Horizon:Volume 10A Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Resident of a Place of Understanding

I understand

But I cannot go ahead with it

But I cannot go ahead with it

Because I understand

Point Allocation (I Understand)

●

Juana suddenly stopped her complaint-filled daily report on Segundo.

Because some very exciting words had appeared on her cadena firma.

…Reinforcements for Musashi!?

They likely wanted to bolster their forces for the fight against Hashiba. But the problem was who they had asked this of.

“They’re going through Nagaoka Tadaoki to receive support from Sweden!?”

It does make sense, thought Juana.

She stopped all her previous work and called up a map of the Far East focused on the North Sea side of Kinki.

Sweden was on the coast of Kinki. They were the provisional ruling nation given the Echizen region. Many small and medium-sized nations existed around it, most only large enough for a single academy, but Sweden played a large role in the Thirty Years’ War and they were one of the war’s victors, so they had official land.

They excelled at weaponry, particularly firearms, and the Testament Union had granted them freedom to use whatever tactics they liked.

In other words, they were a warrior nation.

That had been restrained somewhat in Christina’s generation, but their Vice Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna remained in charge of foreign campaigns the same as during their previous Chancellor’s term. Axel acted as a leader and a threat to the neighboring nations.

What happened if a nation like that lent their strength to Musashi now?

“Given Sweden’s location, the Hashiba forces would be caught between Musashi and Sweden.”

Sweden didn’t have a very well developed aerial fighting force because they had only a weak provisional rule over the Far East who excelled at that. But that didn’t mean they didn’t have one. A quick calculation told Juana that Sweden might intervene at the middle stage of a battle between Musashi and the Hashiba forces.

…That timing would be a nightmare for the Hashiba forces since they would already be worn down.

Just as both sides only needed one good push to win, reinforcements would arrive for one side.

Musashi would badly want that help.

Especially when this request for outside aid was actually part of the history recreation.

…Akechi Mitsuhide asked for Nagaoka Tadaoki’s help after the Honnouji Incident.

“So.” Juana turned back to the conversation between Christina and the Musashi Vice President that was arriving over the divine net. “Assistance from Nagaoka Tadaoki will cause several problems, so how does Musashi intend to deal with them?”

●

…Assistance to Musashi!?

Christina thought that was doable.

It helped that she was in a very good mood what with Tadaoki leaning his full body against her. If she spoke, she was afraid it would come out as a squeak. But I’m still very thankful, god.

In fact, wasn’t this the first time Tadaoki had been this close to her – or rather, providing such close physical contact with her – since he picked her up after he confessed to her in the bomb mansion?

He is earnest and gallant, but he worries over things a bit too much.

She really wished he would be more “bam!” and “squeeze!” and “tah dah!” like in “Here Cums Asa!”, the serialized play broadcast by Sweden’s PR Committee in the mornings.

…That’s Uncensored Kingdom Sweden for you!

The Testament Union would occasionally try to censor it, but they could rebuff those attempts by saying “it’s our national style”, which just showed how wonderful history was. Thanks to that, their nation could mean two different things when they talked about a woman being “on top”. Not that that was necessary.

And now Tadaoki-sama is asleep and leaning against me.

…Wait just a bit longer! I can do it!! I can!!!

Vice President: “Hey, Swedish Chancellor.”

Self-Destruct Girl: “Um, yesssss!?”

Her heart’s cry came out as a squeak. But she was supposed to be talking with Musashi about providing assistance.

According to the Testament, Akechi Mitsuhide asked his son-in-law Nagaoka Tadaoki for assistance after the Honnouji Incident. This would likely count as a history recreation of that.

But assisting Mitsuhide would lead to a certain result.

Self-Destruct Girl: “Are you referring to the request for help from Tadaoki-sama?”

Vice President: “Judge, I hate asking this right after sending you to Sanuki, but I just wanted to know if it would be possible.”

“In that case,” she replied.

Self-Destruct Girl: “It would not be possible. Because the Testament says Tadaoki-sama and his father of the Hosokawa clan refused his father-in-law Mitsuhide’s request for reinforcements.”

●

That was a smart decision on Tadaoki’s part, thought Christina.

…The Honnouji Incident was more of an assassination than a coup used for Mitsuhide’s own advancement.

Several reasons had been posited for why he caused the Incident, but she thought the most important question was what Mitsuhide was trying to achieve.

Looking at the Testament, Mitsuhide’s motives were a mess of digressions and speculation. Every possibility was treated as likely by the views that supported them, so it was hard to tell which parts were actually important.

However, one thing was clear: causing the Honnouji Incident did not allow Mitsuhide, a high-ranking servant of the Oda clan, to take over Oda, nor did it make him an independent daimyo.

After causing the Incident, Mitsuhide had gone north for protection and to gather information.

Because he was concerned about Shibata returning after taking a break from attacking Uesugi.

But then Hashiba had returned and Mitsuhide had been unable to immediately respond both mentally and militarily, so he lost.

Mitsuhide’s intentions had been lost with his death. And because it happened so much faster than he must have been expecting, nothing at all remained for him.

So Christina thought searching out his objective would require interpreting texts and other material evidence.

But she did know what Mitsuhide was so worried about during the Honnouji Incident.

…He would have expected a battle against Oda.

He could no longer fit in with Oda, so they would battle.

If Hashiba hadn’t been able to return, his primary goal would have been to repel Shibata when he came rushing in.

From there, he would have wanted a stalemate and, if possible, the appearance of an allied force.

So Christina thought Mitsuhide had done it as a first step toward independence.

She did not know what his true goal was, but he had needed independence to do it.

