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Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3B Chapter 11

2017-08-10T22:10:12Z

86.52.14.214: lightning -> lighting

==Chapter 11: Visitor at an Inspection Point==
[[Image:Horizon_Kimi3B_185.jpg|thumb]]
''The meaning of the present

''Yourself in the future

''The environment of the past

'''Point Allocation (Everything)

''Choosing an instrument is pretty hard,'' thought Mitotsudaira.

If she was the only musician, she could base the decision on herself, making it a lot easier.

But this was different. She would be playing with Asama and Kimi.

“We’ll need to coordinate a lot of things. Although what to wear is pretty obvious.”

“Is it?” asked Mitotsudaira.

“Yes,” confirmed Asama while turning toward Mitotsudaira. “Mito, do you have a combat outfit for use against mysterious phenomena? Other than your school uniform, I mean.”

“No, my uniform plus attachments is enough for work with the Chancellor’s Officers.”

“Then if you like, we can wear the shrine maiden outfits.”

“I see,” said Mitotsudaira with a nod.

It was true the Asama Shrine’s shrine maiden outfits were formal and also built for combat against mysterious phenomena.

Naruze was going ahead and checking over the instruments before Naito arrived. She looked down at her own uniform and spoke.

“We were thinking of wearing our Technohexen outfits for the main performance. I thought a dress might also work, but the whole mysterious phenomena business rules that out.”

“Is that why you asked Naomasa to reinforce your brooms?”

Naruze answered Mitotsudaira’s question with a sharp look.

It was a powerfully accusatory look that said “you noticed?”, but it soon softened.

“That’s for something else. Something we want to settle before the Gagaku Festival.”

“Judge,” said Mitotsudaira and Kimi nodded along with her.

They were aware of how the Technohexen fought over their ranking within the delivery community.

Those two were at Rank 3 and when they had moved up to that spot…

…''My king cooked them a tart, didn’t he?

Mitotsudaira was kind of jealous.

''But,'' she thought. ''That doesn’t really matter.

''Because I can get a reward myself when I complete some job as a knight.

…''A reward of yakiniku…!

She had a feeling that was not quite the same thing.

Between a tart and yakiniku, the latter was generally more expensive.

The former was a dessert, but with yakiniku, pork was the main dish, beef was the side dish, and venison was dessert. ''That should work.'' But…

“Um.” She suddenly asked Naruze a question. “When you want to celebrate something, is it okay to be treated to meat by someone you care for?”

The Weiss Hexen immediately responded.

“Treated to meat? …Is that a euphemism?”

Meanwhile, with Mitotsudaira’s parents…''[Omitted]

“N-no! That isn’t what I meant. I only meant yakiniku!”

She frantically denied it, but Kimi laughed while checking the angle of a floating drum.

“Heh heh. Mitotsudaira, you can think about your reward later, so help me out here.”

“J-judge! U-um, help how?”

“Well,” said Kimi as she opened a sign frame. It displayed them in shrine maiden outfits. The photo had likely been taken when they were fighting the Hidden Dragon.

She tapped the sign frame once for a wide version.

“As you can see here, Asama is white and red, I’m more white and black than anything, and you are white and blue.”

“So if we want a matching color, it either has to be white or something other than red, black, or blue.”

“Really?” asked Asama, but the reason was simple.

“It either has to be a color we all share or a color none of us uses,” explained Mitotsudaira.

“Don’t forget that we can all choose different instrument colors,” reminded Kimi. “But as I said down in the storeroom, we can only think about choosing a vintage wooden instrument if it has a Far Eastern design.”

“Why?”

“Because we are shrine maidens.” Kimi embraced a wooden reinforced ''biwa''. “Look, if a shrine maiden holds it between her boobs, only a Far Eastern one will look right. …Oh, but you can’t do that regardless, can you? No, you can’t. Sorry, Mitotsudaira.”

“You obviously did that on purpose!”

“Now, now,” said Kimi. She then sat down and held the ''biwa'' she had inspected. She used the proper ''biwa''-playing pose. “We’re going for the look of a shrine maiden band. But to be blunt, that is going to be something of a shock. After all…I’m part of it.” A smile appeared on her lips. “When most people see the band name Kimitoasamade, they’re going to think it’s my band. My music is known around Musashi and I sing and dance in public a lot. So a lot of people are going to be looking forward to this being my major debut with you two only along for the ride. However…”

She took a breath, leaned forward, and pointed at Asama.

“We need to use our image to tell them that’s not what this is. One look needs to tell them Asama leads this band. That means shrine maiden outfits. I think it’s a good idea and wouldn’t it be best if our instruments also matched that image? But…”

But…

“I also don’t think it would be very fun if we get too fixed in place. If we just settle down in the framework of a shrine maiden band…well, just like boobs contained in a bra, it wouldn’t be any fun at all. Oh, but Mitotsudaira wouldn’t know what that’s like. And Asama…you wouldn’t understand either since you don’t let yourself experience it… How troublesome…”

“Wh-what was that for!?” protested Mitotsudaira.

“And why did you throw it my way too!?” added Asama.

“Heh heh. Well, if I was being greedy, I would want the latest instruments that still have a Far Eastern look to them.”

Someone responded to Kimi’s words.

It was Naruze.

She spoke while comparing a long-necked guitar to her broom.

“While considering that fashion aspect, you also need to think about your individual compatibility with the instrument and how all of you will sound together. …That will take some doing with three of you. Besides, a lot of Far Eastern instruments have a limited number of keys compared to European ones.”

That was true enough.

They had to work together on the songwriting, the coloration, and the instruments themselves. And looking at it that way…

“If we take too long to make up our minds, we won’t have any time for songwriting or rehearsal.”

Asama nodded at what Mitotsudaira said.

…''And I thought it was all going to go smoothly…

At first, she had thought they could each just choose whatever instrument they liked most, but…

“If we had just chosen what we wanted down in the underground storeroom like Kimi said, we would’ve been in trouble.”

“That’s right,” agreed Kimi. “Having different colors on the stage isn’t a bad thing, but we already have different colors in our shrine maiden outfits. So from here on, we either let that shine or stifle it.”

Asama kind of understand what she meant, but kind of did not.

“U-umm…”

“Tomo, is your knowledge of fashion that devastatingly bad…?”

“N-no, you just brought up the topic so suddenly is all…”

Kimi beckoned Mitotsudaira over, Naruze joined them, and they turned their back on Asama. And for 30 seconds or so…

“See, it’s because she can always wear her shrine maiden outfit…”

“And she can use her school uniform for formal wear…”

“How about you have her give up on fashion and go for sex appeal instead?”

After a while, they broke the scrum and Mitotsudaira turned back toward Asama.

“Umm…” said Asama with a dull sweat on her face, but Mitotsudaira smiled.

“Tomo, why not wear that sexy swimsuit you wore in that Asama Shrine ad last year?”

“Well, I have to get a new one of those every year… And that’s a piece of Shinto equipment, so it isn’t impure. Yes.”

“Is that how it works?” asked Naruze, but that was indeed how it worked.

Regardless, Kimi waved her palm a little.

“I’ll coordinate it all, so don’t worry. More importantly…”

Kimi stood up and walked over to Asama.

And she stopped by the girl’s side.

“When we stand side by side, our hair color and volume are pretty different. We need to think of a priority order for when someone moves out in front or our movements cross over on stage.”

“We have to think about that too…?”

It was not Kimi who nodded. It was Naruze.

“Margot and I have nearly opposite colorations, so when we cross over or move close together, it can make it so neither of us stands out very much. So when approaching each other, we try to keep things as two-dimensional as possible on the left and right. If possible, I’d also like to get the lighting just right.”

“The lighting?”

“You can change the color, right? Thanks to England and Hexagone Française’s progress in their theatre history recreations, a lot of lighting effects are available. So when Margot is the main, we’ll use yellow lights to match my color to hers. And when I’m the main, we’ll use white lights to wash out the golden color of Margot’s wings.”

…''Wow.

At this point, it was beyond anything Asama could comprehend or control.

But Kimi smiled a little.

“You’ve really prepared for this.”

“Judge. We realized we didn’t look so great at the rehearsal the other day, so we felt like going all out and trying a bunch of things. So we’re going to bow down to the Festival Operations Committee and the theatre-related clubs to make sure those things are set up starting with the next rehearsal. Also,” she continued. “We have a new song ready. I wrote it with Margot.”

She opened a Magie Figur.

It displayed handwritten music with lyrics written along with it.

The lyrics showed signs of being rewritten many times. Naruze and Naito had likely debated over the wording quite a bit. Asama knew them well enough to picture that.

…''They’re quite motivated here.

And Asama’s heart reacted to the term “new song”.

…''They make them themselves.

Those two had done that all along. A few of those songs were used as commercials for Eisen, the name they went by for their delivery business.

But it felt different to know this was a new song she had never heard before.

Those two really were motivated and working hard. In that case…

“Is that…one of the Technohexen songs you’re so good at?”

“No. If anything, it’s more lighthearted.”

“Oh?” said Kimi. “Changing religions?”

“I thought you’d say that.” Naruze spread her mouth horizontally but then smiled with her eyebrows lowered. “We’ll let you hear it later.”

And after some hesitation, she continued.

“There’s no point in hiding what we can do from one of our own.”

One of our own.

Asama was somewhat surprised by that phrase.

She had known Naruze and Naito for a long time, but since they were Technohexen, their lives were often quite different from the rest of the class.

The Asama Shrine managed the infrastructure and divine protections for Musashi’s residents, but while Technohexen used that at the foundation, they used their own Magie Figurs on top of it.

Each of them was a spell engineer on Asama’s own level.

Asama too would create spells sometimes and she would construct settings for divine transmissions and the like. But that was all built from the great backbone of Shinto knowledge and techniques.

However, Technohexen were generally making one-off things for personal use, even if they did have some things passed down or used as a foundation.

So Asama thought the Technohexen were more impressive when it came to creation. However…

…''One of their own, huh?

She thought that referred to someone else standing on the stage of music. But even so…

“That’s right.” Asama could not stop the smile that rose to the surface. “There’s no point in hiding what we can do. So, Naruze, if you notice anything we lack, please tell us.”

Hearing that, Naruze turned toward her.

She raised her eyebrows with her cheeks red.

“We’re busy too. And you have Kimi with you.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll have my hands full.” Kimi held a reinforced guitar and lightly rapped the bottom. “I have to think about our choreography, movements, and lighting for the stage. And I also have to help Asama and Mitotsudaira with their songs’ melodies and write the accompaniment myself.”

Asama gasped at that.

“We’ll be writing…our own songs?”

“Yes. That’s for the best. Especially when Naruze and Naito have a new song.”

“Wait,” said Mitotsudaira. This seemed to have been a surprise for her too. She took a step forward. “I already have my knight’s song. An unannounced one.”

“If you want a knight’s song to sing on the stage, write one that captures your current feelings,” said Kimi. “Also, Asama needs to prepare two songs.”

“Huh!?”

Mitotsudaira heard an awfully loud and confused voice reverberate across the shrine’s grounds.

That was a shrine maiden’s prayer-trained voice. It was loud enough to cause an audible shaking in the main shrine’s door. The Cerberus sleeping on Mitotsudaira’s head hopped to her feet.

Hanami must have picked up on Asama’s emotion while floating next to the girl. She looked back and forth between Asama and Kimi with a look of confusion and surprise.

But Mitotsudaira understood why Asama was so confused.

“Kimi? …Why two songs?”

“R-right?”

Asama frantically opened a sign frame to display their Gagaku Festival registration form and she held it up so they could see.

“We’re registered for three songs. Are you not going to sing, Kimi?”

“Heh heh. It would be pretty cool if I told you two to handle it. I would be arrogantly saying none of the other performers were worth my time. …But I will be singing and impressing them all, so I hope they’re ready to be vanquished.”

Asama was not quite sure what she meant toward the end there, but that was normal.

But if what Kimi said was true…

“…Why does Tomo need two songs?”

That question was answered by bitter laughter.

But it was from Naruze.

She had drawn a rough sketch on her Magie Figur and was viewing them through it to make some corrections.

“Listen.”

“How about you stop drawing first?”

“This takes top priority now.” Naruze continued drawing as she spoke. “You’re pretty motivated, aren’t you? You-…”

At that point, she was suddenly interrupted.

“Hey, this is Nai-chan. Do you have a moment?”

Naito’s Magie Figur appeared in front of Asama.

Her lowered-eyebrow expression appeared on the screen.

“Asama-chi, can I get one additional entrance authorization for the Asama Shrine?”

…''Entrance authorization?

Mitotsudaira asked Naito what she meant.

“Why-…?”

She did not get a chance to finish with “do you want that”.

Because Asama immediately nodded with eyebrows raised.

“Understood. I will give authorization.”

She began changing the settings on her sign frame, but she also looked overhead.

The reason for Asama’s decision was in the sky.

At about fifty meters above the Asama Shrine, two people floated with the dim stealth barrier ceiling as a background.

It was Naito and…

“Who is that other one?”

Mitotsudaira grew cautious, so Naruze explained.

“That’s Marine. …She’s at Rank 2 in the delivery business.” She shrugged as she continued from there. “She says she wants to crush us over a personal grudge before she fights for Rank 1. …Asama, after we talk some, we’ll head up to fight, but can you keep the entrance authorization in effect?”

“Th-that will not be necessary. Probably.”

A quiet but undeniably powerful voice rang from Naito’s Magie Figur.

It belonged to the woman with the Urban Name of Marine.

She was a blonde-haired and four-winged descended angel.

Her four thrusters looked like crosses and were attached to her shoulders and hips.

“Asama Shrine Representative, if possible, could we use the Asama Shrine’s grounds as a site for our battle?”

Marine stuck her head into Naito’s Magie Figur from the side, but she did bow.

“We will be limited to the shrine’s grounds. In other words, within the stealth barrier. …Would that be possible?”

“Hey, Almirante.”

A female voice rang through the dark sky.

In the sky above Oume, a flying boat was stopped above a tall derrick mast. A ''schale besen'' glided in right alongside Almirante.

“Wild Kamelie, I thought you were delivering outside today.”

“Konishi’s place says they’ll be purification cleaning the entire ship, so that’s not happening.”

“Oh, because of what happened earlier. Y’know, the big boom on the right of Okutama.”

“Yeah, it was probably that. …And since I’ve got nothing to do now, can you give me some work for the night?”

“Hold on.” Almirante opened a sign frame. As the boss of the delivery business, he searched for jobs no one had touched yet. “There are no standard paperwork deliveries.”

“It’s not really the time for that… Anything urgent?”

“Tons.”

“Judge,” said Wild Kamelie with a nod. She pointed to the nearby areas down below. “Anything that I can glide to from here?”

“I’ll have you travel around Oume. To pick up the slack.”

“Judge.” Wild Kamelie got off her ''schale besen'' and set her feet down.

She opened a Magie Figur and received the work instructions from Almirante. Then she pressed her finger on it and signed it.

“What are the others doing?”

“If you mean Marine, she’s at the Asama Shrine. …You get that Oume work done.”

“A battle inside the barrier? That’s not going to be easy.”

“For which side?”

“If they catch on, Marine. If they don’t, Zwei Fräulein.”

With that, Wild Kamelie put her sunglasses back on and waved at Almirante.

“Can you see the Asama Shrine from there?”

“Nope.” Almirante spread his mouth in a horizontal smile. “The shrine is holy ground. …You can’t see it at night.”

The Asama Shrine’s grounds were about 25m wide and 16m deep.

In addition to the gravel plaza in front of the main shrine, there was a hand-washing station with a small roof and smaller shrines on the port and starboard sides.

Three people faced each other at the center.

They were divided one against two.

The one, Marine, stood to port. The two, Naito and Naruze, stood to starboard.

And Asama stood in the center.

“I generally understand the regulations. There is a lot I would like to say, but since this is a mock battle being offered to our god, all bullets will be replaced with concussive blows. …And the rules for a two-against-one battle mean that the two side loses if they fail to defeat their opponent within the time limit or if either of them fails to stand back up after a ten count, right?”

“Judge. That’s right. So the KO rules will be a ten count after collapsing. Let’s also say that leaving the designated area counts as a loss. And the time limit will be three minutes. …Marine, how does that sound?”

Naruze had removed her uniform’s sleeves and skirt and Marine nodded.

“I would be fine with five minutes too.”

“Wow, you must be confident…” Naito had also removed her sleeves and skirt and she raised her broom. “But why do it here?”

“Can you not use your brooms properly on such a small field?” asked Marine.

Mitotsudaira frowned while waiting by the main shrine.

“Your thrusters were originally meant for land battles, weren’t they? They have contact dampers on the bottom.”

“Judge. …They were developed to move between ships and conquer the enemy ship during the Armada Battle, so they let you fly over and break through as quickly as possible. But they were ultimately abandoned when they mass-produced gods of war, problems cropped up with their arbitrary effects, and they could not get enough trained members of species that could use them.”

“Then,” said Naruze as she looked around. “Is this field your specialty?”

“I can fight just fine outside of it.”

“Then why go out of your way to choose this place?”

Marine answered the Technohexen’s question while wrinkling her brow and clenching her fists.

“B-because you said earlier that your preparations were complete.”

“…Ga-chan, it looks like she actually took that at face value.”

“Don’t say it, Margot. …I’m ashamed of myself for putting on an act like I was Neshinbara or something,” said Naruze. “But, Marine, why are you going out of your way to fight us?”

“I am still a newcomer.” Marine smiled with her eyebrows somewhat lowered. “And my homeland will soon decline.”

“…And you don’t want to be seen in the same light?”

Marine did not answer Naito’s question.

So Asama moved instead. She lightly clapped her hands, and…

“Okay, are you ready? Then begin!”

That led to movement.

The two Technohexen and the one Marine took instant action.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3B Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3B Chapter 12|Chapter 12]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3B Chapter 9

2017-08-06T00:58:37Z

86.52.14.214: Formatting error fix.

==Chapter 9: Player at the Shrine==
[[Image:Horizon_Kimi3B_109.jpg|thumb]]
''O-oh, c’mon

''Quit doing that

'''Point Allocation (You love it, don’t you?)

A rectangular section of sky was visible.

That stealth barrier sky was generally white, but it was dyed a pale red as evening fell.

A shrine with a two-level roof was located below that sky. Gravel and a torii sat in front of that. This was…

“The Asama Shrine… It’s been a while since it felt so far away.”

“Heh heh. Isn’t that because you’ve never been carrying all that when visiting before?”

Two people exchanged words there. One was Kimi and the other was Mitotsudaira who sat on the stairs to the main shrine building. She looked in the direction Kimi pointed, and…

“Well, yes, I did think it was an awful lot.”

There was a pile of musical instruments on the side of the stairs. A double digit number of them were stacked up in their cases.

“It looks like we’re preparing for a huge orchestra. We need to put them in order once Asama gets back.”

Mitotsudaira could only lower her shoulders at that.

…''Maybe I got too worked up.

The Cerberus on her head barked, but she was not sure if the creature was agreeing with her or critiquing her.

However…

“This was necessary, wasn’t it?”

These instruments were for them and for Naito and Naruze. Also…

“We couldn’t make any noise in the storeroom… Since we have to check on them here, we brought back three promising-looking ones each, so of course it ended up being such a ridiculous amount.”

“We should have put them in the storeroom below the Asama Shrine.”

“We would still have to carry them up to test them. And even if we did that, it would have to be after we selected them. Also, above and below makes little difference after coming so far.”

“You really do take things seriously, Mitotsudaira.”

“I suppose it’s just my personality…”

With that, Mitotsudaira looked back to the pile of instruments.

She had chosen a few string instruments and plucked keyboards, Kimi had chosen some drums and guitars, Asama had gone for ''biwa''s, and Naito and Naruze had focused on guitars.

They had all carried their own first candidate themselves, but Mitotsudaira had carried the rest. Of course, she had not carried them on her back. She had strung them from a support scaffolding pillar she had found in the storeroom.

Kimi had said she looked like a peddler, but her wares were far too rare. She was glad the Spring School Festival preparations had been underway on her way from the long block lift to here.

…''I would have stood out too much otherwise.

She had been able to blend in with Persona-kun, who had been carrying around a pole strung with a lot of buckets containing goldfish, and Noriki, who had been carrying lumber.

Even if they were only musical instruments, their average weight was nearly 10kg when the case was included. With a total of around fifteen of them, it was a lot of work even for a Loup-Garou like Mitotsudaira.

She had strength, but it used up a lot of stamina when she had to use it constantly instead of in quick bursts.

But it would have been a lot better without the final stretch up the Asama Shrine’s steps.

The problem was the Asama Shrine’s structure, forcing them to descend from the surface to four stories belowground and then climb a story’s worth of stairs back up to it.

After the four flights of stairs down put you at ease, the one flight back up supplied a finishing blow.

“That was rough…”

“The stairs?”

“Judge. Just when you think you’ve arrived, those stairs get you. It’s honestly absurd that the Asama Shrine doesn’t have an elevator to reach it from below.”

“You say that, but this shrine was built by licensed shrine carpenters who carried all the materials up themselves. The gods must really like making people go to extra effort in their territory.”

Kimi then added a “but”.

She took a long stride with a light step and placed her hand on Mitotsudaira’s right shoulder.

“Did it leave a bruise? If so, you should get it looked at.”

“By Tomo when we bathe in the spring?”

“Heh heh. …You could get my foolish brother to do it, too.”

“I-I have no idea what you mean!”

Mitotsudaira just about imagined the scene on reflex, but she caught herself. And as an excuse for cutting off her thoughts…

“Besides, my king can’t use any healing spells.”

That had to be true. If not, the incident with him being beaten to a nudist bloody pulp in middle school would not have happened.

Of course, it was possible he had learned some afterwards, but she had at least heard nothing of the sort from Kimi or Asama.

“So…”

Just as she tried to say this had nothing to do with him…

“Expecting actual healing isn’t the only reason to let someone see your injury or exhaustion, you know?”

“Eh?”

“Silly girl.” The busty girl stared down at her face from above. “If you let him see, my foolish brother will at least say something like ‘you’ve been working hard, haven’t you?’ ”

Her impression of his voice was so good it made Mitotsudaira’s heart pound.

Mitotsudaira groaned, the Cerberus barked, and the idiot sister used that opening to speak.

“Listen. When you show him, you can’t be showing it off. You have to act natural and say it doesn’t really bother you.”

“B-but if I do that…”

She wanted to somehow change the subject, so she tried to end the current one.

“If I act natural and say it doesn’t bother me, won’t he just accept that and not worry about it?”

“Oh?” Kimi smiled bitterly. And, “He would notice the truth. …Don’t you think?”

Mitotsudaira thought, ''That’s not a fair question.

When pressed to choose one answer or the other, she would have to choose one.

“…You’re right.”

“See?” Kimi bent down a little. “Let’s say my foolish brother asks you what kind of bruise it is.”

It was a ridiculous thought. If he asked her that…

“I would tell him not to worry about it. Obviously.”

“Then he would ask if it was from that battle.”

''He would,'' realized Mitotsudaira.

…''He wouldn’t think it was from carrying instruments…

If she had been injured recently, anyone would assume it was from the mysterious phenomena purification battles against the Non-God Sword and Hidden Dragon. But…

“I wouldn’t want him worrying about me, so I would honestly tell him it was from carrying instruments.”

“Would you? Then would you have him reward you for it?”

“N-no. This is to prepare for something we want to do. I don’t need any kind of reward.”

“Really?” Kimi smiled. “What songs’ll you be playing? How’ll you be singing? How’re you preparing the stage? How much have you practiced? What’s your song like, Nate? And…”

She mimicked his voice for all of it. And to finish it off…

“I can’t wait to see it.”

“——————”

That made Mitotsudaira imagine it.

…''Ahh.

The heat rising from her neck into her cheeks came from the person in her imagination. She had no idea what would happen if he said that for real. And…

“Oh, Mitotsudaira. You just want to sit at his feet, rub your cheek against him, and tell him to look forward to it even more, don’t you? You wish he would give you an order like ‘fetch’, but since he won’t, you’re just so happy he’s thinking about you. And that teasing is about to make you pee yourself!”

“You didn’t have to take this in that direction!!”

That calmed her down a bit.

But what ''would'' happen?

“Will my king come to the Gagaku Festival?”

“Do you really think he wouldn’t?”

“But,” said Mitotsudaira. “You said he’s trying to win over another girl.”

“Oh, dear. Silly girl.”

“But…”

How would she react if he came to the Gagaku Festival with that girl?

Would she feel like something else had come between the two of them?

She felt despicable.

She chastised herself for feeling so shocked that other people did not do exactly what she wanted them to. But…

“That would mean we only play supporting roles.”

“Let me say it again: Silly girl.”

“Wh-what makes me so silly?”

“I’m saying,” said Kimi, “that you already have a decent position…or rather, role.”

“…Huh?”

Kimi raised a finger toward her and first pointed at herself.

“I am his sister. And you are…”

“His knight.”

“So you do understand.” Kimi spoke through her thinly smiling lips. “You are the only one that can take the leading role as his knight. In everyday life and both on and off duty, you just have to stay with your king as his knight. Even if I or a lover are there too, you have nothing to fear. There is no replacement for a king’s knight.”

So…

“If you’re worried about your relationship with your king while singing, then you only need to sing as his knight.”

“————”

Mitotsudaira was left dumbfounded when she realized what Kimi meant, but the other girl was not done yet.

“Yes, and a knight can of course use combination techniques to confirm the trust between herself and her king. Once you’re finished singing as a cute puppy knight, you can beg him to praise you, accept his reward in your mouth, lick and swallow as much as you want, and then get on top to-…”

“Again, don’t take this in that direction!”

“Well, anyway, a knight does have the right to do that kind of thing.”

The frightening part was how Kimi made it sound like she was scolding her.

But if Mitotsudaira ignored the part where Kimi went too far, she understood what the girl was trying to say.

“You’re saying to keep my eyes on our relationship, aren’t you?”

“Judge. The rest is up to my foolish brother, but there is a part that is up to both of you.”

“Why?”

“Because what a king is capable of is created by those around them. …The more you act as his knight, the more he will be protected, the surer his footing will be, and the deeper he will treat you as his knight.”

Also…

“Even if my foolish brother sets someone aside, he will not forget what truly matters to them. If you have your position with him, then it means that position lets you remain by his side. Trust in that fact.”

She just about nodded in understanding, but she stopped herself.

If she did that here, Kimi was liable to take this in an odd direction again. So she shut her eyes, raised her nose, and…

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Oh?” Kimi moved away and smiled a little. “But it was something incredibly important for the future I’m imagining.”

“Huh?”

This time, Mitotsudaira really did have no idea what Kimi was talking about.

…''The future?

''What are you bringing up all of a sudden?

But the idiot sister apparently had no intention of saying any more. She simply moved away from Mitotsudaira and stood on the gravel. She then removed her side skirts, tail skirt, and the stomach of her inner suit.

“I need to go take care of my usual training.”

“Is it something for a substitution?”

“Judge. I could use my role in the mysterious phenomena purification as a substitution, but I can’t hold back since I need this for my dancing.”

With that, she naturally spread her legs atop the gravel.

She rolled her heels across the gravel, but since the gravel was not shoved aside, it must have been some kind of martial art.

…''She takes these things to such ridiculous levels…

Mitotsudaira could not emulate that level of balance. After spreading her legs a full 180 degrees, Kimi leaned her body forward.

“Oh?”

But then she raised her head.

She looked starboard where the Asama home was.

Mitotsudaira also looked over and saw someone leaving the building while still wearing a shrine maiden outfit.

“Tomo… Did you finish reporting to your father?”

“Oh, yes.”

Asama nodded toward Mitotsudaira while switching her sign frame from document and report mode to everyday duties mode. “I reported on what just happened along with the other material I had put together. Reporting it all to IZUMO Kitsuki is my dad’s job.”

With that, she looked to the other two.

Mitotsudaira and Kimi had already changed back into their uniforms and Mitotsudaira looked a little tired. Asama had known it would be tough carrying the instruments here and she had come up with another way, but Mitotsudaira had insisted she carry them.

''Is she still dragging around what happened in the past?'' wondered Asama. But…

…''She should have gotten over that already.

A lot had happened and it had led to Mitotsudaira returning to normal, but…

…''She might have picked up a habit of forcing herself to do things.

In that case, that was who she was now.

If that was what she wanted to do, letting her would be easiest for her. Asama felt no desire to fix her or force her, so if she was to be worried about anything…

“Is your shoulder all right? Do you have a bruise?”

“Eh!? N-no, I’m perfectly fine! Y-yes, just fine!”

“Could you sound any less convincing…?”

Meanwhile, Kimi twisted her body atop the gravel and smiled.

“She’s fine. Right, Mitotsudaira?”

“Kimi, is this your doing…?”

“Ha ha. Silly girl. It’s not about me. It’s about Mitotsudaira and her future.”

Kimi twisted toward Asama and then leaned her body forward. She placed her breasts on the gravel and squished them below her body.

“An injury leads to a reward. That’s just how knights work, isn’t it?”

“I have no idea what you mean…” Asama opened a sign frame. “It’s six, so I’ll be closing the barrier. Is that okay?”

“Heh heh. Why wouldn’t it be? Mitotsudaira and I have the same divine protection pass as my foolish brother, don’t we?”

“Well, yes, you do.”

…''They really act like this is their second home, don’t they?

With an exasperated sigh, Asama lightly clapped her hands.

Instantly, a wind-like temperature difference raced toward her from between her hands.

Instead of a chill, it was like having a cold blade lightly carve into her body. It was a form of purification, and…

…''That was the sign for the security barrier.

The clap that set up the barrier reverberated out as she spoke.

“Okay, that generally makes sure no one can get in or out. Now no one on the outside can see us.”

Asama saw Mitotsudaira’s shoulders relax.

The Asama Shrine’s stealth barrier was a projected one, so everyone on the outside could see a standard image of the shrine, but they could not see or hear what was really on the inside. It was like surrounding the shrine with a curtain bearing a drawing of the shrine.

It also allowed those on the inside to see out and it used several divine protections for defense and surveillance.

Mitotsudaira probably felt the same comfort as closing the door to her room.

Meanwhile, Asama still wore her shrine maiden outfit from the battle and she began managing the barrier from the center of the shrine grounds.

…''This should be enough.

A shrine was supposed to be a safe place anyone could escape to at any time and it was a noncombat holy ground due to being in the presence of a god. You might receive some kind of punishment, but everyone was generally welcome. Or that was how it was supposed to work.

“But we do a lot of management for the Musashi…”

“I do always think that sounds like a lot of work,” said Kimi while she straightened up and twisted herself even tighter for her training.

She used a towel to stretch her arms.

“Isn’t there always more work to be done?”

“There is. So most of the work we receive during the day is dealt with in the shrine at night. And a lot of it is related to managing the Musashi as a whole and not just the Shinto contracts, so it requires a lot of data processing.”

Hanami had appeared next to her face and was already starting on that work.

Uzy was poking out from Kimi’s cleavage and she was clearly interested in Hanami. Those two were a lot like sisters, but Uzy probably wanted to play.

However…

“You can’t, Uzy. Your job is to dance and play, but Hanami is doing some other work right now, so you can’t get in her way.”

“Too bad.”

After saying that, Uzy’s eyes stopped on something else.

Mitotsudaira was lining up the instruments on rush mats in front of the shrine, but Uzy’s focus was on the Cerberus on her head.

…''Umm.

Asama looked back and forth between Uzy and the top of Mitotsudaira’s head.

“…?”

The three-headed wolf seemed to notice Uzy looking at her.

“!”

The Cerberus barked and Uzy quickly hid behind Kimi’s head.

…''Oh, dear.

''Is she afraid?'' wondered Asama, but Kimi smiled bitterly.

“My, oh, my. You sure scare easy.”

“I think you could learn a thing or two from her, Kimi.”

Kimi smiled bitterly as Uzy stood on her head like a dog.

Kimi was taller than Mitotsudaira, so…

“Heh hehn.”

Uzy seemed to feel more comfortable now. And the Cerberus’s barking sounded a bit like she wanted to play. And that may have been why,

“Go on and play.”

Mitotsudaira lowered the Cerberus to the ground.

Seeing that, Asama looked to Kimi, wondering how Uzy would respond.

But Uzy shook her head. She looked down at the Cerberus just once, but she frantically shook her head again.

“Work.”

Kimi exploded with laughter.

“She’s being considerate to Hanami.”

“Looks that way.”

In her own way, Uzy had seen that Hanami was taking her work seriously and had decided she should not start playing without her. But then she could not grant the Cerberus’s desire to play. So…

“Hanami, let Uzy handle your heat reduction. …And Mito, hand the Cerberus over here.”

“Oh, yes. What are you going to do?”

“Heh heh. Just a small dance. You help, too.”

“Eh?”

In front of Mitotsudaira, Kimi placed Uzy on top of the Cerberus.

The rest was simple. Uzy’s dance was synchronized with Hanami’s heat reduction setting.

“Okay, Uzy, start dancing. And the Cerberus, um…”

“C’mon, over here, over here.”

Kimi took a light step and let the towel she held flutter just above the gravel.

“…!”

With Uzy on her back, the Cerberus dashed toward the towel.

“Oh, she’s surprisingly fast.”

“In fact, I think this is the first time I’ve seen her run a long distance…”

Mitotsudaira’s tone was an amusing mixture of dumbfounded and somewhat disappointed.

“Tomo, why are you smiling?”

“No reason. But the Cerberus knows you’re her owner. And…”

After chasing after it for a bit, the Cerberus finally managed to bite at Kimi’s towel. The three-headed wolf swung the cloth around for a bit, but finally ran back over to Mitotsudaira with it.

Uzy was swung around in a 180 degree turn on top of the beast.

“Oh, oh, oh.”

She forced her body into a spin and danced. And that became a substitution between Mice.

“Hanami?”

“It’s reducing.”

The ether light floating around Hanami changed from a heated yellow to a bluish-white. Things were calming down. Meanwhile, the Cerberus handed the towel to Mitotsudaira.

“U-umm?”

…''Mito really isn’t used to this kind of thing…

''She probably can’t do it,'' thought Asama as she tried speaking to Mitotsudaira.

“Mito, think back to when you were little and play with them like that.”

“Eh?” said Mitotsudaira. “When I was little!?”

“Hee hee. Honey? Look, I was cleaning and I came across this picture from when Nate was little. Look at this. When I would sing, she would try to dance but ended up just wiggling her butt around. And we didn’t have an inner suit that fit her right back then, so she was only wearing the hard point parts with a towel wrapped around her. She liked playing with the towel and would swing it around, but I think she was trying to copy how I danced.”

“Yes, I still did so much for her back then.”

“Hee hee. Oh, that girl. She preferred being wrapped in a towel to a diaper, so she really was a little wolf.”

Asama realized Mitotsudaira had become entirely useless.

She must have pressed some unpleasant switch from the girl’s past.

The silver wolf hung her head with her mouth spread horizontally while blankly immersing herself in something even darker than the evening. Seeing that, Asama wanted to say something helpful.

…''U-umm.

“Mito? C-c’mon, if you don’t play with the towel, the Cerberus and Uzy can’t-…”

“!”

A bark from the Cerberus seemed to revive her master from her melancholy about the past.

She gasped, but…

“P-play with the towel!?”

“Eh? …That’s what you’re focusing on?”

Mitotsudaira responded to that with an “ah”.

She quickly waved her hands back and forth.

“N-no, um, when you say ‘play with’ it, what exactly do you mean?”

Kimi smiled and mimed placing a towel between her legs and rubbing it back and forth on her crotch, but the crazy person did not matter. ''You don’t have to mime slapping it over your shoulder too. And I guess it’s a testament to her skill as an entertainer that I can imagine the scene so vividly.

However, the Cerberus moved.

But not for the towel; for Mitotsudaira’s hair.

“Eh?”

The Cerberus was always on top, so the bottom of the five large rolls must have been a rare sight.

The three-headed wolf chased her master’s hair and tried to jump up at it.

“Ah.”

Mitotsudaira lightly spun around to keep the hair out of reach.

But the Cerberus made a dash with Uzy dancing on her back.

Mitotsudaira twisted around some more as she was chased and followed.

“Toh.”

She spun and spun.

“Like this?”

She hopped a bit. Then the Cerberus kicked off the gravel in a jump. And of course…

…''She can’t reach her.

But that was why this counted as “playing”.

“Heh heh. You’ve created a nice flow there.” Kimi nodded at Mitotsudaira and lightly grabbed her own hair so the other girl could see. “Your hair probably looks like a tail.”

“Yes, it probably does.”

“A three-headed wolf pursuing five tails. …That certainly is a strange sight.”

But Asama knew what she needed to say now that the wolf and Cerberus had gotten the hang of this game.

“With a dog or any animal with a strong desire to serve its master, when they’re fulfilling a task given to them by their master, don’t they see it as a game?”

“That’s right.” Kimi twisted around on the gravel as she responded. “When they are successful, their master will give them food and praise them. That master-servant relationship is what they want. So you mustn’t misunderstand: we might see it as a simple game, but they see it as a confirmation of that relationship, so, Mitotsudaira, you can’t just continue escaping. You have to reward her properly afterwards.”

“Th-this isn’t easy…!”

Due to their difference in size, Mitotsudaira could easily escape if she wanted to.

But that would simply prove to the Cerberus that she was no match for her master.

…''That isn’t a master-servant relationship.

Mitotsudaira understood what that meant, so she spoke to the others.

“That would be a submissive relationship, wouldn’t it?”

“But if you go easy on her, it will mean you are looking down on Troiko. You will turn that three-headed wolf into a pet that doesn’t realize she’s being toyed with.”

“Then I just have to change the type of challenge.”

Mitotsudaira jogged forward a bit, looked back, and made a turn to get the Cerberus to chase after her. Then she suddenly let the towel she held dance in front of the Cerberus’s face.

“!”

The Cerberus naturally bit at it, but Mitotsudaira pulled it back.

…''Oh, dear.

Mitotsudaira threw the towel so the Cerberus could see. She then pointed at the towel and gave the Cerberus a command.

“Vas-y…!”

“!!”

Asama saw the Cerberus dash toward the towel.

The wolf ran in a dancing way and worked to follow after her target.

With Uzy dancing on top of her, the three-headed wolf chased the towel while her feet sounded quietly on the gravel. And just as the towel fell…

“Ohh.”

She bit at it and turned around.

She did not bark. She simply let Uzy pull the towel back up and returned to Mitotsudaira.

Her master spread her arms to welcome her.

“U-umm? How am I supposed to reward her…?”

“Heh heh. Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself? Are you going to reward her after every little game? You should play with her more and wait until she’s starting to wonder when the reward is coming.”

“That’s right,” agreed Asama as she operated a sign frame. She accessed the Asama Shrine’s divine transmission store and paid for something herself. “Mito, to celebrate your now relationship, I bought some Mouse snacks and sent them to your hard point parts. You can pull them out from the hip ones.”

“Judge,” said Mitotsudaira with a nod as she took the towel from the Cerberus. The three-headed wolf continued wagging her tail without sitting down, so she seemed to want to play some more. So when Mitotsudaira threw the towel again…

“…!”

The Cerberus dashed away again with Uzy riding her.

Asama was aware of the smile that scene put on her lips, but she also had a thought.

…''What is that Cerberus really?

Its appearance had likely used a Greek mythology “mold” from the Kojima Peninsula as well as the ether within the Musashi. But in that case…

…''I wouldn’t think she would get along with Mito so well…

“Molds” of a mythological being tended to prefer that land itself. They were originally from that land and they had become a guardian deity for it.

But since this one was playing with Mitotsudaira like this…

“She clearly views Mito as her master.”

“Yes, she does. Even when I try to play with her, she always focuses on Mitotsudaira in the end. And since she seems to belong to Mitotsudaira…”

Kimi faced Mitotsudaira with a pale look.

“Is she your secret child…!?”

“You saw her appear!!”

That was true. But in that case…

“Kimi might not be all that wrong about this Cerberus.” Asama put her theory to words. “She may have used Mito’s emotions or something else for a portion of her ‘mold’.”

…''Used my emotions or something else for a portion of her “mold”?

Mitotsudaira tilted her head at that.

“What does that mean?”

“Heh heh heh. You don’t get it!? The ‘mold’ of your boobs leaked out and became Troiko! Ahhn, but it’s too bad! She worked so hard to get out, but she’s so small! You only had tiny boobs, so Troiko ended up tiny too! It’s all your fault!!”

''Now you’re just being ridiculous.

Anyway, Asama waved her hands back and forth to say that was not the case. That was hardly surprising, but it was still a relief to hear it from Musashi’s Shinto representative.

So Mitotsudaira ignored the idiot sister and asked Asama a question.

“Tomo, what does this mean?”

“Well, Mito, that Cerberus appeared when you were operating the extractor. I think it helped that we were near the Kojima Peninsula, but you too provide a wolf ‘mold’. So I suspect the two effects combined and created her.”

“…But what exactly is my ‘mold’?”

Kimi slid her hands straight up and down in front of her own chest, but Mitotsudaira pretended not to see it. Trying to figure out what she meant was a bad idea.

Asama seemed to reach the same conclusion because she faced to the side so she could not see Kimi.

“Umm.”

While Asama thought, Kimi gently slid over. Asama responded by turning further around.

“To put it simply…”

“Tomo! Tomo! You have your back turned!”

The towel returned to her, so she swept it around a few times and then threw it.

Asama then turned all the way around. The idiot sister must have been satisfied because she resumed stretching next to her.

And Asama looked back and forth between Mitotsudaira and the running Cerberus.

“Mito, are you letting some stress build up?”

“Huh!?”

Kimi made a move where she seemed to tightly hold her own chest, but Mitotsudaira ignored her.

However, Asama wrinkled her brow as if she did not entirely understand it herself.

“We were extracting stagnations there. So, Mito, if you were worrying about something or had lost confidence about something, that could have become a ‘mold’.”

“Is that how it works?”

''If so,'' thought Mitotsudaira as she crouched down toward the creature approaching with towel in mouth.

She took the towel, but the Cerberus wanted to play some more. So she tied a knot in the towel and threw it higher but a little farther than before.

…''That Cerberus…

“Is she mine?”

“That I’m not entirely sure about. But even if so, it means the Cerberus simply used a ‘mold’ inside you; she is not a piece of you that came off. So there’s no reason to despair.”

“My chest! You think this is about my chest, don’t you!?”

“But,” suddenly said Kimi. “You know what this means, don’t you? If it was enough to create a ‘mold’, it must be something quite substantial inside you.”

“Huh?”

…''Something substantial inside me…?

She had no idea what that was.

But the Cerberus barked while waiting below the towel falling from the sky.

“If this was something inside me coming to the surface, why did it happen?”

“Heh heh. This certainly would be an annoying method of finding yourself.” Kimi smiled bitterly while bending forward and pressing her knee against her chest. “It would have to happen when you started looking at the things inside yourself. Just as Asama said earlier, wouldn’t that be when you were losing confidence in yourself?”

“Has that ever happened to you, Kimi?”

“Not anymore.”

She said that so readily.

…''That’s about what I expected.

They had known each other long enough for her to think that.

But Kimi had more to say.

“And this is a good thing. What you were trying to look at came out so you could see it. Doesn’t this seem nice when you look at it like that? What was subconsciously bringing you stress and killing your confidence has come out to say, ‘That isn’t true and don’t you forget it.’ ”

“Hmm…”

She understood what Kimi was saying. But that was only a way of imaging it. It might be true, but it might not.

Although if she did not know the answer at the moment…

“Then it would make me feel better to think about it that way.”

“Exactly. And if that is the case, Troiko is sure to eventually tell you just what she is. …Look, here she comes with the towel.”

Mitotsudaira looked over to see the Cerberus running over with Uzy on her back. Her small body raised the towel in her mouth and she looked ready to play some more.

…''If she is my “mold”, she should be quite strong.

She tried holding her hand out.

She was not asking the Cerberus to “shake”, but the creature did look at her outstretched hand.

“?”

The Cerberus stepped her front half up onto the hand.

…''Kh!

''Am I soft for finding this so irresistibly cute?'' But the strength was nothing out of the ordinary. It was the same as when the Cerberus was on her head. So even if the creature had been copied over from her…

“It would have to be a portion of my heart…”

''But what?'' she wondered even though the Cerberus could not answer. So she prepared to throw the towel for the three-headed beast that still wanted to play. And…

“Oh?”

A sign frame appeared. It was shaped like a crop mark frame Magie Figur.

“I just finished a job and I’m headed your way, but are things closed up top?”

It was Naruze. “Up top” likely referred to the sky above the Asama Shrine.

Asama nodded and looked up to the sky.

“It’s Naito and Naruze, right? I’ll give both of you authorization, so come on in.”

“Judge,” replied the voice while Asama accessed the shrine’s settings. She used the “The Usual” list from the citizen register to give authorization for those two. And…

“There…that should do it.”

She turned around to see the instruments piled up next to the stairs into the main shrine building.

Their next task was to check over those instruments.

She then looked to Mitotsudaira, who was throwing the towel, and Kimi, who was still stretching.

…''They live so freely…

She seriously thought that as she opened her mouth.

“Okay, let’s get to preparing for the Gagaku Festival.”

“Margot, the Asama Shrine is opened up top, but what will you do? You said you still have something to deliver for the Student Council, didn’t you? Should I deliver the things from the Blue Thunder?”

Naruze glided gently through the Musashi’s sky below the stealth barrier.

She spoke into a communication Magie Figur connected to Margot.

“I finished my last delivery and I’m flying by on the right of Tama’s free flight lane.”

“Ohh, then could you stop by the Blue Thunder in a bit? I’m still at Okutama, but the port side is congested and I’m stuck. Maybe I should have gone in from below…”

“You’re carrying too much with you for that, aren’t you? …So what are we going to do?”

When Naruze asked that, Margot pointed her Magie Figur toward her hands. The hand-drawn lines moved inside the crop mark frame and pointed to the delivery hanging from the broom.

They were posters. A dozen or so of them were rolled up into tubes.

…''Wait, it can’t be…

“Are those using my drawing?”

“Yes, they are. They’re posters for the Gagaku Festival. I had them give me one extra so we can hang it up at home.”

“Thanks. …So, Margot, are you on the way to the shops and homes where they’ll be displayed?”

“Yup. I thought it would be fine since it would help advertise Eisen. …I’ll be stopping by the Blue Thunder too, but what about you, Ga-chan?”

“How about we meet at the Blue Thunder and head to the Asama Shrine together?”

Something was bothering her, so she tried asking. And…

“Well…”

Margot hesitated and that settled it.

Naruze understood most of it.

It was about the Edel Brocken tester exam, Marine, and the Gagaku Festival.

They had decided to take part in all three, but there was something they still did not know.

There was one question they still did not have an answer to:

…''Can we actually do it?

''I bet we can,'' thought Naruze.

She felt like their daily training and countermeasures would allow them to succeed at the tester exam, the battle with Marine, and the Gagaku Festival.

But Margot was different.

She did not think they could do it.

If she could not reach that conclusion, then she could only spend her time worrying over it.

And even if Margot thought they could ''probably'' do it, she was not confident enough to go beyond that.

Margot was the type to make up her mind immediately, but that speed did not just come from doing it all instantly. She was constantly thinking about all sorts of things and she simply did not let it show.

Because she was constantly thinking about a wide variety of things, she could make an immediate decision when a problem presented itself.

She was that type of careful but immediate decision-maker.

However, this kind of situation was a poor match for her.

After all…

“We have no time and we have our current skill, but we’re presented with all sorts of possibilities.”

Naruze kind of felt like she had forcefully invited Margot to take part in the Edel Brocken tester exam.

And the battle with Marine came from that.

Their performance in the Gagaku Festival was much the same.

The Gagaku Festival was especially troublesome.

The tester exam and the battle with Marine were challenges to move higher, so even if they lost, they would have their result. Even if they lost, they could say they fought and lost.

So the result would be theirs and theirs alone.

But everyone was taking part in the Gagaku Festival, so its result was more than just their own.

Their result would be shared with the others.

…''And if we do poorly, I don’t want the others comforting us, sympathizing with us, and acting like it’s adorable that we were so bad.

For a Technohexen, having people act like they understood was the most painful thing of all.

Of course, it was a bit of a mystery whether or not their classmates really understood them, but…

“Margot, if we screw up, what do you think our classmates will do?”

“They’ll start a public debate about why we failed and settle on some pretty selfish conclusions like the poor sales of your doujinshis were weighing on your mind or we were distracted because the nudist came to cheer us on while wearing clothes.”

She would kind of appreciate that, but she also wanted to avoid it since it would probably damage their lives.

However…

“The fact that it’s a lot of work even though we’re trying to not take it too seriously really gives us two different ways to look at the end result.”

Naruze said that while setting aside that she had invited Margot into all this.

For the tester exam, Marine had made an appearance before Wild Kamelie. For the Gagaku Festival, they had tried to just have fun with it, but they had realized how poorly prepared they were during rehearsal.

And with the Gagaku Festival in particular…

…''Asama, Kimi, and Mitotsudaira are performing, too.

They were a novice band, but that alone would give them some popularity and Kimi worshiped an entertainer god.

They had the upper hand when compared to a lower-middle level band like Naruze and Margot.

They were not really in competition, but…

“We can’t afford to lose.”

“Eh?”

“I’m talking about a few different things, but I think Marine comes first.”

A light laugh escaped her mouth.

Naruze did not let go of her smile as she traveled gently through the sky. There was only one thing she had to say:

“Margot, it isn’t often you’re so worried about things.”

“Ohh, sorry… Ah, but it isn’t your fault, Ga-chan, and I don’t think you did anything wrong. Okay?”

“It was your responsibility for agreeing and you aren’t thinking about the possibility of failure because you’re thinking about how we can do this properly, right? But there are just too many problems. …Marine, for example, I think will come for us as soon as the festival starts.”

“Probably, yeah.”

Margot sounded like she was about to say “so you understand”. That deepened Naruze’s smile and then Margot said more.

“We were pretty worked up last night after eating that chicken, weren’t we?”

“We really were.” Naruze nodded. “Can you see Asakusa?”

The Null Vier was being held in the sky to the port of Asakusa.

This time, neither Wild Kamelie nor Marine were taking part. The familiar bunch was drinking alcohol, working to improve their records, and testing out their new brooms or thrusters.

Naruze watched them as she spoke.

“I really like that atmosphere.”

But…

“I want to experience something different right now.”

