1st, the following words supported all the others:

'''Low-Gear: Leviathan

After seeing that writing, Shinjou slowly turned toward Sayama.

But he gave no explanation and simply looked back at her.

“What is it?”

“Oh, nothing.”

His slight smile kept her from saying anything.

After all, his completion of those twelve lines meant something.

…''His Leviathan Road has ended.

Two years had passed since it had ended. Being in this familiar place during the same season as its beginning may have helped him make up his mind about something.

She wondered what he would do now.

A sudden gust of wind reached them.

“—————!?”

The source of the wind was two objects passing by at extremely low altitude.

After kicking Sayama as he crouched down to peek up her fluttering skirt, she looked up and saw two forms there.

One was a blue and white mechanical dragon and the other was a black winged god of war.

As those two winds stretched high into the sky, they left behind the low sound of a sonic boom.

Down below, Sayama had pulled out a digital camera at some point.

“Are they training? Honestly, they still act like a biker gang or something. What are they thinking?”

“There’s a lot I’d like to say to you, but I’m guessing they’re all on their way to UCAT.”

“So were they showing off to us just now?”

He sounded exasperated and Shinjou fixed her hair while facing forward again.

But…

“What is it, Shinjou-kun?”

“Oh, nothing.”

The wind had completely blown away the writing on the wall.

Should she have given it a better look or was this for the best? She did not know.

“We should be going, too.”

He suddenly pulled on her hand.

He led her down the stairs and to the familiar space below.

“Wow.”

Cherry blossoms were scattering everywhere.

It felt so nostalgic even though they had been here as recently as a year ago.

“Over there is where you pulled down my track suit, isn’t it?”

“Yes. And you are wearing a skirt today.”

“You can’t,” she said while turning around to find him right there.

She realized anew that he was by her side and breathed a sigh of relief.

Perhaps due to being in such a familiar place, she recalled the fight that had begun during the spring two years before.

A lot had been lost, but they had definitely gained the past, a new future, and…

“The fact that you’ll be with me.”

They walked side by side toward the dormitories and they pressed against each other.

It was a strange thing. Two years before, she had never imagined this was where she would be now.

“We’re together, aren’t we?”

“You keep saying that, Shinjou-kun.”

Sayama also smiled as he looked around and then at her.

“Well, you do remember what I said when I picked up Gram, don’t you? I said I wanted to have you with me.”

She did remember. He had saved her life, so she had faced his true self, taken his hand, and…

“And I…and I said that I did too, didn’t I?”

“Yes, but that was not the first time I thought that. The first time was when I met you working so desperately hard in that Okutama forest.”

Suddenly, he faced her directly and cleared his throat.

“I have no proof from a writing concept, but I will still say it, Shinjou-kun. Although it is such a common thing I do not know if it has any meaning.”

“…Eh? What is this? Nothing weird, okay?”

She then heard his kind words.

“I love you, Shinjou-kun.”

He took a breath and more words reached her ears.

“I want to go out with you, Shinjou-kun. Because I want to be with you.”

He gave her a direct confession.

He confessed with no one else around.

This may have been one of his emotions he did not like showing people.

But it was so sudden that Shinjou did not know how to respond.

It felt like being hit by everything he had previously told her all at once.

She had thought saying “I love you” was a simple thing that one could easily say if they wanted to.

But he had only now said it after everything they had experienced together and it had come so suddenly.

…''N-no fair…

Had he chosen today’s itinerary in order to say this?

Because he never spoke his innermost thoughts, she had gone out of her way to not say those words either.

And that left her flustered now that he had said them.

“S-so is this another one of those dynamite Sayama statements…or something?”

He responded quietly.

“Shinjou-kun… Please do not make light of this.”

She panicked when she noticed the weakness of his voice, his lowered eyebrows, and his hanging head.

…''He’s serious.

“S-sorry.”

“Sorry!?”

His head shot up, as did Baku’s on top of his head.

“You mean! After everything we have been through! I am being rejected!?”

“W-wah! Th-that isn’t what I meant! It really isn’t! I wanted to say thank you because I feel the same way! I um…n-never want to leave you either!”

She breathed in and formed the words that her heart brought to her. She also grabbed both his hands.

“You’re the only one I want to spend the rest of my life with!! Because…”

She did her very best to shout the words she could only say if their hearts were connected.

“I love you too! I love you just as much as you do me!”

She breathed in and looked to him.

She was a little bothered by the chilly silence created by her breath.

“Um…”

…''I said it.

Those words seemed to gather together and reset all of the previous expressions of her feelings.

She had said it not because Sayama had but because she had felt that was what she needed to say now.

By summing up her feelings, she felt like they could begin anew.

By gathering together all of the awkward words from the past, they could work their way toward even greater words in the future.

This was just a dividing line, designating a new beginning.

“I love you…so let’s be together, Sayama-kun.”

As they pressed their bodies and cheeks together, she saw a tear in the corner of his eye.

…''Oh. Um…uh…

It was so sudden that she froze up, but then she heard a somewhat trembling breath.

“Thank goodness…”

He then embraced her, pulled her close, and gathered his strength.

She felt her heart warm at the fact that their hearts were connected by those words.

So she responded in kind. Without letting go, she clung to him and longingly embraced him.

Her binder had fallen to the ground, but she could pick it up later.

After she confirmed the presence in Sayama’s chest, she heard him inhale.

“I have someone to be by my side. And they will be there always.”

Her heart skipped a beat.

She had least seen this side of him when they had been reunited on Christmas Eve two years before.

Just like now, he had embraced her and she had embraced him back.

She realized this was the reverse side of his pain and it was something he had never let anyone see.

After confirming they would never be apart, he had allowed this to be seen only by the one who supported his pain. He showed her just what feelings had existed behind the pain she had supported him through.

…''What a complicated person.

She understood that only she could touch his heart now.

So she asked a soothing question while lightly patting his back.

“Were you lonely? Were you lonely after so many people left you behind for so long?”

He moved his head in a nod, so she nodded back.

“I was too. We’re opposites, but we were the same when it comes to that.”

She found her vision blurring, but she knew she had to respond to him.

She nodded again, moved her head back a bit, and blushed at how late it was to be discussing this.

“I never forgot that I was told someone was coming for me eleven years ago.”

“And I never forgot that I was told I was on my way to see someone precious.”

Then…

“We won’t be lonely anymore, will we?”

Their lips met. They seemed to be both desiring and answering each other. They seemed to be exchanging themselves.

But finally, they parted in satisfaction and exchanged heated breaths.

Shinjou held out her right hand and he held out his left.

He took and squeezed her hand, so she squeezed back.

They sensed each other’s pulse, warmth, and dampness.

“I’m so happy.”

She looked at him with a smile and found his usual expressionless look.

But she knew he was happy too.

The rings on their clasped hands gave a quiet clink.

She felt like their hands would never part again.

“So we’ll be visiting the graves after this?”

“And then we can go see that forest in Okutama. We need to thank that werewolf that allowed us to meet. Then we can meet those idiots at UCAT and the two of us can discuss something on the way home.”

“Discuss something?”

“Yes.” He cleared his throat and averted his gaze. “About our future. …It has to do with your novels.”

“Eh?” She was surprised. “D-do you mean you’ve decided what you’re going to get serious about and what you’re going to do for the world?”

He did not answer, but he did give a small smile of anticipation.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw that smile and he squeezed her hand again.

He had probably noticed the pulse, sweat, and heat on her hand.

The wind was blowing and it carried the spring cherry blossoms.

Those blossoms almost looked like snow. It reminded her of the snow and concept light from that night two years ago.

And behind them, she heard the piano playing in the school building’s music room.

It played Silent Night.

That was the one song she had remembered and now she remembered so much more.

Still, she sang along with the song her mother had taught her and that connected her to someone precious.

As they walked hand-in-hand, Sayama also opened his mouth.

And they sang.

“—————”

As they sang, Shinjou suddenly realized something about the writing on the emergency exit wall.

“Was that…?”

[[Image:OnC_v14_1086-1087.png|thumb]]

[[Image:OnC_v14_1088-1089.jpg|thumb]]

The wind had wiped it clean, but that had chronicled the twelve worlds that had risen into the heights.

Those words of those various endings had vanished so no one could see them anymore.

That was the Ending Chronicle.

Everything that connected the past and the future was with them, so where would they end up as they continued on ahead?

She only knew two things for sure: Sayama was smiling her way, and…

“I will always be with you, Shinjou-kun.”

She nodded at his words.

“So will I.”

She raised her voice while squeezing his hand even tighter.

“So will I!”

The words of their promise rang into the sky of the new spring season.

Their voices rang loud with that song of promise in the background.

''We’ll always be together, Sayama-kun!!

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume14_Chapter_28|Chapter 28]]
| Return to [[Owari_no_Chronicle|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume14_Afterword|Afterword]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 25

2016-04-02T19:08:56Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 25: Choosers on the Way Home */

==Chapter 25: Choosers on the Way Home==
[[Image:Horizon3A_0663.jpg|thumb]]
''What can you rely on

''When it truly matters?

'''Point Allocation (Accumulation)

The fall of the sun shook IZUMO.

A ball of light over two hundred meters wide compressed and even bent the ground.

The earth rumbled as something hopped up toward the sky from the edge of the ground. What looked like a collection of giant metallic pillars was the crust frame that formed IZUMO.

Several broken pillars grew from the ground and Exiv kept his light strong in the center of them.

“Splendid.”

With that, he faced forward.

There, people were running along the ruined land while stumbling from the vibrations.

They were the Musashi students.

The enemy had escaped the sun’s strike.

…''Not bad.

Exiv thought to himself at the center of the massive field of shimmering heat.

He had assumed the slower enemies had been crushed by the pressure of his light.

“But all of them suddenly accelerated.”

There was only one reason why they were able to do that.

“The Musashi Chancellor’s Blessing supply.”

He could supply around forty people with the ether Blessings needed for spells.

Exiv realized why the chancellor had come to the front line. He was not just there for furn.

…''He wanted to see who needed his Blessing supply to provide a more efficient supply in their retreat!

Exiv saw the Musashi Chancellor running at the back of the Musashi group. The boy turned around and pointed both hands at Exiv.

“Hah! Iiiiidiot! Iiiiiiidiot! Your special Naked Sun Drop isn’t gonna work on us!!”

“Heh. I am shocked. How did you know my technique’s name?”

The Musashi group fell silent and hung their heads as they ran and a kick hit Exiv in the back of the side. He made a half rotation, rolled along the heated ground, looked up in surprise, and saw his own wife driving one of Three Musketeer Henri’s large swords into the ground.

“Terumoto! Did you come running because you were worried about me!? I’m so happy!”

“I’d be happy too if you didn’t cause so much trouble.”

Meanwhile, the color black arrived.

A second shot from Lype Katathlipse had been fired diagonally down at them.

Horizon held the gunblade of Lype Katathlipse in her right arm and the large shield of Aspida Phylargia in her left arm. Aspida Phylargia currently had Blessings stored inside it.

“The tension and criticism running through the Musashi should have provided a shot’s worth.”

Logismoi Óplo could be carried anywhere by an individual and they were powerful. But on the other hand…

“I have determined they are worrying on the fuel consumption side. I can estimate that to be why Aspida Phylargia exists, but I also require a human power outlet like Toori-sama.”

Exiv’s light was still plenty hot, but it was already losing its pressure. Horizon was able to determine that Phos Hyperephania could not be used repeatedly.

Therefore, she attacked.

“Fire!”

However, the Musashi side’s attack did not end there.

“Second throw!!”

Below Horizon, the leading group had arrived within two hundred meters of the Musashi and they suddenly turned around. The group behind them once again created openings in their ranks.

“…!”

A second round of javelins used acceleration spells to fly back as a counterattack. Due to the close range, the throws were nearly horizontal.

Lype Katathlipse and the javelins flew straight toward Exiv, Terumoto, and the Hexagone Française group next to and surpassing them.

Just as everything was about to hit, a single person on the battlefield did something else.

That person was Terumoto.

Even as the black tearing and the javelins flew toward her, she scratched and shook her head.

“What a pain. Stop making me go to so much effort.”

The color black reached her in order to devour her.

However, she did not oppose it. She simply stood in front of Exiv and raised her eyes.

“…”

The instant she directly trained her eyes on the black strike, the long pitch black claws shattered.

All of the tearing ripped, bent, scattered, and vanished in front of her eyes.

It was gone.

Mitotsudaira pointed her sharp gaze here and there, but no change had come over Terumoto, Exiv, or any of those around them.

…''Eh?

She knew two things. First, Lype Katathlipse’s power had once more been negated by something. And second…

“That weapon.”

In the telescopic sign frame, Terumoto was holding a sword she had not had before. The black and white sword had a shallow curve and it appeared to be made from polished bones.

White cloth was wrapped around the hilt as a grip, the tip was stabbed into the ground, and her hands were resting on the bottom of the hilt.

“My Logismoi Óplo, Phos Kenodoxia, forms a pair with this idiot’s. As long as I maintain my Kenodoxia, the power protecting me is invincible.”

Terumoto smiled bitterly in the sign frame.

“Pathetic. It gives away that I’ve got nothing below the surface.”

“Even so, it is my pride to have you stand before me and to protect you, Terumoto.”

…''So that means…

Mitotsudaira felt the two of them were both a pair and a single whole. If protecting her was his pride, that made his attack power invincible. And the power he used to protect her was also made invincible.

However…

“But that power shatters Mouri Terumoto’s pride. No matter what she does or how she acts, she will always be protected by him in the end.”

Mitotsudaira’s comment was answered by a divine transmission from Kimi. Musashi’s dancer laughed quietly.

“Heh heh. That is why she does not stand out front.”

Yes.

“She can be irritating, but she is an excellent woman. She focuses a little too much on herself, though. She is perfect for receiving Horizon’s sense of vainglory.”

As if agreeing with Kimi, Exiv’s words reached Mitotsudaira’s ears.

He called Terumoto’s name, placed his hands on her shoulders, and opened his mouth.

“Terumoto,” he said slowly. “Listen, Terumoto. One day, I will give you a wonderful gift.”

That being…

“I will give you a world where you need not show me any Kenodoxia. I will give you a ruler’s world where everything was gained because you were there.”

Musashi’s girls let out cries that could be taken as surprise, jeering, or envy. With a bit of that same atmosphere in her heart, Mitotsudaira had a thought.

…''Those two are somewhat like my king and Horizon.

She was not referring to the individual people. She referred to their positions in relation to each other.

With the word “parallel” in mind, she turned to Horizon.

Horizon was staring down Lype Katathlipse’s barrel.

“H-Horizon! What if it goes off by accident!?”

“Judge. Not to worry, Mitotsudaira-sama. I have already used up all of the ether fuel. See?”

After Horizon aimed in a random direction and pulled the trigger, the weapon fired.

The shot sounded like a scream as it left claw marks along a five meter area of the floor.

A while after the black line vanished, Horizon brought a hand to her chin and nodded deeply.

“Just as I thought. That was a close one.”

“Ehhhh!? Is this a game where I lose if I question it!? …Ah! Tomo, why are you tiptoeing away!? Wait! Wait!!”

Horizon placed a hand on Mitotsudaira’s shoulder, robbing her of her chance to escape.

“Now then, Mitotsudaira-sama. …Oh, this is the yakiniku meal I made earlier. The shop owner taught me how to make it, so you can find it at the Blue Thunder too.”

“That place really has a chaotic menu for a supposed bakery and snack shop. …Anyway, wh-what is this about?”

“Judge.” Horizon nodded, held up Lype Katathlipse, and tilted her head. “This thing isn’t much use, don’t you agree?”

…''H-how am I supposed to reply to that!?

'''Tachibana Husband:''' “It is excellent for suppressing an enemy force spread out over an area. That’s right. I believe you are simply choosing poor opponents.”

'''Me:''' “Shige, you idiot! This isn’t the time for serious answers! You’re supposed to trick Seijun into creating a bad joke paradise that annihilates enemy and ally alike!!”

'''Tachibana Husband:''' “Oh, I see. That’s Musashi for you. No normal nation would think of a bizarre tactic like that.”

'''Vice President:''' “You↑↑ are going to regret this once you get back!!”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “Can you please focus on running!?”

The Musashi group was already one hundred and fifty meters away from the central bridge to the Musashi, but Hexagone Française’s heavily-equipped gods of war had started to move. With this timing, the gods of war would catch up once about half of the Musashi group had made it aboard.

'''Vice President:''' “Satomi Chancellor! President! Can you send your gods of war out front!?”

'''Yatsufusa:''' “Hexagone Française has stopped their shelling, so unfortunately, we have lost our justification for joining the fight.”

That was exactly right.

With the shelling stopped, the trade ship could not be damaged by it and the Satomi and Houjou members could no longer fight in the name of stopping that damage.

Also, a new light had appeared on the enemy’s side.

“Sorry, but you’ll be going along with my Kenodoxia whether you like it or not.”

In the sign frame, wings grew from Terumoto’s back.

A disk-shaped flight device was spatially ejected behind Terumoto’s waist. The disk split in two, six bluish-white wings of light appeared on either side from the space between, and they blossomed like a flower.

“See through it all, Corpus Prudentia – Novum.”

She explained the power it produced.

“Both vainglory and pride are meaningless before Prudentia. Everyone who opposes me must announce each of their actions as something they can accomplish.”

Just after Terumoto’s announcement, a sound much like a bell washed over the air along with a cool wind.

“…!?”

The Musashi warriors running toward the central bridge stumbled in unison.

They tripped. There were several hundred of them, but all of their legs stopped moving without eliminating their momentum.

“————!?”

Unable to even speak, they were trapped by their falling motion.

Neshinbara thought to himself in the command center on Musashino’s bow.

…''What just happened!?

He tried to speak, but his mouth would not move. He tried to operate his sign frame, but his hands would not move. He could do nothing more than think and yet Kimi spoke next to him.

“I’m going to file my nails a little.”

She pulled nail file from her skirt, placed it against her nails, and looked at Neshinbara as if she had not noticed anything.

“Hm? Just out of curiosity, why are you so stiff? Are you stupid?”

He caught on as soon as she asked, so he mentally ordered his mouth to open.

“I speak! This Testamenta Arma puts a restriction on our movements! No matter what we try to do, we have to say it’s within our ability before it will work! This is…”

They had to announce what they would do and anything beyond their ability was rejected.

Neshinbara spoke on the meaning of that power.

“I speak! This is a defensive Testamenta Arma that does not allow any falsehoods and strips us bare by revealing our true ability!”

A single voice rose from the falling group.

“I run!!”

The voice was Adele’s. She spoke through the external speakers of her vassal’s mobile shell and her voice reached the others.

It got through to some immediately and others only spoke after falling to hands and knees.

“I run…”

They muttered the words as if testing them out.

“I run.”

“I inhale.”

“I place my hands on the ground.”

“I get up.”

“I face forward.”

“I run!!”

They cried out and ran.

Once they spoke, they could run, so…

“I run!”

They said it again for confirmation and they all began to run.

However, their speed had dropped. Their acceleration spells and the like “exceeded their own ability”, so their effects had been negated.

Their legs grew heavy as if from exhaustion, but they still ran.

Their goal was not far ahead. They could see the Musashi and the central bridge leading to Tama.

A little over four minutes remained until 3:15, so the secretary had prepared himself for some damage and decided they should board the Musashi and endure the attack from there. So returning and boarding the ship was their only option.

“I show my worry. …They’re catching up!”

The heavily-equipped gods of war were approaching from behind. The gods of war were close enough to catch up while the Musashi group was still boarding.

While the running group wondered what to do, they noticed someone standing on the front of the bridge.

It was an ally.

This was the Musashi fighter with the greatest defensive power. She was Musashi Vice Chancellor Honda Futayo.

All of them noticed her.

“I cheer! …All right!”

“I agree! …We’re saved!”

Relief filled their hearts as they looked at Futayo who stood facing them.

The girl was frozen in place due to the Testamenta Arma.

Futayo did not understand the Testamenta Arma’s rules and could not move.

The Musashi group soon realized she would be of no use.

“I-I gasp! Fnh! And um…I-I give a tsukkomi!?”

“ ‘I despair!’ comes first, doesn’t it!? …We’re screwed!!”

The cheers transformed to wails.

“I ask!? Can we use our acceleration spells!?”

“I deny! No! It goes against Prudentia to put that kind of burden on your body!”

The wails grew louder.

“I complain! I-I’m really slow!!”

“I nod! And I will agree! I’m not too fast myself!”

“I face reality! …Dammit!! I can’t distract myself by thinking how cool I look when I’m desperate!!”

Sure enough, everyone’s speed was dropping even further.

“I give my opinion. …Yeah, that’s bound to happen.”

Kimi spoke quietly while peering intently into the sign frame.

“I ask. …One’s ‘true ability’ can be defined in a number of different ways, but what is it in this person’s case?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “I answer. In our case, the late nights and doping used to complete our works are an ‘unreasonable burden’ that we can’t keep up every day. Basically, the spells are viewed as ‘imprudent actions’.”

'''Queen:''' “Now, then. It would seem there is an imprudent person among us.”

'''Cecil:''' “Do drugs taste good?”

'''Drug Poet:''' “Hey, you! My drugs are not an unreasonable burden! To me, it is no different than breathing. The color of blood is the same as the color of a health drink. I seriously hope you can understand this!”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “You aren’t even close to being prudent!”

Kimi glared at Neshinbara as if to say “now then”.

“I’ll describe the situation, okay? The urgent situation requires that they put an unreasonable burden on their bodies and run, but void of context, the action itself is imprudent. It looks like they can’t run any faster than a light jog for exercise.”

So…

“So I ask. …What should we do, four eyes? You’re our strategist, aren’t you?”

Neshinbara could not even say “judge” to agree.

However, he did speak without turning toward Kimi.

“I answer. …There is a way. But Aoi Sister-kun, you can resent me for this a little. Of course, I’m sure you only provoked me because you know what I’m going to do.”

Then again…

“This situation only leaves us with the one method.”

Musashi’s warriors hurried, but their desire to move even further forward refused to leave their hearts.

“I cry! …Why are we moving at a jogging pace!? It was humiliating enough to have the treasurer pass us with his dashing prostration during our running training on the Musashi, but this is even worse!!”

“I get mad! I never run this slowly!!”

“I give a quick comment. I want to get back and sleep!!”

Just as everyone said “I wholeheartedly agree!”, some people suddenly pulled out ahead. They were the warriors running on the front line. However, even those who had quickly accelerated and moved forward cried out in surprise.

“I ask. Wh-what is this?”

“I look back.”

“I check.”

Those behind them had caught up, also by accelerating.

“…!? I ask! Why can we use our acceleration spells!?”

However, the reason quickly became clear. Those in the back had cast acceleration spells on those in the front and the cycle repeated from the very front row to the very back row.

“I get it!”

The group in front spoke after unknowingly receiving an acceleration spell.

“Casting a spell on someone else works because it doesn’t put a burden on the caster!”

“Oh? They’re actually pretty prudent.”

Terumoto watched the Hexagone Française warriors race past her and Exiv and she turned toward Henri who stood next to her.

“And yet it took all of you a pretty long time to catch on.”

Henri frowned.

“''Belle de Marionnettes'' have excellent individual problem solving ability, but it is not easy for us to consider supporting others in our group like that.”

“That’s right,” replied Armand who stood on the other side.

He had gathered the cores of his troops using gravitational control and he was lining them up inside a wicker basket another ''Belle de Marionnette'' had brought over.

“Okay, make sure to repair all of them.”

After leaving that ''Belle de Marionnettes'' in charge, he turned toward the Musashi forces that were accelerating a row at a time.

They were growing more distant and Armand muttered “not bad” when he saw it.

“So they have realized what the princess’s Kenodoxia means. …They’re putting up a good fight here. But either way, they’re going to have to make a difficult decision. They will soon have to make a simple subtraction.”

“Testament,” agreed Exiv. “They should soon realize they will be forced to make a great sacrifice. And… Henri, it is about time to contact the Palais-Cardinal and our capricious vice chancellor. Tell them to begin with the real reason for all of this. …And have the gunners prepare as well.”

He spoke.

“Now, the subtraction is complete.”

Some of the Musashi group had finished crossing the bridge to the Musashi.

“I turn around.”

“I call out. Hurry up!”

They had definitely pulled away from the enemy. They had arrived at the Musashi before Hexagone Française’s heavily-equipped gods of war caught up. Once they holed up inside the ship, they only had to endure for around four minutes.

However…

“I…ask.”

Once they turned around, they all noticed a certain fact.

“Isn’t that…really bad!?”

The final row of Musashi’s warriors remained behind them. Because they were the last row, there was no one behind them to cast acceleration spells on them.

That was why that final row began casting spells on the people to their right and left.

But…

“I ask. …Isn’t that last row the group that was almost hit by the Hexagone Française Chancellor’s Naked Sun Drop?”

“I agree. Judge. And I continue speaking. Yes, they’re the ones who fought on the front line and used up both their spell charms and the Blessings for their standard divine protection. That’s why our clothed nudist used his distribution spell to give them Blessings for their divine protection acceleration spells when they were about to be crushed.”

Even after being worn down so much, they were using acceleration spells yet again.

So where were the Blessings to power those spells coming from?

As if to reveal the answer, that last row accelerated.

While they moved forward, two people remained behind.

One was Toori who continued to provide Blessings via his distribution spell. The other was Adele who ran alongside him to protect him.

“…!?”

Everyone knew why.

Adele had no acceleration spells because of the limitations of the mobile shell.

And Toori had remained behind to constantly provide the Blessings the final row needed for their standard divine protection acceleration spells. That prevented him from receiving an acceleration spell from anyone else.

It was a simple calculation. If there was anyone who could not share acceleration spells with someone else, they would remain behind.

This was the result of choosing the greatest number of survivors.

“I get angry.”

Everyone gasped.

They were close enough for any of the others to cover the distance in no time at all, but it was a long way for Mr. Impossible and the heavy vassal’s mobile shell. And so all the others could only watch their distance chancellor.

“I guess I’ll lament. …I never thought he’d end up dying like this.”

“I guess I’ll nod. …Yeah, he wasn’t a bad guy. He was pretty troublesome, though.”

“I guess I’ll agree. …We’ll tell stories about you tonight. We’ve got more than enough bad memories for that.”

“I-I shout, dammit! C-c’mon, you guys! Don’t kill me off already!!”

“Then we ask!”

They all shouted back at him.

“What are you going to do!?”

“I-I apologize! I’m sorry! I’m sorry, chancellor!!”

Adele bowed again and again inside her mobile shell. She did her best to circle behind the chancellor to defend against any enemy attacks, but he sighed and spoke.

“I speak. …Don’t worry about it. Also, I won’t have to hand out anything more for the time being.”

The last row had finished crossing the bridge far ahead.

Adele was relieved they were safe, but…

“I apologize, chancellor. I’m sorry about talking about you like your very existence was a problem, talking about you like you’re contagious, or talking about you like you aren’t one of us. I said too much and if you die here, I know I’ll regret all of that.”

“I-I’m gonna lecture you, dammit! But, well, you’ll protect me right?”

“I comply.”

The mobile shell lowered a little as a nod.

“I comply.

“I nod and I speak. …Don’t worry about it, Adele.”

The idiot smiled toward her.

“I may be an idiot who can’t do anything, but none of the others are.”

So…

“I’m counting on you, Horizon!!”

Horizon understood the meaning of what had happened earlier.

…''I see.

“I speak. …The surprising accidental discharge I experienced with Mitotsudaira-sama was caused by Toori-sama supplying me with Blessings, wasn’t it?”

Even as he had gone to the front line to determine who was in the most need and accurately provided them with Blessings, he had been constantly worrying about her.

…''I have determined he is very difficult to understand.

And now he was telling her to use that power to sweep away the enemies approaching him from behind.

It was almost as if…

…''Is he telling me to protect him with the thought he left with me?

She concluded that she did not understand and raised Lype Katathlipse.

“I aim. First, I will fire a low power test shot to check my aim.”

She aimed and fired. A moment later, a sign frame appeared next to her face.

“I object! I object, Horizon! That grazed my hair! Are you trying to kill me!?”

“Just to be clear, that was for the surprise accidental discharge.”

“I guess I’ll speak, but did it really surprise you that much!?”

“I will say ‘judge’. If it had surprised me any further, I would have aimed for the face. Anyway, that gave me a sense of the distance, so…”

Horizon aimed Lype Katathlipse toward the heavily-equipped gods of war and the Hexagone Française warriors pursuing the idiot and the vassal.

“I pronounce. It is only at 15% power, but I will fire.”

A black blast was fired. Because of the initial shot near Toori, the pursuing Hexagone Française warriors predicted its path.

“Escape to the left and right!!”

“Testament.”

As soon as the pursuing warriors parted, the black tearing shot down the center. It was a weak and small-scale blast, but no one could break through it.

The enemy had been split down the center, but their great numbers prevented them from immediately returning. To avoid those on the inside, the outer edges spread out even further.

However, the gods of war were a different story. They had been travelling on the outer edges and spread out to the left and right accordingly, but one approaching from behind the others rushed through the area Lype Katathlipse’s blast had travelled through.

The long strides of its pursuit quickly approached Adele and Toori.

However, another movement was added in.

“I join the battle.”

With those words, someone lowered down in front of the bridge.

“I name myself! I, Musashi Vice Chancellor Honda Futayo, have shown my cleverness by finally figuring this out…so I will join the battle!!”

The female warrior was quick even at her normal speed and she ran with Tonbokiri in hand.

Futayo ran toward the battlefield.

…''Basically, I have to say everything out loud without thinking too much about it.

''In that case,'' she thought while opening her mouth.

“I move forward.”

She started forward.

“I accelerate.”

She accelerated.

“I maintain my speed.”

She maintained it and understood.

“I thought I could do this.”

And so she continued on, speaking all the while.

“I run.”

“I dash.”

“I rush.”

“I arrive.”

“I rush and arrive.”

“I reach them.” “I greet them. Adele-dono, you should hurry. You to the side, do whatever.”

“I speak. Oh, c’mon!”

“I ignore him.”

“I pass by them.” “And I continue on.” “I point out that the ‘on’ was unnecessary.”

“I face forward.” “I jump right.” “I observe. I do not let the descending sword distract me.” “I lower down.” “I leap…no, I run toward the large sword.” “I rush my legs along the rising sword.”

“I leap.”

“I place my feet atop the sword rising into the air.”

“I run.” “I run onward. I race along the blade.”

“I detect the initial movement of the god of war’s shoulder.” “I realize how it will move.” “I jump to reach the enemy’s moving forearm.” “I do not hesitate to thrust myself forward.” “I catch up to the pulling motion.” “I place my feet on it.” “I stand upon the arm that is pulled back in preparation.” “I endure.” “I detect the motion of the arm I stand on.”

“I predict its future movement.” “I run.”

“I run along the god of war’s arm.” “I reach the top.” I see the enemy’s eyes.” “I can see them.”

“Bind, Tonbokiri.”

“Understood.”

One heavily-equipped god of war fell backwards as a diagonal line of damage cut across its chest.

Yoshiyasu watched Futayo through Righteousness’s visual devices.

…''She can do that with only her normal movements!?

It also helped that Futayo’s acceleration spell used purification and therefore did not apply a burden to her body. However, her basic movements and decision-making speed had to have dropped quite a bit.

…''And it took her less time than before to defeat the god of war.

“Did you see that, Yoshiyasu?”

A voice reached her from Yatsufusa which had fallen back to the Musashi just like her.

“She saw through all of its movements. She understands just how far the god of war’s arms and legs can move, where its armor creates blind spots, and the trick to Hexagone Française god of war sword fighting. She must have learned all that while fighting the eight gods of war earlier. And the heavy equipment on this one weighs down its movements and provides more space to stand on. That’s why she defeated it so much faster than the previous eight.”

Futayo leaped from the collapsing god of war. Her ponytail trailed behind her through the air and she faced the enemy group approaching the Musashi Chancellor from the north. That group would indeed arrive first and it was obvious why.

…''The Sanada ninja are still to the south.

The ninja were not moving and they simply faced their enemy, but their previous results and Futayo’s current actions prevented the southern force from carelessly attacking. The enemy line split to the south had no choice but to return to the center, but…

“…!”

A tremor filled the ground as the god of war Futayo had defeated collapsed in the center.

“Yoshiyasu.”

“Don’t say it. I already get it. …When she stood on the god of war’s shoulder, she grasped the surrounding situation and made sure it would fall in the center as an obstacle. That’s what you want to say, isn’t it?”

“No, I was telling you not to get too caught up in watching.”

“Kh.”

She glared over at him and Yatsufusa had its back turned and its shoulders were shaking. Gods of war created an artificial reproduction of breathing, but it seemed they did so based on the pilot’s feelings as well.

And so Yoshiyasu averted her gaze.

“Hmph.”

She looked away and down toward Honda Futayo.

“I charge!” shouted the girl.

“I attack,” repeated her spear.

She ran with her spear to diagonally tear into the back end of the enemies and god of war moving north.

''She’s insane,'' thought Yoshiyasu. ''Can she really rescue the Musashi Chancellor?

Suddenly, the Hexagone Française battle line heading north exploded.

“What!?”

Futayo watched the god of war running north.

However, the explosion of the warriors beyond was also in her field of vision.

They were directly torn into and launched upwards as if something had burst from directly below them. The line of Hexagone Française warriors was lifted into the air much like a spear driven into the bottom of a snake from the side.

…''What was that!?

“I question.”

The warriors charging toward her suddenly flew into the air and scattered with a wavelike motion.

It made no sense, but Futayo had a sudden thought.

…''Tactics change with the times.

Therefore…

…''Don’t tell me…

“I grumble. …Don’t tell me that explosive destruction is a new Hexagone Française tactic!!”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “I’ll be blunt, but I really think they were just blown away.”

''So that wasn’t it?'' she wondered while deciding not to worry about the explosive destruction. ''They must be into that kind of thing. I suppose that is another kind of illness people can have.

That settled it for her. The real issue at hand was the god of war charging toward her, so she focused on it.

“I lower my stance.”

Her stance changed accordingly, but she heard another voice before she could accelerate. It was a deep male voice.

“Lily Flower!!”

As if responding to the resounding words, the god of war exploded in front of Futayo.

It was smashed to pieces.

…''What!?

Futayo’s eyes opened wide.

“I show my surprise. Don’t tell me this god of war’s self-destruction is a new Hexagone Française tactic!”

As Futayo cried out, the god of war fell forward. She could see cracks spreading through all of its armor, its outer shell, and the moving parts beneath and it soon broke apart along those cracks.

It collapsed to its knees.

“…!”

And it split open. The safety had ejected the pilot, but the combination mechanism had already broken. The pilot’s right arm had not made it in time, so that arm was covered in blood as he fell from the machine’s back.

Next, the airborne warriors reached their apex and began to fall.

Their overlapping trajectories turned downwards.

And as they started toward the ground, Futayo spotted the enemy.

A P.A. Oda man stood below the god of war with his feet planted far apart. He had black hair and sunglasses. He used a comb and the other hand to brush his hair and his eyes turned to the idiot behind her.

“Found you, Musashi Chancellor!”

Futayo asked a question while the god of war fell to its knees between them.

“I ask!”

She asked.

“Who are you?”

“You’re just gonna ignore my answer anyway!!”

He stuck the comb in his vest pocket just as the god of war’s knees struck the ground. A beat later, the machine’s motors and joints were destroyed, but the Hexagone Française warriors still rushed toward him.

To Futayo, the man looked almost calm even as the Hexagone Française warriors attacked from every single direction around him.

“Like hell you’re getting away with that!!”

Around a dozen people attacked at once, but Asama saw something else from Tama’s outer edge.

…''That light.

It was ether light.

Several men had surrounded Narimasa and thrust their weapons toward him, but ether light leaked out from between them. Asama recognized that specific ether light.

…''Wh-what am I supposed to say for this? U-um…

Due to the restriction on her actions, she had to announce it up front.

“I-I will explain!”

Mitotsudaira turned toward her with a surprised look after announcing she would.

“I ask. D-do you know what this is, Tomo?”

“I am surprised. …Heh heh heh. You certainly are well-informed, Asama.”

''Shut up,'' she thought while opening a sign frame and displaying an image.

'''Novice:''' “I will give you some advice, Asama-kun! Raise your index finger like this! Like this! And then say ‘Allow me to explain!’ ”

“I’ll ignore that.”

At any rate, she had something she had to say.

“I will tell all of you! That light is the same as Maeda Toshiie’s Israfil!”

As soon as she said that, the light grew and the full silhouettes of all of the men attacking Narimasa could be seen in it. There were fifteen men in all and many of them had blunt striking weapons instead of swords.

However, Narimasa stopped them all.

He defended with various parts of his body: his raised arms, his back, his stomach, his thighs, etc.

The weapons struck him, but he gently raised his arms as if nothing had happened.

Asama saw wing-shaped tattoos on his right and left arms. The tattoos emitted bright light and definite wings appeared on the surface.

…''Those really are the same as the Israfil wings we saw in England!

Next, the light formed further objects. Overlapping flowers appeared across his arms, his legs, and other parts of his body. They were all lily emblems.

“Blossom, Lily Flower!”

He trembled so hard he almost seemed to jump, he raised his arms, and all fifteen people surrounding him were blown away.

They flew through the air, rotated, and floated up. Next, Narimasa left that scene overhead as he began to move.

“Let’s go!”

He blew away the still-recognizable wreckage of the destroyed god of war and leaped forward.

His path took him directly toward Toori and Adele.

''Oh, no,'' thought Asama, but…

…''Ah.

She relaxed when she noticed someone else there.

Futayo had begun to race forward as if planning to collide with Narimasa.

'''Silver Wolf:''' “I speak! Futayo! That is Sassa Narimasa!! He is the commander who controls the fourth of P.A. Oda’s Six Heavenly Demon Armies along with Maeda Toshiie who we met in England! You remember that, right!?”

''Mitotsudaira-dono certainly is kind!'' thought Futayo while thanking her from the bottom of her heart.

“I move forward.” “I raise my weapon.” “I thrust it forward.”

“I strike,” added Tonbokiri as its tip shot forward.

Fragments of the god of war were blasted away by the pressure as the weapon moved toward Narimasa.

He was unarmed. He simply raised his right hand and moved forward in a compact manner.

…''He’s fast!?

He had only taken a single step, but that step had brought him past the god of war and to her. The leap measured twenty meters.

By the time Futayo recalled Yoshitsune’s Hassou Tobi, Narimasa’s strike had reached her.

“I’ll knock you back!”

Futayo responded to those words by jabbing Tonbokiri straight forward.

Just before they collided, she saw something.

An emblem of light had appeared on the pivot leg kept behind Narimasa.

…''A lily emblem!?

That was not the only one.

The emblems of light blossomed one after another, moving from his knee to his waist, stomach, right shoulder, right elbow, and wrist.

It almost looked like a flower extending its stalk to bloom in a higher place.

Finally, the glowing flower bloomed along his hand.

“Lily Flower!”

The leg Narimasa brought forward sank deep down and IZUMO shook.

“…!?”

The altitude of IZUMO’s south side clearly lowered by about twenty centimeters.

…''So it was a powerful stomp!

Before Futayo came to that realization, all of Narimasa’s lily emblems glowed brightly. The blossoming flowers raced from his foot to his hand.

“Shine, Lily Flower!”

She realized an attack was coming but also realized she could not evade.

“Clear it up! Tonbokiri!”

She sent the spear tip directly into the oncoming power.

She tried to pierce the tip of his jabbing hand with the tip of her own power. She perfectly and calmly read his movements and sent in a counterattack.

“I will make it so.”

Despite Tonbokiri’s displayed announcement, the weapon was crushed.

The blade and base were unharmed, but the shaft did not survive.

It was completely smashed.

With the sound of shattering metal, pieces of the three meter metal shaft scattered in every direction.

The primary segment of the weapon was deflected into the air.

The weapon had been destroyed.

Futayo had poured all her strength into the spear’s shaft, so she lost her balance. She primarily chained attacks together, so this sudden change in her center of gravity caused her to stumble forward.

“—————”

She had been right to lower her head. Narimasa’s barehanded jab shot by above it.

She wore a horn-shaped defensive field generator that both bound her ponytail and provided her spell defense.

“…”

An instant later, Narimasa’s strike smashed the right horn, but it seemed the shaft’s destruction had caught Narimasa by surprise as well. He was unable to fully eliminate the recoil from the powerful stomp he had used to attack her.

“Tch!”

He clicked his tongue and flipped a dozen meters to the side.

Futayo cried out while grabbing Tonbokiri’s primary section as it rotated through the air.

“I warn! Adele-dono!”

''Oh, no,'' thought Futayo.

After all, Narimasa’s leap had brought him past Adele and the idiot but still quite near them.

Once he landed, he turned around and took action. He almost slid his body while turning and leaped toward Adele and the idiot.

He had decided to target the idiot instead of continuing to fight Futayo.

Futayo’s eyebrows rose at his quick movement and decision-making.

…''Well done!

She was impressed he had managed to see the idiot as more than a meaningless existence.

Once he landed again, Narimasa faced the idiot and moved forward.

“…!”

Another powerful stomp knocked IZUMO down before it shot back up.

The ground rumbled and a piece of it split open.

Narimasa then made a twisting jab at the idiot that almost looked like a backhand blow.

The attack whistled though the air as it raced toward the boy.

Adele made up her own mind.

No one had ordered her to act, but her body moved on reflex.

“I protect!!”

She predicted Narimasa’s attack and placed her mobile shell in his way.

She knew how powerful the enemy’s attacks were, but she had no choice but to defend here. After all, there was a reason the chancellor was so far behind the others and his decision had been in part based on his trust in her presence there.

So…

“I will protect him!”

She charged forward.

She could see the enemy’s strike. It was a barehanded jab. It was fast, but as a human motion, his joints could only move so far and his reach was only so long.

…''This is only an extension of human motion!

In the instant of impact, she would pull back to absorb as much of the shock as possible. All of the mobile shell’s moving parts and buffering would help soften the blow. And so she worked to deflect the attack, just as she had been trained.

“Kh!”

It was a direct hit to the chest.

''I did it,'' she thought. ''If it hit, that means I protected him.

Or so it should have been.

“…!?”

The chest armor and the connected head armor broke.

It all shattered.

…''Adele!!

Asama could not even speak as she watched on.

Adele’s mobile shell split open. At the very least, it looked that way from above.

The chest could simply be called “smashed”, but the head was another story entirely. As it had already been attacked by Henri, the upper center had split in two, exposing Adele’s head and body.

…''This isn’t good!

Asama’s eyes briefly met Adele’s dazed ones. Adele did not seem to notice her, but a moment later, her glasses shot into the air and she followed.

“…!!”

The vassal’s mobile shell flew over one hundred meters.

The only thing she could hit was the ground, but with her head exposed, she would not escape unharmed if the mobile shell rolled.

Asama tried to shout for someone to help, but three things were already happening below.

First, the blue and white half-dragon named Urquiaga flew over and spread out his body to catch the mobile shell.

Second, Futayo clashed with Narimasa, wielding only the unharmed base of Tonbokiri.

And third…

…''Toori-kun!

Toori had finally reached the end of the central bridge.

Those who had already crossed the bridge let out a unified shout.

“We will cover for you!!”

They raised their weapons to cover for the idiot. They could see the idiot through gun sights or past their bows and one of them slowly spoke.

“I’ll speak a thought I just had, but what if we hit him?”

“I audibly gulp!”

“I protest. …P-please don’t say anything so ominous! It’ll make me want to target him! Don’t do it! Just don’t!”

“I’ll speak too! Aren’t all of you just awful!?” shouted the idiot.

However, he seemed worried about Adele.

“…”

Just as he moved a foot onto the bridge, everything shook. For just an instant, the ground shook up and down even more than from Narimasa’s stomps.

“…!?”

The instantaneous shaking was so great that it almost seemed IZUMO had broken in two.

This time, the epicenter was not Narimasa. He was busy facing down and glaring at Futayo.

The shaking came from the southern woods.

It sounded like smashing rock and the land shook vertically as if the bottom had fallen out.

However, IZUMO’s frame broke down the land into blocks, so an earthquake in one section could not shake the entire island. Nevertheless, when the shaking returned, the entire southern area lowered as if kneeling.

“…!?”

The supposedly impossible shaking left people unsteady on their feet, knocked them to the ground, and even tripped the gods of war.

The Musashi’s eastern land port bent quite a bit.

The shaking and bending could be absorbed when it transferred between crust blocks, but the island could not react immediately. The movement speed of the crust blocks was set low, so a portion of it became completely stuck.

“IZUMO to Musashi!”

IZUMO’s controllers gave an outdoor broadcast.

“Sections 12, 11, and 9 of the Musashi dock’s southeast eight sections have run aground!! They cannot move! We fear the bottom has been damaged, so we need to release the fixed points! Open all of your gantry cranes!”

And…

“We must request that the Musashi began an emergency ascent! Over!”

An alarm blared.

Workers primarily made up of IZUMO automatons ran along the land port’s dock.

Meanwhile, flowers bloomed on the Musashi.

On the academy bridge, “Musashi” sprinkled water over the ether flower bed that represented the eight ships.

“Judge. We will comply with the request. Far Eastern Linked Quasi-Bahamut Class Aerial City Ship Musashi is shifting to emergency departure mode. All who are standing, please hold onto a nearby railing. All who are crawling on the floor, do as you please. Over.”

But then “Musashi” saw something else.

The bridge Toori was trying to cross fell away.

The shaking had formed a vertical gap between the ground and the Musashi, so the bridge began to fall into that ravine where it would soon be swallowed up.

“I will support it! Over.”

Musashi used gravity barriers to support the falling bridge from below. Gravity barriers could only be opened for an instant, so she continually opened new ones to support the weight.

“I cannot keep this up for-…”

Sakai asked her a question while drinking tea behind her.

“Need some help, ‘Musashi’-san?”

“I can keep this up for a long time, so that is not necessary!”

She held her left hand over the port side of the flower bed and spoke in a dignified tone.

“Over!!”

The bridge was supported by continually appearing and scattering panels of light, so Toori ran.

At the same time, mist appeared around the Musashi up to the waterline. To allow the ship to float, the surface armor contained ether engines called Susashizunami and they were creating the sea the Musashi floated on.

The mist covered the bottom of the ship and spread out toward IZUMO.

The shellfire continued, but Toori vanished inside the mist.

Nevertheless, they could still hear his footsteps as he attempted to reach the loading entrance where they all waited.

Neshinbara received a report from Tama’s captain automaton, “Tama”, saying Toori had reached the bridge. With two additional facts, he was able to make a guess at something else.

The first additional fact was that the restriction of the Testamenta Arma had vanished.

…''When did that happen!?

While questioning himself, he found his hands could move more freely. As for the other additional fact…

“Hexagone Française has stopped their charge?”

Mist covered the land of eastern IZUMO and the sounds of the enemy charge had vanished.

In that mist, the heavily-equipped gods of war remained motionless at a safe distance from the Musashi and no invading footsteps could be heard.

…''What is going on?

Neshinbara found this odd. If they had stopped their charge and the Testamenta Arma was no longer in effect…

“Then what is this shaking coming from the southeast!?”

He looked into the southern sky. He turned his head, then his body, and finally casually struck a pose.

…''Oh, I could use this scene in my novel.

That was when he noticed the giant mass of metal up in the sky.

It was large enough to obscure the sun, so it was more than just a “mass”. It almost looked like the metal crust itself, it appeared to measure around eighty meters long, and it resembled a bone.

“Is that the main frame of IZUMO’s crust!?”

Neshinbara saw something that should not have been.

…''I feel like I’ve been seeing that kind of thing a lot lately!!

However, that airborne eighty meter frame was most definitely there.

One end had a jagged edge that he could only imagine had been twisted and broken off.

Someone had forcibly torn it away from the rest of the frame.

It made sense if he assumed that was what had caused the previous shaking.

However…

“Wh-who could possibly tear off and throw something like that!?”

Its trajectory and speed were those of a light underarm throw.

It dropped toward them from the sky like a fruit someone had tossed their way.

It fell while wrapped in a short but heavy sound of wind.

However, Neshinbara suddenly wondered who had torn off and thrown the giant frame.

…''It couldn’t be…

He then realized what had been missing from the battlefield the entire time.

“This was Hexagone Française Vice Chancellor…Turenne!!”

He finally realized why Hexagone Française had stopped their charge and everything else.

…''If it was all meant to highlight Vice Chancellor’s Turenne’s debut, it all makes sense.

He looked back up at the great mass of metal approaching from overhead.

“Was this Turenne’s doing!?”

As he spoke, the metal fell.

The fall of a great mass was no different from a great impact.

But the falling mass of metal did not hit the Musashi. It fell just off of Tama’s starboard side.

“That’s the land side of the bridge!!”

The automatons were slow to react because it was not a direct attack on the Musashi.

“Musashi” was supporting the bridge, but its connection had been set to “emergency purge”. It was being treated as “not there”, so they had been even slower to react as the great mass of metal fell on it.

The giant torn-off piece of frame fell on the IZUMO side of Tama’s starboard bridge.

Rather than having a large object falling on it, that misty part of IZUMO was more or less hit with a massive impact.

The metal crashed down.

Not even the continually opening gravity barriers could support the momentum of its fall.

The light was smashed, the mass fell, and “Musashi” had already had her hands full supporting only the bridge.

“————! Over.”

The mass of metal fell on the edge of the land port that the bridge sat on. In the mist, a reinforced stone wall crumbled along with the bridge.

This all happened just as Toori was about to finish crossing it.

Next, the bridge jumped up.

Because the mass of metal tore into the land end, the Musashi end was lifted up.

The bridge had been placed diagonally down to IZUMO, so this strike to the lower IZUMO end caused it to draw an arc and begin to stand straight up.

It rotated with Toori still on it and everyone watched its rotation. It began slow but quickly picked up speed.

“…!?”

The land end bent like a sugar sculpture as it was knocked downwards and the Musashi end shot upwards.

“Ah! Hey, wait!”

Toori frantically tried to run up the bridge, but it was too late. The bridge had already moved past vertical, so he could only try to cling to it.

“Nwaaaaaah!”

Everyone on the Musashi could only see the bottom of the bridge and it soon tilted toward the land side.

They could not stop it and they could hear the idiot struggling on the other side.

“Nwah! D-dammit! Okay, everyone, it looks like it’s time to say goodbye for to-… At least let me finish!!”

Just as the idiot was thrown toward the misty land, shells began to hit the Musashi’s side once more.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 24|Chapter 24]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 26|Chapter 26]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 24

2016-04-02T19:07:13Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 24: Resident of Heaven */

==Chapter 24: Resident of Heaven==
[[Image:Horizon3A_0617.jpg|thumb]]
''When

''Did it end up like this?

'''Point Allocation (In Your Head)

Amid the silence and the heated wind, Hexagone Française’s forces got down on one knee to honor their king.

Meanwhile, everyone on the Musashi tried to give their own reactions.

This was a difficult situation to react to.

Mitotsudaira was covered in an unpleasant sweat and turned to Asama, Asama returned the eye contact with a look that pleaded “Not yet! Not yet!”, Oriotorai focused on eating her soba on Murayama, Suzu tilted her head inside Musashino’s bridge, and a sign frame appeared in front of everyone. In that sign frame, Neshinbara lowered down, counted to three, and raised his hands to time everyone’s unanimous opinion.

“He’s a copycat!!!”

“Heh.”

Exiv gave a charming look as his hair blew in the wind.

“Who could be even remotely similar to someone as perfect and befitting of the title Roi-Soleil as me?”

“Well…”

Up in front, Adele’s mobile shell turned back and everyone else followed suit.

Something stood directly behind Adele, but it was different from normal. The group split apart in surprise to move away from it and spoke with a tremor in their voices.

“Wh-when did he get here? And he’s wearing clothes!”

A fully dressed Musashi Chancellor Aoi Toori stood there.

Toori scratched his head, but puffed out his cheeks when he saw how everyone was reacting.

He then turned toward Exiv and raised a hand.

“Hey, could you wait a bit? I need to discuss something with my fellow students here. It’ll just take a minute.”

“I see. Well, a king does need patience. I will wait one minute.”

“He’s really doing it?” muttered everyone else, but Toori quickly turned toward them all.

“Okay, time for our discussion! Our topic is as follows: ‘Why are you all avoiding me like the plague!? Tell me why!’ Well!?”

They all exchanged a glance and they answered with Adele going first.

“Because you tend to cause problems.”

“You always show up where you’re least wanted.”

“To put it kindly, you’re in the way.”

“D-dammit! They gave serious answers! What a thrill!”

While the idiot shouted, Tenzou patted his shoulder.

The idiot’s eyebrows rose.

“Oh!? What is it, happy newlywed ninja!? Are you going to treat me like the plague too!?”

“No, but Toori-dono. When we had to soak in the sterilization pool before our elementary school swimming class, you ruined it for everyone by raising your hand and announcing you had peed in it.”

'''Vice President:''' “There certainly are a lot of unwanted memories about him, aren’t there?”

“Oh, c’mon. None of you get it! That was a way of challenging authority!”

He added “Right?” while elbowing Adele’s mobile shell.

She immediately brushed off his elbow, but he put it back.

“C’mon, Adele. I’m not a good speaker, so you tell them for me. Tell them all the good things about me! There’s plenty of those, right!?”

“Um, where exactly? I’d like to hear about them myself.”

“What!? You can’t tell!? For example, my waist actually fit when I wore Asama’s suit back in England! It was a little tight, though!!”

“Tomo! Tomo! A shrine maiden mustn’t shoot people! Calm down!”

“Umm,” said Adele’s mobile shell while using its large hand to tap Toori’s shoulder.

“Eh!? What is it, Adele? You want me to look forward!?”

He did so and found a naked man surrounded by shimmering heat.

“Heh.” Exiv brushed a hand through his hair and pointed at Adele. “It has been one minute. I assume you have completed your fulfilling conversation.”

He shifted his pointing finger from her and to the idiot.

“Now, I take it you are the one who has gained the support of his people by copying me.”

“He doesn’t have our support! He really doesn’t!!”

Evix remained unfazed even when faced with a protest from Musashi’s entire population.

On the other hand, Toori’s shoulders drooped. He then crossed his arms, turned toward the others, frowned, and whispered to them.

“Hey, what is with that guy? Why is he naked? It’s kind of creepy.”

“Recheck your memories!! And look in a mirror in the past!!”

He danced out of the way of their retort and faced Exiv again. He stood tall and gave Exiv a completely blank expression.

“This is my Horizon impression.”

He then glared at the man.

“I have determined you will catch a cold.”

“Ah! H-Horizon!? Wait until later to pull out Lype Katathlipse! Later! And Tomo! Why are you looking away and why are your shoulders shaking!?”

Exiv calmly nodded at Toori’s impression.

“Thank you.”

The Musashi group gasped, turned around, and mouthed a comment.

“Is he an idiot?”

'''Worshipper:''' “Has there ever been a report saying your brain withers away if you go around naked for too long?”

'''Gold Mar:''' “I’m having a hard time reacting after so many surprises in a row.”

'''Asama:''' “Still, I’m glad Toori-kun has made a friend. Very glad. Now, try to get along with your first…no, with history’s first civilized nudist.”

“Hey, I think Asama’s getting desperate. Is she okay?”

“Heh. Have your people begun criticizing you now that they see you can never compare to me?”

“What?”

Toori turned toward Exiv and found the man pointing at him.

Exiv shook his head once to whip his hair around.

“Listen, Musashi Chancellor. This shtick belongs to me.”

“Y-you just admitted it’s a shtick! You did! No fair! Are you trying to hog it to yourself!?”

'''Novice:''' “Come to think of it, Louis XIV loved plays and even acted in them.”

'''10ZO:''' “Th-this is clearly not a part of history that needed to be recreated!!”

But as everyone else grew worried, Toori crossed his arms again and looked to Exiv.

He frowned but still glared up at the distant man.

“In other words, you want to have a nudity battle with me?”

“Heh. Please make no mistake,” said Exiv. “Listen. I would win. …No, it goes beyond that. I am the concept of nudity itself. Are you so deluded that you believe a normal person can oppose an absolute truth?”

“Hey, everyone. Did you hear this guy? He’s a complete nut-job.”

“Umm…”

While the others hesitated to respond, Exiv lightly waved a hand.

“Heh. I do not mind if the ordinary person does not understand. …Listen, Musashi Chancellor. I saw your nudity on the divine television once, but it was not even worth seeing.”

“Huh? When was my nudity sent out to viewers around the world?”

“Heh. Our PR committee recorded Tres España’s attack before you arrived in England.”

“Oh.” Toori gave a nod of understanding. “You mean when that long-eared female teacher of a vice president grabbed my dick.”

Juana had been eating at the food stand while looking away from the divine TV, but the Musashi Chancellor’s sudden comment made her spit out the food.

“J-Juana!” cried Segundo next to her. “Are you okay!?”

“I-I am fine! Do not worry about me! But…um…”

She realized everyone was looking her way, so she quickly switched off the divine TV.

“This is banned! Louis XIV is banned! Walking around naked is simply i-indecent!! And the Musashi Chancellor is banned even if he is wearing clothes! We need to obey the history recreation and create an Index Librorum Prohibitorum!”

“Anyway.” Toori pointed at Exiv. “Y’know what? I have a lot more material than just being naked.”

“Oh?” Exiv tilted his head. “You were the one to ask for a battle, but you’re already admitting defeat and running away?”

'''Asama:''' “U-unlike Toori-kun, he’s actually being logical while he’s naked!!”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Is that supposed to be a good thing?”

'''Asama:''' “Um….”

“Heh.” Exiv struck a pose with a hand on his forehead. “Just to be clear, only I am allowed to be naked. After all, I am the Roi-Soleil.”

'''Wise Sister:''' Didn’t some silly person just say something about that man being logical?”

'''Asama:''' “B-before! He was before!!”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “That almost made some logical sense to me. I might be a lost cause.”

“Oh, c’mon,” said Toori with a quick laugh. “And who gave you permission to be naked? Well?”

“Heh. Does truth itself need anyone’s permission?”

“What?” Toori frowned. “You’re a person just like anyone else, aren’t you!? When did you become a god!?”

“Heh. From the moment I was born, mere human. After all…I was born naked.”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “What are we supposed to do about this?”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Shh. Don’t encourage them. It’s dangerous!”

'''Novice:''' “Y’know, there’s actually a similar conversation in the novel I’m writing. The situation is completely different, though.”

“But,” said Toori as he shook his head and even sighed toward Exiv. “You’re stupid. You really are. Since you don’t seem to get it, let me explain. Listen carefully now. The truth is…I too was born naked. And that means I too was chosen by god.”

“Chosen by god?”

“Yeah.” Toori spoke quietly in the blowing wind. “And that means…we are the same.”

Exiv paused for a short moment.

When he turned back to Toori, he laughed and nodded.

“You really are stupid.”

“H-he said! He just said it!”

Despite everyone’s shouts, Exiv crossed his arms, stood in an S-stance, and took a breath.

“Sorry, but I alone am destined to be naked. When Hexagone Française suggested I inherit the name of Louis XIV, the Papa-Schola said the Sun King had to be someone with sunlight overflowing from his entire body.”

Hearing that, everyone gave a unified shout.

“So it’s ''his'' fault!!!”

“Former boy, we are receiving a flood of divine ''posta'' from Musashi.”

“Ah? I can guess more or less what they say, so ignore them. Those people will have forgotten all about it by tomorrow.”

“Listen,” said Exiv yet again.

He looked to Toori and shrugged.

“You are not cut out for nudity. For one thing, what is that thing you call a God Mosaic?”

“What? Don’t look down on Shinto, you Western nudist! Asama put a lot of work into creating that secret technique!”

'''Asama:''' “I-I didn’t! I really didn’t! It’s a standard spell! Um, Horizon, please stop removing the wall for your act!”

“Heh,” laughed Exiv with a smile on the corner of his mouth. “It is an Amaterasu-style optical camouflage spell, right? I will admit it has a long history as a Shinto spell, but it is simply too old-fashioned, Far Easterner. …Listen. The age of mosaics is behind us. I am using a higher resolution spell. Yes…this is the God Fresco.”

Masazumi stood on Musashino’s deck while feeling truly glad she had not gone out there herself. She then spoke to Neshinbara, Kimi, and Yoshinao.

“Isn’t raising the resolution a bad idea? Wouldn’t that be a crime?”

“Hexagone Française is currently ruled by an absolute monarchy.”

“What a pain,” she muttered just before seeing sudden movement on the battlefield.

Someone rushed toward Louis Exiv through the kneeling people behind him. The person wore a female Hexagone Française uniform in a way that clearly did not follow the school rules.

“Is that…?”

Exiv brushed up his bangs in the gentle breeze.

“Heh. Musashi Chancellor, I am sorry, but you are no match for me. After all-…”

Before he could say anything more, an attack reached him.

A girl had rushed up behind him and immediately swung her long hair.

“Get on with the battle, you moron!!”

She sent a straight kick into the side of his back.

With the sound of flesh being struck, Exiv rotated halfway around and slammed into the ground.

“What?”

While everyone from Musashi tilted their heads, the girl casually approached Exiv and looked down on him as he partially got back up.

When he saw her, Exiv frantically got up, looked up at the girl glaring at him with her mouth spread horizontally, and gave a full smile.

“Terumoto! Could it be that you were so worried for me that you had to rush out here!”

“Don’t start it as a question and end it as a statement. …There’s something wrong with your head. You’ve been wasting the world’s precious oxygen by wriggling around and making a pointless speech.”

“Heh. Terumoto, I just can’t help but go a little crazy in front of you. Now…”

He was still collapsed on the ground, but he took Terumoto’s hand, stood up on his own, helped Terumoto back up, and turned to the Musashi group.

“Allow me to introduce you to my wife, Mouri Terumoto.”

On Musashino’s deck, Masazumi observed the enemy through the telescopic sign frame Tsukinowa had opened.

…''So that’s Mouri Terumoto.

Next to her, Neshinbara sighed.

“The decisive battle between Hashiba and Matsudaira is the battle of Sekigahara which leads to the attack on Osaka Castle. We will fight for the Eastern Army and the young Mouri Terumoto will command the Western Army. In other words, she is our future enemy.”

As if in response, Kimi sharply narrowed her eyes and bent her body forward to stare directly at Terumoto in the distance.

“So that girl is like the final boss for my foolish brother and Horizon?”

“That’s hard to say since the history recreation depends on interpretation. Hexagone Française opposes M.H.R.R., but Hashiba has joined M.H.R.R. and the Mouri clan is under Hashiba’s control according to the history recreation.”

“But,” said Yoshinao who sat to Neshinbara’s right. He brought a hand to his mouth as if hesitant to speak. “That Terumoto girl loses the Battle of Sekigahara, doesn’t she?”

“Judge,” confirmed Neshinbara.

Masazumi nodded and thought about Terumoto.

…''That means she’s being led around by a cruel fate.

She kept that thought in her heart but decided not to sympathize with their enemy.

“Following the Battle of Sekigahara are the winter and summer campaigns on Osaka Castle,” she said. “The ultimate winner is the Matsudaira clan. The Testament Union gave Horizon Ariadust the name of Matsudaira’s heir at Mikawa, so she will be the victor.”

She had been given the name for her execution, but she would become the winner of history now that she had escaped Mikawa with her life intact.

“It’s ironic that their method of execution has made her the ruler of the Far East.”

She then had another thought.

…''Does this mean our destination has appeared before us?

The destination of history and the opponent of their greatest battle stood before them.

Mouri Terumoto.

She was the ruler of the Mouri clan which was the western Far East’s greatest power, but she was destined to command a losing army. So why did she have such a strong connection with the chancellor of Hexagone Française, the ruler of Europe?

The man standing with her gave the answer.

Exiv supported her as if pushing on her back as he spoke.

“Terumoto is a wonderful woman.”

“What!?”

In everyone’s sign frames, Terumoto turned toward Exiv with a truly bothered frown.

“That’s just creepy. What are you talking about, idiot?”

Her comment sounded like a complaint or jeer, but Exiv reacted by kneeling in front of everyone and bringing his cheek to the back of her hand.

“Listen, Terumoto. You are a wonderful woman. After all, you never do what I want. That is why- ow ow ow ow ow ow!”

Terumoto reversed her hand and pinched at his cheek. Her face was tinged with red and she sounded annoyed.

“Don’t say that kind of thing in front of people. And besides, Exiv.”

“What is it, Terumoto? Is there something you want me to do? Just ask!”

He looked up at her while still kneeled and with her still tugging on his cheek.

She, however, continued glaring at him as she answered.

“Put on some clothes. That’s just common sense.”

The entire Musashi group lowered their heads and muttered to themselves.

Everyone on the Musashi exchanged a glance.

“Y’know… Getting mad like that is the normal reaction, isn’t it?”

“Our vice president has gotten lax lately, hasn’t she?”

“Is our only hope Vicereine Horizon the crotch-puncher?”

An unpleasant sweat covered Mitotsudaira as she listened to everyone’s reactions and she turned to Horizon who had arrived from the outer edge of the ship. The automaton pulled a cushion from somewhere and began drinking tea.

“Who would have thought I would gain such popularity for nothing more than punching Toori-sama’s penis. This is quite a dilemma. I must continue penis punching if I wish for more popularity, but I will lose my popularity if that causes him to put on his clothes. …I will continue punching regardless, of course.”

…''Wh-what am I supposed to say to that!?

Suddenly, Horizon turned toward Mitotsudaira and their eyes met.

“…”

“…”

Mitotsudaira thought during their mutual silence.

…''I-I really don’t know how to adlib!

Wondering what to do, she frantically searched for help.

“Umm, Tomo! Tomo!? Why are you turning away from me!? You too, Naomasa!”

Horizon pulled out a charcoal grill and began cooking meat, but that was likely meant to tempt Mitotsudaira over.

…''Ah, but this smell. That’s Hida beef!

“Nn.”

Her nose twitched and she detected an odd smell.

…''Hm? This smell…

It was the smell of cooking meat, but it came from a different direction.

“…?”

''Is that from the southern woods?'' wondered Mitotsudaira with a mental tilt of the head.

She could not be sure because the wind had weakened, but the smell of bloody meat being cooked was coming from somewhere.

She initially looked across the battlefield, thinking it could have happened there.

…''That isn’t it.

There was no fire on the battlefield. All she could see was the faint shimmering heat surrounding Louis Exiv.

As she wondered what it was, Mouri Terumoto opened her mouth on the other side of the battlefield. She also used her chin to indicate the Musashi Chancellor on the front line.

“Look, Exiv. Even that idiot is wearing clothes.”

Mitotsudaira and everyone else looked to the right. Neshinbara had already opened new sign frames for them all and had begun his timing gestures.

“That’s just a fluke! A complete fluke!!”

After speaking in unison with the others, Adele spoke to the idiot next to her.

“I-isn’t that right, chancellor? This was just a stroke of good luck for us, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it!?”

“What!? Adele, if you keep calling this a fluke or good luck, I’ll strip right here! I’ll show you a real fluke! I’ll strip and show you a real fluke! Wait, that sounds kind of dirty, doesn’t it!? Right, Adele?”

“P-please stop talking to me! Just leave me alone!!”

Adele saw Terumoto look at her and sigh. Terumoto then lowered her shoulders and turned to the idiot.

“Sounds like you guys have it rough too. It must be the same everywhere.”

“Do not even think about calling them the same, Terumoto!”

Still kneeling, Exiv brought a pleading hand to his chest.

“Listen! That boy with the filthy mosaic is a fake nudist who wears clothes! I am the real deal! And please listen, Terumoto. My nudity is needed for the history recreation, so putting on clothes would give the other nations a reason to attack! Besides, have I ever worn clothes in your presence even once!?”

“Oh, sorry. I heard everything up to the opening ‘ “ ’, but then I stopped listening.”

“Heh. It delights me to know you heard even that much!”

“Umm…” began Adele while afraid she was being rude. “I’m not sure if this is the best way to put it, but why is…uh…Chancellor Exiv, future ruler of Europe, with…well…the future loser of…”

“Oh, that.”

Terumoto waved a hand and nodded.

''She might actually be a good person,'' thought Adele while Terumoto sighed and spoke.

“Don’t worry about my feelings. Mouri Terumoto is set to become the leader of a losing army. The name was seen as an incompetent figurehead and the symbol of Mouri’s decline, so no one wanted to inherit it. So, well…”

So…

“I thought I’d take on that burden. …That’s all I can do. I’m just meddling, so it’s not like I’ll actually lose anything.”

“But Terumoto.”

Exiv rose, stood next to her, and supported her back with a hand.

“That is exactly why I need you.”

He turned toward Adele…no, he looked across everything in that direction.

“Heh. Fine then. Before the fight, I will make an announcement as Louis Exiv, the ruler of Europe who is currently faultless.”

…''Eh?

This sudden announcement brought Adele and everyone around her to a halt.

“Starting now, Hexagone Française will adhere to the history recreation in accordance with interpretations and the trends of the times.”

…''What?

Masazumi understood what Exiv had said but could not accept it.

It was true that the history recreation could change at a moment’s notice according to certain interpretations or the trends of the times, but what did it mean for him to explicitly state that here?

…''It can’t be…

Words escaped her throat while her pulse raced.

“It’s possible they’re going to ignore as much of the history recreation as they can in the name of interpretations!”

Exiv’s words hinted at two possibilities.

“Yes. As the Roi-Soleil, I will illuminate two paths for those who bask in my glory.”

One was…

“It is possible we will protect the Mouri clan and Hexagone Française from Hashiba’s forces. And the other…”

Once he said that, Masazumi noticed something.

It only lasted a split-second, but Terumoto turned toward Exiv with the ends of her eyebrows lowered. It was a worried look that seemed to be telling him to stop.

But Exiv gave a quick laugh before continuing.

“It is possible I will make Terumoto the victor.”

“This world is filled with delinquents, isn’t it!? Hm!?”

“Are you sure you don’t mean it is filled with your kind of person, former boy?”

Innocentius did not bother responding to Galileo’s comment. He instead looked to the ''cornice firma''.

“Splendid! Now, that is the conceit of a ruler. Isn’t that exactly the choice you’d expect of the nation sent the Logismoi Óplo of Kenodoxia and Hyperephania? Hm!?”

But…

“If they will allow interpretations in the Testament descriptions and history recreation, the Testament Union has nothing to complain about! If they will help curb the growth of P.A. Oda and Hashiba, the Testament Union will borrow their authority as ruler!! And…”

And…

“If their interpretations allow them to crush Matsudaira and turn the provisional rule over the Far East into absolute rule, that too is the guidance of the Testament!!”

[[Image:Horizon3A_0641.jpg|thumb]]
“Listen,” said Exiv. “The method is simple. I, Terumoto, the Western Army, Hexagone Française, and the Mouri clan will crush and rule over Musashi, the Far East, the Eastern Army, Matsudaira, and Ariadust.”

And on top of that…

“As long as I take the surname of Matsudaira as a second inherited name, history will continue on its proper course.”

''Now they’ve done it,'' thought Neshinbara.

They had used this short-term battle on the small land of IZUMO.

…''He just announced Hexagone Française’s perfection, didn’t he?

He was saying the Testament Union nations no longer had to rely on Musashi to oppose P.A. Oda. He was saying the Tsirhc nations already fighting on the front lines could overcome their battles with P.A. Oda with this new ruler of Europe.

