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Owari no Chronicle:Volume8 Chapter 16

2014-08-29T23:13:46Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 16: The True Contents of One’s Heart */

==Chapter 16: The True Contents of One’s Heart==
[[Image:OnC_v08_0465.png|thumb]]
''Who decided that one’s true feelings are correct?

''Who decided that what is correct should be called one’s true feelings?

The color white filled a small room.

The white walls, white floor, white ceiling, white bed, and white curtains made up a hospital room.

The view from outside the single window was a bit high and nothing but vast fields could be seen beyond the parking lot.

This was a personal room on the second floor.

A middle-aged woman sat up in the bed with her back against her pillow. She wore white pajamas and her hair was graying and tied back. She currently fixed that hair with one hand.

“Dan? Is something the matter?”

Her voice was directed at the room’s entrance.

A boy casually wearing a school uniform stood there as if protecting the door. The boy, Dan Harakawa, turned to face the woman and finally twisted his head as if turning his shoulders.

“No, nothing’s wrong, mom.”

“Really?” asked the woman while reaching her left hand to the side table.

A plastic storage case sat there and she opened the slide cover that contained the name “Harakawa Yui”.

“Do you want one of the apples you brought by before?”

“Eat it yourself.”

“If you buy that many for me, I’ll get tired of them. …You really are a boy.”

Yui narrowed her eyes and smiled while pulling out a knife, a tray, and an apple.

“Did something happen to you? Is that why you ignored your usual schedule and visited in the morning?”

“Nothing happened.”

“Then let me ask you this, Dan. Did something happen to someone other than you?”

“…”

Harakawa answered with silence, but his mother only peeled the apple without saying anything more.

She peeled the juicy fruit and the sound gently filled the room.

As if that was his cue, Harakawa crossed his legs, took a breath, and spoke.

“Can I ask something?”

She did not reply, but he continued regardless.

“You worked for IAI, didn’t you?”

“Yes. It was that work that sent me to Yokota where I met your father. …Do you have some social studies homework? Do you have to research your parents’ jobs?”

“We haven’t had to do that since elementary school and this has nothing to do with that man. Because he had to go off and get himself killed.”

After a short pause, he spoke again.

“Sorry.”

He uncrossed his arms and scratched his head with his right hand.

He brushed his fingers through his hair, returned his crossed legs to normal, and crossed his arms again instead.

“I just have a simple question: have you ever heard of a part of IAI called UCAT?”

“Where did you hear about that?”

“I’m only asking if you’ve heard of it.”

“Dan.”

He heard a voice call his name and he froze in place.

However, the sound of apple peeling continued and he answered after listening to it for a moment.

“Someone wants that place to protect them and my idiot classmates know about it, but I’ve never heard of it even after all the deliveries I’ve made to IAI with my job on the base.”

“Oh, dear. You think what you’ve seen is everything, don’t you?”

Yui then asked a question.

“Can you not trust what those people are saying? Or are you worried that your classmates are mistaken or lying and then the person seeking help will have nowhere to go?”

Harakawa did not respond. He merely listened to the peeling of the apple and a bitter laugh.

“I know you won’t like to hear it, but you really are just like your father in that regard.”

“Please stop comparing me to him.”

“But if I don’t do that, I can’t see how you differ either.”

“Most of it has to be how we’re different.” He closed his eyes, sighed, and took in a deep breath. “He always put others first. He would always neglect us for his military job and what the hell was he doing at the very end? He was a sniper, but he went out of his way to help with that Great Kansai Earthquake and died. …I won’t turn out like that. I swear it.”

“Then are you going to spend your entire life supporting only yourself and me? I caught this illness while helping with that earthquake, but I do receive some compensation for it.”

“Sorry, but we don’t have enough to support me or anything above the bare minimum for you. Even my attendance at school is just barely enough as I’m sure you know from my teacher visiting you. How am I supposed to guarantee anything more than this? Of course, I know this isn’t your fault. This is…”

“Then is it your father’s fault?”

Harakawa did not reply, but Yui gave a small smile.

“I was the one that got off topic there. Sorry. As for the UCAT you mentioned, an organization named that does exist in IAI. But it’s more like a subsidiary of IAI than a part of IAI itself.
So…”

“So that’s why I didn’t know about it?”

This time, Yui did not reply and she had finished peeling the apple.

“See, I’m still plenty skilled with my hands.”

She picked up the single, continuous piece of apple skin to show him.

“Dan, open the window.”

Harakawa began to move as if peeling himself from the door. He took long strides past the bottom of the bed and reached for the latch on the window that faced the morning sun.

“Dan, your bracelet is about to break. Should I make you a new one as a protective charm?”

He looked down at the bracelet made of stones, but it did not seem anywhere near breaking to him.

Nevertheless…

“If that’ll help you kill some time.”

After giving permission, he opened the window.

The wind blew in.

The autumn wind was warm yet chilled the skin. The curtains blew around a little and Yui’s voice reached him.

“You need to take care of things. Especially girls.”

“I’m well aware of-… Wait. What’s this about girls?”

“Look down. She’s been looking around impatiently for a while now.”

He looked down at the parking lot where his motorcycle was parked. The sidecar had its cover up to prevent anyone from seeing inside, but…

“She’s been peeking out the window at the sky and field, but she clearly wants to leave. Much like a kitten. Based on how she looks, is she a foreigner from the base?”

“Some of the thoughts in her head certainly are foreign.”

Harakawa’s shoulders drooped and Yui said one more thing.

“Help your mother kill some time. It’s been a long while since I last spoke with a girl.”

“This ocean is terrible. This ocean is a terrible place to kill some time.”

Some dry English filled the air.

The voice came from a concrete wharf with the green and black of the ocean spreading out in front of it.

An elderly man in a suit stood on that wharf.

It was Odor.

He looked around and saw several large ships stopped along that wharf. They were all cargo ships that rose the equivalent of three stories above the wharf.

However, those ships were not moving. There was light in their windows, but no one could be seen inside the windows or on their decks.

The usual loading and transport of cargo was nowhere to be seen.

The wharf was the same. The large forklifts loaded with cargo containers were stopped and no workers were visible among the surrounding containers needing to be transported.

Something else was visible instead.

“Those are the mechanical dragons,” said Roger as he stepped out from behind a container.

He quickly approached Odor who stood on the water’s edge and he was looking to the blue and white mechanical dragon unit formed up behind one of the wharf’s large warehouses.

“Colonel, the six mechanical dragons from Atsugi have arrived. The first wave of interception against Black Sun will include twelve craft. Japanese UCAT’s Kanda Laboratory has agreed to use their large Accel Point creation device on the Accel Point currently surrounding this wharf once Black Sun appears.”

“And in exchange? What do they get in exchange, Roger?”

“The safety of those underneath Okutama. An easy price to pay, don’t you think? And in exchange, they will expand the Accel Point from Tokyo Bay to the Chuo Expressway and from the Chofu Interchange to the Trans-Tokyo Line that connects National Route 20. Black Sun will likely add 5th-Gear Accels to that space and fly toward the Vesper Cannon, but we will catch up and destroy him before he reaches Okutama.”

“Is it perfect? Is it perfect with just them, Roger?

“Testament. When they arrived at their positions earlier, did anything look inadequate to you, colonel? This is their job…just like we have our own jobs.”

Roger then looked out to sea.

“Black Sun has settled down outside of Tokyo Bay and we lost track of him.”

“Roger, Roger. Is it possible he’ll show up elsewhere?”

“Testament. We cannot rule it out, but including the repaired craft, there are a total of ten at Okutama now that four more have arrived and Yokota has sent out patrol planes. Of course, it is possible Black Sun’s stealth ability outdoes our technology.”

“In other words. In other words, Roger, this plan is not perfect?”

“I did not say that,” replied Roger without fear. “We are doing our job perfectly, but our enemy is also perfect.”

“Roger, Roger. That is a vague way of talking. But I am fortunate to have you as my aide. This cooperation between Yokota and Atsugi would have been impossible for the members of American UCAT who have never left the United States.”

“I am pleased to hear that.”

Roger bowed and Odor put his hands in his pockets.

“Roger, Roger. Do you have any intention of telling us about your past?”

“Has your wife told you anything?”

“Roger, Roger. You know her better than I do. To me, she is only the woman I made a mutual promise with to care for each other in our final days.”

Roger said nothing about her and simply looked up into the sky.

“What were you doing during the Gulf War, colonel?”

“I was going around taking care of mysterious incidents occurring in the country.”

“I was part of an internal inspection team that inspected the condition of injured soldiers. Those who were thought to be victims of biological or chemical weapons were rushed to Yokota because Japanese UCAT had advanced their Accel method research far enough to cure them in a number of effective ways. American UCAT provided guidance,” explained Roger. “I got to know the ones who had suggested the idea. Including a descendent of Lord Northwind, a hero of World War Two, most of them had relatives who had dealt with Japanese UCAT during the National Defense Department days. …And one of them was James Thunderson after he left American UCAT.”

“I see, I see. And?”

“Testament. American UCAT’s primary base in Japan is underneath Yokota and I met them during joint training at that base. Thanks to that, my connection with them continued even after the Gulf War.”

Roger lowered his gaze toward one of the mechanical dragons and the maintenance soldiers between the wharf’s large warehouses.

“Thunderson’s mechanical dragon was a modified version of the Thunderbird which had lost the development race against that Blanca 9. He preferred the superior stability and safety of the Thunderbird over the full transformation of the Blanca series.”

With a slight smile, he looked to the city beyond the wharf: Tokyo.

A white haze covered the many buildings, but their windows reflected some light back.

Odor asked a question while still facing the ocean.

“They…died, didn’t they?”

“Testament. And all at the same place. We answered a request for help from Japanese UCAT and travelled to that place along with your wife.”

“Roger, Roger. I hadn’t met her yet back then. And I hear you were sent out to assist with the recovery after the Great Kansai Earthquake, but is that true?”

“Testament. If there is no one but us that can speak of it, then I suppose it is true,” said Roger. “But I…survived. And Japanese UCAT’s defenses were too strict, so I could not find out what happened to most of the families afterwards. I do know that Thunderson’s wife took their daughter to the United States and visited his grandfather.”

“…”

“I have no intention of placing Thunderson’s daughter in danger.”

Odor nodded just before footsteps approached them.

A woman in a blue armored uniform ran out from behind a warehouse.

“Colonel, major, we have a transmission from the base.”

She carried a memo and her voice continued on to the ocean containing no one but them.

“The satellite has photographed an individual who seems to be the target. Shall we send personnel out to Akigawa Central Hospital?”

Roger turned to Odor.

While still looking out to sea, the elderly man removed his right hand from his pocket and reached into his suit pocket.

He pulled out an aluminum case containing cigars.

“Roger, Roger. I won’t get mad, so tell me: who here has the least to do and is most in the way? If your answer is the two of us, then let’s get to work.”

“Are you sure I’m not in the way?” asked Heo.

She was inside a hospital room and sitting on a round stool next to the bed.

She held her hands between her thighs and shrank down while asking another question to the women in the bed.

“Um, where is Harakawa?”

“I had him wait down below, so don’t worry.”

The one speaking was the woman who was apparently Harakawa’s mother. Her name was Yui and Heo had just named herself as well.

After the introductions, Heo was unsure what to do.

Not only did she not know what to talk about, she did not know if the two of them had a single common topic to speak about. Yui had apparently said she wanted to speak with Heo, but she had not asked the girl anything.

“Would you like an apple? I peeled one for him earlier.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“Did you not have enough for breakfast? He does make meals for guys.”

“No, he made toast and salad and even gave me some milk.”

“I see. In other words, you spent the night with him, didn’t you, Heo-san?”

“Ah.” Heo noticed the leading question too late and frantically waved her hands back and forth. “U-um, uh, we’re not in that kind of relationship or anything.”

“But as a guy, he has to take responsibility for what he’s done, doesn’t he?”

“No, um, I don’t mind that he saw me naked.”

“I see. So he saw you naked.”

“Ah.”

Heo blushed at that second leading statement and Yui gave a bitter laugh.

“Don’t worry. If he had done anything, I’m sure he would have said something about it first.”

Yui pulled an apple from the storage case on the side table.

Heo looked up when she heard the sound of the knife peeling it.

“You’re really good at that.”

“Want to try it with the next one? No, how about we each peel one for each other?”

Yui looked inside the case which contained a single apple inside a plastic bag as well as a teacup and some other things.

Heo nodded and Yui began peeling the apple once more.

“Heo-san? It sounds like you’re having a hard time.”

“Eh? Did Harakawa tell you?”

She had thought he had not believed her, but had he really?

“I hear you met a monster.”

“Y-yes, that’s right. And then I was separated from my great-grandfather.”

“I see. I hope you can see him again. But if you have nowhere to go, feel free to stay with that boy.”

“No, that would be too much trouble for him.” Heo hesitated and tensed her shoulders. “I think it would be better if I found a relative before long.”

“Oh, dear. It looks like he has gotten very good at drawing in girls.”

“N-no, that isn’t it.”

“I see. Then what is it?”

Yui asked with a smile, so Heo blushed even more, shook her head, and further tensed her shoulders.

“A-as I said, I’m just trouble for him. I really am.”

“Are you really? He doesn’t seem to mind all that much. If he really did mind, he wouldn’t push you away. He would leave on his own.”

“Eh?”

Her confusion cooled her face, but Yui continued talking like usual while moving her hands in the morning sunlight.

“If he did not like you, he would find some reason or another to leave the apartment, just like a stray dog going on a trip to avoid a turf war. But if he’s staying by your side instead, he must be at ease.”

“…”

“He has trouble fitting in at school and he works at the base but doesn’t live there. He has always chosen to live a solitary life, but now he has let a kitten into his space.”

Heo did not entirely understand what the woman had said with a smile.

However, she did grasp that Harakawa did not dislike her as much as she had thought.

…''But why not?

She had done nothing but cause trouble for him, so it seemed odd that he would ''not'' dislike her.

That doubt led to a question which she expressed in words.

“But why does he let me be with him?”

“That I don’t know. You’re closer to him than me, so have you noticed anything interesting about him?”

Having the question thrown back at her, Heo thought.

…''Well…

She did not have to think for long.

She came up with something in only a few seconds and it was something she had spoken with him about the night before.

