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Horizon:Volume 7A Prologue

2019-02-13T05:26:42Z

162.158.187.52:

==Prologue: Omen Giver on the Gangway==
[[Image:Horizon7-A019.jpg|thumb]]
''Where should I go next?

''Whether I choose

''Or don’t choose

''There will be something there

'''Point Allocation (Expectation)

A strong salty scent entered the night breeze.

It was a sea breeze.

It began in the Sagami ocean to the south and rose up onto the land to the north.

It was a heavy wind. Instead of just blowing, it was a movement of the atmosphere that gradually grew thicker throughout the night.

That heavy wind swept across the temporary city on the surface while also hitting the giant structure floating in the sky above.

That structure was a giant aerial ship. The waves of the air produced a dull sound as they struck the white and black sides printed with the name Musashi.

That heavy sound permeated the sky. It could be heard from atop the Musashi.

However, the Musashi’s surface was divided between two different activities.

One was the repairs and reinforcement construction occurring across the Musashi. Those areas were filled with light and noise.

The other was the preparations for the coming battlefield. Those areas were cut off by sound-blocking stealth barriers to provide some rest on the way there.

The people who had fought in the Siege of Odawara got some rest or worked on the construction first. Later, those who had fought in the Siege of Kanie Castle got some rest.

They all hurried down the passageways and corridors.

“The Kantou Liberation begins in 4 hours! Those of us operating the ships begin our shift an hour ahead of time, so that only gives us 3 hours to rest! Keep that in mind!”

“I know those of you on the shift before that are tired, but it’s not too much longer now! If you’ve eaten, then get back to your posts!”

“Has anyone forgotten to set their divine radio or TV to record!? I’m taking requests if you need something!”

“I just want to record the local OP for Dragoon-mon!”

“I’ll put in a request to Houjou saying it’s research material, so get back to work!”

They met up and discussed various issues at the intersections and elevators. Some of the volunteer civilians and warriors without any work to do used their sign frames to request a shift for assisting with the transportation and food distribution, but most of them went to get some rest.

And there was another group making their way somewhere they could rest.

“Huh? Noriki, are you not bringing that girl here? Ujinao was it?”

It was Toori and the others.

Toori’s question was answered by Noriki who followed behind the others while they disembarked from a transport ship on Okutama’s bow port. He scratched his head.

“I will be bringing her here, but Houjou’s collapse is not complete quite yet. Plus, we have the Kantou Liberation to deal with. She’ll join me here once those things are complete.”

“Is that how you’re doing things?” said the others while Naito and Naruze flew from the transport ship on their brooms.

Naruze skillfully flew upside-down before spinning around to face them.

“Well, it is true we’re talking about the fall of an entire nation. There are probably some things its final leader has to take care of. If she neglected those things, you would have to wonder why you two waited this long in the first place.”

“Judge. And you never know what Hashiba will try to do if she ends her inherited name before Houjou’s collapse.”

“That’s a good point,” said Naito. She placed a hand on Naruze’s spinning broom and added another rotation to it so the other girl was facing south while upside-down.

“If she doesn’t end her inherited name properly, Hashiba might use the Testament Union to declare someone else as a new Ujinao to properly see Houjou through to the end.”

“Exactly.” Noriki scratched his cheek. “Also, she says she wants to learn how to cook before coming here.”

“Ohhh,” everyone replied before noticing a sign frame opened next to his face.

It was Ujinao.

The others let those two exchange some words that could be seen as unimportant, as a greeting, or as a thoughtful report of their situations. Meanwhile, Futayo asked Masazumi a question.

“Masazumi, what is Lady Ujinao going to do once her inherited name is complete?”

“Judge. Musashi has not received a student transfer request. She must understand what it means to be the retired representative of a former nation rather than a simple military commander.”

That being…

“If she tried to join Musashi as a student, it would give Hashiba an excuse to attack. They would say Musashi had prevented Houjou’s destruction and effectively absorbed Houjou’s authority for ourselves. Also, the Houjou forces that joined us would have unnecessary expectations of Ujinao. She was the Chancellor and Student Council President who led a nation. And unlike that idiot over there, she did so with military strength and intelligence. If she could choose to use those talents for another nation even after retiring her inherited name, it would cause problems on a national scale.”

“So to prevent that,” said Mitotsudaira. “She will decisively part ways with the nation of Houjou and cut all ties. That will bring an end to her responsibility as its final leader and to everything she inherited from that position. And it will also work to protect Musashi.”

“That is the path she has chosen. Also…check that out.”

Masazumi pointed back toward Noriki.

At some point, he had fallen a few steps behind the others, but he was speaking into his sign frame, entirely oblivious that the others had slowed down to wait for him.

“————”

He was smiling a little.

“I see,” said Naruze. “If Ujinao comes to Musashi and joins Noriki’s family, scenes like this will be a common occurrence. And he’ll have a wife at home. This will make for some excellent material. Noriki, thank you for this gift.”

“Some of your views are unhelpful, but it is true she has chosen to retire from the conflicts within her clan and family and from the conflicts between nations. From now on, she will not be an officer or a name inheritor. She will simply be a person with a new family. Whether or not that will change her personality is still unknown, though.” Masazumi’s shoulders drooped. “But you could say she is far surpassing the rest of us in her private life.”

“Oh? Masazumi, do you want a family!?” asked Futayo. “Then you can join mine! We can build a big family together!”

“Wait!”

“Why wait?” asked Futayo while Naruze started spinning wildly overhead. “Family is a wonderful thing, Masazumi. And you can build a bigger one by taking in cats like my father would! They can be a pain, but they are so very cute. …What is the matter, Masazumi?”

“Well, um…you’re even more pure than I thought you were.”

Futayo tilted her head and everyone else’s shoulders drooped. Then Noriki spoke up as he caught up from behind.

“Hey, why are you all stopped here talking? Aren’t we going to Mukai’s bathhouse?”

He said it with a sigh, so they all turned back as one.

“I don’t want to hear that from you!!”

“Huh? What’s with all of you?”

“Noriki-sama, it feels to me like you have been defanged,” said Horizon.

“Um, Horizon?” said Mitotsudaira. “I think you have sharpened your fangs a little too much.”

But there was activity around them now that they were in the port. To aft, Ookubo was exchanging information with the port authority officials and she raised a hand in greeting.

Everyone was about to rest and prepare for the next battle.

But while they gathered strength in their shoulders once more, Naito suddenly looked southward up above them.

“Oh?” She tilted her head and opened a Magie Figur.

“What is it, Gold Mar?”

“Well, I’m not sure telling you would help much, Chancellor.”

“Quit acting like I’m uselessssssssssss!”

“Judge. If you must know, it’s about the other nations’ ships.”

“Okay, yes, I’m useless. Sorry! I’m really sorry!”

“I expected that,” said Naito as she spun Naruze again and viewed some movement in the sky below her.

Then she spoke into the Magie Figur she had opened.

“Um, have you noticed, Bell-rin? We’re trying to pretty up the Musashi, but the other nations’ ships are already here for some preliminary negotiations.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Well, Bell-rin? Can you tell?”

'''Bell:''' “Oh…yes. I think they’ve sent out…some ships along with…an escort.”

Suzu answered Naito’s question.

She was currently in the changing room for the Okutama bathhouse named Suzu’s Bath. She was cleaning it, but the Musashi’s sensor data was being relayed to her from Musashino’s bridge. Thanks to that, she could sense several ships ascending to land on the Musashi.

…''What’s going…to happen?

She wanted to give everyone a chance to rest, so she had left the bridge to prepare the bath for them to freshen up after the battle.

She was just about finished and she was getting help from the kobolds and white algae creatures.

She handed a 5-yen coin to the kobolds and placed a white algae creature in each of the lockers.

“U-um, carry this stack of buckets…over there.”

“Leave it to us.”

“A-and can you all…go in there? And clean?”

“Clean?”

“Clean? Squeaky clean?”

She heard herself laughing a bit as she used this free time to change into her bathhouse swimsuit.

She was not particularly busy, but she found it easiest to complete this familiar work all in one go.

Meanwhile, another question arrived for her.

'''Vice President:''' “Um, Mukai? It doesn’t have to be exact, but can you tell how many of the ships below are from each nation?”

Since Masazumi’s request was fairly restrained, she may have known Suzu was working to prepare the bath. So Suzu tried to come up with a more general way to describe the number of ships.

'''Bell:''' “You mean like…‘lots’, ‘a bunch’, or…‘a few’?”

'''Vice President:''' “Yes, I know you’re busy, so that’s fine.”

“Hmm,” thought Suzu while collecting the white algae creatures in a basket when they finished cleaning their lockers.

'''Bell:''' “I can get the…number of ships right away. And if you ask for…a type of ship, I can tell you that…too.”

“Oh, Nobu-tan! Why are you slamming your elbows against the table and crying so soon after intercepting the divine transmission signal!? Our night of karaoke has barely even begun!”

“B-because, Koni-tan! Mu-sama…Mu-sama was actually going to give the number of ships in a super-duper cute way! She was going to say ‘lots’ or ‘a bunch’!”

“D-don’t worry, I’m sure Masazumi-kun will tell her to stick with that! Just listen!”

'''Vice President:''' “Really, Mukai? Then if you wouldn’t find it too mind-numbing, give us the actual numbers.”

“I hate you, Koni-taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!”

“Don’t take your anger out on me, Nobu-tan!!”

'''Vice President:''' “Heh, numbing numbers. Did you catch that, Mukai?”

'''Bell:''' “M-Masazumi? I think you should…get some sleep.”

“I love you, Koni-taaaaaaan!!!”

“I’m not sure what triggered that, but I’m glad you’ve recovered, Nobu-tan!!”

Suzu counted the ships based on the sensor data sent to her from the Musashino bridge.

…''Counting the number…is my specialty…right?

This was easy for her. When focusing on a collection of ships, she did not sense each individual one. She understood them as numbers and words.

Instead of tracking them by eye or counting them by hand, she understood them with the full set of senses.

So she counted them like that and sent the information to Masazumi.

'''Bell:''' “Houjou has three small ships…and one big one. Mogami has two small ones…and one big one. Oh, but one of the small Mogami ones has different…rigging?”

'''Righteousness:''' “That one counts as a Satomi ship. Yoshiaki prepared it for us. It would affect the legitimacy of our Kantou Liberation if there was no Satomi presence there.”

That sounded complicated, but she kind of understood. She had come to understand that sort of thing lately.

…''On-site experience…teaches you so much.

But Suzu noticed something odd while counting the diplomatic ships.

“There’s a lot of…Mouri ships?”

Two figures in the sky above the Musashi confirmed what Suzu said.

The gold and black winged figures were Naito and Naruze.

Naruze used the Magie Figur in hand to compare the previous Mouri fleet to the current diplomatic ships. She squinted a bit as she scrutinized the images, but she eventually frowned.

“Odd.”

“What is it, Ga-chan?”

“Judge.” Naruze drew a red circle around a few of the ships ascending on the real-time image. “Some non-Mouri ships are mixed in with the Mouri ones.”

“What clan does Suzu say they belong to?”

“Unknown since they’ve covered up the academy emblem. But they aren’t a Mouri model of ship. If anything, they look more M.H.R.R.”

“Hm.” Naito tilted her head. “Would M.H.R.R. be involved in the post-Odawara or pre-Kantou Liberation negotiations?”

“The Siege of Odawara was a battle between the Far Eastern forces, but the Kantou Liberation is between Far Eastern and continental forces.”

Naito spoke in the sky above Okutama’s front port.

They had only just returned to the Musashi now that the Siege of Kanie Castle and the “Lead With That, Noririn” festival were complete.

Her current duty was to transport the equipment and possessions of the people disembarking from the transport ships. She and Naruze had to carry those things to their homes or classrooms.

They would not normally be left with a petty job like that, but…

“We need to give them as much time to rest as possible,” said Naruze.

That was true.

They only had 4 hours before the next battle. However…

“If you think of battles as projects, then the Kantou Liberation is a ridiculously large project. Enough so that we need to hold a meeting and get some rest during the four hours ahead of time.”

Busy did not even begin to cover it. Besides…

…''Getting some rest in a hurry is kind of an oxymoron, isn’t it?

Asama had ordered some compressed sleep charms from the Asama Shrine.

Also, Suzu was preparing the bathhouse. And below…

'''Hori-ko:''' “Now, everyone. I recently learned how to make udon sashimi, so would anyone like some as nourishment before getting some sleep?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Anything but udooooooooooooon!”

'''Mar-Ga:''' “Huh? I thought you escaped the udon curse with that prostration negotiation.”

'''Vice President:''' “They haven’t actually paid back what they embezzled, so it isn’t over yet. …Asama, when will the divine punishment kick in?”

'''Asama:''' “It generally happens at dawn of the day after judgment is passed at the Shinto trial.”

'''Tonbokiri:''' “Judge. So the udon will come out tomorrow morning just as the Kantou Liberation is beginning.”

'''Righteousness:''' “Will you people stop at nothing when it comes to disgracing Satomi’s liberation!?”

Things were tough all around. But Naito tilted her head while Naruze sent the shape of the mystery ships to “Musashino” for analysis.

“Why would M.H.R.R. ships be involved in the Kantou Liberation?”

“Even if they are M.H.R.R., they’re probably Protestant.”

Naito nodded at that.

The Catholic and Protestant factions within M.H.R.R. were currently locked in constant conflict due to the Thirty Years’ War.

And the Catholic side controlled K.P.A. Italia due to the collusion between Holy Roman Emperor Matthias and Hashiba.

Musashi, on the other hand, had participated in the Sack of Magdeburg and sided with the Protestants.

''In that case,'' thought Naito as she asked just to be sure.

'''Gold Mar:''' “Seijun, if M.H.R.R. came here…actually, can they even do that? Have you heard anything from the Protestants?”

Masazumi read Naito’s question while the night sea breeze washed over her.

…''M.H.R.R. ships, hm?

She crossed her arms and thought atop a ship floating up from Okutama’s bow port.

This was a different transport ship which was used for travelling within Musashi.

The others were aboard the lightly moving ship with her. It would take them to an underground entrance near the bathhouse Mukai was preparing for them.

“Why would some M.H.R.R. ships arrive with Mouri?” she asked herself on that ship.

Those two nations were enemies, so what did this mean?

She turned around to get a quick answer.

“Neshinbara, can you give a serious answer to this? No, I suppose not. Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked for the impossible. So who else could I ask? Well, might as well just ask Mouri directly. …Hm? What is it, Neshinbara?”

“C-Crossdressing Honda-kun! You moved on without even hearing what I had to say, didn’t you!?”

“Maybe so, but let’s be honest: ''can'' you give a serious answer?”

“Wh-why do you look so skeptical!?”

Neshinbara swung his right hand and turned to the side. He placed a hand on his glasses and pushed them up.

“Of course I can give a serious answer. For I am always serious.”

She had to wonder how he defined “serious”.

But there was something she needed to ask about.

“Based on Mukai’s scans and Naito and Naruze’s observations, we know there are some M.H.R.R. ships within the Mouri negotiation fleet below. …Why do you think that is? Did the Protestants set it up?”

“That is quite simple.” Neshinbara sighed. “It is the Thirty Years’ War.”

Next to him, the idiot struck a pose and sighed.

“It is the Thhhirty Years’ Worrrr.”

“I-I didn’t say it like that! And if you do that, it will probably catch on, so please stop, Aoi-kun! I beg you!”

'''Four Eyes:''' “It is the Thhhirty Years’ Worrr.”

'''Novice:''' “You had better stop that!”

'''Four Eyes:''' “I had better?”

'''Novice:''' “Please stop! Please!”

'''Four Eyes:''' “I’m not listening to someone who can’t get his opinion across like a man.”

Neshinbara gasped and turned back toward the idiot.

“Aoi-kun! How am I supposed to admonish someone like a man!?”

“Oh, that’s easy.”

The idiot grabbed Neshinbara’s sign frame, pulled it toward him, and…

“Topknot!”

“Stooooooooooooop!”

“Calm down, Neshinbara! Why do you have to be so negative about everything!?”