“You sure are greedy, Ga-chan.”

“I’ve been given the opportunity. But…”

But…

“Whether or not we can do it is a different matter. Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah.”

Naruze felt like she had hit on what Margot was thinking about.

So she decided to stop there. She honestly wanted to delve further into her partner’s worries and she thought she was in position to do that, but…

…''Margot simply hasn’t made up her mind.

''Margot is an immediate decision-maker,'' thought Naruze again.

And she added, ''Her immediate decisions are based on ''whether or not she can do it.

Margot was not the type to compromise.

Even if it was with Naruze, she would decide against it if she thought she would fail. No matter how much she thought she might be able to do, if it might not be possible, she would decide against it.

That was the kind of person she was.

And she had agreed to Naruze’s invitation. Which meant…

…''We have enough time and skill.

''But,'' thought Naruze.

…''Margot hasn’t completely made up her own mind.

She needed a slight starting point to get her going. And once that piece was added to the puzzle…

“We’ll be unbeatable.”

She heard a sonic boom arrive from Asakusa.

Someone had likely set a record. She heard cheers, the stealth barrier around Asakusa shook, and warning sign frames blossomed.

“Margot, I’m headed to the Blue Thunder ahead of you. Some of the orders must be hot food, so I’ll deliver those first.”

Because if I don’t…

“They’ll get cold.”

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| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3B Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3B Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3B Chapter 5

2017-07-27T00:35:01Z

86.52.14.214: One error fixed, one error attempted fixed.

==Chapter 5: Evictors in a Place of Accumulation==
[[Image:Horizon_Kimi3B_005.jpg|thumb]]
''What do you lose

''The more you tell yourself to calm down?

'''Point Allocation (Composed Thoughts)

Adele was a vassal.

A vassal was essentially a knight’s manager. They acted as the knight’s outrider on the battlefield and they worked as the knight’s aide. That was their role.

Of course, the battlefield and general state of affairs had changed in modern times.

They no longer fought in great clashes or group battles with a primary focus on the knights. Nowadays, both groups formed separate company-sized units with individualized roles which moved independently on the battlefield.

The vassal unit would secure the front line and stop the enemy while the knights would perform a charge.

Meanwhile, the normal warriors who could not fight on that level would use their numbers to put together a defensive formation like the Tercio in an attempt to neutralize the knights’ charge and vassal unit’s front line.

That was the standard form of modern warfare.

…''But that standard form is already falling apart.

In the modern knight nation of Hexagone Française, their knights were equipped with gods of war, so a human-level defensive formation was losing all meaning against them.

In the ancient knight nation of M.H.R.R., most of their vassals were quasi-knights, so they could perform a charge with the same high-speed mobile shells as their knights.

In the Mlasi-connected P.A. Oda, they had strengthened their aerial forces, so every nation was constructing city-class defense systems.

“The Far East is really falling behind with all these changes to the battlefield.”

“Not necessarily,” replied Mitotsudaira.

As a knight, she was Adele’s superior, but she was not making a charge at the moment. However, she was holding a BIZEN-made Far Eastern halberd.

“The Far East has changed how it fights on the battlefield, too.”

They were in the Musashi’s underground. Specifically, in the warehouse wide block on the sixth underground level below the academy on Okutama.

…''Or should I say what ''used to be'' that wide block?

The wide block had been mostly destroyed.

The former hallway in front of Adele had been widened by the destruction on the left and right. The walls had been completely blown out, creating an empty space from the unused warehouses on either side.

And that revealed…

“Heh heh. That was a little rough, but increasing the ventilation will get rid of the ley line impurity.”

Just as Kimi said, this destruction had been to eliminate a mysterious phenomenon. However…

…''What kind of technique destroys an entire wide block?

The culprit was the tall figure standing out front. Her black hair swayed as she looked back with a smile.

“Now, I’ll get permission from each corporation and club to apply a divine protection to preserve the rooms with cargo inside, so this won’t be a problem. Our tasks were purifying the mysterious phenomenon and acquiring instruments from the Asama Shrine’s underground storeroom. Let’s get on with it, shall we?”

After stating their objectives, Asama sighed and realized everyone was staring at her.

…''Eh? Why aren’t they saying anything?

She closed up her bow and waited. The others formed a scrum:

“…Who’s going to say it?”

“Well, if no one else is going to…”

Naomasa lightly raised her prosthetic right arm.

She had her ''kiseru'' in her mouth, but it was not lit.

“What is it, Masa?”

“Did you really need any of us for this mission? I feel like you could handle any mysterious phenomenon on your own just by blasting everything.”

“Oh, no. I couldn’t possibly do that.” Asama opened a sign frame showing a map of this floor and sent a copy to everyone. “I could only blow everything away like this because there wasn’t much cargo in the front and because the corporations here have a close relationship to our shrine. Further in, I need investigative authority for a lot of the rooms, so I can’t do this there. We do have permission to go inside, but we have to keep track of each one individually.”

“Then, Asama-san, did you blow this area up because…?”

“Yes, to makes sure the rest of you did not have to unnecessarily use up your stamina and focus.”

“Hmm.” Naruze nodded. “So it wasn’t to blow off some stress?”

“Huh? Huh? Do I look like that kind of character?”

The others brought their foreheads together again.

“Wait, does she really not build up stress with her personality? That makes her a lot harder to draw…”

“I feel like extended exposure to Toori-san and Kimi-san made her go crazy so she doesn’t feel stress anymore…”

“Heh heh heh. So my foolish brother and I invited Asama into a stress-free world? Doesn’t that make us sound angelic!? And he’s a nudist, so he really is a cupid! If I see him flying above me, I’ll stick a milk bottle on his dick!”

“I wouldn’t really know, but would it really fit inside a milk bottle?”

“Maybe we could stand to be that carefree, too.”

They appeared to be having some sort of weird conversation, but…

“…Huh?”

A presence moved further inside. It came from the exit beyond the vanished walls and the not-yet-vanished dust.

Suzu contacted them via divine transmission.

“Oh, yes. I heard…something.”

“I thought as much,” said Asama with a nod as the others ended their scrum and faced her.

Kimi tilted her head.

“Did you fail to kill it? You did, didn’t you!? And with that huge boom! Oh, Asama, was this your way of showing you’re a normal girl by saying, ‘Look, I’m not all ''that'' destructive’!? Do you think femininity is determined by destructive power!? What world do you live in!? But don’t worry because that world does exist! It’s right here! Jump in here! Into this boobs gap!”

“Kh…! Th-that wasn’t my intention…!”

She felt a definite sense of “don’t force yourself” from the others, but she ignored it. However…

“Duck down a little,” warned Naomasa out of the blue.

Everyone did so.

Something passed above their heads at high speed. It was…

…''A bullet?

Mitotsudaira had ducked down and she could tell exactly what had pierced the wall behind her.

…''That was a bullet, wasn’t it!?

The shot had not been aimed.

It had only been meant to draw their attention and discourage pursuit.

Of course, they were given defensive divine protections inside the Musashi and Asama had strengthened those to the level of the Hidden Dragon battle just in case, so they would only have received a painful impact had that shot hit them. However…

“Is this…a person and not a mysterious phenomenon?”

“Um, wait just a second, okay?”

Asama began a sign frame search while still ducked down.

She was the Asama Shrine’s representative. Musashi’s residents generally had a contract with the Asama Shrine and their data was shared even if their contract was with another shrine.

If someone had attacked the Asama Shrine’s representative, their contract would allow her to search them out right away. However…

“That’s odd… I doubt it’s a stowaway, but I can’t find anything.”

“Did the automatic anti-crime interception spell not react? They would normally receive a divine punishment if they attacked you, Tomo.”

“Hmmm… This is weird. It wasn’t canceled, but it’s like they managed to get around it… Oh, but more importantly…”

“What is it?”

“It’s fairly common for what you thought was a mysterious phenomenon to actually be a person. And if this search cancelation was caused by a ley line distortion, then it would still qualify as a ‘mysterious phenomenon’. But…”

Asama trailed off, so Kimi continued for her.

“A shrine maiden can’t shoot a person, right?”

“N-no, that wasn’t my problem here…”

Everyone fell silent.

And after a while, Naito suddenly opened a Magie Figur.

She held it close to her face so the others could not see what it said and she spoke in complete monotone.

“Oh, my. According to some information from the Technohexen Guild, that was ''a mysterious phenomenon disguised as a person'' that just fled.”

“Hmm.” Naruze nodded, looked at the bullet hole on the wall, and spoke in complete monotone. “It uses a gun? What a troublesome mysterious phenomenon. But ''since it isn’t a person'', a shrine maiden would be able to shoot it, right?”

“Eh? Eh?”

Asama was utterly confused and Mitotsudaira placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Um, uh, Mito?”

“It’s okay, Tomo. …Let’s go beat up that ''mysterious phenomenon disguised as a person''!”

Suzu sat on the front steps of the Asama Shrine’s outer shrine. The corners of her mouth bent at the sound she heard in the distance.

…''I-I’m…worried.

But not about the others.

…''I’m worried…about Okutama.

“Um, ‘Musashi’-sama? I have a feeling a certain someone is actively destroying my underground area. Over.”

“Listen, ‘Okutama’. You must not make decisions based on ‘a feeling’. And I am busy preparing Sakai-sama’s lunch. Over.”

“Umm, what kind of lunch? Over.”

“He had stir-fried vegetables and stew yesterday, so I have a feeling chicken will satisfy him today. Over.”

“ ‘Musashi’-sama, did you just create a rule that everyone else has to follow but you don’t? Over.”

“You are imagining it. And more importantly…”

“More importantly?”

“The destruction has moved much deeper. I have also detected a reading near the hull that is separate from Asama-sama’s group. Be careful. Over.”

Naito felt somewhat fulfilled.

She was deep inside the warehouse wide block. The area contained corporate goods and important property. Once in here, Asama could not use her large-scale blasts, so…

“It’s Ga-chan and my time to shine…!”

She would fire a coin bullet that followed Naruze’s guideline.

The battlefield was inside one of the warehouse rooms.

This entire district was made up of warehouse wide blocks, a lot of the wide blocks were connected into a single large warehouse, and the layout differed between management organizations. Some were a single large rectangular space and others were divided into narrower rectangles. Some were connected by curved corridors and others had a single large hallway down the center.

A lot had an atrium connecting the lower and upper floors and others had walkways across.

They were filled with large wooden containers which were in turn filled with mid and small-sized boxes, creating a layout separate from the actual corridors and rooms.

To make matters worse, most of the lights were off. The winged pair could fly over all the structures in the way, but there were boxes and dangling winches or chains hidden in the darkness.

Asama had given them night-vision charms as a countermeasure. Once activated, the charms grew transparent and the darkness was purified when viewed through them.

…''Wow, these have got to be expensive…

Naito was somewhat hesitant, but Naruze did not mind.

“These are more useful than light-amplification spells. We won’t be blinded even if we fly out into a bright corridor.”

“Oh, that’s right. And now that I think about it, this method is a lot like my reduction spells.”

The reduction of Schwarz Techno was a lot like the purification of Shinto in some ways. Musashi had lights on even at night, so night-vision spells were not really necessary. Even so…

“I should store a spell of my own in my broom’s Orei Metallo.”

…''Giving myself a wider range of spells is probably a good thing.

With that in mind, Naito held Asama’s charm vertically and stuck it between her Technohexen hat and her forehead. She had it cover her right eye which she used for targeting.

Her left eye was dark and her right eye had the power to see through darkness. ''It sounds like one of Bara-yan’s cringeworthy novels,'' she thought while moving forward.

There were two enemies. They were dressed in white full-body tights. …''No, they’re mysterious phenomena made from white ether. Humanoid ones. Yes, that’s what we’re claiming, I guess.

She did not know how, but those enemies were avoiding Asama’s search while fleeing through the warehouse district.

And if they were fleeing…

'''Gold Mar:''' “Do you think they’re doing some kind of ‘job’?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Who knows. …Should we check out all the cargo around here?”

There was no way they could do that. And that helped them decide what to do.

They would shoot. They aimed for the path ahead of the two enemies who were moving at a decent clip. Fire a bullet there and it was guaranteed to hit. Since this was a warehouse, the cargo was in the way, but…

“Ga-chan!”

“Judge, I’m used to drawing it where I can’t see.”

Once the guideline was in place, Naito fired.

She heard the solid sound of the air being struck and she felt her broom shake.

The bullet she launched was a coin. She had given it a slight angle upon firing and that drew a curve soon thereafter.

“I really wish I could draw a three-dimensional line all the way to them.”

“If you tried to do that now, Ga-chan, you’d have to fly right up to the enemy, wouldn’t you?”

“Do you think that would be too dangerous?”

“If only we had faster and more mobile brooms.”

“I know,” agreed Naruze as she turned her back on her partner to face forward.

A moment later, the bullet reached the enemy.

The bullet dug into the back of the fat mysterious phenomenon that had been running behind the other one.

“Judge!”

The enemy was blown away with an audible impact. It disappeared behind the cargo, but…

“Now it’s our turn!”

A figure rushed forward on either side of the Technohexen.

It was Mitotsudaira and Adele.

Adele ran across the top of the cargo containers.

Once Naito and Naruze fired, it was their job to immediately secure the enemy.

Even if the enemy got away, they would continue pursuit, apply pressure, and finally capture them.

It was the relationship between the hunter and the hound.

The Extra Special Duty Officer seemed to have an issue with doing a dog’s work, but saying her job was to charge the enemy had worked as a compromise. That just left actually doing it.

“…Oh.”

The chains and cranes dangling down from the ceiling were dangerous.

She had a night-vision charm below her glasses, but that did not make the obstacles go away. They were arranged in what seemed like a random layout, so Adele could see why Naito and Naruze were being so cautious as they flew.

But Adele was short enough that those hanging obstacles were not much of an issue.

The power of the charm made the darkness look like predawn.

…''Nighttime maintenance would be so much easier with something like this…

She had been doing that every night lately.

She had to service the mobile shell that was the representative piece of vassal equipment.

Her father had left it for her, but it had been passed down by her ancestors, later modified into a female-model, and sometimes used for work by her father when he was alive.

…''So its parts have gotten really rusty and deteriorated.

Thanks to that, she had needed to dismantle it and reassemble it. She had been working on that since halfway through the previous year. Her father’s death was part of the reason this was necessary, but there was no helping that. She decided to view it all as her father’s love teaching her about the machine and how to service it.

She had earned her mobile shell license at 16 and she had even gotten the restriction on old models removed.

She hoped to make her debut as a vassal with a mobile shell during her third and final year in high school. So…

“Now is the time to prepare for that…!”

With that, she pursued the enemy. She moved across the containers and, when she came to a gap, she ran across instead of jumping. She simply lengthened her stride to cross the gap.

And she continued on.

She had seen the enemy’s location earlier. The only way out of there was the door into the passageway.

''I need to hurry,'' she told herself just as the Extra Special Duty Officer fell behind her.

On a stack of two wooden containers, she had kicked off the edge to leap to the next row, but…

“Oh?”

She had carelessly kicked too hard.

Instead of kicking off of the container, she kicked the container behind her.

…''Huh?

She had meant to catch the edge with her toes to kick it, but the container spun and slammed into the ceiling.

''How much power does she have?'' thought Adele.

Having lost her support partway through the jump, the Extra Special Duty Officer entered a downward spin and crashed into the container ahead of her.

Naruze was gently flying and occasional stepping on a container while watching the two out ahead.

The container that hit the ceiling was destroyed and shattered. Down below, something crashed into a container and smashed it to pieces with a loud noise. As for why this happened…

“Why is that wolf playing around on her own?”

“I think Mito-tsan might have some pent-up frustration since To-chan has been ignoring her lately.”

Margot explained that while loading a sniper spell in her broom, but then…

“Oops.”

She suddenly moved closer to Naruze.

“Oh, dear,” said Naruze as she supported Margot in midair. She liked feeling her partner’s body heat on her left side, but: “What are you doing, Margot? Acrobatics?”

There was something on top of Margot’s Technohexen hat.

It was a large cosmetics case. It had likely been in the container that had hit the ceiling and broken apart.

''What is that?'' wondered Naruze as she picked it up. And from up ahead…

“—————!”

With what sounded like a roar of rage, the row of containers up ahead exploded.

“Huh?”

She wrinkled her brow and the two of them ducked to dodge a chain hanging from the ceiling. Then they moved their wings to fly to the next level of containers. There, they viewed the scene up ahead.

Mitotsudaira had forcefully plowed through the row of containers, causing them to collapse.

And they had not been pushed to the sides. They flew forward through the air.

While they listened to the cacophony of the containers breaking and bouncing from Mitotsudaira’s running speed, Margot wrapped an arm around Naruze’s waist and spoke with some admiration in her voice.

“Good.” She used the night-vision spell to view the scene through one eye. “Mito-tsan has started working off that frustration.”

Adele saw the container explosion pursuing her.

…''Ohhhh!?

She knew more or less what had happened.

“Extra Special Duty Officer!?”

“You pieces of junk!!”

The silver wolf had given up on moving along the top of the containers, so she was running along the floor. However, she was not avoiding the rows of containers.

“…!”

She was forcing them out of the way, sending them flying, and kicking them into the air to clear a path. Asa result, her path was drawn out by scattering containers.

It was definitely flashy. Adele thought it was okay for her to destroy the containers, but…

“Wait…what is this!?” shouted the wolf as she bit at and dragged out the contents of the scattering containers.

She held a largish cosmetics case between her teeth. It was printed with a drawing of a girl.

“ ‘The Outrage of Anagni, But Spelled Slightly Differently’? Isn’t this a porn game!?”<ref>The katakana spelling of Anagni is almost the same as the Japanese term for anal masturbation.</ref>

“Um, yes,” confirmed Margot as she and Naruze pursued the traveling container explosion.

Naruze gave a more thorough answer to Mitostudaira’s question while looking at the porn game box in her hand.

“The package art is kind of low quality. This is probably shoddy camouflage for the smuggled items inside.”

“They would go that far?”

“Yes, well, I’m sure they have their reasons. But…”

Naruze suddenly looked at Margot.

Her blue eye viewed Margot through the night-vision spell.

…''Eh?

Instead of a meaningful signal, it was…

…''A request?

No, it was nothing that formal. It was more of a “You understand, don’t you?”

It did not say what Margot was supposed to understand, but she knew what Naruze meant and wordlessly nodded. ''Leave it to me,'' she thought. Naruze’s eyebrows rose slightly and she smiled a little.

Then the Weiss Hexen dressed as a white shrine maiden said what that look had meant.

“If you ask me, those two enemies we’re pursuing…are definitely mysterious phenomena.”

''They aren’t people?'' thought Adele when she heard Naruze.

The Technohexen’s words echoed across the warehouse from beyond the Extra Special Duty Officer’s violent charge.

“Adele, Mitotsudaira. These containers probably contain smuggled porn games. This warehouse district is right next to the hull after all. A few of the porn games being smuggled into the Musashi must have been carried directly here from the transport ship.”

“Hm? Wouldn’t they arrive at Asakusa or Shinagawa?” asked Adele.

“That’s the blind spot.”

“Right,” said Naito. “There are frequent firefights on Shinagawa and Asakusa when smuggling groups are discovered, right? The battles generally get pulled all the way back to Okutama, but…”

“The transport ships at Shinagawa and Asakusa will be evacuated so they aren’t caught in the gunfire.”

That was enough for Adele to mostly figure it out.

“So one of the transport ships evacuated to Okutama was actually already loaded with smuggled porn games?”

“Right, right. And by the time those idiots act as a diversion and draw the firefight over this way, all the games have been loaded in the warehouses already. And since the diversion heads to Okutama and is wiped out before arriving, no one will think of checking the warehouses here. At best, you might think they hid something on the way to Okutama.”

“Then,” said Adele as she ran. “What makes you say those white things must be mysterious phenomena and not people?”

“Umm, they’re wicked thoughts,” immediately replied Naruze. “Wicked thoughts have taken human form and turned into that.”

“Wicked thoughts?”

“Judge.” Naruze made a jump to catch up to Adele. “Wicked thoughts…can be frightening. They have great power. I mean, even if it rains during a doujin event, the weather will clear up partway through if the event has enough wicked thoughts.”

“That ''is'' dangerous.”

“Judge. Do you understand how fearsome wicked thoughts are now?”

She did not really understand, but she was not entirely sure she wanted to understand. Regardless, Technohexen knew a lot about ether, so it was best to trust them on this.

…''I guess this means troublesome mysterious phenomena are appearing on Musashi now.

Mysterious phenomena on the level of pranks would occasionally crop up. The divine network would list spots well-known for occasionally having a few extra steps on the stairs or for a puddle that disappeared when you looked back. However…

“Eh?”

While trying to catch up, the Extra Special Duty Officer had just attacked the last row of containers.

That caused the containers Adele was standing on to shake. And…

“…Oh?”

Adele realized she had missed her footing.

She cried out and flew through the air.

The wicked thought that had been hit by the coin bullet had only just recovered.

The other one continued to flee without stopping.

“Are you okay, Koni-tan!? If you’re going to die, do it on your own!”

“Th-that is some impressive resolve, Nobu-tan!”

Nobu-tan was sent flying when a vassal spun through the air and struck the back of his head with her heel.

The vassal continued on and collided with the containers to the side. She broke through them and seemed to have passed out.

Meanwhile, Koni-tan mercilessly fled without stopping and ran right by Nobu-tan as he tried to crawl along the floor.

“Are you okay, Nobu-tan! If you’re going to die, feel free to do so on your own!”

“I won’t give you a copy!!”

Koni-tan came to a stop.

“N-no fair!!”

As soon as he said that, the pile of containers behind him collapsed. And the Mito Lord’s voice could be heard from beyond them.

“Dosukoooooi!!”

With an exclamation from the latest trend in standing martial arts, the great mass of containers collided with the floor and walls.

“How about that!?” asked Mitotsudaira as she made two flat-handed slaps.

…''Honestly, I can’t believe this place existed below the academy.

The mountain of containers in front of her was slowly beginning to collapse again.

It could not keep its balance, so it fell toward the corridor on the other side, but…

“I need to get out into the corridor to check on some things.”

Now that they knew this was a smuggling warehouse, they had to open up the entire wide block and investigate it.

…''This is going to be even more work.

“Oh, wait, wait.”

A voice reached her from the air behind her.

Naito and Naruze had caught up.

They moved their wings, grabbed a chain dangling from the ceiling, and dropped down. They stepped on a surviving container behind Mitotsudaira and then hopped to the floor.

They went to a lot of effort in that descent, but they must have felt the need for caution in this darkness.

Naito then rushed over.

“Um, Mito-tsan?”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Well, y’see? Didn’t you go a little far with your physical attacks?”

“Eh? But catching up to them was my job and they were running away…”

“Ohh…” Naito’s mouth stretched opened horizontally and she began a conversation with Naruze: “Did she not hear?” “Well, she was making a lot of noise.”

“What is this about?” asked Mitotsudaira.

“Eh? Well…” Naito pointed beyond the containers behind her. “They escaped earlier…since they’re wicked thoughts.”

Her attack had not been as effective as Asama shooting them.

“So do you agree that ‘officially’ those are wicked thoughts?”

“ ‘Officially’ they’re wicked thoughts?” repeated Mitotsudaira with a tilt of the head.

But those two had clearly been…

“They seemed like humans to me…”

“No, they were definitely wicked thoughts. Or something like it.”

Naito sounded annoyed, so Mitotsudaira decided to just accept that.

…''It’s true that’s a possibility.

Was there some reason they had to view it that way? Meanwhile, another stack of containers collapsed behind them.

“Ohh,” said Naito as she looked up at the collapsed pile of containers in front of them. “Well, I suppose this did help drive them in the right direction.”

“No, we can’t look at it like that now that we know they’re wicked thoughts.” Mitotsudaira was mostly speaking to herself as she breathed a sigh. “I attacked without any anti-spirit divine protections. It’s true no one explained the situation to me, but I should have considered it as a possibility.”

The possibility of a mysterious phenomenon had been stated from the beginning, so she belatedly realized she should not have used brute force just because the enemy looked so very human.

How to fight spirits was one of the main lessons in anti-nonhuman combat classes. She had overlooked that, but there was a reason for it:

“You should have some spirit divine protections as a Loup-Garou and that should give anti-spirit properties to any direct attack you make, but I guess it doesn’t work through containers.”

“Hmm… I wasn’t thinking and just assumed they would gain an extension of my divine protections.”

Because humans and most other nonhumans lacked spirit abilities, they had difficulty touching spirits. They could use charms and spells to make up for that, but Mitotsudaira did not need those things.

That was an advantage of her species, but…

“I completely forgot I need to apply the divine protections to my weapons.”

“Well, it’s not like you have a chance to fight spirits all that often.”

She was ashamed she could only nod at Naruze’s kind comment.

Would such opportunities increase if she officially joined the Chancellor’s Officers?

…''Honestly.

She thought the same thing she had earlier.

…''I’m supposed to be a knight, but I still lack so very much.

And just as she sighed again…

“Um…”

The pile of containers in front of her spoke.

It was Adele.

“I’m completely stuck in a box near the back. Could you help me out?” she asked. “Also, based on the footsteps I heard, the wicked thoughts continued on in the right direction. So, Extra Special Duty Officer, can’t you think of this as doing your job properly?”

The wicked thoughts passed through the gate out of the warehouse wide block and entered a long block that acted as a large passageway.

They were on their way to the hull. Because…

“Now we can escape, Nobu-tan!”

“Yes, that was a close one!”

The collapse of all those containers truly had been dangerous.

They were lucky they had noticed one of the falling porn game containers was for the bonus item. The bonus item for the smuggled porn games was a handkerchief shaped like lace underwear and the container carrying them had come open in midair, so they had managed to have it land on top of them.

The bonus items inside were bulky, but they were only cloth. The two of them had managed to force themselves inside.

“Then the container protected us from the other falling containers and we were moved outside as the container was pushed out from the center!”

The two wicked thoughts raced down the passageway while wearing the handkerchiefs over their heads.

That was when they heard a voice from the center of the ship behind them.

“Hit!”

Asama had stored up her Blessings.

She had been waiting for this moment when the enemy was driven out of the warehouse by the others.

They had initially begun pursuit when the enemy had fled, but Naomasa had stopped them.

“There’s a corridor here that circles around ahead of them.”

It was not on the same floor as the warehouse.

It was a maintenance corridor located between the upper and lower floors.

Anyone from the engine division could freely enter it, so Naomasa, Asama, and Kimi used it to circle around to the long block the enemy would reach.

The enemy had tried to lose pursuit in the confusion, but that had only bought Asama’s group more time. So…

…''We need Mito, Adele, Naito, and Naruze to pursue them as blatantly as possible!

Their pursuit was meant to drive the enemy out here while also hiding the fact that Asama’s group had circled on ahead.

With Naomasa in the lead, they crossed a bamboo catwalk in the dim darkness. And they ultimately reached a long block near the stern.

It was a transport district which was rarely used. And nearby…

…''Oh, there’s our storehouse.

''We need to check out the instruments on the way back,'' Asama reminded herself.

“There they are,” said Kimi.

About twenty meters away, a gate to a warehouse wide block on the left wall opened and two white figures ran out.

They did not notice the girls.

And there was no reason to let them notice. This was not a duel between warriors or a tournament between knights. It was the Shinto purification of some mysterious phenomena. That was all it was.

Kimi caught up from behind and amplified Asama’s spell with a dance.

Asama had already opened up Kataume and set up her firing spell.

…''I’ll use a diffusion-type so they can’t escape!

She could not use this technique in their mock battles against Oriotorai because it could damage the city. She had already used one to blow away the warehouse earlier, but that had been close to firing a blank.

She was now preparing a specialized arrow.

“…!”

The enemy started to look back.

But it was too late.

Asama announced that she had them in her sights and she released her power.

Kimi saw a blast of pressure rather than destruction.

…''Well done.

The arrow loosed from Asama’s bow came to a brief but definite stop in midair. A moment later, wind blew from the tip and spread out like an umbrella.

“Ha ha.”

The passageway created from the series of long blocks was 36m wide. This floor was primarily used for warehouses, so the ceiling was tall.

A pressure flew out and seemed to sweep across the entire passageway.

Kimi could tell her dance had amplified it. But what if?

…''What would happen if I added in a song too?

Asama would not be thinking the same thing. The thought came from Kimi’s love of exciting festivals.

But if Asama, Mitotsudaira, and she could mutually amplify each other with song and dance…

…''Wouldn’t we be able to do just about anything?

With that thought, Kimi tapped her heels as part of her dance.

A moment later, the launched pressure struck the enemy while still spread out across the entire passageway.

But even after hitting the two white enemies, the attack did not lose its momentum.

“Huh?”

Kimi did not know why Asama had tilted her head after blowing away the enemies.

“What is it, Asama? According to my brilliant prediction, that’s going to continue on and blow through the hull door.”

“W-wait! I didn’t plan for that much power!”

“It’s okay. Don’t worry, Asama.”

''I wonder what the morning paper is going to say tomorrow,'' thought Kimi.

“If you ask me, this way is a lot more fun.”

Mitotsudaira pushed a container as she ran down the corridor from the warehouse wide block to the long block.

Adele was inside the small wooden container. It had two meter sides and was about a meter tall, so with the top lid removed, Adele could hold onto the edge and look forward.

Warped portions of the floor sometimes made the container hop upwards, but it did not topple over.

The container was filled with some necessary items.

“These confiscated porn games, bonus items, and such should be enough evidence.”

“I really want to avoid thinking about how I was buried in that stuff,” said Adele.

“What’s wrong with doing that from time to time?” unhelpfully asked Naruze from behind.

But then they heard Naito suddenly flap her wings extra hard.

“Hm? What is it, Margot?”

“Oh, um.” Naito nodded and once more flapped her six wings extra hard. “It’s just a bit dangerous is all.”

She used her main wings to flip forward and make an emergency landing. It was a rushed action that did not use her ability to hover. Naruze then flew past Mitotsudaira, but Mitotsudaira soon caught up.

“What is it!?”

“Oh, you’ll be fine, Mito-tsan.”

As soon as Naito said that, the “pressure” arrived.

All the air around them was moving.

It moved from back to front. And…

“Eh?”

As Mitotsudaira’s hair was swept forward, Adele floated up from the container.

…''Ehh!?

It happened so suddenly she did not have time to take another breath.

“Here it comes,” said Naito, but her voice was drowned out partway through.

It was the wind. A pressure pushed at all the air around them.

…''The hull was blown open!?

While waiting at the Asama Shrine with Suzu, “Okutama” felt her ship shake a little.

The reason why was obvious.

“An internal impact triggered an emergency opening of the starboard stern hull door on the sixth underground level. I was prepared for the worst with Asama-sama’s group at work in that area, so I am glad this was the worst of the damage. Over.”

“U-um, what happened…to them?”

''Good question,'' thought “Okutama”.

The Musashi’s ships used buffering spells for atmospheric protection, so damage to the hull would not suck everything outside due to a pressure difference.

But Asama’s arrow had been a problem.

The amplified attack had also purified the atmospheric protection.

That level of attack should have been weak enough to remain inside the ship. Thus, Asama had likely concluded it was safe to use in the transport district even if it did destroy the divine protections in the surrounding space.

But it had been amplified.

The air inside the ship would have been one thing, but the door had been opened by the impact.

That had allowed the purification side effect to reach outside the ship, which meant…

“It penetrated the atmospheric protection, so a portion of the air regained its original pressure. Over.”

“Okutama” heard a sound from aft and starboard.

It was a dry sound much like a popgun.

The suction from the pressure difference had slammed into the air within the ship.

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3B Glossary|Glossary]]
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3B Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3A Afterword

2017-07-25T23:19:08Z

86.52.14.214: Missing quotation mark.

==Afterword==

That was Kimitoasamade 3-A. It starts the morning after 2-B, but things were as lively as ever with those three girls plus several more.

This was…yes, the physical examination was something I realized I had intended to write a while back but never got around to. And for the drama CD, I didn’t even intend to write about it, much less actually write about it, so I went for all the material I hadn’t done before. Or rather, I wish I had written this in the main story, but the timing and flow of things just never worked out. Life never goes the way you want it to, does it?

Anyway, things are progressing toward the Gagaku Festival, but this time I had them think about what comes next and what is normal for them while everyone begins their respective activities.

I feel like Naito and Naruze have it especially tough.

In this era, planning for your future was quite strict. Normal people would either continue the family business (generally the eldest son did this) or helped out with it (For the second son on down. They weren’t allowed to marry until their family was prosperous because they had to be able to support the growing family).

To make sure that everyone but the eldest son didn’t become “deadbeats”, the eldest son had to work hard to keep the family going. Yet the eldest son wouldn’t have all that much experience, so if he let his guard down the family could go out of business. And all the while, he would have to keep the family and his brothers together.

The standard style was for the eldest son to be in charge while the entire family worked to protect the generations-old family and their land.

You can see how the idea of the “family” was a lot more important than it is now.

“Okay, this might be sudden, but did you do anything for your future while in high school?”

“I worked part-time cooking okonomiyaki at a truck that stopped at festivals in Ishikawa and Gifu prefectures every week.”

“That’s not about your future. It’s day labor.”

“The white truck’s usual location was below an overpass in Takadanobaba.”

“Oh, that’s near an arcade, right? This is starting to get oddly realistic.”

I wonder if things like that are still around. Hmm.

Anyway, the background music this time was Hate Made Mo. It’s nice everyday background music, but I was more focused on the fact that it’s a cheering song.

“Who was being cheered on the most?” I do wonder that, but I also think it’s a mutual thing.

Okay, wait just a bit longer for 3-B.

August 2012. A morning before a summer manga festival.

-Kawakami Minoru

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3A Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3B Illustrations|Illustrations]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 5B Chapter 44

2017-07-25T01:09:05Z

86.52.14.214: Typo fix.

==Chapter 44: Front and Back Ones of the Festival Stands==
[[Image:Horizon5B_547.jpg|thumb]]
''It smolders and rises

''But it does not blossom like fireworks

'''Point Allocation (Inexperience)

The two gods of war advanced.

Oda’s ironclad ships were galleys, so the top deck was nearly flat and quite long.

There was a ram and two main cannons on the bow, so the bow was slightly raised. That meant there were no forward-facing cannons on the deck and they instead used turretless homing cannons on the left and right instead.

The two gods of war flew along the deck, placing them between those.

They used the four wings on their backs to maintain their speed along the port and starboard side of the first ship.

Their weapons were many. A long cannon was held below each arm and attached to the god of war hard points on their sides and a long spear was attached to each hip. And the shoulder hard points held…

“Autonomous shields…!?”

Someone on the deck who held an anti-god of war rifle clicked their tongue.

When they targeted the upper body of the gods of war, the shields automatically moved and sparks flew. And if they targeted lower down…

“The waist armor is the same…!?”

Sparks blossomed from the armor that opened up like a crustacean’s legs but also like a bird’s wings. And when the inertia of the shields’ weight threatened to swing the two gods of war around…

“…!”

…they danced.

They whirled around and moved their wings to balance themselves and they continued forward while…

“Incoming fire!”

…attacking.

They fired the cannons below their arms separately in order to balance themselves.

The sparking gods of war launched cannon fire within their gentle spin.

The cannon fire followed their rotation and it pierced something: the turretless cannons positioned on the left and right of the deck.

While their rapid-fire raced out, their giant metal heels scraped at the deck, leaving a mark behind them. Their weapons roared over and over as they leaned toward the center of the deck and crossed paths there.

In that instant, the cannons on their sides flipped upwards. The hard point latches loosened and they circled from the sides to the top of the shoulders and to their backs.

“————!”

There the cannons stopped. The magazines were sticking out from the midpoint and that action caused them to come out and fly into the air.

All the while, the gods of war continued spinning. They instantly slammed in a new magazine.

At the same time, an M.H.R.R. boy standing atop the bridge waved his hand forward. He wore the epaulette of the ship’s captain and he raised both his eyebrows and his voice.

“Fire…!”

Shellfire flew toward the gods of war.

But the captain’s order had not been directed at his own ship and it was not his ship which had launched the shells.

The second ship behind them had increased its altitude and the main cannons on its bow were targeting the first ship’s deck.

“Don’t worry about us!!”

His decision led the second ship to fire its cannons.

The air shook, everything shimmered as if from heat, and two high-speed attacks were launched.

They targeted the two gods of war crossing paths at the center of the first ship’s deck.

The gods of war were moving quickly, so the two shots were launched along their predicted trajectory.

But the gods of war did not stop.

The four wings on their backs detonated the air and they leaped and spun diagonally forward.

The flying shells had already broken the sound barrier and were surrounded by a transparent vacuum.

“Hit them…!”

The soundless attacks were pushed on by the captain’s voice as he endured the great wind they whipped up.

The two shots flew straight toward the two gods of war.

But just before they hit, the two separating machines did something.

They each grabbed the other’s hand with the hand rotating toward the center of the ship.

The sound of straining metal told just how firm their grip was.

One pulled on the other and the other simply raced forward. Their respective forces affected each other, so…

“…!”

The two spun as a single pair.

And just as the shells passed by their sides, they let go of each other.

Then the two separated to the left and right. The passing shells collided with the first ship’s bow from behind.

Destruction followed.

The two main cannons on the bow were broken and the impact reached the ammunition stored below.

It exploded. But two things happened before that light flashed and the ship shook.

The gods of war leaping toward the port and starboard edges moved their back wings just before colliding with the turretless cannons.

Wind exploded behind the silver giants.

Immediately afterwards, the soundless attacks reached the bow.

As a harbinger of the shockwaves from the resultant explosions, a ripple of dust spread out and the air cooled.

“Take cover…!”

The double shockwaves swept across the deck.

But the gods of war moved even faster and outraced that wave.

There were no more enemy attacks as far as they were concerned, so their shields made no autonomous movements.

And that made them more nimble. So…

“—————”

The two gods of war raced forward as if to surpass and be surpassed by the gap between soundless and deafening.

They ran to the stern and the right god of war changed its route.

It glided down the center of the ship.

It then drew the long spear on its left hip and raised it. From there, it was a series of movements unique to a well-trained warrior.

“One down.”

It slammed the long spear into the bridge on the stern.

Then the two gods of war flew.

They soared up to the ascended bow of the second ship so they could race down the next deck.

Fukushima sped up.

Still in her swimsuit, she ran through the festival being held on the seventh ship.

She passed between the students, the items for sale, and the stands while accelerating with Headfirst Fall and facing forward.

She viewed her route through the gaps between people.

…''There!

She saw a path she could pass through and she saw something deep in the valley of the crowd.

“Is that them…!?”

She caught a glimpse of two silver machines flying from the first ship to the second ship.

The din of metallic destruction left the first ship, traveled through the air, and reached her ears.

The bow had been shot.

If she hurried from here, she would make it in time for the fourth ship. So…

…''If I hurry even more, I can make it in time for the third ship!

She gave a yell to accomplish that.

“No one move!”

Instead of just reaching them, the dignified ring of her voice resonated in the people. That overpowering ring caused them all to tremble and come to a stop, but Fukushima did not bother confirming the result.

She was already slipping through the gaps in the crowd.

“Headfirst Fall…!”

Her repeated accelerations and spinning body raced through the festival at full speed. Her movement took the form of consecutive gentle curves that seemed to slide past everything.

Each time she swung her body to the left or right, she accelerated and built momentum, but she still had a thought.

…''This is nowhere near enough!

She immediately recalled her defeat and injury at Novgorod. That memory was still fresh in her body. It was strong enough that she could reproduce her movements from then and reaffirm her loss.

“Kh…!”

She arrived at the bow, but she needed height to clear the gap between ships.

…''This distance…

There were a few dozen meters between the ships.

…''Musashi’s Vice Chancellor would clear it with ease…!

“Kiyo-dono!”

“Testament!”

Fukushima leaped without looking back to the responding voice.

Roofs were lined up on either side of the festival and she chose one side for her running start.

She used the left and Kiyomasa used the right.

She raced forward and made a great leap when the roofs came to an end.

She was moving in a straight line, but she placed Headfirst Fall’s acceleration on her leading left shoulder.

“Go…!”

She used the base of one of the bow’s cannons for her next foothold and then she leaped toward the sixth ship.

Kiyomasa thought to herself while running and jumping to the sixth and then fifth ship.

…''Fukushima-sama?

She sensed something in the other girl’s actions that prevented her from looking back at Kiyomasa.

There was something like desperation and impatience in her.

But Kiyomasa felt something like understanding toward Fukushima.

''I might just be imagining it,'' she began.

…''But this is due to her duel with Musashi’s Vice Chancellor, isn’t it?

She had lost at Novgorod. She had clashed with Musashi’s Vice Chancellor and ultimately failed to endure it.

She had not said much about it, but the scrapes and cuts on Ichinotani’s shaft made it clear just how intense a battle it had been.

The battle at Mito had been nothing in comparison.

That reminded Kiyomasa of another memory.

When Fukushima had faced Musashi’s Vice Chancellor at Mito, she had been disappointed that her opponent had not been in top form.

But Musashi’s Vice Chancellor must have been fighting seriously at Novgorod.

“However…”

That enemy had surpassed Fukushima’s expectations at Novgorod.

Kiyomasa understood that from what she had heard from others.

For example, the battle with Shibata Katsuie, M.H.R.R.’s Vice Chancellor.

At Magdeburg in the battle preceding Mikatagahara, Musashi’s Vice Chancellor had fought Shibata and remained entirely focused on defense. And she had then driven him back with the help of others.

But at Novgorod, she had fought on the same level as Shibata, even if he had been missing an arm at the time.

Importantly, she had been on the same level in more than just skill with a blade.

She had held her own against Shibata with footwork, martial arts, and the struggle over the most advantageous position.

Something about her must have changed between Mito and Novgorod.

Was it training, an insight, or some other way of strengthening herself? Whatever it was, something had quickly increased her skill.

And that was why Fukushima felt so much regret.

At Mito, she had been forced to defeat an opponent who was not in top form.

At Novgorod, she had failed to judge her opponent’s skill and been defeated due to lack of preparation.

She and her opponent each had one win and one loss, but there was a large difference between the two.

Fukushima had been surpassed.

So she felt regret and it showed through in her actions.

Fukushima would not look back at Kiyomasa right now. She simply moved ever forward, as if driven by impatience.

Their view opened up as they reached the fifth ship’s bow.

“Toh.”

They leaped toward the fourth ship.

Fukushima made the jump and did not look back.

…''Testament.

''That is fine,'' thought Kiyomasa.

Kiyomasa had also lost.

If Fukushima would not look back while out in front, she could be the same.

“Fukushima-sama.”

She had no idea if Fukushima could hear her.

“I will be moving out ahead.”

Kiyomasa accelerated using the Caledfwlch pair she held below her arms.

“Finish this. …Caledfwlch!”

“Hey.”

The forest’s branches surrounded the sky in a wide open space.

It was a large hall. But what looked like a floor was dirt and what looked like walls was a domed ceiling.

The ceiling was missing its center and the trees beyond masked the morning sunlight.

“Hey.”

A voice spoke once more. It belonged to a black dragon sitting in the center of the large hall.

His giant body occupied a fifth of the hall and he looked to the hole in the back wall which led underground.

A white dragon stood at that entrance to the underground.

“Hey.”

The black dragon called out again and the white dragon looked back.

“What is it, Saizou? Are you afraid to be left alone?”

“Is that anything to say to a Celestial Dragon…?” Saizou breathed a glowing sigh before continuing. “Sasuke…what do you think about Torahide losing?”

“He was truly freed from the bonds of eight hundred years ago and four hundred years ago. Torahide was never really satisfied back when Sakai was here. In a way, we should thank those Musashi students.”

“So what’s going to happen to us?”

“We’ll know in a day or two. …Of course, it’s because we can’t make a prediction as short-term as that that we fell behind in Europe but also had such an enjoyable time with Sakai and the others.”

“They certainly were entertaining. I wonder if he’ll be coming down here.”

“Oh, I’m sure he will, but he won’t come here quite yet. …He mentioned it the night before last.”

Mentioned what?

“The place we once guided him to.”

“We still have no idea what it is, do we?”

“Originally, it was definitely nothing more than ruins. But things changed after that man showed up thirty-odd years ago. …That man who could speak on our level and investigated so very many things.” There was a nostalgic ring to Sasuke’s voice. “Matsudaira Motonobu. …We could feel it through the ley lines when that nuisance of a man met his end.”

“Enough reminiscing,” said Saizou with a bitter smile.

And then…

“Teachers.”

They heard a voice from behind.

A large man had followed them through the entrance and entered the light of the hall.

He wore a Far Eastern summer uniform modified to look like a Buddhist priest. He himself was a demonic long-lived man. He waved his tattooed right arm.

“Unneeded #3, Miyoshi Seikai, here. I am about to leave Sanada.”

While waiting at the entrance to the underground, Sasuke relaxed his front shoulders and asked a question.

“What about ''him''?”

“Eh? Oh, if you mean our great teacher, he left as soon as he heard about Isa from Anayama.”

“That sounds like him. …Did he say anything about Isa?”

“That she ‘did well’.”

“Oh?” Saizou slowed his walking pace somewhat. “Isa must be rejoicing in the afterlife. …So where was he headed?”

“Testament. He said he was going to make up for Isa’s and our regrets.”

“Musashi? …No, I suppose not. He tends not to look at the ‘present’. In that case…”

Sasuke spoke the location with some stiffness in his tone.

“Hexagone Française. …The land in which we fought so fiercely.”

They met the enemy at the back of the third ship.

The third ship’s deck was set up for the festival which had slowed the two gods of war a little, but the delay was mostly thanks to the Caledfwlch attack that Kiyomasa had made after pulling out ahead of Fukushima halfway across the fourth ship.

Just as the two gods of war had tried to take the center line to target the bridge, she had managed to split them to the left and right once more.

Fukushima “fell” toward the one that leaped to port.

She could fall horizontally there. The third ship’s surface contained a deserted festival. The festival stands were lined up on the port, starboard, and center and the walkways were littered with abandoned attractions and food containers.

Fukushima kicked one of the wooden containers along the way.

“En garde…!”

Fukushima saw her enemy change weapons.

The god of war’s arms did not let go of the long cannons attached to its sides. Instead it used…

…''The waist armor!

That armor expanded like wings to handle defense of its lower body. The armor on the front right side moved like a crustacean’s claws.

If it lowered its hips and glided toward her, the waist armor would fly toward her in a piercing attack.

It was coming.

Fukushima did not dodge the approaching charge.

As the straight claws of the armor flew toward her nearly horizontally, she kicked off the edge of a stand’s roof.

“Straight ahead…!”

The god of war’s right-side cannon fired, but she did not care. She spun to the right in midair and the shell grazed the bottom of her ponytail.

“Fall…Ichinotani!”

Her divine weapon, Ichinotani, opened its blade.

Ichinotani could absorb her opponent’s attack and then release it.

Ichinotani currently contained an anti-ship ether cannon blast used for the initial attack.

The light was launched in an instant. Ichinotani’s blade opened horizontally and its close-range attack flew toward the god of war.

It targeted the enemy’s side. Because its right knee was moved somewhat forward, it was turned a bit to the side and its right side faced her.

She scored a direct hit.

But not on her opponent’s side. Instead…

“The cannon!?”

Fukushima saw how the enemy had defended.

The enemy god of war had removed the cannon from the hard point on its right side.

The canon barrel had fallen.

But…

…''At the exact height to match my cannon blast!

That was precisely what had happened.

Her cannon blast had collided with the falling cannon barrel.

The god of war’s long cannon was a quasi-anti-ship cannon. The barrel was made to endure firepower at that level.

After being hit by her anti-ship cannon blast, the barrel instantly swelled out. The power of the blast melted the inside, but the power that escaped the muzzle launched the long cannon backwards before destroying it.

The ruptured cannon flew through the gap between the god of war’s raised right arm and right wing.

Its flight only lasted a split-second. At a point 29 meters behind the god of war, the flying cannon exploded.

Fukushima saw the light.

And she saw the god of war’s silhouette charge forward within that light.

She realized the enemy’s charge had not slowed at all. Also, its waist armor swung upwards toward her height.

The straight claws of the waist armor were directed toward her airborne body.

It was going to hit.

Kiyomasa saw the cannon burst on the port side.

Her own battlefield was on the starboard side. She used the two Caledfwlchs in a swordfight against the god of war.

She used one Caledfwlch fall back toward stern and to assist her jumps and she used the other one to actually battle the god of war.

She did not have the physical strength to clash blades with the god of war, so she continually fell back while using the attack Caledfwlch for short-range acceleration that built up the blade’s force before an attack.

Sound rang out and several festival stands were knocked away. Each time, fruit or coolant water scattered through the air.

But as she fell back and clashed…

…''Fukushima-sama!?

Doubt filled her heart, but she did not have time to check. The enemy was repeatedly attacking her with its expanded waist armor while also firing its cannons.

And she heard a metallic sound from the port side.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a short line reflect the light as it flew aft.

Fukushima’s Ichinotani had been knocked away by the enemy’s attack.

The enemy had defended against Fukushima’s attack.

But Kiyomasa did not hesitate to use Caledfwlch.

…''This one is mine!

They had a goal: their enemy.

“The Ten Spears are an anti-Musashi unit!”

They were in the second year while Musashi’s main force was in the third year, so they had a one year disadvantage. They had to catch up to their enemies, but they also had a duty to surpass them.

And the foundation of their enemy’s offense was their Vice Chancellor. At IZUMO before Novgorod, she had directly fought with and defeated Hexagone Française gods of war.

Humans could defeat gods of war.

Of course, the Five Great Peaks and each nation’s Vice Chancellor would also be able to do that. Even the Special Duty Officers would be able to with preparation time.

In that case, the Ten Spears also had to be able to. So…

…''This one is mine!

Without turning toward Fukushima, Kiyomasa fell back with the right Caledfwlch.

She launched acceleration toward the god of war ahead of her and she leaped backwards.

Then the god of war moved in. It could give an extra push with its wing acceleration. And…

…''Here comes the cannon fire!

As soon as she saw the enemy’s left side, Kiyomasa twisted to the left while still falling back.

A shell passed by her face, where her head had just been.

The god of war had fired the long cannon attached to its side at close range.

The shell smashed the festival stands behind her on the right. The diagonally-fired shot plowed through around a dozen stands and launched them into the sky.

Kiyomasa accelerated backwards while the shards, fruits, and water rained down.

She kept moving.

