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Horizon:Volume 6A Chapter 8

2017-11-12T22:08:43Z

84.238.49.246: Formatting errors corrected.

==Chapter 8: Sky Viewer on the Ground==
[[Image:Horizon6A_259.jpg|thumb]]
''The reason someone leaves

''Is to go and meet someone

'''Point Allocation (Planned)

Naito looked up when she heard what Noriki said.

He had said he was going somewhere for a day and a half, but...

...''So it's somewhere he can go in a day and a half, is it?

"Where will you be going? I'm assuming it isn't anywhere on the Musashi. Right, Nori-rin?"

"Nori-rin..."

He glared at her, but she had always called him that. And he had always glared at her in response, so nothing had changed.

Next to her, Naruze also turned toward Noriki.

"A day and a half or two days? It must be somewhere pretty far away. Couldn't you get there quicker if we gave you a ride on the back of our Schwarz Fräulein or Weiss Fräulein?"

"No, it's pretty close to here. But there's something I have to do there."

Someone responded to Noriki's statement: Asama. She opened a sign frame by her hands.

"It's Suwa, isn't it?"

"Judge." Noriki nodded. "Suwa's main shrine in Shinshu. From this part of Sanada, it should only take half a day on foot."

...''Suwa, huh?

Naito quickly opened a Magie Figur and called up a map of the Far East.

Asama would normally perform the check of such a wide area, but she could not act here.

...''It's on the Shinto network, but this is a shrine from a different affiliation group.

Asama was a shrine maiden of the Asama Shrine that worshiped Sakuya and the Asama Shrine was Musashi's main shrine.

Meanwhile, Noriki belonged to Suwa which had its main shrine on the surface and managed his old home, making it his birthplace shrine.

Since Suwa belonged to a different affiliation group, the Asama Shrine had to act as an intermediary for him to access it on the Musashi.

The Asama Shrine handled the formal processing of his contract and spells, but when politics were involved, it was dangerous to get too involved in issues related to another affiliation group's god. If anything happened, they would have to repay the other shrine in some way.

So...

"It would also be a pain to have Seijun check over this, so I'll handle the map of the area," said Naito. "Since Ga-chan and I do delivery work, we have the map that's been built up since Musashi's construction."

Naito had already displayed the map in her hand. She first had it show Sanada land and the area around Ueda.

The map primarily showed the provisional borders and cities.

The details were centered on those areas and things grew more abstract farther away from them. Some parts were in color, but that was mixed with areas in black and white or drawn in pen.

It was a patchwork collection of small maps drawn from what was visible on or near the Musashi.

The map had been passed down by the delivery business, but not even delivery workers could leave the Musashi. However, they had spent decades photographing a wide area using telescope spells while the Musashi was in flight.

...''And this is the result of cutting and pasting them all together.

The images Naruze had taken near Mito would have already been added in.

Naito wanted to check on that, but now was not the time.

She found the area she wanted and zoomed in. Then she held it overhead.

"Does this work?"

She pointed at one point in the Koshinetsu region from behind the Far East map.

"This here is where we are now. It's near the border between northwest Koshinetsu and south Sviet Rus."

And...

"Nori-rin wants to go to Suwa, Shinshu, in western Koshinetsu. That means he needs to travel more than 20km southwest."

But...

"Nori-rin, won't that be pretty tough?"

"What will?"

"The Yatsugatake Mountains that extend down from the southern Alps are located between Ueda and Suwa, so you'll probably be crossing a mountain. Since you're used to life on the Musashi, won't you have a hard time traveling on the surface?"

"That's right," said Naomasa. "You stayed back and looked after the tents today because you wanted to preserve your strength, didn't you? ...That would explain Neshinbara too."

"How could I say no to such a cool request?"

"Don't be dumb," continued Naomasa. "Crossing a mountain will be too much. Especially since that area is pretty dangerous with the Altai Mountains of the continent's central area appearing as a Harmonic Territory. ...If you're going to do this, you need to take a detour either north or south and use a transport ship. That would be safer. Besides, you'll have to go all the way to Houjou on your way back. The battle will be over by the time you arrive on foot."

'''Asama:''' "I didn't know Masa could be so considerate..."

'''Smoking Girl:''' "I've always kept an eye on the continent's routes and terrain. I was curious about the land that gave the Suzaku its name, so I did a lot of research into Qing-Takeda which also takes names from there. I've memorized most everything from Mikawa to the Tianshan Corridor."

'''Mal-Ga:''' "Judge. ...I understand completely. I can use that for my doujinshi."

'''Smoking Girl:''' "How does that make any sense!?"

'''Gold Mar:''' "Who said anything about needing to make sense?"

'''Asama:''' "That's right! You're senseless! You people are completely senseless!"

'''Silver Wolf:''' "If Naomasa joins the lineup too, will it distribute the damage away from me?"

''Ohh, Mito-tsan is taking a positive view,'' thought Naito as she heard Noriki sigh.

But his sigh seemed to sap the strength from his body.

"Nori-rin. ...As you can see, you should really give this some more thought."

"Judge. But..."

She knew why he trailed off.

"You're not a Special Duty Officer or anything else, so there's no real reason to send out a transport ship for you, is there?"

"Then can't Masazumi-sama use her authority as Vice President to make Noriki-sama someone's aide?"

"No, she can't do that, Horizon."

Toori waved his hand in front of Horizon's face. He then moved in front of her and began grinding his hips side to side.

"Y'see, Horizon..."

Without speaking a word, Horizon threw a low punch into the idiot's crotch.

The dull and somewhat muffled sound caused everyone to stop moving.

"————"

Three seconds later, the clothed idiot fell to his knees with this long black wig fluttering behind him.

Horizon spoke to the idiot who hung his head and stopped moving.

"Toori-sama. You should not move around so carelessly. What if someone hit you with a surprise attack?"

"W-wait, Horizon. L-listen. Just give me, um, hm...th-thirty seconds before we try to talk any more."

"Why do you sound like a girl?" asked Tenzou.

But the idiot sat with his knees apart, tried to keep his hips as high as he could, and slapped his lower belly.

"O-okay! I can do this! I can do this! Y'see, Horizon..."

"Noriki-sama has the necessary combat skill, but he also has his family to look after. So if he became a Special Duty Officer's aide, his work-home balance would fall apart."

"Judge. Sorry about bringing my private life into this, but that's why."

"H-hey! Noriki! She stole my line, so couldn't you have passed that one off to me a little better?"

"No."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

It was incredible how readily the idiot accepted that.

'''Mal-Ga:''' "This is why he's so hard to put in my doujinshi..."

'''Wise Sister:''' "Heh heh heh. Are you praising my foolish brother?"

'''Mal-Ga:''' "You're even harder...!"

''Ga-chan, no need to get so worked up.

But then someone else spoke to Noriki.

It was Narumi. She was seated at the table and sipping on some sake.

"Why are you thinking so much of your family here?"

"My family used to be Houjou retainers."

"Judge." Narumi nodded. "That makes sense."

''So that's it,'' thought Narumi.

...''Do I pick up on political issues so quickly thanks to our Secretary?

As she came to that internal understanding, she sensed someone's gaze on her.

It was the vassal. Also the bangs girl and Musashi's princess.

The three of them were giving her a "What does that mean?" look.

...''It doesn't really matter if you understand this or not.

But she understood the desire to understand if it did not matter one way or another.

So Narumi looked to the girls who were tilting their heads.

"Listen. Someone from a family that used to be a Houjou retainer will now be fighting against Houjou. Do you know what would happen if he gave no thought to his family in that situation?"

"Judge. In that case, they would have a hard time gaining the trust of Houjou as their ''former master'' after we win the Houjou battle."

Gin answered and Narumi nodded.

...''I suppose she would have an understanding of how clans work.

This had to do with political negotiations. Since people like her were often influenced by political factors, it made sense they would understand this.

And that seemed to be why their Secretary pushed up his glasses and looked around at them all.

"Listen, everyone. The Siege of Odawara will actually strengthen the Matsudaira forces in the end. ...While trapped in Kantou, Matsudaira absorbed the remnants of the fallen Takeda clan and then takes in the remnants of Houjou here. That allows us to act as a powerful force in the east that rivals Hashiba in the center."

So...

"Because Matsudaira takes Houjou in as their own force, we need to take good care of them. Noriki-kun's presence will provide a foundation and example for them here."

"Sorry about all this."

Hearing that, their Chancellor waved his hand back and forth.

"No, no. It's more than enough that you can make an appearance on the front line. ...But how do you plan to get to Suwa and back again in time?"

"Well..." The laborer of a former Houjou family brought a hand to his chin. "If I do make a detour via transport ship, which way would be shorter?"

The Schwarz Hexen had an immediate answer to that.

"North."

Naito showed Noriki the map on her Magie Figur.

She moved the speedometer-shaped scale bar to zoom it out a bit.

It displayed the mountain range crossing north to south between Ueda on the east and Suwa on the west.

Naito began by placing her finger on Ueda and drawing a red line south.

...''Um, is it here? Midway between Yatsugatake and Yokoo.

She placed a mark at a gap in the mountains leading south.

"You have to go pretty far south before you reach a route connecting east to west. The south leads to the southern Alps, so you'd have to cross that boundary and pass through at high altitude, which would take some time."

"Then I should go north?" asked Noriki.

Naito nodded.

"It looks like the longer way around, but it should cut down the travel time a lot."

But just as she said that...

"Wait."

Someone stopped her.

It was Masazumi.

She viewed the raised Magie Figur with her arms crossed.

"The northern route would be dangerous."

"Why?"

"Shibata's forces remain in southern Sviet Rus."

...''Oh, she's right about that.

That reminded Naito that the Siege of Uozu Castle they held at Novgorod had ended Shibata's invasion of Sviet Rus.

She and Naruze had been on the front line then and had kept Shibata's fleet in check.

Shibata's forces had been forced to retreat from Sviet Rus during that battle. But...

"Even the Testament says Shibata's group continued fighting against Sviet Rus. They continued to defend against attacks from Sviet Rus and showed signs of trying to invade. ...That makes Shibata's forces the northern defenders for Oda."

"But that invasion and defense delayed their arrival during the assassination of Nobunaga." Neshinbara opened his own sign frame and crossed his arms in a solemn fashion. "But these Shibata forces seem to be a little different."

"How so, Bara-yan?"

"Judge. Their battle formation has been moving eastward. The Testament descriptions have them more toward western Sviet Rus, but they have moved to the east instead."

With a comment of "listen", Neshinbara expanded the sign frame.

It displayed a map of the Far East from Kantou to near Kinki.

This one was of Neshinbara's own making, so it was nothing compared to the one Naito had.

But he placed some colors on the map.

An area was colored red from Tokai to Kinki.

"This is P.A. Oda's main force. Nobunaga's troops. And to the east..."

A small area was colored in green.

"This is Sanada. And between Sanada and Nobunaga's main force...we have this yellow. These are the areas ruled by Oda's people such as Mori Nagayoshi or Takigawa. They ''were'' here until the other day. Do you know what that means?"

"Judge." Mitotsudaira nodded as she grabbed some cooked chicken from her table seat. She placed the chicken on a container of heated rocks to reheat it. "Takigawa lost her territory during the Battle of Kanagawa. ...She has of course joined with Houjou to recreate a portion of Komaki Nagakute, but that is a different matter."

"Yes. Also, that means Takigawa's territory at the southern end of the Oda-controlled territory is now unclaimed. And Matsudaira will receive that land through the Tensho Jingo Conflict against Houjou."

Neshinbara filled Takigawa's land in with blue.

And that meant...

"Once we complete the Houjou battle, we will border Oda's main forces."

''That would explain it,'' thought Naito.

"Seijun, that's why you want to intervene in Nobunaga's assassination after the Houjou battle, isn't it?"

"Judge. You know what I'm saying now?"

"Yes," said Naruze from next to Naito. "I do. If we border them, we can find some excuse to start a big war with Oda's main forces. The biggest war imaginable will begin, which will turn Masazumi on so much she'll wait for nightfall and...oh, I know what the doujinshi after next will be."

"Wait! You're veering off topic!"

Naito and everyone else ignored her.

And Neshinbara made another change to his map.

"Specifically, this is what will happen to Matsudaira territory after the Houjou battle."

He added blue to the entirety of south Kantou, where Houjou was.

"After the Siege of Odawara, Matsudaira will gain all the land and troops from east and south Kantou. That is what will be happening in the world next. So Shibata's unit is placing their battle formation to the north as a deterrent."

Noriki spoke up as if in response to that.

"So if I go to the north, Shibata's forces or the main Oda forces will interfere?"

"Correct," said Neshinbara.

Adele raised her hand at that while looking back and forth between Naito's map and Neshinbara's map.

"But Suwa is in P.A. Oda land, isn't it? They helped Takeda prepare for their destruction as part of the history recreation and they gained the right to protect Qing in exchange, but if Suwa was taken into P.A. Oda, isn't it the same whether he goes north or south?"

"Going north gives them an excuse to interfere," answered Narumi. She used a chicken skewer to point at Neshinbara's map and she spoke plainly. "We originally came to Sanada for a study camp and we drove Takigawa out of the land south of Sanada. So traveling to Suwa from the south means visiting from our provisionally-held territory. And Musashi would send out the transport ship while heading south to Houjou, but that means it happens while the threat of Musashi leaves to the south."

"That's right. ...If he chooses the north route, Musashi will be sending a transport ship north before moving south, so it could look like a provocation of the Shibata forces."

"So south then," said Noriki.

Naito nodded and used her finger to draw a red line circling around to the south on her map.

"That would be a total of about 120km. By my estimate, that would take about 6 hours at full speed on a transport ship."

"That was my estimate as well."

Since Naomasa concurred, it was likely accurate.

"That just leaves the ship..."

But just as Naito said that...

"Um, everyone? One thing." The Reine des Garous raised her right hand. "About that former Houjou boy. ...While you haven't mentioned what he will be doing in Suwa, should you really be discussing all this in front of me?"

"Um, mother?"

Mitotsudaira turned toward her mother.

The woman tilted her head as if to say "Yes?", but she was across the campfire from them. She could leap to any part of this clearing in a blink of an eye if need be, but that cushion of distance was still appreciated.

Mitotsudaira spoke while focusing on her role as a knight.

"Mother, you will be our enemy two days from now. So we aren't about to mention here just what tricks we have up our sleeve."

"Oh? Nate?"

Her mother narrowed her eyes.

...''Eh?

That teeth-baring smile was a dangerous sign, so Mitotsudaira mentally prepared herself for whatever might come.

"Tricks up your sleeve? ...Are you saying he will be participating in the battle the day after tomorrow and he is going to Suwa in order to learn a spell for that battle?"

...''Oh, no!!

That was a leading question, or a leading response, or something.

She felt like her entire body had gone pale. However...

"But, Nate, your king said earlier that it's more than enough that he can make an appearance on the front line. ...Heh heh. So the answer to my question was plainly obvious to begin with. Right, Nate?"

"Kh...!"

Her mother was teasing her. She felt completely set up.

But in that case...

"Masazumi, how much information were you planning to reveal to my mother?"

"That would be up to Noriki...or I guess Neshinbara since he set this up," said Masazumi with a slight lowering of her shoulders.

Neshinbara chose to respond to that.

"Reine des Garous."

"Heh heh. What is it?"

"Please give me your autograph. Oh, and I mean for both Turenne and Masuda Motonaga. And two autographs for each."

"My, my." Mitotsudaira's mother only smiled more. "Is the second one for your girlfriend in England?"

'''Mal-Ga:''' "See? She's your girlfriend."

'''Gold Mar:''' "If you don't agree, you won't get those autographs."

'''Hori-ko:''' "Now, Neshinbara-sama, how will you respond to this challenging dilemma?"

'''Asama:''' "Um, we're inside a barrier right now, so should I open a special connection to England for just Shakespeare-san?"

'''Novice:''' "Why are you all so unified on this one!?"

"I only need autographs for myself. But please give me an extra of each as a spare."

Mitotsudaira saw her mother laugh at Neshinbara's request.

'''Smoking Girl:''' "He really doesn't know when to give up, does he?"

'''Flat Vassal:''' "Why are boys so stubborn about the weirdest things?"

'''Gold Mar:''' "Reminds me of Asama-chi."

'''Asama:''' "What does this have to do with me!?"

''Sounds accurate to me,'' thought Mitotsudaira as her mother accepted the autograph papers.

Then her mother pulled some lipstick from her cleavage.

"W-wait, mother! Why are you carrying that around with you!?"

"Heh heh heh. Don't be silly, Mitotsudaira!” said Kimi. “All women need to be ready to pretty themselves up at a moment's notice! Look, I'm carrying a microphone there! Oh, but I guess that wouldn't be possible for you... I know! I can teach you how to carry things between your butt cheeks! Won't that be great!?"

''That crazy person needs to shut up.

At any rate, her mother smeared some lipstick on her finger, wrote out her signature with it, and passed the signatures back to Neshinbara.

"Okay. The simplest explanation is that Noriki-kun is going to Suwa in order to alter March. That way he can set the version."