“How am I supposed to look at this positively!?”

“Huh!? Try it out for yourself and you’ll see! It feels great! Besides, it’s not like the other person can see what you’re doing.”

'''Four Eyes:''' “I can hear everything you’re saying, so should I tattle to the Fairy Queen?”

“Hey! Aoi! Stop before you cause an international incident!”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Didn’t the Chancellor already cause an international incident with this one back at IZUMO?”

…''Oh yeah. That did happen, didn’t it? I had erased it from my memory.

'''Vice President:''' “But what’s important is learning our lesson and always facing forward toward the future. Right?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Foolish brother? Did you hear what this flat politician said? But it’s not like you could even do the topknot if you were facing backwards, right?”

'''Me:''' “Eh? Yeah, that one would be tricky to pull off. Asama, are there any Shinto warp spells I could use? A portable one would be great.”

'''Asama:''' “I’m not giving you one when I know that’s what you’ll do with it!”

“There you have it.” The idiot raised a hand toward Masazumi. “I just proved that the top knot is a technique used when facing forward to the future.”

“Yes, how wonderful.”

The idiot’s expression froze at her deadpan response.

After a bit, he mimed moving some luggage from right to left and looked to Neshinbara.

“Listen, Neshinbara. That was a joke. Here’s the real thing.”

“The real thing?”

“Topknot!”

“I said stooooop!”

Neshinbara struck a pose.

“Stop – right – this – instant! Aoi-kun!”

“Okay, now for a nice deep one.”

“You don’t have to do that facial expression!”

Neshinbara tried to snatch back the sign frame, but the idiot grabbed it back while uttering an “oof”. Then the nudist twisted his hips around.

“C-c’mon, man, don’t move it around without warning me! Your sign frame has a ton of pointy parts, so what if I injured my topknot!?”

“Wh-who cares about your topknot!? I’m worried about what you’re doing to the sign frame I spent all night designing!”

''Are they even speaking Far Eastern anymore?'' wondered Masazumi, but she kept it to herself for fear of getting dragged into this mess.

…''This is fine. Neshinbara is the kind of person who writes weird novels.

''In that case, it’s okay for his language to be a little broken. Probably anyway. Although that might just be who he is. But I can have peace as long as I can love on Tsukinowa. Who cares about the rest.

The idiot pulled the sign frame back and sighed.

“You want to know what I’m doing to your sign frame? Fine, then watch closely: top-…”

Just as he said “knot”, a casual kick from Horizon hit his crotch from below.

The idiot bounced upwards with an “ahee!” and then fell to his knees.

“U-um, Horizon? What if my topknot stops functioning?”

“Cut out that weird falsetto. …Anyway, Neshinbara-sama.”

Horizon turned toward Neshinbara. And…

“What was it you wanted to say about the Thhhirty Years’ Worrr?”

“Et tu? Et tu, Horizon-kun!?”

“Neshinbara, just answer the question. Our sleep time is slipping away at an alarming rate.”

Masazumi could not figure out why everyone gave her accusatory looks when she said that.

Regardless, Neshinbara’s shoulders drooped and he opened a new sign frame.

He looked down rather than at the others and he tapped the screen.

“Listen. Hexagone Française repelled Hashiba’s attack on Paris and has declared their intent to conquer. And what does that mean? Why, it means Hexagone Française has begun the 30 Years’ War.”

“Isn’t it perfectly normal for them to be starting the Thirty Years’ War?”

Asama asked that of Masazumi with her arms wrapped around herself and the shirt Toori had given her.

…''My shrine maiden uniform was torn up pretty bad.

It had not bothered her too much during the battle, but that had changed now that things had calmed down. Of course, everyone’s clothes had been damaged or soaked in the battle, so they all looked like a mess.

Masazumi must have been bothered by her wet uniform because she kept her arms crossed as she responded.

“Hexagone Française already told us they would be beginning the Thirty Years’ War. But what that means has changed.”

“What it means?”

When Asama asked that, Kimi nodded next to her.

“In other words, what Masazumi thought was going to be a fun war has leveled up to a big fun war! In terms of combining materials, it’s like combining ‘political resolution’ with ‘war’ to drag ‘other nations’ into it all! And if you want a higher success rate, you provoke the enemy nations through negotiation! That’s my quick walkthrough!”

“Isn’t provoking the enemy a bad thing?”

Everyone responded to Asama’s question by looking to Neshinbara.

She did the same, and…

“Oh, right. That’s exactly what he did at the pre-Odawara negotiations.”

“Hold on! Wh-what are you talking about, Asama-kun!”

“Calm down,” said Horizon before addressing a question to Neshinbara. “So how has the meaning changed?”

“Eh?”

He froze in place. He seemed confused what her question meant, so Asama took turns exchanging glances with Kimi, Mitotsudaira, Toori, and Horizon.

…''Don’t tell me.

Her thoughts were perfectly expressed by the first post she saw on her sign frame.

'''Mar-Ga:''' “Don’t tell me that idiot just wanted to say it because it sounded cool.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.”

'''Unmoving:''' “How did you make it this far?”

'''Uqui:''' “Narumi, if that was so easy to figure out, the enemy would not be having so much trouble.”

The incredible part was how accurate that was. But the accused swung his arm side to side a few times.

“Please wait! It is crucial that you ask a question first! Don’t you think!?”

Horizon pulled a desk and chair out of nowhere and sat down with her head resting in her hands.

“Judge. Very true, Neshinbara-sama. Now, care to explain the question that has been asked?”

“Eh?”

He was very clearly sweating now, but he pushed up his glasses and swung his right arm.

“L-l-listen, all of you. Th-th-th-the thing is…”

“Just admit defeat!”

Asama had a thought while everyone shouted at Neshinbara. She exchanged a smiling glance with Mitotsudaira.

…''We don’t go easy on our own, do we?

''No, we don’t,'' replied Mitotsudaira with her eye contact and a nod. Then Masazumi stepped forward with drooping shoulders.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. Actually, it does matter, but I will explain instead.”

“If you say so,” everyone said as Masazumi raised her right hand.

“Basically, Hexagone Française is focusing on their European history recreation instead of their Far Eastern history recreation.”

Masazumi had a thought as she viewed the fleet rising in the southwestern sky.

…''The world really is looking to the future.

Musashi was doing the same. But these actions outside her expectations filled her with caution and surprise.

The world was not shaping up the way she had expected.

No matter how many predictions she made, they were no more than calculations.

''What matters is to have a policy and to have the flexibility to fit your surroundings,'' she thought.

“This means Mouri has set something up again. …Naomasa.”

“What do you want?”

Naomasa spoke from a sign frame.

The god of war sniper unit held their rifles at the ready on the bow in case any of the diplomatic ships tried anything. Naomasa was still on the scene commanding them.

“I can see that fleet quite well from here.”

“What clan emblem is displayed on the ships marked by Mukai and the others?”

“Wait just a second.”

Naomasa opened a sign frame on the screen.

Jizuri Suzaku slowly tilted its head behind her. The footage on Naomasa’s sign frame scrolled in sync with that.

“Found it. The emblem has been covered up.” She added a disinterested “but” with her kiseru in the corner of her mouth. “It’s a pretty sloppy paint job.”

“Can you see the emblem through the new coat?”

“No, but it’s pretty uneven. You can tell it was a rush job.”

Meaning…

“The unevenness in the color would be because the ship flew here from the west with the sea breeze hitting it. That means the paint job was done in a hurry during the Siege of Odawara.”

“In that case,” said Masazumi while raising a hand to thank Naomasa.

She had a question for the Technohexen pair.

'''Vice President:''' “Naito, Naruze. Who do the marked transport ships belong to?”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Have you tried asking ‘Musashi’?”

'''Musashi:''' “I am afraid the notification sent to me simply said they were ''Mouri ships''. Over.”

'''Mar-Ga:''' “Judge. Those of us working transport were told the same thing. Looks like they’re trying to pass them off as Mouri ships no matter what.”

“I see,” said Masazumi as Ohiroshiki tilted his head.

“What does that mean? I don’t really get what that tells us.”

Masazumi prepared to answer his question, but someone else beat her to it.

It was Tachibana Muneshige. He stepped forward while speaking.

“Hierarchy can be established through affiliation.”

Masazumi watched the Tachibana Husband nod.

He looked to the west before continuing.

“When we were with Tres España, we had a hierarchical relationship with K.P.A. Italia.”

He glanced over at Gin who nodded and continued for him.

“Mouri Terumoto participated in the Siege of Odawara as the Mouri clan, but based on the current events, she must have no intention of denying she is also a representative of Hexagone Française. After all, even if the marked ships are M.H.R.R. ships, their owner likely has a Far Eastern inherited name. However, the ships have erased that Far Eastern name to place themselves beneath Mouri in the hierarchy for their own safety.”

“Do you know what those ships hope to accomplish?”

“If they are here for diplomacy, there are two possibilities.”

That response came from the Date Vice Chancellor. With Urquiaga to her side, she organized some sign frame documents for Date and kept he eyes on the screen instead of looking up.

“First, they have Far Eastern business that must be kept secret.

“Or second, they have European business that must be kept secret. I cannot imagine it is anything else.”

“Narumi, if you try to make the obvious sound impressive, you will end up like Neshinbara.”

“Then I should probably explain further. But…” The Date Vice Chancellor looked up. “Date is an eastern nation while Tres España is a western nation. A local could probably explain better. Mito Lord, I would appreciate it if you explained as best as you could.”

Mitotsudaira had been named, so she looked to her king before answering.

She saw him sticking his god mosaic into Neshinbara’s sign frame, so she decided not to look at him. Instead, she stepped forward to block him from view.

“Now, then.”

“Nate! Nate!” shouted her king. “Did you just ignore me!?”

“Oh, what’s this?” asked Horizon. “Is the little boy upset his plea for attention failed?”

“Do you want a knight to address things that will dishonor her king!?” protested Mitotsudaira.

“Hold on, Nate!”

Her king grabbed her shoulders. The strength of his grip caused her pulse to quicken, but when she looked back, she saw him sticking his god mosaic into two of Neshinbara’s sign frames, so she decided not to look at him.

“Nate! Hey! Over here! Look over here!”

“Ho ho? I am currently raising my fist, Toori-sama, so how about you look over here?”

“Nooooo! I don’t want to see anything painful!”

Mitotsudaira ignored them and started speaking.

“Hexagone Française should be preparing to begin the Thirty Years’ War in earnest.”

Which meant…

“They have yet to truly start the Thirty Years’ War.”

“What does that meant?” asked Urquiaga.

Mitotsudaira answered with a nod.

“Hexagone Française has not participated in the Thirty Years’ War as a nation. But now that they have ''indicated'' they will soon start, they can wield their strength as a powerful nation and it seems someone has come forward in the hopes of relying on that strength.”

Some of them understood what she meant and some did not.

Someone who was likely in the latter group spoke from behind her.

“That just means one of that sun nudist’s friends wants our help with something, right? And with something only we can help with.”

That was true.

If Hexagone Française could handle whatever the problem was, that conqueror’s nation would have done so.

They would not have gone to the trouble of bringing transport ships with the academy emblem hidden.

…''Mother must know something about this.

Mitotsudaira had a feeling this was going to be a lot of trouble, but she still spoke to her king.

“My king? We can’t be too accommodating. Even if this is related to Europe, the Kantou Liberation comes first.”

“Oh, right. We’ve gotta help Flatty get revenge.”

Everyone turned toward Yoshiyasu and she spread her mouth horizontally.

“I hate that I can’t insist I can handle this on my own.”

“We are allies, so feel free to rely on us. And we’ll feel free to help you,” said Masazumi. “That’s how nations get along.”

The king turned toward her when he heard that.

“Seijun, getting along between nations like that sure is a pain, isn’t it?”

“That’s what I’m here for. Because it would be far too dangerous to let you do it. And since there are rules – albeit unwritten ones – we can trust in that more than a verbal agreement with your neighbors.”

'''Mar-Ga:''' “That’s true. Because we can go to war if they don’t keep their promise. You don’t often get a chance to do that against your neighbors.”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “Oh, yeah. That is how she does things, isn’t it?”

'''Vice President:''' “That isn’t what I was trying to say!!”

Regardless, things were already headed for the next stage.

The wind washing over the transport ship had changed. The ship was descending toward Okutama’s surface city.

The distant diplomatic ships were eventually hidden behind the Musashi itself.

'''Bell:''' “The bath is…ready!”

“Good.” Masazumi had Tsukinowa open a sign frame. “The preliminary negotiation begins in 45 minutes, so we have 30 minutes to rest and freshen up. Let’s go over what information we have while we do so.”

“Um, then I’ll manage everyone’s sign frames and whatnot.”

Asama raised her hand while holding together the shirt which smelled of their king.

And when the wind of their descent grew especially strong, a thought occurred to Mitotsudaira.

[[Image:Horizon_7A_050-051.png|thumb]]

…''This is the next stage.

A lot had changed at the Siege of Odawara, but those changes were not stopping.

Next up was the Kantou Liberation. And…

“Now, then.”

What was approaching them and their future?

—'''Does it mean they have something they must do?

[[Image:Horizon7-A052.jpg|thumb]]
Study:

State of the Nations

Toori: Sis! Sis! We finished a lot already, but now we’re moving on to the Kantou Liberation, right!? But what are the different nations like right now?

Kimi: Heh heh heh. What brother, this is probably going to change before long, but these are the problems the different nations are carrying around.

Musashi: Since we are close with Satomi, we should gain a lot if the Kantou Liberation succeeds. However, we have not moved from Kantou for a bit, so our connections with Europe are weak even though we need to go to Westphalia in the end. It is also looking more likely that summer break will begin before we can force the history recreations of Nobunaga and Hashiba.

Mouri: They need support when settling the outside world, so they want to use the Kantou Liberation to earn some favors with the Kantou nations. Hexagone Française has said they will be beginning the Thirty Years’ War in earnest, but that also means they have yet to actually start on that.

Hashiba (P.A. Oda): Since most of the eastern Far East will side with Musashi if the Kantou Liberation is carried out, they want to stop it no matter what. However, they must hurry back from Hexagone Française if they are to intervene in the Kantou Liberation. But with summer break coming up, they plan to complete a lot of internal history recreations during the break.

Houjou: By continuing their fall, they can avoid Testament Union interference and join Musashi.

Date: The 1st Apology for Masamune arriving late for the Siege of Odawara has yet to be officially completed. That and the later 2nd Apology require cautious observations of Hashiba’s actions.

Uesugi: As they are currently allied with Hashiba, they cannot carelessly work with Musashi. However, they would like to do so in order to reduce their losses in the later Punishment of Aizu against Matsudaira.

Satomi: “I sure hope we can do the Kantou Liberation.”

Mogami: “Yoshiaki-sama is a free spirit, mon!”

Kimi: Well, some are more free than others, but that about sums it up. They all have their own problems and they’re trying to see how they can take control.

Toori: What a pain. I sure am glad we have Seijun for this stuff.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 7A School Rules|School Rules]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 7A Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
}}
</noinclude>

Rakuin no Monshou:Volume8 Chapter6

2018-12-07T02:56:22Z

162.158.187.52: /* Part 1 */

==Chapter 6: Return==

=== Part 1 ===

At around that time, a great many people were gathered at Apta’s dragon training ground.

Thick stakes were being driven one-by-one into the ground of that open space. Each of the more than fifty stakes would soon be used to crucify<ref>This is most likely the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion#Japan Japanese variant of crucifixion] in which criminals were tied to crosses then killed with spears (replaced here by guns). This method of execution was not generally a form of prolonged torture, unlike the Roman tradition involving nails, flaying and leaving the condemned to die.</ref> someone. The members of the prince’s former Imperial Guards.

By the time Rogue Saian noticed the commotion, the preparations were already more than half complete. Odyne, who had been relaxing in his room, also caught wind of it and came rushing along with him. The two of them had sternly questioned Nabarl about it, but Apta’s current commander-in-chief coolly replied that,

“We will shortly be performing an execution here.”

