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Horizon:Volume 5A Chapter 3

2017-01-21T02:40:30Z

86.52.8.207: Typo fixed.

==Chapter 3: Observers in a Place of Foresight==
[[Image:Horizon5A_099.jpg|thumb]]
''Let’s watch the beginning

''Of the beginning

''Of the beginning

'''Point Allocation (Surpass Yourselves)

“Hey, ‘Musashi’-san? Their Tottori Castle is arriving in Edo via Lake Biwa, right? That can’t be fun for Houjou. And Mouri and Hashiba are clashing sometime today. …The times are really on the move.”

On the bow of Musashino, Sakai sat on a bench, viewed a map, and spoke to “Musashi” as she offered him a teacup. He then looked to the documents and envelope on the side table.

“The dragon races are apparently having a meeting in the mountains, so I bet all this trouble is just going to keep going.”

“Judge. Masazumi-sama and the others are currently holding a meeting in the Student Council Room to discuss the Mouri vs. Hashiba issue. We are currently analyzing the relevant movements of the other nations and sending them the results. Over.”

“You sure are active, ‘Musashi’-san.”

“Just the other day, I made my magnificent debut as the Musashi Mk. 2 and reset my age to 0. I thought I should also reset how hard I work. Over.”

“Does that reset also bring “Ariake” and Tamako back to 0?”

“No, only the Musashi had the ‘Mk. 2’ added in the registration, so I have determined that only I return to age 0. Over.”

'''Ariake:''' “ ‘Musashi’-sama… Over.”

'''Okutama:''' “Sakai-sama, please avoid saying anything that will provoke her. I beg you. Over.”

“Judge, judge.” Sakai smiled bitterly. “What do you think will happen in the war between Mouri and Hashiba?”

“We need not speculate when the first battle should begin soon. It would be faster to simply watch. Over.”

“No, it’s fun to make predictions. So who do you think will win?”

“Due to the history recreation rules and Hashiba’s control of the Testament Union, Hashiba will surely win. Over.”

“I thought you’d think that.”

Sakai sighed and “Musashi” noticed the teacup still on the tray she held.

“Sakai-sama, please have your post-meal tea. Over.”

“Oh, right. I’ll take it, I’ll take it.”

“You only need to say it once. Or do you want me to serve you 2 cups? Over.”

“I always drink 3 cups total.”

“Making sure the water does not cool is not easy. And more importantly,” “Musashi” stood next to Sakai. “Do you have some kind of doubt concerning Hashiba’s victory? Over.”

“Oh, well, I’m not sure if ‘doubt’ is the word I would use. And I think you know what I’m talking about.”

“I cannot know unless you tell me. Over.”

“That’s right.” Sakai got up from the bench and rolled up the map he had been looking at. “When I was in high school, I went at it with K.P.A. Italia, but…but on the inside, there was a sense of ‘We’re Matsudaira’.”

“So you were borrowing the authority of that name? Over.”

“Well, Ii, Sakakibara, and the others used it pretty well in negotiations, but that actually tended to restrict us. We had to strike a kind of balance.”

However…

“Back then, talk of Hashiba and Nobunaga honestly didn’t really seem real. I mean, as a national power, we were the Matsudaira that would govern the Far East in the end.”

“Are you saying Hashiba’s victory is meaningless? Over.”

“No, not meaningless. It’s going to set a lot in motion, after all. And to be honest, I’m more worried about Mouri right now. …Are you listening, ‘Musashi’-san?”

“I am. So tell me why you are worried about Mouri even though they will be defeated here. Over.”

“Judge. Well you see, Mouri won’t be totally destroyed even after losing to Hashiba. They keep going. So I’m curious how they view this battle with Hashiba. Tres España was the same when they fought Toori and the others, right? They were thinking beyond their loss and they took various measures against it.”

“Are you saying Mouri will do the same? Over.”

“I’m not sure. We got through everything by looking only to the future, but these people should be looking at the present and then looking to the future.”

Sakai looked up at the Ariake’s ceiling and then forward, to the south.

“Now, if the Tottori Castle is coming, then the already-prepared Azuchi Castle will move out. …And it isn’t just Hexagone Française that will respond to that. Date, Mogami, Sanada, Houjou, and all the others are going to move. So I wonder…”

“Wonder about what? Over.”

Sakai nodded, took a sip of the tea, and took a breath.

“Just like us, Toori, Masazumi-kun, and the others have at least partially made it this far due to the bright future ahead of us, but they’re going to have to continue forward while accepting the feelings of those who are heading toward the past instead.”

He laughed and raised his eyebrows a little.

“So they’re holding a meeting in the Student Council Room, are they? I hope everything they see there is both meaningful for the future and enjoyable.”

In the Student Council Room, Masazumi opened a sign frame displaying a map of southern Kantou.

“Our first objective is defeating Houjou.”

Hashiba-controlled Edo Bay was on the southwest, Houjou was west of that, and both Sanada and P.A. Oda’s Takigawa Ichimasu were located above that.

The Musashi was at Mito, northeast of Edo, which placed Takigawa west of them.

''There are enemies everywhere,'' thought Masazumi.

“As I already said, Houjou is key to the post-Nobunaga period in Kantou. As you can see on this map, Houjou has been placed under Takigawa Ichimasu’s control. But Takigawa Ichimasu makes a mistake after Nobunaga’s assassination. That being…”

“The Battle of Kanagawa.”

The answer was given by Noriki who was assembling the bookcase in the entrance space. He kept his back to her as he continued.

“When Takigawa receives word of Nobunaga’s assassination, she is slow to confirm its veracity and, in her hesitation, she is caught by surprise in an attack by Houjou. She would have had the advantage, but as a non-local, no one else wants to help her and she is forced to retreat.”

“Oh? So what happens to Houjou after that?”

Noriki sighed at the idiot’s question.

“Ask Honda.”

Futayo immediately turned toward Masazumi. ''I guess that means me,'' thought Masazumi with a mental sigh.

…''But, well…

It was surprising for Noriki to talk about Houjou like this.

'''Gold Mar:''' “I’m shocked to hear you talk on and on like that.”

'''Laborer:''' “Wait. What kind of person do you think I am?”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Oh, shut up. Now I have to redraw my storyboard…”

'''Laborer:''' “Again, wait. What are you talking about?”

''I get the feeling learning that would keep him from ever opening his mouth again,'' thought Masazumi. ''But I guess this kind of exchange is part of our academy’s character. I also feel like these breaks take the spotlight and end up determining everything.

''But he named me, so I guess I’ll have to do it.

“Okay, I’ll go over the Houjou battles we’re involved in, starting with Kanagawa.”

Masazumi raised 3 fingers.

“The first, as Noriki said, is the Battle of Kanagawa. Starting this will mean Nobunaga’s assassination is supposed to have already happened, so it will be the most important at the moment. But…”

“Excuse me. …We are not involved in that battle, are we?”

Crossunite spoke up as he and Mary walked in, so Masazumi nodded.

“That’s the problem. The Battle of Kanagawa is the Kantou event that will start advancing things toward Nobunaga’s assassination, but we can’t take part. We have to have Houjou start it. But P.A. Oda has arranged themselves in a troublesome way. Hashiba left the Azuchi Castle at Edo for the Bunroku Campaign and Takigawa brought in the troublesome Shirasagi Castle. So if Houjou begins the Battle of Kanagawa without P.A. Oda’s permission, they’re in a position to make a swift attack.”

“So they’ll have to be trickier about it, Musashi Vice President. …But can they really do that at the moment?”

The Satomi President gave Masazumi a sharp look while crossing her arms by the wall.

The light in her eyes likely meant a variety of things, but Musashi had taken her in.

“We’ll do something about that. We can’t interact with Houjou at the moment due to Takigawa’s control of the area, but an opportunity should present itself once Mouri begins their fighting with Hashiba. The Azuchi Castle will be sent there for support, after all. Once that happens, Houjou will have some room for action.”

The Satomi President did not nod, but…

“I’ll trust that you’re at least giving it some thought.”

As she said that, the idiot walked up next to her, took the same pose as her, and…

“I’ll trust that you’re at least giving it some thought.”

“D-damn you!”

“Toori-kun, Yoshy-chan is being serious, so please don’t tease her.”

“That’s right, Toori-sama. What if our precious Satomi girl is infected by your Toori germs?”

“D-dammit! Now you’re treating me like a pathogen!?”

''Is that anything new?'' wondered Masazumi before clearing her throat and tapping the sign frame.

“To continue: Listen. Once the Battle of Kanagawa is over, it’s our turn. Matsudaira and Houjou use the confusion after Nobunaga’s death to fight over Kantou’s land. That is known as the Tensho Jingo Conflict and it almost fully draws out the map of Kantou. And after finding peace, Houjou and Matsudaira form an alliance.”

“Then we’ve gotta do that.”

It was frightening how readily the idiot said that. Mitotsudaira glanced over at Masazumi who waved a hand dismissively.

…''Besides, it is true we have to do that.

''But,'' thought Masazumi. ''That alliance is immediately followed by a turning point.

“There is a problem. …After they ally themselves with Matsudaira, Houjou has some trouble with those under its command.”

“Huh? You mean like doing the top knot on one of their bigwigs but from the front?”

“You go die. And I’m shocked to learn you thought you were being considerate by doing it from behind. But that’s not it. Are you listening?”

The others began making concerned comments about how well she was dealing with him, but she was not sure why they would think that.

But there was something she had to say.

“Do you remember the Kantou War Ban? No, not you, idiot. Don’t force yourself. And stop jumping around. …That’s the law issued by Hashiba banning any war in Kantou. Responsibility for breaking that is placed on Houjou, so they are attacked by Hashiba. That’s the Siege of Odawara. And…”

And…

“For the Siege of Odawara, Matsudaira joins Hashiba’s forces.”

Mitotsudaira heard a quiet sigh from Yoshiyasu. But…

…''Noriki isn’t slowing down on that bookcase at all.

Of course, the Siege of Odawara was in the Testament descriptions.

Yoshiyasu’s sigh was likely due to the disappointment of seeing a future that was fixated on ending the Satomi and Houjou conflict via Houjou’s destruction by Hashiba.

And Noriki’s lack of reaction was perhaps because he had already accepted that this was coming.

Mitotsudaira watched as Masazumi listed up the Houjou-related battles.

“So it looks like this.”

'''1: Battle of Kanagawa

*'''Immediately after Nobunaga’s assassination. Hesitant Takigawa receives a surprise attack from Houjou and must retreat from Kantou.

'''↓

'''2: Tensho Jingo Conflict

*'''Immediately after The Battle of Kanagawa. Matsudaira and Houjou fight over Kantou’s land. After making peace, they form an alliance.

'''↓

'''3: Siege of Odawara

*'''As punishment for ignoring the Kantou War Ban, Houjou is attacked by Hashiba and they surrender.

“We can actively take part in #2 and #3. #2 in particular is all about us. But…”

Mitotsudaira continued for her while aware of the tension in her brow.

“The problem is how to get Houjou to start #1, the Battle of Kanagawa.”

“It’s pathetic,” said Yoshiyasu. She leaned against the wall and did not even look Mitotsudaira’s way. “According to the Testament, Satomi had already declined by this point and was effectively dependent on Houjou. …And yet here we have Houjou too afraid of Hashiba to act.”

…''Yoshiyasu…

Mitotsudaira understood her irritation.

“Yoshiyasu, you view Houjou as your rival, don’t you?”

“What!? No! Stop making up things about me, Mito Lord!”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “I’ll put that in my storyboard… I need to at least end it on a happy note.”

'''Righteousness:''' “Wait! Don’t draw something that’s only happy at the end! And don’t just turn me into a good person!”

'''Obscene:''' “Ha ha ha. As a politician, shouldn’t you want that!?”

'''Sticky King:''' “Indeed. It would be good for you to be a good person, Yoshy!!”

After watching Yoshiyasu fall to her knees by the wall, Mitotsudaira started to think she should not have said that. And…

…''Oh?

She realized the Chancellor was looking at Noriki.

She followed his gaze to find that exchange had put a slight smile on the laborer’s face.

She did not know why. It was hard to know other people’s emotions or what made them laugh. If that was possible, Masazumi’s jokes would not bomb so badly. But for now, Mitotsudaira thought it was a good thing that her classmate from Houjou was accepting of this situation.

And there was one thing that mattered more than any other now.

…''How will we establish our relationship with Houjou?

“We can’t communicate with Houjou due to Takigawa’s surveillance, but we need to get Houjou to drive off Takigawa… Isn’t this an impossible spiral?”

“You would think so, wouldn’t you? But that’s why-…”

“Heh heh. It could even happen tonight. You’re going to use something as bait to send the Azuchi to Mouri. But flat politician and flat knight? Isn’t there something you’re a little worried about?” Kimi spread her mouth horizontally in a smile. “You know what’s supposed to happen later today, don’t you? It’s very important.”

“Judge,” replied the 1st Special Duty Officer. He turned back toward Mary next to him. “The coming clash between Mouri and Hashiba is important, isn’t it?”

“Hm? …Master Tenzou, what do you mean it is important?”

“Judge. To support Hashiba in their ''upcoming'' battle against Mouri, the Azuchi Castle will move to the Mouri region. …Mary-dono, you know what that means, don’t you?”

“Oh,” said Mary with a nod.

Mitotsudaira also realized what Kimi had meant, but she let Mary answer.

“If Lady Hashiba wins easily, she will not need the Azuchi’s support, right?”

“That’s right, Mary, Crossunite. So our future hangs in the balance of the upcoming battle between Mouri and Hashiba.”

That was when a divine transmission arrived. It was voice only and from Ookubo.

“Vice President! It’s urgent! …Hexagone Française and Hashiba have engaged in battle!”

…''Speak of the devil!

The image sent to everyone’s sign frames was a map of Hexagone Française.

Next to Muneshige, Gin commented on the location Ookubo had marked.

“That is almost exactly where the Mito Lord predicted. Well done.”

Hearing that, Horizon gave Mitotsudaira a thumbs up.

She of course nodded and gave a thumbs up back. Then icons representing each army appeared on the map along with their numbers.

“Hashiba has 32 thousand on the front line. Hexagone Française has 24 thousand including a god of war unit! …It’s a land battle on a wide plain just past the mountain pass!”

“Hey, Henri.”

A man in a red vested summer uniform spoke below the morning sun and pale blue sky.

He stood on a green grassy plain in an Hexagone Française summer uniform. He was well built with a tall stature and he spoke to the woman in a girl’s uniform standing on his right.

“Hey, Henri. What do you think about this battlefield?”

“There’s nothing to think, Armand. We only have to follow the Princess’s instructions.”

Her crossed arms had somewhat pale flesh and black lines running along the joints.

She was an automaton with a partially-lifelike body. The man next to her was the same.

“You really do love the Princess.”

“Oh, you understand the emotion of love now, do you? I guess you’re even more human than me.”

“Yes.” The man named Armand nodded instead of mocking her and he continued calmly. “Once we have lived long enough, we do find areas we statistically prioritize more than others. Isn’t that right, Henri?”

“Is that what you call ‘love’?”

“Testament. I can determine that’s probably what it is, but it’s a bit of a problem.”

“Why?”

“Well,” replied Armand. “I am one of the managers of the maid automaton unit, so I naturally end up spending a lot of time with them. That means I automatically qualify as loving maids.”

“I see. …And I spend every day – even while asleep – breathing the air, so that would mean I love air.”

“That’s right.”

“That’s completely wrong. Are you stupid, Armand? Think about it logically.”

Next to Henri, Armand looked up into the sky.

It was a blue but pale sky. It was a summer sky. And as he looked at it, he finally spoke.

“Testament. So that’s it! Once I thought about it logically, it all started making sense!”

“So you understand, Armand?”

“Yes.” He nodded and smiled toward Henri. “What I love most is air, isn’t it!?”

“No, you fool!”

As soon as Henri shouted back at him, their location was blown to pieces over a wide area.

The blast of shell collisions reached them from the direction of the rising sun.

They had been fired on from the east.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 5A Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 5A Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 4B Character Introduction

2017-01-16T19:07:54Z

86.52.8.207: Corrected Shakenobe's name.

