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Horizon:Kimitoasamade 2B Chapter 19

2017-04-24T00:38:08Z

68.109.60.150: /* Chapter 19: Speakers on an Angled Surface */

==Chapter 19: Speakers on an Angled Surface==
[[File:Horizon_Kimi2B_091.jpg|thumb]]
''Someone tell me

''How I can get used to life here

'''Point Allocation (Not Possible)

Torii followed the nudist through the sky and saw Musashino’s nightscape below.

“Hey! Toori! That was a pretty good one! Ah ha ha ha!”

“Yeah! Chuuko, you said you’d let me feel your boobs if I managed to steal your bra, right!?”

“True,” replied Torii as she spread her arms and enjoyed the wind. “So what’re you gonna do, Toori!? You’re gonna fall at this rate.”

The two of them laughed together with a 5 meter height difference between them.

Then Toori waved the hand not holding the bra.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. I have a charm to control my fall!”

He then looked up above past her head.

But Torii did not look back. She knew what was up there: an investigation ship being towed to Okutama’s rear deck. After all, she had been aboard it a moment before.

And this idiot had jumped down from the towing belt ring above it.

…''Honestly.

Just as she had been fidgeting and wondering if she should jump down or not, the idiot had attacked her butt from behind for a kanchou, so she had circled behind him to hit him with a kanchou. Her mistake had been hesitating upon noticing he was naked. He had snapped his right hand back toward her chest.

But he had not pulled off her tube-shaped bra at quite the right angle, so they had both lost their balance and fallen.

That led to the present, but…

“Hey, Toori! If you ask me, we’re gonna be in trouble soon.”

“Huh!? Are you looking down on me cause I’m a 2nd year, Chuuko!? A game of chicken is all about seeing who panics and uses their spell first!”

“I’m not even going to respond.”

“Dammit! It’s always like this with people in power! You just ignore us normal students when we make jokes!”

“That’s the normal reaction.”

“Not for me!! Listen carefully!”

“The ground is getting awfully close. What’re you gonna do?”

“Huh!? Are you scared, Chuuko!? I’ve got a spell, but I’m not using it yet! Not a chance!”

“Oh, is that so? Well, Toori, is this the charm you were talking about?”

Torii pulled a charm out from her cleavage and showed it to the idiot.

The idiot wrapped the bra around his head and chin, crossed his arms, and nodded.

“Yeah! That’s it! How about that!? I came prepared, didn’t I!?”

“I swiped it from your hand earlier, but what’re you gonna do now that I have it?”

The idiot fell silent for a few seconds and then wrapped the bra around his waist.

“Give it back! Give back my spell!”

“No, I’m using it.”

“W-w-w-wa-wa-wa-wa-w-w-wa-wait, Ch-Ch-Ch-Chuuko. I-I-I’ll d-die, Chuuko.”

“Are you supposed to be rapping?”

And…

“Could you stop calling me Chuuko?”

“Brand new.”<ref>Chuuko can mean “used”.</ref>

“You’re really rude, you know that!? So what’re you gonna do? The ground’s really close now.”

“Heh hehhh. Too bad! This is the Musashi, so it isn’t the ground! …Ah! Please don’t look up! Talk with me and give me that spell for free! In fact, Chuuko! If you don’t talk with me, I’ll wrap your bra around my dick!”

“You’ll do that and then crash into the ground?”

“Are you sure you want that!? Are you really, really sure? Think about it, Chuuko! At this rate, you’ll be known as the girl whose bra was wrapped around a dick! C’mon, listen carefully! Can’t you hear your bra crying!? ‘Noooooo, I don’t want to be a dick-braaaa!’ ”

“You’re gonna die soon. I’ll be nice and give you some advice: why not go crying to ‘Musashi’?”

“Oh, right!” The idiot struck a meaningless pose. “ ‘Musashi’! I’d be really happy if you save me right away!”

A sign frame appeared.

“You are on Musashino, so please ask ‘Musashino’. Over.”

“Hey, ‘Musashino’!”

“Sorry. I am busy right now. Ask ‘Nishi-Kokubunji’. Over.”

“I am busy as well. Next up is ‘Kokubunji’. Over.”

“Next up is ‘Kunitachi’. ‘Kunitachi’. Over.”

“Please make your stop at ‘Tachikawa’. Over.”

“Please start deadheading. Over.”

“Wait! Wait, all of you! You’re trying to cause me trouble by pretending to be train stations, aren’t you!? You are, aren’t you!? Do you love me that much!? I’m gonna blush!!”

A defense barrier opened below the idiot.

Adele looked out the window while everyone ate the vegetable soup the manager had made.

She looked into Musashino’s sky.

“Um, I’m seeing quite a lot of defense barriers being broken over there…”

“Yes,” said Mitotsudaira, Kimi, and Asama as they looked over at the same time. “My king.” “Foolish brother.” “Toori-kun.”

As they said that, the bottommost sign frame disappeared and decorated the nighttime city.

Torii looked around below the scattering light.

He was in one of Musashino’s surface blocks. It was a student residential district filled with student dorms. The students around him were more puzzled by the light of the defense barriers bursting in the air than they were of the fallen object.

While they all looked up instead of down, Torii sighed in relief that no one was paying any attention to them. And so she spoke without panicking.

“Hey, idiot.”

“Oh, Chuuko. Over here! I’m over here!”

She turned back and saw the idiot’s upper body poking up from a human-shaped hole in the middle of the road.

“Did the defense barriers not stop your fall?”

“The last one disappeared before it caught me, so ‘Musashi’ must be pretty mad.”

Torii approached the idiot who sat there like he was in the bath, leaned back against the edge of the hole, and looked up into the sky.

“You really are dumb.”

When she crouched in front of the hole, the idiot looked her way and did not hesitate to stare right between her crouching legs.

“Stay like that! Just like that! It’s bright up above, so my eyes haven’t adjusted enough to see through the darkness there!”

“It’s just the panties part of my inner suit. You see that all the time. How about a pose? I’ll thrust my hips out like this.”

“It’s no good if it’s fake!”

“Aren’t all performances fake?”

“Don’t test me just because you’re high-level and I’m mid-level, Chuuko.”

“I see,” she said before laughing.

She got into the hole legs-first and sat across from him like it was a bathtub.

“Ow, ow, ow! It’s too cramped, Chuuko! If you wanna get in a hole, make your own.”

“You’ve got a pretty skinny body. I bet you could do some killer crossdressing material.”

“Oh, judge, judge. I was short on points when qualifying for the mid-level, so I went with that! Asama judged it with the most hilarious look on her face, but sis absolutely loved it.”

“What about the Koumon girl?”

“Nate couldn’t bear to watch!”

“I see…”

Torii looked up into the sky. The sky itself was covered by the stealth barrier ceiling, but she could see the observation ship being towed below that. However, it was mostly hidden by the light of the broken defense barriers.

Torii stared at the Musashi in the sky.

“Did anything good happen to you?”

“Judge,” said the nudist. “All sorts of good things happen to me every day.”

“Are you bragging?”

“Yep. I’ve got friends who’ll hang out with me and cause a fuss, and there are others who will at least worry for me. It’s great to just have something, you know?”

“That’s a pretty low bar.”

“I haven’t forgotten to dream big.”

“You mean that old promise?”

“Yeah.” The idiot also looked into the sky. “Everyone’s so amazing. You saw that today, didn’t you? They defeated a dragon.”

“Doesn’t that make us pretty amazing, too?”

“Then you come with us too, Chuuko.”

Torii fell silent at that, but it did not last long.

“If it works out and I feel like it.”

“I see.”

They both leaned back while facing each other, but the idiot soon spoke up.

“Ah, wait, wait, wait. Chuuko, your butt’s hitting my mosaic!”

“Ohh, I thought that was a piece of the ship, but it’s yours, huh? Since you’re against fakes, I guess you must really be aroused.”

“You idiot, you’ve got a knife stored near your butt, don’t you!? That and your butt are holding my emblem of power like a vise.”

“It’s sheathed, so you’ll be fine. It’s only a decoration to use in my dances anyway.”

Torii then got back on topic.

“I’ll ask again: What was so great that happened to you?”

“Well, it was like I saw nothing.”

“Huh?”

The idiot watched the light in the sky gradually fade and thin out.

“We share our dreams. We don’t know how far we can go or how it’ll turn out, but we still go for it, you know?”

“It’s true your class has always stood out and it’s grown even more striking of late.”

“Yeah, so me and the others always had our dreams, but I’ve started noticing someone who doesn’t have a dream, doesn’t have anything to enjoy, and doesn’t have anything good happen to her.”

But…

“But she does seem to have something she can work at in the present.”

“Sounds like a machine.”

“Horizon would’ve said the same thing.”

“Hey.” Torii looked at him instead of the light in the sky. “If you’re gonna go back to how you used to be, I’ll kick your ass.”

“That’s not it,” said the idiot. “Right now, I have everything. I have friends who will make my dream come true. They’re preparing to do that now and I haven’t forgotten it. But there is something we don’t have.”

Namely…

“We don’t have ‘nothing’.”

So…

“If I could show something to her, then I could say that my…that ''our'' promises and dreams are the real deal.”

“Have you fallen for this person?”

“Nothing could happen unless I have.”

“True,” agreed Torii. “You have to fall for someone to get things started, but then no one’s going to fall for you.”

“What do you mean? Oh, sorry. I just said the first thing that popped into my mind to sound cool, but you answered seriously. Um, and I’m getting a little hard, but you can just stay like that.”

“Go to hell. And anyway…”

She sighed and wondered if he really understood.

“You share so much with the others, so if you’ve fallen for this girl, then the others will probably notice her…charm? And fall for her as well. And if that girl falls for you, then she’ll also fall for the others. You’re all in this together, right? …I mean, you’re already sharing more than just your dream with Kimi and a few others, right? You’re sharing a way of life, aren’t you?”

So…

“Those who you’ve gone as far as sharing a way of life with will also share their way of life with the girl you’ve fallen for.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t make a girl say it.”

She could only smile bitterly, but the idiot thought for a bit and spoke.

“Oh, I get it! Sis and the others will steal this girl from me! And that’s why you brought up crossdressing earlier, Chuuko! I get it now! I need to become a girl and share everything with them!”

“Hmm. Then should I help you become a girl?”

Torii twisted the idiot with the knife handle and her butt.

While the nudist arched his back and shook violently, Torii sighed and looked into the sky once more.

Darkness had already returned to the sky, but it was still somewhat bright due to the stealth barrier.

“So even when it’s dark, it’s bright.”

Honestly.

“I’ve got so much to think about. I have a feeling I need to make the festival pretty exciting.”

A meeting was held at the Blue Thunder.

In the center, Asama tore off a piece of her rice bread and used her chopsticks to grab some bacon and onion fried with ginger.

She also spoke about something she could only mention here. It included too much speculation for someone from the Asama Shrine.

“I can only speculate, but it seems to me that the Non-Dragon Sword, Hidden Dragons, and Mito’s Cerberus are all related.”

“!”

Mitotsudaira looked to the 3 barking heads on top of her own head. She cut in half one of the hunks of bacon sliced extra thick for her and she placed it between two pieces of bread.

“You mean there’s a connection between this Cerberus and those Hidden Dragons?”

“This is a conflict between the local gods and a stagnation. …Well, um, that’s what I think anyway. Yes, it seems that way.”

“Local gods?” asked a puzzled voice. It came from a sign frame showing Suzu tilting her head while drinking some milk in her bathhouse’s changing room. “They…fight?”

“That’s right. Local gods are something like nameless spirits. They work below the earthly gods who rule over that region and the primary gods of the temples, so they generally leave any conflict to those higher gods.”

But…

“I don’t like saying anything about un-worshiped gods, but those local gods are much closer to the ley lines than the systemized Shinto gods or the other gods. They take the primitive form of spirits, so you could say they’re a lot closer to ether than the gods who were originally deified humans.”

“Heh heh. And what does that mean?”

“They can detect the future through the flow of the ley lines. In the legends, it is those local gods who move out ahead of the gods when they march into battle, but that means they are the guides to the ‘future’. So…”

Asama gave the conclusion of her speculation.

“They must be here to protect the Musashi.”

Naruze had been viewing a drawing thread on her Magie Figur, but now she asked a question with bread in hand.

“Any proof?”

“The stagnation,” said Asama. “I can’t say for sure, but I think a ley line stagnation has followed the Musashi from the Mikawa region.”

…''Just saying a stagnation is following us is probably a little confusing.

Asama doubted the others would understand just from that. After all, the ley lines and stagnations were invisible things. So she opened a sign frame, placed it horizontally so it could not be seen from outside, and placed it in the center of the table.

It displayed a map of the Far East. The area from P.A. Oda’s Kinki to the Kii Peninsula was blank, but…

“I’m seeing a really tall red pillar at Mikawa,” said Naito.

“These are the statistics on the appearance of mysterious phenomena. It’s only the ones IZUMO knows about, though.”

Asama sensed everyone gasp. That was hardly surprising. After all, the pillars only rose finger height from the other areas, but at Mikawa…

…''It rises up to our eye level.

However…

“Tomo, wait a moment.”

“Oh, you noticed, Mito? …What about you, Kimi? Have you noticed?”

“Judge. …It’s not just the size of your pillar that matters. Isn’t that what you meant, Mitotsudaira?”

“No!!”

Mitotsudaira placed her hand on the top of the mysterious phenomena pillar rising to eye level.

“This is a cumulative amount. But some mysterious phenomena like strange noises are instantaneous, while others like hauntings are continuous. So if all of these were instantaneous, the greater numbers would not actually do much damage. And in Mikawa specifically, the Atsuta types should be purifying them with prayer song attacks and with keystone carpet bombings. But if you look at the continuous ones…”

As Mitotsudaira spoke, the height of the pillars began to change.

Asama had changed the display setting. She had removed the low-level or instantaneous mysterious phenomena.

“Clap.”

Hanami spun around as the pillars shrank. Mitotsudaira’s eyebrows rose in a smile as she watched it.

“Yes, that’s right. Even if things seem ominous around Mikawa, it’s hardly a lost cau-…”

She came to an abrupt stop.

The pillars had stopped shrinking and Adele commented on the remaining height.

“More than half of it wasn’t swallowed up?”

“Since the pillar is red, maybe it thought it was tomato juice.”

But Mitotsudaira looked at Asama from beyond the pillar.

“Since when?”

“This is cumulative, remember? Oh, I’ll show just the ones that have continued for more than week. I can also show you the ones that are longer than a month.”

“No, no.”

They all shook their head and P-01s arrived to give them more bread. Adele and the two Technohexen took it and Mitotsudaira modestly asked for more meat.

“Um, I would like a shoulder roast ham steak…”

“1 foot?”

“N-no, of course not. Make it 1 inch.”

''That really is modest,'' thought Asama, but she also asked for something more.

“Do you have any seasonal fruit?”

“Whole or hand-squeezed? For the latter, I grab it on either side like someone’s head and…urah! No, I do not actually say ‘urah’. That was an imaginary voice. Now, what would you like?”

“Um, whole is fine…”

“Judge. That is too bad.”

P-01s’s shoulders drooped and she left. Then everyone sighed. Naito spoke first while looking out the window.

“Asama-chi, I was kind of hoping you would order it ‘urah!’, so now I’m bored.”

“That’s right, Margot. I’m feeling Weiss Techno bored.”

“You’ve turned into such a boring girl, Asama…”

“Is everyone my enemy!? Is everyone here my enemy!?”

“But,” cut in Mitotsudaira. “What does this mean?”

Asama nodded at the question Mitotsudaira asked with lowered eyebrows.

“It looks quite unusual like this, but this accumulation of mysterious phenomena is not all that harmful, so the Shinto organizations are not treating it like a big deal. These ones only lead people astray, confuse morning and evening, or bring rain at unnatural times, so they don’t mess with an entire region and don’t create a hotbed of the monster-type mysterious phenomena.”

Also…

“Mikawa is continuing its policy of clearing out all the people and populating itself with automatons. …There are a lot of mysterious phenomena around New Nagoya Castle, but its ley line reactor is very attractive to the other nations due to the items produced there, inventions developed there, and experiments run there. So with most of the residents living outside the city, the other nations are turning a blind eye to the mysterious phenomena.”

“And Tres España is more or less stationed at Mikawa’s land port, presumably to get at their products,” said Adele as she spread butter on her rice bread. “They claim to be protecting Mikawa’s land port as an intermediary port for Tres Portugal’s trade with Kantou, but they’re probably planning to take over Mikawa in an emergency. …But, Asama-san?”

“What?”

“Tres España, Holland, and England visit Mikawa to trade with Kantou, but do they end up with those giant dragon mysterious phenomena like we did?”

“They have never ended up with any that large.”

Asama responded while opening a sign frame, displaying the trade fleets that had left Mikawa, and showing the number of mysterious phenomena that had occurred within them.

Several red pillars rose, but…

“When I divide it out by time, they have barely any after leaving Mikawa. But when they arrive in another port after leaving, the number rises. Mikawa’s stagnations get into the fleet’s ‘mold’ and reacts when they arrive in a different land. But most of them are tuned while in flight, so it does not lead to an emergency.”

“Then, Tomo, why did we get that Non-God Sword and dragons this time?”

“The Non-God Sword was a stagnation from Aki. Our stagnation was used by the local gods to create the Cerberus.”

“Then,” said Naruze. “What about the Hidden Dragons and Non-Dragon Sword?”

“I think the Hidden Dragons came from a stagnation that pursued the Musashi from Mikawa. Look.”

Asama stood up and displayed a map of the Musashi on the sign frame in the center of the table.

She displayed the ether pathways that started at the Asama Shrine in the center and connected to IZUMO and the other shrines. She also displayed the ether defenses, buffering spell defense barriers, and the divine protections placed inside the ships, individual rooms, and passageways.

“Musashi has very strong defenses against ley line stagnations, partially to preserve the ship itself. At least while inside the stealth barrier, our anti-mysterious phenomena system is on the same level as the K.P.A. Italia capital of Rome, Hexagone Française’s Paris, and the center of England’s London. But…”

“Judge.” Naito nodded. “None of that matters outside the defenses, so the stagnations are drawn to where the defenses aren’t.”