“You’ve arbitrarily decided that on your own?”

“It will not be all of them. As His Majesty will want information, some of them will be spared. For the rest, it is a question of troop morale. With the present uproar, the soldiers were getting irritated that it was taking so long to be resolved. Public executing the pack that conspired with Taúlia to assassinate the prince will raise their spirits.”

The uproar was that a dragon handled by Hou Ran had mauled some of Nabarl’s men to death. Rogue’s expression grew bitter.

“When we asked her about it, she explained that it was protecting her. So far, there is no evidence that they’re connected with Taúlia. Are you not being overly-hasty?”

“Were there any witnesses who could support that woman’s excuse? That’s right, there were none. I believe my subordinates’ report. If you were in my position, you would too.”

“However…”

“Besides which, are you calling for evidence? His Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince, was shot and lost his life. The Imperial Guards originally blamed that crime on General Oubary, however the general has already been released in Solon and His Majesty has declared that it was Taúlia’s doing. General Saian, do not speak so thoughtlessly. Your words just now could be taken as direct criticism of His Majesty.”

The colour of blood rose to Rogue’s face.

While arguing down the veteran general, Nabarl had been curt from beginning to end. In point of fact, the matter did not interest him. Executing the Imperial Guards was, after all, no more than something to be added to his justifications for having lost the battle, and was not something that would be particularly productive.

Before many more days had passed, the troops of each of the twelve generals would probably be despatched to Apta and, if that happened, there was no guarantee that he would remain the supreme commander. Nabarl dearly wanted to lead another assault against Taúlia with his current military power. The execution was something like a ritual. It meant both wiping the slate clean of his defeat as well as stoking the soldiers up.

“I have lost my cherished soldiers,” Nabarl closed his eyes. “There would have been a meaning to their lives being cut down on the battlefield, but instead they were mauled to death by a dragon being controlled by a female slave. How can I explain it to their families who are awaiting their return? Please do not try to stop me, Sir Rogue. As we are now, this is something which is necessary. There must certainly be an execution along with the dawn.”

When he was told that it would be at dawn, Rogue closed his mouth.

According to the letter, it was at about that time that Crown Prince Gil Mephius would arrive. This allowed Rogue to take a gamble.

''If he comes, good. But if he doesn’t…''

“Do you believe it?” asked Odyne who was walking beside him after they had left Nabarl.

“Believe what?”

“What we were discussing.”

Rogue Saian had shown Odyne the letter that Shique had delivered. His reaction had not been very different from Rogue’s own. He had been surprised but not flustered. Nor had he stated what he intended to do with regards to it.

As they walked shoulder-to-shoulder, Odyne cautiously lowered his voice.

“Isn’t it because you believe it that you backed down for the time being?”

“Well...”

Despite it being the dead of night, the figures of a multitude of people could be seen by the light of the fires that had been lit in the iron baskets all around the training grounds. They were there to watch the executions.

“What does ‘well’ mean?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know either. But… whether it’s true or not, I’m grateful for that letter.”

“Grateful?” Odyne’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected words.

Rogue Saian smiled. “It gave me the impetus to reach a decision.”

“…”

“Although I was dissatisfied with all sorts of things about Mephius’ current state, I was not going to do anything about it. I made excuses about already being too old and that it was a job for the young. I didn’t even realise it myself.” As they walked, Rogue narrowed his eyes as though he was looking at something dazzling. “And so, without that letter, I too might have led my men over the border with Taúlia in the end. But thanks to it – and whether I believe it or not is separate matter – I decided to wait the three days as a Mephian warrior. And I will give my answer having thought about it as a warrior. I was made to realise it… Odyne, if at dawn the prince does not appear, then…”

“Then?”

“I will stop the execution. Even if I have to strike down Nabarl himself.”

“General!”

As though expecting to suddenly be shot at, Odyne cautiously swept his gaze around their surroundings. There were several soldiers standing sentry nearby but those words did not appear to have reached them. Rogue himself was still smiling.

“As long as there is life left within me, I will not let a single soldier cross the border. His Majesty will naturally be furious. But I am proud of belonging to the Saian House and we have supported the country as Mephian warriors from generation to generation. If that self-same Saian House demonstrates its military power for the last time, even His Majesty will become conscious of something.”

“Sir Rogue…”

“You are young. You do not need to follow me. For me, my men are like my family. They are of the same mind as me. But I do not intend to involve any but my family in this.”

“Even I…” Odyne was about to declare that he shared the same will, but stopped just short. No matter how much antipathy he felt towards the emperor, who was so lacking in righteousness, if he aligned himself with Rogue’s actions, then not only would he himself be in danger, but his family back in Solon would be too. The way Rogue had clearly spoken of his “family”... in other words, he was prepared to sacrifice them.

Odyne’s breath was taken away when thinking of his own hesitations compared to the depth of the veteran general’s resolve.

Perhaps because he noticed Odyne’s thoughts, Rogue laughed cheerfully. “Before this, we were not particularly close, but I am glad to have made a friend after coming here. But you will live. If all those who share this same heart are killed in action, Mephius will be covered in even greater darkness than it is now. So you will live. I want you to live and endure as you bide your time. Then maybe, if there are any who feel that my actions held some righteousness, you will be able to win them over to your side. Even one would count as a victory.”

Rogue’s face was calm as he explained a plan that worked on the premise of his own death. Perhaps he was feeling brighter now that he had gotten all that off his chest, as Rogue’s face looked refreshed while he thumped Odyne on the shoulder.

“Mephius’ future is bright. Don’t you think so? Right, this evening, let’s drink together. I won’t let you say no. The men are kicking up a ruckus while they wait too. Right, let’s go.”

The two generals left the training grounds behind them.

When Odyne fleetingly looked back, he felt as though the stakes illuminated by the fires were like the gravestones for Mephius itself, and shuddered.

Seven figures on horseback raced on, torches held aloft. They had left from Taúlia.

Because these were times of war, units like these could be seen patrolling far and wide, even away from the cities. The soldiers were not only from Taúlia but also from Helio, Kadyne or Cherik.
Orba’s face was concealed beneath his hood. He went unnoticed.

Although on the way they would stop by an airship relay base that also doubled as a camp for the guards, it would still take two days to reach the border. And near Apta there was the River Yunos as well.
The group was mostly silent as they sped their horses onwards.

There was a lot to think about. The Taúlian soldiers had not been informed at all about what Orba was planning on doing; while Orba had the strong impression that he was riding hard along a road that he would never be able to turn back along, exactly as though he were racing along a bridge that was burning behind him.

And yet, he was not plunged into regret.

''It’s a fight. A fight.''

As proof of that, his blood was stirring.

''The enemy is colossal.''

Although he had gone through battle after battle, the enemy was much larger this time. So in order to fight against it, he would also have to be large.

One by one, he mentally went over the processes to achieve that. However there was not a single thing among them that he took for granted. He could only think of the many pitfalls that laid along the path ahead.

Even that feeling of tension currently felt good to Orba.

The die has been cast. He was no longer wavering between this and that. Orba was never so lively as when he had reached the stage where there was nothing to do next but take action.

A day passed by as they went by the site the had been turned into a battlefield not long ago.

They took a nap at the relay’s barracks then immediately left again. There were, of course, only men at that camp, but there had been an exception only about a week earlier. Someone who had also been a foreigner. But Orba did not know that.

As the day was dying and they were riding fast through the dusk –

“Oi, over there,” said one of the Taúlian soldiers.

When they looked, it seemed as if flames were rising from the side. Because it was in the same direction as the setting sun, they had not been noticeable before, but now that the burning rays of sunlight had dimmed, the riders could see the flame’s light.

Upon asking, it seemed that there was a small village in that direction. The soldiers began to make a stir.

“It can’t be an attack by Mephian forces?”

“There was no news about them crossing the border.”

“Could the bastards have sneaked up on the border guards?”

Each of them pulled on their reins and brought their horses to a standstill. Orba was no exception.

''A village is being attacked.''

His expression had changed under his hood. In his mind he saw flames rising from every house and people running between them, trying to escape. An army troop clad in black from head to toe chased after them. The screaming women and children who were crushed under the horses’ hooves, the young men whose heads were sent flying when tried to resist – one by one the images flashed by then faded. That time from his own childhood had overlapped with the present.

“What do we do?”

The Taúlian soldiers started a discussion in front of Orba.

“If it really is Mephian troops, it’ll be impossible to get any closer to the border.”

“Let’s return to the camp. We can notify Taúlia with the airships there.”

“First things first, I’ll go check the situation. The rest of you stay here on standby and…”

The outcome was that the group would be split into three. Two would go towards the village to act as scouts and two more would return to the camp. The remaining three, Orba included, would stay where they were on standby, but –

“No,” Orba shook his head. “We’ll get as close as we can to the border.”

“What?”

The Taúlian soldiers were aghast. Orba was already urging his horse onwards. At the sight of his arrogant behaviour, the youngest soldier in the group snarled.

“You’re just going to be jumping into the enemy’s arms. Mephius has already forded the Yunos.”

“There’s no time.”

“Time. Time for what? We haven’t been told anything. Even if it doesn’t matter to you, that’s one of our villages over there. That’s…”

“If you’re not coming then do whatever you want. I’m going ahead,” Orba flung at him and whipped his horse.

Leaving the soldiers behind, he travelled steadily forward. Under the swaying hood, his eyes gleamed sharply. He did not want to abandon the village either. He too was worried that Mephius might be occupying the border, but that was even more so a reason to hurry onwards.

On the other hand, the leader of the Taúlian soldiers he had left behind reached a decision.

“At any rate, we need to check the situation at the border.”

After giving each group, one heading towards the village and the other returning to camp, their respective orders, he then, with the youngest soldier in tow, chased after Orba.

“Tsk,” the young soldier reluctantly made his horse move its legs.

Orba was not going to look back.

A gunshot resounded in his ears.

It was not from some far off direction – in other words, it was not from the village. It was from close by.

He grabbed the sword at his waist.

A number of figures had suddenly jumped out from the side of the road.

A gunshot.

At the same time, Kiril leapt backwards.

“Don’t move.”

His smoking gun muzzle firmly fixed on Kiril, Rone Jayce walked towards him. They faced each other with the princess and Layla between them.

“Forget it.”

As he spoke, Kiril once again swept his arm in a wide movement. From it, a black shadow shot through the air. Rone instinctively stepped back and it flew over his head. Having seen it pass by, Rone was about to angrily pull the trigger when,

“Duck!” Vileena cried out in the same instant.

He realised just in time what the weapon that had been about to end his life was doing. His warrior instincts sprang back to life at the sharpness of that voice. He was originally a man who had sufficient enough skills to be chosen as one of the emperor’s own Imperial Guards. When Rone stooped, Kiril launched himself and broke into a run.

Rone adjusted the gun’s aim, but was too late.

A kick from Kiril’s long legs sent the weapon flying. Then, using the recoil from his action to whirl like an acrobat, he caught the boomerang in mid-air.

He landed behind Rone. At almost the same moment as the former Imperial Guard released the glint of a blade at his waist, Kiril swung the dagger he held in one hand, aiming for Rone’s back in the same movement. With a timing that was almost artistic, the swords collided.

Sparks flew.

Both turned towards the other. Their faces were close. They exerted their strength to break that balance. Rone had the advantage in both weapon and physique. He gradually overwhelmed Kiril with brute force.

Suddenly, Rone pitched forward. Kiril immediately relaxed his strength and crouched down, pivoted on his right foot and, as Rone started stumbling, tripped him to the ground.

“Father!”

His daughter’s voice ringing in his ears, Rone quickly rolled over as a blade drove after him. Twice, thrice, he narrowly dodged it but Kiril’s movements were ruthlessly precise and on the third time, the blade cornered him into a position from which he could no longer avoid it.

“Wait.”

Vileena.

Without anyone realising it, she had picked up the gun that had been kicked out of Rone’s hand and was standing to their side.

Kiril did not falter for a second. His sword swung down towards Rone’s neck.

“Guh!”

He cried out like a bird of ill-omen and staggered back. A cloud of dust rose from the ground. The tip of his feet had almost been blown through.

Having fired the shot, Vileena narrowed the distance between them and once more put herself at the ready. Kiril’s eyes filled with surprised admiration.

“You actually did it, Princess.”

“You called me ‘Princess’? Judging by your behaviour, you know who I am?”

“Of course. The third princess of Garbera, Vileena Owell. An exalted existence, the like of which there is no second in this world.”

When he formally announced her name, Rone and Layla gasped. Vileena however had no attention to spare for them. Her heart was pounding. The stench of gunpowder filled her nose to the point of bringing tears to her eyes.

Abiding by her grandfather’s instructions, and so as to be able to protect herself, Vileena had not failed to continue gun practice, but this was of course the first time she had shot at a human.

“Hmm,” nevertheless, she raised her slender chin and her manner remained haughty to the last, “if you have business with me, then it has nothing to do with the villagers. Why did you do something like this?”

“For the sake of achieving my goal, I could not afford to choose my means...” Kiril’s expression fleetingly turned sorrowful but, “...that would be a lie. I did it because it was fun.”

“Fun?”

“Having gone out of our way to come this far, it would be boring if the only prey were small-fry Taúlian soldiers. If the battle isn’t a maelstrom of screams and blood, the ether that humans release before dying won’t be refined.”
[[Image:Rakuin no Monshou v08 259.jpg|thumb]]
White-hot anger flared in Vileena’s eyes. From the corner of her eye, she saw the tumbling corpse of a man who had been pierced in the abdomen by a Mephian soldier. While the youth whose arm had been cut off, and who was even now faint with agony, was certainly the one called Lennus who had given flowers to Layla.

“Scoundrel.” Vileena voice sounded as though it could have cut him down. “Don’t move. If you value your life, throw down your weapon and surrender with your companions.”

“Since I don’t value it, I’ll be resisting you on that.”

Kiril gave a wicked smile and flung the boomerang in a swift movement. Startled, Vileena shifted her eyes left and right and in that instant, Kiril broke into a sprint. Moving as fast as though he were flying, he cut down the distance in a heartbeat. When the princess realised it, she lifted the gun in front of her but it was too late. Kiril slammed his fist into her abdomen.

Vileena wordlessly crumpled to her knees. For a second, it felt as though all the oxygen had been snatched from her body. Kiril easily grabbed the gun from her shaking hands.

“You should pay close attention. There won’t be a second sacrifice as noble as you. To enhance the quality, I’ll have you hate and despair even more.” Kiril licked his lips.

At precisely that moment, a Taúlian soldier raised his sword behind Kiril and aimed for him but the weapon that Kiril had thrown some time earlier came back, tearing through the wind, and hit the soldier, who was only a few steps behind him, in the back of his neck

Unconcerned by the blood that was gushing like a raging waterfall, Kiril smoothly pulled it out. Like a doll that had been tossed away, the soldier fell to the ground.

His victim’s blood smeared on him like makeup, Kiril once more turned his eyes towards the Jayce father and child.

“Stay away!” Rone shouted, but not to Kiril. To his wife who, her face pale, was about to run to them. He himself stood to face Kiril, sword in hand.

Vileena could barely keep the two of them in sight. It was hard to breathe. Black shadows hung from her eyelids and if her consciousness slipped just a little bit more, the two figures would be engulfed in a wave of darkness. As a voice whispered to her that it would be more comfortable that way, she gritted her teeth and rejected it.

''Damn it!'' – The resentful curses that the Garberan soldiers had sometimes spoken echoed in Vileena’s heart.

Even though she was doing her utmost to stay conscious, she could not freely lift so much as a single finger. Unaware that drool was coming from her mouth and that her eyes were overflowing with tears, Garbera’s third princess cursed her own powerlessness as she was unable to even move.

''Always... always…'' At times like these, she was made to realise what an insignificant existence she was, good only to be knocked around without being able to do anything.

As the distance between the two narrowed, the feeling of oppression coming from the fire seemed to increase. Rone was on the verge of swinging his sword. But not because he was seizing an opening but because he could no longer bear the tension – in other words, Kiril had made him move. Even Vileena, an amateur, could see it. And just as she had imagined, Rone moved in a straight line which Kiril was easily able to dodge before burying his right hand into Rone’s abdomen.