“He has a bookshelf in his room’s closet, but what is that? If this is something I shouldn’t ask, then pretend I didn’t.”

“A bookshelf?”

“Yes. It had a lot of technical books, novels, and lots of different hard covers.”

As she spoke, Yui suddenly bent over.

She leaned forward as if she had fallen.

“————!”

Thinking the woman was in pain, Heo started to get up, but she soon realized the woman was quietly laughing.

Yui must have noticed Heo’s movement because she raised her shaking shoulders.

“Sorry, but that was just too funny. …That boy can be so stubborn and it reminds me so much of that man.”

“Stubborn?”

“He actually loves books,” replied Yui. “When we lived on the base, everything was very noisy and it was hard to make many friends, so as a child, he would often read books for us in the house. Once he started doing that, my husband began buying all sorts of books. …Surprised?”

Heo tensed her shoulders and shook her head.

“N-no, not really.”

“You can laugh if you want. …Anyway, at one point, my husband said he was going to quit the military. It seemed he thought what he was doing there was wrong. When he did, he promised to leave the base, buy a large white house, open a bookstore or used bookstore there, and live a quiet life. But one night, he was called in under special circumstances, and…” Yui shrugged. “You can use the current situation to guess what happened.”

“Sorry.”

“For what?”

Heo trembled a bit at that quiet question.

“That Harakawa’s father, um…”

“Passed away? What makes you think that?”

Heo replied on reflex.

“If he was alive, I think Harakawa would have said something. I’m the type that likes to remember and talk about what I’ve lost so I can live with it more easily, but I think he’s the opposite.”

“…”

“Am I…wrong?”

As soon as she asked that, a tray carrying apple slices was held out to her. When she took it, Yui’s hand reached out to her head.

The woman stroked Heo’s head as if brushing her hair

Heo gave a small gasp and something spilled from her eyes.

The word “tears” did not immediately come to mind and she remembered something else instead.

…''My mom used to do this for me, didn’t she?

“…”

“Oh, dear. I’m sorry. Did I startle you?”

“No, y-you didn’t. I just remembered the past a bit is all.”

She wiped the remaining tears from her eyes and smiled. So as not to worry the woman, she hurriedly took the last apple from the storage case.

“H-how about I peel this one?”

Yui smiled and stroked her head one last time.

While feeling a little disappointed that the woman was removing her hand, Heo took the knife from the tray.

“Heo-san? May I tell you something?”

“Y-yes. What is it?”

“It’s easy to tell when you are lying, so be careful when deceiving people.”

“Eh?”

“That’s my only hint. You are on your way to the Nishitama Cemetery, correct? Then hurry up and peel that apple and feed it to this old woman.”

“I feel bad making Harakawa wait, but I’m slow with my hands.”

With that, Heo lowered her head and worked.

She was fairly confident in using a knife because her mother had taught her. That was due to helping her mother make apple pies and jams while younger. One could even say cooking was her hobby.

…''But I want to stay here a little longer.

Yet when she remembered that she might be followed by a demon, she hung her head even further. She doubted she would ever receive any peace in the future either.

…''This is just like why I cried while running at his school last night.

To get her mind off that, she looked at Yui and the woman tilted her head.

“What is it?”

“Oh, um, nothing.”

Heo shrank down with a single thought in her mind.

…''Has Harakawa given up on his future?

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume8_Chapter_15|Chapter 15]]
| Return to [[Owari_no_Chronicle|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume8_Chapter_17|Chapter 17]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Owari no Chronicle:Volume8 Chapter 14

2014-08-29T23:12:48Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 14: Shadow of Fate */

==Chapter 14: Shadow of Fate==
[[Image:OnC_v08_0393.png|thumb]]
''All things have aspects that cannot be seen

''They cannot be seen by people

''They cannot be seen by time

There were stars.

The night sky was an expanse of scattered stars visible through the night clouds floating in front of them.

Looking down showed a similar scene.

That scene was a city nightscape.

Both of those lights were visible from a certain spot in the mountains of Okutama in west Tokyo.

UCAT’s disguised transport control building stood six stories aboveground, so the earth and sky were both visible from the roof’s edge.

A man’s voice could be heard before those lights.

“The lights on the surface look farther away to me. …How do they look to you, Sf?”

“Tes. It does not look that way at all to me. I have determined you are experiencing an optical illusion, Itaru-sama.”

Even though it was night, a beach parasol and a long chair were located on the western edge of the roof. Ooshiro Itaru sat in the chair while wearing a black suit and he raised both hands after Sf spoke next to him.

“An optical illusion, is it? It’s wonderful how accurate your mechanical decisions are.”

“Tes. Unparalleled accuracy is the motto of the German UCAT automaton.”

“Then prove your unparalleled accuracy by getting a headshot on the American UCAT soldiers guarding the roof entrance and wandering around down below. That should cause a commotion.”

“Tes. Unfortunately, I do not possess a firearm. When we were taken into custody, I followed your advice and handed them over.”

“Oh? Well, you can’t exactly prove your unparalleled accuracy like this. I guess I can’t see just how accurate German UCAT can be. How unfortunate.”

“Tes,” replied Sf with a bow.

She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a small object that resembled a watch.

“What is that, Sf?”

“Tes. It is the IAI boy’s love pedometer named Manzou-kun.”

“Is that all?”

“Tes. Do not worry. I have modified it so it is wirelessly linked to the explosives embedded in the firearms I handed over earlier. Once your daily number of steps reaches ten thousand, a transmission powerful enough to break through their jamming will send the detonation signal and demonstrate German UCAT’s accuracy. …I believe seven more steps are needed.”

“Wait, you stupid machine. Are you saying I can’t walk anymore today?”

“No, you can still walk. This simply means German UCAT’s accuracy will be demonstrated on the seventh step. And you may continue walking afterwards with no issue. The world will continue on just fine. Also, my predictions say you will shed tears of praise for me and send an email filled with deep emotion to German UCAT. Now, how about giving it a try?”

“I think you mean I’ll shed tears of grief and send an email of protest to German UCAT, you stupid machine.”

With that, Itaru sank down in the chair.

However, he continued looking at Sf.

As she stood next to him, she stared down below.

“American UCAT is camping on the runway,” he said. “As a German machine, does it look like an American occupation army to you?”

“They are not an army. I have determined UCATs are a type of vigilante organization.”

“Is that so, is that so? So vigilante organizations are giving automatons flashy guns and explosives these days.”

“Tes. That is standard equipment. If you wish for additional equipment, please send a request to German UCAT. A traffic safety firearm campaign is currently running, so the first one to enter will win the common weapon known as a personal anti-tank railgun.”

“The first one to enter? I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who could possibly enter.”

“No, there is one other. And that would be me. Surprised?”

“Oh, wow. How surprising. …Wait! Don’t tell me you entered!”

“No, it is unfortunately against the rules to enter into more than one contest.”

“I see, I see. That’s very good to hear. …What else did you enter!?”

Sf tilted her head at his shouted question.

“Itaru-sama, your blood pressure is rising for some reason. I have determined you need to calm down. Also, I exist solely for you. I was created to not cause any trouble, interruption, unhappiness, interference, worries, or disrespect for you, so rest easy, breathe a sigh of relief, and feel grateful.”

“Then let me use all my self-control and gratitude to ask you this: how well do you think you have carried out that duty?”

“Tes. I have determined I will have done enough as long as I remain by your side. As long as I continue doing that, I will be fulfilling my raison d'être.”

“And if I don’t like it?”

“Tes. Earlier today, you corrected my words to this: they may complain, but they actually like you.”

“Wow. I must really, really love you.”

“Tes. I have recorded that statement in my brain’s storage space. Once this commotion is dealt with, I will send the audio data to German UCAT.”

“Don’t, you selfish machine.”

“Tes. I will not send out this data. It has been successfully saved in my storage space. Thank you for helping me expand my library of data.”

She gave a quick bow and he sighed.

She then looked down once more, but he could not see anything from his chair.

“Are you concerned about American UCAT? Or is it the pathetic ones hiding down below?”

“Tes. I have determined the Americans are more confusing by a margin of a few percentage points.”

“Out with it.”

Sf lowered her head slightly but did not change the direction of her gaze.

“Why did American UCAT occupy Japanese UCAT?”

“You already know the answer, don’t you?”

“Tes. Then let me give my guess. American UCAT’s main force seems to be their mechanical dragons, so I suspect they wish to carry out the Leviathan Road with 5th-Gear using those dragons. They will negotiate through battle.”

“And what is their motive?”

Sf moved her right hand in response. She accurately raised it to shoulder height and extended it such that her index finger pointed to the east.

“Tes. Their motive is likely the same as in that cemetery. It is the same imagination that leads humans to make graves.”

“Is that so?” Itaru sat up in the chair and brushed a hand through his white hair. “You’re more or less right there, as ridiculous as it is.”

He reached for the metal cane leaning against the chair and tossed it to Sf.

She thrust out her left hand to catch the metal pole flying through the darkness. Without losing any momentum, she used her fingers and wrist to skillfully rotate the cane around like a windmill.

“Itaru-sama, here.”

She placed it on the floor to the right of him.

The sharp sound of it striking the concrete caused the American UCAT soldiers guarding the roof to turn around. However, he took the cane regardless and stood from the chair.

“I don’t know all the details myself, but let’s try to increase your knowledge.”

“Tes. Are you referring to the discussion about American UCAT?’

“Yes. I’m talking about why they are so fixated on 5th-Gear.”

Just as Itaru took a step toward the edge of the roof, a young man’s voice reached him from behind.

“Didn’t someone tell us it was best to avoid revealing too much about the past?”

“Those were the words of the one who was always lecturing us, Roger Sully.”

Itaru turned around and found a young man in a brown suit at the entrance to the roof. His blond hair was slicked back and he pushed his glasses up his nose.

“With Diana here too, this feels like a reunion. She is currently sleeping in the beauty salon, but for now I can speak with the Leviathan Road’s supervisor about American UCAT’s situation.”

He walked forward and looked up in the sky.

“We can discuss the truth about the past that Mr. Richard Thunderson revealed to us before leaving the United States.”

Sayama and Shinjou faced the transmission monitor in their hotel room.

The room was dark because the footage on the monitor was dark.

The monitor resembled a fourteen inch television and it was placed against the wall on a side table. The footage on its screen came from Kashima’s camera underneath UCAT.

A white and blue cannon was visible in the darkness.

Chao stood on top of it, so they could tell just how large it was. It was easily over forty meters.

From the top of the cannon, Chao spoke while walking toward the muzzle.

“Anyway, before the Allied UCAT arrived at the National Defense Department, they had captured a single mechanical dragon. Due to the Divine States-World Interaction Theory, the ley line modifications had connected 5th-Gear to Hokkaido. From what I heard, an airplane-like machine launched to Hokkaido’s northern coast was collected by Sayama Kaoru because he was free at the time.”

“My grandfather?”

Shinjou realized Sayama was holding his suit at the left side of his chest as he watched the monitor.

She sat to his left while wearing what she had worn to dinner.

Before leaving for the meal, her body had changed to Sadame’s about forty minutes later than usual.

That was why she wore girl’s clothing, but she pressed against Sayama’s left shoulder without worrying about the wrinkles it would make.

Just after the transmission had arrived, he had told the others what he had discussed with Roger.

American UCAT’s reason and foundation for stopping the Leviathan Road was the will that said all of Richard Thunderson’s authority transferred to American UCAT upon his death and that included full authority over 5th-Gear.

The others gulped in understanding of what that meant, but he had spoken up regardless.

“I will deal with it somehow. The Leviathan Road is mine, after all.”

The others had sworn to do whatever they could to help and he had nodded.

Currently, they were listening to Chao talk about the past.

“Back then, the National Defense Department – along with Siegfried’s research – was investigating the existence of the different Gears and how to produce the gates. After retrieving a mechanical dragon from a foreign Gear, they naturally attempted to analyze it, but they were unable to remove any of its components no matter how hard they tried and they were unable to restart it. Even when they climbed into the cockpit, the supposed controls did nothing. …Why do you think that was?”

Kazami spoke from outside the screen.

“Was it broken?”

“I said they captured it, didn’t I? It didn’t look broken and it indeed wasn’t.”

“Then,” said Shinjou while sensing Sayama turning toward her.

…''Will my voice get through?

With that thought, she asked her question.

“Then was it out of fuel? Or was it not in the right concept?”

“Not quite, Shinjou. …That was Shinjou, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, Doctor Chao.”

“I thought so. …From what Sayama told me, it was Shinjou who figured out why the machine wasn’t working despite not looking broken. Shinjou Kaname, that is.”

“Eh?”

That name caused Shinjou to shrink down.

…''The Shinjou from the National Defense Department?

She tilted her head at the name that might or might not be related to her. Chao then arrived at the muzzle end and looked down from there.

“It was simple. The machine’s cockpit was empty when it fell from 5th-Gear, so Shinjou Kaname concluded that the machine was alive.” She took a breath. “He said the machine had put itself to sleep which kept any of the components from moving and rejected any input from the controls. And so he decided it needed to be returned to 5th-Gear.”

“Returned?”

“Yes. If it was indeed alive, their investigation was nothing more than searching over his body without his permission. That was why they tried to move the machine back to the crash site in Hokkaido.” Chao raised both her hands to shoulder height. “But when the machine opened the concept space gate, it connected to the scene of a concept battle between 5th-Gear and 9th-Gear. Sayama Kaoru, Siegfried, and the others there were caught up in the battle, but the machine suddenly began to move and it protected them.”

“Was that machine named Xolotl 3?”

“Oh? I’m impressed you know that. …The concept space closed and he was once more unable to return. But by that time, the National Defense Department had managed to replicate a weakened form of a few 5th-Gear concepts and language concepts, so Sayama Kaoru returned Xolotl 3 to the National Defense Department and attempted to speak with him.”

At that point, a left hand rose on the screen.

It was Hiba’s.

When he entered the screen, Shinjou spoke her honest thoughts.

“Oh, you were there, Ryuuji-kun?”

“Waaah! I guess I don’t stand out much compared to all these demonic upperclassmen, do I!?”

The sounds of someone cracking their knuckles came from the right of the screen and Hiba’s voice dropped in tone.