“Right. In Aki’s case, Rome is so perfectly defended that the stagnations tend toward Aki. Aki had not sent yesterday’s theatre ship out in a while, so it was the perfect material for a stagnation to attach to. Similarly…”

Asama hesitated for a moment but said it.

“If the Musashi travels near a stagnation large enough to envelop it, it will attract the stagnation like a bug zapper and that stagnation will stubbornly follow us around. Anything within range of the Musashi’s defenses – so us and the ship’s equipment – will be just fine, but if the stagnation is large enough to envelop all that, we can’t fully purify it.”

“And how did we not notice a stagnation like that?”

“The biggest reason is that it was outside the range of our defenses. But…”

Asama nodded and drew a circle around the Musashi.

“It looks to me like the stagnation is surrounding the Musashi like this. Oh, and the stagnation isn’t inside the circle; the line is the stagnation. Think of it like a balloon full of holes. Everything inside the circle really should be a stagnation, but…”

“Heh heh. You can brag if you want. Tell us the Asama Shrine has erased the stagnation inside the circle and pushed it out to the edges, creating that giant hole.”

“That’s right. Most of the stagnation was already carved away by the Musashi. But…when something happens, the balloon-like film gathers in one spot.”

She gathered the circular line together with her finger.

That formed a stagnation the size of a small ship that directly faced the Musashi.

Naruze sighed.

“So it’s like how scraps of paper don’t look like much, but seem like a lot once you ball them up? Even a thin film can create a dragon when you gather it together.”

“Yes, it’s a common pattern with stagnations. For example, those that cause strange noises in your house or that cause water or rocks to fall from the sky. They’re normally quite thin, but when something happens they gather together all at once and manifest themselves. I’ve never heard of it happening on as large a scale as this, but the Hidden Dragon’s appearance was a lot like that of strange noises. This is just on such a large scale that it should be able to recover very quickly.”

“Then,” said Suzu in the sign frame. “What do…we do?”

“We purify it.”

“Heh heh. Are you going to shoot it!? You’re going to shoot it, aren’t you!? You’re going to shoot like crazy outside the Musashi’s defenses, aren’t you!?”

“No, that wouldn’t work here. Besides, the stagnation had a dragon ‘mold’ this time and, as you could see from the Hidden Dragon flying toward the Kojima Peninsula to recover, the stagnation is like a giant clump. So…”

Everyone nodded and answered in unison:

“You’re going to shoot it?”

“Let’s get our minds off that, okay? What we need to do is…”

At that point, the Blue Thunder’s door opened and someone walked in.

“…‘Musashi’-san?”

“Judge.” The automaton bowed. “At the request of the Student Council and with Principal Sakai’s approval, I have come to probe you about something. Over.”

“Probe?” said Kimi as she lightly struck Asama’s breasts.

Asama raised her right fist, so the idiot sister escaped while shouting, “There’s plenty in there! It was nice and firm!” But that did not matter, so Asama asked a question.

“Do you have a request for the Asama Shrine?”

“I believe you more or less know what this is about, but…it concerns the Gagaku Festival. Over.”

“I see.” Asama nodded. She did more or less know what she had to do. “At the Gagaku Festival, you want me to fully extract the ley line stagnation around the Musashi and then purify it on the theatre ship, don’t you?”

“Musashi” nodded to tell Asama she was correct.

“ ‘Okutama’ examined the previous incident and we have determined that there is most likely an extremely thin ley line stagnation remaining around the Musashi. So this can all be solved by using the Gagaku Festival’s ley line gathering and tuning process to gather and tune the stagnation. Over.”

“Musashi” saw someone raise their hand. It was Mitotsudaira. The Cerberus on her head also raised its front paw and she spoke to “Musashi”.

“What if the gathered stagnation becomes a Non-God Sword or Hidden Dragon?”

“Based on yesterday and today’s cases, it will likely manifest itself using a ‘mold’. So if that happens…”

“Musashi” gave her thoughts based on their cooperation and the records of them defeating the Hidden Dragons.

“I believe all of you will do something about it. Over.”

“Musashi” saw everyone’s mouths spread horizontally. She had intended that as a compliment, but they apparently did not see it that way. It was a rare reaction, so she made sure to record it.

“But,” she began while looking to Asama. “We received a request from the Vice President earlier. It is for you, Asama-sama. Over.”

“Eh? For me? …What is it?”

“Judge. It asks you to take part in the Gagaku Festival. The stage is the closest location to the extracted stagnation, so it would mean a lot for the Asama Shrine Representative to be there. Over.”

“You mean…?”

She looked down a little and seemed hesitant to speak, so “Musashi” spoke instead.

“It can be hastily thrown together, but a position has been opened for you to perform either solo or in a band. You will be given the final performance. Here is your entry sheet.”

“Musashi” opened the divine transmission entry sheet on a sign frame and then tossed it to Asama with a finger.

“Ah,” she said as she caught it and stared at it instead of “Musashi”.

“If you are going to perform in a band, please provide the band name before you submit it. Over.”

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 2B Chapter 18|Chapter 18]]
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 2B Chapter 20|Chapter 20]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Kimitoasamade 2B Chapter 22

2017-04-24T00:34:20Z

68.109.60.150: /* Chapter 22: Namers of a Decisive Place */

==Chapter 22: Namers of a Decisive Place==
[[File:Horizon_Kimi2B_167.jpg|thumb]]
''Me and you

''You and me

''We’re different

''Yet we come together

'''Point Allocation (Circulation)

There was a fair amount of foot traffic in a nighttime long block.

Even though the residential and student districts were closed for the night, the transportation districts were preparing for after dawn and some businesses were busy throughout the night.

Cargo and people occasionally traveled down the underground Okutama long block. Suzu’s student bathhouse was there and there was a plaza in a square depression in front of it. The plaza used the floor of the movable barrier to an elevator lift that was not in use.

Two people were there: Naito and Naruze.

They sat on a bamboo bench bordering the plaza and they were drinking the paper cups of juice they had bought at a nearby vending machine, and…

“Sigh, too bad it’s too late to get some yakiniku, Ga-chan.”

“Don’t worry. That café’s yakitori stand gave us some food for free. …We should have eaten more at the Blue Thunder before going to Suzu’s bathhouse, though.”

The two of them grabbed the bamboo skewers of chicken from the paper bag and then ate the pizza sitting next to them.

The pizza was also from a café stand. It was known as a white pizza, so it used garlic sauce instead of tomato sauce and it did not use much cheese. After being cooked, it had lots of vegetables placed on top and then it was rolled up.

''Maybe we didn’t need the chicken and garlic skewers,'' thought Naruze.

“Being delivery workers sure is convenient at times like this. We can move around at night and people give us discounts on food.”

“You’re right. But I kind of messed up at that pizza stand we heard was so good. I really wish I’d gotten one with tomato sauce.”

“There’s no helping that.” Naruze smiled a little. “We’re near Aki and K.P.A. Italia. Tomatoes are still a New World thing, so when we’re right next to the lead nation of the Catholics who are so anal about the history recreation, the shops are going to go along with that.”

“How naïve,” said a sudden woman’s voice.

And it was from right in front of them.

A woman holding a paper bag stood where no one had been a moment before.

She had wings. She was a 4-winged fallen angel. She gave them a somewhat examining look and Naruze looked up and called her name.

“Marine. …What’s this? Are you working?”

Naito saw Marine shake her head at Naruze’s question.

She looked to them and held up a rolled up pizza.

“I was, um, checking on today’s records at my favorite restaurant.”

She sounded hesitant and the pizza she held up was red. It used tomato sauce.

…''Is that a special service for regulars?

Marine looked at what they held, shook her long chestnut hair, and tilted her head.

“Aren’t you two eating too much? Are you okay?”

“Some of us aren’t old ladies with a slowing metabolism.”

Naito appreciated that Naruze’s attitude never changed and so she asked a question of her own.

“Do you need something?”

“Y-yes,” said Marine as she looked up.

She smiled and seemed to be happy that she had their interest.

“W-will you fight me, Zwei Fräulein?”

“Why?” Naruze immediately added to her question. “We’re ranked below you. We’re #3. Since you’re #2, shouldn’t you be going after Wild Kamelie above you? So why would you target us instead? Y-you’re so mean… Sob, sob. Margot, she’s bullying us. She’s bullying us because we’re the new girls…”

“There, there, Ga-chan. You can cry into my boobs.”

It was incredible how readily she pretended to cry and clung to Naito.

Meanwhile, Marine completely fell for the fake crying.

“U-um, n-no, that wasn’t what I-…”

''She would get taken advantage of so badly if she ran across Heidi,'' thought Naito as Naruze started to press her face into her chest. But…

“Hey, Ga-chan, you had sauce on your mouth before, so did you wipe that off?”

Naruze blushed.

“Well…”

She looked up with her eyes closed, so Naito lowered her own head with both resignation (“Fine, then”) and joy (“Ohhh!”) in her heart.

Naito used her lips and tongue to clean off Naruze’s lips.

“Wow, Ga-chan. You’re really sticky and garlicky.”

“Heh heh. That actually rhymes.”

“Um…”

“Oh, Marine, you’re still here?”

“Judge,” she nodded while placing her feet on the plaza floor. She had been floating until then and that was just a normal action for her.

…''She’s undergone quite a lot of training, hasn’t she?

For the winged races, the moment of takeoff was the most dangerous. They would spread their wings to build up wind, but the force of that would push them back and they would have to hold their ground.

…''So you can’t move.

There were several tricks to freeing them from that motionlessness, but takeoff was still dangerous.

So once they took off, they would keep the wind in their wings and avoid landing for as long as possible.

That was a lot easier said than done and official training was needed to teach their body how to do it on a subconscious level.

…''The #2 spot must be a lot of work.

As Naito thought that and looked her way, Marine spoke.

“I have a clear reason for this fight: Revenge for Almirante…”

“No,” immediately answered Naruze while pulling chicken skin on a skewer from the bag.

“What kind would you like?”

“Eh? I-I don’t eat chicken.”

“What a hopeless woman.” Naruze wrinkled her brow. “Listen. We get to choose if we want to fight or not, but we won’t let you have your revenge either way. Because we’ll be the ones to beat you.”

“Are you serious?”

Naruze did not answer that. She only gave the woman a sharp look.

Marine opened her mouth to say something, but…

“————”

She stopped, took a breath, and gathered strength in her shoulders once more.

Then she gave them a smile and spoke.

“Then I hope you’ll put in a good day’s work tomorrow as well.”

With that, she vanished. She had used the acceleration of her 4 wings, but…

…''She can vanish without producing any noise or wind? How much skill does that take?

Naito’s shoulders drooped as she realized this was one more problem for them to deal with.

“We still have a problem left, don’t we?”

Inside a tatami-floored room, two futons were arranged facing a single futon.

This was Asama’s room inside the Asama Shrine. Three girls lay on the futons, two of which had been brought in for the guests. One of the girls was Kimi who had removed the ribbons from her hair.

“Then how about this? The Giant-Flat-Giants.”

“Rejected! Immediately rejected!” responded Mitotsudaira with a sign frame that already had several ideas jotted down. She raised her eyebrows. “Besides, that would put me in the center, wouldn’t it?”

“Eh!? You’re aware how flat you are!? How wonderful, Mitotsudaira! As a knight, you are truly a picture of flatvalry! I hope spending the night in the Lewd Asama Shrine will give you some dirty dreams in which your king rubs your throat and belly and then lets you mark him!”

“I will dream nothing of the sort!!”

“Now, now.” Asama looked at the ideas she had written on her own sign frame using handwriting conversion. “Coming up with a band name is not easy.”

“Stumped already?”

Asama had to agree with Kimi’s question.

Back in Suzu’s bathhouse, everything had felt like it was going to work out, but…

…''I never thought we’d be stumped at coming up with a name!

It was hard because of how different the 3 of them were. For example…

“Should we go for something in all kanji?”

“Wouldn’t that be a little off from Mitotsudaira’s image?”

“Sorry. And since I’m from Hexagone Française, English wouldn’t really work either…”

That said, French was hard to understand and didn’t seem to fit Asama’s image.

…''But what is my image?

She tried asking.

“What exactly is my image?

“Well, a shrine maiden, black hair…and size. Yes, incredible size. That part’s important.”

“Oh?”

“K-Kimi, go easy on her. Tomo is a shrine maiden, black hair…”

Mitotsudaira looked back to where Asama lay on the futon. She looked between the futon and the girl’s body.

“…And incredible size.”

“That settles it! Our band name is The Leader of Incredible Size and Her Partners!”

“Um,” cut in Mitotsudaira. “I’d really rather not just be a ‘partner’.”

Like that, nothing seemed to fit them all.

In the bathhouse, Asama had learned this did not need to be her first choice, but this was not a choice between her and others; it was a collective choice by the band.

And when she thought about it…

“Doesn’t the word ‘band’ come from the idea of ‘banding together’?”

“Then we’ll be the Giant Band!”

“Can we please get our mind off of breasts!?”

Asama agreed with Mitotsudaira on that one. But Kimi…

“What are you two talking about!? If it makes people laugh, we win!”

“Please spare me your insane logic.”

At any rate, she decided it might be best to combine their images together. Just by lining them up, they could bring out the individuality of all 3 of them.

“Then let’s try stating our image of the person next to us. Kimi will do Mito, Mito will do me, and I will do Kimi.”

“Heh heh. I see how you kept yourself safe there. But it’s not a bad idea. …Let’s do this.”

Asama saw Kimi describe Mitotsudaira with a serious look on her face.

“Canine.”

Mitotsudaira’s eyebrows rose slightly and she opened her mouth while facing Kimi, but Kimi…

“You’re supposed to do Asama, remember?”

“O-oh, that’s right.”

Mitotsudaira’s brow remained somewhat wrinkled as she turned to Asama.

“…Cushion.”

Taking Mitotsudaira’s current emotional state into account, she had clearly held back a lot. So Asama glared at Kimi and spoke on Mitotsudaira’s behalf.

“…Crazy person.”

Everyone hung their heads for 5 seconds until Kimi broke the silence.

“Since Asama goes in the center, our band name will be Crazy Cushion Canine!”

“The alliteration is kind of cute, but I’m not sure that would work.”

“No!” protested Mitotsudaira. “It most certainly would not work!”

“Then,” said Kimi. “Let’s reverse the order and start with Mitotsudaira! Ready, set, go!”

“Eh?”

Mitotsudaira’s eyebrows rose and she looked to Kimi. When Asama gave an approving nod, she glanced over but quickly turned back to Kimi.

“—————”

After some hesitation, she brought a hand to her forehead and answered.

“…Monster.”

Kimi nodded and looked to Asama.

“Boobs sniper.”

“Let’s narrow it down to one trait.”

“Boooobs!”

“You’re incorrigible… And don’t shout that.”

“Boooobs…”

“Whispering it doesn’t change anything, so just stop.”

“Oh, come on,” said Kimi before Asama looked to Mitotsudaira.

…''Now, then.

Mitotsudaira cowered down when the other two girls looked her way.

“I-I am prepared for whatever you might say about me!”

“I’m not planning anything like that…”

At any rate, Asama needed a proper opinion, so she thought about it and gave a serious answer.

“Princess knight.”

“My.” Surprise filled Mitotsudaira’s face. “I never thought you would say that, Tomo.”

“You thought I was going to say something awful, didn’t you!? Didn’t you!?”

But then Kimi counted on her fingers as she went over the words they had come up with.

“Our band name is Monster Boobs Princess Knight! Weirdly, that just sounds like the title of a porn game! Porororrrrn!!”

“Ignoring that weird attempt at a sound affect, that title makes it sound more like Mito is in the lead.”

“Can you not choose me as the lead of a porn game!?” Mitotsudaira lightly slapped one of the futons. “Our images for each other are just awful. Can’t you two come up with something positive? Yes, let’s all give a positive image of each other!”

“Okay,” said Kimi as she looked to Mitotsudaira. “Faithful hound. …That’s a positive image, right?”

“Kh,” groaned Mitotsudaira, but she had set the rules and so she looked to Asama.

“Straitlaced.”

“Good, good.” Asama nodded and turned to Kimi. “Lunatic.”

“Then our band name is the Faithful Hound Straitlaced Lunatics…”

“Wait, wait. That one isn’t getting any complaints?”

“It sounds kind of like a tokusatsu title…”

Kimi stood up and bent forward. She held her right arm down and her left arm up behind her.

“The Faithful Hound Straitlaced Lunatics have arrived!”

Mitotsudaira and Asama applauded.

“If we’re willing to take it that far, it might just work.”

“Really!?” protested Mitotsudaira. “Are you serious!?”

“And why are you two trying to compete with me?” asked Kimi. “If that’s what you want, I’ll take you on! In other words, I rise to the challenge when a threesome presents itself! Know what I mean!?”

“Quiet down,” said Asama. “That should have been enough for you to get it out of your system, so let’s try to take this seriously now. Let’s give a nice image of each other this time. Got that?”

“A-and couldn’t we add ‘girls’ onto the end of it?” suggested Mitotsudaira.

“Faithful Hound Straitlaced Lunatic Girls.”

“That’s way too long!!”

“Calm down, Mito. We’re almost at the exit.”

Asama looked to Kimi.

…''A nice image…

She felt like anything would be the right answer here and yet also the wrong answer, but she did her best.

“W-w-wi-wi-wise.”

“Do you really mean that?”

“O-of course I dooo. Why wouldn’t IIIII?”

“Tomo! Tomo! The wound is still shallow, so don’t force yourself!”

But Kimi turned to Mitotsudaira with a smile.

“Righteous.”

She said it simply and was done.

Mitotsudaira blushed and turned to Asama.

“…”

“L-let’s not blush and fall silent, Mito!”

“Oh, u-um…”

Mitotsudaira looked at Asama with her golden eyes. And…

“Impur-…”

Asama was truly glad Mitotsudaira did not finish saying that. Then they communicated via eye contact.

…''Okay, okay! We can’t follow our usual habit of ending it on a joke!

…''That’s right! I thought it would be best to take this seriously for once!

…''Heh heh heh. The difference between a normal person and an entertainer is whether or not they chicken out like that!

At any rate, Mitotsudaira gave another word.

“Devout.”

''I see,'' thought Asama before lining up the words.

“The Wise Devout Righteous Girls.”

She tried saying it, but they all fell silent for around 10 seconds.

That one was heavy.