==Characters==
[[File:Horizon4B_0010.jpg|thumb]][[File:Horizon4B_0011.jpg|thumb]][[File:Horizon4B_0012.jpg|thumb]]

● '''Musashi'''

*Aoi Kimi: Toori’s older sister and worshipper of the god of eroticism and dancing. Fundamentally high-tension and selfish in practice.
*Aoi Toori: Protagonist. Musashi Ariadust Academy’s chancellor and student council president. Mr. Impossible.
*Asama Tomo: Daughter of the Asama Shrine, Musashi’s main shrine. Childhood friend and overall victim of Toori and Kimi.
*Azuma: Child of the emperor and a half-god. All his abilities have been sealed and he lives on the Musashi.
*Adele Balfette: From a vassal family that arrived from France. Glasses girl.
*Itou Kenji: Cheerful incubus. Nude, bald, and muscular. Known as Itoken.
*Ohiroshiki Ginji: Gourmet otaku with a Heart-sama style build.
*Kiyonari Urquiaga: 2nd special duty officer. Flying half-dragon. Hopes to be an inquisitor. Known as Uqui.
*Shirojiro Bertoni: Treasurer. Young leading member of Musashi’s commerce and industry guild.
*Tenzou Crossunite: 1st special duty officer. Ninja and errand-runner who always covers his face with his hat.
*Toussaint Neshinbara: Secretary. Loves history, wants to be an author, and writes doujins.
*Naomasa: 6th special duty officer. Older sister type who works in the engine division. Smokes and laughs loudly.
*Nate Mitotsudaira: 5th special duty officer. Member of a knight family and inheritor of the Mito Matsudaira name. Half werewolf.
*Nenji: Slime with about 3 HP. Manly.
*Noriki: Laborer boy who supports his family. Clumsy martial artist. Silent and unsociable.
*Heidi Augesvarer: Treasurer’s aide. Shirojiro’s partner. Has a white fox named Erimaki.
*Hassan Furubushi: Calpis logo-style Indian. Lives while eating and drinking only curry.
*Persona-kun: Super macho man with a bucket helmet. Silent, strong, and kindhearted.
*Horizon Ariadust: Toori’s childhood friend and current ruler of Mikawa. Currently an automaton. Her emotions were taken as parts for the Logismoi Oplo.
*Honda Futayo: Former Mikawa student. Honda Tadakatsu’s daughter. Uses a strongly old-fashioned speech pattern.
*Honda Masazumi: Vice president of the student council. Diligent exchange student who arrived from Mikawa the previous year. Has various issues with her family.
*Malga Naruze: 4th special duty officer. Black-haired six-winged Weiss Hexen. Member of the manga club.
*Margot Naito: 3rd special duty officer. Blonde-haired six-winged Schwarz Hexen. Always smiling.
*Miriam Poqou: Girl who stays in her room because she lives in a wheelchair.
*Mukai Suzu: Blind but always gives it her all. Acts as everyone’s stopper.
*Tachibana Muneshige: Former Tres España 1st special duty officer. Amore. Currently working to regain his inherited name.
*Tachibana Gin: Former Tres España 3rd special duty officer. Muneshige’s wife and possessor of cannon-style false arms. Fifty times.
*Mary Stuart: Half-sister of English Queen Elizabeth. Well-endowed blonde. Living with Tenzou as his future wife. Owner of Ex. Collbrande.
*Mishina Hiro: Granddaughter of the engine division’s chief. Loves mechanical things. Naomasa’s underclassman. Her name is pronounced Hiro, not Dai.
*Mishina Shouichi: Mishina Hiro’s father. Taizou’s son-in-law. Head of Kantou IZUMO.
*Satomi Yoshiyasu: Satomi Academy’s student council president. Small but does not cry. Uses the god of war Righteousness.
*Ookubo Tadachika/Nagayasu: A rare Far Easterner with a double inherited name. A second year and head of the representative committee. Speaks in a fake-sounding Kansai dialect.
*Kanou: Ookubo’s maid. An automaton. Head of the public morals committee. A second year.

● '''Academy Officials'''

*Oriotorai Makiko: High-speed battling teacher. Always wears a track suit.
*Sakai Tadatsugu: Musashi Ariadust Academy’s president. Used to be a very able person but was demoted.
*“Musashi”: Automaton that supervises the Musashi and overall commander. Her sharp comments are hard to put up with.
*“Asakusa”: Captain automaton of Musashi’s first port ship. Short hair.
*“Shinagawa”: Captain automaton of Musashi’s first starboard ship. Same model as “Asakusa”.
*“Okutama”: Captain automaton of Musashi’s rear central ship. Also takes care of odd jobs at Sakai’s home.
*“Musashino”: Captain automaton of Musashi’s front central ship. Leader on the bridge. Close to Suzu and Adele.
*Yoshinao: King of Musashi who was sent from Hexagone Française. Has a veto right toward the academy and has the authority to manage Musashi.
*Sanyou Mitsuki: Class 3-Bamboo’s homeroom teacher. Looks up to Oriotorai. Somewhat sensitive and unlucky.

● '''M.H.R.R.'''

*Hashiba Toukichirou: M.H.R.R. Vice President and monkey-masked automaton girl. The nervous bomber type.
*Olimpia: Innocentius’s older and younger stepsister. Current Pope-Chancellor.
*Matthias: Representative of M.H.R.R.’s Catholics. Student Council President. Younger brother of Chancellor and Emperor Rudolf II. Being a puppet is fun!
*Maeda Toshiie: Catholic representative. Treasurer. Samurai attendant that has become a ghost and is peacefully spending his days with his wife Matsu.
*Fukushima Masanori: Under Hashiba’s direct command. Ten Spears #1. Speaks in an old-fashioned way.
*Katou Kiyomasa: Under Hashiba’s direct command. Ten Spears #2. The busty blonde type and speaks politely.

● '''P.A. Oda'''

*Sassa Narimasa: One of P.A. Oda’s Six Heavenly Demon Army and Five Great Peaks. Delinquent and assault type. But methodical.
*Shibata Katsuie: One of P.A. Oda’s Six Heavenly Demon Army and Five Great Peaks. Athletic type. Very troublesome after his recent marriage.
*Fuwa Mitsuharu: P.A. Oda’s local anti-Sviet Rus treasurer. Her, Toshiie, and Narimasa are known as the Triumvirate.
*Oichi: Shibata Katsuie’s wife. Gentle berserker.
*Niwa Nagahide: #2 of the Six Heavenly Demon Army and Five Great Peaks. A dancer and quick to adapt.
*Hashiba Hidetsugu: Hashiba’s nephew. In the history recreation, earns Hashiba’s anger and is made to commit suicide.
*Komahime: Mogami Yoshiaki’s daughter and Hashiba Hidetsugu’s concubine. Her suicide due to guilt by association led to the Mogami clan’s anti-Hashiba stance.

● '''Date Clan'''

*Date Masamune: Head of the Date clan. Inherits the power of the Dragon God. Chancellor and student council president of the Date clan.
*Date Narumi: Masamune’s cousin. Vice chancellor of the Date clan and uses a mobile shell named Unturning Centipede. Confident elder sister type.
*Katakura Kojuurou: Vice president of the Date clan. Full of intense highs and lows.
*Oniniwa Tsunamoto: 2nd special duty officer of the Date clan. Demonic long-lived god of war pilot. Pilots a god of war named Sagetsu.
*Rusu Masakage: Control system of the Date clan’s Sendai Castle. The family name can cause some confusion.<ref>Rusu means “away from home”.</ref>
*Yoshihime: Masamune’s mother. Half demonic long-lived and half human. Principal of Sendai Date Academy.

● '''Sviet Rus'''

*Marfa Boretskaya: Female mayor of the floating city Novgorod. An undead demon.
*Honjou Shigenaga: Brave general who defends Sviet Rus’s lands. Uses the Honjou Shield.
*Toby: A mysterious old man from the Far East who now works for Marfa. Or maybe it isn’t that much of a mystery.

● '''Mogami Clan'''

*Mogami Yoshiaki: Betrayal-loving daimyo known as the Fox of Ushuu. Shrewd leader who unified frigid Mogami in a single generation.
*Shakenobe: The Mouse that follows Yoshiaki-sama, mon!

● '''Other'''

*Sarutobi Sasuke: Sanada Academy Ten Braves #1. Uses martial arts and ninja techniques.
*Kirigakure Saizou: Sanada Academy Ten Braves #2. Uses a wind movement technique.
*Miyoshi Isa: Sanada Academy Ten Braves #4. AKA Isa Nyuudou. Girl who uses a remote-controlled god of war.
*Anayama Kosuke: Sanada Academy Ten Braves #5. Looks like a nice guy. Uses ninja techniques.
*Yuri Kamanosuke: Sanada Academy Ten Braves #6. Specializes in sword fighting.
*Nezu Jinpachi: Sanada Academy Ten Braves #8. Specializes in sniping.

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume_4B_Table of Contents|Table of Contents]]
| [[Horizon:Volume_4B_Glossary|Glossary]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Kimitoasamade 2B Chapter 18

2017-01-16T02:17:56Z

86.52.8.207: Removed an apostrophe.

==Chapter 18: Doll Looking Back to a Nostalgic Place==
[[File:Horizon_Kimi2B_065.jpg|thumb]]
''Oh, dear. All of a sudden

''I’m caught in the middle of this?

'''Point Allocation (Train of Life)

“Oh, is my foolish brother not here?”

Asama and the others entered the café after Kimi peeked inside.

Asama sat at a table in the back while wondering if Kimi’s swaying hair was naturally so pristine or if it was a spell.

It was a 6-seat table, Kimi sat on the aisle end of the back side, and Adele sat across from her. Kimi liked taking everyone’s orders and Adele had a habit of taking the seat closest to the entrance due to her vassal training.

Asama assumed Naito and Naruze would sit together like always, but…

“Yeah, we feel like eating something, so we’ll sit furthest in.”

They took the furthest in seats on either side. They must have decided that the narrow café table would not have enough room for their plates if they sat right next to each other. Naruze sat on the entrance side and immediately grabbed the menu from the empty table next to her.

…''That leaves…

Only the central seats were open. Asama took the one on the back end and Mitotsudaira sat next to Adele in the central entrance-side seat.

…''Phew.

Asama sighed deep in her heart, but the only sign she let show on her face was her somewhat closed eyes. If she showed too much exhaustion and relief here, the others would only worry.

But across from her, Mitotsudaira’s shoulders noticeably rose and fell.

“Phew… We pushed ourselves a little too far this time.”

“Tired?” asked Kimi with a bitter smile.

“I can proudly say we did an excellent job,” replied Mitotsudaira with a small smile.

“Judge. That’s right. I never thought heading out on an investigation would mean dragon hunting. And 4 of them at that.”

Adele sounded cheerful and Asama could only nod in agreement. But then Asama lowered her head.

“Sorry about all the trouble. Thank you very much for dealing with that and helping me out.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Naruze who was listing up her order on a Magie Figure.

But Kimi…

“Feel free to thank me more, Asama! More! More!”

Naruze glared at her, but Kimi ignored it and pointed at Asama.

“I will admit I did not expect a serious life-or-death situation there. Who could predict a bunch of Hidden Dragons would show up and swing their heads around like tentacles!? But I did my best, so make sure to thank me! Now, bring on the thanks!”

She did not hesitate to hold out her hands with an expectant look in her eyes, so Asama thought about what this meant.

But this was a crazy person. Asama decided thinking about it was a futile effort, so she tried directly asking.

“What do you want?”

“You don’t know? What a useless shrine maiden! Okay, here’s your answer: take it away, Mitotsudaira!”

“Why are you passing it off to me!?”

Kimi looked over and spoke to Mitotsudaira.

“C’mon, Mitotsudaira, think carefully. What kind of service do you want from Asama? Suzu’s family runs two bathhouses, so anything goes. Oh, but if it’ll make Asama cry, wait until we get to her house, okay?”

“What are you trying to get her to ask for!?”

“Eh?” Kimi held up a sign frame. “A marathon of the theatre movies that my foolish brother recommended recently. They’re playing things like ‘Hamlet II: A Cutlet Disguised as an Omelet’ or ‘The Merchant of Extortion’. I want to set the player up somewhere with decent acoustics, but when you start crying at things like this, you can’t seem to stop. …Or were you imagining something else?”

“Nooo, I wasn’t imagining anything at allll. I had a feeling that was what you were talking abouuuut.”

But Mitotsudaira seemed to have a thought.

“Well,” she said in a tone of surprisingly serious thought. “Tomo, I’d like you to show me the musical instruments at your home later.”

“Eh?”

It was true the Asama Shrine had a selection of Gagaku equipment. They were mostly for her exclusive use, but…

…''Why would she want to see those?

Asama could not figure this out, but she had no problem letting her see them. And if they did that later…

“Do you want to sleep over at my place?”

“Oh, then I’ll go too. Let’s go refresh ourselves at Suzu’s bathhouse first.”

Adele nodded at that, but…

“I have a job early tomorrow morning, so I’ll leave after Suzu-san’s place.”

“Same here. …And we have a lot to think about with what happened today,” said Naruze. Her tone was calm and she did not even look Asama’s way. “We haven’t fought in an actual battle since the school trip in middle school, but that was very meaningful. …It was very eye-opening.”

“I see,” said Asama as she looked across from Naruze where the girl’s partner sat.

…''Ah.

That other girl was looking at the menu without reading it.

She was probably thinking about something, so…

“Naito?”

“Eh? Oh, sorry, sorry. I’m hogging the menu, aren’t I? …Ga-chan, can you order something for me too?”

“Only if you promise to eat everything I order for you.”

“Sure,” said Naito as she started focusing on the menu in her hand again.

As the two of them started speaking to each other (“Have we ever ordered that before?” “Yes, but we got it to go and it was cold by the time we ate it.”), Asama looked to the back of the café. She had heard footsteps approaching from the kitchen.

She noticed Kimi had already turned in that direction to see who it was.

…''The manager. Toori-kun and Kimi’s mom.

Except it was not.

Asama saw silver hair, and…

…''Huh?

By the time she realized how familiar the clothing looked, the newcomer had arrived next to the table.

The newcomer had a tray in one hand and she bowed.

“Welcome.”

Mitotsudaira felt all her hair bristling.

…''Eh?

Was this a new employee at the Blue Thunder? She was an automaton. She had silver hair, she had a medium build, and her breasts were-… ''It is foolish to compare yourself to others, so let’s not do that.

But Mitotsudaira was reminded of something Kimi had mentioned that morning.

Her king was trying to win over another girl.

But why did she recall that now? No, she knew exactly why: the automaton standing in front of her.

…''She…

Mitotsudaira knew her.

No.

She did not know her.

They had never met before, but Mitotsudaira still felt confident she knew her.

She did not want to definitively say she did not know her. There was an odd feeling of discord that made her want to know who this was. She wanted to know yet she had not forgotten. That was the only way to describe this confusion in her memories.

And…

“————”

''What does this mean?'' wondered Mitotsudaira.

“She” was supposed to be dead. He had lamented, Mitotsudaira’s promise to protect “her” had vanished, she had acted violently, and the two of them had exchanged a promise as king and knight.

…''That is where my pride as a knight comes from.

Even if “she” returned, Mitotsudaira would no longer be “her” protector. She was now a knight who would accompany her king.

''But,'' thought Mitotsudaira.

…''Is this automaton “her”?

She had not confirmed that, so any thoughts on the matter were premature.

But how could she confirm it?

If she called “her” name, would this automaton respond?

“Hori-…”

But just as the name began to leave her mouth, the automaton suddenly spoke.

“I have some not good news and some bad news. Which would you like first?”

“Eh?”

Asama saw the confused look on Mitotsudaira’s face.

She could only guess what Mitotsudaira was thinking, but…

…''I-I think I’m feeling much the same thing.

This automaton looked a lot like “her”.

Of course, “she” died 9 years before. A lot had happened between Asama, Kimi, and Toori then and a lot had happened with their friends afterwards to help them all come to terms with what had happened to “her”.