“Um,” he began. “I heard the National Defense Department discovered the Concept War when my grandfather and Siegfried-san were fighting over who destroyed a ley line modification facility. I believe corpses and wreckage from those defeated in a concept battle fell in front of them.”

“Yes, that’s right. What about it?”

“Well, does that mean the first actual contact with a resident of another Gear was with that mechanical dragon?”

Izumo clapped his hands together off screen.

“Yeah, that’s what I was going to say. Well said, Hiba. I think I’ll nickname you Mini-Me.”

“Ha ha ha. I don’t think so, Izumo-san. That would make it sound like I’m even remotely like you.”

“They’re a little alike. Kind of like Hiba-kun is the caterpillar and Izumo-san is the butterfly. Right, Sayama-kun?”

“An excellent description, Shinjou-kun. That process is technically known as a metamorphosis and in this case it would be a perverted metamorphosis.”

“Oh, so Ryuuji-kun is the pre-perversion Izumo-san and Izumo-san is the post-perversion Izumo-san?”

“Okay, you two! That’s enough whispering commentary!”

Shinjou tilted her head at Hiba’s shout.

…''Perversion, hm?

She felt like a lot of things had started making sense.

“I have nothing more to say,” she said. “I think we summed it up pretty well.”

“I have a feeling you’re making a rather large misunderstanding,” replied Hiba with doubt in his eyes.

However, the next person to speak was not replying to him.

It was Sayama and his emotionless voice was directed at Chao in the slightly-staticky footage.

“Doctor Chao, that first contact did not initially go very well, did it?”

“Oh? How do you know that?”

“That is simple. When we visited Kanda before, we were shown the past at the guidance of a kind automaton. There, we saw Hiba-sensei, the Ooshiro father who is actually a decent person, and Cronus of 3rd-Gear.”

Hiba turned toward him at the mention of his grandfather.

Shinjou noted the serious look in the boy’s eyes while Sayama continued.

“They mentioned that Mikage-kun’s birth gave Miss Rhea a desire to help Low-Gear and she had the mechanical dragon named Xolotl 3 open a path to 5th-Gear.”

He reached out his left hand to the center of the screen and tapped the cannon with his index finger.

“He must have been wary of the National Defense Department.”

“He was,” replied Chao. “From what I hear, the mechanical dragon only gave the name Xolotl 3 and refused to say anything about 5th-Gear. I think that was in March of 1941. But when he was shown the god of war wreckage and other things they had retrieved, Xolotl 3 gave a few pieces of information and was shocked to find Low-Gear knew nothing of the Concept War.”

“And then along came Miss Rhea?”

“Yes,” confirmed Chao. She sat on the muzzle end with her legs dangling down and her head resting on her arms. “That was in July of 1941. Mikage’s conception was detected from Rhea’s physical condition in July of the following year and that led her to contact Xolotl 3. I believe a group photo of the National Defense Department was taken around that time. Have you seen it? It would probably be pretty faded by now, though.”

“Oh… Is that the one in the Kinugasa Library?” asked Shinjou.

“Yeah, if it exists, it’d be pretty old. There should be one of us in the old UCAT days as well. But anyway…”

“Yes?”

At Sayama’s question, Chao pulled a cigarette from her pocket and placed it in her mouth.

“Four years before we arrived, the National Defense Department went farther than anyone else. It’s a painful fact both for my home country and for the United States,” she said. “Talking about this really takes me back. So much surprised me back then. I couldn’t believe that Rhea’s pregnancy lasted several years and there were plenty of ridiculous commotions after that as well. It’s all so nostalgic.”

The night sky was visible up above.

However, that vast expanse was cut off in every direction by trees.

This was a clearing surrounded by forest and two people stood there.

One was a short old man and the other was a tall old man.

The tall bald one spoke to the short one with a questioning tone in his voice.

“Has American UCAT finally made their move, Hiba Ryuutetsu? That country has a way of mistaking pride and reputation for justice and then obsessing over them.”

“Don’t say that, Siegfried. I know all too well how grudges and regret can put things in motion.”

Near the forest to the west was a stump.

Ryuutetsu sat on that stump in pajamas and sandals and he looked up at Siegfried.

“Don’t you sit down too. Two old men sitting together like pals would be a little too creepy.”

“I have yet to age so much that I must sit,” replied Siegfried.

Ryuutetsu tilted his head and carefully observed Siegfried’s face from below as if looking up into the forest and sky.

“The hell did you just say? Do you want to settle what we started seventy years ago?”

“What are you talking about? That was precisely sixty-eight years ago and it was my win even if we never managed to finish.”

“I clearly had that one in the bag, you moron. And how can you even pretend to have won when my magnificent dropkick broke three of your ribs?”

“And whose left arm was it that my mystical spell literally smashed? And you were the one that wrongfully assumed I had destroyed that facility.”

“But you still destroyed all the other ones.”

“Being accurate in your work is an excellent German teaching. Also, that was not the real reason you were pursuing me. It went back to the day before. We were assigned to the same room, so I was cleaning and I found several indecent magazines below your bed.”

“Yeah,” agreed Ryuutetsu. “And of all the possible ways of handling that situation, you had to hand them over to Toshi. She ended up chasing me around with a red hot fire poker.”

“And in the end…”

“Yeah, I of course tricked her into thinking you had bought them as a way of assimilating Japanese culture. I was chasing you down that night to eliminate the witness.”

“You mountain ape. So does Toshi still think those magazines were mine?”

“Heh heh heh. You aren’t getting away tonight. I won’t let you reveal that misunderstanding after seventy years.”

“Get it into your head already. It was sixty-eight years ago.”

The two of them glared at each other and Siegfried slowly stepped back.

While still sitting, Ryuutetsu placed the bottoms of his feet on the side of the stump so he could leap forward at any moment.

“…”

But they then heard a small whistle that resembled a sigh.

It was the wind producing a whistling noise as it struck something.

The two old men’s expressions vanished for an instant and Siegfried eventually straightened up.

“Is that coming from Rhea’s house?”

“It’s falling apart a little, so the wind gets in. That reminds me of when Rhea’s stomach grew so quickly. That was when we learned 3rd-Gear humans have long pregnancies to match their long lives, but they come to an end pretty damn quickly. Since they had so few descendants, Rhea didn’t know how it worked either and it all caused a huge commotion. Chao was oddly excited.”

“If that had happened in the summer, we might not have been able to stop the Allied UCATs. …And now we really weren’t able to. It was Rhea who saved us back then.”

Siegfried looked up.

The ceiling of trees shook lightly as the night breeze blew through like waves.

“This is a lot like that last night when Richard left for 5th-Gear.”

“Yeah, I don’t know much about that because I was busy with 3rd-Gear at the time. I hear he was pretty manly. When he heard another of his fellow pilots was shot down by Black Sun, didn’t he ignore his orders to return to American UCAT and head out in Xolotl 3?”

“Yes, I’m starting to feel quite nostalgic. I’m almost ready to say he was a somewhat decent man. …I may be growing senile. In my memories, we were always all together back then. Even when I think about the National Defense Department, I picture Chao, Abram, and Richard with us and I begin to wonder if we were all together afterwards as well.”

“I think that sometimes too. But while it may be senility in your case, I think some things really have changed. We had such trouble getting along with Thunderson back then, but now we can speak his name without issue.”

Ryuutetsu stood up from the stump and looked up in the windy night sky just like Siegfried.

“And now he’s dead. I always thought I’d go before him.”

“And American UCAT is here too. It makes me wonder what happened to the resolution that sent him on his journey.”

“That idiot didn’t tell us anything.” Ryuutetsu bent his back and hips as if looking even further into the sky. “He didn’t leave us with anything besides the report saying 5th-Gear was a world of mechanical dragons, a simple history of the place, and that Vesper Cannon he brought back with him. He said something about searching for the other of his dead friend’s twin children, but he wouldn’t let any of us help.”

“Such ridiculous pride. He was supposedly American UCAT’s ace mechanical dragon pilot, but the pathetic man never properly flew one in front of us.”

“That’s right. That’s right.” Ryuutetsu smiled bitterly. “He was always second-guessing himself too. He even asked Lord Northwind why he was chosen to remain in Japan. And yet…”

“And yet?”

“While I was gone, the bastard destroyed 5th-Gear, sank Black Sun in the ocean off of Hokkaido, and returned with the Vesper Cannon that contained half the Concept Core.” Ryuutetsu straightened up. “If only Xolotl 3 was still around. Then we could learn about Thunderson even now and Thunderson might not have died in the first place.”

“Xolotl 3, hm? He’s gone now, isn’t he?”

“Yeah,” said Ryuutetsu while looking up into the sky.

The wind blew in from the east and it brought noise with it.

That noise was the low rumbling of airplane engines.

The identification light of a transport plane was circling as if patrolling the night sky.

Hiba clicked his tongue while watching that flashing of red and white.

“Richard would only say Xolotl 3 and White Creation, which could oppose Black Sun, were both gone and that only the Vesper Cannon remained. But the Vesper Cannon I knew was Xolotl 3’s primary weapon and not that giant thing.” He took a breath. “5th-Gear mechanical dragons have the ability to self-evolve. That was in Thunderson’s report, so I’m guessing Xolotl 3 or some mechanical dragon we don’t know-…”

“Focused on White Creation by combining with the Vesper Cannon to one day defeat Black Sun?”

As Siegfried spoke, the rumbling passed by overhead.

The wind blew and rustled through the forest as if making some kind of appeal.

“And Black Sun, that large mechanical dragon singlehandedly spreading a storm of danger across 5th-Gear, has not been destroyed. Mr. Richard Thunderson received full authority over 5th-Gear from White Creation, but he was unable to fulfill his rematch with Black Sun.”

A night breeze blew across the roof while Roger spoke to the two standing before him.

Those two were Ooshiro Itaru and Sf, his maid.

“When Mr. Richard Thunderson was sent from American UCAT to Japanese UCAT, he stated in writing that all his authority would be transferred to American UCAT upon his death.”

“And so you claim the Vesper Cannon and 5th-Gear’s Concept Core belong to American UCAT? You say Japanese UCAT has kept the Vesper Cannon this long only because he left it here and we can’t begin the Leviathan Road without rechecking all this?”

Itaru asked his two questions in quick succession, but Roger did not immediately reply.

After a while, the wind blew in and he brushed a hand through his hair.

“More than sixty years ago, American UCAT lost some people to Black Sun.”

“And you prepared mechanical dragons to take vengeance?”

“That is not all, but I will still say testament. The Vesper Cannon is a mechanical dragon cannon, it is not known how to fire it, and it likely has a mind of its own. We predict that the Vesper Cannon evolved into its current form by combining with a mechanical dragon damaged in the battle that sank Black Sun.”

“And so Xolotl 3’s mind was taken into it?”

“Yes,” agreed Roger while reaching into his pocket and pulling out a postcard-sized piece of copy paper. “This is a photograph of Mr. Thunderson speaking with Xolotl 3. It is a reproduction of the original. Supposedly, he and Xolotl 3 enjoyed speaking of flying and that was why he was placed in charge of 5th-Gear. If Xolotl 3’s mind resides within the Vesper Cannon, it will respond to an American UCAT mechanical dragon that carries on Mr. Thunderson’s wishes. Don’t you agree?”

“That isn’t all, is it?”

Itaru gave a bitter smile, raised the cane in his left hand and balanced himself on his left leg.

He rested the cane on his right shoulder so it pointed at the landscape behind him.

“Thunderson’s great-granddaughter, Heo Thunderson, is somewhere out there. If the Vesper Cannon doesn’t react to American UCAT, you’re planning to put her in the mechanical dragon, aren’t you?”

“There is no need and I would not allow it.”

“Oh?”

Itaru lowered his cane and Roger pushed his glasses up his nose and returned the photograph to his pocket. Roger looked up at the transport ships visible flying beyond the wall of the concept space.

“A disguised transport ship is waiting in Yokota to take Miss Heo home at any time. It is possible she could be attacked by Black Sun while crossing the Pacific, so the Vesper Cannon can be used as bait and we have also prepared weakened 5th-Gear concepts. The latter have already been proven effective, so American UCAT will lure Black Sun here and settle this.”

“Are you sure? Just because you have mechanical dragons doesn’t mean-…”

“My colonel has already repelled Black Sun over the ocean once. All we need is to supply the finishing blow and that role will of course be filled by our mechanical dragons.”

“Even with a fleet of American UCAT’s latest mechanical dragons, this will lead to deaths.”

“Yes,” agreed Roger while lifting his glasses to hide his expression. “But this is the desire of our higher ups who wish to show off American UCAT’s technology and strength. The colonel and I will form a defensive line at Yokota and the mechanical dragon unit will continue ahead to intercept it in Tokyo Bay. The pilots will all be volunteers who have said they will take care of it, so we can only trust in them.”

“I see,” said Itaru before turning to Sf. “What do you think of all this?”

“Tes. It seems to me the invaders are simply attempting to take the world for themselves using war and the lives of the dead.”

“Very good.” Itaru turned to Roger. “What do you think of Diana’s automaton, Roger?”

“I can only imagine she created it to mock us.”

“It’s quite a problem. Then again, I think she was trying to be considerate to those of us who survived that battle. Did she send anything to you?”

“Only the sand. After all, I was obedient and, unlike you, gained quite a lot back then. She did not need to provide any help after the fact.”

At that point, he suddenly began walking toward the edge to look down.

“As for the one who isn’t obedient…”

Roger crossed the roof, passed by Itaru, and arrived at the edge. He stood on the raised area meant to prevent anyone from jumping and lightly held up his body.

“What do you think? I am getting good at insinuating things, aren’t I? This is a technique I picked up from that man. And-…”

He was unable to finish.

At some point, Sf had moved up behind him and she shoved his raised chest with both hands.

“Ah,” he said.

“…”

As if in slow motion, he collapsed over the edge of the roof.

By the time the guards turned around in confusion, he had already vanished, so they had turned back, assuming nothing had happened.

The wind blew through and Itaru finally spoke.

“Explain what you just did, Sf.”

“Tes. He stepped up and seemed to be hesitating, so my assistance circuits activated.”

“Do you think anyone could escape that unharmed!?”

Sf tilted her head.

“Diana-sama was perfectly fine.”

“Do not confuse strange Germans with strange Americans. They have completely different special techniques.”

Sf gave a brief and expressionless look up into the sky, but she soon lowered her head.