And after suffering through that stifling atmosphere…

“I can already imagine what will happen when we announce our band name: the entire theatre will fall silent except for our classmates who will fall out of their seats laughing. Does this mean I’ve been living my life wrong?”

“I will agree it sounds incredibly phony…” said Mitotsudaira.

“Doesn’t it sound a lot like the name of a political campaign team?” asked Kimi.

''Maybe it does,'' thought Asama as she took a breath and gathered strength in her gaze.

“Let’s limit it to pretty words.”

“Only pretty words? That sounds like it would work.”

“What about things used to make things pretty?” asked Kimi.

“That’s fine. As long as it’s a tool of purification or cleaning.”

They all nodded and gave their answers in the following order: Mitotsudaira, Asama, Kimi.

“White.” “Ether.” “Tissue.”

They all fell silent. And after a while…

“White Ether on a Tissue? Is that a doujinshi?”

“Kimi! Kimi! That’s going too far!”

“But I did hear Naruze say that, since ether is energy, it’s useful for metaphors but you can’t use it in a more literal sense. After all, it can become a mysterious phenomenon or even burn you in some cases.”

Asama had a feeling their conversation was drifting off into the late night rules, so she got up.

“Tomo?”

“Oh, I thought I would make us something to eat.”

After all…

“I have a feeling this is going to take a while if we’re taking it seriously.”

Two sets of wings walked along the underground corridor of a wide block at night.

The wings were gold and black. They were Naito and Naruze. They walked side by side, but neither was looking at the other.

Naruze was drawing a storyboard on the Magie Figur by her hands and Naito was listening to music from the Magie Figurs on her ears. Naruze was selecting the lines she wanted from two sketches of busty girls from Suzu’s bathhouse placed three-dimensionally together and Naito was listening to a recording of everyone singing at the bathhouse.

Naruze could hear the music and voices, but…

“Margot?”

Her partner did not respond. Margot was staring forward with her eyebrows somewhat raised. But Naruze smiled a little at how the girl was crossing her arms.

…''She can be oddly manly at times.

But…

“Margot.”

Ever since parting ways with Marine earlier, her partner had been listening to the bath karaoke recording.

…''Bust karaoke! That could work!

She jotted that idea down.

But then she spoke to the girl who looked somehow angry.

“Can you hear me?”

No response. So…

“Sorry about how I snapped back at Marine earlier. But…I couldn’t stand it. She seemed to think we wouldn’t even try to challenge her.”

No response. So…

“Margot.”

No response. So…

“You have sauce on your mouth.”

“Eh? Really?”

She could hear her. But Naruze pulled a handkerchief out regardless.

“Margot, let me see your face.”

“Judge, judge.”

Naruze diverted the handkerchief away from the lips held out toward her.

The handkerchief had been a feint. She used her own lips instead. She placed her teeth on Naito’s lower lip and lightly bit down. Naito trembled in surprise, but she only pulled back a little bit.

She did not move away and that made Naruze happy.

“…”

Naruze then worked at eating the sauce on her partner’s lips.

With her lips around Naito’s lip, she could taste the girl’s flavor.

…''Oh, green onion.

She laughed and so did Naito. Naito was probably tasting her garlic flavor, but as they swapped out their current selves…

“—————”

Naruze grabbed the Magie Figur on Naito’s right ear and placed it on her own left ear.

That allowed them both to listen to everyone’s music and singing with their left ear.

''This is fun,'' thought Naruze. ''I’m getting the sound meant for Margot’s right ear, but I’m listening to it with the same left ear as her.

But while she focused on her ear, her lips were sealed. And there was one thing she could tell:

…''Kimi is a step above everyone else.

That was an expert for you.

But at the same time, Mitotsudaira’s ability to use her voice like a musical instrument was pretty decent.

…''However…

Asama sounded like she was having fun.

At times she got confused, tried too hard, got the lyrics wrong, or screwed up her timing, but she had an even better handle on it each time her turn came around.

''Yes,'' thought Naruze.

Change was good.

It was fun sticking to the usual and being unstoppable, but to have something like ''this'' required change.

Technohexen were a symbol of change. Since ancient times, they had turned iron into gold, turned water into wine, and ignored the laws of all things to turn them into something else. And in doing so, they had made people richer and saved them.

And that was why they had been persecuted by the Catholics who preferred stability and hated change. But…

“Fweh fwah fwoh fwah fweh.”

“Ga-chan, don’t talk while biting my lip.”

''I have to. You ate all the green onion ones earlier.

''I’ll let you have the garlic, so let me have yours.

…''Margot.

She could tell her partner was worrying over something.

She could hear it.

People who they could call their friends were changing in their own unique ways.

The music they each heard in their left ear was like a knock at the door symbolizing the arrival of everyone’s change.

Mitotsudaira was currently singing. Naruze had thought that half-werewolf was only playing at chivalry, but this song made it clear that she was seriously trying to run down that path despite immersing herself in it too much. She could seem to be full of herself, but that was no different from an entertainer.

Someone who did not think highly of herself could never get others to think the same and praise her.

…''I think Kimi said that once.

Meanwhile, it seemed that their king was infatuated with a girl. But…

“————”

''No.

Some aspects of this were not certain, but if it was all “true” and they acted on it, things were going to get interesting. That idiot was like a living embodiment of actions speaking louder than words, so Mitotsudaira and Asama would have some difficult times ahead of them. Even if that idiot placed “her” by his side…

“Nn.”

When Naito embraced Margot, she could tell.

You could do more with people than have them “by your side”. And people had more than one “side”. Just like people had a right and left ear, there were open areas and each one had its own role. So…

…''Could it be?

Naruze thought about Kimi. She did not go out of her way to speak with that girl. If anything, she kept her guard up lest she fall prey to that girl. But…

…''How far into the future is she looking?

''I might be mistaken about this,'' she decided even as she thought about the future and realized she was getting distracted.

“…Nn.”

''I can’t be rude,'' thought Naruze as the flavor left her lips. And then she breathed a heated sigh.

“Delicious.”

“You’re welcome.”

They both laughed, but they did not let go of the music or each other. They were still right in front of each other when Naito spoke.

“…Maybe I’ve been conceited.”

Naito saw her partner close her eyes, leave her smile only on her lips, and open those lips to speak.

“We’ll be fine even if ''that'' happens.”

Then…

“…I’ve never gone on an adventure,” said Naito.

“Don’t worry. Neither have I.”

“…Should I give this my best shot?”

“I’ll be right there with you, so don’t worry.”

“Then,” said Naito. “Let’s beat Marine, kick Wild Kamelie’s butt, and become Edel Brocken testers.”

“Not ‘let’s try to’?”

“It’ll work out. Since we’re together.”

With a “judge”, Naito and Naruze held each other tightly and pressed their right cheeks together.

They used the vibration of each other’s skulls so their right ear could hear the music coming from the Magie Figur on the other’s left ear. And they also heard the other’s pulse from their temple.

“We’re hearing the same thing,” said Naito.

So…

“Let’s reword that. Not ''let’s'' do all that.”

She once more embraced her precious partner as if letting the girl sink into her. And she felt the strength of Naruze accepting it and holding her tighter as well.

Then Naruze nodded and spoke as they rubbed their pulses together.

“We ''can'' do all that. So don’t worry.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 2B Chapter 21|Chapter 21]]
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 2B Chapter 23|Last Chapter]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 5A Chapter 12

2017-04-15T20:57:06Z

68.109.60.150:

==Chapter 12: Racers in the Night Sky==
[[Image:Horizon5A_335.jpg|thumb]]
''How far you can go

''Is determined by how far you wish

'''Point Allocation (Practical Ability)

“The Azuchi might pass through here, you say?”

Night covered a city that stretched north to south with a river to its east.

The city was surrounded by a wall and the rebuilt southern gate bore the name Magdeburg.

On the southern hill of the city, a demonic long-lived woman checked on the status of Magdeburg. She looked out into the eastern night sky, but she finally lightly turned her ghostly transparent legs. She turned from east to south and then west.

“Guericke, if the Azuchi does come through here, they will most likely pass along that line. But will the Azuchi really continue straight to Mouri without resupplying or changing ships within P.A. Oda?”

“Testament. Tomoe Gozen, the observation information from Musashi suggests they have too much cargo too well secured to move it around anytime soon. They would need a large fleet to do so.”

“I see,” said Tomoe Gozen as her shoulders relaxed.

She continued without looking back at the bearded man with metal hemispheres on his hands who stood behind her.

“If they need a fleet equivalent to a quasi-Bahamut Class transport ship, it would indeed be better for them to head straight to Mouri. Understood. Now I can predict Hashiba’s general actions from here on out.”

“Tomoe Gozen… What will Hashiba do?”

“I won’t tell you.”

Guericke’s jaw dropped, but she ignored it and asked a question.

“Have we secured the metal tower to the south?”

“Testament. Tomoe Gozen, the local villagers were avoiding it because they ‘don’t want to catch the perversion’, so we settled on cleaning it, recycling the minerals in the unneeded floors, and delivering those materials.”

“It is a shame, as I had hoped to speak with Rudolf II a little more.” Tomoe Gozen crossed her arms. “Well, whatever. Record the Azuchi as it passes by. That should happen in about an hour.”

“That soon?”

“They already used the Tottori Castle to test the Great Return on the way to Kantou. I’m guessing they’ll use a high-speed warship like the Azuchi to test the reverse path out of Kantou,” she explained. “Listen. Shibata and the others are in the southeast as a diversion. Even if they attack, ignore them and continue observations from the metal tower. For a while, it’s going to be impossible to freely contact Hexagone Française in the west. We need an emergency means of contacting them. Got that? Also…”

“What is it?”

“Only contact Musashi via IZUMO. P.A. Oda will likely restrict all external divine transmissions before long.”

“Can they really place such a largescale restriction on the Shinto infrastructure?”

“P.A. Oda’s primary shrine is the Tsurugi Shrine. They have 1400 years of history, they worship Susanoo and the imperial family, and they are a wartime shrine that uses a sword as their ''shintai''. It is also known as the Great Oda God and the Oda family is descended from its priests. …Do you know what that means? I won’t tell you either way.”

Guericke glared at her, but Tomoe ignored it. However…

“The Tsurugi Shrine is their second largest shrine. The largest is the Kehi Shrine, but that means Shinto has some room for flexibility. Their biggest shrine can dodge responsibility by saying responsibility lies with Tsurugi, so they can temporarily take some extreme actions while still being protected by their largest Shinto group. …The shrine that embraces Susanoo is lawless. Unlike the other, pacifist shrines, they are a threat. And they are superior to the other combat shrines. They will be a troublesome opponent for Musashi.”

She turned toward Guericke.

“Now, then. Musashi proved at Novgorod that they can win. But what matters is not ''that'' you can win, but ''how'' you win. Their current speed of progress does not bode well for the future. Musashi seems to be battling Houjou, but if they cannot produce results here, they will be too late to catch up to the coming events.”

“Yes, Hashiba has already begun their invasion of Mouri and P.A. Oda is beginning to take action regarding Nobunaga’s assassination.”

“That is not all.”

Tomoe pulled a freshly harvested apple from her pocket and tossed it to Guericke. It was a somewhat poorly controlled throw, so he used the hemisphere on his wrist to suck it into his hand.

“This is an apple that survived the Sack, isn’t it?”

“Testament. Stressed fruits and vegetables grow more flavorful. But announcing that in the market is meaningless if you do not put them out for sale and miss your timing. And Mouri and P.A. Oda are already looking at a market far in the future.”

“Far in the future…?”

“I won’t tell you.”

Tomoe laughed, turned her back on Guericke, and opened a ''lernen figur''.

“I will continue planting trees here for a while longer. You…oh, I know. You record what is coming. Most likely, we are going to see some major movements as all of the academies begin summer break. But…”

But…

“Whether ‘assassinating Nobunaga’ can be given as summer homework is entirely up to Musashi. …It does not need to be the Tensho Jingo Conflict, but they need to achieve some kind of results. They need to find a way to drag Mouri or Houjou into it. That is the key to setting the world to motion much more quickly.”

“The Houjou fleet is moving south at uniform velocity. They are maintaining a distance of 22 kilometers. Over.”

Neshinbara crossed his arms as a divine transmission arrived from an operator automaton.

Crossing his arms was entirely meaningless. It simply made him look cool and like a strategist. Placing a hand on his chin was a nice touch and pushing up his glasses really completed the look.

But if he was not actually thinking, then he was no more than an idiot. So he had to think about thinking.

…''The way things are going, the question is how we can approach the Houjou fleet.

He understood they only had to speed up, but doing that would require removing their stealth barrier.

Removing that would allow those light bombs to hit them once more. Also…

“ ‘Ariake’-kun, can you remove the stealth barrier on the southern surface? Just for a moment.”

“Judge. It can be removed for units of 7 seconds. Over.”

“Please do so,” he replied before taking a breath.

A moment later, the southern stealth barrier was removed from the Ariake’s bow. Due to the atmospheric interference, white fog appeared around the large opening in the stealth.

It was created by the temperature difference inside and outside. But…

“Here it comes!”

Dozens of enemy shells immediately flew toward the entire surface of the bow. And…

“It’s those light bombs! It looks like they can be used for shells and not just bombs!”

The stealth barrier returned before they hit, but…

“This is ‘Ariake’ with a report. Those enemy shells were adhesive types. I have determined they will likely remain at the point of contact for about 3 minutes. Over.”

With those light shells attached, they could not open the stealth barrier for 3 minutes. If they did…

…''The entire front surface of the Ariake would turn to light!

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Um, Secretary? Can I ask something real quick?”

'''Novice:''' “Eh? What is it?”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Did you just make a terrible tactical mistake?”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “…I know, right? I mean, we have to open the stealth to speed up.”

'''Vice President:''' “Wait, wait, wait. This is no time for jokes. The Ariake can only head as far south as the border between Edo and Mito territory.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Doesn’t that mean we have less than 40 kilometers left to go? Are we in trouble?”

'''Novice:''' “W-we are not in trouble! I have a plan! So don’t worry, everyone!”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “What kind of plan?”

'''Novice:''' “Judge. I had the perfect plan, but seeing how the enemy reacted there, I realized I need to put a little more work into it. You’ll see the real plan next time, I swear.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “That’s just the excuse of a pathetic author who never actually uploads his work.”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “E-everyone, I know I’m not one to talk, but let’s trust the Secretary a little more! He’s the only one that can take responsibility here!”

'''Novice:''' “That’s a pretty awful way of looking at this!”

Just as Neshinbara said that, Adele’s Raging Beast vanished from view.

“Eh?” said everyone as they heard some rolling metal from the stern.

“Owwwwww!!”

Mitotsudaira saw what had struck Raging Beast bouncing up into the night sky.

She swiftly sent out a silver chain and caught it as shimmering heat continued to rise from it.

“A physical shell…!? Is the Houjou fleet scattering cannon fire!?”

Wind arrived as soon as she asked that. Righteousness had fallen back from the bow. As for why…

“Focus on the shells heading toward important locations on the upper surface!”

The important locations. That meant Houjou was targeting the hatches for the lifts, the entrance shutters, and the transmission pipes below the armor.

They could hear the sound of shells flying in. And physical shells followed those sounds.

“Incoming!”

Sign frames appeared horizontally out in the sky to indicate the predicted paths and points of impact. Then the defense barriers opened.

“—————!”

That steel rain collided with the Ariake from nearly head-on.

The sign frames broke and the defense barriers shattered. It almost sounded like they were being hit by masses of water. They had the defense barriers, but…

…''My ears…

Mitotsudaira’s Loup-Garou hearing briefly trembled and lost their sound.

But her vision still saw it. Up ahead and low overhead, a few shells passed through the multiple layers of defense barriers.

“ ‘Musashi’…!”

'''Musashi:''' “I apologize, but that is the Ariake’s jurisdiction. I will provide calculation support, but I can only tell you to work hard to fully protect us from the cannon fire of a nation’s entire fleet. Over.”

That was exactly right. They had been hit on a smaller scale during the Armada Battle. The Ariake only had so much power and it would be difficult to instantly open barriers when the shells were fired so rapidly and from blind spots.

So the overall result was some direct hits. That was the reality of the situation.

Sounds of impact and scraping could be heard from the rooftop floor below the stealth fog.

''But,'' thought Mitotsudaira. ''The enemy’s ballistic path is too low.'' Like this…

'''Silver Wolf:''' “They are firing level to the top of the Ariake. The shells fly in nearly horizontally, so they should slide and ricochet off like a stone skipping on the water!”

'''Wise Sister:''' “In other words, this is a Flat-Chest Defense!”

''Shut up.'' But a sudden noise and shock rejected Mitotsudaira’s words.

The enemy shells did not slide along the upper surface. Instead of ricocheting…

“A direct hit!? How!?”

The great noise and vibration erased her question.

…''Wh-what does this mean!?

After rolling along in Raging Beast, Adele shook her dizzy head and got back up.

Something raced right by her as she stood up.

It was a shell. A physical one. The Houjou ships located lower than them had fired it in a parabolic arc and it had bounced and slid along the top of the Ariake.

“That was close!”

A shell that flew in horizontally at high speed was worse than one that fell from above. Falling ones would only strike a point, but horizontal ones would hit anything along a line.

And after this one passed her by…

“A direct hit!?”

The gliding shell suddenly and loudly collided with the Ariake’s upper surface.

…''I thought it was sliding!? Was that some kind of spell!?

No. Several more deafening sounds reached her, but…

“They’re so close together…”

That was when Adele figured it out.

“These shells are not sliding! It looked like they were flying horizontally, but they’re catching on the holes from the previous light bombs for a ‘direct hit’! They’re further destroying the holes opened by the light!”

'''Righteousness:''' “Shit. …Sorry!”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Instead of using dirty words, how about an explanation? Oh, but don’t ramble.”

'''Novice:''' “I don’t ramble! I keep things interesting! Listen, Naruze-kun! For one thing-…”

'''Tachibana Wife:''' “Shut up.”

'''Novice:''' “Eek.”

'''Tachibana Wife:''' “To keep it short, I shall explain, Master Muneshige.”

'''Tachibana Husband:''' “Yes. So, Gin-san, you’re going to point out that Houjou is using its two different shell varieties for different purposes to expand the scope of the damage, aren’t you?”

'''Tachibana Wife:''' “So you understand. That’s my Master Muneshige. In that case, no explanation is necessary.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “The end…!!”