“Musashi Chancellor, do you remember what you said in Mikawa?” asked Louis Exiv. “Let’s see who’s strongest.”

“That’s right,” said Exiv. “The Thirty Years’ War and the Sengoku Period are filled with new rulers, overthrown rulers, alliances, betrayals, rises, falls, life, death, prosperity, ruin, victory, and loss, but there is one thing we can say about all that.”

That being…

“The ruler is the protagonist of history and all others are no more than his foils.”

So…

“History will be created by the two of us: the Roi-Soleil and the moon queen who uses the foundation of my radiance to always insist I accept the opposite of myself. …Therefore, I suggest you find a place for yourselves in the history we will create, Far Easterners. If you are the land of the rising sun, then you can live while looking up at that sun.”

He looked to the Musashi Chancellor who stood in front of him.

“Now, how about you surrender and leave the rest to us?”

Exiv thought to himself.

…''There is no way he will accept this offer.

Nevertheless, it was worth asking. This was a possible future, so they would constantly be asking each other the same thing from now on.

And so he held out an open hand.

“How about it?”

As soon as he asked, the Musashi Chancellor played scissors.

Everyone froze when they saw the two outstretched fingers held toward the open palm. They also fell silent.

“———————”

But the idiot took a victory pose toward the Musashi. He even had a tear-filled smile on his face.

“I wooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnn! Hexagone Française is mine!”

“Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”

The first to react was Henri of the Three Musketeers.

“Objection! Objection!” she shouted while stepping forward. “He clearly played after the fact! Didn’t he, princess!?”

“Eh? Oh, I suppose.”

“Hm? Princess! Princess!? Why do you seem so unconcerned!? This is a national emergency!”

“I’m not sure we have to take this seriously.”

“That is correct,” agreed Exiv. “He would need to make such a proposal during an official confrontation. …And I am willing to accept such an offer.”

“Waaaaah!!”

Everyone shouted to stop him, but Exiv only laughed.

“Heh. I am the Roi-Soleil. I would never lose at something as simple as rock-paper-scissors.”

“Is that so?” Terumoto glared up at him. “What were you planning to play?”

“I am the sun, so I always play the spreading paper, Terumoto.”

“Don’t play rock-paper-scissors if you’re always going to play the same thing!!”

Terumoto looked over at the idiot.

“Hey, that didn’t count because it didn’t follow the rules.”

“What!?”

The idiot turned and pointed at her with his eyebrows raised.

“What do you mean!? That’s not playing fair!”

“Go look in a mirror!!”

He pouted his lips toward the countless shouts behind him but soon turned back toward Terumoto and Exiv while taking a breath.

“Hey.”

Before continuing, he brushed a hand through his hair in the wind.

“How about we pretend that whole Mikawa thing never happened?”

Everyone in the main hall of England’s Oxford stopped moving.

Elizabeth, Dudley, Howard who held a bag of sweet breads, Cecil who was sucking out the contents of a cornet, and everyone else were completely motionless.

But after emptying the contents of the cornet, Cecil held it up and looked at everyone through the hole.

“Very interesting.”

Past experience allowed those in K.P.A. Italia to recover more quickly. After a sip of water, Innocentius set the water bottle on the side table.

“…”

Unsure what to do, he stood up and began pacing around his chair while groaning.

“If you are angry, you can always shout, former boy.”

The motionlessness reached the Musashi as well.

However, Neshinbara contacted everyone within the blowing wind. After synchronizing with Ohiroshiki, Persona-kun, and all the others, he raised his hands on the count of three.

“Ehhhhhh!!?”

Everyone on the Musashi and everyone deployed in front of it shouted in unison.

“Waaaah! You idiot! You idiot! What do you think you’re saying, you idiot!?”

Masazumi scolded him through a sign frame that suddenly appeared, but Toori tilted his head.

“Oh, c’mon. Look, everyone. This girl is getting mad at me without even saying why. …And Seijun. Why do you keep calling me an idiot?”

“But. You… y-y-y-y-you… Aoi, wh-what are you saying!?”

“I’m more confused about what ''you’re'' saying. Besides, think about it logically for a second. This naked guy is using what I said in Mikawa for all sorts of things, so I’ve decided I must have said something I shouldn’t have. I’m trying to stay positive by admitting my mistake and retracting what I said. Yeah, um, like that! Like that!”

“The representative of a nation can’t overturn his international statements at the drop of a hat!!”

“Yeah, but I’m only human. Of course I’m gonna make mistakes. I’ve got humanity to spare. I’m the Renaissance. So shouldn’t I correct that by adding in a little Baroque? Also…”

Still facing Masazumi’s sign frame, he pretended to cry and pointed at Exiv.

“Th-that naked guy’s acting like I’m trying to take over the world. Sob.”

“You said you were! And don’t pretend to sob! It’s creepy! From the world’s perspective, you’re undoubtedly the bad guy calling for world domination!!”

“I hate people who assume things about people!”

He nodded and pointed at Masazumi in the sign frame.

“You oppressive girl!”

“You’re quick to make assumptions yourself! And…hey, idiot. Turn me toward Hexagone Française for a moment.”

“Sure, sure.”

Toori turned the sign frame displaying her face.

“Um…”

While she began speaking, Toori circled behind the sign frame, grabbed the edges, and lifted it up so her face aligned with his own.

“I am terribly sorry, Hexagone Française Chancellor and Student Council President.”

With his head hidden by the sign frame, Toori began dancing like the thousand-armed goddess of mercy and striking sexy or bust-enhancing poses. All the while, Masazumi spoke from where his face should have been.

“The thing is, our chancellor and student council president ate something funny last night and isn’t able to think straight. He has been making odd statements since morning and…”

Just as Toori made a moaning pose, Masazumi stopped talking and glared at Tsukinowa on her shoulder.

“Do it.”

“Maa.”

The sign frame suddenly exploded. The idiot rolled once across the ground but quickly stood back up with a sooty face and curly hair. He immediately charged toward a newly-opened sign frame.

“S-Seijun! What do you think you’re doing!?”

“Oh, I see a performer god explosion wasn’t enough. Should I take it to the next level?”

The idiot dodged the issue with a quick dance and used a hairdressing comb charm to fix his hair.

“Anyway,” he said while tapping on the sign frame. “I guess I went and admitted I was wrong for nothing. Okay, Seijun, let them have it.”

“Judge,” she said with a nod.

Toori stroked his hands along her virtual body line extending below the sign frame, so she prepared her next spell.

“We will recognize Hexagone Française’s previous declaration as the words of one of the world’s nations. Also, Musashi has something to say to Hexagone Française and the Mouri clan.”

She pointed at them as she spoke.

“Are you listening?”

She took a breath before continuing.

“Musashi will not hesitate to use our right to wage war with any nation possessing a Logismoi Óplo. It was that resolve that carried us through England.”

So…

“It would be best if you treated us as an equal nation, future ruler of Europe.”

''I see,'' thought Exiv.

…''Musashi is exactly the sort of nation I thought it was.

That was not a bad thing. After all…

“Heh. So you desire the same path as us, landless wandering nation.”

But…

“That will require an absurd amount of effort.”

It had for his nation. Massive amounts of personnel, money, and time had been invested in obtaining his inherited name and expanding the nations’ power. On a more personal level, his life had been targeted more than a few times.

If mankind wanted to limit that kind of effort to just the one instance, he felt it was best for Hexagone Française to bear that duty.

“Your actions will accomplish nothing but doubling the effort, Far Easterners.”

He raised his right hand to stop them.

He was giving the signal for an attack.

And in accordance with that raised hand…

“—————”

There was wind, there was movement, and there was noise.

The people, automatons, non-humans, and gods of war kneeling around him all stood.

The wind blew and that movement brought a chill to the air. Everyone remained silent, but…

“Wait!”

A sudden voice came from the northeast.

Those in the east and those in the west continued facing their enemy while turning just their gazes toward the voice and the person who stood there.

A boy stood on the side road cutting through the windbreak forest that separated northern and southern IZUMO.

The wind blew his clothes which bore the emblem of P.A. Oda and the school emblem of P.A.M.

“Hey.”

He wore a coat and had bandages wrapped around his upper body, but that did little to hide his brown skin.

He wore P.A. Oda pants that had been dyed darker than normal and his legs were spread wider than his shoulders. The pants had the number 4 stitched in white.

His black hair blew in the wind and he looked across everything through his black sunglasses.

“Listen, all of you.”

He opened his mouth and spoke with the corners of his lips slightly raised.

“Try not to get so carried away. You have some guts to just ignore me and P.A. Oda.”

[[Image:Horizon3A_0653.jpg|thumb]]

His words and appearance brought everyone to a stop, but the Musashi Chancellor looked around and made a show of spotting Mouri Terumoto in the crowd.

“Hey, is he a friend of yours? You act and dress kinda the same.”

“No, I don’t know him. I do know ''of'' him, though.”

“Who is he?”

“Testament.” Terumoto used her chin to point at the P.A. Oda boy. “I think he’s one of the two who make up #4 of P.A. Oda’s Six Heavenly Demon Army. His name is Sassa Narimasa.”

“Yeah.”

Narimasa’s hair was tied back and he brushed it back with a comb he pulled from his vest coat. He then took one, two, and three long strides to enter the battlefield.

His casual actions led the northern parts of Hexagone Française and Musashi’s formations to go on the defensive.

However, he just continued walking.

“Don’t worry. I’m here on my own. I was on my way for some fun at Hashiba’s place, so Toshi’s not with me either.”

He stopped walking about thirty meters from both sides and he stayed there.

Everyone turned diagonally to face both their original enemy and this new opponent.

But despite the two armies facing him, Narimasa kept his expression intact and stuck his hands in his pockets.

The wind blew.

This was the heated wind of the Roi-Soleil and Exiv spoke along with that movement of the air.

“Heh. How crass. I do not recall calling for the likes of you.”

“Musashi Chancellor.”

Narimasa ignored Exiv and called for Toori with the black eyes of his sunglasses looking directly at the boy.

“I have business with you.”

Hearing that, Toori followed Narimasa’s gaze. He looked down at his own chest before turning around and reaching Adele’s mobile shell.

“Hey, Adele, he says he’s got business with you. Looks like the time has finally come. He’s confessing.”

“Eh? Wh-why are you talking to me!? I was trying to escape reality by reading some manga, so please don’t drag me into some bizarre reality!”

“Judge.” Toori nodded and turned a serious look in Narimasa’s direction. “If you want to raise her affection, give her manga as a present. Remember that, okay?”

“I hear you gave quite a welcome to Toshi.”

Toori froze when he heard that. After a moment, he held out his right palm to tell Narimasa to wait and he opened a sign frame.

“Wait just a moment. I seriously need to ask the others about this. So wait just a little bit.”

'''Me:''' “Hey, hey. What am I supposed to do? This sunglasses guy is the type who ignores anything you say to him. What do you think I should do?”

'''Asama:''' “Well, I have a good solution for that. Try thinking about what someone should do if they’re dealing with you. Yes, that should work perfectly.”

'''Me:''' “Eh? So I should raise his affection by giving him a porn game as a present?”

'''Uqui:''' “You fool. A porn game will lead to catastrophe if you choose the wrong genre.”

'''Me:''' “Oh, you’re right. I’ve been playing too many games without choices lately, so I think it dulled my instincts. …But I don’t think I have enough information to play that sunglasses guy’s route.”

'''Worshipper:''' “Yeah, all you have is that comment about us ‘giving quite a welcome to Toshi’. It’s going to take some gambling to choose right here. And there aren’t even any walkthroughs on the divine network.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Maybe there’s a character introduction page on the P.A. Oda or P.A.M. sites.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Um… Ehh? Wh-wh-what are all of you talking about? Is this what happens when you play too many porn games?”

After a while, Toori raised a hand toward the sign frame and gave his thanks.

He then turned to Narimasa and pulled a box from below his uniform.

He held it up in both hands with a giant grin on his face.

“This is what you wanted, isn’t it!? This is the magistrate game based on international shudo rules! It’s called Toshi and Matsu! On the second playthrough, there’s even a scenario with you as the lead. The published reviews gave it the super high score of pine, pine, pine, and plum, so…”

He gave a thumbs up.

“I highly recommend it!!”

Narimasa pulled his right fist from his pocket, raised it, and ran full speed toward Toori.

As soon as Narimasa began to move, Neshinbara gave an order to everyone. It was short enough to shout aloud and it was quite straightforward.

“Come on home, everyone!!”

“Does your pathetic nerd pride keep you from telling them to run away?”

“What does it matter!? And we only have five minutes left, so we can endure the rest closed up inside here!!”

And so he yelled one last word.

“Hurry!!”

Everything began to move.

First, the front lines of the Musashi forces turned around and began to run while activating defensive charms on their backs.

Next, Hexagone Française pursued and the warriors with decent initial velocity shot ahead of the heavy god of war unit.

“Wait, Musashi!”

As soon as they began to run with their acceleration spells, Musashi’s fleeing front line split apart. One of every two running students had moved behind the other.

This opened several one-man paths and Musashi Ariadust Academy’s track team appeared inside them.

“You’re ours!!”

They used all their strength to spin around and throw a spear shortened for throwing. The spears had blades embedded in the tip and tail feathers, so they acted as a counterattack against the pursuing Hexagone Française warriors.

As they threw, the athletes took a light step to send their bodies slightly into the air. This allowed the students passing by on either side to hook their arms around the athletes’ arms to carry them.

“Hurry!!”

They rushed onward while still carrying them.

However, the Hexagone Française warriors had not been slowed.

The silver god of war named Palais-Cardinal standing behind those warriors raised its right arm.

Louis Exiv struck a pose atop the giant silver hand while facing forward.

“Heh.”

As soon as he laughed and nodded, Palais-Cardinal took a certain action concerning Musashi’s flying spears and fleeing students.

It threw Louis Exiv.

The nude ruler flew in a collision course with his fleeing enemies and the weapons they had thrown.

He drew a direct line that was clearly going to hit them.

However, shimmering heat enveloped him in midair and he brushed up his bangs.

“How about I show you the fate you have brought yourselves?”

He flew over the leading Hexagone Française warriors, flipped around in midair, and snapped his fingers.

A light sound and a hot wind travelled through the sky and something appeared behind Exiv. It was a pair of devices that resembled a disk.

“Testamenta Arma ‘Corpus Prudentia – Vetus’. Its effect is simple. It gives destructive power to light in accordance to the intensity of that light. This Testamenta Arma is meant to sweep away the darkness,” he explained. “With my Testamenta Arma, even the smallest light can protect the people from the darkness of the night. Of course, that light is powerless during the day, but…”

Corpus Prudentia emitted light. The light formed feathers and constructed wings with a total of twelve on the right or left.

“If that small light is given my constant divine protection of sunlight, it gains the power to shine even during the day.”

The light formed pressure around Louis Exiv.

It pushed on the air and the wind blew about. Its range extended past ten, twenty, and even thirty meters. It quickly spread beyond fifty meters, devoured the flying spears from above, crushed them, and scattered them.

“The Roi-Soleil has arrived!!”

As he spread his arms and cried out, the color black suddenly raced through the sky.

Darkness swallowed up the small sun descending on daytime IZUMO.

With a creaking sound, the color black rose from Tama’s outer edge, left claw-mark paths behind, and swept over the sun.

“Lype Katathlipse. I have reached sixty percent output with standard usage.”

The cannon sounded like a crying voice as it devoured the sun.

However, a sudden change came over it.

The darkness split open.

“…!?”

Horizon wrinkled her brow in confusion as the tearing strike scattered roughly through the air like a deflected whip.

Lype Katathlipse’s power vanished while leaving claw-mark paths in the sky.

It faded away and revealed the sun which was still descending toward the fleeing students. Exiv remained in the center of the light, but…

“He’s unhurt!”

Mitotsudaira and the others worriedly saw Exiv holding something in his previously spread arms.

It was a two-handed club.

The striking weapon looked like the colors white and black had been stretched, twisted, torn apart, and gathered back together. Everyone from Musashi had seen weapons with a similar texture.

“That looks a lot like Lype Katathlipse and Aspida Phylargia.”

They gulped before raising their voices as one.

“It’s a Logismoi Óplo!?”

“Indeed,” said Exiv within the falling light. “Both Hexagone Française and Tres España were sent two Logismoi Óplo. Both of those pairs are counted as one of the seven deadly sins, but they were originally split apart making eight…no, nine deadly sins. Of course, as they were split, they are weak for a Logismoi Óplo. Mine makes its user’s power invincible so long as he maintains his pride. While the word invincible sounds impressive, it is limited to an individual, so it is difficult to turn the tide of a battle with.”

But…

“This is Phos Hyperephania. When combined with my power as the Roi-Soleil and my Testamenta Arma, no Logismoi Óplo could be more wonderful.”

He smiled and the light grew. The flying spears were no longer simply deflected. They were crushed, scattered, and finally turned to shimmering heat. Loud wind, heat, steam, and shimmering whirled around the light as it arrived above a few dozen of the Musashi students who had failed to escape in time.

“Look up!”

He descended.

“Raise your eyes!”

He dropped down.

“Worship my future great nation!”

He continued on.

“I am that nation!”

The sun struck the earth.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 23|Chapter 23]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 25|Chapter 25]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 22

2016-04-02T19:05:05Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 22: Those who Participate in the Great Activity */

==Chapter 22: Those who Participate in the Great Activity==
[[Image:Horizon3A_0539.jpg|thumb]]
''What should be done

''Before charging in?

'''Point Allocation (Criticism)

“Adele!!”

While using her silver chains and armor panels to deflect shell fragments on the outer edge of Tama’s deck, Mitotsudaira saw the land of IZUMO jump.

The crust had shot into the air.

This was due to a giant hammer filled with gravitational control.

This attack by Armand of the Three Musketeers caused the ground to sink down before shooting back up from the recoil. The effects covered a radius of two hundred meters and all that land floated up like a hopping frog and then broke apart.

Adele had been in that area, but Mitotsudaira could not see her anymore.

After bouncing up into the air and crumbling, the ground fell and buried everything under what looked like a small mountain.

Amid the roar of the collapse, Mitotsudaira took a dazed breath.

…''Ah.

Just as she wondered what had happened to Adele, a sign frame opened.

'''Sanyou:''' “Waaaaah! Balfette-san! Why did one of us have to be buried!?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh heh. Sanyou-sensei, what do you mean by ‘one of us’? Height? Chest? Marriage?”

'''Sanyou:''' “Kh! G-glasses! I meant that we both wear glasses! …And Adele-san was buried!”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “D-don’t worry! She’s fine!”

Mitotsudaira had spotted Adele.

Her trust that her classmate was safe and unburied had led her to the girl.

She was up above.

“She jumped!!”

As she looked up into the sky, she saw Adele’s mobile shell hovering at eye level with those standing on the Musashi.

This was the same leap using the shell’s survival lockdown system that she had used in London.

Mitotsudaira breathed a sigh of relief at the vassal’s mobile shell flying high through the sky.

…''An excellent decision!

The girl had likely activated it the instant the earth swallowed her up. She was rotating a little and her flight was unstable, so she would fall over and slam into the ground when she landed.

But…

“She wasn’t buried! Someone support her when she lands!”

Mitotsudaira wished she could go help, but Neshinbara had decided this was her post.

…''And because I’m slow enough that the Musashi might not be able to leave in time.

Those down below were primarily a diversionary force and Adele was a fast runner if she abandoned the mobile shell.

The same decision had been made about Shirojiro, Heidi, and the others and Naomasa had been left out of the fight because Jizuri Suzaku had yet to be repaired enough to actually fight. All of them were defending the ship just like her.

But Mitotsudaira thought while deflecting the shell fragments.

Even if she had not been so slow, she likely would not have been allowed down below.

…''After all, I am a knight sent from Hexagone Française.

During their stay here, she had not descended to IZUMO even once.

And this was not new. She had done the same for the eight years since making a promise with her mother.

She compared the current situation to the reason and meaning of that promise.

“…”

Her heart filled with thoughts she could not speak aloud. But…

“…?”

Her lupine hearing picked up a certain noise and her nose picked up a certain scent.

…''The smell of burning god of war oil!?

Mitotsudaira realized the loud roar she heard came from god of war movement and the smell of oil was that of god of war activation.

The four enemy gods of war that had been hit by the initial stakes were recovering.

…''This isn’t good!

She was filled with quite a few thoughts and doubts, but right now she had to defend the Musashi.

And to do that, she shouted out the fact she had just detected.

“Lookout to HQ! Hexagone Française’s god of war unit is recovering!”

But that was not all. The enemy had more than their gods of war now.

Henri and Armand’s musketeer units were circling around the south and north sides of the half-destroyed barricade. Letting them inside the barricade was dangerous. Futayo was currently battling the gods of war there, but the girl had her hands full with them and could not defend against the automatons as well.

The advance unit led by Adele was being slowed by the automatons’ gunfire and…

…''The following automatons are attacking Adele’s unit!?

Mitotsudaira saw the enemy’s movements.

“I have a message from the starboard deck! The advance unit beyond the barricade is in danger! Isaac and his god of war automaton unit are beginning to fire!”

Heidi saw it while running around the deck and reinforcing different areas with money.

Isaac of the Three Musketeers carried automatons on his shoulders and arms while he stood in the central field that stretched from Tama’s starboard side to the west side of IZUMO. However…

“Eh!?”

Isaac transformed.

The long arms providing footing for the automatons split apart and the lower part produced giant guns.

The end of the metal guns had a flower-like musket shape. But…

“Wait! Those things are clearly longer than a ship’s guns!! They’re not as long as the cannons on Tres España’s San Martín, but still.”

The long barrels expanded in stages and they had already reached thirty meters which surpassed his arms or body.

He had one from each arm and the automatons on his shoulders and arms were already loading giant bullets and pouring in cartridges of spell gunpowder that were the size of a human being.

Heidi knew that both the caliber and the barrel length were used to measure the power of a cannon.

“…!?”

The roar of both arms being fired burst through the south end of IZUMO.

The shockwave of the blast blew away everything within two hundred meters of Isaac.

The spreading pressure sent a rippling wave along the land of IZUMO. At the center, Isaac created a barrier with his gravitational control to protect the ''Belle de Marionnettes'' on his arms and shoulders and he braced himself and stabilized himself as the recoil pushed him upwards.

For just an instant, even the dust was cleared from his surroundings and he saw a truly clear space around him.

He could hear nothing and the afternoon sunlight was the only thing nearby.

…''Ah.

In this perfect space with no waste, he felt he alone was impure.

He only had to fulfill his role as a weapon, but that brought so much unnecessary movement, shaking, and trembling.

''I want to become pure function,'' he thought. ''Is that not the ideal for a machine?

He wanted to simply fire and nothing more.

If he continued firing, would he find the answer? Would he grasp some trick he had yet to learn and become a weapon of pure function?

He thought and rotated the external gyros on his right musket to stabilize the barrel.

“Hit confirmation desired.”

His high-speed vision observed his shells flying directly toward the Musashi.

Neshinbara made a single response as Isaac’s attack flew in lower and more powerfully than a ship’s shell. His voice carried over the divine transmission.

“Use the standard method to endure this, Mitotsudaira-kun!!”

“Judge,” replied Mitotsudaira, who had reported on Isaac’s attack, and the engine department’s work gods of war which were positioned behind her.

Mitotsudaira had soundproof torii-shaped emblems next to her ears and two work gods of war grabbed and threw something over her head.

“Musashi’s external armor!”

She sent two silver chains toward the five meter square panel of armor. On every side and behind her, “Musashi” and other automatons provided gravitational assistance while she grabbed the armor with the silver chains.

“There!!”

She swung the armor panel like a racket into the air off the Musashi’s starboard side.

That was the space “Tama”, captain of Tama, had predicted the shells would hit. A floating torii-shaped emblem marked the spot. “Musashi” and the others had opened a dozen or so torii-shaped barriers in front of that spot to slow the shells’ speed.

“…!”

They tore through those barriers like paper, but their speed did drop slightly and Mitotsudaira was able to act.

“Receiiiive!!”

Just before the cut-like strike, she released the armor panel from the silver chains as if placing the panel in the air with its surface pointing upwards.

It finally collided with the two high-speed shells.

“Judge!”

As the shells burst and the sparks and explosion blew through the air, some people were watching it on divine television.

They wore vermilion uniforms and sat at a toshomen stand among a number of stands set up in a plaza. One of them, a man with transparent feet, raised his chopsticks toward the divine television.

“You idiots! You got my bunt backwards! Don’t do it upwards! If you’re gonna copy me, then do it right!”

“Taka, I think you’re getting too worked up. …Oh, wow. The armor panel just hit the surface of the ship pretty hard. Well, I guess they decided that was better than a direct hit.”

“Don’t you two have practice?” asked Segundo from another stand.

Fusae waved a hand his way.

“What’s that, chancellor? Do you want to be alone with Ju that badly?”

“Um, Juana doesn’t know how to handle that kind of comment, Fusae.”

Juana was blushing a bit next to him, but she kept her eyebrows flat and spoke.

“If it is necessary, I do not mind. But…” She turned back to the battlefield displayed on the stand’s divine television. “Chancellor, what do you think of this footage sent by the PR Committee?”

In place of Segundo who simply crossed his arms, Flores Valdés turned toward her with bowl in hand.

“Is that even a question? This shows just how good Musashi is, right? They’re having a firefight with Gran Muñecas, after all.”

“Sister, you are very kind to go along with Lady Juana’s desperate attempt to change the subject. …What is that sidelong look for, Lady Juana? Sister, do not say you only now realized what she was doing. You are only making her glare at me even more.”

“Well, I’m sure Ju can tell just how insufficient Musashi’s strength is in a lot of areas.”

“Really?” asked everyone.

“They seem to be putting a good enough fight to me,” said Flores.

“They are not.” Juana gave a small nod. “Looking at their individual strength, Musashi’s student council and chancellor’s officers are on the same level as any other nation. That was proven well enough in Mikawa, England, and with us during the armada battle. And when looking at the eight ships of the Musashi, their durability, size, and cruising ability make any military conflict meant to silence them a large obstacle indeed.”

But…

“Hexagone Française has used the late timing of their challenge to analyze those previous examples ahead of time. If destroying the Musashi would be too difficult, they simply must avoid including that as a condition for their victory. Also, they can avoid an attack from the Logismoi Óplo by keeping their flagship out of range. And if Musashi’s officers are highly skilled…”

She looked to the screen where Musashi’s vice chancellor was fighting Hexagone Française’s Gran Muñecas.

“Oh,” said someone as Musashi’s vice chancellor defeated one of them.

Musashi had scored a small victory.

However, everyone stared at Juana whose expression was not at all moved by the cheers reaching them via divine transmission.

She then nodded and turned toward Fusae.

“Do you understand, 2nd special duty officer?”

“Hmm, I was thinking about retiring soon, though”

Fusae turned toward them all and crossed her blurry feet on top of her chair.

“For about four minutes, Hexagone Française has been advancing their pieces while assuming they will have to make some sacrifices.”

Namely…

“First, they sent in their Gran Muñeca unit which prevented Musashi from settling this with duels. Look. Just look. It took quite a bit of time for Musashi’s vice chancellor to defeat just the one Gran Muñeca, right? But the pilot wasn’t their vice chancellor, was he?”

“Oh,” said Flores as she realized what Fusae was saying. “Hexagone Française’s vice chancellor hasn’t shown up yet. They’re an unknown newbie.”

“I thought we might get to see them here, but oh well. Anyway, Hexagone Française has managed to hold off Musashi’s vice chancellor for several minutes at the cost of a single Gran Muñeca. Meanwhile, their musketeer unit and main unit are completely untouched. To put it another way,” she said. “As long as Musashi can’t use their eight ships or bring in the rules of duels between representatives, they do not have the spare firepower needed to take on a large nation. I don’t know if proving that with the Gran Muñeca unit was meant as an insult against us, but it does mean they have a skilled tactician. I would guess this is the new vice chancellor they got the other day.”

“That’s right,” agreed Segundo while bringing the edge of his bowl to his mouth. “But Fusae-kun, you look like you have more to say.”

“Testament. I do.” Fusae lowered and relaxed her shoulders. “Musashi had this same insufficient strength when they fought us, didn’t they? England supplied them with weapons and helped them with navigation and manpower and they developed other methods on their own. In other words, they overcame their insufficiencies through negotiation and other artificial means.”

So…

“I kind of hope Hexagone Française meets the same fate we did.”

Adele was still shaken, but she faced and ran forward nonetheless.

After landing, she had fallen and rolled a dozen or so times, but her mobile shell was unharmed. She was fortunate she had not had anything to eat or drink since an early lunch.

She had been shaking around where she was fixed in place inside, but she had been trained to control a fallen or rolling mobile shell in her standard defensive training as a vassal. She still felt a squeezing in her stomach, but she did not vomit.

…''I need to keep going.

One hundred meters ahead, she saw the backs of the others who had started toward the Musashi but found themselves cut off by the barricade and the god of war unit.

''Hurry,'' she told herself. ''I need to hurry and protect the others. That’s what a mobile shell is for.

The musketeer’s swords had told her she could take an attack on the god of war level, so she worked to catch up with the others and…

…''From the left!

The female Musketeer automaton named Henri was circling to the right with her unit.

A bit farther back, Armand’s unit was circling to the left.

If she was to find a gap, the timing would work better on the left.

''Hurry,'' she urged herself while gathering strength in her knees that threatened to give out.

The god of war automaton named Isaac had begun firing behind her. After avoiding the shockwave of those shots, the rear group of enemies began moving in from the left and right of Adele and her unit.

The enemy’s movement was clear.

The gods of war had formed a wall to stop Adele’s advance unit from returning to the Musashi.

Then, Henri and Armand’s musketeer units would charge the Musashi’s bridge from either side and the shockwaves of Isaac’s shellfire would pursue them from behind.

…''It won’t be the automaton musketeer units that deal with us once we can’t return to the Musashi. That will be done with a pincer attack from the pursuing Royal Guards who are primarily made up of students.

Instead of giving the victory to their powerful gods of war or automatons, they were giving themselves a victory in a match between humans. Even if they did not reach the Musashi, that would increase the impression that Hexagone Française had won.

Ever since the gods of war had circled behind the advance unit, it had looked like Futayo was holding them at bay, but the exact opposite was true. Whoever had come up with this strategy had likely given the following instructions: if you do not achieve anything in the initial charge, shift your focus to allowing our human forces to achieve as much as possible.

They had a skilled tactician. So…

“Hurry!”

Adele ran.

She was only one hundred meters from the broken barricade. Without her armored shell and with intact ground, she could have run that distance in no time.

…''If only dad had made this thing move faster!

How strange it was to think that on the battlefield, how much it bothered her, and various other contradictory ideas pursued each other in her heart.

But…

“…”

She could see the others up ahead as they hesitated over whether to circle around or pass through the broken barricade. And they soon noticed her.

“Hey, everyone! Musashi’s flat but hard shield is here!!”

“Oh, is she going to take the hits for us, as strange as that is!?”

“Is that what she’s into? How praiseworthy!”

…''When did I become that kind of character!?

''At any rate, I need to hurry,'' she thought while urging herself ever onward.

Suddenly, another color appeared between her and the others.

It was blue, it was quite large, and Adele gave reflexive shout.

“Stand back! An Hexagone Française’s god of war has recovered!”

As soon as she said that, the god of war began to move.

Only one of the four had managed to recover, but it swung its short sword toward the Musashi warriors.

The giant sword struck quick with wind wrapping around it, but it was stopped in midair.

However, that slash had not been stopped by the single recovered Hexagone Française god of war itself.

Something had struck and stopped its wrist.

The tip of a scabbard jabbed sharply into the wrist joint that was linked by wire cylinders.

The long red scabbard was wielded by a blue god of war encased in Far Eastern armor. It held the hilt of the sword and the exterior of its head was made to resemble a dog.

“I am Satomi Academy Student Council President Satomi Yoshiyasu. If this battle continues, the damage could reach our trade ship, so I have been sent out in Righteousness to provide a warning.”

The blue dog god of war asked a question after naming itself.

“Assume that I will decide how to handle this based on your next actions.”

A single noise gave the sign to oppose Yoshiyasu’s words.

Isaac continued firing his muskets without pausing in the slightest.

The roar urged the battle to continue and so Hexagone Française’s ''Lourd de Marionnette'' pulled back the wrist hit by the scabbard.

“…!”

And it silently and swiftly tried to reverse its wrist for an attack of its own.

“!?”

But it could not reverse its wrist. Its sight devices worked to determine why and they saw a certain fact: the red scabbard was still pressed against its wrist.

…''What?

The scabbard had not grown longer.

The Satomi ''Lourd de Marionnette'' was pressing the scabbard forward with its left hand and pulling the blade toward its own shoulder with its right hand.

The movements of its hands had simply pushed the scabbard away from the hilt.

The action required a perfect prediction of the path and speed of the Hexagone Française ''Lourd de Marionnette''’s wrist. That was why it had not noticed anything wrong when pulling back its wrist and why its wrist was perfectly pinned.

Before the pilot could even guess what was to come, Yoshiyasu spoke.

“A regrettable answer.”

An instant jab stabbed halfway into the right side of its chest.

“Should I say she made it on time? No, that may have been a little late.”

Neshinbara muttered to himself on top of the bridge in front of the academy. Next to him, Kimi was holding her hair in place due to the rough wind caused by Isaac’s shelling.

“Heh heh. You make it look like this was all according to plan, but should you really be using that Satomi girl? Prideful girls can really hold a grudge when they find you were simply using them.”

“Judge. It seems Lady Yoshitsune ordered this and Chancellor Yoshiyori wished for it as well. Satomi’s diplomatic ship arrived at Musashi last night, but it’s still moored on Tama. Sending them out due to side effects of the shelling and other attacks is really just an excuse, but in diplomacy, you can get by as long as you have some kind of reason. …Vice President Honda-kun just had to send a suggestion.”

“Heh heh. I was more worried about whether you would follow-through with that flat Satomi girl.”

“What?” Neshinbara tilted his head. “Why me?”

“Heh. You fool. Flat long-lived are your jurisdiction, aren’t they?”

“Wh-what do you mean ‘Heh. You fool.’? That’s no way to talk about someone’s life! And don’t make things up!”

'''Asama:''' “Um, Neshinbara-kun. Just ignore her. With her, you lose if you even acknowledge her. She’s a crazy person, after all. A-and, Toori-kun’s been that way a lot lately too.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh. What is Musashi’s giant breasts gunner talking about? And would that be Giant Bregun for short? Is that some kind of giant monster? Add in the shrine maiden part and it’s Giant Bregun Shriden. Is that a giant robot?”

'''Asama:''' “Nh! I-ignore her! I’m ignoring you!”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “This is hopeless.”

Meanwhile, the sounds on the battlefield changed.

Compared to before, the sounds of clashing and splitting metal grew much clearer.

This was the din of battling gods of war and Neshinbara muttered to himself as he listened to it.

“It is currently 3:07. That leaves eight minutes. The situation still has plenty of time to develop.

That was when he heard voices on both sides down below.

After circling to the south and north, Henri and Armand of the automaton Three Musketeers were beginning to charge the bridge leading to central Tama.

''They’re here,'' thought Neshinbara with raised eyebrows.

He opened a few sign frame and spoke.

“Intercept them, everyone!”

Henri’s detour took her right alongside IZUMO’s southern forest.

Currently, three of Hexagone Française’s ''Lourd de Marionnettes'' had been completely taken out of the fight. Two had been defeated by Honda Futayo and the other by Satomi Yoshiyasu who had joined the battle.

…''I have determined that Satomi student council president has been well-trained.

After all, she had stabbed her upward-pointed blade into the right side of the ''Lourd de Marionnette''’s chest.

The fixed idea that blades were swung downward caused a lot of people to stab down at their enemy.

However, she had instead pierced upwards.

…''She cut through it while swinging upwards as if to split the collarbone.

Henri thought that had been an excellent decision.

One could easily remove a sword from a human by lightly twisting it back and forth to loosen the flesh, but a ''Lourd de Marionnette'' was made of metal. Twisting a thin Far Eastern blade would chip or even break it.

And so she had used an upwards swing.

A cut to the side required a difficult diagonal angle and required a greater length to the cut, but a cut out through the top required a much shorter length and a straight-up slash would be perfectly stable.

This was the method of someone who understood how to fight.

“She is this skilled and yet a part of the student council rather than the chancellor’s officers. I would like to face her, but…”

The blue canine ''Lourd de Marionnette'' had already circled to the Musashi side of the barricade and started to fight.

With a total of five Hexagone Française ''Lourd de Marionnettes'' in the fight now that the recovered ones had returned, the blue dog and Futayo split them up and swapped out opponents as they fought.

Satomi’s student council president and Futayo seemed to be fighting a purely defensive battle, but that was not accurate. They were blocking the ''Lourd de Marionnettes''’ attacks to draw their aim.

They were acting as bait to open a path for the Musashi warriors to return.

And that had to be stopped.

“Everyone, full speed!!”

With that shout, they fully rounded the corner of their detour and began to run.

They continued on around to collide with their prey.

But that was not what happened.

“…?”

Henri detected a sudden sound with her auditory devices. It was a movement from the front of the Musashi.

Musashi had set up another bridge behind her unit and a group was making their way down it.

…''Musashi’s second formation!?

There were approximately three hundred of them.

“Are they going to attack us from behind!?”

Tenzou and Mary stood at the front of the ranks. The two of them and Urquiaga had helped with the preparations and Mary now faced the others from the center.

She held Ex. Collbrande in its combined form and turned to the right.

“Now, everyone, as Master Neshinbara ordered, we will now attack the Hexagone Française musketeer unit led by Lady Henri. …It is a pleasure to work with all of you.”

She gave a quick bow and everyone frantically straightened their backs and lowered their heads.

But Mary gave a troubled smile.

“Um, I am not actually the commander. You should be showing your respect to Commander Tenzou, not to me.”

“Judge,” they all replied with a smile.

The instant their gazes moved from Mary to Tenzou, their smiles vanished and they relaxed their poses.

“So whaddya want?”

“Y-you all sure got casual in a hurry!”

''Anyway,'' thought Tenzou. ''Everyone here is a student originally from England.

And that was England itself, not Scotland or Ireland.

He had actually been a little hesitant to send her out in front of them after she had opposed Elizabeth, but thanks to seeing what kind of person Mary was in England and seeing Elizabeth’s acceptance of her, they seemed not to have a problem with her.

In fact, they seemed to sympathize with Mary for trying to preserve the old England.

…''That just shows what kind of person she is.

''I need to do my best here,'' he thought before speaking to all of them.

“Anyway, everyone. I believe this will be the first actual battle against other people for some of you but I believe you can put in a great effort here if you remember that you are protecting the Musashi.”

“Judge,” they said with a small nod.

Mary then turned to him.

“Let’s do our best, Master Tenzou.”

“Judge,” he said with a nod of his own and turned his thoughts toward her. “I’m sorry, Mary-dono. It may have only been on paper, but you were once a resident of Hexagone Française, weren’t you?”

“Do not worry.” She lowered her eyebrows in a smile. “I am now a resident of Musashi. Isn’t that enough, Master Tenzou?”

“O-of course it is!”

Everyone in their ranks began to whisper.

“This is my first battle, but I’m already feeling a desire to kill someone.”

“Yeah, what kind of guy brings up the girl’s past like that? I can really feel the desire to kill welling up inside.”

“Why does he have to be an English royal? …Ahh, it’s welling up inside me! The desire to kill is growing!”

…''Can I put a positive spin on this by saying I’m stirring up their desire to fight?

But Mary smiled and bowed toward them all.

“I have some snacks prepared for when this is over, so make sure you take some back with you, okay?”

“Judge!!”

They all frantically nodded and Mary nodded toward Tenzou before turning her back on them all. She raised Ex. Collbrande in her left hand and held Tenzou’s hand in her right.

He squeezed her hand and a faint strength squeezed back.

“Now, this is for the Justitia and pride of England and so that those virtues may be embraced and live on here in Musashi. The sword is a linchpin and the ship is freedom. Those aboard wield two powers, but they are no almighty saints.”

So…

“Bless those desperate to live, Ex. Collbrande.”

She nodded and let go of the sword.

While floating, it quickly rotated and stood straight up in front of her.

She grabbed its hilt once more, placed her hand against her forehead, and inhaled.

“Everyone, charge!!”

Asama sighed at the overlapping war cries coming from Takao.

She wore her shrine maiden outfit and held her bow, but she did not prepare an arrow.

She was using it for spatial tuning.

Instead of an arrow, several charms were wrapped around the string and she would pluck the string to send vibrations through them.

“We need to tune the ship’s ether pathways and distribute the force of the shells across different parts of the ship! But the vibration will get really bad in anything related to the water pipes, so please tell me if they’re headed in that direction. I can work to avoid that!”

She was speaking to people holding arrows or wearing shrine maiden outfits who were positioned at set intervals along the outer edge of the ship. They all nodded and began plucking their tuning bows.

The most powerful of the attacks on the Musashi would be dealt with by the gravity barriers or armor rackets wielded by the powerful students like Mitotsudaira. However, they could not handle most of the smaller shells falling in parabolic arcs or the damage from fragments of shells.

And so the smaller shells were being intentionally ignored by the gravity barriers.

“Music!!”

She plucked her bow to tune accordingly. The tuning distributed the impact to the armor.

The damage was still there, but it spread through the ship along the ether fuel pipes to lighten the impact and lessen the damage to light scrapes.

…''It’s like distributing a terrible injury into light scratches across your entire body.

A bad enough injury would never fully heal and leave a bad scar, but scratches almost always healed on their own and left no scarring.

She was not sure if they could reduce the damage that far, but it was worth doing.

…''Of course, if the attacks continue long enough, the entire ship will be destroyed.

Neshinbara had made this decision because it was a small-scale battle.

'''Novice:''' “A Tsirhc version of this has already been adopted using their authority to ‘distribute’, but with something as large as the Musashi, managing the distribution is difficult and it would be dangerous without someone at Asama-kun’s level in charge. If the distribution shifted too heavily toward the engine division or somewhere similar, it would all be over.”

That meant her actions here had real meaning and the people helping her would feel the same about their own actions.

All of those lined up and plucking their bowstrings had Shinto-related or music-related part-time jobs. Some were from different nations, but they all held their bows or analogous instruments.

“I see. Then feel the musical power of the Crossdressing Shrine Maiden Army ‘Yamato Takeru’!!”

“No, this is a job for the screaming gagaku punk of the Orthodox Doujin Shrine Maiden Band ‘White Cover’<ref>Pronounced the same as a type of gagaku singing.</ref>!!”

“Wait! It’s time for the Platonic Idealism Band ‘IDE-ON!’ to cross national borders!!”

…''Our Shinto groups have reached unprecedented levels of chaos over the past few months.

With that earnest thought, Asama felt working to protect the ship like this was perfect for a Shinto worker who cleansed impurities. ''And the shrine’s protective charms have been selling like crazy lately!'' she thought while triumphantly clenching her fist in her heart.

Suddenly, a sign frame appeared.

'''Wise Sister:''' “Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I saw Asama not shooting anything.”

'''Me:''' “You’re right, sis. It’s been so long since I saw her not shoot something that this is worrying me.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “That’s right, foolish brother. It is worrying. After all, she claimed shooting things to purify them was a way of fighting off bad luck, but she was actually shooting everything for the bad luck itself. …In other words, she’s a bad luck junkie!”

…''Kh! I can’t type a response when using both hands to pluck my bow! Shinto has failed me!

''No, this is fine,'' she pouted in her heart. ''No matter what they say, I don’t shoot anything while on the job. I need to stick to jobs like this and live a peaceful life from now on.

…''Yes, it isn’t a shrine maiden’s job to shoot anything. For example…

'''Me:''' “Shrine maidens sure have it tough. Not only is shooting things part of their job, but they have to deal with all the tentacles too. I’ve been studying with porn games lately, so I know all about what shrine maiden’s do on the job!”

“No! That’s just in porn games! I promise!!”

She accidentally shouted her response out loud and messed up the distribution enough for water to rocket into the air from a fountain in Tama’s nature district.

She frantically made a correction and slowed her breathing.

…''C-c-c-c-calm down.

''We’re under attack and it’s my job to protect us. You could call this a shrine maiden defense, so…

At that point, she heard Naomasa’s voice from the right.

“Nwah! Mito! I messed up my control!!”

“Eh?”

Asama turned to the right. Jizuri Suzaku had passed Mitotsudaira an armor panel, but the powerful wind of the shelling blew it off course.

The silver chains frantically caught it, but it would not arrive in time for Isaac’s next bullet.

''Not good,'' thought Asama just as Mitotsudaira and Naomasa turned toward her.

“Hurry!”

“W-with what!? Why do you sound like you’re expecting me to do something without telling me what it is!? C’mon, Hanami, you tell them too!”

But when she looked over, Hanami was averting her gaze and setting up the usual shooting spell.

“See, Asama-chi!? Hurry up and intercept it just like your own Mouse predicted!”

…''Um, y’know…

''Well, whatever,'' she thought. ''I don’t really want to shoot. That’s right. I’m only doing it because they told me to. And if this hits, it will do a lot of damage. I’m the only one that can do anything right now, so it isn’t like I want to or anything. Nope, not at all. I’ll just set up a fixed pathway for the dispersion and…oh, dear. It looks like I really have no choice. To say it like Masazumi, this is truly regrettable. Oh, it really can’t be helped. Not at all. Heh heh heh.

“Hit!!”

After a great roar and burst of light from the outer edge, Neshinbara muttered to himself.

“I’m glad to see Asama-kun is in top form today.”

“Heh heh heh. That junkie shrine maiden just fired a counter to the enemy’s high speed shell. Just how fast can she fire?”

'''Me:''' “She’s got to have researched how to strengthen her spell.”

“Probably,” said Neshinbara just before he heard voices from the southern end of IZUMO.

But these were not the voices of Tenzou’s unit as they pursued Henri’s musketeer unit. These voices came from the woods even further south.

“So they are here! This is the non-human unit of Hexagone Française’s regular army!”

Two hundred people burst from the woods like the wind and most of them were beastmen. They had their muskets on their backs, but they raced across the grassy plain while holding their specialized weapons or no weapons at all.

The beastmen were headed toward Tenzou’s second formation that pursued Henri’s unit. They were going to attack them from behind.

Neshinbara’s eyebrows rose when he saw their speed.

“Wow, they really are faster than humans! And it’s amazing they can keep that many people so organized!”

“Heh heh heh. War nerd, is it just me or is this making you happy!?”

“I-I am not happy about this! O-oh no. E-everyone is in so much trouble!! Th-they’re like living material for my novels!!”

“This guy’s hopeless,” muttered the others as Neshinbara finally gave an order.

“Second formation, split apart!”

The second formation obeyed Neshinbara’s order while the beastman unit pursued them.

Simply put, they split apart.

The back half suddenly applied the brakes. The split occurred just as they were taking the corner to pursue Henri’s musketeer unit.

Everyone in the back of the unit was non-human. They were primarily beastmen who were skilled at hand-to-hand fighting. They waved toward those continuing on who were either shadows or winged races.

“Take care of Lady Mary!! And keep an eye on that ninja so he doesn’t try anything funny and can’t get too close!”

“Judge!” replied those continuing on. “Make sure you hurry back! And don’t get too badly hurt!”

“Blades and bullets aren’t gonna kill us!!”

Those staying behind turned to the enemy charging from the southern woods.

“Honestly, I wish our secretary’s prediction hadn’t been so accurate.”

“Judge. It’s non-human vs. non-human. We don’t have any weapons that will work on us, so it comes down to our physical bodies. In other words, we’re acting as a wall here.”

“Well, that’s fine.”

They all took low stances and a half-tiger beastman bared his fangs.

“We’re the up-and-coming group that sank into the darkness of England, the land of monsters and spirits. They’re the group that claims to be the originals while working with the humans. Even after a hundred years of fighting, we couldn’t settle which side was stronger. If it’ll let us continue that fight, our stupid chancellor’s idea might not be all that bad. …Let’s see who’s the strongest.”

Meanwhile, the enemy roared. The Hexagone Française beastmen and giants charged forward in lowered stances of their own and they let out a shout.

“Enough talk! You have forgotten what it is to eat humans and you have lived in idle sloth! You have no right to speak of us as equals!”

“Is that so?” replied a girl with sheep’s horns on the Musashi side. She tied the sash on her armored uniform before continuing. “Listen. We’re a good judge of the people we see. After all…”

A moment later, the dozen or so people at the front of the charging Hexagone Française unit were knocked over and blown away.

“We happen to know some humans who people call demons.”

Some new figures appeared in front of Musashi’s non-human unit while wrapped in wind.

The four people wore modified Far Eastern uniforms.

The Hexagone Française unit stopped their charge and commented on the academy emblem on their chests.

“The six coins! Are you the Sanada Ten Braves!?”

“Indeed we are,” said the man standing at the head of the four.

He wore a long cloak and was of medium build. His narrow eyes were bent in a smile and he bowed his head toward his enemy while stroking the cloth bags attached to his uniform in places.

In that instant, a sudden change came over the front row of the non-human unit.

“…!?”

Blood sprayed from their necks and they flew backwards.

“What!?”

The large beastmen prepared for a fight, but the young man with the cloth bags only slowly raised his lowered head.

And he opened his smiling mouth.

“Now then,” he said. “It is time for us outsiders to join in.”

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 21|Chapter 21]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 23|Chapter 23]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 15

2016-04-02T19:04:39Z

68.109.55.47:

==Chapter 15: One who Invites the World==
[[Image:Horizon3A_0349.jpg|thumb]]
''What should one do

''To get someone

''To turn toward them?

'''Point Allocation (Lesson)

Satomi Yoshiyasu had passed out drunk, but she sensed warmth within herself while the meeting at the restaurant continued.

She was long-lived and they grew quickly while young to ensure their survival, even if the growth was still not as quick as the half-lived or humans. However, that did not mean their bodies matured quickly. It was an unstable thing that prioritized their visual form.

The alcohol had confused her body and she simply felt vaguely warm.

''I’m so immature,'' she thought to herself.

…''That’s why I wasn’t able to draw Murasamemaru after sister died.

Murasamemaru had not wanted her to use it. But for some reason, the one who had killed her sister had managed to draw that sword associated with the eight virtues and Yatsufusa had also obeyed him.

…''Why?

She did not understand any of it.

When she had finished her training and exams, her sister had been the student council president and that sister had given her Righteousness, the god of war that had belonged to the previous vice president. It was one of the Eight Dog gods of war that were positioned below Yatsufusa.

Her sister’s god of war had originally been Honesty and…

…''That guy had Loyalty, but…

Loyalty referred specifically to one’s loyalty to their ruler.

…''So why did he murder his ruler after she returned victorious from Yatsufusa’s first battle and why did he take over her name and Satomi?

She had thought she had come to an understanding about all that, but she decided it was the heat within her that was causing it to come bubbling up once more.

But why was she sleeping here with such a sweltering core?

Had she caught a cold? It was shameful, but her sister had always been by her side when she had caught colds in the past.

“…”

She opened her eyes a little and bright light met them.

However, she could see something blocking out the lights. It was the top half of a human body looking down at her.

Her head was resting in someone’s lap.

And the great shadow produced by that person’s chest showed just how voluminous that chest was. However, the volume of this shadow was not that of her sister’s in her memories.

“Oh, have you woken? You were muttering the word ‘sister’ over and over.”

“Nwaaaah! Houjou Ujinao!?”

Yoshiyasu frantically sat up, but she stopped when her forehead hit the bottom of Ujinao’s breasts.

“Nn!”

“Just to be clear, this automaton body is an underestimated simulation of what my original body would have looked like if it had developed normally. After all, an overestimation would have destroyed me.”

…''Why does she piss me off so much!?

She pulled herself toward her waist and sat up. She found herself on two benches lined up next to each other in a corner of the restaurant. She also noticed the others having a meeting at a table in the back.

…''He’s there.

Satomi Yoshiyori noticed her and raised a hand.

“Yoshiyasu, you should thank Lady Ujinao. She gave you a charm to counteract the alcohol.”

“No need to thank me. Everyone is powerless and cute while asleep.”

Yoshiyasu felt her face grow warm and a teacup was carried to her from the kitchen.

“Here, this should warm you up. It has a little alcohol in it, but that should make it easier. Drink it all and be refreshed.”

“Testament. Thank you very much.”

Yoshiyasu looked at who was handing her the teacup. It was a naked boy.

It took a while before her scream died down.

“I will admit that is about how most people would react if they aren’t used to him.”

Masazumi gave that comment while breaking a wheat cracker between her lips at the back table.

“To be honest, you got used to him a lot faster than the rest of us,” replied Naruze while glaring at her.

“Please don’t say that.”

While watching the naked boy enter the kitchen and begin cooking, Masazumi looked at the sign frame on the surface of the table. It was a Far Eastern one opened by the Satou Brothers and it currently displayed a map centered on Kantou.

Until a moment ago, she had been asking the various representatives about their forces.

“I see. So the Satomi clan’s academy is on the Bousou Peninsula which represents the Far Eastern nation of Awa and the nation of Joseon Dynasty Korea, but that has now become a land of war.”

“Testament.” Yoshiyori crossed his arms and nodded from across the table. “The Bousou Peninsula is a portion of Kantou. Because Edo is still only weakly established as Matsudaira land, this land is being invaded by Houjou, Takeda, Sviet Rus, and smaller nations such as Yuuki. Satomi was originally founded by long-lived of the Minamoto clan that scattered upon the destruction of the Kamakura Shogunate. Most of them went to Oushuu, but the forefathers of Satomi settled in Awa because they liked the fishing there. Or to put it another way, Awa is a good land, so people have long been fighting over it.”

Those actions doubled as the foundation of Joseon Dynasty Korea and the fighting between Korean dynasties before that.

“Yes,” said Naruze while tapping the bottom of her pen against her head. “The Korean Peninsula is pretty amazing too. At first, many different kingdoms were founded and the Far East even ruled a portion of it. Of those, Silla, Goguryeo, and Baekje, which had close ties with the Far East, brought about the Three Kingdoms period. Those three kingdoms fought fiercely, but Silla destroyed Baekje with support from Tang. However, Silla also broke apart and the kingdom of Goryea that rose from within it came to rule the peninsula.”

“You should add another ‘but’.”

Naruze nodded in agreement with Yoshiyori.

“Judge. That’s right. After all, when Yuan was destroyed and Ming came into power, the confusion spread to Goryea and a coup d’etat led to the Joseon Dynasty. And…”

She took a breath and gave an upturned look around the table.

“You all understand why I’m talking about this, don’t you?”

Masazumi said “judge” and the rest said “testament”.

“Hashiba’s expedition to Korea,” she said with crossed arms.

“Exactly,” agreed Yoshiyori with a nod. “Hashiba has three chances to come to Kantou. One is the attack on Odawara to destroy the Houjou clan. The other two are the two expeditions to Korea in an attempt to control our nation of Awa. Those two campaigns are of course meant to regain the control of Korea that they had long ago, but from our perspective…”

“Yes,” said Masazumi as she pointed at the Bousou Peninsula. “Not even Kantou is safe from P.A. Oda.”

Masazumi moved her finger from the Bousou Peninsula on the map and tapped Kantou instead.

“Hashiba can find some reason to send troops into Korea twice. And if they justify their actions with the history recreation, the Testament Union can’t stop them. The eastern nations, the Kantou forces, and Matsudaira aka Musashi, which will eventually make its headquarters in Edo, will certainly be threatened by Hashiba twice. That’s what this means.”

Of course, she did not think that would happen right away. Hashiba was currently preparing to attack Mouri and the remaining forces of M.H.R.R. were deployed around IZUMO. More importantly, the expeditions to Korea occurred after Nobunaga’s death and once Hashiba had conquered the Far East.

…''But they will definitely happen eventually.

“That is why Satomi and Houjou asked us to grow stronger, isn’t it?”

Ujinao replied with a gentle nod.

“Houjou will eventually be destroyed by Hashiba, but the attack on Odawara means Hashiba’s forces will arrive very close to Edo. If Musashi opposes P.A. Oda, we predict they will carry out one expedition to Korea simultaneous with the attack on Odawara. That way, they can perform a pincer attack on Edo,” she explained. “There is also Sekigahara and the campaign to Osaka, but we think Odawara will likely be the true direct confrontation between Hashiba and Matsudaira.”

“I would like to say judge, but that would end up being Musashi against the various nations under Hashiba’s control.”

She swallowed a sigh and a comment about how hopeless that sounded.

This was not the time or the place to be saying that. After all…

“Satomi Yoshiyori, is this the pressure that has been with you all this time? Do you see yourself having to lead Satomi’s academy against Hashiba, P.A. Oda, and the various other nations?”

“Well…”

He started speaking with bitterness in his tone, but Yoshiyasu turned toward him from the other table where she ate toshomen to wake herself up.

“It was to handle that sort of situation that my sister first created the Eight Dog gods of war, and then created Yatsufusa and Murasamemaru. That way we could stand up to them even as a single nation and a single academy.”

Masazumi heard the girl place down her bowl and shake a bottle of pepper.

“And in her first battle using it, my sister proved the effectiveness of Yatsufusa. She shot down three of Ujinao’s aerial ships and returned. But then…”

She trailed off there. After a moment, she swallowed her words and her shoulders started trembling, but someone from the kitchen held out a plate for her.

“This one’s on me. It’s seaweed meant as a ramen topping.”

“Hold up, you idiot,” called out Masazumi with a frown. “You didn’t put that seaweed anywhere…unpleasant, did you?”

“What!?”

The idiot pulled a textbook from the cupboard, threw it to the floor, and pointed at her.

“What kind of terrible person assumes the worst of people like that!? Sure, I did do it! And yes, I was going to grab it away before she ate it if you hadn’t said anything! But why do you have to assume the worst of me!? That hurts, you know!?”

“I don’t feel like dealing with you, so hold your hands out and go to the police box.”

Jonson and Walsingham hooked their arms under his and dragged him outside. Left behind, Yoshiyasu had already lifted the seaweed with her chopsticks, so she lowered it with disgust and reached for a new set of chopsticks.

“Yatsufusa is a symbol of Satomi’s spirit to defiance.”

Masazumi thought to herself while listening to the girl who spoke without looking at her.

…''Really?

She turned to Yoshiyori and saw him nod with a bitter smile.

“More or less.”

It seemed to be a complicated issue, so she simply nodded and said “judge”.

She then turned to someone else.

“Lady Yoshitsune, I would like to speak with you.”

…''I want to make an ally of this being named Yoshitsune.

Masazumi slowly thought.

Dealing with this ruler was tricky, so she needed to find some bait to draw her in.

“Lady Yoshitsune, I would like to hear your opinion on a certain matter.”

“Oh?”

Yoshitsune looked up from the adzuki parfait she was eating and she turned to Masazumi while letting #7 Unno wipe her mouth with a handkerchief.

“Okay then. Why should I give you my opinion and what matter do you refer to?”

“Judge. Your Qing-Takeda and Kakura Academy will be the first to clash with P.A. Oda and you will also be the first to be involved with Musashi due to the Battle of Mikatagahara. Now, you have said the trends of short-lived people like us are of no consequence. You said who lives and who dies and the trends of nations are meaningless. However…”

However…

“Lady Yoshitsune, taking all that into account, I would like to ask you about a certain matter.”

She wanted to make an ally of Yoshitsune with her next words.

She would draw in this person who had lived more than four centuries and had the ability to bring empires into being.

And they had the bait needed for that.

…''Yes, I can do this.

The idiot had given a hint earlier.

…''Even a frigid long-lived with vast amounts of experience has difficulty making new decisions about things that would normally never happen.

Musashi was dealing with one such thing.

“The Apocalypse.”

Masazumi made up her mind and decided to go in for the attack.

She had to avoid building a meaningless barrier between the two of them. So…

…''I need to greedily ask for what I want to know.

With that thought, she said what was on her mind.

“Ending the Apocalypse has become a clear issue for the world since Mikawa.”

Needless to say, the Apocalypse was an otherworldly phenomenon that was completely removed from the categories of politics, economics, or human lives.

…''But working toward a solution to that problem has to be a first even for Lady Yoshitsune.

Masazumi placed a hand on the sign frame map and slid it. She displayed Mikawa and the giant bay that had already formed there.

The displayed information seemed to be based on an investigation made by Qing-Takeda’s Oat religion which was closely related to the ley lines. As such, the yellow lines indicating the flow of the ley lines were more heavily represented moving north from Mikawa.

Masazumi placed her hand on that map.

“In Mikawa, Lord Motonobu said, ‘aren’t crises fun?’ …Now, Lady Yoshitsune. The idea that the world is coming to an end has existed in the Far East before, but what we are facing now is not a mere idea. It is the truth. And Lord Motonobu also said the destruction of the world is the ultimate entertainment for every student in the world.”

In that case…

“Lady Yoshitsune, you are a chancellor and student council president, so you are one of the students on that stage. For that reason, I ask you this,” said Masazumi. “Was Lord Motonobu’s ‘lesson’ in Mikawa enough to make you a student of this world?”

“Are you saying a man of only about fifty was looking down on me as a student?”

“Well, in that case,” she said. “Do you happen to know a way of stopping the Apocalypse?”

Masazumi saw Yoshitsune’s expression change at that straightforward question.

The corners of her mouth rose diagonally.

They lifted as if splitting her face open and she took in a quick “heh” of breath.

“You Musashi children don’t know fear, do you?”

“I believe I understand how to show respect and how to speak the truth.”

She tried to remain calm enough to say that and so she spoke further.

“A certain student thinks she stands above the teacher without actually surpassing that teacher, so I am simply nudging her in the side.”

“Well said,” replied Yoshitsune. “But you know what? If the Apocalypse truly does occur, my kingdom and my lifespan will indeed reach their end. That’s certainly inexcusable. When I die, it’ll be on the tatami mats, not at someone else’s hand. But you know what?” she repeated. “Listen. If I want to discuss the Apocalypse, I could just as well meet with P.A. Oda instead of you. They’ve begun something called the Genesis Project and I’ve heard that Genesis Project was brought to P.A. Oda by Mikawa.”

Masazumi realized what Yoshitsune was doing.

…''So she is interested in the Apocalypse.

If she were not interested, she would not have brought up the relationship between Mikawa and P.A. Oda or the Genesis Project.

…''That means she’s comparing us to P.A. Oda right now.

No.

…''She came all this way for that singular purpose.

''What a complicated person,'' Masazumi realized anew.

She knew she had to give the reason why Yoshitsune had come to this meeting to compare P.A. Oda and Musashi.

But she also wanted to be careful.

After all, this person did not hold her true thoughts within.

It was not that she was hiding those true thoughts. She had lived for so very long that she had lost all reason to carry anything inside and she simply followed the natural flow of events.

When one hid thoughts inside, they had to act on them to carry out those hidden thoughts. That was why Yoshitsune’s style was to act on any thoughts as soon as she had them.

…''So I need to give the reason why she came here and therefore create a mutual understanding.

That was how not to be swallowed up by Yoshitsune’s “nation”.

“Lady Yoshitsune,” said Masazumi while thinking.

…''Why did she come here?

Had the Satou Brother’s suggested it? No, the previous discussion suggested they had no real direction in what they wanted. They had simply followed Masazumi’s lead.

In that case, it could be sympathy for Satomi and Houjou, but that kind of emotion was present in people but not in “nations”.

Another possibility was in reaction to a possible invasion by P.A. Oda, but Yoshitsune did not care about human life.

…''In that case…

After recalling what Yoshitsune had done since arriving, Masazumi realized a certain fact.

…''Oh, so that’s it.

“Are you listening?” she began.

She had the perfect words to draw Yoshitsune in.

“Lady Yoshitsune,” she said. “Siding with Musashi would be more fun.”

Masazumi spread her arms as if scattering bait and she traced those hands over the map of the Far East on the table.

“Listen. At Mikawa, Lord Motonobu asked a certain question: ‘What type are you? Are you a critic who only enjoys mocking the world or are you the type who enjoys the world? Or…are you the type who will head off to construct the world?’ ”

She almost felt like that question was specifically directed at Yoshitsune.

Then again, it could likely fit any of the “students” in the Far East. After all…

“You claim that nothing will bring out your emotions, but there is one thing that must interest even you.”

“And what is that?”

“The Logismoi Óplo.”

The reason for that was simple.

“Lord Motonobu presented those as the most obvious example of the teaching materials he left for ending the Apocalypse. And he created the Logismoi Óplo by turning a girl’s emotions into those teaching materials. That means Horizon Ariadust, the one who will save the world by ending the Apocalypse, is starting out with even fewer emotions than you.”

Masazumi was very glad they had visited England before this.

“In England, Horizon Ariadust gained an interest in her emotions and she decided to seek a solution to the Apocalypse to prevent everything from being lost. And for that reason, she will take back her emotions.”

She took a breath and wondered if she was saying too much.

“She has accepted that she lost everything, so she is the opposite of you who has given up everything.”

“And so I must want to see where Musashi ends up?”

“That is not for us to say. It is your problem. But one thing is clear.”

Masazumi zoomed out the sign frame map until the entirety of the Far East was displayed and she tapped on that landmass.

“Once we overcome the Apocalypse and create a kingdom that seeks out and creates emotion, it will stand parallel to your emotionless kingdom. I can’t say whether that kingdom will last a hundred, fifty, or even ten years, but even if it is a short time as far as you are concerned, the entire world that is the Far East will be based in emotion and it will completely reject your emotionless kingdom.”

She recalled the end of the confrontation on the bridge in front the academy when they were in Mikawa. Despite having won, the idiot had continued on all on his own. And what was it he had said then?

…''He said it was enough to know there was a way to save Horizon.

This was the same.

“I guarantee that your ‘kingdom’ can take a form other than a state of emotionlessness. You are surrounded by more than just a cruel cycle of loss. There are other ways for you to live, but you are choosing to live this way. …We will prove that to be the case.”

They had no clue how to gain the power they needed as a nation or how to retrieve all the Logismoi Óplo, but their greatest objective was clear.

“We ''will'' end the Apocalypse and conquer this world.”

That statement caused Yoshitsune to pause briefly.

After the span of a few breaths, she finally spoke with a sigh.

“Wait just a moment.”

She stirred up her adzuki parfait, drank the rest, placed down the container, sighed again, and had #7 wipe her mouth.

“Satou Brothers! Yes, yes. Both of you can do this one. I can’t tell you apart, so don’t bother trying to show off. Where’s your answer?”

“T-testament!”

“Good. If you can hear me, then return to the ship and prepare for our trip home! We’re returning to Qing-Takeda tomorrow morning.”

“But…”

“There’s no reason to stay here any longer.”

She waved her hand as she spoke.

“The negotiations are complete.”

The negotiations were complete.

That announcement from Yoshitsune caused Naruze to frown.

Masazumi, however, raised a finger toward her to tell her to wait.

This was no time to panic. After all…

…''Yoshitsune only acts when she has reason to.

That meant something had been set in motion within her.

She then spoke up as if replying to Masazumi’s thought.

“Hey.”

She turned toward her with a direct and almost glaring look in her eyes.

“Listen. You said all you idiots would act on your own to show me some new kind of ‘kingdom’ even if I didn’t do anything. That’s what you said.”

The long-lived woman spat out a laugh.

“So you’re going to show me a parallel version of myself, are you? That’s certainly interesting. The Apocalypse is supposed to happen this year, but to me, waiting a little longer for this is no different from a few more seconds. And if waiting that little bit more can expand the possibilities of my kingdom, I’m not a fool who would give up learning something new and I’m not a coward who would cover her eyes when someone shows it to me. So, Masazumi.”

“Yes?”

“Well.” Yoshitsune kicked the Satou Brothers’ legs below the table. “Let’s deal with the battle of Mikatagahara once you enter Qing-Takeda territory. That way, the Testament Union can’t interfere. And while we’re at it, it might be fun to interpretively use the duels of that battle as the qualifying rounds for this year’s Olympics being held in Hexagone Française.”

“I thank you.”

“No need. …That word means nothing to me.”

After a quiet laugh, Yoshitsune crossed her legs on top of the table.

“We’ve decided our overall plan. Kantou will accept Musashi, but only once Musashi grows more powerful,” she said. “But the biggest problem is how you will escape the current situation. You can see this, can’t you?”

Yoshitsune indicated the sign frame the Satou Brothers had opened.

Masazumi could indeed see the information written on their sign frame and Tsukinowa quickly opened a sign frame with the same information.

“Maa.”

The information she and Naruze looked at included a statement from Heidi.

'''Marube-ya:''' “We’ve got a bit of an emergency here! Neshinbara isn’t any use because he’s too busy taking pictures, so I accepted the information instead. At any rate, we’ve received a notification from the Testament Union.”

It said…

“Hexagone Française is going to attack the Musashi at 3:00 PM tomorrow!”

Heidi had sent Masazumi a notification that the Testament Union had sent Musashi.

It said the following:

“Beginning tomorrow at three o’clock in the afternoon, as long as the Musashi remains in Hexagone Française airspace or on their borders, it will be attacked to eliminate any possible interference with in the history recreation.”

It also included M.H.R.R.’s approval of the contents.

Three o’clock was the shortest guess Heidi had made for when the materials and fuel would be fully loaded on the Musashi. And Neshinbara had made the following prediction:

“I think Hexagone Française will at least give Musashi a chance.”

That left them with a single conclusion.

“So what are we going to do?”

Even if they fled here and made their way to Kantou, the hostile situation with Hexagone Française and the Testament Union would remain. That meant fighting was their only option, but how could they fight? And more importantly…

“What route will the Musashi take to reach Kantou?”

That would be the next central topic of discussion at the restaurant.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 14|Chapter 14]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 16|Chapter 16]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 12

2016-04-02T19:03:27Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 12: Owner of a Large Place */

==Chapter 12: Owner of a Large Place==

[[Image:Horizon3A_0277.jpg|thumb]]
''Is bigger

''Always better?

'''Point Allocation (Good Question)

“I know the answer!” shouted Adele while staring at Asama’s breasts. She moved her hands about as she tried to explain. “U-um, Qing-Takeda…doesn’t have to go through the give-and-take process with us!”

Asama tilted her head.

“Well, yes, but then why are they giving us this deal?”

''Oh, no. I messed up my explanation,'' thought Adele as she frantically shook her head.

“That isn’t what I meant! The foundation of their thought process is different! This is the leeway of those with plenty!”

Adele made a gesture to indicate large breasts.

“In other words…!”

“U-um, what was that just now?”

“Just ignore it! Please ignore it. …Anyway, Qing-Takeda doesn’t care how much they give us. After all, they are a powerful nation with enough wealth to give up some of it. From their perspective, this isn’t an issue of asking why they should go through with the give-and-take despite not having to. They have so much that they have no real reason not to give us whatever we want.”

Adele stared at Asama’s breasts as she spoke.

“That is the breast way to explain this!”

'''Almost Everyone:''' Beginning deliberation.

“H-huh!? Did I say something wrong!?”

Asama sent Masazumi a summary of what Adele had said.

…''So that’s it!

'''Vice President:''' “I was thinking of this on too small a scale.”

'''Me:''' “C’mon, Seijun. Don’t get so down just because you’ve got a small chest. It’ll be fine. If you resist making any weird jokes, they’ll get bigger. By about 5 mm.”

She decided she had to beat him to the ground later.

…''But what is going on here?

Was this really a negotiation?

…''They’re planning to give me whatever I ask for.

The survival of the Matsudaira clan was riding on the Battle of Mikatagahara. Qing-Takeda was planning to aid them with that fear and with the history recreation of those who die in the battle.