“Tes. I have committed that to memory. From now on, I will not help Americans in that manner. I am perfectly able to distinguish between races, so do not worry.”

However, she then looked to the now-empty edge of the roof.

“I do not hear any words of thanks from Roger-sama.”

“It may just be me, but I doubt you’ll ever receive any from him now.”

“Itaru-sama, may I send an email of complaint to American UCAT? ‘I kindly shoved a representative of yours from the roof and was disappointed that he did not express any gratitude.’ …How does that sound?”

“Do whatever you want, but don’t get me involved.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a hand reached onto the edge of the roof from the outside.

It scratched at the surface two or three times in search of something to grab onto.

Itaru sighed and spoke to Sf.

“Sf, help him.”

“Tes.”

Sf pulled a collapsible bamboo broom from her skirt and swept the hand away from the edge.

“Wah!” shouted Roger’s voice.

“…”

Itaru and Sf watched as the voice travelled further and further down.

After several seconds had passed, Itaru finally spoke.

“Sf, what did you help him with?”

“Tes. I determined he was attempting to sweep the edge of the roof.”

Sf looked to the edge but quickly tilted her head. She pulled a dust cloth from her apron and roughly wiped down the area his hand had been searching along.

“I have determined that was a truly amateurish job. Using your hand leaves fingerprints.”

“You’re attempting to eliminate the evidence of his struggle, aren’t you?”

Meanwhile, the door up to the roof was thrown open.

Roger stood in the doorway, but his outfit was a bit different. Specifically, his suit was torn as if by claws.

“Wh-what kind of knowledge did Diana give that automaton!?”

“Roger, I’m glad to see you’re doing well. Let me tell you something interesting: I don’t understand a thing about this automaton except that she is cruel to Americans and Russians.”

“That witch is supposed to German, so why does she love lies and jokes so much?”

Roger walked swiftly over in his torn suit and Sf turned toward him and held out the slightly dirtied dust cloth.

“Roger-sama, I assisted your bravery and dealt with your poor attempt at cleaning, so I have determined it would be best if you gave me some words of thanks.”

Roger stopped in his tracks and stared at Itaru, but Itaru waved his hands back and forth.

“If you have anything to say, take it to Diana.”

“Do you really think that witch will listen?”

Roger turned back toward Sf and pushed up the glasses that were now cracked on the right side.

“That could easily have turned into an international incident. You should be thankful that I survived.”

Sf nodded at Roger’s words.

“Tes. Then I will accept that our thanks have cancelled each other out. I suppose that is the American way.”

She took a breath, looked up into the sky, shrugged her shoulders, and whistled.

“That American-style whistle means that my acceptance circuits have completed running. Will that suffice?”

“That pretty much covers it. Do you understand now, Shinjou, Sayama?”

Kazami watched as Chao stood up on the cannon.

When the woman turned around in her white coat and the sleeves flipped around, Shinjou’s voice came from the cell phone Kashima held and the girl sounded rushed.

“D-Doctor Chao!”

“Ha ha ha. Shinjou-kun, as Doctor Chao, don’t you think she should make some medicinal foods? Then we could ‘Chao down’ on- gwah!”

“C-c’mon, Sayama-kun. I want to ask something, so I made you quiet!”

“Shinjou, your phrasing at the end there was a little weird,” commented Kazami.

Meanwhile, Chao’s footsteps grew more distant, so Shinjou frantically spoke up.

“Wait a minute, Doctor Chao! I want to ask something! Um… Miss Chao!!”

Chao did not stop.

“That’s not gonna cut it.”

“Th-then Young Lady Chao!!”

“Keep going.”

''What is going on?'' wondered Kazami before turning toward Kashima.

“Shinjou, say what you have to say. It looks like Doctor Chao’s test is pretty tough.”

“U-um, then…”

Shinjou’s hesitation ate up some of her time, but she finally asked.

“What happened to Shinjou Kaname!?”

Kazami looked toward the one being asked, but Chao did not stop walking away along the cannon.

However, she did speak quietly.

“Silly girl.”

She sighed and slowed her exit a bit.

“When Shinjou Kaname was ill, my grandfather attempted to bring him to the people of 4th-Gear,” said Sayama. “That was so 4th-Gear could heal him, but it never happened. Does that mean…”

“Are you trying to say Shinjou Kaname died of his illness? You fools,” said Chao. “Before those like me arrived, Shinjou Kaname apparently quit the National Defense Department and was hospitalized in Hachioji. And there, he recovered.”

“Eh? Then he never met 4th-Gear because his illness healed and there was no need?”

“I don’t have the right to tell you about any of that, so ask someone else. But let me tell you one thing. When I was there, a New Year’s card arrived from Shinjou’s home just once. The address was in Shimane and the card said his child had grown a good bit.”

The word “child” caused Kazami to bring a hand to her own stomach.

Seeing that, Izumo gave her a serious look.

“What is it, Chisato? Are you getting fat? Or was that fried chicken you ate past its expira-…”

She decided a hook would be best to create silence, so she did so.

After the sound of flesh and bone collapsing to the ground, silence had fallen over the underground space.

She thought while finding the silence pleasant.

…''Do Shinjou Kaname’s descendants continue down to Shinjou?

The headquarters of IAI’s predecessor, the Izumo Aviation Institute, had been located in Shimane. IAI headquarters were still there, so if Shinjou Kaname was from there…

…''He was supposedly Professor Kinugasa’s assistant, so they probably met at the Izumo HQ.

She then turned toward Kashima.

“Shinjou, you should visit the Shimane headquarters on your way back. You might find some kind of a hint.”

“I think I will. They’ll probably be busy, though.”

“Ha ha ha. Shinjou-kun, you are such a wonderful person to worry about those underlings. And with future events in mind, I would like to search for information on Professor Kinugasa, so a visit to Shimane sounds perfect. Oh, and can I ask something of you, Kazami?”

“What is it, you idiot? Just get back to flirting and get to sleep. Those of us here still have to make plans for tomorrow.”

“Very well,” said the voice coming from Kashima’s cell phone. “Kazami, I have a single request relating to Heo Thunderson.”

“Eh?”

She frowned in displeasure when she wondered what he was going to ask. The others fell silent and she felt relief and trust in that.

“I have received some internal information that confirms Heo Thunderson is in Harakawa’s apartment we visited today. Has American UCAT managed to track her down yet?”

“No, it doesn’t seem so. And if that’s true…”

“Yes, secure her before they do. That would be the perfect bargaining chip.”

“You certainly are direct in your wording.”

“The easier to understand, the better. Also, get as much information on her as you can, even if you have to do some hacking to get it. There is something strange about her. Something about being demon possessed.”

“A demon? I’m not sure what that means, but I’ll have Sibyl look into it. I don’t like how American UCAT is doing things either.”

Kazami raised her eyebrows in a smile.

“I don’t know what kind of girl Heo Thunderson is, but I’m sure American UCAT intends to kindly shelter her…even if she’s actually a kitten that wants to head outside.”

“Very good. The opposite is also possible, but hurry either way. She is likely in that apartment even now. Wait to leave until the early morning when American UCAT lets their guard down and have someone keep an eye on her.”

“Sure.” Kazami nodded and raised the corner of her mouth. “Having something to do is just wonderful.”

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| Back to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume8_Chapter_13|Chapter 13]]
| Return to [[Owari_no_Chronicle|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume8_Chapter_15|Chapter 15]]
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</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 64

2014-08-29T23:07:51Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 64: Stubborn Ones of Both Nations */

==Chapter 64: Stubborn Ones of Both Nations==
[[Image:Horizon2B_0941.png|thumb]]
''What situation

''Is hopeless without that?

'''Point Allocation (Breakthrough)

Paintings were made on the battlefield.

They were hand-drawn with fairly rough strokes.

The subjects of the paintings were varied and the canvas was the battlefield itself.

Whether in the air or on the deck, sudden strokes would rush through and paint something. It could be a river, a sun, a forest, a wall, or a stone-paved ground.

However, the painter was not within the painting. He needed a spot where he could overlook the area being painted, so he was in front of the fleet of small Tres Españan ships that had landed on the rear starboard end of Tama.

The painter who held a long paintbrush and had what resembled a large wing or feather next to him was Velázquez.

His job was to protect the small ships behind him. An interception team from Musashi would occasionally approach, but he would always raise his brush and speak.

“It’s easy to mix the colors wrong at night, so don’t get too close.”

He would then swing the brush made by the Sakai business named Sakai Store. The reinforced art tool was a high-quality product that could handle differences in perspective. One had to allow the brush to learn their art style and create an accurate representation in the painting, but as long as that was done…

“The paintings act just like the real thing.”

He painted a pond beneath the feet of one defense unit and the eight students fell in with a splash.

Once his comrades returned or tried to escape, he would paint a bridge or net to gather them. Making a slide they had to use for an embarrassing retreat would also be fun.

As an artist, he was the rear guard. That was his role. Once they crossed Tres España’s provisional border, he could activate his Testamenta Arma, but he had no plans to actively fight.

…''I’ve always been like this.

Twenty-five years before, he had been recruited for the Battle of Lepanto, but he had preferred painting to fighting.

Lope de Vega, who would later make a name for himself as a playwright, and Cervantes, a great novelist, had also been in his unit of delinquents.

…''We would drink and party every night with the commander and the others.

“We would talk about how we were going to be big in the future.”

…''Should I lament that most of them are gone or smile because we’re still alive?

“With Lope, Cervantes, Takakane, and me…how many of us are still working?”

Takakane and Fusae had died, yet they were still working.

Almost everyone else was from a younger generation. Being long-lived made the others seem even younger and he felt a need to help them out.

''There’s a lot we’ve got to do,'' he complained to himself while a rumbling came from the distant center of Tama.

Someone had started to fight and most likely with one of Musashi’s main fighters.

“Honestly,” muttered Velázquez. “Live a full life, all of you.”

The color black soared through the night. A bluish-black Technohexen accelerated through the moonlight.

She was Margot Naito and she used her Verstärken Schale broom to roar straight toward the enemy fleet ahead of her.

She had already crossed Tres España’s provisional border.

Sporadic anti-air fire came her way, but the relative speeds and distances prevented them from perfectly targeting her much smaller form. The cannons were mostly meant for gods of war and other ships, so they were not quick enough to follow the movements of something as small as a Technohexen. Another anti-air method was to cover an entire area with ether cannons, but…

“Schwarz Hexen have plenty of reduction spells to use against that and we have spells to detect ether cannon blasts.”

Due to the persecution from the Tsirhc religion, Technomagie had a lot of spells specifically created to oppose Tsirhc spells. Those were a part of the common Technomagie that were learned before splitting between Weiss and Schwarz.

That training was also meant to make sure magical “curses” could not affect you.

“But I never thought they’d be useful in battle.”

She opened a small speedometer Magie Figur that appeared over her right eye.

It was a piece of perception Technomagie that displayed predictions of the paths of the distant fleet’s shells and ether cannons.

It was one of the common Technomagie spells called “A Thread of Longing for One who Dislikes You”. It was too small to capture anything not directly in the user’s vision, but with the fleet in front of her, it would use less ''auspuff'' than any other spell.

Suddenly, “A Thread of Longing for One who Dislikes You” displayed red text.

There was a large ether reading ahead of her. The actual object was god of war size, but the ether reading was much larger.

…''This is Kraken-class.

As soon as she thought that, something blasted through the sky up and to the left.

It was a field and path made of ether. The scenery was somehow nostalgic and Naito recognized what ran through it.

“Michiyuki Byakko!?”

Fusae brushed a hand through her hair in the wind as she stood on the female god of war’s shoulder.

As Michiyuki Byakko ran, its internal OS created a wheat field in the night sky.

She watched with a smile as countless ''cadena firma'' appeared and dealt with the structure.

“You sure are well-made, Byakko. I wonder what kind of people made you? The different parts can be taken off and repaired, but no one can touch the automaton-style self-improving OS.”

Its artificial brain seemed to be based off an automaton’s, so this was a semi-autonomous god of war that could make decisions and predict actions on its own. It was like a mechanical creature that she only had to give general guidance to.

“Good, good,” she said while stroking Byakko’s head.

For just an instant, she looked to the sky down and to the left and she saw a black wind quickly moving behind her.

“A Technohexen? I’d like to get back at you for blasting our team members before, but I’m worried about Taka and the others. I’ll be arriving right at the time limit, so I wonder if they’ll be leaving or if they’ll have it occupied.”

A ''cadena firma'' appeared as if to answer her.

“We can intercept their attacks, so you help out the captain and his group!”

“Tes, tes,” she replied while correcting the diagram of the fleet’s path that the team members had sent her. She made a note about leaving space for the people currently away on the Musashi and attached a small sketch of her head with her signature.

She then placed her hand on Michiyuki Byakko’s shoulder and faced forward.

The moonlit Musashi lay before her.

It was not unharmed. The many attacks it had received had likely damaged the internal frames of the smoking ship so that it started to tilt.

As proof of that, the bows of Asakusa and Shinagawa would occasionally shake as if they had been struck by a wave. The warping of the internal frames was creating periodic shaking. If she could see the shaking from her distance, the internal movement had to measure at least several meters.

…''They shouldn’t have forced the ship on for so long.

Even if they could continue to fly the ship, the damage would not disappear. The shaking and warping of further movement would only add on more damage. Once it got bad enough, the ship would fall apart.

That meant they would try to finish this quickly.

…''They’ll take any gamble as long as it will end this quickly.

They were in a state of desperation.

“But I’m still impressed they made it this far.”

Most likely, they could only use their gravitational cruising twice more. The ships with the outer hulls expanded were also shaking. She suspected they would wait to use it until they were in danger and needed to escape, but that would be in exchange for damaging the expanded outer hulls. Also…

…''The two remaining San Martíns are pursuing them from behind.

The cannon fire she heard now was those two ships firing low-speed shells at Okutama.

Fusae realized she was frowning as she looked toward the Musashi that had endured so much and dragged the battle this far along. She then once more began to think about the reason the Musashi was so desperate and so solidary.

“What is this? Calling it a nation doesn’t quite capture it, does it?”

The word “academy” did not quite fit either. Neither did “club” or “team”. What was this desperation and solidarity? She felt Tres España had the same thing, but she also felt theirs was not as definite as Musashi’s.

…''What is it?