She moved around and accelerated with Caledfwlch to avoid all of the falling objects as she passed through the remains of the festival.

“Coming through…!”

And just as she thought she was through, the enemy took a certain action.

Its shoulder moved.

The previous shot from the left side had moved the enemy’s right shoulder forward while it fired something toward her.

It was not a cannon blast. Nor was it a spear.

“A shield!?”

Kiyomasa saw a gliding mass of metal.

The god of war had a shield attached to each shoulder and they moved around autonomously.

They were used to deflect all attacks to the upper body and the god of war had thrown the right one toward Kiyomasa using an autonomous thruster.

And it was not a horizontal throw. It was a side throw very close to being an underhand throw and it slid along the deck.

The attack was fully targeting her feet, so…

…''Kh…!

Her bodily control and balance were not as excellent as Fukushima’s.

She could not dodge to the left or right due to the festival stands on the left and the pile of collapsed ones on the right.

And even if she fled further back, the shield would continue pursuit.

“In that case…!”

She tried to jump on top of the central stands to her left.

But just as she did, that row of stands exploded from front to back.

The enemy had fired from its right side which was turned out front.

And it had not targeted her or been used to obstruct her path.

…''The bridge!!

The attack was meant to secure line of fire to the bridge at the ship’s stern.

The cannon blast pierced through the stands, scattered the festival structures into the air, and flew toward the bridge.

Kiyomasa did not look back. She could hear it behind her and on the left. The bridge’s armor had deflected the shell.

The bridge was not destroyed, so she leaped.

Leaped forward, that is.

She jumped over the sliding shield and landed on the wreckage of the destroyed stands. She slid atop a wall panel and aimed her right Caledfwlch toward the enemy.

The enemy god of war used the recoil of its right cannon to pull its upper body to the right. It quickly swung its left side forward to meet her attack, but it was too late.

The center of its torso was wide open.

So Kiyomasa aimed there. She directed the tip of the right spear toward the silver chest in midair.

“Finish this. …Caledfwlch!!”

She prepared to launch a straight-line blast from Caledfwlch’s blade.

It was a difference of only an instant.

Kiyomasa saw something just before she fired her cannon: a shadow.

…''Eh?

Something that was not quite darkness appeared overhead.

“A tent!?”

It was a light brown cloth that had formed the roof of a festival stand. The thick canvas was a three-meter square, but instead of falling, it had been launched overhead.

The movement clearly ignored both the wind and the previous explosive blast. After all, it fell toward her at the center instead of being blown outwards.

Kiyomasa realized what this meant.

…''The god of war’s right arm!

When the enemy had fired on the bridge with its right cannon, it had swung its left half forward. While doing so, it had torn the tent from the roof of a stand near its right hand.

The blast of firing had likely allowed it to easily pull the tent away.

It had then used the recoil to spin its body and pull with its right arm. By letting go of the tent, the canvas flew in to cover Kiyomasa from overhead.

It ultimately robbed her of her overhead vision.

Caledfwlch was targeting the enemy’s chest, but that was now behind the tent.

…''Oh, no!

Caledfwlch’s target was now behind cover.

“…!”

She tensed without meaning to.

And then a wind arrived.

It was not a natural wind.

It was created by the great pressure of the god of war’s action as it charged forward right in front of her.

That lightly shook the tent blinding her.

She could see it.

The enemy was moving beyond the tent.

The chest was now in a different position. The enemy had turned so its right side was forward.

…''That’s insane!!

She was so impressed by the enemy’s decision that she forgot all about having her attack neutralized.

After all, the enemy had just fired on the right and used the recoil to bring its left side forward.

But it had forcibly stopped that and then returned to this position.

Even a simple assessment showed that would require stopping the full force of the cannon blast.

Just how much of a burden would that place on the god of war’s body? The straining and bending caused shimmering heat to erupt from the hips and the base of the left leg.

It could not make that same action a second time.

But Kiyomasa had already lost her timing for firing Caledfwlch.

Unless she forcibly turned her body around, the enemy would not be in her line of fire. So even if she tried to fire the left Caledfwlch…

…''I won’t be fast enough!

And the enemy was now firing its cannon properly. The one on its right side aimed toward her…

“…!”

And Kiyomasa heard the pilot’s spirit.

Their fighting spirit forced out a groan of anguish as a sign of their desperate attempt.

Kiyomasa did not hear the cannon. And she saw darkness deep in the barrel.

“Ah.”

The tent fell on her.

With the sound of a hole being opened in the air, the falling tent was blown through.

The wreckage of the festival stands on the deck were blasted to either side and the tent stopped in the center of that newly-formed valley. The shell was so fast that it did not blow the tent away.

The cannon had fired thrice in quick succession.

Each shot created a hole in the tent and the god of war used the recoil to spin around.

But it used that momentum to launch its left arm forward.

That powerful metal arm had drawn the long spear from its hip.

The sharp attack pierced the tent.

The tent spread out as if to cover the shape of the spear’s cross-section and then it was shredded without a sound.

The god of war did not stop there.

Light was launched from the area hidden behind the tent.

It was Caledfwlch’s acceleration light. The scattering of white light flew in a straight line toward the bow.

Since the enemy had lost her chance to fire Caledfwlch, she had instead used it for acceleration and put more distance between them.

So the god of war did not let her get away.

It rotated its right cannon to cock it and then used its spin to bring its left cannon forward.

“…!”

It fired.

It aimed past Caledfwlch’s flying light and at the large shield it had thrown earlier. The god of war fired four shots toward the sliding object that the enemy would likely use for cover next.

With a solid sound, the metal shield was knocked upwards along with Caledfwlch.

The wind whipped up, everything was swallowed up by momentum, and the mass of metal flew into a row of festival stands.

Destruction followed. But while the god of war spun in the opposite direction, its forward speed was unabated. However…

“—————”

At that moment, the metal knight definitely heard something.

It was a voice.

“Wait.”

It came from dead ahead.

But the distance was odd. The voice did not come from the area the god of war had blown away and scattered. It did not come from the large shield that had been blasted along with Caledfwlch.

The voice came from right down at the god of war’s feet.

Someone stood up from the rubble below its racing feet.

It was Katou Kiyomasa.

The god of war saw the scene.

A blonde figure stood up from the pile of rubble that seemed to have spilled across the entire deck.

“Impossible…!”

Despite all the festival stand fragments and splinters of wooden containers, there should not have been anything large enough to hide a person.

Beforehand, the god of war’s cannon blasts had blown away pretty much all rubble along that straight-line path.

But Kiyomasa had appeared right in front of it: directly below the tent it had fired on so many times.

How had she hidden there?

She already held the answer in her hand.

“Caledfwlch!?”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 5B Chapter 43|Chapter 43]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 5B Chapter 45|Chapter 45]]
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</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 5B Chapter 43

2017-07-24T00:54:42Z

86.52.14.214: Missing period.

==Chapter 43: Shot One in the Water==
[[Image:Horizon5B_511.jpg|thumb]]
''Important things well up

''Like I just remembered them

'''Point Allocation (Hiding Your Embarrassment)

The morning wind blew through the forest.

It was an east wind passing through the bottom of a valley.

It was not a cool wind hanging around since the early summer predawn. This movement of air had begun to heat up, saying that the morning had begun.

And in addition to that wind…

“Kiyo-dono, the cicadas have started to cry.”

“Then let’s hurry this up so we can complete our quota, Fukushima-sama.”

Water splashed and spilled outside.

This happened on a Hashiba ironclad ship invading Mouri. On the far aft deck, the top of the cylindrical bridge had been modified into a terrace which had a wooden pool.

There were three people there: Kiyomasa, Fukushima, and…

“Katagiri-sama, this is for the history recreation, so you can get out right away if you want.”

Kiyomasa spoke to Katagiri who was answering test questions with a drawing board on the poolside. He wore a shirt and a string-tied boy’s swimsuit and his feet were soaking in the water, but…

“Thanks, but I’m fine. Taking my test here is a lot more relaxing, so I’m actually thankful.”

“That is true,” said Fukushima. “If I had known I could take the test in this environment, I would not have spent all last night reading through all of the textbooks…”

She was already soaking up to her shoulders in the water and she now stood up straight. She shook her body a bit and the water in her hair flew out into the sunlight. Then she grabbed onto the poolside and pulled herself up.

“The view down below is nice.”

She narrowed her eyes toward the festival beginning on the deck.

After her, Kiyomasa also got up on the poolside, sat down, and looked back at the deck.

“This is an early history recreation for a portion of the Siege of Odawara, isn’t it? The first and second ships are damaged and they have stayed in their normal state for defense, but the rest of the ships are holding a festival for welfare purposes.”

Just like the attack on Mouri, Hashiba would use flooding to defeat Houjou at the Siege of Odawara. But while doing so, Hashiba would do something to show their opponents that their reserves were running out.

“We hold a festival and party within our formation.”

But preparing and deploying that took time.

So they would complete it in advance by doing it alongside the attack on Mouri. That would allow them to fulfill the conditions for the Siege of Odawara more swiftly, and…

“We need to be able to respond in time if Musashi heads to Houjou after their study camp,” said Fukushima.

“More importantly,” said Katagiri who approached them on the poolside while wearing a straw hat, presumably to keep the sunlight off his drawing board, and carrying a glass of water. He looked to the eastern sky. “Can the Azuchi not make it here?”

“It is approaching at low speed,” explained Fukushima as she too looked to the eastern sky where the giant ship was hazily visible in the blue distance.

She twisted around on the poolside and sighed toward the Azuchi.

“It is following behind us to ensure its safety. …We cannot move our front line forward at the moment given the possibility of an attack from the enemy’s new type of artillery shell, so the Azuchi cannot move forward without running across the same problem.”

“That new shell is forcing us to change our basic anti-surface tactics, isn’t it?” asked Kiyomasa.

Fukushima nodded and Katagiri raised his hand.

“What is that exactly? I’d like to know our basic tactics, if possible…”

“Very well,” said Fukushima as she opened a ''lernen figur''.

Kiyomasa saw Fukushima open a flat ''lernen figur'' over the pool.

The panel pictured a defensive fortress on the ground and attack aerial ships in the sky.

She explained the point of the anti-surface and anti-air diagram.

“In an anti-surface battle fought by aerial ships, thou must first consider the attacks that can hit thee from the surface.”

With that, an arrow appeared pointing from the surface fortress block and toward the air fleet.

The aerial forces approached the surface, but…

“As thou approach, the attacks from the surface will grow in density. Thus, an aerial force will position itself in a horizontal coordinate matching the fortress while using a vertical coordinate to remain in a diagonal position. That way it can stay within effective firing range while keeping as much distance as possible.”

Katagiri raised his hand.

“I’ve always had a question about that theory: Wouldn’t it be better to position yourself directly above and drop bombs or fire straight down?”

“Positioning thyself directly above means thou have come to a stop.”

Fukushima’s response was blunt, so Kiyomasa smiled bitterly.

…''She makes it easy to understand, but she can be a bit decisive.

To help out, Kiyomasa turned toward Katagiri.

“If my Caledfwlch or a similar weapon is on the surface, coming to a stop in the sky will get you immediately sunk. To avoid that, you want to keep moving while you attack and you want to attack from as close to a horizontal altitude as possible.”

“Why from close to a horizontal altitude?”

He was sharp.

…''It’s unusual for Katagiri-sama to be so interested in tactics.

“Fukushima-sama, let me do this.”

Kiyomasa got in the water and sent Fukushima a request. Fukushima nodded and a ''lernen figur'' saying “shared” appeared next to her face.

Kiyomasa then reached toward Fukushima’s ''lernen figur''.

…''I can control it now, can’t I?

Kiyomasa turned the ''lernen figur'' toward Katagiri. She then placed an additional aerial force block at a point slightly above horizontal.

“This was the general situation when we faced Mouri the day before yesterday, but when the aerial force is at a nearly horizontal altitude, not all of the counterattacking ground force can fight back.”

It was obvious in visual form. An arrow was used to indicate anti-air fire rising from the surface base. As it grew more horizontal, it also grew skinnier.

“The surface artillery and other forces are located on the ground, so they’re arranged nearly horizontally. So if we are located low to the ground, they end up firing at a nearly horizontal angle and the more distant artillery can’t fire because the closer artillery, city, or fortress gets in the way.”

“Also, the enemy’s front line must choose between targeting our surface troops or our nearly horizontal aerial force. That was part of our strategy the day before yesterday. There were a lot of new warriors in the surface troops, so we wanted to divert some of the enemy artillery fire into the sky.”

“I see,” said Katagiri with a nod.

…''Katagiri-sama can probably handle some additional information here.

Kiyomasa sent a rectangular block from the nearly horizontal aerial force and toward the enemy ground forces.

“Hashiba-sama’s transport ship attack is an extension of the aerial force and also a means of gathering the enemy’s attention. As the transport ship could come from anywhere, the enemy must be prepared to aim their artillery and activate their defense barriers in every direction. That splits up the enemy artillery fire and applies pressure which wears them down, so it means a lot even if the transport ship attack does not do any direct damage,” explained Kiyomasa. “But Hexagone Française has developed a shell specialized for use against ships.”

She had seen it in person.

There were also images showing what had happened: The transport ship was pierced through the bow, but it burst and broke apart before it was fully penetrated.

“That attack was likely made by Isaac of the Three Musketeers. The effective range is 7km. …Of course, its effective range drops to 2km using one of Hexagone Française’s god of war rifles.”

However…

“In Musashi’s battle against the Shirasagi Castle last night, their god of war achieved a range of approximately 20km. It is unknown if Hexagone Française has equivalent technology, but it would be best to assume they have similar abilities.”

“Couldn’t the Azuchi’s defense barriers handle a long range shot like that?”

“If it can survive a long range hit, then where would it be best to keep the Azuchi?”

Katagiri thought about that for a moment. And…

“…Ah.”

He looked to the Azuchi in the eastern sky.

He wrinkled his brow and looked at his reflection in the drawing board before speaking.

“We have to keep our distance and, even if we do fire from our aerial ships, Mouri has middle gods of war for defense…”

“Testament. Hexagone Française’s strategy is clear,” said Fukushima. “They are preventing the Far East from using its aerial-ship-focused strategies.”

Kiyomasa nodded in agreement.

This was the answer that Takenaka and the other fighters had reached.

“According to the Testament, Hexagone Française will become the ruler of Europe. But Mouri will shrink. So Mouri has prepared a fighting force and tactics that allow them to fight back against the Far Eastern groups opposing them. That is what this is.”

“Then,” said Katagiri. “Will an invasion primarily using aerial ships not work?”

He adjusted his position on the western poolside so he was facing east.

Kiyomasa slowly treaded water over to him and held up Fukushima’s ''lernen figur''.

“It is not impossible, but we have decided we don’t have to.”

Fukushima opened a ''lernen figur'' by her hand and used it to control the large one Kiyomasa was holding.

It displayed their current invasion route toward Paris.

And Kiyomasa asked Katagiri a question.

“Okay, Katagiri-sama, ''if we are going to use the Azuchi now'', how do you think we should do it?”

“…Is that a trick question?”

“It could be depending on how you look at it,” answered Kiyomasa. “But you can find the answer in my question. I am saying we definitely will invade Mouri using the supposedly unusable Azuchi.”

Now.

“If it were up to you, Katagiri-sama, how would you use it?”

Katagiri thought about the question.

He was in charge of gathering diplomatic information, so he knew what the other nations were doing.

Takenaka would have used the information he released that morning to ask the opinions of the various departments and to decide what to do with the Azuchi.

…''And Kiyomasa-san and Fukushima-san probably heard that from Takenaka-san.

He did not feel left out. They were combat personnel while he was in charge of diplomatic information.

And this was a battlefield. Since Kiyomasa was telling him about this, she must have gotten permission from Takenaka to share the information.

''But,'' thought Katagiri. ''I am a diplomat.

He knew a bit about strategy, but he was a complete amateur compared to the two girls in front of him. He had just now revealed his ignorance concerning the use of aerial ships.

…''I’m hopeless.

But even as he thought that…

“Testament,” he said to Kiyomasa.

He was telling her he had a will of his own, so he could think about this and come up with an answer.

…''I need to give it proper thought and give the best answer I can.

It was okay if he was wrong, so he would think it through.

…''That’s right.

When he had asked that shrine maiden how he could be manlier, she had told him to do his best when it came to the things he actually could do.

So he thought about it. How far could his diplomatic information carry him toward the right answer?

And he ignored the answer sheet on his drawing board. He placed his cokepen in the drawing board’s latch and opened his mouth.

“I will say what I can using the process of elimination.”

…''Oh?

Fukushima peered at Katagiri’s face while sitting on the poolside.

She sat on the southern side and Katagiri was on the western side. The sun was still in the east, so its light reflected off the pool and shined on his face from below.

His eyebrows were raised and he seemed deep in thought. But…

…''That is a slight change.

Before, Katagiri would have been more honest.

If he had not known something, he would have immediately said so and asked for the answer.

But that was different now. He did not know, but he was thinking about it as best he could.

This silence gave him a chance to think, but it also made sure he did not act like he knew what he was talking about in front of the more knowledgeable girls. So when he did speak…

'''Llaf:''' “Kiyo-dono.”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “Eh? Oh, yes. What is it?”

'''Llaf:''' “Katagiri-dono has changed a little, don’t thou think?”

There was a pause of a few breaths before she received a response.

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “Do I feel kind of disappointed because I like to act older than him?”

Kiyomasa gave her a nonchalant look accompanied by a self-deprecating smile.

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “It’s a small change, but if it isn’t temporary and it’s going to stick around, then Katagiri-sama’s department should grow more proactive instead of just waiting for orders.”

'''Llaf:''' “That would be a wonderful thing.”

Once she sent that, Katagiri suddenly moved.

“First…”

His fingers pointed to the northeast and south of the diagram Kiyomasa was holding up.

“The best way I can think of using the Azuchi is to have it act independently of us in the main unit so it splits up the enemy.”

Katagiri simply spoke his thoughts in order to avoid allowing emotions to form in him.

“The enemy’s tactics primarily use gods of war. But using a god of war force requires putting together a unit of a decent size. So if we split up the enemy, they won’t be able to use their god of war forces as effectively.”

Kiyomasa moved in response to his words.

She silently turned toward Fukushima on the poolside to her right.

“I see,” began Fukushima.

She prepared to say more, but Katagiri moved before she could.

He raised his right hand so she could see and then he spoke.

“But…that is unfortunately not possible.”

Katagiri spoke to the two girls.

“We unfortunately cannot use the Azuchi as a diversion to split up the enemy.”

He knew the reason why. It had been in the information he had compiled last night.

“There is a reason for that.” He opened a map of Hexagone Française and placed his hand on the south end. “Partially because we have support from allied K.P.A. Italia, there was a time when we thought it would be safer to have the Azuchi invade from the south.”

But…

“After negotiating with K.P.A. Italia in advance, their commerce cities said they would provide materiel support instead of allowing the Azuchi through.”

“What does that mean?”

Fukushima’s question told him he was on the right track. Most likely, Takenaka had told them her decision but had not given her reasoning why.

So Katagiri said, “K.P.A. Italia is a joint nation of cities. Each city is a commerce city and, even while K.P.A. Italia is conquered by M.H.R.R., they continue to trade with other nations. They do business with Hexagone Française and its associated nations. And that includes nations that continue to oppose Hashiba-sama and M.H.R.R. …There is no way they can allow the Azuchi through.”

“And that’s why they provided support instead?” asked Kiyomasa.

“Testament. The ether fuel shared using the ley line divine transmissions is the result of that. K.P.A. Italia can be seen as the Catholic headquarters, so they are rich with Blessings. As long as we can secure a line, we can continue the invasion without worrying.”

“But,” said a voice.

It was Fukushima.

She rubbed her own right arm and grabbed her elbow.

There was a white scar there. That was…

…''A wound from the Battle of Novgorod.

Fukushima had broken her elbow during her duel with Musashi’s Vice Chancellor below Novgorod. She had undergone emergency treatment to recover before they started for Edo, but the scar showed up in the sun.

It either still felt odd to her or she had just remembered it was visible. Either way, she bent and straightened her elbow before placing it in the water. And…

“Is it impossible to have the Azuchi invade via a different route?”

Kiyomasa mentally smiled at Fukushima’s question.

Takenaka had decided on the Azuchi’s future actions that morning. Fukushima had joined them for that purpose, but…

…''I guess she still can’t quite accept it.

She had been summoned from Edo as the Azuchi’s temporary castle keeper. And she had been forced to abandon Takigawa for it. Fukushima probably wanted to defeat Mouri and return to Kantou as soon as possible.

As for Kiyomasa…

…''I’m worried about what will happen at Sanada’s ruins.

She could guess they were all worried about that.

But Takenaka had stopped them from doing that and she would not say much about the decision.

Fukushima’s demand of Katagiri was fueled by her anger over the current situation.

And Katagiri responded.

He pointed to the northeast of the Hexagone Française map by his hands.

“A secondary invasion route for the Azuchi would be to come from the northeast. We are arriving from the central east, but if the Azuchi follows us along a parallel path from the northeast, it should be able to rejoin us once we cross the central mountains and pass through the north of the forested region.”

“That is true enough.”

That likely meant Fukushima had also considered this route.

Kiyomasa opened a space for her as she got in the water and slowly approached.

With Katagiri on the poolside between them, Fukushima sat on his left and Kiyomasa on his right.

They then tried to view his ''lernen figur'' from either side, so he increased its size and turned it toward them.

“Now, about this northern route.” He produced a long-distance image. “Just between us, the Protestants of northern M.H.R.R. are gathering on the southern border.”

The image showed a hill. The light-amplified slope showed rows of mobile shells dressed in black, which signified the M.H.R.R. Protestants.

They belonged to the Protestant corporation named Eisenritter, so they had thick armor.

“…Is that the Magdeburg region?”

“Testament. Shibata-sama entered from the southeast as a diversion, but only the provisional border guards responded. The Protestants’ main force includes mobile cannons and aerial ships and they’re moving south from west of Magdeburg. And it seems…”

“It seems?”

“Holland’s forces have joined them.”

“Why?” asked Fukushima. “I thought Holland’s Resistance Chancellor William, Prince of Orange, was taken by the Princess Disappearances at Novgorod.”

“Testament. That creates a dangerous situation for Holland since they are still fighting España. But…”

Katagiri opened two new images.

One was a long-distance image of a fleet traveling west over the ocean.

The other was a long-distance image of an aerial fleet stopping at a tall metal tower above the waiting Protestant forces.

And Kiyomasa tilted her head upon seeing the shapes of the ships in the first image.

“Is this a Sviet Rus fleet…?”

Kiyomasa questioned the westward travel of the Sviet Rus fleet.

…''What is this?

It was not that odd for a Sviet Rus fleet to be on the move.

But something felt off to her. And she realized why:

“…Over the ocean?”

The ocean bordered Sviet Rus to the north. So their fleet should have been traveling toward Shibata’s forces to the southwest or Oushuu to the east.

So why were they traveling over the ocean?

Katagiri nodded and opened his mouth.

“Sviet Rus used the Novgorod battle to prove their ‘friendship with England’ by escorting the English ships from the North Sea to Dover.”

“In that case,” said Fukushima. Kiyomasa turned toward her and saw she had grabbed the two ''lernen figur'' that Katagiri had opened and turned them toward herself.

Fukushima then looked at both the fleet in the one image and the ships floating above the Protestant forces in the other.

“This is an English fleet…”

“Testament.” Katagiri nodded at Fukushima and then at Kiyomasa too. “ ‘In order to welcome back the group that intervened in the Battle of Novgorod’, England’s Trumps #4, Howard, took a fleet to Holland. …Howard’s fleet was originally purchased from Holland, so we are speculating that it was lent to Holland.”

And…

“Holland has temporarily given England the right to run their academy.”

“—————”

There was no point in asking “why”.

Holland was currently fighting for its independence.

Its opponents were Belgium, which was split off from Holland, and España, which originally owned Holland.

Holland was being protected by their fellow Protestants in the northern German principalities and by…

“England is effectively their greatest supporter.”

If England had Sviet Rus as the guardians of the North Sea, then Holland would be protected from the north by the two powerful nations of England and Sviet Rus. And on land…

“If England provides a portion of the English fleet, which survived the Armada battle unscathed…”

Most likely…

“The Prince of Orange himself may have made a deal with England about temporarily loaning out their authority, just in case.”

“I really am thankful,” said a man in a straw hat in front of a sunflower bed.

Next to him, a young man lay collapsed on the rush mat laid out to the side of the flower bed. He spoke below the handkerchief covering his face.

“Thankful for what, Chancellor Segundo?”

“Are you sure you should be talking, Valdés? Even a pitcher shouldn’t stay out in the sun for long periods of time.”

“Well, I didn’t expect the work to last so long. I admire Lady Juana’s determination.”

“That’s because Juana manages her health flawlessly.”

“She doesn’t even let herself get tanned, so she really doesn’t overlook a single thing.”

That voice from the other side of the flower bed came from the Valdés Sister. She could be heard pulling weeds as she continued.

“My brother doesn’t matter, but what is it you’re thankful for?”

“Oh, that England has begun to get involved with Holland.”

Meaning…

“England is taking a new action. Instead of harassing us in Tres España, they’re moving on to their next international strategy.”

“So…?”

“It means the Armada battle is well and truly over.”

“…Chancellor, does that mean we can finally relax?”

“I’m not so sure. I bet Juana will be delighted, though. With all the related nations moving on from the Armada battle, we only really have to worry about our domestic issues. …And with Juana’s management skill and the expectation that brings, she can gain recovery support from Cortés of our Representative Council. …The main problem is Hashiba once they finish their battle with Mouri, but our Tres España side is overwhelmingly superior to our Oouchi forces, so we need to focus on avoiding Hashiba. I will have Juana come up with a countermeasure. So, in a way, our relationship with Hexagone Française is going to be important…”

Segundo sat on the edge of the flower bed and reached for the water jug next to him.

He gulped some water into his belly and took a breath.

“It’s time we started thinking about Westphalia.”

“But, Chancellor, isn’t that where Holland gets their independence from us?”

“That’s why we need to think about it. …We need to figure out how to become the finalists who turn everything around with a last-minute homerun. Thankfully, my research shows we have plenty of material with which to do that.”

Someone approached from the hospital building to the south.

It was Juana. She adjusted her straw hat while raising a basket in her right hand.

“4th Special Duty Officer? This is supposed to be a rest day, so you’re making a poor example getting heat stroke out here. I brought recovery spell drinks and charms.”

“You’re pathetic, brother.”

“Sister, experience is everything. And your brother just gained more experience than you, so do not forget that I have won this round.”

“Lady Juana, I think I can do without that experience, so please give me some water.”

“Yes, yes,” said Juana, but she walked over to Segundo and the Valdés Brother first.

And as she passed the basket to Segundo, she suddenly looked to the flower bed.

“The buds have really grown, Chancellor.”

“That’s because you’ve taken such good care of them, Juana.”

“No, no.” A smile escaped onto Juana’s lips. “You are the one who sowed the seeds and looked after them all on your own until they budded.”

“It is still unknown whether or not England has joined Holland. But the movements of this aerial fleet and the fact that Tres España has ceased interfering with Holland let us make a pretty good guess.”

Kiyomasa listened to Katagiri while sitting on the poolside.

He continued speaking as if he had not noticed Fukushima sitting on his other side.

“If we have the Azuchi invade from Hexagone Française’s northeast, there is a chance the Protestants will intervene. And even if we do not, the Protestants are probably monitoring the Azuchi’s movements. After all…”

“After all?”

When she urged him on, Katagiri nodded without looking her way. He then pointed to a certain region of northern Hexagone Française.

“IZUMO is here. IZUMO supplies England with its floating technology and other technological products and it is on friendly terms with England. Plus, if Hexagone Française is attacked now, IZUMO might hire a force hostile to M.H.R.R. to protect them.”

“Are you suggesting they would hire England?”

“Either England or a related nation. …One of the victors at Westphalia. When England takes action, it’s possible that we will also see movement from the nations with a connection to Hexagone Française, England, and Musashi, or that want to make sure those nations owe them a favor,” explained Katagiri. “So we cannot provoke northeast or north Hexagone Française. Which means…”

“Which means?”

Kiyomasa narrowed her eyes and looked to Katagiri.

…''This is where his real argument begins.

The Azuchi could not invade from the north or south, so it was forced to follow this invasion route. And the enemy had a fighting force and tactics capable of holding back an aerial force.

But Takenaka had concluded they ''could'' use the Azuchi.

So how were they to use it?

Katagiri looked to the shallow part of the eastern sky. Even from here, those six ships looked like distant mountains.

“The Azuchi can’t be moved ahead of us, so it will be preserved. Even if it is loaded with materials for the flooding, it can’t move out ahead.”

Katagiri raised his right hand and pointed to the south of the Hexagone Française map.

He indicated the mountains they had passed through and raised his eyebrows.

“The transport ships loaded with support materiel from K.P.A. Italia are currently circling around from the east, just like the Azuchi.”

This was information held by Katagiri as their diplomat.

“With the Azuchi and the arriving transport ships, we can use a certain strategy against Hexagone Française.”

He moved his hand.

His slender fingers hesitated a few times over the map of Hexagone Française, but he finally settled on three points between the entrance to the central plain and Paris in the north. They indicated…

“Bases.”

Neither Kiyomasa nor Fukushima said a word. They simply waited for him to speak.

He breathed in once and continued.

“To avoid the enemy gods of war and other attacks, we do not have the time or preparation to conquer the cities. So we will quickly cross Hexagone Française’s countryside. However, we need bases to establish a supply line to support that. But as things are, a base simply made by gathering transport ships might not be able to defend against enemy attack and we would be in trouble if one of the bases was destroyed.”

“Why is that?” asked Fukushima.

“After the attack on Mouri, we head back in the Great Return. If our bases are destroyed, we will have difficulty doing that.” He looked to the east. “So instead of using transport ships, we place the Azuchi across Hexagone Française as the bases we need. We use the Azuchi’s ships as defense-focused supply line bases and use the K.P.A. Italia transport ships to travel between them. …Is that how Takenaka-san decided to ‘use the Azuchi’?”

“Have you, um, c-completed your plan, Takenaka-san?”

A quiet voice spoke in a wood-floored hall that smelled of food.

It was the dining hall within an ironclad ship.

There were few people in the dining hall due to the festival underway up on the deck. But those who were there turned toward the voice, bowed their heads, and took a step back.

It was a girl in a monkey-mask hat. And someone spoke to her.

“Oh, Hashiba-kun. …How are you feeling?”

“Oh, quite good. I got a new part from the Azuchi.”

Hashiba circled to the foot of the table at which Takenaka sat while opening and closing her left hand. That white hand was a prosthetic.

When Takenaka saw the movement, she pulled out the seat next to her and gestured Hashiba toward it. And…

“Are you not heading up top?”

“Eh? Oh, no. if I go out in the sun immediately after maintenance, the standard temperature won’t set right.”

'''Nari Nari Nari:''' “Please take care of your body, Hashiba-sama. The decisive battle is coming soon.”

Hashiba nodded toward the ''lernen figur'' that appeared next to her face.

“Mi-chan, that would be a lot of trouble for you, wouldn’t it?”

'''Nari Nari Nari:''' “That is not what I meant. I should not have said anything.”

“If she’s worried, she should just say so,” said Takenaka with a bitter smile and a stretch. Then she tossed a ''lernen figur'' to Hashiba. “This is what I sent you a divine mail about this morning, but I think it’ll more or less work.”

“Wah, testament. Thank you very much.”

“No, no. This was thanks to those two.”

Takenaka gestured toward the black and gold wings sleeping while facing each other at a table in the center of the dining hall.

“Before dawn, they made a vertical ascent to extreme high altitude and got the visual data we needed, so now we know the actual locations of the cities.”

Takenaka leaned back a bit in her chair and lowered her arms on either side. Her shoulders relaxed.

“This has let me put together a plan for the race to Paris and the Great Return afterwards, but prepare yourself, Hashiba-kun.”

“For what?”

“The real battle with Hexagone Française will probably be at Paris…or rather, at Bitchu Takamatsu Castle.”

“I am aware of that.”

“No, you really aren’t.” Takenaka laughed. And, “Something incredible is going to happen in a day or two, but I won’t say anything more since there’s nothing we can do about it. At any rate, we need to focus on getting to Paris.”

“Is that so?” asked Hashiba as Takenaka held out her left hand.

“Tart.”

“Huh?”

“Kiyo-chan gave me one last night, but it all went to my brain and I don’t remember what it tasted like. I’m going to eat one and then go to sleep, so…tart.”

“I see.”

Hashiba got up and walked to the counter. Everyone at the counter quickly bowed and respectfully moved away when they noticed her.

Takenaka muttered to herself as she watched.

“Oh, I need to thank Katagiri-kun too…”

Katagiri listened to Kiyomasa and Fukushima describe the strategy that Takenaka had told them that morning.

A lot of it was the same as what he had just said.

…''Good.

Now he did not feel inferior to the girls on either side of him. He wondered if it was childish to feel happy about that, but…

…''I started with thinking about what I could do.

He had done just what that Asama shrine maiden had told him the night before.

“Yes.”

“Hm? Yes what, Katagiri-sama?”

His heart filled with panic when he heard Kiyomasa’s question from the left.

That was something only he and that shrine maiden knew about and he felt like Kiyomasa was asking about that memory.

So he quickly shook his head.

“No, um, I was just satisfied with my test answers.”

“Hee hee. You’re so silly, Katagiri-sama.”

Did she laugh because she realized he was lying?

But he was thankful she did not ask further questions.

Then Fukushima got up from where she sat to the right.

“Kiyo-dono, Takenaka-sama sent me the version of her instructions from this morning.”

Fukushima lightly tapped her ''lernen figur''. That action produced a folder by her hands. It bore a cross emblem and she prepared to pass it to Kiyomasa.

Kiyomasa stood up from where she sat to the left and she opened a divine mail ''lernen figur'' in preparation to receive the folder. But because they looked aside and because their timing did not quite match up…

“Ah.”

The two of them collided chest-first over Katagiri’s head.

“Ow, ow ow.”

They held their noses and stepped back, but Kiyomasa smiled a little.

“Was that the Giant Breasts Defense?”

“I am not sure how to master that one,” said Fukushima.

“That’s a real technique…?” asked Katagiri.

''I really don’t get these combat types,'' he thought before recalling the night before.

He remembered the Asama shrine maiden he had spoken with over divine transmission. Her chest had been fairly large, but…

…''Could her breasts do that, too?

He pictured the light pink chest cloth in the close-up shots. The lips speaking to him had also been colored light pink by lipstick.

But his memories were not all that certain. That was because he had been more focused on her words than the image. So…

“Hee hee. Is this how the Giant Breasts Defense works?”

To his left, Kiyomasa demonstrated for Fukushima who was tilting her head with a hand on her chin.

And when Katagiri saw the transforming shape of her chest armor…

…''No, I think the transformation last night applied more pressure from the left and right.

But then he snapped out of his sommelier reverie.

“Waaaaaahh!!”

Fukushima saw Katagiri throw away his drawing board and suddenly plunge into the water.

She looked to Kiyomasa because it happened without warning, but the other girl was only lifting up her chest armor. Kiyomasa, however, looked to their surroundings. In other words…

…''A sniper!?

Fukushima looked down into the pool where Katagiri was quickly swimming to the opposite side.

He was moving away from them.

…''That means…

Fukushima turned back toward the bow.

When Kiyomasa nodded her way and got up, she activated her acceleration spell: Headfirst Fall.

With her knee lifted into the air, she leaped to the edge of the poolside. On the way, she grabbed Ichinotani which she had left by the pool.

“Enemy attack!!”

By the time she shouted to everyone at the festival down below, Kiyomasa was alongside her, wielding Caledfwlch.

And everyone within earshot looked up their way.

They had everyone’s attention. The boys clasped their hands to praise them, but there seemed to be more for Kiyomasa. ''Is that due to her superior skill with the Huge Breasts Defense?'' At any rate…

“Katagiri-dono was hit by a sniper!”

“Ehhh!?”

Katagiri’s head was sticking out from the pool’s surface and he realized things were developing without him.

…''D-do you mind if I have a word!?

He tried to tell them they had it wrong.

…''It wasn’t a sniper! It was boobs!

But as he tried to say that and reached a hand out, he saw Fukushima standing on the poolside and speaking to everyone on the deck.

“The enemy might be dead ahead!”

''Well, yes, Paris is that way, so you may not be wrong about that,'' thought Katagiri.

There might indeed be an enemy beyond the valley path ahead of them. So…

“Be on your guard so that Katagiri-dono’s sacrifice was not in vain!”

…''But you are wrong about that part!!

He knew he could not let this continue, but he heard a cheer from the deck.

“They targeted Katagiri-sama!? The A.H.R.S. Novel Research Club, Oiran Spiegel, will not let them get away with this!”

“Indeed! Katagiri-sama is the idol of our A.H.R.S. Ukemi Research Club, Accidental Exertion!”

“No, if you wish to tell tales of Katagiri-sama’s greatness, leave it to us in the Storytelling Club, C’mon Long Life!”

He felt like an unpleasant reality was quickly bubbling to the surface.

…''How does everyone view me…?

It was an unusual situation to be in while treading water in a pool with no one looking in your direction. But…

“Um.”

He knew it would be dangerous to let the warriors take action, so he spoke to the two girls in front of him.

When he did, Fukushima and Kiyomasa looked back.

“Katagiri-dono!?”

“Katagiri-sama!?”

“Um, uh…”

But just as he tried to say it was a misunderstanding…

…''Eh!?

Something shot rapidly between those two and over his head.

It was…

“…!?”

It looked like the pool’s water had lowered by a few centimeters.

The water’s surface burst and Katagiri was slammed into the water.

…''Artillery!?

There was one thing he could tell from the bottom of the water and that was exactly what Fukushima shouted loud enough to reach him through the water.

“Dead ahead! …A god of war is firing on us!!”

The enemy had arrived.

They were quite large.

Hashiba’s invading fleet was travelling in a column and some sudden figures appeared on the very first ship.

They were gods of war. The silver charger models had aerial combat wings equipped.

“It’s the Hexagone Française ''Lourd de Marionnette'' knights!”

Also, they each had a red flag on their left shoulder. That meant…

“They’re the ace numbers of the royal guards! They hold the 10-20th positions!”

That put them at the level of a Special Duty Officer. And they actually had the rank of knight. A group of two had flown rather than soared in from the sky.

It was too late to intercept them because they performed the charge from impossibly close range.

Defense barriers opened in an attempt to stop them, but…

“Incoming shellfire!”

A series of shells arrived from the supposedly empty area of sky dead ahead and they destroyed the defense barriers.

Then the Hexagone Française gods of war arrived as if splitting apart the shattering light and the satisfying sound.

They landed.

They were on the deck of the first ship.

They both maintained the momentum of their charge and flapped their wings to propel themselves forward.

They repeatedly fired the long cannons held below an arm and rapidly traversed the column of eight ships.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 5B Chapter 42|Chapter 42]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 5B Chapter 44|Chapter 44]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3A Chapter 3

2017-07-23T01:28:35Z

86.52.14.214: Fixed an error.

==Chapter 3: Those with Too Much in the Measuring Room==
[[Image:Horizon_Kimi3A_109.jpg|thumb]]
''There was so much

''So very much

''You could say it was too much

''Yes

'''Point Allocation (Not Referring to Anything Weird)

“A mysterious phenomenon? You mean an ether stagnation? Over.”

On Okutama, “Musashi” asked that of “Okutama” along the road through the starboard nature park.

That road was known as Remorse Way. “Okutama” nodded below the faint shadows cast by the parasol of tree branches.

The two of them used gravitational control to keep cleaning supplies floating behind them.

“Judge. The Public Morals Committee and the Operations Committee are investigating, but we are receiving reports of an ether disturbance and witness accounts of what sounds like a mysterious phenomenon in my ship’s underground. Upon confirmation, I plan to have the region cleaned, but what do you think? Over.”

“That would depend on the cleaning method. Over.”

“Musashi” had more to say while she used a few hovering brooms to sweep out the ditch between the road and the sidewalk.

“Will it be Dynamic Washing in which a stream of purified water is used to wash the affected area clean?

“Will it be Dynamic Burning in which the affected area is burned away?

“Will it be Dynamic Purging in which the affected area and the neighboring areas are purged from the ship?

“Will it be Dynamic Self-Destruction in which the entire ship is destroyed?

“Now, which were you planning to use? Over.”

“I always have to wonder: why are they all called ‘dynamic’ and who came up with those ideas? Over.”

“Judge. I believe it was Lord Motonobu. Over.”

“Okutama” gave a nod of understanding and dropped the ditch garbage into the drain. She then heard the voice of a black algae creature from below.

“Water?”

“Judge. Very well. Over.”

“Okutama” raised her right hand and something like a transparent rope flew up into the air from the woods to starboard.

It was water. It came from the seam between the edge of the woods and the adjacent residential district.

“The underground water pipes are also used to inspect the fire-fighting equipment. Over.”

The flying stream shook as if resisting the urge to be released somewhere and it wrapped around the automaton’s right arm.

“Now, then. Over.”

She poured the water into the ditch.

“Yahoo.” “We’re flowing away.” “Hydration.”

“ ‘Okutama’, isn’t that current too strong? Over.”

“It is fine. Over.”

Sure enough, water flew out from other areas. It looked like water was passing through the forest to reach her from the outer edge of the ship, but…

“I am still not used to pulling in water using gravitational control. Over.”

“Then I have determined you should increase how often you clean. Over.”

“But it takes an awful lot of time to check through the contents of Sakai-sama’s black disks… Over.”

“You leave me no choice.” “Musashi” nodded. “Since you appear to be having trouble, I will personally take over Sakai-sama’s day-to-day matters. Over.”

“Are you saying you will check through his black disks, ‘Musashi’-sama!? Over.”

“Musashi” glared at “Okutama”.

“I am in charge of his day-to-day matters. Checking the black disks is your job. Over.”

“I had a feeling you would say that… Oh, ‘Musashi’-sama? That is a civilian-managed point. Over.”

“I count as a civilian on the Musashi. Over.”

With that, “Musashi” entered the woods. There was a small path of only a few meters through the grass.

“Horizon Ariadust’s memorial. …That girl died in an accident on the very day we were officially rolled out. I have heard she was the child of Lord Motonobu and his common-law wife.”

“Musashi” pulled a bouquet from the supplies floating behind her.

She placed it on top of the memorial stone.

“All we understand is data. There are no remains here, so I have determined it only contains remorse and other related feelings. Over.”

“You do not understand emotions any more than the rest of us, ‘Musashi’-sama, so why are you leaving flowers here? Is it a custom? Over.”

“Musashi” nodded at that question from “Okutama”. And she spoke without looking back at the other automaton.

“If there were remains here, leaving flowers would indeed be the custom and tradition.”

Her line continued.

“But…”

But…

“What is this, since it has no remains and merely enshrines a name? Over.”

“I suppose it is meant to record that name and make that individual a part of history.” “Okutama” dropped the water into the ditch and washed everything away. “By carving a stone with the name of someone who had emotions and lived their life, they can maintain things ‘the way they were’. The remains are no more than a guarantee. …''The name carved in the stone'' is less important than ''the act of carving the name''. It allows the survivors to leave something ‘as it was’ since they have no other choice. Over.”

“In that case,” said “Musashi”. “I do not officially know this person. There is no one here to tell us about her. Sakai-sama would likely tell us if I asked, but I would feel virtual displeasure at giving him the upper hand like that. So…”

So…

“By leaving these flowers here, I am showing my understanding that the owner of this name was part of the Musashi’s crew. She was the princess who died on the day I was rolled out but who left her name here. Over.”

“ ‘Musashi’-sama? Over.”

“What is it? Over.”

“Judge.” “Okutama” put away the water and bowed toward “Musashi” who turned back toward her. “Do you know Aoi Toori-sama? Over.”

“How could I not? He broke my defense barriers just yesterday. Over.”

“I suppose so.” “Okutama” nodded. “He too knows the person whose name is carved there. Did you know this? This road is known as Remorse Way and he is known as its master even though he has not come here since the accident nine years ago. Over.”

“Okutama” spread her arms as she asked her question, so “Musashi” responded expressionlessly.

“I did know that. Over.”

In fact…

“Did you know this, ‘Okutama’? This is one of the few places where one can hold a meeting without Toori-sama interrupting. Over.”

“Eh? Is that so? …Oh, is that why ‘Musashino’ and the others sometimes gather here for a bridge crew meeting? Over.”

“Musashi” nodded.

“I am speaking with you here now primarily because I wanted to confidentially confirm the information about an ether disturbance and a mysterious phenomenon in Okutama’s underground so soon after yesterday’s events. Over.”

“Is Toori-sama that much of a nuisance? Over.”

“Musashi” did not immediately respond and she moved her right hand through the air. She produced a few Far Eastern sickles and began cutting the nearby grass.

“Yesterday, when we were discussing how we should support Asama-sama and the others outside, Toori-sama opened an ether supply path via the Asama Shrine. Over.”

“Wasn’t that only enough for a single person? Over.”

“Something and nothing. Zero and nonzero. The difference between the two is incomparable. Our only excuse is to say we determined everything would be fine because ‘Okutama’ was out there. …Toori-sama is a difficult person. If he does not visit here because he thinks the name carved here still exists, then…”

She looked to the flowers she had placed by the memorial.

“The fact that he reached the same conclusion as us is an extremely difficult thing. Helping humans is the automaton way of life, but how are we supposed to help someone who reaches the same conclusions as an automaton? …That is a difficult question. Over.”

“Musashi” then returned to the road.

“When I come here next should I polish the stone or should I allow it to grow mossy? I need to ask Sakai-sama for some advice. Now, ‘Okutama’, to continue what we were discussing before: If you can delay it this long, it should be perfectly possible to deal with the ether disturbance in your ship’s underground. So what will you do? Over.”

“Oh, judge. I plan to ask an expert in this field. Over.”

“An expert? Over.”

“Judge.” “Okutama” pointed toward the center of the ship. “The Asama Shrine. Over.”

A certain question plagued Naruze each and every time.

…''Although I don’t think this is a question I’m supposed to ask.

“Why…?”

“Hm? What is it, Ga-chan?”

“Judge. …Why do we have to have our chest size measured?”

Curtains were hung up in the art room for use as the measuring room. Their height, weight, sitting height, etc. were measured here. More than one class was measured at once, so their Class Plum was here with Sanyou’s Class Bamboo.

Sanyou was in charge of taking measurements, but since that was too much to do on her own, she was focusing on measuring Class Bamboo’s sitting height while everyone measured each other and wrote down the results for the rest.

Class Plum let the girls of Class Bamboo get started while doing their best to control Kimi. Then Class Plum began measuring shortly thereafter.

But since the chest measurement required removing their top, everyone put it off until last. That was why Naruze and Naito had decided to get started first because it took longer for winged species. However…

“It bothers me.”

“Hm? Is your shirt or stole catching on your wings?”

To keep their wings out when wearing a track suit, they would generally remove the sleeves of the shirt and keep the back open.

She was used to that, so having her wings out was not going to bother her now.

Margot had to know that. The smile on her face was carefree, so she was obviously just trying to get Naruze to explain. So…

“No. …I don’t understand the purpose of measuring our chests.”

“Ho ho? For example?”

“I mean, it doesn’t make sense, does it? Even if I don’t mind, you have to feel sorry for people like Ade-…for some people.”

“Wh-what did you almost say just now!? I really didn’t like the sound of that!”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Naruze as she pulled out a cloth measuring tape from the cloth laid out on the work desk.

“What do we accomplish by measuring how big our boobs are?”

She saw Sanyou give her a thumb’s up from across the room, but she ignored it since that was too niche of a genre for use in a doujinshi. However…

“I mean, I would understand if it was measuring around your gut. There are some people who could die at any moment. Like Ohiroshiki.”

“Ohiroshiki-dono! Wh-why did you just fall to your knees while building the festival stand!?”

“I-I just felt some kind of Technohexen attack to my heart! To my heart! Th-there is only one cure: the smile of a girl aged ten or younger! Now, hurry! Hurry and bring her here!”

“You’re making me want to report you, so don’t say anything more.”

“You sure are cement-like, Nori-dono! Anyway, Toori-dono! Now is the time to crossdress into a girl age ten or younger!”

“Y-you can do that, Toori-kun!? You can make my dream come true!?”

“Hold on. Hold on, everyone. Give me a chance to hide my dick.”

“You sure destroyed my dream in a hurry!!”

“There are a fair number of the boys like that,” said Margot with a smile.

“Judge,” agreed Naruze. “They also measure our butts, but I don’t get that either. In Qing-Takeda, they have to look at the body’s ‘nature’, so they might have to check the size of their pelvises, but we’re the Far East. It’s completely meaningless to just have a giant ass like Asa-…like some people.”

“W-wait! You started to say something while looking at me, didn’t you!? Didn’t you!?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Naruze dodged the issue before continuing. “But the chest measurement is a true mystery. I thought the results would help with my drawings, but they wouldn’t tell them to me.”

“Well, that’s personal information.”

“Yeah, but I understand wanting something if it’ll help sell your product.”

It was nice to see the merchant was her usual self. But…

“We measure our lung capacity separately and we’re not doing an M.H.R.R. Hapsburg-style measurement to determine the likely quality of breast milk production in the future, so it’s completely pointless.”

“Ga-chan, Ga-chan.”

“What?”

“Judge.” Margot removed her collar and removed her side hard points as well. Then she used her arms and the dangling cloth to hide her exposed breasts. “Can’t you just think of it as an event that gives you an official excuse to touch the other person’s boobs?”

“Hmm.”

It was not like she was lacking in opportunities to touch Margot’s boobs, but…

“I guess you’re right.”

Maybe being able to diligently take measurements with the cloth measuring tape really was nice, especially since she would get measured by Margot afterwards.

And behind her…

“W-wait, Kimi! You just slammed the measurer down on my head while measuring my sitting height, didn’t you!?”

“Why complain when it gave you a shorter result?”

It was nice how lively they were.

''Honestly,'' thought Mitotsudaira.

Her hair always became a problem when measuring her sitting height. Just like with a winged species, her hair would get in the way if she sat with her back to the measuring device. That meant she had to sit backwards, but Kimi was the one in charge of taking the measurements.

“C’mon, Mitotsudaira, move right up to the pole there. Good, good…your body fits real nicely up against it, doesn’t it?”