'''Righteousness:''' “No, that is not the end!”

“Yoshiaki-sama! Why are you looking away, mon!? Is something funny, mon!?”

“Oh, I was just realizing that girl has found a very nice place for herself.”

“The point is,” explained Yoshiyasu as she set a virtual foothold in midair to face the incoming shells.

'''Righteousness:''' “Houjou has a new strategy that uses the light shells and physical shells for different purposes. It really just means using one before the other, but it’s still an important strategy.”

Do you understand?

'''Righteousness:''' “If they fire the light shells first like they did here, the scars act as hooks for the physical shells. Even if we activate the stealth and force them to fire blind, they know they can expand the damage since those scars will gather their shells.”

'''Hori-ko:''' “And if they fire the physical shells first, they can fire the light shells into the damage they caused so the damage can reach much deeper right away, correct?”

'''Righteousness:''' “And they can also alternate between them to chain those advantages together. …It pains me to admit it, but this must have originally been meant for use against Satomi. Sorry.”

''There’s more than just the Azuchi for me to focus on here,'' thought Yoshiyasu to admonish herself.

…''I guess that crossdresser was right.

That pissed her off, but it also reminded her just how inexperienced she still was, which brought an odd sense of calm. This meant her sister and Yoshiyori were still pushing her forward.

But it was all meaningless if she settled for only that. There was something she had to do now.

'''Righteousness:''' “I’ll intercept the shells! Take care of things back here!”

Neshinbara nodded at Righteousness’s movements. And he measured the enemy’s current position and altitude.

…''This is a problem.

He had of course taken measures against this problem.

More than just approach Houjou, they were pushing Houjou from the sea toward the mountains.

Their direction of approach would pursue them to the southwest instead of simply to the south.

That diagonal shift extended the distance they could move and bought some time before they reached the provisional border.

But that diagonal course meant something else as well.

“Their shellfire will focus on our outer corner…”

Removing their stealth meant those light shells. Not removing it meant a downpour of physical shells. The light of defense barriers was scattering overhead and a shell was passing by next to him.

But sign frames showed the path of the shells.

“…Whoops.”

So he only had to shift a half step aside and turn the other way as the powerful mass flew past.

…''I had to have looked so cool there.

“Did you see that, everyone!?”

'''Uqui:''' “Hey, tear up that armor panel! I might just help you out with my great strength.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “If you were hit by shrapnel, could you open a sign frame? The Schwarz Hexen unit will be there for you!”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Excellent, excellent. The combat expenses just keep piling up…”

'''Hori-ko:''' “Oh? Neshinbara-sama, why are you holding your right hand out in front of you?”

'''Novice:''' “I won’t let this get to me! Yes, a hero must stay strong!”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “Get to work on your plan already.”

“Judge,” replied Neshinbara.

'''Novice:''' “ ‘Musashi’-kun, you’ve been recording data on them, haven’t you? Display all of that for me. I can use that to predict their movements and we might just be able to turn this around.”

A new sign frame appeared from “Musashi”. It displayed…

“The ballistic patterns of the enemy shells and the estimated mobility of the mechanical phoenixes based on the courses they took. …Well done.”

Neshinbara spun around to dodge an incoming shell and let his hands race across his keyboard. He put together a pattern for opening the defense barriers sand sent it to everyone.

“Let’s smash this stagnation and earn a debt of gratitude from Houjou, Mouri…and P.A. Oda.”

“It would seem they have realized the purpose of the Descending Light Bombs.”

Ujinao sensed a change in the formation of troops atop the distant Ariake.

Kotarou nodded and spoke to her.

“The Ariake has removed its upper stealth! They have lined up defense barriers along the front edge! They are forming a wall!”

“That is an incorrect answer.”

As she said that, a sound and the wind blew in from behind.

It was their mechanical phoenix units. She had not approved their use until now because the stealth would block the Descending Light Bombs, but…

“This is the correct answer.”

Two units of 12 produced a total of 24 blasts of acceleration with something hanging from their bellies.

They carried reinforced stone spikes measuring more than 30 meters long and the tips were cut diagonally.

“Show me whether you can prevent these stupas from being erected.”

The members of the mechanical phoenix units did not take a straight-line course.

They gradually ascended for a shallow rise, but even with their feinting and curving trajectories, Musashi had a lot of automatons, meaning their trajectories were certainly being read accurately.

But the same was true of the Association of Indian States. They had developed an idol culture since ancient times, so idol worship had become entrenched there and greatly expanded. Houjou had used an interpretation of that history recreation to develop automatons.

Automaton calculations were used for the mobility and management of Houjou’s fleet and mechanical phoenix units.

“Mechanical phoenix unit to HQ. Provide each of us with further safe trajectories.”

At the commander’s request, a few sign frames opened in the cramped mechanical phoenix cockpits. They overlapped with the sign frames displaying the exterior view to provide a few courses marked by lines.

Not one of them was a simple line. They were ascending paths that readily required intersecting the paths of the others.

But according to the automaton officer in charge…

“We have determined this will be safe in the sense that it exceeds the calculations of the enemy automatons. Be safe.”

The final two words necessitated a certain response.

“Dhanyawaad.”

After expressing their thanks to the gods that gave them this destiny, they flew onward.

Their target was the Ariake’s upper surface. It was already scarred by the Descending Light Bombs and physical shells and they would send their reinforced stone spikes in for further damage.

“The enemy has placed defense barriers forward to block our bombardment. …That is fine for defense, but now those barriers are in the way of their own sniper cannons. They will likely predict our movements and use anti-air cannons beyond the wall. But…”

Shellfire from the Houjou fleet behind them flew out ahead and cleared the way for them.

It shattered the wall of defense barriers prepared atop the Ariake.

The automaton-managed shellfire was accurate and the repeated blasts were opening holes in the wall.

The 12 mechanical phoenixes accelerated through there.

“Send the first unit in! And the second unit…”

The second unit of 12 did not target the Ariake’s upper surface.

They flew toward the Ariake’s invisible bow that only looked like the night sky thanks to the stealth.

“…is already in place.”

Two layers of ultra-high speed stone hammers were launched toward the Ariake.

Everyone on the Ariake’s upper surface saw holes open in the defense barriers in front of them.

The accurate series of shellfire from the Houjou fleet had shattered the line of barriers.

Other than those who had been reinforcing the barriers from behind them…

“Oh, no!”

Everyone had been fortifying the defenses in front of the hatches, ducts, and other important areas. But Houjou’s cannon fire chose to accurately target the open areas instead of them.

Light scattered and holes appeared.

And 12 stone spikes flew toward those holes.

The straight lines of power flew along shallow parabolic arcs and targeted the scars left by the light bombs. Even if they ended up sliding along the upper surface, there were plenty of scars. They would eventually hit one and exacerbate the damage there.

A few of the students cried out as the stone spikes flew by on either side.

“We need additional defense barriers!”

None were forthcoming. The excess barriers that the Ariake could prepare had been sent elsewhere.

“We are defending the front. Over.”

The second unit of mechanical phoenixes fired 12 shots on a direct course for the Ariake’s bow.

They soon met their first obstacle.

“I’ll take the lead when we’re up against Houjou!”

It was Righteousness.

Yoshiyasu tasked herself with destroying 4 of them.

The shots were spread out over a wide area. The gaps between them were more than 50 meters. But…

…''I can do it!

She moved. The blue craft moved forward through space in a tight right curve.

“…!”

She smashed 2 of them along the way.

She then flew in a semicircle back and held her sword in a backhand grip to strike behind her.

“Kh…”

Her entire body’s frame creaked at the quick change of direction. Her left half could not quite keep up, but as long as she understood that…

…''I remember what the engine division people told me before we went to Mogami.

Righteousness’s frame had been reinforced to keep her safe even if she pushed its movements past the limit.

Her schoolmates from the now-destroyed Satomi Academy had done that.

She had to wonder if they were still alive and watching her now, but that was most likely an indulgence for her, not a restraint.

…''I…

She had to do this even without that kind of hope. So…

“—————”

She continued on.

As soon as she felt the wind pass by her back, she was enveloped in a gentle sensation like she had dived into a body of water.

“Kh.”

White fog briefly surrounded her entire body. Immediately afterwards, she saw a stone spike within reach of her sword.

She casually smashed it. And then another one.

“Ohhh!”

Four of the head-on attacks had been destroyed.

After wielding her power, Righteousness twisted her body to negate her momentum.

“Take care of the rest!”

With that, she dropped straight down. Wind whipped at her entire body as she used the action to forcibly rid herself of speed. That avoided a collision with the Ariake and the 8 undestroyed attacks passed by overhead to reach the front of the Ariake.

But just before they did…

“Temporarily removing front stealth barrier and opening front defense barriers. Over.”

The Ariake revealed its front surface and opened defense barriers.

The last-second wall smashed the stone like stone.

The spikes were destroyed.

But the walls of rejection were far from unharmed. Smashing apart and wearing down the spikes scattered an immense quantity of ether light.

The sounds of destruction enveloped the sky and split both the stone and the night.

The noise rang loud, but light glowed within the barriers. The previously-fired light bombs regained their power now that the stealth had been removed.

Ohiroshiki and some others had been removing them using water and they now watched the defense barriers consume the stone spikes.

“Waaaah! They’re coming this way!!”

'''Wise Sister:''' “That’s a pretty nice sound. I think I’ll record it.”

'''Me:''' “Oh, can you send it to me later? I want to use it as a sound effect when I’m sent flying.”

'''Hori-ko:''' “Then I need to do my part and try to hit you even harder.”

'''Asama:''' “Yes, yes, you three. But you need to get to safety over here!”

However, the 12 attacks to the front were just barely stopped. Only 2 or 3 defense barriers remained. Shells soon arrived to destroy those and collide with the front armor, but the Ariake’s armor was thickest on the front. Sparks flew when they hit and Ohiroshiki’s group only had to swing from some ropes.

But…

“The upper surface!”

The 12 stone spikes sliding along the top decelerated near the middle of the Ariake and started tilting so they would stab in.

The tip was cut diagonally and they tilted forward as they scraped along the Ariake’s upper surface.

“…They’re going to pierce us!”

Someone else raised their voice to counter that.

“Bind…Tonbokiri!”

Gin saw Futayo slice the 2 incoming attacks on the far starboard side.

That was well done, but their work was far from over. After all, 10 of them yet remained.

“We will take care of the 4 on the port side!”

Gin immediately summoned an Arcabuz Cruz on either side of herself. The cannons spread like wings and fired repeatedly, piercing the two port-most ones from the side as they flew past.

The sound could not keep up. She only saw the white of sparks and dust as…

…''They were destroyed!

The stone spikes broke in half and seemed to bend back as they pointed toward the sky.

The air collided with the damaged portions which accelerated the destruction. The stone spilled shards and broke apart as if great claws were tearing across it.

But before that destruction finished, the whole stone dropped to the Ariake’s rooftop and contacted it.

“———————”

It could not withstand that.

The outer shell that maintained the spiked shape was already cracked badly enough for the wind to trigger its destruction, so the stone spikes dumped gravel on the Ariake’s rooftop like they were spewing their innards and they ultimately disappeared.

And someone ran alongside the shattered 2 while giving her a glance.

It was Muneshige.

He used his acceleration spell, Racing Toes, to run across the Ariake’s upper surface almost like he was climbing the thin fog.

He closed the distance between himself and the stone spikes ahead of him.

“…!”

The quasi-divine weapon named Kamenuki was a sword-like spear that provided pursuit-type acceleration, so his speed and direction were accurately guided by it.

“One…!”

He shattered one.

''Well done,'' thought Gin just before she saw Muneshige do something in pursuit of the other.

…''Was that…!?

He ran through the air.

On the starboard side, Futayo watched the half-dragon and Narumi work together to smash 3 of the attacks. She then saw movement on the port side.

It was Muneshige.

…''Is he running through the air?

No, he was technically running across the fragments of the destroyed spike.

Instead of simply shattering the first stone spike, he had pierced and split it forward.

He then activated his acceleration spell and used the fragments as footholds to reach the other spike.

''Well done,'' thought Futayo. ''I probably could not do the same,'' she added.

She would provide her own axis of movement.

Muneshige specialized in receiving his opponent’s movements and altering himself to match. So…

“…”

She felt some envy and kind of wanted to try it out herself. And…

…''Oh, no.

Futayo was certain of something.

“I am enjoying this.”

Had she been like this since Magdeburg and at Novgorod?

She belatedly felt grateful to Fukushima who had opposed her and Kimi who had opened her eyes. She began to run.

''I can destroy another one,'' she told herself.

“If this is enough to delight me, I am still terribly inexperienced!”

Futayo cut another one.

With that, a total of 10 spikes had been destroyed on the upper surface.

But that left 2.

“They’re still a threat!!”

Everyone on the Ariake’s upper surface was looking at the back end of the stone spikes, not the front end.

But their gazes were answered by a sharp but heavy noise.

Something happened to the 2 stone spikes.

“…They were deflected!?”

Without a single mistake, the 2 lines of stone were knocked high into the night sky.

There was a single trick behind it: defense barriers.

There were traces of many thin defense barriers placed along their path.

Those barriers had shattered into scattering light. “Ariake” had not made it in time, but someone else had.

“This is ‘Musashi’ within the Ariake. We have confirmed the effectiveness of the defense barriers and have determined our support of the Ariake was successful. Over.”

“That was a close one, ‘Musashi’-sama. Over.”

That voice reverberated through a vast white space. It was the bridge room within Musashino’s bridge-shaped ship’s bridge.

Everyone had opened sign frame consoles and recorded the processing of the previous defense barriers for future reference. Someone moved along the lower area of the hall-shaped bridge.

It was Suzu. She created a model of the Musashi and of the Ariake around it and she turned toward the others.

“…Did that…work?”

“Judge. Excellent work, Suzu-sama. Over,” said “Musashino” while carrying Suzu some tea. “Due to Ariake’s jurisdiction, any remote defense barrier support from Musashi requires sending an approval request, receiving the approval confirmation, confirming the data from outside the Ariake, and more. And the situation this time was even more inconvenient with the stealth active.”

“Musashino” saw Suzu spread her mouth horizontally.

“My apologies.” She bowed. “To put it more briefly, your ‘emergency ultra vires act’ of opening and controlling the defense barriers saved both the Ariake and the Musashi. Over.”

“R-right. If…you say so. But…this.”

Suzu reached for the teacup and checked its temperature with a finger before touching it. After confirming it was cool enough to touch, she picked it up and brought it to her lips.

“Thank you.”

“Judge,” replied “Musashino” with a bow.

Suzu took a sip of the tea and spoke.

“But that means…Neshinbara-kun’s information…was right.”

'''Novice:''' “See!? Did you hear that, everyone!? You’ve got to reassess your opinion of me now!”

'''10ZO:''' “We’re back after changing into new clothes. Um, what’s going on now?”

'''Scarred:''' “Oh, Lady Adele, you’re round today. You haven’t done this since IZUMO, have you?”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “Judge! This is actually my official equipment!”

'''Novice:''' “Listen to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!”

Neshinbara swung both hands while cursing in his heart.

The enemy crafts were already scattering high in the sky ahead of them, but Neshinbara raised his voice.

“Ariake! Ascend!!”

After decelerating using its falling trajectory, Righteousness flew back up to the Ariake’s altitude.

Due to the stealth, the Ariake was not visible from below, but…

“Oh…”

The sky grew distorted.

The great mass of the Ariake was making a rapid ascent.

The Ariake’s stealth barrier was indeed showing the night sky overhead, but as it moved, the thickness of the distorted air shook the sky.

A rectangular portion of the sky shook like the summer stars.

At the same time, the pressure grew wild. Wind dropped down from the Ariake and the empty space that created sucked in the air, producing fog over a wide area around Righteousness.

Rain fell as if to thinly stain the sky.

Within that, Righteousness continued its ascent.

It could not afford to be late. After all, a sign frame appeared alongside its face. The information there suggested exactly what Musashi’s Secretary had said earlier.

“It’s up to Houjou…but depending on how this goes, we might just earn a debt of gratitude from Houjou, Mouri, and P.A. Oda!”

“The Ariake is not stopping its ascent! Its altitude has passed 6…no, 7 kilometers! The lower hatch holding the Musashi must be close to its limit!”

Ujinao nodded at Kotarou’s puzzled voice.

She understood what the Ariake was doing. However…

…''Why ascend here?

If their goal was pursuing the Houjou fleet, they did not have time to ascend.

She could only think of one reason for them to do so.

“Do they not want to receive our shells on their upper surface?”

“Even the mechanical phoenix units will have difficulty securing a safe course at that altitude!”

“Indeed,” agreed Ujinao.

The automatons providing full support to Houjou on this battlefield sent the same prediction as Kotarou.

…''The Ariake has chosen ascent as a means of defense.

That was likely not a mistake, but something still bothered her about it. After all…

“At this rate, Musashi will not trigger the Tensho Jingo Conflict with us.”

“Have they given up on earning a debt of gratitude from Mouri?”

The Azuchi was already passing by in the southern sky behind them.

Musashi no longer had anything to show they had supported Mouri. So…

“We must fall back at full speed to end this-…”

Before she could say “battle”, a sign frame appeared next to Ujinao’s face. It was from the divine transmission automaton.

“Ujinao-sama. We have received a divine transmission from Musashi. She claims to be Musashi’s Vice President.”

“…!?”

''What is this?'' wondered Ujinao.

But if this was some kind of attack via transmission, the automaton inspector would have already intervened.

So Ujinao gave her approval.

“Put her through.”

“Testament,” replied the automaton before the voice from the sign frame changed.

She heard alarms and rushing footsteps.

That was the Musashi.

The alarms echoing within the Ariake provided background noise for the voice.

“Musashi Ariadust Academy Vice President Honda Masazumi has a proposal for Houjou Association of Indian States Odawara Academy Chancellor and Student Council President Houjou Ujinao!”

Namely…

“Musashi wishes to enter a friendly relationship with your academy.”

''That’s ridiculous,'' thought Ujinao. Why were they saying this now?

…''Because they realized they could not pursue us after ascending to preserve their own safety?

It was a terrible plan. Houjou had the overwhelming advantage here. So Ujinao prepared to say that was not possible.

But then a thought occurred to her.