"I can register an original spell at Musashi's Suwa, but when I also want to include a change to the settings, I can't provide very detailed instructions. I need to do that at Suwa's main shrine."

Noriki then looked to Mitotsudaira's mother.

"And it's not about you."

Her mother looked calmly back at Noriki.

And Noriki suddenly scratched his head, presumably because of what he had said.

"No, that's a bad way of putting it. ...This isn't about something to use against you."

"Hee hee. So I've been rejected?"

"I will fight you if need be," stated Noriki. And he continued from there: "But this settings change I'll be doing at Suwa...is for use against Ujinao."

"My." Mitotsudaira's mother placed a hand on her cheek. "You're a lot more passionate than you look."

"If you understand, there's no need to say it."

Noriki then added a "but" while turning to face everyone from his chair. He placed his hands on his spread lap and lowered his head.

"I will be leaving for a bit. Please give me this time."

"Wait." It was Futayo that spoke out. "Noriki-dono, what if the battle ends before you arrive?"

"That's fine. This is my personal issue."

"And you are fine with that too, glasses boy?"

"Glasses boy..." everyone muttered before Neshinbara nodded.

"From a tactical standpoint, Noriki-kun's March is a balance breaker that can destroy barriers, defensive or otherwise. He played an important role during the Novgorod battle for that reason. But..."

But...

"If he can gain a spell for use against Houjou's Chancellor, that should lead us to even greater results than March has had before. If we can set things up to conclude with a duel between Noriki-kun and Houjou Ujinao, then our victory is guaranteed."

"Judge. ...Then as Vice Chancellor, I grant authorization for a portion of our fighting force to leave."

"Okay." Masazumi clapped her hands. "Does anyone else have something to say?"

Mitotsudaira just about shook her head, but...

...''At this rate, we'll be headed back to the base camp!

Her mother would finally discover the tent arrangements.

Mitotsudaira frantically turned toward her mother.

"Mother! ...You have to go join Houjou now, don't you!?"

"Oh? What are you talking about? I'm spending the night here tonight."

...''Why does she sound so unsuspecting!?

But this was dangerous.

"Um, we don't have a tent ready for you."

"Well, then I can just stay in your tent, can't I?"

"...Eh?"

''Oh, no.

Once she thought about it, that was the natural solution.

No matter how much she thought about it, she could not come up with a good reason to send that bombshell of a mother to another tent.

'''Silver Wolf:''' "Adele? Would you believe me if I told you sleeping next to my mother made your boobs grow?"

'''Flat Vassal:''' "5th Special Duty Officer, you're living proof that isn't true."

'''Silver Wolf:''' "Th-then what about Futayo's tent?"

'''Tonbokiri:''' "I toss and turn ''a lot'' in my sleep, but if that is fine with her..."

''Why does that tent sound so dangerous?

And Gin was sharing a tent with Muneshige.

"U-um, mother? ...There isn't much room in my tent!"

"Oh, my. Who all is in there with you?"

...''Why did I bring it up!?

Mitotsudaira thought long and hard. She felt like she was desperately pulling in a rope.

At the table, Horizon spread her arms and measured the width of her own head.

"So each side has one, two... I believe we could fit one more."

"That's gotta be bad for your circulation..."

"Oh? Foolish brother, then should I sleep on top of you?"

"K-Kimi, how do you always think outside the box like that!?"

The others were joining the discussion, which only increased the danger.

Mitotsudaira quickly faced and spoke to her mother.

"I-it's just that, um, my hair takes up a lot of space."

"Can't you let it rest on top of you? Loup-garous are perfectly capable of sleeping on our stomach."

She knew that. And she realized it had been silly to think her mother would not know that.

And her mother bent her eyes in a smile.

"Nate? ...You're hiding something, aren't you?"

"I-I would never! What would I ever hide from you, mother!?"

"So you'll tell me the truth?"

'''Gold Mar:''' "Ture-yan sure is good at this."

'''Mal-Ga:''' "Yes. I knew Mitotsudaira was bad at arguments, but I didn't realize it was possible to be ''this'' much better than her."

'''Silver Wolf:''' "Stop acting like you're not a part of this!"

But her mother's smile had not budged.

This was bad.

She considered running away and spending the night elsewhere, but her mother would probably hunt her down in the mountains. Plus, she still remembered her mother saving her long ago when she got lost in the forest and fell asleep.

...''Wh-what am I supposed to do!?

And just as Mitotsudaira gasped, an unexpected voice reached them from outside.

"Okay, everyone. Is your meeting about over? We have to head out early tomorrow, so get to sleep."

It was Oriotorai.

...''I'm saved!

Mitotsudaira used a burst of acceleration to turn toward their teacher.

"Sensei! Do we have a tent for my mother to use?"

"She won't be sleeping in a tent, Mitotsudaira. She's your mother."

''A den then?'' she thought, but she did not want to waste this opportunity. So she worked to form a smile and remain calm as she spoke.

"Judge. Then, Sensei, do we have a bed for my mother to use?"

"Yes, how about..."

Oriotorai pointed back toward the faculty bungalows lined up on an elevated area bordering the clearing.

"...she joins us in there?"

"My, what a lovely place."

''Hallelujah!'', thought Mitotsudaira.

Her mother had been distracted. ''Thank you, sensei.

...''I'll give you a year's supply of Mito natto as thanks!

But then Oriotorai put her hands on her hips and smiled a little.

"It's a bit cluttered with sake bottles, though. Still, it's roomier than the kids' tents."

"Oh? Nate mentioned that too. Are the tents really that cramped?"

"Mitotsudaira's is, what with Toori, Horizon, Kimi, and Asama in there with her."

Silence fell.

After a while, Naruze sighed.

'''Mal-Ga:''' "How long should I wait to peek inside if I want a good illustration?"

'''Scarred:''' "Hee hee. All of them sleeping together would make for such a nice picture."

'''Gold Mar:''' "Oh, it would. It definitely would."

'''Silver Wolf:''' "This is no laughing matter!"

But her mother turned her way with a smile.

"Sensei? On second thought, I think I'll be staying in my daughter's tent tonight."

"U-um...mother?"

"Yes, Nate?" asked her smiling mother. "You said you wouldn't hide anything from me, didn't you?"

"Why are we holding a festival at night without bothering to hide anything? This has gotten completely out of hand."

There was noise.

A gold winged figure listened to that noise by the water's edge which was as bright as day even though it was night.

That figure was Katou Yoshiaki.

She was in the open-air pool built atop the bridge of a transport ship. She was listening to two things along with Wakisaka Angie who was sitting on the poolside and operating a Magie Figur.

One was the noise from the festival being held on the ship.

...''They're even livelier than during the day.

The festival was an advance recreation of a portion of the Siege of Odawara.

According to the Testament, Hashiba showed off how confident they were by holding a multi-day festival while flooding Houjou's Odawara Castle. But this was dangerous if they tried to hurry through the Siege of Odawara. As a delaying tactic, Houjou could claim they had to do the festival before the battle.

That was why they were holding the festival in advance, but...

"Since the two of us will be heading out for the Siege of Odawara soon, we have to actually take this seriously."

"That's right, Angie. ...But I'm disappointed in the night pool. It's way too bright."

However, the sounds of the festival were lively.

There were flutes and drums, but the Far Eastern sounds were joined by M.H.R.R. ones as well.

And beyond those sounds, a second set of noise arrived from the north.

"That would be the noise of the construction in Paris."

<noinclude>
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| [[Horizon:Volume 6A Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 6A Chapter 9|Chapter 9]]
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</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 6A Chapter 7

2017-11-11T02:19:01Z

84.238.49.246: Typo fix.

==Chapter 7: Debaters around the Fire==
[[Image:Horizon6A_217.jpg|thumb]]
''Will the legitimacy of history

''Come to an end

''When history ends?

'''Point Allocation (Debate)

The moonlight falling on the city was swept away by the manmade lights.

This was the nightscape of Paris.

At the center of the large city stood a mansion surrounded by a vast garden and the residences and corporations surrounded that.

The city's buildings were not arranged in orderly rows. They were artlessly arranged back to back in distorted circles that made a clear distinction between districts. Those circles of buildings created a courtyard in the center and were known as blocks.

The spaces between those blocks naturally formed roads. The roads between blocks were known as avenues and were seen as distinct from the normal city streets.

Paris was currently utilizing those avenues.

From the outside moving in, those main avenues had been sealed off.

Since Paris had outer city walls, sealing off the inner avenues transformed the city into a giant maze.

They would be fighting Hashiba in two days' time, so they were installing anti-air cannons and defense barrier projectors at important points throughout the city and also deploying ''Lourd de Marionnette''s.

They had no time. Each task led right into another and no amount of materiel felt like enough.

Paris was a city that never slept and, when viewed from outside, it looked like a light installed in the earth.

Then there was further work outside of Paris.

Two construction projects were underway there.

They were building a moat and levees around the city.

"Hey, over here!"

These were large and vast projects. The workers included ''Lourd de Marionnette''s as well as...

"Hey! Mr. Big Dragon! Come over here!"

The 6 Terrestrial Dragons that had regrouped with Bernard were assisting the construction.

Dragons.

They were all winged and more than 100 meters long. These ones were capable of walking on two legs. At first, they had been standing at Paris's six vertices to protect the city, but as they watched the progress of construction...

"We can't just sit here and watch, humans..."

...they began to help.

The humans were initially surprised by these giant beings who could quickly break down and push aside the dirt.

"You'll help us!?"

"No, you moron," said the dragon digging by the eastern gate. "You see," he continued. "If you don't win here, this nation is in trouble. To ensure we have a home, we need this nation to uphold the contract from 400 years ago, but if a new power takes over, they would have to decide whether to discard or uphold that contract. We just want things to stay the way they are, so we'd like to avoid any possibility of having to renegotiate things."

"That's right," said the one by the southeastern gate two kilometers away. "M.H.R.R. and Hashiba might say they'll recognize our territory, but Master Bernard says it won't work out that way."

"Why not?" asked one of the tiny people.

"I dunno."

The dragons tilted their long heads.

"I don't really get it myself," said the dragon digging at the southern gate which was closest to the Hashiba forces. "But he says we need to participate in this battle to make it clear that we, the main dragon clan, belong to Europe.

"Oh?" said a member of the transport unit delivering a great quantity of cleared dirt outside the city. His summer uniform's shirt was tied around his waist and he wiped away sweat with a towel. "Because if the Hashiba-controlled M.H.R.R. takes over here, you might be driven out as a Far Eastern group?"

"I'm guessing that's the reason..."

The dragon did not give a clear answer and a female giant responded after arriving with a wine barrel of water. She spoke while accepting a receipt ''signe cadre'' from the site manager who was half her height.

"That's weird. If you're afraid of being driven out on the Far Eastern side of things, wouldn't Hashiba's recognition of your territory be enough?"

"You'd think so, but Master Bernard says otherwise."

"That's right," said the dragon in charge of the southeastern gate. He groaned to himself while fixing the shape of the earthen wall he was forming with his front legs. "Master Bernard said he would be taking all responsibility onto himself. ...We've got nowhere else to go, so we came here hoping we might be of some use."

"You don't have to worry about that. You're being a lot more than just 'some' help!"

"Yeah!" replied the others, so the dragon nodded.

"I was still a kid 400 years ago and didn't really understand it all, but my dad and the others apparently went around killing all sorts of humans. We would also sometimes crush the ones that came to mess with us in the mountains."

The dragons straightened up and looked to Paris.

"It looks small to us, but it's a lot different from what our parents talked about. I can see why some of us feel so hopelessly behind the times."

"Yeah," said the dragon by the north gate as he casually grabbed and picked up a nearby ''Lourd de Marionnette''. He gave the screaming ''Lourd de Marionnette'' a quick glance. "You react the same as ever, but you've got thinner armor and more weapons than back then."

He set down the ''Lourd de Marionnette'' and then peered over Paris's wall.

"Hm... How long would it take for me to crush it all on my own? A day maybe?"

As soon as he said that, a wall of light rose high into the sky from the inside of the city wall.

That was an anti-air defense barrier meant to block ultra-massive objects. Some of the barriers seemed to have reacted, so with a rumbling sound, the dragon was hit on the jaw and knocked upwards and backwards.

After a while, he collapsed onto his back.

The earthen wall burst like water spray, the wheat field beyond it was crushed, and a portion of the moat collapsed.

The dragon quickly rolled over and shook his head.

"Ow...! What was that!?"

The other dragons spoke up without even looking his way.

"And there we have someone so far behind the times they don't know about the humans' defense systems."

"A day? You'd never manage it that fast, you iiiiidiot."

"If you all know about them, you must've been caught by them too, right!?"

"No, no." The northwestern dragon shook his head. "I heard about them when I guided some lost humans out of the mountains."

"Even when the humans don't change, you still need to find a chance to gather information."

The other dragons also spoke to the people at their feet.

"Oh, you can laugh. Mocking the hopeless and praising the skilled is how we dragons do things. Even you other races can tell when we're hopeless and there's nothing quite as humiliating as being laughed at by you. So laugh it up. ...Oh, but don't laugh when it's me."

They all laughed at that.

"Dammit." The dragon on the ground hopped to his feet and got back to work. "You'd better remember this."

When he said that, he noticed some glowing smoke leave his mouth.

"Hey, humans. Is there anywhere I can fire a dragon cannon? All this moving around has built up the pressure."

"Why not fire it into the sky?"

"For us, that acts as a signal to other clans. Like saying we're in battle or about to die."

"Okay." The captain in charge of carrying dirt waved to the others. "Then you take a quick break. We'll be over at the dirt pile!"

"Testament!"

The workers sounded tired but motivated. Partially because of the dragons' presence, but also...

"We really are carrying the weight of this nation's history and future on our shoulders, aren't we?"

"But," said the man harvesting some wheat early to make room for the expansions to the moat by the southern gate. He looked up at the dragon shining in the moonlight. "You dragons talk a lot more than I expected."

"Don't your old stories mention people who wandered into the mountains and were given jewels for answering a dragon's riddles? Or that we turn into sages when we get old? Or that we'll guide a cute girl down the mountain?"

"Our bodies are partially supported by the ether from the ley lines, so we put a lot of focus on our territory. So as long as you don't try to mess with our daily lives or territory, we're pretty easy to get along with. Although we do have our pride, so we won't let you get away with making a fool of us."

"Right? It's said we attack and eat people because of all the fighting in the Germanic part of Europe way back when, but that was only because the cooling climate shifted our territory south. Besides, humans don't even taste good. It's not part of our culture or traditions, so we have no real reason to prey on you." The dragon stared up into the sky. "Generally...we just want a simple life. The elder says we have no ambition, but it's not like we ever leave our territory. Can't we just live normal lives?"

"Right, right," said another. "We're biological, so we'll fall in love when we see a cute girl during spring..."

"You do?"

"Of course. We have a low birth rate, so our breeding desire is pretty strong and you can't exactly call us a refined species. And we'll get depressed when we're rejected. But..."

The dragon breathed out a mist of white ether light as if it was cigarette smoke.

And he looked to the center of Paris.

"That's just for us Terrestrial Dragons. The Celestial ones are different," he said. "Celestial Dragons apparently have the same 'mold' as us, but we're biological. We're living creatures, right? But they're more like spirits or gods. They don't need to eat and only do it for the flavor and they don't have kids, so they have very little 'desire' either for breeding or food. If there is a desire they have..."

"Yeah?" asked the man digging up the trees alongside the original moat so they could be moved. "What desire do the Celestial Dragons have?"

"Well." The dragon looked over the outer wall and into Paris. "Celestial Dragons simply have a desire to be a 'dragon'. Did you know? The words like dragon and drachen originally referred to 'a harsh temperament'. That's what the Celestial Dragons are. They're like a living lecture to us Terrestrial Dragons."

The dragons' voices reached into the city.

But when they passed the city walls, they changed into something like the roaring of wind.

The audio-related defense barriers were being tested at low power.

So while the people inside could see the dragons moving and the outdoor lamps swayed back and forth, they could not hear the cacophony of work noises.

The ground would sometimes shake from construction along the wall, but it was the noise inside Paris that took precedence there.

Inside the city, Paris's streets were under construction.

It was mostly turning the city into a maze by sealing off the avenues and building internal levees just in case. They were also setting up and reinforcing anti-air equipment.

''Lourd de Marionnette''s walked to their posts on the main avenues and plazas, but...

"Southern District 1! We're activating the stealth along the primary avenue! This will take 4 minutes!"

With that, a wall appeared along the avenue. It was a thin wall of ether light with an arched roof.

Viewed from outside, it displayed the scene on the inside, but...

"Ohh."

The people and ''Lourd de Marionnette''s on the avenue disappeared.

By using stealth while moving and taking up positions, they could hide the arrangement of their ''Lourd de Marionnette''s and other major equipment. Even if Hashiba was observing them from the sky, the locations of most things would be unclear.

And someone watched it happen from an elevated position.

It was the Roi-Soleil who stood on the roof of the mansion in Paris's center that acted as his palace.