“Guh!”

A dagger stabbed deep into his belly, Rone grunted as he started to topple backwards. Kiril moved to hug his body close to prevent that from happening. Screams from Rone’s wife and child echoed.

“Stop!”

The voice that only barely sprang from Vileena’s lips pierced Kiril’s ears more keenly than any other. He turned around with a somewhat surprised expression. In that time, Rone’s body collapsed.

“My. You still have courage enough to speak.” Though Kiril's eyes were once again filled with admiration, strange words followed. “Such a waste. Such a high-quality existence should be kept to milk ether or be of use to Lord Garda. It really is a waste, but it’s an order, so there’s no help for it.”

“What are you…”

“Well, be sure to shed tears of blood as you watch in frustration.” Kiril turned his back to Vileena. His complete disinterest stoked the fire of her anger.

However, a black curtain had already more than half fallen over her consciousness. Her entire body had gone numb and in a few more seconds, she would no longer be able to speak and would fall unconscious.

''Is a woman this powerless? Away from the protection of the soldiers and the people, is the royal family this insignificant?''

She remembered that night. Wandering along the mountain path while being afraid of the dark. The Jayce family had saved her from that. She had learned that even though she was royalty, if she took just a single step out of their territory, no, out of the area that she herself knew, she was reduced to this powerlessness.

Although light from the fires should have been illuminating her surroundings, at some point, the sky that stretched out over her head had become incredibly dark. There was not the faintest glimmer of hope in that ink-black sky she gazed up at. As the fear from that time came back to her, she lost the strength to cling to the present.

''I am... the royal family is…''

Even as her soul was about to be consumed by the night, Vileena asked herself until the very last moment.

''The royal family is – yes, it’s a “light”.''

A scene suddenly flashed through Vileena’s consciousness. At Zaim Fortress, when she was facing the gallant young general, Ryucown. Vileena herself had said that to the man who's overwhelming grief for his country had driven him to violence.

“The royal family is not the cornerstone of a country. The sense of pride in the retainers and the people is the same – you can find the same light in that nation.”

''Because of that…''

She had wanted to become stronger. She had wanted to become a cornerstone for the royal family. The people and the vassals each had different concepts of happiness but hope was something they could share. The close future was something they could imagine.

It was just after the battle at Zaim had ended – as she could still hear the groans of the injured, the weeping of the Garberan soldiers, and also the ragged breathing of the masked swordsman Orba who had killed Ryucown – that Vileena Owell had thought that she wanted to become a “light” similar to those guiding principles.

''That’s right, even though I myself am small and powerless…''

Vileena exerted the last of her strength. She let out the last of the air in her lungs and, not caring that she might lose consciousness or even her life because of it, she opened her mouth.

“Somebody,” she cried. “Is anybody there? Is there anyone to defeat these scoundrels and protect the noble blood of Garbera’s royal family? Hurry... hurry...”

The only answer was Kiril’s loud laughter. “Splendid. If royalty such as yourself gives the order, will your loyal subjects come running even from the ends of the earth? You truly have a splendid attitude.”

Vileena continued without paying him any attention.

“Is anybody there? Is there no hero to answer Vileena Owell’s voice? If there is someone here – someone that I do not know or cannot see, even someone who is currently fighting against us – who is willing to quickly lift up their sword; I, Princess Vileena, will praise you as a hero!”

Her sight was already virtually covered up. Vileena’s mouth shut and her consciousness was almost gone.

Kiril drew up towards the screaming and crying Layla. Rone’s wife rushed to protect her but he thrust her away with a simple “later.”

He lifted the wet, red blade.

“Somebody…”

Her voice husky, Vileena called out to the end as her eyelids closed.

Kiril continued to laugh loudly. For him, the ‘ceremony’ was reaching its peak and he could feel the highly-concentrated ether against his skin.

He was about to stab his blade with all his strength.

There was a loud neighing sound.

A black wind blew to Vileena’s side.

It blew up to Kiril. Just as it was about to collide into him, the figure of a man on horseback was reflected in Vileena’s eyes. The astounded Kiril leapt to the side and narrowly avoided the horseman’s charge.

“Bastard!” He yelled unintentionally as his opponent was neither a Taúlian soldier nor, obviously, a Mephian one.

He wore an iron mask.

=== Part 2 ===

''It can’t be'' – he had thought but there was no doubt.

It was unmistakably the Garberan princess, Vileena Owell. who lay collapsed, casting a dark shadow on the ground that was illuminated by the fire.

Initially, Orba was going to ride by the village without stopping. Even if Mephian soldiers were running amok, he judged that his first priority was to hurry towards Apta and halt the enemy advance.

But as he was about to leave the village behind, he had run into Zerdians fleeing from it. They were Kiril’s subordinates who had been the first to shoot at the search party in an attempt to divide the enemy. Chasing immediately behind them were Taúlian soldiers.

The ones appointed to escort Orba recognised them as comrades and helped them drive away the Zerdians.

“What’s going on?” asked the escorts.

“We found the Garberan princess,” answered the soldiers from the search party.

While Orba was still doubting his own ears, they rapidly explained the situation. He realised that they had been tricked by the enemy into splitting up. He had no memory of what had happened after that. By the time he noticed it, he was lying low on his horse’s neck as it galloped on. Because it was impeding the run, he flung off his hooded cloak.

Every time the horse’s hooves drilled holes into the ground’s surface, sending earth and sand flying, he got closer to the din from the village and the heat of the fire. And along with that, feelings that were hard to describe were raging darkly through Orba’s chest.

And now – Vileena lay collapsed.

It was a relationship that he had once severed.

From the moment he had cast his mortal enemy, Oubary, into the flames, Orba had decided to abandon his false face. But not only his face. Among the many things that he had thrown aside, there was also the princess from Garbera. Now they had met again in another small village where sparks were flying. Orba’s loudly throbbing heart pounded.

Kiril, for his part, had already recovered his stance after the sudden charge. Seeing that his enemy’s attention was momentarily turned away from him, he threw the boomerang.

Coming back to himself, Orba instinctively made to cut it down. However, it soared far above the range of his sword. He urged his horse onwards without paying it any further heed. A smile appeared on Kiril’s face. As though guided by the enemy, it turned and started to hurtle towards Orba’s back. The enemy was drawing close. And the shadow of death chased right behind him.

The hair at the back of Orba’s neck stood on end.

A sign.

Back when he had been a gladiator, Orba had often felt that sign of death, and he had learned to trust himself to that instinct. He pulled his foot from the stirrup and leapt at once. And looked beneath him.
Humming as it spun, the weapon swept beneath his feet and hit the horse’s neck. It cut halfway through the flesh. With a pitiful neigh, the horse lost its balance and pitched forward.

Orba landed on the ground and, with his sword in his right hand, he moved to attack Kiril once again.

Kiril had absolutely not expected him to vault off but, as though he too were compelled by instinct, he dodged out of the way. He did so with a combination of cartwheels and somersaults and twice, thrice, Orba’s sword sliced through the air. His acrobatic fighting style was different from any other enemy Orba had ever faced.

While dodging for a fourth time, Kiril attempted a counter-attack with his dagger. Orba nimbly pulled back but, in a complete turn-around, this time it was Kiril’s attacks that did not halt. Kicking the ground left and right, he rained down violent blows. It was difficult for Orba to read his rhythm. Just when he was considering attacking downwards from the side to make use of his long reach, Kiril held his elbows tight to his flank and fired off a short stroke like he would an arrow. Moreover, his back was bent or in the middle of a cartwheel, Kiril easily released his blows while in the most unbelievable positions.

Wildly.

From above, from below, from the right, from the left – his movements were devoid of sense for a swordsman. Nor could Orba seize an opening to counter-attack and he could only dodge the swooping sword.

“Ah!” The tip of the dagger just got in and sliced a vertical tear in Orba’s tunic.

Sensing victory, Kiril’s eyes gleamed white. He made a movement with his right hand and launched himself from the ground with particular strength.

He attacked as he leapt, but Orba was narrowly able to avoid it.

“Unh,” Kiril made a slightly uneasy sound.

''The bastard’s gotten used to it'' – was the sentiment that appeared on his face. While intently dodging his blows, Orba’s body had memorised his opponent’s fighting style or, in other words, his unique rhythm. As proof of that, he was gradually able to push back Kiril’s sword.

A mass of steel sliced through right above Kiril’s head.

“Shit!”

He dodged the next attack by doing a back flip and drew another boomerang from at his waist. Seeing that, Orba tried to cut the distance between them but Kiril broke free and widened it. He raised the weapon high.

“I won’t aim for you,” he grinned broadly. Unconcerned, Orba was about to rush at him sword in hand but – “I’ll slice that woman’s head off.”

Kiril threw the boomerang. Realising the meaning of his words, Orba suddenly came to a stop. He then simultaneously swung his body around while racing in the opposite direction from Kiril.

This time, it was Kiril who chased after Orba.

Vileena’s collapsed figure was reflected in Orba’s trembling line of sight. Turning his eyes upward, the boomerang had gathered kinetic energy and was hurtling towards her with terrific force.

He wouldn’t make it in time.

Kiril’s equally terrific strides had him hot on his heels. At almost exactly the same time that Vileena’s neck would be sliced through, Orba would also take a blow from behind.

Intuiting as much, Orba immediately drew his sword behind his shoulder.

He hurled it with all his strength.

He had taken a single instant to measure what he was doing by eye, and less than an instant to reach his decision.

The longsword tore through the night air.

Sparks flew on either side. The sound of steel resounded before it pierced the ground. The boomerang veered slightly away from Vileena’s head and fell in almost the completely opposite direction from where her body lay.

“So you did it.” Orba heard that whisper at his ear.

They were separated by the distance of a single sword stroke. When he turned around, the tip was right before him. As Orba swung himself around, he forced his strong legs to kill the momentum with which he was running. Kiril continued to race fast and the sword he swung was turned aside before his eyes.

Kiril however was also good at shifting his own body weight. Or rather, it looked as though from the outset, he had no such thing as body weight and he immediately doubled back to be in front of Orba.

There was no longsword in Orba’s hand.

The gleam of the dagger approached.

Orba bent the upper part of his body. When he was so close to Kiril as to be too close, he extended his hand to his waist. He drew his short sword and in the same movement drove it into Kiril’s belly.

“Gaha!”

This time, after the steel sank into his abdomen, it was Orba’s short sword that hummed through the air as it aimed for the swaying enemy who had fallen to his knees.

As the steel was about to slice through his neck, a faint smile seemed to form on Kiril’s lips. Perhaps he felt that even his own death was an offering consecrated to the Dragon Gods.

Orba knew nothing of his enemy’s circumstances.

At that point, the escorting soldiers that Orba had left behind belatedly came rushing up. They seemed to cleave through the confused fight between the soldiers from Mephius and Taúlia.

The Mephian soldiers, who had been dragged into the fray, had from the start no will for fighting. Seeing the numbers for the opposite side increase, they immediately prepared to run and fled from the village.

“Ah, Dear! Open your eyes!”

“Please. Please open your eyes. Open your…”

Now that the fighting had settled down, men and women were everywhere clinging to the fallen corpses. Orba was familiar with those tears and those screams.

He had no intention of getting involved but among the slain there was one man who might still be breathing. He half-forcefully pushed aside the wife and child that were embracing him to take a look at his condition. He was bleeding heavily from his abdomen, so Orba threw off the tunic that Kiril had torn and wound it around him in place of bandages.

Naked from his waist up, he immediately called for the Taúlian soldiers.

“Send a messenger to the nearby relay base. Have them send doctors and medicine by airship.”

He gave orders as though it was completely natural. With no reason to go against him, the soldiers hurriedly sent a horse as they had been told.

“Don’t move him. Have faith in him and wait for help,” Orba said to the woman who seemed to be the daughter.

The woman nodded wordlessly.

That was when –

“Uwoh”

Hearing a voice that was like a lamentation, Orba turned around.

A lone man was standing there. He had bandages wrapped all around his body but it was too fast for him to have been treated for wounds received during this assault. He had severe burns on his face, almost no hair on his head, and one of his eyes was blocked up, so it was difficult to imagine what his original face had been like. The man pointed at Orba with a trembling finger.

“The brand. The brand is burning.”

Orba was naked from the waist up and there was certainly a slave brand etched into his back. While pointing at it, the man’s hideously burned lips flapped open and shut.

“Did you summon these flames too? Uwoh, uwoh, uwoh! It’s burning, it burns all. Those who see that brand will all be cast into the flames!”

He seemed to have lost his sanity. His steps unsteady, he screamed those cryptic words until finally he stumbled to the ground. The woman who appeared to be the daughter of the man Orba had treated hurriedly rushed over to the bandaged man.

''The brand?''

Orba turned his eyes away from the man and his legs started moving as though he reached a decision.

A crowd of men were currently working to extinguish the fires, and as they angrily shouted out while pulling down buildings and fetching water, the noise was unceasing.

Several Taúlian soldiers had assembled in a corner of the village. They were all crouched in a circle and were calling out to a collapsed figure. That figure – Vileena Owell, was limp. Orba pushed his way through the soldiers and bent down next to the princess’ side.

He placed his hands behind Vileena’s neck and back and raised her upper body. As though she had just been lifted out of water, sweat covered the nape of her white, slender neck and her long hair clung to her like seaweed.

At the sight of her lifeless face, Orba’s heart pounded furiously. From the time he was born, Orba had never once prayed to anyone, so at this time, he did not know how to alleviate the feelings of dread in his heart. Unthinkingly, he was about to shake her with all his might and loudly shout her name.

But just before he could do so, Vileena’s body shuddered in his arms. It was as though she was having a violent coughing fit.

As Orba, panicked, was propping up her back again, he took a long, deep breath that seemed to be wrung from the very bottom of his lungs.

Just as he was wondering if the princess’ eyelids were going to quiver incessantly, they started to slightly open.

As though a curtain had lifted, her moist pupils were directly reflecting Orba’s face.

Without realising it, Orba made a noise in his throat.

Vileena’s parched lips parted.

She whispered something then, as if she had lost all her strength again, her head fell forward to her chest. Quickly bringing his face near to hers, he realised that she was breathing. Apparently, she had lost consciousness.

With another shuddering breath, Orba carried her to where the injured were being gathered to rest.

Looking down at the sleeping girl, who seemed lost in a dream, for some reason he slowly raised his hand and stroked his own face.
[[Image:Rakuin no Monshou v08 277.jpg|thumb]]
There was the touch of iron.

Without a doubt.

He had been wearing the iron mask the entire time.

''But even so…''

When Vileena had opened her eyes and gazed at Orba, she had looked blank for a moment but had then said –

“So it’s true after all… You’re a liar.”

Then, with a smile, she had immediately fallen asleep again.

Gil Mephius is a liar. He had told her that himself during the last time he had spent with her in Apta. He had spoken that line because he had been feeling guilty towards her, who was starting to trust him and who he was going to have to betray.

But to the very last, that had been as Gil Mephius. It had not been as the masked former gladiator, Orba.

“…”

From the midst of her hazy consciousness, the princess had seen something when she had looked at his mask, no, beyond his mask. For a while, Orba stood still, but he soon remembered that he had very little time left.

“What should we do with the princess?”

While he headed towards the soldiers who were consulting together, he said –

“The princess will stay here.” The startled soldiers turned towards him. “She is uninjured and will soon wake up. At that time, I’d like you to give her a message.”

“W-What?”

“Tell her a welcoming party from Apta will be coming to fetch her immediately.”

“You, what are you saying?”

“You can’t have forgotten what Old Master Ravan told you?”

The soldiers looked at each other repeatedly. Their duty was one thing but this man was absolutely impossible to understand. He had rushed to save the village that they had thought he was going to ignore, the Garberan princess that Taúlia was searching for had been found there, and now he was saying that a welcoming party would be sent from Apta. However, from his every action, they could feel that he was someone who was separate from the common of men, as befitted the hero who had slain Garda.