But now an automaton that resembled “her” was here.

And another thought occurred to Asama.

…''Kimi said Toori-kun is trying to win over a girl.

Asama immediately sensed that this was that girl. And…

“Um,” she said and the automaton nodded.

“Which would you like first?”

“Uhh…” said everyone but Kimi.

…''Should we really just go along with this?

At any rate, Asama shove this onto someone else.

“You go ahead, Adele.”

“Eh!? Ehh!? Me!?”

“Judge. So you are Adele-sama. An excellent name. Oh, but this is merely sales talk, so do not take it seriously.”

“Wow…” said Naruze while hiding her face behind the menu.

Then the automaton spoke to Adele.

“I will give you a chance.”

“Wh-what does that mean!?”

“Whether you choose the bad news or the not good news, something horrible will happen to you.”

“It will…!?”

“Judge,” replied the automaton.

“Incredible,” said Naito while also hiding her face behind a menu.

After pausing for a breath, the automaton expressionlessly continued.

“And now I gave you enough time to run away, but you failed to do so. It is all over for you now.”

“Eh!? That’s what you meant by a chance!? I didn’t even get a hint at what you meant!?”

“A failure to think leads only to death.” The automaton remained expressionless. “Hasn’t it long been said that people are thinking tools?”

“Are you sure you’re not mixing ‘speaking tool’ with ‘thinking reed’?”

“I fused them for a power-up.”

She sounded so sure of herself that everyone but Kimi exchanged a glance. But Asama placed a hand on Kimi’s shoulder while the girl faced the other way.

“Wait.”

Her hand was brushed off. She placed her hand back on and found the idiot sister’s shoulders were shaking with laughter.

“P-01s’s debut is turning out even better than I had hoped.”

“Is this why you brought us here!?”

“Now, now.” The automaton tilted her head. “I do not quite understand, but I am glad if I have brought in some customers.”

Now, then.

“Adele-sama, which will it be?”

Everyone looked to Adele who raised her eyebrows and looked back at them all.

“E-everyone! Are you all really willing to leave your destinies in my hands!?”

“Not to worry, Adele-sama. …This is for you alone.”

“Asama-san! Asama-san! Why did you have to pass this on to me!?”

“Well, you’re closest to the entrance, so I thought you would naturally come first.”

“I didn’t want a logical answer!”

Adele clenched her fists and steeled herself.

“Th-then, the bad news!”

“Judge. Then here is a stew with no soy sauce in it.”

The automaton set down a stew bowl from the stretcher she had carried over at some point. And it contained…

“This provides the perfect harmony of radish, carrot, and onion. I assume. I had to get somewhat creative to make the broth so clear.”

“Eh? What do you mean by creative?”

“Judge. I did not put any soy sauce in.”

“That’s not creative! That’s not creative at all!”

“Not to worry. I included sake as a secret ingredient. Dishes with a secret ingredient are delicious, so this stew must be delicious.”

“I’m not sure what to say to that…”

Was this a new type of sake stew? But Adele hung her head, pushed the bowl over to Asama, and spoke with a shadow of her face.

“This one’s yours, Asama-san.”

“You can’t do that, Adele. You have to eat what you’re served.”

“B-but don’t you love sake, Asama-san!? This one’s clearly perfect for you!”

''Where did this misunderstanding come from?'' wondered Asama as she took a breath and corrected her.

“What are you talking about, Adele? I don’t love sake. I only drink it because I have to.”

“Um, Tomo? That’s exactly what alcoholics say.”

''Huh?'' she thought just as the automaton named P-01s turned toward Mitotsudaira.

She turned just her head to look into Mitotsudaira’s golden eyes.

“You are next.”

“Eh? M-me?”

“Judge.” P-01s nodded, placed a hand on her forehead, and shut her eyes. “I will now guess your name.”

“Fortunetelling!? You’re doing fortunetelling now!? What happened to the ‘not good news/bad news’ thing with Adele!?”

“I grew bored with it.”

Asama placed a hand on Kimi’s shoulder only to have it brushed off.

But the situation was underway. P-01s said “now, then” and pointed at Mitotsudaira with the hand that had been on her forehead. Then she deeply lowered her head and spoke directly at Mitotsudaira.

“I know the answer now. Your name is…”

Mitotsudaira felt a solid sensation deep in her gut.

…''D-does she know?

“She” would definitely know Mitotsudaira’s name. And even if “she” pretended not to, Mitotsudaira was confident she could see through the bluff, so she stared at the automaton and asked for confirmation.

“Judge. My name is…?”

She immediately received her answer.

“Nakamura.”

Mitotsudaira had no idea what look she had on her face.

But Asama gave her as “pull yourself together” look from across the table, so she must have seemed on the verge of fainting.

“I’m impressed she went straight for a family name instead of a given name,” said Kimi, sounding calm.

But then the automaton clearly added to her answer.

“…-nov.”

“Y-you just forced it to sound Russian, didn’t you!?”

“I was wrong? And after I tried so hard.”

“You didn’t try at all!”

Asama saw Mitotsudaira stand up and place a hand on her chest.

“I am Chancellor’s Officers Extra Special Duty Officer and Rank 1 Musashi Knight Nate Mitotsudaira! My Urban Name is Argent Loup! I rule the Mito reservation on the mainland and I am 2nd in line to ruling the Far East.”

“Judge. I am the automaton designated P-01s. I boarded at Mikawa, but I have no memories. I collapsed from hunger, my vision grew white on the verge of death, and my analysis told me ‘so this is how they welcome me’, but then I was taken in. At first I was needlessly suspicious, stayed in the corner of the room, doubted people’s kindness, and showed off how dangerous I was by shadow boxing, but lately I have been living a peaceful life mostly on Tama. Today a shrine maiden group visited the café, so I decided to introduce myself with the ‘bad news/not good news’ bit.”

“She just explained everything to me all at once!!”

“Heh heh heh. You’ve clearly lost this round, Mitotsudaira!”

As Mitotsudaira unwittingly bought them some time, Asama quickly performed a search.

She checked the Musashi resident registration data. There was indeed a room in Tama’s underground area rented out for a Blue Thunder employee. The Blue Thunder manager’s name was listed as the guarantor, and…

…''It currently has a resident…

That resident was P-01s. She was listed as an automaton belonging to the Blue Thunder. But…

“…?”

As she dug into the search results, Asama’s confusion grew.

Her first question was how this new resident had not been reported to her, the Asama Shrine Representative.

The Asama Shrine handled the ether fuel supply and the application of divine protections to rooms, so they were automatically notified to changes in resident management.

This was because Musashi’s residents were a portion of the Musashi’s weight and also received a supply of fuel and divine protections. Unlike when living in a city on the surface of the earth, people here were a burden just by existing. Even the provisional residential districts on the first port and starboard ships were managed on a district by district basis and it was nearly impossible to live in the Musashi’s high altitude environment without various divine protections provided by one’s hard points.

…''So all residents must be approved by “Musashi”-san, the different committee heads, and the guards.

The data on residents was managed by the Asama Shrine, each block, each ship, and the Musashi as a whole. It was also stored in and distributed within the Musashi databank at IZUMO.

All that information was automated using spell programs and the Mice in charge, but people did not enter or leave Musashi often.

So Asama had a habit of glancing through the photos of the resident’s faces, but…

…''I didn’t get this one.

She was confused. This had been standard practice for years, but it had not been done. Was it childish that she felt more anger at the rules not being followed than anxiety at finding no explanation for this?

She glanced over at Hanami who was tilting her head.

Hanami assisted Asama with the resident management, so if she did not know…

…''That must mean…

Asama checked the bottom of the search results for the underground Tama room where P-01s lived. And then she sighed.

The very bottom field listed the final supervisor and it was not her.

It was her father.

''I see,'' thought Asama as she realized how this had happened but not why.

Her father had long been friends with the Aoi siblings’ parents who managed this café.

The management must have had some reason or seen the possibility for trouble, so they discussed it with her father and he decided to manage this case.

…''He should have discussed it with me.

She often came to the Blue Thunder. In fact, it was the best place for her father’s decidedly non-Shinto requests: “I want to eat pizza” or “Have you heard of ham cutlets?”

So she was obviously going to notice this automaton eventually.

…''Were they trying to take on responsibility for this?

If there was some kind of trouble, responsibility sometimes fell on the shrine that had managed the individual involved. It was just like a feudal lord taking responsibility for a resident who caused a major incident.

But that was only when the resolution went beyond the shrine or feudal lord level and required a national or international response.

That would be something she could not handle as the Asama Shrine’s #2. But…

“————”

Asama saw the automaton serve several black objects onto the plate in front of Mitotsudaira.

“Now, Mitotsudaira-sama, these are fried eggs. Please have all 5. …Do not worry. They are true fried eggs. After all, I fried some eggs. It was not easy doing so without breaking the shell. They have grown quite hard just like baked ceramics, so I will provide a hammer.”

Was the phrase “after all” really necessary when describing your cooking?

''Anyway,'' thought Asama.

…''If dad is taking responsibility but leaving things on the scene to us…

She needed to treat this meeting with care.

“Yes.”

“What is it, Tomo?” asked Mitotsudaira.

“Well,” said Asama.

Thinking about this too deeply would not help. The automaton resembled “her”, but she had no way of confirming that, the automaton had no memories, and the adults had not prevented them from meeting. So…

“I think we should treat this like normal until something happens and we have to decide on a stance.”

“That’s right.”

There was a hint of relief in Mitotsudaira’s slight smile. And then Kimi spoke up from the side.

“P-01s, can you take our order? Because your side show was extremely entertaining.”

“Things sure were noisy outside…”

The bridge-shaped ship’s bridge on Musashino was supported by two panel-shaped pillars on either side. Masazumi walked inside one of those while running an errand for her father on the way back from a part-time job interview.

She was walking through an extremely tall structure and she was heading downwards. There was a labor-powered lift if she was in a hurry, but…

…''The inner wall stairway has such a nice view.

The inner hull to protect the vital parts was thin on the inner wall. To allow evacuation in an emergency, it had windows at a set interval, but those gave a view of Musashino’s blocks and the opposite ship.

It was already night. The stealth barrier sky was much closer from up here and she could see the current of the periodically renewed barrier beyond Musashino’s bridge.

Aki’s sky would exist beyond that. That was K.P.A. Italia’s night sky.

Just a month before, she had lived further west in Mikawa.

“When your environment changes, it really changes.”

But…

“I’m still not used to this…”

Musashino’s lights were on below to represent this busy time of night. She still had trouble matching up this view from above with the horizontal view she normally had.

“Ah.”

The document she held fell from below her arm.

It was Musashi’s income and expenditure report. In addition to providing each division’s financial income and expenditures divided out by nation, it provided news on the wartime status of the other nations and on Musashi’s relationships with the other nations.

…''They said this was handled by the giant data processing facility on Musashino and that the automatons all understand this through their shared memory.

The amounts and contents could be sent via divine transmission and checked on a sign frame, but…

“With sign frame data, humans try to look into it too much.”

Masazumi picked up the document while glad all the pages had remained in a clump.

When each page of data was too clear, humans tried to check through it all.

But that increased their concern and exhaustion, so as time passed, they would overlook more and view it less deeply. But…

“We can’t just leave it all to the automatons either.”

Masazumi flipped through the document as she resumed walking.

The automatons had already checked over most of the income and expenditure report, but they had marked the values that they could not explain given their previous data and they had marked the results they determined to be especially good or bad.

Those were the areas they had decided needed interpretation by the humans.

Automatons would always make the best possible decision.

So when they could not make a decision, choosing to not make a decision was the best possible option.

That was where the humans came in.

After receiving this document from “Nishi-Kokubunji”, the automaton aide to Musashino Captain “Musashino”, Masazumi had received the following explanation:

“We would like for the members of the Provisional Council to check over the areas marked ‘important’ or anything that catches their attention. Over.”

“…What do you mean that catches their attention?”

“Nishi-Kokubunji” had responded by tilting her head.

And then she had straightened her head again.

“I do not know how humans experience things, but it seems humans sometimes feel unease, feel doubt, or simply ask themselves ‘is this right?’. Over.”

''I see,'' Masazumi had thought. That seemed awfully human for the strict Provisional Council, but it was probably an issue of being cautious and careful. However…

“And you’ll investigate the parts that catch their attention?”

“Judge. We will investigate them and provide them with the results.”

“And if there’s nothing wrong…then you’ll essentially be providing counselling for the Provisional Council’s worries?”

She had wondered what her father and the others would think if they heard that.

But “Nishi-Kokubunji” had tilted her head again and did not straighten it this time.

“The things that have caught the Provisional Council’s attention have only been wrong 20% of the time. Over.”

Masazumi had been at a loss for words, so she had said nothing.

“————”
And she had thought to herself.

…''Stupid.

That exchange showed that she had no experience in politics, in working at any real duties, or in finding these things that caught one’s attention.

And now she doubted if she was even able to notice things like that.

…''Dammit.

This showed her just how large a gap there was between her and the Provisional Council members like her father.

But “Nishi-Kokubunji” had straightened her head and bowed.

Then she had looked at Masazumi with somewhat closed eyes and spoken.

“Do you require counselling? Over.”

“No. …Thank you very much.”

“Judge. Is that so? Over.”

“…Why do you sound so disappointed?”

“Judge.” “Nishi-Kokubunji” had nodded and averted her gaze. “Recently, that Aoi Toori-sama has started visiting the bridge for no reason.”

“…Oh, so you want a chance to do some proper counselling.”

“I have determined it would be nice every once in a while. Over.”

The way she put that let Masazumi know that boy was showing up a lot.

But “Nishi-Kokubunji” had had more to say.

“Either way, the Provisional Council, the Student Council, the Chancellor’s Officers, the similar officers of the other nations, and anyone in a similar position must be equivalent monsters in some way, whether they would be able to drive off that previous mysterious phenomenon or not. Over.”

The word “monsters” remained in Masazumi’s mind.

It was true everyone had driven off the Hidden Dragons that had appeared outside the ship. She had been visiting the bridge when that happened. In case of an emergency, the automatons had asked her not to leave the bridge, so she had been able to monitor what was happening from inside the stealth barrier.

Mitotsudaira and some more of her classmates had ultimately defeated the Hidden Dragons by working together.

But the Student Council and Chancellor’s Officers had been a little different. They too had worked together to defeat their enemy, but…

…''Each one of them could fight well enough on their own too.

Was it just a difference in power?

The Class Plum group had made up for a lack of power by working together and finished off their enemy.

But with the Student Council and Chancellor’s Officers, it had felt like they were each powerful enough to fight alone but had worked together to settle things more quickly.

''A year really makes a difference,'' she thought.

“But I can’t use how much older my father and the Provisional Council are as an excuse, can I?”

Or could she?

Did her class just not have that power? Or was it simply hidden inside them?

''I really don’t know,'' she thought with a sigh.

…''Monsters, hm?

She thought on the term “mysterious phenomenon”. And at that exact moment, she heard voices from the guard management floor down below.

“Some monsters have appeared on Musashino’s bow!”

“A group of white sheets with legs has been spotted!”

“Everyone, borrow some anti-spirit equipment from your respective shrines! The Provisional Council was supposed to be having a dinner party in that area!”

The Provisional Council. That meant a mysterious phenomenon had appeared near where her father and the others were.

Masazumi checked her mental map of Musashi and realized she was near there.

…''I need to hurry!

She looked to Musashino’s bow outside the window as she ran down the stairs.

A nudist fell past that window with the bra-shaped chest of a Far Eastern girl’s uniform clutched in his hand.

And Torii fell after him.

She fell with only the breastplate cloth covering her chest.

When she saw that, something occurred to Masazumi once more.

…''I’m just not used to this place at all.

And so she cried out.

“Wahhh!!”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 2B Chapter 17|Chapter 17]]
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 2B Chapter 19|Chapter 19]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 5A Chapter 1

2017-01-12T01:11:02Z

86.52.8.207: Some typos fixed.

==Chapter 1: Pilgrims in a Shaded Place==
[[Image:Horizon5A_055.jpg|thumb]]
''When going there and back again

''The only ones who can return

''Are those who are not emptyhanded

'''Point Allocation (Dancing Wind?)