Independence meant rebellion. Nobunaga wouldn’t allow it. So he had first assassinated Nobunaga and then, if he could endure the initial backlash, the Oda clan would start to break apart and some would surely join him.

That would explain the assassination, but…

“Tadaoki-sama and his father refused the request for reinforcements.”

They had interpreted the trends well.

Even if Mitsuhide managed to start something on his own, they had concluded the world would not be shaken.

And by that logic, Mitsuhide had lost his reinforcements. The Isshiki clan had allied with him, but the Isshiki clan had ended up staring down Tadaoki and his father’s Hosokawa clan and neither clans had been able to act.

Overturning this with interpretations would require a rather forceful move. So…

Self-Destruct Girl: “That will not be possible. I am truly sorry, but I do not think we can support you.”

●

Yeah, didn’t think so, thought Masazumi on the transport ship moving toward the academy on the Musashi.

…Suddenly asking for support at this point is a bit much, huh?

Of course, she hadn’t been relying on this.

Gold Mar: “Oh, this is the initial descent team. So how’d it go? Will Sweden be coming to help?”

Vice President: “Doesn’t seem so and I’m continuing talks under that assumption. Besides, I wouldn’t have sent the Swedish Chancellor to Sanuki if I had planned to use her.”

Unturning: “So is this setting things up for the Battle of Yamazaki?”

Vice President: “Partially yes and partially no, I guess? …If we could have gotten support, that would have put us in a much better position.”

But the request had been denied, so that was that. She hadn’t expected anything from it to begin with.

…Maybe I’m being too timid.

She took a full look around from the deck. Unlike when they departed, they were entering from the bottom of the stern and ascending between Takao and Okutama. After ascending past the ship’s surface city, they would circle around and dock with the academy.

“It’s a lot emptier than when we left,” said Mitotsudaira, who was also taking a look around, except for security reasons in her case.

She was right. While they were doing the Honnouji Incident, almost all the important areas along the Musashi had been purged and transported elsewhere.

Asama opened a sign frame.

“My home has been purged, so a replacement processing spell is in use.”

“Is that safe?”

“Yes. The current Musashi has sufficient supplies of fuel and such stored inside and we are more focused on combat than everyday activities right now. That means a narrower range of requests than the many small daily requests, so this is actually easier for the Asama Shrine to deal with.

“But still,” said Asama. “If possible, I would appreciate it if you could complete this in a day. If it reaches a second day, a mold will form, which makes areas where the processing is unusually easy or hard, sometimes to the extent that processing spells can’t compensate.”

“I’ve been giving this a lot of thought and I doubt this is going to be a long-term thing. Futayo and the Tachibana Wife said something similar.”

“That’s right,” said Mitotsudaira in agreement. The idiot and Asama tilted their heads, but maybe this came down to the intuition of those more familiar with combat.

As for a politician like Masazumi…

“I still have some other preparations to make, so let’s keep moving.”

Just as she said that, Horizon raised a hand, lifting a sign frame.

“Masazumi-sama, we have a warning from Mommy-sama.”

“You mean my mother? What is it now?” asked Mitotsudaira.

Curious, Masazumi checked the sign frame to find a message about preparations for the Battle of Yamazaki.

…Oh.

That’s right. She had forgotten.

Vice President: “Um, Swedish Chancellor? Can I ask something?”

Self-Destruct Girl: “What is it?”

“Judge,” said Masazumi with a nod. They still had time before they docked.

Ookubo seemed to be waving up at them from the academy bridge. What, are you lonely?

●

“Heyyyy! Get down here and do your job already! You only have so much left to do because you sent me and the other committee heads too much for us to complete!”

“Musashi Representative Committee Head, from my experience, I doubt she can hear you over the wind.”

“This is about the process, not the result!”

“Correct, milady! The process matters, not the result! Which means it is time to rebel without considering what the result will be! Let us begin right this instant!”

●

It’s nice that Ookubo adores me so much despite our troubles in the past. Masazumi made sure to wave back.

Vice President: “Swedish Chancellor. In order to confirm some things about the history recreation, I would like to ask some questions about your refusal to support. Do you have time for that?”

●

Oh? thought Juana as she listened in.

…So Musashi is confirming the refusal.

It seemed like an obvious thing, but it was very important. Because confirming that Musashi did not require assistance from anyone would show off their independence.

And if the Musashi made it through the Battle of Yamazaki with no assistance, how many nations would remain that had the military might or the status needed to provide them with support?

If they had seen Nobunaga’s history recreation to the end and struck back against Hashiba’s hostility…

“Europe will see it as the appearance of a force even more troublesome than P.A. Oda or Hashiba.”

This had been hinted at a few times before. And when you thought about it, it was a very dangerous idea, but no one felt a real threat there. Likely because Musashi was always willing to talk.

…And they insist they will not abuse the history recreation.

But we also can’t afford to forget that love of war speech at Kyou. What even was that?

Regardless, Musashi intended to drive back the Hashiba forces as a single fighting force.

If they accomplished that, Musashi would fully shift from being a “force” to being a “nation”.

Would that be welcomed or would it be seen as trouble? It probably depended on the nation, but Juana only now realized she was leaning toward the former.

The settlement support mentioned in their meeting at Kyou wouldn’t mean much if Musashi remained a small force. Because that would lead other nations to try and sneakily benefit off of them.

But if Musashi was a much stronger “nation”, far fewer nations could do that and Tres España’s settlement support would go much more smoothly.

And if that was what Juana wanted, she had needed Musashi to win here.

The history recreation had them lose, but that could be dealt with using interpretations.

After an effective win, they could name themselves a nation.