This was the leeway of a monarch. But was it narrow-minded to feel there was an ulterior motive behind it?

She did not know.

But she did have a thought.

…''Right now, I need to be more careful than anyone else from Musashi. Even if everyone else gives into them, I can’t.

“May I ask a hypothetical question?”

Normally, she would never receive an affirmative response. After all, a negotiation was an effort to draw out information. The process of give-and-take was necessary for that.

However…

“Go right ahead,” said the left Satou Brother.

They were going to allow anything.

…''In that case…

Masazumi made up her mind and straightened up.

“Are you not afraid of interference from the Testament Union?”

“Oh? And what can the Testament Union do to Qing-Takeda?” Before she could say anything further, the right Satou Brother spoke up. He shrugged and gave a small laugh. “How many ships are there which can travel the shortest distance from Europe to Kantou and the other eastern nations? Mt. Fuji acts as a natural stronghold. There is the Tian Shan corridor to the west and the Sagarmatha corridor to the south, but the only ships which can travel through them with enough speed for a military operation are Musashi and…any ships that have recently been commissioned or modified.”

“What about Sviet Rus to the north? Russia is a zealous Tsirhc member of the Testament Union.”

“Sviet Rus cannot act during the winter and they must pass through the mountains if they do act, so we can predict their routes. We merely need to deploy a defensive line if they attack. In other words, the Testament Union cannot interfere in Qing-Takeda’s business. We can accept the advantages of belonging to the Testament Union and ignore the disadvantages. And none of this restricts our actions as a nation.”

To sum up…

“We are a monarch and we are free.”

''A free monarch, are you?'' thought Masazumi.

After all, there was one thing the Satou Brothers were intentionally not mentioning.

…''P. A. Oda.

If one pictured the actual map of the Far East powers, the Ottoman P. A. Oda stretched out between the European Testament Union nations and Qing-Takeda. That prevented those European Testament Union nations from easily entering the east.

…''But it is true that Qing-Takeda is a powerful nation.

“I see,” said Masazumi with a nod.

…''I’m glad the Satou Brothers’ words aren’t being transmitted live.

If they were, it would appear she had helped Qing-Takeda advertise their confidence and power. If she made a mistake like that on Testament Union land, Musashi could be seen as opposing the Testament Union.

…''I need to be careful.

She folded her arms while making sure her inner thoughts did not show on her face.

“…”

But she realized that action pointed to her own caution and cowardice, so she stopped.

“An interesting stance.”

She placed her hands behind her back, let her legs hang down, and forcibly created a firm posture.

“Walsingham, give these two something to eat. I wish to speak with them further.”

“Oh?” The Satou Brothers nodded and raised their right or left hand.

“I will have the yuba sashimi.”

“I will have the superior yuba sashimi.”

“Why you…!”

Masazumi waited for the two old men to calm down as they began pulling on each other’s beards. Their plates arrived and Masazumi received a matcha frappe in a teacup.

She turned around and found Walsingham and Jonson raising a hand toward her.

…''They keep helping us out.

It was likely because they wanted to make sure a future King of England really did come from Musashi.

She nodded toward them, turned back toward the Satou Brothers, took a breath, and took a bite of the matcha frappe.

“I would like to ask something, Satou Brothers.”

She continued on with a second question.

…''Normally they would refuse, saying I only got one question.

“Go ahead,” they both agreed at once.

And so she asked her question. She used a gesture to instruct Tsukinowa to type up the question as she spoke.

'''Vice President:''' “The opposition between Matsudaira and Takeda leads to the Battle of Mikatagahara which is a great crisis for the Matsudaira clan. Would it be possible to safely settle that battle via a discussion?”

Mitotsudaira gasped at Masazumi’s question.

And she was not the only one. Everyone at the separate table stopped moving.

“Huh? Where is the chancellor?”

“Hm? Earlier, it looked like he was removing the chain attached to his leg. …Oh, the shackle and his pants are down here.”

“The chancellor slithered off toward the back earlier.”

That worried everyone, but they could only leave it up to fate.

…''We can only pray that nothing bad happens.

With that thought, Mitotsudaira looked back toward the sign frame.

…''Can we settle the Battle of Mikatagahara with a discussion?

That would be an incredible plus for the Matsudaira clan and Musashi as a whole.

Naito seemed to understand that because she nodded with her eyebrows lying flat and spoke.

“If that happened, the student council and chancellor’s officers’ approval rating would go up. And Ga-chan would definitely draw a doujinshi about Seijun. …It would probably be titled Sexual Relations with Qing.”

“Isn’t that the obvious title?”

Everyone fell silent and glared at Mitotsudaira.

…''O-oh, no!

The next thing she knew, Asama was beckoning to her from the other table.

“I will purify the filth coming from your actions, so hurry.”

“Judge.” She stood up and spoke to no one in particular. “But this is strange.”

“Heh heh heh. Vegetable lover, is something bothering you about our poor politician desperately trying to keep up with that powerful nation?”

Mitotsudaira hated how that girl would say those things in a tone that showed she fully understood. Mitotsudaira’s shoulders drooped and she stood next to Asama and Kimi’s table.

“This is a powerful nation that is only giving and not taking. Do you truly understand what that means? Why is a powerful nation a powerful nation? That is what makes this so dangerous.”

Everyone’s sign frames suddenly shook.

Tsukinowa had sent something from IZUMO. The messages contained the Satou Brothers’ words dictated by the slightly awkward voice of the Mouse.

'''Sato Right:''' “Yess. When it commes to the Batle of Mikatagara…”

Everyone stiffened as they waited to see what Qing would say.

'''Sato Left:''' “Iff you do not wish too go through with itt, that is finne.”

They said it was not necessary.

As Masazumi watched, the Satou Brothers both spread their arms.

“Qing-Takeda will also aid with securing the Logismoi Óplo and providing backup. That extra power has caused some troublesome trade conflicts with the Testament Union.”

“How kind of you. Is this also part of Lady Yoshitsune’s authority?”

Masazumi took a bite of her frappe.

…''If we do settle the history recreation with a discussion, will the Testament Union consider us the ones at fault for suggesting it?

But if they travelled to the Far Eastern reservation of Edo in Kantou, the Testament Union would be unable to pursue because their main force was in Europe. That led Masazumi to her conclusion.

“I see. In that case, let me give an answer to these hypotheticals. You have offered to provide a favorable interpretation of the death of the one inheriting the name Naruse, you have offered to handle Mikatagahara with a discussion, and you have offered to help us secure the Logismoi Óplo.”

If Qing-Takeda helped in all those things, the Matsudaira clan, Musashi, and the Far East would see peace.

They would be able to anticipate the future developments around Edo and, more importantly, the Musashi could be repaired in Edo. Once that was complete, they could use Edo as a base while negotiating with the other nations over the Logismoi Óplo.

Everything would go well, and that was why Masazumi gave her answer.

“I would like for you to forget about all of those offers.”

Kimi laughed quietly while resting her head on her hands.

“You are an excellent woman, Masazumi. Yes. You must bluntly reject that kind of man.”

“Um, what just happened?” frantically asked Asama.

The first response came via a divine transmission from Urquiaga.

'''Uqui:''' “That is what a powerful nation like Qing-Takeda is after, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” continued Adele.

She exchanged a glance and a nod with Mitotsudaira who stood near the corridor.

“They are a major power,” she said. “Qing controls the Kantou region and they are currently the largest nation, so this was a natural decision.”

“Judge.” Mitotsudaira gave a sigh of relief. “Qing-Takeda wants one thing. Namely…”

'''Vice President:''' “Qing-Takeda intends to absorb Musashi as one of their vassal states in Kantou.”

Masazumi spoke while lightly tapping her teacup with her frappe spoon.

“I had difficulty thinking about this because it was on too great a scale, but I finally understand. The Battle of Mikatagahara, aiding the retrieval of the Logismoi Óplo, making an enemy of the Testament Union, and the damage to the Musashi are all meaningless to Qing-Takeda. After all, you have the national power to survive those things and you have land that is outside of the Testament Union’s reach.” She tapped the teacup once more. “Musashi is both the ruler of the Far East and the ship on which Matsudaira’s monarch lives. If you took us in, Qing-Takeda would essentially become the king of the Far East. No matter how much damage you took, that would more than make up for it.”

“Do you really think we would trap you like that?”

“You have the Battle of Mikatagahara.” Masazumi shrugged and spoke cheerfully once more. “If we did not agree to join you, you could begin that battle and ‘accidentally’ destroy us completely, couldn’t you? Then you would set up a replacement, surround Edo, support Edo as the ruler of the Far East while the Testament Union could not touch you, and insist it is part of the history recreation. …The Testament Union would likely create a new Matsudaira, but the next inheritance of the name would be carried out in Qing and Qing would have control of Edo which will become Matsudaira land. That would allow Qing-Takeda’s Chancellor and President Yoshitsune to rule the world as the ruler of the Far East to continue on after Yuan and Qing.”

Qing-Takeda was so powerful that this statement was not an exaggeration. And they also appeared generous in doing so.

They were a major power.

They had history, skilled people, and a population and national power that were supported by their vast land. As such, they had the conceit to assume they would not be destroyed and that they would continue to be a major power in every era.

Musashi was no comparison. They were different down to the way they thought.

''But,'' thought Masazumi before speaking.

“Those are the thoughts of an emperor.”

“Yes.” Putting it to words had fully convinced her. “You do not think of your nation as being a part of the world. Your nation ''is'' the world and the other nations are merely renting space here. …That is how you think.”

The Satou Brothers looked quietly at her.

And so she continued on.

“The nation of Qing-Takeda can think of itself as the owner of the entire world because of Lady Yoshitsune. As a directly descended member of the long-lived race, she will live long after this. In other words, her empire cannot disappear. As such, no matter how much the other nations cause problems and assert themselves, they will eventually be absorbed by the nation led by Yoshitsune, the proper owner of the world. …That is how Qing-Takeda thinks.”

And so…

“To you, the rest of the world is nothing but the cute children of your emperor. Even if the Far East and Musashi create a slight burden, it will only last an instant when compared to the lifespan of an empire. Even if we cause some slight ‘mischief’, that will create more debts we must eventually repay. And then the Far East will be yours.” Masazumi paused before beginning to speak once more. “Musashi refuses to let that happen. The ruler of the Far East is Matsudaira Motonobu’s successor. We do not need a patron and we will not be a puppet state.”

That was her decision, but it would also be Musashi’s decision.

She understood the reason for this rejection and she understood how powerful Qing-Takeda was.

…''But I still have to say it.

As the representative of the Far East, she could not make a decision that would make them a puppet state in the future.

…''During all our past dealings with the Testament Union, the different generations of chancellors and student council presidents withstood it all. There was meaning in what my father’s generation did.

They had saved Horizon at Mikawa with the intention of freeing themselves from all that submission.

If someone now kindly suggested new submission with peace used as bait, she could not go along with it.

“That is why I must refuse your offer.”

“Oh?” said both the Satou Brothers simultaneously. They then asked a question at the exact same moment. “Then perhaps we shall not hold back during the Battle of Mikatagahara.”

“Let me make one thing very clear.”

Masazumi was concerned by how Naruze was drawing up a storyboard with incredible speed next to her, but she continued speaking to the Satou Brothers.

“Naruze here is not Naruse Masayoshi who died at the Battle of Mikatagahara. As she said, she is Naruse Masanari of the next generation,” she said. “The other nations have no reason to insist on any Matsudaira deaths during the Battle of Mikatagahara.”

“…Masazumi.”

Masazumi saw Naruze stop drawing and turn toward her. Naruze looked her in the eye with a blank expression.

“Why are you trying to show off?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I have to worry about it. If you say something like that, I have to redo this entire storyboard!”

“That’s what you care about!?”

Despite Masazumi’s shout, Naruze’s brain had already gone off in that direction.

“Wh-what should I do? I almost made it to the end of ‘Sexual☆Relations: Qing’ where you do your best against Qing-Takeda’s representatives. Ahh! I have to change the ending now! I can’t just have Asama handle them all in the end! Will I really be able to finish drawing it before we arrive in Edo!?”

'''Gold Mar:''' “So close. I almost had the title.”

'''Asama:''' “Masazumi! Arrest her! Use your student council privileges and arrest her!”

…''Wait. All of you wait. Calm down. As a student council officer, I want to avoid arresting one of our own. That would seriously affect the public opinion of us. Of course, there’s that one idiot I’m always having to arrest, but he’s a special case. Not a single citizen would count that.

But then a belated thought came to her.

…''What am I supposed to do now?

The flow of conversation had made it unavoidable, but she was making an enemy of Qing-Takeda.

…''What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do?

She looked forward while thinking as hard as she could.

…''What’s this?

Something new was happening in front of her. Satomi Yoshiyori was bending over a bit.

He was suppressing laughter.

And the Satou Brothers next to him turned toward him.

“Young Satomi, if you wish to laugh, then laugh. It takes more than that to disgrace Qing-Takeda.”

“I apologize, Satou Brothers. I didn’t expect you to be so bluntly rejected.”

“Neither did I,” agreed Houjou Ujinao across from Naruze. She gave a forced sigh and continued. “Even if they claim to be fierce warriors, it seems that is all the forest long-lived can do. The demonic type can actually use brute force, so I can see why more of us remain.”

“Kh.”

Both of the Satou Brothers’ cheeks stiffened and they squeezed the long sword scabbards they used as staffs.

''Wait, wait, wait,'' thought Masazumi as she watched Yoshiyori take a breath and rest his elbows on his lap.

He then turned toward her and spoke.

“It looks like you will be reaching your decision soon, so I would like to speak for the Satomi clan without hiding anything. We have only one demand for Musashi.”

Yoshiyori called it a demand rather than a negotiation, so Masazumi focused on him.

However…

…''?

She realized Ujinao was nodding as well.

“Can I view this as a demand from both your nations?”

Yoshiyori and Ujinao both nodded in response.

Wondering what this was about, Masazumi went ahead and asked the question in her mind.

“What do Satomi and Houjou wish to demand of Musashi?”

“It is a simple matter,” said Yoshiyori. “We wish for Musashi to obtain enough power to gain our approval.”

“Don’t you agree, ‘Musashi’-san?”

Below the night sky and on the front deck of Okutama, a middle-aged man sat on a bench and drank from a sake cup. Next to him, the automaton named “Musashi” had a dozen sake bottles hanging from a special magazine case.

“Agree with what, Sakai-sama? Over.”

The sign frame next to Sakai showed the divine transmissions that Masazumi was sending those related to the student council and the members of Class 3-Plum. Whenever they heard the sound of an anteater’s paws typing, more text would appear.

“Masazumi-kun’s Mouse still lacks experience. This stage is always the cutest, don’t you agree?”

“Let us return to the topic at hand, Sakai-sama. What do Satomi and Houjou mean when they say we must obtain enough power to gain their approval? I believe we demonstrated our power by winning the armada battle. Over.”

“Don’t get your feelings hurt, ‘Musashi’-san. No one is saying the Musashi has no power.”

Sakai pulled a kiseru out of his pocket and turned toward “Musashi” who held a torch lit from a nearby brazier.

“Are you angry, ‘Musashi’-san?”

“Let me see your kiseru. Over.”

“Oh, whoops.”

Sakai handed over the kiseru and “Musashi” used her gravity control to cause some sparks to pour down into it. A slight crimson glow came from the kiseru, but it quickly settled down.

“What an odd smell. This is not just tobacco. Over.”

“Mitotsudaira gave it to me. It has a lot of fragrant herbs in it.

Sakai rolled his shoulders around and adjusted his position. He glanced in the direction of the unseen eastern nations and slowly spoke.

“Anyway, Satomi has someone amazing as their chancellor. Last time, it was an older long-lived girl, but now the young man who was her aide holds the position. I believe I spoke with him briefly during last year’s circle around the Far East.”

“He possesses Murasamemaru and Yatsufusa, correct? The Testament descriptions seem to have some interesting aspects at times. The descriptions at the beginning of each era provide some comments on the era as a whole. That allows us to make some estimations about what happens after the point at which the Testament ends. Over.”

“Judge.” Sakai nodded toward the eastern night sky. “That is why there is a faction that says the Testament has more written but we have lost track of our destiny and a faction that says those comments are just another entry and there is nothing proving our destiny ever continued past that. …Part of the comments for the Edo period said a story was written about the Satomi clan which involves the protection of eight dogs and a spiritual sword known as Murasamemaru. They half-forcibly claimed it to be historical fact and created that divine weapon.”

He turned around and looked to the west. The lights of IZUMO were not directly visible from here, but he could see them illuminating the clouds and sky from below.

“Three weapons are passed down to each of the Satomi clan’s chancellors: Yatsufusa, the high-output god of war with the eight jewel engine, the small Murasamemaru which acts as a controller for the god of war, and the large Murasamemaru which is the god of war’s cannon sword. Actually creating something that was expected to remain nothing but a story would probably excite someone like Neshinbara.”

However…

“The Satomi clan built up great power for such a small nation by focusing on their gods of war with their Eight Dog gods of war at the base. All they have are castles for protection and gods of war. That is why they cannot invade anyone, but they can defend well enough and cause enough confusion to be a problem for Houjou and their fleet controlled by automatons.”

“You seem to enjoy childish discussions of war. Over.”

“What’s wrong with that? I like situations that look like something straight out of a simulation game.” Sakai breathed in the smoke, held it in his cheek, and finally blew it out once more. “But the chancellor of that small nation is now telling us to gain more power. …That’s something that no one on the Musashi can just come out and say.”

After all…

“He’s essentially saying that we lack the power we need.”

It was “Musashi” who spoke next. She did so with a tilt of the head.

“Why would Satomi go out of the way to tell us that? Over.”

“Oh, that’s easy.” Sakai breathed out more smoke and his white breath dissolved into the darkness. “Masazumi-kun explained earlier why Qing is a powerful nation, right? A powerful nation cannot lose anything, cannot be stopped, and will not run out no matter how many people they lose. You understand, don’t you?” he asked. “Musashi won the armada battle. We destroyed their flagship and you could honestly say that the European forces have no warships which can take on the Musashi, one on one. …Does that make you happy, ‘Musashi’-san?”

“You are merely stating the obvious. Over.”

“You weren’t supposed to be a warship, so you should probably be a little concerned about this… Anyway, even though we won, what is the Musashi doing now? In fact, what has it been doing for the past two weeks?”

“Receiving repairs.” “Musashi” paused there and nodded. “I see. I understand now. Satomi and Houjou’s chancellors are saying they have seen that we have the power necessary to win a battle.”

And so…

“And so they wish for us to gain the power necessary to ''continually fight without rest against a powerful nation that cannot be destroyed.'' Over.”

''That’s impossible,'' thought Masazumi. ''Musashi is not a nation with productive land.

It had defensive abilities and its gravitational cruising, but its abilities were based around those of a transport ship.

It was a ship, so it could ''fight a battle'' but not ''wage war''.

…''We do not have vast land and many strongholds like the ground-based nations, so we cannot fight a long-term war while moving from stronghold to stronghold.

Musashi was no different from a single castle or city in the other nations.

Those other nations could strategically choose to abandon or fortify those places, they could regroup their army, and they could buy time or wear down an enemy by having them stick to that one stronghold.

But Musashi was just one place. Moving each ship independently would not divide the battlefield of Musashi into more than one battlefield.

But Yoshiyori spoke before her.

“You have to worry about Qing-Takeda, P. A. Oda, and possibly a large alliance created from the Testament Union nations. If you cannot constantly handle all of them from now on, we can negotiate with you as a powerful ship but not as an equal nation.”

After all…

“Due to the history recreation of the Testament descriptions, the eastern nations – especially those in Kantou – are more heavily affected by the actions of the Far East than by the other parts of the world. However, small nations like us cannot oppose the Testament Union as blatantly as Qing-Takeda. And if Qing-Takeda tried to absorb us, we would be unable to withstand it.”

“And so you are asking us to become a nation that can stand equal to Qing-Takeda?”

They were not being asked to simply negotiate with a nation that had land, productive power, manpower, and countless strongholds.

“You want us to be able to win if we fought them head on?”

She felt that was a ridiculous request, but Yoshiyori gave his answer.

“Correct. We wish for you to obtain at least that much power.”

“Why?” asked Masazumi while feeling the conversation accelerate.

…''Why in the world is he so earnest about this!?

How much was the ship named Musashi supposed to bear?

…''And he acts like he wants us to do it right away.

“Why? Why do you demand that Musashi strengthen itself so quickly?”

“Because of the Battle of Mikatagahara.”

She saw the Satou Brothers’ expressions vanish upon hearing Satomi Yoshiyori’s words.

The brothers’ shoulders began to tremble and their eyebrows rose. Their sharp gazes turned toward Satomi Yoshiyori and they gnashed their teeth.

“Damn you!”

Ignoring them, Satomi Yoshiyori spoke calmly.

“Listen, Vice President of Musashi.”

She nodded and he slowly continued.

“There is a reason why the Battle of Mikatagahara came to an end during the Age of the Gods. …There is a horribly simple reason why the weak Matsudaira clan was not destroyed by the much more powerful Takeda clan.”

Namely…

“During the battle, Takeda Shingen died of illness.”

Satomi Yoshiyori felt Murasamemaru tremble as if throbbing at his waist.

Murasamemaru was the controller for Yatsufusa’s eight jewel engine and there were two of them: one for Yatsufusa and one for him. To move Yatsufusa, a link had to be made between the two of them.

…''The eight jewel engine moves in response to people’s virtues.

Benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, knowledge, loyalty, honesty, filial piety, and sibling piety. It would only activate when used by someone who possessed all those things.

…''Which virtue throbbed just now?

He thought, but he was aware that he was choosing the proper path.

“Takeda Shingen’s death led the Takeda clan down the path to destruction. His son, Katsuyori, was a skilled commander, but his men had little trust in him. …And he fought the Oda clan at the Battle of Nagashino.”

According to the Testament descriptions, the Battle of Nagashino would proclaim the Oda clan’s superiority to the world.

“Takeda’s cavalry was thoroughly broken by the Oda anti-cavalry preparations and rapid firing from the great number of guns Oda had brought in. A lot of their powerful commanders died and Katsuyori took responsibility by committing suicide. As a result, the Takeda clan scattered and the remnants were hunted down in what became known as Takeda hunts.”

And…

“Houjou and Matsudaira ended up obtaining the land they left behind. Oda actually partially abandoned Kantou, but…do you understand?”

Yoshiyori stared directly in the eyes of Musashi’s vice president and he opened his mouth to speak some more.

But before he could, Houjou Ujinao spoke quietly.

“P. A. Oda does nothing to their eventual enemy of Matsudaira? They stand on the front line and oppose the Testament Union just as much as…no, more than Qing-Takeda. If need be, they have shown they will abandon the history recreation. Do you really think P. A. ODA will do nothing as Matsudaira attempts to acquire the vast empty land left by Takeda?” Ujinao turned her closed eyes toward the eastern sky. “Vice President of Musashi, Musashi’s enemy is not Qing-Takeda. It is P. A. Oda. After all, Qing-Takeda’s Takeda force will be destroyed by P. A. Oda once the Battle of Mikatagahara is over. After their power is torn away and stolen like that, how much can we rely on them?”

“Damn both of you!” shouted the Satou Brothers. They looked back and forth between Yoshiyori and Houjou Ujinao. “How much do you think you have benefited from the protection and care of Qing-Takeda!”

“Okay then,” said Yoshiyori.

…''It would be best not to provoke them too much.

Satomi would act based on logic and there was something he had to say to indicate that.

“Tell me this, Satou Brothers. Why did you agree to settle the Battle of Mikatagahara with a discussion and attempt to take in Musashi?”

Ujinao turned toward the Satou Brothers as if in agreement.

“You want to prevent any losses to your Takeda forces during the Battle of Mikatagahara so you can prepare for Nagashino afterwards. And once the Takeda clan is destroyed, you will have an easier time negotiating with P. A. Oda and the Testament Union if you are protecting Musashi, the ruler of the Far East. You wish to use the allure of controlling the Far East via Musashi to make them fight each other.” Ujinao laughed lightly. “Qing-Takeda is afraid of losing its Far Eastern half.”

As soon as Ujinao finished speaking, the Satou Brothers took action.

They stood up while clenching the long swords they used as staffs.

“…!”

Masazumi found herself unable to react to any of it.

She could only tell that Naruze had stood up in response to the Satou Brothers’ action.

And the next thing she knew…

…''Eh?

The Satou Brothers, Yoshiyori, and Ujinao had all stood up and had lowered a bit into fighting stances. But Masazumi noticed a certain fact.

…''They aren’t moving?

They had all stopped. They were not moving. The initial action of the battle had been cut off.

Everyone had taken a fighting stance, but no one was moving. The reason for this slowly arrived.

“Satou Brothers.”

It was a female voice. Masazumi sensed a presence approaching from the restaurant behind her.

“Your frightened stance is different from mine. And the rest of you. Don’t think for a second that my thoughts are the same as these old men.”

It was Yoshitsune.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 13|Chapter 13]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 08

2016-04-02T19:02:12Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 8: One who Jumps into the Enclosure */

==Chapter 8: One who Jumps into the Enclosure==

[[Image:Horizon3A_0189.jpg|thumb]]
''Now

''What will you demand?

'''Point Allocation (Memento)

Masazumi and Naito watched it all from the roof of the snack shop.

They looked out across the streets of IZUMO from a high position. They had heard voices questioning and egging on the fight that had broken out in the street ahead.

But now the people in the surrounding area were all directing question marks toward the sky. They all uttered confused and fearful questions regarding the new turn of events.

After hearing them, Masazumi looked out across the sky.

“I can see why they’re confused…”

IZUMO was surrounded by countless ships.

This was not just ten or twenty ships. There were more than a hundred, or even two hundred. Masazumi noted the national emblems on the sides of the ships.

“The ships coming from the north, west, and south are from Hexagone Française. The ones spread out from east to south are from M.H.R.R.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “What is going on? Hexagone Française and M.H.R.R. are supposed to be enemies. Why are they working together to surround IZUMO?”

Mitotsudaira’s message sent to Masazumi’s sign frame showed that those on Musashi did not have a complete grasp of the situation.

''Of course they don’t,'' thought Masazumi. ''I only just now learned about it from Jonson.

'''Vice President:''' “Everyone, listen up for a moment. Things are about to get bad.”

Masazumi sent a message out to everyone.

'''Vice President:''' “The reason Hexagone Française and M.H.R.R. are surrounding IZUMO is because the latter is refusing to allow Musashi to travel through its territory.”

Mitotsudaira read Masazumi’s message in front of her house along with Asama and Adele who peered at Mitotsudaira’s sign frame.

'''Vice President:''' “Musashi is not being allowed within M.H.R.R. Their justification for this decision is obvious.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “They do not want Musashi to influence the civil war between Catholics and Protestants being carried out for the history recreation, right?”

There was a short pause just long enough for Masazumi to nod.

'''Vice President:''' “Exactly. If they use the history recreation as a shield, the Testament Union has no choice but to agree.”

“In that case…” said Adele as she stared into the eastern sky.

They could hear a noise. It was the low sound of the wind being pushed by the movement of a giant object. Musashi was moored on the eastern coast of IZUMO, so the M.H.R.R. ships approaching from the east were the loudest there.

Adele looked up while listening to what could only be described as a roar and she started her comment anew.

'''Flat Vassal:''' “Then are the ships coming from M.H.R.R. meant to keep Musashi from entering the country? That means this fleet must belong to…”

“This is bad,” agreed Mitotsudaira.

She could tell her eyebrows were raised due to the noise hurting her lupine sense of hearing.

'''Silver Wolf:''' “The M.H.R.R. fleet belongs to the Catholic principalities. That means they are under the influence of Hashiba and Student Council President Matthias. But…”

At that point, Mitotsudaira turned to the west. Hexagone Française’s fleet was gathering there on the other side of IZUMO.

…''Why is Hexagone Française working to surround us as well?

She had a hunch, but she asked anyway because she wanted to hear an expert’s opinion.

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Masazumi, why is Hexagone Française’s fleet here?”

'''Vice President:''' “Judge. This is where it gets really bad.”

Listen up.

'''Vice President:''' “M.H.R.R.’s formation is meant to stop Musashi from entering their territory. In other words, it is in defense. As long as we do not enter their territory, they will not attack.”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “Then why is Hexagone Française here?”

'''Vice President:''' “To fight.”

Hearing their expert state it so decisively caused everyone’s shoulders to tremble. And then a voice called out from behind them.

“Oh, Nate! Nate! The storage shed in your backyard is full, so can I use your attic? Don’t worry! It’s the kind that opens from the top and not into the house!”

…''Shut up.

At any rate, Mitotsudaira tapped Adele’s shoulder and the dogs ran over, so it all worked out in the end.

'''Silver Wolf:''' “So, um, Masazumi. When you say they are here to fight…”

When Masazumi only sent a short “Judge” in response, Asama frowned.

“Hm. Tsukinowa may be cutting off her voice input too quickly.”

Hanami opened a settings sign frame and Asama got to work. Meanwhile, another message arrived from Masazumi.

'''Vice President:''' “As a major member of the Testament Union, Hexagone Française must carry out its obligations to the other countries. That is what I mean.”

''This really is bad,'' thought Masazumi as she looked up at the shadows surrounding them in the sky.

A fan-shaped formation had already been created both to the east and the west. The density of ships was currently being increased by adding smaller ships.

…''This is making everything more troublesome.

She sighed and spoke.

'''Vice President:''' “Tres España and England previously showed their allegiance to the Testament Union by attacking Musashi, so a large country like Hexagone Française must follow suit.”

In that case, Masazumi felt the safest route would be through the Protestant principalities of M.H.R.R. They had to avoid a fight with Hexagone Française who had their forces gathered here. A fight here could easily destroy all of Musashi’s repairs being carried out in IZUMO.

“But our enemy took the initiative and is blocking our path through Protestant M.H.R.R. This isn’t good,” she muttered.

Naito nodded next to her.

“This was probably Hashiba’s idea. By keeping us from passing through M.H.R.R., they force us to pass through Hexagone Française and thus Hexagone Française will be the ones to intercept us, right?”

A message arrived at Naito’s Magie Figur as if to agree with her.

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Margot, are you okay? Has anything happened to you? Oh, but I don’t care about the nerd.”

'''Novice:''' “Why would you mention me!?”

'''Four Eyes:''' “Hmm...?”

…''Huh? Was that some interference from another divine line?

They were on the roof of a shop funded by England, so it was not surprising someone from England could cut in.

''Anyway,'' sighed Masazumi.

Naito sent Naruze a divine message detailing the situation and Naruze replied on the divine chat with her sigh almost audible in the words she wrote.

'''Mal-Ga:''' “In other words, Hashiba’s plan is pretty indirect. They have Hexagone Française intercept Musashi and, because Hexagone Française has sent out their forces, M.H.R.R. can send their front line to the west in the name of making their confrontation for the Thirty Years’ War. They can show their intention of invading to the west.”

'''Vice President:''' “Judge. That’s right. While M.H.R.R. can use stopping Musashi as a reason for their actions, they can also send their front line right up to the border between countries and claim they thought Hexagone Française might try to invade while intercepting Musashi. …Basically, Musashi is being used as an excuse.”

“That’s simplifying it a lot,” said Naito with a bitter smile. “Anyway, Seijun. What do you think is going to happen?”

“Well,” muttered Masazumi.

She had a lot to think about, but it would be best to gather everyone and discuss it together. For now, they needed to see what exactly the other countries were doing.

“I have already sent instructions to the different committees and the Provisional Council. What we need to focus on is that God of War that flew toward Neshinbara and the others in the city.”

They could see that craft with its blue wings. Naito stared at its blue back which had a shimmer and fragments of light rising from it. She then turned back to the east.

“It came from the east, didn’t it?”

“M.H.R.R. is preventing Musashi from traveling and another country took action when they learned that. Since Jonson and the English knew about it, the information must have come from M.H.R.R.’s Protestant principalities. Also, England would have been able to inform some other countries.”

In this age, there were two primary countries England traded with.

“The Association of Indian States and Qing-Takeda. That God of War is from…”

'''Novice:''' “It’s right in front of me. It’s from the Satomi clan of the Bousou Peninsula which borders Edo of the Matsudaira clan. They have an excellent small-scale yet combat-focused academy there that is primarily made up of the long-lived race. It looks like a few ships of theirs have arrived, but their main force… Well, look to the east with Naito-kun.”

''Look to the east with Naito-kun?'' wondered Masazumi.

She turned to the girl to find Naito had already opened a speedometer-shaped Magie Figur that simply showed the sky on the other side.

“Is this what he meant?”

Naito spun the meter and the sky visible through it magnified like a telescope.

Displayed large inside the Magie Figur were countless shadows visible beyond the M.H.R.R. aerial fleet that appeared stopped in the sky.

A distant whistle boldly sent the signal announcing a trade ship even though they were clearly warships.

“They have the school emblems of Takeda, Houjou, and other nations in Kantou. According to the Far East’s history, they will all support Matsudaira. And since they are not Tsirhc, they can show defiance even if they belong to the Testament Union.”

Masazumi looked into the eastern sky where the fleet leisurely passed by over M.H.R.R.’s fleet.

“So they’re shamelessly using the Silk Road trade to come here. All of them are the vanguard of anti-Oda or anti-Hashiba forces, so this is a good reminder that the Far East takes action for more than just Europe’s issues.” Her shoulders lowered as she took a breath. “This is a critical situation, but it looks like some allies have arrived.”

“That’s right. So why don’t you settle down a little,” announced the long-lived girl standing in front of Futayo.

Futayo stood ready to fight on a building roof and she did not recognize this girl. The only hint to her identity was her Qing-Takeda uniform.

…''Who is she?

However, the girl had stopped Futayo and the ninja.

Just before Futayo and the ninja had clashed, the long-lived girl had leaped in. She had moved between them with a single step and held her sheathed sword in between them. The long sword normally hung from a chain on her left waist.

It had been a lighthearted action, but she had easily avoided the weapons of Futayo and the ninja.

“Let’s put an end to the fighting for now.”

Futayo currently held Tonbokiri just off the roof, but the girl’s sword was already back at her waist. Futayo had not noticed her doing so.

…''Who is this girl?

All of her actions appeared defenseless, but the long sword hanging from its chain on her left waist and the small bow hanging from her right waist were not even clasped in place. That meant she could draw them at any moment.

Her stance made it clear she could take action at any time.

And she was not the only unfamiliar face.

About two roads away was the blue God of War stopped with its sword pointed forward. Standing on that giant blade was a woman bearing four scabbards who had the horns of a Far Eastern ox demon growing from her head.

The four ninja had regrouped and were genuflecting on the street below.

They were all bowing their heads toward the long-lived girl in front of Futayo.

The girl turned from Futayo and looked down at the ninja.

“I see you’re doing well. How is your master?”

<nowiki>#1</nowiki> nodded while down on one knee.

“Very well.”

“I see.”

The girl showed her teeth in a smile and a boy wearing glasses appeared on the opposite rooftop. He looked a bit nervous, but his voice carried well.

“I ask as the Secretary of Musashi’s Student Council: what is the meaning of this?”

He first pointed at the God of War behind him and then pointed at the long-lived girl.

“I never thought the heroes of Kantou would gather in the skies of Hexagone Française and the Mouri clan.”

Neshinbara saw Futayo turn toward him while tilting her head.

“The heroes of Kantou?”

“Judge,” he replied. He then indicated the God of War behind him using his chin. “Gods of War with dog faces are unique to the Satomi clan.”

…''I’m amazed they could fly into the middle of the city like this.

They had landed after high speed flight without using a land port designed for that purpose. Also, he could see no effects to the surrounding buildings and ground except for what a strong gust of wind would cause.

''Piloting that splendid goes beyond reckless,'' thought Neshinbara as he looked at the blue feminine God of War with canine head armor.

“This must be one of the leaders of the Satomi clan. Perhaps Satomi Yoshiyasu, the Student Council President of the Satomi clan which controls the Bousou Peninsula and Korea.”

“I am not worth being called a leader. There is nothing under my control.”

A long-lived girl appeared from the God of War’s back and walked out onto its bent arm. She was short and had short hair. She wore a Far East uniform modified to be lighter.

“Our King and Chancellor, ‘Retainer Killer’ Satomi Yoshiyori, is on one of the trade ships over there. Our flagcraft Yatsufusa and the spirit sword Murasamemaru are there as well. If you wish to give your greetings, direct them to him.”

“Eh!? Murasamemaru is there!?”

'''Four Eyes:''' “Are you getting excited over that kind of item again?”

''Girls just don’t get it! It’s about the romance!'' silently shouted Neshinbara, but he held his tongue because he knew something horrible would happen to him long-distance if he actually said it. ''This is a strategy. Yes, that’s it.

When he looked forward again, Satomi Yoshiyasu was also staring straight forward.

But she was not looking at him. She was looking behind him.

He turned around to look at the God of War’s sword stretching out through the sky. Standing on the blade was the demonic long-lived woman who carried four swords.

Yoshiyasu did not bother hiding the harshness of her tone as she spoke to that woman whose eyes were closed.

“Houjou Ujinao, Chancellor of Odawara Academy, primary school of the Houjou clan. With Edo Bay between us, our clans are always fighting for control of the sea; but how about we stop that here?”

Satomi Yoshiyasu’s God of War was in autonomous mode, so she used hand signals to have it change its stance.

…''Honestly, that guy chooses some dangerous things.

The Satomi clan ruled the Awa Province at the tip of the Bousou Peninsula, so they had long fought with the Houjou clan of Odawara over control of Edo Bay. The Satomi clan was descended from the Minamoto clan of the Kamakura Shogunate, while the Houjou clan was descended from the Taira clan and came in from outside to inherit power during the downfall of the Kamakura Shogunate.

…''The direct descendants were forced out while the outsiders came in and took over. And yet he told us not to fight during this journey.

But…

“Being unable to do anything with your enemy’s leader before your eyes is most unfortunate, Chancellor Houjou Ujinao.”

She looked back toward the demonic woman, but the woman’s eyes remained closed.

Even so, she sheathed her sword and turned toward Yoshiyasu.

“You are the ones who attacked us over control of Edo Bay. Why are you acting like it is our fault? If you are trying to give the Matsudaira clan and Musashi a poor impression of us, I can see this Chancellor is just as incompetent as the previous one, Yoshiyasu.”

“Don’t compare the two!”

“Oh?” said Ujinao. “But you are allowed to compare them? Is that because you are the previous one’s younger sister? Also…” She lightly brushed up her hair and looked toward Yoshiyasu’s God of War. “That is quite a lovely God of War. Not a scratch on it.”

“…!”

''Now she’s said it,'' thought Yoshiyasu as she saw something directly ahead of her.

The exposed skin of Houjou Ujinao’s arm contained a few black lines that seemed to run along the lines of her muscles.

She was a living automaton.

Houjou Ujinao heard a voice from a rooftop two streets away.

It was a carelessly muttered comment from a girl holding a spear.

“Is she an automaton like Horizon-sama?”

…''That is Musashi’s Vice Chancellor, Honda Futayo.

And between Ujinao and Satomi Yoshiyasu was Musashi’s secretary, Neshinbara Toussaint.

Ujinao had no intention of making them her enemy. After all, the Testament descriptions said the Houjou clan she led would be destroyed by Hashiba’s attack on Odawara during her generation. At the time, Hashiba’s control meant the Matsudaira clan would be forced to aid in the attack on the Houjou clan.

…''But once the Matsudaira clan gains control, they restore power to what remains of Houjou.

As she stared forward, Ujinao held up her arm to show it to Futayo for a few personal reasons.

“It is only the body. I had a weak constitution.”

“Judge. Thank you for answering.”

Futayo bowed and Ujinao nodded.

Ujinao then turned her thoughts toward the name Honda Futayo had mentioned.

…''Horizon Ariadust.

That was the name of the automaton girl who held a unique position among the Musashi forces that every country was so focused on of late.

She possessed a few Logismoi Óplo and she was part of the Matsudaira family. The footage from Houjou’s public relations committee had shown a naked boy with her at all times, but Ujinao did not know what that was about.

…''Is he an optional feature? A shield, maybe? I have heard rumors he is a battery.

She had no clear answer.

At any rate, it seemed the people of Musashi possessed a spirit of freedom.

“My clan is traditionally a motley collection of races, so it makes me want to get along with you. However, Honda Futayo, I watched your fight just now.”

“Judge.”

“It worries me that there is a possibility I will fight you before the Matsudaira clan comes to power.”

Futayo tilted her head, but Neshinbara’s mouth stiffened. Wondering what that meant, Ujinao tilted her head with a bitter smile, but then Futayo suddenly raised her hand.

“Oh, my apologies. You were referring to the history recreation concerning my father’s name.”

“Testament.”

A smile formed on the corner of Futayo’s mouth.

“I am still not skilled enough to inherit my father’s name. It is most gracious of you to suggest it, but I believe it is more likely someone else will face you at Odawara.”

…''Oh, dear.

Oddly, Ujinao felt as if she had been rejected; but it was not a particularly bad feeling. In fact, it caused curiosity to well up within her.

She decided she wanted to build as close a relationship with Musashi as possible; and then she looked next to Futayo.

Standing there was a long-lived girl wearing a Qing-Takeda uniform.

…''Honestly, she loves her commotions.

Ujinao sighed as she looked at the girl.

“The Sanada clan is located to the north of us. Why are you attacking Musashi with those lowly ninja they refer to as their Ten Braves?

“Unneeded #1: Sarutobi Sasuke.

“Unneeded #2: Kirigakure Saizou.

“Unneeded #3: Miyoshi Seikai.

“Unneeded #7: Unno Rokurou.

“All of them are at the Vice Chancellor level for a small academy. At a larger academy, they would be at least special duty officers if not higher. I would like to hear your reason for sending them after Musashi, Chancellor and Student Council President of Qing-Takeda.”

That is…

“You inherited the names of Takeda Shingen and Nurhaci, first Emperor of Qing. You are a long-lived direct descendent of the Minamoto clan who has also inherited the name of Kublai Khan, first Emperor of the former Empire of Yuan.”

Finally, Ujinao spoke her name.

“Minamoto Kurou Yoshitsune.”

[[Image:Horizon3A_0206-0207.jpg|thumb]]

Yoshitsune had a certain thought about Ujinao when her name was given.

…''What a troublesome woman.

The Sanada clan and its Ten Braves were currently under the command of the Takeda clan, so she had been able to use the Ten Braves to attack Musashi.

“Well, you see...” began Yoshitsune before stopping to think.

…''Why did I do that again?

She had a vague memory of one or the other of the Satou Brothers who held the position of Vice President telling her what to say, but she had completely forgotten what it was.

…''If you aren’t kinder when you tell me, I’m not going to remember. Those idiots need to learn how to handle a woman’s heart.

At any rate, she decided honesty was the best policy.

“To be blunt, it’s so much fun seeing other people fight.”

Ujinao smiled with her eyes closed and reached for the two swords on her shoulders.

…''Crap. She can’t take a joke like her predecessor, Ujimasa. For some reason, she never tries to read between the lines when it comes to me. That’s discrimination. Then again, there’s never anything between the lines to read with me.

At any rate, Yoshitsune snapped her fingers toward the ninja waiting in the street below.

“ ‘Unneeded #1’ Sarutobi Sasuke, you answer for me.”

She received no response.

''What is going on?'' she wondered as she looked down.

The four ninja were gone.

She heard Musashi’s secretary speaking from two roofs over.

“They ran away. I was impressed they could move that fast.”

“I see.” Yoshitsune nodded toward Satomi Yoshiyasu. “Satomi Yoshiyasu, you answer for me.”

“How should I know!?”

…''Quite the thoughtless girl for a descendent of mine.

“Okay, you in the glasses.”

…''I doubt he’ll know.

“Why did I send those ninja after you?”

Yoshiyasu stared at her in disbelief, but Yoshitsune did not care what a child thought.

''Are you saying you understand yourself perfectly!? Well!?'' she thought. ''Anyway, he isn’t going to have an answer for me. Finding an excuse for Ujinao is going to be a pain.

But then Musashi’s glasses boy began to speak.

“Okay.” He adjusted his glasses. “I will give you an answer.”

Yoshiyasu listened to Musashi’s secretary as he opened up a few sign frames.

“Normally thinking, it is a bit of a stretch for people of Kantou to be here even with the Silk Road excuse,” he said while looking at the sign frames rather than Yoshitsune. “You had to show you had no intention of opposing the Testament Union. Rather than paying out money and handing out privileges, you took a faster route: you attacked Musashi. That let you measure our strength. If it went well, you would have demonstrated your own strength and would have a useful bargaining chip for the later negotiations. You used the Sanada Ten Braves to show they were freely under your command and their loss would not count as a direct loss for Qing-Takeda. …That’s probably more or less it.” He nodded. “After all, Takeda, Houjou, and Satomi are all aided by Matsudaira later on. It’s in your best interests to see how powerful they are.”

Yoshiyasu’s eyebrows rose as she listened to Musashi’s secretary speak.

…''Something bothers me about how he said that.

She folded her arms, looked down at her feet, and asked a question.

“You make it sound like the Satomi clan cannot survive without the Matsudaira clan.”

“It is only natural that our opinions differ. We attend different academies. And if we have differing opinions, there is room for negotiations. You can see our Vice President about that. And…um…Lady Yoshitsune?”

“What is it?” asked Yoshitsune as she stood calmly two roofs over. “Out with it.”

“Judge.” Musashi’s secretary nodded and straightened his back. “Please give me your autograph using the name Hougan Kurou Yoshitsune.”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “What a nerd.”

'''Novice:''' “C-come on! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity! I don’t think you understand how important this is!”

'''Four Eyes:''' “Wow is that painful to watch.”

'''Novice:''' “What!? You’re an author too, so don’t you want one? I always carry a few pieces of nice autograph paper with me, so just wait until these negotiations are over.”

'''Four Eyes:''' “Eh? Oh, okay…”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “Wow. Those two are close.”

“Now then.”

Neshinbara turned back toward Yoshitsune.

The two major fleets covering the sky to the east and west were beginning to expand to the north and south. The dozen or so Silk Road trading ships primarily from Qing-Takeda were flying above the fleet to the east.

“I will not decide why that Kantou fleet is here.”

But…

“But, Lady Yoshitsune, was I right about the ninja?”

“Will two signatures be enough?”

'''Novice:''' “See! I told you! I’m not getting any for the rest of you!”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “If you keep getting carried away like that, I’m putting you in a doujinshi.”

'''Novice:''' “Th-that’s quite an unpleasant threat…”

''Well, I have the two signatures I need, so I’ll keep my head down for now to avoid ending up in a doujinshi,'' vowed Neshinbara.

To his right, Houjou Ujinao moved atop the giant sword stretching through the sky.

She relaxed from her previous stance.

“Isn’t that great, Lady Yoshitsune? Someone actually covered for you.”

“You’re just too intolerant. In fact, so is Yoshiyasu over there. You two need to be more open-minded.”

Yoshitsune puffed out her chest and jerked her chin toward the eastern sky.

“Now.”

The Kantou fleet giving off the signal of trade ships approached from that direction. Those ships from Kantou had now passed the distant M.H.R.R. fleet.

Yoshitsune watched her fleet enter the enclosure created by the fleets of those two powerful nations.

“Let us talk. We can use this dangerous time to discuss what kind of relationship we should have with the people of Matsudaira who will eventually rule this world. How about it?”

At 5:20 that evening, the aerial fleets of M.H.R.R. and Hexagone Française finished arranging their hundreds of ships to surround IZUMO which floated at an altitude of one kilometer.

Hexagone Française did so to shoot down Musashi because it was an enemy of the Testament Union.

M.H.R.R. did so to observe Hexagone Française, their enemy in the Thirty Years’ War, in case they tried to invade M.H.R.R.’s territory.

Hexagone Française announced they would provide a later announcement containing Musashi’s time limit to leave IZUMO. From the instant that time limit passed, they would attack Musashi.

A few guesses were made within Musashi as to what that time limit would be. Masazumi made some decisions assuming the limit would be based on the European lifestyle that focused work in the mornings.

“Naomasa, have the engine division hurry to prepare Musashi for departure. According to Neshinbara, they will likely finish their preparations in the morning and set the time limit for tomorrow afternoon.”

If that was true, Musashi’s repairs would have to be completed elsewhere and the loading of cargo and fuel would have to be carried out at an increased rate.

Meanwhile, the “trade fleet” of Kantou nations that had flown past Hexagone Française and M.H.R.R. moored at IZUMO’s eastern port. They ignored the two large nations watching and began trading.

At 7:15 that night, the city of IZUMO was filled with bright lights due to all the visitors from unusual places. Masazumi entered one of the lit buildings with Naruze along as a bodyguard.

She had arrived at the snack shop she had met Jonson at. She was there to “happen across” the Kantou representatives.

In IZUMO near the center of Europe, a discussion on the later history recreation of the Matsudaira clan was about to begin under the observation of a large nation.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 07|Chapter 07]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 09|Chapter 09]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 04

2016-04-02T19:01:38Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 04: Assemblers under the Eaves */

==Chapter 04: Assemblers under the Eaves ==
[[Image:Horizon3A_0103.jpg|thumb]]
''Why is it that''

''The more you try to listen to a story''

''The more you end up telling one''

'''Point Allocation (Mutual Exchange)'''

<center>●</center>

Beneath the blue sky of IZUMO and beneath the eaves there was the muttered voice of an elderly woman.

“That’s right… Horizon, about your mother…”

There on the veranda, the speaking Mitsu was sitting traditionally on top of a cushion with Horizon seated beside her.

In front of her, Kimi and Futayo had put on gloves and were in the yard searching through the vegetable garden.

“Ah, this is a potato! Grandmother, even though it is still widely regarded as a prohibited good… —Confiscated! It’s confiscated!”

“Hmm, the edamame which my father liked are grown here, Kimi-dono. —As an offering to my father's spirit, I think I may also take possession of some.”

'''“'''Boiled in salt—'''”'''

“I had some leftovers so as I said you could do as you please, but what exactly did you come here to do.”

Mitsu said that with half-open eyes; however the two women didn’t listen. That’s why Mitsu paused for a moment and directed her question to Horizon, who was drinking tea by her side.

“Horizon? Why exactly did you come here?”

<center>●</center>

''Why did you come here?'' The questioned Horizon considered that.

''At first it was just because Kimi-sama had invited me…''

She considered it. If she had rather to say the reason she came, that was…

“The reason is that I thought it would be okay to come.”

“It's nice being condescending.”

''Judge.'' Horizon raised her right thumb to show Mitsu and she was already returning the same action.

“……”

The two women exchanged gazes, both nodded and then Horizon once again opened her mouth.

“…Anyway, at first I thought that it was meaningless. Even now, I am still conjecturing whether that is true.”

“You’re very straightforward.”

Once again the two of them raised their thumbs. After that, Horizon said.

“Judge, thank you very much. However Toori-sama went ‘Ah!? I am not going. I am definitely not going! I can’t go for your sake!’ and acted stubborn, so I changed my mind and decided I had to come.”

“How rebellious.”

She raised her thumb.

“Judge, thank you very much. In any case, to tell the truth it is a rare occurrence for me to disembark from Musashi; so as a method of study, it is also valid.”

Then, since she had come, she had only one purpose.

“The current purpose is to hear about Horizon’s mother, that is all.”

“I see.”

Mitsu nodded her head. Then she tilted her head and asked the following.

“Why is it you want to know?”

It was a simple question, so that is why she immediately answered. The contents of her reply were…

“It is because I want to be able to understand my mother.”

“Why?”

“If I can understand her, then the eventual sadness will be reduced. Even if I am no longer able to exchange words with that person, I can think about her; and it is possible for me to inherit her will.”

“Well then. —Let us do something like a little test. About how much meaning talking about the past has for you. A test to measure that.”

“Judge, Please do as you wish.”

''That was a good answer,'' Mitsu said. There with a faint smile…

“Okay, I am going to ask? You are saying that understanding is important? In that case… if you can understand something, then is it okay to lose it?”

<center>●</center>

''Oh?,'' Horizon thought. She had had a similar discussion but from the opposing stance. It was in London, England, during that act Toori had called a date. Date, that was an English word. To translate it to Japanese, it was “going out”. Toori wanted really badly to go on a date with Horizon, so it was strange.

In any case, considering the words he had said at that time...

What had he replied with when she had said the same words that Mitsu had just spoken?

''…Ah.''

She remembered, and it was something she could accept; that’s why Horizon said the following:

“That is not correct.”

While trying to stand on the opposite parallel line, she had the feeling that she could somehow understood the words that she had been told at that time.

“There is nothing that is okay to lose, that is what I am thinking.”

While conducting multiple layers of judgment, Horizon formed her words. After thinking over the things which he had told her in the past, she began to speak.

“That is why I do not wish to understand just so that I will be okay with losing something… Unfortunately, everything will eventually be lost; however if you can understand and enjoy spending time together, even when that time unexpectedly comes—”

Was it this kind of thing?

“Would it not be possible to understand what happens at that time? That is my conjecture.”

<center>●</center>

“That’s an idealistic thought.”

With Mitsu’s words Horizon simply asked the following:

“Is that what you determine? That it is nothing but an ideal?"

''Judge,'' Mitsu who was resting her chin in her hands spoke.

“If you die, no matter how much time you spend together it is still sad for those who are left behind. It was the same for my husband and for my parents.”

“Is it not possible to have an understanding about losing something?"

“The contents of your question are quite harsh.”

The two of them raised their thumbs.

However, Horizon did not say that she was sorry in response to Mitsu’s words. If she apologized for asking something that was necessary to her, it would mean that she needed to lower her head. That’s why…

“I understand that this will change our topic, but I would like to request a lecture. —Advice on how to resolve the sadness of loss.”

“Those are some nice words.”

Mitsu laughed and then she said.

“Understanding the deceased is quite a difficult task. After all, they are already gone, and on the other hand, there is no way to confirm anything more than that. That’s why as a reference for you who is trying to learn about your mother, I will tell you a bit of my story. You may experience the same amount of hardship, after all.”

“There are hardships?”

Mitsu responded that there were.

“My mother, well that would be the great-grandmother of that kid out there who is digging up potatoes. That great-grandmother, when Toori and Kimi were in elementary school… was it the fifth year?”

“Haha, it was the fourth year, so eight years ago. Have things become a bit unclear?” asked Kimi playfully.

“You just grew up fast because you have nothing above your neck. —Well in that year, Musashi’s route was an eastern circulation via Bizen. It just happened that they came to Hexagone Française's northern IZUMO during the end of the year. However, their great-grandmother was in a bad condition and they wouldn’t make it here in time at that rate. However—”

Mitsu pointed in direction south.

“The deal that Musashi made over in the direction of K.P.A. Italia. —Due to Hashiba starting their full-scale movements, the rule of Nagahama began and the route was no longer usable; so they were forced to stop at Bizen IZUMO at the southern country border of Hexagone Française. However the Pope-Chancellor of K.P.A. Italia Innocentius allowed trade with the surrounding countries; and in order to obtain repair parts, there were permitted a limited capacity of cargo ships to come and go between IZUMO. So there were also a variety of political factors to continue the trade of other countries with Musashi.”

“That was—”

“They came here, however it was only Toori and Kimi. The border controls were apparently soft on children…”

''Hey…''

“Kimi, what sort of situation was that?”

<center>●</center>

With Mitsu’s question, Kimi raised her body with a state of disappointment within Horizon’s gaze.

“Don’t you remember?”

''Well,'' Kimi folded her arms.

Then she looked over this way and pointed to the eastern sky and Musashi.

“That foolish brother did, right? He suddenly knocked on my door and said ‘Let’s go Sis. If Mum were to find out it would be trouble, so let’s go while we can.’ It seems like he had requested it earnestly of the people in the Provisional Council. Thinking about it now, it is a lot easier for the other side to accept something when it comes from children wanting to go to give their final greeting to a relative.

“Now? Then, at that time?”

“As the adults were suspicious, I was thinking that if something happened I had to protect my foolish brother.”

''I see,'' Horizon nodded. She was interested in the fact that Futayo seemed to be getting excited over the fact that the turnip had long roots, however at the moment hearing the rest of the story was more important.

That’s why Horizon returned her gaze to Mitsu. She thought that she wanted to hear the remainder of the story.

“So that was the way that Toori-sama and Kimi-sama were able to come? Apart from that… did anything else happen?”

“Judge, the two of them only spent a few ordinary days here. After that… on the way back, you returned to the halted Musashi at Bizen IZUMO by carriage and on foot, didn’t you?”

“So? Since the schedule didn’t match up with the cargo vessel, we returned while being assisted by some kind people. On the way back too much stuff happened; even if I talked about it, no one would believe me so that is why I don’t talk about it.”

''Is that so,'' Mitsu said. Then she looked this way and paused with a smile.

“Horizon listen, okay? After some time had passed, a letter arrived from my stupid daughter on board Musashi saying ‘I locked up those two who had returned in their rooms for two or three days.’ Then…”

“Then?”

At the time when she was wondering what had occurred.

Mitsu looked up at the sky and spoke.

“Their great-grandmother, in other words my mother, smiled.”

<center>●</center>

“That was…”

Horizon thought that was a normal, everyday reaction. There was a difference between people about the value of the existence called great-grandchildren; however, if they had arrived home safely then you would be smiling.

However…

…In that case, why was Mitsu especially remembering that smile?

She didn’t understand. That is why Horizon did not speak.

“—”

However after being silenced, in front of her Mitsu tilted her brown teacup towards her mouth. Then…

“I wonder why!”

“What is it?”

''Ah.''

“Mother laughed and spoke. —I don’t know whether my life was meaningful, however if my grandchildren who are connected through my soul came to visit me before I go… I think I lived a proper way of life if it meant they came.”

“That was…”

She realized that she was saying the same words as before.

The meaning that the words Mitsu said was something she thought Horizon would understand; however, she did not. That was why she stopped her words part-way through.

“—I apologize. I am unable to reach an understanding.”

“That is a good thing. After all, I don’t really understand it either. That’s why I told you this story.”

There, Mitsu showed her first bitter smile. Then she adjusted her chin in her hands.

“It is not like my mother spent a lot of time together with Toori and Kimi. After my mother died, I also became sad and wept. However… I think mother at the very least blessed the satisfaction that she felt towards Toori and Kimi.”

''Do you understand?'' Mitsu said, and she then suddenly looked at the yard.

“I wonder what form the satisfaction of understanding takes. —Hey, Kimi!”

“Haha, what is it? I’m in a good mood today so I’ll make an answer across generations, okay?”

“Well then, —Kimi, how was it at that time when you and Toori returned to Musashi? Did you think about anything regarding my mother?”

“Actually grandmother, there’s no way that I remember something from that long ago.”

''Ah,'' however Kimi formed a wry smile.

“Foolish brother said this. —That our great-grandmother was cute. That she was thankful, thankful towards everything, that her being delighted was cute.”

With those words, Horizon nodded.

“Judge. I see, I have understood that part.”

Horizon then said the following with the frank opinion that had formed inside her heart.

“Toori-sama is indiscriminate when it comes to raising flags.”

<center>●</center>

The women fell silent and the grandma had eye contact with her grandchild.

After that, the grandchild instructed “calm down” with her hand, and the grandma nodded. After a while the grandchild cleared her throat and spoke to Horizon.

“Okay? Horizon. It’s alright because they are relatives, you know? — You can’t conquer them.”

“In other words, it will be added as part of the supplementary DVD.”

The grandchild looked at her grandma.

“—Grandmother, what should I do at a time like this.”

“How should I know.”

''Anyway,'' said Mitsu. Then, saying however to connect her sentences, she once again took a breath.

“…Ah well, so it is true that Toori looked at my mother in such a way. My mother ended her life being thankful for a lot of things.”

''…Ended her life being thankful…?''

Horizon repeated Mitsu's words within her heart.

Then Horizon thought this.

''……I don’t understand.''

Why had the fact that the two, Toori and Kimi, had come led to being thankful about anything and everything.

Why had Mitsu’s mother…

“Why was she thankful? Should the thankful ones not be the later generation who had been given birth to and received their upbringing?”

“Horizon.”

Mitsu, while turning back this way asked the following.

“—Do you think that something that has completed its purpose is no longer necessary?”

''Judge,'' is what Horizon began to answer. After all, a machine which had completed its purpose will become an unnecessary, useless object. Once you switch to a new good, it is fine for the old good to be disassembled and recycled.

That’s why Horizon started to voice an affirmative response.

''…No.''

Composing her thoughts, Horizon shook her head to the side.

“I do not think that is true.”

“Why not?”

“That is because Horizon was once like that.”

That was…

“One may think their purpose is over, and while that may be correct, …being more important than you think you are to someone else is something that usually happens.”

Even Horizon, who believed that she was nothing, was not abandoned at Mikawa.

It was not just her. At England it was the same for Mary, so in that case… perhaps it was the same for others.

That was why…

“If you wish to decide that you are unnecessary, then you must ask everyone in the entire world. Also not just those people in the same generation, but also those in the following generations. The reason being is that I am now thinking about wanting to know my mother. In my mother’s generation, even if her mother had been shunned by the entire world, at this very moment I, of the following generation, wish for her.”

“That is a good answer.”

The two of them raised their thumbs.

''So then,'' Horizon connected her thinking to the previous topic. The reason why Mitsu’s mother was thankful for everything was…

“She was able to believe that not just the physical things in front of your eyes, but also the things beyond such as their thoughts of her, were important to them. …That due to this, two people who were connected to her by blood had come from far away.”

“That’s right. That’s why it will be good to remember that.”

“What would?”

''Ah,'' Mitsu spoke.

“Your mother is not here, however she is glad that you have come here. —Indeed, so am I who has once again formed a connection with you as well.”

“—”

Mitsu formed words as if to connect everything together. Putting ''You understand?'' as a preface, she spoke again.

“I was also one of those people who thought of meeting the lost you. Well, to you it might be just a test. That’s why I am trying to teach you to think that meeting me was a good thing.”

That was…

“About your mother.”

<center>●</center>

“About… my mother?”

Horizon slightly prepared her consciousness.

She had come here wanting to know about her mother.

However, she had absolutely no memories of her mother.

It was certain that she had one. After all she was here, however…

''…What kind of person was my mother?''

Was it a result of Phylargia that she wished to follow up on the doubt she had suddenly thought up? That thought immediately became words, turning it into a question. The words which escaped from her mouth were…

“Mitsu-sama, Horizon's mother was…”

“There isn’t much I can say.”

Towards she who had become unable to form those words, the old woman showed eyes which looked like the shape of a smile.

“Your mother was a brilliant student. She came to IZUMO during her middle school years; at the time I was at high school doing ritual Shinto spell and ether research when she came to see me. She was doing ley line research and wanted knowledge of the Far East formulas.

“Mitsu-sama, you used to be an instructor?”

“Judge, I am one of the students who participated in the suppression of the Shimabara Rebellion, the reproduction of the Far East Catholic revolt from fifty years ago that was brought forward in time. After that harsh war ended, I returned here and received a recommendation from the Testament Union. Well, they determined that leaving a young girl who liked to go wild was dangerous; so I served as an instructor here, and when my hair started to turn white your mother came.”

“That was—”

“It was thirty… five… six years ago. She came to this middle school the same year as my idiot daughter and they hit it off and got along well.”

''In that case,'' Horizon thought, if that is where she spent her time in middle school then what came next was…

“Was her high school here or at Musashi?”

With that question, Mitsu shook her head to the side.

Then she spoke the same words which had the same meaning as the shaking of her head.

“I don’t know. —Where that child attended high school, I mean.”

<center>●</center>

“…You don’t know?”

Determining that parroting her words was meaningless, Horizon followed with another question.

“Why is it that you don’t know? Academies are all facilities which have records being archived. They are after all the cornerstones of the politics and military of each country.”

''That’s true,'' there the corners of her mouth formed a smile.

“I’ll say it in advance, but I’m also one who wishes to know something about it. My daughter was also quite outraged. —However, at a certain time, that child unexpectedly received a single letter and disappeared without leaving a note. Then once again at a certain time, she suddenly came back.”

Breathing in, Mitsu spoke.

“—It was around eighteen or nineteen years ago. She was slightly worn out though, and surprisingly she possessed a permit directly from Mikawa’s Lord Motonobu to live on Musashi. Also, she said the following:

"In my womb is Lord Motonobu’s child. I will live with an escort on-board Musashi. However, before that I will travel through the individual territories of the Far East; so please protect me.”

“I determine that she was selfish.”

“That’s true. My daughter as well said that quite a lot to her. However, well, it seems like she reached some kind of resolution. As expected, after howling about it for three days my daughter was tired about it. Exasperated, she was forcibly dragged by her companion through a journey through the Far East. It was a forced three month march through the most important places.”

''That’s true,'' it was Kimi who spoke while she embraced her body.

“However by that time, she was already pregnant with me. Foolish brother came after boarding Musashi, though.”

“…If that is the case, then Toori-sama was a house warming celebration.”

“…You show no mercy on those close to you.”

Mitsu formed a wry smile and said this.

“Well, that’s about all I can say. If my daughter will not say what they saw on the journey, then it is not for me to say. However…”

“However?”

“I don’t know where she was and what she was doing during those several years she vanished. Honda and Sakai shouldn’t know either, so that’s why it is likely she was not in Mikawa. If anyone was to know, it would be only Lord Motonobu.”

''What did you say?''

“What do you think about a proposition like this? How about trying to understand your own parents. I still have a long way to go. That’s why, until you get at least to my age, even if you have not discovered the answer you cannot give up. You cannot give up so reach the conclusion that losing something is saddening.”

Having that said to her, Horizon came to a self-realization. It was the fact that her mother was also certainly lost. She was an important existence to her, however she was a stranger. If she was able to understand that existence…

“People who I have not met, and also things I have not seen…… It is really possible to become able to understand these?”

“—You shouldn’t try immediately and come to a conclusion. However, the only advice I can give is to not give up. Get that? I think it would be good for you to go after that child.”

“Why do you think that?”

''Ah,'' there Mitsu said.

“There was a theme that child was researching.”

That was…

“The resolution of the destiny of sin through the ley lines.”

<center>●</center>

“—”

At the Horizon's side, who had involuntarily lost her words, Kimi and Futayo stood up together after extracting a green spring onion.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard that? Ah, I’m also going to take this spring onion.”

“Isn’t it about time you paid some money? —However, Kimi hearing it for the first time is that kind of thing. After all, it wasn’t something to be told to someone who was not involved, right? However Horizon, Lord Motonobu turned you into the Logismoi Óplo in order to influence the end of the world. Your mother was also researching the deadly sins, about the fate of karma that people cannot escape from.”

''What do you say?'', said Mitsu once again.

“—Don’t you agree that there is great value in understanding?”

<center>●</center>

“That is also something I’ve heard for the first time, sensei.”

Kimi heard an unforeseen voice from the back of the house.

That familiar voice was…

“Sensei?”

''Judge,'' at the same time that her voice, Oriotorai came from the back of the house carrying paper bags filled with goods. Both Horizon and Futayo turned that direction and lastly the grandmother as well.

“Well, it was something that there was no reason to talk to you about, Makiko.”

“Grandmother, do you know our teacher?”

Along with Horizon’s tilted neck question, Oriotorai showed the palm of her hand and urged the grandmother to go on. In a responsive movement, the grandmother placed both her hands on her hips and nodded.

“Who would have thought for Makiko to become a teacher! I was in charge of her history and ritual spell instructions. Enough for her to stay here for a while. She sure ate a lot. —So, well, I also did teach this child’s former official. …I wonder if having two outstanding talents in a row was due to the Apocalypse.”

''No, no,'' Oriotorai smiled and puffed out her chest.

“Someone like me still has a long way to go, sensei. And there were other people who ate more than me."

Oriotorai not referring to herself as sensei was certainly fresh. However, the grandmother and Horizon looked alternatively over there who was repeating deep nods…

“……”

If you were to say that being silent and at a loose end was cute, then this was cute. That’s why…

“Horizon, are you returning?”

“—Judge, I was able to hear a variety of important stories. Then—?”

From here on, Horizon continued her words with that.

“I think that I will look for the obscure circumstances regarding my mother. It will be good if there are still records of her residence, a grave or something like that in Musashi, however.”

''That's right,'' Mitsu nodded.

“There are some steamed sweet jelly beans in the kitchen, so take them and go. Also, Toori is-”

“If you’re talking about foolish brother, he will come later so don’t worry. Foolish brother is not good with difficult talks.”

“He’s been an idiot from long ago. However, that idiot became king, huh.”

Mitsu looked towards Musashi…

“—The world is also ending.”

From far away, in the direction of IZUMO, could be heard the sound of a festival orchestra arranged into house style.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 03|Chapter 03]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 05|Chapter 05]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 49

2016-04-02T18:58:39Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 49: Bringer of Calamity on the Ship */

==Chapter 49: Bringer of Calamity on the Ship==
[[Image:Horizon3B_0567.jpg|thumb]]
''What shows up

''Without an invitation?

'''Point Allocation (Surprises)

After jumping down from the galley, Narimasa landed in the streets toward the bow of Musashino.

Far behind him in the sky, the white galley moved away from the Musashi to turn around.

“Once that comes back, it’ll pick us up. …That’s going to take some acrobatic flying, but it should be easy for Takigawa.”

He ran along a long Western-style business building. His destination was past Musashino’s arch-like bridge at the back of the ship.

He picked up running speed and opened a book-style ''insha kotob'' that displayed a map of Musashi’s surface.

“Oh, dammit Matsu. You only marked the tailors, hairdressers, and graveyards!”

He continued running while muttering, “What should I do about breakfast?”

He maintained his speed as he jumped over the first road.

He took a great leap.

“There.”

After lightly landing on the opposite roof, Narimasa began running again.

From what he had seen of the street below, they were on full alert. The doors and windows were all closed and ether light was coming from the gaps. Those were defense barriers. As for below the deck and inside the ship…

…''Is that an atmospheric barrier!?

That was a spell which weighed down on all of the air inside the ship to slow down anything moving inside. It was less of a burden than the defense barriers and it had likely been developed from the spell used for elevated work inside and outside the Musashi. It was a trap that would slow him down and slam him into the wall if he carelessly broke through the floor.

''What a pain,'' he thought while picking up speed. A giant form was moving two buildings to his right, but it was more taking long strides than out-and-out running. It was a demon-horned man with a black M.H.R.R. uniform stitched with the numeral “1”.

He carried a long case on his back and turned to Narimasa.

“Hey! What’s the matter, Narimasa!? You going without breakfast!? Well!?”

“Yeah, that’s right, Shibata. The edamame I got from Matthias was too much work to eat, so I left it behind.”

“C’mon, you need to eat what a superior gives you.”

Shibata pulled a large rectangular case off of the hard point on his right waist. It required a full arm to hold and he opened it while running.

“Look! This is Lady Oichi’s love-filled box lunch! Just look at it! Hey! Over here!!”

“God, how annoying.”

“Ahh!? What’d you say!? You got a problem with Lady Oichi’s handiwork!?”

“No, I was calling you annoying. Not Lady Oichi.”

“Oh, me!? That’s okay, then!! I’ll be as annoying as possible! That’ll teach you!!”

“Kh!!”

Narimasa brought a hand to his forehead and pushed up his sunglasses. Meanwhile, Katsuie began digging into the lunch.

With a bamboo bottle of tea hanging from one of his demon horns and shaking as he ran, Katsuie asked a question.