"Tomorrow, we will activate stealth barriers around the entire city, preventing anyone outside from detecting anything on the inside. Paris truly is a battlefield toy box. Don't you think, Bernard?"

"Dragons have no use for toys."

That comment came from an elderly man wearing old armor over a bluish-black summer uniform.

That was Bernard and he gave the Roi-Soleil a sidelong glance with his bestial eyes.

"It would seem the construction is going well thanks to the help from us dragons."

"Heh. We would have finished by tomorrow night even without you. ...But thanks to your help, we should finish by tomorrow morning."

"Any reason for hastening it?"

"So we can rest and enjoy ourselves."

The Roi-Soleil puffed his chest out with pride.

He was looking far to the south where a certain silhouette was visible.

That was the Azuchi Castle.

That ship had split apart for the Great Return and created a line leading south, so he was seeing the first central ship.

"The enemy is already looking beyond their battle with us. Bernard, what is your opinion of that? For example, what will things be like tomorrow?"

"Well." Bernard took a step back on the roof to stand on the highest point and look around. "Roi-Soleil, do you think Hashiba is going to begin their flooding tomorrow?"

"Hashiba takes things seriously. And she intends to turn this into their Invasion of Mouri. We, on the other hand, are trying to view it as a portion of the Thirty Years' War, as are the surrounding nations I'm sure."

"Why?"

"Testament." The Roi-Soleil nodded. "M.H.R.R. and P.A. Oda take the history recreation very seriously. They are prepared to make interpretations, but they have never even once chosen to not recreate something in the Testament descriptions. In a way, they are the most faithful to the Testament Union even as they defy it."

"What does ''that'' matter?"

"Because it is ''that'', Bernard." The Roi-Soleil laughed quietly and did not bother turning back toward Bernard. "Heh. Think of it in reverse, Bernard. You are the mercenary captain who is originally from M.H.R.R. but, being Protestant, constantly defied the Catholic mainstream of M.H.R.R. ...When you inherited that name, weren't you taught that it was joining a foreign nation that proved how seriously he took his actions as a Landsknecht who would turn on his own nation for the right price and contract?"

"Well..."

Bernard seemed to realize something because he looked to the south.

He faced the same direction as the Roi-Soleil to view the Azuchi Castle's silhouette.

The lights of Paris made the distant Azuchi difficult to make out, but Bernard spoke quietly as he stared at it.

"Are you suggesting they have a reason to carry out the history recreation so seriously?"

"They probably do." The Roi-Soleil did not make a definite statement, but he did put his hands on his hips. "Hashiba has been constantly demonstrating that they are doing the 'right' thing. And what is it they gain from that?"

"The legitimacy of their history recreation." Bernard answered immediately, but he did not stop there. "If they can demonstrate that they have been 'properly' fulfilling the history recreation..."

That would mean...

"Everything they are doing would be the proper course of action."

"Testament." The Roi-Soleil nodded and took a breath. "Bernard, you have lived far longer than me. Since you existed back when Hexagone Française was known as Gaul, you have lived longer than this very nation. I will show my respect on that front."

"What about the fact that I am a Celestial Dragon?"

"If you are a Celestial Dragon, then I am a god." The Roi-Soleil glanced back over his shoulder. "If you insist on using your status as a Celestial Dragon, I too will insist on using my status."

"I appreciate your thoughtfulness."

"And I am glad we have something in common. Besides, I am now a servant to love. That is something you can never understand, so I am thankful we can use our inherited names to speak together."

"I see," said Bernard, but then he restated it. "Testament. ...Does that work?"

"Testament, exactly right. ...Now, Bernard, that is enough of a preface. There is something I must tell you. You have lived a long life, but there is a lot about the present you still do not understand."

"How much has changed since Anne of Austria came to visit us?"

The Roi-Soleil nodded at his question.

"As Celestial Dragons, you must have noticed the Apocalypse's progress. ...The world's ley lines and ether are thinning and it will pass the critical point during October of this year. Given the close connection between Celestial Dragons and the ley lines, you must have noticed the reduction in the ether that forms you."

"...Indeed we have."

"Testament. I can sense it too. Lately, I have had a lot of split ends in my flares." The Roi-Soleil sounded calm. "At this rate, the Apocalypse will happen. It will not be a dramatic thing. The critical point will arrive and everything will simply fade away. And..."

And...

"We have heard two proposed methods of saving us from the Apocalypse. ...The first is the Far East's plan to have Musashi's princess gather all of the Logismoi Oplo and use them in some way. And the other..."

Bernard finished for the Roi-Soleil.

"I heard about that when I inherited this name. P.A. Oda's Genesis Project."

"Testament. ...Do you understand now?"

The Roi-Soleil pointed past Paris where construction continued through the night.

He pointed to the Azuchi far to the south.

"I think they follow the history recreation so closely to increase the legitimacy of their Genesis Project."

"Are you just guessing?"

"If I am wrong, feel free to laugh at me. My history recreation includes a love of theatre and I often get up on the stage myself."

"Yes, I suppose it's harder on the performer when people ''don't'' laugh."

And with that...

"—————"

Bernard quietly laughed.

The laughter slightly lifted the corners of the Roi-Soleil's mouth as well.

"Bernard. ...I will make sure you are useful."

"Even with all this power as a nation and an army?"

"You refused Anne's invitation," said the Roi-Soleil. "You are not here now because of me, so I will show you I am an emperor who can conquer you. ...That is my tribute to Anne. To show her I can do this."

"Is that so? Is that so?" Bernard returned to a neutral expression and nodded. "Then what will the emperor show this mercenary captain?"

"What we have in common."

That being...

"The day after tomorrow, they will attack us as if we are Mouri no matter what it takes. So listen, Bernard, Protestant mercenary captain. I do not know your reasons, but we will crush Hashiba as a European force."

The Roi-Soleil created a flare in his raised palm and crushed it in his grip.

"I have no intention of granting legitimacy to P.A. Oda's Genesis Project. We must protect Europe as the rulers of Europe. That is what I mean."

"So what even is the Genesis Project?"

Naomasa spoke next to the weakened campfire.

It was past nine and the dampness of night dew was beginning to weigh down their yukatas and summer uniforms.

They all sat at the chairs near the fire or around the table.

Among them, Horizon responded to Naomasa's question.

"To be blunt, we don't even know how gathering my Logismoi Oplo is supposed to save us from the Apocalypse."

"Judge. But we do have a hint for the Genesis Project."

While sitting in a log chair west of the campfire, Masazumi looked to the Reine des Garous.

She rested her elbows on her lap and leaned forward while the Reine des Garous crossed her legs and leaned back.

"Wasn’t that 'to end the world but not to let it end'?" asked the woman.

"Yes. Those are the words Lord Matsunaga left us with."

"What a strange thing to say," said Gin who had removed her false arms and wore a track suit. She looked to Masazumi with Muneshige by her side. "I find it odd that he didn't just call it 'redoing the world'."

"That's true," said Narumi at the table by the fire. She rested her head in her hand and wore a large short-sleeved ''kosode'' to allow her false arms through. "Ending it but not letting it end. I don't really like that phrasing. It sounds like they aren't starting over again or resetting things."

"Then what...other way could you...say it?"

Hearing Suzu's question, Asama looked up and stopped working at managing the base camp's fire.

"The reverse would be 'to begin but not begin'."

"But which one is it?" Mary tilted her head while working with Tenzou to wrap the pots and plates in rush mats and tie them up with string. "Which one is more important?"

"What do you mean by 'which one'?"

"Judge." Mary nodded to Tenzou. "To end it and begin it again, or to not end it and not begin it. Which one are they putting more focus on?"

She sat up and lifted the wrapped plates a little.

She flattened her eyebrows as she confirmed the knotted strings could carry the weight of the plates.

"If they are focused on the former, they will work harder toward ending it. If they are focused on the latter, they will work harder to keep it going. Lord Matsunaga's statement did not indicate where the focus lies, so..."

Mary hesitated before continuing.

"Would the Genesis Project be to end it but allow it to continue?"

''That's right,'' thought Asama concerning Mary's words.

It sounded like a play on words, but that description of the Genesis Project was contradictory.

"You can't simultaneously end something and not end it."

Asama spread her hands and then intertwined her two sets of fingers.

"So it must mean to do both in parallel."

"But is it possible to do that in parallel?"

Someone responded to Naruze's question: Neshinbara.

"There is a way."

Asama turned toward him and saw him staring into the campfire.

A closer look showed his right hand was held toward the fire.

'''Asama:''' "He's in his own little world, isn't he?"

'''Mal-Ga:''' "I was going to call him an idiot, but that's so cringeworthy I don't even feel like warning him..."

'''Unturning:''' "Urquiaga, does the Secretary's pose there mean anything?"

"Well," began Urquiaga before taking a breath.

'''Uqui:''' "It is the mood that matters. Narumi, don't you have someone back in Oushuu who runs almost entirely on the current mood? Well, don't you?"

"Okayyy! This is Katakura-kun, the annoying half of the Aoba Student Council President and Vice President duo! I know you're busy working through the night to repair the school building after Masamune-kun's Seiryu sliced right through it, but rejoice! For I am here to pay you a visit! Happy, aren't you? Ecstatic, aren't you? I mean, it's me visiting to harass you in the middle of the night! Now, with a name like Katakura-kun, it can be easy to mistake me for the Katagiri who's shown up in M.H.R.R. lately, can't it!? Eh? What is it, Yoshihime, Age 30? Theirs is really cute and I'm not? Now, now, Yoshihime, Age 30, how about you say what you really think!? Call me cute-noying! ...Who was it that just called me creep-noying!? Say it more!

"Anyway, they call him Kacky, so you all need to call me Kackoo! Got that!? Kackoo! Eh? What is it, Yoshihime, Age 30? You want me to jump around a bit? Sure thing! Listen, listen, do you hear all that money rattling around!? ...You want me to treat you to some food since I visited? What kind of tyranny is this!? Under no circumstances will I say no! I'll pay up! Dammit, I just have to hand over the money, right!? Are you really that cheap!? You'd better remember this! Cause I'm pretty forgetful myself!!"

Asama saw Narumi reach for the sake on the table without speaking a word.

...''Something must have come to mind.

''Well, everyone's different.

But that aside, Neshinbara's statement had her curious.

What had he meant?

Naito must have been wondering the same thing because she went ahead and asked him.

"Bara-yan? What was that you were saying about the Genesis Project?"

"I think we can take it at face value. Because..."

For no apparent reason, he grabbed a piece of firewood and held the fire in front of his face. When Suzu noticed...

"B-be careful..."

"Eh? ...Hot!!"

Neshinbara dropped the firewood back into the campfire.

"You idiot. The heat permeates the wood like a pipe," said Naomasa. "But I think I understand what you mean."

Are you listening?

"The idea of 'ending it while not letting it end' works if you do it in parallel just like Mary said."

"But 6th Special Duty Officer...how do you do that?"

"That's the question."

With that, Naomasa got up from her seat and stuck her false arm in the campfire.

She pulled out a large piece of firewood with a black carbonized surface.

"There. ...Oh, Suzu, this isn't too hot for me, so don't worry."

"R-right."

As Suzu nodded, Naomasa split the firewood down the middle.

...''Ah.

Asama heard a dry sound followed by a fibrous tearing.

It was not fully burnt.

"Masa."

"Don't say it. Even I'm realizing this is kind of long-winded. But I might as well go through with it."

Naomasa reached into her skirt and pulled out a tool set that doubled as a carabiner.

With a light shake, a knife flipped out and she used that to flatten out the firewood's cross section.

After about 3 seconds of work, she blew on the firewood and held it up.

"How about that?"

On Naomasa's insistence, Asama viewed the firewood's cross section.

"The outside has been carbonized...but the middle is still living wood."

"It's pretty easy to tell here since this firewood hadn't fully dried out."

Asama understood what Naomasa was saying.

"Are you asking whether this wood is burned or not burned?"

"That's right. ...In fact, with the fire at this level, it would never be able to fully burn the inside. So you could say the fire has been set up perfectly to make sure it 'burns but does not burn'," explained Naomasa. "Also, this firewood can still be used as firewood, so we can say it hasn't 'ended'."

"Oh, I get it..."

That comment came from Toori. He and Horizon sat next to Mitotsudaira at the table.

"In other words," he said while crossing his arms and looking to Naomasa, "It's like someone who looks completely tanned but isn't tanned below their clothes."

"You didn't listen to a word of Masa's explanation, did you!? Did you!?" Asama was aware her shoulders had slumped. "But if we do assume the 'ending' and 'not ending' will happen in parallel, there is still one thing we don't know. ...Oh, and I'm not talking about the method used. This is a more fundamental issue."

"Heh heh heh. Asama, quit putting on airs and switch over to your ether exposition mode! Yes, I'm well aware you said 'one thing we don't know' as a way to obscure the issue! Now, were you obscuring it with steam or with a sunbeam!? If we have a choice, the steam is better because you can see through it by adjusting the brightness! If you ask me, we should add some steam to the Genesis Project! And you should ask me since it's the Gene''sis'' Project!"

Asama raised her right fist, so the idiot sister fled.

"Anyway." Asama took a breath. "The Apocalypse is a thinning of the ether flowing through the ley lines. That means it is happening in parallel across the entire world. So if it is happening to us and the air over there, it is also happening at the bottom of the ocean, deep underground, and in the farthest reaches of the heavens."

In that case...

"How is there a way to 'end' a portion of it but 'not end' another portion?"

Adele realized Asama was right.

But Adele had another thought as well.

...''Umm.

She was not sure if she should say this. She looked around and found the others were also thinking about Asama's line.

They had their thoughts as well, so Adele chose to speak.

"Hey, Asama-san?"

"Yes, what is it, Adele?"

"You're our ether expert, so if you don't understand something, how are we supposed to?"

Everyone froze.

They silently stopped moving with their arms still crossed and hands still on their chins.

After a while, Horizon raised her right hand.

"I have a good idea."

"What is it, Vicereine Horizon?"

"Judge. ...In a way, Asama-sama has just dumped this problem on us."

"Uuh..." groaned Asama, making Adele feel apologetic, but the Vicereine...

"So, Adele-sama, how about you throw the question right back at Asama-sama by making it clear that the rest of us are no help whatsoever?"

"Wh-why do I have to do it!?" protested Adele.

She looked around for help, but everyone — Reine des Garous included — averted their gaze.

They apparently did not want to get dragged into this.

...''Suzu-san!?

She looked back to find Naomasa holding Suzu's shoulders while they placed some potatoes in the campfire.

"Here, Suzu, this one is yours. You can look forward to eating it tomorrow morning."

"U-umm." Suzu glanced back toward Adele. "G-good luck."

...''How am I supposed to turn down that support!?

She could not rely on Suzu now. In fact, she could not rely on anyone. She had to do this herself.

So she thought about what to say.

"U-uh, I just have to answer in some way that will convince her we're useless, right!?"

Horizon nodded with sweat on her brow.

"Judge. You must reveal to Asama-sama that we are hopeless excuses for human beings that she cannot even think about relying on! That is an important job."

...''Stop piling on the pressure!

She could tell Suzu kept glancing her way, but she could not worry the girl. So Adele spoke to Asama.

"Basically, the overall density of ether is dropping, right? Then..."

Then...

"Can't we just constantly breathe in to gather it around us and increase the density? Surely you would undershtand that!"

Her tongue slipped.

'''Unturning:''' "What was that at the end? Going the extra mile to convince her?"

'''Uqui:''' "Narumi, even we know how to show restraint."

'''Mal-Ga:''' "Yeah, I wonder if the readers would get it if I used that for the ending of my next doujinshi."

'''Flat Vassal:''' "Why are you all focusing more on me misspeaking than on what I actually said!?"

'''Me:''' "That's right, everyone! Adele made a good attempt there! She was given a difficult task and she isn't even a professional, so that was an admirable attempt!"

Horizon threw a straight punch without even looking his way and the idiot made one full flip.

"Toori-sama, Adele-sama is feeling shamed, so why would you only continue to attack her? You need to be more undershtanding. ...Oh, my apologies."

"I-I see you're willing to take this pretty far, Vicereine Horizon!"

As the others tried to figure out what to do, Asama raised her right hand.

"Um, for now, let's just say I'm in charge of answering this but the rest of you should be seeing if you can come up with any ideas."

"Yes," agreed Masazumi. She looked around at the others. "And either way, I think P.A. Oda's Genesis Project will begin sometime soon."

"Why's that, Seijun? Have you awoken to prophetic powers?"

"You have, Crossdressing Honda-kun!?"

"Quiet, both of you. ...Listen. Nobunaga's assassination is the last time P.A. Oda remains a monolith. If they're planning some major event like the Genesis Project to save us from the Apocalypse, they can't wait until after the history recreation has split them apart, can they? That is why we need to search for a way to intervene in P.A. Oda's history recreation after the Houjou battle."

But Masazumi had more to say from there.

"And in addition to the Genesis Project, we are also pursuing the Princess. Asama is having trouble making sense of what the Genesis Project actually is, but the truth is we are missing a piece. We have yet to fully investigate the Princess who is said to be involved in the Genesis Project."