“Are you picking a fight with me!? You are, aren’t you!?”

She was holding the Cerberus in her hands for safety, but that left her with nothing to protect her from the measurer overhead.

Sitting height was surprisingly important. For fighters, that and the length of their legs determined the size of a lot of their equipment. And more than just inner suits and armor, it was true of handheld equipment too.

The length of your torso, the length of your arms, and the position of your joints influenced the weight balance of your weapon.

The longer your torso and arms, the greater your weapon’s reach and the higher the speed at its tip when you swung it. However, that also made it easier to damage your wrists and other joints.

The chest size that Naruze had been questioning was a factor when it came to inner suit size and material.

…''Well, it’s not like either of them are going to join the Chancellor’s Officers…

The Chancellor’s Officers registered its members’ physical data so the Musashi could manage it. The automatons might order the equipment altered to match daily changes in their build.

That was not an issue for Mitotsudaira, though.

When she had her height measured just now, it had been a centimeter higher than last year, but that was within the margin of error. She remembered being fairly tall in the past, but she was now just a bit above average among the girls.

As for her sitting height…

“Oh, dear, Mitotsudaira! You’ve grown five centimeters since last year! You’re a real grower!!”

“What idiot places the measurer on top of my hair decoration!?”

Mitotsudaira ignored Naomasa’s rational ''tsukkomi'' of “then remove it” and tilted her head instead. That allowed the measurer onto the center of her head.

“…It’s the same as last year.”

“Could you not make that sound like such a disappointment?”

Kimi gave a quick nod and let go of the measurer.

Her hair lifted the measurer up a bit.

Seeing that…

“…”

Kimi lowered the measurer again.

And she let go of it again.

“…”

She lowered it.

And let go.

It sprang up again.

She lowered it.

“Stop playing with my hair!!”

“Wait, Mitotsudaira. Strip off your tights. I didn’t check before if you have such incredible hair down there.”

“Just so you know, Loup-Garous and other quadrupedal beastmen have soft hair on their belly side.”

“Time out.”

Kimi touched the hair on the back of Mitotsudaira’s head and then the hair on the front. She touched them twice. And…

“Amazing!”

She called Adele over. Kimi whispered in her ear and Adele nodded a little before touching her hair too.

“That is amazing!”

They called Asama over.

“That’s amazing…!”

''It isn’t that impressive,'' thought Mitotsudaira, but then Kimi touched her bangs again. And…

“So your so-called ‘lower field’ is this hard…!”

“The hair on my head is mostly the same as the back-side hair, even on the forehead!! And what are you saying is so amazing!?”

“Oh.” Asama clapped her hands together with a smile. “Hee hee. That’s right, isn’t it? If it was like this, you wouldn’t be able to wear anything down there, would you?”

“Tomo, please spare me one of your usual inept attempts at helping…”

“But isn’t that great, Mitotsudaira?”

Mitotsudaira warily looked up at Kimi. She matched the tilt of the head made by the Cerberus in her hands.

“What is great?”

“Well. I was just about to give my foolish brother some inaccurate information.”

“Wh-what!? Please don’t give him any weird information!”

“Um, Extra Special Duty Officer, are you saying it would be okay if the information were accurate?”

She turned to face Adele and Adele stepped back with a shriek. The look in her eyes must have been quite sharp.

She had to calm down. At any rate, she stepped away from the measuring device.

“Hurry up and measure my chest, Kimi.”

“Very well. Here, raise your arms…ah! What is this!? There must be something wrong with this measuring tape, Mitotsudaira! This says you’ve grown fifteen centimeters since last year!”

“I haven’t removed my top yet and I still have the side hard point parts on!”

“Then hurry up and strip. Come here, Troiko~”

“I am not giving you him.”

With the sitting height done, the Cerberus was back in its spot on her head.

And…

“…!”

The Cerberus barked at Kimi.

Feeling like she really was the Cerberus’s master, Mitotsudaira removed her side parts and removed the shirt collar from her neck. Even if she did not remove her top, she just had to allow the measuring tape around her sides.

“All done, Kimi.”

“Okay.”

And as soon as Kimi casually wrapped the cloth measuring tape around…

“Kh.”

It tightened down enough to force the air from her lungs. And once it loosened…

“Um… Oh, dear. I would feel bad reading off this number.”

“Y-you just tightened it so much it dug in, didn’t you!? That would have measured my skeleton more than anything! Besides, there’s no way I’ve shrunk by seven centimeters since last year!”

“The body is a mysterious thing.”

She wanted to flip over the work table, but she restrained herself.

In front of her, Kimi started playing around by tangling the measuring tape around herself, but then her face suddenly grew deadly serious.

“Mitotsudaira.”

“What?”

“Judge. Listen. The regulations technically allow you to be measured with your inner suit on. There are some people who find the measuring tape too dirty to be measured bare. Then there are those like Asama who are so large that merely wrapping the measuring tape around changes their shape, so they need to be held in place by something to get an accurate result.”

“Wh-what are you talking about, Kimi!? I do it bare! I always do it bare!”

Naruze had a sudden and explosive nosebleed and Sanyou noticed.

“U-um, all of you! Naruze-san is having trouble!”

“Eh?”

Naito, Asama, and Kimi turned around and Sanyou’s face clouded over upon seeing their breasts.

And Sanyou came to a stop.

“Y-yes…”

“S-Sensei!” said Mitotsudaira. “Why does that sudden depression seem awfully familiar!?”

“Oh, yes. If anything, you’re just like me, Mitotsudaira-san… And I was just about to feel all alone. Oh, and Adele-san is here too. …Although Adele-san is even more…yes.”

“Calm down! Calm down, Sensei! Don’t forget your original objective!!”

“And, Sensei! What was that deep nod for when you looked at me!?”

Sanyou sat in her chair, held her knees together, and stared at the curtains covering the window. The way she would occasionally rock back and forth seemed dangerous, but there was nothing to do but leave her be.

That meant Sanyou was useless, but they managed to heal Naruze relatively quickly. Naito immediately used a spell and Asama used some purification to tune away the blood. After that…

“So what was that about inner suits, Kimi?”

“Why not wear yours while you get measured?”

“What good is that kind of vanity now?”

“Then I’ll measure them bare, but use a lewd method.”

The idiot sister touched her breasts with somewhat cold hands.

“Nn.”

“Heh heh. Looks like you enjoyed that. You reacted nicely. …Now I’ll take the top measurement.”

“W-wait just a second! That is a biological reaction!”

“Yeah, that does tend to happen with the measuring tape tickling them. …Oh, Ga-chan, you’re bleeding all over the place again. Want to take a break?”

The Technohexen seemed to be having trouble too. But…

…''Eh?

Kimi narrowed her eyes, began humming, and pulled the cloth measuring tape to either side as if to cross between her hands and chest. It was almost like she was moving to embrace Mitotsudaira.

“Take this. Secret Technique: Hug Measurement…!”

Asama ignored Mitotsudaira’s muffled scream and placed the measuring tape on Suzu’s body.

She worked at measuring while feeling the cloth loosen and tighten from Suzu’s anxious breaths.

“Suzu-san, you’ve grown taller since last year. …And your sitting height hasn’t changed, so you’re just getting cooler and cooler.”

“Th-thank…you. B-but…” Suzu lifted her shirt collar back into place and blushed. “It’s still not…as much as you or…Kimi-chan.”

“Hee hee. Just make sure you get plenty to eat and you’ll be fine.”

“Th-then do I have no hope at all!?” shouted Adele. “That means my impoverished lifestyle can’t get me a sexy adult body!”

“Adele, shouting something like that will do direct damage to Sanyou-sensei who uses her salary to eat properly.”

Sanyou’s upper body had collapsed onto the table and she had started singing a strange “loo loo loo” song, but they ignored her. However, Kimi tilted her head.

“Asama, doesn’t that mean there are some cases where eating properly isn’t enough?”

“But there’s no hope if you don’t eat properly.”

“Th-then I’m completely hopeless!?”

Asama was starting to feel like everything she said would cause some kind of problem. So…

“I think worrying about it will only make them smaller. Due to the stress and wasted stamina.”

“Oh, you have a point.”

Adele quieted down, so Asama finished measuring Suzu. ''Her waist is…ohh, quite slim! And her hips…ah, she’s got a fair bit there.

“W-well…?”

“You’re very feminine. In a few more years, you’ll be turning a lot of heads.”

“R-really…?”

[[Image:Horizon_Kimi3A_131.jpg|thumb]]

“Judge,” confirmed Asama before having Suzu measure her. Suzu used a large measuring tape because the scale was printed such that Suzu could read it with her fingers.

Asama laughed a little at the ticklishness and the odd sense of calm at having a trustworthy person lightly restraining her like this.

“Ah, laugh and…y-you’ll have a…bigger result.”

Adele suddenly started laughing at the top of her lungs, earning her a karate chop from Naomasa’s prosthetic arm.

''But,'' thought Asama as she belatedly focused on her recent life. With the Gagaku Festival, the band, and the Hidden Dragon slaying, there was a lot going on, but…

…''I’m glad everyone’s the same as ever.

Then Suzu started making oddly quizzical breaths behind her while loosening and tightening the measuring tape.

''I wonder why?'' thought Asama as some more of the ticklish sensation arrived.

“Suzu-san? Um, what is it?”

“Eh? U-um…”

Suzu retightened the measuring tape, causing it to press against the front of Asama’s chest.

“Just a…slightly different angle…makes a l-large…difference. Wh-what do I do? …Sh-should I lift them…up? Or should I…bind them…horizontally?”

“U-umm…” Asama asked Suzu a question. “H-how did we do it last year?”

“Heh heh. There was too much of a commotion to do the measuring last year, so we finished it up real quick with a spell,” said Kimi. “But we wanted some proper measurements afterwards, so you, Mitotsudaira, and I did each other at your house while having a snack party.”

“You did each other…!”

Naruze fell to her knees, but they just left her there.

“Tomo’s breasts are so big that you have to worry about their weight and softness, so the angle can change their shape quite a bit…”

Unsurprisingly, the girl who groped them was knowledgeable on the subject. And in that case…

“Just measure along the top line.”

“Okay,” said as Suzu as she started measuring, but Kimi smiled bitterly.

“It’s because you have a solid core, but you’re soft on the outside.”

“Let’s not link our personalities to our body types.”

Asama said that with a bitter smile of her own, but Naruze tilted her head after recovering.

“On that subject, why is one end of the spectrum ‘flat’ and the other ‘large’?”

“Eh?”

Everyone fell silent. But…

…''That is a good question.

“Do you not know, Naruze? I would think you use those terms a lot in your doujinshis.”

“You must not read them much. In the things I draw, the measurements tend to be on a spectrum from ‘long’ to ‘short’!”

“Wow, now I really want to report you.”

Kimi then looked to Naruze and tilted her head.

“I read one that my foolish brother had before. You’re referring to hair length, aren’t you?”

Hearing that, Asama thought for a bit. And she realized what this conversation must have meant.

“…Eh?”

That syllable of confusion caused everyone to glare at her. So…

“Y-yes, hair! Of course we were talking about hair! I totally knew that! No need to doubt me! Ah ha ha ha!”

“Heh heh heh. You just don’t know when to give up, do you? But let’s just leave it at that. …Oh.”

“Eh?”

“It seems we have a visitor.”

When Kimi said that with another tilt of her head, everyone covered their chests and closed their tops before looking to the entrance.

The door slid open and someone stuck their head in to look around.

“Hey, are Asama and the others here? …Huh? Mitsuki, what are you doing?”

It was Oriotorai. And once she spotted Asama…

“Oh, there you are. Could you quit measuring, grab a few other people, and come on out?”

“Huh? What for?”

“Judge. An official request from the Asama Shrine should be coming in soon, but a mysterious phenomenon has shown up underground here. They apparently want you to purify it. Okay?”

Oriotorai held up her right hand to beg her.

“I’ll be heading down to move everyone out of the gym, so can you do that?”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3A Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3A Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3A Chapter 1

2017-07-17T23:44:57Z

86.52.14.214: Fixed some spelling errors.

==Chapter 1: Noisy Girls by the Window==
[[Image:Horizon_Kimi3A_035.jpg|thumb]]
''It is noisy girls

''Not violating girls

''Or violated girls<ref>The second and third lines use an alternate interpretation of the kanji.</ref>

'''Point Allocation (I Knew That)

There was a white and black structure in the white sky.

It was a giant aerial ship composed of eight smaller ships and it existed at the center of a giant stealth barrier.

Each ship’s bow was printed with the name “Musashi” and they floated motionlessly inside the white stealth barrier they produced themselves.

But in place of movement, there was noise. For the most part, it was the sound of the virtual ocean crashing at the waterline as it kept the Musashi afloat. And in addition to that…

“———————”

There were sounds of striking metal and shouting voices.

Those noises came from the rear deck of the first port and starboard ships, the road in front of the stairway to the academy at the back of the central rear ship, and in the plaza below that stairway.

Construction was underway in those places.

It was nothing largescale. They were only constructing and decorating festival stands and stages in the streets and plazas. In some cases, they hooked up power cables and added lights.

All the construction had a single purpose:

“The spring school festival? I am pleased to see we likely have another success on our hands this year, Sakai-sama. Over.”

On Okutama’s bow deck “Musashi” served Sakai a teacup below the morning light that arrived through the stealth barrier.

“But if anything, it appears today’s preparations might end with only pulling the materials out of storage. Over.”

“Yeah, I hear a lot of the location assignments haven’t been ironed out yet,” said Sakai while viewing Okutama’s city from the bench. He saw some people begin the work by removing the signs that decorated Okutama’s shopping district and streets. “This event is used to redecorate the city from spring to summer. How many years have we been doing it now, ‘Musashi’-san?”

“You might be intending that as a trick question, but I was only installed as overall captain nine years ago, so I can only answer for that nine year period. Over.”

“No, no. That wasn’t what I meant, ‘Musashi’-san. If you check the records, it will show this seasonal tradition has been around since the academy was made 30 years ago.”

“The records…?” “Musashi” tilted her head. And a moment later, “I have retrieved the data. …I have confirmed that this seasonal tradition was established even before 30 years ago. Over.”

“Really? Before there was an academy?”

Sakai raised his eyebrows and “Musashi” gave a deep nod. And…

“Would you like some more tea? I can provide some breakfast too. Over.”

“Oh, I think I’ll take you up on that. What’s for breakfast today?”

“Something made by removing the nutrients from unpolished rice and steaming it, something made by cooking a wild fish alive, and something made by sterilizing rotten beans with salt, turning them into a paste soup, and placing it over high heat for a bit. Over.”

“Could I get a giant chicken cell with that?”

“Judge. I thought you might ask, so I had one prepared.”

“Musashi” snapped her fingers and something fell from the sky behind her.

It was a sword. The long weapon was drawn. A large bento box wrapped in a cloth was tied to the hilt and it had been thrown by…

“ ‘Asakusa’, I have determined that was well done. Over.”

“Musashi” looked to where the blade had stabbed. It had pierced the seam between two of the hardened wooden panels forming the deck and, even after she pulled it out…

“I have determined the gap would have vanished had the ship shaken. Over.”

“That’s incredible, ‘Musashi’-san.”

“ ‘Asakusa’, Sakai-sama just praised you. Over.”

“Judge. Thank you very much.”

But when “Asakusa” appeared on the sign frame, she continued before saying “over”. And she did so while expressionlessly tilting her head.

“Um, ‘Musashi’-sama. Making sure the ship does not shake is quite difficult, so I would prefer you did not make me do that again. Over.”

“Judge. Understood.” “Musashi” gave a deep nod. “Then I shall control the ship next time. Over.”

“Eh? Over.”

“What was that ‘eh’ for? Over.”

“Um,” hesitated “Asakusa” before finally answering. “I have determined your gravitational control is superior to mine. Over.”

“Judge. It is my duty to support all of you, so that is only natural. Over.”

“But,” said Sakai as he moved next to “Musashi” and peered in at the sign frame displaying “Asakusa”. “Is there some kind of a problem with ‘Musashi’-san controlling the ship?”

“Judge. ‘Musashi’-sama is generally managing all of Musashi’s ships at all times. Of course, that is the job of her main body, the Integrated Decision Reactor inside Musashino’s bridge, but her artificial intelligence as an automaton is constantly working at full power as the foundation of all our various decisions. Over.”

“Really? Then even now, are you keeping the Musashi afloat and managing the various functions across the ship?”

“Judge.” “Musashi” nodded. “Musashi is a floating city and it requires strict management to pay for that floating power with taxes. I am constantly managing the state of every nook and cranny, from the sewers to the undersides of the passageways and vital part. Over.”

“Then are you monitoring when I sleep?”

“It is not my job to monitor the Principal who possesses the right to manage the Musashi. And I also omit that sort of work when it comes to those I have decided are trustworthy. Over.”

“Then what do you with the people other than me?”

“I generally monitor their physical condition and location. If anything is unclear or suspicious, I can either send in the guards or request a divine protection from their shrine. The weight management of the ships also allows me to instantly locate any stowaways. Over.”

“Umm, then do you manage my health?”

“Is there a problem with ‘Okutama’, the others, or me providing you with three meals a day? Over.”

“You do do that, don’t you?” Sakai placed his ''kiseru'' in his mouth. However, “Oh, I just like the feel of it in my mouth. I’m not smoking it.”

“You have yet to eat, so I am aware. …Now, ‘Asakusa’, what problem is there with me controlling the ship? With the Musashi’s power, multitasking is a simple matter. Over.”

“Um, ‘Musashi’-sama, I would not mind answering in a clean state, but I believe there will be noise. Over.”

“Noise? Over.”

“Asakusa” thought for a moment about that question from “Musashi.”

“Umm.” She briefly looked to Sakai. “This will never end otherwise, so let’s try a practical demonstration. ‘Musashi’-sama, I am about to launch another sword, so make sure it lands in the same place as the last one. Over.”

“Musashi” replied with “judge” while spreading the breakfast out on the table next to her. The transported bento box contained bamboo containers fixed to a heating pallet and ‘Musashi’ opened them to reveal grilled fish, pickled vegetables, and miso soup. She placed steaming rice in a bowl and set down an egg and some chopsticks.

“Here, Sakai-sama.”

“Judge. Thank you very much.”

Sakai exaggeratedly brought his hands together in thanks and then began eating. At that very moment, a dry bursting sound came from up ahead to port. “Asakusa” had launched a large sword.

The sword was difficult to see despite its size and “Musashi” watched Sakai with her hands folded in front of her waist instead of looking back. Sakai cracked the egg on the side of a small bowl and glanced up at her.

“Are you sure this is okay, ‘Musashi’-san?”

“I have locked onto it. This will not be a problem. Over.”

“Musashi” nodded and so did Sakai. And as he stirred up the egg with the chopsticks…

“Oh, soy sauce.”

He looked up and reached for the soy sauce pitcher on the table.

At the same time, “Musashi” also reached over. As a result, their fingers tangled together in front of the pitcher.

“Oh,” said Sakai.

“Oh, dear,” said “Musashi”.

And immediately afterwards, the large sword stabbed into the center of the table, right in front of their hands.

“Waaahh!!”

Sakai grabbed the automaton’s hand and pulled it back from the sword that continued to vibrate even after piercing diagonally through the table.

It had not hit them, but ‘Asakusa’ was glaring from the sign frame.

“That is what I mean. Do you understand now, ‘Musashi’-sama? Over.”

“Judge.”

“Musashi” calmly nodded and pulled the sword from the table.

“That is within the margin of error. Over.”

“Refusing to admit your mistake, ‘Musashi’-sama? Could you talk some sense into her, Sakai-sama? Over.”

“Well, uh…”

Sakai let go of “Musashi” and turned his hand palm up. He glanced to the side and “Musashi” placed the soy sauce pitcher in his hand. She had grabbed it with her gravitational control when the sword fell.

He poured some of the small porcelain container’s contents on the egg bowl as he answered “Asakusa”.

“I’m used to this sort of thing.”

“Are you used to them because of ‘Musashi’-sama? Over.”

“No, because of my friends back home. Although lately I haven’t seen them even when we go to Mikawa.”

“Do you mean Honda Tadakatsu-sama and the rest of Matsudaira’s Four Heavenly Kings? Over.”

“Have you ever met any of them, ‘Asakusa’?”

“No,” said “Asakusa” and “Musashi” together. But “Musashi” continued, “To help accomplish work in Mikawa and understand the area, some automatons are sent to Mikawa when we stop at the land port there. We have received their shared memories of Mikawa. The memories must be converted to make up for differences between automaton models, but that information includes-…”

“Is there any from the years I didn’t see them?”

“Judge. If you make a request, I can use the bridge’s data processing to playback an artificial video. Shall I do so? Over.”

“No, you don’t have to. It’s not like I’ll never see them again. But I bet it would be interesting if ‘Asakusa’ or ‘Shinagawa’ met Kazuno.”

“Kazuno… That is the head maid automaton that works for the Honda family, isn’t it? A unique model. Over.”

“Right, right.”

Sakai roughly poured the egg on the rice bowl. After drawing some dark brown stripes, he pushed down the front portion with the chopsticks to reveal the untouched rice below. He stuck the chopsticks beyond the untouched portion, used that to push the rice forward, tilted the bowl toward his mouth, and brought it to his back teeth.

After chewing a bit, he swallowed.

“Ah, this is good stuff.”

“The egg is from a Nagoya chicken. That supply will likely be used up during the Gagaku Festival. Over.”

“What about the soy sauce?”

“I don’t mean to brag, but I made it myself. You are a busy man, so I refine some low-salt soy sauce below Musashino. Once I remove the bitter flavor from the recipe I am testing on you, I should be able to sell it to the general public. Over.”

“I see.” Sakai nodded a few times. “Am I being managed?”

“Even if I think it is a perfect batch, you will fall silent if you find it to be even slightly unpleasant, so I believe you are the one indirectly managing me. Over.”

“Am I that selfish?”

“… Over.”

“Sakai-sama, please stop provoking ‘Musashi’-sama. Over.”

But then “Asakusa” sighed as an artificial expression of emotion and she spoke with her usual expressionless look.

“I am receiving some records concerning Kazuno-sama. They are not much, but I can estimate that she is an expert at close-quarters combat using gravitational control. Over.”

“Yeah, the gravitational control is really more of a way to support her real skill. I mean, she was originally-…oh, whoops. If I say that, Da-chan might kill me. But, well…Oku, who used to hang out with us, would do things just like that flying sword back when she was alive.”

“Are you sure you are not altering your memories as humans are wont to do? Over.”

“ ‘Asakusa’. Over.”

“Musashi” stating her name shut “Asakusa” up and “Musashi” bowed toward Sakai.

“My subordinate went too far. Over.”

“No, no. I was just wondering the same thing myself. But, y’know what?” said Sakai. “One of our second years, who doesn’t even hold an official position, jumped down from Musashino’s bridge, right?”

“The other day, he tried to swing down from Shinagawa’s derrick, lost control, and crashed into the side of Musashino’s bow. He has an excellent entertainer’s spirit. Over.”

“Yeah, but that isn’t all. …We’ve even got some kids who defeated some dragons.”

“What are you hoping for, Sakai-sama? If you ask me, peace would be best. Over.”

“Yeah,” said Sakai again before swallowing some more of the rice mixture in the bowl. “People often alter their memories to take a kinder view of the past, but what about the future? When viewed from the future, do we take a kinder view of the inevitable present than we should?”

In the sky, they could hear the delivery workers beginning their morning work after eating breakfast. Sakai raised the corners of his mouth as he listened to them soaring through the wind and flying every which way in that cramped sky.

“Now, then.” He held his right palm out toward “Musashi”. “I’m not done eating yet, but I’d like some tea, ‘Musashi’-san. They’re doing the physical examination at the academy today, so it’s no boys allowed. That means I have no choice but to take it easy out here.”

Asama was in the morning classroom.

There were three rows of desks and Asama’s seat was in the middle row. That put it a bit back from the front.

Mitotsudaira’s seat was by the window to her left and Kimi could sit behind Mitotsudaira if she used an unused desk.

“I’d like to go through with the strategy meeting we couldn’t do at the spring.”

“You seem a little out of it.”

“And whose fault is that?”

She was not actually drunk, but her body’s core felt a little lacking. The sake’s purification was washing away a lot inside her. She had considered using a spell to fix it, but it was harmless and it would go away with time.

…''And if it comes to it, I can always fix it with the hair of the dog!

Not even she knew why that idea excited her so much, but it was always good to have something to look forward to. And…

“Mito, are you okay?”

“Nn~. I’m still a little woozy.”

The silver wolf was leaning back a bit in her chair and that stirred up a protective instinct in Asama, but the Cerberus on her head seemed worried about its master.

“…”

It would occasionally growl at those around her, so it may have seen itself as a guard dog. They had pampered the thing at Takao yesterday, but it seemed to know the proper pecking order.

''Good girl,'' Asama thought of both the wolf and Cerberus before focusing to the left.

“Did it not affect you, Kimi?”

“An athlete gets drunk fast, but they sober fast too.”

She was perfectly fine. She smiled a little while resting her head in her hand and staring at Asama.

“You two should increase your basic exercise load to improve your actual body instead of relying on divine protections. You don’t want to realize how much you’ve slipped during the physical examination today, do you?”

But, well…

“I was a little careless. Sorry about that. …So what should we do about the strategy meeting? Get it done real quick here?”

If Kimi was inviting them to do that, then ''doing so was a good idea.'' However…

“Why?”

“Heh heh. Well, you see, there are a few things we lack. If we’re going to gather those things while also practicing, I think we should get it done afterschool today.”

“A few things we lack? …Like what?”

“Judge.” Kimi nodded. “There are three things.”

Kimi looked back and forth between Asama and Mitotsudaira who had tensed up a little.

“First, instruments.”

“Didn’t we check in the Asama Shrine’s storeroom yesterday?” asked Mitotsudaira.

“Even if we have the actual instruments, we still have to see what happens after we tune them and actually play them, right? Old instruments are sometimes not practical because they work fine for the first song, but they have to be tuned again for the second or third song.”

That was true. String instruments in particular could have the strings loosen and the sound would deteriorate after a few songs.

They had seen plenty of instruments at the Asama Shrine the day before. They had all been on the level of antiques, so while they had tested some of them out, they would have to play several songs in a public place as well as use them over and over in practice.

…''What will happen then?

Gagaku tended to end after playing a single song and musical instruments were handled with extreme care during Shinto rituals.

But at the Gagaku Festival, they would have to play several songs in a row. And Kimi would also be dancing, so they had to take a rough, high-speed playing style into account. And in that case…

“We will be managing our instruments individually. That isn’t easy, you know?”

“You mean someone might try to steal them since they belong to the Asama Shrine?”

Kimi shook her head at Mitotsudaira’s question.

“I’m talking about something much simpler: They can sometimes break even inside their case.”

But…

“That’s just the way it is, so you have to be prepared to deal with it if it happens. I’m just saying it would be nice to have instruments that can withstand that kind of usage.”

“Then what’s the next thing?”

“Judge,” replied Kimi. “The three of us need to practice together. Naito and Naruze are having difficulty with that one too.”

“What? I heard my name.”

Naruze turned their way, so Kimi nodded back at her.

“When the two of you perform together, how you present yourselves is a real challenge, isn’t it?”

“It’ll be three people for you, right?”

That was obviously true, but…

…''She’s saying she knows from experience that it will be an even greater challenge for us.

That was what Naruze’s line meant. When Asama and Mitotsudaira realized that, they exchanged a glance. Asama spoke quietly so the rest of the class would not hear.

“Have the three of us ever done anything together like that?”

“There was that folk dance back in sixth grade.”

“Oh, that was the Genghis Khan Dance, wasn’t it? I remember the Testament description being pretty vague. Something like, ‘There is no evidence this was actually danced in the original era’. But that’s pretty common for folk dances.”

“Judge. There’s also the Oklahoma Mixer that’s only mentioned in the notes on the New World. The name alone isn’t enough to know what kind of dance it is, but it was described as the ‘sudden impact’ style, which only made it more of a mystery. …And during elementary school, the boys started playing a game they called the Oklahoma Mixer and it was pretty dangerous, so at morning assembly they issued an official ‘Ban on the Oklahoma Mixer’. Do you remember that, Mito and Kimi?”

“I do, I do.”

Asama remembered it quite well, too.

“But,” sighed Asama. “Those dances are fine, but we’re Shinto and we don’t even do the ''bon'' dance during temple festivals…”

“Heh heh. A band that does folk dances and the ''bon'' dance on stage!? Now that would be popular!!”

Despite what she said, Kimi was worried about their future.

…''They really need some training.

But they were motivated, so they would probably manage somehow. Still, that left the final problem.

“And the third thing.”

Asama and Mitotsudaira moved their gazes and foreheads toward her, so Kimi paused to raise their expectations and answered with a smile.

“We have our academic exams during the preparatory period, but if we fail any of them, we have to take a supplementary exam during the festival.”

And just to be clear…

“I can be pretty capricious.”

''Oh, that’s right,'' thought Asama.

“You’re not allowed to fail, Kimi.”

“Heh heh heh.”

“No, not ‘heh heh heh’…! Mito, you say something to her!”

“Judge,” said Mitotsudaira. “This is a pain, so let’s make a deal, Kimi. A deal to get you to study.”

“Eh? What’ll it be? It takes many offerings to placate the goddess of beauty!”

“Then…Tomo will give you sweets every day, so go study at the Asama Shrine every day.”

“Eh!? Me!? I have to do it!?”

They ignored her. And…

“Heh heh.” Kimi laughed and bent backwards. “That isn’t going to cut it.”

“Then,” said Mitotsudaira. That word filled Asama with hope.

…''Is Mito going to bring sweets, too!?

Asama had quite liked the crepe she had eaten the day before. It was fattening, though.

For the next few days, she would look after Kimi while saying “Oh, I’m going to gain weight” but still eating the Far Eastern sweets at the shrine along with the Western sweets Mitotsudaira brought over. That was how things tended to be in the lead up to a festival.

…''It’s like Shinto heaven…!

“Tomo will wash you at Suzu’s bathhouse every day.”

“Wh-why me? You wash her, Mito!”

“Using me is a last resort.”

“…Y’know.”

It was Naito that spoke to them. She was using a spell pen to censor Naruze’s manuscript displayed on a crop mark frame Magie Figur.

“Ga-chan and I use Suzu’s Bath every day, so that would just be a nuisance for us.”

Asama gave a deep nod in response.

“Right? Using our bubbly bodies to wash each other would just be terribly inappropriate, wouldn’t it?”

“No, not that. Just having you there would mean Ga-chan could never finish her storyboard and the new book would never actually be released.”

“Margot… I’m sorry… But I’m at an age where I can’t help but leap at any good material I see.”

''When will she reach a calmer age?

“By the way,” said Asama. “Is it just me, or is that me I see on that manuscript there?”

“It’s fine.”

“Is it?”

“It’s fine.”

“Is it not?”

“It’s fine.”

“W-wait, please give me a serious answer, Naruze!”

“What does it really matter?” asked a voice behind her.

She looked back and found the idiot girl had spread out a magazine insert on the desk. It was labeled “Musashi Sweets Map”. And she breathed a few nasal laughs.

Kimi faced Mitotsudaira.

“So when will you play your final card?”

Adele looked away from the commotion caused by the three girls behind her.

''They always seem to be having fun,'' she thought just like yesterday, but she was busy herself with the vassal unit’s public training and other things at the spring school festival.

''Fun and busy mean the same thing, don’t they?'' she thought while glancing around the classroom.

…''Huh? Was it always this big?

Class 2-Plum was on the third floor of the rear school building. Spring was coming to an end, but the light coming in through the windows was faint and unreliable since it came from the stealth barrier.

The amount of sunlight felt a lot more like dusk, but more of it got in than usual.

She knew why: the boys were not here.

…''Just having Persona-kun, Urquiaga-san, and Ohiroshiki-san gone changes a lot…

She then began to wonder if it was wrong of her to say it was “just” having those three gone. They were quite significant as far as size was concerned.

Anyway, her seat was near the window, but just by looking across the classroom a bit…

“I can see everything a lot better.”

“I sit in the front row and I haven’t known the rest of you for long, so it’s hard for me to tell…”

That comment came from Masazumi who sat in the seat in front of Adele and was turned back in her seat for once. She looked around at the others in their seats and then faced Adele.

Her well-formed eyebrows could not hide her doubt as she asked a question.

“What are we going to do today?”

“Oh, the physical examination.”

“Now? Although I suppose it is true we haven’t had one yet…”

“Judge,” nodded Adele.

''Now that she mentions it, that might be true,'' she thought, but she understood why.

“Musashi gets people from every nation, but that creates some slight margin of error. We’re generally in Mikawa during April, so that’s when the transfer students arrive. But there are always some that can’t make it to Mikawa.”

“That’s true,” agreed Masazumi. “Mikawa is near the center of P.A. Oda. That makes it a difficult place for Tsirhc people to go.”

“So, well, it’s partially to accommodate Europe, but some people transfer in at around May when Musashi goes to Europe. That’s why we wait until then to do all the events other academies would do at the beginning of spring.”

That was not limited to the physical examination.

“During the preparatory period for the spring school festival, we use the mornings for the physical examination and the educational exams. You probably already know, Masazumi-san, but a lot of this has to do with our bodies and we have to change clothes a lot in preparation for the festival, so Musashi Ariadust Academy is currently split between boys and girls.”

“No, I didn’t know that.” Masazumi smiled a little. “I thought it would be best to learn about the school festivals and events once I got here.”

“Oh, so you’re a hands-on kind of learner.”

“I’m not so sure. I might just be a procrastinator.”

The way she lowered her eyebrows in a smile suggested she could think of an example in her everyday life. ''I’m the same,'' thought Adele.

“So does that mean there are only girls in the academy during this period?” asked Masazumi.

“The boys use the underground gym and the various branch schools to change and prepare. If that isn’t enough, they’ll set up tents on the second schoolyard down below.”

“So the girls get all the advantages…”

“If you run for next year’s student council, you could probably get a lot of the boys’ votes if you demand some changes concerning that.”

Masazumi’s reaction changed when she heard that. Her smile did not so much disappear as it grew clear.

“——————”

She stared straight at Adele, but not in a disagreeable or hostile way.

“That’s an interesting idea.”

Masazumi’s tone was resolute. ''Oh?'' thought Adele with a hint of admiration.

…''So she isn’t denying that she’ll be running.

She did not deny it or dodge the issue. Nor did she claim it had nothing to do with her or pass it off as some casual political talk.

It was like she thought such topics were naturally relevant for her.

…''Yes.

She was the daughter of a Provisional Councilor. She had worked in the past toward inheriting a name and she had the surname Honda.

Over the past month, Adele had only seen her as a politician’s daughter and an excellent student, but this was different.

“Masazumi-san.”

“Hm? What is it?”

Masazumi replied with her usual serious expression, but Adele sensed some kindness there. However…

“You hope to be a politician, don’t you?”

She asked for confirmation.

That was something everyone already knew. After all, she had mentioned it while introducing herself after transferring in at the start of spring. And when she had…

“Another influential person in our class!? Are you trying to corner me!?”

“Toori-kun, I won’t ask what you did, but how about you go to the guard station and accept your punishment?”

“Um, Tomo? Isn’t that normally ‘you don’t have to go to the guard station, but how about you tell me what you did’?”

“If you ask me, you try that with him and he’ll just start bragging about his criminal escapades.”

“Then, Uqui-dono, wouldn’t it solve everything if you just punished Toori-dono before he said anything?”

“Ga-chan, Ga-chan, tell me what you just imagined. That’s an impressive nosebleed.”

Toori and the others reacted in the usual way: incomprehensibly.

But given that Masazumi dreamed of becoming a politician, Adele wanted to support her. Their class had a bit of a soft spot for dreams.

And so she had asked about Masazumi’s dream to let her know that. But…

“Ohh…”

Masazumi scratched her head with a troubled look. And then…

“Judge.”

Adele only received that brief response.

Adele was confused by Masazumi’s noncommittal reaction.

…''?

Did it mean she was not confident? Or did it mean that was not what she really wanted?

The reaction suggested Adele had touched on a topic she wanted to avoid.

There was a small smile on Masazumi’s face. It was a distancing smile that perfectly matched her short response and hesitant tone.

Unlike before, it was a vague expression that tried to dodge the issue.

…''Yeah, this is a really awkward pause…

Adele realized she had probably made too many assumptions about Masazumi’s character. Hoping to be a politician and being a politician were two different things. That was obvious, but Adele had not understood the emotions contained there.

That had been a mistake.

She dug back through her memories and realized that Masazumi had only briefly touched on this topic while introducing herself at the start of spring.

And that was why Toori had followed up on it.

Asama’s precise but cruel finishing blow would have been for the same reason. Asama had been in charge of inspecting Masazumi when she boarded, so she had likely understood all that.

But…

“Sorry.”

“Eh?”

“Hoping to be a politician isn’t that easy, is it? I shouldn’t have brought it up so casually.”

“Eh? No, um, I was the one that told everyone about it.”

But…

“It’s true it isn’t easy. I can believe it will happen just fine, but when other people say it too…how should I put it? I guess I feel more responsibility? There isn’t actually any, but I feel like I won’t be able to live up to that.”

“Oh.”

Adele understood. If someone else asked her and she said yes, then it would become a lie if she did not make it happen.

…''Yeah.

''She takes things really seriously,'' thought Adele.

…''And she hides it within herself.

She had said it while introducing herself to provide a consensus, but she had not made it a part of her identity yet. She hid it inside herself and simply believed in it. That was Masazumi’s true form at the moment.

Adele hoped Masazumi did not think she had been teasing her for that, but she felt that defending herself any further would only be for self-satisfaction. ''I’d only be justifying my actions by apologizing.

So Adele said something else instead.

“If you ever need something, just say so. We all love helping out.”

“Judge. That’s been pretty obvious.”

Masazumi nodded, so Adele decided that was good enough and breathed a sigh of relief. And then…

“Okay, okay. Are you all here, girls?”

The classroom door opened and a voice called in.

It was Oriotorai in her track suit. She held an attendance sheet and a bundle of charms, both of which she placed on the teacher’s desk.

“Now, the boys will be heading down this morning and working hard on the spring school festival preparations. We, on the other hand, will spend the morning on the physical examination in here. We have plenty of time this year, so the health exam will be on a different day, so don’t feel rushed. But we will swap out with the boys in the afternoon, so don’t be too slow.”

“Judge,” said Adele and the others.

Oriotorai then turned Adele’s way. No, she was technically facing Masazumi.

And she spoke to Masazumi.

“Do you have a track suit?”

Masazumi felt her pulse racing, but she also felt relief.

When Oriotorai faced her, she had honestly thought the teacher was going to say something about her body.

…''Because I tried to become a boy for the inherited name, but never finished the process.

That was necessary information for the physical examination and it could be a bit of a sticking point for Masazumi.

So she had thought Oriotorai was going to mention that up front: Can you take the physical examination?

That had happened several times at Mikawa already. Each time, she had said she could.

She knew they were trying to be considerate, but…

“Oh, yes, judge, I do!”

This was the first time she had to answer this question.

And that may have been why she answered a little too forcefully.

“Oh, that’s good,” said their homeroom teacher. “So you won’t have to borrow someone else’s?”

“Sensei, is anyone in our class the same size as Masazumi?”

That blunt question came from Naruze. ''Musashi is from Matsudaira, so does her name come from the Naruse clan?'' wondered Masazumi as the Non-Fallen Angel looked across the others.

“Asama…is out of the question. Why did I even look at her? Probably for the joke. Yeah…”

“What kind of roundabout rejection was that!?”

“Now, now,” said Heidi before smiling over at Masazumi. “If you ever need something, I’ll lend it to you!”

“No, thanks. Borrowing from you would leave me indebted in more ways than one.”

“Then what about mine?” asked Mitotsudaira. But…

…''Wait, wait, wait. A future politician borrowing a track suit from the first in line to ruling the Far East!?

She felt it was a personal failing that she was not decisive enough to think of this as an opportunity. But the Aoi Sister, who was sitting behind Mitotsudaira, tapped on her shoulder through her hair.

“You can’t, Mitotsudaira. Masazumi has a surprisingly big butt.”

“Oh, I see… Wait, what does that say about me!?”

''Do I?'' wondered Masazumi. ''Maybe it only doesn’t feel restrained because I wear boy’s pants,'' she thought. Regardless, it seemed no one here matched her body type.

…''Well, I have one, so it isn’t that much of a problem.

Just as she gave a mental nod of self-satisfaction about her own preparedness, Mukai suddenly spoke up.

“Toori-kun’s would…fit. Probably.”

“Huh?”

Masazumi expressed confusion at Mukai’s unexpected comment.

But Mukai only blushed a little and nodded.

“Yes.”

That seemed to be the end of her explanation, so Masazumi felt left behind.

…''What was that about that idiot?

She had an intensely bad feeling about this and the others decided to prove her right.

“Oh, yeah. I bet his would fit. I agree.”

“She’s a little stiffer, but I guess the base is about the same. And Masazumi has long legs, so she would only have to adjust the top.”

“That is certainly unexpected, but it might actually work…”

And as they all started agreeing, Adele joined in.

“If Suzu-san says so, then it must be true.”

“R-really?”

“Judge. Suzu-san has always been good at sewing and she even tailors her own uniform. So when I buy used clothes, I always get Suzu-san to retailor it for me.”

''That’s an unexpected talent,'' thought Masazumi, but she had another question.

“Um…”

She had a feeling this was a dangerous question and she had already heard about the likely answer, but she asked anyway.

“Why…Aoi’s?”

“Oh, Toori-san crossdresses, so he’s sure to have at least a track suit.”

…''Do you not find that at least a little odd!?

Or was this an old habit of his?

Whether he was being a nudist or crossdresser, she could only say there was something wrong with him, but in this class – and probably in Musashi as a whole – people just seemed to accept it.

When she thought about it, she realized the falling nudist had not caused a big to-do the night before. She had checked the newspaper and it had only been given as additional information concerning the Hidden Dragon extermination:

“Last night, the Chancellor and a nudist fell from a ship in the sky above Musashino’s bridge, but they were unharmed.”

He could do such ridiculous things, but no one made a big deal out of it.

That may have been Musashi’s nature as the only official Far Eastern territory.

There had been nothing like this at Mikawa. In fact, there was no real way to fall from that kind of height there.

At Mikawa, the worst you came across was the training for the Atsuta Shrine’s prayer song attack. Two competitors would sing adlibbed songs and if your opponent’s adlibbing ended first, you were free to punch them.

There were a lot of mysterious phenomena in Mikawa, but looking back, it had been a lot safer…no, saner.

…''Yes, Mikawa wasn’t exactly safe.

After all, her mother had disappeared due to one of the mysterious phenomena in Mikawa. That was what had led to her coming to Musashi, but it was also why she had trouble feeling proud of her hometown after arriving here.

…''But while it may be safer here, it’s really abnormal.

She was sometimes asked to tell stories from her life back at Mikawa, but whenever she did they would only respond with some light agreement and understanding: “Sounds like Mikawa has its own troubles.”

Naruze had said, “That story needs more of a punch,” and Naito had tried to rebuke her: “Don’t say that, Ga-chan. Seijun is doing her best to fit in.”

…''But thinking back, that might be when I did start to fit in more…

''The Seijun nickname was something that idiot started without meaning to, wasn’t it?'' she recalled before speaking to the others.

“Anyway, everyone, I have a track suit, so I’ll be fine. I’ve only been sitting out of gym class because it hadn’t arrived yet. If you need help with any of the preparations, just call me over.”

“Judge,” they all agreed. Naomasa looked up and groaned in thought, so she might have been figuring out where she could use Masazumi.

The others seemed to view her as one of them more than she had thought.

But there was one thing that came to mind here.

…''I’ll probably get a much better picture of these things during the festival and all the preparations.

She would be able to see how the various people acted and what happened afterwards.

She had seen a lot of it already. For example…

“Asama, will you three be busy preparing for the Gagaku Festival?”

Asama quickly looked up when Masazumi asked her a question.

…''Ah.

''Oh, no. I wasn’t paying attention.

The sign frame in front of her was why. It displayed the band ideas that Kimi had sent her and it was their most important task at the moment.

She thought it was wrong to bring their personal time into the classroom, but she also thought it was fine since this was for an academy event. However, she had taken it too far if she had lost track of the conversation.

Masazumi’s question had not reached her ears. “Umm,” she said while trying to figure out what to say, but then a post appeared on the experimental divine chat that she was testing out with a special connection.

'''Wise Sister:''' “Asama, over here.”

Hoping for a hint, she turned around. Kimi opened the chest of her own uniform and stuck a handkerchief between her boobs.

'''Wise Sister:''' “Look, a tissue box.”

Relying on a crazy person had been a mistake. So…

“Um, sorry, I wasn’t listening. What is it, Masazumi?”

“Eh? Oh, I was only checking on your current situation.”

…''My current situation?

She looked to Kimi who nodded with her eyebrows lying flat. She then grabbed the straw paper printout containing the day’s schedule and stuck it in her cleavage.

“A shredder.”

The straw paper was sucked down into her cleavage, so Uzy was probably pulling on it from below.

More than the joke, it was imagining Uzy’s effort that did it.

“Pff.”

“Ah, she laughed! She laughed! …Masazumi! This is what it looks like when someone laughs at your joke!”

“I don’t know what this is about and I don’t particularly care, but why would you think no one ever laughs at my jokes?”

“——————”

Dead silence.

No one said a thing and Asama felt it was the teacher’s job to break that silence, but…

…''Sensei.

She looked up at Oriotorai who was using a sign frame to place a delivery order for lunch.

She was completely ignoring everything.

…''Sensei?

Questioning their teacher’s abandonment of her duties would accomplish nothing. This much was to be expected. If Asama did not think of it that way, her mind would never survive intact.

That meant she was the one who had to help the room’s atmosphere recover.

But breaking a silence was a dangerous act if she thought of it in terms of ''kotodama''. The words she sent into that silent space would determine the atmosphere from then on.

And everyone understood that it was a shrine maiden’s job to do such things safely, so…

…''Um.

The safest option was, “Let’s start the physical examination.”

But that did not seem entirely accurate. They had to change first.

“—————”

''This is surprisingly difficult,'' she realized.

That was when she saw Kimi reach for the paper being sucked into her chest and pull on the top to retrieve it. But the internal pressure was too great and the paper’s movement caused her breasts to swell up above the shirt portion. As a result, the chest band slipped below her breasts and the bare chest parted the shirt portion like peeling two grapes.

“Oh, dear.”

In order to stop them from being fully bared, Asama franticly raised her voice.

“Mito! Take care of Kimi’s boobs!”

…''Ehh!?

Mitotsudaira had partially turned back toward Kimi to discuss the Gagaku Festival. That left her turned to the side and facing Asama, so the other girl’s words scored a direct hit.

A shrine maiden’s words were absolute when it came to creating an “atmosphere” out of silence. And when that shrine maiden was the #2 of the Asama Shrine and Musashi’s Shinto representative, Mitotsudaira could not just ignore it as the provisional name inheritor of Mito Matsudaira.

So she quickly took action.

“Kimi!”

She reached out on reflex to hide Kimi’s boobs.

The clothing had not fully left her breasts, so she moved to grab the collar and hold it together.

…''This will work!

But just as she thought that, Kimi did something, perhaps in an attempt to be considerate.

“Here.”

She got up and mischievously leaned on top of the silver wolf.

By the time the term “counter boobs” came to mind, the distance between them had shifted.

…''Ah.

''Oh, no,'' she thought as her hands nearly passed by below Kimi’s breasts. She made a quick course correction, sending her hands further upwards, and…

“Ahn.”

Kimi cried out and Mitotsudaira realized her ten fingers were digging into Kimi’s boobs.

…''What is this!?

Mitotsudaira’s first impression was a shout.

She had tried to support Kimi from below as the girl leaned onto her, so Kimi was completely draped over her, even if there was a desk between them.

Kimi had lost her balance, so she loosely wrapped her arms around Mitotsudaira’s head to support herself.

“Ahhn, oh, you’re so cute, Troiko…!”

…''Is this any time to be loving on my Cerberus!?

That said, the three-dimensional masses in front of her eyes were far too monochrome. She was just barely holding the cloth in place so it did not come off, but that applied extra pressure which caused a part (or rather, two parts) of Kimi’s body to change shape.

They were entirely deserving of certain choice sound effects.

They were huge. She could see why Kimi was known as the runner up after Asama in Class Plum’s boobs caste system. Seeing them like this proved how huge they were. Groping them like this proved even more how huge they were.

They sometimes looked bigger than Asama’s, but she now understood how that worked. Kimi must have been a lot more fit due to dancing, so the top of her breasts swelled out in a larger curve.

Looking at pure volume, Asama would win out.

But Asama’s had a somewhat downward-facing volume due to their own weight. Viewed three-dimensionally, they stuck out to the front and were more focused on the bottom.

But Kimi’s swelled out at the top, so they had an excellent three-dimensional shape on the top and the bottom. That accentuated the breasts more and made them look bigger than Asama’s.

…''Shape fraud!?

''No, you can’t call it fraud when they really are this big. In a way, Tomo is the one guilty of shape fraud because hers lull you into a false sense of security and then reveal themselves to be even bigger than they looked.'' However…

“…!”

Mitotsudaira realized that their shape could make them look big even if they were small.

…''I won’t point out that it doesn’t actually change their size!

After that quick self-''tsukkomi'', Mitotsudaira began estimating what kind of shape she would need to make her breasts look big.

“…”

It was not possible.

Without voluminous weapons on Kimi’s level, it simply was not possible. So to gain that appearance of extra volume, you needed some foundational volume to start with.

To put it another way, making your boobs look bigger was a privilege of the big ones.

You needed a starting sum if you were to earn more.

…''Heh…heh heh. Am I talking about investing all of a sudden?

''God, please give me a starting sum of boobs.'' She knew more or less where this was going to end if she was thinking that, so she stopped trying to gather her thoughts and ejected them from her mind. All that remained was…

“Kwah wah wah wah wah.”

The skin color in front of her eyes had not resolved itself while she was indulging in escapism.

…''Hyahhh!!

She realized anew just how huge they were. Just like with Asama, even one of them was more than wide enough to cover both her eyes at once. They would only be an obstacle in battle, but she was fairly certain Kimi’s dances included defensive techniques.

Did that mean those were techniques born from figuring out how to protect her entire body despite those breast obstacles?