…War is a terribly simple “measure” for displaying national strength.

In fact, Tres España’s decline began with their loss in the Armada Battle.

Musashi was attempting what they had tried and failed to do.

And to prepare for that, the Musashi Vice President was questioning the Swedish Chancellor.

Yes. Before the Battle of Yamazaki, Akechi Mitsuhide was denied reinforcements from the Tadaoki father and son who represented the Hosokawa clan, but they hadn’t simply refused as part of the Hosokawa clan.

Vice President: “They had a number of arrangements in place to justify that decision for the Hosokawa clan.”

And one of those involved the Swedish Chancellor.

Vice President: “The confinement of Princess Tama, wife of Tadaoki and daughter of Mitsuhide.”

●

“Oh,” exclaimed Christina.

In response to the Musashi Vice President’s mention of her confinement.

…There are some circumstances related to that.

As soon as she thought that, Tadaoki shook a bit as he leaned against her right shoulder.

“Nh…”

…You mustn’t wake up now!

If you do, this close contact will end. I am looking forward to his bashful response after noticing, but that will be dessert. I am still enjoying the main dish right now. And I always like to take my time with the main dish.

So she held her breath, adjusted her balance, and considered how to respond to the Musashi Vice President. Until Tadaoki let out a breath.

“Ahm…”

And hearing that…

Self-Destruct: “W-we just have to get married now…”

●

Juana used a handkerchief to hold the inner corners of her eyes in front of her cadena firma.

She wasn’t sure what the Swedish Chancellor meant by that. She couldn’t figure out what it referred to it or how it related to the rest of the conversation.

But since it appeared to have slipped out, she knew it had to be how the woman really felt about her situation.

“I know the feeling…”

After wiping away a tear and sensing an odd sort of one-way friendship, Juana gave her cadena firma a thumb’s up.

●

“Now, then,” said Christina, recovering.

She had gotten mentally stronger since Nördlingen. And that experience told her…

Self-Destruct Girl: “My history recreation is already in progress. I am on my way to the Sanuki region so that the location of my confinement is far enough away to keep me from interfering with other nations.”

Yes.

The Testament said that the Hosokawa father and son saw the way things were going and refused Akechi Mitsuhide’s request for reinforcements.

But that alone wasn’t enough.

What did it lack? Integrity and loyalty. They were, after all, in a position where Akechi Mitsuhide had expected them to send reinforcements. Tadaoki was Mitsuhide’s son-in-law. But simply rejecting his father-in-law’s request wasn’t enough to claim they had sided with Hashiba or were staying out of the conflict entirely.

So Tadaoki had confined his wife. He used that to show that he had no connection to Mitsuhide’s actions.

Self-Destruct Girl: “I am beginning that confinement now. So for me, you could say the Hosokawa clan’s refusal has already been established.”

Vice President: “Judge, it’s true confining you allows the Hosokawa clan to keep up appearances with Hashiba. We understand that, which is why we had you go be ‘confined’ in the Sanuki region.”

So they understood too. Then what more could there be?

Vice President: “Hexagone Française complained and so did the M.H.R.R. Protestants. You’re forgetting something necessary to keep up appearances with Hashiba using your confinement, aren’t you?”

Self-Destruct Girl: “Am I?”

Vice President: “The Testament says the Hosokawa clan was staring down the Isshiki clan which sided with Akechi. So by refusing Akechi’s request for reinforcements, they could have ended up the target of a pincer attack by the Isshiki clan and the Akechi forces. And if Akechi did manage to repel the Hashiba forces, the Hosokawa clan would be his next target. …So the Hosokawa clan needed a way to keep up appearances with both Hashiba and Akechi at the same time.”

She knew that. And how it was done. But…

Vice President: “Tadaoki and his father said they couldn’t side with Akechi because they were ‘in mourning’. …Both went as far as shaving their heads.”

●

“Well, yes, that is true.”

Tomoe Gozen said this while looking up at the fireballs occasionally falling from the sky and nodding as they exploded.

“Christina’s confinement isn’t enough for the history recreation of the reinforcements refusal. Because that only handles the Hashiba side of it. To complete the Akechi side, Tadaoki will have to shave his head.”

Guericke, who was also looking into the sky, turned toward her when he heard that. He opened a horoscope with a spell and took some recordings, but…

“That sounds a lot like a punishment for losing a bet, Tomoe Gozen.”

“Tadaoki? He can sing, but he’s primarily a fighter. Will he be reluctant to cut his hair?”

“Well, Tomoe Gozen, a middle school boy suddenly shaving off all his hair will probably make the news since the history recreation is so uncompromising in modern times.”

“Was that a jab about my age?”

“No, of course not! I was only referencing the current trends!”

“Is that so?” she said, convinced. And then, “The history recreation sure is a pain.”

Yes.

“But seeing them scrambling because of it is amusing, don’t you think? And it wasn’t long ago that Christina was trying to die at Nördlingen.”

“Tomoe Gozen… The history recreation is a difficult thing. To call it amusing is…”

As Guericke’s lecture continued, a divine mail arrived from Musashi. It was a print job reservation.

Black Hair Wings: “Apologies for using my manga club handle! I just had a great idea for a Tadaoki x Christina book, so put me down for a full-color duodecimo!”

Guericke smiled and turned her way.

“Hooray for the history recreation! Isn’t this amusing, Tomoe Gozen!?”

“You’re letting those Musashi people influence you more and more.”

She decided to not ask if the same was happening to her. Anyway, it sounded like Musashi intended to complete as much preparation for the Battle of Yamazaki as they could, but what would that mean? And what should she do?