"You mean finding out what was originally in the center of the Age of Dawn relief we saw in that academy from the Age of Dawn?" asked Tenzou.

"Judge," replied someone other than Masazumi.

It was Mary. She wrapped her arms around his arm and leaned forward a bit as she opened her mouth.

She spoke directly with no hesitation in her voice.

"My father went missing 30 years ago along my mother and some others and then returned again, but so did the others who have fallen victim to the Princess Disappearances."

"We thought the ruins below Sanada were where they had gone," said Tenzou. "But the dates didn't quite match up."

"Judge."

Mary turned toward him.

She rotated her body around as if using his arm as a pivot point, so his arm ended up deep between her breasts and thighs.

As everyone held their breath and glared at him, Mary spoke with her eyebrows somewhat raised.

"The Genesis Project, the Princess Disappearances, the academy said to have existed 30 years ago, and the Age of Dawn relief that was partially erased. We have been pursuing the three other than the Genesis Project, but has the time come for all of them to coincide?"

Tenzou sensed a threat to his life.

Mary holding onto his arm was not a problem. She had a habit of holding onto things without noticing and for someone as resilient as her...

...''It is such an adorable habit.

Depending on her lifestyle or fate, she may have grown very attached to a stuffed animal or doll.

"——————"

He doubted she would ever live a life where she was attached to a character body pillow, but he was hoping he could give her a life that allowed this habit to continue.

But it was a danger at the moment.

She had done this before while wearing her uniform.

But now she was in her track suit.

This was the first time for that. The inner suit portion was the same as with her uniform, so there should not have been any real reason to grow flustered. And yet...

...''The top is different and the tights are different!

He cursed his own love of overly-specific genres. He wished he could enter staring mode, but the way Asama and Mitotsudaira were fanning each other with their hands was too dangerous.

And just as he tried to figure out what to do...

"Master Tenzou?"

Mary's question brought him back to his senses. And...

"What is it, Mary-dono?"

"What do you think?"

...''Eh?

He had not been listening.

No, he had been listening, but he could not remember if she had said anything since that.

...''Oh, no!

Had she or had she not said something?

He was fairly certain there had been enough time for a "——————". There definitely had been. Probably. But there was no guarantee Mary had said anything in that time.

''What should I do?'' he wondered as he faced Mary's expectant gaze.

'''Azuma:''' "Tenzou-kun sure gives things a lot of thought."

'''10ZO:''' "I-I wasn't expecting anything from you!"

'''Azuma:''' "Well, it's just that Miriam makes up her mind immediately."

'''Almost Everyone:''' "Ho ho...?"

'''Gold Mar:''' "You were speaking with her via divine transmission before Asama-chi shut it down, weren't you?"

'''Azuma:''' "Yes. Miriam and that girl like hearing about things outside."

'''Flat Vassal:''' "You must be confident if you aren’t denying it..."

Tenzou wished he could be that bold, but Azuma could be a bit clueless.

But even with something feeling off about this, Tenzou made up his mind.

...''I-I can just apologize if I get it wrong!

At the very least, he could not ask his classmates. Well, he ''could'', but his future was forfeit if he did.

So he made up his mind and replied to Mary.

"Mary-dono."

"Y-yes!?"

"Well...if you ask me..."

They had been discussing the Genesis Project and the Princess Disappearances. There was a lot to think about there, but...

...''If we can see the complete Age of Dawn relief in Houjou, we need to start with that.

There were three other mysteries as well, but they could only guess about them at the moment. Since there was one they had an actual means of reaching, he felt like the shortest route would be to go see that one first.

But Tenzou remembered something.

In England, he had seen where Henry VIII, Mary's father, had been taken by the Princess Disappearances.

And below Novgorod, they had been present when Holland Chancellor William of Orange was taken by the Princess Disappearances and the emblem of the Princess Disappearances had appeared behind Mary's back as well.

For Mary, he doubted the Princess Disappearances that had taken her father was something she could simply view as a past incident.

So he gave an answer to what she had said before.

"Do not worry, Mary-dono. I will always be here to support you."

Tenzou saw Mary give a start in response to his words.

Her eyebrows were raised and her eyes somewhat widened as she directed those blue eyes straight toward him. But there was a red flush to her cheeks.

…''Huh?

She continued looking him in the eye for the span of a breath.

Then Mary smiled and held his arm even tighter.

“Judge, thank you very much.”

“Y-you’re welcome.”

[[Image:Horizon6A_253.jpg|thumb]]

His arm was entirely embedded between her breasts and his forearm was pressing against the line down from her navel.

…''I-I can’t move…!

'''Asama:''' “If she’s just touching you, it counts as an accident. Move, and it’s groping.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Tomo? Just out of curiosity, what’s the Shinto response to groping?”

'''Asama:''' “Well, first a loud groper alarm sounds along with some mood music, then the arm and hand that did the groping are twisted until they snap by the combat gods who couldn’t find a romantic partner, then the combat gods touch you all over where you tried to touch, three days later you get some nerve pain that feels like there’s an earthworm in your urethra, and also your hand is deflected from the person you tried to touch.”

'''Tachibana Wife:''' “Wouldn’t the first and last parts be enough?”

'''Asama:''' “It only ended up like that because each generation has had fun putting in their own additions. Oh, but Shinto is actually pretty strict on gropers. After all, the Shinto gods often say things like ‘Eh, an animal’s fine too’ or ‘I was actually an inanimate object all along!’, but as long as they establish a connection, they’ll get married and take responsibility. So in Shinto, you can take responsibility with animals and inanimate objects, but gropers who don’t take responsibility are harshly punished.”

…''So this nonsense is a legitimate part of Shinto!?

Tenzou shuddered, but then Asama smiled in his direction.

“Isn’t that great, Tenzou-kun?”

“…Huh!?”

His confused exclamation received a response from Naruze who was inking a sketch without looking his way. She made it sound completely obvious.

“Mary said, ‘Master Tenzou, is it a nuisance having to support me with your arm all the time?’ …Note: pay attention to the different expressions Mary makes when she’s talking about something serious and when she’s noticed a gap in how they rely on each other.”

“What are you jotting down in your notes?”

But that solved the mystery.

There had been a misunderstanding and he had jumped the gun, but his statement about supporting Mary had not been wrong. Also…

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Anyway, since this has Mary’s approval, wouldn’t it not be groping even if the 1st Special Duty Officer did move?”

'''Gold Mar:''' “That’s a lot of responsibility.”

'''Scarred:''' “…Responsibility?”

'''Asama:''' “Th-the responsibility to support you, Mary! And you holding onto his arm is the proof that he’s doing that, so keep doing it a whole bunch, okay?”

''I’m not sure if Asama-dono is being a nuisance or gift-giver this time.'' But…

…''Even if I can move, I still can’t bring myself to do it!

At least he would no longer be harshly punished for any accidental movement. However…

“The more our people discuss things outside of Musashi, the more mysteries we find about the Genesis Project,” said Masazumi with a sigh.

Then Muneshige smiled from his seat at the table.

“That just means you have some excellent people who can notice the things you have overlooked.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Excellent people? Who? Other than Margot, I mean.”

'''Worshiper:''' “Whew… I thought I was only popular with the little girls, but now I’m being praised by Muneshige-kun who isn’t just outside of my interests but in another category altogether? It must be the youthful life force radiating from me.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Honestly, that kind of depresses me since I haven’t been able to say much tonight.”

'''Me:''' “C’mon, Nate, you’ve been keeping a close eye on our surroundings this whole time. To protect us, I guess. Wouldn’t that be why you haven’t been saying much?”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Eh!? Y-yes, I’ve been keeping an eye on, um, not one of us, but certainly something in the area. Because I need to be ready no matter what might happen.”

'''Vice President:''' “That’s more or less it. And if we discussed this any further, we would only be making speculations on top of earlier speculation. Everyone, can I have your attention for a moment?”

The Reine des Garous saw everyone’s eyes shift from their sign frames to their Vice President.

…''Oh, my.

They were quite disciplined.

It had looked like they were having some kind of silly conversation a moment before, but they had all shifted their attention at a word from their leader. They did seem to have some large openings, but being able to switch that on and off meant a lot.

…''I suppose that would be the Far Eastern and Musashi way of doing it.

The Far East was under provisional rule, so they had no second chances as a nation.

They were standing on the precipice, but there was no point in lamenting that fact.

They had no second chances and they had to keep their focus on reality.

But they could not remain that serious at all times. That was as true for adults as it was for children and the elderly.

The Reine des Garous herself knew quite well that it was impossible for anyone to constantly brood over something.

Even if they knew they had no second chances and that they were under a lot of pressure, they would end up moving in a more cheerful direction. Because as long as they abandoned the pride that insisted they be serious at all times, they knew they would be able to keep this up for longer if they remained cheerful.

She had learned that when she met her husband.

“———”

The Reine des Garous knew that her daughter had to understand that as well.

No, all of the boys and girls here did. As did their king.

Since they had no second chances, they would enjoy themselves in the moment.

Things could get dangerous when they continued carrying on during battles, but…

…''With the life I live, I can’t exactly tell them to take things more seriously.

That was a job for their teachers, their Vice President and other officers, and their leaders.

As a parent, she was curious how her daughter and her friends would enjoy the present. Wanting to know that her daughter was living a fun and happy life may have been a bit self-indulgent for a parent who had chosen to live away from that daughter, but she was still curious.

However, she did not intrude on their sign frame conversation.

Musashi and Hexagone Française were on friendly terms, so they did exchange information. That allowed her to view and intrude on their conversations and she had done so before, but the situation was different here.

She was to be their enemy and she was within the barrier set up by the Asama Shrine Representative.

Inside that barrier, their Vice President spoke.

“We have exchanged some information. And I believe we have shown you what we plan for the future. Tomorrow, we will head to Houjou during our travel day and the day after that we will fight the Tensho Jingo Conflict and the Siege of Odawara. There, we will check the Age of Dawn relief in Houjou and after that…we will find a reason and means with which to intervene in P.A. Oda’s actions. A lot of you will have work to do tomorrow, but tomorrow will generally be a rest day to continue the study camp. Got that?”

She received several overlapping responses of “judge” and “yes”. And…

“Does anyone else have something to say here?”

“Judge.”

The Reine des Garous heard a voice from one of the seats around the fire.

It came from a boy.

That squinty-eyed boy had been tying up the firewood and taking apart the stones for the cooking stove they no longer needed. He raised his hand before making his statement.

“Give me two days…no, a day and a half of time. …There is somewhere I want to visit on my own.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 6A Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 6A Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
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</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 6A Chapter 6

2017-11-05T22:52:08Z

84.238.49.246: Some errors corrected. Naomasa's line might have been "but I think the homing rounds", and not just "but the homing rounds", I can't know.

==Chapter 6: Viewer at an Observation Point==
[[Image:Horizon6A_189.jpg|thumb]]
''The calling voice is distant

''The heart wishing to be called is near

'''Point Allocation (Somewhere To Go)

"Hey, everyone."

Masazumi called out to the group gathered by the campfire.

The first to turn around was Asama who was managing the fire's intensity. She had lowered the fire's setting in preparation for the next morning, but now she tilted her head.

"What is it, Masazumi?"

In the night sky above, the moons were moving into the west and the heat was gradually rising and vanishing.

Eight giant white and black ships hung in the sky and even the campfire's heat was fading in the forest clearing.

Masazumi put her hands on her hips as she viewed that fire.

"I'd like to start the next meeting before long, but listen. It would be best to head back to our base camp sooner rather than later, right?"

"Eh!? Masazumi, isn't it a little soon for that!? We need to enjoy our late-night snacks a while longer!"

Mitotsudaira turned around while eating a large piece of cooked chicken at the table next to the weakened campfire.

Mitotsudaira frantically held up her large chicken skewer.

"And we haven't prepared tomorrow's breakfast yet. Wrapping meat in leaves and placing it in the embers while dreaming of tomorrow morning is a crucial event!"

If possible, she wanted to delay the meeting and put off having to return to their base camp.

After all, that was where the tent she shared with her king and the others was.

That in and of itself was not a problem. ''What is wrong with a knight serving her king? Yes, this is a good thing. It is the proper way of things.'' However...

...''My mother is here!

There was no real problem with her king and Horizon who were viewing the night sky through a telescope with Persona-kun and some others, but then there was her mother. She had yet to inform her mother that she was sleeping in the same tent as her king.

"...And she is going to have a field day with that one..."

She had no doubt about that. It was an absolute. You could call it a universal truth.

Her mother was sure to say "My!", climb into the tent, secure her own spot, try to sleep in the nude, tease Mitotsudaira, and attempt something with Mitotsudaira's king.

In fact, he had been marked by her in the past.

...''I cannot allow that to happen a second time!

She had to protect her king from her mother.

After all, her king generally put up no defenses whatsoever.

That was why Mitotsudaira was setting up some preemptive defenses by taking time to cook the full supply of meat she had brought with her.

By using up their time here, her mother would have less time for her field day.

So...

"I-isn't it a fantastic dream? Just imagine the wonderful aroma when we dig this up near the campfire tomorrow morning!"

"What a weird dream. ...But anyway." Masazumi lightly pointed into the southern sky. "We've gone over most everything about the current situation and we know most everything that's going on at Houjou thanks to the observations from the Musashi. We want to return to the Musashi as quickly as possible tomorrow, so it would be best to complete the next meeting soon."

"That's right," said Mitotsudaira's mother from a log chair near the campfire. "We barely exchanged any information at all in our earlier discussion."

Mitotsudaira agreed with her mother. She might not be able to avoid the meeting, but...

"R-right!? We should exchange a whole lot more information, shouldn't we!?"

"But Hexagone Française Vice Chancellor...to be blunt, you're here."

When she heard Masazumi's comment, Mitotsudaira spread her mouth horizontally and gasped.

...''That's right! My mother will be Musashi's enemy!

She was not just the enemy of her and her king's morals.

The battle had yet to officially begin, but her mother would eventually be their enemy.

However, her mother lightly waved her right hand back and forth with a smile.

"That isn't a problem. The only thing about the battle we could discuss would be making requests for who duels who in Odawara Castle's central circle. And discussing our strategic intentions only makes it easier to make peace afterwards." She shrugged. "Besides, if you're being this cautious, my mere presence here will keep you from making any kind of plans and then you would end up losing. ...Or are you planning to find a way to keep me out of a closed-room meeting once we arrive on the Musashi?"

"Mother...couldn't you just leave?"

"Eh? But I don't have a ship."

Adele raised her hand and smiled as if she already knew the answer.

"Um... Just out of curiosity, how did you get here?"

"Testament." The mother smiled. "From above to below."

"You jumped down, didn't you!? You must have! Did you even use a descent spell?"

"What are you talking about, Nate? A small height like that is perfectly normal."

Mitotsudaira was at a loss for words when her mother placed a hand on her cheek and smiled.

'''Sticky King:''' "Mitotusdaira's mother also jumped down from IZUMO, didn't she?"

'''Hori-ko:''' "Now Mitotsudaira-sama needs to show off what she can do."

'''Silver Wolf:''' "It sure would be convenient if I could do that..."

She did not remember it since she had been unconscious at the time, but her mother had to have been carrying her king during that jump at IZUMO.

...''Her physical ability is downright nonsensical.

Meanwhile, Masazumi tightly crossed her arms.

"Hmm," she groaned.

'''Vice President:''' "Oh, I've mostly made up my mind already. This is just a show for the Reine des Garous, so don't worry, okay?"

'''Hori-ko:''' "Judge. I assumed you were trying to come up with another highly destructive pun."

'''Vice President:''' "Well, this is the werewolf queen, so maybe something about how she and her daughter seem more like hair-wolves than werewolves? ...What? You can laugh if you want."

'''Me:''' "Now she's trying to force it!"

But Masazumi took a breath and faced Mitotsudaira's mother.

"Our general plans are as we mentioned earlier. And we can say a lot more tomorrow, so there's no need to rush things here."

However...

"I would like to exchange some information on what's happening elsewhere and around us. ...Would you be willing to do that?"

Masazumi stopped there.

...''I see.

That was a topic where their position as enemies or allies was irrelevant.

They would be exchanging information either unrelated to their battle or that would have no effect on their battle.

Everyone must have understood that because a brief silence fell.

Then a voice joined the quiet crackling of firewood.

"That is an excellent decision." Mitotsudaira's mother smiled. "And I do have one additional piece of information for you. ...Earlier in southern Paris, an Hexagone Française mercenary corps took independent action. It brought down a Hashiba supply fleet. And," she said. "The Genbu of the Four Sacred Beast gods of war was apparently seen there."

When she heard those words via divine transmission while she polished the ironware, Naomasa looked up into the sky.

The polishing rag she was using had sesame oil soaking it. That fragrance did not seem to suit the refreshing night air.

But as if to hold that fragrance up into that air, she held the polished iron pot in the moonlight to check on its shine.

'''Smoking Girl:''' "Urquiaga, which one of us will deal with that?"

'''Uqui:''' "I will fight alongside Narumi. Who gets sent where will be up to Neshin-...up to someone else."