“Master Ravan seems to have entrusted you with something concerning Mephius.”

“Sorry, but…”

“I get it. You probably can’t talk about it. Hmm, in that case, we’ll go with you. So we will just leave the princess like this?”

“Please.”

He was a man who seemed arrogant yet who adopted a suitable manner when people were being conciliating.

''He’s a bit like that much younger cousin of mine'' – thought the man who had been assigned as the leader of Orba’s escorts. Incidentally, that cousin was fourteen years old.

Although they were already near the border, and there was no longer any need to worry about the mask being seen; Orba, for some reason, deliberately went looking for the hooded cloak that he had discarded and once more wrapped it around himself.

Borrowing a horse from one of the members of the search party, they set off once again. With the black smoke rising from the village at their backs, they hurried on and on. After they had arrived at the border in one trip, Orba and his escorts joined up with the other group which had also recently left Taúlia.

There were a number of men in the cage pulled by dragons. When Orba and the others were spotted coming up to them, the cage was flung open. Under the soldiers’ surveillance, the men were made to line up in a row. None of them were Zerdians and none of their faces were known to Orba.

Among them, there was one man whose face was hidden by a hooded cloak. Exactly like Orba. The soldiers also seemed awfully mindful of that person and did not high-handedly order him around.

Orba gave that figure a glance and a smile formed under his mask.

''As expected of Ravan, he thinks of everything.''

But the smile immediately disappeared from his face as they started to follow the Yunos’ course.

He did not know who it was who had attacked the village. However, it did not look like they would arrive before Mephius’ troops crossed the border.

Orba’s mask had started to reflect the pale light of dawn.

=== Part 3 ===

And thus, dawn had finally started to break.

Compared to the outskirts of Solon, nights in Apta were surprisingly chilly. Only the night’s dark shadows were receding, leaving that cool air behind. That morning, the wind was especially clear.

''It would have been nice if it had been tomorrow'' – thought Rogue Saian as he breathed in the scent of the invigorating breeze.

As was typical for the air forces, most of Rogue’s men were young. They had not been in Apta for long but he had heard that there were many among them who had immediately started making advances towards the servants in the fort and the town girls, and who were thoroughly enjoying the time before they headed off to the battlefield.

That morning was a fine day for taking a stroll. Rogue was thinking that if the execution had been the next day, they could have leisurely spent this special period with their lovers.

But the time was drawing near. He had no intention of reversing his decision anymore.

At about the same time that the ridgeline of the Belgana Summits was starting to shine white in the west, the former Imperial Guards were lead into the open space. When their figures came into sight, the people gathered around the training grounds all burst into jeers and angry shouts.

“How dare you betray Lord Gil!”

“Ingrates!”

“We’ll piss on your corpses!”

Gil had served as lord of Apta. It had only been for a very short period but, because he had accomplished many heroic actions from there, his popularity among the townspeople was high. Compared to the people in the capital, Solon, their feelings of grief were far greater.

Among them however were also those who kept their mouths shut as they watched the former Imperial Guards being tied to the cross-shaped stakes. Because the prince’s popularity was high, every piece of gossip associated with Gil was discussed at length in Apta. The story about how his Imperial Guards were mostly former sword slaves who had become the prince’s hands and feet, and occasionally his eyes and ears, was easy for the people to empathize with and was widely whispered about in support of him. Therefore, there was a segment of the population that distrusted the tale that the Guards had planned the prince’s assassination and who, in part because they were far from Solon, openly gossiped that – “it was definitely all invented so that the emperor could start a war with the west.”

And so it was that as a crowd of people looked on, the men were one after another bound to the stakes they were to be crucified on. If they tried to resist even a little, they were hit with swords and pikestaffs.

“Shit!”

“We haven’t done anything. Let go!”

On top of not originally being regular enlisted soldiers, they had been accused of a crime they had not committed. They could not be said to be resolutely going out to meet death. There were even some who struggled so violently that it needed several guards to subdue them. It was to the point that it looked like they might be killed before the execution.

Among all that, neither Pashir nor Gouwen had lost their composure.

In Pashir’s case, he was thinking that – ''So Mephius will have killed me after all, huh?'' When he had first made up his mind to at least return a blow to Mephius and fight, at that time, he had already given up on life. Because the strange existence that was Gil Mephius had barged into it, the end of that life had been extended. That was all there was to it.

Gouwen for his part had been the commander of the former Imperial Guards.

Under normal circumstances, he was in a position to give testimony directly to the emperor if he was charged with a crime, but of course, Emperor Guhl Mephius did not wish to know the real situation or rather, he viewed those who knew the details of the affair as a nuisance. Narbal had divined as much and had placed Gowen’s name at the top of the list of those to be executed.

Gowen himself was as calm as Pashir was. He also found some salvation from the fact that his adopted daughter Hou Ran had, for now, escaped execution. Although the fate that awaited her was unlikely to be good – ''she’s a clever girl. Much trickier than those people who look down on her''.

He felt that since it was Hou Ran, in a few days’ time, she would be de driving the dragons into the horizon with an unconcerned look on her face and without worrying about herself. Gowen grinned broadly as he was being bound to the crucifixion stake.

Originally, he had not felt any great unhappiness about his life as an overseer of slaves, but at the same time, he did not remember getting any warmth from it either. He sent slaves out to their deaths and expected to simply die in obscurity one day. Then he had gone to work for Orba, who become the crown prince’s body double, and had started living with his adopted daughter. Those days had been like a dream. So he no longer had any regrets in this world.

It was only that –

''That guy, where is he and what is he doing?''

Orba’s figure suddenly came to his mind.

And like that, the fifty men were tied to the stakes.

In a moment, the uproarious noise stopped completely. The quality of the air grew different. As though to plug the yawning gap that had opened up within the noise, a row of soldiers carrying guns had appeared in the open space. Commanding them was the adjutant, Gareth. If one went back to the origin, it was he who had suggested executing the Imperial Guards.

As their surroundings fell quiet, and while their steel helmets were bathed in the pale light of the early morning sun, the soldiers each took up their positions.

Fixedly watching the proceedings, Rogue Saian gave a single sigh.

Finally.

When Gareth raised his arm and gave the order to “Fire!”, Rogue’s men would rush in to stop him. Then Rogue himself would draw the sword from his waist and challenged Nabarl. He would use him as a shield, capture his soldiers, and release the Imperial Guards. Afterwards, he would wait for the sentence from Solon.

And, just as he had declared to Odyne, until the moment his doom was upon him, he would not allow a single soldier to cross into the west.

His feelings were clear. He had barely eaten or slept during the past three days. Anyway, he would only be woken by nightmares if he lay down. Rogue’s family was in Solon. Even if he tried not to think about it, the worst possible scenarios of the treatment the enraged emperor would inflict upon them came to his mind.

He would see scenes of his young wife and childish son becoming silent corpses.

''Forgive me'' – he prayed, closing his eyes.

When he opened them once more, the soldiers had finished lining up. All of them had their guns at the ready. Then, as Rogue was breathing a deep sigh, another person suddenly appeared.

“You…”

Odyne Lorgo. He gave Rogue a sidelong glance and said, “I’m going with you. I have my men lying in wait outside Apta. Even if Nabarl’s subordinates send out messengers, they will be able to buy us time.”

“O-Odyne…”

“General, I am not lightly choosing death. My mind is made up. Let’s wage war on the emperor of Mephius, the two of us, here from Apta. From here, we will call out to our fellow-countrymen and gather comrades.”

“We can’t. Who will gain from it if we revolt now? If I stake my life on…”

“It’s too late. General Saian, I am no one’s slave. I think for myself and decide for myself.”

Rogue and Odyne’s gazes met.

Meanwhile, Gareth stepped in front of the criminals and read the charges out loud. Once he had finished, he withdrew to behind the soldiers. ''Is it finally the time?'' The people held their breath at that sign.

The sun had risen over the mountain ridgeline and the stakes were casting long, black shadows that bisected the shapes of the people with black.

Gareth’s arm rose.

As many guns as there were criminals were lifted onto shoulders.

In the instant that Gareth's mouth opened and he seemed about to order “Fire!” –

A figure suddenly came running.

“General, General!”

Gareth and Nabarl were not the only ones to be astounded, Rogue, who had been about to signal his men, was too.

Something like a burning hope welled up in the old general’s chest. However –

“Taúlian soldiers,” the guard who had been monitoring the border that was the River Yunos knelt in front of Nabarl. “Taúlian soldiers have been sighted on the other side of the River Yunos!”

When Rogue and the others, Nabarl included, rushed to the top of the cliff that projected westwards, they saw that Taúlian soldiers were indeed lined up side-by-side along the opposite shore. They did not, however, seem to have set up camp. Their attention was drawn to a single airship. It was flying a black-and-white bisected flag.

It denoted a messenger.

“They don’t seem to have hidden any guns.” Nabarl had borrowed binoculars from the border guards and was peering into the distance. He gave his permission for landing.

Everyone looked tense as the airship swooped down.

And when the man – the messenger from Taúlia – alighted, he said something strange to Nabarl.

“The soldiers who were captured by Taúlia that last time will hereon be returned to your country by boat.”

Rogue could not understand the timing: why now? Nabarl however was nothing but pleased.

“The enemy is afraid of us. They’re definitely doing this in the hope of avoiding all-out war.”

Regardless, they had no reason to refuse.

Once Nabarl gave his permission, a number of small boats were put to water on the opposite shore. On each of them, several men were placed on board. Naturally, Nabarl did suspect that it might be some kind of trap, so he gave the order that the border guards were to fly their airships with their guns trained and ready. After all, the enemy might be trying to divert their attention while they attacked elsewhere.

The first of the boats landed at the bank. One of the soldiers who had gone out to meet it was heard to raise his voice in delight. It seemed that he knew them. Which meant that they were undoubtedly the Mephian war prisoners.

The sun had fully risen by then and the River Yunos was a bright white. Because of the glare from the surface of the water, Rogue narrowed his eyes to see.

As he watched the men clamber onto the bank, then climb up the path carved into the cliff, Rogue’s eyes narrowed for a different reason. Most of the captives were all but naked, but among them there was one person who wore a deep hood that hid their face. Nor was that person obeying the soldiers’ instructions and he was boldly striding forward.

Nabarl thought that he must be someone from his own unit. No doubt he wanted to apologise for the humiliation of having been taken prisoner. Nabarl smiled and was about to greet him, intending to generously clasp him by the shoulders, when –

“What’s the meaning of those stakes?”

“W-What?”

The man wearing a hood jerked his chin towards the line of stakes that was visible even from where they were.

“I’m asking what you intend to do next.”

''T-This bastard''. Nabarl’s smile had frozen and his eyes were flaring angrily. At any rate, it seemed he was not one of his men. Nor, judging from his manner, was he someone who had been taken captive. Which meant that he must be an envoy from Taúlia. Nabarl did not know if he had accompanied the restoration of the war prisoners intending to establish negotiations, but at any rate his manner of speaking was haughty.

“There is no need for talk. Even with the return of the prisoners, Taúlia’s crime will not disappear.”

“Crime?” amidst the pale morning sun, the man once again looked down towards the line of stakes that seemed oddly detached from reality. “Rogue,” he called out to the old general who stood beside Nabarl. Addressing him without any title of respect. “What do you think?”

He shifted his gaze beneath the hood. In that moment, Rogue Saian’s expression had grown extremely tense.

“What do I think a-about what?”

“Is Taúlia really guilty of such a heinous crime?”

“T-That…”

The soldiers near Nabarl looked doubtfully at Rogue’s flustered state. Thereupon, without waiting for an answer, the man addressed the general who stood on the opposite side of Nabarl from Rogue.

“Odyne.”

Odyne Lorgo in his turn stood straight as though he had been jolted by an electrical current. His eyes were open wide, as though turning the corner of an alleyway, he had suddenly seen the face of someone who should have been dead.

“I’ll ask you too. What is this crime that General Nabarl talks about?”

“That,” Odyne’s voice got caught in his throat. He coughed loudly to clear it. “Taúlia’s crime is that of having assassinated the crown prince.” Perhaps because he was so agitated, his wording was unusually stiff.

Nabarl sneered in ridicule. “The Taúlian savages don’t seem to know courtesy. You’ve already finished your business. So hurry up and turn tail back to your own land. Although how much longer that land will be yours is...”

“The crown prince’s assassination?” Ignoring Nabarl, the man in the hood spoke without inflection. With a sidelong glance at Nabarl, whose face was going crimson with anger, he looked at Rogue and Odyne in turn. “Then I’ll ask you one other thing. Do you believe that? That Taúlia really did assassinate Crown Prince Gil?”

“I… no, we...” Odyne started to answer but then stopped.

It was Rogue who carried on. “We did not witness the actual scene. From start to finish, it was His Imperial Majesty who investigated the situation, and who concluded that this was the case. What could we do but abide by his words? It was the same for everyone here, from the generals to the soldiers.”

It was at about that time that the soldiers who were gathered on the bank held their breath and started to watch what was going on.

“Indeed,” Odyne started speaking a second time, “Once, a certain person told me something. ‘Are you a slave who only lives according to somebody’s orders,’ he asked me. Even though it felt like he was slicing through my chest, national affairs are not so simple. Within Mephius, only the imperial family has the authority to decide things and to move the country.”

“…”

“They which they can see through is the whole world to us; and it is only their plans that have the authority to move the country, or in other words, to move us ordinary people. Both that world and that authority are essentially Mephius’ future. If we forcibly bring about a future other than the one His Majesty the Emperor has decided on, simply on the pretext that we dislike obeying this or that order, the politics of Mephius will end in failure. The dominion will be split in two or three, and even the peaceful life that the people are barely able to hold on to will disappear in flames.”

''What are they on about?'' Nabarl’s shoulders shook incessantly as he grew more and more irritated.

He needed to end this farce quickly and get back to the execution. Nabarl intended to send messengers to appeal directly to the emperor immediately afterwards. They would once more strike at Taúlia with their military might. Now, when the opponent was showing weakness by returning the captives, should be a good opportunity.

''Bah'' – there was no need to lend an ear any further. He was on the verge of raising his voice to send the Taúlian messenger away. And as he was doing so, that messenger said something that he could not let pass.

“So then. What if the future that the imperial family sees is misguided?”

“What!”

“What if the imperial family tried to force its authority down a path that was clearly wrong? Would you still obey like dogs? If you knew that Mephius would perish and its people would be cast to the flames, would you still slavishly work to implement that future?”

“Y-You bastard,” Nabarl was almost lightheaded from rage. “Somebody seize this fool! Tie him to a stake. Let the Taúlian savages on the other shore watch his execution!”

Rogue calmly held out an arm to stop the soldiers who suddenly started to spring into action. Then he spoke –

“At that time,” his voice was hoarse, “we would fight. If the future seen by old eyes is mistaken, we would usher in young eyes to view a new future.”

“Same,” Odyne nodded. “However, we are but small people. It is as I said earlier. We do not have the clairvoyance to see the distant future. It is the same regarding judging whether or not the future that His Majesty the Emperor sees is mistaken.”

“The emperor is mistaken.” The man said clearly.

It felt as though a soundless commotion was blowing like the wind across the entire area.

The sky was dimly blue, the clouds were light and low.

Nabarl had already passed beyond anger and was utterly dumbfounded. Next to him, Rogue asked –

“Why do you think so? How can you say that so surely? Do you have a tangible reason to say that His Majesty is currently mistaken? And can you prove it to us?”

“That –”

“Eei, enough, enough!” Nabarl shouted out as his emotions finally crossed the line. "Just how far is this stupidity going to go? If no one else will do it, I will. I will destroy with my own hands the fool who claims that our illustrious Majesty’s words are mistaken.”

His hand went to the sword at his waist that he was about to draw in a single movement.

For a moment, it seemed to those watching that a terrifically strong wind blew –

In actual fact, the wind remained calm. However, everyone there had the illusion that the swords swung by Rogue and Odyne, that were now crossed in front of Nabarl, had summoned the wind from either side and that at the same time, that wind had swept back the man’s hood.