Something dark existed at the bottom of the morning air: shadows.

A dark shade was cast below the green ceiling of the forest.

But that shade did not fill one place: a clearing at the top of a slope.

A manmade structure existed in the center of that early morning forest clearing.

It was a Shinto shrine with a dark thatch roof.

The gate at the entrance said “Yamaga Shrine” and bore the six coin emblem of the Sanada Academy, but they were both very old and the six coins of the academy emblem were half consumed by moss.

The gate sat open and the shrine’s ''shimenawa'' were old.

“Toh.”

A voice came from the stage remade with a new roof and floor to the right of the shrine.

It was a shrine stage.

A woman stood on the wooden floor with her legs spread horizontally and her body twisted.

She wore a red track suit with the words “Sanada Ten Braves: Unno Rokurou” stitched on the back.

She was moving.

She bent her body forward and placed just the index finger, middle finger, and thumb of both hands on the floor.

“Hoh.”

She then raised her body up atop her hands and shoulders.

She performed a handstand.

Unno’s movements were not rushed. She raised her body upside-down slowly, as if kneading something. But then she bent her legs behind her and formed an arch by placing the soles of her feet on the back of her head.

“Oh?”

She heard a loud sound in the distance.

It was a gunshot. And when she heard it…

“Kakei, huh? Nezu wouldn’t make that noise. …Toh!”

She swung her legs back up like two whips.

She used the movement to push her hands down on the floor and twist her body.

“Two rotations.”

Her right toes landed on the floor. She was standing tall.

Her body did not waver and she made a large rotation with the arms stretched out to the sides before lowering them.

She released a long breath, reached down for the towel on the floor, and balanced her body in a T-shape.

She grabbed the white towel and pulled.

“Oh.”

The towel did not quite come with her hand. It was heavy. Heavier than the original fabric had been.

But after a few more tugs, it stretched and dangled down like it had a weight attached but finally reached her hand.

She returned her body to normal and took a breath. She wiped away her sweat and looked to the shrine.

The morning sun shined on it and her eyes focused below the roof.

“Maybe I should arrange for some repairs. The older young master is out of the question and I can’t expect anything from the young master or our teachers. …Honestly, what are we supposed to do when the one in charge of repairs first is the first one we lose?”

Unno sighed and narrowed her eyes toward the old ''shimenawa'' and the wooden steps that always looked damp these days.

“Well, the Musashi returned and if Hashiba really is sending the Azuchi Castle out of Edo for the invasion of Mouri, they’ll probably be making their next move soon. I guess this is our only chance. For fixing up this place…and for working as a shrine maiden here.”

“How many years has it been since I arrived here?” wondered Unno as she placed a hand on the shrine stage’s pillar and looked around. “To think the local delinquent girl would end up being a shrine maiden in a foreign land.”

After wandering as the Unneeded, she and the others had arrived in Sanada and trained under their predecessors. That was when she had learned that the Yamaga Shrine, Sanada’s primary shrine, had no shrine maiden.

Since ancient times, shrine maidens had delighted the gods and curried the gods’ favor to hear their words.

The Kabuki dancing Unno was trained in was originally based off of the Kagura dancing. So when she had been urged and coaxed into climbing onto the shrine stage and dancing, a certain thought had come to mind:

…''What is this?

Nothing happened.

She had been licensed in shrine maiden techniques. She had had a mid-level license at the time. That should have been plenty for the god to respond to the call of her dance.

But no matter how much she danced, nothing happened. The same was true of the divine spells produced by this shrine.

''Of course nothing happened,'' she recalled Kakei saying with a laugh. ''We’re outsiders.

She agreed with that.

A god would not immediately accept just anyone who came to its land. Most were accepted only after participating in a local festival.

And even divine spells did not provide their power to everyone equally. When using a charm or a prayer, there was always a god on the other end and that god was watching. The major shrines and brand name spells had a system to control that and ensure a bare minimum effect, but…

“The local spells here don’t have anything like that.”

She had felt like the god was forsaking her as an outsider.

Kakei had been making a point when he mentioned that. He liked to lecture. A lot had apparently happened to him in the past, so he and his ninja techniques could be cynical when it came to the gods.

But back then, she had only been able to sigh.

…''Outsiders.

But Unno had realized that their predecessors, who had become their teachers, had regretful, baffling, and lonely looks on their faces.

So at the time, she had scratched her head, kicked Kakei, said “well of course we are”, and left.

The next morning, she had made sure no one was looking and climbed onto the shrine stage.

She had never failed to do her dance training. But that time, she had moved from a random clearing or field and had instead done it on the official shrine stage.

That was the only difference.

But a thought had occurred to her.

…''What do you mean we’re outsiders? Are we going to stay that way forever?

She had felt something like anger, but it really came down to how she thought about it. It was entirely possible to live one’s life while thinking having a home was not necessary.

Could she do that?

She had not liked being an outsider and had not wanted to remain one.

But wasn’t that just her dislike of the word “outsider”? Once they no longer saw her as an outsider here, wouldn’t she relax and decide she could leave once more?

“I was really just playing around with how I defined myself.”

''Or was I?'' she thought while looking to the rising sun.

Yamaga Shrine was in Shinshu. That was the central region just west of Kantou. But…

“Is the Ariake in that direction?”

She looked to the east through the forest. A vast plain continued as far as she could see beyond the mountains and forest.

She could not see all the way to the ocean, but…

“It’s 10 kilometers long and 3 kilometers above Mito, so it would have to be around there…”

The Ariake was inside a stealth barrier. She formed a rectangular frame with her fingers to judge the distance. She had done this countless times since returning here. However…

“Is there any point in looking at it?”

A voice reached her from the mountain. A tall skinny figure in a summer uniform was descending from the mountain path into the forest.

“Oh, Kakei.”

Kakei did not enter the shrine’s grounds. He held up the prize in his right hand so Unno could see.

“Yeah, I caught a mountain bird, but I guess the god won’t let me in here.”

“Huh?”

Unno nodded her head and waved her hands back and forth.

''Is that a yes or a no?'' he thought while glaring at her, but then she spoke.

“Because it’s unclean? If it’s a corpse, our god will embrace it. …Use it as an offering and it’s all good.”

“This is for breakfast, so I only caught the one.”

Kakei went out of his way to remain in the bushes dividing the shrine from the forest.

And Unno opened her mouth horizontally.

“You can walk through here if you want.”

“If I get the water clinging to me, it’ll affect my footwork. My legs aren’t as strong as Sasuke’s.”

“You’re not too bad yourself, Kakei.”

“That’s because I focus on close-range and circling around people. I focus on indoor stuff, so I’m no good without a flat surface. Sasuke really is impressive.”

That was true. Each of the Unneeded had their own special skills, but Sasuke was the most skilled martial artist.

…''I’m only any good at taking up a position and circling behind people.

That was for assassinations. It was admittedly very ninja-like, but…

“I really don’t like running around.”

“Is that so?” asked Unno as she hopped down from the shrine stage. She slipped on her sandals and pursued him as he walked around the shrine grounds.

“What are Sasuke and Saizou doing?” she asked. “You were waiting above since last night for them to contact you, right?”

“They say they’re traveling around Jouetsu and P.A. Oda before returning here. They said to take it easy until then.”

“Did you tell them about Isa?”

“They said they already knew.”

“Is that so?” asked Unno as she looked up into the sky.

A silhouette passed through the sky. It was a slow but large movement.

“A dragon… The various peoples have been on the move ever since Date began to move.”

“The confusion caused by the Musashi outsiders has set even the big ones in motion.”

“I imagine so. But, Kakei…do you think Musashi sees themselves as outsiders?”

“Things might feel different when you’re up in the sky.”

“Then,” she said. “How can they do all that stupid stuff?”

He knew what she wanted to say. It was true that Musashi was a dangerous group that would chat amongst themselves and do stupid things even in the middle of battle. But…

“I bet they have their own sadness.”

“Oh, I get it,” said Unno. “Then I bet Musashi doesn’t even need to think that they’re outsiders. That status had permeated their beings.”

“What makes you say that?”

“When something sad has happened to someone, they’ll try to live without regrets.”

“…Unno, did you hit your head recently?”

The stone she kicked flew accurately, so…

“That was close.”

He shot it down.

His one hand still held the string tying up the mountain bird and his other hand was still in his pocket.

But a shot fired out of empty air and accurately shattered the stone.

The gunshot echoed across the shrine grounds and Unno quietly whistled.

“Well, that’s a man loved by a god for you. You’re really detailed.”

“And that’s why I can’t carelessly enter another god’s shrine. I’m fine with making a mess of an enemy shrine, though. …Oh, but the gunshot won’t be a problem, right?”

“You didn’t ask about the one earlier.”

“That wasn’t me.”

Unno looked puzzled, so Kakei smiled a little and explained.

“It was Nezu. …He’s been retraining since he got back here.”

“Oh, how adorable of him.”

Someone arrived from the stone steps leading to the shrine’s entrance, presumably after noticing their conversation.

“Nezu.”

Unno picked up her pace. She caught up with Kakei as he circled around beyond the torii and stepped out onto the path to the shrine. She then looked down the steps leading up to the shrine.

“Nezu? What is it?”

Nezu looked up at her, raised his eyebrows, and looked away. He instead looked at Kakei next to her. And he spoke to that tall figure in a summer uniform.

“You’re supposed to take over monitoring Houjou from P.A. Oda. When Anayama answered, he said to send out whoever we could and he said that meant, ‘Kakei, Unno, and Mochizuki’.”

“Three people?” asked Kakei. “Isn’t that a bit much for replacing Miyoshi? It’s always been two at the most before.”

Nezu’s eyes alone darted from one to the other, and…

“The Azuchi will apparently start for Mouri tonight.”

“Yeah, I had mostly figured that one out. And?”

“This is only Anayama’s speculation, but he thinks Takigawa’s unit alone won’t be enough personnel to keep an eye on Houjou.”

“Or to be more accurate, to keep an eye on Houjou and Musashi in the Ariake. …Not even the Shirasagi Castle can watch over the entire nation.”

Unno sighed.

…''If Sasuke was here, I’m sure he would have had some ideas about how to distribute us.

Three of them were enough of a fighting force. Ninja were trained to cause disturbances and make attacks and they were at the Special Duty Officer level. If Houjou tried to do something, they could directly hold them back or cause a diversion elsewhere.

“Then this might be a good chance to score some points with P.A. Oda.”

Hearing that, Nezu looked to Kakei with his eyebrows somewhat raised.

“Kakei, I can also-…”

“Noooo, you can’t. You have to help with Yuri’s rehabilitation, don’t you?”

“When the Azuchi leaves Kantou, isn’t the Tottori Castle going to arrive? Once the warship has left, Houjou has its automaton Fuma Ninja. Takigawa’s unit can handle that since they’re a ninja unit, but they can’t do anything to overcome Houjou’s knowledge of the land. They barely ever descend from the Shirasagi Castle, after all.”

“What a pain,” sighed Unno. “So they’ll really be overstaying their welcome, will they? We’ll have to look after them until things settle down in Edo and Houjou.”

“These annoying odd jobs are also a ninja’s job,” said Kakei as he started down the steps.

Then he used his left hand to hand Nezu something.

It was a long needle. It was 10 cm long, meant to be thrown, and made for assassinations, but…

“Protect the place while I’m gone. Got that?”

“Kakei, that’s a death flag.”

“No, I’ve just got way too many of these things. Every time I need something, you’ll get more weapons, Nezu. Your ninja technique can fire these things, right?”

“You’ve already given me more than 100 of them…”

Noting a hint of exasperation in Nezu’s voice, Unno also started down the steps.

Nezu followed suit and quickly lined up alongside Kakei in front of her. After glancing back at her, he asked Kakei a question.

“Um, Kakei, who is that pretty person behind us? Is she your wife?”

“Try to remember what I look like without my makeup, you imbecile!”

Unno kicked Nezu down the stairs.

…''Honestly.

While they were doing this, Hashiba and Musashi were preparing.

“Musashi is probably going to try something when the Azuchi Castle moves today. Mouri is combined with Hexagone Française and that makes them a powerful enemy for Hashiba, but that’s exactly why Musashi will want to do something here to leave Mouri feeling indebted to them. That means we might have something to do as well.”

“But the real stars aren’t us or Musashi. That position goes to Mouri since they’re the ones pulling in the Azuchi Castle.” Kakei smiled bitterly. “Of course, Hexagone Française has a bunch of ridiculously powerful people like that Reine des Garous, so who knows if they’ll feel any kind of debt even if Musashi does put up a fight over here.”

There was a dark space.

It was a bedroom.

It was a large room with a tall ceiling. The walls had wallpaper and the ceiling was decorated too. Decorative windows positioned from waist height to the ceiling let in plenty of morning light.

The sunlight arrived diagonally from the windows and was dulled by the thin lace curtains.

But weakened though it was, the light shined on the row of bookcases by the wall and the large canopied bed on the west side.

On the bed were a woman and her great mass of hair that shined gold in the dull morning sun.

She was the Reine des Garous.

She lay face down in the soft bed with a smile on her face and damp, see-through sheets clinging to her body. Her body sank down on her legs which were spread to the left and right.

As she sank down into the shaking bed, she held her sweaty breasts between her arms.

“Hee hee. So we never did manage to finish our lessons. But there’s still time left, so how about we get something to eat?”

The Reine des Garous licked the sweat from her lips which were faintly decorated with lipstick.

Her smile deepened as she looked at the person she was leaning over.

“So how about we check to see how our precious, precious cooking turned out?”

She inhaled, stopped a few times midway, and used intermittent strength to lift her lower stomach.

“Ah, wait, hee!” said the person below her.

[[Image:Horizon5A_071.jpg|thumb]]

“Don’t worry. I’m sure it turned out well. Yes…today’s cooking method was ‘marinating’. The title is ‘A One-Night Soaking between You and Me’. Hee hee. It’s like we’re studying for a test. But, but. We did let it soak all night in a nice hoooot place. I can tell without looking that the marinade has thoroughly soaked the meat.”

She smiled a little but then spoke sharply without warning. She sat up and looked down at him from above.

“But you need to wait a while longer, okay?”

“Eh?”

“Oh, dear. Oh, dear. What is that look for? We of course need an ''hors d’oeuvre'' before the soup or ''viande''.” She lowered her face to her partner’s. “But we need to prepare an ''amuse gueule'' even before that.”

More than a kiss, the Reine des Garous seemed to swallow her partner’s lips with her own. She forced his lips apart with her tongue, and…

“Nn.”

She scooped out the heated dampness inside to make it hers while allowing her own to flow down her tongue to offer it to him.

A few Catholic ''signe cadre'' opened next to her. They contained the emblem of the Three Musketeers, but she pushed them away with a finger. If she erased them, they would only reappear right next to her.

“Do this and they still provide a view from a distance.”

“Eh? …Th-they can see us through those ''signe cadre''?”

The Reine des Garou’s expression changed when she heard that. Her smile relaxed and her cheeks reddened.

“Turning up the heat in the middle of marinating? Isn’t that a little aggressive? W-wait a moment and I will add plenty of kindling, so stay perfectly still, okay? Moving would be dangerous. It’s the wife’s job to manage the fire, so I’ll do my best. I’ll do my very best!”

“Eh? Th-that isn’t what I meant.”

“Not to worry. I told them I would get back to them when we were done eating…2 weeks ago.”

So…

“With the ''amuse-gueule'' over, it’s time for the ''hors d’oeuvre''.”

The Reine des Garous licked her partner.

She licked him everywhere her tongue could reach at the moment: his face, his neck, below his ears, along his hairline, and his hair itself.

“Um, your hands please…”

“R-right…”

He raised his hands, so she licked between his fingers, his elbow, his armpit, and as much of his back as she could reach while twisting his body.

“Ah, wait. Twist me like that and, um, it feels so much tighter and the ‘marinating’ is going to move to the next stage! The next stage!”

“Hee hee. That’s fine with me. Think of this as the final rubbing and keep fighting! Yes, first I’ll rub it from the right and then from the left. …Oh, dear. Why are you crying? We’re only at the ''hors d’oeuvre''.”