“Now, will Christina’s full-throttle husband love allow this?”

●

…I can’t believe this.

Christina didn’t entirely understand, but she felt like she stood at a crossroads.

After all, this was the history recreation. The Testament. She had to preserve what she could and Musashi wouldn’t stop it as long as it was harmless.

That led to a question.

Did shaving Tadaoki’s hair count as harming him?

Of course, he might not want it and it might harm his pride or appearance, but he was still in middle school. He was a surprisingly understanding boy and she felt like he would do it if asked, but…

“That isn’t taking his feelings into consideration!”

She raised her arms a bit as she began he argument, but this caused Tadaoki to slide forward from her right shoulder. With his arms loosely crossed, his head slipped forward and down the front of her body, ending with his head falling mostly face up between her thighs.

Christina recognized this as well within the bounds of what was known as a “lap pillow”.

●

Self-Destruct Girl: “I-I’ll die… I’m going to die… Marry him and then die…”

“Um, Vice President, is the Swedish Chancellor alright?”

“How should I know!?”

●

Flores: “Hey, brother, Lady Juana keeps muttering “Marry him and then die… Yes, I know exactly how you feel” while leaning in front of her cadena firma and crying.”

Sister’s Brother: “Sister… It is best to avoid involving yourself in matters that sound criminal.”

Flores: “Yeah, but her cabin’s door is open and I was going to bring her a late-night snack, but now the others are saying we should have her lecture the Chancellor. What do you think?”

●

After regaining control of her rampaging heart, Christina took some deep breaths.

The large size of her chest covered Tadaoki’s face down on her lap.

…Mh.

She leaned forward to get a better look, but the physical clearance meant she only succeeded in crushing his face with her chest.

“–––––––”

Oh, I saw a situation like this in one of those summer Ariake books!

Was that a prophecy? I need to reread it, she decided, but at this rate she would move beyond the prophecy and smother Tadaoki.

She couldn’t let him die, but she also couldn’t let him wake. Why couldn’t she do that? She just couldn’t. So after taking a cautious look at him, she looked up at the shooting stars in the sky and took several photos of herself with a camera spell. She considered guiding the spell out to take some photos from pretty far away, modifying them a bit, and leaking them to the divine net, pretending someone else had taken them.

It was an extremely fulfilling time.

…Wait, this isn’t what I should be doing!

Tadaoki’s hair was what mattered.

She didn’t even need to check the photos she had taken to know he paid a lot of attention to his hair. The cycle of “letting it grow” and “cutting it” seemed short for him and the dyed areas never felt out of place.

Wondering if he had started paying so much attention to his hair after their relationship began was a form of luxury known as vanity.

Yes, I really do love Tadaoki-sama, don’t I? She could say that in an almost exasperated way when taking an objective view of her situation, but from a more subjective view she didn’t know how to handle this situation and simply felt happy.

Based on the care he gave his hair, demanding he shaved it off would be asking a lot. His hair was more than just a fashion statement for him.

It was a fixation.

If that fixation were directed toward her, she wouldn’t want it to be rejected like this.

However, this wasn’t Tadaoki’s decision to make. If he was told to, he probably would shave it. He wasn’t one to complain much, after all. She had a feeling he would go ahead and shave it to hide how much it bothered him.

And that bothered her.

…Oh, really.

What had happened to the information gatherer who had been prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to complete a mere history recreation only two or three months ago?

“Meeting the right person is all it takes to ruin you…”

●

Flores: “Brother, now Lady Juana just keeps repeating ‘I know how you feel…’ over and over.”

Sister’s Brother: “Sister, you can start by closing the door. Can you at least do that much?”

●

Christina thought.

How could she preserve Tadaoki’s pride here? While she was at it, she opened a sign frame and called up the divine transmission version of the book she had bought at Ariake. I see, I see. So it works like that. The Far East has a lot more depth in these things than Sweden does, she noted while…

Self-Destruct Girl: “Musashi Vice President? About Tadaoki-sama’s hair…”

Vice President: “Oh, is it shaved?”

…It’s too soon!!

Those Musashi people rushed through things too much. But she did have an idea.

Self-Destruct Girl: “Um, does it have to be right away? I think we should be able to come up with some other ideas if it can wait.”

Vice President: “It really should be as soon as possible. We’ll be making a lot of moves of our own soon. How soon can you get it done?”

…Again, it’s too soon!

Was that conclusion-based thinking one of Musashi’s strengths? Anyway, she couldn’t let this get her down.

She had to stay on the attack.

Self-Destruct Girl: “Couldn’t we just change his hairstyle as an interpretation?”

Vice President: “Hm? Change his hairstyle? …Yeah, that should be fine.”

Self-Destruct Girl: “Oh, it would?”

Me: “But if he’s gonna change it, it’d have to be something like fully shaved or a buzz cut, right?”

…It’s still too soon! And why is your Chancellor joining in!?

No, wait. He was their top leader, so it was normal for him to be a part of this. But that also meant his statements carried more weight than the Vice President’s.

I know it’s not my place, she thought while asking anyway.

Self-Destruct Girl: “So he does have to shave his head after all?”

●

Mitotsudaira watched her king cross his arms, tilt his head, and groan in thought.

Eventually, he turned toward Masazumi.

“He already got his dick colored black and sky blue, so shaving his head fits his character pretty well, don’t you think?”

“Except those first two weren’t his choice…and neither will the shaving now that I think about it. So fine, whatever.”

“Flatda-kun! Don’t start defending him and then abandon him by the end of the sentence!”