“T-This…” Nabarl’s eyeballs seemed to start out of their sockets as he suddenly found himself with two blades pressed at his throat. “What kind of behaviour is this? I’ve been thinking for a while that you were babbling nothing but nonsense, but did you bastards also cross over to Taúlia? So, you’re traitors to the imperial family and enemies of Mephius!”

“Take a good look, General Nabarl,” Rogue’s expression was that of someone who was swallowing down irrepressible emotions with a grim determination.

“What?”

“Take a close look with your own eyes at who you were about to point a sword at.”

Nabarl removed his gaze from the swords and turned it instead towards the man standing before him. The glimmering River Yunos shot countless darts of light into his eyes. Bordered by that gleam, the man’s face at first appeared as a dark shadow that he could not clearly make out.

When Nabarl’s eyes finally grew accustomed to the reflected light, his voice burst out in a shout –

“Ah!”

His sword fell to the ground with a loud clang.

“P-Prince…”

A name left his trembling lips.

“Crown Prince... Gil Mephius!”

That was the moment in which the crown prince, who was supposed to have lost his life in Apta, returned once more to life in Apta –

The moment in which Gil Mephius returned to the front stage of History.

<noinclude>

===References and Translation Notes===
<references/>

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| Back to [[Rakuin no Monshou:Volume8_Chapter5|Chapter 5]]
| Return to [[Rakuin no Monshou|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Rakuin no Monshou:Volume8_Afterword|Afterword]]
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</noinclude>

Horizon:Kimitoasamade 4B Chapter 9

2018-10-03T10:45:27Z

162.158.187.52:

==Chapter 9: Deceiver Before the Stage==
[[Image:Horizon_Kimi4B_043.jpg|thumb]]
''Why

''Is reality so cruel?

'''Point Allocation (Too Much Dreaming)

Their strategy meeting began in the afternoon.

They were planning how to fully purify the Musashi.

At the end of the Gagaku Festival, the Gagaku would be used as an offering and the resultant purification would be used to tune the spherical ley line distortion surrounding the Musashi.

Eight storage devices would absorb the stagnation. Those devices were installed on the Fushimi Castle which was stopped 700 meters above the Musashi. That placed the Fushimi Castle at the center of the distortion, but it was also the Gagaku Festival stage. So according to “Musashi”…

“This will be the first time to hold the festival above the Musashi. That said, it is normally held off to starboard, so this is not that much different. Over.”

That left some problems. The “usual” ones like confirming the Musashi’s position when the stealth barrier was up and receiving an ether fuel supply, but also…

“It would be a major problem if the Fushimi Castle were to fall, so I recommend fixing it in place. Over.”

Based on that opinion from the ship captains, towing belts were extended from each ship to supply the Fushimi Castle with fuel and hold it in place.

The purification would be powered by the fuel from each ship, the songs from the Gagaku Festival, and the offering of the festival as a whole and it was predicted that several mysterious phenomena would appear on the deck, starting with the Hidden Dragon that had fled during the previous battle.

They could be purified with direct skill, but their “molds” could also be destroyed by containing the stagnation in the storage devices and tuning them. Thus, the front row of the “audience” onboard the Fushimi Castle was primarily made up of students with excellent combat skills.

The operation was named Emptying the Cup.

The spherical ley line stagnation was viewed as a cup and they were attempting to drink it dry.

…''That said, we are making annoyingly little progress in this meeting.

Mitotsudaira wore a track suit and carried a small wooden container as she looked up into the sky.

She was on a transport ship approaching the Fushimi Castle outside the Musashi’s stealth barrier.

The sea and the sky visible horizontally to the deck were blue. The mainland visible to north and Aki visible to west were bright with sunlight.

It was currently 2 PM. It was currently samurai cosplay time in their classroom and Kimi would be in charge of that, but here they were holding the meeting for Emptying the Cup.

“Holding a meeting while helping setup the stage is a little much.”

She sighed and Asama gave her a bitter smile. The shrine maiden operated a sign frame as she replied.

“Sorry. You can blame the Testament Union for that. They said the Gagaku Festival is a school event but purifying mysterious phenomena is not, so we cannot set aside time for it during the Spring School Festival.”

The meeting was being held via sign frame while they prepared for the Gagaku Festival.

If possible, they would have liked to hold the meeting during the normal preparation time at night, but with the Gagaku Festival approaching, a lot of people had work shifts at night.

…''So including a mock battle disguised as Gagaku Festival preparations, they’re going to be holding three different meetings during the day.

Mitotsudaira thought, ''This is because the Testament Union’s Aki is so close by.

But that thought led to another:

“Thinking like this just shows I really am a Musashi resident, doesn’t it?”

She was a knight sent here from Hexagone Française. As a result of the dealings between Hexagone Française and the Testament Union, she had provisionally inherited the name of Mito Matsudaira. She had been sent as part of Hexagone Française’s preparations for the future of the Far East, so it was politically unclear if she would ultimately belong to Hexagone Française or the Far East. But…

…''I have made up my own mind on the matter.

That said, there was nothing she could do in this situation.

The mysterious phenomenon purification and the Gagaku Festival were indeed different things.

The Testament Union’s statement bordered on harassment, but it was true that mysterious phenomenon purification was not a school lesson.

They had apparently discussed harassing the Testament Union in retaliation by holding a mysterious phenomenon purification near Aki during some time other than the Gagaku Festival, but….

…''That would only cause more conflict with the Testament Union.

And the Musashi only had a limited supply of fuel. Each year, they were assigned some amount of fuel for the Gagaku Festival and they would use the excess for the mysterious phenomenon purification.

If they did not do it now, who could say when the ''next'' chance would come along.

''This is so much trouble,'' sighed Mitotsudaira as she adjusted her grip on the container.

“Here I go!”

Just then, she heard a voice from beyond the approaching transport ship.

It was Adele.

Adele was training.

It was combat training.

The vassal unit was practicing a charge in case a mysterious phenomenon appeared on the theatre ship. That way they could respond if a Non-God Sword or Hidden Dragon appeared during the Gagaku Festival.

Of course, the Testament Union had stopped them from holding any kind of official training. But…

“Get ready!”

Tadayo stood on the far end of the deck while wearing an engine division work jacket.

Adele was on the stern and Tadayo was on the bow.

Tadayo lightly spun around a metal spear, but suddenly stopped it and gave a shout.

“Carry!!”

“Judge!!”

Adele and the rest of the vassal unit nodded and moved forward.

It was not spears or shields they held below their arms.

It was metal scaffolding pipes.

There were piles of other materials in the supply yard set up at the rear of the ship. They were carrying all of that to the bow and other places.

…''And it works as training…!

Today, Adele was practicing wielding a spear or wielding a shield. She was currently holding a metal pipe as a spear and moving forward.

Some of the others held a plywood or armor panel as a shield and others carried a toolbox as the rear guard.

And they were all running toward…

“A god of war!”

A god of war stood there in place of a Non-God Sword.

Everyone ran in and threw their burden at its armored metal feet.

…''Here I go!

Adele went all out.

Fighting a Non-God Sword was an important experience for her. It had used wind slashes like projectiles and she remembered crushing or dodging those to move forward. That was the same as the later fight against the Hidden Dragon:

…''I can be proud of what I did there as a Musashi vassal!

Combat was rare on the Musashi, yet she had helped defeat such a powerful opponent.

And that would help more than just her. It was important for the vassal unit as a whole.

They had publically demonstrated that Musashi could fight.

So Adele held her spear at the ready and moved forward in a long slide.

“Let’s carry these supplies!”

She ran.

Adele felt the speed on the soles of her feet after a few steps.

She went for it.

The theatre ship’s deck gave them approximately 200 meters to run. With their body reinforcement spells, they could clear that in about 15 seconds.

The god of war at the supplies destination was 10 seconds away.

They would arrive in no time. Or they should have.

“Ah.”

A figure moved near the stage being constructed up ahead.

1st Special Duty Officer Watanabe stood atop the wood piled up in front of the stage.

She lightly waved her hand.

“1st Special Duty Unit…go take those supplies!”

It happened suddenly.

A few dozen figures appeared on the seemingly-empty deck.

The unit that worked for the 1st Special Duty Officer was primarily made up of ninjas and they had been hidden there. They were unarmed, but as soon as they lifted their hips…

“…Judge!”

They charged toward the vassal unit.

''Oh, dear,'' thought Mitotsudaira as she watched the mock training.

The 1st Special Duty Unit had just made a counterattack on the charging vassal unit.

They all took curving paths on their way to clash with the vassals.

Mitotsudaira recognized those movements.

“Those are the Non-God Sword’s slashes.”

The reports on the battle and the damage to the Tanigawa Castle must have been used to work out the trajectories of the Non-God Sword’s slashes. She did not remember everything about it, but were there more slashes toward the center because that was where she had been?

This time, people in black made a counter charge in place of the slashes.

It was the 1st Special Duty Unit.

Those ninjas were generally unarmed and fought with ninja techniques and martial arts.

Their ninja techniques were wide ranging – including throws, rolls, and feints using the momentum of their approach.

Thus, their approach was a fast one. When the vassals stumbled in surprise from the sudden counterattack, they were knocked away, blocked, or stopped after the surprise of a feint.

“Ah, s-sorry, I didn’t mean to hug you like that! And it definitely had nothing to do with you being a black-haired girl! Ah, no weapons! Please no! I prefer love! I prefer peace!”

“Shobahhh! Shubahhhh! Oh, those are slashing sound effects! I had to make them up, but they’re pretty cool, aren’t they?”

“Hi! Now, will I go right? Or will I go left? Ah ha ha! Just try to catch me. …Why would you straight-up ignore me!?”

The 1st Special Duty Unit seemed confident, but the vassal unit had also been trained.

The vassal unit mercilessly sent the ninjas flying, just like the Non-God Sword’s slashes had been destroyed.

Of course, they did not actually carry weapons. Nor did they have the mobile shells that most vassals wore or the gauntlets that helped them grip their weapons.

When they came into contact, the pipes being used as spears flew through the air and plywood panels broke or slid along the floor.

Those who had finished their encounter exchanged looks with the others to check on their results, those who had dropped materials picked them up, and those who had not continued forward. However…

…''The 1st Special Duty Unit only has so many people, so the number of slashes is limited.

So once they finished “carrying” those materials, each group would form up on the opposite ends of the ship as before and begin another clash.

But before that could happen, some of the vassals were still headed for the god of war.

Mitotsudaira saw a familiar face among them.

“That’s Adele, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” agreed Asama next to her. Her sign frame displayed an overhead map of the Fushimi Castle. The image of the 200m field showed the paths and results of the people moving back and forth from bow to stern.

Adele was in one of the groups that had not been stopped and was still running.

And Asama said something.

It happened just as the transport ship rocked lightly from arriving at the Fushimi Castle.

“Tenzou-kun is charging in from the very back of the ship.”

Tenzou had joined the last row of those reproducing the slashes.

He had not done so for any real reason.

…''I was just running late because of the mess at the cosplay teahouse!

At the end of the shrine maiden time, the entire class had finally gotten the hang of their assigned roles and was picking up on what they excelled at or had trouble with.

He had needed to prepare for this “supply carrying”, so he had needed to leave with Adele.

His plan had been to be back at the end of the samurai genre which was the time after the next. The Technohexen genre came after samurai and Naito and Naruze would handle that, so he could work in the back and let them work out front.

The problem was the idiot.

''Yes, it was that idiot’s fault,'' thought Tenzou.

Just as they were preparing to leave, the idiot and his sister called over Adele who was trying to change out of her shrine maiden costume and into her uniform.

“Hey, Adele, Adele. I have something weird here.”

“Eh? What is it, Toori-san.”

“Silly girl, I am Aoko-san right now! Don’t use my real name! Got it, Adele? Now, what’s my name!?”

“Aoko-san.”

“Nope, too bad. My name is Toori. Aoko is who I ''am'' right now. Tee hee.”

“A doctor! Is anyone in here a doctor!? And I mean a brain doctor! A surgeon would work too, I think! …Oh, Asama-san, can you take care of this!?”

“Wh-why are passing this off to me!? I have to get over to the theatre ship with Mito!”

At any rate, the idiot had gotten a little ''too'' into character, so he really did look like a girl.

But the idiot sister placed a hand on her cheek and spoke to Adele.

“Listen, Adele. I have this set I brought in order to get Neshinbara to crossdress.”

“I will ''never'' wear that!!”

“Heh heh. You’re an amateur author and you can’t even crossdress!? Do you even have a dick!?”

“I have no idea what that is supposed to mean,” said Tenzou. “But what is going on?”

“Huh!? You don’t get it, Tenzou!? I want Adele to try on the giant boobs attachment from this Ootsubaki crossdressing set as an experim-…so she can experience what it’s like to be busty!”

“K-Kimi-san, you let your real motivation slip in there, didn’t you!?”

“Adele!” Kimi placed her hands on Adele’s shoulders. “Listen! Motivations and pretext aren’t what matter! It’s all about the result! Yes, anything goes if it’s funny!”

“That’s what I mean by your motivation!!”

But Adele must have always wanted to try it out once. With a “I might as well” atmosphere, she stepped out of the changing space with a much greater “size”.

“Wh-what do you think?”

She had even changed into an inner suit for large breasts. Ohiroshiki, whose senior priest costume bore the words “Life Worshiper”, looked at her and elbowed Tenzou.

“What is it, Ohiroshiki-dono? Are you shocked that Adele-dono has become a busty loli?”

“Huh? Any age in the double digits is an old hag, so Adele-kun is as much an old hag as anyone. Old hagginess is equal to all. What are you even talking about? Anyway, Tenzou-kun…isn’t this your genre? Busty blondes?”

Tenzou gave Adele another look. And…

…''Nh?

He placed a hand on his forehead and spoke up without thinking.

“Adele-dono.”

“Eh? What do you think as a busty blonde sommelier, Tenzou-san?”

“Judge. …When you walk, hold your shoulders a little stiffer like this. …Yes, and catch the jiggling on your curved breastbone… Yes, yes, yes. Just like that.”

But…

“Those are undeniably fake.”

“Th-that is the worst! That is just the worst thing you could have said!”

“That’s right!” said the other girls as they took Adele’s side.

“Tenzou-kun, couldn’t you at least compliment Adele after having her pretend to be busty for your own amusement!?”

“That’s right! And after she did something so humiliating not even I could do it in public!”

“Hey, Adele. I really don’t think you should have done that.”

“Wh-why am I being attacked by everyone who took my side!?”

That was when the two Technohexen entered through the window. They were both riding Naito’s broom. Naruze gave Tenzou and Adele a surprised look and then looked to Tenzou again.

“I see.” She nodded. “You are the worst.”

“Th-that was sudden!?”

“…Then I’ll compromise and call you scum.”

“That’s even worse!”

“Now, now,” intervened High Priest Neshinbara. He gave a solemn nod. “Crossunite-kun.”

He must have found a good compromise. He lightly swished his costume that bore the words “Dream Big” and placed a hand on his forehead. There was no purpose to those actions. He probably just thought it looked cool.

And he took a breath before continuing.

“Listen, Crossunite-kun. At times like this, you should start by complimenting how Balfette-kun looks. After all, she is wearing something different from normal. Otherwise, she will not be able to enjoy crossdressing like this.”

“I-I am not crossdressing! I increased my bust size!!”

“…Oh, sorry.”

“You are the worst.”

“W-wait, Naruze-kun! By those standards, if I accept that Balfette-kun has increased her bust size (fake though it may be), will I become ‘the best’!?”

“…Then you would be a creep.”

“You could stand to be less harsh, Naruze-dono!”

That led into the usual pattern of everyone snapping at each other in turn.

It ended with Itoken and Nenji’s opinion of Adele’s increased size.

“Adele-kun, it is best to be yourself.”

“Indeed. You do not grow from taking in more liquids like I do. So instead of seeking dramatic change, you should live each day to its fullest. What matters most is not growth; it is health. You are quite healthy from running with those dogs every day and what could be better than that? In a way, you have achieved what is best for yourself without even noticing, so that may be why you are looking for something else.”