And…

“I’m sure I won’t be able to experience this time or this flavor for a while after this.”

“…Yeah.”

He breathed a heated sigh and obediently nodded, so she nodded deeply back. And…

“That way of nodding looked incredibly tasty. I just about skipped straight to the ''viande'' after the ''hors d’oeuvre''.”

“Um, hasn’t this cooking lesson transformed into a mealtime manners lesson?”

“What were the proper manners again? Do you remember?”

“You’re supposed to hold the knife and fork with your index finger placed gently on the back.”

“And weren’t there signals used to show you’re still eating or finished eating?”

“Testament. If you cross the knife and fork on your plate, it means you’re still eating. If you align them together on the right, it means you’re finished eating.”

“That’s right,” she said while wrapping her arms around him and crossing them on his back.

She also wrapped her legs around him and clutched at his lower hips with the back of her knees and her heels. But while she made sure she could still move her hips up and down…

“I’m supposed to place my index fingers on the back, right?”

She moved the index fingers of her crossed arms and traced them along his back.

He cried out and tried to arch his back, but he was pinned down by the legs and arms around him and she then took his lips too.

“I hold it down with the knife while I eat it, don’t I?”

She softly bit them and lightly sucked at them. After breathing in, she let go.

“Hee hee.”

She did it a few more times. After all…

“I’m going to be working on the front line for a while. And the clash between Hexagone Française and Hashiba is finally beginning.”

''I need to devour him as much as I can today,'' thought the Reine des Garous.

After all, she would come down with withdrawal symptoms if she did not do so regularly.

And those withdrawal symptoms were quite serious:

…''I feel an irresistible urge to see him.

She never noticed while seeing him every day and consuming him whenever she felt like it, but she generally wanted to see him and be with him.

When she wanted to really feel like she was with him, she would consume him and sometimes even milk him dry. She felt like the latter had started happening more often once their daughter had left. ''Is that because I don’t have to hold back anymore or because I’m feeling stress from the loneliness of her absence? Either way, I need to handle this better.

But if she went out to the front line, she would be unable to see him.

She had prepared 3 months’ worth of his homemade jam sauce as a reducing agent, but she doubted that would last her more than a week.

In the past, she had brought along clothes smelling of him, but that was a bad idea. After being driven half mad by withdrawal symptoms, she had tried to force those clothes onto herself before going to sleep and they had torn. She also had a vague recollection of trying to cook and eat them after that, but she did not quite remember what happened there.

The worst time was when she had gone to the south to deter Hashiba after they had taken over K.P.A. Italia.

Her deterrence had simply been wandering around near the provisional border. She had been told she could use the occasional fallen tree she came across to throw into K.P.A. Italia, so – long story short – 5 of their guard stations had been destroyed by a physical attack that slipped right past their ether detection.

The problem had been when she had looked up at the sky during the moonlit night. She used a ''signe cadre'' to say good night to him when he would have been about to go to sleep. Then they had looked up into the night sky together and seen the two moons there.

She had suddenly remembered when they had confessed to each other long ago.

The withdrawal symptoms had rushed in at that moment.

She had been completely unable to contain herself, so she had obeyed her homing instinct and ran back home.

…''I ran super fast.

She returned to find him asleep. In the bed, he had been holding a map, most likely to find the location of the front line his wife was on.

…''I’m right here.

But she could not say that, so she had decided to simply gaze upon his sleeping face, calm her heart, and smell him.

But then he had grabbed her hand and gotten up.

“I could smell you were here.”

He had continued without letting go of her hand.

“I was lonely.”

She had nodded once, lifted him from the bed, pecked at him over and over while having a good cry, pushed him down onto the floor, and…

…''I milked him dry, didn’t I?

She recalled it happening 8 times faster than usual. And he had yelled “N-no! If we make this much noise, people will be able to hear us outside!”, so she knew he must have been fired up too.

But she also felt that getting him to rub her head had meant a lot more than devouring him.

The next morning, she had returned to the front line in the blanket she always used with him.

“Huh? You’re done already?” Mouri-03 had asked.

“Say that and I’ll head back there every day.”

In the end, the Student Council had been forced to make a ruling, but luckily…

“They aren’t going to limit or criticize my daily interactions with you.”

War was a wonderful thing. It expanded her lifestyle.

And she wanted to make full use of the advantages it brought her, so…

“Um, I am a country woman who was raised in the mountains, but there is one dining rule I know very well.”

“What’s that?”

“Testament. In Hexagone Française, meat dishes always come with a sauce and you have to slather the sauce all over it before eating.”

The Reine des Garous kissed him and continued speaking without pulling back very far.

“I’ll come down with withdrawal symptoms if I don’t have the sauce you make for me.”

So…

“The marinating should be about done. I’ll remove the excess marinade and polish it up, so cross your knife and fork when the sauce is ready. And to get you there…”

She spread her knees and spread his legs between them.

She could not resist now. So after positioning him like that…

“Now, let’s prepare for the main dish. Let’s see how long you can remain calm at the end here. Oooone, twoooo, threeee. Oh, dear. You don’t have to cry. Or is that supposed to be the soup?”

The Reine des Garous laughed and sent her body crawling along his. And then a sudden thought came to her.

They were making up for a coming deficiency, but…

“I wonder if Nate will ever learn the joy and loneliness of devouring someone like this.”

“And so our victorious mood from Novgorod ends here. This information was just officially sent to Asama via IZUMO, but Hashiba’s forces have begun an all-out war with Hexagone Française’s Mouri forces.”

Masazumi spoke in her track suit and her words rang through the small room where Musashi’s main forces were gathered.

They were in the front academy building on Okutama, the rear central ship. This was the tatami-floored student council room in the center of the 3rd floor.

They still had to organize some of their things there, but it was a place for them all. And Masazumi said more there.

“I would now like to go over what information we have and then think about our next move. …Got that?”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 5A Prologue|Prologue]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 5A Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Kimitoasamade 2B Chapter 17

2017-01-09T23:57:29Z

86.52.8.207: Fixed a typo.

==Chapter 17: Experienced One on the Enemy==
[[File:Horizon_Kimi2B_037.jpg|thumb]]
''It is not aloof

''And it happens naturally

''In whatever you happen to be wearing

'''Point Allocation (That Is Why)

''We destroyed them,'' thought Asama.

The second giant Hidden Dragon had just ruptured and vanished thanks to her arrow.

As Mitotsudaira flew through the air, she entered a curving landing trajectory, but there was nowhere for her to land anymore. The ship’s roll had increased and the deck was nearly vertical.

But as the silver wolf flew through the emptiness, something caught her: black and gold wings.

Only after being caught on either side by those two did Mitotsudaira seem to realize what the lack of a landing point meant, so she shrunk down in fear. Seeing that, Kimi ended her dance and spoke.

“I like your commitment to the attack.”

“I think you can thank our teacher’s lessons for that. That’s why we were able to work together so well.”

They had not planned out Adele’s charge, Naito and Naruze’s shot, and Mitotsudaira’s attack.

They had all cooperated while reading each other’s movements. And Mitotsudaira was at the foundation of that.

Her attack had only worked if she trusted the faster Adele to charge in, notice the spear at the bow, and throw it to her.

…''Kimi is right. That is a commitment.

That kind of cooperation was only possible when they could picture what the others would do.

But…

…''Here it comes.

As soon as Asama thought that, light wrapped around the greatly tilted bow.

It was a series of giant rings forming…

“A tornado. Looks like the Hidden Dragon is recovering again. What do you think about it doing the same thing a third time, Kimi?”

“I think it qualifies as a running gag by that point.”

Asama did not even need to check to see if there was a bitter smile on Kimi’s lips. As the Hidden Dragon went for Round 3, it was a shoulder smaller than the previous 2.

…''Does that mean the stagnation is being worn down?

The Hidden Dragon was losing the power of the fragments that scattered into the sky like glowing cloth. But…

“I’ve never heard of a mysterious phenomenon that continually recovers like this.”

“Yes, you have.”

“Eh?”

“Yesterday’s Non-God Sword. After we defeated it, it turned into something else.”

She realized Kimi was right. She had assumed they had not quite defeated it and the transformation was meant as a counterattack, but since this Hidden Dragon was returning in a changed form after being defeated, then that mysterious phenomenon may have been a sign of things to come.

She had records of the previous day’s battle, so…

“I’d like to look back over those once this is over.”

Her vision rotated as she spoke. The investigation ship was tilting and the deck was approaching vertical.

She and Kimi went for an open hatch on the stern of the deck.

Adele went for the hatch on the bow. Mitotsudaira and the 2 Technohexen ascended into the sky and moved around to the new top of the ship. And as the Hidden Dragon tried to recover on the tilting deck…

“—————”

It raised a growling cry, but it was too late.

Before it had even fully formed, it wobbled and lost its grip on the deeply tilted ship.

Its wings had yet to fully form. Nor had the body those wings would move.

So it fell.

Mitotsudaira saw it happen.

She saw the deck grow vertical and the angle of tilt continue beyond even that.

And she saw Asama stand on the wall inside the rear hatch, use the edge of the entrance as cover, and prepare a new arrow.

The Hidden Dragon could not keep a grip with that tilt and it was not fully formed enough to fly, so falling was its only option. If it fell, that giant mass would collide with the ocean far below.

It would shatter without them having to do anything.

But what if?

What if that Hidden Dragon survived? What if it transformed again? What if it self-destructed to take the ship out with it? Musashi’s Shinto Representative could not overlook those “what ifs”.

There was a reason why Asama had to do something now.

…''Just like there will be in the future.

''It’s called duty,'' thought Mitotsudaira. She had her own duty as a knight, so she understood just how important that discipline was.

It was in one’s best interests to fulfill their duty and they would be given certain powers to do so.

So Mitotsudaira had a further thought:

…''Why did Tomo say she wants to start a band?

Did she want to bring some kind of change or differing viewpoint to her predetermined future?

And just as she began rolling those thoughts around in her head, she heard a voice.

It was Naito who was supporting her on the left side.

“Hmm, yeah. How should I put it?”

…''Eh?

“There’s just not a good place for her, is there?”

That exasperated comment brought a brief tremble to Naruze on the right. But before Mitotsudaira could decide if she should ask about it, Naito looked up.

“Watch out!!”

Naito sensed the enemy through touch rather than sight or hearing.

Directly above, a chilly wind descended from the heavens which had already made the shift to night.

She was not imagining it. The side effects of a distant movement were reaching her and that unusual movement of air was arriving between the gaps in her feathers. So…

“Here it comes!”

And it did.

The previous parent Hidden Dragon was overhead. After flying away earlier, it must have managed to heal itself to a certain extent. And it seemed to be returning to save the 3rd Hidden Dragon which could be seen as its child.

The parent Hidden Dragon was already performing a power dive. It dropped down as if trying to stomp on the investigation ship that had rolled beyond vertical.

A hit here would probably destroy the ship. Naito could predict it would bend and break it instead of shattering it. After all, this Hidden Dragon was 30 meters long and it had the mass and power that entailed.

If it hit…

…''Asama-chi!

Naito saw it.

She could predict the ship would bend and that impact would cause Asama’s shot to miss. So she and Naruze had to use the ship’s falling time to somehow get the other girls out of the ship.

Or they thought they had to.

“—————!”

A voice shouting “hit” rose into the sky.

Asama fired her raised arrow into the heavens of the night.

Naito saw a single color.

Asama’s left eye glowed green as it looked into the night sky.

That was a false eye named Konoha.

She used it to detect and target. Since it already had a targeting torii-style sign frame open, Asama must have predicted this situation. No, to be more accurate…

…''She let it happen.

When the 3rd Hidden Dragon had recovered, Asama probably could have fired right away. But she had chosen not to do so and to let the 3rd dragon remain.

“She was waiting for it to call its parent in,” said Naruze who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Since Mitotsudaira nodded between them, their guess was probably accurate.

Asama must have known these mysterious phenomena had a “parent and child” relationship by their very nature, so she used the 3rd one as bait.

“And she fired!”

A straight line of power flew skyward.

The high-powered shot was the same as the one that shattered the transformed Non-God Sword the day before.

…''Wow.

This was their classmate, and…

…''She can really do it.

This was a strict and diligent classmate who could not sing karaoke properly and had never eaten a crepe, but no Musashi resident would underestimate the Asama Shrine’s #2.

Technohexen followed their own rules and gained power from how they separated themselves from others. Similarly, this classmate carried immense duty and followed many rules which made her less “human” but directly brought her power.

Asama was much less like a normal student than the rest of them. She was not a student who was also an Asama Shrine shrine maiden; she was an Asama Shrine shrine maiden who was also a student. But…

“Judge…”

Naito thought to herself.

She had felt there was a good place among everyone for them.

She was currently unsure if she wanted to aim higher or not.

But that was not the issue.

Someone in a higher position already existed alongside them.

The same was true of Mitotsudaira who she currently held with Naruze. Not to mention Kimi and Adele who had helped defeat the Non-God Sword the previous day and were assisting Asama now.

…''Yeah.

How was their current position a “good place”? As Technohexen, they could fly, they had the advantage of working as a pair, and they had ways of strengthening themselves. But…

…''At best, those things only bring us up to even with the others, don’t they?

As soon as she asked herself that, the shot tearing through the sky struck the falling Hidden Dragon.

The power pierced the Hidden Dragon on the bottom of its right side.

The straight line of trailing light punched right through the giant falling body.

But that penetration did more than just open a hole. By targeting it from below, the power passed through the dragon’s right side and continued upwards to destroy something else: the sword-textured right wing on its back.

Asama’s arrow came out at the base of the wing and collided with the sword-like structure forming its body. The arrow had lost speed while piercing through and it finally detonated at that point.

White light burst, its power passed through the wing, and the arrow purified the entire area.

The white lightning-like light that raced out was a purifying power transmitted through a ley line pathway. When that hit the Hidden Dragon, it was unable to resist the white explosion on its back.

“…!”

The right wing shattered. The base remained and some pieces formed bone, but the pieces that formed feathers became countless shards and their red light blossomed in the night.

But to the Hidden Dragon, this was not the end and it was not forgiven.

A second blow followed.

Without its wing, it stalled out and lost control, so it tumbled through the air.

Its 30-meter body fell through the night and lost its proper positioning. The ferocious wind hit its surviving wing, and…

“—————”

While stalling out, it crashed into the upwards-facing side of the investigation ship.

“Okutama” confirmed Asama’s decision.

The investigation ship had been knocked downwards by the Hidden Dragon’s crash.

The fall of that great mass lowered their altitude.

They immediately dropped 15 meters and the wind rose along the surface of the ship like an upside-down waterfall.

They were above the ocean, so the automaton’s sense of smell detected salt in the air, but…

…''Asama-sama’s bow and arrow…

Salt was one of the most powerful purification catalysts in Shinto.

And that fact was highlighted by the glow in the wind surrounding Asama as she raised her bow toward heaven again.

She used a spell. Behind her, a dancer stood on the wall and swung her hands about with cloth wrapped around her wrists to represent the wind.

“Is she refining the salt from the sea breeze? Over.”

“Heh heh. Technically, I’m drawing out the purest ether that is most fit for purification.”

The dancer raised both arms to give the cloth “wind” to the shrine maiden.

And as the shrine maiden raised her bow…

“I’ve extracted the pattern. Kimi, distribute it to the others.”

“Okutama” understood what Asama meant. First, the dancer pulled in the wind and extracted ether that was specialized for purification.

…''Then Asama-sama analyzes that pattern and creates an instant spell.

From there, Kimi would receive that spell and redistribute it to the others using her song and dance.

They strengthened themselves with an exchange similar to bartering.

…''And it’s only possible in Shinto which allows substitutions…

And after receiving the “wind”, Asama launched a new attack.

But it was not directed at the parent Hidden Dragon that had endured the fall and was now atop the creaking ship’s side.

She fired on the 3rd Hidden Dragon falling from the bow of the deck.

She aimed straight at the smaller Hidden Dragon that was nearly thrown off by the ship’s fall.

“Hit…!”