As she thought, she and Michiyuki Byakko approached the Musashi.

“Michiyuki Byakko, board the Musashi from above the second starboard ship. We’ll act as the rear guard for Taka and the others.”

She had the god of war run up a slope. The distant ship that looked like a city caught up in war would eventually be directly below, but that was not her destination. She was headed to where her beloved person was.

“Let’s bring this to an end, Michiyuki Byakko!”

Battles, sounds, and vibrations continued on the Musashi’s deck and in the air.

However, a giant entered a large, dimly-lit space surrounded by all that shaking. This giant wearing a vermilion armored outfit was Jizuri Suzaku and Naomasa stood on its shoulder with her false arm.

With the vibration and sounds of shellfire behind them, Naomasa had Jizuri Suzaku quickly advance.

“Hiro! Bring out Suzaku’s equipment! I just got word that they’ve sent out Michiyuki Byakko!”

“What? Then hurry to my hanger! I just finished the proof, so I’ll put together the equipment for you! I haven’t slept for almost a week, so go get some results!”

''She’s all over the place,'' thought Naomasa with a bitter smile as she had the god of war walk inside.

The dimly-lit area to the left and right contained metal hangers. This was where the gods of war waited on standby, but the others had all already left and the maintenance crew was waiting around for refueling and armor replacements.

A short girl in a lab coat was waving her hand in the very back.

As Naomasa approached, the girl, Mishina Hiro, put on a soundproof headset.

“I’ll be making a few slight adjustments, okay?”

“I do like how you always give the final check despite your habit of rushing things.”

“Ah ha ha.” The girl in a Qing-Takeda Kakura Academy uniform shook her ponytail and turned her back. “That’s what Grandpa Taizou taught me to do. Anyway, Masa, about Jizuri Suzaku…”

She trailed off and Naomasa sighed before making sure no one else was focusing on them.

“After repairing it and seeing inside, you understand why I can’t leave it to others, don’t you? I probably won’t have time to insist on that from now on, so I’ll leave it to you.”

“Judge. I’ll take good care of it. To be honest, there’s a lot I don’t understand even after messing with it.”

“Really?”

“Judge.” Hiro nodded and activated the hanger’s motor so it opened with a dull noise. “It’s a handmade machine using parts someone scraped together, so it’s full of differences from the normal gods of war people buy. It has no manual and, even if the basics use the standard methods, I can’t make sense of the other parts. …I’d really like to do a closer examination at IZUMO.”

“Actually using it comes first. …You’ve finished, haven’t you?”

“Judge. While modifying it, I tested it out a bit in a simple virtual space, so prepare yourself.”

Hiro gave a large yawn before finishing.

“I think you can get at least one good hit in on Byakko.”

Shells struck the Musashi as it travelled through the night sky.

The two San Martíns pursued it from behind and the god of war squadron was still firing on it.

At first, the defense units had tried to focus on the starboard side where battles were being fought on Tama, but the god of war squadron had moved to the port side and the San Martíns had also started concentrating their fire on the port side.

After confirming that the defense units were stuck where they were, Adele spoke up.

“Move the defense units on Musashino’s back half to Tama! Everyone else, please take care of your assigned posts!”

After giving her orders, she thought about how to handle what was to come.

…''We only have about two minutes until we reach the enemy’s main fleet!

But they would cross the provisional border before then. Neshinbara had predicted they would enter within range of the main fleet’s attacks a minute after that, so the Tres Españan landing unit on Tama would likely leave before then.

…''But instead, Tres España’s main fleet will be firing on us.

The closer they got, the greater the density of that shelling and there was a simple way of summing up what that meant.

“The danger rises and our odds of victory drop.”

…''In that case, what can we do to raise our odds of victory?

As she thought, the darkness outside suddenly bothered her. It was dark enough to clearly see Tres España’s cannon fire in the distance. Darkness was only natural at night, so she wondered why it bothered her so much.

“Oh.”

She realized why.

“ ‘Musashino’-san!”

Adele stood up and spoke to the automaton next to her.

“Please clean the ships! The Holy Spell chaff is disappearing!”

“Musashino” and the other automatons looked outside in unison.

…''She’s right!

Due to being individually locked down, they had been slow to notice the change to the outside world.

From what “Musashino” could see, most of the Holy Spells caught in the air currents had vanished and only those attached to or caught on the ships’ surfaces remained.

If they swept those away, the automatons would be able to use their shared memory and that would make the coordination and control between ships much easier.

However, “Musashino” shook her head.

“No, it cannot be done. Over.”

Adele’s eyebrows dropped at that declaration. “Musashino” statistically understood that meant disappointment, so she lowered her head and continued.

“I apologize, but sending out personnel to clean would affect our operation of the ships and I have determined that would put the Musashi in danger. Over.”

“I see.”

“Musashino” saw Adele scratch at her head and “Musashino” determined they had let down the one who was attempting to make use of them.

At that point, a sudden voice came from behind as someone entered through the bridge’s door.

“In that case, ‘Musashino’, what if someone else took over for the personnel who would be sent out to clean? Then the chaff could be eliminated without issue. Over.”

These were the words of an automaton. Specifically, of the one automaton that ranked higher than “Musashino”.

“ ‘Musashi’-sama. Could you explain what you mean by that? Over.”

Adele also turned toward “Musashi” who stood just inside the rear door.

“If someone else took over for what the automatons do? Who will be taking over and what will they be doing?”

“Judge. I refer to the external information processing. As we cannot currently use our shared memory, the observations are being made based on the personal memories and decisions of the individual ship captains while also exchanging opinions via transmissions and manual labor. However… Judge. To be blunt, there is someone who can far outdo our speed and accuracy even at our best.”

“Musashi” took a step to the side and indicated someone else standing there.

“That person is Mukai Suzu-sama. Over.”

Suzu had been brought to the bridge, but she had not been told why.

The surrounding automatons were busily moving about and she had decided to stay still, but then she heard someone speak behind her.

“Judge. Suzu-sama, I will be connecting your Izumo-made Noise Neighbor perception system to the Musashi’s external information. That includes sound, gravity, heat, etc., but we will focus on the sound and attempt to eliminate as much noise as possible. …Will you try it for a moment? Over.”

Suzu nodded and sensed Adele nodding toward her.

…''How will this work?

She could not see, but she could perceive what was around her to a certain extent even without her Noise Neighbor object perception device. She did so through sound, wind, scent, and heat.

…''But isn’t that…something anyone can do?

Nevertheless, “Musashi” spoke.

“Suzu-sama, you were the first to notice the existence of the third San Martín earlier. And based on what you said, I believe you had more or less noticed the existence and location of the first and second ones. However, it was far too obvious a thing to you and you were unaware of our strategy and countermeasures, so you assumed everyone else already knew. Over.”

“Um, Suzu-san? Can you hear where the San Martíns are now?”

“Judge,” affirmed Suzu. The sounds of the shells were approaching, but she could tell where they came from. “Here and…around here? Yeah. They’re…far away, so I can’t…tell very well.”

She pointed to the area behind her head. The sounds of shellfire were loud, so she thought this was an easy question. Not only did the entire Musashi shake each time, but she could tell the shapes of the San Martíns and gods of war flying around.

“Musashino” took a step back for some reason.

“We can only reach a conclusion about echoing sounds after a thorough examination, so we cannot reach an immediate answer. I have determined this is a difference in our conjecture policy having to do with priority and estimations. Over.”

“Judge.” “Musashi” could be heard pulling out something like a long thread. “Judge, Suzu-sama. I will be attaching the cable. There is also a diagram of the Musashi in front. Can you use that to point out the locations you sense? If you do, we can add the indicated location to our battlefield map. Over.”

“Judge.”

Suzu nodded and tilted her head to the left to point Noise Neighbor’s connection port toward “Musashi”.

After a small and solid sound, she felt the weight of the connection and returned her head to normal.

“…!?”

Adele saw Suzu suddenly raise her hands to her face and tremble.

The nearby chair fell over, but she stood up on her tiptoes.

“Ah.”

She trembled and touched her own face as if to confirm the shape of her own body.

“Ahhhhh!!”

Suzu spread across the sky.

She suddenly felt as if she were not standing on anything at all. She next perceived the sea and sky continuing on forever in front of her, but she soon focused specifically on the sea down below that surrounded everything.

…''I’m falling!

She subconsciously took a step back and felt a soft sensation on her back.

“Eh? A-a clean cushion?”

“Judge, Suzu-sama. This is ‘Musashi’. I am supporting you, so do not worry. I took the liberty of scanning your nervous system and I see your perception stretches in every direction. Over.”

Suzu did not understand what that meant.

“My body can…touch anywhere? And hear anywhere?”

When she tried to touch something with any part of her body, she could feel it. The same went for heat and sound. When she walked, she could feel the movement of the air on her back and head and the dirt beneath her feet. The light of the sun, the coolness of the shadow her body cast, and the chill of the damp ground were all things that reached every part of her body.

And sound came from everywhere. So why?

“Is everyone else…different? You aren’t…are you? I…I can’t see… I’m…lacking…in that way, but…”

But…

“That doesn’t mean…I can sense this…more than everyone else, does it?”

“U-um, Suzu-san!?”

She heard Adele’s voice to the left in the sky. The other girl could see her, so Suzu tilted her head and Adele spoke.

“W-we can all sense the same things you can. I-it’s just…u-um, you sense it a lot cleaner than we do! Because we’re all so filthy! Our hearts are clouded!!”

Suzu did not entirely understand, but it seemed how she sensed things was useful. That made her want to help, but she also laughed at Adele’s strange way of saying it.

“That was mean.”

“No, no, no. This much is perfect! Anyway, um, Suzu-san? Please help us out.”

“Right,” answered Suzu.

She wondered what the sensation in her heart was. It was possible that her own ability was truly necessary. It may have only been taking over a role someone else usually filled, but…

…''I can trust that I have this ability, right?

It was not the size of her ability that mattered. It was whether she had it or not. So…

“Um.”

She faced the vast world beginning with empty space and spoke to the people there.

“Thanks.”

A short break arrived as Suzu helped on the bridge. The automatons were already working to clean away the chaff, but that was why a gap occurred until everything was shifted over to Suzu.

“So I need to eliminate as many of the enemy attacks as I can.”

Asama stood on the front starboard end of Takao and faced the Tres Españan fleet to the north.

She had already finished setting up Umetsubaki and was completing her follow-through.

She had fired an arrow. The large double arrow flew into the western sky. One of the arrows provided a special effect and the other one attached to the top allowed it to break through barriers. It was heavy and could not fly far, but…

“What do you think Shinto spells are for!?”

She gathered strength in her green eye and watched the accelerating arrow along with Hanami.

“Hit!”

She nodded and sounds of destruction came from one of the Tres Españan ships in the western sky.

The double arrow had scored a direct hit and destroyed the defensive spells applied around it.

A cramped room with a low ceiling was surrounded by windows on three sides and had a bridge on the exterior of either side. It was the bridge of Ship 12 in Tres España’s main fleet and it shook due to the enemy attack they had been unable to stop.

The twelve square meter bridge had divine transmission and command equipment lined up along the windows and the man with a captain’s armband asked what had caused the ether light that had burst in the sky ahead of them.

“What was that attack!? Does the Musashi have a weapon with enough accuracy to hit at this range!?”

“Testament! It was their gunner shrine maiden! She temporarily reduced and eliminated the defensive spells around the ship. The lower arrow of the double arrow seems to have had a spell allowing it to penetrate low-level barriers.”

“What effect did the upper arrow have!? It wasn’t a fire spell, was it!?”

“Testament. I have detected no reaction in the ship’s firefighting spells, so there is no danger of explosion or fire!”

“Then what was it?”

The captain and everyone else tilted their heads and the ship’s alarm began sounding perhaps due to the temporary lack of defensive spells.

Warning signs with crosses began flashing on the message boards and divine transmission boards.

The captain sighed and instructed the navigator to end the warning.

“Was that meant as a warning? Or was she serious but didn’t manage anything more than a warning? I guess the infamous gunner shrine maiden isn’t all she’s cracked up to be. Look up the address of her shrine and send a divine text saying ‘thanks for the warning’. Then continue firing.”

Everyone laughed bitterly, but the control officer looking down at the stake-like arrow said something.

“Huh? That stake is hollow…and made to come apart.”

Confused, everyone focused on him.

“It was empty? Did she forget to put in the explosion spell?”

“I was thinking we would’ve been in trouble if it had hit the window, but if it was empty, the window’s defenses might have been enough.”

They all laughed and more laughter joined them.

“Ha ha ha! Isn’t it great that this didn’t turn into a disaster!?”

A pink naked man stood at the center of them all.

“Eh?”

None of the people on the bridge knew how to react to the sudden turn of events and the naked man gathered the rest of his body that was leaking in through the ventilation as a gas. Once he finished, he raised a hand and showed off his white teeth.

“Good evening! I am no one suspicious! I am Itou Kenji, an obscene spirit known as an incubus! I have visited your ship this evening to make friends!”

“Um, so that stake was…?”

“Yes! I was crammed inside with a friend of mine! Now! Let us begin the friendship ritual!”

Itoken suddenly reverted to gas and the navigator frantically spoke up.

“What do you mean the friendship ritual?”

“Ha ha! I said I am an incubus, didn’t I!? We will of course be absorbing each other’s life force!”

All of them exchanged a glance before crying out and rushing toward the door or hitting the switch on the wall for the holy water sprinklers.

However, those that touched the door and those that touched the switch reacted in the same way.

“Hm?”

The door’s keyhole and the sprinkler switch were filled with something sticky.

Neither would move and the sticky substance spoke.

“Trying to leave after a special envoy of friendship has arrived? How very rude! But do not worry! I, Nenji, shall lend a helping hand for the sake of our mutual friendship!”

Asama’s shoulders drooped as she listened to the voices coming from the sign frame next to her.

“Now, everyone! Follow Brother Itoken’s lead! It’s time for incubus exercising! One, two, one, two. Now with the person next to you! Okay, make a proper circle there. Oh, you need to put in a little more effort. Or do you need me to instruct you in Españan? Why are you crying?”

The screams could likely be heard the world over.

…''I’ve helped with something horrible.

Then again, she had initially planned to fire a shot straight through the bridge. However, that would have caused a variety of problems, so she had gone with Kimi’s suggestion.