Ariake’s ascent and the Vice President’s proposal were entirely worthless, but…

…''Would Musashi really not understand that?

That question was directed at herself and she quickly came to an answer.

“————”

Ujinao gasped and closed the sign frame.

But not as a rejection. She knew of Musashi’s statement and did not respond.

Because that was…

“The right answer…!”

As soon as she was confident she had made the right decision, Ujinao sensed something.

Her senses told her it was a light.

The video sent to her by the sensors of the Houjou fleet’s ships told her it was definitely a light.

A single line of light had been fired from the Ariake’s upper surface, but…

“Eh…!?” shouted Kotarou. “That wasn’t directed at us. It’s headed high into the sky to the west-southwest.”

From their perspective, that was up and to the left of the Ariake.

However, that was an empty patch of night sky.

“The Asama Shrine Representative fired a shrine maiden blast!!”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 5A Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 5A Chapter 13|Chapter 13]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Kimitoasamade 2A Chapter 9

2017-03-13T01:06:40Z

68.109.60.150: /* Chapter 9: Those who Look Back from Above and Below */

==Chapter 9: Those who Look Back from Above and Below==
[[File:Horizon_Kimi2A_005.jpg|thumb]]
''I haven’t forgotten

''But I still hesitate

''This is my compromise

'''Point Allocation (Teenager)

A silk-like color gradually began to fill the white sky.

The aerial city ship Musashi had three ships on the left and right and two ships in the center. The color came from the setting sun faintly showing through the stealth barrier surrounding the giant city ship.

That sky informed the residents that the afternoon was coming to an end. Girls’ voices came from the ship surrounded by that cream coloration.

First, it was just one. It came from the stairs leading down into the atrium park at the center of the second port ship.

“We’re still in people’s living space, but I like that we can keep the stealth lower when we’re over the ocean. It has to be so solid over land that it all looks pure white. …That may not matter to Kimi, but do you manage the barrier for the Asama Shrine, Tomo?”

The question was asked of a tall black-haired girl.

“Well,” she began while looking into the sky with her green left eye and light brown right eye. “For the barriers, I check over the technical side and manage the spare pool of power, so I don’t get much work on the weaker days like this. But as you said, Mito, the residents of Musashi like this sky and they sometimes request that we search out places that allow for the weaker stealth when we’re taking a coastal route.”

“Oh?” said a dancing girl with long brown hair. She held the black-haired girl’s left arm and looked into the sky with the other two. “Heh heh. This way reduces the stealth fuel cost and sometimes it can be removed altogether. The guests from outside probably like it too.”

Meanwhile, they descended the stairs and the sky grew narrower inside the atrium. The cut-out of cream-colored barrier flowed by and they instead saw the trees down below.

“Now, this is our next destination: Murayama’s central atrium park.”

A girl moved forward while pulling on the black-haired girl’s hand. She had silver hair and a three-headed wolf on her head.

“This is the main destination of today’s date. Right, Tomo?”

Asama came to a stop when she heard Mitotsudaira.

…''Today’s d-date!?

Her heart was filled with unease about the unknown and anxiety about not knowing what to do.

She knew she only had to ask Kimi and Mitotsudaira about anything she did not know, but if she did that…

…''They might decide my date wasn’t up to snuff and refuse to form a band with me.

''So I need to do my best,'' she thought. ''Forcing myself a little bit might show them how passionate I am about this.

“…Yes.”

She took a step forward while tugging on Mitotsudaira who held her left hand and on Kimi who embraced her right arm. She descended the stairs and entered the nature park that reached three floors down and covered two wide blocks.

And…

“Ah.”

A few sign frames appeared around her.

They were security related.

She saw Hanami erasing them all and Kimi smiled bitterly in response. She looked back and forth between Asama and the sign frames.

“You don’t visit places like this often, so your security went off, didn’t it?”

“After the Non-God Sword yesterday, I changed my security settings for densely populated areas. A lot of management privileges end up with me, so while it’s a pain, a lot more has to be checked back over by someone with the proper privileges. Just look.”

She grabbed one sign frame and showed it off.

<Your defense management you created is good for you and good for everyone. You can approve it with your own approach for how you will authorize your settings, you. What will you do from your heart when you see that? (You will authorize it in your own way) (You will not)>

“Is that a zen dialogue or something?”

“No, the IZUMO-made OS just isn’t compatible, but IZUMO tends to keep adding things on without fixing it… Oh, Mito and Kimi. After yesterday, I installed an additional defensive divine protection for you, so check on that when you have time, okay?”

After saying that with a smile, Asama realized something.

…''I-I entered technician mode again!!

Her smile froze on her face, but the Cerberus on Mitotsudaira’s head barked once. She looked toward it and saw three torii-style sign frames above its small heads.

Mitotsudaira smiled bitterly toward the sign frames that opened overhead and besides her face.

“You gave my Cerberus divine protections too?”

“Eh? Oh, yes. It would have been caught by security here and there if I didn’t do anything, so I gave it some as a Mouse after the battle yesterday.”

The divine protection OS had little experience, but it must have been drawn out by Asama’s authorization check. She had made sure it could view Mitotsudaira’s authorization history, but it likely saw Asama as the higher authority.

So Asama quickly sent Mitotsudaira the transfer of authority.

After Mitotsudaira approved it, the sign frames around them and the Cerberus vanished.

“I know the situation, Mito, so you won’t have sign frames appearing all over the place everywhere you go. Even if you go to a Catholic or Protestant facility outside the Asama system, you can set a protection key on your own there, so you can take it wherever you want.”

“Judge.”

Mitotsudaira nodded and the Cerberus barked.

Hanami bowed and Uzy climbed onto Kimi’s head to raise a hand toward the Cerberus.

''What an adorable scene,'' thought Asama, but…

…''I-I just showed off my technical skills again!!

This was frightening. This was definitely the gift…no, the curse of working and advertising for the Asama Shrine for so many years.

As she wondered what to do, Kimi pulled on her arm.

“C’mon.”

Kimi used her chin to gesture ahead toward a food stand.

There was not a long line, but there were always a few people there.

“That’s the ice cream stand we were after. Now, what shall ''I'' get?”

Mitotsudaira pulled on Asama’s hand.

She took a breath in the short line.

Asama also took a breath, but she grew a little tense.

It was not visibly apparent, but Mitotsudaira noticed the change in the hand she held.

Part of it had to do with lining up for a shop like this, but…

“This is your first time eating ice cream, isn’t it?”

“Eh?”

Asama lowered her eyebrows and smiled a little.

“Yes. I missed my chance to eat some a long time ago…and I’ve never had any since.”

“Is that so?” replied Mitotsudaira with a nod.

There was probably more to this. And Asama’s lifestyle had made it clear she was not used to lining up at shops like this. After all….

“Tomo, you don’t carry a wallet, do you?”

When Mitotsudaira brought that up to change the subject, Asama raised her eyebrows and smiled again.

“That’s right… Yes, losing my wallet would be a pain and the bartering stores are owned by Shinto musicians, so I can get by with intermediary substitutions.”

That meant she lived a life completely removed from physical money. Because a wallet was directly linked to status for a noble or merchant, not even the rich would live a wallet-less life. Visibly paying with a stack of cash or pile of coins helped show off their social status.

Asama had a reason for not doing that.

…''As a shrine maiden, she wants to eliminate any obligation to others or anything that could become a source of impurity.

That was of course not the only reason.

After all, she was in a position where she did not have to worry about money.

…''She’s part of a major Shinto shrine and she manages things on the Musashi.

Mitotsudaira used her friend to ponder one part of the world.

Shinto was the sole existence that managed the infrastructure of the entire Far East.

Shinto was an international corporation that supported both the history recreation and the provisional rule.

Mitotsudaira had not really thought about it at the beginning of middle school, but now that she was involved in the Knights League and the Chancellor’s Officers, she understood what that meant.

Shinto was very important to the various nations that resided in the Far East through the provisional rule.

“Mito, is something the matter?”

“No,” she replied while looking to Asama and seeing the usual smile on her face.

Some people who saw that girl might think she did not want for anything.

…''That’s true.

Even Mitotsudaira did not see any real inconvenience in Asama’s lifestyle.

She cooked for herself, but the lunchboxes she made for herself or others like Kimi used ingredients from Musashi and her clothing was not at all worn out.

As for money, she had the costs of her work and a monthly allowance from her father, but since that was “for others”, she would discuss it with her father and there was no real limit to it when it was necessary. Of course, the Asama Shrine was not a merchant, so they did not use money to solve all their problems.

That was how Asama had decided to manage her limitless self.

Mitotsudaira viewed her as refined rather than arrogant.

Also, Asama was not simply given those things.

She had been given a role and she did her work.

She managed the Musashi and she was responsible for Shinto.

She had performed Shinto rituals and managed the Musashi’s divine transmissions and ether pathways since elementary school. The latter often introduced issues without warning, so her everyday life was tied to the Musashi.

Her position as the #2 at the Asama Shrine made her an active worker on the Musashi.

A lot of that was reduced thanks to Hanami, her Mouse, but she sought restraints and rules far more than Mitotsudaira did.

Mitotsudaira was impressed she could waste time with her and Kimi, but…

…''Her father is working hard too.

Mitotsudaira occasionally saw Asama’s father.

He would appear on the mail-order infomercials for the Asama Shrine and speak with an odd intonation.

“And now for today’s f-e-a-t-u-r-e-d i-t-e-m!”

The elementary school children often mimicked it as a joke.

Mitotsudaira wondered how Asama had the time, but since Kimi or the others often helped with the ad filming, her father probably reduced the burden to help his daughter get along with her friends.

Mitotsudaira remembered helping with that filming the other day. She had suddenly found herself reading off the benefits of the Asama Shrine’s spring, but she had felt a year-long free pass to the members-only spring was a bit much for payment.

That said, there was a clear burden on Asama too.

Her mother had already passed away.

Mitotsudaira had seen the woman just once back in elementary school. She had looked like Asama did now, and…

“—————”

''She did have giant breasts. No, maybe that’s true of any mother. Yes, take my mother for exam-…no, I have a feeling she was extraordinary from the beginning. Heh heh. Why am I stretching my back and looking up into the sky? Heh heh, heh heh heh…

“Mito! Mito! Why are you hanging your head!?”

“It’s nothing…”

She raised her head and looked to her friend, but the girl was the same as always.

The usual smile came from the usual height.

It was the same girl who still did not want for anything.

She had a number of burdens and she diligently followed her own rules, but…

“Tomo.”

She had suddenly said she wanted to start a band and now she was here to eat ice cream.

However, Mitotsudaira could not yet say the girl had changed a lot.

Was she trying to change? Or was she just trying this out?

…''Surely she isn’t just trying to deal with some stress.

Mitotsudaira hung her head in her heart, but she still opened her mouth.

She felt certain that Asama wanted to continue her days like normal, but…

…''She wants to perceive it as something else.

So she spoke.

“Do you know how to order ice cream? I can tell you how if necessary.”

…''How to order it!?

''There’s a special way of doing that?'' thought Asama with a gulp.

She hesitated for a second, but she used not lying as a substitution and there was no point in using this to test what qualified as a violation. The girls on her left and right were used to this sort of place, so she asked them.

“How do you order it? Do you have to recite a prayer of receiving!?”

“Heh heh heh. That isn’t necessary, Asama. Listen. I’ll start with the very basics. The thing about ice cream is, it comes as a stick or in a cup. The stick is made nice and hard so it’s perfect for sucking on and the cup is filled with plenty of milky stuff so you can lick it all over. You have to choose one or the other.”

“I get the feeling you’re trying to trick me, Kimi.”

“Oh, c’mon. I’m doing nothing of the sort. Oh, but…”

“What?”

“Judge.” The idiot sister gave her a serious look. “There are also the cones filled with thick white stuff! The round balls are at one end and you grab the cone in your hand, but you have to work quick before the white stuff leaks out of the tip! Well? Interested!? You are, aren’t you!? Yes, Asama, you’re already a slave to ice cream. Feel free to lick it and suck on it as much as you want! Now, imagine this finger is one of the sticks and suck it! Nn, it’s so tasty even doing it to myself! The juices from the lunch you made me are still under the fingernail, so it tastes like roast pork! Like pork! Well!?”

“Mito, my hands are full, so you can punch her for me.”

“Yes! Do it! Punch me kindly like a pig!! Roast!!”

Mitotsudaira answered that carnivorous cry with a refreshing smile and then she nodded.

“My dominant hand is full.”

''You’re going with that?'' thought Asama as the crazy person to her right smiled at her.

“Okay, Asama, are you listening?”

“There’s more?”

“Yes. After all, I only told you the basics. Do you want to hear the real lesson now!?”

“Not really.”

“You do!? Then I’ll have to tell you greatest secret right away!”

“Why?”

Kimi sighed and brought her lips to Asama’s ear.

“You know what?”

Mitotsudaira watched Kimi whisper something to Asama.

…''What is this?

The half-werewolf could not make out what Kimi was saying, but she did pick up a very familiar name.

…''My king?

Their turn for ice cream arrived as she wondered what that was about.

And then Asama suddenly spoke up.

“Um, Mito?”

“Eh? Wh-what is it?”

She looked back and Asama nodded while smiling with the ends of her eyebrows lowered.

“I think I’ll pass on the ice cream…”

“—————”

Mitotsudaira knew what that meant. Since she would not be getting any ice cream, she was leaving things here to Mitotsudaira.

But…

…''What is this?

It was likely related to what Kimi had said, but what had that been?

“Kimi?”

She looked over and saw Kimi apologetically holding out a hand, but she quickly formed a smile with lowered eyebrows.

“Treat meeee.”

“A-are you trying to sponge off of me!?”

Nevertheless, it was their turn, so Mitotsudaira hesitated, but…

…''She must have a reason.

Mitotsudaira had a lot of things like that herself and she had only made it this far from the support, protection, and provocation of Asama and the others.

No matter how small a thing it had been, she would never forget it.

So she faced forward and spoke to the shop owner past the counter.

“Can you put it all in a bucket? We’ll have the chocolate mint, the soy sauce, the caramel, and…what do you recommend?”

“Judge! I recommend the ‘little girl’s handmade honey’ flavor, Mitotsudaira-kun!”

“Why are you here, Ohiroshiki!?”

Mitotsudaira looked forward without stopping the Cerberus from barking atop her head.

…''What is Ohiroshiki doing here?

Ohiroshiki responded while adjusting his eboshi-style chef’s hat, placing his wrists on his hips, and puffing his chest out proudly.

“Of course I’m here. This is a store I am financing! I have complete control over how it is run! After all, ice cream lets me come up with any flavors that come to mind, so it’s just so much fun! And there are lots of little girls! As you can see, there is nothing to complain about.”

“Someone else! I demand someone else serves me! Are you saying this store is affiliated with the Ohiroshiki name!?”

“Heh heh heh.” With practiced motions, Ohiroshiki scooped ice cream into a bucket of waterproof Far Eastern paper. “How do you like those perfect ice cream scooping motions I’ve developed to live up to the little girls’ expectant gazes!? It was worth practicing late into the night with a bucket of iron sand and hurting my wrist, wasn’t it?”

“If all you did was hurt it, you didn’t train anything, did you?”

“Now, now,” he said before Kimi’s voice reached them.

She did not even bother hiding the disinterest in her tone.

“Is anyone else working there?”

“Judge. I generally don’t answer the questions of anyone older than ten because it will make my heart rot, but Suga-san won’t be here until later today.”

“The Vice Chancellor?”

“Judge. The Vice Chancellor must like cute things too because whenever he sees a girl or a couple, he suddenly starts muttering a poem, so he seems to like working here. But his faith is different from mine, so we sometimes end up giving each other looks of scorn.”

“I see…”

While Mitotsudaira felt dumbfounded by this unknown side of the Vice Chancellor, Asama gave a nod of understanding.

…''She must know something.

But Mitotsudaira had her own questions. The Vice Chancellor would be paid a fair amount for his daily expenses and training, but if he was working on top of that…

“Why does the Vice Chancellor work? Is it to fulfill some kind of hobby?”

“Well…” Ohiroshiki seemed to hesitate but then he nodded. “It’s for the future.”

“For the future?”

“Judge.” Ohiroshiki nodded again. “Suga-san’s teacher is wandering around down below, so he’s saving up the funds needed to train as an apprentice down there.”

Asama sensed something special in the term “down below”. After all…

…''That refers to the Far Eastern mainland…

She rarely left the Musashi because of her management of the Musashi and everyone’s contracts. That unmoving earth held a special feeling as the place they were originally meant to live.

Mitotsudaira and Kimi were likely the same.

“But it isn’t easy for a Musashi resident to live down there, is it?”

All the different nations were crammed into the limited space there, moving between nations required undergoing an inspection, there were wars, and there were external enemies such as wild beasts and mysterious phenomena.

But…

…''If you’re training, it makes sense to go somewhere dangerous like that.

Of course, even on the surface, the major roads and water sources were maintained by Shinto shrines and people would be just as safe as on the Musashi if they travelled on the major roads and stayed in the cities along those roads. There were Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples set up as refuges, so a Far Easterner could travel around the Far East in relative peace.

Every nation used the Shinto network and roads for their international trade and divine transmissions, so stable travel was generally possible along those major roads.

But…

…''There are wars based on the history recreation, there are mysterious phenomena, and there are all sorts of restrictions.

The surface was under the provisional rule of the other nations. There were tolls only Far Easterners had to pay and they were often restricted or banned from using certain facilities.

Asama’s position in Shinto allowed her to overcome those restrictions, but…

“The Vice Chancellor has trouble with divine spells, doesn’t he? Having general upper-level authority as a Shinto worker would make him a Shinto technician and make it easier to move to and from the surface.”

“He’s entirely the athletic type,” said Mitotsudaira.

What they had heard here and the fact that he wrote song lyrics suggested he was actually more the literary type, but Asama decided not to look into it. But…

“Our upperclassmen are already thinking about after graduation.”

“Judge,” said Ohiroshiki. “From what I’ve heard, 1st Special Duty Officer Watanabe was taught by the same person as Suga-san, so she’s apparently going down below too.”

This was all new information.

''I see,'' thought Asama as Ohiroshiki handed the Far Eastern paper bucket to Mitotsudaira.

“Anyway, here you go. I’ll throw in some drinks on the house, so make sure you tell all the little girls about this place. Got that? I’m counting on you. Make sure you do it.”