“Who do you think is gonna show up? And do you want any of this lunch? You won’t be able to fight well on an empty stomach. Well?”

“Hm, I’d guess the most likely one to show up is Honda-… Huh? Or maybe not. I broke her spear yesterday.”

“On Musashi, do vice chancellor level fighters let enemies run freely through their streets?”

“Well, they’ve apparently got a pretty good strategist here. Something a little different from Hashiba’s Takenaka. It’s possible they might just let us run on through.”

A book-style ''insha kotob'' appeared next to both of them. It was a divine transmission from the bridge of the galley turning around in the sky behind them. It displayed a woman. She had armor wrapped around her forehead and wore a P.A. Oda girl’s uniform modified into a ninja outfit.

She used a hand to brush aside the Garudas and wind spirit Djinns flying around the bridge.

“If you two take your time, I’ll fly right by and leave you there.”

She crossed her arms which lifted up the cloth around her chest and she let a Garuda land on her shoulder.

“I have to get to my next mission after checking out the Musashi.”

[[Image:Horizon3B_0571.jpg|thumb]]

“You mean bowing down to old man Akechi? Having the main dock in Kyoto sure isn’t easy.”

“Show some respect. He’s the vice president which is higher than you.”

“Don’t say that, Ichimasu. Narimasa falls under me, the vice chancellor. We have so many arguments with the student council over our budget that it isn’t surprising he would have some hard feelings. …He just isn’t as tolerant as the rest of us.”

“Takigawa, this annoying upperclassman has gotten even more annoying after his marriage. What am I supposed to do about that?”

“Why not try getting married? I kind of want to see what you’re like when you’re annoying, Nari. I feel like it would drive the world insane.”

“Now things are doubly annoying.”

Narimasa sighed as he jumped over a street and Katsuie followed. Katsuie spoke while he was airborne.

“Ichimasu. Give this starving delinquent a map.”

“Eh? Sure, if you want. The one Matsu made, right?”

“I already have that one! That’s the exact one I’ve got right here!!”

“Fine then.”

After landing on the opposite roof, Katsuie resumed the long strides of his running. He grabbed a Western-style fried shrimp with his chopsticks and faced Narimasa.

“Hey, you want a fried shrimp?”

“What’s this sudden change of heart? But I need to eat what a superior gives me, right? I can’t exactly say no, so shaja.”

“Shaja,” replied Katsuie before raising the shrimp over his head. “Cooooome and get it!”

“…”

“Toooooo slow!”

“You… Ah! You really ate it!?”

“Damn, that’s good! Lady Oichi’s a genius! Hey! Narimasa! Why are you running up ahead and ignoring me!?”

“The enemy’s here!!”

He pointed forward where someone was charging toward him along the rooftop ahead. And they were not alone. Ichimasu sighed when she noticed the enemies.

“I’ll be recording this while I approach from behind. Make sure to do this right.”

“Shaaajaaa. This leaves us with only one choice. …Narimasa, you take care of things up there. I’ll be back here eating this work of art Lady Oichi made. Yes, you have a noble duty to protect her artwork.”

“God, you’re annoying…”

“You’ve gotten really impertinent for someone who isn’t even a real man! Well!?”

“If I’m not a real man, what does it matter if I’m impertinent?”

With that, Narimasa ran on ahead.

…''If I hang around with these adults, I end up feeling like the normal one.

The enemy arrived from the front and one took the lead.

“Musashi’s 2nd special duty officer!!”

Urquiaga charged in on a path between Narimasa and Katsuie.

He travelled through the air. He was a half-dragon with armor, wings, and powerful acceleration, so he had the highest odds of surviving a one-man attack on Narimasa and Vice Chancellor Shibata Katsuie. Neshinbara had been the one to make that decision.

He would not overreach. He was only a special duty officer. A normal commander was one thing, but he was a step behind a combat-oriented vice chancellor.

He understood the gap in power between a vice chancellor and a special duty officer and he understood where that gap came from.

…''Combat-oriented vice chancellors are all combat-obsessed idiots who never think about anything other than combat!

They might have an everyday life, but it was a small part of their lives. Whether it was thinking, relationships, eating, sleeping, or bathing, it was nothing more than a means of training themselves.

Even when they slept, they would think about the best position to recover from their weariness and the optimal amount of sleep for their metabolism to strengthen their muscles.

They were like a wild beast that had learned how to train.

Compared to them, Urquiaga felt he was a normal person. He had an everyday life, he trained as an inquisitor, he would finish off his horrible classmates if they showed an opening, he played elder sister porn games, and he researched the divine network to find out how to register and post on walkthrough sites without triggering a Catholic moral violation.

The divine firmware had gotten quite harsh lately, but that was just a part of god’s trials and tribulations. It gave him a reason to research even more.

But at the vice chancellor level, they did nothing but combat training all day without any of those other things. There had to be something wrong with their brains. It saddened him.

“You poor thing!” he shouted as he attacked.

His weapon was the chain dangling down from his hands. Both ends contained counterweights modelled after the Virgin Mary giving a drill kick. As he flew in, he rotated it around in both hands.

“You may be M.H.R.R. Catholics, but that is not a problem if you are here under your Far Eastern names! Inquisition Set No. 637! Binding Chain 11: Taladro Maria!”

The Virgin Mary threw a kick toward the chests of both enemies.

As he ran, Narimasa did not dodge the chain’s counterweight. He simply gave a powerful swing of his right arm.

“Lily Flower!!”

The roof was not the most solid footing, but he did not choose to break his running form to dodge.

He counterattacked.

He used the strength of his right arm. The glowing lily emblems on his shoulder, elbow, and wrist carried that strength and one last emblem appeared at the end of his opened hand.

The power gathered on the tip of his middle finger. When concentrated on one tiny spot, even the strength of a single arm was plenty powerful.

“…”

So he deflected the flying counterweight. A solid sound filled the air and the Lily Flower scattered.

…''That worked perfectly!

He then looked to Katsuie.

“What’ll you do, Shibata!?”

He saw the counterweight strike Katsuie.

Naruze heard the solid sound as the attack hit Katsuie.

She was at the entrance to the arch forming Musashino’s bridge.

In the distance, the galley had finished turning around and was flying back in. Much closer, Narimasa and Katsuie were running her way.

…''But the counterweight hit the big one!?

The counterweight was just a hunk of metal and she had assumed he would dodge it. She had certainly never expected him to be so busy shoveling food into his mouth that the lunchbox created a blind spot. The counterweight flew right between the diagonally-held lunchbox and his lowered head and it hit him square in the face.

So Naruze fulfilled her duty. She was already equipped with Weiss Fräulein. The pen was covered in its ship’s hull and she held it under her arm as she aimed from a rooftop.

She drew a new guiding line toward her enemy’s position.

That left firing Weiss Fräulein’s guided coin bullets.

“Herrlich!!”

The shot produced recoil and scattering ether light. She had fired four coins. Two ten-yen coins drew arcs of light toward Narimasa and two toward Katsuie.

But that was when she saw sudden movement.

…''Eh?

Katsuie looked up from his food and turned to the left and right. He almost seemed to be asking if something had happened. But first and foremost…

…''What happened to the direct hit of the counterweight!?

The counterweights and chain had moved behind them as Urquiaga flew past them.

The half-dragon’s high speed attack had had a lot of force behind it, but…

“It didn’t damage Katsuie at all!?”

Even as she shouted that question, two of her coins flew toward Narimasa and two toward Katsuie. Narimasa would dodge his two, but Katsuie had his head down in his lunchbox again.

Suddenly, he turned toward Narimasa with an expression that seemed to be showing off how good the food was.

“——————”

The two coins scored direct hits on the side of his face.

Narimasa chose to leap out of the way of the white Technohexen’s two shots.

He gathered Lily Flower on the tips of his toes and kicked off the roof.

He used his jump to dodge.

But he had to do more than just jump. After all, this Technohexen had used her guided shots against aerial ships during the armada battle.

…''They track your movement and shape more than your ether reading, right?

So when he reached the end of the roof, he kicked down on the very edge.

Pushing down there caused the roof to rise like a seesaw.

The straw of the thatched roof scattered everywhere as it sprang up like a wall. And it swallowed up his presence as both motion and shape.

“That should do it.”

The tilting of the roof took a lot of the force out of his leap, but he turned sideways and flipped to the side in order to hang in the air longer and to make his shape harder to grasp.

The enemy’s bullets flew right past his spinning back and stomach.

They did not hit.

He heard the two overlapping sounds of them striking the risen thatched roof behind him and he smelled burning straw.

He landed on the next roof. His feet made contact just as the roof behind him exploded, but he did not feel like turning around.

“Shaja!”

Just as he began to run forward again, he looked to the right.

Katsuie ran along while covered in ether light smoke from the two shots that had hit him.

…''He doesn’t even try to dodge!

But he decided to say what he could.

“Shibata, you should probably look where you’re going.”

“Shaaajaaa. But what’s going on here? Is it some kind of festival?”

Katsuie came into view as he broke through the glowing smoke. He continued his long strides and his uniform was torn to pieces, but there was not a scratch on his black skin or face.

He was unscathed.

Narimasa had a thought as he saw Katsuie unharmed and nearing the end of his lunchbox.

…''This is why he’s so damn annoying.

Katsuie was from the combat tribe of the demonic long-lived. He was large compared to a human, but he was one of the smaller members of his tribe.

However, being small meant something different with him.

He had trained and fought on the battlefield from a young age, so the bodily ether defenses that normally appeared as an adult had manifested when he was still young.

That had stunted his body’s growth and development, but it had also given him something else.

The flesh and bone that was meant to swell out as he grew had been trapped densely inside him.

His entire body was compressed, so there were no gaps in his defenses and he could pour overwhelming bursts of power into his attacks. However, that made it difficult for him to hold back and people had a tendency to keep their distance if not avoid him entirely.

…''All of that used to be kind of cool, but…

“Hey, look! Lady Oichi put tangerine slices in here! They got warm in with the other food, but I think those little bits of carelessness are great! What do you think!? I’m gonna eat them!”

''He’s beyond saving,'' thought Narimasa.

At the Oda clan’s council meeting at the beginning of each year, it was customary to unreservedly give advice to superiors and inferiors alike to help correct each other. That turned into a hellish scene every year, but this year, the lower levels had chosen Katsuie as the #1 most liked superior.

…''Old man Akechi kicked a locker since he’d always won that title in the past. I never knew he cared that much about what people thought of him.

“Anyway,” said Narimasa as he landed and started to run. “Shibata, the next enemy is coming.”

Wind blew in to catch them as they landed and that wind named itself.

“Sanada Academy! Unneeded #1: Sarutobi Sasuke!”

“Unneeded #2: Kirigakure Saizou!”

A ninja in a vest rode in on the back of a female wind spirit.

Katsuie glanced over at the battle between Narimasa and the two leading members of the Sanada Ten Braves. Fighting while running along the rooftops took quite a bit of skill.

…''Narimasa’s gotten pretty good lately.

The Sanadas’ movements were good too.

…''They named themselves to show what they can do before eventually joining us, didn’t they? But…

“Unneeded, hm? There’s no need to put yourselves down like that.”

Katsuie called out to them.

“Hey! Is Seikai with you, too? I never returned the manga ‘Flushed Cheeks’<ref>Pronounced similarly to the Hojoki, an old work of Japanese literature.</ref> I borrowed from him ages ago, so I should probably speak with him.”

A demonic monk quickly stood up and raised his arms atop Musashino’s bridge.

“Th-that was a rare revolutionary romance story and you just took it!”

“Oh, there you are. From the title, I thought it was porn, but it was nothing but a guy and girl talking on and on about boring crap! If you keep reading things like that, you’ll lose sight of reality.”

“I can’t believe you! I just can’t! And after you stole it from me!”

“Shut up,” said Katsuie as he ate more of his lunch. “Ahh, that’s so good.”

…''I’m so glad I got married.

“Bind, Tonbokiri!”

…''Oh, c’mon. Don’t get in the way of my Lady Oichi festival.

Futayo jumped up from between two roofs for a surprise attack and she used Tonbokiri from a distance of thirty meters. That was right at the edge of the range the spear allowed her.

…''And with the greatest range of effect!

While using it to cut scrap wood to help with Musashi’s repairs, she had realized it cut wider the farther away she was.

Of course, stepping back and trying to cut numerous targets would reduce its effectiveness, but she did not always need to fully cut through everything and the reduction was slight when she only had a single target.

And at farther range, the enemy could not cover the blade to stop the cut.

…''So I realized long-range attacks are easier!

''Father! I will become a long-range samurai who wins with projectile attacks!'' she thought as she used the cutting power on Katsuie.

She aimed for his legs. An attack on his torso would have reduced effectiveness due to his lunchbox shield, so she chose his legs. The distance would weaken it somewhat, but she would win if she could get a cut in on his knees.

“————”

But Tonbokiri did not respond.

“Are long-range attacks not allowed, Tonbokiri?”

“Attack currently impossible.”

That answer confused Futayo.

…''Attacking is currently impossible?

She had been able to cut the scrap wood at a distance without issue, so why was it suddenly impossible?

“…?”

Without an answer, she moved in closer. Thinking something might change if the distance was shorter, she held Tonbokiri up toward Katsuie at a range of fifteen meters.

That was when three things happened.

The first came from the two Sanadas clashing with Narimasa to her right.

“What is this!? I’m being stopped!?”

Saizou cried out and moved away from Narimasa.

The second came from Narimasa as he watched the Sanada forces move away. He turned toward Katsuie.

“Shibata! Does that count as ‘running’!?”

There was a hint of anger in his voice.

The third came from a boy in glasses who appeared in a sign frame next to Futayo’s face.

“Spear Honda-kun! This is most likely a Testament Arma! A passively-activated Testamenta Arma is in effect!”

When she had approached, the Testamenta Arma’s field of effect had opened up. Even if Tonbokiri could destroy a Logismoi Óplo’s field of effect, it could not do so from inside that field.

She did not think she had made a mistake. Something unexpected could not be called a mistake.

And so she thought about what the enemy’s Testamenta Arma did.

…''What is this!?

She first noticed that Tonbokiri had stopped.

…''And everything around us has gone quiet.

All noise and motion had vanished from her surroundings. For fifty meters around Katsuie…

“The gravity barriers have stopped!?”

On Musashino’s bridge, Suzu sensed “Musashino” had stopped moving her arms.

“What…is it?” she asked.

“Judge,” replied “Musashino”. “My gravity barriers are being stopped in the instant of defense. Normally, I would carry out minute adjustments, but they collapse at that very instant…and then again when it is time to open the next one. Over.”

“What does…that mean?”

They were stopped for an instant. She had no combat experience, so she could not say what that meant in this situation. However, she could sum up what was happening below.

“All attack…and defense…is being stopped…for an instant?”

“Judge. That is correct. The only information we had on M.H.R.R.’s Testament Arma was that they are both defense related, but it seems we are seeing one of their abilities. In other words…”

“Musashino” faced forward and opened a sign frame to contact the entire ship.

“I have determined the enemy’s ability is to stop all of their enemies’ offensive and defensive actions for an instant! And be wary of the gap in the gravity barriers created around the enemy vice chancellor! The galley might try to fire into the area of ‘stopped’ gravity barriers! Over!”

Futayo saw the distant galley perform a rapid roll as it approached.

In accordance with the history recreation, its cannons were located on the sides instead of the top or bottom, so it twisted for a revolution and a half to point its starboard side down.

Still at a distance, it fired its starboard cannons down toward the Musashi.

…''Well done!

Futayo was impressed by the group of physical shells that cut through the air.

The galley was apparently captained by Takigawa Ichimasu, a P.A. Oda commander. She was a military commander, but she acted mostly as a ninja and she excelled at commanding fleets and constructing fortresses

With her, Katsuie, and Narimasa, three P.A. Oda leaders had gathered here.

“I see!”

''The world is such an interesting place,'' thought Futayo.

“Anti-shell defenses! Over!”

As if in response to “Musashino’s” words, the shells wrapped in trembling air soared toward Musashino. They slipped through the gap of gravity barriers that seemed to hesitate and vanish.

“…!”

Buildings were smashed and roads split. Wood flew, wind blew, and…

“Ahh, now that was a meal.”

Katsuie ran through the gaps in the explosions and looked up from his lunchbox. He closed the case and attached it to the hard point on his waist. The action was one seen anywhere in everyday life, but he accomplished it instantaneously.

…''That was fast!

Sensing danger, Futayo tried to put some distance between them by jumping to the side.

“Hey, stupid. You probably shouldn’t run. That counts as a defensive action.”

Her movements stopped just as she rose up to jump.

She concluded this was a lot like the pope-chancellor’s Stithos Porneia, but that was limited to attack because it only destroyed weapons. This only stopped things for an instant, but it worked on both attack and defense.

…''Did Tonbokiri say attack was impossible as an automatic safety to prevent an explosion caused by a forced shutdown!?

Tonbokiri had decided it was too dangerous to activate without understanding the enemy’s ability. And…

“…”

She could move again. Her jump had only been stopped for an instant and she had not lost her momentum, but…

“See? You won’t make it now.”

Katsuie opened the case mounted on his back hard point. He pulled out a silver tower shield resembling a wing and he attached it to his left arm.

“Testamenta Arma: Animus Caritas – Novum. This thing took a liking to me, so I had no choice but to inherit the name of General Tilly. It’s a pain in the butt, but it’s a cute little thing. Not that I really need it.”

After all…

“I have this!”

He drew a large sword from his waist. It was a thick blade encased in a cowling.

“I don’t know how it stands up to the cutting power of your Tonbokiri, but my divine weapon isn’t half bad. This is Kamewari<ref>Means “Jar Breaker”.</ref>.”

''Not good,'' thought Futayo.

She did not know what this divine weapon’s ability was, but there was still a distance of five meters between them. However, he still swung the weapon.

It was a swift attack. He had only just drawn the blade, but he was already close to completing his swing. She barely noticed he had even done it.

The blade had not reached her, but…

…''Does it have a long-range attack like Tonbokiri!?

He had a defensive Testamenta Arma and an offensive divine weapon. And as for the power of that weapon…

“Get her, Kamewari.”

He swung the attack down toward her and it split Musashino.

[[Image:Horizon3B_0590.jpg|thumb]]
Study:

Battlefield Diagram 2

Toori: Sis! Sis! What’s going on up on the Musashi!? Everyone’s running and jumping around, so I’m confused as hell!

Kimi: Heh heh heh. Hell brother, this is more or less the situation. Take a good look.

Upper Left: Zoomed In (Front Middle Ship – Musashino)

Below 1: About ten kilometers

Lower center: Zoomed Out

1. Ichimasu’s Galley

2. Katsuie

3. Narimasa

4. Musashino’s Bridge

Toori: Wait, are you guys okay? You get into so much trouble without me around, don’t you?

Kimi: While we are in trouble, having you around is another kind of trouble entirely.

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 48|Chapter 48]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 50|Chapter 50]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 39

2016-04-02T18:48:43Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 39: Usurper in a Place of Retrospection */

==Chapter 39: Usurper in a Place of Retrospection==
[[Image:Horizon3B_0301.jpg|thumb]]
''Why?

''Tell me why.

''All I know is that I don’t know

'''Point Allocation (Please Tell Me)

A sound rang out high in the night sky.

As the Musashi was towed through the heavens, loud impacts came from the rear loading port of Ume, the third port ship.

The sound came from the shield installed in one portion of the port. The white and black shield affixed to a metal pillar with wires and bolts was the Logismoi Óplo named Aspida Phylargia.

“…”

A blue dog-faced god of war named Righteousness attacked the shield with a metal rod. Righteousness repeatedly changed its angle of attack, but it accurately targeted the shield each time.

To ensure the force of the blows did not harm the god of war’s wrist, it swung its wrist enough to hit the shield but not enough to push in on the shield.

“You’ve really gotten the hang of this,” commented Mishina Hiro.

She was looking at a sign frame of output data that Righteousness’s maintenance team had extracted. After the god of war finished three sets of ten, she watched the heat expelled from the mouth and other parts.

“Aren’t you going to read the current results of the meeting in Tama’s diplomatic building?’

“Their meeting isn’t over yet. I’m not going to show a lack of trust by monitoring them before they reach a conclusion.”

“Oh, so you’re the type that tends not to trust people?”

“I’m the type that tends to overthink things. And to be honest, I watched a bit partway through, but I couldn’t keep up with some of it. That’s another reason I want to put it off until later.”

“I can understand that,” said Hiro as her shoulders drooped.

But then she looked down at the sign frame data.

“But should you really let me see this data, Yoshy? That’s an important weapon for Satomi, right?”

“Yoshy…” muttered Yoshiyasu inside Righteousness with her shoulders drooping as well. “This is on our chancellor’s instructions and I agree that there’s meaning in revealing this information to the Matsudaira clan. That’s a clan that will never be our enemy in the history recreation. But…”

“But?”

“If we’re revealing our information, we have to be getting something in return. Since the information we’re handing over is on the god of war left to me, it would only make sense to tell me what it is we’re getting out of it.”

“Do you two not get along?”

The surrounding students shrank back at Hiro’s casual comment.

“Oh, should I not have said that?” she added while unabashedly peering at the output graphs. “Well, they say getting into arguments with someone proves how close you really are.”

“Don’t act like you understand this.”

“How much do you hate him?”

“Can you measure emotions?”

“You can,” said Hiro.

She then turned to the student in charge of the output graphs and asked if she could “mess with” them.

“You can only say something can’t be measured once you’ve started measuring it.”

“That’s just sophistry.”

“Then that means the topic is up for debate.”

Hiro placed her hand on the display slate she had opened the graphs on. She placed a control stone, which resembled a ''go'' stone, on the controller to raise the magnification of the slate’s display. She then entered the output peak line from one end of the display to the other.

“Oh, and I’m just asking out of curiosity while I work. I focus on my work better when I can catch glimpses of different kinds of information. If I only focus on what I’m doing, my focus runs out pretty quick.”

“If you look into it, you can learn all you want about the relationship between the chancellor and me.”

“I’m not interested enough to do that, so just tell me what you can.”

Righteousness called her an idiot, but Hiro only nodded and said, “Yes, yes.”

The god of war held up the metal rod again.

“How’s Aspida Phylargia’s charge?”

“Taking it one hit at a time does better than doing thirty hits in a row. I think it grows accustomed to the pain. At around the tenth hit, the amount gained drops off quite a bit and stabilizes there. I guess it’s like when people complain about you. At first, it’s a real shock, but you eventually give up and start thinking that’s the kind of person you are.”

“So we have to hit it to charge it, but it gets used to that? What a pain.”

“It is an emotion after all.”

Righteousness briefly fell silent before speaking.

“That’s right. Sorry.”

“Apologizing here is meaningless. You’re a weird girl, Yoshy. That’s just how emotions are, so there’s no use apologizing for it. Instead of apologizing, tell yourself to not forget it next time. I will admit there are times for formal apologies, though. Oh, and I’m just saying arbitrary stuff right now, so don’t take any of it too seriously. I’m busy working down here.”

“You’re a weird underclassman.”

“You’re still a second year yourself, you weird upperclassman. …Anyway, I’m glad you’re willing to go along with this. Our maintenance god of war pilots can’t hit as accurately as you. Even Masa is more the martial arts type. I had one of ours try it and they hit the pillar instead and the rod slipped from their hand. It hit King Yoshinao’s leisure boat and we haven’t really told anyone yet.”

“You need to tell him!!”

“Not to worry, not to worry. We’re going to fix it so it’s even stronger and put it back where it was. For now, we’re attaching a swan figurehead that makes strange noises and giving it super acceleration when pedaled.”

Righteousness looked over to one end of the port and spotted a leisure boat with a swan on the front being modified by a special 24-hour crew. It had a pair of long accelerators attached.

“That thing looks fast.”

“It’ll probably fly perfectly straight too. Anyway…”

Hiro put on soundproofed fur ear covers and placed a small charm pendant around her neck.

“Hi there. I’m using a bone conduction divine transmission charm. Can you hear me?”

“Is this your attempt at being considerate?”

“I have a feeling you’ll be giving out some information you don’t want heard.”

Hiro waved at Righteousness as it raised the metal rod and she held up the data extraction sign frame.

“Okay, you can start.”

Yoshiyasu gave a mental sigh within Righteousness. She did not actually sigh, but she felt the inside of a god of war was a comfortable place. No one could see her expression and they could not look down on her short form.

More importantly, she could take on the role of protector and not have to be aware of how small she was.

…''Everyone around me is so huge these days!!

She meant their height.

''Oh, Lady Yoshitsune was small too, but the issue there is in the personality.

At any rate…

“It happened long ago.”

“How many years ago?”

“Two.”

“Yoshy, are you sure you don’t have a way of exaggerating things in your head?”

''To the long-lived even one extra centimeter is a big deal,'' she thought.

But…

“If I don’t tell myself it was long ago, I won’t be able to handle it.”

Because…

“It’s about that man and my sister. It’s about the current Chancellor Satomi Yoshiyori and my sister, the previous Chancellor Satomi Yoshiyori.”

Righteousness began striking the shield and Hiro compared the data readings to the previous ones.

…''The charge rate is a lot better when it involves the princess herself.

The amount of pain from an extracted emotion was a lot different from that of an emotion you carried with you. Hiro wondered if this really was the princess’s emotion while also feeling impressed with Mikawa’s technical prowess in creating it.

Meanwhile, Yoshiyasu’s voice reached her.

“That man originally inherited the name of a Satomi retainer named Masaki Noritoki. My sister had inherited the name of Satomi’s previous leader Satomi Yoshihiro and of his child Yoshiyori. The two of them often protected the clan from Houjou invasions. Houjou is located across Edo Bay, so there has been a long history of harsh conflict over control of the sea.”

But…

“The Testament descriptions said Masaki Noritoki started a rebellion during Yoshiyori’s generation and was killed.”

“What do you mean?”

“In the Testament descriptions, it was part of a conflict over who would inherit the Satomi clan. He conspired against Yoshiyori with Houjou, but…”

But…

“My sister contacted Houjou and tried to overcome Masaki Noritoki’s rebellion. Houjou said they would accept her request, but only on one condition.”

“What condition was that?”

“On the non-Far East side, Houjou is controlled by the Indian Mughal Dynasty. That’s a Mlasi dynasty and therefore connected to P.A. Oda. At the time, Hashiba’s influence had already reached them and they had a fleet of aerial ships stationed there.”

“I see,” muttered Hiro as she felt the god of war’s attacks vibrating in her skin. “Houjou said they would overlook a lot about Masaki Noritoki’s rebellion if you sank Hashiba’s fleet, didn’t they? In other words, they asked you to free Houjou.”

“Yes. When Masaki Noritoki started his rebellion, Houjou made sure they had sent their own fleet to Mikawa. The fleet was used to protect the automatons being delivered there. So to properly recreate the rebellion, they had to send out Hashiba’s fleet. And to intercept that fleet…”

Righteousness’s attacks slowed a bit. The slight gap between strikes meant the next one created a greater charge of pain than before. However, Yoshiyasu’s voice continued just as the change appeared on the sign frame readings.

“My sister had just developed Yatsufusa and Murasamemaru at the time. They were sent out and the Hashiba fleet had no advance information on them, so the fleet was sunk by Yatsufusa with the assumption that ‘Masaki Noritoki was somewhere in that fleet’. …That was how she tried to hand the name Yoshiyori over to that man.”

But Righteousness was not done speaking.

“Masaki’s ship was stopped above the ocean because it had hidden after making a show of meeting up with Houjou. When my sister flew to the ship and met up with that man who had planned the rebellion, ''it'' happened.”

“It?”

“That one’s simple,” said Yoshiyori. “That man killed my sister.”

Yoshiyasu did not know much about it.

At the time, her sister had told everyone to give the name Yoshiyori to Noritoki and leave Satomi to him if anything were to happen to her. That was why Satomi had done that despite how she had died.

“More importantly, Yatsufusa requires the eight virtues in its pilot and he’s the only one it will accept.”

“Doesn’t that mean Yoshiyori and Masaki’s actions were justified? It means killing Yoshiyori didn’t violate the eight virtues, right?”

“Probably.”

“Probably?”

Hiro’s question nearly stopped Yoshiyasu from attacking.

“Noritoki claims a meeting held in advance had decided we had to strictly follow the history recreation of Masaki’s death, but supposedly that information never reached us.”

Meaning…

“So on his side, they thought Yoshiyori was coming to kill him for starting the rebellion?”

“Testament. That’s why he claims he played his role as rebel by ‘fighting back’ against my sister when she left Yatsufusa. But due to the communication error, my sister was not trying to attack and ended up being killed. …He claims it was all an accident.”

Yoshiyasu gave another mental sigh.

“Satomi has brought together its Far Eastern side and the peninsula, but it is still a small nation and long-term chaos would be dangerous. Due to that, my sister’s final instructions, and Yatsufusa, Satomi called it all a ‘tragedy of the history recreation’, gave Masaki Noritoki my sister’s name, and reversed their positions. The Testament Union was generous to Satomi since we destroyed a Hashiba fleet and liberated the Association of Indian States.”

Yoshiyasu began to complain.

“Honestly, I can’t believe they call it an accident due to a communication error and a ‘tragedy of the history recreation’.”

The word “stupid” escaped her lips.

“That’s just too stupid to be true.”

“Eh?”

“I understand.”

That is…

“My sister and that man planned it together and had some reason for it. That’s why Yatsufusa chose him. But…”

On the word “but” she made her next strike and a solid sound shook the air.

“Why didn’t she tell me anything!? And that man still hasn’t!!”

After an especially loud hit, the grip flew from her hand. Before she could think “oops”, the metal rod was flying through the air.

“…!”

She spread the flight devices upwards and accelerated leftward. She moved in, caught the metal rod as it fell, and took a breath.

“I was in my third year of middle school at the time. After the selection test, it was decided I would enter the student council the following year and my first training mission was to welcome my sister back. Now I’m the student council president, but have I inherited anything that my sister had as president?”

She told herself that was all from long ago, but the memories from two years ago were still fresh in her mind.

“Even now, are they not going to let me stand alongside her?”

“If something does happen, please handle it like that, Principal Sakai.”

Someone bowed below the night sky. Musashino’s front deck was nearly empty, but Sakai sat on a bench with an astronomical model sign frame open, “Musashi” stood next to him, and…

“Yoshiyori-kun, I don’t like critiquing the chancellors of other schools.”

Sakai looked away from the northern sky of the astronomical model and to his left where Satomi Yoshiyori wore the coat of a Far Eastern uniform.

Sakai twisted his eyebrows in a smile.

“But I think deciding something like this on your own will lead to some resentment. …Have you informed your own principal?”

“Testament. I did when I came here. I said it would depend on the situation.”

Yoshiyori suddenly looked away from Sakai.

A few figures arrived from the stern of the ship. They were all automaton maids and they worked together to carry some tatami mats with “Tea Ceremony Club” written on the bottom.

“Oh, excuse us, Sakai-sama, ‘Musashi’-sama, and guest. Over.”

“Tatami mats?” asked Yoshiyori with a tilt of his head.

“The inside of the diplomatic building was flipped around,” answered Sakai with a bitter smile. “You read the report on that when it came in earlier, right? I’d guess they’re redoing the floor. It was Western style before, so now they’re going for a Far Eastern style. And Asama-kun is there, so she can make them some tea.”

“Judge,” confirmed the automatons carrying the mats as they jogged toward the thick rope pathway to Tama. “We are grateful for all this excitement if it gives us tasks to do. Over.”

“I see,” muttered Yoshiyori. “You’re right about that. I’m jealous of how Musashi is brimming with excitement even at night.”

He first turned toward the Sanada Ten Braves laughing and arguing in the beer garden built on a distant part of the deck.

“Nezu, Mochizuki, and Yuri aren’t with them, but it looks like they’ve adapted to Musashi well enough.”

“I’d love to have them fight for us, but once Takeda finishes the Battle of Nagashino, they’ll be our enemies. They’ll move to Hashiba’s side along with Sanada Nobushige.”

“Sakai-sama, they are our guests at the moment. Try not to think anything you should not. Over.”

“Yes, yes.”

Yoshiyori smiled.

“Principal Sakai, I hear you run mental simulations of your academy’s military situation.”

“Don’t you? In fact, doesn’t everyone?”

“No, a lot of academies can’t even if they might want to. And ours is one of those.”

“Really?”

Yoshiyori nodded, lowered the ends of his eyebrows a little, and brushed a hand through his hair.

“Keeping the eight dogs is the most we can manage. Whenever possible, I prefer to keep the members of the student council away from battle.”

“Yoshiyasu-kun ''is'' pretty cute.”

“Sakai-sama… Over.”

“I appreciate the thought even if it’s only flattery.”

“See, ‘Musashi’-san? Everyone sees it that way. And if we were talking about my personal preferences, I’d choose someone more like you.”

“You mean the aerial city ship? I have determined you are no more than a child. Over.”

“Musashi” turned away and began making tea while the two men resumed their discussion.

First, Satomi Yoshiyori crossed his arms.

“The way I see it, dreaming about future power is a privilege reserved for the academies of large nations or nations with a future.”

“So is joining with Ariadust not a part of the future you see?”

“I wouldn’t dare. …Satomi is an Awa nation, so it only gets along well with Matsudaira due to its location. That means our relationship is not one we can trust in too much.”

So…

“If we rely solely on the history recreation, I think it’s possible we can make a weak connection through an ‘interpretative alliance’.”

“You sure are diligent and careful.”

“Testament. I think that may be why Satomi has lasted so long.”

“I see,” replied Sakai as he stood from the bench and looked up at Yoshiyori. “But Yoshiyori-kun. You should try becoming more like our Toori.”

That suggestion put a look of light surprise on Yoshiyori’s face, but it soon changed to a bitter smile.

“I think I have enough of that already.”

Yoshiyori looked around again. He heard a god of war striking something in the distance and saw the lights of a diplomatic ship.

Sakai spoke to Yoshiyori who took a deep breath as he observed all the activity in the city despite the late hour.

“Musashi is still plenty busy, so go check out whatever you want to see. You might get some good stories to tell back in Satomi. …And the meeting on Tama is probably about to begin its second round.”

As the night continued and everyone began moving again, a meeting resumed in a table-less diplomatic room on Tama’s surface.

Tatami mats had been brought in and Asama had set up a tea ceremony, so they were having the meeting on the floor.

Masazumi, Horizon, and the treasurer pair sat on one side while Guericke and the Mouse named Mazarin sat on the other.

Asama sat at the top of the ceremony and she watched steam rise from the iron kettle she had stuck a heating charm into.

“Now, then.”

While sitting in the proper fashion, she scooped up some hot water with a bamboo ladle.

“While I serve the tea, the rest of you can begin your discussion.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 38|Chapter 38]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 40|Chapter 40]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 38

2016-04-02T18:47:34Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 38: New Age of Clinging */

==Chapter 38: New Age of Clinging==
[[Image:Horizon3B_0265.jpg|thumb]]
''Something here

''Is lacking

'''Point Allocation (Excitement)

In the diplomacy room, the two merchants began to move at almost the exact same moment.

But one of them, Guericke, was not confident of his victory.

This was not due to a lack of confidence in himself. Victory was a result and it did not occur in the middle of a process, so he needed to be confident in something else.

…''I need to be confident that I am doing my very best!

If he did his very best to follow the process, he could win or he could find himself lacking, but he would not lose.

What mattered was finding where you were lacking and – whether you won or lost – always crushing those areas.

That was how Guericke viewed training.

…''But Musashi’s princess said our hemispheres were the same as losing to the Apocalypse!!

He could not allow that, but did that point to something lacking inside him?

“…!”

He thought as he sank down to prostrate himself.

He remembered his school days when he had decided to research the Apocalypse.

At the time, he had been convinced he could use his history recreation of the hemispheres to defeat the Apocalypse.

While researching physics at university, he had been given the opportunity to read documents on Avalon sent from England. That had only strengthened his conviction. After all, when the Fairy Queen had taken the throne, she had inspected Avalon and sent out new data on the Apocalypse.

…''So I was certain I could use an interpretation of a vacuum to create an Apocalypse defense spell.

But not long afterwards, he had learned that the Apocalypse thinned the ley lines as a whole so there was no way to fight it when the defense spell itself used ether.

That had given him a new thought.

…''Did everything we do only pave the way to defeat!?

''No,'' he thought. ''Definitely not.

“We did everything we could to fight the Apocalypse! Don’t call that defeat!!”

Guericke moved his body and his techniques.

He had a single body, but the technique took the form of two hemispheres on his arm armor.

He activated the operation levers for the small hemispheres attached to his wrists.

…''That creates a “vacuum”!

The vacuum hemispheres scattered the ether light of a Protestant Kunst and began sucking everything in toward their inside edge.

They were currently pointed down toward his feet.

His upper body was still vertical, but the hemispheres on his arms were pulled down. This produced tremendous acceleration.

“…!”

His knees and butt dropped so quickly that his head and shoulders seemed left behind.

With unbelievable speed, his dropping body slipped between the table and chair. His butt moved straight down.

His hips dropped and the “vacuum” pulled his wrists to the floor.

However, he then twisted his right wrist to the right.

…''A prostration does not count if the other party cannot see it!

He pointed the “vacuum” right, the soles of his shoes slipped along the floor, and his entire body slid right in a crouching posture.

He glided and his dropping hips were already lower than the chair. Now he only needed to enter the merchant’s field of vision, place his knees down, and move his hands forward.

To ensure his victory, he power slid to the right while nearly down to the floor. He almost seemed to tear into the floor.

But then a shadow appeared overhead.

…''A chair!?

To his left, Guericke saw Musashi’s treasurer grab the edge of the table and push it toward him.

The table was in the way, so he had no other choice.

But even as the boy leaned forward, his right leg shot up behind him.

“He kicked up the chair with his heel!?”

He caught the chair on his heel, kicked it into the air, over his own back, and toward his enemy.

The chair flew in a relatively slow parabolic arc. And because it was slow enough to see its trajectory, Guericke was briefly not sure how to avoid it.

…''A German does not hesitate!!

He shot forward below the chair and toward Musashi’s treasurer.

He chose to sink down toward his left and challenge the boy to a point blank prostration.

He slid forward while the downwards pull of the vacuum acceleration kept him on the floor.

However…

“…!”

Musashi’s treasurer forcibly twisted his body toward Guericke.

The table’s movement also changed. It had been moving straight forward, but now it moved toward the man.

Was Musashi’s treasurer trying to hit him? No.

…''Is he preventing it from hitting Musashi’s princess!?

Pushed straight forward, the table leg would hit the princess who still sat in her chair, so the treasurer had shifted its path away from her and toward Guericke’s half-lowered chest.

…''An excellent decision!

The table came from the left.

But even as he felt the wind of its approach on his cheek, Guericke pointed both arms downward.

As the table approached, his body instantly sank to the floor.

It passed by overhead.

“…!!”

He rotated his right arm. He had leaned back to slip below the table, so he used the pull of the “vacuum” to bring himself into a spin.

He used his spread arms for a backhand strike with the arm armor and he made a horizontal kick.

…''My target is the Musashi Treasurer’s legs!

Having to move below the table had broken his prostration form. He needed to buy time for his next prostration, so he used his rotating backhand and horizontal kick to interfere with his opponent’s prostration.

However, his opponent was already moving. He grabbed the edge of the table and…

…''A handstand!?

Asama had not intended to watch, but it was happening almost right in front of her.

What mattered now was the intersection between the two of them.

…''Mayor Guericke is below the table and he tried to sweep Shirojiro’s feet out from under him.

But Shirojiro had grabbed the edge of the table and performed a handstand.

What surprised Asama was that Shirojiro had moved toward the sky instead of the ground.

…''He must have trained for this.

It seemed strange, but she stopped thinking about it because she was afraid she would understand it if she did.

Then they made their next move.

Shirojiro had dodged, so Guericke’s attack had missed.

“Ah,” said Asama just as the table shook.

From her viewpoint, the back right table leg on Shirojiro’s side broke from Guericke’s strike.

After a solid sound, the table tilted from the lost support.

It collapsed back and to the right like a closing maw.

Guericke was directly below it, so Heidi spoke up from where she had retreated to the back wall.

“Crush him!”

Asama thought that was being a little too straightforward, but then she saw Guericke accelerate.

He used the “vacuum” of his hemispheres to escape toward the back wall.

Guericke did everything he could to escape as if moving his back against the wall.

But as he turned around, he saw the enemy moving in front of him.

On top of the collapsing table, Musashi’s treasurer twisted from his handstand and took a combat stance in midair. His landing pose would place him on the tilting table and…

…''Oh, no!!

The enemy would make a landing prostration, slide down the table, and end up right in front of Guericke.

That would complete the prostration and mean his loss, so he made a decision.

“The wall!”

He fired his “vacuum” toward the wall, stood on it, and moved left.

…''I will make a sliding vacuum dash!

The soles of his shoes tore into the wall, but he managed to round the corner of the room while standing on the wall.

If he reached the wall with the window, he would be directly to the right of Musashi’s treasurer. That would be outside his enemy’s field of vision, so he would be out of range of the prostration.

To turn, the enemy would have to end his prostration, but by then, Guericke would have dropped to the floor and made a prostration of his own.

That would mean his win, so he tore along the wall and jumped at the corner.

“…!”

He jumped above the window frame on the wall to his left. He slid left along the wall from there and he turned to face his opponent.

…''He’s rotating!?

The enemy used his slide down the table to achieve prostration drifting. He slid his back end outwards and planted his hands so they faced Guericke. He was perfectly following the man.

He had locked onto him.

At this rate, the battle would end once the enemy’s prostration reached the floor.

“In that case…!”

As Masazumi glared at the scene before her, she saw something truly unexpected.

Guericke had been quickly circling the walls, but he tore into the wall to make a leap which took him to…

“The ceiling!?”

As Guericke raced up to the ceiling directly above Musashi’s treasurer, he recalled the anti-Far Eastern prostration tactics he had learned at university.

…''Research says prostration is a horizontal petition attack!

That was known from Europe’s research into anti-Far Eastern negotiation. Guericke and the treasurers of other nations and cities had put together a number of countermeasures against the rule of “once a prostration is complete, the petition must be accepted” that had to be followed for the Far East’s history recreation.

One of those came from their research into the horizontality and directionality of prostration.

A prostration made a powerful appeal directed straight ahead, but as a technique, it held little meaning to the sides or back. Therefore, the most effective way of avoiding a poorly-executed prostration was to jump over the individual and land behind them.

This also meant prostrations had a blind spot directly above and they were prone to trap attacks.

Thus, taking a vertical position protected one from a prostration.

…''But if I make a prostration from my vertical position, I can strike back when he looks up to confirm my position!

However, a prostration on the ceiling was fundamentally meaningless.

A prostration’s effects were entirely horizontal, so as long as the floor and ceiling were parallel, a prostration from a vertical position was impossible.

''Or so it was in the past,'' thought Guericke as he raised his arms.

“But that age is about to end!”

He used the vacuum of his hemispheres.

“New Age Prostration! Rise, ceiling!!”

With the sounds of tearing wood and scattering wooden fragments, Guericke tore away the ceiling panel at his feet and tilted it up by ninety degrees.

This created a temporary but definite floor for him. He only had to grasp it and complete history’s first Senkrechte Prostration.

…''At this moment, Europe’s petition combat has surpassed the Far East’s history recreation!

With that thought, he began his attack. The heavens and the earth had already swapped places for him and he would now tilt that by another ninety degrees.

…''Soles of the feet, ankles, knees, and back.

His entire body worked in unison and he braked using the pull of the vacuum on his arms.

…''Perfect!

He knew it could not be done better as he placed his knees and hands on the ceiling and leaned his body forward.

“…!?”

But when he looked below, he saw the Musashi merchant’s prostration turning his way.

That meant his enemy was entering the vertical world just as he was.

…''But how!?

He knew how. He could see the answer. However, he could not understand it, so he shouted out exactly what it was he saw before his eyes.

“The floor is rotating!?”

The floor rotated like a revolving door.

There was a storeroom below, it contained empty space and a floor, and the falling table and chairs smashed to pieces when they hit that floor.

From the open windowsill they had escaped to, Horizon, Masazumi, Asama, and Heidi watched the room’s floor rotate around the center by ninety degrees.

“Ah.”

Asama had run over from the top of the tipping floor and she stepped up onto the window frame that was only half a safe area due to the vertical floor.

“Ah, oh. Sorry. I can stand.”

Asama turned around and Masazumi half held onto the girl’s leg while focusing on the transformation of the room and the result of the battle.

Machinery had turned the floor into a wall and Bertoni looked like a cicada as he clung to it while prostrating.

“Is he using pure physical strength to hold onto that vertical wall!?”

“Judge,” said Heidi with a nod. “He’s fully using his palms, nails, and such like a free climber. The technique comes from the history recreation of trap floors in Far Eastern ninja mansions and he incorporated it into a way of forcibly prostrating to someone who was trying to run away, but…”

She could not believe it.

“I never thought he would do it completely vertically.”

“He never tested it vertically?”

“He has apparently tried it before because he likes to test his own ability, but this is of course his first time to do it for real.”

At that point, the floor stopped.

The recoil shook the floor a bit and Bertoni’s body shook with it.

“Hang in there!” shouted Heidi. “Winning here leads down the path to true riches!!”

Guericke saw the other prostration reach completion before his own.

Below him, he saw the wall that had been a floor and the prostration clinging to it with pure physical strength.

However, the prostration did not look even slightly constricted.

…''How boldly done.

Musashi’s treasurer swayed and started to fall, but he returned to his original position and continued clinging to the wall.

“…”

After a breath, he seemed to press his forehead even more forcefully into the floor.

Guericke knew the boy would fall if he waited, but…

…''I already lost.

Germans did not lie, so he spoke.

“Well done.”

He was certain of the result. He had done his very best, but he was still lacking. After all, he had attempted history’s first Senkrechte Prostration, but…

…''He used only his physical strength to perform an official prostration on a vertical floor.

If a first was accomplished using reinforced weaponry, the world’s treasury techniques would lose their reliability and grow soft.

''So this was for the best,'' decided Guericke in his lacking heart.

He spoke the most accurate words to his enemy.

“You are the correct one, Musashi Treasurer.”

“Then let us continue the conversation.”

Guericke looked down at the voice that answered him.

Musashi’s princess sat in the center of the girls who had fled to the window.

She sipped at a tea cup before continuing.

“I have already reached my own answer. Is that okay?”

The floor began to return to its original position, but Musashi’s treasurer had yet to leave his prostration. He likely intended to remain like that until the floor was a floor again.

…''He takes prostration seriously.

That thought was interrupted by the voice of Musashi’s princess as she stepped onto the still-tilted floor.

“Now, I would like to sum up the conclusions we have reached here.”

…''The conclusions, hm?

Masazumi realized Horizon’s words were bringing the meeting to an end, so she tried to step down onto the floor after Horizon.

…''Nh?

She had been clinging to Asama’s leg to make sure she did not fall from the window frame, but her arm was now trapped between the girl’s thighs. Asama had likely been using her as a support, but…

…''Is she not loosening her grip because she’s trained-…

Masazumi shook her head, tried not to get lost in strange worldly thoughts, and quickly worked to get her arm free.

As she did, the warm thickness of Asama’s thighs trembled with tension.

“Eh? Wait, Masazumi. Ah! That tickles!”

The problem came when Asama reflexively pulled her hips back. Masazumi still had her arms wrapped around her thigh, so she lost her balance and…

“Ah.”

The two of them fell backwards and out the window.

Masazumi and Asama fell onto grass outside. Masazumi had fallen on her back, but the lawn outside the diplomatic building was thick.

“Nn.”

She lay on her back and noticed a warm weight pressing on her.

She looked up and saw the colors red and white.

…''What is this?

She found the answer by considering the end result of the physical motion that had taken place.

…''Oh, Asama’s butt is sitting on me and it’s pointed toward me.

They had both fallen, but Asama was sitting with her butt pointed toward Masazumi’s face.

There was nothing sexy about it.

Having Asama’s spread legs and butt directly in front of her gave Masazumi a bad feeling of what was to come, so she wondered if she was in light shock after hitting her head. Or perhaps there was another reason for this sense of danger.

“Asama! Masazumi! Are you okay!?”

Naruze frantically leaned out the window and looked down at them.

“Don’t move! I’ll use this for the next cover!!”

“Th-that bad feeling just became real! Asama, get up! Hurry! This is dangerous!”

Masazumi frantically tried to get up, but Asama seemed to be a little dizzy after flipping around upside down. She tried to do as Masazumi said, but she moved slowly and…

[[Image:Horizon3B_0283.jpg|thumb]]

“Eh? Ah, wait. What?”

Instead of “getting up”, she “sat up”, so she ended up sitting on top of Masazumi’s neck and face.

Masazumi tried to speak, but something else happened first.

“…”

She began suffocating

Guericke saw Naruze’s wings beyond Musashi’s princess. Naruze was leaning out the window with her spread wings catching the sides of the window frame. This caused her to fill the window, but…

“Okay, Asama. If you’re feeling woozy, that’s perfect. Just stay like that. And it looks like Masazumi can’t breathe with your butt cutting off her oxygen supply, so this is even more perfect.”

“Eh? Ehhh? …Ah, ehh!? Ah, wait! Masazumi! Ehhhh!?”

…''I want to see it!! Asama and Masazumi are posing for the cover!?

He was filled with a reliable desire, but simply acting on it would lead to reliable suspicion. Fortunately, he came up with an accurate way of camouflaging his actions.

“Are you okay!?”

He expressed his worry and approached, but the aide to Musashi’s treasurer spoke.

“Okay, let’s sum things up.”

…''You are reliably in the way!!

At any rate, Masazumi faced forward while climbing in the window after Asama.

Horizon had already entered the room, Naruze had come in through the door, and Asama turned back toward Masazumi.

“Um, Masazumi, are you okay? Did you hit your head or something while underneath me? If anything happened, please tell me. I can arrange for treatment at the shrine’s infirmary.”

“No, I’m fine. Just fine. Don’t worry about it.”

After stepping inside, Asama stood next to her to help support her.

…''She’s so big.

She meant her height.

She glanced over at Asama as the girl checked her sign frame.

Asama had the curves to match her height. After giving a casual look across those body lines, Masazumi lightly touched her own chest.

…''I’m the same as anyone else below here, though.

She had a certain thought while comparing herself to the girl next to her.

…''Are those what you call feminine body lines?

The Aoi sister and Mary also had nice figures and she thought Mitotsudaira had nothing to complain about if you focused on the hips. She felt her own body was lacking, but was that simply due to a complex about her body?

…''Aoi does sometimes praise my butt…

She stopped thinking there.

…''Don’t start acting like his opinion matters. He’s not a butt sommelier. No, that’s not the point. Although from an authority standpoint, his decision would be what-…

“Masazumi-sama, please confirm what I am about to say.”

“Eh? Oh, judge. What!?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh heh. What has you so flustered? Did being pushed to the ground by Asama mess with your brain?”

'''Asama:''' “Wait. Stop that, Kimi. It may not seem like it, but Masazumi is trying to be serious.”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “It may not seem like it?”

''What am I supposed to do?'' wondered Masazumi as she pet Tsukinowa.

Meanwhile, Horizon gestured to Guericke with a hand and asked another question.

“Now, may I start, Masazumi-sama?”

“Yes.” Masazumi nodded. “You may. …So what is it you want me to confirm?”

“Judge.” Horizon nodded as well. “I have reached the following three conclusions based on our negotiations with Magdeburg.”

They were…

“First, we will not hand over any part of the Musashi.”

Guericke closed his eyes at that.

He looked both accepting and regretful and Masazumi knew why.

…''This means he can’t save the actual city from the Sack of Magdeburg.

She did not think or speak an apology. After all, she had intended to reject that demand from the beginning.

If she apologized for this rejection, he might think she had wanted to cooperate.

And so she said nothing here.

If necessary, they could hold another discussion on some new topic after summing up the conclusions here.

Horizon opened her mouth to give the second conclusion.

“Second, we will take the Magdeburg Hemispheres.”

Masazumi listened.

“But we will not take them aboard the Musashi yet. After all, the Musashi still has a lot to do. We can always retrieve them after that is over and development can continue in the meantime. I have determined taking them now would interfere with future development of the Hemispheres.”

…''Then what are you going to do?

Guericke did not get a chance to put his thoughts to words.

Just as he tried, Musashi’s princess raised a hand to stop him.

“If you are wondering what we will do, we will have Magdeburg continue development. However, we ask that you do not give up researching an Apocalypse countermeasure whether it be the Hemispheres or something else. Whatever the result, I have determined the best possible option is constantly changing.”

She did not stop there.

“And I hope you have not forgotten, but we are currently searching for a way of stopping the Apocalypse. Our goal is to stop the Apocalypse with the Logismoi Óplo, not your sucking hemispheres. Once we complete that, your hemispheres will be usele-…”

She trailed off and bowed toward him after a pause.

“I apologize. You are doing everything you can to develop those hemispheres, aren’t you? Calling them useless goes against my policy. After all, your hemisphere obsession has led you to focus so intently on creating them that you have skipped meals, lost the understanding of your family, been betrayed by your friends, and earned the nickname of Hemisphere Kappa Boy among the people of your city.”

“Wait. I didn’t go that far.”

“Why not?”

“Eh?”

He was completely dumbfounded. Why hadn’t he? He had never thought about it.

…''Wait. Of course I didn’t. In fact, is that really something to criticize me for?

Musashi’s vice president averted her gaze and looked out the window, so he decided he could ignore this. Musashi’s princess moved on regardless.

“Anyway, our goal is to retrieve the Logismoi Óplo and stop the Apocalypse, but even then, it sounds like those hemispheres would have a number of uses: in battle, during disasters, or when you need a wall to express yourself.”

“A wall to express yourself?”

“Judge.”

Musashi’s princess stood, placed a hand on the wall, and started ripping it away, but the vice president and the others stopped her.

Masazumi heard Guericke laugh quietly, so she turned toward him.

“Oh, excuse me. …Yes, using it for a wall in a joke is just perfect. It cannot live up to my hopes of saving the world, so it will be used to make jokes. We can think about it like that.”

He nodded and spoke to Horizon.

“Can we both hope that the Apocalypse will be stopped and all things will have no better use than to make jokes?”

“Judge. And I would like to take the very best course of action to ensure that. Please tell the world that you are hoping to find something to save us from the Apocalypse, that you are working to develop it, and that you are continually improving it. As long as you continue developing and improving it, I can statistically predict that the world will remain hopeful.”

Horizon then turned to Asama.

“And for that, I have a request for Musashi’s maintenance division. Have them construct a fixed divine network line to Magdeburg so they can help improve the Magdeburg Hemispheres.”

'''Smoking Girl:''' Oh, that’d be my jurisdiction. …But how are we going to handle encryption of the divine transmissions?”

After Naomasa’s words appeared on the sign frame, Asama raised a hand.

“Wait. I’ll check on that.”

Masazumi understood why she was in such a hurry.

…''Horizon isn’t used to political things.

Masazumi was well aware that Horizon had little experience in politics.

That was why Horizon had read books for the basic knowledge and had continued studying after Mikawa. She was only speaking so calmly and promptly because she was an automaton. In reality, she had to be making complex decisions in her head.

That was how the situation had shifted from the ideas Guericke had presented them.

Horizon had done her best to remake his demands. She had used past examples and plenty of statistical information to find what she viewed as the best possible answer.

However, they were in the middle of a meeting. Saying anything uncertain would lead to trust issues.

For that reason, Asama was checking on things before Horizon could say any more.

After a moment, Asama smiled and opened a sign frame.

“Okay. There are a few extra contract shrine devices in a wide block near our shrine. If we use those for a dedicated line and restrict all outside contact, it should be fine. There will be a time lag in the transmissions, but that will not matter if we make regular contact.”

'''Asama:''' “From a budget standpoint, I suppose Magdeburg will have to install one of our contract shrine devices. Magdeburg is a city with lots of history and they take the history recreation seriously, so they won’t have any Shinto devices. This is all assuming they’ll accept one, though.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “You’re taking this seriously.”

“Anyway,” said Horizon. “If you are working with Musashi, you should be able to find more uses and new sponsors for the hemisphere barrier. I doubt the other nations will be able to ignore a defense barrier that simply grows stronger the more power it is given, but if Magdeburg is ever targeted for the hemispheres…”

She looked straight at Guericke.”

“Destroy the hemispheres and burn all the documents.”

“The same material will be carried on the Musashi, so it will cause a delay in development but not a major problem. I have determined it will gather more attention for us and increase the number of nations who wish to ally with us. …Yes, we would be very grateful if you did that.”

Masazumi gave a mental nod at Horizon’s words. She had planned to step in as an aide if anything came up, but she had also wanted to hear someone else’s political decision. After all…

…''Nothing would be better than Horizon using the experience she gains here to participate in the political side from here on.

Having someone at an even higher position participating in politics was important. It gave her someone to look to for a decision if something came up and it simply gave her more allies.

The naked idiot was there too, but he did not count.

A sudden memory came to Masazumi.

There was something the idiot had said about Horizon back when he had gone to confess to her.

…''She’s a hard worker.

She was the kind of person who would work hard toward some kind of goal.

“Hm? Do you need something, Masazumi-sama?”

“Eh? Oh, um, I was just thinking about something.”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“Quite the opposite,” she said to Horizon. “Keep up the hard work, Horizon. I think you’re doing just fine.”

Horizon reacted to that comment.

Her eyes widened a bit at being told she was doing just fine.

The look could be taken as surprise, but…

…''Eh?

Even as Masazumi filled with her own surprise at this unexpected reaction, Horizon returned to her normal expression. She simply nodded and responded with “judge”.

“Then let us get on to the third conclusion.”

Masazumi listened as Horizon took a breath and spoke.

“Musashi will handle the evacuation of Magdeburg’s people.”

Guericke looked up at that.

However, Horizon did not react and simply continued with her conclusion.

“We will likely have to be towed, but I promise we will evacuate all of your citizens.”

In other words…

“Musashi wishes to provide definite support to Magdeburg.”

When Guericke asked why, Horizon turned to Masazumi.

Masazumi knew what that look meant. This suggestion included a lot Horizon was unsure about.

…''I guess that’s my cue.

However, she had something to say before adding to Horizon’s suggestion.

“Magdeburg Provisional Mayor.”

“What is it?”

“Musashi’s support of Magdeburg is…not the consensus of Musashi as a whole. However, it is the desire of Horizon who is its current leader. I want you to remember that.”

The support of Magdeburg was being offered by Horizon while asking for nothing in return.

After all, the joint development of the Magdeburg Hemispheres was being settled by sharing a lot of Magdeburg’s burdens.

As for supporting the evacuation of the city…

“Musashi’s leader does not wish for any losses from the Sack of Magdeburg. But since we can’t give you any part of the Musashi, she wants to help in some other way.”

“Testament.”

Guericke brought hand to his chest, got down on one knee, and lowered his head toward Horizon.

“Thank you for your compassionate decision.”

But he did not stop there.

“With that settled, the city of Magdeburg will work as a Protestant city to ensure the Musashi’s safety in its travels through M.H.R.R.”

Masazumi noticed the man’s shoulders relax.

…''This couldn’t have been easy.

The leader of a large nation or a national academy could use that nation’s power to negotiate in a number of ways, but even if Magdeburg was a major city for historical and other reasons, its power did not exceed that of a city.

But in the Sack of Magdeburg, it would be besieged by the major forces of M.H.R.R.’s Catholic side. There was no way they could oppose that.

However, he now knew he could protect his people.

The city itself might be destroyed, but this was still a significant result. And on top of that…

'''Vice President:''' “He’s promised to work toward our safety when we travel through M.H.R.R. after leaving Magdeburg. That’s a significant result for us. This ensures our safety all the way to the Seto Inland Sea.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh heh. Make sure you tell Horizon that later. She doesn’t have much experience, so she can’t judge her own performance.”

Masazumi sent back a “judge” and had a thought.

…''Part of this doesn’t really make sense.

Something in what Guericke had said seemed odd to Masazumi.

And…

'''Novice:''' “This is strange.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh heh. What is it, glasses boy? Are you worried about the lack of communication from your lovey-dovey glasses girl in England? Ahh, not being able to send immature messages back and forth is just about to drive you crazy, isn’t it!? You’ve been writing all about it in your messages, haven’t you!? Things like ‘I-I can’t restrain the throbbing of my heart!’, right!?”

'''Novice:''' “Sh-shut up. I have not been exchanging messages like some kind of child! I really haven’t been doing anything that weird, so could you stop being so suspicious?”

'''Asama:''' “Oh, sorry. The line to England has been cut off ever since we crossed the provisional border. Let me fix that real quick.”

'''Hanami:''' “Half a day’s worth of divine mail is coming in.”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “Eh!? Messages!? Really!? What are they like!? Is it half a day’s worth of love!?”

'''<Unopened Messages: Neshinbara has received a total of 3481 divine mail messages from Shakespeare.>

'''Almost Everyone:''' “Eek!”

''Is it wrong that even I’m starting to think girls are scary,'' thought Masazumi as she saw another post from Neshinbara.

'''Novice:''' “Vice President Honda-kun, I think you have noticed the general idea and I agree. …So could you ‘confirm’ this?”

She sent back the word “judge” before speaking aloud.

“Mayor Guericke, I would like to confirm one thing. …Oh, and please raise your head.”

Once he stood, she asked her question.

“Listen,” she began. “The evacuation of the city’s people will begin as soon as the Musashi arrives in Magdeburg. We can’t have the Musashi just sitting around in M.H.R.R. after all. …Is that acceptable?”

…''How about it?

Masazumi had her doubts about that suggestion.

However, Guericke’s response came with a nod.

“Testament. That is perfectly acceptable. In fact, I must ask that you do so.”

'''Novice:''' “That settles it. …And this has gotten serious.”

Asama saw the words Neshinbara had posted, but…

'''Asama:''' “What do you mean? What’s wrong with wanting to evacuate the people as soon as possible?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Oh, I get it now.”

“Eh?”

Asama turned to Naruze but said nothing as they were still in a meeting.

'''Asama:''' “What do you mean, Naruze?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Judge. It’s simple. …If they evacuate the people immediately, they can’t print ‘Asama-sama Shoots 7’. …That’s just wrong!”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “Does the world revolve around you or something!?”

'''Asama:''' “And what do you mean 7!? Wasn’t it only at 2 recently!?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “There have been a lot of events in Europe lately. …Anyway, I’m not entirely lying here. Isn’t it strange? If they evacuate everyone right away, the city can’t function. Do you understand what that means? This mayor knows something.”

Naruze gave the answer to Asama’s confusion.

'''Mal-Ga:''' “He knows that the Sack of Magdeburg is going to happen soon.”

'''Novice:''' “Exactly. That’s why he wants to evacuate the people even if it means halting all of the city’s operations.”

In other words…

'''Mal-Ga:''' “The city we’re headed to is on the verge of a battle. It’s probably already surrounded and the Sack will happen in the next few days.”

Masazumi glanced at everyone’s discussion and sighed when she saw they agreed with her.

…''What is going on? Why would the Catholics choose to start the event leading to their defeat?

She did not understand, so she spoke in order to find the answer.

“There is one thing I don’t understand. Mayor Guericke, since you pressed us to hand over a portion of the Musashi, you must know that the Sack of Magdeburg is occurring soon. That is an important piece of information, but I had not heard anything about it. Due to the damage caused by the Sack of Magdeburg, the different nations were unsure whether to begin the recreation or not and Hashiba had been trying their best to avoid it.”

So why?

“According to the history recreation, the army that lays siege to the city is thirty thousand strong. Why did they choose to mobilize so many people so quickly?”

And…

“If they are starting the Sack, when are they starting it?”

“Testament.” Guericke looked across their faces and opened his mouth. “A spy in the besieging army has informed us that the Sack begins the day after tomorrow. We do not know the exact time, but it will happen. ..There is a reason why, but it is…not an easy one to speak of.”

“A reason?”

“Testament,” he said again. “That reason is-…”

Just as he began to speak, the door suddenly opened.

Naruze had opened it from the outside and she led someone else inside.

“Neshinbara?”

“We have a guest courtesy of Naomasa-kun.”

Something else followed him inside.

…''A Mouse? And a European one at that.

The maid Mouse wore a red musketeer uniform over a female Hexagone Française uniform.

She looked around the room with sharp eyes and bowed when she saw Masazumi.

“I hold the name of Lady Luynes as a double inherited name, I reside within the defected Palais-Cardinal, and I have come here via an external expansion of the Palais-Cardinal’s OS. I am here as Mazarin, treasurer of Hexagone Française’s student council.”

Masazumi and everyone else fell silent at the name she gave and she said one more thing to them all.

“I have come to explain what has triggered the Sack of Magdeburg.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 37|Chapter 37]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 39|Chapter 39]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 37

2016-04-02T18:46:22Z

68.109.55.47:

==Chapter 37: Traitor in the Ruler’s Presence==
[[Image:Horizon3B_0239.jpg|thumb]]
''Here we go

''It’s finally time

'''Point Allocation (Time to Shine)

The meeting with Magdeburg Provisional Mayor Guericke of the M.H.R.R. Protestants ground to a halt.

Both Guericke and Masazumi were not sure how to respond to Bertoni’s business opportunity announcement.

Masazumi simply thought about what he had said.

…''A business opportunity?

It was so sudden that she did not understand. After all, they were talking about the Apocalypse.

“Um, Bertoni? If the world is going to be destroyed, wouldn’t a business opportunity be entirely pointless?”

“You don’t get it!? Fine, then! Listen!”

Guericke also stared at the merchant in disbelief, but that was unsurprising for someone unused to this class. At the other end of the man’s disturbed gaze, Bertoni opened a sign frame filled with writing and struck it with his palm.

“This is our strategy! First, we tell the entire world that the Apocalypse is coming and stir up their fear more and more and more! Yes, we spread despair! We make sure there is nothing but despair! And once that despair is so rooted in their minds that all mankind is on the verge of suicide…”

He expressionlessly turned to and pointed at Masazumi.

“We sell the defensive barrier that uses the Artificial Apocalypse! If we say it ‘might defend against the Apocalypse’, it will sell like crazy! We can use the site of the Peace of Westphalia, but we can divide it into two stages by first selling rights to the auction and then actually holding the auction! And if we also charge the general public an admission fee, an unimaginable amount of money will pour into my pocket!!”

The corners of his mouth rose as he continued.

“And after the defense barrier auction is over, we can sell our newly found ‘Truth of the Apocalypse’! People will come to us, hoping the information will save them, but once they learn they won’t be saved after all, they will fall into despair! …And that is when we hold a second defense barrier auction! And at double the price!”

'''Asama:''' “So in other words, you’re a monster.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Oh, Shiro-kun. You’re so cool!”

…''Are we sure there really isn’t something legitimately wrong with their brains?

But the merchant had opened a second sign frame that he also struck with his palm.

“Are you listening?”

Without even waiting for a response, he began to speak.

“When we announce the auction, the rich are sure to be desperate. However, those who want to feign calm will ignore it. But that will change once we reveal the truly hopeless truth and hold the second auction. Once they know there is no future for them if they don’t, even those whose pride was restraining them will jump at the opportunity!”

He pulled a folded paper fan from somewhere and pointed at a word on the sign frame.

“Panic☆ Yes, panic is what matters! When people jump at the opportunity out of panic, we can take them for everything they’re worth! …That is where the real money is made!! Don’t forget it!!”

“Wait.”

Masazumi asked a question.

“But there’s no point in making all that money if the Apocalypse is right around the corner.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

Bertoni looked down on her with scorn.
“Listen,” he began. “When the world ends, I will be the richest man in the world. No, that is comparing me to others and does not do it justice. At that time, I will be the world’s final and greatest merchant!”

He made his declaration.

“If I hold all of the world’s money, the world can be destroyed for all I care! I will watch the people running from the destruction and laugh as I throw money down to the crumbling world from my transport ship.”

…''That does paint a nice picture of the Apocalypse.

She pictured people fleeing below a deep red sky while great cracks in the ground and blazing fires swallowed them up. But up above, the laughing merchant and his aide were riding a ship of money and scattering coins around.

They would all be destroyed just the same, so why did the two above seem like the winners?

…''That’s completely unreasonable.

She lowered her head in thought, but the treasurer finished vacantly muttering below his breath, made a “ding” sound effect with a straight face, and then spoke to everyone there.

“Okay, I have put together a plan!”

“What kind of plan?” she asked hesitantly.

Bertoni gave her a smile that did not reach his eyes.

“It is a simple matter, vice president. We will hand over a part of the Musashi for my own self-interest.”

“Wait!!”

She shouted in protest, rose from her seat, and swung her right hand with a quick snap.

“That would be a huge disadvantage for us, wouldn’t it!? What would the people who work in Asakusa and Shinagawa do if we handed it over!? Wouldn’t that throw Musashi’s internal economy into chaos?”

“What’s wrong with that? The world’s going to be destroyed regardless.”

“What happened to having a plan!?”

“What a picky girl,” he sighed while glaring at her. “Listen. Asakusa and Shinagawa’s personnel can help manage the city the Musashi is moored at. Once the people know the Apocalypse is near, some will disturb the peace and cause a variety of problems. I am sure the city will be shorthanded. As for Musashi’s internal economy, those troublesome merchants will use it as a chance to make some reforms and I believe it will turn out well for me and for the Musashi Ariadust Student Council.”

He leaned gently toward her.

“How about it? Flying is the Musashi’s greatest expense and it brings in no money. If we claim we cannot fly after handing over two of our ships and we moor near Magdeburg or somewhere else, it will naturally create a large area of commerce around us. Afterwards, that area will absorb the rest of the world’s fortunes. …Well? Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? The money will come pouring in.”

“What if we focus on developing that land instead of just absorbing all the money?”

“Do you really think we can buy Musashi’s safety like that?”

Masazumi tilted her head, so Augesvarer opened a sign frame.

“This shows Musashi’s budget and how our acquired foreign currency is used. Anyway, just like the past treasurers, we use excess foreign currency as a way to buy Musashi’s peace. What we do is…”

“Make international loans for the other nations’ debts?”

“Judge,” said Augesvarer with a nod. “That’s one way we defend ourselves.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “International loans? What does she mean?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Think of it like lending a flat chest some pads when she wants to dress up, but only on the condition that she returned the pads if she entered a boobs competition.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Oh… It scares me that I kind of get it now.”

'''Asama:''' “Um, to put it simply, if a nation needs a lot of money for war, settling new land, or maintaining their current land, they can borrow money from other nations to pay for it. That’s what you call an international loan. And the Far East has been a good place to borrow from. Due to the provisional rule, it would hand over as much as you needed and it’s flexible about repayment since its religion has no rules about money. But…we made a ton of decisions at Mikawa and that led to the Musashi taking over the Far East’s financial activities.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Right, right. Musashi can lend other nations money to buy its own safety and we can press them for repayment if we need a bargaining chip against them. For example, we could give a nation with lots of conflicts between students two choices: borrow money to cover your war expenses in exchange for being Musashi’s ally or keep fighting us but don’t borrow any money. Of course, most nations are refusing to repay their pre-Mikawa debts because they ‘borrowed it from the Far East, not from Musashi’. However, some new loans are beginning and we can get ourselves some allies using the repayment of them.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “What if they try to avoid paying?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Not many nations can put up a fight on the level of the armada battle, right? And if we run into a dangerous nation, we can always use a more receptive neighboring nation as an intermediary. We could ask them to go fight the other nation a little in exchange for forgiving their debt.”