Hmm, what to do, groaned Mitotsudaira’s king, showing he was giving a fair amount of thought to Tadaoki’s plight. Mitotsudaira decided to give her own opinion.

“But, my king? Middle school is a time when kids are sensitive about their appearance, so isn’t it asking a lot to demand he shave his head?”

“Yeah, it is. If it was me, I’d turn it into a rebellious phase joke where I first grew an afro and then shaved it off and do a whole ‘the monk look is in this year!’ bit with Itoken. But Sky Blue is too uptight for that.”

“Very true,” agreed Horizon. “After all of the life-or-death situations I have been through, a little thing like shaving my head is…on second thought, I would hate that.”

“Horizon! Horizon! You’re ruining your own argument!”

“Anyway,” said the 1st Special Duty Officer. He adjusted his arm around Mary whose grasp on him had grown to the point that they would be in kissing position if he turned to face her. “Asama-dono, is there a good spell he could use for this?”

“Eh? Head shaving spells are more of a Buddhist thing than a Shinto thing.”

“Tomo? Can’t the Asama Shrine borrow a Buddhist spell?” asked Mitotsudaira.

“Well, there is the syncretism, so you do see a fair number. I’ll run a search.”

Art-Ga: “For reference, what search terms are you using?”

Asama: “Only normal ones: ‘head shaving’ ‘return to normal’ ‘spell’ with the term ‘hair growth’ excluded.”

Unturning: ‘I’ve certainly never heard of a search like that before…”

But the results came back quick.

“I-I found one,” said Asama, viewing her sign frame. “Kendou has a spell for people who abandon being a monk after shaving their head.”

“Heh heh. Just out of curiosity, what kind of spell is it?”

“Well, it uses something called the Law of Conservation of Hair to remove hair from the rest of the body and move it up to the head.”

Gold Mar: “Wouldn’t that leave him without eyebrows and such?”

Me: “And if his hair down there goes up to his head, won’t it be a little avant-garde?”

“It does say the spell is for emergencies.”

“Emergencies?” repeated Mitotsudaira, before turning toward Masazumi. “So is there no good solution at the moment?”

“Seems that way.” Masazumi thought for a moment, but then she clapped her hands and addressed the others. “How about we have him try shaving just a part of his head?”

Gin raised a hand.

“Judge, I think that should work. A wide variety of hairstyles are popular among the natives in the New World. In the north, they even shave the sides of their head while leaving the middle intact.”

Mitotsudaira pictured that. If the sides were shaved and only the center remained…

“So like a bob cut without the sides?”

“No, the remaining part stands up like a chicken comb.”

“The natives must go to a lot of effort.”

“There is s a lot of wilderness in the north and that hairstyle apparently makes them easier to see from a distance. But it also makes them more easily spotted by enemies, so it is known as a hero’s hairstyle.”

That sounded like a bad idea in its own way. But then Kimi asked the Tachibana Couple a question.

“Heh heh. Have you worn your hair that way, Muneo?”

“No, no. I have always had Gin-san keep my hair short.”

The mood immediately changed.

●

Gold Mar: “Oh, how I wish I was there. What a shame.”

Art-Ga: “A couple enjoying some makeup sex followed by an epilogue where she cuts his hair and they laugh with none of the intensity of just a few pages ago would be so great…”

Vice President: “Wait, why do you do it, Tachibana Wife? Doesn’t Tres España have a solid history recreation of barbershops thanks to the Mlasi influence?”

Tachibana Wife: “It might just be hair, but it is still a part of Muneshige-sama who carries the Tachibana name. He cannot expose his neck to just anyone like that.”

Silver Wolf: “Huh? Then what do you do, Gin?”

Tachibana Husband: “Judge. Back when I was spending all day on part-time jobs, I worked at a barbershop, so I can handle Gin-san’s just fine. And then she returns the favor for me.”

Art-Ga: “Ahh, that’s so great! So greaaaat!”

Tachibana Wife: “Muneshige-sama! Muneshige-sama!”

●

…I never worry about it much and just use a hairdresser.

Masazumi’s father would occasionally call in a specialist for his mustache. An assistant woman would do her hair then and she would often compliment her hair, but she felt that was just her inheriting her mother’s hair.

But after listening to everyone’s opinions, her conclusion was…

“I guess we can’t ask for too much of a ‘shaving’.”

“What’s it like for you, Itoken?”

“Ha ha ha! Creating hair with my body takes away a lot of my volume! Since I’m generally a gaseous being!”

Did that mean his baldness was unavoidable?

“When did people start shaving the top of their head so they could have a topknot?”

Masazumi thought the boys would know best there, but it was the Tachibana Wife who raised her hand.

“That was already being done at the end of the Heian period, but it only became standard fashion during the Warring States period. However, it was apparently done to keep the head from getting too sweaty when wearing a helmet, so doing it when you could prevent that with a spell or wear a well-ventilated helmet would actually be an inaccurate history recreation and it eventually became standard to not do it.”

“If you ask me, wouldn’t wearing that kind of helmet be the real violation of the history recreation?” asked Ohiroshiki.

“Not wearing them can broadly be seen as putting your life at risk, so that’s being overlooked to comply with the Anti-Decline Pro-Tuning Project.”

Asama was right.

…Otherwise, the restrictions on clothing, food, and shelter would be far too strict.

But based on Masazumi’s memories of life in Mikawa and on the Musashi, she had barely ever seen anyone with a shaved head and a topknot. Some name inheritors would do it to help earn the inherited name, but…

…What about for Nagaoka?

“Yo.” Horizon raised her right hand. “Since Sky Blue Boy is shaving his head to become a monk, wouldn’t he have to do a full shave?”