After some applause from the customers, it came to an end.

The customers may have thought it was some kind of skit. But did that make it all acceptable or not?

…''Still…

''Is our class really okay acting like that?'' wondered Tenzou as he accelerated his charge and looked ahead.

The opponent in front of him was a 3rd-year vassal. It was a girl and she was charging toward him.

She was 2 meters away.

And upon closer inspection, this opponent was blonde and…

…''She just barely qualifies as busty…!

That assessment put Tenzou in an entirely different mood as he dashed forward.

Tenzou checked to either side as he ran.

No one else was headed for this target.

That meant no one was watching him. So…

…''Ninja Technique: Staring Mode!

He mentally shouted the technique name and looked ahead to see what he expected.

…''They are jiggling!

''And naturally.

Yes, natural giant breasts did not jiggle along a central axis like in games. The breasts were attached by the entire surface area, so they would not jiggle as a separate object.

He was glad to be alive.

And his current mission was to stop the vassal unit’s charge. So…

“I will stop her…!”

He would stop this charging opponent as part of their training. Not because of his personal interests. Not for any personal benefit either. ''This is crucial training for handling mysterious phenomena at the Gagaku Festival.

He had an excuse.

But he wanted to avoid knocking her down or sending her flying when he stopped her. They might be in different years, but they were comrades from the same academy, regardless of how she might see things.

He could see the others going all out on this, but given his faith and interests…no, solely to ensure she could do her duty in the upcoming mission, he wanted to avoid the possibility of injury.

But he would stop her.

So how was he to do that?

…''Can I use my hands?

''I can!

…''Can I grab her tight with both hands?

''I can!!

…''Can I then knock her down onto the deck with me?

''I can!!! …I might get in trouble for it afterwards, though.

“But this training is important!”

He used a step to match their pace and the distance between them and he charged in.

…''Wait for me, busty blonde!

“Scarred? Sneezing again?”

“Eh? …Oh, yes. A wind spirit just tickled my nose. I think it is a sign of good things to come, but since spring is already over, maybe it’s talking about something coming next year.”

Tenzou ran with his hand at the ready.

He would hit. He would make it. He would grab them.

…''They’re mine!

But just then, the approaching large breasts suddenly jiggled to the side.

It was a feint.

“What…!?”

''Wait,'' he thought.

''Leave me not, big boobs.

…''Ah, I think I’m turning into a poet…

Regardless, his opponent had definitely shifted her path.

She had never been planning on hitting him. She had been drawing him in before dodging.

He should have been able to read that in her movements, but he had been too distracted by the diversion in front of him. Also, he was supposed to be a slash, so there was no point in reading someone’s feint.

She had shifted to the side, so if he kept going like this, he would run right past the busty blonde with his hands held at the ready.

''Farewell, big boobs.

But he had to decide whether or not he would pursue those big boobs to reproduce the homing aspect of the slash.

If he forcibly leaned over now, he could go after her.

What would he do? ''What should I do?

“…Oh.”

There was an enemy in front of him.

It was not that the busty blonde had moved back to her original path.

There was someone behind her to crush the slash after the vanguard escaped it with a feint.

This other person was also blonde, but there was a major difference from the other girl.

“Adele-dono?”

She was not busty.

Asama saw something as she and Mitotsudaira crossed the bridge to the theatre ship.

“Huh?”

Near the god of war at the bow of the theatre ship, Tenzou suddenly lost all motivation.

They were training and she had seen him making an incredible dash on her diagram.

But just now, his legs slowed to a walk and his shoulders drooped.

“Tenzou?” asked Mitotsudaira with a questioning tone.

Just then, Adele sent Tenzou flying with a direct hit from her metal pipe.

At the same time, a whistle blew at the bow. Tadayo picked up and swung her spear.

“Okay, that ends the first round of supply carrying! You, ninja over there! What in the world are you doing!?”

After being knocked away and rolling thrice, Tenzou got up and lowered his head.

“S-sorry! The great sense of loss shined a light on my shameful actions!”

“I-I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean,” said Adele. “But I feel like I should be angry at you for that complete lack of motivation. I should be, shouldn’t I!?”

“Yeah, I don’t really get it either,” said Tadayo. “But you survived the charge, Balfette, so take the back row next time.”

They were going to continue the supply carrying.

“Mito, you’re going to join in now, aren’t you?”

“Yes. Tomo, you’re going to fire some arrows to ‘take some measurements’, right?”

“Yes. Only some preliminary ones, though.”

The supply carrying would continue periodically until the Gagaku Festival. That allowed as many people as possible to participate, and all of their actions would be retained as data which could be shared in a virtual space.

That way even those who could not participate in the supply carrying could still learn from it. That was the best way of ensuring nothing unexpected occurred on the day of the festival.

The first day was being used to reproduce the appearance of the Non-God Sword.

The next day would be used to reproduce the appearance of the Hidden Dragon.

The day after that would be used for practicing the Gagaku Festival plan.

They had limited time, but they would gradually come to understand their opponent and confirm what they could do themselves.

That was the basic idea. Still…

“We have the School Festival as well, so this is a lot of work,” said Asama.

“For tomorrow’s supply carrying, we will only be participating after the fact using everyone else’s combined data, right?” asked Mitotsudaira.

“That’s right. The Hidden Dragon is large, so we figured it would be best having everyone reproduce its actions without us. …We’ll join in after the cosplay teahouse closes for the day, so we need to…”

She wanted to say “work hard at the teahouse”, but she felt the need to put it a different way.

“Keep Toori-kun and Kimi under control at the teahouse.”

“M-me too!?”

Asama gave Mitotsudaira a look of “of course you too” as they finished crossing the bridge to the theatre ship.

This ship would be a battlefield soon.

And not just for the mysterious phenomena purification. For the Gagaku Festival as well.

“Hi, how’s it going, Watanabe?”

Watanabe turned back toward a voice coming from the stairs climbing up from below the stage.

“…Suga-kun.”

“Judge.” Oosuga held large bundles of what looked like thin paper in both hands. “Back when it was the Tanigawa Castle, the ship was apparently used in place of a shrine since it’s a theatre ship. The storage below deck is full of doujinshis meant to be burned for purification.”

“You sure they aren’t just for ballast?”

“They’re pretty old for that. I mean, here’s a Ronin Troopers one. We were in elementary school when that was popular.”

“The earth element guy was useless in that one, right? I remember arguing with the girls in our class over who the best one was.”

“When you see this, don’t you want to see if the officers at the time were like us?”

“No, I don’t,” replied Watanabe with a bitter smile.

Hearing that, Oosuga looked to the deck where he saw Tadayo and…

“Hey, the vassal unit is headed back next, right? Have them carry these too.”

“I have a feeling some idiot will take them home with him.”

“Really?”

“If a boy finds himself with the chance to take a book filled with naked women, most of them will take it.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” said Oosuga as he stepped down from the stage with the doujinshis.

He looked straight ahead into the distant sky.

“Those who have awoken to their faith will not be stopped by any old temptation.”

“…What if it was a wife doujinshi?”

“I would follow my faith and take it home with me. I mean, obviously.”

“Addressing that properly would be way too much work, but what if there was a wife one among those you have there?”

“I removed it.”

“Interesting use of the past tense.”

“Hey.” Tadayo glared at Watanabe. “If you have something to say, just say it.”

“Nothing I say could fix you.”

Watanabe was not smiling, but there was no sarcasm or gloominess in her expression. That briefly stopped Tadayo from speaking.

And after a moment…

“Well, that is true.”

“And you used to be so pure.”

Tadayo listened to Watanabe.

“When you would notice an abandoned porn magazine by the river in the nature district on the way to school, you and Torii-kun would run to grab it afterschool.”

“I do have to wonder why Torii was so into it,” said Tadayo. “But what you described is far from pure.”

“But he didn’t go on and on about wives.”

“Didn’t you say nothing you said could fix him?”

Watanabe followed Oosuga’s back with her eyes. She saw him pile the bundles of doujinshis up with the supplies and materials by the stage.

“Okay, we have an extra job for the vassal unit. …Tadayo-san, can you do that?”

“Oh, judge, judge.”

Tadayo opened her mouth with obvious disappointment in having her question dodged.

“When did we start keeping secrets from each other?”

“I’m not keeping any secrets.”

“Should the 1st Special Duty Officer really say that?”

“Judge,” said Watanabe. “Some things just aren’t worth saying. …So what am I supposed to do when someone claims I’m keeping secrets just because I didn’t say something that ''isn’t worth saying''?”

“Call them a stalker or overly possessive?”

“Judge. Besides,” said Watanabe. “I’m the odd one out in our group, so you haven’t told me anything about that, have you?”

“Ohh,” said Tadayo as she chose her words carefully.

She knew what Watanabe meant in terms of the current situation.

Things were already in motion and they were doing everything they could about it. So…

“It’s not like you could do anything even if you were told.”

“Y’know...”

Watanabe tilted her head in slight disappointment and pointed forward.

She pointed at the doujinshi bundles at Oosuga’s feet.

“If I couldn’t do anything even if I’m told, then asking isn’t going to do me any good either. So that just leaves preparing for the result. …Please hurry up and carry those away.”

“What does that mean, Neshinbara? Why is Watanabe different from the other officers and name inheritors in the third year?”

Naruze asked a question through the classroom changing area’s partition curtain while she helped Suzu remove her samurai costume.

“That 1st Special Duty Officer uses a metal spear, so she has the same weapon type as Ookubo and her cowling spear. …The only thing I can think of is her blonde hair.”

“No, no. It’s not about her appearance. …Oh, do you have a Technomagie hat over there?”

“W-we…do?”

Suzu moved to the wicker basket at the back of the partition.

“Oh, dear. You’re still topless,” said Naruze as she held the left side of Suzu’s removed samurai cowling in her left hand and opened a crop mark frame Magie Figur in her right hand. She then began sketching Suzu’s butt as the girl leaned over to reach inside the wicker basket.

…''Oh, so that’s how such a slender body sways when wearing the heavy skirt of a tassets cowling…

Being able to learn new things needed for drawing and to be able to immediately check on them was nothing less than a joy for an artist.

''Excellent, Suzu. Just stick your butt up a little more… Oh, good, good. Yes, yes. Now tense up a little…yes, yes, yes.

“Ga-chan, what has you all excited?”

“Eh? Oh, judge. Well, Margot, why wouldn’t I be excited with the school festival going on?”

“Th-there it is. It was right on…top.”

''Eh?'' she thought as she turned around to find Suzu holding a white boy’s Technomagie hat.

She had not yet finished sketching Suzu.

…''And yet…!

“Neshinbaraaaa!! Why was your hat found right away!?”

“Huh!?” he shouted from beyond the partition. “These absurd accusations are hardly new, but did I even ''do'' anything!?”

The changing boys saw a Weiss Hexen slip past the curtain and walk in.

“Wah!” Itoken took a half-step back. “Naruze-kun! We’re changing in here, so we’re naked!”

“You’re always naked!”

“Calm down, Naruze!” said Nenji. “Neshinbara might be at fault, but intruding on our changing room is not rational!”

“Wait! Why are you saying I might be at fault!?”

“Huh!? You just prevented me from growing as an artist! I had a rare chance to sketch Suzu seminude! I mean, when am I ever going to have another chance to draw a seminude samurai Suzu!?”

“Someone! Someone please! There’s a pervert in here!!”

“No one’s going to come,” said Noriki who had already prepared his white mage outfit.

“What’s with you?” asked Naruze. “You just wrapped some bandages around your stomach and put on a Techno Mage jacket? Do you like showing off your body?”

“The inner suit ''top'' restricts your movements and it’s expensive. I can’t spend that much money on a costume.” Noriki sighed and sat on the desk they were stacking things on top of. “In all seriousness, even if you send someone to the guards, most of the 1st Special Duty Unit and other enforcers are on the Fushimi Castle right now. A Public Morals Committee member might be able to do something, but Asama is over there too.”

“And I bet our teacher is at the cafeteria having a feast on everything the cooking club is putting out with nearly-expired ingredients.”

The Weiss Hexen passed Neshinbara his hat as if to hide his sigh.

“Well, aren’t you lucky. Sounds like you won’t have to visit the guards. …But did we really have the budget for all these costumes?”

He took the hat and frowned at Naruze’s question.

“We all pitched in, remember? We even discussed whether Honda-kun would be able to pay her share.”

“Oh, yeah.”

It seemed to come back to Naruze.

“She started looking for a part-time job after that, didn’t she? …Sorry, I was drawing up a manuscript back then, so I wasn’t really listening. Did I actually pay my share?”

“You paid three shares just like Augesvarer-kun told you to. Were you too busy with your manuscript to notice?”

“Curse that girl…”

The Technohexen bit her nail and clicked her tongue and Neshinbara sighed.

“Anything else you want to ask?”

“What? You’ll let me draw it?”

“Not that. About Watanabe.”

“Oh, I completely forgot. …So how is she the odd one out?”

“I knew it,” muttered Neshinbara, but he soon stood tall once more.

He pushed his glasses back up his nose and donned the white mage hate he had been given.

“Think of the current officers: Torii Mototada, Ookubo Tadayo, Oosuga Yasutaka, and Watanabe Moritsuna. Of them, only Watanabe Moritsuna survives to the Battle of Sekigahara.”

Naito focused on Neshinbara’s voice beyond the curtain while she helped Suzu change.

…''Samurai fashion sure is flashy…

Suzu’s was mostly handmade, so it was of course not meant for battle. But it still took time to change in and out of, so Naito was impressed that people used to wear things like this.

“Okay, Bell-rin. It’s all off.”

“O-okay. Thanks.”

Meanwhile, she heard Neshinbara’s voice.

“Listen.”

He was talking about their upperclassmen. They were familiar faces at the meetings about the Gagaku Festival and during the recent mysterious phenomena incidents. Except those upperclassmen probably did not know them very well and they did not know those upperclassmen on a personal level.

That was who Neshinbara was talking about.

…''I’m not really sure it’s worth listening to.

“In the Testament, the first of them to die is Oosuga Yasutaka, the second is Ookubo Tadayo, and the third is Torii Mototada. They die before the Battle of Sekigahara, so they do not see their lord, Matsudaira, begin his reign.”

…''I see.

Naito pulled Suzu’s Schwarz Hexen costume out of the wicker basket. She handed it to Suzu in order, starting with the inner suit, while speaking.

“Bara-yan, can I cut in?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Then…does that even matter to our upperclassmen? It’s pretty common to fudge the years for name inheritors and history recreations.”

“I had a feeling someone would say that, but this is more than just gossip. …There is one thing that has my attention about this, but it is something I believe I have already told you about.”

Naito frowned at that.

…''Has Bara-yan told us anything about our upperclassmen?

He had.

“That you want their signatures?”

“Yes,” replied Naruze from the boys changing room. “You’re gathering signatures of pre-Sekigahara commanders and post-Sekigahara commanders separately, aren’t you? The ones who took over the world and the ones who didn’t.”

“If I based it on taking over the world, I wouldn’t have much to collect.”

“Then what is it?”

When she asked that, Naito sensed Neshinbara’s attention shift from Naruze to her. And…

“I told you about the Siege of Fushimi Castle, didn’t I?”

“That’s when Suzuki Magoichi, who is currently visiting Musashi, kills Torii Mototada, right?”

“Right,” he said. He continued without a moment’s delay. “The Siege of Fushimi Castle is one of the battles leading into the Battle of Sekigahara. If anything like that happens on the Fushimi Castle,” said Neshinbara. “It will mean the Far East is the very first nation to do a history recreation immediately preceding Sekigahara. …Of course, Watanabe Moritsuna was at that battle too, but that upperclassman is currently the 1st Special Duty Officer.”

“You mean…?”

She understood what Neshinbara was trying to say. Or she thought she did.

“So,” began Naito. “Watanabe’s job is to stop Magoichi from doing anything like that?”

“Now.” Watanabe called out to the 1st Special Duty Unit that had returned from the stern. “Next, split up into two groups and perform the supply carrying one group at a time. …Watch how the other team moves and use that to inspire and correct your own actions.”