“See you next week in your hometown!!” said the voice on the sign frame.

…''Are you announcing your future crimes?

Hanami tried hitting Asama’s lowered head to cheer her up.

At any rate, Asama looked into the distance and saw the enemy ship filled with screams had stopped firing. Also, the other ships were afraid of meeting the same fate as their fellow ship, so they surrounded themselves in walls of light.

They had strengthened their defensive spells with a focus on physical attacks.

…''But that means they can’t fire as freely as before because they have to make sure they don’t destroy their own barrier from the inside.

That lowered the frequency of the shellfire. They would probably start firing again once they reached a stable position, but this still created a gap and Asama hoped it was enough to let Suzu get started.

Asama corrected her posture and spoke to the others.

“The rest is up to you.”

Suzu thought on Asama’s words.

…''Asama-san is relying on me.

During writing class, she had relied on her, so it was time to pay her back.

Suzu sensed what lay before her.

She was borrowing the Musashi’s senses, so the sensation of the world spread out around her.

Waves covered the ocean as far as she could sense and the sky contained ships, clouds, and the wind.

…''Here, here, and over there.

“Ship, wind, coast, cloud, sound.”

To her, everything in the world resembled some form of pain. Pressure, heat, and sound would all hurt if they were strong enough, so it was a little strange for that sensation of pain to continue on forever. The wind right next to her was connected to the wind far away and she could touch both those identical pains at the same time.

It was like lying in a futon. One could feel a warm sensation in their head or cheek at the same time as feeling the same sensation in their feet. The never-ending ocean was the bottom of the futon while the sky and wind were the blanket placed over her head. She was where her head was, but she could still touch the ocean and sky by her feet. After all, that painless pain was there and her senses brought it to her.

She understood it all. The sounds of shellfire were like a strong pain, but she could feel and hear a lot of it.

''It’s like lightning,'' she thought. ''Yes. It feels a bit wrong, but I like thunderstorms. When I told Toori-kun, he said he did too, so maybe the world is painful for him too.

“Here.”

There were sea birds, what she guessed was a whale, and more and more.

Adele saw something unbelievable.

Suzu was smiling and creating a world with the ether light model.

She laid out the sea down below, lined up the Musashi and the enemy ships in the air, and occasionally shifted the location of the gods of war as if she had just noticed. To the south, she used stroking motions of her hands to create the northern coast of the mainland as well as the cities, villages, mountains, and rivers there.

Her fingers added clouds in the sky and she drew ribbons indicating the lines of wind. When handling a stealth ship, she hesitated for a moment which indicated it was not perfect even with her in control, but otherwise…

“Um, um…”

As Suzu happily created that world with a smile, “Musashino” spoke in a daze.

“She is perfectly perceiving everything within a range of thirty kilometers with only a slight margin of error. Over.”

The meaning of “perfectly” was likely a little different here. Automatons would carefully examine the entire area, so if they tried to perceive the ocean, they would be distracted by the movements of the waves and they would try to grasp everything about the changing sounds.

But Suzu clearly understood how to appropriately select what information to gather and what to let slide.

Adele then thought about the world taking form at Suzu’s hand.

Suzu was often in the academy’s reference room. The chancellor had pointed that out during writing class before.

According to Suzu, she enjoyed it because the reference room contained a lot of teaching materials she could touch with her hands. From that point on, she had always been in charge of searching for anything in the reference room.

However, that room naturally contained a certain large object.

…''A 3D map of the Far East.

It was the size of several desks and was difficult to get out the door. If Suzu spent time in that room, she would have touched that map quite a bit.

“That means she’s memorized the shape of the Far East with her hands.”

As Adele muttered to herself, Suzu finished creating England and let out a breath. Adele thought she was done, but the girl then approached the model of the Musashi and smiled as she created something on Musashino’s bow.

“Toori-kun and…Horizon.”

''Why am I not surprised,'' thought Adele as she looked at another model. It was of a Technohexen leading the wind toward the Tres Españan fleet.

Naito was about to reach her destination.

Naito soared through the night.

The anti-air fire had already grown denser and some spells and homing bullets were being fired now. The best way to deal with that was to…

…''Come in from below!

Most aerial ships floated in the sky using a virtual ocean just like the Musashi did. Some used wind instead, but most used an ocean because the water also helped with defense and firefighting.

But that meant most ships did not have any weapons on the bottom.

Standard practice was to use homing bullets for anything below the ship.

That was why Naito checked on the enemy ships’ lines of fire and made her way down below them.

Whenever a homing bullet arrived, she immediately activated a defensive spell. The homing spells used motion or shape recognition, so if she reduced the light and vanished into darkness for an instant, most of the homing bullets lost sight of her. She was already wearing black, so it was easy for her to blend into the darkness.

…''Now where’s the enemy ship I’m after?

She spotted it.

The enemy fleet had started to split to the left and right, but one ship in the very back had yet to move.

That mechanical phoenix aircraft carrier had an important reason to remain facing the Musashi.

As the Musashi approached in a straight line, the aircraft carrier could send out high-speed attacks with the phoenixes’ large stakes.

Of the surviving phoenixes, one was being taxied. Once preparations were complete, it would be launched for its attack on the Musashi, so Naito had to stop it.

Her targets were the flight deck and that first phoenix. If she could manage it, she would also target the bridge. But to attack the ship from above, she needed to ascend while evading the anti air fire.

And so she did so. She slipped between the shells and spells, passed through the gaps in the noise, and rose toward the twin moons.

“Okay.”

Once she arrived, she looked down at the long flight deck and suddenly noticed something odd about her surroundings.

…''They aren’t firing?

The aircraft carrier was preparing to launch the mechanical phoenix, but the enemy was not attacking her. Wondering why, she looked around and noticed all the shellfire was directed at the Musashi.

She tilted her head at why they were ignoring her and she looked back down.

As soon as she did, she sensed something massive behind her.

“!?”

As she turned around, a god of war flew toward her.

…''Eh!?

During the early stages of the battle, a few of the gods of war had been intercepted and damaged.

They had supposedly returned to their ships, but the one behind her had its right arm hanging limply as proof of its damage.

She remembered it. It was the one whose right side she had fired through.

To a human, a shot to the right side would have damaged the arteries and severed the nerves and the limp right arm was proof of that. The pilot should be in need of emergency care.

“Is that not enough of an injury for you to fall back until the battle’s over!?”

She understood that this god of war was targeting her specifically. It had likely hidden below the aircraft carrier and circled around when she had ascended.

…''That’s the same method I used earlier!

She was already attempting to evade. She used Schwarz Fräulein as a shield, raised her butt, and tried to drop straight down.

But she was too slow. She had opened an attack spell, so she was unable to open an acceleration spell quickly enough.

…''Not good!

She thought that for a variety of reasons as the charging god of war swung its left arm at her. With one arm out of order, it could not keep its balance while holding a weapon, so it attacked barehanded.

The steel fist cut through the air as it flew her way.

“…!”

It struck her like a lariat and she tumbled sideways through the air.

Schwarz Fräulein broke and the black Technohexen bounced through the air.

“…”

She went limp and fell to the depths of the night. Above her and beyond Schwarz Fräulein and its broken ''schale'', the god of war saw her go limp, scatter feathers, and sink down.

On the Musashi, the members of the defense units were struck by a few different types of attacks.

Tres España’s landing team attacked them on the starboard side, the San Martíns fired on the port side, the main fleet fired on the front, and the gods of war attacked the entirety of the ship.

Not a single spot of the ship could go undefended.

“Dammit!”

A student yelled out from a defense unit on the starboard side that switched between firing from behind cover, charging forward, and defending.

“Can we really keep up this defense!?”

The enemy had arrived within eyesight of Tama’s bridge.

The enemy was in a bit of a hurry, but the defenders could not let them through. The loss of even one of them seemed dangerous as the boy shrank back from the enemy’s attacks. And that fear allowed the enemy to advance.

“I’m so pathetic!” shouted the boy who had cowered from the enemy bullets and could not fight back from behind cover.

However, no one could criticize him or even focus on him at the moment.

They did not have enough manpower or weapons and the enemy was numerous. There were a lot of reasons to complain.

Even now, another member of the defense unit collapsed. When the boy saw that, he gasped and yelled out once more.

“Dammit! Why!? Why are we doing this!?”

He shouted toward the enemy that actually seemed to increase in number as they fired on them.

“Even if we win, we’ll just be making an enemy of the world! So…”

He spoke his mind.

“Isn’t this enough!? Haven’t we done enough!? Let’s just quit here!”

The others around him were left speechless. Everyone was thinking the same thing, so they exchanged a glance. However, an upperclassman sporadically firing arrows spoke to the boy.

“It’s true I sometimes wonder why we’re doing this.”

He nocked the next arrow.

“But if you can’t find a reason, then go join another academy.”

“…”

The younger boy fell silent and the upperclassmen kept his eyes on the enemy while continuing.

“Listen. Whether it’s time to quit and whether this is enough are your own issues. Don’t ask us. Ask yourself and go where you can find your own reason to fight. After all, Musashi is moving on the policy set by our idiot of a chancellor and our princess who doesn’t know who she is. I don’t know how crazy you have to be to advocate both world domination and world peace, but…”

As soon as he said “but”, a bullet grazed his right cheek.

He gave a quick “kh”, but only shook his head once and looked to the right. The others began to move in concern, but he stopped them with a hand and drew the bowstring.

“You’ll be happier if you go while there’s still somewhere you can go.”

“Are you…?”

“Don’t ask. It’ll make me feel too important. …At any rate, just stick with the people like me for the time being. There are a lot of others like this. Of course, the most obvious example is over there.”

He rubbed his right cheek and used the same finger to point toward Musashino’s bow while still looking forward.

“Those two are there, aren’t they?”

The others turned toward Musashino’s bow.

“Huh?”

The idiot on the bow held a microphone and the upperclassman frowned once he noticed as well.

“Okay, everyone,” said the idiot. “I have an important announcement to make.”

That being…

“There’s a lot to complain about in the battle right now, don’t you think? So if you find anything like that, how about I stop by to comfort you? My jokes are a lot of fun.”

“Waaaah!”

Everyone across the Musashi cried out in fear.

“If we don’t work harder, that idiot will stop by to get in our way!!”

Toori and Horizon listened to the different reactions on the divine network.

“Stay away! Stay away, okay!? I’m serious about that!”

“Before, I thought our leaders didn’t understand all the trouble we go through, but actually having those leaders join us would be even worse! I never realized that before! This isn’t fair!”

“E-everyone, move forward! If we don’t look like we’re doing this properly, that idiot’ll sneak up behind us and ruin all our hard work!”

No matter what direction Toori looked, he saw people charging forward while raising battle cries. But soon…

“S-stop watching us, you idiot!” someone said. “Look up into the sky and hum or something!”

Horizon nodded twice.

“You are hated on the level of a national treasure. They are reacting the exact same way that elementary school did.”

“Don’t be silly. They’re just tsundere. They’re saying, ‘I-it’s not like I want you to stop by or anything!’ So what should we do? Should we start with the right since they’re doing the best job of pretending not to like me?”

“Stay away! This is a dangerous battlefield, so stay away!”

“What? But what’re you going to do? I’m supplying you with Blessings, but aren’t you having trouble?”

“If you show up, it’ll go from ‘having trouble’ to ‘completely hopeless’!!”

“Huh? Aren’t you missing like five levels in between there? If this was strip mahjong, it’s like someone got a Heavenly Hand in on you.”

“Yeah, and you’re the one that did it!!”

“What?” Toori frowned at that and started pointing here and there. “Who’re you saying did it, you idiot!? Hey, you! And you with the unpopular-looking face over there! Your voices are hurting my ears, so I’m gonna go quiet you down if you keep it up! While you keep complaining, I’ll sneak up behind you naked and hit you in the back of the knees!”

“I-isn’t the chancellor supposed to be on our side!?”

But everyone took in a deep breath and gave a clear response.

“Honestly,” they said all over the Musashi. “Keep quiet, you idiot, and leave the battles to us!!”

“Sure,” said Toori as he sat back down.

However, Horizon tilted her head next to him.

“Even so, I have determined the situation is not good. I have determined we simply have insufficient personnel and a determined spirit can only take them so far.”

“Then should we help?”

Horizon briefly froze in place at that sudden voice.

She exchanged a confused glance with Toori.

“What was that?”

“What should we do?” said the voice again.

It came from behind them, so they turned around and found a fifteen centimeter super-deformed dog-like creature standing upright.

“A kobold?”

Adele and the others on the bridge heard Heidi’s voice.

“It was kobolds! Yes, it was the ore kobolds live in! I was thinking of dropping the rocks on that glasses man’s house for free, but it looks like this was a good thing after all! I had the mercantile guild help out for free and place the ore on top of most of the Musashi’s ether fuel pipes!”

So…

“The kobolds will accept odd jobs, so anyone who can fight should fight!!”

“Even so,” said “Musashi” while expressionlessly beginning calculations on a sign frame. “Kobolds require almost no pay, but saving up enough currency to pay them will still cause economic deflation. Also, the kobolds will consume our ether fuel and having fewer people assist will reduce the valuable ether dedications the Musashi takes as a tax, so…”

“H-how about we have the kobolds construct a 24-hour workplace where they can mass-produce products to sell cheaply but quickly?”

“That will be something else to work on in the future. Over.”

But the automaton then continued.

“Regardless, they will be useful in the current situation. I will approve it. Over.”

Cheers rose from the different ships as those helping with the work inside the ships rose to the deck. Adele thought while listening to their voices.

…''The most meaningful part is making it possible to have actual shifts.

This went beyond those fighting on the deck. The automatons and people working inside the ships could leave most of the transportation and communication jobs to the kobolds.

…''Do what you can.

Just as Adele prepared to say that aloud, she heard someone else speak.

“Okay, take care of this, all of you.”

“Please.”

A voice came from the leader sitting on the Musashino’s bow with a girl sipping tea next to him.

“I, Aoi Toori, and Horizon Ariadust are here and we won’t run away. So…”

Shells reached that area, but gravity barriers deflected them. Most of them made it dangerously close to him, but he showed no concern.

“I’m sure there’s a lot you can’t do or want to give up on, but…”

But…

“Leave all those impossibilities to me for now.”