''I can’t beat the busty. I thought that yesterday too, but…y-yes, there’s just nothing I can do… Wh-what is with me lately? I keep crying.

At any rate, this was not the time to be groping and supporting some giant boobs.

For one thing, it was morning homeroom. She could not keep doing this forever, so to create an opening between them, Mitotsudaira raised her eyebrows and…

“W-wait, Kimi!”

To break them apart, she pushed with both hands against the masses in front of her eyes.

…''Wait, no!

She gasped as she remembered the mental scars she had suffered yesterday when she tried to push back and her fingers had dug in so deeply.

She was currently up against the Kimi version of that shock-absorbing booby armor. So…

“Kh.”

Since she did not want to push, she reflexively did the opposite and pulled. That was a mistake.

Kimi’s altitude quickly lowered.

The sudden action must have caught her by surprise.

“Eh?”

With a rare voice of confusion, Kimi entrusted herself to Mitotsudaira.

Mitotsudaira did not want to just let them both collapse. Her hips bent back a fair ways, but she managed to support Kimi.

…''B-back to the original idea!

She pushed.

Her fingers dug in.

…''Nh.

''It’s different,'' concluded the silver wolf based on the sensation surrounding her fingers.

This was different from yesterday.

With Asama, her fingers had softly dug in and the flesh had flowed out.

With Kimi, the flesh pushed out between her fingers like it was about to burst.

''I, Nate Mitotsudaira, am becoming a real connoisseur,'' she thought, but…

“M-Mito! Why do you keep losing yourself in thought each time you move a little!?”

“B-because I am a philosopher! Probably!”

At any rate, the most important task at hand was to push Kimi back, so she pushed with her entire body. And…

“Ah, you idiot, don’t push on the outside.”

“Eh?”

Not properly holding the spheres from the center had been a mistake.

She was still holding the two sides of the collar, which slipped along the outside of Kimi’s skin and forced her arms to spread to either side.

As a result, Kimi’s breasts were fully bared, Mitotsudaira’s arms were spread wide, and…

“Ahn.”

Kimi let out a sweet cry as she fell between Mitotsudaira’s arms as a counterattack.

Mitotsudaira was aware her face was buried between those two breasts.

They both froze in place, Mitotsudaira with Kimi’s arms around her head and her own arms loosely around Kimi.

Mitotsudaira’s face was buried in that resilience, heat, dampness, and pulse.

…''Oh, I can actually breathe fairly well.

She tried to calm herself. How was she supposed to escape this blatantly abnormal situation? She commanded herself to come up with an answer and soon.

Then she heard Kimi’s voice.

“Oh, c’mon. Were you that desperate for some boobs? You’re so spoiled, Mitotsudaira.”

Heh heh.

“They’re yours to do with as you wish. So what do you want to do?”

“I want to cryyyyy!!”

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3A Prologue|Prologue]]
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 3A Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 5B Chapter 42

2017-07-17T00:27:12Z

86.52.14.214: One formatting error and one text error attempted fixed. I'm unsure if it should be "a barrier" or "barriers".

==Chapter 42: Guide to the Defenseless Room==
[[Image:Horizon5B_477.jpg|thumb]]
''A geometry only possible with someone else

''A coordinate you cannot create alone

''A distance formed with a partner

'''Point Allocation (Defenseless)

“It seems Musashi has done something pretty crazy…”

Below the moons, a ninja girl Mouse peered into the depths of a trench.

She looked up and saw a two-horned figure in the moonlight.

“Ujinao-sama. How would you fight against a dragon?”

“Hee hee. Kotarou…how about I activate World’s Steepest Mountains from dead ahead?”

“No, that wasn’t what I meant.”

Kotarou moved from the trench to Ujinao and pointed to the northern sky. Then she raised her eyebrows and spoke.

“If we are to accurately follow the history recreation, we will be up against Musashi next. And Musashi just made a show of force against the surrounding nations by driving back part of Sanada’s forces.”

“Testament. That is correct, Kotarou. But what about it?”

“Can Houjou do the same?”

“Well.” Ujinao placed an index finger on her mouth and looked into the sky. After a while, “We cannot do the same thing.”

“No, Ujinao-sama. Just to be clear, I mean achieve the same result, not use the exact same method.”

“I see.” Ujinao smiled a little. “You are cleverer than you used to be, Kotarou.”

“I’m not that-…w-wait, why are you treating me like a child!?”

“Calm down, Kotarou.”

“Of course.” Kotarou calmed down. And, “If we can’t do it that way, how can we do it?”

“Use a few transport ships to block the way forward and crush it from above. …Of course, that is assuming a ground battle.”

“And if it’s an aerial battle?”

“Use one transport ship as bait, briefly trap them on that ship, and then have our warships concentrate fire on that ship,” calmly said Ujinao. “That should be enough if we only need to defeat them. Of course, we would also need to focus on ''how'' we win. …That would show we are willing to singlehandedly defeat them using any means necessary.”

“And that is the lesson of the Warring States?”

“No, it is simply my personality, Kotarou.”

Kotarou’s shoulders drooped a little at that.

“Ujinao-sama…”

“Now, now,” said Ujinao. “A lot of power and people are gathering at Houjou right now. No matter what group attempts to attack, they will be able to do things a dragon cannot.”

She pointed at the trench.

Kotarou looked that way and saw glowing lights slowly rise from the bottom.

“Look, firefly season is about to end.”

Ujinao turned around as if to pursue the fireflies that gently passed by.

At the depths of the night, a flat surface formed a dark blue silhouette in the moonlight.

But that vast space contained countless people and structures.

“I wonder when Musashi will reach Odawara Castle here.” The words spilled from Ujinao’s smile. “It’s nice to have this time to wait. After all, we are waiting for history, Kotarou.”

“…Torahide-san was defeated?”

A voice appeared in the depths of the darkness.

In the thick trees and accumulated leaves of the forest, the ground slowly peeled away and stood up.

A boy was visible on the mossy ground below a large tree.

“That was some good sleep. My arm is a lot better too. …Mochizuki, can I chat with you?”

“Testament. …If you do not mind me preparing you a late dinner while you do so, Kakei-sama.”

“Oh, give me something, too. Please,” said a female voice from up in the tree.

Only tree branches and leaves were visible in the forest, but something moved in the direction of that female voice.

It was a maid automaton. She briefly appeared in the darkness, and…

“Here it comes, Unno-sama.”

She used just her elbow and wrist to swiftly throw a teacup set and a paper wrapper.

“Ohh,” said Unno’s voice along with the sound of catching the thrown objects.

By then, Kakei and Mochizuki had already disappeared into the darkness on the ground.

Unno spoke after a while:

“Huh? English-style fried potatoes? Where did you get these from?”

“I do not store only explosives in my phase space. If I store a heating pot, oil, and fuel, I can fry foods even during battle.”

“Shouldn’t you quit this whole Ten Braves business and return to being a maid?” asked Kakei.

“I would do so right away if you could recruit a new member to make up for the introduced deficiency in fighting power.”

“Well, that ain’t happening,” said Unno with a sigh. “We’re also going to have to make up for Isa. Both our Sasuke and Sasuke-sensei are going to be upset.”

No one responded to that.

But Mochizuki spoke after the sound of a flock of birds taking flight in the distance.

“Thank you very much, Unno-sama.”

“I didn’t really say anything. And more importantly…”

“You mean Torahide-sama, don’t you? …Are you worried too, Kakei-sama? After all, he would be Kakei Juuzou’s father according to the Testament.”

“My ‘teacher’ was already gone by the time we arrived in Sanada. That’s why Torahide-san looked after me so much. …He was surprisingly fond of humans.”

“Paternal or maternal, everyone has those instincts.”

“Even me?” asked Kakei just before a branch with a sharpened end flew down from overhead.

Mochizuki appeared in midair for just an instant and caught the branch. She spun it around in her fingers, used it to skewer the chicken she had fried, and threw it back.

The straight-flying fried chicken skewer ultimately vanished into the shadows.

“Nice.”

“Thank you very much.” Mochizuki cleared her throat once. And, “It seems Torahide-sama is currently being transported by ship on Sanada Nobuyuki-sama’s orders. They said it was difficult to load him aboard even Sanada’s largest transport ship, the Ueda Castle.”

“Hah. The older brother. …Wouldn’t it have been better to use the Numata as a transport ship?”

“They probably didn’t expect this to happen,” said Kakei. “Torahide-san is the strongest of Sanada’s Terrestrial Dragons, yet the records show they pulled off a no-damage run against him.”

“Yes, but Musashi’s front central ship, the Musashino, was lightly damaged and some more damage was confirmed on the neighboring ships of Murayama and Tama. …Should we interpret that as nothing taking priority over people’s lives?”

“This was their way of saying they aren’t wrong to substitute in something else if it means they’ll survive.” Kakei spoke into the sky while producing the sound of rolling over. “That was a good way to win. The Musashi was damaged, but they defeated a dragon while the people fighting remained almost entirely unscathed. They can just repair the Musashi, you see. So…”

So…

“Since the Musashi has survived, it means that group can even defeat dragons.”

Kakei mentally held his head in his hands.

…''Okayyy, this has gotten bad.

Torahide had been a pretty capable member of Sanada’s dragons. He had sometimes gone all out against them to test them during training, but they had been forced to focus almost entirely on evasion.

But to Kakei…

“Torahide-san was a good match for me. …His armor is full of blind spots, so I could fire all the bullets I wanted.”

“Yeah, and who was it that seriously pissed him off that one time, causing him to fire a full-power dragon cannon?”

“What was his ridiculous excuse? ‘Think of it as anti-warship training’?”

He laughed a little, so did that mean he was beginning to calm down some? But…

“Our insolence was thanks to our training with Torahide-san and the others. Without that, we never could’ve faced the Reine des Garous.”

“Don’t act like you weren’t terrified.”

Of course he had been. She was the same size as a human, but he had sensed a presence on the level of a Celestial Dragon. And that was before she had shown off her aggressive side.

“Mouri is raising a monster like that.”

“We have several ourselves and we’ve been trained to that level, haven’t we?”

“…C’mon now.”

He did understand how Unno felt, but he was the rational gunslinger. So he looked up into the sky.

“You’re being too aggressive. Don’t forget why our teachers accepted us.”

“Yes, but…” said Unno before trailing off.

The atmosphere grew stagnant, but that was fine as long as it was calm. But he did think he had said too much.

…''Honestly.

''Why am I the one feeling down after giving her a warning?

But another voice spoke up as if in response to his thoughts.

“I have not forgotten. …Because I am an automaton,” added Mochizuki before continuing. “When we arrived at Sanada, our teachers met us deep in the ruins that have become the school building. And after quickly ascertaining our aptitude, they recruited us as the next Ten Braves. And when they did, they said this to us.”

That was a long time ago, but they remembered it and would never forget it.

“ ‘Even if you inherit these names, you need not die.’ ”

After all…

“They were approaching the end of their Celestial Dragon lifespans. So even though the Ten Braves are meant to die at the Siege of Osaka, they would ‘complete it in advance’. …That is what our teachers told us.”

“I cannot accept Isa-sama’s death,” said Mochizuki.

Her optimization as an automaton had to ask ‘why’.

Why had Isa been so fixated on destroying the Musashi and why had she needed to risk her life for it?

She did not know. Of course, the others did not either. And that was why Unno said what she did:

“Can’t you conclude she pushed herself too hard and failed to escape in time?”

“Unno-sama, when I cannot find an answer, giving me a question you cannot answer will only leave me with two equally unanswerable questions.”

“I see you’re unfamiliar with the concept of consolation…”

“Thaaaat’s it right there,” said Kakei’s voice from around where he was.

Something was thrown into that area of empty air: something in a paper wrapper.

“Thanks.”

“You are very welcome.”

Mochizuki loosened and then retightened all of her body’s wire cylinders. She adjusted her hardware as she spoke.

“If the previous generation’s Isa-sama were with us, could he have explained Isa-sama’s actions?”

“Mochizuki,” said Kakei quietly. “You probably know the answer for yourself. You just haven’t noticed.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“It’s a question about one’s way of life.”

That short line brought Mochizuki’s decision-making to a stop. She slowly turned toward the darkness where he was.

…''All I did was ask a question.

How did that question become an answer?

A question was a question. Only by going through the subsequent process could it become an answer. So how?

“What-…”

Just as she prepared to ask “do you mean”, Unno spat her voice down from above.

“Oh, you are so full of yourself.”

“I wasn’t talking to you,” said Kakei.

That exchange was a common occurrence between those two. It did not mean Unno actually felt any antipathy toward what Kakei was saying.

''Thus,'' concluded Mochizuki. ''What Kakei-sama said is correct, but it is simply outside my understanding.

Mochizuki judged Kakei correctly. He was probably only pretending to lie down while he was actually sitting and facing the darkness to stand guard.

“Thank you very much.”

“Huh? Mochizuki, don’t tell me Kakei’s won you over.”

“That’s what happens when you’re a virtuous person, you idiot,” said Kakei. “But have you two noticed?’

“The birds, you mean?”

Unno threw her branch skewer into the darkness overhead.

…''I have determined that was well done.

A flock of birds had been heard taking flight earlier. Mochizuki’s auditory devices had detected someone or a group of someones either approaching or passing by nearby.

Unno had thrown her chicken so they would notice that.

And with that clear, Unno quietly spoke while viewing things from above.

“Based on the movements of the forest, there’s a large number coming here. But there’s one large group and one small group. I also sense aerial ships. …Do you think they’re enemies?”

“I have determined this is enemy territory,” said Mochizuki. “I would have liked to wait and see what they do, but they appear to have already noticed us. One group’s footsteps have come to a stop.”

“What a pain…” complained Kakei.

“Indeed,” agreed Mochizuki. “I did not have time to serve dessert. But…”

But…

“If we are this busy on the outskirts, just how busy will Musashi be in Sanada?”

Adele felt refreshed.

“So refreshing!”

She could not help but say it aloud while wearing a yukata and chugging a bottle of fruit milk.

She was in one of the bathhouses run by Suzu’s family. Specifically, Suzu’s Bath on Okutama. It stayed open late into the night and they had rented it out using the Student Council’s authority, so all of the officers and participants in the previous battle were gathered there.

She did not know what was happening in the boys bath, but as for the girls bath…

…''Pretty much everyone’s here except for Mitotsudaira and the others who went to grab their luggage.

Tomorrow they would descend to Sanada for the study camp.

But they all had work to do in order to clean up after the battle. They had considered going to the Student Council Room like the day before, but once they temporarily gathered on Musashino…

“Isn’t heading all the way to the back of Okutama a real pain?” suggested the Chancellor. “I mean, we’ve got the study camp tomorrow, right?”

Asama had raised her hand:

“I think we should purify ourselves because the dragon’s ether can have side effects. So either at my place or…”

And so they had gathered at Suzu’s bathhouse.

They were spending the night there and they would then load their luggage onto the ship down to the surface.

…''Ohh! Camping out on the surface!

Adele quite liked the surface. The games imported from outside Musashi or playable on the divine network were almost always set on the surface. All the scenes there would have mountains and valleys, so…

…''It really feels like you’re way out in the middle of nowhere…

Deep in the mountains, inside a cave, or at the bottom of a valley were all places not found in life on the Musashi. The 1st Special Duty Officer and others would train on the local terrain whenever the Musashi docked, but the rest of them almost never had that kind of opportunity.

Heading to the surface felt like an adventure. Especially this time.

“We’ll be investigating the ruins…!”

“Look forward to it if you want, but we can’t let our guard down now that we’ve already seen the enemy.”

That warning came from the Vice President who was drying herself off with a towel. She moved the clothes-cleaning algae creatures from her clothing basket to the main creature basket and then put on her underwear and inner suit without any tights.

That must have been what she wore as pajamas. Everyone had been too exhausted to change out of their track suits or combat clothing the night before, but tonight was different. They had to prepare for tomorrow.

“Ohhh, no. The sake from Asama-chi’s bento just hit me all at once.”

Yukata-wearing Naomasa lay on the floor with her removed prosthetic arm acting as a pillow, so Suzu quickly got her a futon.

Everyone else started laying out futons wherever they wanted, and Asama…

“Oh, what should we do about Mito, since she’s still at her house?”

“How about here?”

Horizon laid out a futon for the 5th Special Duty Officer near the shelves of clothing baskets.

''Why all the way at the end?'' wondered Adele before Kimi spoke from next to her while grabbing Suzu from behind.

“The boys bath is over there. My foolish brother is sleeping just beyond that wall, isn’t he?”

“Judge. I walked in a bit ago to check the positioning.”

…''Oh, so that’s why the boys bath grew so noisy a while back…

Horizon laid out her own futon behind the 5th Special Duty Officer’s.

“It is probably meaningless, but thinking of the battle formation here can be amusing.”

“Then maybe I’ll sleep here.”

Kimi laid out her futon behind Horizon’s. Asama sighed.

“Not again, Kimi…”

“Suzu! Suzu! We’re all sleeping over here, right? Futayo, you’ll be next to Horizon, right?”

“Eh?” said Suzu as she looked up, but she soon nodded. The Vice Chancellor did the same.

Instead, Asama spoke up after being skipped over.

“Eh? W-wait, Kimi.”

“What is it? Hmm? What – is – it?”

“Kh…!”

…''Where is Asama-san’s clenched fist going to go?

But Kimi only slapped a hand on the futon she had laid out.

“This spot is for you, Asama. You can be with Suzu and me. Suzu, that’s fine, right?”

“Y-yes… You smell nice…Kimi-chan…and you’re…warm.”

Mary then raised her right hand. And she placed a hand on her blushing face while speaking to Horizon.

“Where is Master Tenzou?”

“Around B-3.”

“Is that a coordinate?” everyone muttered as Mary seemed to realize what that meant and moved her futon.

Asama suddenly looked up.

“North is…this way right now. Starboard. I think his head will be on this side.”

“Judge. Thank you very much.”

Mary set down her pillow, but after a moment moved it out of the way. Instead, she sat down there and spoke as if asking permission.

“…An air lap pillow?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Th-that one got me…! That hit me more than almost anything else in my short life…!”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Gh… L-look, Ga-chan, there’s a lap…a lap here too…”

'''Asama:''' “You two! The wound is still shallow, so try to fight it!”

'''Hori-ko:''' “As long as the coordinates line up, I can make an air ''tsukkomi'', can’t I?”

'''Bell:''' “Is that…how it…works?”

Asama thought ''I just saw something incredible'' while she recalled the night before.

She had ended up sleeping alongside Toori and Horizon and they had ultimately created a bed fortress out of several people, but…

…''Do Toori-kun and Horizon expect that from me…?

''But if so, does that make Mito a dog?

“Hmm…”

She crossed her arms and groaned, but she was in the position Kimi had prepared for her.

She felt led there, but it was pathetic how little she intended to fight it. However…

“…?”

Horizon bent back and beckoned Futayo over.

Futayo crouched down and erased her footsteps as she approached.

Everyone looked over curiously as Horizon whispered something to Futayo.

A moment later, Futayo slammed Tonbo Spare (which was only the main device since the extension device had been damaged in the Torahide battle) into the back of the clothes shelves. And the blade stabbed in up to the base.

“Eh?”

Just as everyone expressed their surprise, they heard something from the boys bath next door.

“Owaaaaaaaaaaahh!”

Horizon commented on the scream.

“So you failed to finish him off. I saw some light glinting from the back, so I thought it must be a peeping point. …Oh, Suzu-sama, could you bring in some repair materials? There should be some
left from repairing the Blue Thunder.”

''That’s incredible…'' honestly thought Asama.

At that very moment, the divider at the girls bath’s entrance slid open.

“You moron! That was really dangerous, Horizon!”

The crossdresser charged in, wearing a yukata.

In Okutama’s underground, the delivery workers moving through the same long block as Suzu’s Bath saw someone fly out of the bathhouse’s entrance.

“A girl?” they asked as they continued their work. But when they realized the “girl” had been sent flying by the Muneshige Cannon, false arms, a spear, and milk bottles, they realized they were actually seeing a crossdresser.

“Okay. Let’s get these repair materials to Musashino.”

They got back to work while the crossdresser gathered up the various weapons and reentered the girls bath.

“Anyway, you need to think more about what you throw at me. Oh, Horizon, here’s the Muneo cannon. And, Asama, why do you have an arrow with a dulled point?”

Asama accepted the arrow and sighed.

“Because I could predict this would happen. And, Toori-kun, why are you crossdressing?”

“Well, if I’m going into the girls bath, I’ve gotta be a girl, right?”

It scared her that he kind of made sense to her. When she thought about it, Shinto mythology was a treasure trove of crossdressing material. ''Fine, then,'' she thought…

“You know? Some of the girls here are married or close enough, so please be more careful.”

“Married?”

The crossdresser looked over and saw Gin was already asleep with her false arms removed next to her. Perhaps for security purposes, an Arcabuz Cruz was floating close to the floor and aiming his way.

The weapon was taking this seriously, so Asama could tell it took Gin’s personality into account.

…''I’m glad it didn’t fire just now.

Narumi was also already asleep, but she had a drawn mandible sword next to her futon.

It looked like she was prepared to join a battle at a moment’s notice.

…''Our married girls are way too serious.

''Oh, but they’re all people who joined us later on,'' she added for no real reason, but then the crossdresser suddenly looked in a different direction.

He looked to Mary.

She gave the crossdresser a quick bow. Immediately, Tenzou charged in through the entrance.

“Toori-dono! You mustn’t look at Mary-dono!”

In Okutama’s underground, the delivery workers moving through the same long block as Suzu’s Bath saw a ninja fly out of the bathhouse’s entrance.

But when they realized the ninja had been sent flying by the Muneshige Cannon, false arms, a spear, and milk bottles and when they saw Musashi’s princess’s arms scurry across the floor to collect those weapons, they realized what had happened.

“Okay. Let’s actually get these repair materials to Musashino this time.”

They got back to work while the crossdresser dragged the ninja, who was refusing to get up and pretending to cry, into the boys bath.

…''So Tenzou-kun can actually express his jealousy now…

Asama sighed after confirming the crossdresser and the ninja had returned to the boys bath.

She spoke down toward her futon while watching Horizon return her arms to her shoulders.

“Honestly.”

Yoshiyasu and Ookubo were not here since they were not part of the study camp group, but Mary and the others were used to this sort of thing. She could only conclude it was far too late now, but she still spoke up.

“Toori-kun doesn’t give this kind of thing as much thought as he should. …I mean, we’re about to go to sleep so none of us is wearing underwear.” She nodded and continued. “And I’m always telling him he can’t walk in or look at times like this.”

Kimi raised her hand. That made Asama think that girl’s presence may be to blame for how little thought he gave these things, but there was no helping that at this point.

But if Kimi did have an excuse, she would hear it out.

“What is it, Kimi?”

“Judge. Is he not allowed to look because we aren’t wearing underwear?”

“Yes! You have to ask?”

“But by that logic, what about you, Asama? You’re a shrine maiden and never wear underwear, right? So can he never look at you? Isn’t that something of a double standard?”

Asama thought about that.

…''Huh?

“…Now that you mention it, you’re right.”

“D-don’t give in so quickly, Asama-san!” insisted Adele.

Horizon nodded in agreement.

“Asama-sama loses one point.”

Some kind of special rules seemed to be in effect. But then Adele raised her hand.

“In a yukata, you can see through the gaps, right? And I’m short, so I can see a lot of gaps when I’m sitting down. Even now, I can sometimes see some things when someone bends over to grab something from the floor.”

Everyone adjusted their natural-looking movements. And…

“That’s right,” agreed Kimi. She embraced Suzu from behind as the girl quickly pulled her yukata together. “Futayo keeps her guard up. And she sits perfectly straight. Same for Mitotsudaira.”

“Masa-san sits more casually, but she still makes sure her knees are together.”

“And Ga-chan makes sure to fasten her yukata all the way down to the knees.”

“If I don’t do that, I just get lazier and lazier while seated and working. But if you prefer it open, I can keep it open while at home.”

''I see,'' thought Asama just before Adele looked her way.

“Asama-san, you’re pretty defenseless, aren’t you?”

“Wh-what does that mean!?”

That was not much of a protest, but Mary smiled bitterly at it.

“But, Lady Asama, you spoke with him like normal in your yukata earlier, didn’t you?”

“Eh? …Y-yes. That’s because Toori-kun and I are used to it. I mean, he’ll flee to my place at night. We have a barrier in place, but my dad has given him a divine protection pass…”

After getting that far, Asama realized what she had said.

…''Oh, no…!

Naruze expressionlessly raised her pen.

“You’re used to being defenseless? You accept him in at night?”

“N-no, wait…! Horizon, don’t do your ‘you thief’ bit with the futon!”

But she realized now how careless she had been.

“Look, look, Ga-chan. Asama-chi has a combing-her-memories-to-see-if-he-might-have-ever-seen-something look on her face.”

“That’s way too long! That adjective is way too long!”

But some of them were already whispering to each other. And that included Horizon.

“…She’s clearly let her guard down.”

“I’m starting to be more worried that she’ll attack the Chancellor than the other way around.”

“I’m not sure my foolish brother would think it was that big a deal if he did see something.”

“To sum up,” said Horizon. “Toori-sama and Asama-sama share a secret.”

…''Ah.

Sharing or gaining a secret.

Kimi had mentioned that in the evening. But once again…

“I think Toori-sama peeped earlier because he wanted to share and gain a secret with me and everyone else.” Horizon looked to Asama. “But that has happened naturally with Asama-sama.”

“N-no, as Adele said, I’ve just been defenseless and I’m used to Toori-kun… Also, he comes to peep on my spring when other people are in it too.”

“Even if portions are the same, I have determined it is the differences that matter. After all, that is what determines the difference between his relationship with me and his relationship with Asama-sama.”

But…

“If our relationship ends, Toori-sama and I will have nothing anymore.”

“You’ll still have me.”

Kimi narrowed her eyes toward Horizon and opened her mouth.

She breathed a light sigh that was likely meant to express admiration.

She was probably delighted that Horizon could express so very much.

And then Kimi spoke to their princess with a smile in her voice.

“I will help my foolish brother live his life. And if he needs you, Horizon, then I will help you too. …Same for the others.”

“Judge. Thank you very much. Also…”

Horizon looked to Asama and then to the others. She started to open her mouth, but…

…''Honestly.

''She is an idiot too,'' thought Asama.

She did not want to lose anything, she wanted to feel happy, and she wanted to be with as much as possible.

Did she realize that she was talking about so much more than usual today? Asama then compared her own wishy-washiness to that girl.

“——————”

She sat on the futon behind Horizon. That also put her by his side, but that was her position in the battle formation.

She sat down and sighed. Then the others smiled.

“…Defenseless.”

“Ehh!? But I have my knees together!”

They all formed a seated scrum.

“Look, it’s due to the volume of her thighs…”

“An uncontainable body! …That’s a great doujinshi tagline!”

“This is going to bug the hell out of her once she starts to notice it.”

After quickly adjusting her sitting position and the bottom of her yukata, Asama took another breath.

…''They’re such strange people.

Narumi thought to herself while lying on her side and pretending to sleep with her back to them.

Musashi’s princess had spoken of forming a community that shared their destiny.

In a narrow view, that referred to a family. In a wider view, it referred to a clan or nation.

But instead of a group formed from mere circumstances, they were very close to each other.

…''It’s a gathering where anyone’s prosperity leads to the prosperity of the whole.

They did not monopolize happiness; they shared it.

A powerful but fair patriarchal or matriarchal system was a representative example of that. The Testament recorded such a system becoming official policy in the Far East.

Of course, that kind of system was a fundamental part of the Date and Mogami lands in the north because it was necessary for survival.

Mogami Yoshiaki and Ivan IV had used their authority to build up their lands and nations so that everyone with them benefited equally.

But Musashi’s princess…

“…Nn.”

Their will tickled at Narumi enough that she pretended to turn over in her sleep.

For their nation and their people, leaders would force their people to be the kind of “good citizens” they wanted.

Even a patriarch or matriarch with authority and control over the inheritance would want their family to be a “good family” for the survival and prosperity of the family.

But Musashi’s princess and king were different.

They were not with the others for prosperity; they promised prosperity so the others would be with them.

It was the opposite.

The prosperity was only the means to an end, so they were backwards.

That king, princess, and all the others were backwards.

She had heard about their king from Kiyonari. Kiyonari had once said this about him:

…''He will create a kingdom that can make everyone’s dreams come true.

That meant he would prepare a place for everyone.

But that king could not do anything on his own. That led the others to help out in making everyone’s dreams come true, but the king and princess felt responsible for that.

…''It’s so silly.

But how had it been in Date?

Hadn’t they driven Masamune into a corner in their search for a powerful leader?

If, instead of seeking strength from Masamune, everyone had wanted a home and path to follow, things might have turned out differently.

And as that silly thought came to mind…

…''I’ve loosened up a lot, too.

At the moment, Date had dealt with all of its problems and everyone was happy. So if she was still wondering what other happiness there could have been or searching for hypothetical happiness, she had to have changed a lot.

But then she heard the others again.

“Narumi-san has remained surprisingly untouched, hasn’t she?”

''What?

“Now this I can’t just ignore.”

She got up and joined the conversation.

Asama sighed while everyone gathered around and created a lively atmosphere when they should have been sleeping.

She leaned back against the clothing shelves.

…''What am I supposed to do about all this?

She felt like a great variety of emotions and paths were being created in quick succession lately, but she had no idea which ones to walk down and which ones to maintain the status quo on.

The real problem was Horizon saying they were welcome to join her. Asama tended not to act when she was given the right to choose.

So…

…''Mito…

That girl had gone to get her luggage from her house and she had yet to arrive here. As a knight, she must have had a lot of luggage.

At any rate, Asama considered dragging Mitotsudaira into this in order to distribute the damage between them. So she sent a divine transmission to the girl.

It rang for a few seconds before she answered.

“What is it?”

“Eh? Um, uh, Mito? We’re all having a lot of fun at Suzu-san’s place, so why don’t you hurry on over?”

“About that…”

“Is something wrong?” she asked and Mitotsudaira answered:

“My house was destroyed.”

Mitotsudaira faced the city of Musashino in the night.

That was where her house was located.

It was a small mansion-type house surrounded by a natural environment block. It had a garden and an enclosure. She was confident that it had a splendid exterior.

She had made a special effort to make sure it was sturdy, so the roof was made of hardened wood and the walls were plaster.

But there was one major problem.

“This is because of…that, isn’t it?”

Through the inward-opening entrance, the entire interior was destroyed.

Something had broken diagonally through the roof and ricocheted off the back wall and floor. It must have continued on to destroy all of the interior walls and furnishings.

The seven-room house was now just one big room.

As for why…

“That dragon…”

Or rather, one of his claws.

Six of the dragon’s claws had been severed during the battle. She had used four of them, but one of the remaining three had flown here.

…''What am I supposed to do about this?

''I need to view this positively,'' thought Mitotsudaira. Insurance would probably cover this. And since she was a knight deployed from Hexagone Française, they would of course cover most of the repair expenses.

And starting tomorrow – or today really – they were leaving on their study camp. She was fairly certain workers could at least prepare the land in the two nights and three days, or one night and two days, that she was gone.

While there would not be a new house waiting for when she returned from the study camp, she would be able to live in an environment like that during summer break.

“That’s right.”

''Stay positive,'' she told herself with a smile.

She had to prepare her luggage from the things inside. She was glad it was a solid house. The interior was destroyed, but the outside shape remained, making it easier to search through.

And then a voice called out to her from behind.

“Nate. Is your house okay?”

“My king?”

She turned around to find a yukata crossdresser. And once he realized she had seen him, he started running in a girly way.

She was not sure if she should thank him for running over or demand he leave, but behind him she saw Horizon, Asama, and the others in their summer uniforms.

Since their hair and skin looked refreshed and they smelled of soap, they must have taken a bath already. And if they were wearing their summer uniforms…

“…Sorry for worrying you. I even had you get dressed again, didn’t I?”

“No, no, Mitotsudaira-sama. Do not worry about it. That was due to Asama-sama’s defenselessness.”

“Defenselessness?”

The crossdresser looked back and Asama slapped a hand down on Horizon’s shoulder.

“Okay, okay. Let’s go over here for a lesson on common sense!”

Mitotsudaira had no idea what that was about, but at least they seemed to be getting along. But then the crossdresser arrived by her side.

“Nate, are the things inside okay?”

“Judge. The things in the back closet might not be, but I think everything in the corners and the basement should be fine.”

“I see…” The crossdresser sighed with a clear look of relief. “So the porn games I had hidden in your underground storage weren’t crushed.”

Horizon had walked over just in time for that one, so she and Mitotsudaira kicked him over into the wall.

And thanks to that shock…

“Ah.”

The surviving house fully collapsed.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 5B Chapter 41|Chapter 41]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 5B Chapter 43|Chapter 43]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Prologue

2017-07-14T21:15:26Z

86.52.14.214: "it's" should probably not be capitalized there.

==Prologue: The Outsiders on the Bridge==
[[File:Horizon3A 0017.jpg|thumb]]
''Look at that which is close to you

''The times you cannot see underfoot are truly...

'''Point Allocation (Consideration)

'''ANA:''' “Hey!”

'''Dragon Dog'''<ref>A pun. Luynes is spelled “ryuinu” in Japanese and Dragon Dog is “ryuu inu”.</ref>''':''' “What is the matter, milady?”

'''ANA:''' “It’s cold. —No, well, it is not that it is cold, I am just feeling cold.”

'''Dragon Dog:''' “It may be some kind of failure with the artificial sensory. I will contact those in charge.”

'''ANA:''' “You are perfect... However, I have already had that task completed and I was told the same thing, that it might be an error in the artificial sensory.”

'''ANA:''' “Hey, is it possible that I may be breaking?”

'''Dragon Dog:''' “It is not possible for me to answer that question, the reason for it being that it is a reality that has not happened yet. The only conjecture I can make with respect to a situation which has not occurred is that ‘It is possible that both possibilities exist.’ ”

'''ANA:''' “Then, for example if you were to experience this cold, what would happen?”

'''Dragon Dog:''' “I would cease to function.”

'''ANA:''' “In that case, hey...”

'''Dragon Dog:''' “What is the matter, milady?”

'''ANA:''' “My older brother said it, right? ‘If something happens, please tell me.’ That he would grant any wish. —Just because he has found a person who is important to him and started living properly, he is behaving as if he is an adult. In that case, is it fine for me to act like a child?”

'''Dragon Dog:''' “I have determined that milady has always remained as a child.”

'''ANA:''' “And that is fine, is it not? However, hey...”

'''Dragon Dog:''' “Tes. Please say anything you wish to say. What is the matter, milady?”

'''ANA:''' “I see that you are the same as always, you are perfect. Then I want you to hear me out. You see...”

In the morning sky there was an island.

Floating at a position lower than the clouds, there was a floating island that stretched from north to south for tens of kilometers. The lower strata area, which hung like an icicle, was divided into massive blocks by rocks and structures; sometimes these would slowly move as a result of the internal frame and change the shape of the island.

At the massive floating island there were two massive objects.

One of these, located on the northern side of the island, was a Shinto shrine which possessed a Shinto shrine-styled gantry crane, several tens of kilometers in scale and a sprawling large scale wooden research facility located at its base.

The other of these was located on the eastern side of the island, also connected with a new Shinto gantry crane with a massive ship in the interior as though it was being protected.

The vessel, which was comprised of eight individual ships, was installed in the large scale dock which stretched from north to south across the eastern side of the island.

It was Musashi.

The eight ship fleet which received the morning sun on the port-side had all of its ships still maintaining their functionality as a city while they remained within the dock. However, from the surface of each ship, there were multiple small, high-pitched noises being raised by countless shadows clinging to the surface.

Those shadows, whether they were gods of war driving in anchor bolts or people who were assisting in the repair of the ship, including other species, were all hurriedly working.

Musashi was currently undergoing complete repairs.

There were the figures of many students among the people participating in the construction.

If you let the students talk, their reasoning would be:

“Well, this makes it possible to earn cash during the early morning.”

“I have been helping out after school, so I started doing mornings as well.”

“Out our way, the outer wall is still broken, which is scary.”

Also, between the people carrying raw materials and the kobolds, multiple running shadows were present.

There was a jersey clad girl with two artificial arms and a tall foreigner in a tank top, a jersey clad retainer who was running with dogs, and following at a considerable distance behind the others there was a silver haired girl.

The girl with the artificial arms and the tall foreigner, who had run further ahead, raised their hand in a greeting and split off into a different route.

In contrast the spectacled retainer, after passing through the path of a natural area at a leisurely pace, ascended the staircase which was located ahead of her.

As she did, the dogs which were following her circled around at the bottom of the staircase and let out a bark.

Once the retainer turned around while waving her hand, the dogs emitted one more bark and then dispersed.

The girl retainer then nimbly ascended the staircase.

Once she had finished climbing there was a building with the nameplate “Musashi Ariadust Academy” and a bridge which reached up to the second floor entrance way. Furthermore...

“Eh? Asama, are you here for morning practice?”

Asama continued to replace the talismans for the hanging lanterns which were built into the bridge as she turned around in response to the calling voice.

It was Adele. While regulating her breathing, which wasn’t really disordered, she came over that way.

“Are you here for morning practice Asama?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

Asama replied with a bitter smile. She held the talisman in her hand out towards Adele.

“Lately our academy has been keeping the lights on all the night, hasn’t it? That’s why I am working on replacing the lighting spells. There’s also that...”

“What is it?”

“When I consider about what might happen from now on, I thought I should increase my stamina. I started from my family’s shrine below, ascended the staircase, and then did a light circuit of the schoolyard with Kimi accompanying me. However...”

Asama looked at the schoolyard. Kimi was collapsed on top of a bamboo bench located in the corner of schoolyard. The red jersey covering her head and upper body belonged to her.

“Well don’t worry about that, I’ll go to recover it later. I’ll return either through my family’s spring or Suzu’s public bathhouse, though whether or not I’ll make it in time for morning class it is a mystery.”

“Kimi always makes sure to eat the breakfast the chancellor makes before coming to the academy after all. About Kimi, how should I put it...why is it that while dancing is not a problem, when it comes to running she is just slightly better than a normal person?”

“Kimi’s Summit Dance is similar to Futayo’s acceleration technique, they both have fatigue reduction protections being inserted into the spell. She insists that ‘I have no willpower so I did it like that!’ ”

While saying that, Asama though to herself that spells which required access to customization were quite annoying.

After all, Kimi often didn’t think about things beforehand; so when a situation that couldn’t be dealt with by her showed up, she immediately started going on about “New version! New version!” “Okay okay, again? Once again?” “Groin!? Groin is high!?” displaying her insanity. Each and every time, the two of them soaked into the spring together doing this and that...

“My Priestess’s ‘Yearly spell supervision amount’ status rating is high as a result of handling Kimi’s requests.”

After letting out a sigh she was unaware that Kimi had stood up and began walking in their direction. While walking she put on the jacket which had been placed over her and said:

“Eh, what is with this girl’s jersey? The cloth around the chest area has stretched...! This Priestess, what is she attempting to achieve by creating a breast mold!? Planning on making manjuu or something!?”

“It fits you perfectly fine so what exactly are you talking about!? Ah Adele, would you please stop looking down and averting your eyes.”

From beyond Adele, who was looking that way, a hand suddenly grasped the edge of the overhanging bridge from beneath the staircase.

''Eh.'' In front of the girl who was thinking that, from the far side of the grasped palm, an elbow appeared and then proceeded as if to pull up the rest of the body.

“S-somehow I managed one full lap around the ship.”

It was Mitotsudaira.

The jersey clad figure of Mitotsudaira arrived at the top of the bridge completely out of breath.

''…I-it really does seem like a “somehow” situation.

In front of her eyes, there was Adele who had run the exact same course yet whose breathing was not disturbed, and a priestess that was big even while being the same age as her. Mitotsudaira felt a feeling of irrationality against both these parties, however there was nothing to be done.

In any case, Mitotsudaira used the banister as a support and attempted to stand. However her knees were shaking. ''“Ow…”

She grasped the banister and attempted to move forward but she began to fall to her knees. Hurriedly she attempted to support her body, though before she could take her next action Asama had already approached. While she was already holding a talisman, she said:

[[File:Horizon3A_0024-0025.jpg|thumb]]

“Ah, Mito, please do not push your body so much. I will cleanse your exhaustion with a purification ritual.”

“It is fine, Tomo. I will use my internal bless for a thing like that, you should use it for another...”

Before she had finished speaking, Asama claimed that it was fine and came to her side. She had Mitotsudaira lean against the banister.

“Good Work...”

In order to cast the spell, Hanami displayed several frames for the confirmation. Asama already had the talisman out and was clearing her throat as the preparation for the activation, so there was no way to stop her.

Therefore leaving everything to the agreement, Mitotsudaira lowered her hips, stretched her legs and took a breath. Thus Asama removed Mitotsudaira’s shoes, and splitting at the seam lining of the ankle, she opened the tights.

“I’ll attach one to the soles of your feet. If it tickles, please let me know.”

“Even if I say it tickles, don’t...”

It suddenly happened. Mitotsudaira tried to endure the strength of the fingers which seemed to be pushing into her sole.

“Hyaaa!”

''…Impossible. This is impossible!

“Hey… Mito, aren’t you too ticklish? Perhaps I should say it is a rare sensitivity syndrome… Hey!”

“W-what is it?”

Asama nodded.

“However, if it is like that then it won’t finish. So, shall we continue?”

“Eh? Hey, go easy on meeee!”

Since she was unable to move her legs, her upper body started to thrash about.

She experienced a different type of being out of breath than before, and, at the point where she became exhausted, she also lost the power to resist. She became limp and was left at the mercy of Asama.

“Mito, you have the same soft soles as Adele… They do say that people with soft soles have fast legs.”

Even if she said it earnestly, there was nothing to do about the reality of the situation.

Letting out a sigh that was unrelated to her exhaustion, Mitotsudaira lightly shrugged her shoulders.

“Even if you say that I am the same as Adele, I am not fast at all you know? I was even called a Heavy Tank type by Kimi.”

''Hmm,'' the one who was puzzled was Adele. She looked at the feet that Asama was rubbing.

“If I had to say, the fifth special duty seems more like the type who does a breaking type of movement. I guess you would say the powerful type.”

Their smiling and attempting to cover for her was a thankful gesture.

That’s why Mitotsudaira took another breath and then opened her mouth. ''My, my,'' with a self-deprecating attitude, she raised her upper body.

“Is it because I am a Demi Loup-Garou? Or is there some trick that I do not understand? I am just not good with fast movements. Where it is that I should put the strength into?”

“Fifth special duty, if you put too much power in it will actually have the opposite effect and you will be slower, you know?”

“Judge, Naomasa tells me that often. I am taking care to avoid that happening though…”

There Mitotsudaira lightly waved her hand as a demonstration.

The movements were those of a jab, snapped with an open hand and at the end point clenched it.

Since she was relaxed when waving, it was nimble and fast. That is how it should be. It was also accompanied by the sound of the wind. There Asama responded.

“It is fast enough, is it not? Right, Adele?”

“Eh?”

Adele gave a small reaction and immediately following that she hurriedly said.

“Eh, well... Judge, it’s sufficiently fast. Yeah.”

Keeping up other people’s appearances to hide the reality was Adele’s thankful but also poor side as a retainer. Mitotsudaira bitterly smiled about it.

“Do not worry about it. I understand that I am slow. After all, in England, though I received martial arts training from Naomasa to deal with Walsingham’s War of the Roses, I ended up just being thrown around.”

Mitotsudaira thought about her speed. Her speed would be considered faster than a normal person, however that would fall short when compared to an expert.

That is the reason why Mitotsudaira believed that was the thing preventing her from becoming stronger.

The Fifth Special Duty being in the fifth position was due to that reason.

She was made to realize that while in England.

When she first arrived in England she witnessed firsthand the speed of Futayo’s actions inside the falling cargo ship… So she thought that looking at her role as a power type would be for the best.

While conducting the anti-Walsingham training, she realized that against Naomasa’s throws her nerves were able to react but her body could not keep pace. Naomasa told her that she was slow, that is why she did it through experience rather than reacting and practiced until she was able to move by prediction.

However, while massaging her calf muscle Asama abruptly said.

“Ah, the exhaustion removal is almost finished. Mito’s regeneration powers are amazing.”

“I did inherit the blood of the Loup-Garou after all. Frankly, my toughness is my greatest weapon. It is thanks to the fact that my body is tough that I am able to strike with such power, and it also allows me to act as a shield.”

However after saying that as an introduction, Mitotsudaira laughed bitterly.

“If you remember what happened 8 years ago at Bizen IZUMO you will understand the circumstances regarding my mother and me. That is how tough I am.”

Hearing those words, Asama and Adele exchanged glances, lowered their eyebrows and showed a smile.

After a little while Adele followed up with this.

“The Loup-Garou family lineages are quite spartan. How about that story related to the Silver Chain which has been subject to rumors for a while now, with the fifth special officer’s lineage being a distinguished family in a high position during the Hundred Years’ War… was that it?”

“My mother does not talk about these things… It is also true that she has quite a freewheeling personality, however…”

“However?”

''Judge'', Mitotsudaira nodded. That was something that she had heard via the net on Musashi.

“According to a thread related to the Loup-Garous, after the Hundred Years’ War, the Hexagone Française Loup-Garous apparently consisted of two groups, those who choose to live together with the human population, and those which returned to the forest and kept their man-eating tendencies. So the Loup-Garou queen and their nobility returned to the forests, however they were eventually driven out… It also seems the Reine des Garous lost her life some time ago.”

“Lost her… did she take her own life?”

In response to Asama’s question, which was asked with a frown, Mitotsudaira nodded. During the period she was in Hexagone Française, not only she was too young so she didn’t know, it also was an embarrassment for the country and therefore not revealed to the general public.

''The things that I know are only from these past few years.

“While the forest decreased and her companions disappeared, the previous generation Reine des Garous, who succeeded the line after the Hundred Years’ War, apparently offered herself to someone who had come to hunt her. Frankly, one can certainly say that the race of the Loup-Garou has declined. My mother also had the characteristic of having those around being wary of her; so they were a race who had trouble being intimate with humans.”

Having said that much, Mitotsudaira fell silent. She reconsidered that she should not say things that would create a wall and shrugged her shoulders.

“My mother’s family line, however, was probably fairly well-positioned. I do not know where she lived before she met my father, but according to her stories, the house where she lived was kinda a strange place, like something straight out of a fairy tale… And then there is also the silver chains. Since she does not speak of the past… She might have been a close associate to the Reine des Garous herself.”

It was something she had thought about more than once. Sometimes she had thought how nice it would have been to be part of the lineage of the Reine des Garous. In the past that was a result of her pride, however now this was about strength.

Having experienced a defeat in England was the depth of shame for a Knight dedicated to protecting the King.

However…

“If there is an opportunity, I would like to hear the whole story directly from my mother, as well as the origin of silver chains and a good fighting method for a Loup-Garou.”

“However, Mito, you were told by your mother not to descend down into Hexagone Française.”

“Y-yeah, I was made to promise that. I did promise that at Bizen IZUMO.”

''Go live as a resident of Musashi''; it was that sort of thing.

“IZUMO is a neutral zone. However, it is still part of Hexagone Française so the promise with my mother still applies, and the same holds true for Bizen IZUMO.”

''That is why I have not descended on Hexagone Française or any of their territories, not since that time.

''What happened at that time is not something I wished to recall, however it cannot be helped.

Thinking about it now, as she was a child then if it happened now she thought she would have not been done it so badly.

“However, the only good to come of that was…”

''“That the Chancellor was absent,”'' was what she was going to say but stopped.

The Chancellor did mention how he was going to pay a visit to a relative who was on the verge of death.

That is why she nodded to herself on the inside and shut a range of thoughts inside her heart.

She possessed a variety of things to consider. Not just about herself, but things about her surroundings were also piled up.

That she had not received any communication from the Musashi’s Knight alliance was still a thing.

When she finished that thought, a shadow appeared ascending the staircase.

''Kimi?'' Is what she thought and looked.

“Oh? Everyone, so you were here?”

It was Tenzou, and following him was Mary clad in a blue and white jersey.

''…Ah.

Seeing her with Ex. Collbrande suspended on her left and right, Mitotsudaira forcefully stood up unconsciously.

“Ah! Mito.”

Tenzou immediately understood the reason behind Asama’s muffled voice.

She was in the middle of using an exhaustion removal spell.

Mitotsudaira’s tights were removed from her feet and the talisman still remained attached to the bottom of the latter. He also faintly understood the reason why she had suddenly stood up.

…It was because Mary was present.

At that moment, Mary who was lined up to the side bowed her head towards everyone.

“Hello, good morning.”

“Gud, Moni———gu, Missus Mary.”

In a certain way, the mistranslation Adele gave them was terrifying. However, what was reflected in Tenzou’s eyes was Mitotsudaira, who in the greeting chose to look down in order to lower her eye contact.

That was an inevitable issue.

Ever since Mary had transferred here, Tenzou realized that Mitotsudaira was unable to decide an appropriate distance between them. There was the long-standing issue between England and Hexagone Française to consider.

There was also the fact they were both nobility.

Following Horizon, Mitotsudaira was second in line for succession for the Far East, while Mary was the future mother of the next king of England.

However Mitotsudaira’s family was a lower noble house and their current status was something that had been assigned to them. On the other hand, Mary’s royal status was something that she was born with…

“What is the matter, Master Tenzou?”

“Eh? Ah, um, it is just good that everyone is training from so early in the morning.”

''That is right,'' Mary’s nod indicated she had no ulterior motive with her words. That was a trait she was certainly born with. That had nothing to do with her position as royalty; however that was also something that was not distorted even after persecution.

But…

“……”

Mitotsudaira, while undergoing Asama’s treatment, stood with downcast eyes which could be seen as if she had been scolded.

Then, Asama unexpectedly directed her glance their way while continuing to press her hands against Mitotsudaira’s feet.

“Umm, Mary, today after school will you be coming to my family’s place?”

“Eh? Ah, it is okay for me to go, right, Master Tenzou?”

As she was taking a part time job at Asama’s family shrine, Tenzou nodded his head vertically.

“Um, yes, I am fine with it.”

Mitotsudaira pulled her legs back almost as if she was running away from Asama’s hands. Then with the talismans still attached to the bottoms of her feet she roughly put on her shoes, took the sock sections in hand and started to walk away.