“Hmm, that’s being a little strict.”

“In that case,” said Ohiroshiki. “Doesn’t he just have to meet the conditions for shaving ‘all of’ his head? So what if he shaved a bit from each part of his head – an unseen bit – and called that shaving ‘all of’ his head?”

Masazumi wasn’t sure what he meant at first. Then the idiot opened a sign frame and displayed an image of a whole tart.

“This is one of our three-flavor tarts.”

“What about it?”

“It’s about Ohiroshiki’s idea of ‘all of’ something. You don’t have to eat every bit of the tart. As long as you eat a bite of each flavor, you’d say you’ve eaten ‘all of’ the flavors, right?”

“Ohh,” she said, understanding. “So like when I have a member of each committee at a meeting and say we have ‘all the committees here’.”

●

“Ahhh! When did this “Committee Head Roll Call’ get inserted into my schedule for tomorrow morning! Talk about a waste of time!”

“Yeah, my sister did that a lot too. She would take us on a morning fishing trip.”

“Milady! Milady! If she asks you to do work instead of taking you fishing, you need to rebel!”

●

Anyway, thought Masazumi, trying to gather everyone’s thoughts.

…I think we’ve found a compromise.

Horizon had pulled two pairs of scissors from somewhere and was chasing the idiot with one in each hand, but the Aoi Sister could probably manage any grooming needs since she was an Ootsubaki follower.

Masazumi spoke to the Swedish Chancellor who they had kind of left hanging.

Vice President: “Swedish Chancellor, are you listening? We’ve settled on an opinion.”

This should be safe, she thought as she gave it.

Vice President: “For the Nagaoka boy’s shaving, we’ve decided it will count as shaving ‘all of’ it if he just shaves some from each area, even if you can’t see what was shaved. Does that make sense?” ●

Christina had been busy watching the shooting stars and busy with her third time through the different manga she had bought at Ariake and via the divine net later on. She had marked one with a scene of Tadaoki sleeping on the second and third page to boost its priority.

…Just a bit of excitement until he wakes up!

While recording the show in the sky, she blushed and made little oohs and ahs at the turn of events in the manga, but then the Musashi Vice President sent a response.

Self-Destruct Girl: “Um, yes!? What is it!?”

Vice President: “Eh? Well, like I said, um…it’s about the Nagaoka boy’s shaving, okay? Just do all the shaving where you can’t see that it’s been shaved and that can count as shaving all of it. Got that?”

●

Christina froze in place and considered stopping breathing as well.

…Do all the shaving where you can’t see!?

What part of Tadaoki could you not see?

She knew the answer. There was a definite part of him that she couldn’t see right now.

Because he was clothed.

“Such depth…”

She knew it was a weird way to look at it, but Tadaoki was still clothed.

But in the various manga displayed on the sign frame in front of her, a quick statistical calculation showed she disrobed him in 73% of them. So from a statistical viewpoint, did she have a 73% chance of receiving his consent if she disrobed him in real life?

Really, it was the Musashi Vice President’s fault.

…She’s the one that brought up the part of him I can’t see.

And what had the Musashi Vice President said she should do about that unseen part? Just to be certain, she decided to ask for confirmation instead of making any hasty assumptions. She tried to keep it casual and nonchalant.

Self-Destruct Girl: “Y-you want me to…shave Tadaoki-sama where it can’t be seen?”

That wasn’t nonchalant at all, was it?

●

Gold Mar: “I don’t think we ever said she had to do it.”

Still Got It: “My! But it is more fun that way.”

Silver Wolf: “Motherrr! We don’t need to know what you do with father!”

Laborer: “Ha ha ha! I think she misunderstood us!”

Vice President: “No, she understands. The point is that shaving all of it where you can’t tell means all of it has been shaved.”

Art-Ga: “No, that’s not quite it. It’s that shaving all of it where you can’t tell means all of it has been shaved, right?”

Horizey: “No, no. That isn’t it. We said that shaving all of it where you can’t tell means all of it has been shaved.”

Asama: “Um, this is exceedingly difficult to follow in textual form.”

●

This should be fine, thought Masazumi.

“It’s hard to grasp from the words alone and she seemed a little confused at first just like I was, but she is a very informed person and I doubt she’ll get it wrong. If anything, she’ll find an even wiser interpretation than us.”

●

…So I’m supposed to shave him where it can’t be seen.

Christina had asked for confirmation and felt like she had received it.

How could this be? Her world was already so full of happiness, but this felt too good to be true. It felt like everything was suddenly working by Swedish standards. Had Sweden conquered the ethical world? But…

“Come to think of it, the Far East has the higher divine level.”

Searching the IZUMO site for “metal chopsticks” had turned up some incredible things related to Shinto. That had led the term to become known all around the world, but the same was happening to terms like ‘peeling’ and ‘raging’, so it seemed kind of unfair that their entire religion could be so underground.

But that also meant she could accept what the Musashi Vice President said at face value.

Vice President: “Just to be clear, the shaving needs to be done so no one can see it, okay?”

Self-Destruct Girl: “Testament! You want Tadaoki-sama shaved where it can’t be seen!”

…I’ll just have to do it.

Now, while he was asleep, would be best. She had the necessary tools in her pouch of dating equipment, but she had thought that would be used to deal with any hair she noticed. She had never dreamed it would be used for this.

Which meant this was a dream.

“Okay!”

She reached for Tadaoki’s obi.

In that moment, he squirmed a bit. And spoke, probably in his sleep.

“Hey…”

His hand wandered through empty space a bit.

“Don’t let go, okay?”

●

Christina regretted her actions with such intensity she nearly coughed up blood.