“We’ll search out some anti-elders. A-also, I’ll take one more thing.”

Mitotudaira sighed and took the bucket.

Then she smiled toward Asama.

“There’s a table over there, so let’s go there. Let’s take a break until twilight.”

“Okay.”

Asama nodded back and felt bad for backing out of the ice cream when she had been the one to plan it for their date. So…

“Um, I’ll go make some adjustments to this park and the surroundings using the information torii over there, so go eat the ice cream without me.”

“Heh heh. You can’t eat it, but are you afraid you’ll reach for it when it looks so good as we eat it in front of you?”

“Th-that is not it.”

Asama knew she was trying to help, so she raised her eyebrows toward Kimi.

“I can eat anything if it’s purified first. …I make a point of eating what I want by finding loopholes in my restrictions.”

“So what do you plan to do from now on, Masazumi? We ran into each other by chance, so how about we get something to eat?”

“No, I have an interview for a part-time job and I need to pick up some paperwork for my dad’s job, Augesvarer. Don’t worry about me. Besides, I don’t like feeling indebted to others.”

Masazumi, a black-haired girl in a boy’s uniform, held a paper bag on a terrace. She occasionally twisted her shoulders as if checking how the uniform fit.

“There isn’t any real reason to stay with me.”

“Don’t lie. That interview will be with one of the Provisional Councilors, won’t it?”

“No, it’s with the Musashino elementary school.”

“What?” replied Heidi. “Don’t you want to be a politician? Your dad’s one of the Provisional Councilors, so go make some connections! And then introduce your merchant friends to those happy connections! We can support each other’s futures.”

“Is not even trying to hide your ulterior motive the Musashi way?”

“Maybe,” she said with a smile.

Masazumi did not hesitate to glare at her as she continued on. She was crossing a bridge over an atrium park. To move from the port side of the port ship of Murayama to the central ship of Musashino, the bridge was faster than going around Murayama’s central atrium park.

She walked along the terrace railing and turned back toward Heidi who was following her.

“Don’t you two have work to do?”

“Eh? We are doing work. This is the time for Erimaki’s patrol, so I’m outside and Shiro-kun’s in the office.”

“What do you mean?”

“Um, I’m a mobile relay station. I send-…”

As she explained, a white fox appeared from Heidi’s neck hard point part. It moved up onto her head and raised its front right paw toward Masazumi.

“Oh?”

Confused, Masazumi raised her right hand back and a sign frame appeared in that hand.

It was a vermilion sign frame that displayed the name Marube-ya and an address. Erimaki’s face and the text “Next Year’s Treasurer Candidate” danced around inside it. But…

“Ah.”

The sign frame shattered in her hand.

“Eh?” Heidi spread her mouth horizontally and then added an “Oh.”

She left Erimaki to tilt its head on top of her head.

“Masazumi, you aren’t entirely registered with Musashi’s shrine, are you?”

“Asama recommended it, but it requires periodic payments and I’d run out of money.”

“Is your dad strict?”

“He’ll pay for the bare minimum of clothing, food, and housing, but he tells me to pay for my own tuition and such.”

“That’s pretty normal then.”

“Right?” Masazumi lowered her head. “The people of Musashi are just too good at supporting themselves.”

“Do you have a handheld shrine?”

“I borrow my dad’s when I need one.”

“When is that?”

“Judge.” Masazumi nodded. “When he’s having a meeting at home in the evening, he’ll have me leave for about two hours to eat out and do whatever else. He always asks me to call him before heading back home. And when I do get home, everyone’s about to leave, so I only get a quick glimpse of them.”

“He sounds pretty conservative.”

As Heidi said that, Erimaki looked around atop her head. Sign frames started appearing around the Mouse and Heidi shrunk them down.

“Is Asama-chi assisting you?”

“She’s put together a variable protection that gives me what I need plus what my budget can afford.”

“Yeah, she’ll worry, but she won’t give out any more than absolutely necessary. But next time she calls for you, it’ll really be necessary, so you should probably listen.”

“The heir to the Asama Shrine, huh?”

Masazumi looked up into the sky.

Not even a month had passed since Masazumi had moved from Mikawa to Musashi.

She had originally been in Mikawa.

…''But my mother fell victim to the spiriting away known as the Princess Disappearances.

Her only relative had been her father who had moved to Musashi on his own about ten years before.

Thanks to Lord Motonobu sending everyone away, Mikawa’s central roles had been filled by automatons. That had also prevented her from receiving her name of Honda Masazumi as an inherited name. And that failure had led to her sex change operations being stopped partway through.

…''There wasn’t any more reason to stay in Mikawa.

It had been a month since she had decided to change homes.

She had finally gotten used to her strict father’s personality and way of saying things and she had come to understand that came from the harsh world of the Provisional Council he belonged to. And before that…

“Asama was a lot of help.”

When she had boarded the Musashi, Asama had performed the quarantine, divine transmission, and temporary shrine registration for her.

She had not been able to use the automatic processing and no one else had come to manage her contract because she already had a class to transfer into and one of the Provisional Councilors was her father.

Asama had met her in her shrine maiden uniform, so Masazumi had thought the girl was older than her. She had never expected the girl to be waving at her when she entered the classroom that first time.

It had been more than just a surprise.

The Asama Shrine was the Musashi’s contact point with IZUMO, head of Shinto, so it could be seen as a necessary part of the ship’s functionality.

Asama herself managed all that, so she was on the level of a cabinet minister in politician terms.

As the daughter of a Provisional Councilor, she had been nervous enough knowing in advance someone like that would be in her class, but it was all the worse discovering it was the shrine maiden who had handled her arrival on the ship.

She could tell it had shaken her because no one had laughed at the light gag she had prepared in advance.

…''I eventually need to wipe away that cold silence and scattered applause.

During that initial period, the ones who had acted as intermediaries by showing her around the classroom and introducing her to the class had been Asama, Augesvarer, the Aoi Siblings, Naito…

…''No, maybe I should say it was all of them.

Thanks to that, she was now in a position where either one of them felt comfortable asking for help if something happened. That tended to be whether to go along with the Aoi idiot’s ideas and she always declined, but they would all smile when she brought up rules and laws to explain her decision.

They would just say “How refreshing…” and she was not quite sure how to deal with it.

But now that she thought about it, Asama was on the Public Morals Committee and she was the #2 of the Asama Shrine, so she tended to join Masazumi on the supervision side of things.

It was a strange place.

If it just had some stupid people, then it would just be a stupid place, but when there were people with actual authority and responsibilities there too, she could only describe it as chaotic.

…''Honestly.

She was still bewildered by the Musashi’s atmosphere.

“Augesvarer,” she said while crossing the bridge over the atrium park. “I think the class’s sense of distance is very strange.”

As she spoke, she faced the atrium park rather than the merchant.

Down below, there were three people walking in the nature park dyed in the colors of evening.

“Huh? That’s Asama-chi, Mito, and Kimi-chan. This smells lucrative. Oh, but what’s this?”

“What’s what?”

“Judge.” Augesvarer continued watching the three down below while following Masazumi. “I thought Asama-chi couldn’t eat ice cream? Did she find some kind of excuse or interpretation?”

“Because of a substitution?”

“No, not that.”

Augesvarer held up her right palm while walking alongside Masazumi.

Masazumi knew what that meant, so…

“I don’t have any money.”

“Don’t you want some information? It’s related to an important part of Asama-chi’s past.”

“Then I’ll choose not to ask as a sign of trust I can use in some future negotiations.”

“You are the worst.”

The merchant spread her mouth horizontally, but Masazumi sped up her pace toward the interview. Down below, Asama stood in front of a park information torii and opened a sign frame. She may have been adjusting something.

The Aoi Sister and Mitotsudaira stood a little away. They were eating ice cream from a bucket using wafer spoons, but Asama showed no sign of eating any. And it seemed to be more than just being too busy with whatever she was working on.

“There’s a reason for that, isn’t there? I don’t know much about Asama, but she must have promised someone she wouldn’t eat ice cream.”

“Who do you think it was with?”

“One of the Aoi Siblings, if not both. A month was enough time to figure out who she’s closest with.”

Even if this was Asama, the #2 of the Asama Shrine…

“It’s strange that she would be keeping a promise not to eat ice cream.”

“I…see. So that’s what happened.”

Mitotsudaira looked at Asama’s somewhat distant back while Kimi nodded.

Asama was going through all the privileged settings on the information torii and she did not seem able to hear what the other two were saying. That was not exactly why, but Kimi smiled a little and spoke.

“Whenever I think she’s forgotten something so she can be more carefree, she always gets so serious in the very end. Even if I hadn’t said anything, I bet she would have backed out of eating it when it came down to it.”

“That’s just who Tomo is. But I had no idea she promised that.”

“It was less of a promise and more of a unilateral announcement,” said Kimi. “That’s probably why it hasn’t turned out like her substitution restrictions.”

She looked up into the evening colors of the stealth barrier sky.

“Long ago, a stupid boy invited a serious girl to a festival. But the serious girl rejected the invitation because she had to help with the festival. Even so, the boy found the girl at the end of the festival and wandered around the festival with her. But…”

“Most of the stands had already closed?”

“Judge.” Kimi smiled bitterly. “But luckily, an ice cream stand was still open and they took a break there. However, the girl was rich, but she had no change with her. And since it was something she had never eaten before, she decided not to get any. So the boy bought some for her as well and more or less forced her to take it, but…”

“What happened?”

“The girl wasn’t used to it and the ice cream fell right out of the cone.”

“————”

Mitotsudaira fell silent and Kimi smiled over at her.

“It could easily have looked like she tried to refuse, had it forced onto her, and threw it away, so the girl desperately apologized. But the boy saw things a little differently.”

“Differently?”

The “boy” she knew would never allow something like that. So…

“Just what ''awful thing'' did he do?”

“It’s simple. He forced the girl to take his ice cream…and he tried to eat the ice cream that had fallen to the ground. He said it would be fine, since it would have been purified if it fell from her hands.”

''He really hasn’t changed,'' thought Mitotsudaira, but if she accepted Kimi’s story at face value, there was a contradiction. After all…

“Tomo has never eaten ice cream, right? Then what happened to the new ice cream he made her take? Who ate that?”

“A clever girl ate it. After all, the girl stopped the boy from eating the ice cream off the ground and she refused to eat the ice cream she had when he didn’t have any. …So a clever girl saw through all that and settled the issue by eating the ice cream no one could eat. Oh, I forgot to mention it, but because that girl had decided not to buy her own ice cream, the boy had treated everyone there to ice cream.”

''She hasn’t changed either,'' thought Mitotsudaira, but Kimi sighed and continued.

“The boy asked the girl to treat him to ice cream next time and to buy some for herself at the same time. The girl replied by saying she would refrain from eating ice cream until then.”

Kimi gave Asama’s distant back an exasperated look.

“It isn’t something she would normally eat, so she never had a good chance, everyone grew up, and the promise was never resolved. And the girl is probably hesitant to bring it up after all this time because he might have forgotten.”

“I doubt he’s forgotten.”

“Heh heh. True. That’s why you keep glancing over at your king from your path to knighthood and get so angry when you wonder if he’s forgotten. …And that anger comes from the fact that you really don’t think he’s forgotten.”

But…

“Any guess I make about what’s going on in that girl’s mind is no better than fortune-telling. But just as I thought she might have changed recently, it turns out she hasn’t at all and that’s just lovely. After all…”

After all…

“I also doubt that boy has forgotten.”

“I see.” Mitotsudaira nodded as the Cerberus lowered its heads a little on her head. “Inviting her here was a mistake.”

“Heh heh. If I thought that, I would have stopped it. This was a good thing. We’re all changing, so it’s good to figure out what’s holding us back and what we should protect. It’s far better than realizing much later that you haven’t changed at all.”

“Those are the words of someone who believes change is a good thing, you know?”

Change was not necessarily “good”. Mitotsudaira knew that after her wild past.

“You can change in a bad way too.”

“Oh, dear. Are you trying to keep that excellent ending all to yourself, Miss Knight?”

Kimi glanced over at her and placed a hand on her mouth.

“Transforming a bad change into good fortune is one form of purification in Shinto. If you purify a corpse or impure blood, they can be reborn as a new god. And if you store a corpse or impure objects as your god tells you, they can change into gold bars and other treasures before you know it. …Are you not going to tell anyone else how a wild wolf became a knight?”

“Not – a – chance.”

That was the relationship between a king and a knight. Others had nothing to do with it and it would only be a story to anyone but a knight.

…''And in my case…

It had not remained bad.

As if to say they would not let that happen, someone had dragged her back and everyone had supported her.

In that case…

“This here must be a case of give-and-take as well.”

“Heh heh heh. You need to at least let your eyes sparkle like a dog as you shout ‘and this time, it’s our turn to support her!’ ”

“I have not returned that far. …After all, I have yet to fulfill my duty as a knight.”

“Judge. That’s right. You still haven’t rolled onto our back so he can rub your belly, let him brush your hair, or sat down so he can feed you.”

“I am not a dog.”

The Cerberus on her head barked as she said that and then Asama came back.

Her step was light and the weights Mitotsudaira had groped that morning were bouncing.

…''Oh, they move left and right more than I would have thought.

Mitotsudaira felt like she had seen a lot of vertical bouncing among the Far Eastern students, but now that she was focusing on it thanks to that morning…

…''Not many people can pull off that horizontal bouncing as well.

She wondered if Asama was using the movable range of the hard points on the sides of her chest. Mitotsudaira herself did not perform much maintenance on that, but…

“Tomo, how often do you perform maintenance on your chest hard points?”

“Eh? Mito, do you want to join the hard point leasing service the shrine offers? You get to exchange them for the latest Shirasago model every three months.”

“Exchange them? Every three months?”

“Yes. They get worn out so quickly even with maintenance. And since I have work to do, I’m extra careful and get new ones every two months. You swap yours out for the top model every half year, right? Do you put them through a lot of wear and tear in your knight training?”

''I can’t tell her,'' thought Mitotsudaira.

…''I can’t tell her I only get new ones for a tax credit, not because they get worn out.

She recalled that her mother got new ones quite frequently. As a child, she had once asked how to get breasts as big as her mother’s:

“Heh heh. If you put motors in the hard points so they can do a ‘press together and lift’ exercise, you can make someone very happy.”

“How does that make them happy?”

“Testament. It nearly brings your father to tears. Yes, and I just added in that exercise to make your father happy, so I think I’ll go test it out.”

For a while afterwards, she had heard her father screaming from the farm-management shed.

…''What in the world was my mother doing in the middle of the day? And father, please put up more of a fight…no, I guess that wouldn’t be possible…

However, lamenting the reality of their uneven society would get her nowhere. ''Change. Yes, I need to believe change is for the best and continue with those “press together and lift” exercises.

And…

“Um, Tomo?”

“Eh?”

She knew about the ice cream now, so she thought about telling Asama. But…

“Asama, Mitotsudaira wants to know why you won’t eat ice cream.”

…''Eh?

Kimi had already told her most of it, so why would Kimi ask to have her told again?

A look of confusion came to Asama as she arrived in front of them.

She seemed to hesitate a bit, but then she smiled with the ends of her eyebrows lowered.

“Well…”

It was not good for a Shinto shrine maiden to not know what to say. Asama would know that, so after her initial hesitation, she spoke clearly.

“It wasn’t really a promise, but something happened a long time ago.”

Namely…

“My clumsiness kept me from eating ice cream and that was something someone had bought for me…”

Asama looked Mitotsudaira in the eye.

She took a breath and seemed to entrust her words to the other girl.

“So I thought I could buy some for him next time…but I don’t eat ice cream at the shrine and it just never really happened.”

“Tomo?”

The words were different, but it was the same story Kimi had told.

But Asama made it sound so impersonal.

“You’re just like me,” said Mitotsudaira.

“Eh?”

Asama responded with confusion, but that gave Mitotsudaira a thought.

…''That settles it.

Asama tended to look after others. She was a shrine maiden, she came from a well-off family, she was tall, and everyone had always relied on her like she was the oldest.

She was aware of all that and she tried to make sure she did not worry anyone else.

That made her blunt and impersonal when it came to herself, so…

…''This isn’t normal.

Normally, she would not have mentioned something from the past that worried her. She would have avoided the issue by saying everything was fine and Mitotsudaira did not need to worry.

Especially when it was a memory from the past that Mitotsudaira did not share.

That was different.

She was different from normal.

She had talked about it.

And Mitotsudaira had noticed this was not the usual Asama.

So…

“Tomo.”

Asama had been confused when Mitotsudaira had pointed out she was different from normal.

It was a strange series of events.

Asama had likely expected Mitotsudaira would respond with an impersonal “Is that so?” and treat it like it was unimportant, but…

“It’s okay.”

She understood why Kimi had told her about it ahead of time.

That had allowed her to see ''her own past'' in that story.

And that had allowed her to not respond with an impersonal “Is that so?”

''Honestly.

''Those siblings are so difficult to deal with. You think they’ve set up some kind of roundabout trap, but then they catch you by surprise and you realize it all had a meaning. I should really thank Kimi right now, but…

“————”

The idiot sister was giving her a serious look while shaking her breasts horizontally and Uzy held up a sign frame that said “new ones every two months.”

…'' Do I want to punch her because I’m lacking in humanity? Is that it?

But the one she needed to speak to now was Asama.

“Then the two of us can eat this ice cream to help you keep that very, very important promise from your past?”

“Eh? Oh, um, no…but, well, uh, I guess so.”

Seeing Asama blush and grow flustered was a rare sight. What in the world ever happened to being impersonal?

But…

“Tomo, this is an artifact that will protect your past.”

Mitotsudaira handed Asama a wrapped item she held next to the bucket.

“That ice cream stand sold crepes too. It has cream and fruit inside and you’ve never had anything like it before, have you?”

“…Ah.”

Asama’s eyes briefly widened as she took it.

“Ah,” she said again. “It’s warm.”

“It was only just made.”

“That’s right.” Kimi moved next to Asama and grabbed her arm. “We couldn’t take your ice cream virginity, but we’ll be taking your crepe virginity.”

“Eh? But, um, ‘take’?”