'''Novice:''' "Heh. Looks like I've been requested by name."

'''Laborer:''' "Why would you interpret it that way?"

'''Novice:''' "Experience! It's all about experience!"

'''Mal-Ga:''' "Not that it matters, but you two are hard to tell apart right next to each other."<ref>The screen names Novice and Laborer look sort of similar in Japanese.</ref>

''I was thinking the same thing,'' silently added Naomasa.

...''I guess I'll have to figure out something if I'm going to have definite anti-god of war equipment...

The Suzaku primarily fought hand-to-hand, but that was because she specialized in martial arts. It was too late for her to start learning how to use a sword or spear, so she had made the right decision there.

However, long-distance attacks were the standard in aerial battles.

And using weapons was the standard even in ground battles.

With Michiyuki Byakko's striking power or a technique like its Roar Deterioration, she would be able to power through such things, but that was not how the Suzaku worked.

And she did not have free use of its Four Sacred Beast acceleration.

...''Would a rifle be my best bet?

That had worked well against the Shirasagi.

Asama's spell had handled the targeting while the Suzaku performed the actions needed to fire on the targeted location.

She had learned how to control the Suzaku more precisely and that had made good use of that knowledge. But...

"...I guess I can't fight an enemy god of war with a sniper rifle."

"What about using homing rounds like we do?"

That came from the Technohexen who were washing pots and iron plates behind her.

It was true there were homing rounds like the ones they used, but in that case...

"I'd be helpless in a close-range battle. A Musashi god of war needs to be able to fight both ground and aerial battles. I could always select different equipment depending on the circumstances, but the homing rounds would only be useful in aerial battles. Not to mention that my opponent would use them too."

And to be blunt...

"The Suzaku still isn't familiar enough with the sky to fight an aerial battle with a rifle."

"Have you been doing any flight training?"

She had been doing some ever since IZUMO.

She could fly alongside the Musashi just fine, but an actual battle would be difficult.

The difficulty of pulling off the movements was part of it, but...

"It's hard on me as well."

"Do you not place any gravitational control buffering on yourself, Masa-yan?"

"When I do that on Suzaku's shoulder, the buffering changes can't keep up with Suzaku's movements and sometimes I’m nearly swept right off."

Naomasa finished checking the shine of the pot's surface. There was no oil on the edge, so she lowered it and wiped it down again. The Schwarz Hexen reflected in the bottom of the pot held an iron plate up toward her.

"You're the type that won't do anything until it's perfect, aren't you?"

"Oh, so she's a lot like me?" asked Naito.

"No," said Naruze. "In Naomasa's case, she doesn't let the reasons pile up. She doesn't think about it at the preparation phase like you do, Margot. ...She simply lists off the negative reasons for something and then gives up."

That was actually fairly accurate.

...''Well, I've built my daily life out of the things that survived that process, which makes things easy.

Everyone had a lot of things they cared about, but they would have far fewer things they truly cared about.

She had simply kept those things nearby and gotten used to it.

She had had the luxury to fortify herself with only the thing she truly cared about and view everything else as extraneous.

...Then again...

She had to be changing somewhat since she was actively trying to get involved in the fighting.

'''Smoking Girl:''' "Since we'd be fighting Hashiba, there's a good chance those weird gods of war we saw in Novgorod would be there. Me, Urquiaga, Narumi, and… I guess Yoshiyasu would have to stay on the front line to deal with them."

'''Tonbokiri:''' "Could I join that battle as well?"

'''Silver Wolf:''' "I could fight against them well enough too, so I could help."

'''Wise Sister:''' "What about you, Asama?"

'''Asama:''' "Eh!? Oh, um, if we're talking about gods of war, well, I can get away with it a bit. I already did that at Novgorod. You know, say the impact arrows are for disarming them."

Tenzou made a quiet comment while washing dishes at the sink.

"I just felt an incredible wave of relief wash over me..."

'''Smoking Girl:''' "Then is there any point in me fighting too?"

'''Asama:''' "I can't fire all ''that'' many anti-god of war shots in a row."

'''Novice:''' "And the enemy would not deploy gods of war anywhere near where Asama-kun is."

'''Hori-ko:''' "That would be where negotiating over our requests for the battlefield layout comes into play."

'''Me:''' "Ah! Then I could invent a new tactic where I crossdress as a busty black-haired shrine maiden so they think I'm Asama!"

'''Wise Sister:''' "That's right, foolish brother! Odawara will see the debut of a stylish crossdressing tactic where you disguise yourself as Asama and hide the real one behind you! Then you can let the real one step out while you yell 'Bwahhhh! It was me all aloooong!' "

''What's the point of that?

'''Flat Vassal:''' "But, but. Doesn't that mean we're safe as long as we're near Asama-san?"

"Hee hee," laughed Mary as she washed the dishes. "We're safe near you as well, Adele."

''Yeah, she is a shield...'' silently agreed Naomasa.

As for the others and those above...

'''Uqui:''' "So if we have both Asama and Adele with us, we'll be safe?"

'''Me:''' "Would Adele be in front?"

'''Silver Wolf:''' "But then Tomo can't shoot."

'''Wise Sister:''' "Oh, she'll still shoot."

'''Flat Vassal:''' "P-please stop this! I just felt my butt shudder!"

'''Asama:''' "And why are you continuing this conversation without me!?"

''Isn't that the usual way of things?'' thought Naomasa.

But the others had accepted her suggestion like normal.

She knew they would not forget about it and she was thankful for that. Basically, they would make use of what she said without looking into the reasons behind it too much.

...''The Four Sacred Beasts, hm?

During the negotiations with Oushuu and Sviet Rus, her job had been to protect the Musashi, so she had not been involved with the Seiryu.

If the Suzaku reacted when she met another of the Four Sacred Beasts, would her sister wake up again?

No, she could not say that had actually been her sister during the battle with the Byakko. In her opinion, that had to have been the ether revealing her sister's 'mold'. But...

"Well, that doesn't matter."

Naomasa called out to Masazumi over the divine transmission.

"If Hashiba does use one of the Four Sacred Beasts, we can handle it. ...You know what I mean, don't you?"

''What she means?'' wondered Asama with a mental tilt of the head.

...''Is Masa saying she'll use the Suzaku to fight the Genbu?

'''Mal-Ga:''' "Is she going to get her god of war all destroyed again?"

'''Marube-ya:''' "Before, we would bet on whether Masa would get her Suzaku destroyed, but lately everyone's figured out that she doesn't do that when she's using a rifle. Oh, but that wasn't the case against the Terrestrial Dragon, so there was a lot of money flying around then."

'''Azuma:''' "I'm impressed she can get it fixed so quickly."

'''Smoking Girl:''' "That's because I use cheap spare parts. IZUMO's internal brand MINO makes them for export, but I buy them direct before they're exported."

...''Our shrine is the one that arranges that, isn't it?

Shinto managed all of the Far East's infrastructure and distribution.

While the merchants could only trade with neighboring nations, Shinto could sell to the entire Far East as a network of shrines.

They were of course limited to selling Shinto products, but since IZUMO was the head of Shinto, IZUMO products could be sold and distributed to any part of the Shinto network.

Naomasa's Suzaku was the same.

'''Smoking Girl:''' "I use the commercial female heavy god of war parts that have high heat and cold resistance. Although I do expand on that by adding a few parts to the frame to make it bigger."

'''Tachibana Wife:''' "You mean those talons weren't just to make it look cool?"

'''Smoking Girl:''' "Those are for moving around on the ship. They catch on the height differences and hold points."

'''Novice:''' "Eh...? They're for something so boring...?"

'''Four Eyes:''' "Because she isn't a child."

But those two were cut off by Masazumi.

'''Vice President:''' "In other words, she is a very grounded individual."

Asama took those words at face value.

But after about 7 seconds of silence from the others, it hit her.

'''Asama:''' "Oh! That was meant as a joke that continued the criticism of Neshinbara-kun!"

'''Vice President:''' "Don't explain it!"

'''Hori-ko:''' "Masazumi-sama, that one may have been too subtle."

"Wait!"

Toori waved at them from where he had been doing some astronomical observation.

He was now wearing a long-haired black wig he had gotten from somewhere.

"Seijun has finally escaped the narrow confines of her own empty jokes and instead started poking fun at others! Did you hear that!? She made it a joke at someone else's expense, but she still managed to make it an empty joke trapped in her own little world! She hasn't changed at all, but I think we should all applaud her effort."

Horizon swung her lower leg to kick Toori right in the butt.

The idiot briefly hung in the air in a seated position, and then...

"Wh-what was that for!?"

"Why are you trying to sound like a girl, Toori-sama?"

"W-well, I felt like you'd nearly turned me into one there. But whatever. ...So, Seijun, can you sum up what we're talking about?"

"I can," said Masazumi with a nod.

She looked to the Reine des Garous who was seated next to the campfire between them.

"The Reine des Garous's information about Hashiba having one of the Four Sacred Beast gods of war will be useful after the Siege of Odawara. Because we'll be up against them at Sekigahara or the Osaka Campaign."

So...

"If we are to utilize that information, we must succeed at the Siege of Odawara."

''That's true,'' thought Asama.

She turned toward the Reine des Garous and everyone else did the same.

And that incarnation of volume responded to their gazes.

"I hate to interrupt your discussion, but do you have a moment?"

She gave a quick wink to Asama.

...''Eh?

Asama had no idea what this was about, but the woman's nose twitched as everyone tilted their heads.

"Excuse me, but you have the same adorable scent as my daughter."

"What scent...would that be?"

The Reine des Garous stood up.

She took half a step. They were farther apart than that, yet the woman still covered the distance. Was it a special way of walking or carrying her body? Regardless, she leaned in close enough to bite Asama's left ear and whispered to her.

"It's a scent that says 'I want to be with you', so it caught my attention."

Asama just about asked "with who?" on reflex.

"Ah."

But she saw Mitotsudaira beyond the volume.

She was holding her hand horizontally flat and lowering it over and over. The gesture probably meant "calm down".

'''Asama:''' "Okay. Okay, Mito!"

'''Silver Wolf:''' "Find a way to dodge the issue! Before it spreads to me!"

Mitotsudaira seemed to have some kind of serious problem to deal with, so...

'''Asama:''' "Mito, I'm sorry."

'''Silver Wolf:''' "Eh?"

Asama gave the Reine des Garous a smile and then spoke.

"You must be noticing your own scent. Mito told me how well you get along with her father."

"Oh, well said."

The parent smiled.

And she moved her cheek in close.

''Eh?'' thought Asama as several warning sign frames appeared around her. This was the loup-garou queen and Hexagone Française's representative. Since she was a mystical creature and had powerful ether, she was a dangerous person to have so close.

Asama felt it was rude, but she did not have the focus to spare on closing the sign frames.

The Reine des Garous had no interest in criticizing her and in fact instantly assessed the varieties of sign frames.

"You're looking at this at an impressive level."

With that, she sniffed Asama. She did it a second and third time on the right side of her face.

"Oh, this scent."

That reminded Asama of something.

She had been facing left.

In the tent the night before, they had pretended to sleep after he woke up.

And after that, it was this cheek that had used his arm as a pillow.

The Reine des Garous then moved right up in front of Asama's face. That naturally placed something in front of her eyes.

...''She's so big...

''And not her height. Her boobs.

Asama viewed that size while she let the Reine des Garous sniff her.

...''Oh, I know what this is.

Comparatively speaking, this had to be how Adele felt when looking at her.

Yet as she stared at the Reine des Garous...

'''Asama:''' "I don't feel the urge to say anything like Adele always does to Kimi and me..."

'''Flat Vassal:''' "That's because it's not as depressing when you already have some for yourself! There's a huge difference between starting with nothing and starting with something!"

'''Silver Wolf:''' "I-I would say I'm starting with ''something'', but I'm still feeling that urge!"

'''Wise Sister:''' "Heh heh heh. As the Boobs Brahmin at the top of the boobs caste, it can be hard to understand the suffering of the Boobs Shudra."

'''Hori-ko:''' "Caste-wise, I would be a Boobs Kshatriya, which I believe should be abbreviated as boo-ya."

''Is that how it works?'' But once Asama thought about it, it actually worked out pretty well since a shrine maiden like her was a Brahmin and a royal like Horizon was a Kshatriya.

'''Asama:''' "No, wait. That doesn't work with Mito."

'''Silver Wolf:''' "Um? Tomo? What doesn't work with me?"

But during that exchange...

"——————"

She was licked on the forehead.

It was a small action. It only elicited an "Oh?" from those who noticed. But...

"Mother...! What are you doing!?"

"Oh? But Nate, I'm giving you an advantage here."

Asama could not even guess what that meant.

...''How does Mito's mom licking me give Mito an advantage?

But Mito seemed opposed to this.

"Tomo! H-hurry down to the washing station, scrub your face with a face-washer, dry off with a towel, go to my king, and rub your forehead on him!"

"I shouldn't be so confused after you gave that much detail!"

"Judge." Horizon raised her right hand while sweating. "Has Mitotsudaira-sama finally joined Asama-sama in crazy town?"

"You're saying I was already crazy, aren't you!? Aren't you!?"

But then she heard laughter.

It was the Reine des Garous. She turned toward Horizon and then Toori next to her. He was using a hand mirror to check how his black wig looked.

"What do you think, Nate Maman? Does it look good on me?"

"Yes, such things look far better on you than I would have guessed."

"Good, good," he said.

She smiled back at him and then returned to her seat. She then glanced over at Asama.

"You have a wonderful scent. ...When two people are together enough for their scents to permeate each other, the result is twice as rich."

"I see..."

''Is that how it works?'' was her only thought. She tried surreptitiously sniffing her shoulder, but she could not detect anything other than the perfume she was wearing.

Then the Reine des Garous lightly swept her hair through the night air.

"I more or less understand your connections now since that method is much more informative than asking through words. It seems your connections are fairly complex, but..."

She looked to Toori and Horizon.

"That king and her are at the center, aren't they?"

The Reine des Garous was glad she had come her tonight.

...''That scent won't be as clear once they reach the Musashi tomorrow.

They were out in nature. In a forest. This was an unfamiliar land, but it was filled with scents familiar to a wolf's nose. It was the best environment for picking up an individual's scent and selecting particular aspects of it.

Her daughter's king had several scents on him, but those of his sister and the Musashi princess next to him were quite strong. But her daughter and the shrine representative girl's scents were just as strong. Much fainter was the ninja's. ''Yes, this is most likely the scent of that ninja that visited our home before.

...''And there are many more like that.

He must have gone to many lands, met many people, and seen many battlefields.

And that was sure to continue.

"As long as you don't give up, you will conquer the world, won't you?"

"Yeah, and that's how we'll gather Horizon's emotions and figure something out about the Apocalypse. We'll also figure something out about the world's other problems. Isn't that right, Seijun?"

"Judge. That is correct. Well said, Aoi. Gold star. ...C'mon, everyone, tell him what a good job he did."

"Wh-what are you, an elementary school teacher!? Wait, you are, aren't you!? I lose this round!"

"Oh, Toori-sama, that was an unexpected ending to that one. Gold star. ...Now, everyone, tell him what a good job he did."

"Noooo! Don't respond to my gags with scattered applause instead of laughter!"

Nevertheless, they all applauded with fake smiles. It seemed to be some kind of ritual, so the Reine des Garous joined in. And once her daughter's king began swinging around an imaginary sword, the Musashi Vice President cleared her throat.

She slowly turned toward the Reine des Garous.

"Reine des Garous, I will now give you some secret Musashi information."

Meaning...

"Is it something we and the other nations are not yet aware of?"

"Yes." The Musashi Vice President placed her right hand on her hip and her left on her chest. "To be honest, this is an idea I have kept hidden in my heart, so it has yet to be reviewed by the Treasurer, Secretary, 1st Special Duty Officer, or 'Musashi'. That means I still don't know how practical it is, but..."

"Let me hear it. I can decide how meaningful it is."

"I appreciate it," replied the girl without relaxing her expression.

However, the Asama Shrine Representative took action by opening a sign frame.

"I'll set up a barrier to block both sound and images. You can speak after that, Masazumi."

For just a moment, a slight wind seemed to surround the meeting space. Then they heard a sound like the wind blowing through bamboo leaves.

"Masazumi, you can speak now."

"Judge. Thank you."

"Oh, it's nothing," said the Asama Shrine Representative with a bit of a smile. The Reine des Garous had a thought as she watched that girl.

...''I see.

These were powerful people.

This group, including her daughter, was not just here because they were classmates.

They also had their camaraderie of the powerful.

The Reine des Garous thought, ''This is a strange sort of battle formation.

When she had smelled the Asama Shrine Representative earlier, she had detected the scents of her daughter's king, his sister, her daughter herself, and Far Eastern cooking. It had all been overlaid on the uniquely transparent scent of purification. However...

...''She must be as close to their king as Nate is.

The Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Special Duty Officers were also here.

A look around showed the others here also tended to be on the front line or holding important points in the combat records. Since the former imperial crown prince was also here, the entire class had to be the center of Musashi.