'''Azuma:''' “That’s like a rich kid who pays a stronger kid to bully other people for him.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “This isn’t bullying; it’s defense. …Although we do need to give some thought to the power balance if we’re going to do that. We also can’t loan unfairly between nations, so it’s not an easy thing to do.”

“I know we need money,” agreed Masazumi. “But I do not think Musashi’s safety or our influence in the Peace of Westphalia can be bought with money alone. For one thing, it’s all over if every single nation decides not to pay. We need politics, economics, and the laws that support them or we can’t allow this as a nation’s academy. Gathering money is fine, but please focus on gathering Horizon’s Logismoi Óplo as well.”

“I can see you are playing this safe,” said Bertoni as he turned toward Guericke. “But Musashi has no choice but to transfer those two ships over to Magdeburg. Do you know why, vice president?”

“Tell me.”

“We are being towed by Magdeburg, so we must accept their demands. There is nothing we can do if they decide to quit towing and abandon us here.”

''He’s right,'' she thought. ''We can’t fly through M.H.R.R. territory right now.

…''And that makes it dangerous if they stopped towing us.

She wanted to avoid that, but Guericke suddenly raised his right hand.

“Excuse me, but can you wait just a moment?”

He must have realized what they were thinking because he quickly stood up. He shook his head toward Bertoni and turned to Masazumi.

“We in Magdeburg would prefer to build a solid relationship with Musashi. I have no intention of proposing anything unnecessary.”

…''Of course.

To use the Musashi in place of Magdeburg, the Musashi had to actually reach the city.

In that case, refusing to tow them would only be a last resort.

And at the moment, they had no reason to do that.

…''They’re not like our treasurer who’s ready to hand over part of the Musashi.

Suddenly, Augesvarer looked up in surprise and moved away from Guericke.

“I get it! This man is trying to threaten us by refusing to tow the Musashi, isn’t he!?”

“Eh?”

Guericke clearly did not understand what Augesvarer was saying.

However, the cruel merchant saw an opening there, so he grabbed Heidi’s shoulder.

“Yes. Yes he is, Heidi. This hemispherical mayor intends to use that refusal as a bargaining chip against us. …We have no choice but to hand over the two ships! That is what this means!”

“No, um, wait.”

“How can you two make jokes at a time like this?”

“What are you talking about, vice president?”

Bertoni turned to her while ignoring Guericke who was still “um”-ing and “uh”-ing.

“Listen. If the Musashi is stopped in Magdeburg, we can be the true winners as the world is destroyed by the Apocalypse! Would you rather run away and die or laugh, throw money around, and die!?”

“I don’t want to do either, you idiot.”

That was when, Guericke gave the finishing blow.

“Well, there’s still a lot about this I don’t understand.” He nodded. “But if you will sign a contract here, that would be better than I could have hoped.”

Guericke desperately tried to restrain his pounding heart.

…''Th-the Musashi will be permanently moored near Magdeburg!?

If that happened, all of Musashi’s printed materials would naturally end up in Magdeburg.

The Apocalypse was not far off, but the city would have economic stability and mental stability as the printing city with the privilege of seeing Naruze and a number of other authors’ works before anyone else.

“I would like that more than anything else!”

He stood and clenched his right fist without thinking. ''Oh, no. A German should be calmer than this,'' he realized. ''But if their treasurer agrees, that doesn’t matter.

“In exchange, we will allow the Musashi to plan the resistance against the coming conflict.”

Musashi’s treasurer clenched his left fist and held it out.

“Judge! For our ambitions and victory in life!”

“Testament! For our ambitions and victory in life!”

“Hold iiiiiittttt!!”

''Oh, the Musashi Vice President’s shout is so delightful. I wonder how she will be drawn in the next doujinshi. But due to Asama’s gunner character trait, the great Naruze always uses artillery sound effects during the kiss scenes and reliable union scenes. That makes it a little too shocking too self-insert, so I reliably wish she would do something about that. And the sound effects are a bit of a problem when making the German or Latin versions.

However, Musashi’s vice president raised her right hand and shouted again.

“Wait just a damn second, you two! I’m using my authority to intervene here!”

Masazumi pointed back and forth between Bertoni and Guericke, who had been staring right at her since a moment ago.

“There’s still a lot we don’t know and we have to gather Horizon’s Logismoi Óplo! We decided on that policy for the Far East as a whole, not just the city of Musashi!”

“We can simply retrieve them from the other nations at the Peace of Westphalia,” said Bertoni almost carelessly. “We can trade them two defense barriers for their Logismoi Óplo. That is sure to get us most of them. …Of course, those barriers are actually meaningless in the face of the Apocalypse!”

“Y-you just want to cause trouble, don’t you!? And besides.”

She pointed between Bertoni and Guericke again.

“Calm down, you two! This isn’t just about handing over part of the Musashi! Don’t go ahead with international deals without asking me first! And if we scam people with those defense barriers while we’re semi-permanently grounded, we’ll be surrounded and attacked! They’ll try to get back at us for tricking them!”

“Ah ha ha. Not to worry. I’ll make sure they never find out.”

“Like I can trust you!”

“Calm down,” said Bertoni while narrowing his eyes. “By that time, the entire world will be on the verge of destruction. Normally, they would be completely helpless as that destruction arrived, so if they want the satisfaction of having tried to fight it, they will have to pay me. That is all this is.”

In other words…

“Just three minutes ago, I seized control of the entire world using money!”

“Are you really Musashi’s treasurer!?”

“It seems you do not understand the truth of this world.” Bertoni sighed. “The disciple of money just so happens to play the role of Musashi’s treasurer.”

“Think before you speak!!”

'''Asama:''' “Um, who’s the bad guy here?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “That’s easy. The flustered, weak-looking one is the normal person. The calm one is the crazy person.”

'''Vice President:''' “A-all of you are calm too! Aren’t you!?”

Asama averted her gaze and Naruze could be heard turning her back while standing guard outside the door.

''These people,'' thought Masazumi as she glanced around. She noticed Heidi standing next to Bertoni and opening a variety of sign frames. This gaze Masazumi a very bad feeling.

“Um, Augesvarer?”

“Eh? Oh, don’t talk to me anymore! I’m on Shiro-kun’s side! Heh heh heh. That’s right. I’m the Marube-ya’s woman!!”

''The enemy is growing,'' honestly thought Masazumi.

But the biggest problem was Bertoni’s authority as Musashi’s treasurer.

She could always revoke his position with her authority as vice president, but…

…''Restoring it later would be a lot of trouble.

Given Musashi’s position, there was a lot to gain from the position of treasurer.

Vice President was a higher position, but it was a “status” position with primarily political work. On the other hand, Treasurer was a “business” position that actively dealt with the economy and commerce.

If she revoked his position, the position’s restoration could be slowed by opposition and interference from the commerce and industry guild or the provisional council. On top of that, the student council’s approval rating would drop.

Appointing a new treasurer would be better, but no one else was qualified.

While wondering what to do, her gaze happened to land on Horizon.

Horizon expressionlessly scooted forward in her seat. She was just about to slide right off the chair, but her breasts rested on the table and supported her. She went on to speak in an emotionless voice.

“My impression of Asama-sama.”

'''Asama:''' “Wh-why am I suddenly under attack!?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “From the footage we’re getting, that is what Asama does. …But your shoulders get really stiff if you don’t, right? I asked Mary once and she agreed.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Yes. I think Margot leans forward more since she has her wings on her back. …But where’s Adele? Is she at the infirmary at Asama’s shrine? Mitotsudaira isn’t here either, so the only ones without any experience in this busty activity would be Suzu and me.”

'''Laborer:''' “Do automatons’ shoulders get stiff too?”

'''Girls:''' Wow! He’s worried about Ujinao-san!”

'''Sticky King:''' “Don’t make fun! Noriki is serious!”

'''Obscene:''' “That’s right! Love should not be treated like a joke!”

'''Girls:''' “…Sorry.”

In the corner of Masazumi’s vision, Horizon raised her right hand while continuing her impression of Asama. She looked back and forth between Bertoni and Guericke.

“Anyway, I agree it would be best to gather the Logismoi Óplo at the Peace of Westphalia.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” cut in Masazumi. “Horizon, when you say you agree…!?”

Horizon tilted her head.

“I do not entirely understand the details, so I am simply speaking from an efficiency standpoint. And Masazumi-sama, I am the provisional student council president, so please be quiet.”

“That’s right, Honda Masazumi!” Bertoni excitedly pointed at her. “This is the time for money! Money rules the world in this age, so you politicians need to stay quiet!”

“That’s right, Shiro-kun! Long live money!!”

''These damn people,'' thought Masazumi while clenching a fist.

“Now, with my authority as provisional student council president, I would like to make a slight correction to the previous deal.”

“Go ahead, go ahead!! As long as it is slight!”

The two merchants and the mayor eagerly rubbed their hands together as Horizon continued.

“Bertoni-sama, you are slightly fired.”

“Slightly?”

Masazumi thought as the merchant and mayor asked the same question.

…''This has gotten pretty amazing.

She felt an odd sense of resignation and understanding that this was the sort of situation that required real resolve. Meanwhile, Horizon spoke softly.

“You are only being fired from your official position. How is that any different from an on/off switch?”

Those calm and for some reason questioning words were followed by Augesvarer’s voice.

“Hey, Masazumi? Horizon is saying something, so…could you look this way?”

“Sorry, but she told me to be quiet.”

“Calm down,” said Horizon. “I have determined gathering the Logismoi Óplo is important. They are my emotions after all. But another of Musashi’s major policies is to ‘not lose anything’ from the Apocalypse. Therefore, the Magdeburg Hemispheres are meaningless if they cannot defend against the Apocalypse.”

So…

“This is not even worth discussing. I understand the idea of defeatism, but not doing anything at all is the exact same thing as losing to the Apocalypse.”

She nodded.

“So Magdeburg Provisional Mayor, let us make a new deal concerning the Magdeburg Hemispheres and this portion of the Musashi. If I were to make a suggestion…”

“Yes?”

“Judge.” She nodded again and spoke with a complete lack of expression. “We will not hand over any part of the Musashi and we will take the Magdeburg Hemispheres. How about that?”

''That sure is one-sided,'' thought Masazumi.

And being too one-sided was dangerous. After all…

…''What if they refuse to tow us!?

So she quickly intervened.

“W-wait, wait, wait, wait. Horizon, that doesn’t amount to a proper deal.”

“Oh?” Horizon tilted her head. “What are you talking about, Masazumi-sama. We keep all of the Musashi and we get the Magdeburg Hemispheres. That is clearly an excellent deal for me. And I am the representative of the Far East and Musashi, so an excellent deal for me is an excellent deal for Musashi and the Far East. In other words, it is the best option! Why would we need to give anything in return?”

“Well, because the key to any deal between nations or cities is ‘give and take’. Right? Right?”

'''Asama:''' “I think this is a brand new kind of negotiation that goes beyond being forceful or bullish. It’s probably a sort of breakthrough.”

''No amount of commentary is going to solve this. And I just found a new enemy,'' thought Masazumi.

Meanwhile, Guericke brought a hand to his chin and spoke slowly.

“Have you forgotten that the Musashi is currently being towed to Magdeburg?”

He finally said it. But even when faced by that threat, Horizon remained expressionless and tilted her head.

“I have not forgotten about the towing situation. I remembered it using the perfect memory of an automaton. For example…”

She placed a nearby cokepen on top of her breasts and scooted even further forward in her seat.

“I have used my memories to recreate how Asama-sama sleeps during class. What do you think?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “It’s perfect. An automaton’s memory really is perfect.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Yeah, it really has the same feel to it. The size is a little off, though.”

'''Asama:''' “Huh!? Huh!? Come to think of it, I have no way of knowing if this is right or not!”

“Anyway,” said Horizon as she turned back to Guericke. “You may continue, Guericke-sama.”

“Testament.” He nodded and pointed at his feet. “Then let me ask this: what if we were to stop towing the Musashi here?”

…''This isn’t good.

The idea that Germans never got emotional was probably wrong. It was possible they could feign emotion to give themselves an extra bargaining chip to play with.

That line was likely part of his negotiation tactics. The Musashi could not travel through M.H.R.R., so they had no choice but to be towed by the Magdeburg ships.

“The Musashi cannot fly above M.H.R.R., so if we leave you here, you will be unable to move and you will eventually fall to the surface or be retrieved by some other nation.”

Horizon tilted her head as if to say she did not get his point.

“I do not understand.”

“What about it do you not understand?”

“Judge,” she said to him. “Previously, you questioned my memory by asking if I had ‘forgotten that the Musashi is currently being towed to Magdeburg’. I replied that I had not and made a demonstration to prove it. I had not forgotten, so why are you suggesting this penalty?”

“I was saying-…”

“This back and forth is what we call a negotiation. You tested my memory and I complied. In terms of a negotiation, I have determined that was a win for me.”

After all…

“I am currently the provisional student council president and chancellor. I am Musashi’s representative and Musashi itself. I was tested and passed, so Musashi has earned one win.”

…''That’s complete nonsense!

''How nitpicky can you get?'' wondered Masazumi.

However…

'''Wise Sister:''' “The Mayor of Magdeburg was essentially trying to intimidate us. Horizon may have lured him in by doing things her own way to an excessive extent, but a threat will never work against an automaton like her. Heh heh. You all need to remember this. My future little sister does not back down when faced with trouble.”

“Now, then,” said Horizon.

She was about to begin something or give some kind of instruction.

She had earned a victory and she would use that now.

…''Is she going to demand something of the Mayor of Magdeburg?

''I need to focus on helping her,'' decided Masazumi just as Horizon mimed wiping her mouth with a cloth and dusting off the top of her breasts.

“Asama-sama at mealtime.”

'''Asama:''' “W-wait. I don’t show them off like that! I really don’t!”

“Her expression when dropping curry udon sauce on her breasts.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Wonderful! She almost looks dizzy, doesn’t she?”

'''Asama:''' “Eh!? I look like that!? Ehhhh!?”

'''83:''' “Even curry can sometimes bring sadness!”

“Now, then.”

'''Asama:''' “Eh!? You’re just moving on!? Why am I always the target!?”

Horizon seemed to be ignoring Asama, but she had not actually opened a sign frame.

One would occasionally appear for her, but it seemed she could not control it.

“Tsukinowa, give Horizon a sign frame too.”

“Maa.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Horizon sat up and gave a quick bow.

Suddenly, something heavy fell behind her.

''Eh?'' thought Masazumi as she checked behind Horizon and saw a white and black gunblade on the floor.

“…”

It was Lype Katathlipse.

Seeing that Logismoi Óplo which was capable of destroying an entire city, Guericke took half a step back.

“A-are you threatening me!?”

“No,” declared Horizon. “And this makes two wins for me.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Um… Is this actually following a really simple set of rules?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Yes, and Horizon doesn’t know how to hold back. To be blunt, the harder she tries to negotiate, the worse this is going to get. Masazumi, make sure you help her out. Heh heh heh.”

'''Vice President:''' “If it wasn’t for those last three words, I would have completely agreed with you!!”

''Anyway, what am I supposed to do?'' she wondered while Horizon stared at Guericke. Horizon then spoke to the treasurer duo.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“Judge.” Bertoni turned an expressionless look Guericke’s way. “Is this man an enemy of our great city of Musashi?”

'''Asama:''' “Ehh!? What!? Did I just slip into a parallel universe!?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “What are you talking about!? We would never betray Musashi! I can’t believe this pair of giant breasts would doubt Shiro-kun and me like that! I hope you sag! Sag-sag-sag (curse incantation).”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “That curse would affect the sales of my doujinshi, so I’ll definitely work to break it. And besides, you were clearly doing everything you could to betray us earlier.”

'''Hori-ko:''' “At any rate, I will make my request.”

Horizon spoke.

“Rescind your demand for a portion of Musashi.”

“Even though the lives of Magdeburg’s people are on the line!?” asked Guericke. “I had heard the Far East’s princess would not allow anything to be lost, but was that a lie!?”

“Musashi Treasurer and Treasurer’s Aide.”

“Judge.”

“Quiet him down. The negotiation is already complete for me.”

“Judge.”

Bertoni prepared himself at the same moment as Guericke.

Bertoni commented on the distance between them and their different stances.

“A European stance? Do you intend to begin a prostration battle?”

“Testament,” replied Guericke. “I will ensure my appeal gets through no matter what. I challenge you to a quick-prostration.”

“Fine then,” said Bertoni quietly. “The first to get their prostration through to the other wins.”

'''Asama:''' “We don’t have to comment on this, right?”

'''Uqui:''' “But what are they going to do? They have a table between them and chairs behind them. If they try to prostrate, their butts will end up in their chairs and their faces on the table.”

'''Asama:''' “W-we don’t have to comment on this, right? Right!?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “You only need to send us the footage. And some live commentary if you can manage it.”

'''Asama:''' “Why did I have to go to a place like this?”

Masazumi thought to herself.

…''Should I just leave?

But Augesvarer raised her right hand to the side to tell her to back away.

'''Marube-ya:''' “I checked back through the Testament Union’s almanac and the Mayor of Magdeburg uses a vacuum prostration, so it would be dangerous to let your guard down.”

'''Vice President:''' “I see…”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Look at those hemispheres on his wrists. He can emit a directional vacuum from them to speed up his prostration. Shiro-kun doesn’t use any equipment, so he’s at a decent disadvantage here.”

'''Vice President:''' “Why are you even explaining this to me?”

“Maa.”

''Tsukinowa’s the only one I can rely on,'' she thought just as the two treasurers began to move.

They began their match almost simultaneously.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 36|Chapter 36]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 38|Chapter 38]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 36

2016-04-02T18:43:49Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 36: Agreement at the Table */

==Chapter 36: Agreement at the Table==
[[Image:Horizon3B_0211.jpg|thumb]]
''What exactly

''Brought everything to this point?

'''Point Allocation (History)

The negotiation began with silence.

Asama stood at the door to manage the divine transmissions and Naruze waited in the diplomat’s room outside.

Inside, Horizon sat at the negotiation table by the window on the ship’s inner side. From her perspective, Magdeburg Provisional Mayor Guericke sat on the right while Masazumi and the treasurer duo sat on the left.

“Now, then.”

The first to speak was Masazumi. She was facing Guericke from across the table.

…''I know what he’s trying to say.

“I think I know what you’re saying, provisional mayor. During the Sack of Magdeburg, the city will be destroyed and lose most of its citizens…but you want it to take place on the Musashi instead.”

“Testament. I am glad you understand. That will speed this up.”

Guericke rested his elbows on the table. The arm armor with hemispheres attached acted like an armrest.

“I currently work under Saxony Sub-Chancellor Johann as treasurer of Saxony Academy. I hope you understand that I am perfectly capable when it comes to negotiating financial matters.”

'''Obscene:''' “Ha ha ha. What is a sub-chancellor!?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “M.H.R.R. is made up of several principalities, so the emperor holds the position of chancellor and the leader of each principality acts as the sub-chancellor. Also, the new sub-chancellor of the principality that produces the chancellor is customarily given the position of M.H.R.R.’s student council president which puts them in a higher position than the other sub-chancellors. Rudolf II from Bohemia is the chancellor, so his younger brother Matthias is M.H.R.R.’s president and Bohemia’s sub-chancellor.”

''It helps having someone from M.H.R.R. with us,'' thought Masazumi.

But…

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Those brothers get a lot of gay comics made about them. Make sure you remember that.”

…''I want to correct her, but I can’t in the middle of a meeting!!

“What do you say, Musashi Vice President?”

“Eh?”

…''Oh, no!! I wasn’t listening!

'''Marube-ya:''' “Now, one of the following people will give you the right answer. Try to guess which one.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “He said he’d let us off the hook if you let him grope your truly nonexistent breasts.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Apparently, he gets really fired up if you say ‘Leave, you piece of shit!’.”

'''Asama:''' “Calm down, Masazumi! Try to start from there!”

'''83:''' “Curry is best at times like this!”

…''Those are all clearly wrong!!

''Asama seems the safest, but she’s also made the least progress,'' she rationally concluded.

“Sorry. Things were a little noisy. Can you repeat that?”

“Eh? I was only asking if you understood my position.”

'''Vice President:''' “You all can go straight to hel!!”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Oh? You’re showing some nice initiative today, Masazumi.”

'''Asama:''' “Yes, if only she was calm enough to spell ‘hell’ correctly.”

''These people,'' she thought while watching them calmly typing away.

“Mayor Guericke, asking to use the Musashi in Magdeburg’s place is an absurd demand, so how do you plan to continue these discussions? What kind of bargaining chip have you brought with you?”

She asked another question.

“You mentioned a means of fighting P.A. Oda, but what exactly is that?”

Masazumi saw Guericke reach into his pocket. He briefly glanced down at what he pulled from his pocket and showed them. It was a blueprint.

“Are you familiar with my history recreation? I refer to the aside given about me from ’48 onwards.”

She was not familiar with it. After all, his visit had been unannounced. During the day, the various committees and the provisional council could have worked to compile information, but they could not react as quickly for a night visit like this.

However…

'''Mal-Ga:''' “I know what he’s talking about.”

'''Vice President:''' “Really, Naruze?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Judge. I believe he’s the man who caused a huge commotion in the city by pressing two balls together, sucking on them, and then tugging on them again and again.”

…''What kind of explanation is that!? Someone please tell me the truth!

'''Marube-ya:''' “Judge. That’s exactly right, Naruze!”

'''Vice President:''' “W-wait! Isn’t it a little cruel to do this to me during a real negotiation!?”

'''Asama:''' “That’s right! I think it’s cruel too! I don’t know much about this either, so someone give us a better explanation!”

Naruze poked her head in through the open door, beckoned Asama over, and sent her pen racing through the air.

“You see, this went like…um…this and then they were pulled like this.”

Asama nodded several times, waved at Naruze as they parted ways, and began typing.

'''Asama:''' “I understand now, Masazumi. Guericke-san is the person who caused a huge commotion in the city by pressing two balls together, sucking on them, and then tugging on them again and again.”

'''Vice President:''' “Then arrest him! Shouldn’t he be arrested if he did something like that!?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “No, Masazumi. He isn’t some indecent person. All he did was cause a huge commotion in the city by pressing two balls together, sucking on them, and then tugging on them again and again.”

'''Vice President:''' “D-dammit! If this is how it’s gonna be, I’ll search the ship’s divine network for the truth!”

<Search Results: Otto von Guericke 1602-1686. According to an individual aside in the Testament descriptions, he was mayor of Magdeburg from 1646-1676. He once caused a huge commotion in the city by pressing two balls together, sucking on them, and then tugging on them again and again. (This article was edited by Neshinbara Toussaint two seconds ago.)>

'''Novice:''' “Phew. Barely made it in time.”

'''Vice President:''' “Y-you people are doing your best to get in the way of my work, aren’t you!?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh. Silly girl. This is the truth, so what’s wrong with telling it like it is?”

''Really?'' she thought. ''There really is some truth to this, right?'' she also thought.

She crossed her arms and decided to go through with this while keeping as much of her dignity intact as possible.

“I assume you refer to the incident where you cause a huge commotion in the city by pressing two balls together, sucking on them, and then tugging on them again and again.”

That statement instantly filled the room with something.

That something was silence.

All expression vanished from Guericke’s face.

…''Huh?

'''Almost Everyone:''' “Wow, she actually said it.”

'''Vice President:''' “Every last one of you can go straight to hell!!!!”

Suddenly, Guericke cleared his throat and gave a shallow nod in her direction.

“My Far Eastern is not the best and I am having trouble understanding some of that, but that is…more or less correct.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh heh. What a naïve man! Interpret things that kindly and you’ll have worn a hole in your stomach before your third day on the Musashi! A hole! Right through the stomach!”

'''Asama:''' “While I definitely agree with you, how about holding back? He is a beginner, after all.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “I always have trouble with Germans. They tend to be really straitlaced and like to keep everything so serious.”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “Did you forget what nation you’re from!?”

''Naruze is really strict when it comes to herself,'' thought Masazumi as Guericke placed his hands on the table and held up the objects on his arm armor.

Small movable metal hemispheres were attached near the wrists. They were shaped like thin bowls and almost looked like plates.

“If the Apocalypse does not happen, these will later be known as the Magdeburg Hemispheres.”

“What are the Magdeburg Hemispheres? Do you know, Miriam?”

Miriam, the translucent girl, and Azuma all lay alongside each other in the bottom bunk of the two beds installed on the wall of a ten square meter Western-style room. Azuma was watching the sign frame he had opened in the head space.

Miriam brought her hands together before answering.

“It was a vacuum experiment.”

“Is that the name of a special attack or something?”

“Boom,” said the girl.

“No,” replied Miriam while holding out her hands. “You see? Mayor Guericke was also a scientist, so he placed two hemispheres together, sucked all the air out of them, and tested their strength by tugging on them to see if they would come apart.”

“Huh? So that previous explanation about balls was…?”

“Hmm,” he and Miriam groaned together.

He then tilted his head again.

“But why would he bring up that hemisphere experiment?”

“These hemispheres can oppose P.A. Oda,” said Guericke. “As Musashi’s vice president, I believe you will know what I mean by that.”

''Eh?'' thought Masazumi.

…''I don’t know anything about those hemispheres.

''What does he mean?'' she thought.

Horizon nodded and turned toward her.

“If we use those to suck at your breasts, they will grow, Masazumi-sama.”

“Waaaaaaahhhh!!”

She cut off Horizon with a shout and frantically turned to Guericke.

“Sh-she didn’t say anything! She didn’t say anything at all!”

“…”

''Ah. I’m starting make him suspicious,'' she realized while mentally sweating.

At any rate, she sat back down and observed the hemispheres he had placed on the table with his wrists.

She then began thinking about the Apocalypse and if it had some connection to the hemispheres.

…''Oh.

It suddenly came to her.

…''Is that what he means?

She asked a question to confirm the answer in her heart.

“The vacuum experiment known as the Magdeburg Hemispheres causes a lot of excitement, doesn’t it?”

“Testament. However, the actual experiment does not occur in Magdeburg. It occurs in the southern M.H.R.R. city of Regensburg. The hemispheres are named as they are because the mayor of Magdeburg performs the experiment. However, it seems the metal hemispheres held together by a vacuum finally came apart after being pulled by sixteen horses.”

“I see,” replied Masazumi before asking a question. “Are you familiar with Avalon?”

Guericke simply nodded without even smiling, so she did the same.

“That technique for creating an Artificial Apocalypse was researched in England, but it would have reached you through the Protestant nation of Holland. Have you been experimenting with a defense spell using the concept of a vacuum?”

“Testament.” Guericke nodded once more and spread his arms a bit. “You should know this if you recall the Artificial Apocalypse in England, but it was kept from spreading using a spell. That spell can stop the Apocalypse which consumes ether and produces blossoming flowers, so it would make a powerful defense. …However, that barrier was made by Chancellor Henry VIII and Chancellor Carlos V and it is very complicated. England has little history with Testament Kunst, so the analysis is being done here.”

Guericke slowly closed his spread arms.

“The Magdeburg Hemispheres are a defense spell created by the greatest minds of England, Holland, M.H.R.R., and various other nations. We will provide you with all of the documents and prototype creation devices. That should give you a significant advantage in your battles with P.A. Oda or any other nation.”

And in exchange…

“We ask that you give us the Musashi. That way we can protect the city of Magdeburg and its people.”

“Wait.”

Guericke heard Musashi’s vice president speak.

…''She is less telling me to wait and more giving herself time to gather her thoughts.

She faced him with slightly raised eyebrows. Not hiding her caution was a negotiation technique. It was a gesture meant to show she would not allow any disrespect or one-sided demands.

After displaying that barrier of caution with a single expression, she spoke.

“It is my understanding that this is not an official discussion.”

“Testament,” replied Guericke. “We are simply laying the groundwork for that, so I too view it as a preliminary discussion. However, a decision here will lead to a later decision. That is how this works.”

“So I should view this on the same level as a primary meeting?”

“Testament,” he replied again.

He then had another thought about the Musashi Vice President who lowered her gaze in a nod.

…''She has made sure to check on everything. She is a reliable negotiator.

That was not surprising. Musashi had many enemies at present, so they could not function as a nation without a reliable and careful vice president handling their negotiations.

He made a short pause in his thoughts and that vice president spoke.

“First, I would like to know what it is you want from Musashi. Give us specifics.”

“Testament.” He recited the statement he had prepared. “The Musashi is a city of approximately one hundred thousand. Magdeburg has approximately thirty thousand. Thus, if you provide us with roughly a third of the Musashi, that will be equivalent to Magdeburg. …Please understand that we will not be taking everything.”

This was the decision they had reached after discussing it all with the Magdeburg city council and citizens.

Musashi’s vice president backed away slightly.

“Then let me ask this: what will the actual Magdeburg be?”

“It will be a ‘harbor’. It borders a river and it can all be viewed as ‘warehouses’ if the residents leave.”

“In that case,” she said. “What will you do with the people? Twenty five thousand of those thirty thousand die in the battle. The remaining five thousand women and children receive brutal treatment and many are killed. What about that?”

“We are currently gathering a specialized group of Living Dead, Living Bones, and spectral non-humans. They have all already died, but we are especially focused on the ones who enjoy self-harm or being harmed.”

“That isn’t enough, is it?”

The aide to Musashi’s treasurer spoke while looking at the sign frame produced by a white fox Mouse.

“Many nations use mercenaries like that so as not to lose academy students, so it won’t be that easy to gather twenty five thousand of them.”

“We only need one thousand.”

Guericke used both hands to draw a half circle on the table.

“What matters is leaving behind the fact that there was a battle. Once we send that group to the front lines and have them clash with the enemy, we can have the warriors behind them escape or simply treat them as if they had died.”

“That’s a lenient interpretation. Something like that would not normally be accepted to artificially increase the number killed in battle.”

“Testament,” said Guericke while opening a document in a box-shaped Protestant sign frame. “We have a history recreation guarantee and approval signed by the pope-chancellor and other Testament Union representatives. We have received approval to recreate the Sack of Magdeburg in that way. After all, this battle turns M.H.R.R.’s Protestants against the Catholics and leads to M.H.R.R.’s defeat in the Thirty Years’ War.”

“And they want to use that to stop Hashiba and P.A. Oda?”

“That is the Testament Union’s intent,” he confirmed. “Therefore, we have one other request for Musashi beyond the aforementioned 33% of the Musashi.”

He corrected his posture before saying what that was.

“Evacuate the normal citizens using the Musashi’s remaining ships. I would like for you to seriously and reliably consider this.”

Masazumi first turned to Augesvarer. The girl gave a serious nod and turned her sign frame so Masazumi could see.

It was playing a German show about the Technohexen trials. A uniformed inquisitor made a proclamation with the moon in the background.

“In the name of the moon, I will punish you!!”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Are all Germans this serious and reliable?”

'''Vice President:''' “Naruze and Naito must be special cases.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Oh? I’m quite serious. I’ve never once forgotten to add in a black bar before publishing.”

'''Vice President:''' “Your problem is more fundamental than that!!”

''Anyway,'' thought Masazumi while turning to Bertoni who sat past Heidi. If Augesvarer was so calm, then Bertoni would have no problems speaking on this subject.

“Bertoni.”

The merchant nodded.

“I think it is an interesting idea. If we were to provide one third of the Musashi, Asakusa and Shinagawa would likely work. The amount of supplies they hold is equivalent to one third of the whole. They contain no residential blocks, but we could create temporary residential facilities by adding a set number of water supplies, bathrooms, and beds in each section. That would be more than enough to meet Magdeburg’s demands.”

And…

“Evacuating the people would be possible using the decks, empty spaces, and transport ships of the remaining six ships. As long as we continued to be towed, there would be no problem there. Afterwards, the reserve storage currently handled by Asakusa and Shinagawa would need to be managed by one of the ports we visit, so we would be forced to remain in a city of a Protestant principality near Magdeburg or a neighboring Far Eastern reservation until the Peace of Westphalia. …Either one would be inconvenient, but it would be possible.”

“I see,” said Masazumi with a nod.

'''Marube-ya:''' “It’s possible, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to do it. All he did there was show off our wares.”

…''I know that.

'''Vice President:''' “You’re asking me to help you get all the information we need to know if this is worth doing or not, right?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Exactly. Remaining cautious would definitely be a good idea. After all, we’ve said handing over 33% is ‘possible’. In other words, we’re luring him in by pointing out that he isn’t asking the impossible. …And Germans are quite serious.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “This man probably never misses a black bar either.”

Masazumi looked over at Guericke, imagined him drawing a black bar on a doujinshi, and immediately felt bad for doing so.

Guericke glanced behind him.

He saw the famous sniper shrine maiden standing by the door and past her…

…''The great doujin author Naruze must be protecting us!

M.H.R.R. and especially Magdeburg’s state of Saxony had a busy printing business. The printers systematically developed and gathered by Gutenberg used metal, so they were very durable.

Not much printed material had been allowed in Catholic regions because writing was thought to belong to god.

…''But in Protestant regions, we can print all sorts of things as books!

For that reason, M.H.R.R.’s Protestants had received the benefit of producing printed materials for the other nations. This had provided further expansion in a nation with already great skill in metalworking and it had made Guericke’s hemispheres and many other technological developments possible. However, one of those benefits left him curious about something.

“Who is that fallen angel guarding the room out front?”

“Oh, that’s our 4th special duty officer. She’s from M.H.R.R.”

…''It really is the great Naruze!

''Some of my fellow fans on the Musashi refer to her as “Naruze-tan”, but I could never show such disrespect.

''After all, the workshop hired to print her popular series “Asama-sama Shoots” gets to check over the contents before printing and that has intensified the rivalry within the guild. But the workshops aren’t sure what to do now that the job comes packaged with printing the Musashi King’s ridiculously unpopular pure literary work “Our Slope”.

''I do wish the great Naruze would occasionally hold back on the black bars, but that is simply getting selfish.

…''Oh, come to think of it, the model for Asama is there with her!

''If I could only see Suzu as well, I could complete eighty percent of my reason for coming here.

…''Come to think of it, the girl sitting right in front of me is the Masazumi mentioned as a possible new character in the next issue!

''I was so focused on my work that I overlooked it, but I am speaking with an individual who could soon support one of Magdeburg’s industries.

Meanwhile, Musashi’s vice president spoke.

“Do you need something?”

''I need to memorize her voice and mannerisms so I can tell the local fans back home.

…''Ah! I should have recorded what she said about sucking earlier!!

To make sure he did not overlook anything else, Guericke stared intently at the girl.

Masazumi drew back from Guericke’s gaze.

'''Vice President:''' “Wait! This guy’s scaring me!! He just started glaring at me!”

'''Asama:''' “He was staring at me earlier. Maybe he’s just being cautious…no, maybe he thinks we’re going to harm him.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “I’d be scared too if I was in range of an international-level gunner shrine maiden.”

'''Asama:''' “I’m ''not'' going to shoot him! I don’t have my bow with me right now!”

'''Azuma:''' “Would you shoot him if you did?”

''Probably,'' thought Masazumi. ''And Asama and Azuma’s names are easy to mistake.

…''But there’s a lot I need to find out here.

It mostly came down to two things.

'''1: Do the Magdeburg Hemispheres really work?

'''2: Would Musashi really gain more than they lost?

In other words, would this spell be useful in reality and would Musashi gain enough if they accepted these terms. But to know 2 she first had to ask about 1 and determine the value of the Magdeburg Hemispheres.

For that reason, she moved the discussion along.

“To make a number of decisions, I would like to hear more about the Magdeburg Hemispheres.”

“What are the Magdeburg Hemispheres?”

Guericke nodded at the Musashi Vice President’s question.

…''A complicated explanation would be very German, but the Far East would likely find it difficult to understand.

He decided to lower his explanation to her level and he began with a solid confirmation.

“Are you referring to the hemispheres used in the history recreation of causing a huge commotion in the city by pressing two balls together, sucking on them, and then tugging on them again and again?”

“No, um…”

A number of sign frames appeared around the Musashi Vice President, but she closed every last one of them. ''She must be receiving advice,'' he determined. ''Such excellent teamwork,'' he added.

“I was not talking about the hemispheres that cause a huge commotion in the city by pressing two balls together, sucking on them, and then tugging on them again and again.”

…''I really should have been recording what she said here!!

He was filled with an intense feeling of loss and she continued speaking.

“Or do the anti-Apocalypse ones also involve causing a huge commotion in the city by pressing two balls together, sucking on them, and then tugging on them again and again?”

…''Wait! That was too quick! I wasn’t ready!!

''Oh, no. A German must not lose his cool like that.

He took a deep breath to bring some cooler air inside his body.

“The anti-Apocalypse ones have nothing to do with causing a huge commotion in the city by pressing two balls together, sucking on them, and then tugging on them again and again. Of course, their basic structure is the same as the ones that cause a huge commotion in the city by pressing two balls together, sucking on them, and then tugging on them again and again.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Are you sure that man isn’t just an idiot? Maybe I should stop asking him to print for me.”

'''Novice:''' “Ah, wait, wait. You get so much printed with them that we get better prices by being in the same cultural group. Let’s have a serious discussion before you do anything like that.”

'''Vice President:''' “There’s a lot of cultural exchange with other cities I don’t know about, isn’t there?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “If I get my stuff printed in M.H.R.R. and arrange to have them look after it, I can have them bring me my inventory every time the Musashi travels through the center of the Far East. It’s a pretty good location and some people even use the silk road trade to pick up their printed items on the way to events in Edo.”

''A lot goes into this,'' realized Masazumi before returning her focus to Guericke.

“Let’s continue talking about the Magdeburg Hemispheres.”

“Testament. As I stated earlier, you can think of them as a defense spell using the technique that holds the Artificial Apocalypse in that spring. According to our research, that holding technique creates an embankment for the directionless Artificial Apocalypse. The Artificial Apocalypse will consume everything, but this barrier is made so it ‘won’t be consumed for the moment’. As for its strength…well, you can say its strength is purely proportional to the amount of ether.”

''What does that mean?'' wondered Masazumi until Naomasa sent a message.

'''Smoking Girl:''' “He’s saying the barrier will deflect enemy attacks for as much ether fuel as you pour into it. In other words, the more fuel you give it, the stronger it gets.”

'''Worshipper:''' “Isn’t that the same as our gravity barriers?”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “The gravity barriers can ‘deflect’, but the counterforce eats up some of the power. Plus, they’re weak against ether cannons and gravity attacks given the same directionality.”

'''Musashi:''' “Judge. When receiving attacks of that nature, we will sometimes destroy the barriers ourselves to spread the force of the impact. Over.”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “Well, you heard her. …But if what he says about these hemispherical barriers is true, they would work just as well against everything since they’re based on the all-consuming Apocalypse. You’d be able to handle any attack just by raising the output and they’d never break unless they were hit by an attack stronger than the amount of ether you’re giving them.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “So as long as you have fuel, you’d have an invincible barrier? That’s a pretty good deal.”

“Now, then,” said Guericke while facing straight forward. “Don’t you need a defense spell that can handle any and all attacks?”

As Masazumi listened to Guericke, she was suddenly reminded of Matsunaga.

After all, she had only met this man thanks to Matsunaga Hisahide’s connections. And yet M.H.R.R.’s Catholics and Protestants were at odds and Matsunaga of P.A. Oda would be on the Catholic side.

…''I see. He’s been working with some amazing people.

She had been at least a little suspicious of traveling deep into M.H.R.R. and stopping at Magdeburg on the way to Kantou, but she had discovered the meaning for the trip during this meeting.

This was a path they had to travel before Westphalia.

As everyone held their breath and turned toward her, Guericke added something else.

“How about it? Will you accept this incomparable defensive power in exchange for giving us a portion of the Musashi?”

''What should we do?'' she wondered.

'''Smoking Girl:''' “Hold up.”

She did not hesitate when she received a sudden divine transmission from Naomasa.

She faced Guericke and spoke.

“Wait.”

Masazumi held a hand out toward Guericke to say she needed to check on something.

'''Vice President:''' “Naomasa, what is it?”

Why had Naomasa suddenly asked for them to pause after hearing their exchange?

'''Smoking Girl:''' “Something doesn’t add up. If they have such a powerful defense spell, wouldn’t they be using it in Magdeburg? After all, they have the Sack of Magdeburg coming up.”

That was not the only doubt sent over divine transmission.

'''Asama:''' “I have another question. If this was made from the defense spell holding back the Artificial Apocalypse, couldn’t they create a barrier to save the world from the Apocalypse?”

Masazumi looked up in surprise.

'''Asama:''' “That seems like a natural idea to have, so why hasn’t Mayor Guericke mentioned it? Do you think they discovered some terrible fact while researching the Artificial Apocalypse in Avalon?”

Masazumi took a deep breath and faced Guericke once more.

“Mayor Guericke, by any chance, is this defense spell of yours still incomplete?”

After a pause, the man finally nodded.

“Testament. The Artificial Apocalypse spring has the same flaw, but we have been unable to create a large scale version of the defense spell based on our analysis of it. The most we can manage is five meters square, so it is meaningless for us in the coming Sack.”

He relaxed his shoulders.

“Also, some will likely wonder if the Hemispheres can be used as a barrier against the Apocalypse, but there is one fact regarding that which has yet to be announced.”

“Are you saying you discovered something about the Apocalypse?”

“Testament,” he said. “The Apocalypse cannot be stopped with a barrier. The very act of eliminating it with a spell is impossible.”

…''You mean there’s no way to defend against the Apocalypse?

Masazumi was at a loss for words and Guericke used his hands to draw the shape of a spring in the air.

“Listen. If you have seen the Artificial Apocalypse in Avalon, then you should know that anything thrown into it is slowly annihilated. It is believed ''that'' is the same as the annihilation of this world. That is, the world will not so much vanish as it will be absorbed and thinned out. And you saw something like flowers bloom, didn’t you?”

She had. A group of flowers had blossomed around the vanishing glove.

“It looked like the Apocalypse fed the flowers ether so they would bloom and then it destroyed that seedbed.”

“Testament. But instead of simply disappearing, I believe they are consumed to allow ‘the Apocalypse’ to bloom. Of course, this entire world is filled with ether, so those flowers will not bloom on us, the people living inside it. If they will bloom anywhere, it is on the very concept of ‘this world’. However, we and the entire world contained within that concept are part of the seedbed for the Apocalypse’s flowers and we will be absorbed by ‘the Apocalypse’ before we realize it.”

Do you understand?

“All of the ether that makes up this entire world is being evenly absorbed and thinned out by the Apocalypse. Everything is connected through the ley lines, so it does not matter if you are inside a barrier or not. I have concluded that the Apocalypse is an annihilation of absolutely everything and that it invalidates all defensive measures.”

Masazumi and the others silently listened to Guericke.

“It will most likely happen sometime during this year in which the Testament descriptions end, but the world will grow too thin and we will suddenly find that it is vanishing. However, I doubt we will feel any pain as we thin out and disappear. That may be our one piece of hope.”

“That’s probably true,” said Asama via divine transmission.

'''Asama:''' “All things naturally consume ether to exist and that is not something that can be switched on and off. And when there is a hole in a ley line, it is filled and the ether attempts to maintain an even density, so if the Apocalypse absorbs ether and blooms as Mayor Guericke says, the amount of ether in the ley lines would gradually grow thinner to maintain that even density.”

Masazumi sent back that she understood and Guericke spoke in front of her.

“I do not think the Apocalypse is something we would notice right away, but once it begins, there is no stopping it and no way of preventing the world from eventually disappearing.”

Suddenly, Bertoni asked him a question from beyond Augesvarer.

“Mayor of Magdeburg, is this information on the slow progress of the Apocalypse and that it is not a sudden occurrence something you are giving us in addition to the Magdeburg Hemispheres?”

“Testament. I think it will help rid the people of their worries, but what do you think?”

“I am not so sure. What would you think if someone gave you that information?”

“Well,” said Guericke with a shallow nod.

After a pause, he replied in a definite tone.

“I would realize the Apocalypse was real and that there was no stopping it and I would despair.”

Masazumi listened as Guericke took a breath and continued speaking.

“This fact is too great a burden for Magdeburg and Saxony, so I wish to hand it over to Musashi. I believe you can put it to good use.”

He pulled back slightly.

''Oh,'' realized Masazumi. ''Now that he’s said that, he’s relaxed.

He felt the relief of passing a heavy responsibility onto someone else.

She could tell from this conversation that he had discovered this truth in his research of the Apocalypse and his fellow researchers had been hiding it ever since.

…''After all, it would spread despair if it got out.

Part of her wondered why he would have been researching this, but she knew he must have had no other choice.

There had to have been a great pressure placed on him and that thought brought a question to Masazumi’s mind. She asked this man who was said to have experimented with hemispheres and proven the existence of a vacuum.

“Why did you research the Apocalypse?”

“Testament. Out of curiosity.”

He directly replied to her.

“I thought I could use my history recreation to find a way to combat the Apocalypse. Then again, I may have been mistaken from the moment I tried to have a dream as a down-to-earth German.”

'''Asama:''' “Um… I’m not any kind of officer, so maybe it’s not my place to talk, but…”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh. My foolish bother, Mitotsudaira, and…um…the ninja?…are gone, so we have space for at least one person to speak. Why not just say it?”

'''Asama:''' “Yes, well, uh…”

Asama typed out what she had to say.

'''Asama:''' “Is there any point in giving us this information? Our main objective is to gather Horizon’s Logismoi Óplo and open a path to stopping the Apocalypse. So if we know the Apocalypse will definitely destroy the world if we don’t accomplish that, well…how are we supposed to handle that?”

''That last part is her real question,'' thought Masazumi while half agreeing with the girl.

It really was more than they could manage.

…''If we say the Apocalypse will destroy the world if they don’t hand over the Logismoi Óplo, the value of the Logismoi Óplo will skyrocket and the other nations will probably try to take them from us and gather them themselves.

''It’s not an easy thing to handle,'' she complained.

But suddenly, someone to the left answered Asama’s question.

“This is a business opportunity!!”

Bertoni suddenly stood.

“Whatever the Apocalypse may be, we can turn it into a business opportunity! What other option is there!?”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 35|Chapter 35]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 37|Chapter 37]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 33

2016-04-02T18:42:43Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 33: Persuader in the Chaos */

==Chapter 33: Persuader in the Chaos==
[[Image:Horizon3B_0151.jpg|thumb]]
''Now then

''What is going on here?

'''Point Allocation (Nothing to Do)

The commotion was located on Tama’s second underground floor. A residential wide block on the starboard side contained a scattered circle of people with a certain individual in the center.

“Horizon!?”

Asama, who wore her shrine maiden suit, and Kimi, who carried a wrapped loaf of bread, arrived just as Horizon was attempting to break free of the people.

The two of them ran past the circle of Musashi’s public morals committee which was armed with defensive equipment and they stopped five meters from Horizon.

In front of them, Horizon locked her room and reached for the two objects leaning against the wall: Lype Katathlipse and Aspida Phylargia.

“Nh?”

With the two Logismoi Óplo in hand, she noticed the travel backpack at the bottom of the wall.

Her hands were full, so she faced forward.

She stared directly ahead and took a breath.

“How very clumsy. What is the meaning of this, everyone?”

“Sh-she shifted the blame to all of us!!”

Asama stepped forward as she watched the girl try to put the bag on her back without putting down the two weapons.

“Um,” she began. “H-Horizon? Where are you going?”

“Isn’t that obvious?” she asked. “To save Toori-sama.”

Asama thought about what Horizon meant.

What she wanted was clearly impossible.

…''But how can I convince her of that?

She had not left with Tenzou and the others, but that was likely because she had not felt ready. Now that she had the equipment she deemed necessary, she would join them.

''What should I do?'' wondered Asama.

“You see, Horizon. We’re not flying over Hexagone Française anymore, so you missed your chance.”

“But I have determined I should rescue him.”

“Tenzou-kun and the others are taking care of that.”

“If I go too, I could help them.”

Asama groaned and was not sure what to say, so Horizon lifted up one of the Logismoi Óplo for the others to see.

“Look. I have Lype Katathlipse. It has not been of any use lately; I am beginning to suspect it will never actually hit anything again, and – to criticize myself – it feels like a bottom tier Logismoi Óplo, but it should be of some slight help.”

Gin’s shouting voice could be heard from beyond the crowd.

“Master Muneshige! Master Muneshige! Why have you fallen to your knees!?”

''Being its former bearer can’t be fun,'' thought Asama as Kimi stepped up next to her.

“Horizon, calm down.”

“Judge. I have determined I am exceedingly calm.”

“Then think about this more carefully.”

“Judge. I have thought about this exceedingly carefully.”

“Then aren’t you hungry? Want some bread?”

“Judge. I ate a proper meal earlier. I am perfectly prepared.”

“I see.”

Kimi nodded and placed a hand on Asama’s shoulder.

“You take care of this.”

“Y-you are completely useless! I can say that now, can’t I!? And why were you trying to tempt her with food at the end!? Did you give this any thought at all!?”

“Oh? Then you must have a great idea. If so, just tell us what it is. …Heh heh heh.”

“Y-you’re laughing because you don’t think I can, aren’t you!?”

She ignored everyone muttering “you’re letting her mess with you” and she began to think. And after five seconds…

…''Okay! I found a great plan!

“Asama, I doubt any idea you came up with that quickly will work.”

…''Shut up.

At any rate, she prepared to persuade Horizon by putting on a false smile and raising her right index finger.

“Now, are you listening, Horizon?”

“Oh? What is it?”

“You see,” she began. “This time, Tenzou-kun and the others are in charge of saving Toori-kun. Unfortunately, you are not part of that group.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Because Tenzou-kun and the others can handle it just fine, of course!”

Asama gave a huge smile. ''This is what you call shrine maiden persuasion!'' she told herself while thinking this was sure to make her argument more effective.

In front of her, Horizon responded with an expressionless nod.

“I see. But can they really handle it?”

Asama paused for just an instant when asked that. ''Oh, no,'' she thought while maintaining her smile.

“O-o-o-of course! Of course they can! Tenzou-kun and the others can handle it easily!”

“How exactly?”

…''Ah! The specifics are hard!!

She paused again. ''I’ve messed up now,'' she thought while still maintaining the smile.

“W-well, they have Mary with them and Naito too!!”

'''Uqui:''' “May I ask why you shifted away from Tenzou so quickly?”

Still smiling, she karate chopped the sign frame that appeared to her right.

…''If the idea that Tenzou-kun and the others can handle it won’t work, I have to turn that idea on its head!!

With that conclusion, she spoke to Horizon with a smile.

“You can wait to go until Tenzou-kun and the others have been wiped out!!”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “You have guts to include Margot in that. I’m gonna make a doujinshi out of you.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “And how will we know they’ve been wiped out? Are you stupid?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “C’mon, everyone, be nice. Asama-chi has gone crazy again, so she can’t help it.”

''What do you mean “again”!?'', she thought, but now was not the time to respond.

“I see, I see,” nodded Horizon. “You have guts, Asama-sama. But how will we know they have been wiped out? Have you perhaps gone crazy? Are you okay in that sense, Asama-sama?”

…''She just summarized all three of their complaints!!

Asama very nearly fell to her knees, but the heir to Musashi’s representative Shinto family could not back down from persuading someone.

…''I have to argue my way out of this one!

“Asama, is it just me or has your goal here shifted a little?”

“Calm down,” she said while patting Kimi on the shoulder and facing Horizon again. “Why do you want to go save Toori-kun?”

''I can persuade her after hearing that,'' she thought.

“Why?”

After hearing Asama’s question, Horizon glanced up at the ceiling in thought.

“Well, to sum it up in a single word…”

“Oh!”

The girls and everyone else leaned forward in expectation. Asama did the same. As she wondered what the answer would be, the mass of worldly thoughts to her side brought her hands to her cheeks and wiggled back and forth.

“Heh heh. It’s ‘love’ or ‘romance’, isn’t it!? But ‘perversion’ or ‘sex’ work just as well! Wonderful!!”

Horizon nodded toward Kimi and gave her answer.

“ ‘Perverted love’?”

“That isn’t a single word, but it’s still lovely, Horizon!”

Kimi placed a hand on Asama’s shoulder with a smile.

“Help me out here.”

“Wh-why!? You set that up, so you deal with it!”

“Ehhh? But isn’t this how we do things?”

“I will admit I feel like I’ve always been cleaning up after your mistakes.”

Asama sighed and took a step toward Horizon. The girl did not seem to grow cautious, so Asama continued forward while dragging Kimi along.

She ignored Kimi’s strange and exaggerated cries of, “Ah, wait! C’mon, Asama. You’re so forceful. Stop trying to take me by force.”

“Do you not understand why either, Horizon?”

She stood in front of Horizon even as she thought this was a lot like dealing with a child.

…''But that’s exactly why she’s so serious.

Horizon tilted her head.

“Well, Toori-sama can be a pain, but when he is gone…”

“Oh? How does it make you feel?” asked the girls.

As their representative, Asama leaned eagerly forward at the front of the crowd. She of course ignored Kimi’s shouts of, “It makes you feel lonely, doesn’t it!? As your sister, I feel I’m a step away from hitting the jackpot!”

Horizon raised the hands holding the Logismoi Óplo and tilted her head.

“When Toori-sama is gone…”

“Y-yes? How does it make you feel when he’s gone?”

There was a three second pause.

“I have nothing to do.”

“You just use him to pass the time?”

Kimi tapped Asama’s shoulder with a dramatic expression, but Asama continued to ignore her.

Horizon however faced Asama and continued to speak.

“Mary-sama, Mitotsudaira-sama, and Naito-sama have gone to rescue him, but given the excitement this afternoon, they are clearly outmatched.”

That did seem to be the case, so there was nothing to say.

…''That’s a hard idea to overturn.

Kimi tapped her shoulder from behind again, so she finally turned around and glared at her.

“What?”

“She didn’t mention Tenzou!”

Without even tilting her head, Horizon glared back.

“Who?”

“S-see! I didn’t say anything because I knew she would react like that, so why did you have to bring it up!? And all while Tenzou-kun is doing his best to camouflage himself in the forest so he’s as plain and invisible as possible!!”

“You’re pretty awful yourself!”

She followed Kimi’s lead and danced out of the way of everyone’s shouts before facing Horizon again.

Horizon held up Lype Katathlipse.

“Listen,” she began. “I am Musashi’s greatest firepower. Opinions of this Logismoi Óplo may be dropping like a rock, but…

“Ah, Master Muneshige! Why did you fall to your knees again!?”

“But even this poor Logismoi Óplo should be useful as a long-range surprise bomber. I have determined it would be best to travel there and destroy the area in question.”

Asama suddenly looked at the other Logismoi Óplo she held.

…''Eh?

The indicator on Aspida Phylargia showed how much ether fuel it had stored inside and that indicator was about a third of the way full. However, she had supposedly used all of its fuel when firing on Hexagone Française’s nudist and student council president.

Aspida Phylargia transformed any “pain” felt by its bearer into ether fuel, so…

“Horizon, you have been reading criticism directed at you on the divine network, haven’t you?” asked Kimi.

Horizon nodded.

“I still lack 7/9 of my emotions, so I have determined it is not causing all that much damage. As an automaton, I find myself mentally pointing out any theoretical errors in the criticism of the student council and I find myself agreeing with the logical criticisms. That is why it took so long to accumulate this much. So-…”

“No.”

Asama cut off Horizon.

“You must not fill Aspida Phylargia like that.”

Asama saw Horizon tilt her head.

“Why not? I only feel 2/9 of the emotional pain and we need the power at the moment.”

Asama understood what she was saying.

It was true the pain was lessened by Horizon’s lack of emotion and it was true they always needed the Logismoi Óplo to be ready. ''But,'' thought Asama. ''This isn’t a humanitarian issue.

“It is wrong for you to bear it all yourself, Horizon.”

“Why? I am the representative of the Far East. Or at least one of them. I am also Vicereine of Musashi. So why should I not take action or prepare to rescue Musashi or its representative?”

She continued speaking.

“In Mikawa, I could have bought the Far East’s destiny with my life. In that case, shouldn’t I save the Far East even if it means harming that life?”

“Now that you mention it, I do agree that is a possible path for a ruler.”

“Wait, Asama.”

“It’s fine.”

She squeezed the hand Kimi placed on her shoulder.

“But, Horizon.”

She took a step forward.

“Please remember this. What we did at Mikawa ensured that you did not have to do that.”

So…

“This is the same. We will not sacrifice you alone. This is the path we chose at Mikawa and it is the path you chose at England.”

Horizon tilted her head in confusion, so Asama continued.

“You are the one that suggested saving Mary and we all acted on that suggestion. If someone is about to be lost, we will stop it. You are not the only one with that idea. We all want to do that.”

“Then,” said Horizon with a further tilt of her head. “If you want to do that, why are you not heading out to save Toori-sama?”

…''She had to go there, didn’t she!?

That was a difficult question to answer. She could simply say they were using everyone where they could help the most, but…

“What’s this, Asama? Do you not care about my foolish brother?”

“Y-you’re working against me, aren’t you, Kimi!? You’re definitely trying to complicate this!!”

She took in a breath and placed her hands on Horizon’s shoulders.

“Um, I would only get in the way of the others who went to save him. …I’m just not powerful enough.”

“Eh?”

Everyone else seemed to be working against her too because they all pulled back in surprise. Horizon, on the other hand, nodded.

“Oh, of course. Because you are not officially allowed to fire on people.”

“When you say that with your expressionless face, I can feel my own Aspida Phylargia meter rising.”

“You’re so silly, Asama. And listen, Horizon.”

“What is it, Kimi-sama?”

Kimi circled behind Asama.

“Listen. Asama has a job to do here. She has to use these breasts to counterbalance the people here who are severely lacking in that department.”

“S-stop that. Don’t try to lift them up from behind. And stop nodding in understanding, Horizon. …Ah. Sanyou-sensei!? Where are you going!?”

“Anyway,” said Horizon. “To sum up, I am being forbidden from leaving despite my strength because…”

“Yes, because we sent out people more suited for the job.”

''She’s finally calmed down,'' thought Asama with a mental sigh of relief.

“The people most suited for the job have already been sent out.”

At that point, footsteps and a voice reached them from behind.

“That’s right, Horizon. There is a good reason to keep you here on the Musashi. This is the best place for you right now.”

It was Masazumi.

Asama realized persuasion duty had finally been removed from her as Masazumi arrived next to her.

Horizon stared at Masazumi’s chest.

“I see you too are putting a burden on Asama-sama.”

“Eh? W-well, she does help me out a lot.”

“Judge.”

Horizon set down the Logismoi Óplo, placed her hands on Masazumi’s shoulders, and squeezed just once.

“Do not worry. Some people are into crazy things.”

“I’m not sure what you mean… What is this, Asama? Does it have anything to do with the breast enhancing poses the Aoi sister is making behind you?”

“No, no, no.” Sweating uncomfortably, Asama asked a question. “More importantly, why exactly do we need Horizon here?”

“Judge.”

Masazumi looked to Horizon’s tilted head and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s a simple matter. Horizon is the Vicereine. She takes on that responsibility in Aoi’s absence. Having the same authority as him makes her temporary chancellor and student council president.”

“…”

“And,” said Masazumi. “I only received word on the way here, but the Magdeburg representative wishes to hold a meeting. What a pain.”

With that last comment, she patted Asama’s back, Kimi’s back, and then Horizon’s shoulder.

“Things are rough up here and down below. Horizon, if you’re worried about things down there, you should worry about things here as well. We sent the best people we had for what needs to be done down there and you’re the best person we have for what needs to be done up here. …That’s all there is to it.”

''Thank goodness,'' thought Asama in silent agreement.

…''We all have something to do.

Toori had been taken, they did not know how the pursuit was going, and they were on their way to Magdeburg which would be sacked. Everyone was definitely worried and they needed to be distracted from that.

“We all need something to do.”

Asama’s thoughts soon turned to the people who had descended to the Hexagone Française forest. They had to be even more anxious than the people on the Musashi.

“I hope Mito is okay.”

“…!?”

Mitotsudaira suddenly came to.

An instant later, she realized she was in a dark and cold place.

She could sense her surroundings by scent more than sight; so she knew that this was a forest at night, that she was lying on a bed made of plants, and that she was naked for some reason.

“Okay, Mito-tsan. How about I get your clothes on?”

Naito’s upper body leaned forward from the right. She held a Far Eastern uniform.

The girl’s proposal to put the uniform on her prevented her from grasping the situation. Instead of feeling the girl was being kind, she was worried what the girl might do to her.

“No, um… Margot? Why are we out here? And I can…”

She stopped before saying “dress myself”. She had tried to sit up but found herself unsteady.

“You’re probably a little loopy from the pain reduction.”

“Um, I…”

“Yes, yes. Right, right.”

Naito nodded and showed no concern for what she was trying to say. She pulled Mitotsudaira the length of a lap closer and gave a pure smile.

“You were pretty beat up, but you heal nice and fast. I saw that side of you in England and this is mostly bruising, so you shouldn’t even need the pain reduction by tomorrow.”

“Really?”

Mitotsudaira leaned forward, found she could not stop herself, and collapsed. ''Ah,'' she thought as her chest and chin fell into the plant bed. Her legs fell out of place as well.

…''Th-this doesn’t mean my chest only sticks out as far as my chin!

Arguing when no one had said anything was a sad trait of someone in her class. She felt a little depressed when she wondered if that would stick with her forever, but she slowly managed to sit up again.

“If I have to get dressed, does that mean…?”

“Judge. We are in a Hexagone Française forest right now. Tenzou’s our leader. He says we have to move at night since they might notice the movement in the trees if we do it before the sun sets. But he says our pursuers will only move at night for the same reason, so we’ll be moving during the same time period and they can’t catch up.”

“Judge. Then, um, can you cut the pain reduction?”

“Eh? It’ll hurt a lot.”

“It will help me wake up a bit.”

“I see.”

Naito nodded and Mitotsudaira saw the Far Eastern uniform and tights in the girl’s hands.

“Um… I think I want to get dressed.”

“How about I help you?”

“No, I can do that on my-…”

“I really don’t think you can with the pain reduction.”

She approached while smiling and repeating “don’t worry”.

“I’ve practiced on Ga-chan. I like doing motherly things like dressing people up. It’s cute when they struggle.”

She moved behind Mitotsudaira and wrapped her arms around her.

“Here, let’s start with the tights.”

“No, um, wait! Don’t grab my legs- hyaaah! Wait! Um… Nn!”

Seeing her reaction, Naito’s mouth curved up in satisfaction and she nodded several times.

“I’m so glad I didn’t reduce your ticklishness. And I’m so glad I came to Hexagone Française.”

Tenzou and Mary were inside a pit in the forest. He had chosen this low area to the south because he predicted their pursuers would come from the north. In the center of the five meter space, he used an unlit sign frame to explain to Mary the surrounding terrain and what they would do.

“And that is why Hexagone Française will not be waiting at the Reine des Garous’ safe house. She is acting entirely on her own and has made sure everyone else stays away. That is why we must lose the pursuers before going there, but I will probably need your help when we travel. However, I will take the lead and the rest of you will follow in this order: Naito-dono, Mitotsudaira-dono, and then you. That way…”

Mary was listening intently, but he glanced down at her waist. “Eh?” she said while twisting her thighs together and adjusting the sides of her suit at the stomach.

“Um, did you see something strange?”

“Eh? N-no, not at all! Not in the slightest! I-I, um, was looking at Excalibur.”

The two Excaliburs floating at her hips moved. One moved to Mary and the other to him. They rubbed their cheeks against their elbows.

“Um, Master Tenzou? What did you want to say about these little things?”

''Little things?'' he thought. ''Oh, she’s treating them like pets.

For the time being, he spoke to the right half that had come to him.

“Can I ask you to protect Mary-dono?”

After floating for a moment as if in thought, it rubbed its cheek against him again.

It did not return to Mary, which meant…

“It’s taken a liking to you. It must know that you were the one that drew it.”

“I want to avoid leaving you unprotected, though.”

“Oh, my.”

She narrowed her eyes in the starlit depths of the forest and rubbed the scar running from above her nose and to her cheek.

“I can fight well enough on my own. In fact, I would prefer to leave that one with you. Not to mention that Lady Mitotsudaira is injured. I intend to look after her too.”

“I am glad to hear it. Please do so without pushing yourself too much.”

“Thank you,” she said while bowing.

He lowered his head even further.

“No, thank you, Mary-dono.”

“No, thank you.”

“No, no. Thank you.”

“No, no, no. Thank you.”

“Why are you two throwing yourselves on the ground toward each other?”

Hearing Naito, Tenzou frantically straightened up. Mary glanced toward him with a bitter smile, but he only shrugged and spoke.

“How is Mitotsudaira-dono doing?”

“Judge. I am right here.”

Mitotsudaira was leaning against a broad-leaved tree to the south.

“You must be exhausted,” he said. “Are you feeling all right?”

“Well, um, that is a different issue…”

She sighed and faced him.

“Do you have anything I could eat?”

Study:
[[Image:Horizon3B_0172.jpg|thumb]]

The Protestant Reformation – Protestantism and Catholicism

Toori: Sis! Sis! What is this Protestant Reformation thing!? Did the flat-chested people “protest” and demand their breasts be “re-formed” into something bigger!?

Kimi: Heh heh heh. Chest brother, during the Age of the Gods, the Protestant Reformation was when the unified Christian Church split into the Catholics and Protestants. It was caused by corruption in the church.

Toori: Had they fallen into what people call a decadent lifestyle!?

Kimi: More or less. They were interfering with politics, finding ways of making money, and – even if the lower levels weren’t – the upper levels had become a privileged class that ate and drank whatever they wanted and didn’t even follow the rules of the religion.

They even started making money off of the normal people by selling indulgences, which were supposed to purify your sins after you died if you bought them.

The witch hunt was also going on at the time, so there was a fear of being labelled a witch if you didn’t buy indulgences or donate to the church. The people were really left with no choice but to pay the church.

Toori: Doesn’t sound much different from the Yakuza.

Kimi: Right. Some serious people within the church began speaking out against the hypocrisy of what they were doing. Soon, sects began popping up here and there trying to correct the actions of the upper levels of the church that they claimed were wrong.

Toori: Huh? But I thought Luther started Protestantism.

Kimi: You seem mistaken about something. Protestantism simply refers those who were “protesting”, so it wasn’t just a single group. Luther is the representative of one major group, he was the first to spread the Protestants’ shared ideas of restoring the Bible and clearing out the corruption, and he disliked conflict. That is why the churches and the lords that supported them decided to treat him as the representative of Protestantism.

And even if we call it all Protestantism, the different sects inside it have different precepts.

Toori: I see. So what did Luther do as their representative?

Kimi: Basically, he acknowledged Protestantism and defined its ideals. In other words, he made it an official sect when the church was going to treat them as heretics and he decided on their “teachings”.

'''Catholic:
*The pope is the head of the church and has the highest authority. Faith in God is guided by the pope.
*Worship of icons (the cross, images of Christ or the Virgin Mary) allowed.
*Sins are forgiven when confessed to the church.
*Divorce and contraception forbidden.
*Must periodically attend mass at a cathedral.
*Mary viewed as a saint.
*Has official priests for guidance.
*Primarily calls its buildings of worship “cathedrals”.

'''Protestant:
*The words of the Bible are the teachings of God and have the highest authority. Faith in God is guided by reading and understanding the Bible.
*Worship of icons forbidden.
*Confession not practiced.
*Divorce and contraception allowed.
*Mass not necessary outside of important ceremonies.
*Mary not viewed as a saint.
*No official priests and little organizational structure. A representative local believer is selected as a pastor.
*Primarily calls its buildings of worship “churches”.

Toori: That’s a lot of differences. Although it looks like they both have their pluses and minuses.

Kimi: Well, if you look past the differences, they both have the same objective to their faith: peace and love. So it feels like they could get along as long as they believe in that part.
Protestantism is said to excel on the frontier and in business, but that might be because it is more compact since it lacks mass and you could handle confession in your own heart.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 32|Chapter 32]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3B Chapter 34|Chapter 34]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 64

2016-04-02T18:40:12Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 64: Searcher of a Dark Path */

==Chapter 64: Searcher of a Dark Path==
[[Image:Horizon3C_0111.jpg|thumb]]
''Can you bring the situation with you

''When you make a decision?

'''Point Allocation (Self-Judgment)

Several people wearing black stood in a thicket of dark trees.

A tall woman stood in the lead and several boys and girls followed.

They were the Reine des Garous and the Musashi group sent to meet Rudolf II.

At the back of the line, Mitotsudaira turned around and narrowed her eyes to peer into the forest that was already filling with darkness.

“The unicorns have gone now that we’ve left their territory, haven’t they?”

Mitotsudaira turned her back on the others to look into the darkness and sighed in her heart.

…''We covered a lot of ground pretty quickly, but we still have a long way to go.

Unfortunately, the divine protection had run out on the ivy wrapped around the chancellor. It had happened while they were still riding the unicorns, so she had been forced to drag him along with the ivy. He had yelled with excitement, but she had felt more like an execution rider than a knight.

Mary had reapplied the protection, but the ivy itself had been worn down enough that it snapped partway through and they had planted it in the earth again.

However, they had been unable to find any other suitable ivy.

…''Well, I suppose this is as far as the unicorns can take us.

“But mother, we may have crossed into M.H.R.R., but we still have forests and valleys to travel through. What are we going to do?”

She looked over her shoulder to see a calm smile on her mother’s lips.

“We will wait until our next ‘ride’ gets here. It’s been a while since I called it, so it may take a while. But…”

The Reine des Garous reached into her pocket, pulled out a piece of parchment and an attached ''signe cadre'', and tilted her head.

“Anne and the others must be holding their secret meeting in Magdeburg right now. I can guess most of what they’ll talk about, but what is the M.H.R.R. ambassador from P.A. Oda going to say?”

“I would assume the customary recommendation of capitulation,” said the ninja.

The crossdresser reacted immediately.

“Recommendation of titillation!? Where!? I want to be a part of that!”

“Reine des Garous, you can ignore that. Now, about the recommendation of capitulation…”

“Yes.” The Reine des Garous placed a hand on her cheek. “Even if they claim to be doing it out of mercy, there are sure to be some strings attached. Assuming their purpose is to attack Magdeburg, it will likely be exactly what Anne mentioned in this letter,” she said. “First, they will request all of the documents on the Magdeburg Hemispheres. After all, those could easily be used to assist Musashi. And…”

“And? What else is there?”

“Testament.”

What she said next brought them all to a stop.

“They will similarly request Musashi’s princess and the Logismoi Óplo.”

“…”

They were all speechless, but she said nothing more on that subject.

“Now, we need to hurry on to Rudolf II. We won’t accomplish anything by discussing problems to come after that. …So let’s go.”

She looked deep into the forest and Mitotsudaira did the same.

“Ah…”

Their next “ride” was here to replace the unicorns and Mitotsudaira heard hooves on the ground.

“At night, this will be faster than the unicorns. This monster represents the fear of night in Europe. …A carriage drawn by a headless horse can carry us thousands of miles.”

The black carriage that arrived from the side produced sounds of wind and hooves yet produced no actual wind or clouds of dust.

The headless horse raised its front paw toward the Reine des Garous and spoke.

“Long time no see-mare.”

“M-mother! Why do I feel like we’re living in the Egg Monster series!?”

“How rude. Isn’t he cute? The blue flames along the neck cut will disappoint anyone obsessed with gore, though. Well, no need to wait around for my complaining daughter. Hurry onboard everyone.”