She launched the arrow.

The falling Hidden Dragon shattered and blossomed in the night.

There was no scream, just a red light and a bursting noise.

But there was a voice.

It came from the parent Hidden Dragon.

Its giant body had endured the fall and was now standing up on the upward-facing port side of the investigation ship that was slowly rising back up.

“…!!”

It gave a roar of protest and anger.

The dragon’s cry shook everything.

The reverberation ignored the color of the night and caused the hull armor of the investigation ship (which they were now using as the floor) to undulate and split.

The peeling armor propagated toward the enemy gunner at the stern, so someone else observed the Hidden Dragon from the unaffected bow.

It was Adele.

She had evacuated to the bow hatch while the parent Hidden Dragon was crashing, but now she was climbing up the rigging and the railing on the edge of the front deck.

“Looks like the tilting of the ship has stopped.”

With that quiet comment, she picked up her vassal’s training spear that was caught on the rigging. Then she looked from the vertical deck to the Hidden Dragon on the top.

“Oh?”

It had turned her way.

And this was no coincidence. It had definitely noticed her and turned to face her. She heard Asama shouting from the stern.

“Adele! Mysterious phenomena are made of ether, so they sense ether more than noise or presences!”

“Eh? What does that mean, Asama?”

“Well.” Asama nodded. “It means it’s hard for them to find you if you tune your ether properly. But we’re in the middle of a battle and everyone’s ether is a little overheated. And, well, you picked up your spear, right? It still has some spell ether left in it, so that clued the Hidden Dragon into your presence there. Heh heh. See, Kimi? It doesn’t matter how big or small your body or boobs are.”

“Please don’t get stuck in exposition mode!”

But the Hidden Dragon was already focused on her.

No, to be more accurate, it was the spear she held that had its attention.

…''Oh, so I’m just something extra!

''I’m a vassal more worthless than a spear!'' she added, but that was actually a good thing right now.

“This spear has got to be worth a fair bit of money,” she muttered. “But I’ll be leaving this here.”

She stuck the tip of spear through a gap in the railing and raised her right hand toward the dragon.

“Bye then.”

A dragon cannon suddenly flew her way.

While flying with Naito to escape to the front of the ship, Naruze gave a shout while supporting Mitotsudaira with an arm.

“RIP Adele!!!”

“That’s being a little inappropriate, isn’t it?!”

“No, no,” added in Naito. “It’s fine. Look.”

She said it with a tone of exasperated disbelief and she pointed over with her chin.

Adele was sticking her head up from the edge of the deck and her head was woozy from the dragon cannon.

But she was unharmed. The dragon cannon had passed overhead and diagonally into the sky.

“It missed…!?”

The reason why was directly above Adele.

Someone was riding the Hidden Dragon’s head.

She had long hair and roughly wore a Far Eastern girl’s uniform. She casually rose from her crouched position.

“Chancellor and Student Council President!” shouted Mitotsudaira.

The girl responded while waving from atop the dragon.

“Hi. It’s finally my time to shine. I always seem to get the last performance. I like that it helps me stand out, but it can get old. Still.” She smiled. “How about I show off a little.”

Mitotsudaira saw her upperclassmen’s surprise appearance.

Torii stood on the Hidden Dragon’s head and three others stood in front of it: Vice Chancellor Oosuga, Vice President Tadayo, and 1st Special Duty Officer Watanabe.

They must have descended from the Musashi which was in stealth mode overhead. The investigation ship had lowered its altitude, so…

“Yeah, we were having some fun where Suga works part-time, but then we fell off of the Musashi.”

How was it even possible to fall from that atrium park built belowground?

But the current situation was different than with the Non-God Sword the day before.

…''Chancellor and President Torii Mototada is on the front line.

And before, Vice President Tadayo had only been cleaning up the shattering Non-God Sword, but the current Hidden Dragon had not been shattered yet.

However, Oosuga spoke from right in front of the dragon.

“Hey.” His voice was slow and deep. “Wouldn’t it be sad to hit this thing?”

“See. I don’t really care when I’m up against a human.”

Oosuga did not even put up his guard and Tadayo nodded in response.

“Ho ho.”

She tried to respond with as little emotion as possible, but the Vice Chancellor seemed to think she was urging him on. Oosuga said more to her.

“Hey,” he began. “Tadayo, you like animals too, don’t you?”

“If they don’t have a breath attack, sure.”

“You shouldn’t discriminate.”

“Have you ever owned an animal with a breath attack?”

“You can’t expect someone to do that.”

“Then what was your point again?”

“Calm down,” cut in Watanabe.

She casually spun her metal spear around in her fingers and asked Tadayo a question with a smile.

“Chuu-san<ref>The Tada of Tadayo can be read as Chuu.</ref>, you know how much Suga-kun loves cute things, don’t you?”

Tadayo responded to Watanabe by pointing her cowling spear at the Hidden Dragon looking their way.

“You think this thing’s cute?”

Oosuga nodded.

“Cuter than me anyway.”

''I can’t argue with that…'' thought Tadayo. ''Nothing good ever comes of letting him use his pain-in-the-ass logic.''

But Oosuga then looked up at the Hidden Dragon.

“C’mon, let me see. …You’re scared, aren’t you?”

A dragon cannon shot his way.

A direct hit led to utter annihilation.

Annihilation of the dragon cannon, that is. The vermilion light scattered into nothingness in front of the 3 on the deck.

It had not been deflected or shattered. It simply vanished into the wind like mist.

“What was that…?” asked Naruze while lowering Mitotsudaira onto the stern.

She did not understand how the dragon cannon had been erased.

Her eyes were focused on Tadayo.

She had raised her spear. It was a plain cowling spear with anti-ether processing done. It was tough, but had nothing more than that. So how had it destroyed the dragon cannon?

“Initial speed and perfect aim,” explained Mitotsudaira as she took light steps on the side of the ship to bring strength back to her ankles. “The anti-ether Orei Metallo focused on the tip can ‘hit’ both dragon cannons and spells. So if she sends the spear in with equal speed to her opponent’s attack…”

“They cancel out, don’t they? I’m betting she uses a light mobile shell focused on her upper body in order to fix her legs in place and snap her arms forward,” said Naito. “That’s the defensive sort of attack spell you see in the noncombatant Far East. …A lot of the high level Far Eastern officers use attack methods like this.”

“I see.” Naruze nodded. “That’s a lot like how Mitotsudaira fights. …Keep your legs in place and strike. But you’re power and she’s speed.”

The three girls heard a voice. It was Oosuga’s.

“Oh, I hate this,” he said. “I always seem to make animals run away from me.”

As soon as he said that, the air moved with a dull sound.

The Hidden Dragon’s body had suddenly bent like a mountain.

And this was not because it was leaping or jumping back.

It was a physical blow. Oosuga still calmly held his thick wooden sword, but the Hidden Dragon was knocked upwards about 20 meters in front of him.

“Sorry.”

As he looked up, the second strike hit.

With a roar, something hit the dragon’s back from the opposite side.

A single thought filled Naruze’s mind:

…''Huh?

She was entirely confused.

A being as giant as a Hidden Dragon was being pummeled instead of shattered.

If this would shatter it, she would understand. An anti-ether attack with a piercing or exploding power would shatter a mysterious phenomenon like a Hidden Dragon. Using only piercing spells would allow you to break through the Hidden Dragon with relatively little power.

Even her and Naito’s shots could do that if pressurized far enough.

But Naruze was currently watching physical blows.

These attacks supplied force across a surface.

They would provide an impact, but would not pierce through the enemy’s surface. They only pummeled the enemy with the force distributed nearly evenly across the entire surface.

Instead of narrowing down the power, it spread out and did less damage for the amount of power used.

This was a nonlethal technique.

…''I suppose it is the kind of technique you would find in the noncombatant Far East…

But the amount of power on display was abnormal.

The strength needed to knock a Hidden Dragon into the sky was enough to throw 10 gods of war to the deck.

Naruze had no idea how he was doing it, but she knew what he was using: that wooden sword and some kind of spell.

Oosuga had used that combination to strike the Hidden Dragon.

And the Hidden Dragon was slammed back down. Its giant body collided with the ship.

“…”

Naruze found herself moving unexpectedly.

She fell onto her butt.

…''Eh?

Naruze realized Mitotsudaira was looking at her from the left. Her eyes were widened in surprise. Of course they were. A winged girl had just fallen onto her butt.

Naruze did not feel ashamed. There was a reason she had lost her balance.

“What just happened?”

She could see something in front of her.

It was the Hidden Dragon.

It seemed to be lying on the deck after being knocked down by Oosuga’s strike.

“There wasn’t an impact?”

It should have crashed into the ship hard enough for the entire ship to bounce, but there was nothing. Naruze had braced herself for the coming tremor, so she had lost her balance and fallen when nothing happened. The Hidden Dragon was the same.

“…!”

It could not understand what had happened. It had probably braced for the fall and impact, but…

…''Did something catch it!?

Filling its entire body with strength had created a distortion in its body. When it was caught, the legs braced to land instead created a reactive force.

“————!”

Oosuga’s earlier hit must have weakened the bonds holding its body together.

The Hidden Dragon collapsed from the reactive force it created itself.

A roar rang through the sky. The dragon’s entire body bent, loosened, unraveled, tore, and scattered.

From tail to head, the dragon’s collapse would not stop.

But by then, Naruze had noticed something.

Torii stood on top of the head the Hidden Dragon swung around to protest its collapse.

She was dancing. She swung her arms around, sang something to herself, and occasionally…

“Wa ha.”

It looked like her feet were slipping, but she still kept the soles of her feet on the bucking dragon’s head and continued to dance.

Naruze realized something when she saw that.

Torii was guiding the collapsing dragon’s head.

By stepping down, pulling, and pushing, she turned the vanishing dragon’s body and face toward the stern.

And who was waiting behind them there?

“Asama…!”

Asama had climbed up onto the side of the stern.

She had only been able to take her stance and fire without panicking or rushing because of Torii and the others.

…''I’m glad I didn’t have to hurry this.

By the time she noticed the parent Hidden Dragon flying in, she had received a divine transmission saying the Chancellor’s Officers intended to make an appearance. So after her initial attack, she had left the parent dragon to them and instead focused on the smaller one.

Her attack now was not going to steal the credit from Torii and the others. Hidden Dragons were mysterious phenomena, so a purification power was best to supply a finishing blow. Especially with this one that had done the unthinkable and recovered several times in a row.

Torii and the others understood how dangerous this enemy was, so they had guided it toward her for final attack.

And she fired the attack they wanted.

“Hit…!”

She had a clear line between the Hidden Dragon’s forehead and the arrow she held, so all that remained was to release the arrow. She placed plenty of Blessings on this surefire shot. She accelerated and pressurized it. The purification power was sure to shatter the Hidden Dragon’s body and fully erase the remaining stagnation inside it.

Asama performed her follow-through motion while confident it would hit.

And the Hidden Dragon immediately ruptured.

Its head was destroyed with a solid sound.

But it ruptured twice.

Something flew in from the northern mainland sky as a follow-up attack to hers.

…''A bullet!?

Asama could tell the projectile that hit the Hidden Dragon as a follow-up attack was a bullet.

As part of her job, she had memorized the flight patterns of various projectiles, so she did not panic.

She watched the dragon as even its roar scattered as wind and thought about whoever had intervened.

…''That was a sniper shot.

She generally knew where it had come from. Several transport ships and passenger ships had evacuated and stopped in the mainland sky to avoid the Non-Dragon Sword and Hidden Dragon.

Someone on one of those had fired this sniper shot using a rifle.

Whoever it was had not intended to fire when Asama did. They had most likely watched the Hidden Dragon’s movements and determined this was their chance to fire.

It had been an impressive shot.

But there was one thing Asama did not understand.

Why had the sniper shot the Hidden Dragon?

She looked to the passenger ships and transport ships stopped in front of the Musashi in the distant sky. The sniper who had shot the Hidden Dragon was most likely on the three-hull ship in the center.

But…

…''Why?

No one could answer that question, but as she wondered about it…

“Maybe they thought they would support us because we were taking too long.”

Kimi made a suggestion after climbing up onto the side of the ship behind her, but even she sounded skeptical.

And with no one to answer this question, the light that had been a dragon vanished. But…

…''This doesn’t resolve everything.

She had realized something during the battle: why these dragons had appeared and that they would not disappear so easily.

''I want to go gather my thoughts somewhere,'' thought Asama before seeing something else.

After jumping down from the scattering Hidden Dragon’s head, Torii looked to the northern sky and the ship thought to carry the sniper.

“Was that supposed to be a greeting?”

In the end, the investigation ship could not be righted, so a new transportation ship was sent in for Asama and the others with medical inspection equipment onboard. By then, it was past 7 PM.

It took another hour and a half before they finished their questioning from Asama’s father through a sign frame, provided records of the spells they had used, and finally set foot back on the Musashi’s deck.

And at 9:12 PM, Kimi made a suggestion since they had been given an exception to the curfew.

“My mom’s place is still open this late, so let’s go mooch off of her.”

And so they entered the Blue Thunder for a late dinner.

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 2B Chapter 16|Chapter 16]]
| [[Horizon:Kimitoasamade 2B Chapter 18|Chapter 18]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 5A Prologue

2017-01-09T03:02:58Z

86.52.8.207: Two typos fixed. I thought I saw more, but I forgot where.

==Prologue: Organizer of a New Home==
[[Image:Horizon5A_019.jpg|thumb]]
''Instead of a new beginning

''Is it a completion of the old?

'''Point Allocation (So Busy)

Morning filled a space.

It was not the sky, nor was it the land. The heavens were an endlessly large ceiling and the earth was a floor just as large as the heavens and 8 ships were situated in the holes in that floor.

There were 3 ships on the port and starboard and 2 ships in the center. The 8 ships formed the giant aerial city ship named Musashi and a gentle summer morning reached it inside the Ariake, its exclusive dock.

Transport ships were flying above and around the ships to deliver the day’s cargo and delivery workers were also flying around for intermediary deliveries or deliveries within a single ship.

The smoke from cooking and cleaning rose from the surface areas to decorate the spaces between those ships, so the deliver workers occasionally had to slalom between the pillars of smoke like they were pylons.

Among all that, a group was communicating with each other as they flew back and forth through the sky.

It was a group of 3.

Two of them were a black-winged non-descended angel and a gold-winged fallen angel in track suits.

The last was a white and blue half-dragon.

They were all making deliveries for a job. They would take the packages from the Musashi’s ships and the Ariake’s delivery districts and then fly to the academy on the stern of Okutama. Their final destination was the front side of the academy building’s third floor.

“I can tell the student council room is going to become a storage room for people’s crap. They really bring in a lot of stuff when they’re focused on their duties.”

The first to speak was Naruze, the one with black wings and hair. She flew toward Tama’s starboard transportation district on her winged broom ''schale besen'' while opening a crop mark frame Magie Figur next to her face.

“Margot, how are things with you?”

Naruze reached out toward the Magie Figur and used her pen to draw her partner’s face. And Margot immediately began to move on the screen.

'''Gold Mar:''' “Judge. The engine division says they found some more problems after that flip and firing the main cannon.”

The scene on the Magie Figur twirled around. It now displayed the “valley” between Okutama and Musashino. Margot ascended through there with a bucket containing a bundle of paper tubes on the front of her broom.

'''Gold Mar:''' I wonder why they’re in the habit of making hard copies of their digitized diagrams.”

“They probably think having the data in multiple forms will help them avoid losing it,” said Naruze. “Writing it onto Orei Metallo is the standard these days, but since Orei Metallo is affected by the ley lines and ether, a powerful burst could erase the contents. But that won’t happen with paper. Of course, paper deteriorates and can burn, so it isn’t perfect either.”

'''Uqui:''' “Indeed. Orei Metallo, on the other hand, does not deteriorate much and does not burn. …So even Catholicism stresses the importance of having a copy in each medium. I hear Rome’s underground library is a library in name only and is instead full of contracts and work reports.”

That comment came from the half-dragon in a Catholic sign frame that appeared. He was flying overhead with his body casually turned on its side.