Her excitement had rapidly cooled. Or rather, Tadaoki’s sleep talking had been so delicious her focus had entirely shifted to that.

He had to be dreaming he was with her. She had heard him say this several times on the Ariake and in this surface city as it was being transported.

She had to be with him in his dream.

He didn’t think he was about to be shaved. Not in his wildest imagination. And yet…

“I was about to shave him where it can’t be seen…”

She just about covered her face with the hand holding the blade and had to control herself. Tadaoki was lying in her lap, dreaming of them on a date and seemingly reaching out in concern for her. And when she took his reaching hand…

“…Nh.”

His breathing calmed.

…That’s good.

That was the right thing to do, even in a dream.

She could tell just how much she was worrying him. Next time, instead of letting her curiosity get the better of her and losing control, she wanted to take his hand and pull him toward her, but… Me guiding him!? That would be a huge step! With a 14-year age gap!

She had lost her chance to shave him.

Only now did she realize what it was she had been about to do. There had been something wrong with her a few minutes before. Maybe she had been acting on Swedish standards and maybe the Far East’s divine standards were off, but with one of her hands full, she couldn’t do it now regardless. She could try again the next time she had both hands free and Tadaoki was asleep.

But, she thought. Tadaoki just purified me and lowered me from Swedish standards to ordinary standards. On the other hand…

…This is for the history recreation!

Vice President: “Is he shaved?”

Again, it’s too soon!

●

I never thought I would be asked to shave someone at my age. You never know what life has in store for you, thought Christina. Really, this entire year had been wild. She had fallen in love early but intended to blow herself up in accordance with the history recreation, but that love had been fulfilled and now she had to shave him.

She tried organizing her thoughts on a sign frame:

• Romance→Suicide→Confession→Shaving

The last one seemed out of place, but then again, the suicide part was fairly unusual as well.

…So is it only the even number entries that end up weird!?

That seemed right from a probabilistic and statistical standpoint. But what could she do? She was reluctant to shave Tadaoki. But if she didn’t, it would mean the Musashi Vice President was in violation of the history recreation.

What was she supposed to do in a situation like this?

“I’ve got it!”

●

Tomoe Gozen saw a notification on her divine chat that didn’t have much going on at the moment.

Seeing who it was from, she assumed the woman was enjoying a blissful moment.

Lady AM: “Huh? Christina? What’s this about?”

Self-Destruct Girl: “Is that you, Tomoe Gozen!? Um, I need some advice.”

Lady AM: “Sure, that’s fine. Just think of it as follow up after Nördlingen and tell me what you need help with.”

After the span of a breath, Christina responded.

Self-Destruct Girl: “The Musashi Vice President told me to shave Tadaoki-sama where it can’t be seen for the history recreation. What am I supposed to do!?”

●

Has she gone insane? wondered Tomoe Gozen.

Christina was currently preparing to shave Nagaoka Tadaoki at the Musashi Vice President’s request. She considered the 5W1H of the issue, but…

…What is happening?

Was that how the history recreation worked? The recent history recreation is a lot more impactful even though it isn’t as forced as it was in my time, she thought.

Self-Destruct Girl: “But Tadaoki-sama’s purity is too powerful and I can’t do it.”

…Hey, now. Don’t get so fired up. Are you picking a fight with me!?

That was her reflexive reaction, but Christina had never had any kind of relationship before this. It was only natural for her to go a little overboard now. However…

Lady AM: “I get that the Musashi Vice President is insane, but…what is this she’s asking of you?”

Self-Destruct Girl: “Testament! I know, right!? She told me to fully shave Tadaoki-sama where no one can see!”

Tomoe Gozen reread the text on her sign frame.

It clearly said what she thought it had, so she reread it again.

When she still found the same sequence of words there, she tried reading it backwards, but it was still the same. So…

Lady AM: “Explain.”

Self-Destruct Girl: “Testament! You know how Tadaoki-sama refuses Lord Mitsuhide’s request for reinforcements for the Battle of Yamazaki!? To keep up appearances with Lord Akechi, he wore mourning clothes and shaved his head.”

Oh, that, thought Tomoe Gozen, realizing what this was about.

Shaving his head. But…

…How does that lead to shaving Nagaoka Tadaoki…elsewhere!?

As she was holding her head in her hands regarding that, someone spoke to her from behind.

“Tomoe Gozen, is something wrong?”

She turned around to see a bob cut.

It was Guericke. He wore his hair in a hemispherical cut, which meant cutting all the way around his head at a certain point.

“So that’s it! That’s what she meant by fully shaving him! A bob cut!”

●

Lady AM: “I get it now! I misunderstood! This isn’t a Swedish incident after all!”

Christina didn’t really understand, but Tomoe Gozen seemed to. And it was true this wasn’t a Swedish incident, but…

Self-Destruct Girl: “Wh-what is it?”

Lady AM: “Testament. You don’t want to shave Nagaoka Tadaoki, correct?”

Self-Destruct Girl: “Testament. I really would prefer to keep him as he is.”

“In that case,” began Tomoe Gozen.

Lady AM: “Why not try it on yourself instead? I think it would look good.”

●

“…Eh!?”

Christina accidentally spoke out loud, but Tadaoki remained asleep in her lap. Safe.

But what kind of suggestion was this? Had things returned to Swedish standards?

Self-Destruct Girl: “O-on myself?”

Lady AM: “You have long hair, so it should be fine.”

…You’ve seen mine!?

She tried imagining it. And as a result…

Self-Destruct Girl: “I-I’m not sure Tadaoki-sama would be into that…”

Lady AM: “Well, I can’t force you. But what if you think of it as shared responsibility between a husband and wife?”