Were they elites?

What she did know was that the powerful leaders of various fields had gathered around her daughter's king.

This was a little different from the situation in Hexagone Française.

The members of her nation's main force all belonged to the academy, but they were divided into different classes based on combat style or occupation, making it all feel more like guilds. That was why they formed organizations where they could "gather", such as the Student Council or Chancellor's Officers.

That had the advantage of not restricting interaction between school year and of helping maintain the Student Council and Chancellor's Officers as organizations. Most nations did not have an age restriction for students and that meant some people would hold an office for a long period of time. This was meant to ease some of the problems that would cause.

If they did try to shove everyone into a single class like this one, there would be issues with school year differences and combat style differences. After all, Hexagone Française was beginning the history recreation of their national army, so they strictly divided their classes between combat style so they could train separately.

...''If we do all need to gather, we just use the rooms for the Student Council or Chancellor's Officers.

She found it all to be stifling, so she just let everyone do as they pleased. But if she were to join an environment like the one her daughter had...

"Now, then."

Her thoughts were interrupted by the Musashi Vice President.

"Listen, everyone. This isn't something worth bringing up as an official topic at the meeting with Houjou and Mouri tomorrow. It really is that minor, but... I will probably ask all of you to gather some information, so I will say it while I can," she said. "After this battle with Houjou and Mouri, I want to participate in P.A. Oda's actions in some form. I believe we will need to intervene in Nobunaga's assassination at the Honnouji Incident that will probably occur during summer break."

"Why?" asked the Reine des Garous. "Why act during summer break after the Testament Union has forbidden it?"

The Reine des Garous gave a quiet whistle in her heart.

...''That is an excellent decision.

The Honnouji Incident referred to Nobunaga, head of the Oda clan, dying during an attack by Akechi Mitsuhide, one of his closest aides.

It would happen while Nobunaga lodged in Kyoto's Honnouji temple and it would result in the Oda forces splitting apart in the fight over succession.

After slaying Mitsuhide in revenge, Hashiba would take the lead. Shibata would resist out of respect for the Oda clan, but he would lose to Hashiba's forces in the Battle of Shizugatake.

The incident could be seen as the greatest turning point for Hashiba's later rule.

But why was Musashi, aka Matsudaira, trying to intervene in that?

According to the Testament, Matsudaira was so afraid of a surprise attack from anti-Nobunaga forces that they retreated from the Kawachi region near Kyoto after learning of Nobunaga's death.

Not only could they not get involved, they had to distance themselves from it.

Nevertheless, the Reine des Garous supported the Musashi Vice President's decision.

...''They have no other choice.

There was a reason for that.

But it was possible the reason she had in mind was different from the reason the girl had in mind.

Some people would try to be involved in a major historical turning point just for the fun of it. So...

"Well?"

She tried asking.

"Why would a Matsudaira force try to get involved in Nobunaga's assassination?"

The Musashi Vice President reacted to her question.

She gave the woman a calm look. And there was a thin smile on her opened lips. It was not quite a crescent moon, but her lips drew a shallow arc as she formed the words.

"Coups, upheavals, and reorganizations. If they choose to use an interpretation of the Testament descriptions of such events, it is possible they will carry out some major operation."

Meaning...

"The Genesis Project. ...I think that is when P.A. Oda will set their Apocalypse solution in motion."

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 6A Chapter 5|Chapter 5]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 6A Chapter 7|Chapter 7]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 6A Chapter 5

2017-10-31T22:48:36Z

84.238.49.246: More minor fixes.

==Chapter 5: Doubled Ones at the Edge==
[[Image:Horizon6A_165.jpg|thumb]]
''Why do I feel happy

''Even while washing dishes?

'''Point Allocation (My Partner)

"That's the first attack!"

Kiyomasa heard Takenaka’s sharp exclamation.

Of course, ''this was not actually the first attack.

But it was clear what their staff officer meant.

...''This is the same type of dragon cannon that pierced the first ship at the beginning, isn't it!?

During the several minutes of battle, only the initial attack had pierced through a transport ship. The large dragons' dragon cannons and the wyverns' attacks had not been powerful enough to sink a ship in one shot.

They now knew where the enemy that could do that was.

'''AnG:''' "In the forest!!"

Kiyomasa saw the white light of Technohexen fire near the bottom of the night.

At the same time, light burst in the sky.

'''6:''' "Genbu."

The enemy's max-power dragon cannon approached Hachisuka's Genbu.

'''6:''' "Right hand compression."

It was unclear what she had done to the diagonally-fired blast, but...

...''It was deflected!

The reflected white scattered in the sky. And not in a straight line.

It was a sphere.

The dragon cannon was now shaped like the full moon as it flew through the night sky.

"Oh, dear."

Kiyomasa was not the only one. Everyone else on the deck voiced their surprise as well, then it burst. The southern forest, plain, and wheat field all looked bright because the scattered ether light was raining down on them.

The enemy's attack had been blocked. However...

'''Kimee:''' "They disappeared."

Yoshiaki's words reached them.

Kiyomasa viewed Yoshiaki's words on her ''lernen figur''.

'''Kimee:''' "We didn't hit anything in the forest. They seem to have moved."

'''□□凸:''' "Are they not cheating with gods of war like they did before?"

'''Kimee:''' "That was an anti-ship cannon, so even a god of war would have had a hard time of it."

'''Llaf:''' "Then where did the enemy go?"

'''AnG:''' "Nari Nari~?"

'''Nari Nari Nari:''' "Please stop calling me that. ...I will be able to perform a detailed scan once they approach the Azuchi a little more. I cannot do it the way things are now."

'''Kimee:''' "I appreciate your honesty."

'''AnG:''' "Then what do we do, Kime-chan? Head back? Go visit someplace?"

''Oh?'' thought Kiyomasa.

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' "You two? What about the enemy?"

'''Ang:''' "Eh? Oh, they're gone. Maybe they retreated after Shouroku's Kiddie Reflex."

'''6:''' "Don't call it that."

''That seems fairly accurate, though,'' thought Kiyomasa as she viewed them through a telescope spell ''lernen figur''.

In the southern night sky, beyond the separated Azuchi, a transport ship had been stripped of most of its armor. That third ship was trailing ether light like smoke.

...''The Genbu was holding all the ships' cargo in place with gravitational control, wasn't it?"

'''6:''' "Keep an eye on my surroundings. I ended my gravitational control of three ships to make an appearance, but I'm still controlling the five ships after that."

However, the enemy was indeed nowhere to be seen.

At the very least, the army of small dragons was no longer in the sky.

But Fukushima frowned next to Kiyomasa.

"It looked like they faded into the darkness..."

"My, how poetic, Fukushima-sama."

"Was that elegant?"

"Testament," confirmed Kiyomasa. She pointed into the distance where the transport ships were correcting their course of approach while illuminated by the ether light rising from the sunk ships.

She placed her other hand on her cheek.

"Hachisuka-sama probably doesn't realize she is part of such an elegant scene."

Just then, five pillars of light rose from the forest on either side and struck the transport ships.

Powerful dragon cannons pierced the five ships behind the one Hachisuka was aboard.

It happened suddenly and Kiyomasa could only watch the quintuple attack.

...''Eh?

Something appeared in the moonlight: Dragons.

They were large bluish-black dragons with their forelegs doubling as giant wings.

They dropped straight down and collided with the deck of Hachisuka's third ship.

They had landed.

...''Oops.

Hachisuka scolded herself for being doubly careless.

First, she had assumed the enemy would target her. And second...

...''I thought they would come from below.

They came from above.

Her mistake had been allowing the previous cannon fire to guide her focus downwards.

She had managed to react to the enemy's dragon cannon light.

But Hidamari Genbu's gravitational control was being used to hold the other ships' cargo in place. She could only protect three full ships using her gravitational control.

Once she thought about it, it was obvious that defense mattered more than the cargo, but...

"I didn't expect a quintuple attack."

"I was not expecting your praise."

She received a response from right in front of her.

A large form stood on the broken deck, lit by the glow of ether light rising through the gaps in the armor.

It was not a dragon.

It was not one of the large bluish-black dragons that had made a noisy and forced landing a moment before. Instead, it was...

'''AnG:''' "Some old guy?"

He appeared to be past 50.

He was more than 2 meters tall and both his shoulders and chest were broad.

His hair was tied back and he had a long beard. His face was that of a human, but he viewed her with sharp bestial eyes.

"I am Extra Special Duty Officer Bernard of Hexagone Française."

He wore an armored variant of an Hexagone Française uniform decorated with animal hair. Even in the ether light, it was the same bluish-black as the night sky.

"And you are?" he asked.

"Hachisuka Koroku of M.H.R.R. Hashiba."

Hachisuka decided it was irrelevant to him that she was part of the Ten Spears.

The enemy was not after her.

...''He's probably trying to sink the transport ships and responding to Genbu's ether reading.

He was a Celestial Dragon.

It was doubtful if he even knew of the Four Sacred Beasts gods of war. However...

"That is an excellent god of war."

"Because it deflected your attack?"

"No." The enemy named Bernard did not even smile. "Because it protected its pilot's life."

"—————"

Hachisuka was left briefly speechless.

This was what the enemy was saying:

...''Protecting my life was the most Genbu could manage?

She considered making an attack here, but...

"It's too bad," he said.

"...This isn't the extent of Genbu's power."

Bernard did not smile. Nor did he look disappointed or scornful.

"I doubt I will be your opponent," he said.

"I was predicting the same thing."

Her opponent would likely be the Hexagone Française god of war unit and Isaac of the Three Musketeers.

The original plan was for Wakisaka and Yoshiaki to attack them from high altitude.

But those two would now be participating in the attack on Houjou. And now that Bernard's wyverns had made an appearance...

...''We can't send out many aerial forces.

But an urban battle to defeat a city was sure to end as a ground battle.

It was up to Takenaka who made the plans, but Hachisuka was certain she would be the cornerstone of the ground battle and that she would not face Bernard there. If anyone would be fighting him, it would be...

'''6:''' "Mitsunari."

'''Nari Nari Nari:''' "I should be able to manage with assistance from 'Azuchi'-sama."

'''Kuro-Take:''' "Then let's assume you'll be doing some fighting at least at a limited level."

''Right,'' silently agreed Hachisuka as she chose to leave the god of war.

She released her union with the Genbu with Bernard right in front of her.

It took a few seconds.

As the transport ship gradually descended, a small form stood up on the shoulder of the black heavy god of war.

It was a girl.

She wore an M.H.R.R. lightweight inner suit and she stood next to the god of war's dragon face.

"Sorry about being all the way up here, but I'm Hachisuka Koroku, #8 of Hashiba's Ten Spears."

The large old man looked up to face her.

And he opened his mouth.

"I am the Swarm Dragon who was once the lieutenant general of the European Government Organization. ...I am now known as Bernard."

His shoulders shook.

"I look forward to meeting more than just you the day after tomorrow."

That was all.

With no bow or other farewell motion, ether light wrapped around him in an instant and he became a giant form.

He was a dozen or so times larger than the god of war. The bluish-black wyvern was more than 100 meters long and stood in the air above the transport ship.

"I have taken my souvenir."

With those words, the five damaged transport ships crashed into the earth below.

Metal strained and snapped, the ships rolled, and dirt exploded noisily into the air.

"That will cost you dearly."

By the time Hachisuka's retort was hit by the heated wind from below, Bernard had disappeared.

He instantly flew up into the night sky and soared away.

He flew to the north.

Hachisuka narrowed her eyes against the wind pressure of his wing flaps and she glanced up at Wakisaka and Yoshiaki.

"Honestly."

She lowered her shoulders and glared up into the sky.

"How much of a fantasy world ''is'' Hexagone Française?"

"Looking at the records from the Hundred Years' War, you can tell Hexagone Française has always had forces similar to England's."

Tenzou listened to Mary by the bank of a stream.

They were on the edge of the clearing they had gathered in before. A spring with plenty of water had formed in an area lower than the surrounding trees.

The stream flowing by the clearing fell through a fissure in the crust to form a small waterfall with a drop of about 4 meters. It was caught in a jar-shaped stone structure and then flowed over into a stone sink. They had carried over their pots and other dishes to clean them, but...

...''That's probably the last of the Hexagone Française transport ships flying overhead.

Everyone in the clearing would have seen it as well.

As had Mary, Naito, Naruze, and Naomasa here.

"In other words, Houjou and Oda forces will be joining an England-class battlefield the day after tomorrow, right?"

"At IZUMO, we had to fight to protect the Musashi, but what will it be like this time?"

"This time, we will probably be the ones attacking their fortress." Tenzou mentally pictured the Houjou land that would likely be used as the battlefield. "Odawara Castle is a large, flat castle. The inside is divided into several enclosed circles, so it will not be an easy place to attack."

"Circles?" asked Mary.

...''Oh, she looks so cute holding up that washed plate as an example circle.

But giving a proper answer was what mattered.

"In Far Eastern terminology, a defensive enclosure of a castle is known as a circle."

'''Hori-ko:''' "In that case, Tenzou-sama, you just repeated yourself by saying it is divided into enclosed enclosures, didn't you?"

'''Me:''' "I can see why Mary was confused."

'''Novice:''' "Yes, you do sometimes see people who try to simplify things with precise terminology and end up tripping over it."

'''Mal-Ga:''' "Huh? I take it you've been looking in the mirror then?"

'''Novice:''' "No. You didn't understand me? I was talking about people who rejoice in using obscure and confusing language."

'''Four Eyes:''' "Yes, I know exactly what you mean. Just take a look at this book I bought at the last event: 'The black shade strength became a dark force and clouded the shadow man's mind with a grim power, drawing out his latent potential.' Wouldn't 'the shadow man became pathetic' work just as well? Right? Is there something wrong with your brain?"

'''Novice:''' "It was meant to represent his fall into darkness! Can't you just admit it sounds cool!?"

Tenzou could have sworn Mary said "Oh, so he was feeling himself down below?", but he decided he must have misheard.

'''Hori-ko:''' "But saying things in needlessly confusing ways was a problem my father had as well. I have determined I should live a more straightforward life."

'''Asama:''' "H-Horizon, you're plenty straightforward already, so you'll be fine!"

"Anyway,” said Tenzou, thankful the enemies' aim had been diverted elsewhere. "Odawara Castle had already prepared a flood water source at the peninsula’s mountains above it. They should already be flooding the castle for our attack."

"They can do that?" asked Naomasa while polishing some ironware.

"Judge." Tenzou nodded. "If they flood the castle in advance, then the attackers will be forced to use that. It would be possible to send in even more water, but since the flooding will be complete without that, I believe it saves us a lot of trouble as the attackers."

"And the defenders will be prepared for exactly what happens, so they can stay safe, right?" asked Mary.

"Precisely."

Tenzou nodded and realized that Mary's execution had also been a form of "self harm" her country had needed to perform in advance of the Armada Battle.

Even with control of the self-harm, Houjou's flooding would still require submerging a large tract of land.

"Now, then. ...Even if they industrialize that well, some people will still be harmed by it."

With that comment, he placed a washed plate on the stack being made on the stone step beyond the sink.

Then he reached for the next plate.

"Ah."

Mary had done the exact same thing to his right, so their fingers tangled together.

Tenzou felt the mutual touching switch inside him activate.

...''Th-this is a rare situation!

Naomasa had her back to them while polishing the ironware. She breathed out a long stream of smoke from her kiseru, but she ignored them.

And Mary switched from her left hand to her right as she grabbed his hand.

They picked up a plate with their doubled right hands.

''Eh?'' he thought as Mary circled behind him. She kept her hand on the plate and lightly embraced him from behind.

"Master Tenzou?"

..''Booooooobs!!

"Yes?" he replied.

'''Gold Mar:''' "Oh, he's really shaken."

'''10ZO:''' "I am not. I am perfectly calm."

But while Mary embraced him from behind...

"When washing a round, Western-style plate, you need to do it like this, Master Tenzou."

She set down her scrubbing brush and took his hand. She did the same with the plate.

"Western plates come in a few different shapes, but these ones used to serve curry are flat in the center."

The way she pressed her chest into his back through her track suit was clearly squashing them.

"...Yes, I can definitely feel the flat center!"

"Yes, they're flat."

...''I'm so glad Mary-dono doesn't worry much about the nuance of what I say!

And Mary said, "With greasy foods, a stain tends to remain in the seam between the flat part and the curved part. Because the spoon and other utensils will often hit there and scrape it. So focus on that seam."

The way Mary moved while speaking rubbed her squashed chest against his back more than he had expected. Just when he thought they were going to squish out in an unexpected direction, they would slide a bit. Beyond just the heat of the pressure, the way the edge seemed to roll around felt ticklish.

"I-it is indeed important to focus on the seam!"

"Judge. But you need to pay careful attention, Master Tenzou."

"Y-you mean I should focus on them even more than this!?"

'''Silver Wolf:''' "And with that I just realized what's really going on. This has reversed my opinion of the 1st Special Duty Officer here, so what should I do?"