“Ohiroshiki added it on as an extra, so there’s just the one.” Mitotsudaira narrowed her eyes to urge the shrine maiden on. “Now, how about we go to Suzu’s bathhouse? And how about you take the first bite on the way? We can feed it to you since your hands are full. Hesitate too much and this opportunity might never come again, so go ahead and take that tastiest bite.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 2A Glossary|Glossary]]
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 2A Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 5A Chapter 9

2017-03-12T04:44:35Z

68.109.60.150: /* Chapter 9: Challengers of a Remodeled Place */

==Chapter 9: Challengers of a Remodeled Place==
[[Image:Horizon5A_251.jpg|thumb]]
''All of a sudden

''What should have been fun

''Was a pain

'''Point Allocation (Student Life)

“Okay, get your butts moving! There’s danger in the air! Replenish the shells to make sure we can leave at any moment! If we get caught by the Azuchi this time, we need to be able to make them cry!”

The engine division chief’s voice reverberated across Okutama’s fore deck.

“Everyone, begin the night shift!!”

“Judge!!”

The Ariake was still full of motion even after nightfall.

The first port and starboard ships of Shinagawa and Asakusa were loaded with cargo and the surface derricks were lit up in preparation to transport the wooden containers that would pile up at night.

The second port and starboard ships of Tama and Murayama primarily contained diplomatic buildings and shopping districts. Other than the largescale ports that stuck out like wings, the lights were lowered to a level that only illuminated the crucial locations.

The third port and starboard ships of Takao and Oume were mostly residential and the streets and homes had their lights on for the people heading home from work or about to head out for work.

The front and back central ships of Musashino and Okutama were much the same.

Those two ships were primarily student housing and administrative buildings, so the lights were on but kept low enough to not disturb the night. And those lights filled the academy at the back of Okutama as well as the houses and streets.

That was Musashi Ariadust Academy.

The two school buildings, one in front and one in back, had occasional lights on in the hallways and classrooms and people were moving around within them even at night.

They were remodeling the interior.

“Hey, Crossunite, this is a hook for the ceiling plumbing. Can I throw it up to you? …Judge. Now, Naruze, Naito, and Urquiaga, is the package for me still not here?”

The Student Council Room at the center of the front school building’s 3rd floor was working through the night.

Someone inside was walking to and fro and looking up and down with design plans on a sign frame.

“Masazumi, calm down a little. You told us to finish the maintenance here before we left, but you’re still wandering restlessly around. How about sitting down and actually getting the butt of your track suit dirty?”

That comment came from the track suit-wearing Weiss Hexen delivering some rolled-up paper through the window. And she spoke to the others inside.

“Naomasa is taking the big stuff to the lift down below. Adele and…someone else go grab it.”

“Judge! How about you, Satomi Student Council President?”

“Judge. Cutting string and tying up the packages here isn’t really helping anyone. I’ll go.”

“Wait,” said Noriki as he removed the packaging from a new bookcase. “Satomi Student Council President. You are good at cutting string and arranging the packages, so you stay there.”

“…Are you saying I had a hidden talent?”

“We can understand even if you don’t say it, so don’t bother. Yes, and tie up those newspapers.”

Adele tilted her head at all this.

“So, um, who am I supposed to go with then?”

“Futayo is training with the Tachibana Couple up top… Is the Aoi idiot not here?”

“Heh heh. He went to say hi to Asama Papa as thanks for getting him released from the guard station this morning.”

That was Kimi. She and Horizon (who was wearing a helmet) were carrying desk drawers out into the hallway and she suddenly turned toward Adele.

“Suzu is working at the bathhouse. …So would you like me to go with you, Adele?”

“I will accompany you two,” added Horizon. “My gravitational control is sure to come in handy.”

“Take care of it,” said Masazumi to the three girls just before Kimi pulled on Adele’s hand and hopped out the window.

And a voice reached Masazumi from below the window and above the courtyard.

“Eh!? Ah! Kimi-san! Hwaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!”

Horizon watched the voice go, gave a nod, and then hopped out the window herself. Another yell from below:

“Eh!? Ah! Vicereine Horizon!? Owaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!”

“Nice one! That upright falling pose will give you a nice landing, Horizon! You should try a drill spin next time!”

“My initial speed would likely be the key to that. I will give it my best shot.”

As the voices continued, Masazumi noticed Ookubo standing by the door and staring blankly inside.

“Oh? Is something the matter, Ookubo?”

“Um, uh, did someone just…? And Vicereine Horizon too? Um…”

“They win if you react. I recently realized those are the rules of the game. …Oh, are those the documents from the engine division? I’ll have Tsukinowa scan them, so sit in the corner and wait.”

Just as Masazumi gave those instructions, a sign frame opened next to her face.

''What could this be?'' wondered Masazumi as she looked over.

'''Gold Mar:''' “Um, Seijun, the Asama Shrine has some charms for placing on pipes. They say to go pick them up since they’re important.”

'''Asama:''' “They’re to negate the wind during combat. If you can’t stop by, should I bring them there?”

“Well,” hesitated Masazumi.

“No need,” said Naruze who was about to take off outside the window.

She brought her feather broom alongside the windowsill.

“This isn’t your first time riding one, right? I’ll take you to the Asama Shrine.”

“How will I get back?”

“Wait a bit and Urquiaga will be along.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Oh, that’s right.”

“What does that mean?” wondered Masazumi.

Heidi looked up from where she was measuring out space under the floor and she placed a hand on her cheek.

“That would be because Narumi-san is working as a shrine maiden trainee starting today.”

“I’m not sure if that’s surprising or exactly what I would have expected…”

Masazumi stepped onto the windowsill and leaned outside.

“Um, Vice President?” asked Ookubo behind her.

“I’ll be taking a quick trip to the Asama Shrine. Leave the documents-…no, I’ll take them with me. I’ll probably have some down time waiting for my ride back. …What’s that look for?”

“Nothing… See you later.”

“Judge,” said Masazumi as she sat on the back of the seat on Naruze’s broom.

The wind outside was the wind of the Ariake. It smelled of oil and steel.

In the courtyard below, Neshinbara was writing on a hanging banner. With all the official events around this time, they probably had to hold the hobby events at the same time.

As Masazumi wondered what the “Association of Wholesome Bachelors” was about, Naruze tilted her broom.

“Okay, let’s get going.”

Their bodies hopped upwards before she even finished speaking.

They flew into the Okutama sky.

Technohexen flight was achieved using speed.

Naruze’s initial speed was so great that she instantly arrived near the Ariake’s ceiling even with Masazumi along for the ride. She looked down at Musashi’s nightscape, but once she reached the top of her parabolic arc, she gradually slowed the broom.

The wind was only fast enough to gently stroke her cheeks.

…''That should do it.

One’s flight speed felt very different to a normal person versus someone who was accustomed to it. When Naruze thought they were moving slow enough to speak, others tended not to agree. That was why she lowered her broom’s output until she felt they could whisper.

“Okay, Masazumi, I’ll be taking you to the Asama Shrine, but do you have something to say first?”

This was a bit of kindness.

“I’m sure you plan on striking at Azuchi and Houjou, but you have something else to worry about too, don’t you? …That’s why you’re riding on my broom right now. Or am I wrong?”

“No, you’re right.”

Masazumi had leaned forward and half clung to the broom behind Naruze, so she sat up now.

“That part’s the thruster, so clinging to it is dangerous.”

“I just wish there was something to hold onto. …But anyway.” Masazumi adjusted her track suit’s collar and sighed. “I did want a bit of a change of pace and there’s nothing wrong with holding a meeting for that, right?”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “So you were planning a war as a change of pace! That’s our Vice President!”

'''Unturning:''' “So the rumors were accurate…”

'''Uqui:''' “What do you think, Narumi? Not growing accustomed to it can be dangerous.”

'''10ZO:''' “Uqui-dono, Masazumi-dono did not develop into this kind of person because she wanted to…”

'''Marube-ya:''' “But the life you live shows what kind of person you are!!”

“Someone please reject that premise.”

“I don’t think anyone can,” said Naruze. “More importantly, you haven’t been eating much, have you? Asama asked the Chancellor to deliver an apple pie, so if holding a remote meeting here won’t cheer you up, why not head there right away?”

“No, um.” Masazumi opened a sign frame. “There are some things I don’t like talking about with all that commotion going on. …I doubt we’ll have any more spies like the Sanada ones, but I still don’t like it.”

“You mean you’re more comfortable when it’s just between us?”

Not even Naruze knew if her quiet laugh was bitter or self-deprecating, but then she heard Masazumi speak.

“But I think all of you are turning into one of the greatest forces in the Far East. Politically, at least.”

“Say that when I’m with Margot. …Besides, those P.A. Oda Edel Brocken testers picked a fight with us at Novgorod. Our rank can change at a moment’s notice, so we can’t let our guard down.”

Naruze said “oh” and added something more.

“I’m not saying what you said upset me.”

Hearing that, Masazumi initially gave her a casual look but finally smiled a little.

“Don’t worry.”

''I shouldn’t have said that,'' thought Naruze while feeling regret from the bottom of her heart.

“What’s that ‘I know that’ look for?”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Masazumi gave a smile void of displeasure, adjusted her position on the broom, and inhaled. “Hey, are you listening, Class 3-Plum Chancellor’s Officers and Student Council? To continue from this morning, I would like to look a bit ahead and discuss our future policy as Musashi. This is separate from the battle with Azuchi or Houjou that is sure to happen today. I want to check on a small problem that Musashi faces in the near future.”

Namely…

“We haven’t finished our official school events.”

“The academy rules prioritize school activities over politics and war. I want to do something about this before the Testament Union says something about it and turns it into a political issue.”

As Masazumi spoke, she sensed the empty air below her legs dangling from the broom.

…''I really have gotten used to life here.

With that thought, she continued.

“Now, let’s start with the current situation.”

She opened a sign frame that displayed a schedule. They were currently entering the latter half of July, but…

'''Vice President:''' “This would normally be when the end-of-term exams are returned, but we only just barely finished our midterm exams on the way back.”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “Yeah, that was pretty awful.”

'''Vice President:''' “There’s no helping it. The Testament Union was pointing to the academy rules and threatening to punish us if we continued engaging in war without functioning as an academy.”

'''Novice:''' “And thanks to that, we’re working through our 1st term events, right?”

“Right,” responded Masazumi.

'''Vice President:''' “We don’t have to worry about the Spring School Festival because we held that with England, but we haven’t done the Gagaku Festival that should have been held at Aki. We’ll be able to use the school building this week, so we can work through the health examination and other events that kind of fell by the wayside with the Battle of Mikawa. That way the Testament Union can’t place an Event Stop on us.”

'''Bell:''' “Event…Stop?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “An Event Stop!! Heh heh. I think we all know what an Event Stop is!<ref>The way she writes Event Stop can also be interpreted as Sumo Referee’s Sperm</ref> Sumo stomp!! In other words, because the academy hasn’t completed its events, we can’t be students. So all our political, wartime, and other activities with other nations will be stopped with an Event Stop!”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “I’m having a hard time figuring out if you’re giving a serious answer or not!!”

'''Asama:''' “It actually all fits with the correct interpretation.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “And what would the incorrect interpretation be?”

'''Asama:''' “Eh? U-um, I don’t knowwwww. I really dooooon’t.”

'''Novice:''' “To get back on topic, an Event Stop is an effective defensive measure for small nations. While they’re being attacked, they can stall their official events and demand a ceasefire ‘to finish their official events’ if they need to. …''Of course, if they do that, the Testament Union will strip them of their rights as an academy.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Besides, if they use their events as a shield like that, the Testament Union will intervene as soon as they’re done and dismantle the academy’s leadership.”

'''Bell:''' “Will that…happen to…us too?”

'''Vice President:''' “We’re completing our events to make sure it doesn’t.”

''This is a unique aspect of the academy rules,'' thought Masazumi. This rule had been created by the provisional rule, but while it meant you did not qualify as human if you were not a student, it also meant that the students had to remain students.

The large nations would manage their schedule so they could progress through their history recreation while also completing their official events.

The European Tsirhc Catholics and the Kantou nations had plenty of winter festivals and celebrations, so scheduling could be difficult but they only had to check on their progress periodically. Conversely, the Protestants had few celebrations, but…

…''It’s apparently a really big deal if they carelessly forget or put off an event…

Did that mean they needed to make it at least somewhat habitual? However…

'''Vice President:''' “The school trip is the real problem. I had originally wanted to hold it immediately after Magdeburg, but we lost our opportunity. That event and its preparations are a lot of work.”

'''Righteousness:''' “There’s nothing I can do about that, 3rd years.”

'''Asama:''' “Oh, you probably don’t know, Yoshy-chan, but the Musashi flies near where the school trip is being held, so you’re doomed to take part too.”

'''Righteousness:''' “I don’t like the way you phrased that!!”

'''Vice President:''' “Well, after Novgorod and tonight, the Musashi will probably need retuning. It would be best to use the school trip to do that and hold a test flight.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Oh, I just got back from carrying some things up from below. Are we having another meeting? Tomo, can you send me the chat log?”

Masazumi sighed and she watched on her sign frame as Asama complied from the Asama Shrine.

Every nation had to complete or use the official events. It was a politician’s duty to keep those things running smoothly.

…''You could call these national events.

People were sure to call them a waste of money and say they had more important things to worry about, but the events held by a nation demonstrated the nation’s individuality and allowed them to line up alongside the other nations.

By holding the same events as another nation, your nation could share the same values.

Allied and friendly nations would sometimes adopt traditions they could understand.

…''Christmas and Valentines are two examples of that.

The word “international” came to mind.

'''Vice President:''' “But the biggest event of all will arrive after all those different events.”

That being…

'''Vice President:''' “Summer break.”

'''10ZO:''' “Yes, that one is a problem.”

Tenzou was handling the piping above the Student Council Room ceiling.

'''Scarred:''' “Is there something difficult about summer break?”

'''10ZO:''' “Judge. During summer break, nearly all academy functions come to a standstill. That means it is impossible to function outside of the bare minimum required to run the nation.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Judge. That’s why the academies use that time to make progress on their internal history recreation. Battles and research in the fields of culture and civilization require long periods of stability, so summer break and winter break tend to lead to increases in those fields. …We have a lot of hobby events during the summer, but that isn’t just because we love festivals.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “On the commerce side, domestic demand rises during those times, so we use it to make lots of money. Because all the students are back home, you see.”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “Since there are so many people in the cities and so many festivals, it’s a busy time for the engine division too. Asama-chi, it’s the same for you, isn’t it?”

'''Asama:''' “Eh? Well, it’s about the same as always for us.”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “That confidence…!”

'''Me:''' “No, it gets pretty busy at your place, Asama. I can tell when I go there as a part-time shrine maiden. There’s so much work to do with cleaning the ''mikoshi'' and tuning the festival grounds and everything. But that means no one notices my crossdressing, which is boring.”

'''Hori-ko:''' “I will hit him for the crossdressing part later, so fear not, everyone. …But he is right. I saw a great many things in the city last year, but I recall seeing shrine maidens moving here and there throughout the city. To sum up, I believe Asama-sama was merely being humble.”

''About what I expected from them…'' thought Mitotsudaira atop one of the periodic transport ships heading from the Ariake diplomatic port to Okutama.

'''Asama:''' “No, um, uhh…”

Asama was used to being busy, so it was true that she was confident.

On the other hand, it was true she would be busy, so Mitotsudaira’s king and Horizon were also correct.

She had to smile at Asama’s panicked text scrolling along the sign frame, but she needed to address the topic that had her attention.

It had to do with the sight she had seen outside.

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Perhaps because summer is coming, a lot of Date and Mogami trade ships have been visiting the Ariake.”

A Mogami ship had arrived almost immediately after the Musashi had returned. A Date one had arrived soon thereafter, Sviet Rus had arrived via Mogami, and other nations had followed.

Mitotsudaira had visited her territory below today to greet some people and pass on some information. She had expected the Mito sky to be full of activity, but due to the Ariake’s giant stealth barrier, she had only seen a surprisingly clear sky.

'''Silver Wolf:''' “With more ships arriving, the rainfall issues caused by the Ariake’s immobility are turning into a problem.”

'''Vice President:''' “Once our individual trade discussions with the European nations have settled down, we’ll have to send the Musashi out as a hub port and move the Ariake toward the ocean while it’s free.”

The transport ship finished its ascent. It now moved horizontally from Shinagawa’s starboard bow and toward Okutama’s bow.

Masazumi was somewhere in the distance overhead, but she could not see her from here. She could not detect her scent either because the smells of oil and scorched metal were stronger.

…''These conditions are part of the reason I didn’t notice that Sanada was infiltrating us.

Mitotsudaira reminded herself to be on her guard as she looked to the unseen south.

Edo was in that direction.

''We need to retake that city eventually,'' she thought as Masazumi’s words scrolled by next to her face.

'''Vice President:''' “This is all because summer break is approaching. Date and Mogami apparently want a clear idea of what their trade routes are before then. That will act as a springboard for the surface trade route that will come later.”

As Masazumi spoke, a heavy noise rumbled from the starboard side of the Ariake’s ceiling.

It was…

'''Bell:''' “The Nanbu clan ship…is leaving…”

'''Marube-ya:''' “That’s the ship of the Oushuu Clans Alliance that Shiro-kun was negotiating with. I think he gave them some souvenirs and asked them to weigh us against Hashiba in Edo.”

'''Hori-ko:''' “How did that turn out, Heidi-sama?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Judge. Any food or minerals would be taken away by their higher ups, so we had Musashi IZUMO sell them some of Kantou IZUMO’s engine-related tech. Oushuu might be skilled at constructing residences and fortresses, but they’re a little weak when it comes to aerial ships.”

“I see,” said Mitotsudaira as Okutama came into view. It had a lot of lights on because it was the central ship that handled the fuel and power distribution for the other ships. According to Naomasa, they had fixed a few flaws found during the Battle of Novgorod, but they still had to make some readjustments for the feedback from the other ships. It was apparently a pain to deal with.

…''We need to finish Okutama’s maintenance before leaving on the school trip, don’t we?

As she thought about that, a familiar smell reached her nose: apples.

They were cooked and the smell reached her through a chimney.

It was an apple pie and she only knew two people who could bake them like this: the Blue Thunder’s manager and…

…''My king.

But when her king made it, the lemon scent was weaker. She was conceitedly confident that that might be out of concern for her, but this was exactly that smell.