…Husband and wife!

Wedding bells rang around five times in her head and that made up her mind.

Self-Destruct Girl: “I-I’ll negotiate with Musashi to that end!”

●

Masazumi heard the Swedish Chancellor’s response.

Self-Destruct Girl: “Um, I have a question regarding the previous issue.”

Vice President: “That’s fine. What is it?”

Self-Destruct Girl: “Could…I do it on myself?”

Masazumi looked to the others.

First, Asama nodded a few times and said, “Christina-san really cares for Okki-kun. I can’t believe she would offer to shave herself bald for him.”

“I know what you mean, Asama-sama. To think she would shave herself bald for Sky Blue Boy,” added Horizon.

“Masazumi, I think that may be taking this too far,” said Mitotsudaira.

…Why are we back to a full shave?

Well, you could find differences in interpretation everywhere. But…

Self-Destruct Girl: “B-but I do have a small request. If I promise now to do it, could it wait until later?”

Oh, I get it, realized Masazumi.

…Because Nagaoka is still in middle school.

In the current world, you were nobody if you weren’t a student, but that definition of “student” really meant at least high school. This was a lot to put on Nagaoka’s plate when he was still in middle school.

…That could be used to justify waiting until he enters high school.

As long as they had a reason, they could manage. So Masazumi asked a question of her own.

Vice President: “And if Nagaoka won’t do it, you’ll do it instead, Swedish Chancellor?”

Self-Destruct Girl: “Oh, testament! I’m willing if it comes to it, but I’m not really sure which way Tadaoki-sama would prefer. …So while I know it’s selfish, I would appreciate it if we could wait until I know that.”

So the question was which way he would prefer.

Fine. Even if it meant waiting, Nagaoka would have an easier time understanding once he was in high school. Besides, he was with Musashi now. He might go to Sweden eventually, but…

…We might not be able to keep our promise to wait if he isn’t with us.

They could work that part out later. So for now…

Vice President: “Judge, we understand. We’ll go with that for the time being. Sorry for calling at this hour.”

●

I got through it, thought Christina, looking up into the night sky.

The number of shooting stars had increased, but the frequency of the fireballs seemed to have decreased. She wondered what it was like in the west of the Far East, but this would likely continue for a while as the moons moved.

She felt like the world was entering a difficult period.

With Tadaoki’s refusal to send reinforcements settled, they had essentially paved the way to the Battle of Yamazaki.

Hashiba or Matsudaira? A battle that would split the world in two was about to begin.

Everyone seemed to be preparing for action, but first…

“Phew.”

She held Tadaoki’s hand and enjoyed this personal happiness.

What would become of this in the end?

What would happen with the Genesis Project? She knew what Musashi would be doing, but…

“Now…what will the rest of the world do?”

●

That’s good, thought Juana, closing her cadena firma.

The Swedish Chancellor had very nearly begun an event well suited for Uncensored Kingdom Sweden, but she had gotten through it.

Tomoe Gozen had played a role, but since Tres España was staunchly Catholic, Juana didn’t know the Protestant representative very well. She wished she had had more opportunity to interact with her while she was at the Ariake or in Kyou, but…

…Being too much of a stickler for the rules has its downsides.

Being as cavalier as the Musashi Chancellor was a problem in the opposite direction, but she wished she could ignore her own position when necessary like their Vice President did.

Maybe that was the difference between a name inheritor and a non-name inheritor.

That aside, one major matter had come into view.

“It’s looking very likely the Battle of Yamazaki will happen.”

There was of course the possibility it wouldn’t happen. But they had something to decide apart from that.

“Flores. You’re there, aren’t you?”

“Testament! I-I am. Standing guard!”

“Then contact the Vice Chancellor and the others who went on ahead. We will escort Musashi’s transport ships as far as Sanuki, but after that we need to make another stop before returning home.”

“With a small formation of high-speed ships, right? We can push those pretty hard, so I highly recommend them!”

“Testament,” confirmed Juana, watching Flores immediately open a cadena firma and run out into the hallway.

Then Juana took a breath and looked out her cabin window.

“Not many shooting stars anymore.”

That reminded her that the situation was always changing, but was that due to her mind being so focused on her duties?

●

And at 2:42 AM.

Musashi’s primary sight devices and the other optical sensors informed Suzu of a large shape approaching from the north.

“Here…it comes!”

It was the Azuchi. The Hashiba forces had finished the Battle of Shizugatake and were on their way here. Right as this was visually confirmed, the Musashi switched each ship’s divine transmission status to full-open, shifting from standby mode to battle ready mode.

The Musashi had already been warmed up, so now the open areas in the surface cities were hurriedly reinforced, the hatch armor locks were applied, and the ether conduits began circulating. This made the Musashi lighter and more heavily defended than normal and the central members of the command crew were gathered in the 2nd central ship.

That meant the Chancellor, the Vice President, and other officers.

Their transport ship had taken them down where they exchanged information with those who had remained aboard the Musashi. While learning about the enemy’s approach and predictions of what would happen next, they also hurried into the academy.

“We’ve already fought a battle. We won’t have much time, but if you can get some rest, get it! Got that!?”

Masazumi spoke up before Asama handed out compressed sleep charms and exhaustion recovery spells.

“The enemy will be more worn out than us! Even so, they’ll have gotten some rest on their way here! So we need to get fed and rested too! When comparing our combat forces, the amount of rest and we’ve gotten could be decisive!”

And…

“I intend to do what I can on the political side. …So the rest of you get ready so we’ll be fine no matter what happens afterwards!”

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