“Me first!”

As soon as she opened the door, the idiot jumped in. “Oh, my,” said the mother as she escorted him inside with a smile. Mitotsudaira was upset that her job had been taken from her, but the idiot patted the black sofa with both hands.

“Get in, Nate, get in! You can have the window seat!”

“Eh? Next to you?”

Just as she began thinking about the proper positioning for a knight and her king, her mother placed her hands on her hips.

“If you don’t want to, maybe I’ll sit there.”

“It would bring shame to the title of special duty officer to allow that kind of danger!”

Just as Mitotsudaira began to climb in, she heard Mary laughing. The girl hid her smile behind a hand, took a breath, and looked eastward.

“I hope those in the meeting at Magdeburg are having this much fun.”

In Magdeburg and below Avalon’s night sky, Masazumi listened to Matsunaga. He was explaining what P.A. Oda was demanding to accept their surrender.

…''Just as I thought, they want the hemispheres and the Logismoi Óplo, including Horizon.

“To P.A. Oda, those things could be a problem for the Genesis Project. You can see how we have little choice,” said Matsunaga. “But I’m guessing the surrender negotiations aren’t going anywhere.”

Guericke and Anne nodded in agreement and Masazumi…

“Removing the Logismoi Óplo from Horizon would mean breaking down her body. …We obviously can’t agree to that request.”

“So you’re giving us conditions we could never accept but claiming you still showed us a ‘merciful compromise’, hm?” said Anne. “Well, I have to admit demanding a surrender with strings attached is pretty amazing. …In a way, I guess P.A. Oda wants power too.”

Guericke nodded in agreement.

“If you have the Logismoi Óplo, you can focus on the Genesis Project but still have a backup plan in case that project fails. Is that it?”

“I don’t really know the details about all this, but…” Matsunaga smiled bitterly. “I kind of wanted to meet Musashi’s princess for a variety of reasons.”

“I bet you did,” replied Masazumi before a sudden voice reached her from the side.

It was Guericke’s. Still sitting, he slid a half spot forward.

“At any rate, as Magdeburg’s provisional mayor, let me respond to the recommendation of capitulation concerning the Sack of Magdeburg.”

He closed his eyes and sighed before continuing.

“I cannot agree to surrender. …After all, Magdeburg’s surrender is not a part of the history recreation.”

The negotiation indeed went nowhere.

Guericke’s decision left everyone speechless.

But just before the silence grew to a sigh, Suleiman opened his mouth.

“In that case, I suppose we’re back to normal or at least the way things were before, right?”

''You make it sound so trivial,'' thought Masazumi, but to him, it really was a trivial matter. And when she thought about it…

…''Musashi may be helping, but we’re really only an observer here.

Even Matsunaga had only been temporarily put under Hashiba’s command because Hashiba’s forces were stretched thin with their strategy placing them on multiple fronts. Matsunaga himself had no connection to the history recreation here.

…''That’s probably exactly why he was sent here as their ambassador.

The others here had to understand that, so Masazumi relaxed her shoulders.

“In terms of the Sengoku period, Lord Matsunaga, we could probably take you hostage to negotiate with Hashiba.”

“That’s a dangerous idea, but it’s just the kind of idea I like. …Then again, I’m not a part of this fight and my history recreation has me rebelling against Nobunaga twice before blowing myself up. If I was captured, they’d probably just leave me here.”

“Hold on. Then how am I supposed to get home?” asked Suleiman with a bitter smile.

Matsunaga laughed.

“Sassa’s outside the city too, so you’d probably have some trouble.”

…''So Sassa and Suleiman know each other.

''There are a lot of connections out there,'' thought Masazumi before suddenly thinking about her connection with Matsunaga.

But if she was ready to let her mind wander like that…

“I suppose that mostly ends the part of the meeting meant to determine Musashi’s position in the fight against P.A. Oda.”

After Masazumi’s question, Guericke, Tomoe, and Anne all nodded.

“Hmm. I suppose. Then I guess it’s time for the discussions between individual nations.”

That noncommittal response came from Matsunaga’s bitter smile.

Eventually, he continued.

“You’re planning to pass through my place after Magdeburg, right? Are you really going to do that? I’ll send out the Shigisan, you know? Are you sure you want that?”

“We can’t allow ourselves to destroy the Hiragumo, so it is a formidable foe,” replied Masazumi with a bitter smile of her own.

Matsunaga’s smile relaxed.

“But,” he said. “If you’re doing Hashiba’s history recreation, then it won’t be long until I retire. I’ll be rebelling, after all. How’s that going to go?”

He asked that final question to no one in particular.

However, it did bring an image to Masazumi’s mind. While at IZUMO the night before last, she had seen Matsunaga drinking at the cafe counter and the nudist cooking in the kitchen.

…''Will that ever be able to happen again?

With that in mind, she made a suggestion.

“Once your role is complete, why not come to Musashi, Lord Matsunaga?”

“Huh?”

Matsunaga had a thought as that question escaped his throat.

…''Oh, c’mon. What kind of pathetic sounds am I making now?

But it had been so sudden.

…''They’ll take me in?

''That’s ridiculous,'' he thought. ''That’s impossible,'' he thought.

After all…

“Wait, wait, wait. I’m a pretty evil person. You’d be in trouble if the other nations knew I was with you. Some would ask you to hand me over and others would refuse to trust you. I’m a shogun killer and the burner of Toudai-ji. That’s just the kind of destroyer I am.”

That was also why he had agreed to work for Nobunaga.

Nobunaga had used the shogun as a puppet and burned Mt. Hiei.

…''As destroyers, I’m the senior and Nobunaga is the junior.

“If necessary, I’ll kill and destroy. That’s the kind of person I am. But you’re different. Just like that idiot and your princess chose at Mikawa, you refuse to think of killing or destroying as necessary. We’re incompatible. And…”

He smiled a little as he spoke.

“In the Far East, I thought you couldn’t be a student past the age of eighteen.”

“Wouldn’t it be interesting if you became the one to destroy that rule?”

When he heard Musashi’s vice president, Suleiman elbowed Matsunaga’s shoulder.

“You’re a popular guy, Matsunaga.”

“It comes naturally to me.”

Musashi’s vice president smiled bitterly at the two men’s exchange.

“Well, just think of it as a suggestion.” The bitterness left her smile. “Our idiot and princess’s policy is to never lose anything. Lord Matsunaga, from what I’ve seen, you’re quite the trickster. In other words, you refuse to let anything go as planned. That’s why I won’t insist that you come. But if you’re ever nearby while on a trip, feel free to stop by.”

“I might even refuse to follow that plan of yours, you know?”

“That’s why it’s only a suggestion. If you visit us…” The bitterness returned to her smile. “You can speak and drink with the idiot who decided on this policy, you can meet the princess you wanted to see, and you can visit Principal Sakai and some others you might know. …Whether it’s porn games or anything else, you’re free to do whatever you want.”

The aide sitting next to the vice president tapped on her shoulder and glared at her. The aide handed over a sign frame and the vice president finally reformed her smile.

“Whatever you want that’s ''legal''.”

“That sounds awfully restrictive…”

However, he let out a single smiling cough as if his chest were vibrating.

“Heh. I see. So that stupid boy and the princess have a policy of never losing anything, do they? Interesting. But…an evil person can’t have people worrying about where he’ll end up.”

“Ha ha. Lord Matsunaga, I think that attitude is just about perfect.”

“Don’t flatter me,” he said. “But what are you going to do? …Musashi has no strength as a nation, isn’t that right?”

''That’s right,'' thought Masazumi as she was drawn in by Matsunaga’s tone of voice.

But…

“I mostly realized that at the meeting the night before last.”

Her tone had gotten lighter which she felt showed her inexperience, but there was no point in hiding it here.

“Before, I had planned on travelling from England to M.H.R.R. to attend the Peace of Westphalia, but…”

But…

“Even if we managed to prove Musashi’s ability to influence the history recreation at England, England was the only nation that really understood us. We also needed more than three weeks of repairs afterwards, so I think we are far too weak to handle the main forces of Hexagone Française or P.A. Oda. Musashi is currently carrying out the history recreation and fighting as the main force of a nation, but that is all. We aren’t a true nation that can rush out into the world at large and continue cruising indefinitely.”

'''Tonbokiri:''' “Sorry, Masazumi.”

'''Vice President:''' “It isn’t your responsibility. These recent battles haven’t even been individual duels. We’ve been using our overall power. And if that isn’t enough, we can never win a war even if we win some local battles.”

Masazumi knew that quite well, so…

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Wh-what is this serious mood between you two!? You’re trying to tempt me into drawing up a storyboard, aren’t you!? No, at this point, I should probably ink it too!”

''Shut up, you idiot. But anyway,'' sighed Masazumi in her heart before opening her mouth.

She needed to express Musashi’s future plans.

“After helping rescue the people of Magdeburg from the Sack, Musashi plans to enter Kantou with the help of Qing-Takeda. Of course, that’s after traveling from Osaka Bay and forcing our way through Lord Matsunaga’s land.”

She looked across the others’ faces.

They were all looking her way, but they looked more curious than serious.

''They’re testing me,'' she realized anew. ''And not just me. They’re testing Musashi as a whole.

So she stated their plan as a response to that test.

“We will travel to Kantou, negotiate with Qing-Takeda, Satomi, Houjou, and – if possible – Sviet Rus to try to bring them over to our side. Our overall strength as a nation does not include just the Musashi itself. It includes the strength and influence we gain through the cooperation of other nations.”

And…

“On the way to Kantou, we will recreate the Battle of Mikatagahara with the help of Qing-Takeda.”

“Oh?” said Tomoe. “That’s quite a decision on Yoshitsune’s part. The Battle of Mikatagahara means the death of that idiot’s inherited name of Shingen.”

“But thanks to that, we can continue with our history recreation. Yes… That’s the starting line. Shingen will die and we will stand just before the Battle of Nagashino that leads to the fall of Takeda.”

Once Takeda fell, Nobunaga’s death would be close. Historically, he had travelled to and from Kyou but been killed by his retainer, Akechi Mitsuhide, at Honnouji before establishing his rule over the entire Far East.

“We’re going to owe a lot to Qing-Takeda.”

“But,” cut in Matsunaga with a tilt of the head. “You can’t rely on Satomi, Houjou, and Qing-Takeda forever. Musashi itself needs its own strength, doesn’t it?”

“We are already making the arrangements for that.”

Masazumi waved her right hand.

“Maa.”

A sign frame appeared in front of that hand and it displayed a line drawing.

“This was made on short notice, but these are the plans for the modifications we’ll have made at Kantou IZUMO.”

Everyone reacted with surprise and for good reason. The image of the Musashi based on Naomasa’s suggested design had a certain addition.

“We will arm the Musashi, including a main cannon. These are the plans for making the Musashi a combat-ready ship.”

“C’mon, now. I thought the Musashi had been disarmed.”

“We need to fight to defend ourselves. Plus, we need weapons when hired as a mercenary. But most importantly, we learned in England that we will sometimes have to fight in order to gain the Logismoi Óplo needed to stop the Apocalypse. So while these modifications are made, we will solidify our position in Kantou and then return here. And when we return, we will have the strength needed to get away with what I just mentioned.”

And…

“When that time comes, please test us again. You’re worried about Musashi’s strength as a nation, but I promise you that we will be strong enough once we return.”

No one immediately agreed or disagreed with her, but Tomoe was the first to move. She placed her hands on her crossed legs and gave a deep nod.

“That is enough. With that, I think I can expect something from you in the future. So at this point…”

Masazumi predicted Tomoe was going to call the meeting to a close, but…

“?”

A sign frame suddenly appeared next to her face and it contained a message from Neshinbara.

'''Novice:''' “Everyone, please remain calm and hear what I have to say. We just received word that the battle between K.P.A. Italia and M.H.R.R. has ended.”

They all turned around in surprise, but the report on the battle’s end was summed up quite succinctly.

'''Novice:''' “Itsukushima has fallen.”

Masazumi thought about what that meant.

…''K.P.A. Italia lost?

They would have had many powerful fighters including the Pope-Chancellor, Galileo, and Tachibana Dousetsu, but Neshinbara had told them what had happened.

“The floating island of Itsukushima…was sunk and split down the middle?”

She had seen a portion of IZUMO break off and fall away the day before.

Itsukushima was a smaller floating island than IZUMO, but…

…''How do you split something like that?

She had questions, but the footage from a PR committee member clearly showed what looked like two islands in the ocean below the dark clouds. Reports of tsunami damage were coming in from the surrounding areas and the remaining K.P.A. Italia forces had sent out a statement saying they would continue their resistance.

“Wow,” said Asama. “The divine network is on the verge of overloading. …Oh, sorry. I’ll switch it over to local mode for the time being!”

Several sign frames appeared around her and Hanami struck a few of them to shrink them.

Everyone exchanged a glance to see what the others would decide.

“That took some time getting here,” said Matsunaga. “I heard about it before I arrived.”

He took a more casual posture and looked up into Avalon’s sky as he spoke.

“Well, as ambassador, I’ll give you one last notification.”

“What is that?”

“Shaja.” He breathed out into the sky as if exhaling tobacco smoke. “Hashiba told me to say this. She said Musashi could easily bring in some supplies or mercenaries when it returned to Magdeburg, so she told me to make an announcement at the end of the meeting. Basically, the Sack of Magdeburg is beginning early.”

“…!?”

“Don’t look so shocked,” he said. “It’s beginning a day early, so tonight at eight. That’s two hours from now, right? Right. …In two hours, the thirty thousand warriors laying siege outside will come rushing in.”

And at 6:12 PM, Matsunaga had completed his job as ambassador, so he and Suleiman left Magdeburg in his primary ship, the Shigisan. At the same time, the M.H.R.R. Catholics used a barrier to cut off all divine transmissions around Magdeburg.

Asama worked with Magdeburg’s academy to restore a Shinto base to the city’s divine transmission environment, but they could not contact anyone outside the city. Essentially, Magdeburg’s eyes and ears had been taken from them in the darkness of the night.

However, they managed to salvage a few pieces of information from the transmissions sent in just before they were cut off.

The first was K.P.A. Italia’s situation. Asama distributed it to everyone else.

“To Whom It May Concern,

How are you doing on this early summer day? Amen.

Thanks to your excellent guidance, we have just had the wonderful experience of defeat. Itsukushima was sunk and the Pope-Chancellor is missing, but all the more, the moderates are working toward a peaceful resolution while the resistors are heading out to the field to resist. Once that begins…”

“Is it just me, or is there a lot of sarcasm in this?”

“Heh heh heh. I do see some hints of resentment here and there. Flat politician, what do you think?”

“It’s definitely an issue that the Pope-Chancellor is missing. That means the manager of the Catholic forces and the Testament Union nations is absent. The different nations will have to begin checking on and trying to take advantage of the situation.”

Meaning…

“The European and Tsirhc nations won’t be able to work together and that creates the perfect opening for Hashiba’s group to interfere.”

Another piece of information was the Musashi’s status.

When the Musashi had been informed of the early start to the Sack of Magdeburg, it had still been in a city on the border with Holland while letting off the evacuees.

It would take eight hours to be towed all the way back to Magdeburg. Even if they left at 6:30 PM, they would only arrive the following morning at 4:30 AM. The divine mail from the Musashi just before transmissions were cut off had been short:

“We will do our best to arrive as quickly as possible. Over.”

The Musashi group in Magdeburg could only interpret those words for themselves.

And at 6:30 PM, the entire city of Magdeburg was filled with a rush of reconsidering or reconstructing their defenses and a state of emergency was announced.

'''Novice:''' “The enemy could receive reinforcements or any number of other bad scenarios could play out, so whether the Musashi can arrive more quickly is going to be our lifeline here.”

Would Magdeburg last until then?

And Asama spoke for all of the Musashi residents there.

“I wonder what Toori-kun and the others are doing right now.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 63|Chapter 63]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 65|Chapter 65]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 63

2016-04-02T18:39:02Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 63: Collective Resister */

==Chapter 63: Collective Resister==
[[Image:Horizon3C_0085.jpg|thumb]]
''What is it I hear?

''Divided resentment?

''Or joyous relief?

'''Point Allocation (National Circumstances)

Tomoe nodded once and spoke to Musashi’s vice president and Mazarin of Hexagone Française.

“Listen. If Musashi and Hexagone Française are allowed a unilateral friendship, there is no saving M.H.R.R. Just to be clear, the M.H.R.R. Protestants must oppose the Catholics thanks to the Sack of Magdeburg, but we are part of the same overall collective as the Catholics. Do not forget that we did not oppose them until the Sack because we benefit when they benefit.”

So…

“If Musashi opposes the M.H.R.R. Catholics as a sign of friendship with Hexagone Française, the Thirty Years’ War will bring more damage to M.H.R.R. than it otherwise would. The same holds true if Musashi sticks to behind-the-scenes support. So…”

She breathed in.

“The M.H.R.R. Protestants would find it most regrettable if Musashi chose to oppose the Catholics to negotiate a friendship with Hexagone Française.”

Masazumi saw a message from Naruze on her sign frame.

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Why not ignore this pain-in-the-ass old hag and keep going?”

She noticed Asama quickly erasing the log and then heard the girl sigh.

'''Asama:''' “There. But is ignoring her, as Naruze suggested, not an option? M.H.R.R. is Hashiba and they will lose the war. It seems horrible to just ignore them no matter what they say, but as a politician, shouldn’t you keep that option in reserve?”

''Could I really do that?'' wondered Masazumi.

But…

'''Vice President:''' “No, I can’t. After all, M.H.R.R. will be at Westphalia.”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “Oh, that’s right.”

'''Novice:''' “Eh!? I wasn’t part of that ‘almost’! I already knew that!”

'''Four Eyes:''' “Why do you insist on showing off like that?”

'''Novice:''' What’s wrong with it!? And how did you get into our chat again!?”

'''Asama:''' “Eh? Oh, because this is a Protestant city. …I did it to show off the spirit of the Asama Shrine.”

'''Novice:''' “Y-you didn’t have to do that! You didn’t!!”

''Then couldn’t you ask Asama to cut the connection?'' wondered Masazumi, but since he did not, he may not have truly wanted to be separated from Shakespeare.

…''So the M.H.R.R. Protestants and Catholics are pretty much the same?

They were on opposite sides of a war, but M.H.R.R. was a collective nation of principalities that belonged to both groups.

Despite the internal conflict, they were still a solid group when it came to opposing external foes. They were only going to oppose each other after Magdeburg because the Catholics had crossed a line. So…

…''Even as Protestants, they cooperate with the Catholics to form M.H.R.R. as a whole.

When viewed as a single nation, any damage to the Catholics would also be a burden on the Protestants.

So if Musashi’s actions during the Thirty Years’ War caused more damage than M.H.R.R. would have taken in a normal history recreation, the Protestants would not support Musashi.

'''Novice:''' “Therefore, they don’t want us to oppose the Catholics.”

'''Righteousness:''' “…What if you still do it?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Oh? Yoshy is included in the chat? Heh heh heh. We’re all typing, but it’s wonderful how everyone goes the extra mile to add in the ellipses and such! Do you want me to hit you!?”

'''Four Eyes:''' “Who is Yoshy?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “A flat-chested long-lived girl from another academy’s student council who’s staying on the Musashi for the time being!!”

'''Novice:''' “Ahhhh!! Do you have any idea how dangerous that statement was!?”

'''Four Eyes:''' “It doesn’t really matter. …Yeah, I think I’ll go investigate that person, so talk to you later.”

'''Novice:''' “Don’t just assume we’ll be talking later! And don’t cause any international incidents!”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “G-get a room?”

Masazumi had a feeling something horrific was in the works, but she hoped she was only imagining it.

At any rate…

'''Righteousness:''' “How about we get back on topic? What happens if you still oppose the Catholics?”

That was a simple matter, so Masazumi used Tsukinowa to form a reply.

'''Vice President:''' “We would lose the support of the M.H.R.R. Protestants during the Peace of Westphalia. In the worst case, Holland and all the other Protestant nations would turn against us.”

If possible, Masazumi wanted to make sure Musashi sided with the victors of the Thirty Years’ War and the Peace of Westphalia. And she wanted to do so by earning their gratitude.

If Musashi had Hexagone Française, Holland, and other victors on their side, it would be easier to accomplish their goals with the Logismoi Óplo and freeing themselves from provisional rule.

…''I’d love to do that, but opposing the M.H.R.R. Catholics would mean making an enemy of the M.H.R.R. Protestants and the Protestant nations they cooperate with.

'''Novice:''' “It would be pretty bad to lose the great victor of Holland. They’re Protestant and they cooperate with the M.H.R.R. Protestants, so they could still oppose Musashi even though they come out on top with M.H.R.R.’s defeat. They could claim we caused more damage to their allies than the history recreation required.”

'''Vice President:''' “And that would make it all the easier for the other victors to similarly hide behind the history recreation.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Then we just have to avoid opposing the M.H.R.R. Catholics, right?”

'''Novice:''' “We can’t do that either. You remember the group that attacked us this morning, right? The M.H.R.R. Catholics and P.A. Oda are our enemies.”

'''Tonbokiri:''' “This is getting complicated, so how about a snack break?”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “You sure are honest with yourself!!”

''Futayo has always been like that,'' recalled Masazumi while continuing to think.

Hexagone Française had just revealed the threat of Hashiba and the M.H.R.R. Catholics joining forces, so they could earn Hexagone Française’s gratitude by opposing that combined force.

But the M.H.R.R. Protestants said they wanted to avoid having Musashi join the fight against the Catholics they shared a collective nation with.

…''If only we could split Hashiba from the M.H.R.R. Catholics.

But how could they do that?

…''Physically? Politically? According to their roles? No…

She thought through a number of ideas as she tried to figure out what to do.

“Well…”

She began to wonder what kind of simple conclusion that idiot would reach in this situation.

…''There is a way.

There was. It was a simple yet highly dangerous way of resolving this.

“I have a suggestion for the M.H.R.R. secretary who represents the M.H.R.R. Protestants.”

Suleiman listened to Musashi’s vice president speak.

She leaned forward while sitting cross-legged in the grass and gently spread her arms. She then formed a smile that could be seen as bitter or self-deprecating.

“It is still a vague suggestion, but there is a single method of completely splitting P.A. Oda’s Hashiba from the M.H.R.R. Catholics. Needless to say, this is something that will be proven by Musashi’s future actions.”

“Tell me.” Tomoe nodded expressionlessly. “I will make up my mind after that.”

“As will I,” said Suleiman to urge the girl onward while thinking he knew what she was going to say.

…''If I am right, the Far East will need to be cautious at the very least.

But he also thought they had already made up their minds about this.

…''The question is whether they are aware of this decision of theirs.

He looked to her and asked his heart how he would react if he received the response he was hoping for.

As he watched, Musashi’s vice president breathed in just once and then spoke calmly.

“Listen.”

Here it came.

“Before the Peace of Westphalia, Musashi will destroy Hashiba as a Far Eastern power.”

Masazumi made her suggestion.

“Musashi will destroy Hashiba not as a Catholic or Protestant power, but as a Far Eastern one.”

If they did that…

“Hashiba can be split from the M.H.R.R. Catholics. Due to our history of opposing Hashiba, only Musashi can accomplish this. And if Hashiba is defeated before the Peace of Westphalia, the victors can pay no heed to P.A. Oda as they make their demands and speak of the defeated nations as nothing more than that.”

This was the answer to what she had been asked at the beginning of the meeting. This was their stance against P.A. Oda.

“Musashi is P.A. Oda’s enemy.”

And…

“Musashi will handle Hashiba.”

Asama heard laughter. Suleiman was leaning forward and laughing in his monk’s robe of a Far Eastern uniform. He laughed uncontrollably, but held his right palm toward Asama and Masazumi.

“Sorry, sorry. My apologies. B-but…I am not laughing at your idea.”

''Then what are you laughing at?'' wondered Asama while exchanging a glance with Masazumi.

Suleiman tried to catch his breath before continuing.

“Oh, what is it? To think I had such humor left in me! That must be it!”

'''Asama:''' “ ‘In me’? So it wasn’t that Masazumi was funny?”

'''Vice President:''' “Wait, wait, wait. Don’t say anything that will cause misunderstandings.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “That’s right, Asama. We can’t have anyone mistakenly thinking Masazumi is funny!”

'''Vice President:''' “Huh? Am I being attacked right now?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Then make a joke about Holland.”

'''Vice President:''' “Eh? …Well, I hear tulips cover the ‘whole-land’ of ‘Hol-land’.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Wait, why are you laughing, Yoshy!? I’ll put you in my doujinshi!”

'''Righteousness:''' “Eh? Y-you people are strict!”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh heh. This is the problem with flat-chested fighters who don’t know how to enjoy themselves! You need to get some training at the physical comedy-style solitary confinement hall at the shrine of an entertainer god!”

At any rate, Masazumi waited for Suleiman to calm down before opening her mouth. She did not know why he had laughed, but it was not because he had a poor opinion of her.

“I do not know how we will do so. It’s just a proposal.”

After all…

“Hashiba meets a slow death rather than a decisive one in battle, so it would be impossible to use the history recreation to destroy them in battle.”

'''Novice:''' “That’s right. Hashiba died of old age. That’s one of the main reasons he was known for unifying the Far East and bringing the Warring States period to an end. He lived out his life in the peace he created instead of dying in battle. Matsudaira then plotted to take advantage of the following chaos within the Hashiba forces and took the Far East for himself.”

Yoshiyasu tilted her head when she saw those words in the dancer’s sign frame.

“So you want to defeat Hashiba, but no one can force that death onto her? What are you going to do?”

“There is still a way.” The dancer smiled bitterly. “In this age, you can hide behind the history recreation and force death onto someone as long as you have the power to back it up.”

“You’re going to put someone to death by force?”

“Don’t be silly.”

The dancer’s bitter smile grew, but she pointed to the sign frame where the words of Musashi’s vice president appeared.

'''Vice President:''' “There is no certain way of destroying Hashiba, but the method itself is clear.”

That being…

'''Vice President:''' “We use the rules of the history recreation to end Hashiba’s history recreation.”

…''Can you do that!?

Yoshiyasu gasped at what Musashi’s vice president had said and recalled something.

Not long ago, much the same thing had happened in Mikawa and England.

However, those had been a true forced death based in the history recreation.

…''Everyone was listening with bated breath to the divine radio in the Satomi living room.

Then, when Musashi’s chancellor and student council president had ended the confrontation on the bridge and walked down the stairs, “that man”, Yoshiyori, had left the living room on his own. Yoshiyasu had wondered why he was not listening through to the end, but she had later found a new flower on her sister’s grave.

Musashi’s chancellor and president’s determination at Mikawa had led that man to make some kind of decision and dedicate some kind of feelings at that grave.

Yoshiyasu did not know what he had meant by it.

…''So…

So even as her heart filled with irritation toward herself, she was curious about Musashi because that man had shown an interest in it.

…''How will they handle the kind of situation that set his heart in motion!?

If they were not going to force death on someone, what were they going to do?

“How does Musashi plan to ‘defeat’ Hashiba!?”

Masazumi did not know the specific method, but she had a general policy in mind.

“Listen. Musashi will not carry out the kind of deadly history recreation forced on us at Mikawa or nearly consented to in England. This was decided by Musashi’s Princess and Vicereine Horizon Ariadust and is the general consensus of Musashi as a whole.”

So…

“Instead of an assassination, we will push the Far Eastern history recreation forward and leave Hashiba with nothing more to recreate. In other words…”

She had said something similar to England’s Fairy Queen.

“We will set history in motion and use that result as a weapon.”

Tomoe smiled bitterly in her heart when she heard Musashi’s vice president.

…''The Far East has quite the strict new representative.

She would bring Hashiba to its end in order to strip it away from M.H.R.R.

Everyone here had to have a number of ideas how to accomplish that, but the situation would change greatly if Hashiba was truly eliminated from M.H.R.R. The Catholics would be greatly weakened, the Protestant minority would have much more influence over them, and if it was all done before Westphalia…

…''M.H.R.R. can actually stand its ground during Westphalia.

If Hashiba remained when the Thirty Years’ War ended, the nations attending the Peace of Westphalia would try to strip M.H.R.R. of as much power as they could. But if Hashiba was gone, the Peace of Westphalia could remain a peace conference based entirely on the history recreation. They would have to do something about Student Council President Matthias who had invited in Hashiba, but it would be possible to play the role of victims.

“In that case, our influence at the Peace would be directly connected to how well the Catholics and Protestants could work together to regain our strength beforehand.”

If Matthias could be used as a scapegoat and the Catholics and Protestants could reconcile, the two sides would be able to come together quite quickly.

…''Honestly.

Thinking about that brought the past to Tomoe’s mind.

Tomoe had a long past.

Long ago, she had been used as a scapegoat.

During the Genpei War, she, her husband Minamoto Yoshinaka, Yoshitsune, and Yoshitsune’s brother Yoritomo had worked together to defeat the Taira family. However, their army had been fairly crude and some turbulent times had arrived once they had entered Kyou. That had partially been due to the history recreation, but…

…''Well, we had a lot of fun.

At the same time, the friction between Yoritomo and Yoshitsune had gradually risen to the surface and, as the Minamoto clan had gathered strength to defeat the Taira family, the nobles had realized they were becoming a new threat in the Taira family’s place.

So as a scapegoat for a number of problems, Yoshinaka’s forces in Kyou had been attacked and defeated by Yoshitsune.

Tomoe would be lying if she said she did not hold a grudge. Even if it was part of the history recreation, she could not accept some of it. Most importantly of all, her beloved husband, Yoshinaka, had been killed.

So she had decided to live on. First, she had followed her grudge against Yoshitsune, crossed over to the continent, and fought against Yoshitsune’s Yuan Dynasty. As that horse-riding empire had conquered westward into Eastern Europe, Tomoe had struggled against them in the name of fighting Yoshitsune while taking on a few different inherited names from Eastern Europe and Russia.

Finally, the Yuan Dynasty had fallen and split into various horse-riding nations which changed form and died out.

Was that enough to say she had defeated Yoshitsune? Or had history simply continued on? She did not know, but she did know what she had felt back then.

She had lost her reason to fight.

But by that time, she had become well-known in Europe and a lot of people had gathered to rely on her when the harmonic world was destroyed during the Harmonic Unification War.

She had ultimately chosen this city of Magdeburg.

Magdeburg was where Otto I, the original emperor of M.H.R.R., slept.

She had heard he had used this land as the front line base against the horse-riders and savages arriving from the east. The fact that she had seen herself in him showed that she had still viewed herself as a hero of the Genpei War, but…

…''I decided to take their side.

The Testament had still been updating after the Harmonic Unification War and it had informed them of the Reformation to come from M.H.R.R and it had told them the Protestants would win their position in the world despite being oppressed.

''I see.

''Long ago, we caused trouble and were purged.

''And now, those trying to purify their world will be purged yet will remain.

''And that is why I am here now.

''I do see Yoshitsune from time to time. That idiot always complains that I’m there and tries to pick a fight with me, but she’s probably just trying to get me to hate her.

''Now, then,'' thought Tomoe. ''I need to focus on the present instead of the past.

''The situation might be different, but I can’t make a scapegoat of Matthias. However, that will make it difficult to bring together the Catholics and Protestants without any spilt blood.

“I assume I would be able to play an important role in that,” she said. “It is an interesting idea and it is worth thinking about.”

Masazumi listened to Tomoe.

“Ending Hashiba’s history recreation before Westphalia means advancing history that far in about four months. That will be difficult, but it is Musashi’s problem. We only need to see whether you pull it off and criticize you if you do not.”

“You don’t hold back, do you, old lady?”

Tomoe bared her fangs toward Matsunaga and Guericke slid back two spots.

…''Oh, c’mon. Please don’t start fighting here.

Despite Masazumi’s thought, Tsukinowa opened a sign frame.

'''Wise Sister:''' “Yeah, that was worth getting mad at.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Yes. It was definitely worth getting mad at.”

''Huh? Is there something wrong with me as a girl if I didn’t think that?'' wondered Masazumi with a mental tilt of her head, but Tomoe corrected her posture after only clicking her tongue toward Matsunaga.

She then faced the two from Hexagone Française.

“And I don’t think Musashi’s suggestion contradicts what you want.”

“Testament. That’s true. If Hashiba is defeated early, it will shorten the amount of time Mouri is under their control. It would be nice to have that end while we can still find a way to avoid doing everything they say. And if Musashi has a friendly relationship with my brother and Terumoto, it opens up a lot of options for the later Battle of Sekigahara. …Mazarin, what do you think as treasurer?”

“Testament.” Mazarin nodded. “According to my calculations, a shorter time under Hashiba’s rule will reduce what they can take from us as a sign of our fealty. And Sekigahara will be a lot cheaper if we can use connections with Matsudaira to talk things out.”

…''She sure is blunt.

“Then,” said Anne. “I’d say it’s an option. But listen, Musashi Vice President. There are three problems with your suggestion.

“First, Hashiba’s history recreation is closely connected to the history of a lot of other Far Eastern commanders, so you won’t be able to advance history just for Hashiba. You might get everyone related to Hashiba or even the entire Far East involved and end up with a massive war on your hands. Are you aware of that?

“Second, you say you want to advance the history recreation, but where will you begin? You can’t do anything without a starting point.

“And third,” she said. “Does Musashi have the power as a nation to do this?”

“Listen,” said Anne, but not to Musashi’s vice president. “Old Man Matsunaga.”

“What’s this all of a sudden, little lady?”

“You’re going to tell Hashiba…no, Nobunaga everything that happens at this meeting, aren’t you? After all, P.A. Oda gave Musashi a warning this morning. It was a simple demonstration of what would happen if they stuck their nose in P.A. Oda’s business. And that was on Hashiba’s instructions, wasn’t it?”

“Wait a second.”

Musashi’s vice president raised her right hand and frowned when Anne gave her a look that said, “What is it?”

“Are you saying Hashiba sent Sassa Narimasa, Shibata Katsuie, and Takigawa Ichimasu to determine our strength because she predicted what this meeting would be about and that Musashi would oppose them?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. It must have been a good opportunity for Hashiba and for P.A. Oda to learn what kind of a threat Musashi posed to them. So…”

A sudden chill reached Anne and she grimaced a little.

…''Don’t worry.

''I still have plenty of time. I have to believe that. At the very least, I’m not going to disappear here, so focus on that. And I need to say this, even if it sounds harsh.

…''I have the special privilege of saying whatever I want without worrying about the personal consequences.

“If you advance Hashiba’s history recreation, it will involve the history recreations of those with a close connection to her. But based on this morning, it doesn’t look like you would be able to force Katsuie or Sassa’s history recreations onto them. And…”

She said it.

“If you are going to ‘end’ Hashiba, you will first need to ‘end’ Oda Nobunaga, her boss. …Can you do that?”

Masazumi listened to Anne.

“That won’t be easy. Nobunaga still remains hidden yet has earned great trust from P.A. Oda’s leaders. And while Nobunaga’s Genesis Project is still a mystery, we do know they are constructing some massive structure inside the stealth barrier surrounding Lake Biwa.”

“Is there anything else?”

“The Princess Disappearances. Just as Maeda Toshiie stated and demonstrated in England, they must know something about that mystery you are pursuing.”

A response came as soon as Asama sent Anne’s words to the others using Hanami’s voice input.

'''Novice:''' “Vice President Honda-kun, ask about Richelieu again. He was a victim of the Princess Disappearances and he was Hexagone Française’s treasurer during Anne of Austria’s era and before, so I bet Anne knows something about him.”

“Judge,” sent back Masazumi as she faced Anne. This would be a digression, but Lord Motonobu had said at Mikawa that investigating the Princess Disappearances would lead to stopping the Apocalypse.

“Could you provide us with some details on Cardinal Richelieu’s Princess Disappearance? It doesn’t have to be now and it can just be a general summary if you want.”

“He just suddenly disappeared is all. Right, Mazarin?”

“Testament. He was going through the process of handing the treasurer position over to me and he told me to wait for a moment while he signed the paperwork. And then…”

'''Novice:''' “That’s just like Sakakibara-sama!”

Masazumi immediately realized what Neshinbara meant. That situation was very similar to when Principal Sakai witnessed Sakakibara Yasumasa’s disappearance at Mikawa. He had prepared some water and…

“Did Cardinal Richelieu leave behind any kind of message?”

Mazarin’s eyebrows rose and she peered into the ''signe cadre'' she held. Anne then nodded and gave a slight smile.

“It would seem the Princess Disappearances truly are afflicting the Far East as well. To be honest, I was skeptical of these stories, but fine. ‘Because there is a short delay before the Princess Disappearance is complete’, the victim has time to leave behind a message. If you know that, then you must have experienced the real thing.”

She continued speaking.

“This is something I heard from someone long ago. …Before inheriting his name, Richelieu apparently went missing for about three years.”

…''Eh?

“You’ve heard something similar before, haven’t you?”

Masazumi had indeed heard of a Princess Disappearances victim having gone missing in the past.

…''Crossunite gave us bits and pieces and Mary later gave us an official report.

“Judge. I have. Before inheriting their names, Henry VIII, Queen Catherine, and Anne Boleyn went missing for a year.”

“It apparently happened during Richelieu’s high school years.”

''Wait,'' thought Masazumi. Her mind could not keep up with so much sudden information.

However, Anne continued without letting her catch up.

“His final message was, ‘The Princess has a parent’.”

To Asama, something did not feel right about those words.

…''Huh?

''What is it?'' she wondered and opened a sign frame to check the divine network.

But suddenly, Anne’s eyes turned her way.

She was looking at Asama’s hands on the spell keyboard.

“…”

But Anne only smiled. Asama nodded back without thinking and realized the two of them had reached an understanding.

…''Eh?

Anne’s smile seemed to be praising her for reaching the right answer.

…''Eh!? W-wait! But I don’t understand anything yet!

''This is bad,'' she realized. ''Anne is definitely asking me to answer the mystery hidden in those words.

…''U-um… What could it be? Well, anyway, I need to make my search.

But she was away from the Musashi and this was a Western Protestant city. She could not use Musashi’s databank and she would have to convert her query into German to make a search. She started up a translation spell and typed in “The Princess has a parent”, but…

“…!?”

She realized what Anne’s hidden trick was.

“Was that message in Far Eastern!?”

“Yes. It was written just as I said it. After all, Richelieu was originally from the Far East.”

And…

“To kill some time while lying in my hospital bed, I once asked him about when he had gone missing and he smiled. He was already past middle-age and well on his way to being an old man at the time. We had no choice what with the history recreation, but we were always saying nasty things to each other and lying to each other. But this time, he was probably trying to pass it off as a joke, but it contained a hint of something different.”

Anne spoke to Musashi’s vice president.

“He nostalgically told me he had gone to a nonexistent academy.”

“A nonexistent academy?” asked Masazumi.

But she accepted Anne’s words and began thinking on them.

…''If I sum it up, this is what she’s telling me:

●'''The Princess has a parent.

●'''When Richelieu and the others went missing, they were at a “nonexistent” academy.

She had no way of analyzing those two facts here, so…

“You have given us some valuable information and some important hints to guide Musashi in the future. I thank you.”

“Testament. But what will you do? Is Musashi truly going to advance Hashiba’s history recreation from the outside? That decision necessitates conflict with Nobunaga, you know?”

“I need them to do that,” added Suleiman. “My goal is to reclaim my birthplace. I want to take back Mt. Hiei and the Mlasi holy land. That is why I have been working with Matsunaga here.”

“Yeah, because I happen to be the one who’s currently in charge of the Kii Peninsula.” A small smile entered Matsunaga’s voice. “But let me say one thing for now. Let me tell you why someone like me is here under the temporary command of M.H.R.R.”

That being…

“It’s standard practice before a battle, but we need to discuss whether all of you will accept our terms for the Sack of Magdeburg. If you will, you can surrender in advance.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 62|Chapter 62]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 64|Chapter 64]]
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</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 62

2016-04-02T18:38:13Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 62: Supporter of the Circle */

==Chapter 62: Supporter of the Circle==
[[Image:Horizon3C_0059.jpg|thumb]]
''These are not their true feelings

''They are sounding out

''What kind of position to hold

'''Point Allocation (Fierce Argument)

Darkness hung in the sky of Avalon during the day.

The individuals sitting there were the representatives of different forces which could be described as anti-P.A. Oda. As they took a quick break, they adjusted their sign frames and the like for the meeting.

Masazumi sat among them yet had a thought as she looked around.

…''They want to know if we will be their ally or their enemy in their opposition of P.A. Oda, do they?

That answer carried an implied promise and it would determine whether they could benefit from each other, so Masazumi first asked a classmate a question.

'''Vice President:''' “Neshinbara, do you have anything to tell me about the representatives here?”

'''Novice:''' “You go first since you know more about politics than me.”

“Judge,” she sent before glancing over at Asama.

'''Vice President:''' “I’m a slow typer, so can Tsukinowa help me?”

'''Asama:''' “It requires an additional feature, but that doesn’t matter to you since Heidi and Shirojiro will be paying, right? I’ll add the ability to form text using the movement of your tongue and throat, okay? …There.”

''This sure is a convenient age we live in,'' thought Masazumi as she formed the words in her mouth.

'''Vice President:''' “Ih ish ood?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Oh, dear. She’s turned into a moron! Excellent!!”

'''Asama:''' “Oops, I’ll up the conversion interference rate. There you go.”

''Fine, then,'' she thought before repeating herself: Is this good?

'''Vice President:''' “Is this manner of speech up to thy standards?”

'''Asama:''' “Oops, that’s too much interference. I’ll lower it a bit.”

''This sure is an inconvenient age we live in,'' she thought while glaring at Asama, but Hanami did a dance to distract her.

“Anyway,” said Masazumi under her breath. ''This should be about right.”

'''Vice President:''' “I’ll point out what the meeting participants want, my predictions of what they will do, and the problems they bring.”

●Anne of Austria (Hexagone Française)

:Wants stability for Hexagone Française and Louis Exiv’s rule.

:Sees Mouri’s submission to Hashiba and defeat at the Battle of Sekigahara as a problem.

●Luther Tomoe Gozen (M.H.R.R. Protestants)

:Wants to oppose the M.H.R.R. Catholics?

●Suleiman (Mlasi Forces?)

:Revenge against P.A. Oda?

●Matsunaga Hisahide (P.A. Oda)

:Unknown.

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Why they’re here is a mystery for most of them, isn’t it? Well, I guess that’s why you have to ask.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Do you win by revealing your answer before them or after them? Which is it?”

'''Novice:''' “That’s a difficult question. And I would add these to your list.”

●Anne of Austria (Hexagone Française)

:The future of Hexagone Française will be greatly affected by the result of the battle between K.P.A. Italia and M.H.R.R.

●Luther Tomoe Gozen (M.H.R.R. Protestants)

:Even if they overcome the Catholics, Hashiba remains, so they cannot escape P.A. Oda’s rule.

●Suleiman (Mlasi Forces?)

:His connections with the Mlasi majority faction and Buddhism are important.

●Matsunaga Hisahide (P.A. Oda)

:He’s a trickster, so I want to guide him into holding an interest in us.

'''Mal-Ga:''' “That’s quite the vague assistance there. This is worse than when I say ‘roar around the curves and whoosh on through’ to underclassmen asking for drawing lessons.”

'''Novice:''' “How can you say I’m worse than that!?”

'''Tonbokiri:''' “I will ignore that, but what is the Mlasi ‘majority faction’?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Judge. The majority faction spins around and around while the minority faction loves the end of the world.”

'''Bell:''' “Eh? Eh?”

''That was actually kind of accurate'' sighed Masazumi.

'''Vice President:''' “Um, a long time ago, the bloodline of the Mlasi founder was lost during some internal conflict. The majority faction pragmatically tries to protect the teachings of the founder without fighting over who their leader is. The minority faction puts much more focus on bloodline and says a descendent of the founder will appear and save them all at the end of the world.”

'''Novice:''' “Judge. Unlike the Tsirhc Catholics, Mlasi lacks an authority like an organized church to manage them and enforce the rules. They still have the teachings of their religion, but they can’t definitively say which side is heretical. But anyway, the majority faction has a fair bit of mysticism to it and they have a lot of spells. Aoi Sister-kun was talking the Sufi spinning used to become one with god.”

''It’s nice having people to help explain things,'' thought Masazumi.

…''Oh, I get it.

She had classmates she could rely on, so she could do just that when she did not know something.

'''Vice President:''' “Neshinbara, what is the common point between all of these people?”

'''Novice:''' “Exactly what they told you: they see P.A. Oda as an enemy.”

''Then,'' she thought. ''I need to say this if I want them as allies.

“Now, I would like to say one thing.”

She gently raised her right hand to signal the meeting was beginning again and she directed her words toward the others who were already waiting silently for her.

“To form a consensus, I would like to explain Musashi’s current situation.”

The subject of the meeting was what Musashi intended to do about P.A. Oda, but there was something she had to do before getting to that answer.

…''I need to hold them back and see what happens to make sure I don’t carelessly promise anything.

And so she spoke.

“Early this morning, Musashi was attacked by scouts from P.A. Oda and the M.H.R.R. Catholics and we fought them off with help from the M.H.R.R. Protestants.”

She breathed in and slowly spoke to the surrounding people.

“Due to that, Musashi currently holds a hostile stance toward P.A. Oda and the M.H.R.R. Catholics.”

“Hmm,” muttered Suleiman with a hand on his chin.

…''This is a very Far Eastern way of playing with her words. She is treating P.A. Oda and the M.H.R.R. Catholics as one and the same.

P.A. Oda was a massive nation encroaching on Europe and other nations, but the M.H.R.R. Catholics were only a single force within M.H.R.R. The nations of Europe viewed the M.H.R.R. Catholics as a P.A. Oda puppet.

For that reason, Suleiman had assumed the meeting would focus only on what they would do about P.A. Oda.

…''But Musashi’s vice president plans to drag M.H.R.R. into the spotlight too.

M.H.R.R. possessed a Logismoi Óplo, so Musashi may not have been able to ignore them.

Assuming they would be dealing with both the M.H.R.R. Catholics and P.A. Oda was a pain, but it held great meaning for the M.H.R.R. Protestants and Hexagone Française who were faced with the threat of Hashiba and the Catholics.

However…

“Hm.”

''I wonder,'' thought Suleiman as everyone gently focused on him.

…''Using self-defense in her negotiation is also a very Far Eastern thing to do.

After all, Musashi’s vice president had said their hostile stance against the M.H.R.R. Catholics and P.A. Oda was due to ''the attack they received from scouts belonging to those two nations.

That put the source of the hostility on P.A. Oda and M.H.R.R.

It also implied Musashi had not originally harbored any hostility toward them.

This was part of her negotiation.

She was saying they could reconcile with P.A. Oda and the M.H.R.R. Catholics if those here tried to force any unreasonable demands on Musashi.

''How very Far Eastern,'' thought Suleiman. ''She is cautious and she tries not to let go of any possibility, but she never forgets about the self-defense this all rests on. And it is even more Far Eastern to prioritize their own defense without maintaining a position that they are in the right.

''But,'' he thought.

…''Should I test her? Not that it’s a very nice thing to do.

He wanted to assess her skill, so he decided to give a simple test.

“Listen, Musashi Vice President. Are you saying you did not take up this hostility because you wanted to? Then are you also saying it is possible you could reconcile with P.A. Oda and the M.H.R.R. Catholics?”

If so…

“We will be forced to be wary of Musashi.”

When she heard what Suleiman said, Tomoe gave an impressed “Oh?” under her breath.

This man had been the Mlasi representative and the meeting spot froze over at his question.

''But having a little tension is for the best,'' she thought while producing a Protestant ''lernen figur''.

'''Lady AM:'''<ref>AM is also pronounced “gozen” in Japanese.</ref> “Guericke, it looks like Mr. Suleiman is trying to earn the Protestants’ gratitude.”

'''Hemisphere Man:''' “Secretary, what do you mean by that?”

'''Lady AM:''' “I’m not telling.”

Guericke gave her a wide-eyed look, but she ignored him. ''Human, never stop thinking. Your predecessor must help these people who have yet to grow, so be prepared to be kicked into the chasm.

…''Anyway, I see Suleiman is as haughty as ever.

After all, he had started out with “we”.

''Who ever said we agreed with you? You are a heretic as far as we’re concerned.

But Suleiman was also working against the possibility of Musashi reconciling with not just P.A. Oda but the M.H.R.R. Catholics as well. The M.H.R.R. Protestants viewed both those groups as enemies, so they owed him one for that.

And there was a test in what he had said. He had asked Musashi if there was a possibility of them reconciling with P.A. Oda and M.H.R.R.

…''Now, what answer will Musashi’s vice president give?

If she said they would not, everyone here would have her word and they would use that to control Musashi as much as possible.

But if she said they might do so, everyone here would grow wary of Musashi.

Both options placed a great burden on Musashi.

'''Lady AM:''' “There is of course a way out of this.”

'''Hemisphere Man:''' “What is that?”

'''Lady AM:''' “I’m not telling.”

Guericke gave her a wide-eyed look, but she could safely ignore it if she viewed it as nothing but a humorous reaction. ''Human, continue your pursuit of the performing arts.'' At any rate, there was a way for Musashi to escape those two options.

…''This will determine whether or not Musashi’s vice president understands the meaning of what she wants.

The girl had tried to gain self-defense and opportunity, but she was now having her position tested.

''What answer will she give?'' wondered Tomoe as she focused on Musashi’s vice president.

Masazumi calmed her breathing as several gazes turned her way. She had a single thought in her head.

…''You’re giving me this right off the bat!?

This was a direct clash of intentions without time to lay any groundwork.

His words directly led to a demand and his question asked that she either confirm or deny.

Any answer she gave would be seen as a promise and follow her around in everything else she did. It would affect both Musashi and the Far East as a whole.

She did feel some pressure here and she realized just how ridiculous a group she was facing here.

But…

…''Calm down.

'''Asama:''' “C-calm down, Masazumi! And listen! Don’t calm down by making a weird joke! If you do that, this entire space could fall apart!”

'''Vice President:''' “But none of the jokes I’ve ever made have been ‘weird’.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Oh, sorry. I think I misheard you and spilled my ink. Could you rephrase that?”

''Shut up.

At any rate, she was definitely being tested.

Was there a possibility of Musashi reconciling with P.A. Oda and M.H.R.R.? Suleiman insisted she gave a yes or no answer, but the real problem was which answer he wanted to hear.

“In other words, you want to confirm our attitude concerning P.A. Oda?”

“Shaja,” said Suleiman. “Musashi has declared it will end the Apocalypse and has formed a bond with England, so it looks like you are trying to provoke the Testament Union. But just as Mikawa was originally an intermediary between the Testament Union and P.A. Oda, the historical Matsudaira clan was allied with the Oda clan.”

So…

“It would be rather troublesome if you hid behind the history recreation, allied with or took a neutral stance toward P.A. Oda, and overlooked their invasion of Europe. Yes.”

''I’m sure it would,'' thought Masazumi.

Matsudaira and P.A. Oda had not originally been enemies. From the perspective of the Testament Union members, the morning’s reconnaissance attack could be taken as a warning to Musashi against forming bonds with the Testament Union.

…''That must be why Suleiman is asking me to choose between the two options.

Were they P.A. Oda’s enemy or their ally?

If she said they were their enemy, these other nations would use them. If she said they were their ally, these other nations would be wary of them. Was there a better answer?

Masazumi thought about what Suleiman had said and about the others here.

“…”

Then it came to her.

…''There is one.

Masazumi realize there was an answer which was applicable specifically at this meeting.

…''Is this…?

She thought and formed the words in her heart, so…

…''Calm down.

''Don’t get excited.

''Don’t celebrate that you realized how to move this meeting along.

''You don’t need to celebrate what you’ve realized. You need to check to see if you’re right.

“Are you listening?”

Masazumi breathed in and suppressed the joyous quivering of her throat.

“Hexagone Française.”

She turned toward and directed her words toward Mazarin and Anne of Austria.

“If Musashi maintains a hostile stance toward P.A. Oda and the M.H.R.R. Catholics, what kind of support will your academy provide us?”

Matsunaga saw Suleiman lower his head to hide the smile on his lips, he saw the man’s shoulders shaking, and he heard suppressed laughter. Across from him, he saw one corner of Tomoe’s lips rise in a smile as she closed her eyes.

He nodded toward them and spoke.

“Looks like she’s turned you down.”

“Yes,” said Tomoe as Suleiman’s shoulders shook even harder. “Not bad.”

''Exactly right,'' thought Matsunaga.

There was meaning behind the two options Suleiman had presented to Musashi.

…''He wanted to know if Musashi really wants our help.

None of them had laid any groundwork, so when asked something, it was necessary to discuss what each nation stood to gain.

So if Musashi rejected everything related to itself, it would mean they did not share the same benefits as the other nations.

So Suleiman had tested Musashi to see if they did share those same benefits.

The best answer for Suleiman would have been for Musashi’s vice president to ask the others what Musashi should do.

That would change any possible demands from the other nations into mere suggestions and the other nations would have to hold each other in check for their own benefit.

But Musashi’s vice president had used Suleiman’s words against him. She had used the question to strike a deal with Hexagone Française.

Musashi was not revealing their intentions. She had only borrowed Suleiman’s words to question Hexagone Française. Suleiman could not say anything here. If he demanded she answer his question, she could simply promise to do so after hearing what the other nations had to say. And…

“Attacking us one at a time, are you?”

Suleiman realized what Matsunaga meant and finally nodded. He then spoke so only Matsunaga could hear.

“She isn’t used to meetings like this, so she would have a hard time dealing with us all at once. Instead, she must be building up her opinion by dealing with us each separately. But it is very interesting that she chose Hexagone Française first. After all…”

After all…

“Anne of Austria also likes to go on the attack.”

Masazumi viewed Anne as her greatest enemy. A lot was unknown about Suleiman and Hisahide, but she had no reason to call them a clear enemy.

With Anne, however, there was just such a reason.

“I am honored you chose me first, Musashi Vice President. So you want to know what support Hexagone Française will provide Musashi if you maintain your hostile stance toward P.A. Oda and the M.H.R.R. Catholics?”

Anne smiled in the ''signe cadre'' screen, but her smile was not directed at Masazumi. The girl was looking to Suleiman who sat cross-legged with a hand on his chin.

“Are you stupid? And I mean both the Musashi Vice President and Old Man Suleiman. I mean, it’s been predetermined that Ariadust will fight Hashiba and seize control of the Far East. Simply following the history recreation ensures that.”

Anne smiled again.

“Yes, and yet Musashi is trying to make a deal with us based on the possibility of ‘reconciling with P.A. Oda and the M.H.R.R. Catholics’. It’s too stupid to dignify with a real response. Listen. Ariadust is destined to oppose Hashiba eventually. That means both P.A. Oda and M.H.R.R.’s Hashiba. And besides, there’s no way Hexagone Française will support Musashi.”

After all…

“Hexagone Française is the only one here whose history guarantees we will oppose Musashi.”

…''I had a feeling she was going to bring that up!

The way Masazumi saw it, there was an “absolute” difference between Hexagone Française and the other nations and academies.

The simple category of enemy also included Matsunaga of P.A. Oda, but the history recreation would have Matsunaga rebel against Nobunaga and blow himself up along with the Hiragumo tea kettle.

That happened relatively early, so when looking specifically at Matsunaga’s relationship with Matsudaira…

…''He has no history recreation against Matsudaira.

But Hexagone Française and the Mouri clan were different. According to history, they would be enemies at the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. Matsudaira’s Eastern Army would win while Mouri would be subjugated and would fall into decline.

For both sides, their initial relationship began as enemies.

And that enemy spoke.

“Musashi does not need to involve itself in our world. After eradicating Hashiba and stopping the Apocalypse but before Mouri’s decline, you can return to being what you once were. We ''would'' be willing to support you in that endeavor.”

Masazumi listened to what could be interpreted as an absolute rejection, but…

…''?

Something seemed off to her.

Masazumi asked herself why this girl was refusing any kind of negotiation.

…''If she refuses to negotiate, why would she be here in a place of negotiation?

The answer was simple.

…''I was wrong, wasn’t I?

Anne had simply reacted to Masazumi’s proposal. She had rejected it because she could not accept those terms. To put it another way, she would not have refused if Masazumi had given her terms she could accept.

Masazumi had made a mistake.

Due to the lack of groundwork, she had failed to understand Anne’s situation and had thus made a mistake.

''In that case,'' she thought. ''What did I get wrong?

She summed up what she had asked.

…''I asked if Hexagone Française would be able to support Musashi if we opposed P.A. Oda and the M.H.R.R. Catholics.

“Oh.”

As she repeated the proposal, she realized her mistake.

'''Dragon Dog:''' “Something just changed inside her.”

'''ANA:''' “Leave it to a former combat automaton to notice.”

'''Dragon Dog:''' “Testament. Musashi’s vice president was hesitant earlier, so her body’s axis was a bit unstable. I could only describe it as somewhat downturned. But now the tension has grown and she is facing us. …This could be dangerous.”

'''ANA:''' “Dangerous? What do you mean?”

'''Dragon Dog:''' “Testament. I have determined Musashi’s vice president has lowered her hips while raising her body for an attack.”

'''Dragon Dog:''' “Here it comes. She just started nodding.”

Masazumi got up from the grass, stared straight at her opponent, and opened her mouth.

“Anne of Austria, I seem to have caused a bit of a misunderstanding. Please allow me to make my suggestion again.”

''This is such an amateur’s way of correcting herself,'' she thought. ''But there’s no helping that. I am an amateur.

She decided to be more careful in the future.

She now understood that she had stated her previous suggestion incorrectly.

How should she have stated it when speaking to Anne of Austria?

…''It doesn’t hinge on our hostile stance toward P.A. Oda and the M.H.R.R. Catholics.

The correct condition was as follows:

“If Musashi maintains a friendly relationship with Louis Exiv and Mouri Terumoto…”

…''And I don’t ask if their academy will support Musashi.

She should have said this instead:

“What suggestion will you give to Louis Exiv and Mouri Terumoto?”

The darkness of night began to fill the sky beyond a great floating shape.

The Hiragumo floated above Magdeburg where five individuals had gathered by the fire-lit front of a cathedral. Kimi sat on the stone steps with a sign frame open while Futayo, Naruze, Adele, and Yoshiyasu gathered around her.

Yoshiyasu tilted her head when she saw the writing on Kimi’s sign frame.

“Why is she basing this on individuals like Anne, Louis Exiv, and Mouri Terumoto instead of on Hexagone Française as a whole?”

She felt it was a sad question for a student council president to have to ask.

…''But it should help me study diplomacy.

She had been with Musashi for less than a day, but she could not take that time lightly because, every so often, opportunities like this were mixed in with all the inhumane incidents and behavior. However, it was the eccentric sister of Musashi’s chancellor who answered.

“Heh heh. This Anne girl has built up her resolve. And make sure you understand. The second character in the Far Eastern word for ‘resolve’ attacks the heart radical with five mouths at once!<ref>A kanji pun.</ref> Five!? That’s going well beyond a threesome!”

Yoshiyasu had no idea what the girl was talking about. The Weiss Hexen waved a hand, telling her not to worry about it, but that same girl had also drawn Yoshiyasu in her Magie Figur and said something about “Should I put her with Asama? No, I do that too often. I need to think of something else.” In other words, the Technohexen was no different from the eccentric sister.

At any rate, she needed to understand what was going on in this meeting, so she tried to remember all her knowledge about that sort of thing.

…''Yoshiyori is always telling me-…

She stopped thinking there because she wanted to avoid having him lecture her even in her own mind.

However, she did remember feeling Anne’s resolve as the girl had pulled on her hand.

…''What was that?

At that point, the vassal tilted her head.

“Um, Kimi-san? What would Hexagone Française’s previous provisional chancellor’s resolve be in this case?”

“Well.” The dancer turned toward Yoshiyasu with a bitter smile. “Listen. Anne’s resolve concerns her imminent absence.”

“…”

Yoshiyasu was unable to immediately react.

…''Her imminent absence?

Her thoughts refused to continue any further partially because she was having trouble connecting an individual life to a negotiation between academies that supported entire nations. However, there was a bigger reason.

…''My sister.

Had her sister had a similar resolve about her own death?

If she had been the same as Anne was now…

“Sorry.”

Everyone turned around when that word escaped her mouth.

She panicked at their questioning looks and felt embarrassed of what she had said.

But she shook her head and corrected her thoughts. She then asked a question while keeping in mind that this person was a lot like her sister.

“Anne is negotiating with her death approaching, so why is she opposing Musashi? And why is Musashi’s vice president resuming negotiations with her, Louis Exiv, and Mouri Terumoto instead of with Hexagone Française?”

“Well,” said the dancer. “Simply put, this girl had already retired. How is someone like that supposed to influence her nation or her academy?”

The vassal immediately replied.

“Usually as a regent or through a cloistered rule.”

“Judge,” replied the dancer before looking back up at Yoshiyasu. “It can’t go that far in Anne’s case, though. She went as far as to place herself in Magdeburg after retiring, so she was essentially saying she no longer has any value. But…”

But…

“She was able to do all that because she left everything to her brother, Louis Exiv. She believes her brother can do something even if Hashiba invades Mouri. She believes he will protect his wife’s clan. That is why she grows hostile when someone treats her like Hexagone Française’s ruler. It means you don’t trust the brother she has placed such faith in.”

''What does that mean?'' wondered Yoshiyasu.

She went on to frown and ask about the source of her confusion.

“I don’t understand. Why does she trust her brother so much? Is it because of the Testament descriptions?”

“Oh? You don’t know?”

The dancer stabbed sharply to the side with her question. Her tone was strong enough for Yoshiyasu to draw back a bit and the Weiss Hexen glared at her.

“I more or less know the answer, but you really support Anne, don’t you?”

“Heh heh. Yes, but the cuteness of a foolish brother is greatly influenced by whether he is an older or younger brother.”

The dancer smiled just a bit.

“You see, Anne does not simply trust her brother. She is bragging about her own abilities. If she couldn’t trust in the brother she supported for so long, she would be doubting what she herself had done. She is bragging that she has no worries and nothing but confidence in everything that will occur after her death. And it is all because of the nation she created and the brother she raised and supported so he could respond to any possible situation. …That is the kind of woman Anne of Austria is.”

A self-deprecating bitterness entered her smile.

“Unlike me, the situation must have required her to support him quite a lot. So at the very least, she will have no regrets once she is lost. She can brag about how well-made a brother she has. Otherwise she would not be able to trust this brother who chose another woman to be his wife.”

“Then…what is your vice president supposed to do?”

“You don’t know?” asked the dancer while speaking clearly. “Unlike me, she is like a fruit tree that protects its flowers and then withers away. Now, Masazumi, tell her you are here to water the flower she has supported and not her, the withered tree. That is what she wants from you. So…”

Kimi pulled Uzy from her cleavage and had the Mouse display a divine transmission spell keyboard.

“Masazumi, listen. A proper woman cannot mistake who she is dealing with.”

Masazumi glanced at the text Kimi sent her.

'''Wise Sister:''' “Are you listening!? Are you!? You’re dealing with a little sister character, so make sure you understand how madly in love with her big bro she is! Make sure of it!! And if you still don’t understand, grope Asama’s chest until you do!!”

She truly did not understand, but she was unsure what to do. Would groping a chest really help?

“Eh? Wh-why are you staring at me, Masazumi?”

“Oh, um… No reason…probably.”

The crazy person’s advice was about what she would expect, but she already understood one thing: Anne of Austria was her greatest enemy at this meeting.

…''I should be able to share in what she has protected.

“I won’t ask for much, Anne of Austria. I just have one request for you,” said Masazumi. “Currently, Musashi and Hexagone Française have entered a ceasefire. I want to make that an official end of hostilities. Otherwise, we can never begin a friendly relationship with Louis Exiv and Mouri Terumoto.”

“That’s true.”

Anne did not say much, but…

…''She finally agreed with something I said.

“However…”

That word of caution came with a smile and her tone said she would not let this go as Masazumi wanted.

Masazumi understood why: she was an amateur. And as a beginner, she had chosen to negotiate with each nation individually.

…''But even if I settle things with one nation, another can speak out about how that affects them.

What nation would not want an amicable relationship between Hexagone Française and Musashi?

“I can’t have you forgetting about M.H.R.R., Musashi Vice President and Anne of Austria.”

Tomoe crossed her arms and faced Masazumi.

…''Here it comes.

''After Suleiman and Anne, the third round is beginning,'' she thought.

And Tomoe’s words seemed to substantiate her thoughts.

“How about you speak a little with us…with M.H.R.R.?”

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 61|Chapter 61]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3C Chapter 63|Chapter 63]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 24

2016-04-02T18:29:52Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 24: Out of Place Advisor */

==Chapter 24: Out of Place Advisor==
[[Image:Horizon4A_0533.jpg|thumb]]
''If someone has nowhere to go

''But they have somewhere to stay

''Where will they go?

'''Point Allocation (Everyone)

Masazumi watched the door slowly close after the Satomi Student Council President and Balfette left. She then made sure the divine transmission line with those outside was in place.

“Next up are the personnel going to Sviet Rus, but this one honestly carries a somewhat difficult problem. After all, they’re currently in conflict with P.A. Oda.”

She touched the sign frame map to slide it over to the Jouetsu region.

“Also, Sviet Rus’s Uesugi clan becomes a pro-Hashiba force after Nobunaga’s death and takes Hashiba’s side during the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. They remain enemies of Matsudaira for a very long time.”

“In that case,” said Nenji with a sigh. “We cannot send anyone important there.”

“Don’t be so quick to decide that.” Masazumi stood up, took a few steps, and stopped in front of someone. “Mary. Crossunite isn’t here now, but I want you and him to go to Sviet Rus.”

“Judge. I will be fine as long as I am with Master Tenzou.”

Masazumi was relieved by her immediate response and smile, so she turned around.

“Also…Horizon and Aoi.”

Asama looked up.

…''Eh?

She spoke a reflexive question to Masazumi as the girl looked their way.

“U-um, didn’t you just say we wouldn’t gain much from negotiating with Sviet Rus? And it’s a warzone now, so why would you send Toori-kun, Horizon, and even Mary there?”

“I do know why you would think that,” said Masazumi.

Kimi nodded from the next seat over and placed her hand on Asama’s shoulder.

“Aren’t you forgetting someone?”

“No. I just feel like Tenzou-kun would be back in three days no matter where we sent him.”

“True.” Kimi nodded again, rested her head on her hand, and looked in the same direction as Asama was. “Why do you want to send my foolish brother to Sviet Rus? The only souvenirs he could bring back are vodka and sake, and that would only make Asama happy.”

“It would not make me happy. …Ah! What are those looks for, everyone!? Toori-kun, you say something too!”

She turned toward the door he had been pinned behind before.

…''Huh?

“No one’s there?”

The area was abandoned.

…''Yes.

She decided to assume his absence was intentional.

…''Yes. Everything’s fine.

She could relax when she remembered that he had to be somewhere and that this was most likely the setup for some kind of joke.

Then someone moved in front of her: Horizon. The automaton grabbed a spare chair from by the wall, placed it near the center of the floor, and beckoned Persona-kun over.

…''This is going to be something weird again, isn’t it?

Persona-kun nodded silently and sat in the chair.

“————”

Soon, a forceful blow struck the bottom of the floor panel below Persona-kun’s chair. The idiot’s voice followed.

“Huh? It won’t open! That’s odd. Huh? Ahhhn? Ahiiin?”

“Judge. Please be quiet. I will nail it shut.”

“Don’t renovate my house! And aren’t you going to praise me for my setup?”

Horizon casually began hammering in some nails.

“Ah, dammit! She’s hammering them in as accurately as an expert carpenter! C-curse you! I’ll do it right next time! I swear it! I swear it!!”

Masazumi glared toward the idiot’s voice as he seemed to run away somewhere underground.

“Anyway, we know he’s here, so I guess I’ll explain why we need to focus on Sviet Rus.”

She took a breath and looked to someone by the wall.

“Augesvarer, take it away.”

“Judge, judge,” said Heidi as she opened a sign frame on Masazumi’s instructions.

Unsurprisingly, it displayed a map of the Far East. It was zoomed in on the area from Sviet Rus to southern Kantou.

“Erimaki, show it up above.”

On top of her head, Erimaki raised its front legs and displayed the map on the ceiling.

“Now, then.” She put her hands on her hips and smiled. “It’s really simple when you get down to it. Even without advancing the history recreation, P.A. Oda currently controls the center of the Far East, right? Before, their eastern provisional border was shared with Qing-Takeda, but the Takeda side of Qing-Takeda has been destroyed.”

The red representing P.A. Oda moved in from the west to reach the western side of Kantou, but something was there to resist their invasion.

“Sviet Rus is to the northeast, Houjou is to the southeast, and both the Qing forces of Qing-Takeda and Musashi’s Matsudaira are to the east. …Now, do you know what’s going to happen with this in the future?”

“Judge,” said Mitotsudaira. She looked up to the ceiling and placed a hand on her bare throat. “Qing-Takeda will be pushed further east and Houjou will be destroyed by Hashiba.”

“That’s right.”

Heidi lightly tapped Erimaki and the red advanced from western Kantou to the southern region bordering the ocean.

“Do you understand?” asked Heidi. “Eventually, Musashi’s only path to and from the western Far East will be through Sviet Rus. Sviet Rus’s Uesugi will eventually side with Hashiba, but since the Uesugi clan isn’t actually destroyed, they won’t become P.A. Oda. And on the Russian side of things, they’ll be anti-Mlasi.”

“That isn’t all,” said Shirojiro as he crossed his arms next to her. “Ever since the Mikawa incident, Musashi has been managing the deposits of the Far East reservations and the national wealth stored in that fashion. In other words, Musashi is running a giant bank. But…”

As soon as he said that, Heidi displayed another map of the Far East. The western end had a few red circles added.

“But ever since the Battle of Mikatagahara, most of the western forces have instructed us to freeze the money they have left with Musashi.”

“Freeze…the money?” asked Suzu.

Shirojiro nodded.

“It means they will not withdraw any, but Musashi is not to use it in any way.”

Immediately, someone else asked a question: Horizon. She tilted her expressionless head.

“What are those western academies trying to do? Why would they not withdraw their money but not let us use it?”

“It comes down to the threat of P.A. Oda, Horizon,” said Masazumi. “Even if they wanted to withdraw and use their money, they’ve just seen P.A. Oda take over K.P.A. Italia. Moving money around could make them the next target of an invasion. And even if they are invaded, they can recover if they still have that money waiting for them. So now that Musashi has lost to Hashiba, they want to leave that money with us, but they don’t want us using it. And since they think the odds are good Musashi will lose again, they can’t have us using the money they’ve left with us. Plus, freezing Musashi’s money will benefit our enemy, P.A. Oda. This is a decent performance to remain on P.A. Oda’s good side. But…”

But…

“A giant city ship like the Musashi would be useful to the western forces. However, we’re currently in the east and have no means of safely reaching the west. Since we lost to Hashiba, the western forces have to act on the assumption that we won’t be returning to the west in the near future.”

“I see. So if we were to start getting along with Sviet Rus…”

Still standing, Horizon placed a hand on her chin and suddenly raised her right foot to knee height.

“…the western nations will unfreeze their money with us and we will have proven we can overcome most of our financial troubles. That is why you want to send people as important as us. …Hnn!!”

She stomped her right foot, sending a light tremor through the floor.