'''Wise Sister:''' "Heh heh heh. Why don't you do the same thing with my foolish brother, Mitotsudaira!? 'Ohhh, my king? Today let's polish up these ultra-flat plates.' C'mon, c'mon! Oh! Asama! You bring your extra-large bowls too! They need a good washing!"

'''Asama:''' "Honestly... Mito, please don't say things that will spread the damage to me."

'''Silver Wolf:''' "That wasn't me!"

At any rate, Kimi's actions had diverted their aim.

Mary hummed while holding his hand and polishing the plate.

"Even a clean plate will get damage. And it will be small enough that the people using it don't notice," she said. "You only notice once it's dirty, so you have to be thorough when cleaning."

"...Mary-dono." said Tenzou. "So if someone who knows the plate well washes it, it can be made nice and clean?"

"Judge, that's right."

"Then," he said. "Even if it has stains or scars, we can still call it a beautiful plate."

Mary trembled a bit when he said that. And after a while...

"J-judge...!"

The heat on his back grew.

"Thank you very much." There was a bitter smile in her voice as she whispered from below his ear. "But a plate is just a plate. I am not trying to say I am actually pretty."

"I am not saying you are a plate either."

"My." The bitterness left her smile. "Then what do you say I am?"

...''Oh, no!

If she was not a plate, what was she?

Tenzou had not expected this question.

He had thought she would simply agree and that would be the end of it. But...

...''This is not good!

''I got carried away and responded in sexy ninja mode. I need to be more careful.

But for now, how was he supposed to answer that question?

'''Unturning:''' "Should I be looking forward to this answer?"

'''10ZO:''' "Eh!? Do you have to raise the hurdle like that!?"

'''Novice:''' "C'mon, just say it: 'Mary-dono, you are like an emerald that will continue to shine for a billion lightyears.' "

'''Four Eyes:''' "If you're honestly that stupid and you weren't just trying to make him look stupid, you really need to think about what you've done. Oh, but if you are that stupid, you wouldn't know what it was you did wrong. What a conundrum..."

'''Novice:''' "Stop making assumptions...!"

'''Asama:''' "But, Tenzou-kun, saying she's like a jewel is a good idea! Oh, but you need to say something better than what I could come up with. I mean, she's an English princess and her sister is pretty strict."

'''10ZO:''' "And now you're raising the hurdle three levels at once!?"

'''Silver Wolf:''' "H-how about going for one of the curveballs you're so well known for?"

'''Wise Sister:''' "Meat! Meat, right!? That's what you mean, Mitotsudaira! Something like 'Mary-dono, you are just like a marbled sirloin'."

'''Silver Wolf:''' "Oh, but I have heard the name sirloin came from Mary's father Henry VIII thinking the beef loin he was eating was so delicious it deserved the title of sir. But sirloin was originally spelled 'surloine', so that's thought to be apocryphal."

'''10ZO:''' "Can you stop sounding helpful but ultimately being entirely useless!?"

There was nothing he could do. But then a thought occurred to him.

...''Can't I just get out of this with something abstract like, "Mary-dono, you are the most important thing in the world"?

'''Mal-Ga:''' "Oh, I guess I'll be nice and point out that it's game over if you just say she's 'important' or 'irreplaceable'."

'''Gold Mar:''' "Yeah. At times like this, you want a clear comparison to something beautiful, not some imaginary thing that everyone will picture differently."

'''Marube-ya:''' "Money! It's gotta be money! That's something beautiful that can make any dream come true!"

'''Almost Everyone:''' "We didn't need that ugly opinion!!"

'''Hori-ko:''' "Anyway, we seem to be at an impasse. Now, Tenzou-sama, respond to Mary-samo with your actions instead of your words."

'''Wise Sister:''' "Push her down and have your way with her!"

'''10ZO:''' "I can't exactly do that with her chest pressed against my back."

'''Me:''' "Why not just be true to yourself?"

''In that case,'' thought Tenzou.

Mary smiled bitterly as sign frames appeared and disappeared around Tenzou.

Everyone was always quick to cheer him on whenever something happened. Those things would often be encouraging or amusing, but she made a point of not peeking and ruining the surprise Tenzou was preparing for her.

''Besides,'' she thought.

...''Even if he gets advice from the others, he always thinks for himself in the very end.

In a way, everyone's excited comments would go to waste. She did not know if he was making proposals or if he could not relax until he had ruled everything else out by process of elimination, but he always made up his own mind in the end. And...

"Mary-dono."

He moved a bit away from her.

He held her hand in his right so that they raised the plate together.

"I think..."

He then dunked his left hand in the sink. He pulled out some soap bubbles, but he spread them out between his fingers and then lightly squeezed them into a shape.

"...you are like a water lily."

The bubbles had formed a small but definite shape: a flower.

He held it out toward her.

"Oh...um."

She set down her scrubbing brush and accepted it in her wet hand. His hand was wet too, so the bubble flower slid down into hers.

She held it.

It looked like it would fall apart at any moment. In fact, it was slowly losing its shape. But...

"What color?"

"...White."

Mary smiled at his answer.

Tears fell from the corners of her bent eyes.

...''Oh, honestly.

What she had been so desperate about two months ago felt like happiness now. Did that mean she had lost her sense of tension?

She could only see good things now and she decided it was best to believe that was because there were no more bad things. And as she let the flower melt in her hand...

"I guess I can't wear this one in my hair."

She grabbed his hand with the hand holding the melted flower.

"Master Tenzou, let's get back to the dishes."

This was such a wonderful time. She wished she could experience it a while longer, but now was not the time for that.

As they stood shoulder to shoulder and resumed washing, something occurred to her.

"Doing the dishes at home doesn't take long at all, but we get to spend more time together when we do everyone's dishes."

'''Mal-Ga:''' "It would be pretty amazing if he answered that by saying he knows a way they can add another set of dishes in about a year's time."

'''Gold Mar:''' "Ga-chan, you sound like a dirty old man."

'''Flat Vassal:''' "Huh? Does that mean the 1st Special Duty Officer always does the dishes with Mary-san?"

'''Bell:''' "That must be...fun."

'''Smoking Girl:''' "Kh... S-sorry, some smoke caught in my windpipe...!"

'''Novice:''' "Oh, the divine network just got a lot livelier."

'''10ZO:''' "Now who's been leaking our information!?"

''I'm glad everyone is so lively down here and up above,'' thought Masazumi as she looked to the southern sky.

She used a telescope spell to view the Houjou sky. Her sign frame listed the routes taken by the Hexagone Française ships and an estimated cargo list based on their speed and inertial momentum around corners.

And based on that information...

...''I guess we can assume they don't have any gods of war.

''But,'' she added to caution her thoughts.

'''Vice President:''' "Neshinbara, what kind of forces can we expect from Houjou?"

'''Novice:''' "Thankfully, their main force is made up of automatons and gods of war. They have enough of those that Mouri wouldn't have to bring any of their own."

'''Vice President:''' "I need to speak with the Satomi Student Council President once we're back on the Musashi."

'''Asama:''' "Should I contact her now?"

'''Vice President:''' "No, we're on our study camp at the moment. Even if the history recreation takes precedence over school events, we only just counted our investigation of the ruins as a Sanada history recreation, so I want to avoid anything that will get us criticism about political this or diplomatic that."

'''Asama:''' "Then I'll just send her a divine mail. That doesn't set a definite time period for a response, so we can always claim Yoshy-chan was just being considerate when she answered now."

''Yeah, I guess we can do that,'' thought Masazumi, realizing how new to a lot of this she was.

She let Asama arrange the divine mail and send it out via Tsukinowa.

"Anyway." Masazumi took a breath. "This will be the last day of our stay in Sanada."

She looked down to the tables set up around the weakening campfire. Mitotsudaira was eating a large piece of chicken while Adele and some others were setting up a hotpot.

They still intended to enjoy this for a while longer.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 6A Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 6A Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 6A Chapter 4

2017-10-30T22:26:14Z

84.238.49.246: Typo fixes.

==Chapter 4: Manager of the Sky==
[[Image:Horizon6A_133.jpg|thumb]]
''When the dragon roars

''The Technohexen dance

''What are the people

''Doing at that time?

'''Point Allocation (Watching)

The explosion in the distant southern sky was made of ether light instead of flames.

It was visible from an elevated area containing a vast flower garden and vegetable garden with a white mansion in the center. A nude young man stood on the roof with his arms crossed.

"As I thought. ...They will go along with our decision, but they will not resign themselves to being ruled over."

"Roi-Soleil," said a ''Belle de Marionnette'' woman kneeling on the roof. "What is their inherited name?"

"He claims to be of Germanic descent. He is a mercenary captain from M.H.R.R. and passed through Sweden and Denmark before arriving here in Hexagone Française. He calls himself Bernard. Are you familiar with him, Henri?"

"That would be Bernard of Saxon, wouldn't it?"

"Testament. ...According to the Testament, he is the 11th son of a duke. With no hope of inheriting the position of prince-elector, he attempted to become a knight, but the current age turned him into a mercenary captain." He sighed. "He is one of those who did not respond even to Anne's search. But he did wish to be registered as part of the nonhuman unit Anne reconstructed. That was likely arranged when the Reine des Garous's former friends were being invited in. That may mean he sees Anne as his master rather than me, but I do not mind."

"I see. ...Oh, Roi-Soleil, do you want some dinner?"

Armand had climbed up onto the roof from the back. He had a maid ''Belle de Marionnette'' throw him a plate from the open-air kitchen in the backyard.

"Looks like fish today. Tomorrow will be Far Eastern and meat."

"Ho ho? Did Terumoto plan this? Splendid."

"Testament. ...But the ''signe cadre'' from the princess has something absurd listed for tomorrow's dinner: both beefsteak ''and'' pork cutlets."

"Armand."

Still down on one knee, Henri glared at her colleague who had brought a table onto the roof and began lining up plates on it.

"The Princess is using that meal plan for good luck. In Far Eastern, the English words 'steak' and 'cutlet' sound like 'wonderful' and 'victory' respectively. ...Well? Do you see what she was trying to do with those two dishes?"

Armand stared at the ''signe cadre'' for a bit.

"Beef wonderful...pork victory..."

After a while, something seemed to click for him.

"Oh, I get it! 'Beef is wonderful, but pork shall be victorious', right!? What a world we live in!"

Just as Henri kicked Armand off the roof, another loud noise reached them from the southern sky.

The tilted transport ship had broken and exploded.

The Roi-Soleil smiled as he viewed the blossom of light and the ether light scattered in a ring by the shockwave.

"Well done, Bernard of Saxon. ...After Hamelin 400 years ago, your people moved to the southern mountains and you protected central Hexagone Française during the Hundred Years' War. After your failure 400 years ago, you paradoxical nonhumans have attempted to erase your past while remaining proud of your glory days."

He was a...

"Dragon. After seeing the world prepare for the Apocalypse, did you finally realize what Anne intended?"

A total of 8 transport ships had carried the extra materials needed to flood Paris.

The course they had taken followed after the main fleet. The separated Azuchi Castle had constructed that as a supply line to Paris and a route for the Great Return from Mouri.

And those transport ships had been attacked just after leaving the forests and entering the vast field around Paris.

It happened at the division between forest and field.

The first of the 8 transport ships could not withstand the anti-air dragon cannon that came from there.

A report from their allies had said Hexagone Française had no intention of attacking, but...

"Damn...!"

A voice shouted while jumping down from the tilting, shaking, and falling ship.

"If this isn't an attack, then it's the roughest greeting I've ever seen!"

But no voices rose up in protest.

Everyone had seen something.

It was visible from the deck, surroundings, and outside of the collapsing first ship.

It was a silhouette.

The giant silhouette was clearly larger than a human and it had wings and a tail.

"What is that...?"

Also, it was not alone. There were many. They wrapped around the destroyed ship and seemed to blot out its hull.

"It's a flock of dragons!"

Some were large, but the most troublesome were the small dragons that measured only about 5 meters long.

Those bluish-black dragons used their arms as wings and used their great numbers to collide with the transport ship.

"...!"

As they fired dragon cannons and dropped down with their powerful, crushing legs, the dragons pushed the ship lower and destroyed it.

"Now." The Roi-Soleil looked up to a shallow portion of the sky. "Show me the value of Anne's invitation and your pride that rejected it, Bernard."

The Azuchi Castle had descended onto the distant wheat fields leading to Paris. Beyond that, a transport ship's ether light and the dragon's dragon cannons decorated the night sky.

The small dragons flocking around Hashiba's transport ship were all small wyverns.

But they were numerous. Their numbers easily reached the thousands and they used their roars, collisions, and dragon cannons to strike the transport ship. It sounded like consecutive tremors.

"Are those...?" Henri stood up. "Are those Celestial Dragons, Roi-Soleil?"

"Yes...I suppose you could call them Bernard's mercenary corps. Although during ancient Europe's dragon invasion that inherited the Germanic name, they were apparently known as the Germanic warriors."

Meaning...

"He is a direct descendant of the dragon king. ...He is a survivor of the oldest Celestial Dragons."

A burst of light filled the sky as he spoke.

"1 minute 13 seconds."

Armand said that just as the falling transport ship ruptured.

The dragons had sunk it.

The group attack following the initial one had concentrated on the first ship which now exploded.

It looked like many of the dragons were caught in the bursting ship's shockwave.

But that was not the case.

The large dragons had sensed the coming explosion and flown away, but the small dragons had all been shattered.

They were not dead, merely broken. And they broke by becoming small bluish-black wings.

The crew of the second ship watched it happen. They saw a dark cloud push in toward them.

The shattered pieces of the small dragons had become even smaller wyverns.

"Here they come! Defense barriers!"

The anti-ship defense barriers were meaningless for two different reasons.

First, most of the opened barriers were destroyed by the dragon cannons fired by the 6 dragons hovering in the sky.

Second, those anti-ship barriers left many openings for such small dragons so the enemy easily slipped between those walls.

The dragon bombardment tore through the barriers.

The ether light of destruction flew as the small dragons collided.

The large dragons continued firing without worrying if they would hit any of the small dragons.

The small dragons were broken by the dragon cannons, but that just meant they split apart.

"They're multiplying...!?"

As an evacuation alarm blared through the second ship, the crew slipped through the gaps between the small dragons dropping down onto their ship.

"These wyverns don't have physical bodies! They're multiplying!"

"Multiplying wyverns...!"

"Do we really have time for this conversation!?"

"Nope!"

Just as they exchanged a handshake, a dragon cannon hit and they were all thrown out into the air.

At the same time, the 2nd ship tilted and the ropes and pallets holding down the materials collapsed. The collision of the small dragons and the dragon cannons tore the ship apart and a blazing red appeared in places.

"They're going for the next one!"

With the sounds of wings flapping and feet kicking off of the ship to leap, the overall motion divided into two groups.

The vortex of small, bluish-black dragons split apart as it wriggled through the night.

One group descended on the second ship like ravenous ants.

The other group flew toward the third ship with the large dragons.

They continued.

Those watching and those defending did not have time for any kind of countermeasure.

It was the same as with the second ship. The third ship put up defense barriers and the large dragons prepared to launch dragon cannons toward those.

They fired.

It should have been a total of six white lights, but only five flew out.

One of the large dragons had been shattered.

Blood spray that looked black in the night and chunks of flesh burst and fell from the right wing and right shoulder to show it had been hit.

There was a line in the sky beyond the falling large dragon. Something shot from north to south in the dark sky and white fog trailed behind it.

Someone had flown swiftly and struck the dragon.

Everyone looked up and shouted their identity.

"Zwei Eisen!"

The second ship exploded at the same time.

Light and wind formed while two silhouettes looked down on it all from what could be called the peak.

Black and gold.

The colored pair had wings of those two colors and held long cannons of the same colors.

"—————"

They said nothing as the cannons transformed into their flight forms. Then they made a powered descent toward the third ship and large dragons below.

''Oh, this is not good,'' thought Wakisaka to help calm herself.

This was a battle. At high altitude. Where they had to descend and fire. All of those movements required her to focus, but there was also something else she had to think about.

...''Kime-chan is in a bit of a bad mood, isn't she?

Yoshiaki was the type to make a plan and follow it.

In the Ten Spears under Hashiba's command, Fukushima was the leader and Takenaka did the largescale planning as their staff officer, but Wakisaka and Yoshiaki were mostly independent members of the
group.

Thanks to the mobility provided by Schwarz Fürstin and Weiss Fürstin, they were chosen when an immediate response was needed.

But even when at the mercy of various strategies like that, Yoshiaki would put together a plan of her own.

She would come up with a course for Schwarz Fürstin and Weiss Fürstin, tactics for them to use, and other things like that.

There was a reason for that.

The biggest reason was her personality, but in addition to that...

...''It's because she's a Technohexen.

Technohexen spells and weapons were not fully compatible with Tsirhc, Mlasi, and Far Eastern ones.

If they were not using purely Technohexen equipment, they needed spells and tools to act as a buffer between the different systems.

And when their current method used that kind of buffering...

"It can be a concern during a serious battle."

But one wanted to eliminate all concerns during battle.

That was the greatest precondition for heading out to the battlefield.