She lightly turned back their way, lowering her head with the minimum amount of consideration.

In response to that act as she seemed about to descend the stairs, Asama went to say something but stopped.

Adele spoke.

“Will she be alright? I don’t think that all that exhaustion has completely disappeared yet.”

''Yeah, well,'' there was nothing to do except for Asama to hesitate. However, Mary waited until the figure of Mitotsudaira had completely disappeared from sight down the stairs before taking a step closer to Tenzou’s side. She then whispered happily.

“She was concealing a bent toe with a pedicure.”

''Was this a request for me to paint my nails as well!? Was this a request!?

''I must be overthinking the issue,'' Tenzou calmed himself down and asked Mary

“Still, Is that something to be embarrassed about?”

In response to the question, Mary loosely bent the scar on her face and said the following:

“The more embarrassing something is, the greater the difference from others. It is also something that one can be proud of, you know?”

''I see,'' he said. In front of his nodding eyes, Adele and Asama were fanning each other with clothes and talismans saying: “Ah, hot hot, it’s steamy in here!” “Yeah you think the same Adele, it’s very hot…!” and the like, however this was something that seemed like it would be impossible to eventually be something to be proud of.

In any case, from the bottom of the staircase, Kimi’s voice was heard.

“Hahahaha, what are you doing slipping and falling onto your butt, Mitotsudaira!? I guess there’s nothing else to be done, I’ll carry you. Come now, ride on these breasts…! Wow! This child got seriously angry!”

Just when he was thinking that she has no mercy, he could hear a sound.

It was the time announcement. Using the bell of the academy, the six in the morning announcement rang out.

The beginning of a day for Musashi.

Study
[[File:Horizon3A 0036.jpg|thumb]]

IZUMO Outline Diagram

Toori: “Sis! Sis! Exactly what kind of shape has IZUMO!? I thought about it because it is shrine related and they say it is where a deity resides and makes an erotic shape!? Maaraaaaaaa—!(sound effect)”

Kimi: “Hahaha private brother, stop imitating reproductive sounds. —Anyway, IZUMO is a floating island which levitates at an altitude of 1000 meters and it consists of a land that was originally on the surface but was floated. In ancient times, the section that became the current center was floated for ship development research. Then, with the Harmonic Unification War and the downfall of the Amako clan, they saw the opportunity and took refuge from the surface. So that was how it was made.”

Kimi: “This should sum it up. If Musashi was in this diagram it would have the bow towards the bottom and anchored looking to the south. The central area is, actually, a sort of abandoned land; however when doing the individual countries corporative exhibitions, aircraft shows or when an urgent emergency landing is necessary, that location is used.”

Toori: “Since this is the territory where we can finally relax, let’s go to the town beneath the shrine and go shopping! There are a lot of Far Eastern style goods here, so that's a relief.”

Kimi: “Did you just implicitly say you are going to scour for erotic goods?”

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3A School Rules|School Rules]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 01|Chapter 01]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 5B Chapter 41

2017-07-13T22:33:31Z

86.52.14.214: Two fixes.

==Chapter 41: Roarer of the Hunting Ground==
[[Image:Horizon5B_431.jpg|thumb]]
''If the memories sometimes return

''While away from the battlefield

''Just how far away are you?

'''Point Allocation (However Far It Feels To You)

It all came down to the moment before landing.

Torahide further twisted his body and built up his rotational force. In doing so…

…''I increase the force of the impact when I hit!

For that, he twisted his body and aimed to land.

He dropped down to slam into the ship belly-first.

“…Perfect!”

He was confident his rotation and the landing would match up perfectly.

And just then, there was movement below him. Something flew out below his falling throat.

It was Musashi’s Vice Chancellor.

She ran quickly in from the side and raised something below his throat.

It was a spear.

Musashi’s Vice Chancellor balanced it perfectly and placed her hands on it twice and then thrice to make sure it was solidly in place.

“Okay, Tonbo Spare, when I say ‘go’, extend with your extension device.”

“Understood.”

Musashi’s Vice Chancellor instantly jumped back by about 100 meters. And as soon as she landed…

“Go!”

“Extending.”

Everyone on the Musashi watched as the giant dragon bent backwards in the instant of landing instead of placing his forelegs on the ground to avoid the impact. But he failed to do so in time, the extending spear stabbed into his reverse scales, he bent back further, and his tail end smashed through two levels of the surface.

Far above Musashino, Horizon looked down from Tama while Asama supported her shoulders. She used a pause in the Song of Passage to turn toward Asama.

“What was that? I feel like a lot happened at once.”

“I-I’m not sure…”

But across on Murayama, Kimi was beginning their second time through the Song of Passage while dancing with Toori.

Asama knew what they were going to use that for.

“They’re supplying the people below with ether, Horizon!”

Torahide swung his foreleg.

With no sensation in his fingers, he could not grab the spear piercing his throat. So he used his great strength to scrape his arm along and force the spear out.

“Kwoh…!”

He flung the spear away. Or he meant to. However, he did not have a grip on the spear, so when he brushed it aside, it simply fell.

The blood erupted from his split throat. It was hot, but he could feel it dripping from his throat to his belly.

''That’s the second time they’ve injured me there,'' he thought.

That was when he noticed something standing on the falling spear.

…''That is…!

“The Peerless in the West!”

“I am currently the unaffiliated Tachibana Muneshige.”

He kicked the airborne Tonbo Spare.

He instantly moved in front of the dragon’s chest, spun around in midair, and did something.

“I see.”

He stood nearly perpendicularly on the edge of Torahide’s arched chest.

Muneshige breathed a mental sigh of admiration.

This was not his first time fighting a dragon. During his time in the New World, he had fought wild dragons a few times. However…

…''While they were dragons, they were only about 30m.

The small size of their opponents had indicated what little progress they had made in developing the land.

This dragon was different. And he realized something while facing a dragon at this level.

Everything about them was on a larger scale. Yes, for example…

…''Just looking at their external armor shows that most everything, from the structure to the maintenance, is on the level of a dragon.

Each individual scale of armor was made of a dense material, but it grew badly weathered and dirty.

Even if the front was well taken care of, the sides and back were the same as natural objects like stones or trees.

The dragon’s eyes could not see there, just like a human would not look between their fingernails.

“So if you try to set foot on one, you can do so almost anywhere.”

Then the dragon’s arm arrived. But Muneshige ran along the dragon’s chest.

He left the reverse scales, but he immediately returned and raised Kamenuki.

But not to pierce the dragon. Torahide’s reverse scales already had a deep wound. Plunging Kamenuki into that wound would be relatively meaningless. He needed to use Kamenuki as a pointer, and…

“Gin! Over here.”

“Judge.”

The response arrived without delay.

It came from the air behind him.

Gin was there, pursuing him with Racing Words. So he spread his arms.

Gin twisted her body so her butt was pointed down and she plunged downwards while face-up.

The instant Muneshige caught her, Gin looked up with a combat expression.

Something there was targeting the dragon’s reverse scales.

“Pierce him…Arcabuz, Cuatro.”

She could still only summon one of Cuatro Cruz.

But combined with the two Arcabuz Cruzes, she fired thrice from close range and sent projectiles accurately into the dragon’s wound.

They were steel shells. And the one from Cuatro Cruz was meant for use against castles.

The dragon’s body was not as powerful as a castle, so his entire body shook violently from the throat.

Behind his forelegs, his back shook on either side and his body arched backwards.

The former Peerless in the West stood on his chest and held his wife in his arms.

“—————”

He suddenly jumped down from that chest. The dragon had opened his mouth.

“…!”

The great dragon swung his injured arms around, scratched at his chest, and tried to brush off his unseen enemy.

The former Peerless in the West had already jumped toward the ground and the cross cannons had been transferred back into their dual pitch space.

“Damn you…!”

The dragon bent backwards and arched his chest.

He spread his arms and bent so far back his head was looking backwards.

Then the giant dragon roared, even as blood flowed from his chest and stained his entire body.

“Ohh…!”

Everyone heard the dragon’s roar stretch out long and narrow.

It was loud, but the volume gradually grew even further.

He was not howling into the distance. He was simply crying out in a defenseless pose, so everyone fired weapons or spells while question marks formed in their heads.

Then the giant dragon’s entire body glowed with a dull light.

“His thrusters are going to blow!!”

After gathering ether with his roar, he would release the shockwave around him.

The dragon’s extended roar and the light simmering from his body told them something.

“This is gonna be the biggest one yet…!”

The dragon’s decision was obvious to everyone.

A straight-line dragon cannon might be blocked by the defense barriers opened by Musashino’s bridge.

But if he released a thruster explosion from close-range…

“He’ll destroy the already-damaged surface area and the underground area below…!”

When one of the gunners shouted that, everyone else responded.

“That sounds like one of the Secretary’s ideas!”

“Judge! One of those ideas that everyone has but no one ever goes through with!”

“Okay, Secretary! Give us a countermeasure!”

As the dragon’s roar rang loudly, something responded to their voices.

A sign frame appeared in front of them and it showed the Secretary pushing up his glasses.

“Leave it to me. I’m already putting something together.”

Everyone gave a serious nod, and then…

“He actually answered us…!?”

'''Me:''' “Hey, Neshinbara, could you settle this sooner rather than later?”

'''Hori-ko:''' “Yes. Sooner would be great.”

'''Novice:''' “Yes, I know what you’re trying to say: I still haven’t returned your knight and samurai, have I?”

'''Righteousness:''' “More importantly, here it comes! My auditory devices are starting to crackle! …It’s approaching the usual pattern when he releases his thruster explosion!”

Torahide looked up to the moons and opened every thruster on his body.

There was no stopping it now. From there, he only had to close his mouth, shut the solid sealing membrane in his throat, and let the dragon cannon circulate through his body instead of leave his mouth.

''The moonlight feels nice,'' thought the dragon.

The injury to the reverse scales at the top of his chest was deep. The shells had entered deep inside.

But his dragon healing ability had chosen to heal him along with the shells.

The masses of metal remained inside him as the blood began to clot and close the wound.

The shells did not matter. When a dragon’s blood contacted the air, it would grow hot enough to melt and absorb any foreign objects. That defense mechanism “preyed on” germs and pathogens, but it could also affect any shells and blades that entered his body.

In a few hours, the shells would take the place of the iron he had lost in his blood.

The moonlight accelerated the process.

One of the moons, the closer-in one, was said to be made of Orei Metallo, making it a mass of ether. When it reflected the light of the sun on the other side of the planet, it poured the power of ether down on the night.

That was why moonlit nights were a time for nonhumans. Torahide found it pleasant as he closed his throat.

Then his moonward gaze saw something.

It was round.

It was humanoid, but it was round, attached to a chain, and clearly being swung vertically.

“Ahyaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!”

The mobile shell swung straight down and collided with the reverse scale wound.

'''Hori-ko:''' “I’ve been wondering. Is there any real reason for Adele-sama to be inside there?”

'''Asama:''' “…Ballast?”

'''Me:''' “Honestly, I think Adele might actually like doing that.”

'''Aasma:''' “I had the more normal answer this time, right!? Right!?”

'''Righteousness:''' “Why do you upperclassmen have such childish arguments…?”

In the instant the falling mobile shell hit him, Torahide tensed his body.

And he realized he was unharmed.

The mobile shell had targeted his wound, but the blood had already clotted and was now as solid as armor.

That was not going to be broken by the mobile shell hammer.

He could convert the force of the impact into his roar and throw that power into the thruster explosion.

That settled it.

He could not destroy Musashino’s bridge, but he could tear away a large chunk of the ship and blow away the surrounding people.

So he did so.

He raised his voice as the impact hit him.

But that voice did not power the thruster explosion.

It was a cry of pain.

The dragon’s agony reverberated above Musashino.

One man saw the cause from Musashino’s bridge.

“Splendid.”

In the captain’s seat, Suzu turned back toward that voice and then she smiled.

“Vice Principal…Yoshinao…?”

“Judge. …I apologize about before. I will watch calmly this time.”

A large sign frame was open at the front of the bridge. It displayed a single moment: Adele’s mobile shell raising a weapon in its right arm.

It was a vassal’s long spear.

The spear had a beast emblem on it and it had been stored in the mobile shell’s tail stabilizer, but…

“Did she wait until the very last second to grab it so that the dragon would not see it?”

Yoshinao looked to his wife who gasped alongside him. He took her hand and spoke.

“It seems she has yet to master its use, but someday, surely.”

After all…

“The beast has left the kingdom of protection and entered the field of aggression.”

Adele’s body was covered in a dull sweat.

…''W-wow…

She had once fought a much smaller dragon than this. Back then, she had not used her mobile shell, so she had charged in without it and created a starting point for the others.

Looking back, she was amazed by her own courage.

After all, she was much safer now inside the mobile shell, but…

…''The pressure is intense!

She was not laying the groundwork for or assisting an attack.

She had to do real damage as the main attacker.

If she missed, the entire strategy would fall apart.

She could not let that happen. So it was intense.

“Kh.”

Her right arm shook from the tension.

Her right hand controlled the mobile shell’s right arm, which drove the 3m spear into the dragon’s throat.

This was not just a clash.

The mobile shell’s wrist slid back to the elbow.

Igniting the spell gunpowder there would create a simple pile bunker.

She had used this countless times in training and practice, but this was her first time doing so in actual combat.

She did it. But…

“O-outside…”

The footage sent in by her mobile shell’s sight devices only showed her the color black.

The nighttime brightness amplification was activated, but the dragon was probably just too close.

…''What happened?

As soon as she wondered that, Raging Beast was tugged from behind.

The mobile shell rose quite quickly as Mitotsudaira’s silver chains pulled it.

And Adele saw the result of her action straight ahead, which was really down below.

The dragon’s chest had been badly broken.

Immediately afterwards, the dragon made a great noise.

It was not the thruster explosion. The enemy had great power built up, but that power burst from his entire body.

“He self-destructed,” muttered Mitotsudaira on the nighttime street.

She was in a student dorm district near the bow. That put her approximately 70m away from Torahide.

She faced forward while quickly pulling Adele back so the mobile shell slid along Musashino’s main road.

The dragon was there.

But even if he was shaking, he did not move any more than that. He simply spurted blood from his entire body while looking like he was trying to eat the moon.

…''A great roar leading into a thruster explosion.

That was one of a dragon’s greatest techniques and it meant to release his power from his entire body.

It could be seen as the greatest form of presenting his awe. But…

“What if he felt uneasy just before releasing his pride?”

That unease did not have to be felt in his heart.

A dragon would respond to a threat as an animal. So…

“Gin’s shells wouldn’t have been absorbed by his body yet. So even if he closed the wound and solidified his defense…”

Mitotsudaira swung both arms to rapidly pull in her silver chains.

“The mobile shell’s spear damaged the wound. The spear pushed the shells further inside his body and the mobile shell’s collision smashed through the reverse scale armor to open the wound.”

As a result, his reverse scale weak point had been fully destroyed and the spear and shells had pierced into him.

The dragon’s body had reacted to those two results in one way.

Regardless of the dragon’s will, his body had rejected it.

…''That’s right.

No matter what the dragon wanted, if he left his weak point destroyed and the foreign objects inside him, his body would react. His entire body would avoid the enemy’s attack and close in on itself so no further foreign objects could be driven inside him.

The dragon’s body would instinctually close all sensory organs and thrusters.

But Torahide was in the middle of carrying out a thruster explosion.

What would happen if the dragon tried to breathe out from his entire body just as his instincts tried to close everything up?

The answer was right there.

All of the dragon’s thrusters had blown themselves up and blood flowed from his entire body.

He stood up, but he was unsteady and his raised arms slowly lowered.

There was light in his eyes, but…

“Gah…”

His own attack power must have scorched him deep in his throat.

''But,'' thought Mitotsudaira.

“A name inheritor isn’t going to end it there, are they?”

Horizon listened to Mitotsudaira’s words.

“Horizon? …You asked when is the right time to live and to die, didn’t you?”

“—————”

“Unfortunately, I cannot answer that as I am still on the path of life that ends in death. In all likelihood, most everyone is the same,” she said. “But I think it is best to live and arrive at that end with no regrets.”

“Mitotsudaira-sama.”

“What is it?”

Horizon asked a question of the silver wolf who stood so far below.

“Do you know how to do that? …To have no regrets?”

“No.”

She received a short but definite rejection.

And the wolf said more as if to make up for that.

“But…my mother apparently tried to live on her own, grew bored, and decided it would be better to die.”

So…

“Being with someone else might create regrets. But the more people there are, perhaps the regrets can be divided among them and the enjoyable things can be shared among them.”

Mitotsudaira had a sudden thought.

…''It might be good to visit home every once in a while.

Of course, her parents had friends and plenty of people they worked with.

It was wrong to think they might be lonely because it was only the two of them.

“Yes, there’s nothing to worry about. It’s only the two of us here. …Eh? People walk through here? What do we do if someone shows up? O-oh, come on. Why would you say something so indecent? You know imagining it is only going to get me more excited. Also, there is no need to worry about that. I mean, you’re the only one with your clothes off right now. …Hee hee. You say you can’t hide with your back against the wall like this? …But I believe you were the one trembling with loneliness? A wolf isn’t about to leave someone like that to his loneliness.”

''The moon is out, so my mother is probably in top form,'' thought Mitotsudaira.

And…

…''I’m no different.

She faced forward.

Between her and the dragon, Mary looked back her way.

Mary smiled, nodded, and waved.

The scary part was how she had not moved at all since the battle began.

…''She has guts…

The Secretary had ordered her to stand there as bait, but the 1st Special Duty Officer had to be hidden and waiting somewhere nearby.

He was hidden to make Mary’s role as bait more effective, but…

'''Gold Mar:''' “I’ve been seeing some threads on the divine network titled ‘That Ninja Ran Away’.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Huh? I started the first one, but it looks like they’re already on thread #127.”

'''10ZO:''' “I-it’s not true! It’s not true at all! And one of you started this!?”

Mary could not hear them, but she seemed happy just being with the 1st Special Duty Officer.

But while they were unharmed, the enemy was still there.

The dragon was injured and he had broken his body. It would take too long for his healing ability to mend his body.

While giving him time to listen and respond to their words, she looked up at the dragon.

He looked black with the moon behind him and his bestial shape was revealed by the light reflecting off of his steaming blood.

She could faintly see his bloodstained dragon eye in the moonlight.

Because it was night, she could tell the pupil formed a black circle beyond that color. He was leaning a bit to the left and viewing her with his left eye.

Mitotsudaira pulled the four silver chains back and made an announcement.

“Withdraw. Sanada’s Chancellor and Musashi are on friendly terms.”

'''Tonbokiri:''' “We had him forcibly sent away on charges of molestation earlier. Does that count as friendly?”

'''Gold Mar:''' “That happens a lot among friends.”

''Yes, it does,'' agreed Mitotsudaira before something else occurred to her.

…''This dragon’s attack isn’t a response to sending away their Chancellor, is it?

''No. It wouldn’t be that. Probably.

But Mitotsudaira cleared her throat and took a combat stance.

“What will you do?”

Her question was answered from an elevated position.

“Humans would look down on dragons? Telling me to withdraw is an insult to all dragons.”

“No,” said Mitotsudaira. “My king shall conquer the Far East. …He will be equal to the dragons. And I am his knight.”

Torahide released a short breath.

…''Was that a laugh?

She did not know what it meant. Was he mocking her? Agreeing with her? She had not encountered enough dragons to interpret their expressions of emotion. But there was one thing she understood.

“Here I go.”

They were challengers.

Mitotsudaira set herself running.

She instantly passed Mary and filled the gap between herself and the dragon.

On the way, the English princess handed her something.

“Take this.”

It was one of the Excaliburs. The wolf held that definite power in her hand. From there, she launched herself forward and leaped into empty air.

There was nothing there. She was too far away to reach the dragon. But there was a foothold there.

“Silver chain!”

She had a silver chain bounce sharply off the ground and swung up the tight arm on the end. She used that toss to increase her altitude by 17 meters.

But that was still not enough if she was to confront this standing dragon on equal ground.

…''I need another 30 meters…!

So she sent out two other silver chains.

The silver chains weaved together like a ladder, but with unpredictable movements, and she launched herself up between them and flew up into the sky.

As she picked up speed, the rapid ascent pushed at her stomach. And…

…''Here it comes…!

The dragon launched an attack.

He used his left hand. He was already leaning somewhat forward and to the left, so he struck with the left.

And the high-speed trio of claws broke through a water vapor explosion as he swung his arm.

The strike was difficult to see and the noise did not reach her since it broke the sound barrier. Plus…

“The severed claws are recovering, aren’t they!?”

Torahide used his entire body to strike.

The prized claws of his left hand were still severed.

But the nerves and blood vessels that passed through those claws had been sealed up and the fist was not bleeding. The sensation of the claws was somewhat filled with heat, but otherwise fine.

He could use his claws once more. Torahide rejoiced when he confirmed that in the moonlight.

He had made his attack in time.

…''That’s right!

He had failed in his own thruster explosion earlier.

But there were no thrusters in his fingers.

And his first injury had been the severed claws of his left arm.

After detecting the injury, he had not forced it to strike and had instead kept the elbow bent and the hand protected.

He had known he would need his strength at some point.

He smiled bitterly in his heart as he wondered why dragons had such a tendency to plan for the future. But this was good enough for him.

After all, he was an animal, but…

“I am a member of Sanada…!”

“Ohh…!”

Torahide thought about his former self.

He thought about eight hundred years ago and four hundred years ago.

During the history recreation of the Germanic migration, their forces had grown, they had swept across the Harmonic World’s Europe, and they had continued from there.

Of course, there had been more than just dragons. They had their origins in Northern and Eastern Europe, but there had been humans and other nonhumans too and they had mixed together a lot more in the early days.

He had destroyed and devoured as much as he had wanted, but the next thing he knew…

…''The others were gone.

Among the dragons, the peaceful faction had broken away. Among the human and other nonhumans, most had found a land to settle down in during the migration and they had left.

Those who had remained had grown more radical and continued fighting, but they had ultimately ended up in Sicily.

…''And four hundred years ago, we were defeated and retreated.

The humans had formed a Testament Cross-Borders Unit and opposed them. The weather had also begun to change, creating a disadvantageous time for the dragons.

When they had ultimately lost and obeyed the course of history, he had wondered something: ''Have I only been following the course of history?

Had his elation, joy, and conversations with his companions been no more than a part of predetermined history? So once that enjoyable time was over, would everything simply follow the course of history as before?

Torahide recalled his memories as a dragon and his roar changed.

“…Eight hundred years ago…!”

Where was that world full of his companions?

What were his companions doing after they had parted ways?

Where had the small humans and other nonhumans gone?

He did not know.

He did not know, but as a long-lived and intelligent dragon, he had to bear it all and could never forget. And if they were to become more than a mere Terrestrial Dragon’s memories and be placed on equal footing with the world…

…''I must be one who moves history…!

He had to be equal.

And if he was fond of this world, he could be with it.

And if he was not fond of this world, he could change it or stray from it and be alone.

Was that decision no more than the selfishness of a single animal?

Or was it the decision of someone who was equal to this world where he had spent time with and spoken with his friends?

It made a major difference when he viewed it in terms of his own existence.

That was what it meant to face history.

That was what it meant to bear everything he had enjoyed and face it all on equal footing.

They had lost and fled, but the time spent with his companions…

…''It was real!

''Yes,'' thought Torahide.

''I must be a fool,'' he also thought. ''I have been so focused on the freedom I had eight hundred years ago that I was restricting myself in the present.

But…

“Humans…!”

He had not felt this excited in a long time. He spoke to the knight who was spinning around in the air and preparing to do battle with him.

…''This takes me back.

It had been a group much like this that defeated them four hundred years before.

He raised his voice while thinking about that.

“I am a dragon! But I am a dragon who has inherited a name which places me on the same level as this world! So if you wish to rule this world…”

He struck.

“Start by overcoming its scout!”

Mitotsudaira saw the enemy’s attack arriving from dead ahead.

She only had an instant to move, but the enemy’s attack was massive.

If she did not dodge enough, she would be swallowed up by the shockwave produced by that supersonic arm.

However, if she evaded too far, she would put Mary and the others in danger.

…''In that case…

Mitotsudaira kicked off of the silver chain for a burst of speed.

She finally went in to finish this.

Torahide made his strike.

His left hand’s claws pierced the night air.

“…Kah!!”

He definitely felt the hit land.

There was a weight there.

This was not like before. His claws were sensitive from the pain, so he could sense the weight of his enemy’s body.

…''I did it!

He swung those claws and roared.

Eight hundred years ago, their king and the others had been defeated by humans. Four hundred years ago, they had been defeated and forced into retreat.

They had surrendered their world, even if that only meant Europe.

And now he was faced by a knight who said her king would conquer the Far East.

Humans always spoke of the world when opposing dragons.

''As it should be,'' thought Torahide while continuing to swing his left claws.

The tips of his fingers tore at the air and audibly split the atmosphere.

He struck.

A moment later, wind exploded along the line through which his arm had passed.

His claws were enveloped by a shockwave. The great noise passed through the sky and reverberated across the Musashi.

The echoing sound of impact had likely reached Sanada.

He had torn through his enemy.

As soon as his claws had pierced her, the weight caught on his hand had vanished.

The enemy was gone from the sky in front of him. That meant she had either been knocked away or torn to pieces before he could see her.

“Ohh…!”

Torahide roared.

…''I defeated my first enemy here!

This was enemy territory. Next up was the English princes who was standing there as bait. Then came Musashino’s bridge.

And he pulled back his left arm which was extended forward.

But it was not just his left claws that he used to strike the English princess in front of him.

Feeling had already returned to his right claws as well. So he used both forelegs and his entire body.

He would make full use of his great form to crush the enemy. So he leaned back, and…

“—————?”

Torahide felt an odd weight on his left hand.

That was the one he was pulling back.

There was a strong pulling sensation like it was caught on something. However…

…''There’s nothing there?

There was no evident weight on the three claws and fingers of his left foreleg. But…

…''There isn’t any blood either!?

What did that mean?

What had happened to the pieces of the struck enemy? Where had the obvious blood, flesh, and bone fragments gone? And what was this weight he felt as he pulled the hand back?

“Over there!?”

He saw a figure in the night sky ahead and a bit to the left.

They were soaring rapidly toward him.

“Musashi’s knight…!”

The enemy was unharmed.

Mitotsudaira sliced through the air and made a midair charge with Excalibur at the ready.

There was a path in the air below her feet.

Musashino had released a few towing belts and created horizontal paths from them.

The silver wolf hit those paths and leaped between them as she accelerated.

She thought to herself while making several bursts of acceleration and racing forward.

…''Honestly.

She lightly clenched her back teeth while forming the words in her mouth.

…''I’m barely scraping by with every last bit of this!

Yoshiyasu watched the wolf’s charge while Righteousness rapidly cooled.

…''I’m impressed she would choose a method like that!

Yoshiyasu was not talking about the wolf’s attack.

She meant the evasion.

When faced with a decision about how to avoid Torahide’s claws, the Mito Lord had chosen a wide evasion.

She had likely decided she needed to keep her distance to avoid the shockwave. But…

“That is not enough to defeat Torahide.”

With the shockwave, she could still easily be blown away and removed from the battlefield.

So the Mito Lord had responded to the enemy’s strike with a method available only to her: the chains.

While moving far out of the way of the dragon’s claws, she had attached the silver chains to those claws. And those chains had been shaped like her own body.

Attaching the chains had swung her around from the dragon’s fist.

She had flown in a wide arc to starboard as she flew out and around the dragon’s left claws.

That position placed her in the dragon’s blind spot due to his claws and arm.

From there, she only had to adjust the length of the chains while they carried her through that safe zone.

…''She intentionally let the dragon’s high-speed strike swing her around and toss her into the distance.

From Yoshiyasu’s perspective, the Mito Lord was swinging around the dragon’s left hand and had flown about 200m. And…

“When the dragon quickly pulled his arm back, she was pulled along with it, accelerating her toward him. She released the chains at the same time as the towing belt platforms appeared underfoot.”

The rest was simple.

She charged forward with the ultra-high speed built up by the dragon swinging her around and pulling her forward.

Plus…

“She’s increasing the force of her charge using the ether support from her king and the others…!”

Mitotsudaira thought, ''I am not alone as I race through the sky.

Power was reaching her. It was quite a lot of power and it was coming from the sky above.

“Tama and Murayama. It’s coming from my king, Kimi, Asama, and Horizon…”

The ether supply lines bundled together and enveloped her charging body.

Light resided in Excalibur and purification entered it.

This purification power-up would allow nothing to get in the way of the blade’s power. Several ''torii''-style sign frames appeared ahead of her and eliminated anything that might interfere with her flight.

And a few sign frames appeared. The first was from Asama:

“Your acceleration will reach its peak just before you hit the dragon. Please keep going and strike him!”

“Judge,” she replied as the sign frame showed Horizon standing in front of Asama and raising her right thumb.

Similarly, the next sign frame over showed her king beckoning her.

''Eh?'' she thought as his sign frame gradually moved further and further out ahead of her.

“Okayyy, good girl. Come, come.”

“I am not a dog…!!”

With that, the knight accelerated and passed through her king’s sign frame.

“I will hunt down my prey…!”

Her king nodded and spoke.

“Go get him.”

So she did so.

“Judge.”

She ran.

The distance quickly shrank and there were only about 30 meters left.

At the same time, Torahide took action in front of her.

He bent back and opened his mouth.

He was firing a dragon cannon.

He could not have accumulated a full charge of ether inside his body, but…

“…This is a dragon’s pride, isn’t it!?”

''But,'' she thought.

“A wolf’s pride takes precedence in the moonlight!”

[[Image:Horizon5B_466-467.jpg|thumb]]
The silver wolf first launched four attacks.

The charging wolf sent her chains out in four directions.

Their paths were more like ricochets than curves as they bounced off the surface and toward Torahide’s throat.

She targeted the reverse scales.

But the dragon did not care.

No matter what attack reached him, he was not going to stop the roaring in his throat and the way he opened his maw caused light to gather deep in that throat.

A moment later, four silver chains struck the dragon’s reverse scales.

Something shaped like giant blades stabbed sharply into him.

They were Torahide’s severed claws.

It would not have been so bad had they been foreign objects.

The dragon’s entire body was in the process of healing. His blood would digest all foreign objects and act as a catalyst for the restoration of his flesh, blood, and armor.

But his claws had been shoved into him instead.

A dragon’s claws were made of almost the same material as the external armor. Thus, they would not be digested or dissolved while repairing his body and they simply made their presence known in his reverse scales.

“—————!”

The dragon bent back even further.

But he endured. And he tried to bend his serpentine body forward to launch his dragon cannon.

In that instant, the wolf collided with the base of his throat.

The silver wolf struck with Excalibur while using an acceleration spell and gaining extra inertial weight thanks to a divine protection.

Suzu held her teacup and sensed the dragon’s entire body lift up.

Standing next to her, “Musashino” nodded once and spoke.

“Well done. Using the ether supply from Toori-sama and the divine protection from Asama-sama, Mitotsudaira-sama was virtually given additional collision power equal to 1/300th that of the entire Musashi. Normally, when creating the shell for firing the Kanesada main cannon-…”

“ ‘Musashino’…-san! H-here it comes!”

Suzu continued to monitor the enemy.

He had been hit by Mitotsudaira’s attack, but his head collapsed forward.

“I have determined he is targeting this bridge. Over.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Eh? How? Are you sure he isn’t going to cry out in pain or blow himself up again after taking that much damage?”

'''Uqui:''' “I cannot know for sure, but he most likely sealed his throat in advance.”

The half-dragon explained what that meant.

'''Uqui:''' “If he is simply hit by an attack, the damage will break the seal. But if he predicts it in advance, the seal will be released naturally and the dragon cannon will be fired. That is a method of ensuring a final attack even if he dies or passes out.”

'''Four-Eyes:''' “That is useful information… Oh, where’s it going to hit?”

'''Novice:''' “Heh. Right here! Got a problem with that!?”

Suzu wondered if that was really the place for a “heh” of laughter, but the dragon had definitely released a beam of light.

It was a dragon cannon.

Light scattered through the sky.

It scattered between the dragon and Musashino’s bridge.

The dragon cannon flew in a straight line, but…

“Defense barriers, hm?”

Torahide watched as shards of light danced like a blizzard.

Some of them were the shards of the several layers of defense barriers that were instantly shattered and others were scattered pieces of his dragon cannon.

His final attack had been blocked.

…''Well done.

“They measured my attacks during the battle. And they made adjustments so they could open just enough defense barriers to stop it, didn’t they?”

He looked across the scene overhead.

There were seven ships there and an automaton stood on the edge of each one.

Those were the captain automatons of each ship.

They had probably measured his attacks while Musashi’s shrine maiden had gathered that data and managed the ether supply. He was certain they had used the Musashi Chancellor’s ether supply spell to control Musashi’s own ether supply management.

He should have caught on when the silver wolf had used that to accelerate.

He should have realized they were not fighting individually.

…''I see.

He was a Terrestrial Dragon and a Lindwurm. His 120m body was too much for humans to handle.

But the Musashi was…

“Quasi-Bahamut-class. …I suppose that was too much for a single Terrestrial Dragon to handle.”

With that, his back exploded.

Blood splattered into the sky behind the dragon as if he had grown new wings.

It was a red blossom.

The silver wolf’s impact had permeated all the way through him and left from his back. His body was built to withstand the shaking he himself produced, but the damage that broke through that passed through his flesh and bones.

The connection between his shoulders and back split apart and the armor connections at the base of his wings were blown away.

The parts that moved his secondary and primary armor had evolved from muscles, but they now swelled out and burst.

And not just in one or two places. Blood intermittently erupted from points all across the back of his body.

However, this did not propel him forward.

At this point, the dragon could only collapse backwards.

He collapsed face-up. As if to expose his belly to the two moons in the sky, the giant dragon named Torahide collapsed as proof that his battle had ended.

But there was something to catch him there.

“—————!?”

Ivy.

Gentle stalks of ether grew from Musashino’s surface. They made wavelike motions as they enveloped and held the collapsing dragon.

Someone had been watching the dragon’s defeat the entire time.

This manifestation of healing came from a spirit spell used by the English princess.

Torahide remembered something as he collapsed into and was caught by a massive amount of recovery spells.

“English princess, this spell…”

“Judge. It is a dryad recovery spell passed down by my mother’s family. In England, it is passed down as a Celtic method, but the spell was originally used by any European dryad.”

But…

“My mother’s ancestors, the great dryad spirits, originally lived in Europe, but during your great migration, they moved to England to save the Celtic people. At the time, England had the geological features of the ocean bed’s bedrock, so it was difficult to grow trees there and my ancestor’s power was needed.”

Torahide gasped.

As the ivy surrounded him, he watched leaves spread from it while a portion took a forest-like shape.

…''Ohh.

He recalled a former time. He recalled the healing ceremony his companions had used on him in between battles.

The dryads back then had not used a spell as large as this. They had used small spells that could only heal one of his claws.

He had laughed and told them it was no use, but he had still let them do it as they conversed in the night.

Then the English princess spoke gently to him.

“Of the dragons spoken of in England, the most important are the flying serpentine dragons known as Lindwurms. You helped my ancestors cross over to England and you visited out of concern a few times afterwards. …In England, the shape of the Lindwurm is often spoken of, but legends of your defeat or existence are rare. In fact…”

In fact…

“One ancient noble family still uses your form on their coat of arms. …You are a Lindwurm, a descendant of England’s guardian dragons. I may not know what occurred in the past, but please allow this descendant of England to ask this just once more.”

“What is that?”

“Judge,” said the English princess, but he could only hear it through the forest of ether by this point.

It was a deep forest.

It was unlike the dark forests of Northern and Eastern Europe, but he knew he had once seen this forest in those small forms.

…''Ohh.

Now that he had inherited a name and faced the world on equal footing, everyone from back then had to be standing behind him.

And this resident of the new world asked her question.

“If you will calm down, I will remove Excalibur.”

But…

“If you will not calm down, Excalibur will be removed.”

So…

“Now,” she said. “Which will it be?”

Torahide smiled in his heart.

On the edge of his memories, the past aligned with the present.

He recalled those former times.

During the great invasion eight hundred years ago, they had fought on the front line and been injured on a daily basis.

They had often returned with the enemy’s weapons and fragments thereof piercing their bodies. The humans and spirits had been worried for the dragons, despite how small they were.

They had said the same thing back then. Even when he had told them the blades piercing him would be absorbed with time, they had stood before him and spoken without fear.

…''If I will calm down, hm?

That was asking too much.

A dragon’s instincts made them react sensitively to injuries. Every single time, they would pull out the sword, his body would react to the pain, and he would say, “See? What did I tell you?”

''But,'' thought Torahide.

''Has nothing changed even now?

So he gave his consent while admitting defeat.

And a thought occurred to that dragon.

He was old, but he had not declined.

…''It’s just…

''I used to be younger,'' he thought as he closed his eyes.

The dragon shut his eyes while remembering long distant times and his companions from those times.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 5B Chapter 40|Chapter 40]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 5B Chapter 42|Chapter 42]]
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</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 5B Chapter 40

2017-07-13T00:20:45Z

86.52.14.214: Fixed two minor errors.

==Chapter 40: Soarer on the Musical Stage==
[[Image:Horizon5B_393.jpg|thumb]]
''What is

''Both narrow

''And wide?

'''Point Allocation (Battlefield)

Torahide’s dragon cannon was split into a total of four parts.

A moment later, defense barriers appeared in the path of each section.

That meant this had been predicted. However, the dozens of barriers were smashed in an instant and the dragon cannon tore into the ground.

The somewhat-diagonal beam of light made a horizontal sweep that crushed the floor materials and burst the pipes for ether fuel and water. The internal pressure caused the contents to burst out and instantly turned the Musashino into a battlefield filled with glowing smoke and steam.

But the dragon cannon had still been weakened. A direct hit would have made it deep underground, but…

“The damage was restricted to only the second wide block’s second underground level. Over.”

Everyone cheered at that report from “Musashino”.

Of course, the battle was not over.

They had defended against Torahide’s attack, but he was nearly unharmed. His coagulated blood had closed up the wound in his reverse scales, so he lowered down once more. And this time…

“I will destroy you…!”

Still standing, the Lindwurm threw a right strike toward the unmoving English princess.

As soon as he did, he realized his desire to “destroy” had been granted to an extent.

His left leg was supporting his body, but the floor directly below it suddenly broke through.

Thanks to that destruction, his leg fell through the floor from the elbow to the shoulder.

“…It broke!?”

Torahide collapsed onto his left side.

“The rushed evacuation and the ‘removal’ pitfall seem to have worked well.”

On Musashino’s sixth underground level, the dragon’s hand had broken through the wide block’s ceiling and fallen right in front of Urquiaga. It looked like a lizard’s, but the palm alone was about seven meters.

However, Urquiaga nodded to Noriki who stood by his side.

“Commence arrest…!”

“Judge…!”

People involved in construction and repairs aboard the Musashi were waiting on each floor of the wide block. They used the light gods of war stored in the underground wide block to place chains around the dragon’s arm and quickly bind it in place.

Each individual one was weak, but with them all working together, hundreds of chains wrapped around the same dragon arm and attached it to Musashino’s underground frame. The last few did not make it in time, but…

“The dragon is moving!”

A powerful tug suddenly arrived.

Up on Musashino’s surface, Torahide realized he had been captured.

…''This…!

Was it a sign of inexperience to finish that thought with “cannot be”?

His left arm was buried in Musashino’s floor up to the elbow.

And that arm had clearly been ''allowed'' to stick that far down. The material he had broken through had not been as hard or reactive as the rest of the floor.

But even with a dragon’s arm and muscle strength, it was difficult to pull his arm out of the floor when it had sunk down up to the shoulder. After all, that required lifting his body straight up, but a dragon’s arms were attached on the left and right side on the bottom of a body with an elliptical cross-section. With that bodily structure, it was nearly impossible to pull his arm straight up.

Since his right arm was free, his only option was to place that on the floor and arch his body backwards. However…

…''I’ll be in trouble if my right arm breaks through as well!

Thus, Torahide bent his right elbow and pushed his forearm against the floor.

The larger the contact area, the less likely it was to break through the floor. On top of that, he decided to bend his body back more than push with his arm, but…

“…!”

Torahide emitted his awe to ensure his safety.

A moment later, he heard several shell hits. But the attacks did not affect him.

The countless hits scattered sparks and were negated before reaching his body. So…

…''Calm down.

If he rushed this, he would fall into some kind of trap.

This was enemy territory. And most likely, the enemy was executing a plan for battling a dragon.

He knew why they would have one: Sasuke and Saizou had greeted them the day before.

That was partially due to common courtesy and the Celestial Dragons’ pride, but as a Terrestrial Dragon acting as a scout, putting the enemy on guard only made his job harder. However…

“A Terrestrial Dragon completes the task assigned to him…!”

The Celestial Dragons had gone to a certain location for the future of Sanada.

Sanada’s main force would eventually abandon this land and head to Osaka. And the dragons…

…''We have lived for too long…!

Torahide thought, ''Even among nonhuman lifeforms, dragons are especially long-lived.

But they still had a lifespan. Dragons considered a thousand years to be a full life and he had already lived for more than eight hundred years.

He still had more than a hundred years, but he was admittedly very old.

He doubted he would survive the decisive battle between the east and the west that would occur at Osaka.

After all, they had received information on modern warfare from the Ten Braves who had taken over after them and from the dragons remaining in Hexagone Française and the rest of Europe.

The Germanic age of their youth had ended.

Large organized armies and aerial ships now ruled the battlefield and the humans had a powerful king.

He liked the sound of going out in a blaze of glory in a brief showdown with an enemy like that.

He also liked the sound of spending his final moments racing across the battlefield with his companions.

''But,'' he thought.

He had suffered a defeat about four hundred years ago and come to this land. He had followed the corps commander and the others who had left Europe for their own reasons and he had sought reconciliation with the people.

A lot had happened, but the people of the land had accepted them.

“—————”

The existence of Sanada was praised in the Testament and a messenger from the Testament Union had asked them to take inherited names.

The messenger had said that, according to a note in the Testament, they would approach within a step of ruling the Far East on the upcoming battlefield.

They had accepted on the condition that their leader kept the existence of the dragons a secret.

His body was beginning to show its age.

The corps commander had not wanted to leave any of the local people with a destiny forcing them to make such a desperate charge.

''He and the others have grown old too,'' honestly thought Torahide.

The people had been considerate, but the corps commander and the others had not given up those inherited names and had instead given the people inherited names that would not die in that battle and could live on.

However, time had passed and even Celestial Dragons had lifespans.

After living for more than eight hundred years, the Celestial Dragons were dying and their numbers were in decline.

The Terrestrial Dragons like Torahide were the same.

They had lost so many of their own kind and they were in the local people’s debt in so many ways.

On the other hand, Torahide had been a scout back when he was young and he was still doing that now.

That had not changed.

''But I am old,'' he thought. ''In the past, a scout would stick to reconnaissance, avoid battle, and finish any unavoidable battle as soon as possible to return alive.

''So what is this now? Yes.

“A dragon’s pride…”

The Celestial Dragons had left. The young fighters of the current generation would head out next.

An aged member of the old generation should stand aside for them. But…

“Once I have stood aside, I cannot bear to stand idly by while the enemy arrives in the land they leave behind!!”

Torahide forcibly pulled his left arm out.

Unseen below the ground, his fingers were splayed out and his arm was bound by hundreds of chains. However…

“…!”

He raised a roar and worked at breaking all that bound him.

Once was not enough. Nor was twice or thrice. He had to work over and over again.

Urquiaga saw it from the sixth underground level.

The giant dragon’s left hand repeatedly tried to pull up and his three bound fingers tried to grab at the chains.

The dragon’s hand contained plenty of power, but Urquiaga could see the heat leaking from the heat radiation slits on his wrist and elsewhere.

And each time the chains strained…

'''Bell:''' “Urquia…ga-kun? There’s a bit…of an alarm on Musa…shino.”

'''Uqui:''' “Yes, I can hear it. Sign frames have been opening, too. They say ‘danger’, but is it that bad?”

'''Musashino:''' “To be blunt, my main body is bending quite a bit. Over.”

“Just wait,” said Urquiaga without worrying about it.

He looked to the side where two people approached with light steps. One was Narumi and the other…

“Teacher Oriotorai, what should we do at times like this? I would like a quick lesson.”

“Well.” She munched on the skewered croquettes she had in a paper bag. “This is a mock battle, right? I can’t really support one side over the other.”

'''Musashino:''' “Um, Oriotorai-sama? This is quite dangerous. Over.”

“That’s what the landlady’s saying, huh?”

Urquiaga saw Narumi giving Oriotorai a look of utter disbelief, but…

…''Was there anything all that odd about this teacher’s reaction?

''Narumi must be sensitive,'' concluded Urquiaga.

And that was when the continually-attacking dragon’s large arm vibrated up and down.

'''83:''' “The third underground level is now free.”

The arm could move up and down a bit without being lifted.

“He can build up a reaction now, so it won’t take much longer.”

Urquiaga pointed to the dragon’s hand. He then noticed a dog that had approached either to beg for Oriotorai’s food or for comfort.

“That’s one of the dogs that’s always hanging around Adele,” said Noriki.

“Do we smell like Adele maybe?” wondered Oriotorai. “And, Urquiaga, what’s that for? Does something interest you about the dragon’s chicken wing…no, I mean hand?”

“Judge,” he replied before pointing at the dog walking over to Oriotorai’s feet. “Some healing is in order, you see. But first I would like to ask something. Answer me this, Teacher Oriotorai.”

He asked his question.

“Is ''that'' the same as ''that''?”

Suzu heard a deafening noise.

“Musashino” suddenly stopped moving while serving tea next to her.

“Has Torahide-sama gotten his arm out? Over.”

“ ‘Musashino’-san…are you…mad?”

“No, not really. But…I feel like I was ignored for an awfully long time. Over.”

She turned to face the bow. Suzu knew there was a large sign frame there, but she could not see what it showed.

However, the sounds she heard were enough to understand the situation.

The dragon had stood up in the center of Musashino.

That giant dragon had several chains wrapped around its left foreleg. And it was raising its head.

“…!!”

It roared into the night sky.

…''Wow.

It was an overwhelming voice. The great roar sent vibrations though the bridge. But Suzu…

“Huh?”

She felt like she had heard this before. Where was it?

'''Unturning:''' “What an unpleasant roar.”

She had indeed heard it before.

'''Unturning:''' “That is the rage-filled voice of someone with nowhere to go. Just like the Seiryu.”

Torahide took action as soon as he stood up.

He had pulled his arm out by bending backwards, but since he was supporting himself with his right arm, he mostly bent to the upper left.

That was convenient for him. After all, he could use that movement to swing his left leg to the right.

And that allowed him to swipe at the person who had been standing there:

“The English princess…!”

He swept a high-speed attack toward her location.

A human was essentially weightless when faced with a dragon’s full speed and weight.

Due to the momentum, she would not be thrown by the impact. She would simply burst upon impact like a water balloon.

It was night, so he could not see the situation clearly.

He swept his left arm across and held his left hand up toward the moons.

It only took an instant.

His bestial palm was illuminated by the moonlight and the ether light of his own awe. It was coated with something dark red.

He knew it was blood, and a lot of it.

“…”

He felt an odd sensation that could only be described as “finally”.

In the Warring States period, it seemed wrong for a scout to take the first kill. However…

…''Corps commander…

And the other Celestial Dragons too.

“This is all they were…”

They had prepared a foolish decoy to draw his attack while they executed their tactic.

But they had ultimately lost to the dragon’s power and lost their valuable decoy. And as a result…

“Ohh…”

He heard several voices of surprise. From the god of war units and the warriors.

“Look! …Mary-sama is waving at us!”

Torahide heard the voices from Murayama to port.

“Ohhhh! You’re right! Her majesty as a princess is so obvious at night!”

“I-is she waving at me!?”

“Wait! That ninja might be somewhere around here! Search for him!”

…''What!?

The English princess was alive.

To confirm that, Torahide raised his left hand again and looked beyond it.

There she was.

He saw blonde hair and a summer uniform that combined the Far Eastern and English designs.

It was English Princess Mary Stuart. She was unharmed and she had not changed position. She was simply glowing and waving to port while her hair fluttered in the wind of his awe.

What was this?

Torahide looked to his left hand raised toward the moons. That bestial hand was wet with blood. But…

“It can’t be…”

There was something odd about the moonlit beast’s hand.

Its three claws had been half severed and it was bleeding.

He was injured.

…''How!?

Torahide knew a dragon’s reflexes should sensitively detect and respond to any damage. Was there any reason that would fail to activate?

“——————”

There was.

Faint light surrounded his raised claws.

It was a Holy Spell healing spell. And it was an anesthetic variety that eliminated pain instead of simply healing.

“Unlike human nails, an animal’s claws have nerves running through them,” explained Urquiaga while listening to the roar arriving through the large hole in the ceiling. He was looking at the puppy playfully chasing Oriotorai as she took slow steps. “And those are not simple nerve endings; they have a certain level of circulation. Thus, an animal will lose any feeling in its claws if they are cut off at the base. But that also causes intense pain, so it was necessary to first cast an anesthetic spell on the dragon so he would not notice.”

The half-dragon raised a charm and saw Narumi store her mandible sword in empty air.

There was a pool of dark red blood on the floor and it was already starting to congeal.

“It’s only from a Terrestrial Dragon, but this will make an excellent material for strengthening metals. There is a reason even Date uses this in the higher-level processing of Orei Metallo.”

Urquiaga stared at it and ignored the vibrations and noise from above.

“I never thought I would get to enjoy this kind of outdoor hunting on the Musashi. A study camp is a surprisingly worthwhile experience. What do you think, Narumi?”

“We already did something similar at Sendai Castle, so I’m kind of sick of it.”

“These two…” muttered Noriki before looking up at the distant rumbling and asking a question. “What happens now that you’ve cut the dragon’s claws and nerves?”

“Well, he will of course lose any feeling in his fingers, so he will be unable to grab and aim properly. From a dragon’s perspective, targeting something as small as a human will not be easy. The anesthetic spell will also eliminate some feeling, but we actually severed his nervous system’s circulation. Even if he stops the bleeding with a healing spell, it will take some time for the circulation to be reformed.”

Meaning…

“He will be unable to attack properly with his left hand for a while.”