And in exchange…

“Please, tell yourself it’s possible for you.”

“Please.”

When that word was repeated like a nod, the people fighting on the Musashi’s decks took a breath in unison.

They exhaled, inhaled, and then exchanged a glance.

I guess we’ve got no choice.

Just this once, okay?

You’ll pay for this later.

All those things were written on their faces, but in the end, the corners of their mouths rose and their shoulders shook a bit.

“Judge!! You can trust in us, Musashi Chancellor!!”

An order came from the bridge.

“Everyone, line up!!”

“Judge!”

This was the first thing they had learned in training, so they all checked each other’s locations.

“Get ready!!”

“Judge!!”

A short pause.

“Everyone, begin where you left off!”

“Judgment!”

Judge, judge, judge, judge. We make our judgment here.

“Yes, we have already received holy judgment!”

“We are those who carry our king’s possibility and our princess’s emotion!”

“Yet we are those who will keep sorrow from our king and our princess!!”

As they cried out, they all tossed there tiny portable rations in their mouth.

“Defend! All we can do now is endure for a while longer!”

Everyone fired, endured, and pushed forward. As if restarting their training, they focused on what they had to do despite their exhaustion and injuries.

“We’re not so stupid…”

The enemy pushed back.

“…that we won’t listen to what that idiot of a chancellor asks of us!”

The two sides clashed yet again, but the vermilion armor and uniforms also endured while the metal spikes on the soles of their shoes groaned under the strain. They opened any gap as if thrusting their way in and they fired and attacked to break down the defenses.

“Don’t get carried away! We’re no idiots either!”

“That’s right!” shouted one of the students in a vermilion uniform. “We’ve come this far bearing our decline! We’re here to keep our sun from setting! It feels like the entire world is telling us to set, but we’ve kept fighting! Every day, we talk about it in the cafeteria, chat about it on the way home, and think about it while staring at the ceiling while going to sleep, and we’ve come this far to make it a reality!”

“Yeah!” replied another one while charging forward. “We’re filled with our own ruin!!”

As if in response, the shellfire from the sky ahead increased. The Españan main fleet was getting closer.

It was about time for Tres España’s landing team to leave, but for that very reason…

“Heeeenaaaareeessss!!”

“Testament!!”

The vermilion ones held up their weapons.

“The empire on which the sun never sets has an announcement for the dead nation on which the sun never rises!”

First, one of them shouted into a voice amplification spell using a ''cadena firma''.

“Triiiiiunfooooo!!

The others repeated after him.

“Triunfo!”

And again…

“Victoooooriaaaaa!!”

“Victoria!”

“Gloooooriaaaaa!!”

“Gloria!”

More voices joined in.

“Triiiiiiunfo! Tres España!!”

“Victoooooria! Tres España!!”

“Glooooria! Tres España!!”

“Heeeenaaaareeeessss!!”

“He! Na! Res!! Henares! Henares!! Henares!!!”

They all held their weapons forward.

“Testament!!”

And they charged.

The sounds of the clash were equal at first, but the Musashi side was soon pushed back on the starboard end.

The vermilion vanguard had determined the path they could travel down fastest and ran down the passageway in an arrow-shaped formation.

Also…

“Climb over them! Jump over them! We’re not the track team for nothing!!”

They took three-dimensional action. They even used their own teammates as stepping stones as they charged in.

But Musashi responded.

“Defend to the front!! Only worry about anything else once you’ve done that!!”

However, the enemy’s attacks were dense and they pressed forward even when those in front collapsed.

“Dammit!”

While pinned in place by the concentrated aerial attacks of the gods of war, they cried out.

“Hold your ground!!”

They recalled the greatest principle of their training, but the enemy’s attacks were overcoming even that.

“What good is that!? If we just hold our ground they’ll climb over us!”

Even as they said that, the enemy pushed in and tried to climb over.

But then a sharp yet awkward voice reached them. It was Suzu’s.

“They’re…coming.”

No.

“They’re here!!”

A moment later, a giant form appeared overhead from the rear starboard side. It was white, but it had the Musashi Ariadust emblem on the side.

“A transport ship!?”

As the transport ship quickly passed by overhead, a few shadows dropped down onto Musashino’s bridge.

They were the Musashi representatives who had gone to England.

However, they were not alone.

Far back on both the port and starboard sides, definite shellfire could be heard.

In the night sky, something was visible near England to the north and toward the mainland to the south.

“That’s…the English fleet!!”

The ships of the fleet had the Trumps emblem on the side. The ones to the north said 5-1 and the ones to the south said 5-2. The number 5-3 also arrived and it was obvious what this meant.

“Sir Drake is coming from the north while Sir Hawkins and Cavendish are coming from the south after sending Musashi’s citizens to IZUMO! But…”

England was supposed to leave everything to the Musashi and not take part.

“Why!?”

“It is simple. A pirate that obeys his nation is no pirate. Rather than worry about what I think, a true privateer will ignore me and bring back results.”

The Fairy Queen spoke quietly while standing on the Tower of London’s Andamio de la Ejecución that would no longer be used. She used the drawn Ex. Caliburn like a cane as she watched the distant battle and addressed the vice chancellor and vice president behind her.

“Honestly, England may be ruled by the Far East someday.”

“Wh-wh-wh-why do you say that, Your Majesty?”

“Think carefully while you watch. If I hand my throne over to Mary and that ninja’s child, the child will be half Far Eastern.”

She laughed and snapped her fingers.

“Nicholas. Use the Great Seal to approve of the negotiation with the Far East concerning Mary.”

“Testament!”

Just as Nicholas’s smiling face appeared in a sign frame, a great impact ran through London’s sky. Like an umbrella to the night sky and moonlight, England’s giant seal and approval for this attack was drawn in ether light.

Elizabeth looked up at it and gave a quiet sigh.

“Save you from anything.”

She took in a breath.

“In English, “you” can refer to more than just one person. So…” The queen snapped her fingers again. “So I am still keeping my promise. Have Howard send out the other ships. Also send out the pirates, Grace, and I’m sure there are others who can go. …I will scold them for this! I would scold them all, so tell them to escort the Musashi to IZUMO after the battle ends. Honestly, all of them are far too kind.”

The vice chancellor and vice president’s shoulders shook and the queen crossed her arms, gave a snort, and looked to Walter and Milton’s backs on the road down below.

“And so am I. After this battle is over, we all need to attend a meeting to rethink our actions!”

On the road in front of the Tower of London, Milton and Walter watched the battle to the southwest.

However, Milton was focused on something other than the transition on the battlefield.

“She’s gone…”

Walter did not reply, but Milton did not mind.

“We lost our master twenty years ago and now it’s happened again. Why do I have to be stuck with this mute moron? If only Akiage Hisaie, the other survivor of the Amako Ten Braves, was here. But he parted ways with us twenty years ago and vanished after fighting in a number of battles against Mouri.”

Milton saw Walter give a small nod at that.

“If he had been with us when we were swept to England two years ago, do you think he would have stayed with us? If he had, he could have seen something truly interesting.”

After all…

“A ninja who loves well-endowed blondes is exactly what that idiot was when he was younger.”

So…

“Go, you fools! Just as we did back then!”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 63|Chapter 63]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 65|Chapter 65]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 63

2014-08-29T23:05:36Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 63: Donators on the Mound */

==Chapter 63: Donators on the Mound==
[[Image:Horizon2B_0923.png|thumb]]
''It is always after the fact

''That you realize

''It was important

'''Point Allocation (Receiving)

The wind ripped through and the mist danced about.

The moons were visible in the sky and their pale light illuminated all. Down below, a boy faced a boy and girl.

They were Noriki and the Valdés siblings.

The mist surged like waves and scattered, but the brother and sister took their pitching poses. The sister threw underhand with her right arm while the brother threw overhand with his left arm.

“A three-pitch game?” asked the brother. “We will be trying to hit you with all three. But what will each side give the other if they lose?”

Noriki lowered his stance as he answered.

“If you win, I’ll smile. I won’t smile.”

“Testament,” agreed Pedro, the brother.

The sister raised her eyebrows.

“We’ll make you smile five times as much as my brother always does.”

“Sister, there isn’t enough time in a day for that. I am seriously worried about your poor arithmetic skills.”

“Call it math,” replied the sister while she and her brother continued their pitching motion.

A glowing mist came from the Holy Spell charm activators attached to their waists and enveloped them. The brother spoke first.

“We of the Bungo Navy and the Watanabe family offer a prayer to the saint of sailors, Saint Elmo.”

The sister bent and twisted her body in response.

“Mouse ‘El Fuego’ – Receive.”

Cross emblems opened in the space between them, on the backs of their hands, on their elbows, and on the other connected parts of their bodies.

“Oh, holy flame. Put the wind to our back, our target in front of us, strength in our shoulders, and a will in our hearts. Please let us remember our strength and bring light to the darkness even if there is no light in the heavens.”

“Yes,” they both nodded. “Burn, oh flame!!”

They both released their bodies. It looked less like they were throwing the metal balls and more like they were stretching themselves a step forward. The foot they brought forward rang out as they slammed it to the ground. The cross emblems over their bodies burst and flames flew from the two metal balls they threw.

“Go, magic ball!”

As soon as they shouted, a certain phenomenon occurred: the two balls vanished.

Noriki frowned.

“…!!”

A metal ball suddenly appeared right in front of his chest.

And it hit.

Flores, the Valdés sister, saw the enemy knocked backwards. While still doubled over, his back broke through the barricade of wooden containers behind him and he rolled along the deck afterwards, so Flores swung down her clenched fist.

“Strrrrrrrike!! Batterrrrrrr out!!”

“Sister, you have gotten quite good at rolling your r’s recently, so I’m beginning to wonder if you have become a resident of Hexagone Française. Also…”

“Also?” asked Flores as her brother prepared to pitch again.

She understood what that movement meant.

“Look, sister. He is not out.”

The enemy had stood up. It was not quite to the point of casual, but he shook his head, rolled his shoulders, and slowly but surely stood.

Flores wondered how it was possible, but he reached into his work vest and pulled out a metal panel that had bent by about seventy degrees. Her eyebrows slowly rose when she saw that

“Do you put those in your pants and shoes too when working in dangerous areas?”

“If you understand, there’s no need to explain it.”

He threw away the metal panel and took a stance again. However, this stance was different.

“Oh?” muttered her brother.

The enemy was turned to the side with his left shoulder leaning forward. His center of gravity was pushed forward onto his left knee.

This stance left little area for their balls to hit and allowed him to thrust his fist out in a straight line.

Flores understood he was serious now, so she prepared for her throw. She made the same motions as her brother but from below and the cross emblems appeared all over her body.

All the while, she kept the enemy in the center of her vision.

“Burn, oh flame!!”

While looking to starboard, Horizon saw Noriki slammed into the barricade once more.

She sat on a cushion she had brought to the bow and she produced a cup of tea from her storage space.

“I have determined life does not progress as one wishes.”

“How many cups of tea did you stick in that space, Horizon?”

“Amazingly, it preserves the heat. I have determined it is a surprising ability.”

She reached behind and passed a new teacup to Toori.

“Roasted tea! Horizon, did your love circuits have you guess my must-have favorite!?”

“Oh? So your favorite is the same as the shop owner’s? Like mother, like son. She must have influenced you.”

“D-dammit. You just have to find a way to defy me, don’t you!?”

“Quiet,” said Horizon.

She was watching the broken barricade where Noriki stood back up, even if he was unsteady on his feet now.

“Are you sure this is not a problem?”

“Judge. Noriki’ll be fine, so don’t worry. When you work in construction on the Musashi, falling from double-digit meter heights is pretty common.”

“That is not what I meant. Should we really leave this fight to him?”

“There’s even less reason to worry about that.”

Horizon tried to listen to Toori’s reasoning, but the idiot reacted to her silence instead.

“U-um, are you mad that I kind of talked back to you there? Are you mad? Are you legit angry?”

“I have already told you countless times that I do not have the emotion of anger, so I will omit that explanation here. Now, please continue.”

“I think I’m losing confidence in myself as a student entertainer… Anyway, you don’t have to worry about Noriki. It’d be rude to him if you did.”

“Rude?”

“Yeah.” Toori sat casually next to her, rested his chin on his hand, and looked toward the battle. “Ever since he came here as a kid, he’s worked every day.”

“My memories do indeed contain observations of that scene at least a few times.”

“See? Anyway, that’s naturally given him some pretty decent physical strength. But it’s a lot of work for him to support his family on his own, so we never invited him to this kind of commotion.”

But…

“Once we entered the second year, he was always there with us. I’m sure he’d thought up all kinds of excuses, but we could tell. He wanted to hang out with us just as much as he wanted to work and support his family, so it’s just stupid to ask if it’s a problem for him to be here. If it was a problem, he wouldn’t be here in the first place.”

So…

“Just watch, Horizon. We’ve got the perfect seats here.”

Pedro, the Valdés brother, saw the enemy spit bloody saliva to the deck.

He had lost the metal panel from his vest, so the damage had to have gotten through.

However…

“Brother, we would’ve been in trouble if we hadn’t noticed.”

“Testament,” agreed the brother while truly meaning it. “He took a step back at the instant of impact.”

With the first hit, the enemy had memorized the timing with which the disappearing magic ball reappeared and he had taken a step back just after they had thrown the balls.

But the step back made it harder to hold his ground. That was why he had leaned forward to help hold his ground as much as possible.

“That was an excellent decision, but we’ve seen this method countless times. Right, brother?”

That was right. They had fought many such people in the past and so the Valdés brother spoke to Noriki.

“We set the magic ball to reappear one meter back from your stance. That is why it scored a direct hit despite you stepping back. Do you understand now that your efforts here are wasted?”

“They are not wasted,” said the enemy. “A method either works or it doesn’t and thinking about when it doesn’t is not worth my time.”

At that, the sister glanced over at her brother.

He understood.

Neither the first pitch nor the second had scored an absolute direct hit. That had been made clear with the second pitch.

The enemy had hit them with his fist.

Of course, he had not gotten in a perfect hit. After all, they were reappearing less than thirty centimeters in front of his chest, so he was unable to fully extend his right fist for a clean hit. The real reason he had stepped back for the second pitch was likely to have room to extend his arm properly.

But even if they were not clean hits, his fist had still touched both pitches.