So Yoshiaki would always make a plan before doing something. She would put together her equipment and manage herself to ensure she could fight purely in the field of a Technohexen.

But this was different.

...''This rescue battle came without any warning...

They used their fall to accelerate. How did that powerful descent look to the dragons?

'''AnG:''' "Kime-chan, are you mad?"

'''Kimee:''' "Why would I be?"

...''Oh, she's really mad. Really, really mad.

This was an unplanned battle.

Their part of the Paris attack was originally meant to involve a high-altitude bombing run and a three-dimensional bombardment and deterrence against the enemy gods of war.

But that had just changed to a trip to Houjou instead.

The movement of Yoshiaki's eyebrows had shown her irritation meter was filling up from that alone.

"Angie, tonight we need to take a bath, eat some good food, take it easy, and get lots of sleep before heading out early tomorrow morning."

"Ohh, that sounds great. Let's go make record time."

That was what they had said to work around the change of plans, but then they had been sent out for an emergency attack.

There was only one saving grace here:

'''Kimee:''' "Listen, Angie. ...This is a nearby battle, so we can take part without using up much fuel. We can get right back on schedule, so there's nothing to be angry about."

"Because," she said.

'''Kimee:''' "We can go full blast without even thinking about fuel."

The dragons made the first move.

The large dragons looked up into the heavens while leaving the third ship to the small dragons.

Two enemies were dropping toward them.

Not even cutting-edge Technohexen from Hashiba's main force could break through dragon shells from long range. The dragon that had been hit and shattered was proof of that.

That previous attack had been made as the Technohexen passed by.

For that reason, the dragons flapped their wings.

"—————!"

All 5 of them instantly scattered from their position a short distance from the third ship.

They were still looking up into the heavens. If they looked away, they could be hit by or lose sight of the enemy.

So they kept the enemy in their sights.

The distance between them and that enemy was shrinking.

A dragon's longest range attack was the dragon cannon.

They fired that from their mouth and the straight line leading from the bottom of their throat to their rows of fangs was identical to the direction of their gaze.

If they could see the enemy and had them in the center of their vision, then they could hit.

They fired.

"...!"

The five dragons simultaneously launched 5 white lights toward the heavens.

Heat burst from the heat release openings across their bodies and their targets were the two Technohexen.

Two of the five lines came from directly below, two were diagonal, and the final one swept across their predicted evasion route.

They burst.

The five lights passed through the sky and lit up the night.

The two diagonal ones vanished.

But not because their output dropped.

They shook violently and then sputtered out.

Those two dragons had been destroyed by an enemy counterattack.

The large dragons launching those two attacks into the heavens had lost their wings and shoulders. They had reflexively protected their heads by raising their shoulders, so those were smashed from the sides and the armor exploded.

"—————!?"

Despite already being in the air, the large dragons were sent flying.

Only then did the remaining three realize their fellow dragons had been defeated. They had been looking up into the sky, so they had been slow to react to their companions on the same level as them.

That delay proved devastating.

The dragon who had lightly spun his body to fire a sweeping shot had his shoulders smashed.

The tremor that hit his lungs prevented him from even crying out in agony.

The force had hit him from the front and it properly left him from the back.

Both his wings tore and ruptured along with the armor.

The sound arrived after a delay.

But he had not seen the enemy. He had only heard the destruction of the previous two dragons. And the reverberation of this one's defeat passed through the sky as a ringing pressure.

Only two remained. They had fired their dragon cannons straight above them and they quickly took cautious action.

To search out the unseen enemy, they shut their mouths on the weakening dragon cannons despite the internal damage it would do to their throats. They also shielded all their heat release openings while instead opening all the thrusters on the front of their bodies.

"...!"

They made a short dash backwards through the sky.

The wind whipped up as the massive dragons instantly moved back by about 500 meters.

But they concluded that was not enough.

Their previous attack had included one that swept across the heavens along the enemy's evasion route.

They heard a voice behind them.

"I thought you were going to fall back even further. Why would you stop?"

Two high-pressure umbrellas had opened in the night sky.

Destruction filled the air a fair distance away from the third transport ship that was under attack.

Two shots were fired from behind the two dragons, smashing their solid back armor and wings.

Shockwaves spread out in vertical hemispheres and black and white lines burst into the sky from their center.

Two Technohexen flew as if returning from the outside to the inside of the battlefield.

Dragons fell at their destination.

And their eyes were on the third transport ship.

"Will this reach?"

The black Technohexen jumped down from her broom and used her wings to stop in midair. She held the broom under her right arm.

The Magie Figur that appeared in front of her eyes was a vision-linked targeting spell.

A magnified image of the third ship was displayed there and the Schwarz Hexen looked to the cargo loaded on it.

"Kime-chan, I'll be knocking down the cargo, so can you do the calculations for me?"

"I'm ready when you are, Angie."

"I knew you would be," said the Schwarz Hexen, Wakisaka, as her vision raced across the Magie Figur.

She locked onto three points of the cargo. Those points were marked with upside-down crosses.

At the same time, the Weiss Hexen, Yoshiaki, had three Magie Figurs opened in front of her. And...

"Ah, they noticed. This might be bad."

The image in Wakisaka's Magie Figur showed the small dragons looking back their way.

Several of them opened their mouths as if to shout something and more than twice as many flew up into the night sky.

"They'll be here in 12 seconds."

"Ohh, we'll have to leave immediately."

The Schwarz Hexen nodded and sent a single sound toward her Magie Figur.

She smacked her lips and sent it a kiss.

"Herrlich!"

The word was just for good measure. But that acted as a signal as the shots raced out.

Three shots in all.

All three of the vision-linked shots from the ''schale besen'' were managed by the ''schale besen''. Magie Figurs provided slight acceleration to different parts of the broom to alter its aim for each shot.

But consecutive sniper shots produced a lot of recoil. That was why Wakisaka had designated all the targets in advance. While controlled like this, she had her Schwarz Fürstin focus on the movement calculations for Schwarz Fürstin itself while the recoil-reduction control calculations were performed by Yoshiaki's Weiss Fürstin.

Their ''schale besen'' worked together.

And they fired.

With each shot, the equations on Yoshiaki's Magie Figur changed and were solved one at a time.

"Angie, we need to get flying. Those small dragons are a poor match for our current settings."

"Testament. I'm sure Shouroku can act now that we've fired this much."

Just as they said that, the shots hit.

Wakisaka had not fired on the enemy.

She had fired on the connections between the pallets and the ropes fixing the cargo to the third ship.

The total of three shots accurately hit their targets and the hardened ropes and pallets burst into the air.

At the same time, the materials spilled away. It was just like tilting a glass of water. And...

"Whoops."

They did not have time to watch. Countless small dragons were approaching.

Below them, the first transport ship struck the ground. Their ''schale besen'' measured the number of enemies lit up by the huge explosion.

"Now this is a pain-in-the-ass enemy. ...I just wish Maeda was here."

'''Kuro-Take:''' "Hmm, would it be difficult for the two of you to deal with them?"

'''AnG:''' "Wait just a moment, Takeko. Kime-chan and I are heading to Izu and visiting a hot spring tomorrow."

'''Kimee:''' "Testament. And at the inn, we'll eat boat-wrap sushi and shrimp and then go to the banana plantation that's been growing since the Age of the Gods to see the crocodiles and have a party. We have it all planned out."

'''Kuro-Take:''' "Oh, don't worry about that. We can wait until the end of your day trip."

Wakisaka broke the divine transmission ''lernen figur'' with a horizontal chop. And immediately...

[[Image:Horizon6A_153.jpg|thumb]]

"Oh, crap."

She and Yoshiaki held onto their ''schale besen'' and made a reflexive and rapid ascent.

The small dragons were chasing after them.

On the Azuchi Castle's deck, Katagiri watched the two Technohexen fly straight up with consecutive accelerations.

...''They're so fast!

He had seen them fight several times before, but they had primarily used cannon fire in those.

It was rare for them to use the vast sky for something like a martial arts battle like this. But...

...''That means the enemy has gotten this close to our headquarters where I am...

He was unsure if he should rejoice at the opportunity to see this.

But Fukushima had a different opinion as she watched the two of them ascend with such speed.

"They are slower than normal..."

"Eh!? Are you sure they don't just look slower because we're watching from a distance?"

"Testament. They also seem to be ascending further than normal."

"Yes," agreed Takenaka. "I sent Yoshiaki-san a bit of an idea, so you're probably right. They're flying at the perfect speed to keep those dragons on their tail and they're continuing their ascent to search for the enemy."

...''Search for the enemy?

"They already have all those small dragons to worry about. Are there even more enemies out there?"

"No, no. That's not what I meant." Takenaka narrowed her eyes behind her glasses to stare into the distance. "There's a little something that's bothering me."

Yoshiaki rose into the sky with Wakisaka.

She realized something as she did so.

...''It's as Takenaka feared.

"The dragons haven't fallen down below."

The 6 large dragons they had defeated were nowhere to be seen on the wheat field below.

''That's unexpected,'' thought Yoshiaki while holding her ''schale besen'' close.

She changed her vertical ascent into an upside-down flight to the west.

She could see the ground overhead. The second ship was falling while surrounded by ether light smoke. That scattering light illuminated the wheat field, but only the building materials had fallen there.

She could see nothing other than those materials and wreckage from the ships.

There were no large dragons or small wyverns.

...''What does that mean?

They had destroyed all of those large dragons, but those were not lifeforms that died instantly. They had a heart in each section of their body and they had a ganglion that acted in place of a cerebellum to manage each section.

But because they were so large, the destruction of their wings or some other part of their body would prevent them from immediately balancing their weight and they would be unable to fly. So if their dragon cannon firing organs had survived the fall, the Technohexen had feared they would fire some anti-air blasts.

"But..."

Just as Yoshiaki said that, Angie lined up alongside her on the right while lightly shaking her upside-down broom.

"Kime-chan, will we make it in time for the third ship!?"

Yoshiaki was briefly confused when her partner pushed her thoughts in an entirely different direction. But...

...''That's right.

The large dragons had disappeared. That was the result the two of them had produced.

They would be leaving this battlefield tomorrow, so they did not need to puzzle this out in the middle of battle.

"Let's leave all the details to Takenaka and the others."

And...

"The third ship is Hachisuka's responsibility."

With that, Yoshiaki poured on even more westward acceleration. She chose a route that passed directly above the third ship.

Behind them, the small dragons rose up from below and continued pursuit.

...''This won't be easy.

Yoshiaki chose not to say that out loud as she increased her speed. She looked over to make sure Angie had stopped shaking her broom and was holding Schwarz Fürstin tight.

"Let's go. ...To drive away the enemy."

The third ship was still under attack as the two Technohexen flew toward it.

5m wyverns clung to the 300m transport ship.

The bluish-black dragons attacked with high-speed collisions and point-blank dragon cannons after attaching themselves to the ship.

It was difficult to find a part of the ship's surface without a bluish-black form on it. Ether light intermittently burst from between those forms and on occasion...

"...!"

A few dragons would fall away with a large stripped-off armor panel.

And the materials on the rear of the ship were spilling into the sky on the left and right. The ship itself rumbled and shook, shaking the materials off all the faster.

More materials were loaded below the deck on the front.

The engine system was in the back.

The small dragons were focused on the back and they began a new form of destruction.

The flock moved like a single lifeform.

"————"

They simultaneously fired on the deck to begin destruction.

With a never-ceasing rumbling, the joints of the deck cracked and the armor bent.

The rear deck was approximately 100 meters. More and more of the long steel armor split, shifted, and tilted. The cracks and splits spread faster than on the front deck.

It ruptured.

The speed of destruction was caused by the damage to the front deck. The small dragons had already gotten below the deck and they were firing their dragon cannons among the loaded materials while well aware this would damage themselves as well. The bending and lost support caused by that destruction had hastened the transformation of the rear deck.

And...

"————!"

The dragons floated up.

An entire armor panel of the rear deck was torn away along with the hardened wood blocks sitting on it. That armor panel was 30 meters long and 5 meters wide. It scattered wooden blocks and stood up like a seesaw.

The dragons were launched upwards and the buffering inner hull was revealed below.

The dragons swarmed in. They used their wings for a short dash and slammed their heels into it. They produced solid sounds as they bent the inner hull and inhaled.

They intended to fire their dragon cannons in unison.

In an ordered action, light filled the jaws of hundreds of dragons.

"Shouroku!"

Just then, a pair of lights raced across the sky from east to west.

It was the Technohexen of the Ten Spears.

The two passed by above the third ship with small dragons still in pursuit.

Wakisaka flew through the air and saw the third ship below her for just a moment.

...''We made it in time!

It all came down to an instant.

The Magie Figur that Yoshiaki had given her displayed their course and the critical time for passing above the third ship. That time counter was stopped with 0.2 seconds remaining.

They had made it in time.

Behind them, the army of small dragons was pushing in and accelerating.

And just before the dragons overtook the Technohexen, three powerful actions occurred.

Two of them were the Technohexen's ''schale besen'' firing acceleration light and gaining a burst of speed far greater than before.

The last one occurred to the dragons below and the ones up in the sky.

"...!"

They were all blasted away from the third ship.

"Oh?" said the nudist on the white mansion's roof. "I see. I was wondering how they carried all those materials, but they seem to have put an unexpected amount of effort into it. I imagine this is what Bernard was after. He would have wanted this far more than bringing down the transport ships."

"Was that some kind of barrier?"

Henri narrowed her eyes toward the black sphere in the distant sky.

It was a ball of wyverns illuminated from below by the ether light of the fallen ships. The third ship had emitted some kind of pressure that had pushed them all a kilometer away from the ship.

Their numbers had fallen, but the wyverns attempted to approach again with their overwhelming quantity.

They flapped their wings and let their numbers produce a great cry. The din sounded like endlessly fluttering cloths and seemed like it would destroy the sky.

With that noise practically pounding on his ears, Armand held a bottle of white wine.

"Hey, Henri. I've learned something from watching this battle."

"What is that, Armand?"

"Well." Armand poured the wine into the glass raised by the Roi-Soleil. "Our Hexagone Française is a real fantasy world, isn't it?"

"And you are a moving doll."

"Then do we really need any normal humans?"

"What about the princess?"

"She's normal?"

"People might have different opinions of her emotional side, but from a biological perspective, she is a normal human."

"...Isn't the non-fantasy stuff so much more of a pain to deal with?"

Armand brought a hand to his chin and pondered his own question. He viewed the wyverns in the distant sky for a few seconds, but then he turned back toward Henri.

"Oh! Is that why humanity is said to be a high-level species!?"

Henri kicked Armand from the roof just as the bluish-black sphere in the southern night sky grew darker in color.

"Tonight is a good night. And the food is excellent. So Bernard?" The Roi-Soleil took a sip from his glass. "Show us some more. I am sure that will be Isaac's opponent before long."

As if answering the Roi-Soleil's call, the wyverns prepared themselves. They increased the density of their bluish-black encirclement and they roared.

"...!"

Those roars were dragon cannons.

They numbered in the thousands and were especially focused on the rear of the third ship.

But...

"Well done. ...Did he see through it?"

The spectators watched as the wyverns took a certain action.

They instantly left that airspace.

Thousands of dragons dispersed, yet not one of them collided with another. Just as they launched their dragon cannons, they roared together and sliced through the wind to distance themselves from the transport ship.

And when the concentrated dragon cannon attack hit the third ship, something happened.

They were reflected.

Every last one of the thousands of dragon cannons were bounced back just before reaching the ship.

Light burst in the night.

The airspace within 300m of the transport ship was shaken and grew bright for just a moment.

Then the shaking reflected all of the flying dragon lights.

They bounced back.

More than a thousand dragon cannons were knocked back toward the scattering wyverns along with more than a thousand solid sounds and fragments of light.

The angle of reflection matched an elliptical surface stretched front to back.

"————!"

The wyverns that failed to evade were shattered.

After a beat, nearly 300 dragons were destroyed, but the rear of the transport ship had also collapsed.

But that was not all.

With a breaking and snapping sound, something jutted out from the bottom of the collapsed deck.

It was a metal arm.

It was colored black, covered in large armor, and at least 6 meters long.

The powerful black arm spread its metal fingers and clutched at empty air as if to grab at the heavens.

The metal fingers grasped the empty air.

There was nothing there, yet that metal hand had a definite grip.

Then the arm bent. Using its hold on the air, it pulled up the shoulder and body it was attached to.

It rose up.

That rising motion carried wreckage and fragments of the deck with it. The sound of the crumbling ship materials sounded like spilling sand.

"What a pain."

It produced a girl's voice as it stood atop the third ship's collapsed deck.

The figure standing on its toes was surrounded by heavy armor and had a tail.

"Four Sacred Beasts God of War — Hidamari Genbu will now join the Invasion of Mouri with Hachisuka Koroku as its pilot."

Just as Hachisuka's voice said that, a light rose from the forest below.

It was identical to the initial blast. The dragon cannon that had pierced the first transport ship had been fired on the Genbu's third ship.

It was on course for a direct hit.

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| [[Horizon:Volume 6A Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
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