'''Uqui:''' “If records of the Age of the Gods had remained long ago, it would surely have prevented a lot of conflict.”

“We don’t even have a lot of records from a thousand years ago. The Catholics and the Testament Union need to work harder at that. The records keep getting lost because there isn’t a duty to preserve them when another nation takes over or people move from one nation to another. And with local requirements for confidentiality, it isn’t an easy problem to fix.”

So…

“That’s why Drake had to question Mitotsudaira at England and why Yasuhira wanted to lead us into a discussion in Oushuu.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “That’s true. …And with that underground relief we saw at Novgorod, there’s a lot about the Age of Dawn we- ahhhhh!!!”

“What is it, Margot!?”

'''Gold Mar:''' “A morning valley wind blew in and I dropped the diagrams. I’m making an emergency descent now. …Oh, Masa-yan!”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “Yeah, I caught those diagrams for you. You’re lucky I was putting Suzaku away just now.”

A sign frame opened to show Naomasa with the background shaking behind her. She had her back to the hangar entrance on the bottom of Musashino and she had Jizuri Suzaku’s hand lift up the bucket so the sign frame could see.

Naruze breathed a sigh of relief as Margot landed on Suzaku’s hand and Naomasa turned in her direction.

'''Smoking Girl:''' “How about attaching a long container to the bottom of your broom?”

'''Gold Mar:''' “I tried renting one of those once, but it spread my legs pretty wide and ended up hurting.”

'''Uqui:''' “Hey, Naruze. Don’t get such violent nosebleeds. I could see it even from way up here.”

“Wh-what’s wrong with it! I’m free to do what I want!”

Naruze thought to herself as she descended toward the Asama Shrine in central Okutama to pick up a delivery.

…''We’ve been really busy recently with Oushuu and everything…

''Judge.

“We’ll be moving onto the next stage soon, so we need to get our official school events done with. …Next is Houjou, right?”

'''Gold Mar:''' “I think we have a fair bit before that. Not only is the Azuchi in Edo, but we’ve looked into it and it won’t be easy for Musashi to directly fight Houjou right away.”

“Yeah, there’s a lot to that. But I bet Masazumi can figure something out since she loves war so much. …Yes. I think everyone expects the same from her.”

“Before the next battle, I would like to manage the Musashi Mk. 2’s ether supply and construct a defense system…”

Asama was tuning the ship’s ether in the center of the shrine.

That space was also used for Shinto ceremonies, so it was connected to the underground power system and intermediary devices.

In the very center, Asama opened a great many sign frames in the early morning air. They displayed a diagram of the ships, a rough diagram of each ship’s power distribution compiled by the automatons, and a diagram of the ley line connections.

Hanami was busy at times like this too. While Asama checked over the general framework, Hanami checked over the many details and would redirect something to Asama for inspection when she felt the need. The Asama Shrine protected the guard stations and the Musashi Atsuta Shrine that assisted the guards, so she was occasionally sent information from them.

That was mostly reports on mysterious phenomena caused by disturbances in the ley lines and ether, but there were also reports on incidents the guards or Atsuta Shrine had already dealt with. Of course, that was also handled by Hanami who would forward them onto the Public Morals Committee, but…

“Look, look.”

“Eh? Oh, thank you, Hanami. This is the firefight that broke out last night when Toori-kun and the others plotted with the merchants to smuggle in porn games, isn’t it? Yes, half a container’s worth still hadn’t been found, had it?”

The guard station had insisted that the Asama Shrine Representative interrogate the Chancellor, but it would be faster to use an Ootsubaki detection spell to find them.

…''And if it was Toori-kun’s doing…

She sent a request to “Musashi” for the right to view his management data from the night before and received approval instantly. This had become “business as usual” to the point that even the automatons did not bother to check over it all. So she checked his routes of movement the night before, the spells he used during the smuggling, and asked Hanami to track the ‘molds’ affected by those spells.

“Clap.”

It was all the usual.

…''At this time of day, I bet he’s at the Blue Thunder…

On Tama’s surface area, the bakery/café named the Blue Thunder was preparing to open for the day.

It was located in the business district, so carts, people, and kobolds transporting ingredients and other goods needing distribution were walking back and forth.

It was a busy time of day.

Some Technohexen would occasionally descend from the sky for a delivery and some guards were out on the roofs to direct traffic. All of this hustle and bustle was meant to prepare the shops and restaurants for the people who would soon be arriving.

But something rolled out of the Blue Thunder without warning.

“Kwoh, owwww!”

It was a crossdresser.

The crossdressing idiot flew out onto the road, rolled 5 times, and then tried to zip right back inside the Blue Thunder.

The door slammed shut just before he arrived and he collided with it.

As he slid down to the ground, a silver-haired automaton appeared through the door’s glass.

“What is the meaning of this, Toori-sama? What do you mean ‘give me a place to hide because they’re after me for smuggling porn games’?”

“I-I mean exactly that, Horizon! Those Atsuta guys are in front of my house swinging metal rods around and singing perverted purification songs in a round, so I can’t get close! And I hid at Asama’s place last time, so they sent people there too! So…”

“Judge. As this is a bakery/café, I can only assume the words ‘give me’ are followed by a product name. So you would like a product called ‘a place to hide because they’re after me for smuggling porn games’. Would you like 1 or 2 of those?”

“Umm…I just need enough for me!”

The automaton ignored him. She relocked the door and opened a sign frame.

“I will contact Kimi-sama…except she is doing her morning training. I will contact Asama-sama and Mitotsudaira-sama.”

“Oh, I was just thinking of doing that! We need to get our stories straight before we’re at the witness stand in court!”

“But first, you need to be arrested and handed over to the guards. I feel bad causing those two so much trouble all the time, but I suppose this is just maintaining the status quo,” said Horizon. “Please clean the outside of the shop until they arrive. The black algae creatures are there as well.”

“Crossdresser?” asked said creatures. “Crossdresser?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’ve got my dick hidden away. Wanna see? You do, don’t you?”

The idiot was hit by a bucket and ladle thrown via gravitational control.

The crossdresser rolling away, saying something else at the Blue Thunder’s entrance, and then falling to his knees all qualified as a single process. The guards directing traffic and everyone else watched as the idiot started sprinkling water around the entrance, but…

“Okay, bring that box over here! Over to the right!”

They soon got back to their work.

Asama listened to Hanami’s words.

“Horizon wants you at the Blue Thunder. Crossdresser?”

She understood precisely what that meant, but she considered putting it off until later.

…''Toori-kun is causing trouble for other people again.

Handing him off to the guards had become her job.

Horizon was also relying on her a lot recently, including with her Shinto contract, so Asama was going all out when it came to looking after him, his sister, and her.

''That’s probably not a good thing,'' she thought, but the worst part was how it kind of made her happy. So…

“Umm.”

To distract herself from the feeling rising within her, she opened the information on Horizon’s contract. With hers and his, she rethought a few of the settings and worked to optimize them. She especially wanted to make sure his distribution spell was always using the best pathways. She had automated a lot of it, but that did not quite keep it at the peak line.

…''Not that I want him to have full power when he’s smuggling things like last night…

''Not that he would use it then either,'' she thought with a bitter smile that was also a sign of trust. And…

“Found them.”

Hanami indicated a certain sign frame that showed a bundle of porn games separated out and sunk in a pond in a Murayama nature park.

'''Asama:''' “Mito? There are porn games sunk in your territory.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Eh? Oh, judge. I was just heading out to deal with some porn games that floated up from the bottom of a pond. The people are shouting ‘it’s a treasure trove’ and making a huge fuss about it.”

Hanami found the request and the report concerning that and displayed them. Just to be sure, Asama gave approval for prioritized assistance.

“Now, then.”

''Once those are on their way to being incinerated, I should call Toori-kun,'' she thought as a shadow descended from overhead. She looked up to find…

“Oh, Naruze.”

“Judge. I hear you’re making an anti-air management spell. I’d love to hear about the details, like if you want it to react to dragons, but I’m here to pick up a delivery right now. It needs to get to the student council room, right?”

“I also have a delivery for the faculty room. They need some charms for this week’s health exam.”

“Yeah, that popped up pretty suddenly. I wonder if Masazumi asked for it. Well, it is necessary for our next move.”

As her broom glided along, Naruze made minute adjustments with her secondary wings, but then she smiled.

“Oh? Narumi, you’re working here?”

Next to the main shrine building, Date Narumi wore a shrine maiden outfit and work false arms as she carried a bundle of brooms.

Narumi looked at the Weiss Hexen in a track suit.

She was Malga Naruze. Narumi had learned the names of everyone in Class 3-Plum.

With this Weiss Hexen, it seemed like it would be better for both of them if they only discussed what was absolutely necessary.

So Narumi asked what the Technohexen wanted.

“Is a Technohexen interested in warrior’s part-time job?”

“But you’re a shrine maiden now, aren’t you?”

“This is a temporary form.”

“What part of this is temporary?”

“Judge.” Narumi nodded and used her empty hand to point at the ear-shaped information gathering sensors and the tail ballast. “These parts, I think.”

“I really didn’t expect you to answer that.”

“I don’t make it a habit to lie to people. How about a drawing?”

“Okay, I’ll draw one up. Can I give it to Urquiaga?”

“Go ahead. When you do, tell him I found a good shampoo, so we need to go buy some together once I get back.”

“Ah,” said the Asama Shrine Representative. She touched her own hair and bent her eyes in a smile. “Was ours a good match for your hair? Musashi smells a lot of industrial oil, so it gets rid of that.”

“It was my first time with a Tsubaki type, but it was nice. I really was having trouble with the oil smell.”

Narumi was aware she had a smile on her own face. And then she turned back to the Weiss Hexen.

“About the drawing. Can you draw me ‘as is’ without any weird exaggerations?”

“What? You love him that much? What makes you like him so much?”

“Judge.” Narumi nodded and used her empty hand to touch her head and chest. “These parts of me, I think.”

“I really didn’t expect you to answer that.”

'''Asama:''' “Wow! That was an amazingly important line!!”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “And it’s looking like those two aren’t actually enemies.”

'''Gold Ma:''' “Hm? I think Ga-chan is in a really good mood.”

'''Azuma:''' “Eh? R-really?”

Narumi took a breath.

While letting Naruze sketch her, she looked up at the sky visible through the atrium, but all she could see was the Ariake’s ceiling.

…''But even this is far larger than the Yonezawa Castle.

A few Date ships had approached recently, but there had been no messages or deliveries for her.

That was unavoidable. She had run off and Masamune was probably being considerate in her own way.

“Come to think of it, Date’s Vice President put out a search request to make a show of looking for you. It described you as ‘always gets calmly angry’, but should I make some kind of response via the Shinto network?”

That was unavoidable. She had run off and Katakura was probably being considerate in his own way.

…''Come to think of it, I left without saying anything to mom and dad…

Her parents taught at the elementary school and she had to wonder about the looks on their faces when they had received that sudden notification. Musashi also had an elementary school, but…

“Oh, Masazumi. Why the divine transmission all of a sudden? …You say Toori-kun showed up at the early morning ''kanpu masatsu'' in the elementary school schoolyard and is making weird noises while rubbing the towel on his crotch? Yes, I think you should notify Kanou-san.”

Narumi could tell something terrible was happening, but as she listened to the divine transmissions the Asama Shrine Representative kept receiving, she started wondering if Musashi had multiple Chancellor/Student Council Presidents.

“Does he have too much time on his hands?’

“It’s probably just that he’s an entertainer. Oh, twist your body a bit.”

Narumi did as instructed and the Weiss Hexen asked her a question.

“You got some money when you left Date, right? Do you really need to work?”

“Having money and working to earn it are not the same thing. And do you really have time to draw while on the job?”

“I make money with this too, so it’s fine.”

And…

“But anyway, I think it’s good that you’re working here.”

“You do?”

“Judge. Most of the outsiders that come to Musashi end up working in the transportation business. The most manpower is needed there and people from about every nation are there, so you can find a lot from your homeland. But…”

But…

“With someone like you, that could get dangerous. There are some who were forced to come here because of you.”

“I won’t let that happen,” cut in the Asama Shrine Representative. She smiled and nodded. “Our gods watch over every part of Musashi. We receive divine protections from them, but they generally don’t interfere in people’s lives. And if they do…”

Narumi understood what the girl was saying. Date was in Oushuu and was thus Shinto. So…

“It would be when one of their musicians is about to take on the greatest form of loss. In other words…if they decide one of their musicians is about to commit a crime, they will intervene by reporting it or providing defenses.”

“Yes.” The Asama Shrine Representative nodded deeply. “Shinto is accepting of everything. And that applies to everyone. Well, things can get troublesome when it comes to different gods within Shinto, but it’s generally all placed on the same level.”

“In other words, I’m safe?”

“It would mean that, yes. If there is any danger,” said the Asama Shrine Representative, “it comes from outside Musashi. From the current state of the world.”

''Asama has pretty sharp intuition with this kind of thing,'' thought Naruze.

Her statement was based on the assumption that Narumi was on their side, that she was one of them.

The contract for someone living under the Asama Shrine’s management made Naruze a musician of their gods, so it was only natural for Asama to say that as the shrine’s representative.

The rest was an issue of how Narumi herself viewed it, but…

“That’s right.” Narumi adjusted her grip on the bundle of bamboo brooms. “You’ve given me a place to stay after I left my home, so I’ll repay you for that at least.”

''Oh?'' thought Naruze while mentally bending back.

…''How much did that stupid half-dragon do to this girl?

But if she was joining their side, she would be a powerful addition.

“I like the sound of this. …Masazumi said she’s holding a strategy meeting in the student council room this morning, so maybe I should tell her about this. It could expand our options.”

“Would it be overly self-conscious of me to say ‘feel free’?”

“You’re a former Vice Chancellor, aren’t you? I’m only a 4th Special Duty Officer, so you don’t need to worry about my feelings.”

“But I’m a complete amateur in Musashi.”

“Then I’ll just say thanks.”

Naruze finished the drawing and did not hesitate to send it to Urquiaga.

At the bow of Okutama, Naito was making a special delivery at the cargo management office’s windowsill.

There was a lot of paperwork from the engine division, but Technohexen insisted on handling paperwork at windows or in midair.

However, she saw something while speaking with a student from the administrative bureau’s industrial committee.

“Oh?”

Something fell from the sky and crashed into a watchtower on the port side transportation district.

She heard a few wooden containers split and splinter and she saw smoke rise from where someone had been flying moments before.

'''Flat Vassal:''' “Wow, that scared me! 2nd Special Duty Officer! Why did you drop from the sky all of a sudden!? I was on my morning run and I thought something had happened!”

'''Righteousness:''' “Huh? Um, Vassal, so this isn’t normal for you? It counts as weird? I’m supposed to be surprised?”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “Eh? Oh, judge. This isn’t normal at all, but the 2nd Special Duty Officer is tough, so you don’t need to worry about it. More importantly…ahh, over here, everyone! All that barking isn’t going to help, so come back over here!”

'''Righteousness:''' “Why do the dogs listen to you like that? Your virtues? Or what?”

''I see Yoshy’s still a Musashi beginner,'' thought Naito as she checked over the paperwork with a pen.

Then she squinted toward the crash site.

'''Gold Mar:''' “So what happened, Uqui? Is this a part of your training?”

'''Uqui:''' “No, when I saw the drawing Naruze made, I ended up doing some distracted flying.”

'''Girls:''' “Wow…”

''Sounds about right,'' she thought, but she was on a job right now.

“Oh, is this good enough for a signature? There’s a lot from outside this time, so I’ll be back around later.”

“Judge,” said the other girl with a smile and a nod, so Naito left the windowsill. She opened a Magie Figur above her broom, inputted the autopilot instructions, and sent her route to the management office to make sure there weren’t any accidents. That would mean nothing to the delivery workers not following a set course, but her course avoided the standard altitude they used. And…

“But, Uqui, I’m kind of glad you’re so honest to your instincts.”

'''Uqui:''' “There is no point in fighting your instincts when it comes to harmless things.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “You’re nothing at all like a certain ninja we could mention who keeps playing porn games even after landing a wife.”