Immediately, the sign frame by the ceiling broke and the nudist fell and crashed into the table with his limbs sprawled out.

Voices of surprise filled the café, but they quickly quieted down.

Yoshiyasu heard them from outside.

“…”

She looked to the vassal next to her, but the girl only gave the café a quick glance before turning back to the dogs.

“Okay, go patrol the area.”

She was unfazed.

…''Is that how things work here?

''When in Rome do as the Romans do, so I guess I should go along with this. But this is still odd.

While she wondered what was going on, Yoshiyasu checked her sign frame.

'''Vice President:''' “On the economic front and to have passage through the Far East, I do not want a hostile relationship with Sviet Rus. After all, they also possess a Logismoi Óplo. Also, if we pass west through Sviet Rus and cross Poland, we will be near M.H.R.R. and Holland.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “If we reach Holland, we will have effectively made a full circuit of the Far East.”

The Mito Lord’s words gave Yoshiyasu a thought.

…''I joined them at IZUMO, so I’ll have made a half-circuit.

Was it jealousy making her think that she had seen less of the world than them?

'''Vice President:''' “Well, I guess it will mean that. But if possible, I want to secure passage through the North Sea as well as a path to meet with Sweden’s Chancellor Christina and Holland’s Resistance Chancellor and Prince of Orange, as both will be victorious nations at Westphalia. So Mitotsudaira, you go to Sviet Rus too.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “What!? …But this is my land here.”

'''Vice President:''' “You’ll be their bodyguard. Not only do you have the actual strength, but you and Mary will ‘guard’ the others with your official positions. I’m sorry, but please try to look at it like that.”

“What does that mean?” asked the vassal.

It took Yoshiyasu a moment to realize the question was directed at her.

“O-oh… The Mito Lord is the daughter of a Hexagone Française VIP and Mary Stuart is the mother of England’s next king. Those nations aren’t in conflict with the Far East, but if something were to happen to those two, it could make an enemy of Hexagone Française and England. And in reverse, leaving a favorable impression on those two could improve those two powerful nations’ impression of you. Their positions make them the best bodyguards available.”

They were using all available personnel in every way possible. They must have really wanted to obtain stability with Sviet Rus.

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Th-then I have no choice. I will join the others as my king’s bodyguard.”

'''Scarred:''' “I too will join you, secure in the knowledge that I have a role here.”

Those older state guests had decided to act for the sake of Musashi’s future. So…

“I need to rethink some things too.”

Yoshiyasu was nervous, but she had a role to play and she had little else to do. If she also had no complaints with that role…

…''I just have to go.

As soon as she thought that, some text scrolled along the sign frame next to her face.

'''Me:''' “Fine then. It’s early summer, but I’ll have to prepare some winter clothes. But…hey, where’d Tenzou go? Doesn’t he have to hear all this?”

Mary was unsure what to do when everyone started focusing on her.

The focus made her a little nervous, but not enough to grow flustered. It was something else that moved her heart.

…''Master Tenzou.

She brought a hand to her mouth and thought for a moment, but then Naruze asked a question with a tilt of the head.

“Tenzou went to that scene of that attack last night, right? Is he doing his own investigation?”

“Eh? Yes, judge. That’s what he said.”

“Really?”

Naruze tilted her head further and exchanged a look with Naito.

“Most of the investigation was completed last night, so I don’t see much point in him going there,” said Naito.

“Well…”

When she trailed off, Mitotsudaira opened her mouth to help.

“I don’t blame him. He’s the 1st Special Duty Officer, but he was late to obtain that information last night. …He probably has some thoughts about that.”

And…

“Are you worried about that, Mary?”

There seemed to be some expectation in her voice, but she was exactly right. Tenzou had been silent that morning, except when he suddenly seemed to notice he was being so quiet. Then he had said: “O-oh. I was just thinking is all.”

Overall, he had seemed different from usual.

He had acted normal after that, but…

…''I wish he would confide in me more.

She sighed, but for some reason, those around her began fanning each other.

“Kimi! Kimi! Tenzou-kun has finally started to enter the zone!”

“Heh heh heh. That’s right, Asama! It’s summer, but the temperature is rising even further! There’s going to be lots of stripping!!”

Mary had no idea what they meant, but she thought they shared in her worries. Since he was not here, she decided to ask for some advice concerning him. She wanted to know what to do during times like this morning.

“Um, can I ask something about Master Tenzou? It’s about this morning.”

“Please do! Please do!”

Mary was surprised when a group of mostly girls leaned forward.

…''They’re all worried about Master Tenzou, aren’t they!?

She could not help but feel happy about that. He was thinking about a lot and worrying, so she was relieved to have the help of these veterans who had known him for a lot longer than her.

“Um, when I woke up this morning, Master Tenzou…”

She was not used to the Far Eastern language.

…''Wasn’t like his normal self.

She did not think that would get across what she wanted to say. No one else was around to see his “normal self” in the mornings, so she decided to search for simple way to explain the problem.

She thought about what to say.

He had been sitting on his bed hanging his head.

He had crossed his arms to signify he was thinking, but he had been groaning so much that she thought he might be sick. When she had called out to him, he had jumped in surprise and immediately turned toward her. That much was normal, but today…

…''Would you describe him as disappointed?

She had a feeling that was not quite right.

Disappointment was generally in response to something other than oneself. When it was towards oneself…

…''Regretful isn’t quite right and self-loathing is too strong.

“Oh.”

She found just the right nuance. It referred to the heavy downwards direction of his mood. Was it “feeling down”? No, she had a feeling she needed more words for emphasis.

“Yes. Ever since he woke up this morning, um…”

She placed a hand on her cheek. She had trouble with the Far Eastern language, but using their language would help them understand each other.

“Mater Tenzou has been feeling himself down below.”

“He went there!?”

'''Asama:''' “What should we do?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh heh. Don’t you mean what do we ''want'' to do? But your bow would probably be overkill here. Doesn’t the shrine have a way of torturing him?”

'''Vice President:''' “W-wait! There’s clearly something wrong here! I say we double check on this!”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Then good luck. Go ask Mary just what Tenzou was ‘feeling’.”

Masazumi took a step forward from the silent group and spoke to Mary.

“U-u-um, Mary? U-uh, about Crossunite…”

“Y-yes. Judge. What is it?”

“Um, w-was he really ‘feeling’ his p-pe…pe…no, I mean…” Masazumi blushed. “Down below!?”

Everyone sighed, so she turned toward them with a flourish.

“Y-you got a problem with that!? All that matters is that she understands what I mean!”

“You’re no fun, Seijun-kun.”

“Now, now,” said Mary as she nodded toward Masazumi. “Judge. Thank you for worrying, but it’s true.”

Yes.

“Since early this morning, Master Tenzou was feeling himself down below.”

'''Worshipper:''' “He’s quite the pervert.”

'''Uqui:''' “When did Tenzou grow so distant from us?”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “I have an honest question. What do guys normally do in the morning?”

'''Boys:''' “Um…”

Mitotsudaira saw Masazumi’s shoulders droop as the girl stepped back.

She looked exhausted and Mitotsudaira considered giving her a word of support, but…

“You handle this.”

Masazumi tapped her shoulder.

“Eh? …Wh-why me!?”

She protested, but Masazumi averted her gaze and ignored her.

If it was her turn to add to the joke, there was nothing else she could do. She finally worked up her nerve, stood up, and stepped forward. She stood in front of Mary and forced a smile.

“Um…uh…”

She thought about what to ask. She of course had no intention of asking how healthy or hard the 1st Special Duty Officer was in the mornings. If she was going to ask about this, she had to do so more objectively.

“Mary, when you woke up, what was the 1st Special Duty Officer doing?”

“Judge. Master Tenzou was sitting cross-legged like this, facing the wall, hanging his head, and…quietly feeling himself down below. Yes.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “What was that guy doing with the wall this morning?”

'''Asama:''' “Mito! Mito! You mustn’t get emotional! Calm down!”

Mitotsudaira took a deep breath and swore to herself she would not forget to smile.

“Did you…see anything else strange?”

“Judge. I’m not sure I would call it strange…but if you ask me, he was feeling himself down below extremely hard.”

“Eh? …Extremely hard? Down below?”

“Yes. He has felt himself down below on occasion before, you see.”

“B-before? Um, since when?”

“W-well…”

Mary seemed a little concerned by how Mitotsudaira latched onto that comment. ''Oh, no,'' she thought, but then she saw Mary sighing.

“Sometimes when he’s busy at work, he doesn’t arrive in time to pick up our rations or he misses a chance to go on a walk with me. He tends to somewhat feel himself down below when that happens.”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “What has that guy been doing at the ration station?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh heh. Somewhat feeling himself? …That ninja tries to be a sneaky ninja even there, doesn’t he?”

'''Me:''' “Y’know, this is pretty bad. Tenzou’s entering brand new territory here.”

Mitotsudaira did not want to agree, but she had to. Hoping this ordeal would end soon, she asked another question.

“And what did you do, Mary?”

“Well, I called out to him and he jumped in surprise.”

'''Me:''' “Yeah, that’ll happen if you’re caught off guard. I’m used to it, though.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “That’s something we’re really not too familiar with…”

''I suppose not,'' thought Mitotsudaira as new text arrived on her sign frame.

'''Still Got It:''' “But I think it’s best when a guy’s got that much energy. I don’t know if it’s thanks to my divine protection, but my husband is always ‘extremely hard’ in the mornings before he even wakes up, so we’re doing it ‘extremely hard’.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Why was that in the present continuous tense!?”

Mitotsudaira looked over to Asama who was in charge of the divine transmission settings, but she and Hanami refused to look her in the eye.

Mary then continued.

“Master Tenzou was the same during breakfast, so it was hard to bear.”

“Mary-sama, I believe that is the normal reaction,” said Horizon. “It would be difficult to enjoy your food like that.”

“Judge. That’s right. When someone important to you is feeling himself down below, it’s normal to be worried.”

“Yes, yes! Very normal!”

Mary seemed relieved that everyone agreed.

''Don’t worry, Mary. We have someone who can be a nudist, crossdress, and cook dumplings all at once, so we can give a proper retort…I mean, reaction to more normal strangeness.

But then Mary’s shoulders stiffened.

“But he won’t tell me why he’s feeling himself down below.”

“Well, explaining it can really ruin the mood,” said the idiot. “Hey, don’t look at me like there’s something wrong with me!”

“Um…” Mitotsudaira chose her words carefully to best describe what to do in that situation. “At times like that, I think it’s best to just be by his side. It can double as keeping an eye on his behavior. Anyway, um, what did he do then?”

“Judge. He went to inspect the site of last night’s attack while still feeling himself down below.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Is he an exhibitionist!? And what’s he planning to do there?”

'''Gold Mar:''' “I kind of think it would be best not to think about it too much.”

That was when the café door opened.

“Sorry I’m late. 1st Special Duty Officer, reporting for duty!”

Tenzou was a little disturbed when everyone gave him a look he had never seen before.

…''Eh!? What brought this on!? Is that a mix of contempt and anticipation?

“You’re the worst,” said Naruze. “But I’ll still put you in my doujinshi.”

“Wh-what is this about!?”

“Crossunite.”

For some reason, Masazumi was blushing as she held her right hand out toward him. Behind her, the idiot raised his right forearm a little and shook it up and down, but he ignored it.

“What is it, Masazumi-dono?”

“W-well, it can get in the way of your duties and there are a number of public morals issues, so try to stick to the more standard methods when controlling yourself. Also…don’t do it in public.”

''Is she talking about stress? Well, dealing with these awful people on a daily basis ''is'' exhausting.

Asama raised her hand.

“Masazumi, as our Public Morals Committee Member, I say you should rethink sending Tenzou-kun to Sviet Rus. …It would be a lot of trouble if he started doing it during a negotiation.”

“Personally, I think he’d lose it to frostbite in no time if he tried that in Russia,” said Naito.

''What are they talking about?'' he wondered and looked over to see Mary smiling at him with the ends of her eyebrows lowered.

''Oh,'' he realized. ''This morning.

So he faced Masazumi.

“Not to worry. I had a lot on my mind, but after looking around the scene of the attack and thinking about some things, I’m feeling quite refreshed.”

“…Refreshed?”

“Huh? Why do you look so disturbed? I’m just saying inspecting the scene and moving my body around left me feeling refreshed.”

“We understand, so you don’t have to say it again.”

He had Noriki’s assurance, so Tenzou looked straight at Mary.

“Sorry for worrying you. …From now on, I will try to confide in you and…well, sometimes I might not say anything, but…”

He was afraid of how the others would react, but he said what he thought he needed to say.

“Can I rely on you at times like this, Mary-dono?”

Mary was briefly confused.

…''Um…

The others were saying something with their sign frames and Naruze was starting to draw something with unbelievable excitement, but…

“Um, you mean…”

His request to rely on her had confused her…or rather, she did not know how to react. After all…

…''This is the first time he has asked something like that of me.

No, it was possible he had when he had confessed, but that had been more about a powerful desire for her.

…''But this morning was about himself.

She had a feeling he would try to put on a brave face, but he would let her accept him.

“————”

She would be able to support him, the boy who had accepted all of her. He would let her. And he had called that “relying” on her.

…''Yes.

Mary obeyed the feeling inside her. She had decided in England to live her life the way she wished and she had gone to the person who would let her do that, so…

“Judge.” Mary smiled. “When you’re feeling like that, feel free to rely on me as much as you want. It would make me just as happy.”

“G-good. J-Judge.”

He nodded with his hat pulled deep over his eyes, so she gestured to the seat opposite her.

She was not sure she should already be thinking about what to do from now on. And she was worried it was conceited of her to think relying on her would allow him to continue saying he was “fine”.

But one thing did bother her.

“Um, Lady Masazumi? Master Tenzou will be fine, so can we get back to talking about Sviet Rus?”

“Judge.” Masazumi nodded. “I’ll send the details with the log, but the ambassadors to Sviet Rus will be Crossunite, Mary, Horizon, Aoi, and Mitotsudaira. …We’re counting on all of you.”

Crossunite answered after a moment.

“Judge.”

Masazumi heard him agree without hesitation and heard Mary breathe a sigh of relief.

…''I guess the two of them will have to come up with a fundamental solution about him “feeling himself down below”.

With that settled, she moved on.

“Next is who we’ll be sending to the Date clan.”

She looked to both of the people she was about to name.

“Mukai, Urquiaga. That will be you two.”

Suzu tensed up.

…''Eh?

She was surprised and caught off guard. She wondered why she would be chosen, but she also felt like this was the right decision. There was one main reason for that.

“Because of…England?”

“That’s right. You already have experience as a diplomat. You’re also the Musashi’s acting captain, so you’re more than qualified to be an ambassador.”

“Heh heh. Wait right there, flat-chested politician. Don’t you have something to tell her? You can draw people in by leaving things unsaid, but you mustn’t do that to those close to you.”

“Yes, I know. That’s why I said ‘more than’. Are you listening?”

Suzu nodded, so Masazumi continued.

“We’re giving them the Musashi’s acting captain, so from Date’s perspective…you’ll mostly be a hostage.”

“Really…?”

She often heard the word “hostage” in a suspenseful drama on the divine radio or television. Robbers would hole up in the bank, point their matchlock guns at the workers, and demand a means of escape. That was generally when the magistrate would show up for the following scene:

“Ha ha ha. Silly robbers, you should learn how to use those matchlocks before trying something like this. The safety’s still on.”

“Eh!? …Ah, you tricked us, you son of a bitch! Get him!”

Her parents would always seem satisfied and say things like “That magistrate tricks someone every time” or “That’s a pretty personal interpretation”. But in that case…

“Will you s-save…the hostage?”

“Eh? Oh, well, you aren’t guaranteed to be a hostage. But it could happen. Basically, we’re leaving an important person with Date as a safety to ensure we don’t become enemies. We’re saying we won’t attack them because we don’t want to lose you, Mukai.”

…''Eh?

“B-but…I’m not th-that important…”

'''Musashino:''' “Allow me to interrupt. In reference to our duties on the bridge, I would make the following ranking: Suzu-sama = Asama-sama > Adele-sama > Everyone Else > Neshinbara-sama > Chancellor. Over.”

'''Me:''' “Are those ‘>’ things arrows!? So the further you go, the better you are!?”

'''Musashino:''' “It is the exact opposite. Over.”

'''Me:''' “Did you have to answer that quickly!?”

'''Hori-ko:''' “Those at the bottom should take a lesson from Asama-sama and rethink their life.”

'''Asama:''' “But why me? I’ve barely ever been on the bridge.”

'''Musashino:''' “You are always a huge help with the divine transmissions. Without you, we would lose most of the Musashi’s divine transmission support, which would place a larger burden on us. When Suzu-sama is on the bridge, we can fulfill our maid roles as automatons and her sensory support reduces the burden on us. Adele-sama helps guide the ship. As for the others…

“●'''Neshinbara-sama: His pessimistic assumptions and forceful course instructions are quite dangerous.

“●'''Chancellor: In the way, lifts our skirts, nudist, sleeps, plays porn games on the bridge monitors, etc.

“Over.”

'''Asama:''' “Maybe that last person really should rethink his life.”

''I see,'' thought Asama as she realized how important everyone was. So…

“Um, Suzu-san? If you think going to the Date clan would be too difficult, I can go in your place.”

“Eh?”

Suzu looked her way and began clasping her hands in front of her chest. She may have been hesitating because the speed and complexity of her finger movements grew.

But…

“N-no. I-I’ll go. B-because…”

She continued moving her hands as she turned toward Masazumi.

“Are the Date people…b-bad people?”

It was Urquiaga, not Masazumi, that answered. He stood his tail up and seemed to be sitting on it.

“If you define ‘bad’ as a lack of elder sisters, then they are indeed bad people.”

“Urquiaga, just so you know, Date Chancellor Masamune is female and has a younger brother.”

“Then they are good people, Ambassador Mukai.”

…''It looks like he’s willing to go now, but is that a good thing?

Asama was mentally sweating, but Suzu had stopped moving her hands and she faced Masazumi once more.

“Then…n-nothing will happen…if I go, right?”

“Nothing should. After all, the Date clan becomes Matsudaira’s approved ruler of Oushuu. Causing trouble between the two academies now would be the same as throwing away their future.”

“A-are the…D-date people…good people?”

“Yes. If you remain true to yourself, I think they will all be good people.”

Asama said that with a smile and Suzu smiled back while squeezing her clasped hands.

“Okay… Th-then I’ll try my best…to do that.”

…''Oh?

Everyone sensed something in Suzu’s words there.

Suzu was speaking in the active voice.

It was possible she intended to continue like that as long as this continued. She was so intent on remaining true to herself, that she was straying from her usual self.

…''Not good, not good.

Kimi then tapped on Asama’s shoulder and Asama knew what that meant.

“Um, Suzu-san?”

Suzu looked up at her again as if asking what she wanted, so Asama and Kimi replied in unison while giving the girl a thumbs up.

“Yay! Let’s do our best.”

Suzu unclasped her hands and raised her own right thumb.

“Y-y-yay…”

She blushed and her voice faded away, but Masazumi spoke up to help.

“Um,” she began. “I will handle the negotiations over divine transmission. I will have Asama prepare a direct connection with Date, so I’ll make sure Mukai and Urquiaga can converse with everyone else in both audio and video. It will be through the sign frame, but your situation will be little different from sitting with us in the classroom.”

“I’ll do my best,” said Asama with her job in mind.

She then turned toward Kimi who was tapping her shoulder again. The other girl held her hand to the side of her mouth and spoke quietly.

“Hey, Asama.”

“What?”

“Aren’t you glad you have something to do? You don’t like being neglected, do you?”

“Um…do you have a point?”

She tried to speak forcefully to act as a warning, but Kimi narrowed her eyes and whispered from behind her raised hand.

“Crybaby.”

“Y-you’re calling me that again!?”

When had she seen? When had she noticed? Asama did not know, but of the others around her, only Toori gave her a thumbs up.

She blushed and opened a sign frame with a displeased look.

“Okay, I’ll be sending out the necessary settings, so everyone bring out your sign frames or handheld shrines!”

The spear resembled a long sword.

Muneshige held it atop the gravel. He tried swinging it once or twice in Sakai’s yard.

…''The weight balance is more like a nagamaki than a spear.

That was because the blade and shaft were of about equal length. The strength of his arms on the shaft would be directly placed on the blade. He briefly considered whether he should hold the top and bottom as with a spear or just the bottom as with a long sword.

“Now, then.”

When he spun it around as if catching at it with the fingers of his right hand, he found the balance was nice near the blade. That meant the shaft was heavy, so as he rapidly spun the spear, he passed his swinging hands to the front and back.

“——————”

Finally, he caught it in his spread right hand.

He held it near the front.

…''For now, I will use it like a spear.

Next, he judged whether to hold the blade to the side or upwards.

“Looks like I don’t have anything to teach you.”

Sakai spoke from the veranda while bending forward to rest his head in his hand. Muneshige looked back and held the blade out so he could see.

“The blade has been well maintained.”

“I had ‘Okutama’ look over it all beforehand. I used to have Sakakibara do it, but it’s been neglected since he was sent to Edo. It should be in perfect shape, though. …Oh, and any thanks should go to Tamako.”

While continuing to work through the black disks in the back, “Okutama” turned around and bowed toward Muneshige.

“Maintaining and fine-tuning equipment should go without saying. Over.”

“Wait,” said Sakai. “Was that an indirect way of scolding me?”

“Musashi” carried in enough tea for everyone.

“The problem is that you are aware of the problem yet do not fix it. Now, Sakai-sama, shouldn’t you tell him how to use Kamenuki? Over.”

“Probably, but I think it would be better if he figured it out himself. It’s better to find your own way to use something than to force yourself to use it the way someone else said to.”

“What do you mean?” asked Muneshige.

Sakai did not answer, but Muneshige did not press any further because he knew that was the kind of person Sakai was.

Meanwhile, Gin and “Asakusa” (in her new clothes) walked in from behind the house.

Gin held a few pieces of firewood in her large false arms. They had yet to be chopped.

“Master Muneshige. Use these to test it.”

She gently threw one high in the air toward him.

Gin threw the firewood toward Muneshige and his spear, and she watched the immediate result.

…''I would expect nothing less.

The spear stabbed through the firewood. The meter long blade had stabbed halfway into the wood. The blade was thick, so the wood swelled out after being pierced.

“That will slice it in two.”

Muneshige said that with a bitter smile just as the firewood did indeed split in two.

However, something bothered Gin. That result was to be expected, but…

“Master Muneshige.”

“You noticed too, Gin?”

She had not, but he held his left palm up to eye level, asking her to throw another one.

She nodded and recalled the past. Back when he had still been training at the Tachibana house, he had gone through training much like this.

Her father had said it was to teach him how to deal with a midair enemy and then asked her to “throw one my way”. She had made a full-power overhand throw on the same level as the Valdés brother’s pitches, and she had aimed at the face. Her father had been mad at her, but she had not found it fair for him to be so angry after he successfully sliced it in two. Muneshige had then told her to use a gentle underhand throw and she had done so.

…''I may have already been treating him kindly even then.

“Gin, you can use an overhand throw if you want.”

''You intend to outdo my father!? I would expect no less, Master Muneshige.

Delighted, she did as he said. He spread his hands further apart on the shaft and swung the spear vertically.

“…”

With a solid sound, the airborne firewood was sliced apart and the two halves flew to the left and right.

He had split the wood. He had done so by swinging the long blade down into place, but Gin noticed something.

“It did not cut as sharply this time.”

It was different from before.

The first piece of firewood had been pierced noiselessly. It had pierced the wood so sharply that the fibrous structure had not had time to tear.

But this was different. The force of the blade’s collision had split the wood, so it had made a noise and the halves had flown in either direction. If it had cut as sharply as the first time, there would have been no noise and the halves would not have flown away. It was the same blade, so what had caused the difference?

…''What is this?

“Gin, can you throw one pretty high up?”

“Judge.”

He was testing rather than questioning, so she made an overhand throw like she used to.

…''I used to be able to make a hundred meter long throw.

She threw it along an arc that would pass high above his head and he turned his back to her.

“Is this how it works?”

He used the spear to pierce the firewood as it passed over his head and flew into the distance.

Muneshige grasped what had happened through the tactile feedback before anything else.

…''Would you call this “assistance”?

He faced Gin again and held up the spear. The firewood was skewered about halfway down the long blade.

“That was the same piercing power as the first time.”

As he held it up, the wood split and fell apart. Gin was the first to comment on this third result.

“Does it accelerate when piercing something? Is that how it felt?”

“Judge,” he replied because that was indeed how it had felt. “When you take aim and make the thrust, it moves forward. The first time, my actions were a little delayed, but it may have adjusted its movements to match me. So this third time was the spear’s true power. After all…”

“You were ‘chasing after’ the wood, yet it pierced it just as well as the first time.”

“That’s right. I think the piercing assistance was fine-tuned from the beginning.”

Stabbing deep into the wood when it was thrown toward him was hardly a surprise.

But this third time, he had been stabbing at it after it passed over his head. The wood was light, so his strike should have simply knocked it away from him. And even if he had pierced it…

“The blade would not have stabbed halfway in as it did the first time.”

“Couldn’t you do it, Master Muneshige?”

“I was not trying to this time. In fact, I was trying to see what happened when I didn’t.”

But the result had been even greater than he had expected.

…''And when it stabbed in, I felt like all resistance vanished.

He looked to Sakai and held Kamenuki up toward the man who was bending forward and resting his head in his hand.

“May I ask one thing?”

“Sure, What is it, Muneshige-kun?”

“Judge. Is there anything I should yell when activating it?”

“Do you like that kind of thing? Don’t you find it embarrassing?”

“I am used to it after yelling ‘amore’ for Gin.”

“Master Muneshige, please let mine be something special.”

“Fair enough,” he replied with a smile.

He looked to Sakai who got up.

“It isn’t anything that amazing. But, Muneshige-kun, what kind of power do you think Kamenuki has?”

“Limited assistance for piercing attacks. Would that be accurate?”

“Not quite,” replied Sakai.

…''Not quite?

If he had been completely wrong, he could have changed his way of thinking about it. But a slight difference was trickier. However, Sakai did not give the actual answer.

“How about you, well, try it out some more? It can be tricky to use, but once you get the hang of it, I think you’ll use it better than I ever did.”

So…

“This may be selfish, but I’m hoping you’ll make this fun. Yes.”

A bell rang just as Sakai finished speaking.

It was the hourly bell of Musashi Ariadust Academy and it rang eight times.

“Now, this would normally be when classes start, but I’m sure everyone will be preparing for their diplomatic jobs today. It must be tough having so much work to do.”

“Yes.” Muneshige nodded and adjusted his grip on the spear in his hands. “I think I will put a little more effort into this.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 23|Chapter 23]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 25|Chapter 25]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 17

2016-04-02T18:28:57Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 17: Blackboard Boy in Front of the Meeting Place */

==Chapter 17: Blackboard Boy in Front of the Meeting Place==
[[Image:Horizon4A_0387.jpg|thumb]]
''What is the meaning

''Of an image change?

'''Point Allocation (Causing Trouble)

“This is the armor panel in question.”

Everyone looked at the armor panel Gin had carried to the front of the Main Blue Thunder.

It was ten centimeters thick, five meters tall and wide, and meant for the Musashi’s outer hull. In front of the café that was the Aoi home, Horizon, Mitotsudaira, and the crossdresser viewed the giant piece of artwork.

“At first glance, it looks like a normal armor panel.”

“Judge. If you ignore the one part that is meaninglessly abnormal,” added Horizon.

Something was printed on the bottom of the standing armor panel’s front surface.

“That is Neshinbara-dono.”

Just as Tenzou, who had returned from Tama’s Blue Thunder ahead of Futayo, suggested, Neshinbara was printed on the armor with his arms and legs held out to the side and bent. However…

“The design is fairly off.”

As Naruze inspected it while sitting on the upper edge, she pointed out that the image looked more like a comic than a photograph. But she said more while kicking the armor with her heel.

“This thing’s alive. He probably used a Michizane-style text spell to have himself ‘squished flat’ like this rather than realistically. …What do you think, Asama?”

“Yes. I tried touching it and it has faint body heat. There are Shinto spells for sealing someone in a paper image, so I think he temporarily sealed himself inside using a text description spell. However, he probably put the spell together on the fly.”

Asama tilted her head and crossed her arms.

“Hmm. Neshinbara-kun is a fairly powerful spell user, so this is could be a lot of trouble. When he came up with the idea, I bet he got all excited at how much of a genius he thought he was and cast the spell on himself at full-power.”

“Asama-san, so what exactly happened to the Secretary?”

“Well, Adele, he was squished flat.”

“Oh?” said Adele before Horizon placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I believe we could start calling him Flat Neshinbara-sama.”

Adele looked to the side with a silent smile and Yoshiyasu glared back at her.

“Miss Vassal, stop looking to me when you want someone to redirect their words onto. And I’m not sure I entirely understand, but is this similar to when someone combines with a god of war?”

“That would probably be the best explanation for a god of war pilot like you. Basically, he transformed himself into information, burned it onto the armor as a pattern, and then applied defenses.”

“Hmm.”

The nudist crouched in front of Neshinbara and started slapping at his crotch.

“Heyyy! Come on ouuuuut!”

Horizon kicked the nudist right into the armor. The sound of flesh and bone rang out, the armor shook, and Naruze fell backwards from the top. Everyone cried out in surprise and Horizon commented while still in her kicking pose.

“I see. Asama-sama was correct. That did not even scratch it.”

She gave Asama a thumbs up and then nodded again.

“Asama-sama has gained three trust points.”

“U-umm…”

As dull sweat poured down Asama’s face, the nudist peeled himself off the armor and recovered.

“H-hey, Horizon? Don’t you think you can be too blunt at times?”

“What is wrong with being direct? Now, Toori-sama, I have something to discuss with you behind here.”

“Eh!? Wh-what is it!? A hidden kiss!? Something like that!?”

Horizon calmly circled behind the armor panel and the nudist excitedly followed.

Just as everyone started feeling worried, they heard the deafening noise of the nudist slamming into the back of the armor panel.

Horizon quickly circled back around.

“It seems an indirect hit from the back is not enough to knock him out of there either. Now that the Ikyuu Method has failed, I can only determine that we should give up.”

“H-hold on, Horizon! It’s too soon to give up!”

“Judge. I understand, Mitotsudaira-sama. You wish to work off your frustrations after consuming so much pizza and meat by letting this armor panel absorb your destructive blows, don’t you?”

Horizon snapped her fingers and a lift rose in the center of the bow’s long block. It contained Adele’s mobile shell and Shouichi in the pose of a merchant introducing his wares.

Horizon waved to Shouichi.

“Now, I have used my authority as Vicereine to prepare Musashi’s greatest physical shell, so enjoy hitting Neshinbara-sama from either the front or the back. Now, now. Give it your best shot.”

“Umm… Should I really be doing that with Adele’s mobile shell?”

“5th Special Duty Officer, does that mean you want to do it if I’m okay with it?”

“No, um, Chancellor? What do you think?”

“Think he’d be back to normal in three minutes if we soaked it in hot water?”

Horizon snapped her fingers and a lift rose in the center of the bow’s long block. It contained a pot of boiling water with a four meter radius and Ohiroshiki in the pose of a merchant introducing his wares.

Horizon waved to Ohiroshiki.

“Now, there is a slight margin of error, but I have used my authority as Vicereine to prepare an udon boiling pot from the cafeteria. Toori-sama, you take a dip first.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Are you trying to kill me!?”

“Oh? It seems like a decent way of disinfecting your dick. By eliminating the root cause.”

“Um, Horizon? More importantly, won’t boiling it cause the paint to come off?”

“Mito, that isn’t paint. It’s technically Neshinbara-kun himself.”

Everyone in Class 3-Plum began giving their opinion, but two people three steps away were at a complete loss for words: Ookubo and Kanou.

…''What in the world is going on?

Ookubo realized just how squarely in the “normal” category of humanity she fell.

She had been watching these upperclassmen from a distance for a while and she had thought the heir to the Asama Shrine was relatively normal, but…

“I am glad Neshinbara-kun wasn’t crushed. I really was worried. I’ve seen far too many scenes like that in monster rape porn games lately.”

For some reason, phrases like “I messed up!” or “Now I’ve done it!” appeared in Ookubo’s mind, but she resolutely ignored them all. She had something else to say here.

“Vice President, what should we do now that-…”

“Eh? Oh, the inspection’s over, so you can leave. We have a lot to go over amongst ourselves.”

“No, I was asking what we should do about the attack at the materials yard.”

“Judge.” The ninja 1st Special Duty Officer stepped forward and bowed. “The Vice Chancellor aides intend to examine the situation and use that information to put together a search team. Security measures come first, but I think we should ignore the materials yards from now on.”

“You’re going to leave the site of the attack unguarded?”

“That should not matter as long as no important personnel travel through them. Those labyrinthine areas require a great number of guards, but it seems more efficient to simply have bodyguards for the important personnel themselves.”

…''He’s fairly normal at least.

What he said made sense. This attack had targeted the Secretary, so they could protect important personnel like that instead of the specific location. But…

“What if the attacker was trying to get us to-…”

“Glasses Committee Leader-dono.”

''Maybe he isn’t so normal,'' thought Ookubo. She could hear someone behind him saying “Add on ‘phony Kansai dialect’ too!”, but she ignored that.

She did want to hear what he had to say, but first…

“The ‘glasses’ part was not necessary.”

She heard a few “Ehh?” reactions, but she ignored those as well. And…

“Was there something wrong with what I said?”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly wrong,” said the 1st Special Duty Officer. “But we still don’t know for sure there was an ‘attacker’.”

“————”

''That’s true,'' thought Ookubo as the 1st Special Duty Officer said more in front of her.

“The mystery is not solved until the arrest is made. It is still possible a variety of elements lined up just right to create an accident that simply looks like an attack.”

So…

“I believe your reading is most likely correct, but we must be prepared for the more unlikely possibilities as well.”

“…I see. My apologies.”

“No, no. I should apologize. Anyway, I do think I will be asking for some help from the normal students and citizens.”

“In what way?”

“The attack occurred in a hidden place, so whoever did it must want to hide. To put it another way, they do not want their identity to be known. In that case…”

“You want everyone to monitor each other?”

“No, no. Nothing as disconcerting as that. And I am sure you do not want that either.”

''He’s being pretty thoughtful. Or maybe he’s just good at weaseling out of taking blame.

…''That seems soft for the Chancellor’s Officers.

''Oh, but this ninja is the one who stole a princess from England. He must be so calm because he knows he has the necessary strength when push comes to shove,'' concluded Ookubo.

''In that case, he really was being thoughtful,'' she also concluded.

“Judge. I was careless in my remarks.”

“As was I.” The ninja bowed. “Mutual observation will not be necessary. …I simply think it would be a good idea to place normal students and citizens as gatekeepers at the long block gates. With observers like that, we will know who was in the area of any future attacks and no one will fear their neighbors are monitoring them when we have clear gatekeepers playing that role. So…”

“It would be easiest to give that job to the people who know the area and who works there.”

“Judge. For the city areas, I believe normal students would be best. For the outer hull areas, I believe the family members of those who work there would be best. With family members of the workers, they will feel less like they are being watched and it can help unify the workers.”

“…Understood.”

''He really is relatively normal. He never shows his face, he wears a ninja outfit on a daily basis, and his future wife is an English princess, but that’s still relatively normal. I think.

The Vice President must have decided those two were done speaking because she raised a hand and spoke.

“With that settled, get that arranged as soon as possible. Make sure the Public Morals Committee and the other committees are prepared and make sure we can contact them at any time.”

“Judge. Also…”

“Oh, you know about the unofficial secret meeting we had up top earlier, right?”

“Judge. You decided to send ambassadors to Sviet Rus, Mogami, and Date.”

She had received a report on that, but there was one thing she wanted to know to help prepare.

“Who do you plan to send?”

“You’ve informed the three nations, right? Then they should give us their opinions before long. Probably tomorrow at the earliest. I’ll decide that once we have all their replies.”

“Judge. …In other words, no need to hurry? Kanou-kun, take care of the preparations.”

“Judge.”

After seeing the automaton nod, Ookubo bowed to the others.

“Take care of the Secretary.”

Since her role was complete, she prepared to leave, but…

“Ookubo-sama, take this.”

Musashi’s princess held out a paper box.

“This is a tart that Toori-sama made. It has no seaweed inside, so feel free to take it with you.”

Mitotsudaira used her night vision to view Ookubo’s expression.

Her eyebrows were raised in slight surprise.

She then looked Horizon in the eye, stepped back, and bowed.

“Thanks… Thank you.”

Mitotsudaira smiled bitterly at the additional small bow when she took it.

…''So this is the girl who has inherited the names of Ookubo Tadachika and Nagayasu.

Horizon had yet to inherit anyone’s name, but she was the heir of Matsudaira Motonobu, previous representative of the Far East, and she possessed multiple Logismoi Óplo.

That double inherited name holder could seem overly formal, but she viewed Horizon on another level entirely.

She took the box, bowed again while seeming to shrink down a little, and finally left. Everyone nodded to each other as she did.

'''Gold Mar:''' “She still acts pretty distant, so no putting her in your doujinshi, Ga-chan.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Judge. I have some flat glasses material to work on right now, so I want to get it done before we throw this guy in the water to soak. And I have Asama for summer, so she’ll have to wait until after that.”

'''Asama:''' “I-I don’t like the sound of what I just heard! Not one bit!?”

Mitotsudaira told Asama to calm down and then approached Horizon.

“Horizon? Wasn’t that tart for you? If you like, you can take mine instead.”

“Eh!?” The nudist started shaking his head. “No, that won’t work. I made yours into a pie with meat in it. It’s only for you, Nate.”

“Wh-what kind of bizarre thoughtfulness is that!?”

“Judge.” Horizon patted her on the shoulder. “Your daily work has paid off, Mitotsudaira-sama. He got the message that you want him to put meat in your pie. …And based on that, Asama-sama’s will have alcohol inside.”

Asama opened her box and sniffed at it.

“Ah! It does! It really has alcohol in it! And it’s sake even!”

“Judge. Adele-sama’s will have a bodhisattva-in-the-box toy with it, the Tachibana Couple’s will be made of tortilla, and Tenzou-sama’s box will have a false bottom with a busty blondes porn game and manual hidden below.”

Each of them checked and either thanked Toori or quickly stuck the hidden item in their pocket.

As everyone gave Horizon looks of wonder, the nudist stared straight at her.

“That’s amazing, Horizon! It’s like you’re psychic!”

“For me, this was an easy task. …I saw you making them.”

“Way to ruin it!!”

“U-um, but that aside, what do we do about Horizon’s tart?”

“Don’t be silly,” said a new voice.

It was Kimi. They turned around to find the Main Blue Thunder’s door open and Kimi stepping out with only sheets wrapped around her body.

“I had just gotten to sleep thinking about how much fun tomorrow would be, but this racket outside woke me up. …Now, foolish brother, I turned the oven on, so go make another one if you’re going to. I’m sure none of you are planning to leave anytime soon.”

“You read us like a book. …And we do need some time to discuss the ‘fun’ that will be beginning tomorrow.”

Ookubo and Kanou left because they were primarily in charge of making arrangements and making decisions on the scene. The diplomatic issues the rest of them were going to discuss had a different focus.

…''Our future.

They all exchanged a glance and a nod. Seeing that, Kimi gave a somewhat sleepy smile.

“Foolish brother.”

She spoke to her younger brother while placing a hand on the open door for support.

“Why won’t you give Horizon the tart you left in the oven?”

“That one’s for you and me, sis. I was planning to make a new one for Horizon.

“Don’t be silly.” The corner of Kimi’s mouth rose in a smile. “Then give the one in the oven to Horizon. …I’ll make one for the two of us. Go on.”

She pointed in through the door, but then she spotted Neshinbara.

“What a weird drawing.”

“Yeah…”

Mitotsudaira and the others could only nod in vague agreement.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 16|Chapter 16]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 18|Chapter 18]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 06

2016-04-02T18:28:17Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 6: Meeting Participant in Two Places at Once */

==Chapter 6: Meeting Participant in Two Places at Once==
[[Image:Horizon4A_0145.jpg|thumb]]
''More than which one came first

''More than which one came second

''Which one did not disappear?

'''Point Allocation (Both)

The aroma of butter and cooked wheat permeated that space.

It was a café filled with tables for two or four, and between those tables…

“Hey, Aoi, about that outfit…”

Masazumi called out to the crossdresser who was waiting the tables in nothing but an apron. She glared and pointed at him from one of the tables for four, but she hesitated over what to say.

“Are you insane?”

…''Please tell me yes. That would make this so much easier.

Over by the room’s entrance, Asama glared at him and sent some kind of document to the guard station, but it was likely arrangements for the meeting later that night. Maybe.

Meanwhile, the apron crossdresser placed a long pizza on the table.

“Eat up. I guess I’ll be paying for you all.”

“Isn’t this your restaurant?”

“Technically, it’s the place my mom originally used. I’m the part-time manager.”

“I see,” said Mary sitting across from Crossunite at the port-most table. She looked back and forth between Aoi and Crossunite before continuing. “They explained this to me on the way here. Master Wet Man reopened this place on a whim when he was no longer visiting the Tama Blue Thunder.”

“Right, right. Mom was originally here and someone else ran the other one, but when it ended up vacant for certain reasons, mom closed this place and started using the other one. For a while, I ate breakfast at the other one, but I stopped when we lost Horizon. …And around middle school, I didn’t feel like just wandering around after school.”

“That’s right,” chimed in the Aoi sister who was passing out glasses of ginger ale.

She glanced to the spices on the kitchen counter, to the window, and to Asama.

“A lot happened here too. And when my foolish brother was wondering what to do, the government office showed up insisting all buildings on the surface carry out some kind of duty. At first we sold mom’s inventory, but then he started cooking here too since we had the equipment.”

“I see,” said Masazumi just as Mary had.

She had heard about those siblings’ past when in Mikawa, but this was her first time hearing about this in particular. If she had not run across Aoi earlier…

…''It probably would have been a while before I had a chance to come here.

''People are full of surprises,'' she thought. ''You try to understand them, but it’s never enough.

And so she kept her eyes on Aoi.

“You give things a lot of thought, don’t you?”

“Yep, especially my gags.”

The apron crossdresser lined up some tarts on the table.

Masazumi heard some laughter from the side. It came from Mitotsudaira who turned to face Mary.

“When Margot told you about her past before, you didn’t realize she was talking about this place, did you?”

“Judge. I’m shocked… So is this something of a hideout for all of you?”

“That’s right,” said Aoi. “Tenzou, you need to tell Mary this stuff. You don’t need to worry about my feelings. I know Mary won’t get any weird suspicions or anything.”

“Well…”

Crossunite scratched at his head and Mary smiled his way.

“But I appreciate how Master Tenzou worries about people’s feelings.”

“I am glad to hear it…”

“Ha ha,” laughed the crossdresser as he brought out another pizza.

''What a harmonious atmosphere,'' thought Masazumi. And…

…''Is this their normal atmosphere?

They tended to gather at school, the battlefield, or somewhere a lot like a battlefield. She could only think of one other time they had gathered somewhere private like this.

…''Yes, it was when we gathered in front of the Blue Thunder after winning at Mikawa.

It was a different location today, but it was still the Blue Thunder.

''But this still isn’t their normal selves,'' she decided. ''The word “normal” hardly applies given the Musashi’s condition and the surrounding situation.

At the very least…

“We need to work toward a comeback.”

''And it’s our job to make sure that happens,'' she added just before the idiot tapped her head just once.

She wondered what he was doing, but…

…''Oh.

She remembered that he had put his wig on her during Mikatagahara.

“—————”

She decided to relax her shoulders and told herself she never again wanted to do something that would cause the others to lose their trust in her.

She gave a mental nod and the idiot handed a pizza cutter to Horizon who sat across from him. Then he grabbed her hand.

“Cut it with this, Horizon. Got that? Don’t do anything weird that’ll scare me, okay?”

“Oh? But this would ruin the flavor, so could you let go of my hand first, Toori-sama?”

“Tch. …Oh, but we can’t let it get cold. So Horizon, Nate, Bell-san, Mary, and the other one over there, feel free to get started. That leaves…”

“Judge.” Heidi raised her hand and pointed outside while operating a sign frame by the wall. “We have plans after this. …Oh, and it involves a meal, so you don’t have to worry about us.”

Muneshige smiled next to Gin.

“We already ate.”

“Then I’ll wrap up a tart just like these and you can eat it after you get home.”

“Thanks,” said Heidi.

Masazumi took that to mean she did not plan to eat much wherever she was going.

To the right of Horizon, Suzu smiled a little as she took the plate of pizza Horizon passed her.

“It’s been so long since…I’ve had one of…Toori-kun’s tarts… Can I…have one too?”

“Sure, sure. I’ll make room for five and cook them up, so any other takers?”

Everyone seemed to raise their hand, so Masazumi did too.

A sign frame appeared in the center of the room as if responding to her action.

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Make one for us too! We’ll be there right after work!”

'''Me:''' “If you insist. Maybe I’ll throw in the pot stickers I’ve been working on lately.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “No, thank you!”

The apron-wearing nudist nodded as Naito sent word that they did want the pot stickers after all.

“Hmm, then I guess I’ll have to cut them up. Is that okay, Bell-san? I’ll make sure to also have some for your mom and dad ready for takeout.”

“Eh!? Oh, y-yes…th-that’s fine.”

Masazumi tried to figure out what Suzu’s frantically waving hands were supposed to mean.

At any rate, Gin lowered her giant false arm and tilted her head where she stood next to Heidi and Shirojiro.

“You asked us to join you, but is there any reason for us to be here?”

Next to her, Muneshige seemed to have the same question. They were trying not to say anything unnecessary, but Masazumi responded to their true question.

“Judge. There is.” She faced Muneshige. “The first order of business in this emergency meeting concerns you, Tachibana Muneshige. You are currently a normal student, but Musashi’s student council and chancellor’s officers wishes to nominate you as a temporary aide to the Vice Chancellor. As a nomination, it isn’t settled yet, but at least understand that we are making the necessary preparations. In other words…”

In other words…

“I want to send the two of you out to the front lines if we can.”

The first to react was Gin rather than Muneshige. She shook the small hat unique to a Tres Españan summer uniform.

“Are you attempting to take in Tres España to restore the Musashi’s rights?”

…''I had a feeling they’d be cautious.

So Masazumi spoke the rebuttal she had already prepared.

“How will making Tres España’s former 1st and 3rd Special Duty Officers aides to our Vice Chancellor restore our rights?”

That must have been what Gin expected because she only said “I see” and corrected her posture. It was as if she had only wanted to know that Masazumi understood that.

A sighing voice broke the silence that followed.

“Differences in rank mean different things to different people, don’t they?”

It was Mitotsudaira who sat across from Masazumi on Horizon’s left. She grabbed a slice of pizza and her nose twitched as the apron crossdresser carried over a pot of egg and spinach.

“This is purely meant to strengthen our fighting force, isn’t it? After all…”

She was briefly distracted when Horizon fanned the over the aroma of the pot and plate the idiot handed her, but she finally recovered.

“Excuse me. …Um, to be blunt, our Vice Chancellor has lost her primary weapon, so we could use the help of someone who fought evenly with Shibata Katsuie at Magdeburg.”

“Judge. I see.” Gin erased her expression. “When will Tonbokiri be repaired?”

The answer came from Naomasa who was leaning against the wall opposite Gin and to Masazumi’s left.

“We left it with Kantou IZUMO, but they don’t even have an estimate. Our Musashi IZUMO gathered what information it could, but it was special-made in Mikawa. With the core damaged, repairing it is a lot like remaking a Logismoi Óplo.”

A bitter smile rang out as Naomasa shrugged and looked Masazumi’s way.

“Masazumi, where is Futayo? I’ve been going back and forth on whether I should be the bearer of bad news or keep it from her.”

“Oh, Futayo went to the Tama Blue Thunder by mistake. …Why are all of you hanging your heads?”

''I did explain it to her, but since she can be a little hardheaded, maybe she thought I was mistaken. But anyway…

“It would be a pain to have her head over here now, so I told her to eat there. …Asama.”

“Yes, I’m keeping a log of the meeting, so I’ll send it to everyone involved with a security spell. When people are taking part via sign frame, there’s a possibility of someone spying on it.”

“Hm? Tomo, someone could be spying over the divine network?”

“Judge,” replied Masazumi while shaking her head.

''Is this what Mukai’s gesture before meant?'' she wondered with a bitter smile in her heart.

“Normally, most student council and chancellor’s officers meetings are sent to the representative committee, the provisional council, any other related committees, and the teams working under the Special Duty Officers.”

“I would rather not think about it,” said Crossunite, “but does that mean everyone’s been seeing the awful things we say and do?”

“Crossunite, the meetings are generally focused on me, you know?”

“Judge.” Horizon nodded expressionlessly. “You have nothing to worry about, Masazumi-sama. Just because your jokes bomb does not mean you actually lose any…thing…”

She trailed off and an odd sweat began pouring down her expressionless face. After a moment, she looked to Asama by the wall.

“Please help me out. Make it something funny. Yes, Masazumi-sama’s life depends on it.”

“Ehh!? Wh-why me!? I’m not a funny girl!”

“You must have very high standards for ‘funny’, Asama-sama. …Now, go.”

“Eh? Go? Um, wait…”

Sensing everyone’s focus on her, Asama blushed and pressed her back against the wall. Finally, she squeezed her arms around her breasts to accentuate the two mounds and the parting line down the center.

“Look, I have a butt on my chest.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “She’s a shrine maiden, so why does she always come up with that kind of joke? Does she want me to take notes?”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “Um, I’m on guard duty out front, but can I click my tongue?”

'''Righteousness:''' “I’m on guard duty too, but can you all please get back on topic?”

'''Asama:''' “Ahhhh, I’m sorry everyone…”

“That’s right,” said Masazumi.

She put a slice of pizza in her mouth and wished she had waited until after this to take a bath.

…''For now, the chancellor’s officers and student council can share what’s going on.

“Secretary Neshinbara isn’t here…but let’s get started anyway.”

“Judge,” agreed Heidi. “Neshinbara was scheduled to check the retrieved resources on the back of Okutama, so he should be here after that. He’s probably digging through all the doujinshi.”

“C’mon, Auge-chan, Neshinbara isn’t that kind of guy. …If he was digging through them, he’d definitely be giving us an overly-excited running commentary. Something else must be keeping him.”

“Hm, what could he be doing?”

Heidi and Erimaki, the Mouse on her shoulder, both tilted their heads and Shirojiro spoke up next to her.

“Heidi, renew the arrangements for the cargo and other matters.”

“Judge. Asama-chi, can you wait five seconds to start the meeting? …There, all done!”

As soon as Heidi smiled and tapped the “approved” mark on her sign frame, Asama nodded.

“Then I’ll place a barrier around this room and the surrounding area. I’ll make sure Naito and Naruze are automatically added in once they arrive.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Roger that.”

'''Hanami:''' “Constructing barrier. Clap!”

A few sign frames blossomed and Masazumi felt her surroundings grow a little bright. Then she heard a distant sound like rustling bamboo grass.

…''An information-blocking barrier, huh?

Suddenly, she heard Asama’s voice.

“Ah! Excuse me! That’s it! Wait! Please leave everything as is!!”

Masazumi turned around to find Asama pointing their way. Her finger and Mitotsudaira and Naomasa’s gazes were all directed toward something.

“Horizon’s sign frame!”

Asama saw it clearly. The torii cross sign frame next to Horizon’s face was staticky, but it did not go away.

One would occasionally appear independent of Horizon’s will.

…''It really did come out!?

Horizon’s sign frames came from the OS controlling her automaton body, so they did not belong to the Asama Shrine which primarily managed Musashi’s Shinto control.

That was why Horizon’s OS had reacted to Asama’s information-blocking barrier.

A normal independent OS would be caught by the defense program and automatically rejected.

This one, however, was forcibly negating that, even if it had grown somewhat staticky.

…''But this information-blocking barrier uses the same format as Musashi’s stealth.

“What is this, Asama-sama?”

Horizon herself focused on Asama without seeming particularly worried. If it was a spell program, Asama had the specialist knowledge to understand what it meant. But more importantly…

“Um, can you control that sign frame for me? …Hanami.”

Hanami jumped from Asama’s shoulder and toward Horizon. She pulled a few program sign frames from her sleeves and held them up for Horizon to see.

“I can only guess at this point, but that is most likely a program meant to link Horizon’s sign frames to our divine transmission network. If her OS was made in Mikawa, I should be able to sync with it using an Asama-style OS prayer, since Mikawa is under our jurisdiction. Horizon, can you start it up and install it?”

“Judge. You need my administrator privileges, don’t you?’

“Yes, exactly. You should be able to install it like that.”

Asama inhaled once and continued.

“But this is your decision, Horizon. This program is meant to sync your sign frames with our divine transmission network, which will make it much more convenient for you to take part in our meetings. But the control information could have other applications depending on how it is used, so it could lead to something neither of us wants. So…”

“Asama-sama.”

Horizon used her finger to slide the torii icon on the spell Hanami held up for her and she placed her own sign frame on top of it.

“I do not wish to be a doll that can only be spoken to. I believe my sign frames have started appearing because I have grown accustomed to my emotions and my abilities are being strengthened. If I can use this, I have determined I should do so even if it is not easy.”

Her sign frame and the icon both moved. The icon became countless sign frames and Horizon’s torii cross one absorbed them all while inspecting their contents.

'''“Beginning Confirmation.”

Everyone looked to the displayed words. Asama knew them quite well.

“It’s performing a quarantine inspection. It has to be sure the program I created is safe.”

'''“Authenticated: Asama Shrine Main Prayer.”

'''“Inspection: Sexual Inspection – Incomplete, Perversion Inspection – Incomplete, R-Rating Inspection – Incomplete.”

“Wow…”

The others backed away and a dull sweat appeared on Asama’s face.

…''This is standard! I swear this is a standard check!

Horizon gave a mysterious thumb’s up, but Asama had no idea how to respond.

At any rate, the inspection soon finished and the spell was incorporated. All of the sign frames closed and Horizon’s vanished too.

“Did it fail, Asama-sama?”

“No, it just needs to restart. Horizon, imagine you want to talk with someone and raise your right hand like this.”

Horizon raised her right hand and a sign frame appeared at her fingertips. But…

“The Asama Shrine?”

“No, it just uses one of our spell sign frames to call up yours. See?”

As she spoke, the standard Asama Shrine sign frame vanished and Horizon’s torii cross one opened.

Satisfied with the impressed voices coming from the others, Asama explained to Horizon.

“It wasn’t installed directly to your OS. Instead, I had it installed to your OS’s spare memory. So when it starts up, it activates one of our spells which calls in and stabilizes your sign frame. The internal processing simply recorded your authorization procedure and won’t interfere with the main process, so it should be safer.”

“Oh?” Naomasa raised her eyebrows as she looked to Horizon’s sign frame and commented with the others. “Asama-chi, you have some surprising talents.”

“Yes, I’m surprised you can do this, Tomo.”

“I know, right? It’s really surprising that Asama can do this.”

“Um, I get the feeling you’re rejecting a big part of me.”

Horizon gave another thumb’s up, so Asama did the same.

Horizon then made her sign frame appear and disappear a few times, but…

“Judge. Understood. …Thank you very much, Asama-sama.”

“No, no. With a unique OS like yours, it’s safer for both of us if we have a way of speaking to each other. I will do whatever I can if you have any problems, so I look forward to working with you. …Okay, um, Masazumi, sorry for the interruption.”

Masazumi smiled bitterly and nodded her way, but…

“Sorry we’re late!”

The café door opened and two colors entered along with the outside air. The black and gold wore summer uniforms and both had six wings.

“Oh, Naito and Naruze are here. …Sorry about all the time spent on setup, Masazumi. You can start the meeting now.”

“Okay.”

Masazumi inhaled.

She opened her mouth after noting that everyone’s focus had shifted back to her after turning toward Naito and Naruze as they sat by the wall.

“For the upcoming secret meeting with the Date clan, I wanted to gather Musashi Ariadust Academy’s student council and chancellor’s officers to check over our current and future policies.”

She was confident they all pretty much knew what those were.

“Currently, we are dealing with the effects that our loss at Mikatagahara will have on Musashi and the other nations. Then we need to know what to do about Oushuu.”

“Seijun, have you made a decision about what comes next?”

“Judge,” said Masazumi. “Oushuu has been in a constant struggle between Sviet Rus, Mogami, and Date, but Russia is currently fighting P.A. Oda and both Mogami and Date have stopped doing anything ever since Hashiba stopped by two weeks ago to ‘check on their history recreation’.”

But…

“According to the Testament descriptions, Sviet Rus and Mogami both begin to decline after Sekigahara. At the same time, the Date clan conquers Oushuu. So my tentative plan is to keep cooperation with Date as our bare minimum standard of success here. Only after getting Date on our side will we move on to Mogami and Sviet Rus.”

In other words…

“At tonight’s secret meeting with Date, we need to establish a pipeline with the Date clan no matter what it takes. In my mind, that is our best possible move here.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 05|Chapter 05]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A Chapter 07|Chapter 07]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 4A Introduction

2016-04-02T18:27:15Z

68.109.55.47: /* The Story So Far */

==The Story So Far==
[[Image:Horizon4A_0010.jpg|thumb]]
[[Image:Horizon4A_0011.jpg|thumb]]

1: Volume 1-A&B: The Mikawa Incident

The stage is earth in the distant future. The story is mankind repeating history in order to once more ascend to the heavens.

In the Far East which has been put under provisional rule to take responsibility for the collapse of the harmonic world, Mikawa’s Matsudaira Motonobu destroyed Mikawa in an explosion, but also gave gathering the Logismoi Óplo as a method of ending the Apocalypse. But the Logismoi Óplo are based on the emotions of Horizon Ariadust, his daughter, and the pope-chancellor and representative of the Testament Union attempted to gather those Logismoi Óplo and stabilize the Far East with her execution.

Aoi Toori, chancellor and student council president of the Far East’s Musashi Ariadust Academy, gained the cooperation of flat-chested Vice President Honda Masazumi and some other horrible people, rescued Horizon with a declaration of world domination and sexual carelessness, and retrieved Lype Katathlipse, one of the Logismoi Óplo.

Map: [See Volume 3-A’s Introduction Pages]

2: Volume 2-A&B: The Armada Battle

To gain an ally, Musashi made its way to England and got involved with the execution of Mary, sister of Queen Elizabeth, and the armada battle that would settle the conflict between England and Tres España. While Masazumi checked on the artificial Apocalypse constructed in England’s Avalon, the plain ninja Tenzou stumbled over his confession and made Mary his future wife. And after Musashi somehow achieved victory in the armada battle, they added the Tachibana couple and Mary to their group and retrieved Aspida Phylargia. They then started toward Hexagone Française’s floating island of IZUMO for repairs.

3: Volume 3-A,B,C: IZUMO to Magdeburg to the Battle of Mikatagahara

After meeting with representatives of the Kantou forces in IZUMO, Musashi was preparing to settle the Battle of Mikatagahara, one of Matsudaira’s greatest defeats, in a discussion, but M.H.R.R. Catholic and Hexagone Française fleets attacked them. After using a rock-paper-scissors dash to escape an attack by Hexagone Française’s Mouri Terumoto and nudist sun, the Reine des Garous aka Mito’s mom captured Toori and super defeated Mitotsudaira. Mary, Mito, Naito, and maybe someone else pursued Mito’s mom on the surface, but they ended up joining forces with her after hearing about her predatory docking story. Around when K.P.A. Italia fell to Hashiba, they were on their way to Magdeburg where the Musashi was headed. On the way, Awakened Mito ripped open M.H.R.R Emperor Rudolf II and obtained Carlos V’s memo.

In Magdeburg, Musashi promised previous Hexagone Française Chancellor Anne that they would defeat Hashiba, but then Shibata’s forces started to attack and Anne passed away to avoid a dragon line reactor. Meanwhile, Mito’s mother decided Mito had defeated her. Hashiba’s interference ruined any plans of settling the Battle of Mikatagahara with a discussion. After Matsunaga, Yoshitsune, and Satomi Yoshiyori were sacrificed, Musashi even lost Edo and suffered its greatest defeat while meeting up with the Ariake which had evacuated.

4: From Now On

The Musashi is currently inside Ariake above Mito.

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{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A Preface|Preface]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 4A Table of Contents|Table of Contents]]
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</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 4B Chapter 42

2016-04-02T18:26:05Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 42: Protester in the Frame */

==Chapter 42: Protester in the Frame==
[[Image:Horizon4B_0263.jpg|thumb]]
''What is stereotypical

''Yet not stereotypical?

'''Point Allocation (The Unexpected)

On the diplomatic ship floating in the Mito sky below the Ariake, Ookubo’s broadcast played from the sign frame opened above the upper deck’s garden.

A pond in the garden had been converted into a summer pool and Masazumi was reading at the edge wearing only a shirt and the bottom of a two-piece swimsuit. Her butt sat on the stones of the pond’s edge and her legs soaked in the water up to the shins.

“So the Ariake isn’t actually sealing anything off. That’s probably to avoid any backlash from the workers and residents and to help build their hatred of war.”

…''I can’t believe this.

The only ones being kept out were the members of the Student Council and Chancellor’s Officers. Noriki, Ohiroshiki, Hassan, Itoken, and Persona-kun were apparently working like normal on the Ariake. The Tachibana Couple were also continuing as normal there. Shirojiro and Heidi had been let inside, but they were restricted to their merchant work.

There was no divine transmission restriction between them.

They apparently wanted to set this up as the Student Council and Chancellor’s Officers versus the Committee Alliance.

However, Masazumi’s group had been forbidden from making any kind of public announcement. As their statements and actions were the target of protest, they were being restricted until the following day’s special student general assembly. The ones being protested were being detained until such time as they were judged.

“That girl takes things far too seriously. Take this and this and this.”

The Aoi Sister wore a cream-colored swimsuit and splashed water at the large sign frame above the pond. The splashing water caused the floating sign frame to distort and Asama spoke up from the pond stone she sat on while managing the divine transmissions.

“Ah! Stop that, Kimi! Keeping that thing going isn’t easy, you know!?”

“Then find a way to distract me. Like this.”

The Aoi Sister pulled on Asama’s leg and the girl in a white and red shrine maiden swimsuit produced a splash.

…''They sure are full of energy.

But since they were normal people, that may have been for the best.

…''A shrine maiden that rival’s a warship gun and a normal person who can deflect an attack from one of Hashiba’s Ten Spears, huh?

Just as Masazumi began philosophically wondering what a “normal person” was, something cast a shadow over her head. She looked back and saw Naomasa in a black swimsuit. She twisted the straw hat on Masazumi’s head.

“We’re counting on you tomorrow.”

Naomasa then entered the pool with her false arm holding a tray of food. Next Naito and Naruze arrived in swimsuits that matched the colors of their Technohexen outfits.

They made quick flaps of their wings to make a long leap.

“Looking from above, this is the deepest part.”

They jumped in with their wings raised as much as possible. A spectacular splash filled the air, so Asama and the others shrieked and fled the area. As for Naomasa…

“Hey! What if you get water in our drinks, you two!?”

“Um, Masa… This isn’t my spring, so maybe alcohol isn’t the best idea,” commented Asama.

“Heh heh heh. Yes, your place has shown quite the hospitality lately.”

Meanwhile, Ookubo continued speaking overhead. She was assuring the people there would be no change to the Musashi’s current operations.

“Whatever the world chooses to do in the future, the people of Musashi need the influence provided by the nation of Musashi. That is why I believe we should repair and arm the Musashi.”

''That’s true,'' thought Masazumi. Then she realized the foundation of Ookubo’s policy.

“She’s going to follow what we’ve started, but change the direction in which it takes us.”

That was true of remodeling the Musashi, acquiring the Logismoi Óplo, and of ending the Apocalypse.

“We will continue what we are already doing. The budget for those actions is already in motion and even if that is reorganized, we cannot revoke Musashi’s position as a nation until the Peace of Westphalia. Musashi is not a small nation, so I am not saying we should change what we are doing. That will remain the same, but we must change direction on the political front in order to reach Westphalia in peace.”

“Oh? Then Milad-…Ookubo-sama, what exactly are you proposing? Give us an outline.”

“Well,” said Ookubo as she placed a hand on her chin.

“She’s good at this.” Kimi looked up at the sign frame while teaching Uzy the flutter kick. “She knows how to present herself, so she’ll be a lot of trouble. Flat politician, she’s a lot like you.”

“I haven’t the slightest clue how to present myself.”

Masazumi sighed as she rested her cheek on her hand, with the elbow on her crossed legs. The Aoi Sister pointed at her saying “That’s it! Right there!” but it was a mystery what she meant.

On the overhead sign frame, Ookubo faced Kanou and spoke.

“You asked what I am proposing, but I would like to ask you something first.”

''That’s an odd way of arguing,'' thought Masazumi. ''Why ask a question when asked about your proposal?

However, she knew what effect it would have and why Ookubo had done it. She was implicitly saying that everyone already knew what she was proposing.

By setting it up like that, even a normal opinion would sound valuable. And even if it was an incorrect opinion, people were more likely to carelessly accept it. By making it sound like a foregone conclusion, it was harder to hold doubts about it.

…''So what is that setup leading to?

Ookubo continued on the screen.

“Why must Musashi go out of its way to fight to resolve its problems?”

Ookubo slowly inhaled.

She faced the portable filming shrine held by a member of the PR Committee, but she did not smile yet.

…''I need to keep things serious here.

A lot of people would be seeing her for the first time. Looking too calm would make people think she was not taking this seriously. She was a challenger here, so there was something she had to say while looking straight at them.

“On the political front, I have determined that Musashi has the national power needed to maintain peace and stop the Apocalypse. So…”

How about this?

“Things are different than they were at Mikawa. The Musashi is being remodeled and has lost a battle, so I believe it is time to take another look at our current policy. After all, if we do not change that policy, we will be dragged into an unavoidable fight along with Oushuu and Sviet Rus. We have no close relationship with any nation at the moment, so I believe this is the perfect time to have this discussion.”

She said “so” again.

“Tomorrow, I wish to hold a special student general assembly at which we can debate with and make suggestions to the Vice President and the rest of the Student Council and Chancellor’s Officers.”

She inhaled and lowered her head just once.

She next needed to make a request to everyone watching.

But she would not make it right away. Everything she had just said and her serious attitude were still alive within the viewers. If she made her request in the same way, it would sound the same as everything else. It would lack impact.

A proper speech needed shifts in tone. After all…

…''Everything I’ve said this far is essentially meaningless.

What mattered was that the people took her side at the special student general assembly. Everything thus far was nothing more than setup and meant for the wonderful people who had been willing to actually listen to her argument.

What came next was for the majority of people who only wanted to see the very end of what she had to say.

Those people had not listened so seriously to what she had to say. They had not truly understood it and had simply nodded along.

How could she get those people to remember her?

Ookubo raised her head and looked straight forward, but…

“—————”

…''Now I breathe out.

[[Image:Horizon4B_0271.jpg|thumb]]

She looked ahead to the screen displaying her image, said nothing, and yet felt the relief of completing a large job.

She relaxed.

She even vocalized the sigh.

She cast aside her previous serious mood and tension in a way everyone could understand.

Then she nodded and smiled toward everyone watching.

''Good job,'' she really did think while narrowing her eyes. ''Good job listening to what I had to say.

And with that in her heart, she only had one thing to say.

“Please keep me in your thoughts.”

She closed her eyes in a smile and lowered he head again.

“Wow, that’s just not fair…”

Heidi spread her mouth horizontally and bent back in the Marube-ya shop on the main street of Okutama’s surface residential area.

A sign frame from Masazumi opened next to her face.

'''Vice President:''' “Augesvarer, what do you think as a merchant?”

“Well,” said Heidi as she looked to the front of the shop. With his best business smile, Shirojiro was selling vegetables to the women still living on the Musashi. For some reason, he was rubbing his hands together as he sold the radishes and green onions.

“Ha ha ha. Everyone, today’s produce is ecofriendly and naturally grown! Just look! The tip of this green onion is so wonderfully green! Cook it and it becomes so sweet and delicious! A set of five is a bargain at only five times the price of one!”

'''Azuma:''' “But all of that sounds completely normal. Is that because there’s something wrong with me?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “I love how Shiro-kun’s sales talks run on pure momentum and transform him into an idiot! Oh, and just to be clear, he isn’t sacrificing his personality for money. Money is everything, so we use it to draw out a new side of our personality!”

'''Vice President:''' “Um, sure… Please continue.”

Heidi let Erimaki manage the sign frame from atop her head as she carried a wooden container of natto in straw out from the back of the shop.

'''Marube-ya:''' “Well, you see? That Glasses Committee Head probably isn’t like us or you.”

'''Vice President:''' “Eh?”

'''Asama:''' “Um, Masazumi? She did set you apart, so I don’t think you need to get so depressed you collapse onto your side. Look, Tsukinowa doesn’t know what to do.”

''Masazumi’s getting better with her reactions,'' thought Heidi with a smile as she lined the produce up in front of the shop.

“Okay! We just got a shipment of Mito natto! This is the fresh natto that our Mitotsudaira protected by barking and running those Hashiba bad guys out of town! It has Mitotsudaira’s sniff approval!”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Lies! There were several blatant lies in that!”

'''Me:''' “That’s right! Nate doesn’t bark or sniff at things! She only smells the air when there’s meat around and she only climbs up high for a growling song when she gets all excited!”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Um, my king? Some things are unavoidable traits of your race. Like smelling at the air when there’s meat around…”

'''Hori-ko:''' “Oh? Then Mitotsudaira-sama. What about this lamb kebab cooking next to the yakisoba?”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Eh!? …Th-that is, um, a vegetable! Yes, a vegetable!”

It seemed to be pet-feeding time for the Russia group. Heidi checked over the sign frames as Erimaki finished compiling each one.

“Musashi’s guard unit – in other words, the guards for the Chancellor’s Officers – is apparently treating this as an ‘internal incident’ since Futayo hasn’t done anything. They will stop any harm that might come to the normal people and students or if the normal people try to harm the officers, but otherwise – in other words, in a clash between an officer and a member of a Committee – they’ll probably treat it as a duel. That leaves me curious about the VIPs who aren’t officers… How are things with you, Azuma-kun?”

'''Azuma:''' “Eh? Nothing’s happening here. Besides, I’m looking after Miriam today because, um, well, she can’t move much since it’s that time of the month.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Your shtick really has changed. …If you’re looking for a new shtick, you can always consult me.”

'''Azuma:''' “Then, um, Naruze-kun? …Do you have a spell or something to lessen the effects of that time of the month?”

This had nothing to do with her, but Heidi felt a shiver down her spine. She used the power of prayer to send out thoughts of “Send this my way!” and “We can make a ton of money off of this!”

But…

'''Gold Mar:''' “Ga-chan, your nose. Your nose is bleeding.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Heh…heh heh. Why would you do that again? You might as well be holding meat out while dancing in front of a bear just before hibernation… L-listen, Azuma.”

'''Azuma:''' “Judge. What is it?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “I’m pretty sure Miriam knows a way to stop that, so tell her there’s a way the two of you can stop it together. See if she’ll tell you what it is.”

'''Azuma:''' “Okay. She’ll know what I mean if I ask like that? Then I’ll go ask her.”

Heidi felt an even stronger shiver.