On the distant stern, the vassal unit was down on their knees catching their breath.

Tadayo swung up her cowling spear as she walked over to them.

“Okay, everyone! Back on your feet!”

''She’s pretty strict,'' thought Watanabe as she spotted someone past Tadayo’s back.

…''Is that…?

It was the Asama Shrine Representative and the provisional Mito Lord.

They stood on the open-air bridge where they were speaking with “Musashino” who was managing the Gagaku Festival.

They were likely confirming some things about the supply carrying and other work. The Asama Shrine Representative would occasionally raise her lightly-clenched left hand toward them, so she may have been keeping track of the firing timing.

She would be joining them soon.

“Now,” said Watanabe quietly. “Are you ready to do some things that aren’t worth telling anyone about?”

Tenzou built his resolve after completing his return trip in the supply carrying.

…''I will do it right next time.

He would stop a vassal.

Specifically, the 3rd-year busty blonde vassal.

She was the one who had slipped past him with a feint and allowed Adele’s attack to hit him.

This was not for vindication, but while some of the 1st Special Duty Unit had been dodged or knocked over in the initial clash, none of the others had been dodged and then sent flying like he had.

He could not allow that.

Since his father was a ninja instructor, people saw him as a star student whether he liked it or not. He wanted to say he did not really care, but…

…''This is my father we’re talking about…

That morning, he had woken up to find a note from his mother saying “I have gone to the nature district river with your father” and all of his father’s hidden porn games stacked up on the table. ''I wonder how she is going to punish him this time.

At any rate, he had to focus on the challenge before him.

The vassal unit had reversed their formation to the left and right on the way back.

And on this second time across…

“Have they reversed it front to back?”

Adele was directly ahead of him. So the busty blonde third year would be behind her.

That girl was his true target.

But he could not see behind Adele at the moment.

That was due to the shield she was carrying.

She no longer held a metal pipe meant to look like a spear. This time, she carried a large and flat piece of scaffolding.

He had seen the records of the battle against the Non-God Sword and he recalled that Adele had moved forward while using a spell defense barrier as a shield. She had even smashed the Non-God Sword with the shield.

On this second time across, Adele was moving forward to provide an example.

That meant he would have to stop her.

…''I have to defeat Adele-dono!?

Just as he thought that, he realized something.

…''Mh?

Adele was providing an example that the others were to follow.

So wouldn’t it be more helpful if he let her defeat him instead of defeating her? If he did go out and defeat her…

“Wh-why are you so bad at reading between the lines, Tenzou-san!?”

“That’s right. This is the supply carrying for fighting the Non-God Sword.”

“Now, now. It’s Tenzou-kun, so he can’t really help it.”

“Tenzou, you are the worst.”

“That he is. I’ll have a surprise for him at the next event.”

He ended up imaging people who were not even here, but it all seemed frighteningly accurate.

He tried to figure out what to do, and…

“…Watanabe-sama?’

“Yes?”

Watanabe was blonde too, but she was not all that busty and fell outside of his range. Besides, she had Oosuga, which placed her in the wife genre.

So he asked his question without any anxiety or nerves.

“Is Adele-dono demonstrating a technique for use against the Non-God Sword?”

“Huh? Well…”

She tilted her head and cupped her hands around her mouth.

She sent her voice to Tadayo on the far end of the deck. However…

“—————”

He could not hear what she said. She must have been using either a ninja technique or a spell to alter the directionality of her voice so that only Tadayo could hear.

Tadayo turned toward them on the bow and answered with her cowling spear resting on her shoulder.

“Do you think that would be a good idea!?”

Her voice was loud enough to shake the deck. She was apparently using some kind of spell.

A ninja needed to covertly provide instructions to individuals.

A knight or vassal needed to provide commands to the entire group.

…''I see.

The black-haired knight held a cowling spear and the blonde ninja held a metal spear.

They had their similarities and their differences, but they worked well as a team.

Watanabe sent a few more words and Tadayo answered.

“Then that sounds good to me!”

What sounded good to her?

Watanabe nodded and lowered her hands from her mouth.

“Tenzou-kun, she is not demonstrating anything.”

“I-is that so!?” He tried to hide his true intentions here. “Then I do not need to hold back?”

“Oh, but, Tenzou-kun, if you lose next time, that’s two losses in a row against Adele-san.”

…''Eh?

He looked out ahead and saw Adele rolling up her track suit sleeves and tucking them up with bands. She then started spinning her right arm around and looking straight at him.

“Time for a second win!”

''I need to stop her,'' realized Tenzou.

Adele liked to run.

She always thought so when she ran, but the thought had been more prominent lately.

After all, she was not running just for fun or for class.

She was running to fulfill her role on the battlefield by offering up her whole self.

She could not do that when walking the dogs.

…''Then again, by running out ahead, I do make sure the pack doesn’t scatter.

She could describe that as having a role to play in a team working to accomplish something.

This was the same.

“Begin!!”

She ran out ahead after hearing Tadayo’s shout.

She was not demonstrating how to fight the Non-God Sword. Nor was she taking the lead to recreate the circumstances of that fight.

This was simply her first turn at the front of the formation.

Her equipment was modeled after a spell shield, so everyone would be focused on her actions.

She wanted to do a good job so they could see how it was done. But…

…''It’s Tenzou-san!

She knew how skilled a ninja he was.

She often saw him demonstrate his prowess in stealth, reconnaissance, infiltration, delaying, and information management.

“When we’re running late, the classroom infiltration missions he leads while avoiding the teacher are incredible.”

There were also the mock battles they held in gym class. During the battles held in the city, he could use his leadership, guidance, and diversions to give them all more time.

It was based on Neshinbara’s eye for strategy, but the behind-the-scenes work bringing them closer to the ideal was mostly reliant on him.

A vassal also supported those on the battlefield, but…

…''My role is more in the open.

A ninja generally guided their allies or sabotaged the enemy on the battlefield, so her role was to be the first one down the path he had paved.

A ninja paved the path and guided them down it.

A vassal traveled down the path to prove its validity and support the others.

The two roles had a give-and-take relationship.

And the person on the other end of the scales was now coming for her.

He was fast.

Adele recalled that Tenzou was the only one in their class who was faster than her.

His endurance was probably also greater than hers. He was even superior to her as an athlete.

''Then,'' thought Adele.

…''How is he any different from a Non-God Sword!?

A Non-God Sword’s power, height, and speed were all greater than hers.

So why had she defeated it?

“Because I wasn’t alone!”

Adele ran.

She moved to directly intercept Tenzou while she opened her mouth and raised her voice.

“I can’t lose if my opponent is single!”

''She is using a psychological attack,'' thought Tenzou.

…''I never thought Adele-dono would use diversionary tactics!

A type of ''kotodama'' attack known as an Eloquence Attack was a shrine maiden’s specialty. It was a mystery why most of the girls in their class could use it, but that may have been Asama’s influence. But it was impressive that Adele could use it in combat.

He realized the girl running to his right had slowed her pace. She must have taken a direct hit.

He heard the voice of the boy holding his chest and running to his left.

“Hey! If the hit didn’t affect you, then say something back!”

“Judge!”

Tenzou gathered his strength and responded. ''It is true I wouldn’t be affected by that.'' After all…

“I am not single!” he shouted back at Adele. “Because I have a wife I’m in the process of winning in a porn game!!”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “Huh? …What did he just say?”

'''10ZO:''' “You don’t have to say that with such disgust, you know?”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “…Um, sorry, everyone, but Tenzou-san just said something weird to me. Is this his form of coming out?”

'''Me:''' “Also, Tenzou, the girl you’re going after in that game only has a bad end. You can’t keep her from being executed.”

'''10ZO:''' “D-don’t give me spoilers in the middle of training! And in that case, I’ll have to write the developers and have them put out a new edition with an extra scenario!”

'''Asama:''' “Um, sorry. This line is just for testing the system, so everything you say is being recorded…”

At any rate, Tenzou made his charge.

His opponent was Adele. She was blonde and flat-… ''No, a ninja needs to show mercy… She is a classmate and we have known each other a long time…

So he made his way straight toward her.

She removed the scaffolding material from her back and held it out like a spell shield.

If she hit and stopped him with that, she would win.

If he deflected it and made it through, he would win.

But he had a handicap here.

At the moment, he was a Non-God Sword slash rather than a ninja.

That prevented him from using any intricate tricks.

…''But come to think of it, Adele-dono could not use that ''kotodama'' attack against a Non-God Sword.

''I also doubt a Non-God Sword would respond to it with a porn game wife, but perhaps one might understand the glory of busty blondes. Yes, I must not reject the possibility.

“…Oh.”

The shield was right in front of him.

It was large. The scaffolding material was 120cm tall and 60cm wide.

It pushed at the wind as it approached him. And…

…''Such splendid movement!

Its speed did not drop as it thrust toward him.

When making a shield attack during a high-speed run, it was only natural for the wind pressure to slow it.

But Adele was different. She thrust it forward at an angle that erased the powerful wind pressure hitting the shield.

She converted the momentum of her run into a blunt weapon blow.

From his perspective, the attack seemed to scoop up from the ground.

…''That’s a counterattack aiming for my solar plexus to my lower chest!

A hit from that would not end well for him.

It was a shield attack, but he would be hit by the top instead of the flat surface. It was like being hit by the vertical edge of a book.

Tenzou thought, ''Huh? Is Adele-dono serious about this?

But the attack from below was an immediate one.

He had to react.

The Non-God Sword’s slashes tackled their opponent and detonated themselves.

Dodging was not an option for him. If he did so, it was only if he collided with her but was not broken.

He would have to knock Adele away and keep going.

So what was he to do?

When an opponent made a shield attack, one normally dodged it or jumped over it to attack while passing them by. Shields were heavy, so there was little chance of them making another attack once you were passed it.

But what if you could not dodge and had to hit it?

…''You attack somewhere they can’t cover with the shield. Like at their feet!

''In that case,'' thought Tenzou as he charged in.

He moved straight toward Adele as she made her shield attack from below.

And he of course went low.

He tried to force his way below the counterattacking shield.

Adele saw Tenzou’s movement.

He charged in at her while somewhat crouched and turned with his right shoulder forward.

His hips were very low, but…

…''The shield isn’t high enough for you to get under it!

At this rate, the upper edge of the shield would hit him in the face.

That would do a lot of damage. And his acceleration toward her would only add to the damage.

''But,'' she thought. ''Tenzou-san must have something up his sleeve.

He was not the type to recklessly rush in without a plan.

A ninja’s role was to prepare and guide everyone to victory. That would remain the same on the individual level.

''But,'' she thought again. ''He does sometimes get lost in his own plans.

He would sometimes confess to a busty blonde and get shot down, but those failures were almost certainly caused by him overthinking things. He would essentially set himself up for defeat.

That was not a good thing.

But what about this time? And…

“I’ll do it too…!”

She would do everything she could.

If he was trying to slip below her shield…

…''I’ll go even lower!

She further lowered the shield as she swung it along a pendulum-like trajectory. That was easily done by lowering her hips. She was shorter than Tenzou, so she had the advantage when it came to getting lower to the ground.

She would hit him.

She did not hesitate to work toward that goal.

Asama turned around at about the same time as she heard Adele’s scream.

The first thing she saw was her vassal classmate flying through the air.

“Owaaaahhh?”

But Adele had not simply been sent flying.

She was practically sitting on the shield she had been using.

The shield flew through the air with her sitting on it and ultimately made a full rotation.

“Ahhhh!”

That was when she was thrown off.

Tenzou was below it all.

He had collided with Adele as one of the slashes, but…

“Is that…?”

She saw he had lowered his body by sliding with his right leg in the lead.

But simply lowering to the deck like that would not have allowed him to respond to Adele’s ultra-low-altitude shield attack.

He had used a trick to pull off that seemingly-impossible response.

…''A ninja sword?

He normally carried it on the back of his waist.

It was now held in the toes of his leading right foot.

Asama understood what he had done.

He had kicked the ninja sword to strike Adele’s legs as she made her shield attack.

Timing-wise, it had knocked her legs out from under her half a step in advance.

She had shifted her center of gravity forward, so the unexpected attack had knocked her off balance.

When swinging forward something as large as that scaffolding material, your body tended to stray forward.

And when lowering her body to hit Tenzou more quickly, she would have leaned forward even more.

Adele had had her legs swept out from under her through the shield obstacle.

“He must have moved underneath the shield when Adele-sama accidentally lifted it along with her own body. Over.”

“Musashino” was correct and the rest was simple.

Tenzou slipped below the lifted shield and placed it on his hips to launch it upwards.

Adele had been on top of it and could not stop her own momentum.

“Owwwww!!”

So she was sent flying before crashing back down to the deck.

Next, Tenzou stood up.

His actions as a slash were not yet over.

Tenzou had a chance at victory.

…''Boobs!!

The 3rd-year with blonde hair and boobs would be behind Adele.

He had knocked away Adele, so…

…''Can I interpret that as earning the right to a grope!?

''I can, can’t I? Yes, it’s fine every once in a while, right? I couldn’t do it before and this is the supply carrying, so it should be fine. Besides, this would all be meaningless if I didn’t stop her and just let her go past.

Also, he was crouched low right now.

That placed him in the blind spot of those large breasts. There were times when Asama had to look for the cokepen on her desk because her breasts blocked it from view, but the same situation was occurring on the battlefield.

…''I must act like a cokepen here!

“Okay…!”

He moved forward so the large breasts would be overhead.

Or they should have been.

For some reason, Mitotsudaira was there.

Asama saw Tenzou freeze up and get hit by Mitotsudaira.

…''Ow.

It was a solid blow that made her wince just watching it.

The material shield dug into the ninja’s gut and sent him flying while doubled over in actual < shape.

She heard the impact, Mitotsudaira continued to run, and…

“Here we go!”

“Judge!!”

Upon seeing the Rank 1 Knight’s results, the vassal unit ran forward.

…''Placing Mito behind Adele was meant to better reproduce the battle the other day, wasn’t it?

But…

“Tenzou-kun, what were you doing back there?”

“Tenzou… You mean the son of Ninja Instructor Crossunite-sama? Over.”

“Musashino” had apparently referenced her shared memories as she watched Tenzou fall head-first toward the deck.

She tilted her head.

“He seemed entirely defenseless for a moment there. Why? Over.”

Asama was not sure herself. However…

“His motivation seemed to rapidly vanish as soon as he saw Mito.”

“Should we assume he intentionally took the hit to give Mitotsudaira-sama that result? Over.”

That was the nicest interpretation and would probably be best for Tenzou.

So Asama nodded and decided to join in next time. And…

“Okay, that completes the second run across!”

She heard Watanabe’s voice and turned around to see Mitotsudaira waving from the stage.

The Cerberus was mimicking the action on her head, so it seemed to be in a good mood.

“I see.”

Asama bowed toward “Musashino” and walked out onto the deck. She pulled a cord from each sleeve and tied back the sleeves.

“Asama Shrine Representative Class 2-Plum Asama Tomo. …I am here to inspect the ‘supply carrying’!”

The first day of the Spring School Festival functioned as practice for the days to follow.

They followed the same schedule each year, but the events were different each year. There was some confusion inside and outside the academy as time approached, but “Musashi” had the following overall assessment:

“I have determined everyone has settled down a fair bit. Over.”

In Class 2-Plum, Shirojiro counted their sales on his fingers.

“Huh? What is your problem, Toori? Counting on your fingers is best. Are you too stupid to understand!?”

He was being his usual self, but he predicted that their costume budget would last until the afternoon of the second day, so Suzu was relieved since she was in charge of costumes.

They all prepared for the second day and left for personal matters during the evening, but a few of the girls gathered at a certain location: Dangerous Waters, the Mukai family bathhouse in the Musashino underground area.

Her parents had figured Suzu would be exhausted today, so they were running the Suzu’s Bath on Okutama. Dangerous Waters was the main bathhouse, but it was half closed for the day.

“We’re here to help with the maintenance and cleaning!!”

They were using the place as a practice studio for the Gagaku Festival.

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| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 4B Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
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