'''10ZO:''' “I haven’t recently! I really haven’t!”

'''Scarred:''' “I’m not sure what this is about, but I have not noticed Master Tenzou feeling himself down below recently. I was right to discuss it with the rest of you.”

'''Novice:''' “Just looking at this, it sounds like we castrated him.”

'''Worshiper:''' “But, Tenzou-kun, if you’re not using porn games, then what are you doing?”

'''Bell:''' “Eh? Doing…about what?”

'''Asama:''' “Just so everyone knows, I’m not saying anything about that one. Nothing at all.”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “You just did!!”

The log scrolled by so fast lately that it was hard to keep up.

Anyone who was not on Asama’s level had difficulty leaving an impact on the conversation.

…''Everyone’s leveling up now that we’re in the 3rd year.

And as she thought about that…

“Huh?”

“What is it, Margot?”

“Oh, well, it’s Imperial Boy and…”

''How rare,'' she said to herself.

“Miriam. They do go outside sometimes, but usually not this far.”

Naito saw the two of them on Okutama’s deck.

A girl in wheelchair and wrapped in a blanket was palely lit by the sign frames floating in the sky and Azuma was buying some snacks from a stand on the edge of the deck.

The stand’s owner tried to refuse payment from Azuma, but Azuma ultimately forced the owner to take it and instead received a bonus snack for the translucent girl standing by his side.

''He’s really become an upstanding kind of person, hasn’t he?'' thought Naito about Azuma.

Lately, he had apparently been working part-time around the academy thanks to Oriotorai. After all…

…''He’s got a family.

“Ga-chan, there’s some doujinshi material wandering around in the wild here.”

“Eh? Where, where?”

She sent Naruze a diagram of Okutama’s bow deck and their location.

“Looks like they’re taking a walk outside for a change of pace,” said Naruze. “Azuma’s probably giving this all a lot of thought since he’s a former imperial on the Musashi as we try to take over the world. …I have about 3 different ways for this to go in my plot.”

“That’s my Ga-chan.”

“Of course. Since I’m working, I’ll record this with an observation spell.”

“Judge,” said Naito while glancing over at Naruze as her own broom carried her on autopilot.

She checked her Magie Figur for a list of her next deliveries.

“The next one is from England. …With the three nations meeting over, we can accept things from Europe again. I’m grateful, but it makes us even busier.”

“Being busy is wonderful thing. Isn’t that right, Asama?”

“That’s right,” said Asama with a bitter smile as she watched Naruze gently float up into the sky.

She waved goodbye and thought to herself.

…''After the Battle of Novgorod, Musashi is now connected to all of the Far East.

Kantou could not trade directly with the rest of the Far East, but just like Mikawa before them, they had set up methods of intermediary and indirect trade to nearly erase the divides between nations.

As the representative of the Asama Shrine, it meant a lot that they could communicate with Europe via Sviet Rus. Driving Shibata’s forces from Sviet Rus had played a role there.

“Now Sviet Rus’s Shinto network doesn’t have to divert any resources to Shibata’s forces.”

Information on what Shibata’s forces had done after withdrawing from Sviet Rus had arrived with the Student Council and with her. Divine transmissions and ether were a shrine’s specialty. And based on the data on Shibata’s forces’ movements…

…''They’re doing a lot of ley line transportation.

That was probably connected to their experiment in carrying in a Testamenta Arma. They were letting their funds do the talking and buying up a lot of access to the Shinto network. The network was based on the ley lines, so they had likely transferred in ether fuel and ether-based weapons while aware they would deteriorate in transit. Meaning…

…''They’re taking the ether cannon shells and other weapons that are used like fuel, turning them into Orei Nero, and sending them through the ley lines. Then they draw them out where they need them.

Using the ley lines as a storage space was not a special technique. That was how Horizon and Gin’s dual pitch space and alternate phase space worked. Depending on the power used and the specific conditions, physical objects could likely be transported as well.

What was special about this was using massive funding to monopolize the ley lines to use a “thicker” portion of the ley lines and connect that to the ley line storage space.

That allowed them to share a large ley line storage space between their various bases.

Shinto managed the pathways, but they could not do this. If the managers monopolized so much space, it would inconvenience the users. If they did try it, the ley line network centered on IZUMO would have to be greatly rethought.

“Buying up the pipeline to each of their bases has to be a real pain though.”

Only P.A. Oda could pull that off.

They were the most powerful nation in the center of the Far East.

And their primary base was most likely Lake Biwa Azuchi where Nobunaga was.

The weapons placed in the ley line storage space there could be shared at their other bases. It was limited to things like fuel and ether shells, but the Testamenta Arma and upper-level divine weapons were made from an ether base, meaning they would not break apart even when stored in the ley lines. They were the same as Ex. Collbrande in that way. So…

…''When inspecting people entering Musashi, we need to check for ley line connections.

They needed to get the word out that they were performing that inspection so no one would bother trying it.

There was so much to do. But…

“Right.”

This kind of support was a shrine maiden’s job. It was the Asama Shrine’s role.

''I need to look after Toori-kun and Horizon while doing the rest of this right too,'' Asama told herself while raising her eyebrows and nodding.

At that moment, a few people arrived up the stairs in front of her.

“…Huh? Mary…works here, so that makes sense, but what are Kimi, Futayo, the Tachibana Couple, Masazumi, and Mito doing here?”

Asama asked them why they were here while she adjusted the ship’s ether sharing settings.

“Especially you, Kimi. Our spring got a little bent during that side flip. Masa will be coming by to fix it later, but we have to use the indoor bath until then. Is that okay with you?”

“Heh heh. Don’t just assume people are always here to use your bath. That’s only 5 times every 3 days.”

Asama thought about that frequency.

“Ah, that means you’re using it when I’m not here, doesn’t it!? Hey, dad!”

'''Asama Father:''' “What’s wrong with that!?”

She had a feeling there was a note of pride in that and he was the senior representative, so she left it to him.

Then the idiot sister placed a hand over her mouth and smiled.

“Your dad hasn’t changed, I see.”

After reaching the top of the stairs she looked back at Futayo and the others following her.

“Heh heh. You want to know why we’re here, don’t you? Then I’ll tell you. The samurai girl, the peerless couple, and I are doing a bit of training. They wanted somewhere with gravel to help train their balance, but they say Principal Sakai’s yard was messed up a fair bit last time.”

“So you’re using my place… So, um, what about Masazumi and Mito?”

“Wait just a moment,” said Gin. She tilted her head and glanced at Kimi. “Can we really train at the shrine of Musashi’s Shinto representative?”

“Yes, that’s just fine. …Kimi has limited high-level Ootsubaki privileges. And when a civilian holds such a high position, the Ootsubaki gods would actually get mad if we didn’t give them a place to train. And Kimi, you’re actually going to do this right with a proper spell and everything, aren’t you?”

“Judge. My mom won’t shut up about using Turning Point to teach the fundamentals to the beginners and anyone still acting on instinct. And I’ll level out the gravel afterwards.”

“I’ll take care of that,” said Narumi’s voice from between the main shrine building and the residence. “Shinto Representative, could I watch their training a bit?”

“Have you finished the job you were working on?”

“Judge. Then I can?”

Narumi stepped out from behind the main shrine building.

Gin gave an impressed “oh” when she looked to Narumi’s feet, but Asama did not understand why. But since Muneshige nodded, the former Date Vice Chancellor must have demonstrated her skill.

“Okay,” said Kimi as she brought everyone to the starboard side of the shrine.

Masazumi, Mitotsudaira, and Mary stayed behind.

But Mary bowed to Asama.

“Um, I read up through the birth of the gods in the Far Eastern Shinto mythology book you lent me. Can I get some supplementary information later? And is my change of clothes ready for my shift?”

“Oh, of course. You’re free to enter the document room and the residence. Our gods always celebrate when you visit, Mary, so it’s a good omen.”

“My,” she said with a smile while heading to the residence to change.

That left the other two.

“What is it, Masazumi and Mito?”

“Well, I thought we would hold a strategy meeting in the student council room and then prepare for the official school events.” Masazumi shrugged in her track suit. “But Tsukinowa has gotten a little bigger, so I thought I would buy some Mouse snacks. I found the shop down below still isn’t open and was wondering how to kill some time when Mitotsudaira and the others showed up, so I just followed them up here.”

“You could have come here right away and I would have served you some tea.”

“Then I’ll do that next time. Now, as for Mitotsudaira…”

“Judge.” The silver wolf in a track suit nodded, lightly brushed up her hair, and smiled a little. “I’m here for you.”

“For me?”

“Judge. I’ve retrieved the porn games that floated up in the park pond and ‘Tama’ contacted me to say the Chancellor is at the Blue Thunder. Horizon is asking for us as well, so won’t you come too? I did ask if we would just be in the way, but she said not to worry about it.”

''I seeeee,'' thought Asama. And…

“Um, but this is Okutama. If he’s at the Blue Thunder on Tama, Mito, couldn’t you have gone there without going so far out of your way?”

“W-well, uh, I didn’t really want to go alone.”

Mitotsudaira’s face grew red as she answered.

Just as Asama wondered what that coloration meant, Kimi looked back and spoke quietly while walking off to starboard.

“Oh, dear. Asama isn’t the same as Mitotsudaira here? How strange.”

''Eh?'' thought Asama.

…''I’m usually the same as Mito?

''Height: no. Hair: no. Skin: no. Butt: no. Chest: no. Breasts: no. Boobs: no.

…''How are we ever the same?

“Tomo! Tomo! Is it just me or did you start staring at my chest toward the end of whatever you were thinking about!?”

“Um, no, no. It’s just that Kimi seemed to say there’s something about us that’s the same…”

Mitotsudaira’s shoulders lowered as she muttered a single word.

“Novgorod.”

…''Eh?

Asama thought about that place name while watching the wolf lower her blushing face.

…''Did something happen there?

She thought back over it all in order.

''Before arriving, the Musashi did a side flip and gently fired its main cannon.

''Then I focused on my peaceful work without joining the battle.

''Yes, I did shoot down some enemy gods of war when they got a little “hya ha!”, but that still counts as peaceful.

“Then I went to Novgorod to protect and support Toori-kun, Mito and the others…”

''We went underground, saw the relief, had the Double Border Crest sort of appear, and watched William, Prince of Orange, go missing while he was naked.

''After that, we escaped and fired the Musashi’s main cannon, but what about that is the same for me and Mito?

…''Nothing?

No, there was something. It was nothing she had done and it was more of a play on words than anything, but they had sort of confirmed their relative positions. And Kimi had teased her about it.

“W-wait, um…”

Asama tried to stop that from rising from the depths of her memories, but…

…''Wah.

Rise it did.

Yes. Horizon had said she wanted to be with everyone.

And Asama had responded by saying they should continue on together.

So Kimi had teasingly said Horizon was announcing the creation of a harem and that Asama’s response meant…

“Wahyahhhh!!”

“Oh?” Mary tilted her head after changing and stepping back outside. “Um, where is Lady Asama?”

“Eh? Oh, um, Tomo is…”

Mitotsudaira blushed, gave off an aura of joy, and trailed off. Kimi looked back while wearing a track suit and doing the front splits on the gravel.

The Tachibana Couple and Futayo were doing the same, but Futayo lost her balance and fell to the side and Kimi had to prop her up with a hand.

“Asama said something about wicked thoughts and went to go purify herself.”

“Purify herself?”

“Judge. She should be back out soon. …After all, she can’t use the spring right now.”

“Kwaaaahh!!”

After a cry of anger, barefoot footsteps ran down the walkway from the spring behind the main shrine building.

Mary looked back and briefly saw black hair and a yukata.

She heard the door to the residence forcefully open and close, but at the same time…

“Something wonderful must have happened to Lady Asama.”

Mary put her hands on her cheeks and felt a smile on her lips.

Then ether flowers bloomed above her head. The other girl’s mood had improved her own. A few water lilies made of ether blossomed around her and Ex. Caliburn’s right blade changed angle as if raising its head and then swung its pommel left and right.

She laughed before hearing Asama’s voice from the residence.

“Coooold! C-clear your mind and the temperature won’t matter!!”

“Isn’t that a Buddhist concept?” asked Mitotsudaira. “And isn’t it about a hot flame, not cold water?”

“Heh heh. And Asama always uses a warm water spring, so I think she’s forgotten how a real water purification works.”

Masazumi merely tilted her head and frowned.

“Anyway, I think I’ll stop by the Blue Thunder for breakfast. If Asama is doing a water purification, I’ll wait until she’s done. Aoi Sister, Mary, can you two look after things here? We’re going to be busy starting today.”

“That’s true.” Mitotsudaira lightly crossed her arms and looked into the unseen western sky. “Based on the recent information from Hexagone Française, Hashiba’s forces have finally invaded Mouri territory. Their forces should collide mid-morning today.”

“That’s right. And on this end of things, the Azuchi Castle in Edo will apparently move toward Mouri to take the Tottori Castle’s place. So I need to check with Asama on some things and we need to think about how to respond to this.”

Narumi suddenly looked Masazumi’s way.

“Since this is before summer break, we’re going to be busy completing the official school events too. …What is our current goal?”

“Well,” answered Masazumi. “That would be Houjou.”

Masazumi spoke as everyone else there held their breath.

“Houjou is the key to Kantou after Nobunaga’s death. Most of Kantou’s actions come from Houjou and they battle Matsudaira twice. So if possible, I want to have Houjou make those post-Nobunaga actions to apply pressure to Hashiba. But most active inter-academy actions are forbidden during summer break, so it’s a mystery how far we can get with that beforehand.”

But…

“But most of the small nations and mid-sized nations like Houjou have no future. Matsudaira will be the ultimate victors, so they’ll probably be fairly stubborn about going after us. Like Sanada the other day.”

“So we will be on the receiving end of the losers’ resentment before they’ve even lost…”

“That’s right. We will prove ourselves by brushing aside that pressure. …We will accept their stubbornness, their obligations, and the futures and ideals they had in mind. But…”

“But?”

“According to the Testament, the Siege of Odawara that destroys Houjou is led by Hashiba with Matsudaira’s support. And before that, P.A. Oda’s Takigawa is sent in to supervise Kantou but gets driven out by Houjou. Houjou is currently under Takigawa’s supervision, so I wonder what they’re going to do about that.”

Whatever the case, these were things that had to happen.

So Masazumi continued while thinking about what she expected the idiot would say at times like this.

“We will continue fighting to create a nation that can fulfill all of their ideals in some form. The coming battles will have their issues, but they’re meant to prove we can do that.”

“Heh heh. Yes, we really are going to be busy.”

[[Image:Horizon5A_052-053.jpg|thumb]]

“Judge. Please, everyone. We’ll also be busy at the academy with the official events, but…”

Masazumi filled her lungs with the morning air.

“Now that we’ve recovered, we can see the path we need to follow.”

''I’m here for you

[[Image:Horizon5A_054.jpg|thumb]]
Study:

Forces in Kantou and the Nearby Areas

Toori: Sis! Sis! This might be late, but what are things like right now in Kantou and thereabouts?

Kimi: Heh heh heh. Kan brother. It is very late for that, but here’s a look at the neighborhood, okay?

Right of 4: Numata

Right of 5: Maebashi

Above 6: Mito

Below 7: Izu

1: Sviet Rus

2: Mogami

3: Date

4: Sanada

5: Takigawa

6: Musashi in Ariake

7: Houjou

8: Hashiba

Toori: Has Kantou just been forgotten?

Kimi: According to the Testament, Matsudaira worked with Oda to take over Takeda territory after that clan fell, but P.A. Oda is focused on Mouri right now. At the same time, Takigawa is sitting there and watching over things in Kantou and Hashiba’s Azuchi Castle is there in Edo. And Sanada is nearby after the trouble they caused, so it’s all so very troublesome.

Toori: Isn’t there anything good about this place?

Kimi: The three nations at the top are on our side, so we have a place to escape to if need be. But we need to clear our own way from now on, so we need to work really hard, okay?

Toori: We’d better decide soon which one of them to escape to…

Kimi: Hey, don’t give up so quickly.

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| [[Horizon:Volume 5A Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
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