…''Is Azuma-kun the kind of kid who can be kidnapped for a ransom pretty easily?

'''Marube-ya:''' “U-um, are we just ignoring all the officers that didn’t choose to join you?”

'''Asama:''' “No, since I’m handling the divine transmissions, those ones are apparently cut off from us. There’s really no helping it, though.”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “Lately, I’ve been thinking you play a much more active role than I do, Asama-chi.”

'''Sticky King:''' “She fits right in, so I see no problem. It’s not good to say things that will distance people.”

'''Obscene:''' “Agreed! Asama-kun is the ace shooter that fires us to our destination! She is most welcome on the front line!”

'''Asama:''' “Um…”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Ignoring the lamenting shrine maiden, this really is a troublesome situation. …The normal members of the committees are one thing, but the Committee Heads have a fair bit of authority. They can bring their views to the Secretary, Treasurer, and the Special Duty Officers.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh. But those Committee Heads can’t directly confront that anteater owner, can they? They report to the Special Duty Officers, Treasurer, and Secretary.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “That’s where the special student general assembly comes in. That lets them ignore the Special Duty Officers, Treasurer, and Secretary and speak to even the Chancellor.”

“It’s a real problem,” sighed Heidi. “But I guess it’s good that things on the Musashi aren’t stagnating. …We might be officers, but we’re also running a business here.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “That’s the trick right there… We’ve been busy lately, but that’s why we didn’t notice the Committee Alliance putting together this event. Although looking back, things were continuing a little too ‘normally’.”

'''Vice President:''' “That’s probably because Ookubo is just that good at bringing things together. I’m betting the other Committee Heads don’t see this as that big a deal.”

Heidi was not surprised to hear that. There were some athletic types taking positions here and there with opinion boxes, but…

'''Marube-ya:''' “It just feels like an event has begun. It’s just that we’d normally be informed in advance, but this time we weren’t.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh. That would be how normal people like us see it. This was well done. If they weren’t planning to cause a huge commotion, the preparations would have been low-key as well. They dropped hints here and there to let those at the Committee Head level know this was happening and they controlled the information so it didn’t leak out.”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “Can they really control the information like that?”

'''Vice President:''' “They can.”

''That’s right,'' thought Heidi who typed up advertisements and made sales talks.

'''Marube-ya:''' “I think this was setup quite a while back.”

''Probably so,'' agreed Masazumi as she thought about Ookubo’s true intentions here.

When had she started planning this? Masazumi could make a decent guess.

“My guess would be it was setup around the time of the Armada Battle. When we were fighting, when the Musashi was repaired, and when we were away from the Musashi, the Committees did a lot to support us from the side.”

“But how did they set this up?” asked Naomasa as she adjusted her swimsuit that had built up water inside it.

Masazumi adjusted her hat and nodded.

“Judge. …We can’t spend much time on things right now. As the representative of the cities, she would have been the target of the students’ parents and they would have let her know what they thought about welfare, divine transmissions, the economy, and life on the Musashi. And of course, most of those opinions would be ones of unease. Especially when it concerns their children. But if the Representative Committee shared that listening work with the other committees when it related to their fields of work, the other Committee Heads would begin gathering Musashi’s anxieties and sending them to the Representative Committee Head.”

Meaning…

“After the Battle of Mikatagahara, we distributed the people between the eight land ports in Mito so their anxieties could not unify and would remain smaller individual issues. That is still in effect. …But the Committee Heads who gathered those complaints are unable to view those anxieties as individual things, so it builds up inside them.”

“Heh heh. Just like an inexperienced village doctor catching all of the small illnesses of his patients and becoming horribly ill himself. They say the common cold is the beginning of all illness, but…wait, does that include sexual diseases! Does that mean catching cold leads you to do things in need of censoring!? Well, Asama!? Does it!?”

Masazumi ignored that sister, but then she wondered if the girl was like that around town as well.

…''Actually, I guess I already know the answer.

“Um, the Committee Heads will understand just how dangerous the people’s worries are for Musashi at the moment. And that’s why they’ve left all the decision-making with the Representative Committee Head since this would normally be her job. After that, Ookubo only had to tell them that ‘after considering the people’s feelings, let’s confirm some things with and suggest some things to the Student Council’ and ‘this is our final chance to present this possibility to them’.”

“Well, none of that’s a lie. …So she just changed how they would interpret the information?” asked Naomasa.

“That’s right,” agreed Masazumi. “She’s acting like we have control of everything, and that’s why the Committee Heads and Musashi residents haven’t reacted too much. This is not a coup d’etat meant to overthrow us; it’s only a suggested change of policy. And that suggestion will change this life of unpredictable battle to a life of stable peace. Things on the Musashi won’t change all that much, no matter who is right here. But…”

But…

“With Ookubo, they might not have to go through any more war.”

“It sounds like the deck is really stacked against you, Masazumi. …I mean, you love war.”

“W-wait, Asama! I take extreme issue with part of that!”

“Eh?”

Asama fell silent. The Aoi Sister eventually tapped her on the shoulder and everyone in the water pressed their foreheads together and began whispering.

''What’s this about?'' wondered Masazumi as Asama left the circle first and raised her hand. She had a bit of tension in her eyebrows.

“Listen, Masazumi. This is extremely hard to say, but…”

“Judge. What is it?”

Asama presented their conclusion.

“Pretty much every time you have a meeting with another nation, the conclusion seems to be ‘This means war!’ ”

Masazumi thought on Asama’s words.

…''Is that true?

Was it? Could it be? She brought a hand to her forehead and went through her memories.

…''There was Mikawa and, um, England…

She counted them up on her fingers.

“Maa?”

…''Oh, yeah, yeah. I’m fine. I’m just thinking. I feel like my very identity is being shaken. I’m fine, I’m fine.

''But why am I sweating so much when I’m so lightly dressed and have my legs in the water? Calm down, Honda Masazumi. You’ve always been a pacifist. Counting it up does seem to show a concerning past and future, but try to stay positive here. Yes, take a positive view of war. No, that’s not right.

But she did reach a certain answer.

“Wait! Listen. Just wait, all of you!”

“What is it?”

She did not let their legitimately confused looks get to her.

“Listen,” she said while raising a finger. “At the discussion we had in Magdeburg’s Avalon, we didn’t go to war with any of the nations at that meeting!”

“Isn’t that when you announced ‘We’re gonna go crush Hashiba! Have a nice day!’?”

When she heard Naruze’s comment, Masazumi collapsed limply onto her side.

…''Huhhhhhhhhh?

She felt like there was something wrong with reality or like her view of the world was out of sync with the facts. Meanwhile, she heard distant voices in the center of the water.

“S-see, Naruze? You were so blunt that Masazumi can’t recover!”

“She really has gotten better with her reactions… And I think I can use that collapsed pose, so don’t move until I’ve made a sketch.”

“Hmm. Is Seijun singing a strange ‘loo loo loo’ song?”

“I am not!”

She sat back up, but that did not change a single thing about reality. Not that she had any reason to think it would. But she did want to try fighting this, so she said what she could.

“Um, I take those meetings and negotiations seriously, don’t I?”

“Yes, of course you do. You’re always saying confusing things…which always leads to war.”

“Everything I do is for the Far East, isn’t it?”

“Yes, you do everything you can for the Far East…which always leads to war.”

“I generally try to cooperate with the other nations, don’t I?”

“Yes, you do generally try to get along with them…which always leads to war.”

“W-wait! Why does it always lead to war!? I strongly oppose that!”

“That’s right.” Asama nodded. “I may have been the one that brought it up, but I don’t think Masazumi brings us to war every single time! So let’s not treat her like this.”

Naruze showed Asama a chart drawn up on a crop mark frame Magie Figur. Asama looked confused, so…

“If you add it all numerically like this and then list it like this, then it comes out like this.”

Asama nodded a few times and then faced Masazumi again.

“Understood. Looking at it statistically, you have been seriously doing everything you can for the Far East while trying to get along with the other nations…which always leads to war.”

“Are you all my enemies!?”

“Heh heh heh. But looking at it this way, you’re quite the frightening warmonger. Show the slightest opening and you’ll bring war to them.”

“W-wait! They generally bring the war to us! I’ve never done that!”

“In other words, you’re a tempter ''seme''.”

She had never heard that term before but could take a good guess what it meant, so she decided not to think about it any further.

“Anyway,” sighed Asama. “Don’t worry, Masazumi. Tomorrow’s special student general assembly is an internal affair, so I don’t see how it could possibly lead to war.”

…''Talk about setting a low bar…

But she needed to stay positive. If she could avoid leading this to war, that was a wonderful achievement.

…''Huh? Why am I feeling so horribly depressed?

“Now come on over here,” said the Aoi Sister. “We’ve got food.”

“That’s right, Seijun,” added Naito. “You have a lot to do tonight, like putting together a strategy for tomorrow, don’t you? Then you need to relax while you can.”

“No, no.” Masazumi waved her hand back and forth before gently tapping her chest over her shirt. “I’ve never swam before. Okay?”

“Oh…?”

They all exchanged a glance and smiled.

Before she realized where this was going, she was thrown into the water.

Two people stood on a snowy hill.

Lined up in the evening sky were a demonic long-lived in an M.H.R.R. uniform and a boy in a P.A. Oda uniform with a black down jacket over the shoulders.

They were Shibata Katsuie and Sassa Narimasa.

The few ships of the advance fleet and people quickly setting up camp were below the hill behind them and both of them had some ''insha kotob'' open.

The ''insha kotob'' were for work and other matters, but they were both hitting the “approved” button without even really looking at them. Occasionally, Katsuie would speak up.

“Hey, small fry, take this work more seriously. I feel sorry for the people who made this data.”

“Shibata, the idiot next to me isn’t even hitting ‘approved’; he’s just closing the frames. I think the odds are pretty good he has no idea how divine mail conversations work. Yes, as the upperclassman, could you say something to that idiot?”

Katsuie looked to Narimasa’s other side, the side he was not standing on.

“Hmm, Naru Naruuu? There’s no one there. Are you hallucinating? Hmm, you okay there? If you’ve gone crazy, should I knock some sense back into you? Hmm?”

“D-damn you…”

'''Taki:''' “You two love that act, don’t you?”

“Oh, hi, Takigawa. What do you need?”

'''Taki:''' “Did you read the divine mail I sent you?”

“Shaja,” replied Katsuie as he showed his teeth to the female ninja in the ''insha kotob''. “Ichimasu, things are getting interesting on the Musashi, aren’t they? First it looks like they’re going for a meeting with the three nations, but now they’ve got a special student general assembly? It’s just one event after another for the brats on that giant ship! I bet they’ll have festival stands out, so I kinda want to stop by with Lady Oichi!”

“Oh, then why not just go?”

A snowball hit the side of Narimasa’s face.

“Damn you!”

They both crushed snow with enough force to form ice balls and threw them back and forth at full strength, but they eventually took a break. As they did, Katsuie breathed a deep white sigh.

“Well, I guess we can think of this as Musashi peeling back the mask a little.”

“Really?”

“Narimasa.”

When Katsuie called his name, Narimasa pushed up his sunglasses and looked his way.

“Whaddya want??”

“Wowww! What was that ‘whaddya want’!? You push up your sunglasses like this and then…’whaddya want’!? Really!? ‘Whaddya want’!? This kid must think he’s ''so'' cool!!”

“Shut up, you son of a bitch! You’re the one that got all lovey-dovey while chowing down on the fruit tempura Oichi made! What was that ‘these strawberries are so good’ nonsense!? They had grated radish on them!”

“What!? If Lady Oichi grates it, a radish is a fruit! You didn’t know that, kid!?”

“Takigawa, can you do something about this guy? He’s a giant pain in the ass.”

'''Taki:''' “Yeah, Niu-chan’s over here too. So Naru-kun, you should probably just give up and play with Toshi and Michi.”

“No, those two are all obsessed with what Matthias and Hashiba sent over. They can get pretty nerdy, so I can’t keep up with them at times.”

'''Taki:''' “Why not find a hobby?”

“I used to have one.”

Shibata’s eyes widened and he pointed over saying “Eh? What was it?”, but Narimasa ignored him.

“I’m not telling you. Anyway, Shibata, you seem pretty cautious about Musashi. Is there a reason for that?”

“Shaja. It’s simple, you moron. What haven’t you done since coming to P.A. Oda?”

“Lived a trouble-free life under a superior who wasn’t an idiot.”

'''Taki:''' “To be blunt, you’ve been pretty blessed by your surroundings, Naru-kun. You haven’t dealt with any infighting since coming to P.A. Oda, right?”

“I do throw rocks at my stupid upperclassman.”

An ice ball with a rock inside hit him in the face, so their “snowball” fight heated up for a while.

“And isn’t it better to not have infighting? It’s a pain in the ass.”

'''Taki:''' “But the Oda clan had some during the issues over the inheritance of our master’s name.”

Inside the ''insha kotob'' Takigawa crossed her legs in her seat on the Shirasagi Castle’s bridge.

'''Taki:''' “The previous generation worked to combine the Mlasi forces and the Oda clan, but pushed a little too hard on that and had to retire to make up for it.”

“Shaja.” Katsuie nodded. “The clan split into two factions over the inheritance of our master’s name. Interestingly, I’m part of the main force now even though I was with the opposing faction.”

“Are you lecturing me like an old man? Please spare me.”

Narimasa sighed, shrugged, and turned his back on Katsuie.

“Could you upperclassmen stop expecting those of who came in later to do the things you all ended up doing? Isn’t it your duty to make sure we don’t have to do that kind of thing?”

'''Taki:''' “You sure take this seriously, Naru-kun.”

“Stop teasing-…”

He raised his voice, but stopped himself, sighed, looked back, and lowered his head.

“Sorry.”

Katsuie brought his hand down in a karate chop onto Narimasa’s lowered head and it clearly produced a dull sound.

“Ow! What was that for, you idiot!? You have no idea how to control your strength, do you!?”

“Then use that weak head of yours to think, small fry. If you’re going to follow the Testament descriptions…then Sassa Narimasa meets his end rebelling against Hashiba.”

“But before that and after we lose our master, I end up under your command as we fight Hashiba and Toshi. Hashiba will be our enemy by then.”

“That’s the whole point,” said Katsuie. “Your super excellent upperclassmen were telling you that it’s okay if you end up like us, no matter how it turns out that way.”

“What? Who are you calling excellent?”

“Don’t forget the ‘super’, small fry. Do you want me to create a human-shaped stamp in the snow with you? Do you?”

Katsuie laughed quietly.

“But that isn’t for a while. For now, we need to enjoy the situation we’ve got.”

“Shaja. You don’t have to tell me that. I was always planning to go all out here.”

The two of them looked north from the hill.

They were looking at an area several dozen kilometers away, past a large snowy forest in the distance.

“That’s the southwestern edge of Sviet Rus’s livable zone. There’s not even forty kilometers from that field to the city beyond it. We had an excellent guide.”

He nodded.

“Marfa of Novgorod, hm? She still looks down on everyone, but she led us in the right direction.”

Katsuie gave a nasal laugh.

“Hashiba pulled some strings to get Marfa the inherited name of Shibata Shigeie, right? So to ‘cooperate’ with us, she guided us into Sviet Rus territory and will prove her cooperation with a battle. And that’s just about to begin. Sounds good to me. Especially with the nice bait that’s shown up.”

He pointed his chin toward some shapes in the eastern sky. They were small and distant, but they were clearly there.

'''Taki:''' “Given the time, I assume that’s the Musashi diplomatic ship and Honjou Shigenaga’s escort fleet. I’ve recorded their cannon fire patterns and number of shells used, so should I send that over?”

“No,” replied Katsuie. “It wouldn’t get to her soon enough, and it wouldn’t matter for what she’s trying to do.”

'''Taki:''' “She? Oh, you mean Marfa.”

“Shaja,” responded Narimasa as he too looked to Honjou Shigenaga’s fleet. “Given the time, she should be making her attack soon.”

As he spoke, a wind blew through the eastern sky.

A shape suddenly appeared in front of Honjou Shigenaga’s escort fleet.

It was a black multi-layer warship that measured over eight hundred meters long. It was structured like shoe soles stacked on top of each other.

'''Taki:''' “Oh!? That reading!? Is that a stealth hulk? Now that’s rare!”

“I was raised in the mountains, so I can’t tell anything beyond its wafer-like multi-layer structure. Still, let’s see what she’s prepared to do. We’re not about to accept any half-assed ‘cooperation’. But…” Katsuie tilted his head and groaned. “I think that Marfa puts too much focus on emotions, strength, and connections between people. Well, that might be just right for such a cold region.”

Meanwhile, the black hulk flew toward the Honjou fleet with a few transport ships accompanying it.

It was on a collision course.

Honjou Shigenaga’s escort fleet for the diplomatic ship had noticed the enemy.

“Captain! Enemy detected eleven kilometers away to eleven and ten o’clock! The ether reading is of an old Sviet Rus Kraken-class armed hulk-type! The scan says it belongs to Novgorod!”

With that report, barriers opened on the left and right above the festival courtyard. These were physical ones, not spell ones. Toori tilted his head as they connected to the upper deck to keep out the external air.

“Hey, Shigeko? Do those cover everything? That’s kind of excessive.”

“Testament. Are you saying you wish to view the battle? …There is a lift to the top. I’ll show you the way.”

“H-hold on!” cut in Mitotsudaira “What is going on!?”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Shigenaga while dismissively waving a hand and shoving yakisoba into her mouth. “This is the quickest way to understand the problem Sviet Rus is currently facing.”

“Eh?”

Mitotsudaira gave a puzzled look as Shigenaga opened a ''sankt okno'' and sent some instructions.

“Don’t let them pass by in silence, comrades! The time of demons is not yet upon us, so we must give a greeting to our fellow travelers. And let us bring them to a stop to teach them that this snowy land is not welcoming of outsiders!”

“So it’s hand-to-hand combat, captain!?”

“Testament! Listen, comrades! I’m sure you’re sick of using these cannons to fight. But the time has come! The time to display our great physical strength has come! The decorative flowers of cannon fire are only for the day. Once night falls, it is the crescent moon that shall decorate the sky! All ships, release your ceiling defense spells. It’s time for the famous Sviet Rus ''privet''!”

As she spoke, the wind split apart in the sky ahead.

They saw the black hulk there. It belonged to Novgorod, but there was something odd about it.

It was upside down, so the flat upper deck was pointed down. And…

“The enemy ship only has its front defense barriers active! It’s coming in for the ''privet''!”

A group of the amalgamated dead stood on the long upper deck of the multi-layer hulk. They were upside down, but they prepared for action at the stern of the ship.

And the individual at the very front was magnified in a ''sankt okno'' that opened in the sky.

She wore a black-dyed Sviet Rus uniform with extra decorations attached. An eight-legged horse made of bones stood to her side and the tiger-skin scarf around her neck blew in the wind. The very end of the scarf contained the two kanji of the name Kagetora.

Mitotsudaira spoke up when she realized what that name meant.

“Nagao Kagetora!? Is that former Sviet Rus Vice Chancellor and Novgorod Mayor Marfa!?”

Her tone of question carried a “but”, so she continued with a frown.

“Can we assume Novgorod has betrayed Sviet Rus and joined P.A. Oda?”

“Testament. We were keeping that hidden, but I guess the secret’s out now. …To be completely accurate, she’s the former Vice Chancellor, she’s Mayor of Novgorod, and she was one of the successors to Sviet Rus. She was also a good friend of Current Chancellor and Student Council President Uesugi Kagekatsu. And now she’s an enemy and a traitor. She is…”

In the ''sankt okno'', the woman’s expression changed. She brought her eyebrows together and stared ahead at them.

And Shigenaga spoke toward that gaze.

“Marfa ‘Vedma’ Boretskaya.”

With that resolute statement, the ceiling revealing both the sky and the enemy was closed.

At the same time, a ship-wide announcement played.

“The enemy ''privet'' will arrive in two minutes and thirty-seven seconds!”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 4B Chapter 41|Chapter 41]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 4B Chapter 43|Chapter 43]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 4B Chapter 42

2016-04-02T18:24:31Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 42: Protester in the Frame */ typos

==Chapter 42: Protester in the Frame==
[[Image:Horizon4B_0263.jpg|thumb]]
''What is stereotypical

''Yet not stereotypical?

'''Point Allocation (The Unexpected)

On the diplomatic ship floating in the Mito sky below the Ariake, Ookubo’s broadcast played from the sign frame opened above the upper deck’s garden.

A pond in the garden had been converted into a summer pool and Masazumi was reading at the edge wearing only a shirt and the bottom of a two-piece swimsuit. Her butt sat on the stones of the pond’s edge and her legs soaked in the water up to the shins.

“So the Ariake isn’t actually sealing anything off. That’s probably to avoid any backlash from the workers and residents and to help build their hatred of war.”

…''I can’t believe this.

The only ones being kept out were the members of the Student Council and Chancellor’s Officers. Noriki, Ohiroshiki, Hassan, Itoken, and Persona-kun were apparently working like normal on the Ariake. The Tachibana Couple were also continuing as normal there. Shirojiro and Heidi had been let inside, but they were restricted to their merchant work.

There was no divine transmission restriction between them.

They apparently wanted to set this up as the Student Council and Chancellor’s Officers versus the Committee Alliance.

However, Masazumi’s group had been forbidden from making any kind of public announcement. As their statements and actions were the target of protest, they were being restricted until the following day’s special student general assembly. The ones being protested were being detained until such time as they were judged.

“That girl takes things far too seriously. Take this and this and this.”

The Aoi Sister wore a cream-colored swimsuit and splashed water at the large sign frame above the pond. The splashing water caused the floating sign frame to distort and Asama spoke up from the pond stone she sat on while managing the divine transmissions.

“Ah! Stop that, Kimi! Keeping that thing going isn’t easy, you know!?”

“Then find a way to distract me. Like this.”

The Aoi Sister pulled on Asama’s leg and the girl in a white and red shrine maiden swimsuit produced a splash.

…''They sure are full of energy.

But since they were normal people, that may have been for the best.

…''A shrine maiden that rival’s a warship gun and a normal person who can deflect an attack from one of Hashiba’s Ten Spears, huh?

Just as Masazumi began philosophically wondering what a “normal person” was, something cast a shadow over her head. She looked back and saw Naomasa in a black swimsuit. She twisted the straw hat on Masazumi’s head.

“We’re counting on you tomorrow.”

Naomasa then entered the pool with her false arm holding a tray of food. Next Naito and Naruze arrived in swimsuits that matched the colors of their Technohexen outfits.

They made quick flaps of their wings to make a long leap.

“Looking from above, this is the deepest part.”

They jumped in with their wings raised as much as possible. A spectacular splash filled the air, so Asama and the others shrieked and fled the area. As for Naomasa…

“Hey! What if you get water in our drinks, you two!?”

“Um, Masa… This isn’t my spring, so maybe alcohol isn’t the best idea,” commented Asama.

“Heh heh heh. Yes, your place has shown quite the hospitality lately.”

Meanwhile, Ookubo continued speaking overhead. She was assuring the people there would be no change to the Musashi’s current operations.

“Whatever the world chooses to do in the future, the people of Musashi need the influence provided by the nation of Musashi. That is why I believe we should repair and arm the Musashi.”

''That’s true,'' thought Masazumi. Then she realized the foundation of Ookubo’s policy.

“She’s going to follow what we’ve started, but change the direction in which it takes us.”

That was true of remodeling the Musashi, acquiring the Logismoi Oplo, and of ending the Apocalypse.

“We will continue what we are already doing. The budget for those actions is already in motion and even if that is reorganized, we cannot revoke Musashi’s position as a nation until the Peace of Westphalia. Musashi is not a small nation, so I am not saying we should change what we are doing. That will remain the same, but we must change direction on the political front in order to reach Westphalia in peace.”

“Oh? Then Milad-…Ookubo-sama, what exactly are you proposing? Give us an outline.”

“Well,” said Ookubo as she placed a hand on her chin.

“She’s good at this.” Kimi looked up at the sign frame while teaching Uzy the flutter kick. “She knows how to present herself, so she’ll be a lot of trouble. Flat politician, she’s a lot like you.”

“I haven’t the slightest clue how to present myself.”

Masazumi sighed as she rested her cheek on her hand, with the elbow on her crossed legs. The Aoi Sister pointed at her saying “That’s it! Right there!” but it was a mystery what she meant.

On the overhead sign frame, Ookubo faced Kanou and spoke.

“You asked what I am proposing, but I would like to ask you something first.”

''That’s an odd way of arguing,'' thought Masazumi. ''Why ask a question when asked about your proposal?

However, she knew what effect it would have and why Ookubo had done it. She was implicitly saying that everyone already knew what she was proposing.

By setting it up like that, even a normal opinion would sound valuable. And even if it was an incorrect opinion, people were more likely to carelessly accept it. By making it sound like a foregone conclusion, it was harder to hold doubts about it.

…''So what is that setup leading to?

Ookubo continued on the screen.

“Why must Musashi go out of its way to fight to resolve its problems?”

Ookubo slowly inhaled.

She faced the portable filming shrine held by a member of the PR Committee, but she did not smile yet.

…''I need to keep things serious here.

A lot of people would be seeing her for the first time. Looking too calm would make people think she was not taking this seriously. She was a challenger here, so there was something she had to say while looking straight at them.

“On the political front, I have determined that Musashi has the national power needed to maintain peace and stop the Apocalypse. So…”

How about this?

“Things are different than they were at Mikawa. The Musashi is being remodeled and has lost a battle, so I believe it is time to take another look at our current policy. After all, if we do not change that policy, we will be dragged into an unavoidable fight along with Oushuu and Sviet Rus. We have no close relationship with any nation at the moment, so I believe this is the perfect time to have this discussion.”

She said “so” again.

“Tomorrow, I wish to hold a special student general assembly at which we can debate with and make suggestions to the Vice President and the rest of the Student Council and Chancellor’s Officers.”

She inhaled and lowered her head just once.

She next needed to make a request to everyone watching.

But she would not make it right away. Everything she had just said and her serious attitude were still alive within the viewers. If she made her request in the same way, it would sound the same as everything else. It would lack impact.

A proper speech needed shifts in tone. After all…

…''Everything I’ve said this far is essentially meaningless.

What mattered was that the people took her side at the special student general assembly. Everything thus far was nothing more than setup and meant for the wonderful people who had been willing to actually listen to her argument.

What came next was for the majority of people who only wanted to see the very end of what she had to say.

Those people had not listened so seriously to what she had to say. They had not truly understood it and had simply nodded along.

How could she get those people to remember her?

Ookubo raised her head and looked straight forward, but…

“—————”

…''Now I breathe out.

[[Image:Horizon4B_0271.jpg|thumb]]

She looked ahead to the screen displaying her image, said nothing, and yet felt the relief of completing a large job.

She relaxed.

She even vocalized the sigh.

She cast aside her previous serious mood and tension in a way everyone could understand.

Then she nodded and smiled toward everyone watching.

''Good job,'' she really did think while narrowing her eyes. ''Good job listening to what I had to say.

And with that in her heart, she only had one thing to say.

“Please keep me in your thoughts.”

She closed her eyes in a smile and lowered he head again.

“Wow, that’s just not fair…”

Heidi spread her mouth horizontally and bent back in the Marube-ya shop on the main street of Okutama’s surface residential area.

A sign frame from Masazumi opened next to her face.

'''Vice President:''' “Augesvarer, what do you think as a merchant?”

“Well,” said Heidi as she looked to the front of the shop. With his best business smile, Shirojiro was selling vegetables to the women still living on the Musashi. For some reason, he was rubbing his hands together as he sold the radishes and green onions.

“Ha ha ha. Everyone, today’s produce is ecofriendly and naturally grown! Just look! The tip of this green onion is so wonderfully green! Cook it and it becomes so sweet and delicious! A set of five is a bargain at only five times the price of one!”

'''Azuma:''' “But all of that sounds completely normal. Is that because there’s something wrong with me?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “I love how Shiro-kun’s sales talks run on pure momentum and transform him into an idiot! Oh, and just to be clear, he isn’t sacrificing his personality for money. Money is everything, so we use it to draw out a new side of our personality!”

'''Vice President:''' “Um, sure… Please continue.”

Heidi let Erimaki manage the sign frame from atop her head as she carried a wooden container of natto in straw out from the back of the shop.

'''Marube-ya:''' “Well, you see? That Glasses Committee Head probably isn’t like us or you.”

'''Vice President:''' “Eh?”

'''Asama:''' “Um, Masazumi? She did set you apart, so I don’t think you need to get so depressed you collapse onto your side. Look, Tsukinowa doesn’t know what to do.”

''Masazumi’s getting better with her reactions,'' thought Heidi with a smile as she lined the produce up in front of the shop.

“Okay! We just got a shipment of Mito natto! This is the fresh natto that our Mitotsudaira protected by barking and running those Hashiba bad guys out of town! It has Mitotsudaira’s sniff approval!”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Lies! There were several blatant lies in that!”

'''Me:''' “That’s right! Nate doesn’t bark or sniff at things! She only smells the air when there’s meat around and she only climbs up high for a growling song when she gets all excited!”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Um, my king? Some things are unavoidable traits of your race. Like smelling at the air when there’s meat around…”

'''Hori-ko:''' “Oh? Then Mitotsudaira-sama. What about this lamb kebab cooking next to the yakisoba?”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Eh!? …Th-that is, um, a vegetable! Yes, a vegetable!”

It seemed to be pet-feeding time for the Russia group. Heidi checked over the sign frames as Erimaki finished compiling each one.

“Musashi’s guard unit – in other words, the guards for the Chancellor’s Officers – is apparently treating this as an ‘internal incident’ since Futayo hasn’t done anything. They will stop any harm that might come to the normal people and students or if the normal people try to harm the officers, but otherwise – in other words, in a clash between an officer and a member of a Committee – they’ll probably treat it as a duel. That leaves me curious about the VIPs who aren’t officers… How are things with you, Azuma-kun?”

'''Azuma:''' “Eh? Nothing’s happening here. Besides, I’m looking after Miriam today because, um, well, she can’t move much since it’s that time of the month.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Your shtick really has changed. …If you’re looking for a new shtick, you can always consult me.”

'''Azuma:''' “Then, um, Naruze-kun? …Do you have a spell or something to lessen the effects of that time of the month?”

This had nothing to do with her, but Heidi felt a shiver down her spine. She used the power of prayer to send out thoughts of “Send this my way!” and “We can make a ton of money off of this!”

But…

'''Gold Mar:''' “Ga-chan, your nose. Your nose is bleeding.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Heh…heh heh. Why would you do that again? You might as well be holding meat out while dancing in front of a bear just before hibernation… L-listen, Azuma.”

'''Azuma:''' “Judge. What is it?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “I’m pretty sure Miriam knows a way to stop that, so tell her there’s a way the two of you can stop it together. See if she’ll tell you what it is.”

'''Azuma:''' “Okay. She’ll know what I mean if I ask like that? Then I’ll go ask her.”

Heidi felt an even stronger shiver.

…''Is Azuma-kun the kind of kid who can be kidnapped for a ransom pretty easily?

'''Marube-ya:''' “U-um, are we just ignoring all the officers that didn’t choose to join you?”

'''Asama:''' “No, since I’m handling the divine transmissions, those ones are apparently cut off from us. There’s really no helping it, though.”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “Lately, I’ve been thinking you play a much more active role than I do, Asama-chi.”

'''Sticky King:''' “She fits right in, so I see no problem. It’s not good to say things that will distance people.”

'''Obscene:''' “Agreed! Asama-kun is the ace shooter that fires us to our destination! She is most welcome on the front line!”

'''Asama:''' “Um…”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Ignoring the lamenting shrine maiden, this really is a troublesome situation. …The normal members of the committees are one thing, but the Committee Heads have a fair bit of authority. They can bring their views to the Secretary, Treasurer, and the Special Duty Officers.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh. But those Committee Heads can’t directly confront that anteater owner, can they? They report to the Special Duty Officers, Treasurer, and Secretary.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “That’s where the special student general assembly comes in. That lets them ignore the Special Duty Officers, Treasurer, and Secretary and speak to even the Chancellor.”

“It’s a real problem,” sighed Heidi. “But I guess it’s good that things on the Musashi aren’t stagnating. …We might be officers, but we’re also running a business here.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “That’s the trick right there… We’ve been busy lately, but that’s why we didn’t notice the Committee Alliance putting together this event. Although looking back, things were continuing a little too ‘normally’.”

'''Vice President:''' “That’s probably because Ookubo is just that good at bringing things together. I’m betting the other Committee Heads don’t see this as that big a deal.”

Heidi was not surprised to hear that. There were some athletic types taking positions here and there with opinion boxes, but…

'''Marube-ya:''' “It just feels like an event has begun. It’s just that we’d normally be informed in advance, but this time we weren’t.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh. That would be how normal people like us see it. This was well done. If they weren’t planning to cause a huge commotion, the preparations would have been low-key as well. They dropped hints here and there to let those at the Committee Head level know this was happening and they controlled the information so it didn’t leak out.”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “Can they really control the information like that?”

'''Vice President:''' “They can.”

''That’s right,'' thought Heidi who typed up advertisements and made sales talks.

'''Marube-ya:''' “I think this was setup quite a while back.”

''Probably so,'' agreed Masazumi as she thought about Ookubo’s true intentions here.

When had she started planning this? Masazumi could make a decent guess.

“My guess would be it was setup around the time of the Armada Battle. When we were fighting, when the Musashi was repaired, and when we were away from the Musashi, the Committees did a lot to support us from the side.”

“But how did they set this up?” asked Naomasa as she adjusted her swimsuit that had built up water inside it.

Masazumi adjusted her hat and nodded.

“Judge. …We can’t spend much time on things right now. As the representative of the cities, she would have been the target of the students’ parents and they would have let her know what they thought about welfare, divine transmissions, the economy, and life on the Musashi. And of course, most of those opinions would be ones of unease. Especially when it concerns their children. But if the Representative Committee shared that listening work with the other committees when it related to their fields of work, the other Committee Heads would begin gathering Musashi’s anxieties and sending them to the Representative Committee Head.”

Meaning…

“After the Battle of Mikatagahara, we distributed the people between the eight land ports in Mito so their anxieties could not unify and would remain smaller individual issues. That is still in effect. …But the Committee Heads who gathered those complaints are unable to view those anxieties as individual things, so it builds up inside them.”

“Heh heh. Just like an inexperienced village doctor catching all of the small illnesses of his patients and becoming horribly ill himself. They say the common cold is the beginning of all illness, but…wait, does that include sexual diseases! Does that mean catching cold leads you to do things in need of censoring!? Well, Asama!? Does it!?”

Masazumi ignored that sister, but then she wondered if the girl was like that around town as well.

…''Actually, I guess I already know the answer.

“Um, the Committee Heads will understand just how dangerous the people’s worries are for Musashi at the moment. And that’s why they’ve left all the decision-making with the Representative Committee Head since this would normally be her job. After that, Ookubo only had to tell them that ‘after considering the people’s feelings, let’s confirm some things with and suggest some things to the Student Council’ and ‘this is our final chance to present this possibility to them’.”

“Well, none of that’s a lie. …So she just changed how they would interpret the information?” asked Naomasa.

“That’s right,” agreed Masazumi. “She’s acting like we have control of everything, and that’s why the Committee Heads and Musashi residents haven’t reacted too much. This is not a coup d’etat meant to overthrow us; it’s only a suggested change of policy. And that suggestion will change this life of unpredictable battle to a life of stable peace. Things on the Musashi won’t change all that much, no matter who is right here. But…”

But…

“With Ookubo, they might not have to go through any more war.”

“It sounds like the deck is really stacked against you, Masazumi. …I mean, you love war.”

“W-wait, Asama! I take extreme issue with part of that!”

“Eh?”

Asama fell silent. The Aoi Sister eventually tapped her on the shoulder and everyone in the water pressed their foreheads together and began whispering.

''What’s this about?'' wondered Masazumi as Asama left the circle first and raised her hand. She had a bit of tension in her eyebrows.

“Listen, Masazumi. This is extremely hard to say, but…”

“Judge. What is it?”

Asama presented their conclusion.

“Pretty much every time you have a meeting with another nation, the conclusion seems to be ‘This means war!’ ”

Masazumi thought on Asama’s words.

…''Is that true?

Was it? Could it be? She brought a hand to her forehead and went through her memories.

…''There was Mikawa and, um, England…

She counted them up on her fingers.

“Maa?”

…''Oh, yeah, yeah. I’m fine. I’m just thinking. I feel like my very identity is being shaken. I’m fine, I’m fine.

''But why am I sweating so much when I’m so lightly dressed and have my legs in the water? Calm down, Honda Masazumi. You’ve always been a pacifist. Counting it up does seem to show a concerning past and future, but try to stay positive here. Yes, take a positive view of war. No, that’s not right.

But she did reach a certain answer.

“Wait! Listen. Just wait, all of you!”

“What is it?”

She did not let their legitimately confused looks get to her.

“Listen,” she said while raising a finger. “At the discussion we had in Magdeburg’s Avalon, we didn’t go to war with any of the nations at that meeting!”

“Isn’t that when you announced ‘We’re gonna go crush Hashiba! Have a nice day!’?”

When she heard Naruze’s comment, Masazumi collapsed limply onto her side.

…''Huhhhhhhhhh?

She felt like there was something wrong with reality or like her view of the world was out of sync with the facts. Meanwhile, she heard distant voices in the center of the water.

“S-see, Naruze? You were so blunt that Masazumi can’t recover!”

“She really has gotten better with her reactions… And I think I can use that collapsed pose, so don’t move until I’ve made a sketch.”

“Hmm. Is Seijun singing a strange ‘loo loo loo’ song?”

“I am not!”

She sat back up, but that did not change a single thing about reality. Not that she had any reason to think it would. But she did want to try fighting this, so she said what she could.

“Um, I take those meetings and negotiations seriously, don’t I?”

“Yes, of course you do. You’re always saying confusing things…which always leads to war.”

“Everything I do is for the Far East, isn’t it?”

“Yes, you do everything you can for the Far East…which always leads to war.”

“I generally try to cooperate with the other nations, don’t I?”

“Yes, you do generally try to get along with them…which always leads to war.”

“W-wait! Why does it always lead to war!? I strongly oppose that!”

“That’s right.” Asama nodded. “I may have been the one that brought it up, but I don’t think Masazumi brings us to war every single time! So let’s not treat her like this.”

Naruze showed Asama a chart drawn up on a crop mark frame Magie Figur. Asama looked confused, so…

“If you add it all numerically like this and then list it like this, then it comes out like this.”

Asama nodded a few times and then faced Masazumi again.

“Understood. Looking at it statistically, you have been seriously doing everything you can for the Far East while trying to get along with the other nations…which always leads to war.”

“Are you all my enemies!?”

“Heh heh heh. But looking at it this way, you’re quite the frightening warmonger. Show the slightest opening and you’ll bring war to them.”

“W-wait! They generally bring the war to us! I’ve never done that!”

“In other words, you’re a tempter ''seme''.”

She had never heard that term before but could take a good guess what it meant, so she decided not to think about it any further.

“Anyway,” sighed Asama. “Don’t worry, Masazumi. Tomorrow’s special student general assembly is an internal affair, so I don’t see how it could possibly lead to war.”

…''Talk about setting a low bar…

But she needed to stay positive. If she could avoid leading this to war, that was a wonderful achievement.

…''Huh? Why am I feeling so horribly depressed?

“Now come on over here,” said the Aoi Sister. “We’ve got food.”

“That’s right, Seijun,” added Naito. “You have a lot to do tonight, like putting together a strategy for tomorrow, don’t you? Then you need to relax while you can.”

“No, no.” Masazumi waved her hand back and forth before gently tapping her chest over her shirt. “I’ve never swam before. Okay?”

“Oh…?”

They all exchanged a glance and smiled.

Before she realized where this was going, she was thrown into the water.

Two people stood on a snowy hill.

Lined up in the evening sky were a demonic long-lived in an M.H.R.R. uniform and a boy in a P.A. Oda uniform with a black down jacket over the shoulders.

They were Shibata Katsuie and Sassa Narimasa.

The few ships of the advance fleet and people quickly setting up camp were below the hill behind them and both of them had some ''insha kotob'' open.

The ''insha kotob'' were for work and other matters, but they were both hitting the “approved” button without even really looking at them. Occasionally, Katsuie would speak up.

“Hey, small fry, take this work more seriously. I feel sorry for the people who made this data.”

“Shibata, the idiot next to me isn’t even hitting ‘approved’; he’s just closing the frames. I think the odds are pretty good he has no idea how divine mail conversations work. Yes, as the upperclassman, could you say something to that idiot?”

Katsuie looked to Narimasa’s other side, the side he was not standing on.

“Hmm, Naru Naruuu? There’s no one there. Are you hallucinating? Hmm, you okay there? If you’ve gone crazy, should I knock some sense back into you? Hmm?”

“D-damn you…”

'''Taki:''' “You two love that act, don’t you?”

“Oh, hi, Takigawa. What do you need?”

'''Taki:''' “Did you read the divine mail I sent you?”

“Shaja,” replied Katsuie as he showed his teeth to the female ninja in the ''insha kotob''. “Ichimasu, things are getting interesting on the Musashi, aren’t they? First it looks like they’re going for a meeting with the three nations, but now they’ve got a special student general assembly? It’s just one event after another for the brats on that giant ship! I bet they’ll have festival stands out, so I kinda want to stop by with Lady Oichi!”

“Oh, then why not just go?”

A snowball hit the side of Narimasa’s face.

“Damn you!”

They both crushed snow with enough force to form ice balls and threw them back and forth at full strength, but they eventually took a break. As they did, Katsuie breathed a deep white sigh.

“Well, I guess we can think of this as Musashi peeling back the mask a little.”

“Really?”

“Narimasa.”

When Katsuie called his name, Narimasa pushed up his sunglasses and looked his way.

“Whaddya want??”

“Wowww! What was that ‘whaddya want’!? You push up your sunglasses like this and then…’whaddya want’!? Really!? ‘Whaddya want’!? This kid must think he’s ''so'' cool!!”

“Shut up, you son of a bitch! You’re the one that got all lovey-dovey while chowing down on the fruit tempura Oichi made! What was that ‘these strawberries are so good’ nonsense!? They had grated radish on them!”

“What!? If Lady Oichi grates it, a radish is a fruit! You didn’t know that, kid!?”

“Takigawa, can you do something about this guy? He’s a giant pain in the ass.”

'''Taki:''' “Yeah, Niu-chan’s over here too. So Naru-kun, you should probably just give up and play with Toshi and Michi.”

“No, those two are all obsessed with what Matthias and Hashiba sent over. They can get pretty nerdy, so I can’t keep up with them at times.”

'''Taki:''' “Why not find a hobby?”

“I used to have one.”

Shibata’s eyes widened and he pointed over saying “Eh? What was it?”, but Narimasa ignored him.

“I’m not telling you. Anyway, Shibata, you seem pretty cautious about Musashi. Is there a reason for that?”

“Shaja. It’s simple, you moron. What haven’t you done since coming to P.A. Oda?”

“Lived a trouble-free life under a superior who wasn’t an idiot.”

'''Taki:''' “To be blunt, you’ve been pretty blessed by your surroundings, Naru-kun. You haven’t dealt with any infighting since coming to P.A. Oda, right?”

“I do throw rocks at my stupid upperclassman.”

An ice ball with a rock inside hit him in the face, so their “snowball” fight heated up for a while.

“And isn’t it better to not have infighting? It’s a pain in the ass.”

'''Taki:''' “But the Oda clan had some during the issues over the inheritance of our master’s name.”

Inside the ''insha kotob'' Takigawa crossed her legs in her seat on the Shirasagi Castle’s bridge.

'''Taki:''' “The previous generation worked to combine the Mlasi forces and the Oda clan, but pushed a little too hard on that and had to retire to make up for it.”

“Shaja.” Katsuie nodded. “The clan split into two factions over the inheritance of our master’s name. Interestingly, I’m part of the main force now even though I was with the opposing faction.”

“Are you lecturing me like an old man? Please spare me.”

Narimasa sighed, shrugged, and turned his back on Katsuie.

“Could you upperclassmen stop expecting those of who came in later to do the things you all ended up doing? Isn’t it your duty to make sure we don’t have to do that kind of thing?”

'''Taki:''' “You sure take this seriously, Naru-kun.”

“Stop teasing-…”

He raised his voice, but stopped himself, sighed, looked back, and lowered his head.

“Sorry.”

Katsuie brought his hand down in a karate chop onto Narimasa’s lowered head and it clearly produced a dull sound.

“Ow! What was that for, you idiot!? You have no idea how to control your strength, do you!?”

“Then use that weak head of yours to think, small fry. If you’re going to follow the Testament descriptions…then Sassa Narimasa meets his end rebelling against Hashiba.”

“But before that and after we lose our master, I end up under your command as we fight Hashiba and Toshi. Hashiba will be our enemy by then.”

“That’s the whole point,” said Katsuie. “Your super excellent upperclassmen were telling you that it’s okay if you end up like us, no matter how it turns out that way.”

“What? Who are you calling excellent?”

“Don’t forget the ‘super’, small fry. Do you want me to create a human-shaped stamp in the snow with you? Do you?”

Katsuie laughed quietly.

“But that isn’t for a while. For now, we need to enjoy the situation we’ve got.”

“Shaja. You don’t have to tell me that. I was always planning to go all out here.”

The two of them looked north from the hill.

They were looking at an area several dozen kilometers away, past a large snowy forest in the distance.

“That’s the southwestern edge of Sviet Rus’s livable zone. There’s not even forty kilometers from that field to the city beyond it. We had an excellent guide.”

He nodded.

“Marfa of Novgorod, hm? She still looks down on everyone, but she led us in the right direction.”

Katsuie gave a nasal laugh.

“Hashiba pulled some strings to get Marfa the inherited name of Shibata Shigeie, right? So to ‘cooperate’ with us, she guided us into Sviet Rus territory and will prove her cooperation with a battle. And that’s just about to begin. Sounds good to me. Especially with the nice bait that’s shown up.”

He pointed his chin toward some shapes in the eastern sky. They were small and distant, but they were clearly there.

'''Taki:''' “Given the time, I assume that’s the Musashi diplomatic ship and Honjou Shigenaga’s escort fleet. I’ve recorded their cannon fire patterns and number of shells used, so should I send that over?”

“No,” replied Katsuie. “It wouldn’t get to her soon enough, and it wouldn’t matter for what she’s trying to do.”

'''Taki:''' “She? Oh, you mean Marfa.”

“Shaja,” responded Narimasa as he too looked to Honjou Shigenaga’s fleet. “Given the time, she should be making her attack soon.”

As he spoke, a wind blew through the eastern sky.

A shape suddenly appeared in front of Honjou Shigenaga’s escort fleet.

It was a black multi-layer warship that measured over eight hundred meters long. It was structured like shoe soles stacked on top of each other.

'''Taki:''' “Oh!? That reading!? Is that a stealth hulk? Now that’s rare!”

“I was raised in the mountains, so I can’t tell anything beyond its wafer-like multi-layer structure. Still, let’s see what she’s prepared to do. We’re not about to accept any half-assed ‘cooperation’. But…” Katsuie tilted his head and groaned. “I think that Marfa puts too much focus on emotions, strength, and connections between people. Well, that might be just right for such a cold region.”

Meanwhile, the black hulk flew toward the Honjou fleet with a few transport ships accompanying it.

It was on a collision course.

Honjou Shigenaga’s escort fleet for the diplomatic ship had noticed the enemy.

“Captain! Enemy detected eleven kilometers away to eleven and ten o’clock! The ether reading is of an old Sviet Rus Kraken-class armed hulk-type! The scan says it belongs to Novgorod!”

With that report, barriers opened on the left and right above the festival courtyard. These were physical ones, not spell ones. Toori tilted his head as they connected to the upper deck to keep out the external air.

“Hey, Shigeko? Do those cover everything? That’s kind of excessive.”

“Testament. Are you saying you wish to view the battle? …There is a lift to the top. I’ll show you the way.”

“H-hold on!” cut in Mitotsudaira “What is going on!?”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Shigenaga while dismissively waving a hand and shoving yakisoba into her mouth. “This is the quickest way to understand the problem Sviet Rus is currently facing.”

“Eh?”

Mitotsudaira gave a puzzled look as Shigenaga opened a ''sankt okno'' and sent some instructions.

“Don’t let them pass by in silence, comrades! The time of demons is not yet upon us, so we must give a greeting to our fellow travelers. And let us bring them to a stop to teach them that this snowy land is not welcoming of outsiders!”

“So it’s hand-to-hand combat, captain!?”

“Testament! Listen, comrades! I’m sure you’re sick of using these cannons to fight. But the time has come! The time to display our great physical strength has come! The decorative flowers of cannon fire are only for the day. Once night falls, it is the crescent moon that shall decorate the sky! All ships, release your ceiling defense spells. It’s time for the famous Sviet Rus ''privet''!”

As she spoke, the wind split apart in the sky ahead.

They saw the black hulk there. It belonged to Novgorod, but there was something odd about it.

It was upside down, so the flat upper deck was pointed down. And…

“The enemy ship only has its front defense barriers active! It’s coming in for the ''privet''!”

A group of the amalgamated dead stood on the long upper deck of the multi-layer hulk. They were upside down, but they prepared for action at the stern of the ship.

And the individual at the very front was magnified in a ''sankt okno'' that opened in the sky.

She wore a black-dyed Sviet Rus uniform with extra decorations attached. An eight-legged horse made of bones stood to her side and the tiger-skin scarf around her neck blew in the wind. The very end of the scarf contained the two kanji of the name Kagetora.

Mitotsudaira spoke up when she realized what that name meant.

“Nagao Kagetora!? Is that former Sviet Rus Vice Chancellor and Novgorod Mayor Marfa!?”

Her tone of question carried a “but”, so she continued with a frown.

“Can we assume Novgorod has betrayed Sviet Rus and joined P.A. Oda?”

“Testament. We were keeping that hidden, but I guess the secret’s out now. …To be completely accurate, she’s the former Vice Chancellor, she’s Mayor of Novgorod, and she was one of the successors to Sviet Rus. She was also a good friend of Current Chancellor and Student Council President Uesugi Kagekatsu. And now she’s an enemy and a traitor. She is…”

In the ''sankt okno'', the woman’s expression changed. She brought her eyebrows together and stared ahead at them.

And Shigenaga spoke toward that gaze.

“Marfa ‘Vedma’ Boretskaya.”

With that resolute statement, the ceiling revealing both the sky and the enemy was closed.

At the same time, a ship-wide announcement played.

“The enemy ''privet'' will arrive in two minutes and thirty-seven seconds!”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 4B Chapter 41|Chapter 41]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 4B Chapter 43|Chapter 43]]
}}
</noinclude>

Clash of Hexennacht:Volume2 Chapter 5

2016-03-31T03:22:04Z

68.109.55.47: /* Chapter 5: If It’s Just for Fun */ typos

==Chapter 5: If It’s Just for Fun==
[[Image:Hexennacht_v02_151.png|thumb]]
''You don’t have to say anything

''Yet you even act on it

“Are you okay, Hunter!?”

As Kagami shouted back, she sensed something odd about her opponent’s attack.

She had caught it on her blade. Or so she thought.

She felt and heard the impact, and she should have stopped the opponent.

But there was an odd slipping sensation coming through the large sword.

…''What is this?

It felt like sticking a knife into a slab of meat and cutting it with a pulling motion. It was the charming sensation of the meat’s elastic pressure trying to hold the knife in place inside it.

But if she was feeling that here…

“Kagami Kagami!”

Mary roared her name and raised her triple scythe.

That was when Kagami noticed something about the front armor of Dikaiosyne that could defend against Hunter’s attack even in Normal mode.

…''It was cut through!?

She could not see it from where she was, but she could sense the reduced internal pressure due to the split armor.

A spell circle appeared and Dikaio informed her of the emergency. That told her how far the blade had gone, but…

…''What is this?

Mary’s scythe had indeed been stopped by the armor.

Dikaiosyne had been split by a power emitted by the scythe blades.

Three attack lines ran diagonally up and to the left like claw marks.

What if that spell had been fired as a projectile instead of emitted from the blades? In fact, most witches would be able to convert such a power into a projectile. In that case…

“It would seem luck is smiling my way, Mary!”

With that announcement, Kagami saw Mary’s back.

The girl had spun around after launching that full-power attack.

Her hand was reaching into the sky.

The scythe-like curves of her fingers were pointing toward the Magino Device with its giant nine ring arrangement that almost resembled a wind instrument. That weapon fired something in response.

“Kagami! A secondary cannon is coming!”

“I can see that for myself, Hunter!”

It was a direct attack.

Horinouchi spoke to herself.

“She said she was heading out to get Hunter, but she certainly is taking her time.”

As soon as she stepped out of the General Division dorm’s front entrance, she saw a nine scythe Magino Device sticking up from the courtyard. She immediately spat out the iced coffee she was drinking from a cup.

“Wh-what in the world is that!?”

“Milady! That is Lady Mary Sue’s Magino Device!”

“I know that, Koutarou!”

“Yes, but the thing is…!”

Just as Koutarou prepared to send her a further explanation…

“Heyyy! Horinouchi! We’re in a battle!! At the ocean!”

She heard Hunter’s yelling voice. So…

“U-um, milady!”

“Later, Koutarou! I’m heading to the pier!!”

The Head Maid saw the Head Butler punching the floor as alarms blared throughout the mansion.

The Ranker battle had begun so unexpectedly that U.A.H.J. within Shihouin Academy had been slow to react. The assessment of the situation, approvals, and evacuation requests were all running late and an alarm sounded from the residential area at the base of the mountain. But as for those here…

“You should have acted more quickly, Head Butler.”

“Dammit…! I so wanted to provide commentary for Lady Mitsuru!”

“Head Butlerrrr. Can I send the data straight to Lady Mitsuru?”

“No, you may not!”

He shot to his feet and his car keys were already spinning around his finger.

“The battle is at the pier! I will hurry there, so send all information to me! And make sure Lady Mitsuru does not notice!”

“Head Butler.” The Head Maid pushed up her glasses. “There is something severely wrong with your mental health.”

Hunter flew through the air.

…''Wah!

Her arms held onto Kagami in Normal Frame mode.

As soon as Kagami had been hit, Hunter had grabbed her from behind and leaped to the right.

That had shifted the blow a little, but it had not completely erased it.

They had been sent flying in a certain direction.

“This is right toward eastern Tokyo Bay!”

Her instruments said their initial speed had exceeded Mach 4. It had taken a short time for her body tuning divine protection to bring her back from a brief blackout, so once her vision had returned, it had looked like they were flying south of the secondary cannon’s direction.

But that was inaccurate.

Kagami had probably held Dikaiosyne diagonally, so the direct secondary cannon hit had sent them flying southeast into Tokyo Bay.

She could see their destination shimmering in the distance, but…

…''That’s the abandoned industrial district on Tokyo Bay’s eastern coast!

“America’s tuning divine protections must be excellent indeed!”

As Kagami spoke within her arms, they began skidding along the ocean’s surface.

They were just like a stone skipping on the water. It felt more like ricocheting off a sticky wall than off of water.

“Wah!”

Their bodies rotated vertically at high speed.

Hunter wanted to use her foothold spell, but that would actually be dangerous with her feet alternating between the earth and sky so quickly. Even if Tokyo Bay was relatively shallow, their speed would convert the water’s mass into a powerful blow. Also…

“Here it comes!”

She looked up to the sky as she spun and saw several curves of light.

“It’s that secondary cannon!”

When Horinouchi ran out onto the pier, she saw a giant black scythe floating in the sky.

…''This is the Rank 2’s Magino Device!

Scythes were arranged together into a circle. The black scythes varied in size with a single large one and two small ones forming a set. Three such sets were attached together.

As it floated, it produced a noise reminiscent of a heavy chain rattling. It was the sound of a chain in a spinning pulley.

“The tone of judgment as the condemned is hanged?”

“Head Maid! Lady Mitsuru just said something poetic!”

“That happens a lot with witches. You did that while you were students, didn’t you? Something about hellfire and dark freezing.”

“P-please stop that, Head Maid! That attack is super effective against me!”

“…Hey, where is the Head Butler?”

“Milady! Please come with me to safety!”

Horinouchi saw a car slipping along the pier as it tried to brake. It bore the red emblem of the Horinouchi family and Koutarou beckoned to her from the driver’s seat.

“Milady, this is already a Ranker battle! It is too dangerous here!”

“B-but I’m also the Rank 3.”

“No, this Ranker battle is between Lady Hunter in Rank 4 and Lady Mary in Rank 2. Lady Kagami may have joined in, but she will be treated as an intruder and there is a chance the outcome will have no influence on the original two’s Ranks.”

''In that case,'' she thought.

“If I joined in too, it might be counted as a Ranker battle between Mary and us?”

“Yes. And even if you won, Lady Mary could protest the outcome because you joined as intruders! So…”

So…

“I do not know what Lady Mary wants, but if this becomes your Ranker battle, she will have an advantage whether she wins or loses! It would be best if you did not join in.”

“B-but then what do I do?”

“Please allow me to carry you to safety in this car! It contains level 2 ether concealment, so they will have difficulty detecting it!”

“My, that must have been expensive. How did you convince my family to pay for that!?”

“I was having difficulty finding any insurance that would accept me, so I paid for it myself!”

Horinouchi gave the car a closer look.

It had the Horinouchi family crest on the hood, but that meant…

“Did you paint it yourself?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, milady! That is a sticker!”

“I’m watching this via satellite,” cut in Hunter. “But is this what you call a corporate slave?”

“Hunter,” replied Kagami. “In this case, he would technically be a shrine slave.”

“S-stop that, you two! I don’t need you saying everything I’m thinking!”

“Anyway, milady! You need to evacuate!”

Just as Koutarou pointed at the car, a secondary cannon shell fell right on top of it.

“Ahhhhh! I only just got that car three days ago!!”

''Come to think of it, ether concealment isn’t much use when it’s plainly visible.

But more importantly…

“Kagami!”

More and more pillars of water rose from the ocean.

The two witches could not move freely after being blown away, but they managed to skid along the ocean’s surface and randomly change their trajectory. Secondary cannon shells dropped into the ocean to pursue them.

“Their precise homing ability actually gives us a chance!”

Hunter was the one dealing with them.

Due to their speed and rotation, she could not just move at random. So…

…''My foothold spell!

She created several footholds around her but did not use them. She just left them there.

The foothold spells would remain in place for a set period of time and they were made to endure the reaction of her step. They used a fair bit of power, so if their opponent’s shells were pursuing the ether they detected…

“These will work as chaff!”

Her plan showed results almost immediately.

The shells began tearing into and devouring the foothold spell circles placed away from them.

Even so, a few of the shells still followed their proper target. And…

…''Here it comes!

Hunter checked the live footage from an American surveillance satellite and saw Mary’s Magino Device floating over Tokyo Bay in a shot from low to the south.

“Hunter! Can you send us flying at satellite speed?”

“Sorry! There isn’t one overhead right now! Wait a little longer!”

“I think our opponent is the one who will refuse to wait around.”

Sure enough, it was coming.

…''The Magino Device!

Mary’s multi-scythe Device was aiming its nine points their way.

The secondary cannon shells were being fired from each of the scythes, but…

…''Here it comes!

Even when a witch specialized in ground combat, their Magino Device’s flight speed would be at least Mach 3. There was a distance of less than ten kilometers between their position on the coast and Shihouin Academy in the center of the bay, so it would catch up almost instantly.

If possible, Hunter wanted to summon her Magino Device and put more distance between them, but…

“Kagami, until our spin dies down…”

“Oh, not to worry, Hunter.”

As soon as she said that, Kagami grabbed Hunter from the side.

“Eh?”

The world spun. A spell circle desperately worked to tune her inner ear and organs. She saw an incredibly familiar spell circle next to Kagami’s face.

“Y-you copied me!?”

“I started with a copy and further developed it on my own. That is a virtue for the Japanese, Hunter. Now look behind you.”

Since they were rotating, she could only assume “behind you” meant to the west.

The Magino Device there was scattering acceleration light behind it.

It was coming.

She had no idea what kind of range its main cannon had with that strange cutting power, but…

“It seems surprisingly focused on the closer ranges. The secondary cannons have poor homing and does this mean the main cannon cannot reach this far?”

As soon as Kagami said that, the ocean split to their right.

A straight line opened in the water for about two kilometers.

“Oh,” said Kagami. “She seems quite narrow-minded.”

“Can I be a little narrow-minded too!?”

“Save that for later, Hunter.”

The secondary cannon fired behind them, but the trajectory was different from the earlier homing ones.

“These will be guided! That one was for calibration!”

Kagami swung Dikaiosyne around and struck downwards with the back of the blade.

“Hunter, you were born on the West Coast, weren’t you?”

“Yes, I was…”

She had a feeling she knew where this was going, so she decided to ask.

“Kagami, have you ever done this before?”

“Leave it to me. …I saw plenty of people doing this when I visited Shonan.”

“Y-you’re the worst!”

As the barrage pursued them from behind, Kagami placed her feet on Dikaiosyne.

They were spinning through the air, but the five meter sword crashed into the water, maintained its orientation despite skidding, briefly cut deep into the water, and stopped all of the water that reached it. After that…

“I was right to create an acceleration system the other day.”

They cut through and across the ocean surface using the sword as a surfboard.

American U.A.H.F. received word that American Representative Hunter was taking part in a Ranker battle. As soon as they realized no satellite would make it to the swing-by point in time, they scrambled two F-23s from Atsugi.

They would be criticized if they took part in a witch’s Ranker battle, so…

“We have arrived! Just you wait, young lady! Marvel at our uselessness!”

“A man’s gotta make an immediate appearance when a witch is in a bind!”

The two planes on the apron switched the digital optical paint on their wings from a defense emblem to an acceleration emblem. Even including standby time, they took off quickly.

The first did not wait around for the second, but they both almost instantly broke the sound barrier and shot through the sky.

The spell circle opened on the HUD showed a busy sky. Various witches and organizations had set up security barriers to mark out their territory and the aircraft course schedule was visible for the air routes that witches from major organizations used. The two fighters avoided only the ones that would cause a collision and hurried to their destination.

In the sea off of the Uraga Channel, the Seventh Fleet was working with the JSDF’s Yokosuka Fleet to quickly grasp the entire situation.

They were also working with the Shinto Horinouchi family.

And at the center of it all…

“It’s creepy how we know next to nothing about the Rank 2.”

“That old hag from the Seventh Fleet’s Song Café is warning the Rank 2 with every communication method she can, but she’s being completely ignored. The Rank 2’s got to have some guts. …After all, she’s ignoring a warning from the world’s greatest military force, from Shinto, and from the witches.”

“Out of context, you would almost think we’re bullying her. …What’s the academy doing?”

“They’re viewing this as a Ranker battle for now and will intervene if it proves necessary.”

“Ha,” laughed the other. “Shihouin Cerisier of the Three Sages. Even if the Ranker system wasn’t as defined back then, she was the Number 2. She sure is nice to the current upper Rankers that are below what she once was.”

“I don’t get it… Oh, and I can see them! We’ll be able to see them for twelve seconds with our spell vision!”

The two fighters parted to the left and right.

“Don’t get close! We’re only gathering intel! Once we pass by, circle back around the bay and leave the rest to the photographer! They can be more use here than just snapping some pics of the moon!”

[[Image:Hexennacht_v02_167.png|thumb]]
Hunter was swung around.

Kagami held her while surfing along the ocean with Dikaiosyne. And she was forcing them through slaloms as they went.

…''Whoaaaaaaa!?

“Ha ha ha. Summer may be over, but these are the best waves this year!”

They skidded along the water. A secondary cannon shell landed below them, blasting them forward. Another shell targeted the spot where they would land, but…

“Hunter, swung your legs to the left!”

She did as she was told and they tilted down and to the right, allowing for a slalom to the right as soon as they landed. To ensure they did not move too far over, she swung her legs in the opposite direction to keep their balance. The ocean to their left exploded a moment later, but that no longer mattered to them. She was fairly certain the shell had grazed the tips of her toes, but she did not have the heart to check.

Two F-23s were flying through the sky, but she did not have time to look up at them. Mostly due to the dangerous person right next to her.

“I never knew surfing was so invigorating! I had my doubts when I saw those people shouting ‘cowabunga’ out on the summer waves, but I think I will be joining them next year, Hunter!”

''You already are, you idiot.

Regardless, this was definitely more dangerous than the explosions. However, the idiot gave Hunter a cheerful look and performed a three-sixty to avoid a shell on their right. The shockwaves blasted even the ocean spray away.

“This is working pretty well, Hunter!”

“Just fly! Wouldn’t that be a hell of a lot easier!?”

“The sky may be open, but don’t you think that mean she is luring us there?”

Hunter realized she had experienced exactly that earlier.

Then a series of sounds arrived from behind. It was a barrage of secondary cannon blasts. However…

“Hold on! That’s a full volley!”

“Not to worry, Hunter! We are already at the edge of Tokyo Bay!”

The bank was visible up ahead.

The map in her spell circle also showed them arriving at the eastern coast of Tokyo Bay.

“Why’s it still called Tokyo Bay when it’s in Chiba Prefecture?”

“You do not know, Hunter!? It was to create a laboratory to hold the rats and wild beasts with developed intelligence that were sent over from America!”

“Really!? Tokyo sure is full of awful people!”

“Indeed. Tokyoites and rats are both awful people, Hunter! Now, might I ask one thing?”

“Eh!? There’s more!?”

“Yes.” Kagami smiled. “As someone who has done this before, do you perhaps know how to stop this thing?”

Horinouchi opened the connection linked to in an email from the US military that said “This is secret, but please take it” in suspicious Romanized Japanese.

She sipped on her cup of iced coffee while sitting on top of the totaled red car.

“Why does this live feed show those two messing around?”

From a shallow southern perspective, the two of them were surfing and jumping up onto the slope of the bank. They crashed into an abandoned factory and broke right through it.

Horinouchi spat out her coffee and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief.

“Wh-what are they doing!?”

“Milady! I believe breaking through seventeen abandoned buildings in a row is a new world record, so should I spread this information online!?”

“Wait, Koutarou! That was nineteen and a half buildings! The information needs to be accurate!”

“Well done, milady!!”

''So even abandoned buildings have materials inside,'' noted Kagami.

She was on a coastal factory’s transport platform. The corporation had likely sheltered their vehicles there before the Hexennacht ten years before. She and Hunter had crashed into and knocked aside the row of trucks, but that had cushioned them enough to stop them.

Regardless, their summer surfing had come to a physical end. But now she and Hunter sat on the concrete floor behind the smashed trucks.

“Ha ha ha! My, wasn’t that dangerous, Hunter!?”

“Yes! Yes, it was! Yes, it was was was!!”

Her vocabulary seemed to have dropped, so Kagami was worried she had hit her head too hard.

But then the girl sighed.

“Is something the matter, Hunter?”

Hunter smiled bitterly and looked over at Kagami.

“Yeah, sorry. I thought that girl would be more understanding than this!”

“I see,” was all Kagami could say as she adjusted her grip on Dikaiosyne. “Hunter, you fight with backup from America. I assume you fought on your own this time to match your opponent’s style, but you should avoid doing that in the future.”

“And what am I supposed to say to the idiot that matched my style and still won?”

“Why not praise her?”

Kagami stood up and faced the hole they had opened on the western side of the building.

…''I can hear the American fighters.

If their opponent’s Magino Device was used at close range, it would move quietly. It may have been based on the idea of creeping up and chopping off the enemy’s head.

“Kagami.”

Hunter stood up next to her and swung both arms to release her Frame.

She once more wore her uniform that was cut in places and ether light scattered around her.

“I’ll return this to you.”

“Yes,” agreed Kagami.

There was one thing she had to say as she held her hand out to the scattering ether.

…''My thanks.

But just as she prepared to do so, Hunter lifted the corners of her mouth and spoke.

“You should thank me.”

Her Phlogiston Heart was heating up inside its spell circle.

The speed of that process had just shot up, so…

“Of course.”

She stepped toward the destroyed opening showing the late-summer sunlight.

“Summon Magino Frame!”

Horinouchi ran from the pier to the artificial island.

She was headed west toward an artificial hill.

…''That’s the only spot I can see the eastern coast from!

Alarm spell circles had popped up around the artificial island to provide information, but they were not informing people of the Ranker battle.

…''Mary’s previous Magino Device attack split the island?

A long crack had been created from the center to the south.

The southern end was still connected, but the island rose and fell with the tides. The stress of that process might just break the island apart along that line.

The two fighters in the sky were making their second circle to gather intelligence.

Voices and metallic sounds were coming primarily from the western end of Shihouin Academy. The Special Equipment Division witches were often sent out to perform repairs, so they were out repairing the artificial island.

In that case, Horinouchi could only leave it to them. She had to hurry as well, but…

“I’ll have to summon my Frame.”

And…

“Koutarou!”

“What do you need?”

Koutarou drove up alongside her in a white light car, but…

“You had a spare car!?

She peeked inside and saw a maid in the passenger seat. She was a shooter-type from the Middle East and she raised a hand in greeting, so Horinouchi nodded back and gave Koutarou a warning.

“No destroying this one, okay?”

“I am aware of that.”

“In that case,” she began before getting to her instructions. “Gather information on Mary and track her location. I especially want to know her attack range and attack power. Focus on the spell information because the US military will be recording the physical reactions and speeds from the air. We can compare the two information sources afterwards, so gather the information you imagine they would be unable to. Can you do that?”

Meanwhile, she heard a rumbling from the east.

“Milady, that was…”

She knew what that ringing of a large bell meant. She did not even need to turn around.

“Kagami summoned her Magino Frame!?”

The witch in the passenger seat spoke up before Koutarou could.

“Milady, well done!”

''Koutarou, is that really worth shaking your fist at her for?

The battlefield was located above Tokyo Bay.

A set of nine giant scythes and an incredibly long sword faced each other in the air while drifting in circles in an attempt to reach the other’s side.

They were both five hundred meters long. They looked heavy and slow, but they were actually quite fast and trails of clouds formed as their various tips tore through the air.

Tokyo Bay was about twenty kilometers across, so when five hundred meter magic wands faced each other from a distance of ten kilometers, their movements ruled over the entire bay.

“Hey.”

Along the coast from western Shinagawa to southern Yokohama, people closed the waterways among the alarms and strengthened the ley line defenses at the various shrines and temples.

“A wall of clouds is forming over Tokyo Bay!”

The two circling Magino Devices altered the weather after only two circuits.

The sunny late-summer afternoon was now covered in a vortex of clouds that looked like cumulonimbus clouds shredded horizontally. Those clouds were forming something like a torn dome.

Inside that, everyone looked up at and listened to the giant weapons that scattered ether light as they moved.

The black multi-scythe Magino Device produced the sounds of rattling chains.

The giant sword produced the ringing of large bells.

The two sounds would not blend together, and…

“Look!”

The muzzles of secondary cannons opened.

A battle was beginning.

Everyone who lived in this region knew the standard method witches used to fight: holding their opponent in place with secondary cannons in order to fire their main cannon. So if those secondary cannons were opening…

“A volley of secondary cannons is coming!” someone shouted.

Immediately, the sword’s blade opened wide and fired its main cannon.

“Oh, dear. Miss Kagami is quite the rule breaker.”

The headmaster placed a hand on her office’s windowsill and looked up into the sky.

“But Miss Mary is a very troublesome person. Just as much as you.”

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