'''Silver Wolf:''' “My king, are you cooking?”

'''Hori-ko:''' “He should be delivering what Asama-sama asked for.”

'''Asama:''' “Oh, yes. He came here. He wanted to say thank you for helping him out of the guard station this morning and my dad is researching the Musashi’s defensive divine protections, so I ordered a pie for everyone here to share over tea. He might be playing a video game with my dad. Do you want to stop by and see?”

“Judge,” said Mitotsudaira as the Asama Shrine came into view. She also saw the academy beyond it. The area was still dark, but the schoolyard and surrounding paths were lit up.

And she saw a few people cutting diagonally across to the port side of the schoolyard.

…''Huh? Kimi, Adele, and Horizon?

Kimi lightly jumped over a chest-high fence at the border of the academy schoolyard.

“That should do it.”

She was headed toward the elevated platform on the port side of the academy. There was a delivery elevator there. The elevator was large enough to carry a wide block section if it was divided into thirds, but it was not yet in view. However, it would be carrying the bookcases and desks that Naomasa had carried in from the port.

As a shortcut, Kimi had jumped over the academy fence.

She made a light leap. She gently kicked her toes off the top of the fence, spun her body around, and turned backwards in midair.

“C’mon, you two. Hurry it up.”

First, Adele ran toward the fence and tried to use it as a stepping stone. She had a body reinforcement spell instead of an acceleration spell as a constant divine protection and that spell circle appeared on the back of her neck.

''Is she going to clear it?'' wondered Kimi.

“Ah, no, huh!?”

Her foot seemed to hesitate. As a result, she frantically stepped down too hard and jumped not just over the fence but well past it.

“Um, that’s a cliff right there.”

“Awah! No, no, no!!”

They were on a narrow plaza at the top of the cliff. Adele reached out with her track suit sleeves and grabbed at the thick branch of a cherry tree. The tree bent, but it did not break.

Adele breathed a relived sigh as she dangled from the branch. Meanwhile…

“Horizon.”

Horizon made a great leap.

She passed over Kimi’s head, but it was a high jump that did not take her far horizontally.

She spread her arms in midair and pulled her knees up.

“…!”

With a scraping of gravel, she landed heavily on one knee and one hand.

Kimi landed on her toes next to her just as Urquiaga flew by overhead, carrying some cargo.

'''Uqui:''' “Why does Horizon always have to put some much of an ‘oomph’ into her actions?”

'''Hori-ko:''' “Because it is cool. Obviously.”

Horizon slowly stood up and began walking.

Kimi walked alongside her.

…''This is a nice atmosphere given war is a very real possibility.

“Heh heh.”

…''I wonder what it is we immerse ourselves in at times like this.

This may have been an extension of their victorious mood.

Next to Kimi, Adele took a drink from a bamboo water bottle and gave Kimi a puzzled look.

''But,'' thought Kimi, leaving the crucial words in her heart.

…''What’s wrong with that?

After giving freedom to her heart, Kimi spoke to the princess walking alongside her.

“Horizon.”

“What is it, Kimi-sama?”

“Well.” Kimi voiced the words she had just thought up. “You said my foolish brother would show you your dreams, but I think we’re the same too.”

Even she thought this was sudden.

But it was a lot like thinking up song lyrics. These were the words that suddenly left her when they filled her heart.

“That just occurred to me.”

“Are you saying you wish to be with me?” asked Horizon.

“I’m not sure how I should put it,” said Kimi. “But I hope we can all share your and my foolish brother’s dreams.”

“Judge.” Horizon nodded. “So you will share Toori-sama and me with everyone. That sounds like a good time for girls and boys alike.”

Adele spat out her water.

“Are you okay, Adele-sama? You have small water tanks, so you mustn’t force yourself.”

“Wh-what are you talking about!? Water isn’t stored in your breasts; it’s stored in your bla-…oh, that was too close! I nearly turned into Asama-san there! A near miss for Adele Balfette!”

“Now, now.” Kimi stopped her and placed a hand on Horizon’s shoulder. “Umm, not even I meant it that way. As for the boys, we can leave that to Naruze’s imagination. Let’s try to keep this a little less exciting, okay?”

“Judge. I would prefer that as well.”

Kimi nodded, said “judge”, and patted Horizon’s shoulder.

“Don’t forget that.”

The nighttime lights illuminated the cherry trees in front of the school. The leaves were green and had faded somewhat in the summer air. Kimi looked over at them and then spoke.

“This is such a happy atmosphere, isn’t it?”

Horizon lifted her nose toward the air.

“Sniff, sniff, sniff! …You mean this? So this is the smell of happiness, Kimi-sama!”

“Sniff, sniff, sniff! …Yes, this. That’s right, Horizon!”

Adele spread her mouth horizontally, but they ignored her. Kimi gave the other two a light shove forward and took the lead herself.

That was when a dull sound reached them from the sky. The Date and Mogami trade ships were leaving the Ariake’s external port.

'''Wise Sister:''' “A lot of ships are leaving today. Probably because of all the dangerous talk.”

Tenzou read Kimi’s words as he descended from the ceiling after finishing the maintenance there.

…''It is true things will likely get dangerous with Houjou.

''Now, then,'' he thought as he hopped down into the Student Council Room, which still had its door wide open. Noriki was putting together a bookcase next to the entrance.

That boy’s family had originally been important members of Houjou. Tenzou had heard he had moved to Musashi when he was little to avoid the commotion over the heir to the main family.

And afterwards, his father had committed suicide.

Tenzou had to wonder why and had to think that only caused more problems, but this was the age they lived in. ''My own father causes a lot of problems.'' But Noriki’s father had been the link between the main Houjou family and his own family, so he may have been able to demonstrate something and protect something through his actions.

Tenzou felt like he understood:

…''His father probably committed suicide to sever their connection to Houjou.

When Noriki himself had been reunited with Houjou Ujinao, he had refused to return to Houjou and he had not discussed it before or since.

He belonged to Musashi.

That meant that both questioning him and speaking to him about Houjou would be equally meaningless.

''Yes,'' thought Tenzou in a nod of understanding only he comprehended.

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Asama, I’ll be descending to the shrine soon, so is the area open?”

'''Asama:''' “Eh!? W-wait, you and Masazumi are coming here!?”

'''Vice President:''' “Hm? We can see you from above. Naruze just finished registering for an overhead entrance through the defense barrier.”

''What is this about?'' wondered Tenzou as Asama’s words raced across his sign frame.

'''Asama:''' “I-I’m sorry! Everyone, be careful! Toori-kun was messing with the defense spells while playing with my dad!”

Tenzou tilted his head at the string of text that suddenly appeared next to his face. Everyone else in the room did the same, but he spoke on their behalf.

'''10ZO:''' “Which defense spell?”

'''Asama:''' “Oh, um, it’s a conditional action restriction spell. The Musashi now has a restriction spell in place that allows spies in but prevents them from doing any actual spying, right? If that spell is set too strictly, it can really restrict our actions, so we have it pretty loose…but as the shrine for all of Musashi, that falls under our jurisdiction.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “What about it? What did the Chancellor do?”

'''Asama:''' “Well, he was really hitting it off with my dad who was updating the spell, you see. Then my dad decided that doing something weird every so often would make for good practice, you see. And Shinto isn’t very picky, you see. So, um…”

'''Me:''' “Okay, let’s try this out to train for doing things with a restriction spell in place. Are you ready, everyone!?”

“Huh? Um, Toori-dono?”

The spell was activated.

*'''Restriction Defense Spell Updated <Condition Change: Accepted: Change Contents: Uzume-type – 5 Minutes>
*'''Restriction Defense Spell Contents <You cannot speak without saying something that sounds dirty.>
*'''Hanami: “For the next 5 minutes, any forced attempt to speak will cause you to say a dirty word. Clap?”

All of the Musashi fell silent.

The trade negotiations, conversations, and lectures underway across the ship all came to a stop.

“…!?”

Everyone read the sign frame that appeared next to their face and thought that same thing.

…''Damn him!!

“————!!”

Asama spotted Toori tiptoeing out the back of the main shrine building, so she raised her voice. But…

“…!!”

The restriction kept her from speaking. Toori tilted his head toward her in his shrine maiden outfit. He then twisted his body around, and…

“Booby trap. …Huh? What’s the matter, Asama? You aren’t mad at me? Huh, huh? Can you not even say ‘hit’ like you normally do?”

''Why you…'' she thought, but when she opened her mouth…

“Secret gard-…”

A strange term nearly escaped her mouth, so she quickly shut it.

…''Wah!

She was a shrine maiden. One of her daily substitutions was to not casually say any impure words. That was supposed to be a substitution she could keep by being self-aware, but…

“Mille crepe. Oh, just to be clear, you’ll find yourself saying something you don’t mean to if you speak without thinking, so be careful. Sis made the foundation of this last night as a joke, but your dad thought it sounded like a great idea. He said he was glad to hear someone so young was interested in Shinto.”

Asama felt her blood pressure rising for a number of reasons. She would scold her father later. Scold him severely.

But…

'''Silver Wolf:''' “…!”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “In and out. …Oh, so that’s what you have to do? That’s pretty annoying.”

Was it just their class that had such a clear division between the people who adjusted quickly and the people who adjusted slowly?

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Sexy…”

'''<That is not going to cut it: By, god.>

…''Shinto is really strict!

''Now that I think about it, Shinto has a lot of incest and it’s full of gods who give birth to children just by passing each other by,'' realized Asama.

''Anyway,'' she thought as she took a deep breath to lower her body temperature and then lightly slapped her cheeks. That cooled her heart.

“—————”

Asama expressionlessly glared down at the idiot in front of her.

The idiot briefly wavered from the intensity of her gaze, but then…

“Honey jelly. …Oh? Oh? You wanna fight? You wanna fight? I-I might not look it, but I’ve been learning some standing throws.”

She averted her gaze as he began some shadow slapping against an invisible opponent.

Asama opened a sign frame and called up the inter-shrine databank to search for historical Shinto spell countermeasures.

'''“Accessing Impure Dictionary: Accepted: Referencing and Synching with Dictionary for List of Speakable Words: Accepted.”

Hanami fidgeted worriedly on her head, but she did not care. She had to prepare for the purge.

''Now, then,'' she said in her heart.

“Mountain access. …So what would you like me to do with you, Toori-kun?”

“Period. Huh, huh? Why are you handling this calmly? How is that fair?”

“Revealing. …This level of restriction spell has happened…well, several times in Shinto history, so we have a list of acceptable words. Oh, and the terms I am using are officially approved by IZUMO, so they don’t count as impure for me to say them.”

“Rotary engine. …Eh? How is that any fun?”

“Shimenawa. …If you think I should begin the Kiyomasa Show here, press the button now.”

'''<Results. For: 98006, Against: 1>

“Tightrope. …Oh, what’s this? It would seem only the person right in front of me was against it.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Cream sauce. …U-um, Tomo? You’re starting to scare me…”

'''Vice President:''' “Political intercourse. …So you’re saying she needs to be more scare-ful how she acts?”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “Ehh…?”

'''Vice President:''' “Erection of Cottages Act 1588. …W-wait. Why wasn’t that restricted!?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Censored. …My guess is the god felt that had to be said.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Manhole. Poor thing…”

''Hmm,'' thought Asama with a nod.

…''Looks like even our god is going easy on them.

She decided to rethink a number of things and then looked to the idiot who was trying to sneak away.

“Pillar festival. ….C’mon, don’t run away. I’ll have to subdue you as the Shinto Representative.”

“Outrage of Anagni.<ref>Anagni sounds like the Japanese term for anal masturbation.</ref> Hold on. Do you really think Shinto is down with that? …Huh?”

“Fertility festival. …Ah, hey. If you try to weasel your way out of this-…”

Asama followed Toori’s gaze just in case and saw something there.

Mary was walking from the shrine’s waiting room with a smile and a tray of sweets.

…''Oh, no!!

Mary was originally Catholic, but she had become a primarily Shinto musician since moving in with Tenzou. She could not reject a Shinto spell right now. And…

…''This spell makes you say something dirty if you speak without thinking!

''I need to scold Kimi,'' thought Asama as she predicted what was about to happen. And that led her to another thought:

…''If we make Mary-san say something weird here, it’s sure to become an international incident!

Mary’s sister was fairly politically powerful, so that was entirely possible. And if they shamed a foreign royal, it would also shame the Asama Shrine, Musashi, and the Far East.

So Asama opened her mouth to warn Mary.

“Yellow River Delta!”

'''<From Asama Shrine to Contractor Asama Tomo: Warning: That was pretty good, but it was too forced. To make up for it, you will lose one Blessing.>

…''Nwaahhh!! Goddamn Shinto!

But before she could speak under the restriction, Mary opened her mouth.

''It’s all over,'' thought Asama as Mary smiled and held up the tray.

“I have some apple pie. <ref>Apple pie sounds kind of like “jiggling boobs” in Japanese.</ref> Would you like some?”

“—————”

…''That was good enough!? That was really good enough!?

'''<That was perrrrrfect: By, god.>

''Ehhh?'' she protested in her heart as Mary placed the tray on the edge of the water station. She then carried over a plate with a slice of pie.

“It was hard and slippery on the inside, which made it difficult to cut, but I managed well enough. Now, please have some.”

After handing over the plate, she smiled.

“It has thick cream inside…yes, it’s custard actually, but I was a little surprised because something like compote is the standard back in England. …Is something the matter?”

“Love festival. …Well, um, I was just noticing you didn’t have to say anything in particular to speak.”

Mary clearly did not understand what Asama meant as she returned to the tray and poured some tea while singing to herself.

That seemed terribly dangerous to Asama, but she heard an English folk song:

“♪Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been~?”

''So Shinto is accepting of foreign languages,'' realized Asama before gasping and looking forward.

Toori was gone.

“Holy tree nectar. …Ah, he got way! Wh-where did that walking Far Eastern crisis get off to!?”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “If anything, wouldn’t the Chancellor be running and crawling instead of walking? And Asama-san?”

“Year of the cock. …Eh? What is it, Adele?”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “It’s been 5 minutes, so you don’t need the leading term.”

When she heard that, Asama finally felt the blood rush to her head and fell to her knees. She started wondering where Kimi, one of the causes of this commotion, was right now.

''Things are always so eventful around my king,'' thought Mitotsudaira with a bitter smile as she descended to the port.

Okutama’s bow was usually a large open space of deck, so it was being used as a port during the remodeling inside the Ariake.

Cargo was split between shipments to Okutama itself and shipments being sent to the ships to the port and starboard. The former was loaded onto large carts pulled by light gods of war and the latter was reloaded onto small transport ships and taken to the appropriate ships.

She listened to the sounds of that process, but…

…''Huh?

She sensed an odd motion below her feet.

It came from below, but it was not the deck she stood on or the Musashi.

“This is…”

It was the air. A chilly movement of air reached her even through the stealth barrier.

It reminded her of something.

…''The pressure on the air when the Musashi takes off.

Of course, the Musashi was not taking off. So if this pressure was reaching the night sky…

“Warning from the 5th Special Duty Officer of the Chancellor’s Officers!!”

As soon as she yelled into a divine transmission, 3 large sign frames appeared inside the Ariake.

They appeared on the bow, center, and aft of the Ariake’s ceiling. Smaller ones also appeared here and there, but they all displayed a slender-faced automaton.

She was “Ariake” and she bowed.

“Good evening everyone. This is ‘Ariake’. …Now, I have a not-good observation and a bad observation. Which would you like to hear first? Over.”

Mitotsudaira pressed the <Not-Good Observation> button on the sign frame that appeared in front of her.

“Ariake” checked the result of the vote on the sign frame that appeared next to her face.

“I see.” She nodded. “Either one would have been fine, but I have determined that you are all taking this seriously. Very well, I shall begin with the not-good observation. But first…”

Something appeared on the sign frame in front of Mitotsudaira.

“Congratulations. The winner of the drawing was Mitotsudaira-sama. You will be given a special coupon for the summer event!”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “What is this?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Ah! Half off!? If you don’t want it, give it to me! Those exhibition events are expensive, so I need any discount I can get.”

''I suppose that’s fine,'' thought Mitotsudaira as “Ariake” continued speaking.

“We have observed lights in the Edo region. Based on the movement of the air and the ether pattern, I have determined the Quasi-Bahamut Aerial Warship Azuchi Castle is leaving port. Also…”

Also…

“Houjou has appeared from the south-southwest with several aerial warships which are ascending to a higher altitude. Based on our observations, their bows are pointed in our direction. An attack from Houjou is incoming…5, 4, 3, 2, 1. It was a direct hit. Over.”

A rumbling came from the Ariake’s starboard bow and the pillars inside the ship shook.

…''Houjou!?

“Masazumi was working so hard to go to war with them and they started it instead!?”

'''Vice President:''' “I didn’t want war! I only wanted to make an attack that let us say we ‘supported Mouri’!”

'''Me:''' “Isn’t that longer explanation just more confusing?”

Mitotsudaira wholeheartedly agreed.

The cargo transportation work came to a halt around her and everyone began fixing the cargo and ships to the deck. The ships in the center of the deck were moved to the side as they either had the smaller ships make emergency landings or prepared the Musashi to leave port.

This would ensure that they could leave port at full power at any time.

And it was not just the students working. Even Musashi’s normal citizens had trained for this since the Battle of Mikatagahara.

They could fight. No, everyone was immediately preparing the ship to fight.

And so Mitotsudaira spoke to them all.

“We’re counting on you!”

“Judge!!”

The transport ship crew shouted back to her. A few of them must have been from Mito because…

“Victory to the Mito Lord and natto!”

“Victory to the Mito Lord and natto…!”

''You don’t all have to repeat that.

But when the next rumbling and alarms sounded, Mitotsudaira recalled what Masazumi had said earlier: their next war would likely be fought against Houjou. But…

“Don’t tell me…”

Mitotsudaira ran from Okutama’s bow and toward the Asama Shrine while the lights were shut off for better ether management. She accelerated her body toward her king’s location.

“Is Houjou making a preemptive strike because they predicted Masazumi would eventually declare war on them!?”

'''Vice President:''' “What do you mean by that!?”

She continued running while seeing her king’s quip about victory going to he who acts first.

The next rumbling impact seemed to push her body away from the bow.

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>
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| [[Horizon:Volume 5A Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 5A Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
}}
</noinclude>