Torahide realized he could not support himself with his left arm.

His claws would not dig in.

That was partially due to the Musashi’s flat surface and it was partially due to his shortened claws, but…

…''I’ve lost all feeling in them!

He could of course move his fingers, but he could not feel the reactive force.

He only felt a vague sensation from half of his hand, like he had a fever. The bleeding was stopping, but that meant he was losing the sensation of his pulse in the end of the severed claws.

The Holy Spell on his claws was also a problem.

That anesthetic spell cut off his sense of pain.

He recognized the light it produced.

It was a spell that had been developed and strengthened by the humans who had been scattered in the wake of the dragons as they swept across Europe eight hundred years ago. The dragons had crushed the humans many times when those humans erased their pain with that spell and returned to the battlefield wearing nothing else.

So it was technically not a healing spell.

It allowed one to continue fighting without healing their wounds.

…''Well done…!

The modern teachings tended to say not to waste your life. The corps commander and the others would surely say that nowadays.

But they were dragons. Battle was honor itself.

Whether injured, hurt, or dismembered, ceasing to fight was the same as losing your name’s honor.

Thus, this spell had been given to the Unneeded. The Holy Spell had been remade as a local spell, medicines had been added in, and it had been made into a charm that strengthened one’s body and cut off all pain. Those charms had been given to them as a last resort. And now, after eight hundred years…

“You would use it on me!?”

Torahide stopped relying on his left arm. He got down on his elbows instead.

He stared straight ahead, at the hair of the English Princess who still stood there.

And he realized she was looking at him.

''Why,'' he wondered just before a straight-line attack arrived from starboard. It was a high-speed charge aimed at his face. And it came from…

“A Satomi god of war…!?”

The exchange only lasted a moment.

Torahide bent his entire body and used that to swing his right arm to the right in a hooked shape.

Satomi Yoshiyasu launched a counterattack on his right hand using the weapon held by Righteousness.

It was a large shield.

A preserving damper had been hastily attached to one of Musashi’s external armor panels and it had been roughly curved to reduce air resistance.

'''347:''' “That was curved under my grampa’s instructions, so it’s really accurate!”

Yoshiyasu heard Mishina Hiro’s voice over the divine transmission.

'''347:''' “Don’t hesitate to destroy it!”

''That is one hell of an engineering family,'' thought Yoshiyasu while doing just as suggested.

First, she went beyond decelerating all of her wings and actually opened them in the reverse direction.

More than rapidly brake her, that full burst actually moved her backwards. It did not matter that the wing connections on her back, shoulders, and hips immediately cried out in protest. It would take longer for them to break.

Thus, she changed her forward charge into a rapid retreat, while…

“Take this…!”

She kicked the large shield toward Torahide’s right hand as it flew toward her.

The dragon’s fist shattered it.

It only took an instant.

The shield made from Musashi’s armor burst and scattered like dried leaves.

But the fragments of the center portion were pushed by the dragon’s blow and flew toward Yoshiyasu.

…''Bring it on!

Yoshiyasu set her sights on the returning shield fragments.

Her following reaction was not a simple counterattack. She did the same thing Musashi’s Vice Chancellor had the night before.

“A midair leaping evasion…!”

She threw a piercing kick at the fragments with her toes, launching Righteousness in the opposite direction.

She tried to move away from Torahide’s pursuing fist.

But the dragon’s fist extended.

He extended his sharp claws and straightened his elbow to make a piercing jab toward her.

He was going for a finishing blow.

Yoshiyasu felt no fear when she saw that fact with the god of war’s sight devices.

Instead, she gave a mental smile.

…''That’s a dragon for you!

Dragons were great. They moved differently from the tentacles of Houjou. They never tried to wrap around you, constrict you, and swing you around.

They came to kill you.

So Yoshiyasu released her wings behind her. She operated the four forward-facing metal panels on her back and released their stored-up pressure in front of her.

This backwards flight caused her entire body to compress.

The approaching dragon’s claws revealed their tips and approached close enough to reach her chest.

But she had accelerated enough to match his speed.

The approach seemed to stop and only the background flowed by in this transparent time.

A moment later, Righteousness accelerated somewhat. That gradually increased the distance between them.

“…Come on!”

Immediately after that, the enemy arrived.

He extended his reach.

The dragon extended even his shoulder toward her. That meant the length of one dragon shoulder was added to the reach of the enemy’s attack.

…''Wonderful!

He was an animal but also an intelligent being. He possessed intelligence and combat ability far exceeding that of humans.

The fact that she was clashing with one brought instantaneous elation to her heart. And more importantly…

“——————”

Their battlefield this time was not enemy territory. It was…

“A place of survival…!”

Yoshiyasu suddenly recalled the past.

Specifically, the times before Mikatagahara.

Back when Satomi was still around, she had had so many comrades in her coastal hometown and they had worked together to protect their nation.

Their nation had been small, but that had required they work together and they had fought toward the same goal on the battlefield no matter how much conflict there was between them. And that goal had been…

…''Protecting our home.

After all, the opposite coast had been enemy territory. The enemy coming from there would quickly reach their territorial waters and arrive at their coastal city.

Thus, they had constantly been fighting with people’s homes behind them.

Victory had been a necessity and their duty had been to immediately regain anything that was taken. They had always heard the people’s cheers of support behind them and their only reward had been the path home.

They had been proud of that life and they had protected their home.

But they had lost all of that.

Ever since, she had lost that sensation and that opportunity. At Novgorod, she had appeared on the battlefield as an attacker working alongside another nation. Last night, she had entered the sky to protect her comrades and as part of the overall strategy, but it had been too indirectly related to protecting a place where people lived their lives.

But this was different.

She was fighting atop the Musashi. She was directly inside the city.

The enemy was a colossal dragon. And Musashino’s city had already been badly damaged.

Plus, this enemy was powerful, unknown, and strong. So…

“Ohh…!”

Yoshiyasu fulfilled her duty. This was her response to the hopes of the people behind her.

…''And it is the proof that I have not forgotten what I once gained in Satomi…

That was not all. There was something she herself wanted.

“I…”

Yoshiyasu drew her sword during her high-speed flight.

“I must grow stronger!!”

Everyone on the Musashi saw Torahide’s right hand knocked upwards.

On the row of long blocks to the aft of Musashino, metal sparks flew, Righteousness rapidly braked its backwards glide, and arcs of blood flew from the dragon’s right hand and over the god of war’s head.

And three moonlit objects flew through Murayama’s sky. They were…

“The dragon’s claws…!?”

The god of war unit firing on Musashino looked up to view the 2m amber curves.

They knew what must have happened to those airborne claws.

“Did the Satomi Student Council President sever them during all that?”

In their field of view and at the depths of their sense of hearing, they saw sparks rise from Musashino’s long blocks and heard metal groan from the same area.

Righteousness had landed and finished braking at the end of the starboard side.

Shimmering heat rose from the four wings on its back and vermilion heat was visible within the thrusters.

The motors and joints were the same.

It could no longer move properly without being serviced first. That was clear to everyone watching. Inside it, Yoshiyasu had to be feeling great exhaustion and pain from the feedback.

It had been brief, but she had fought with a monster more than ten times her size. She had achieved something and she had returned alive.

“And I didn’t damage the surface city while landing and braking…”

But Righteousness maintained its fighting stance. She had pulled back the sword and her wrists and she held her elbow forward.

As if in response to that, the others took the next action.

The results of Yoshiyasu’s one-girl charge were right in front of them.

Torahide shook his right arm due to the intense pain and he had lost balance.

The dragon’s roar seemed to swell out on a path from the moon to the earth.

Immediately afterwards, everyone took action. They acted on Neshinbara’s instructions as he stood on top of Musashino’s bridge.

“Everyone on Musashino…charge!!”

Murayama and Musashino were now at equal altitudes.

When Torahide’s dragon cannon was split into four, they had been brought to the same altitude. From there, they had moved him toward Murayama and…

“We used a transport ship to make a bridge. Pay up and you may cross it…!”

Everyone threw 10-yen coins into the Treasurer’s sign frame with all their might and then ran across the ship bridge.

Their destination was the serpentine dragon lying across Musashino. Or more specifically…

“His side…!”

They knew exactly where to aim: 37 locations along his left side. Those were his “axis of balance” that Suzu had deduced from his movements. Asama had then placed target guidance sign frames on those locations.

“Ohh…!”

The god of war unit charged in with assault spears. At the same time, the warriors and the Technohexen unit focused fire on Torahide’s left side.

Intense sounds rang out and Torahide’s body shook without the support of his right arm.

So they all hit and pushed the dragon even more.

As more impacts and shots hit him from the left, the people pushed at the giant dragon that had destroyed the city.

“Keep pushing…”

They would roll him over to turn his belly to the left and flip him upside down.

They had a single goal.

“Don’t let him fly!”

That giant dragon was a Lindwurm. He was a serpentine flying dragon. He had two wings on his back.

The best way to defeat such a large creature was to prevent him from using his wings. And they knew how to do that:

“Flip him over!”

Wild animals expressed submission by exposing their defenseless belly.

So they would force him into that pose. That was Neshinbara and the others’ plan.

But…

“…!!”

Torahide struggled when he realized what they were trying to do.

He opened all his body’s thrusters and triggered a dragon cannon explosion all around him.

It was an awe explosion.

Light burst and a deafening noise sounded. The blast caused Torahide’s body to float up fairly high.

He was launched up to the same height as Musashino’s bridge, or maybe even higher.

The blast had contained such great pressure that it had blown away the assault unit and firing unit from Murayama.

Most of the gods of war were knocked onto their butts or slid backwards along the floor, so everyone was forced to fall back to the city cage surrounding Torahide.

The warriors and Technohexen were the same. They were pushed back by the awe wind and slammed back-first into the city cage.

“Kh…!”

But then rubble and building fragments flew their way.

“Opening defense barriers! Over.”

“Musashino” ordered a windbreak of defense barriers to be opened around Torahide and they noisily shattered as they protected everyone.

But even if the defense arrived in time, there was one clear inconvenience here.

They had been moved away.

Beyond the space between them, the half-rolled form attempted to roll back while flying high in the sky.

He rolled back to the left, starting with his tail.

He powerfully curled his skinny tail to the left and that twist would propagate up toward his face to revert his body’s orientation.

And just as his giant body seemed to tremble in the night sky…

“…!”

He rolled.

Torahide realized his body had completed its roll.

He had twisted his body, starting from the tail, but that movement had flipped him back around all the way to the head.

It was like the reactive force returning a twisted cloth to normal. He had built up a little too much momentum, but he used a thruster explosion to…

…''Gather strength in my body once more!

While rolling and rotating in midair, Torahide saw the enemy.

At the moment, Musashino was surrounded by defense barriers on the left and right. He felt like he was at the bottom of a glowing canyon. Forward was the only path available to him.

Shallow in the sky ahead, he saw Musashino’s bridge and the English princess was standing on the ground.

But the dragon eyes located on the sides of his face spotted something in the corner of his vision.

A few figures stood on the port edge of Murayama and the starboard edge of Tama.

…''Are those…?

On the starboard edge was Musashi’s princess. She wore an apron and her silver hair fluttered in the wind.

On the port edge was a nudist boy. He wore a scarf on his crotch and the white cloth fluttered in the wind.

“A nudist…!?”

Torahide spoke aloud without thinking and only then did he notice something.

The princess’s hair was fluttering behind her and a bit above her.

Tama was descending. And that would put it at the same height as Musashino and Murayama.

…''Are they going to perform a charge from Tama too!?

Just as he wondered that, two new figures were added.

First, a girl wearing only a sheet stood next to the nudist. Her hair and the edge of the sheet danced in the wind and the curves of her body were visible through the sheet.

“Ah.”

She opened her mouth to produce a voice that carried into the distance and provided the tuning to begin a song.

On the opposite side, someone gasped for breath as they arrived next to the princess.

It was a shrine maiden.

She was out of breath and bent forward, but she held out her hands to reject the bamboo bottle that Musashi’s princess offered her.

“Kimi…! Toori-kun!”

Asama shouted to the pair on the opposite side and struck her hands together.

She clapped. And Hanami nodded from her shoulder.

“Clap!”

A moment later, a voice reached her. It was Kimi’s voice, singing a powerful arrangement of a certain song.

“Let me pass.”

It was the Song of Passage. And Asama saw a light arrive in response.

The light came from the nudist. Countless ether supply lines drew curves as they flew from his back.

…''Hurry…!

This was a race against time. Torahide was dropping down from overhead. They had to act faster than that.

…''We need to deal with this and protect the Musashi!

She heard a voice.

“If I follow this narrow path, where will it take me?”

The light flying from Toori moved to the gaps between Musashino and Tama and between Musashino and Murayama. On the Murayama side, a transport ship filled the gap like a bridge. On the Tama side, there was simply empty space. The light from the nudist’s back shot out in consecutive waves. It was controlled by the two sign frames in front of Asama, which she operated like playing a keyboard.

“Submit…!”

Asama spread the sign frames like wings and her own voice joined the song.

“This narrow path leads to the gods in heaven.”

A moment later, her and Kimi’s dance and song offering received authorization from their gods. It was a joint effort between Asama and Ootsubaki. When selecting the divine protections, Asama mostly went with…

…''Toori-kun…!

She requested amplification. The immediately-authorized power quickly doubled the nudist’s supply lines.

And that was not all. Asama exchanged a glance with Horizon. And…

“Your opinion is not needed. You cannot pass through here.”

Horizon’s lips moved to join the song.

There was no sound, so Asama simply nodded her way.

Horizon nodded back and sound left her opened mouth to form a voice.

That voice was a song.

“I have come to celebrate this child’s tenth birthday.”

Asama followed along with Horizon and included her in their song.

She submitted it and requested more. Horizon was registered as a normal person, but the request was approved.

…''That means our god has approved of Horizon’s voice.

Her song would reach Musashi’s Asama Shrine every morning and evening. It was possible the god had already heard it.

As a result, all of the light racing through the sky was amplified.

On the other side, his eyebrows rose and he smiled a little. She also saw him give her a quick wave of thanks. She considered waving back, but…

…''Th-that was for Horizon, wasn’t it?

'''Wise Sister:''' “C’mon, you two. Aren’t you going to respond to my foolish brother?”

Horizon raised her right thumb, so Asama did the same.

'''<Notification: That choreography was lame, so I’ll lower your Blessings a bit. By, god.>

'''Asama:''' “Wh-what have I done!? What have I done!?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Just roll with it. So how are we doing, Suzu?”

That question received a definite response.

'''Bell:''' “Y-yes. Judge. This should work.”

“This” being…

'''Bell:''' “Rapidly lowering Musashino…!”

Falling Torahide was going in for a definite landing.

He would land in the same location atop Musashino.

There was a reason he had twisted around to make such a powerful landing.

He had wanted to provide more of an impact to damage Musashino when he did so.

Musashino’s frame had already started to bend when he pulled his left leg out earlier. Dropping his great weight on it now was sure to accomplish something.

And even if not, smashing the surface area would do damage to several blocks.

So he dropped down. Or he intended to.

But just before he did, Musashino suddenly sank down.

…''What!?

He was confused because this was not possible.

Musashino had not fallen.

Falling would have been slow to start out with, but this movement was just as fast as his own fall.

“A descent!?”

Then walls of light appeared on either side of him.

Tama and Murayama seemed to rise up on either side of Musashino. A massive amount of ether light was erupting out of those gaps.

As those cascades of light fell upwards, Torahide saw something beyond them.

The gravitational acceleration systems on the inner sides of Tama and Murayama were fully opened.

They were normally used for moving the ships or forming the giant cannon barrel, but now they were used for something else.

“To lower the Musashino and catch me as I fall…”

But that was not all.

“Are they negating the effects of my reverse roll!?”

Neshinbara had predicted the Lindwurm would powerfully twist his body during the instant of impact.

“Because that allows him to guide the destruction to the surface and inside of the ship. So…”

Neshinbara used a sign frame to provide instructions for controlling Musashino’s descent and he watched the giant dragon’s continued fall with narrowed eyes.

“So we moved the surface away from you.”

It had been a last-minute movement. That was why the ether supply management had to be done via Toori’s precise control instead of from the Musashi. They had activated only the necessary thrusters.

In truth…

…''I considered hitting back to knock him away.

But that alone was not enough to settle things.

So he had done something their opponent would not predict in order to flip him around.

“Heh. At that size, he can’t easily adjust his position in midair. If he keeps falling like this…”

'''Four Eyes:''' “Yes, yes. He will fall onto his back. We all get it and it’s fascinating, so just get on with it.”

'''Novice:''' “D-dammit! Stop ruining my moment!”

'''Bell:''' “…Huh?”

'''Flat Vassal:''' Ahhh, I’m feeling woozy after getting carried away earlier… Oh, what is it, Suzu-san?”

“Well,” said Suzu.

She was managing Musashino’s descent. It was a definite action and the Lindwurm was already located above their bridge.

But Suzu had this to say:

'''Bell:''' That dragon…person is rotating…even more? He’ll probably land…on his belly.”

Meaning…

'''Bell:''' “The height is…shifting.”

Neshinbara suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

But not because this was entirely unexpected.

…''Here it comes!

And what happened was exactly what Neshinbara had feared. And everyone responded:

'''Almost Everyone:''' “…”

…''Wah! This silence is painful!

He saw the Lindwurm work to stop its movement overhead.

Musashino’s descent had reached its set position, so it was slowing.

The giant dragon spun its body and fell relatively slowly. And then…

'''Bell:''' “Oh, yes…it’s not…going to work out…right.”

…''Don’t say thaaaaaaaaat!

'''Four Eyes:''' You stuuuuupid, stuuuuuuuuuupid boy! You’re only a child who lives in the world of imagination!! Did you not even check the diagram!? Ah ha ha! This is so much fun, Toussaint! I’ve never had more fun!”

'''Mal-Ga;''' “She’s not wrong.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “What were you even trying to accomplish, Bara-yan?”

'''Obscene:''' “That is a difficult question! Let’s all give it some thought!”

'''Laborer:''' “Wait. Let’s not just assume Neshinbara is incompetent.”

''My savior!'' thought Neshinbara from the bottom of his heart.

'''Novice:''' “R-right!? Isn’t that right!?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “That’s right! We shouldn’t just assume Neshinbara is incompetent. Wait a moment longer and we can prove it!”

'''Hori-ko:''' “How many more seconds now?”

'''Musashino:''' “The descent will end in seven seconds. Over.”

'''Novice:''' “Isn’t that a little too soon!? Right!?”

''Oh, no,'' thought Suzu.

Neshinbara’s initial calculations had been correct. But…

…''Th-that person…picked up…speed in mid…air…

The dragon had made a forced correction.

'''Bell:''' “U-um.”

'''Asama:''' “What is it, Suzu-san?”

'''Bell:''' “Th-this wasn’t…Neshinbara…-kun’s fault.”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “…”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “How can this doujin boy make Suzu say such awful things…sob, sob.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Ga-chan, you don’t have to pretend to cry just because things aren’t going your way.”

''Huh? I feel like something about this is wrong,'' thought Suzu.

'''Bell:''' “N-no, not…that. Neshinbara…-kun calculated it…correctly.”

'''Novice:''' “Indeed. I-I did everything right, didn’t I!?”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “And how did that turn out?”

'''Uqui:''' “So he did everything right, but he still couldn’t make anything happen?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “What’s this? Are you giving me some impotency material?”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Ga-chan, isn’t your mood getting a little too volatile!?”

'''Four Eyes:''' “Toussaint, can you explain what this is about?”

''I feel like this is even more wrong,'' thought Suzu, but then…

'''Musashino:''' “The enemy Lindwurm is landing! Over.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 5B Chapter 39|Chapter 39]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 5B Chapter 41|Chapter 41]]
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</noinclude>

Clash of Hexennacht:Volume4 Chapter 17

2017-07-11T01:07:29Z

86.52.14.214: Added missing word.

==Chapter 17: Oh, Unforgettable Moonlit Night==
[[Image:Hexennacht_v04_393.png|thumb]]
''I can’t repair my heart in time

''And I can’t gather up everything that spilled out

Pieces of the moon scattered in the night sky like the milky way.

Dawn gradually arrived.

Hexennacht was over.

And as the morning light shined on the Geo Frame’s chest, Kagami stood with the light behind her and Shouko’s cradle by her side. She looked back toward the others.

“Everyone.”

Only after calling out to them did she realize the morning sun was visible through her body.

The sunlight was faintly passing through her.

“It would certainly be a problem if my insides or some more arousing areas showed through.”

“I think we’ll be fine as long as the contents of your mind don’t show through.”

She had to smile bitterly at Horinouchi’s comment, but one thing was certain.

…''So this is goodbye.

She would leave this world.

Her sister had lost her power and the Book of Creation was gone. She and her sister had been bound here by those things, so they would leave this imaginary world and return to the real world.

They would wake from the dream.

“I want to scold Shouko for going with an ‘it was all a dream’ ending, but maybe that is not the best idea.”

She saw that Shouko too was growing transparent.

Horinouchi must have realized the time to say goodbye was approaching fast because she canceled her Frame.

The Geo Frame slowly fell apart, but it was so large that there was plenty of time before it entirely vanished. Kagami also canceled her Frame and returned to her normal appearance.

Then Horinouchi appeared right in front of her.

“This is goodbye, isn’t it?”

“Lose something and you will come across it again later. Look at it like that for now, Mitsuru.”

“Yes.” She nodded and smiled a little. “It isn’t often you use my actual name.”

“You wanted me to call you Manko that badly…!?”

She glared at Kagami.

But Kagami did not let it bother her.

“But Horinouchi…I thought you had something to say to me before I left. What is it?”

“…Eh!?”

Horinouchi suddenly blushed and froze in place, so Kagami walked all the way around her.

“In the hospital…yes, I do believe I heard something like that.”

She added another “yes”.

“For battle purposes, you should probably start using lipstick that does not come off quite so easily.”

…''After everything, I have to deal with this!?

Hunter and the others were whispering something behind the other two.

“See, she’s like a wolf…”

“She’s a lot more proactive than I thought…”

“Eh!? Won’t we be in a lot of trouble if Shouko finds out!?”

''Shut up, all of you. And I certainly didn’t expect things to turn out like this.

But she wanted to fight it here.

“I will not say it. Saying it now would only make me regret it more.”

“In that case, there is something I would like to say. …Horinouchi, could you lean in here for a moment?”

“For what?”

She followed Kagami’s beckoning and leaned forward.

And Kagami kissed her.

She heard an “ah” and an “oh”, but that was meaningless.

Tears spilled from her eyes, but Kagami would not allow it. She pushed against her lips even harder and Horinouchi responded in kind. And…

“Ah.”

They pulled back for air at the exact same moment and more tears fell.

She wiped them away with her hand.

“You idiot. …Now there’s no way I can forget.”

Because…

“…I can’t believe we were thinking the same thing.”

“That is why I chose you, Horinouchi.”

Kagami looked her in the eye with tears in the corners of her eyes as well.

“I chose you to laugh, cry, and grow angry with. …And it does not matter even if you do forget me. I will always be with you whenever you laugh, cry, or grow angry.”

Kagami picked up her sister.

It was time to say goodbye. Horinouchi could still feel the heat on her lips as Kagami smiled and opened her mouth.

In that instant, Horinouchi nodded and spoke her own words. So did everyone behind her.

“You have my thanks.”

She heard Kagami’s voice join theirs, but was that just as an illusion as she disappeared?

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|-
| Back to [[Clash_of_Hexennacht:Volume4_Chapter_16|Chapter 16]]
| Return to [[Clash_of_Hexennacht|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Clash_of_Hexennacht:Volume4_Chapter_18|Final Chapter]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Clash of Hexennacht:Volume4 Chapter 16

2017-07-11T01:01:38Z

86.52.14.214: One small fix.

==Chapter 16: Sink the Heavens==
[[Image:Hexennacht_v04_381.png|thumb]]
''Say goodbye

''To the sky you looked up into

Light danced.

With the dark clouds in the sky, Horinouchi thought it looked like snow, even with the moon out.

As far as she could tell from the Geo Frame’s chest, the light was falling all across Kantou. And starting from the band of planetary-level divine protection created on the surface…

“They’re disappearing, aren’t they?”

The Black Witch’s reinforcements were crumbling.

Everything came to a stop and seemed to melt away. Once their bodies had collapsed about halfway, they broke apart into ether light.

There were some in the sky that had yet to fall, but they scattered into light in midair.

“Oh, my.”

When she looked far into the distance, the band of light spread out like a curtain from east to west.

Hexennacht was over and the glowing curtain was closing.

It was a strange sight.

“Even the giant Black Device and those dragons and dolls become ether light once they break apart.”

She then looked over at Kagami.

Kagami held a girl in her arms. That girl who wore a black Form was the being they had called the Black Witch. But now…

“Is your sister all right?”

“She was always much more peaceful while asleep. And peaceful is probably what she plans to be now. But…”

Kagami placed her sister in a cradle made from a spell circle.

Horinouchi knew what Kagami wanted to do.

There was something they had left undone.

She looked directly overhead, toward the moon. The full moon still hung in the center of the heavens.

“Since the moon has not moved from that spot, it must not be my sister’s doing.”

They saw a line of light as they looked up.

“It is the Book of Creation.”

''I need to land somewhere higher up next time I drop down onto it,'' thought Hunter as she climbed up onto the Geo Frame’s chest stage.

She was of course using her Normal Frame, but so was Mary who had also climbed up.

And after exchanging a glance, they heard a voice from above.

“Did you save Shouko!?”

Fleur jumped toward them with a light step and she was oddly full of energy.

But then she opened a spell circle connected to the Shihouin Academy HQ.

“It’s the Book of Creation!” said Lisbeth. “Can you see it!?”

Damn right they could see it. It seemed to be making sure they could not avoid seeing its glowing ascent.

“That book…is on Shouko’s side, right?”

But if they did not do anything, this really would get serious, even if it was ''only pretending.

“It intends to escape to the moon and seal itself once more!” said Lisbeth. “That way we cannot interfere until it finds a new imaginer.”

''Would that really be so bad?'' thought Hunter, but she knew that was being naïve.

“Anyone the Book of Creation chooses would be a creator who only ever chooses what’s new, wouldn’t it?”

“That is correct, …It was created in the world’s dawning age, so there would have been nothing in the world and it would have been acceptable to only desire for what is new.” Kagami shut her eyes just once. “But now the world is a richer place and needs to do things differently, so the Book of Creation no longer fits in.”

So…

“Let us send it back. …This world has surpassed imagination, so let us return that power of creation to the ley lines so that it might become one with everything. That is what we must do as those who will live out the new way of doing things.”

Kagami nodded.

Hunter, Mary, Fleur, and Horinouchi formed a ring with her and raised their hands.

“Let us bring an end to the illusions and misunderstandings of imagination that cross all the many worlds.”

“Yes,” agreed Horinouchi. “From now on, Hexennacht will be a night worth remembering.”

Koutarou saw the Geo Frame standing in Tokyo Bay change form.

…''Is that…?

It had used the Knight-style before, but now six giant wings grew from its back. And instead of folding up, they spread out in the air behind it. As for the front of the Geo Frame…

“It’s more subdued…?”

“No, Head Butler! It’s getting even flashier!”

“That’s the Princess-style! I’ve never seen it before, but it has to be!”

“You don’t get fashion at alllll, do you? The Head Maid is going to have a lot of trouble from now on, isn’t she?”

“What does any of this have to do with me!?” protested the Head Maid.

But more importantly, the six-winged Princess-style Geo Frame stood tall within the storm of ether light snow falling in the night. The weapon it raised was the weapon that had once pierced the Black Witch’s hand as it approached from the moon.

“An arbalest made by combining Dikaiosyne with Akerindou!”

The weapon was six-times larger than back then and the princess raised it toward the sky with both arms.

It looked like an angel lifting a cross.

Koutarou looked to the others. The Head Maid used a karate chop to silence a maid that was about to jump the gun and then she gave everyone a commanding look.

With the others behind him, Koutarou lightly spun his arms around and then raised them.

“Well done, milady…!”

“Well done! Well done, Horinouchi. Oh, come to think of it, I never called you Manko this time! I need to do better than that, sorry! How about using it as the signal for firing!?”

“Can you please keep your eyes on the sky!?”

Amaze saw something at a point on the earth far below.

A phenomenon greater than a mere spell was underway and targeting Amaze.

And there they were.

It was Shouko’s sister and her companions.

“Are you sure?” it asked. “If you destroy ‘me’, every single world will lose the benefit of creation. That will delay the development of humanity. Can you really accept that!?”

“I can!”

She did not hesitate to answer.

''That’s incredible,'' it honestly thought. ''She is even more decisive than Shouko said.

So Amaze waited for her words while continuing to fly.

And her responding will reached it in the form of words.

“We now see imagination as something real, even without turning it into creation.”

But…

“You claim imagination is mere fiction and you value imagination while also throwing it out instead of taking care of it, so your role has ended!”

So…

“From now on, remain in this world and use that divine protection of creation to protect everything, you guardian of humanity!”

It saw light rising from that point on the earth.

The attack was directed straight toward it. This was an attack greater than imagination and it was more powerful than everything Shouko and Amaze’s previous owners had accumulated.

…''I see.

Amaze only now accepted that this girl was Shouko’s sister.

“Guardian of humanity, hm?”

There was no greater praise.

The attack pierced the heavens and the blast pushed Tokyo Bay down to the very bottom.

Shihouin Academy had defense barriers up, but the pier and surrounding water were blown away and the mud of the ocean bottom burst with enough force to splatter onto the barriers and bounce off again.

Tokyo Bay’s coast was using all of its anti-wave spells and tsunami-protection technology. A cylinder of light seemed to surround the stage where the Geo Frame’s attack reached the moon.

The shell broke through the Book of Creation and crashed into the moon.

It hit.

The moon changed form.

The white satellite bent as if being pushed away from the earth, split around the swollen peak, and then shrank in size.

After everything was compressed to about two-thirds its size, the shell’s power had nowhere else to go, so it finally carved away at the surface.

It tore into the moon and simply attempted to pierce straight through it.

There was a house at the location of the hit, but it was shattered and everything was smashed to pieces by that mortar.

All that remained was for that force to reach the core.

It only took an instant.

As if shifting its orbit, the crushed moon shook in the direction of the earth’s rotation, but it could not withstand the strain and lost its form.

It exploded.

Amaze was reminded of old times in the instant it lost its shape.

Even as it was destroyed, it did not forget the engineer who had produced it or a certain conversation held in front of a fireplace one night.

That was after it had already lost its form as stone slabs but before it had gained its final form. At that time, it had just been made into a book.

Its master had been an unselfish person, but he had been interested in books and had worked with Amaze to create technologies for producing and publishing books.

After completing a few such technologies, Amaze had realized that he no longer had any desires.

But it had thought this master was the most knowledgeable and thoughtful of any it had had before, so it had done one thing before returning to sleep.

“I want to know about the future.”

That was something Amaze could not imagine.

“Master…at what time would I no longer be needed?”

''That conversation wasn’t actually in Japanese, was it? I think I’m altering the memory after spending so much time with Shouko.

But whatever language it was in, Amaze’s master had definitely given this reply:

“That would have to be far, far into the future.”

“Well, yes, I suppose so.”

“No, I am not just talking about a length of time.”

What did that mean?

“It would have to happen for a reason that neither of us can imagine. The world would have to have grown rich enough to establish a reason we cannot accept. At a time like that, people like that would be born from the old things and not just the new things. It would have to be a cycle or a system with greater complexity.”

“You mean…?”

“The world would be overflowing with creations and a diversity of value systems would exist.” Amaze’s master had smiled. “I have no idea when a time like that would arrive, but you should feel proud when it does. Because it would be your presence that allowed the world to develop that far.”

It had then gone to sleep. The next thing it had known, it was busy granting a certain girl’s desires.

Just now, the world had surpassed it. And not just the new things, but the old things, the common things, and everything else.

…''Yes.

If everything had the potential to create new things, then its role was over.

“Book of Creation,” said Shouko’s sister. “Return to the ley lines. And we will meet again somewhere. Next time, I hope we can do something together with you in your new form and new role.”

“I see,” it said.

Its role was complete. But it would not disappear or be lost. It would return to the world it had created and be born again. And if it could hope for another life…

“Shouko.”

It too had something to say. It had to do with the many stories it had experienced with that girl.

“It was fun…to the very end.”

What were you supposed to say when the conclusion left you hoping the next story would be just as enjoyable?

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Clash_of_Hexennacht:Volume4_Chapter_15|Chapter 15]]
| Return to [[Clash_of_Hexennacht|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Clash_of_Hexennacht:Volume4_Chapter_17|Chapter 17]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Clash of Hexennacht:Volume4 Chapter 15

2017-07-11T00:52:47Z

86.52.14.214: Typo fixes.

==Chapter 15: The Two Together==
[[Image:Hexennacht_v04_352-353.png|thumb]]
''Strength pours evenly in here

''Power shakes the heavens and obeys

''Force reverberates and covers the earth

A great roar was reflected in the sky, permeated the land, and echoed back.

Across Japan, especially around Kantou, the people battling the Black Witch’s reinforcements were worried about when the descent of enemies would end.

“Hey…”

They heard something like distant thunder in the sky and saw lightning in the Tokyo region.

The witches exchanged words as they struck the black dragons and resisted despite being pushed back and destroyed.

“Do you know what these tremors and those flashes of lightning in the sky are?”

They did. Any witch here would understand.

The noise, light, and shaking reaching them had one thing in common.

“This is the rhythm of footwork and sword fighting.”

It all came from a battle.

Just like them, something colossal had turned the eastern land into the scene of a showdown.

The threat from the heavens continued to descend, the witches were hit and had their power taken, and there was no end in sight no matter how much of themselves they poured into the task. But…

“They’re fighting.”

Someone else was. Someone other than them. Some unknown person.

And that unknown someone was fighting for the same goal as them.

Where was the frontline?

That would be the showdown to the east, but…

“It’s here too!”

The witches responded to the actions of the unknown eastern witch that reached them like natural phenomena. Both the women and men did. And not just those in Japan. It spread to everyone who understood the situation due to the communications, ley lines, and exchange of divine protections.

“Keep resisting…!”

The battle continued.

Fight. Resist. There is no point in accepting defeat to the enemy before your eyes.

In the distance, someone was attempting to settle things with the Black Witch. With that in mind, they all matched their steps to the rumbling tremors, which provided a divine protection.

“No one’s going to complain if we show off and keep going tonight!”

“They’ll probably point out we’re too old for this, though.”

“Who cares? It’s like we only ever age once a decade anyway.”

The witches laughed. They laughed and resisted the enemy.

“Hexennacht is the night when everyone spends ten years together…!”

The battlefield had moved to Tokyo Bay.

Instead of the Uraga Channel, they were deep in the bay where Shihouin Academy was, so the field was approximately 20km across and the water was nearly 20m deep. That was plenty of space for two 3km Devices to move around.

The black and white opponents clashed.

The white sword collided with the twin black swords. Once the blade was blocked, they changed position and sent out another attack.

White sparks flew and black embers burst endlessly into the sky.

The giants and Hexennacht as a whole had disturbed the air currents, causing a meteorological oddity around Tokyo Bay. It began as thunder clouds rising over an area twice the size of the bay.

Lightning ran through the clouds, the din of clashing swords shook those dark clouds, and localized rain and lightning once more spread out through the sky.

The racing lightning sought somewhere to go, washed across the surfaces of the giant Devices, came to an end, and disappeared.

Three people danced amid it all.

Two were the witches holding hands on the chest of the giant white Device.

The third was the witch wielding two swords atop the chest of the giant black Device.

They danced with a view that extended beyond each other and beyond even the entire battlefield.

Their gazes seemed to view the entire world and beyond.

They stepped, swung their bodies this way and that, and occasionally spun or paused.

“—————”

They showed no fear even as lightning flashed around them and rain poured down on them.

“Kagami,” said one witch. “If we destroy her Phlogiston Heart, can we separate Shouko from the Book of Creation?”

“Yes. The book said so itself. Although it would be temporary.”

“Then we need to destroy the Book of Creation in that time. …Right?”

“Well done, Horinouchi.” The other witch smiled but her expression immediately returned to normal. “Why is it everyone seems to know what I want more than I do? But in that case…”

That witch formed a sword between her and the witch holding her hand.

There was a Suzaku and a dragon on their shoulders.

They both placed a hand on the sword’s hilt and held it to support the blade.

“Here goes.”

“I will go even further than you.”

“Then…let’s go together.”

The two witches stepped forward on the stage.

After regrouping with Mary, Hunter was in the sky. She and Mary were both riding different fighters.

“It took them three steps to reach Tokyo Bay, but we aren’t so lucky…!”

They had a reason to go there and to pursue the others. But when they looked down from the sky…

“…Ohh…”

Central Kamakura had lost most of its buildings, so they had an excellent view of the battle in Tokyo Bay. The three people and two Devices continued their swordfight deep in the thunder clouds that obscured the view like a forest’s trees.

The sound of ether light sparks indicated that the giant black and white Devices were accelerating their clash. The density of attacks was far greater than when they had fought Hunter and Mary.

And Mary called over from the other fighter.

“Elsie Hunter! Down below…!”

“I see it.”

Something became apparent once they gained altitude.

There were fires on the surface and shards of ether light scattered like flower petals.

Several black figures moved through those areas and spread destruction, but there were also plenty of people resisting them, using their own power, saving people, and changing position.

And it was more than just unfamiliar witches. Even the normal citizens were among them.

They were not just fighting. If surviving was to resist destruction, then evacuation was another form of resistance.

And then Hunter realized something.

“Was my dad a part of this ten years ago?”

This was the same. It was the same as her father’s battlefield, the same as her father’s sky. She felt the same thing her father had.

Tokyo Bay spread out straight ahead. As they flew straight through the thunder clouds…

“Kagami, Horinouchi…!”

The giant white Device accelerated.

The twin black swords were deflected by the pommel and they spread out.

“Keep going…!”

Kagami knew their attack had hit.

Her sister’s blade had also hit them, but it only managed to scrape them.

Their attack had clearly broken something.

The black Satanic Frame’s right shoulder had obviously lost the spherical motor below the armor.

“The ‘mold’ from Mary severing the arm is still there!”

“I see,” said Kagami to praise her student.

After all, it was thanks to Mary’s consideration that she had been able to come here at all.

Lisbeth had said that Mary referred to her as “Second Headmaster” when she was fighting the Black Witch.

That had reminded Lisbeth of Shihouin Academy and of Kagami sleeping in the medical building. She had claimed Shihouin Academy might have been destroyed had she continued fighting.

Many factors had been necessary for Kagami to be here now.

“You have my thanks.”

With that, she continued attacking.

She knew what to target. Once they had caught her sister’s sword, they had to push forward, deflect the other sword with the pommel or guard, and…

“There…!”

Their attack reached the opposite shoulder from before.

It broke. The attack did not have much speed behind it, but it was a very heavy sword.

Ether light fragments scattered, but the giant black Device…

“It isn’t working…!”

Instant regeneration returned the motor below the armor to normal. But…

“Kagami…!”

Kagami saw what Horinouchi meant.

On the giant black Device’s chest stage, her sister was raising twin swords and breathing heavily, but a book floated in front of her. That was…

“The Book of Creation…!”

“Amaze.”

Shouko tried to ask what the book was doing.

She wanted to say moving out in front was dangerous.

But she was too out of breath.

“You’ve pushed yourself too far, Shouko. …I cannot imagine things like you can, but the things you imagine and create are accumulated inside me. So I can use that to support you.”

“You idiot.” She smiled bitterly. “That’s just like when we first met. You said, ‘I cannot imagine things like you can, but the things I have seen imagined and created are accumulated inside me. So I can use that to support your writing.’ ”

“Did I say that?”

“Sorry, I might have invented that memory.”

“Then I said it.”

Amaze smiled and faced forward. Or it seemed like it.

“Let’s do this,” it said.

The Satanic Frame moved forward. Shouko had not willed it to do so, but…

…''I desire.

''If I have accumulated within Amaze, then this is everything I have been until now.

''And this is Amaze’s judgment of me after watching me. That means I’m even more unrefined than I think I am.

“I desire, Amaze. …Just like when we first met, I simply desire.”

So…

“Let’s hit them with all of ‘our’-selves, Amaze.”

“Yes,” agreed Amaze. And: “Kagami…! Don’t think imagination is enough to defeat our accumulated creation…!”

The Satanic Frame had briefly come to a stop, but Horinouchi realized it had accelerated once more.

…''It’s fast?

She added the question mark because she sensed no will behind their opponent’s movements.

The motions were smooth, like something someone had practiced over and over.

“Kh…!”

They were now fighting a defensive battle. Kagami also seemed to understand what was happening with the attacks from the giant black Device and its twin swords.

“This is a combination of ''kata''s! …None of it is new, but it is the same as us!”

“The same?”

“Even if it is nothing special, by combining enough of them together, it becomes something new.”

Meaning…

“The Book of Creation does not have its own imagination, but it is trying to surpass the imagination inside it!”

The two Geo Frames crossed swords while moving around Tokyo Bay.

Their blades collided, but then the twin black swords both fired.

Each of the individual movements was something that had happened before.

But the timing and situation were different. What had previously only been trying to score a hit was being used as the optimal form of that motion.

The series of attacks was dense and unpredictable.

They fired at each other, they deflected each other’s blades, and the black power roared.

“Kagami! Did you know this!? Shouko has envied you for a long, long time and she always wanted to defeat you one day!”

So…

“So I will make sure that happens…!”

Something changed with those words.

The entire giant black Device grew.

It grew to approximately 1.3 times its previous size. The great size did not create any kind of gap and the power and pressure grew with it.

“Do you understand!?”

The giant black Device raised its voice while swinging a truly impressive blade with even more force and speed than the white sword.

“That is her desire!” it said.

It split the thunder clouds, used its footwork to keep up with the giant white Device that slid to the side so that it would not be pushed back, and pummeled that white Device with two black blades.

“Do you understand!?” it asked again.

It continued while the twin black blades attacked without rest from multiple directions.

“To imagine is to desire! Imagination lies at the base of all forms of affirmation – be it fame, money, pleasure, knowledge, or self-satisfaction!”

Do you understand?

“When comparing you to Shouko, Shouko has the far greater complex…!”

A sword strike knocked the white Device back to the edge of the bay.

Waves broke on the nighttime coast and the white giant just barely managed to remain standing while the black queen continued a calm march forward.

“We turn imagination into power, so you cannot defeat us…!”

But a voice responded to that announcement.

“So what?”

Two witches firmly held hands on the chest of the giant white Device.

The one wearing a Holy Knight-style Frame spoke.

“Let me make one thing clear.”

“And what is that!?”

“Well.” The witch smiled. “If you can only view imagination as power, then you are already obsolete.”

The giant black Device responded in two ways.

“—————”

First, it fell silent. And then it began a mad dash straight forward.

…''Evade!

Horinouchi wielded Dikaiosyne with Kagami and when they leaped, the Geo Frame moved as well.

Then the 1.3x-sized twin swords struck the space they had just vacated.

“That was a splendid evasion, Horinouchi!”

“I think the buildings in the Makuhari region were squashed flat!”

“Yes, my sister once went to Makuhari instead of Ariake because she mistakenly thought the event was being held there. This was probably an indirect expression of anger over that.”

“There’s another attack coming!”

They ducked and a sword slash powerful enough to destroy a small island passed just above the Geo Frame’s head.

They stood up to take advantage of the opening after the enemy’s attack.

“Let’s go!”

She nodded and had Dikaiosyne interfere.

They moved forward.

After evading the one attack, they made an attack of their own before the next one.

The precise movements that even used the scattering thunder clouds as cover were a true tightrope walk.

But as they continued moving and using their entire body to evade and attack, Kagami spoke to her as if whispering.

“Horinouchi, this is where it ends. …Fighting while protecting you and also being protected by you was truly worthwhile.”

''Why are you saying this now?'' wondered Horinouchi, but she felt the same.

So as they dodged the enemy’s swords and the wind whipped up the bottom of her Form, she responded.

“…I feel the same. You taught me I didn’t have to do it all alone.”

“You have my thanks.”

Seeing Kagami’s smile, Horinouchi smiled back and nodded, but then they both faced forward.

“Let’s do this.”

An attack was swinging down from above, but they did not dodge it or knock it aside.

They bent their entire body like a bow and sent Dikaiosyne in from below.

“…!”

Dikaiosyne shattered at almost the exact moment the twin black swords were deflected.

“Huh…!?”

Shouko sensed danger in Amaze’s confusion.

Something beyond their imagination had occurred.

…''They were willing to shatter their own sword to knock us off balance!?

The giant white Device stood before them with its arms spread wide, but it was unarmed.

Meanwhile, their arms were similarly spread wide, but they had a sword in each hand.

Their arms were positioned at about the right point for a mid-level sword strike, so Amaze would probably shift into exactly such an attack.

That meant they could still pull this off.

It was all thanks to Amaze increasing the Satanic Frame’s size.

She understood that Amaze was not trying to make attacks of its own but was replaying the motions found in what she had accumulated within it.

Since only the necessary attacks were made, there was no unnecessary effort and the attacks were light. They moved swiftly from one attack to another, but there was no weight to them.

That was why Amaze had grown the Satanic Frame to acquire the necessary weight.

It had also had a secondary effect on their reach and sturdiness.

Deflecting each other’s attacks had opened a space between them, but the Satanic Frame’s attacks could reach the enemy. And it was thanks to the growth that their swords had not broken even though the enemy’s had.

Shouko and Amaze had the upper hand.

There was only one area where the other side had an advantage.

“Amaze…!”

The exhaustion was intense.

Her head in particular was overheating from thinking about too many things.

But this was something only she could imagine.

“And I will do what I can!”

Her opponent’s advantage was her advantage. After all…

…''My sister will remake the broken sword…!

Not repair, but remake it from scratch. And if they had created an opening in her Satanic Frame for that…

“I’ll take it for myself!”

Shouko pulled in the ether from the destroyed Device.

She had the greater power because she had Amaze. So if she secured her sister’s ether light and used it to repair her Satanic Frame and the twin swords…

“You’re out of weapons, Kagami…!”

Once she shouted that, she saw two straight lines.

…''Eh?

They were two paths cutting through the sky from southwest to northeast.

They were fighters. F-23s. ''Wow, they’re just like I designed them,'' she thought as they passed between the giant white Device’s spread arms. And they launched two figures.

“It can’t be…!”

Hunter spread her arms toward the sky as she fell along with Mary.

“Take this! And…”

“Please go get ‘em, Brigadier General! Miss Horinouchi!”

''What kind of polite language is that?'' wondered Hunter as they used the heat of their Phlogiston Hearts to release the ether they had gathered.

They released it into the spread arms of the white Geo Frame.

“Bring out Akerindou!”

It was summoned as if in response to those words.

That giant vermilion and white bow was a Magino Device capable of scoring a bull’s-eye even at great distances.

[[Image:Hexennacht_v04_372-373.png|thumb]]
The Black Witch recalled the night ten years before.

A similar scene had occurred during that Hexennacht too.

“Repeat material…!?”

She said that, but a part of her told her she was wrong.

Ten years before, the giant white Device had not had any companions.

That was different now.

This was someone with talent.

They were supported by the evolution of the world.

And they could surpass anything with the changes brought on by their companions.

If this was what this world had lacked ten years before…

“They got it right in the retake!?”

She raised her voice and sent her two blades toward the center of her vision. However…

“Shouko!”

The attack launched her way scored a direct hit.

The sounds of breaking metal and falling stones spread without end.

But Horinouchi realized the Black Witch was still hanging on.

It was not over yet.

Their opponent had not yet given in.

She stepped forward to defeat that opponent.

And someone else stepped forward alongside her.

“Are you sure, Horinouchi?”

“Sure about what?”

“In a way, I am dragging you into what should only be between my sister and me.”

“I don’t mind,” she said. “Remember what you said happened to your home in this imaginary world? That the building and everything else were blown away?”

But…

“Koutarou looked into it and I visited it myself. The house was inside a forest that you could oddly never enter from the road, but there was one part of the road from which you could see it…and that showed a scene of two sisters smiling and living together.”

That settled it.

“Our desires are the same.”

“Yes…if you insist on being my stalker, then I shall become your stalker as well.”

''Shut up.

At any rate, the two of them stepped forward. They released the bow and reconstructed the sword.

Their opponent had fallen back a bit and ether light smoke was spewing from all over its body, but it had survived.

It bent back but then curled its body forward as if to hold in what it contained inside. And it used that momentum to attack.

It brought the twin swords together overhead and swung them down.

But Horinouchi and Kagami stepped forward.

They understood.

They were not alone here. Across the country and the world, everyone stepped forward in unison.

That witch’s step struck the earth as one.

“Milady! …This is the world’s divine protection!”

Koutarou yelled over the transmission.

The movements of Kagami, Horinouchi, and the Geo Frame were being monitored by the US military via Hunter and Mary.

The Head Maid and the others here had gathered that data, taken the transmission lag time into account to predict the exact timing, and sent out the instruction for the step.

That instruction was spread to every part of the world that their will could reach: night or day, land or sky, solid footing or no footing at all.

“Let’s do this, Head Butler…!” said the Head Maid. “The world’s greatest witch divine protection will assist Lady Mitsuru’s step!”

Koutarou wondered how this would turn out, but he also thought about Horinouchi who had taken them this far.

“Well done, milady!”

Horinouchi smiled a little.

Was Koutarou relaying this battle to everyone?

That crucial step had been supported from the other side.

All the world’s witches were telling them to keep going. They must have been thinking of her and Kagami while taking similar steps of resistance.

She was glad.

She simply stepped forward, while their opponent…

“Ahhhhhhh…!!”

Her attempt to endure the damage led to her greatest speed yet.

Horinouchi and Kagami were going to be hit first, but then Kagami spoke.

“Shouko.” She simply spoke to their opponent. “I had a dream. I had a chance to review what we did so very long ago. And there is one thing I forgot to say.”

Kagami smiled while countering the attack.

“Do you remember the many stories you showed me back then? It is about them…” She looked to her sister. “They were good. I could not bring myself to admit it at the time and that was wrong of me. The stories you wrote were good. I guarantee it. …So how about you take better care of the things you create from now on? After all, they are a part of you.”

“She said she had one thing to say, but didn’t she just say a lot more than one thing!?” protested Amaze.

“That’s just the kind of person she is…!”

Shouko thought to herself as she answered.

…''I just can’t win.

Her sister had apologized to her.

She had not asked Shouko to forgive her.

She had accepted Shouko’s complex and then asked Shouko to place all responsibility on her.

She was a strong person, but Shouko understood that strength.

It was not just her strength. It came from being with other people. The more she was with someone else, the greater the possibilities of her imagination grew.

…''I can’t win.

And her sister had also said exactly what Shouko had desired.

“Amaze, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I understand. …You want to take care of what you created instead of destroying it, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

She was still responsible for destroying all the previous worlds and she had her own personal issues, but her sister would accept her and had realized what she wanted to do. So…

“I can’t help but desire it. …It really isn’t fair of me, is it?”

“Now, now, Shouko. It isn’t unfair to desire something. …What’s unfair is desiring something but hiding that fact.”

And…

“You desired something and you created it instead of hiding it. Where you went from there is where you differ from me. That is all.” Amaze seemed to affirm her decision while continuing to attack. “I exist to create new things. If you want to create a world inside you and take good care of it, that will sometimes mean not prioritizing new things.”

So…

“I might be obsolete.”

“Don’t you let my sister influence you too.”

“It’s fine,” said Amaze. “There is nothing new in a retake, but just as combining the ordinary can lead to creation, combining multiple retakes might just lead to something no one has ever achieved. That is not my method, but if you can make that method work…you will take over as creator after me.”

Amaze moved forward.

“So watch me. …And if I do well, praise me.”

Kagami made an attack.

The enemy’s twin swords were held together and she sent the blade on an accurate path toward the center of those two blades as a counterattack that took advantage of the enemy’s movement and weight.

“Let us return everything to the way it was, Shouko. …Back when we imagined, cried, laughed, and even felt anger.”

It hit, so it shattered the blades.

The attack broke through and opened the way, so they stepped forward again.

The white Geo Frame bisected the black Satanic Frame as if embracing it.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Clash_of_Hexennacht:Volume4_Chapter_14|Chapter 14]]
| Return to [[Clash_of_Hexennacht|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Clash_of_Hexennacht:Volume4_Chapter_16|Chapter 16]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Clash of Hexennacht:Volume4 Chapter 11

2017-07-07T01:16:19Z

86.52.14.214: Fixed some typos.

==Chapter 11: Can I Pass?==
[[Image:Hexennacht_v04_279.png|thumb]]
''A night

''On which fear will not arrive

''There’s a black waterfall in the sky,'' thought Hunter.

That was the enemy. The dark cascade fell from the moon.

Starting from the first wave, the Black Witch’s minions flowed down toward the surface.

Hunter and Mary had decided to hurry toward the Uraga Channel where the European U.A.H. Representative and the Black Witch were fighting. So they had started in that direction from the ocean off of Kanagawa while protecting Akerindou, but…

…''Is there no end to the new enemies!?

The Black Witch’s giant Device had appeared and a fifth wave of enemies was descending from the sky, so things had gotten much more dangerous.

They could no longer call it a river or rain falling from the sky. It was a full house of black dragons and black dolls.

It was fortunate that the enemies were no longer “building up their numbers” on the moon, but they must have all been approaching at once because they fell from the sky like a solid wall.

Hunter and Mary fired their secondary cannons while feeling the pressure from the silent communication spell circle that Horinouchi had sent them earlier.

“Mary!”

“I know!”

With that, a band of explosions raced across the sky.

It was a horizontal line. Mary had laid out her annihilation spell like a razor wire and let it slice through all of the falling enemies.

Those explosions raced across the enemy and triggered further explosions that covered 3km horizontally and 12km vertically.

Of course, it did not all end there. Hunter saw something else as she fired straight up.

The gap they had torn in the enemy curtain revealed the Black Witch’s humanoid Device to the east.

That was the Yokohama region and they were still in the ocean near Kanagawa, about halfway between Oshima and Kamakura, so they were 40km away.

But the light in its eyes was visible even from that distance.

The humanoid Device’s eyes had definitely marked them. And…

“…Oh.”

The Black Witch’s humanoid Device stabbed its long black sword into the earth.

Something happened a moment later.

Hunter was in the air, but somehow an earthquake reached her.

…''Are you kidding!?

The falling waterfall of enemies had suddenly shaken.

They all shook and accelerated like the string holding them up had been cut.

“They’re all going to fall!”

She needed to fight back, but…

…''Is there anything I can do against this many!?

Horinouchi sent a silent spell circle, but Hunter broke it with her right fist.

She honestly thought, ''If only Kagami was here.

“Kagami would know how to deal with Horinouchi at a time like this…”

Kagami was sleeping.

She felt like she was dreaming for the first time in a long while.

It was a dream of her past.

But the contents were quite clear, so it might have been her life flashing before her eyes or perhaps her memories were replaying because her mind was not properly anchored.

In her memories, she was wise, considerate, and yet humble. Until having this dream, she had wondered if she was altering her memories to her own benefit, but this told her that was not so.

Now she never again had to worry as she remembered how great she was.

Regardless, she remembered a great many things.

Instead of just standing and watching, she decided to have her mind sit down and watch. She found the dream was mostly of when she had played with her sister.

Despite being in middle school, her sister had said some ridiculous things, so Kagami had asked what she was doing, swiped what she was writing, read it, and then cried.

She was pretty sure it had been a story of a dog.

Dogs were cheating.

It just was not playing fair.

Anyone would cry at that.

So she had told her sister to write a story about adults.

Her sister had done so and Kagami had read it, not expecting much since it was written by a middle schooler, but she had found herself laughing.

Her sister had been aware she was only a middle schooler and had written it to get laughs.

That was cheating too.

So Kagami had told her to write something more serious. She had starting getting into video games at the same time, so she had suggested her sister write something like that.

Kagami had always preferred world history over Japanese history and she had been learning about politics and economics, so she had checked over the story. Before long, she had been telling the story of the characters along with her sister and, before she realized it, she had found she could write a decent story herself.

That had been a mistake.

Once Kagami started making stories, her sister had grown upset, said she could not compete with her, and started obsessively gathering materials.

Then that fateful day had arrived. Her sister had previously said she had found “some amazing material”, but that was the day she had shown it to Kagami. It was a black hardcover book. The writing on the cover had been indecipherable to Kagami, but her sister had said “It’s the Book of Creation. I call it Amaze.” and opened the pages.

“——————”

''No further.

''I remember the rest quite well. It is not hazy and I have not altered my memories.

''I lacked imagination, so I couldn’t read what was created, what happened, or what changed there.

At some point, everything had fallen apart and she had traveled through many worlds. But…

“Yes.”

Thinking back, there was one thing she had never said to her sister.

And…

“I cannot believe this.

''Wasn’t I planning to say something when I said goodbye to Horinouchi?

She had yet to do so.

She had not tried saying the words that would confirm whether or not her imagination was correct.

The battlefield had moved to Yokohama.

Fleur received instructions from the manager of this jurisdiction and she guided the people.

She did not do it all at the same place. Once the evacuating people were organized and sent in the right direction, the manager would send her elsewhere.

Each time, two or three male U.A.H.J. members would stay behind to check for people who had not yet escaped, but…

…''Isn’t that really dangerous?

The ones who remained were wearing light armored uniforms and she decided to ask just out of curiosity.

“Isn’t it dangerous staying behind?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! …There might be a cute girl here!”

It was an immediate answer.

“I’ll put this delicately: what if it’s an old person or a middle-aged man?”

“They might be a cute girl’s family member!” The man clenched his right fist so tight it trembled. “And the desire to protect someone helps maintain our defense spells!”

“So your personal tastes and practicality are in alignment…”

“Just leave it to us!” he said with a smile, but his resolve was quite something. After all, the enemy reinforcements were flowing down from the sky toward the coast of Yokohama. So Fleur mimicked the drain spell she had seen before.

“Here you go. …This is enough for 3 or 4 more people, so share the Blessings with them.”

At first, he did not know what she meant, but then he checked his status on a spell circle.

“Wow! …Now I have to hope for a girl even cuter than you!”

“Go help her out then.”

Fleur smiled and left for the next next location. But…

“Eh?”

They were working upstream along the river that flowed into the ocean through Sakuragi-cho, Yokohama.

A sign said it was the Ooka River. It grew somewhat narrower as they moved upstream and, as the next train station came into view on the opposite bank, ''it'' arrived.

She had just guided some people across the crosswalk, but…

…''Oh?

On the evacuated eastern side, a building in Sakuragi-cho collapsed and a giant form appeared.

It was a black dragon. It was about 200m tall. It had most likely descended from the sky and bounced thrice while rolling toward them.

They had been using the buildings as cover while evacuating the people, but…

“——————”

''Ah, it looked me in the eye,'' she thought.

That was when it happened.

She first felt a tremor in the earth and then she realized the black dragon was running toward her.

But she was looking at something other than the approaching dragon.

Through the valley created by the destroyed buildings, a group of many more black figures were bouncing, running, and releasing their breath.

And standing in the center of that black wave was the giant humanoid Device that Fleur had seen the night before. That was…

“Shouko…?”

The pilot of an airborne fighter saw it all.

His primary duties were forceful reconnaissance and to carry witches to the battlefield. Two F-23s had been launched from Atsugi and the latter mission had already been completed, so they were taking turns with the former mission.

They could not let themselves be shot down.

So they chose a mission altitude outside the attack range of the black dragons and black dolls fighting on the surface. They had weapons, but provoking the enemy and becoming a target would rob everyone of their wide-range surveillance. That meant they could not interfere, but…

“Damn…!”

People, primarily those assigned to the rear guard, were being evacuated down below.

The inland area had been deemed relatively safe, but the Black Witch had made a change of plans and that was no longer true. So everyone was being guided further inland or inside barriers and underground shelters, but…

“They were spotted!”

The black dolls and dragons were generally about 200m tall. Some were as tall as 500m, but those were not suited for urban areas and were descending toward the coast and rivers instead.

Meanwhile, the manmade structures were tall. ''Excellent work, modern architecture.'' Even the 200m giants had difficulty seeing the surface when there were a few buildings in between. And those buildings acted as shields and as cover when moving.

They could guess that the Black Witch was currently establishing a foothold.

The destruction of Yokohama would plow and prepare the earth for the creation of the barrier needed for the wide-range activation of her spell.

And what would that spell do? Destroy this world.

So if they could evacuate faster than the Black Witch could spread her preparation of the earth, they could survive.

Or so the theory went.

The problem was the Black Witch’s reinforcements. It was the shape and traits of those minions.

They were round. They were also soft. And that softness was the kind that bounced, not that drooped.

So when one of them fell to the ground in just the wrong way, it bounced toward the evacuees.

It destroyed countless buildings, but one building that could not be broken caused the black dragon to bounce upwards.

When the black dragon fell into the valley formed by a road, some evacuees were crossing that road 700m ahead.

They had been spotted. The black dragon ran toward them while spewing breath from its mouth.

There was nothing the pilots could do. There were no witches around to run over and help. All of those were fighting in the sky or at the center of Yokohama which had become the borderline.

“Hey! Let’s go! …I think we need to do some low-altitude recon!”

“Nice excuse!”

''That’s right,'' thought the pilot as he operated the control column. Most of the fighter’s movements were automated, but this time, it rapidly descended toward the urban area. This was now his own responsibility in more ways than one and he sent confirmation to control as if asking for ex-post-facto approval. And he did not bother waiting for a response.

“Let’s go…!”

Just as he said that, he saw a light on his HMD.

The point of light indicated the ether reading of a witch. But…

…''What?

The output was greater than the charging black dragon and it might have even rivalled the Black Witch’s humanoid Device.

“There’s a witch there!?”

Fleur stepped forward.

The city was being destroyed and the people would be kicked around at this rate.

But she knew who was commanding this.

“It’s Shouko…isn’t it?”

She wanted to believe otherwise. She wanted to think it was someone else and that Shouko wasn’t controlling them.

But she had another thought and she spoke it aloud.

“I was binding mama’s soul.”

She had not been controlling it, but her existence had definitely allowed her mother to remain in existence.

Shouko was the same. She had to be.

There had to be several factors supported by her presence.

“So maybe I have no right to say anything to Shouko now.”

But she remembered Horinouchi who had shed tears with her without feeling pity. She remembered Kagami who had taught her that her mother still existed.

And she remembered that Kagami had tried to stop Shouko. So…

“Someone…”

She no longer had any power.

And she was honestly afraid of using her power as a witch.

…''I might lose something again.

''But,'' thought her heart as it prioritized everything else over that.

Even if she had no power and was afraid…

“I won’t let myself lose anything anymore…!”

She made up her mind. She did not know if she could use her power, but she stood to face the approaching black dragon.

“I won’t lose…!”

Just as she cried out and prepared to fight, something ran between her and the charging dragon.

It was a flower dragon. Specifically…

“Mama’s servant!”

While Mary’s annihilation spell barrier and Hunter’s attacks took care of the multitude of enemies falling from the sky, Hunter realized the overall flow of battle was moving toward the urban area.

The river from the sky was beginning to avoid her and Mary.

They were still above the ocean near the coast of Kamakura, but from there they could receive the backup of the Horinouchi family on Enoshima. Hunter checked the surface deployment, enemy distribution, and predicted arrival points.

“Rank 3! Fire here…!”

…''Dammit! She’s faster than my spell’s prediction!

Was that Mary’s ether detection sense? Since she had been top class in her own world, she was able to predict the flow of the enemy forces based solely on the ether distribution.

So Hunter fired a shot to both follow Mary’s instruction and to confirm the result from her own spell.

“Kh…!”

She felt like the enemy was more densely packed in.

They had descended like a waterfall before, but by bending that path, they wavered and their distribution grew a lot rougher. That left some less dense areas, but a gunner had to take the densest area into account, which was a real pain. Also…

…''The city has got to be in real trouble!

She wanted to know what had happened to the evacuating people, but she had heard transmissions were cut off. So as she fired…

“Dammit…!”

She felt the need to rush this.

She wanted to move forward. She had to crush the enemy and get Horinouchi to the Black Witch. After all, she had heard the Black Witch was preparing a barrier.

The surveillance footage from the sky confirmed that.

…''What is she doing!?

Mary had fallen silent when it came to that question.

And that told Hunter the answer. The Black Witch was trying to erase this world.

Her position was dangerous. For their strategy, Shihouin Academy had become a ley line management area at the center of everything, but the Black Witch had taken up a position right in front of it.

If she placed a large barrier around Tokyo Bay, she could use Shihouin Academy as a focal point and access the entire world’s ley lines.

After that, the Black Witch could install some kind of “destruction”, no matter how mundane, and her imagination would destroy the world.

So they had to stop her. That was why Hunter wanted to hurry, but…

“Rank 3! The waves of enemies are merging over Yokohama!”

…''Are we not going to make it!?

Just as she thought that, she saw something.

A silhouette flew into the sky from Sakuragi-cho in western Yokohama.

No, it was not just the one. And not just a few either.

They were countless round black forms. The Black Witch’s minions were launched skyward.

“Huh? A counterattack?”

''Had we set up anything like that?'' wondered Hunter as something else appeared.

It was a flower.

It was a giant Magino Device with six flower petals connected together in a circle.

“…Is that Fleur!?”

Fleur felt no fear.

She had the flower dragon’s assistance and she had successfully summoned Zephyr. But the flower dragon was simply creating a “framework” to assist her ether management. The power overflowing from her simply would not stop.

…''Wow.

She had always thought her mother was amazing. She had thought her mother was summoning Zephyr and using the environment spell when Fleur wanted her to.

But that was incorrect.

Her mother had only been controlling and adjusting Fleur’s power.

It was Fleur who had the power.

And that was what scared her. This was different from the fear she had felt of that black dragon. She was afraid she would not be able to do it right and she was afraid she had enough power for her to lose everything.

Without this power, she probably would not have lost her mother. But…

“——————”

The flower dragon stood at her feet.

That was the one that had left her mother’s grave.

And it had come to her now.

…''Yes.

Her mother would not come back. But she had a servant which had accepted her as her mother’s heir. So…

“Let’s go, mama.”

Her mother existed within her power. Her mother existed within what she needed to do. This was not control or bondage; the two of them coincided. So…

“Watch this.”

The fighter that flew past her sent information on her surroundings to her spell circle. That support information from the US military told her that someone else was beyond the descending enemies to her right and a little behind her.

There was only one thing she needed to do.

“She’s the same as me.”

That person had cried when Fleur had lost her mother.

And there was another person who she had recently gotten to know.

Her duty was to bring those two together. If she was going to blow away everything – both walls and enemies – then…

“Zephyr! …Whip up the wind! The wind of flowers!”

…''Fleur?

Shouko felt like she heard a voice.

It sounded like someone calling out to her from the distance, but all she could see was a flower as large as her Satanic Frame.

The flower was blossoming with petals that then danced through the air. The multitude of flowers and petals became a great gale.

“————!”

Everything touched by or surrounded by them subsequently exploded.

Shouko was impressed that the flower petals did not destroy the city as the air currents carried them around. When they were about to hit a building, the wind would whip up and they would avoid the building, slip below elevated structures, and fly back up again.

The only things destroyed were Shouko’s reinforcements.

The black minions altered their descent trajectory and some of them fought back with their breath or Demon Eye Cannon, but they could not hope to match the great number of petals. Also…

…''The main cannon!

As the giant flower approached, a thick beam of light fired from the peak at its center.

Fleur approached while typing at her many spell circles like they were a musical keyboard.

Her main cannon was smashed by a slash from the giant Device’s right arm.

But in that moment, the arm within the black dress was definitely destroyed.

It instantly regenerated, but this proved it was not indestructible.

Whip up the wind, send down the flowers, and hurry your heart.

To be honest, she had felt a cold sweat dripping down her body for a while now. She innocently realized just how powerful and amazing her mother had been for being able to control this much power.

Zephyr was already having trouble maintaining the connection between the six pieces.

…''Was it too soon to go all out…!?

She could only answer that in the affirmative. But she had moved the front line away from the people evacuating behind her and she had destroyed the central portion of the Black Witch’s reinforcements.

“Shouko!”

If her main cannon could reach her, then so could her will.

“Shouko…!”

There was one thing she understood: what Shouko wanted through becoming the Black Witch.

It was what they had discussed the day before and it was what Shouko was doing now. Also…

…''There’s something I can understand when I think of her as if she’s the same as me.

That was…

“Shouko! You want to be destroyed, don’t you!?”

Mary listened to Fleur’s voice arriving at her spell circle.

“You came to destroy a bunch of worlds, right? And here you’ve finally shown yourself! Why!? If destruction is the world’s destiny and your goal, then there’s no reason for you to appear here!”

''That’s right,'' thought Mary.

She could destroy the world through her minions or in another form, like she had in Mary’s world.

So why had she appeared as herself in this world? Fleur explained:

“You must be blaming yourself! The world you created with your imagination is going to fall into ruin and you blame yourself for that! So you had a thought! If what you imagined will be destroyed by your imagination, then you too can be destroyed by your imagination!”

Meaning…

“If what you imagined uses a power that surpasses your own imagination, then the creation will have surpassed its creator. And you feel you should be destroyed by that.”

…''In that case…

“Does the Black Witch think this world might pull that off!?” exclaimed Mary.

What had caused her to think that?

“Was it the attack power!?” asked Hunter.

“Oh, it probably was!” agreed Mary.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions!” protested Horinouchi.

''She just scolded us.'' But at the same time, Fleur had gotten quite close.

Her flower storm was filled with explosive blasts as her Magino Device began to fall apart on its own.

“Shouko…! Open your eyes!”

She fired all six main cannons while sweeping them around by spinning her Device.

Shouko decided to give Fleur’s words some thought. However…

…''That’s right.

What was she supposed to think about? She could not come up with anything. She tended to reject things, so she was probably trying to reject what the girl was saying, but “that’s right” was all that came out. But…

“Shouko. …If that is your intent, I will accept your defeat.”

She realized her expression lost all strength when she heard Amaze express its understanding.

Was she surprised? But…

“——————”

She pulled out the sword stabbed into the earth. Then she stepped forward with a smile on her lips.

…''Fleur.

She had pulled out the sword which had been forming the barrier to erase the world.

''Let’s make that my indirect answer,'' she thought while silently swinging the blade.

She sliced through the six beams of light and then…

“Thank you.”

She sliced through Fleur’s flower from straight ahead.

''I got through to her,'' thought Fleur.

She was the Black Witch, but she was also Shouko. She was acting as the Black Witch here, but the true will lay deep inside that.

“Don’t be dumb.”

As the greatest form of penance, Shouko was letting her creation destroy her if it would surpass her.

And so she was essentially saying this:

“ ''‘I can just stop myself’''?”

''You’re wrong.

''Mama and I are different, even if we seem so similar.

“There is someone who seems a lot like you, but they aren’t you!”

Fleur could see the space that her flower storm and six sweeping main cannon blasts had cleared of enemies. A group had managed to fly into that gap.

The Black Witch had moved forward to attack Fleur. Her giant Device had turned from Sakuragi-cho and toward Fujisawa to the west, but the three Magino Devices were approaching from the north, with Yokohama behind them.

Their position would push the Black Witch toward the sea off of Kamakura.

Fleur fell through the air as she watched the three Magino Devices set up that situation.

She held the flower dragon in her arms.

…''Good!

Everything had looked hopeless, but she had rearranged it into a direct confrontation.

Her mother was probably smiling. So…

“The rest is in your hands…!”

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Clash_of_Hexennacht:Volume4_Chapter_10|Chapter 10]]
| Return to [[Clash_of_Hexennacht|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Clash_of_Hexennacht:Volume4_Chapter_12|Chapter 12]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 5B Chapter 39

2017-07-06T00:32:02Z

86.52.14.214: Fixed some formatting errors.

==Chapter 39: Dragon Visitor in the Straight Line Night==
[[Image:Horizon5B_359.jpg|thumb]]
''If the greeting is a tackle

''What should your response be?

'''Point Allocation (Counterattack)

The visitor arrived along a straight line.

The dragon was 120m long. The Lindwurm variety was a high-speed flying dragon that had wings but lacked rear legs.

He had a very long body. But he was not all that large for the Musashi which was used to having aerial ships coming and going.

The problem was how he was flying.

That 120m mass of flesh, bone, and armor was dropping headfirst from the sky like a hammer.

The enemy-detection team of Musashi automatons had been unable to immediately define his approach and trajectory. The flight of wild Terrestrial Dragons was often seen while cruising and it was not all that unusual to have one pass by overhead.

That was why they had allowed him to suddenly drop down from a point 4km directly above the Musashi.

Musashi’s enemy-detection team had of course made an immediate decision. As this was a dragon, they had used directional voice projection instead of a divine transmission to contact him.

“A question: Are you falling because you are feeling unwell or overcome with sudden illness? Or have you fallen unconscious? Over.”

There was no response, so the automatons sent more words.

They asked for his affiliation, identification, age, name, address, personal history, etc. They also asked why he was falling and what his future plans were.

But there was no response.

So the automatons were unsure what to do. They were out of ideas. The more persistent ones attempted to convince him to stop his fall by singing songs that would remind him of his homeland or asking him about memories of his mother, but there was no sign of it having any effect.

They sent their opinions to Musashino’s bridge. As aides to “Musashino”, “Kunitachi” and “Kokubunji” gathered the opinions and published 78 suggested solutions. As a result, “Musashino” guessed this dragon was from Sanada and passed the issue off to someone else.

“ ‘Musashi’-sama, please check with Sanada about this information. Over.”

“Why me? Over.”

“Judge,” said “Musashino” while welcoming Suzu who was carried onto the bridge piggyback style by “Nishi Kokubunji”. “Please have Sakai-sama check with Sanada about this information. Over.”

“Sakai-sama. Your tea. Over.”

“Musashi” served tea to Sakai who sat on a bench in the central street’s rest area below the academy. A strained roar reached them from the distant sky, but Sakai did not bother looking up.

“Oh, thank you, ‘Musashi’-san. …Do you have today’s evening paper?”

“Judge. I handed that to ‘Okutama’ because you said you had something to look at, but should I go retrieve it? Over.”

“Oh, right. Tamako detected something up above, didn’t she?”

“Sakai-sama, have you realized something about that thing up there? Over.”

“ ‘Musashi’-sama, could you wrap this up a little more quickly? Over.”

“Musashi” immediately closed the sign frame that appeared from “Musashino”.

Sakai looked back and tilted his head.

“ ‘Musashi’-san? What is it?”

“Only a trivial matter, so don’t worry about it. Anyway, Sakai-sama, about the dragon falling straight toward us. Is he perhaps a friend of yours? Over.”

“Yeah, that’s probably Sanada’s Kakei Torahide. He was a pretty major Lindwurm in England. I had a slight scuffle with him back when I went to Sanada. He’s got to be pretty old by now.”

Sakai then asked a question.

“So what do you want me to do? Confirm who it is with Sanada? I could ask Masayuki-san, but I bet he’ll just say it’s part of the entertainment to welcome us.”

When they checked with Sanada Masayuki, he did indeed announce it was some entertainment to welcome Musashi to Sanada.

“This is an act of welcoming from one academy to another. We can view it as a mock battle. Thus, we have identified the approaching dragon as an ‘enemy’. Individual name ‘Torahide’ confirmed. Over.”

The enemy completed his fall immediately afterwards.

The counterattack began with a decision on Musashino’s bridge. The cannons across the Musashi were already aimed at Torahide, but…

“Suzu-sama.”

“Y-yes?”

“About the dragon descending from above, shall we shoot-…”

“ ‘Musashino’-sama! The enemy is accelerating! He is moving too fast to intercept!!”

“Musashino” frowned slightly.

“I apologize, Suzu-sama. The delay introduced by my superior has had some detrimental effects. I believe we can get your approval to fire next time. Now, please look forward to seeing the defense barriers activate. Over.”

“R-right. Judge.”

As soon as Suzu nodded, light filled the large sign frame at the front of the bridge. It displayed the sky above Musashino, where…

“Activate defense barriers at anti-ship density! Over.”

The dragon named Torahide saw the enemy’s reaction.

Defense barriers stacked up along his path down.

Defense barriers were a defensive method, but from the looks of this…

“Ho ho…”

He let out an impressed breath.

“That is a perfectly fine weapon for attack…!”

He did not hesitate to drop down.

He used his divine protections as a dragon and blasted his dragon cannon from all of his body’s thrusters to propel his 120-meter and 520-ton body straight down.

He flew in a straight line.

Torahide was a Terrestrial Dragon. The Celestial Dragons of the old Sanada Ten Braves had come to this land, but that did not change how he was born. Celestial Dragons were noble spirits born from the world itself, while Terrestrial Dragons were beasts with a father and mother.

As a beast, he was not a god and not a human. He did not need to follow the human practices of courtesy and reason. He was merely an old and experienced Terrestrial Dragon. He had no one to teach like the Celestial Dragons of the Ten Braves did. And that was why…

“As part of Sanada’s Nobushige Faction…I am here to investigate your strength in a mock battle!”

He sought a direct collision with the defense barriers protecting Musashino’s bridge below him.

“Musashi” saw a series of shattering lights falling toward Musahino’s bridge.

Those defense barriers were set up for stopping a collision from a ship. There were enough of them to stop one of Hashiba’s transport ship shells.

And yet every last one of them was destroyed in an instant.

Torahide crashed right through the barriers without trying to avoid them.

The sounds of destruction continued without end and light filled the sky above Musashino.

…''Is that…?

“That Terrestrial Dragon is smaller than the average displacement of a Dragon-class, so how can he continue to break the defense barriers? Over.”

“Torahide is somewhat special even for a Lindwurm.”

“Why not just come out and say what you want to say? Over.”

“Well, Sasuke – oh, and I mean the dragon one – only told me after the fact, but most Terrestrial Dragons apparently had their species modified up in heaven. …If what Torahide was bragging about is true, his ancestors were dropped from satellite orbit onto surface bases as the vanguard for conquering a planet.” Sakai looked to the light of the shattering barriers in the sky. “Look, the Lindwurms have serpentine bodies. Their joints run in a straight line from head to tail and they’ve been reinforced, so any shock entering from the horn on the front of their head will pass right through them and leave through their tail. …A transport ship is a metal balloon surrounded by a frame, but Torahide is more like a spear made of metal bones. The transport ship hits with a surface while the spear pierces with a point, so you probably can’t hope to stop him with defense barriers designed to stop a transport ship.”

“You heard him, ‘Musashino’. Over.”

“ ‘Musashi’-sama!? Are you really passing this off to me ''now''!? Over.”

“Musashino” complained just as the light above Musashino’s bridge came to a stop.

The defense barriers had all been broken.

They quickly tried to open more of them further down, but it was too late. Only a handful appeared in time.

But Torahide had energy to spare and he used it on that inadequate protection. He launched acceleration light from his thrusters, and…

“——————!”

The dragon did not hold back as he fell.

He opened his mouth to fire a dragon cannon at Musashino’s bridge-shaped ship’s bridge.

“Oh, dear.” Sakai spread his mouth horizontally. “You need to look forward, Torahide, not down.”

Torahide was hit by a small attack from the front.

…''Huh!?

He was falling at high speed and he was just about to fire a dragon cannon, but an enemy had charged in from the direction of Takao.

''Ridiculous,'' he thought. ''Clashing with a high-speed flying object like me is suicide.'' He was already surrounded by a shockwave, so anything he touched would be smashed on contact.

And yet the enemy…

…''Where are you aiming!?

He had just one weak point during his straight-line fall.

It was not the reverse scales on his throat. Attacking there would not affect his solidified straight-line skeleton. But that very structure introduced another weak point.

“…Are you aiming for it!?”

Torahide saw something fly in from directly ahead of him.

It was a vermilion god of war. The heavily-equipped form had a launch-reinforcement frame attached and it was definitely aiming for that weak point.

“The ultimate legend of Takao’s derrick…!” shouted the girl on the god of war’s shoulder as she smiled at him.

A moment later, the god of war’s right knee and external frame collided with his weak point.

That weak point was his back end as he dropped straight down. It was the end of his pointed tail which existed far behind his head.

But it was not the very tip.

It was the side just a bit further forward from the tip.

“Well done…!”

The shockwave surrounding Torahide broke the god of war.

The outstretched right knee split as if struck, the external frame shattered, and it was blown away, starting from the joints.

But within the disturbed air current…

“Ohh…!!”

A girl with a prosthetic right arm spun the god of war around.

The god of war used the wings on its back to swing its entire body around to launch a left spinning back kick.

That was the real attack.

She had let the right knee collide first so its scattered pieces would disturb the air current and rupture Torahide’s shockwave. And once inside…

“Hey, corrupt merchant…!”

“Thank you for your purchase!”

With a carefree voice, ether took a certain shape as it surrounded the god of war’s right heel.

It was a fox. A white fox that breathed wind. It protected the god of war’s right leg while further accelerating it.

The leg continued on and hit.

The fox surrounding the god of war leg shattered and the ether fragments took the form of many, many coins.

Then the god of war’s right leg also broke during its follow-through motion.

The entire god of war cut by in front of Torahide’s tail.

“Kh…!”

It was blown away by the shockwave and the shockwave’s side effects.

But it had gotten its hit in.

“How about that…!?” shouted the prosthetic-armed girl on the shoulder of the god of war that had lost both legs and half of its right arm. “You’re going for a collision with all your weight focused on the front end, so we went for a light attack on your back end. …It wasn’t much force, but the principle of leverage will still move your front end!”

Torahide sensed the result of the enemy’s attack.

…''You can pull that off just above the surface!?

Due to his speed and his weight at the front end, his charge could deflect any attack from straight ahead or at his front surface. But the back end was different.

Due to his balance, leverage would take effect with his neck as the fulcrum, his head as the point of action, and the tip of his tail as the leverage point.

There was about 100m from the fulcrum to the leverage point. His head was 20m long, so if the tip of his tail was moved, his head would only move one-fifth as much.

The enemy had just knocked his tail toward Musashino’s bridge.

It had been a small attack.

But of course, slight movements like that were dangerous during such a high-speed fall.

“…Well done!”

After all, he had just destroyed all of the defense barriers and begun reaccelerating.

He could not make any corrections then.

And his head had been redirected. The ram at the end was shifted to aft instead of aiming straight down.

Any corrections he might make would not be quick enough. He would collide with the bridge before he could correct his angle.

The few barriers that had opened in time had predicted this. They were positioned to catch the diagonally-diverted ram, knock it aside, and allow it to slide along the bridge’s upper armor.

In that case, his jaw would hit the edge of the bridge. Due to the momentum of his fall, that would destroy the bridge to an extent, but the shock would not leave him properly and his body would be severed from the neck down.

That would be meaningless.

So he took action.

“…I was careless!”

To avoid Musashino’s bridge, Torahide breathed his dragon cannon. And instead of in a straight line, he let the blast disperse so it would stop him.

He released it.

Futayo saw the scene as she raced across the towing belt from Okutama’s port bow to Musashino.

The falling dragon turned his face a bit in her direction and breathed explosive light.

…''Is that…?

This was her first time seeing a definite dragon cannon.

“I never thought I would get to see such a massive and destructive attack here…!”

Musashino’s bridge was a bit in the way, but that was unavoidable since it was about to be destroyed from a direct hit. ''The destruction of Musashino’s bridge is going to cause a lot of trouble, but there is no way I can make it in time from here.

In that case, she simply had to make sure she was watching the final moments of the bridge.

“I could learn something…!”

She used a three-step to stop herself on the towing belt and she raised Tonbo Spare.

…''Now, bring on the destruction of Musashino’s bridge!!

Just as she gave an excited snort, she heard something behind her.

“Ah, Gin!?”

Muneshige cried out and something crashed into her back.

Futayo looked back to see Gin who had apparently been running after her.

With a “wah” or an “ah”, their visions spun around together.

“…Oh.”

An explosion soon followed.

The dragon cannon blast had erupted near Musashino’s bridge.

Suzu covered her ears.

When she pressed down on Noise Neighbor, the pressure sensor controller detected the action and cut off all sound. But even when she did that, ducked down, and tensed…

“Wah…”

The sound reached her ears through her nose and mouth. The dragon’s roar reached her body by shaking her skin, her densely-packed organs, and the empty space between.

And that told her…

“This is…dangerous…!”

Musashino’s bridge was hit. The attack had been meant to alter the dragon’s course, but it hit the bridge as a wide-area impact. It did not completely destroy the bridge, but the surface armor and most of the windows and frames shook and were probably torn apart or snapped inside.

But even with her ears covered, Suzu sensed ''something''.

That ''something'' was a figure standing atop the bridge:

“Neshinbara-kun…!?”

<The dragon’s roar spread out over a wide area.>

<But that scattering power was not the dragon’s intention.>

<Would a dragon do to others what is in defiance of its own will?>

<There is but one answer: nay.>

<Thus the roar is heard. It is heard in the night sky. It provides only the response the dragon sought and the rest is erased.>

<All that remains in the sky is the dragon’s roar, the dragon on its altered course, and…>

<“There is nothing more. You may rest easy.”>

When Neshinbara looked up into the sky from atop Musashino’s bridge, there was nothing there.

Only the moons floating in the evening sky and…

“What a pain.”

He removed his hands from the sign frame for Mountains of Words, lightly raised them, and spoke.

“To think I would find myself fighting a dragon in the skies of Sanada. …This is excellent material.”

A deafening crash sounded from below.

After having his course changed and being blown away by Mountains of Words, Torahide had fallen into Musashino’s central city.

'''Novice:''' “How about that? It might be slow to activate, but do you see now how useful my spell is at times like this?”

'''Worshiper:''' “I’ll admit it’s impressive…but didn’t the dragon just fall with a great crash?”

'''Novice:''' “Eh?”

'''Asama:''' “Um, Neshinbara-kun? You just dropped that dragon into the center of Musashino’s surface city, didn’t you?”

'''Novice:''' “Eh!? Huh? Wasn’t that what we had planned? Crossdressing Honda-kun!”

'''Vice President:''' “That’s news to me.”

'''Me:''' “Hey, some wreckage just flew into my house’s backyard. Will my sis and I be okay playing porn games here?”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Eh!? I-if it’s the same one as before, y-you can continue if you want.”

'''Laborer:''' “It looks like I have a lot more work to do…but how are things there?”

…''Th-this stupid girl…!!

Gin realized how careless she had been as she tumbled along the towing belt with the stupid girl.

The Musashi Vice Chancellor had been running ahead of her, but her actions were nigh impossible to predict. Gin should have known to keep a greater physical distance from her, but…

“I grew careless and rear-ended her!”

Her mistake had been testing out her own acceleration spell.

It was called Racing Words.

Its effect as an acceleration spell was clear.

…''It locks onto your opponent and seeks the coordinates leading to them…

She had taken the idea from the guidance of Kamenuki which Muneshige had borrowed from Sakai, but the acceleration portion would accumulate her own speed.

She had constructed it as a backup in case Muneshige lost Kamenuki on the battlefield and she had been testing it out herself. Of course, when using it herself, she primarily focused on keeping up with Muneshige’s Racing Toes acceleration spell. She had learned her lesson after failing to keep up with Oichi’s movements during the Battle of Novgorod, so she had tasked herself with following Honda Futayo and begun pursuit.

…''But I got too excited when Master Muneshige complimented my speed.

''I, Tachibana Gin, have learned my lesson.

After rolling seven times, she forcibly spread her false arms and slammed her palms against the gravity floor of the towing belt. That impact slowed her down enough that her face pitched forward and pressed into something.

It was a butt.

Futayo collapsed forward with her butt sticking into the air.

“Hitting a warrior with your butt…?”

''How rude can you be?'' she wondered, but then Muneshige caught up to them.

“Gin! In a rear-end collision, the person in the back is at fault. You need to apologize.”

“Uuh…”

Gin knew he was right, but she could not bring herself to say it.

So she looked back, and…

…''Whose side are you on, Master Muneshige!?

She so wanted to say that, but she stopped herself because he had done nothing wrong. Futayo had not hit Gin with her butt; Gin had run into Futayo’s butt.

So Gin got up and faced forward.

She saw a butt.

Even as a girl, Gin could tell it was tight and yet nicely plump. It was the unique shape of a runner. Futayo was taller than Gin and her overall amount of flesh was different as well.

''This butt and Master Muneshige at Mikawa…'' she thought as the number “fifty times” flashed in her mind. She considered using her twin swords to take revenge, but she took a deep breath instead.
And…

“I am very sorry. I was not looking where I was going.”

Then the other girl moved.

The butt and the rest of her body stretched out like an inchworm so she was lying face down and then she rolled to the side and got up. That was a method used to avoid further attacks.

And then she realized who it was.

“Oh? Gin-dono and Muneshige-dono, you were behind me?”

“Judge,” replied Muneshige while kneeling in front of Futayo. “Musashi Vice Chancellor, even if it was due to her carelessness, you ended up shoving your butt in my aide’s face. It seems you did not particularly notice, but please be more considerate.”

…''Master Muneshige!?

“Y-you don’t have to do that, Master Muneshige! I can bear with a butt or two to the face if I have to! You don’t need to go out of your way to ask her for-…”

“Gin. You bear the Tachibana name.”

“—————“

Gin was rendered speechless.

And she realized she had been looking at this on too personal a level. So she sharpened her gaze and turned back toward Futayo. And Futayo…

“Yes. …Sorry about that.”

She readily apologized, so Gin was rendered speechless once more.

…''Uuh.

This made Gin feel so childish.

She was trapped between Muneshige’s welcome presence and Honda Futayo’s excessive honesty, so…

“…Let’s go.”

She stood up.

No one asked where to. They all knew the answer.

They could hear the noise. It was not just one noise and it was far from quiet.

The city was being destroyed and the giant beast’s roar echoed from Musashino.

So Gin spoke.

“Musashi Vice Chancellor, you take the lead. …We will follow you.”

Musashino had become a night cage.

Some student dorm wide blocks formed the center. Among them, an area four wide blocks long and four wide blocks wide had collapsed under Torahide and formed walls around him.

They were fortunate that “Musahino” had sent out an evacuation warning and that most of the students had been in Okutama to prepare for the school events. Most of the residents had completed a quick evacuation and those in the underground levels had been evacuated to at least the fourth level down.

The rubble piled up in the center area had no artificial light to illuminate the night. There was only the dragon with ether light wafting out from the thrusters across his body.

That flying serpentine dragon was 120m long. He had a ram on his head and two front legs.

He was slowly turning around to face Musashino’s bridge.

Torahide had used most of the ether inside his body to accelerate his descent and for the scattered dragon cannon, so he could not yet fire a dragon cannon that could target the bridge from this range.

And…

“Fire…!”

Tama and Murayama, the second port and starboard ships, ascended.

There were god of war units on the Musashino-side edge.

“Dammit! First Shirasagi and now a dragon!? The furries must be happy!”

“N-no! Do you have any idea how angry I am that I have to kill a dragon!? Uuh…sob, sob.”

“Don’t cry…! The MILF lovers made it through the Shirasagi battle, so you can get through this.”

With their own individual thoughts on the matter, they opened fire from the left and right.

The rapid-fire blasts formed rows of shells that raced toward Torahide. The impacts produced sparks, but…

“They aren’t reaching him…!?”

The shells were deflected just before hitting Torahide.

The shells burst into sparks before arriving at their target.

They all continued firing while amplifying the sensitivity of their sight devices. Then they saw something in the night.

“Are those defense barriers!?”

No.

All of his thrusters were opened and emitting light.

This was not the side effect of post-acceleration ether like before. He was protected by…

“The awe of a dragon!?”

'''Hori-ko:''' “I am watching from Tama, but how does that work?”

'''Novice:''' “Oh, you don’t know, Ariadust-kun!? Well, you see-…!”

'''Sticky King:''' “It is one of his special abilities as a nonhuman.”

'''Obscene:''' “Indeed! Just as we can change form, dragons have their own special abilities. And dragons in particular are known for having multiple such abilities!”

'''Uqui:''' “A dragon’s awe effect is, well…you know that thing I do when I blow out my ether charge as a radiating dragon cannon? It is that but as a constant thing. It is not often a Terrestrial Dragon can do it, but that Torahide must be at a high enough position.”

'''Hori-ko:''' “Judge. Then how do you break through that awe?”

'''Novice:''' “We’ve skipped over quite a lot, but I have measures in place for this. And they should kick in any time now.”

'''Hori-ko:''' “I see. …Then begin.”

Everyone on the Musashi noticed a momentary pause.

Torahide was crouched low and emitting his awe while gradually building up ether inside his body.

The god of war firing units were holding him down by continuing to fire despite knowing it would not get through.

A slight pause occurred between the two sides.

It was caused by Torahide taking a breath, the god of war units swapping out magazines, and the second port and starboard ships ending their ascent.

And just after everything came to a brief stop, the next action occurred.

“————!?”

The giant form stuck his arms forward and bent backwards.

That was not normal behavior. It was an action of rejection, meant to forcefully avoid something below him.

“Huh?” said everyone on the surface, including the gods of war, as they tilted their heads forward.

They saw a light beyond the wind created by Torahide’s action.

Something reflected the moonlight as it stabbed into Torahide’s throat where it had been lowered a bit before.

“Is that…?”

It was Excalibur.

It pierced the reverse scales of the dragon’s throat. As Torahide bent backwards, it revealed where the glowing blade’s wielder had to be.

“Underground…!?”

There was an opening on the ground where his throat had been.

The hole was for the lift in the center of the long block. And someone rose from the depths of that hole.

“Oh, dear.”

A golden color danced in the wind in front of the giant form.

It was Mary.

That English princess ignored the dragon as she looked left and right.

She gave a quick bow to the gods of war to port and starboard.

“Everyone, thank you for your hard work tonight.”

As Mary said that, the lift came to a stop.

Now that she was on the surface, Torahide’s fangs snapped together over her head. He had launched an attack on the person who had driven a blade into his reverse scales.

But he could not bring his head low enough with the blade in this throat.

Mary seemed to know that as she looked up at him.

She showed no fear of the great dragon and spoke quietly but clearly.

“If you will calm down, I will remove Excalibur.”

But…

“If you will not calm down, Excalibur will be removed.”

“Huh…!?”

Torahide had no idea what she meant and he moved his pair of front legs.

While leaning back, he swung his head and left leg.

He tried to swipe at Mary with the shell and claws of that 15m front leg.

It was a brute force attack, but something flew in toward him before it could hit.

It was a blue mass of metal.

It was a round mobile shell.

A chain was wrapped around the tail ballast. The chain extended to the edge of Murayama, where…

“Here we go, Adele!!”

The silver wolf’s high-speed swing threw Adele’s Raging Beast like a hammer and she flew right toward Torahide’s exposed reverse scales.

The flying mobile shell passed through the white of a water vapor explosion, and…

“Here I gooooo!!”

Raging Beast seemed pushed on by the reverberating howling and barking of dogs from across Musashi.

It only took an instant to hit.

She had been aimed for Torahide’s reverse scales, but…

“Excalibur! In you goooo!”

Adele used her arms to adjust her position in midair and collided with Excalibur like a hammer into a nail.

Suzu heard a dragon’s roar of pain for the very first time.

…''Wow…

It was not the cry that surprised her.

It was the fact that the dragon had reflexively roared in pain.

“He immediately…reacted…to the pain?”

Suzu thought, ''Humans don’t scream from the pain.

Humans screamed once they realized what had happened to them or figured out what was about to happen to them.

Pain was no more than one of the triggers to help them realize that and they would not scream until they noticed if they received a painless injury.

So a human’s scream was related to future anxiety or sorrow. You could say they had already accepted that future by the time they screamed.

But this dragon was different. According to “Musashino” next to her…

“Judge. A human will scream or cry out once they understand the injury. Thus, they can hold it in if they are sufficiently mentally prepared.”

She was not done speaking, so there was no “over”.

But “Musashino” created a “pause” to help her understand, so Suzu nodded.

“That is…true…isn’t it?

When she stubbed her little toe on the support pillar for her home’s loft, she would curl up silently. That restraint came from a sort of mental preparedness and experience. It came from the knowledge that you could bear with “this much” damage.

But…

“With creatures as large as dragons, it can take a long time to notice an injury. They have many blind spots, such as their tails. And for a wild animal, not realizing their state until they notice the injury can be fatal.”

So…

“Most dragons have a sub-brain that sends a reaction back to the appropriate part of their body the instant they take damage. Their body reacts to the pain before their mind. That was the reaction you saw to this attack. Of course, this is an intelligent dragon. He too can restrain himself with enough mental preparedness, but…”

Suzu sensed what was happening on Musashino: After colliding with the dragon, Adele was instantly pulled away when Mitotsudaira swung the silver chain in the opposite direction.

And Suzu realized something else about Adele’s mobile shell.

…''She’s pulling it out!?

The machine’s arm was holding Excalibur.

Upon leaving, she had forcibly pulled the sword out.

The dragon roared in pain again and “Musashino” spoke calmly.

“Generally, large dragons are not prepared to be injured by anything as small as a human. Over.”

Torahide realized he was bleeding from the wound to his reverse scales.

Ether surrounded his blood which gathered inside his shell and spurted out like a pump from the movements of his muscles.

“Kh…!”

It began like a geyser, but it eventually grew to a waterfall and then swiftly coagulated to stop the bleeding. It took 12 seconds in all.

That was only the span of a single breath for a dragon. But in that time…

“Damn you all…!”

He fired 70% of his accumulated ether from deep in his throat as a dragon cannon.

But he did not aim at Musashino’s bridge or at the surrounding gods of war.

He fired at the ground below him.

The floor of Musahino’s crushed surface city was exposed.

The city was constructed from packaged structures, so it had poor defense. So…

“Even if I cannot bring down the bridge, I still win if I pierce through the entire ship!”

Torahide fired the dragon cannon.

He had a single target: the English princess who still stood below him.

She looked up at him with a hand on her cheek as the powerful ether light crashed into her.

It took two moments and one moment.

The first to arrive was a single voice:

“Bind…Tonbo Spare!”

It was Futayo.

She was running at full speed.

A path had been made from the port side of Musashino’s stern to here so she did not have to slow Soaring Wings’s speed.

The automatons and evacuated students had opened all the doors, placed boards across any height differences or holes, and otherwise created a nearly straight path.

Her arrival was slightly later than planned due to the rear-end collision with the Tachibana Couple, but…

“Get going, Vice Chancellor!”

“You can ignore the ninja who’s probably around there somewhere! But save Mary-sama!”

“Ponytails are the best!!”

Futayo answered everyone’s cheers with speed. She did not let Soaring Wings shatter as she followed the straight line path.

“…!”

And she made a cut from straight ahead.

Torahide saw his dragon cannon split in two.

…''So a dragonfly can cut a dragon’s power!

The vertical blast had been bisected.

The light split into two distinct blasts and the power was cut apart. The dragon cannon was split to either side of the English princess.

But…

“This is still enough!” Torahide shouted from high enough to call the sky. “It just means the damage occurs in two places!!”

But Torahide saw a man run up from behind Musashi’s Vice Chancellor.

…''Is that…?

Torahide of course knew the name of the Peerless in the West. But he had heard rumors from the west that the boy had lost his inherited name. And that he was training at Musashi.

According to Torahide’s comrades who had gone to Novgorod, the Peerless in the West’s current weapon was…

…''Kamenuki!

That quasi-divine weapon pursued and approached its target.

He was probably using that power to follow after Musashi’s Vice Chancellor.

''But,'' thought Torahide. ''How can he oppose a dragon cannon with Kamenuki?

He saw the answer.

The Peerless in the West took a certain action: He caught Kamenuki’s shaft on his shoulder and spun it.

While the spear with a longish blade was rotating, he raised his free hand over his head.

A line of something flew over.

The object had formed a horizontal wave as it was pulled back and flew in from behind the Peerless in the West.

The curved horizontal line was a chain.

It was one of the silver chains.

The chain was being pulled from starboard Tama and toward Murayama, so there was a height difference.

Torahide realized Tama had grown quite low at some point.

…''What is this?

Before he caught on or figured it out, the silver chain grew taut. The pulling acceleration had reached its max and it formed a straight line from Tama to Murayama.

And then something flew into the Peerless in the West’s hand.

Torahide had never seen the weapon before, but he knew its name:

“Lype Katathlipse!”

“It is known as the Muneshige Cannon now. However…”

The Peerless in the West used his legs to stop himself while he raised the blade to the side and cried out.

“Bind… Lype Katathlipse!!”

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| [[Horizon:Volume 5B Chapter 40|Chapter 40]]
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