He had deflected them, but the first pitch had hit the right side of his chest and the second had hit near his right shoulder.

That difference in location meant something.

…''His timing is improving.

If a foul ball flew directly backwards, it meant the timing had been spot on. The second pitch had been close to that.

“Let me warn you,” said the enemy. “I understand the trick behind your vanishing magic ball. I’ll punch it next time.”

“Brother!”

The brother prepared for his pitch without turning to his sister.

The enemy’s spell strengthened his punches and had a dispel effect on an opponent’s spell that it recognized. In other words, he would see through their magic ball system and then score a hit. This enemy was close to being their natural enemy.

However…

“Sister, there are no intentional walks in a three-pitch game.”

He continued his pitching stance and the enemy pulled back his fist.

The boy turned to the side and raised his forward leg.

…''That’s the flamingo batting stance!

He would take a step forward as he made his strike. He revealed his intentions ahead of time, but he received his maximum strength in exchange. He was planning to take back the strength he lost in the dedication of the first and second pitches.

''Splendid,'' thought the brother.

No one would face them back at home and very few other people wished to face them even in battle, so it was wonderful to have an idiot willing to go all out against them like this.

“Sister, if we are true baseball players, we must respond in kind. Give this your all and I will do the same.”

The two of them simultaneously launched their pitches.

Noriki stepped forward with a throbbing tempo in his support leg.

It resembled the timing of his pulse, but a moment later…

“…!!”

His foot crashed onto the deck and he launched his right fist.

He twisted his entire body, bent his knees, and slightly raised his lowered hips.

“!!”

As the Valdés siblings entered their follow-through, they reacted to his quick step forward.

“Too slow!”

That meant one thing.

He could not step back and hit. And if he moved faster, he would be able to hit.

As if to say he understood, Noriki added in more speed. His left arm was pulled behind and its elbow shot up above his back and his right leg kicked off the deck behind him.

“Ahhhh!”

He forcefully spun his body forward.

He moved toward empty space, but his fist tore into that emptiness. He twisted a half rotation more than usual to increase the force of his punch which he sent…

“Here!!”

With the sound of shattering glass, light scattered between him and the Valdés siblings.

A moment later, something else appeared between them: two metal balls.

One was a high line drive and the other one was on its way to hop up from below.

As the two began to overlap, Noriki punched the one coming from below.

And he hit.

…''He punched them at the point of unification!? Well done!

The Valdés brother saw the ball he pitched hit the barricade over the “batter’s” shoulder.

And the ball his sister had pitched was hit back at them.

This was the result of the enemy fully seeing through their magic ball.

Part of him could not believe it, but a part of him had known this moment would come eventually.

Their magic ball made use of the donation of charity that was mentioned in the Testament. As a way of providing what they had in excess to those in need, the two of them would simultaneously “donate” the ultimate pitch to their enemy.

…''But two simultaneous pitches is not the best donation for them.

The enemy could only receive one pitch at a time because a donation that would fill both their hands was not allowed.

That was why the siblings combined the two with a spell. The spell caused the two trajectories to cross and the paths and strengths of the two balls would combine into a single “donation”.

This spell pitch was only possible with a brother and sister who could perfectly match each other’s timing.

Also, the pitch combination occurred in a dedicated space created by the spell.

As a result, the single pitch would appear at the point of intersection where the two pitches had been altered into the optimum pitch.

And the other would be returned as if to say it had never happened.

“…”

The brother looked to his feet. The balls he had supposedly thrown during the first and second pitches lay there.

That was because the optimum pitch had used his sister’s ball.

This was not because he was trying to make her look better. He had always helped her out in little ways.

…''But that is why something has started feeling off in my left shoulder.

He had not told his sister because the timid girl might very well quit pitching if she knew.

However, they had been defeated just now. He had had a bad feeling when their enemy had deflected the second pitch upwards.

That had meant the boy was targeting his sister’s ball that rose up from below.

He had unnecessarily removed the metal panel from his work clothes after the first pitch, but that had likely been to check the angle the pitch had hit him from. And if he worked in construction…

…''When he was fixing the city behind him, did he research the buildings our pitches hit!?

''A splendid enemy,'' thought the brother.

The boy had almost certainly shown up specifically to face them.

…''I doubt he could have smiled even if we had won.

Meanwhile, the ball that was hit right back at the pitcher flew toward his sister.

She was standing there in a daze, but he could protect her by shoving her out of the way. However…

“…!”

The brother took action.

Horizon saw the result.

“Noriki-sama has lost.”

As she watched, the Valdés brother had brought the game to an end.

He had used his left hand to stop the ball Noriki had hit back and Toori muttered what that meant.

“He’s out with a line drive catch. But…

“Brother! Your hand!”

Blood was spilling from the dominant hand he used to pitch. Catching the metal ball with his bare hand had caused a few nails to practically burst off the hand.

“Kh,” groaned the brother while forcing the corner of his mouth to rise and raising the ball in his hand. “Victory goes to our magic ball!”

“Judge,” muttered Noriki.

The Valdés brother turned to Tama with his sweat scattering in the wind.

“Captain Takakane! It looks like this is as far as we can go!”

The Valdés siblings’ ship forcibly removed its anchor from the Musashi.

The Musashi was already raising its speed, so the small ship would be knocked away at any moment. The other ships also removed their anchors.

“The bombardment team will begin pursuing the Musashi! Fight well, the rest of you!”

As the ships left all at once while battered by the wall of air, Noriki raised a hand down below. Blood was flowing down from the gauntlet on his right hand and he pointed at the Valdés brother’s raised left hand with that bloody hand.

“If you start now, you can still make it in time for the next Olympics.”

The Valdés brother nodded and spoke while vanishing into the distance.

“Keep an eye on the daily newspaper’s sports section.”

“You just lost your covering fire. Are you sure you want to continue? We have also sent out one of our uncontrollable Technohexen.”

Takakane shook his head at the merchant’s words and he looked to the bridge ahead of him.

“You’re the one that’s in trouble. You’ve only got 300 meters left.”

“As long as I defeat you, the distance makes no difference. …None of this is going to make any money.”

“Then are you gonna stop fighting?”

“No.” The merchant shook his head. “If Musashi wins here, it will be a good business opportunity. As long as we collect the Logismoi Oplo, money will come pouring in for me. What a wonderful time to be treasurer.”

“Even though your ships were damaged and your people injured?”

“None of that has anything to do with money. Damage to the ships and injuries occur due to the strategy we use, the actions we take, and the situation we are in, but that also means they will not occur in certain situations. However, the situation known as battle assures that money will pour in for me. Yes, I love money, so this is wonderful.”

“You really love gathering money, don’t you?”

The merchant lowered his hands and expressionlessly replied to that question.

“Make no mistake. The best part about money…is spending it.”

With that, something flew from both the merchant’s hands.

Takakane reflexively held his long bat in both hands to block them.

Two solid sounds later, the two objects were lying on the ground.

“Ten yen coins? How cheap can you be?”

“I wanted to use one yen coins, but Heidi insisted that would lower our store’s reputation.”

“That’s a hell of a way to maintain your reputation.”

“Don’t say that,” said the merchant while flicking more coins.

He sent them up and down this time to target Takakane’s head and legs.

However…

“That ain’t gonna cut it.”

Takakane rotated the long bat vertically and two more solid sounds filled the air. The two deflected coins once more fell to his feet.

“My defense won’t let anything through. I’ll knock it all to the ground in front of me. This is how I attack too. My role as vice chancellor is to perform the ultimate squeeze play.”

“So you love loss. I find that difficult to fathom.”

“Don’t say that,” said Takakane as he began to run forward.

The merchant flicked two more coins at him, but…

“That attack isn’t gonna work on-…”

His words were stopped by two loud blasts.

“!?”

Takakane stopped running and lowered his hips.

…''What were those impacts just now?

Two ten yen coins lay on the ground before him, but white smoke was rising from his bat. The smoke came from the heat caused by the friction of the impacts.

“Did you use an acceleration spell on the coins like Technohexen do?”

“Technomagie is a relatively effective system of spells, but it cannot compare to the magic of money.”

The merchant brought his hands together as if praying and a clear sound rang out.

“Take a look at this.”

He pressed his hands together, lightly snapped them, and then spread them to either side. Between them, sign frames appeared with the same density as pages in a book.

“These are the contracts of all the students participating in this battle.” The merchant looked toward Takakane. “These say that one-tenth of the student’s attack power used in this battle will be supplied to me and, in exchange, I will pay them an amount equal to one-tenth their pay. On top of that, I have used a merchant’s distribution spell to divide that power among all of my coin attacks. This process requires the power to pass through several spells and gods, so the strength drops by about 50%, but…”

The merchant opened the side cover of his side tail and pulled out a small pot. He held it under his left arm and stuck his right hand inside up to the wrist.

“This is a money safe with the inside space expanded. When I need to clear my mind to think, I simply stick my hand inside and let it swim through the ocean of money. But at the moment, it is the storage space for the bullets among which I have distributed my attack power.”

Takakane held his bat up defensively while the merchant waved the hand inside the pot as if to brush something away.

This launched around a dozen coins at high speed.

“According to the Testament descriptions, the Far East had a tradition of throwing money outside in order to drive off evil. And in ancient times, spirits of the dead and the like were apparently referred to as ‘oni’. Can you stand up to this oni-repelling attack?”

“No man wouldn’t like being called an oni!”

Takakane swung his bat and began repeatedly knocking down the merchant’s bullets. Solid sounds and the glimmer of coins continually bounced up from the ground and he slowly made his way forward.

“We’re out on the ocean, so this isn’t Far Eastern airspace! We’re in the land of the oni now!!”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 62|Chapter 62]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 64|Chapter 64]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 61

2014-08-29T23:05:04Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 61: Defense Units in the Sky */

==Chapter 61: Defense Units in the Sky==
[[Image:Horizon2B_0865.png|thumb]]
''What do you do

''If they don’t show an opening?

'''Point Allocation (Defend)

As the battle sent tremors through the ship, Heidi ran through the sixth basement of Okutama. She occasionally placed exhaustion recovery charms in her mouth and the circular meter indicating its remaining power would fully rotate around and vanish. She complained to herself how much physical strength she was using and she finally arrived in the cargo area that filled the 16th wide block.

Unlike the larger specialized cargo areas in the first port and starboard ships, this was a standard Musashi cargo area that used the same space as any of the wide blocks. She used a password key to pass through the wooden bulkhead door that was used in place of a guard station and she immediately relocked the door after stepping inside. The only others inside were Marube-ya staff who had the same key.

The long and narrow floor was filled with Musashi-style wooden containers that had been shoved inside from the hatch on the stern end. All of the student merchants opened the access hatches on the top of one of the containers.

“Oh, Heidi! Sorry for calling you here, but come look at this!”

They pointed inside from above.

Heidi tilted her head and wondered what it was as she climbed the ladder on the side and spoke to the others.

“Lord Howard gave us this, didn’t he? Isn’t it the so-called present he gave us just before the Musashi left port?”

“Judge. That’s right, but what is it?”

Everyone got down on hands and knees to look inside from the narrow space above.

She tilted her head again. One only needed to peer in from above when the cargo was a liquid, a grain, coal, or some other granular object. Simply put, it was for any cargo that would spill out as soon as the side was opened. Shirojiro had already checked through everything, but he had not said anything about this and he was currently out on business.

“Well, if I don’t know, I can always ask him. So what is it?”

Everyone peered in at once, but there was no need to ask what was contained inside.

“Rocks?”

The container was filled with rocks about the size of a child’s head and the others looked troubled.

“It’s true rocks are valuable on the Musashi. Some people say they need them to make pickled foods. But still.”

“We aren’t supposed to pour them down on people in battle, are we?”

Heidi listened to all their ideas and frowned.

“That glasses man!”

…''Oh, but Shiro-kun checked over it.

“Then it must be something good! It has to be, right!?”

“Did someone brainwash you, Heidi!?”

“You just don’t understand,” she complained with a snort, but she still tilted her head.

What were these rocks good for?

After a sudden vertical vibration, one of the others hit his head on the ceiling.

“That was an attack from an enemy god of war. I recognize the sound from Mikawa.”

That meant…

“The battle really has begun!”

Adele watched the attack by the enemy god of war squadron from the bridge.

…''Santiago Caballero is a famous aerial god of war squadron, so seeing them in action is a great learning experience.

Tres España’s god of war squadron formed units of three and attacked with five such units.

Of the three, two rotated between attacker and assister and the third acted as the controller and leader who monitored their surroundings and sent targeting information.

Two units fought at close range while two others covered for them and they set up a rotation of roles as well. The final remaining unit covered for them all and commanded them. Its covering fire primarily came in the form of sniper shots.

The continued rotation of the attacks eliminated any losses and allowed them to fight indefinitely.

…''They’ve clearly been well-trained.

The fighters of other nations’ academies would often act in teams on a daily basis, even in their normal lives. They would go as far as to eat and bathe together. Their academy classes and presentations were all together and those lovely young men would appear in academy divine TV ads saying “Alcalá de Henares! We may be broke, but just look how big our smiles are!” Adele felt that was a bit different from how the horrible people in her class acted. They were so defenseless that Naruze would make a gay doujinshi about them in an instant.

And as they attacked, the Musashi focused on defending. It was said defense was easier than offense, but that was not necessarily the case. After all, everyone here was more or less a beginner. Just like at Mikawa, the most they could do was track the shells and gods of war with capture spells and then intercept them.

However, they were still fighting.

It was an entirely defensive fight, but they had a plan.

Neshinbara had yet to arrive, but receiving his assistance via divine transmission was a huge help. In truth, Adele was neither a commander nor a strategist. She was only in command due to the process of elimination.

…''I’m convinced I’ve lost some weight during these past few hours. I’m not going to say from where, though!!

Actually being out on the battlefield was easier on her mind, even if it was not easier on her body.

Currently, she was watching the enemy gods of war from the bridge.

However, they were not yet perfectly handling those gods of war. The Holy Spell chaff was still clinging to the Musashi, so the automatons could not instantly exchange information through their shared memories.

Nevertheless, they were using handwritten memos and other methods to gather and transmit information.

''They’re really desperate,'' thought Adele before asking a question to “Musashino”.

“When do you think the wind will render the chaff ineffectual?”

“Judge. This is only my personal estimation, but I would say twenty minutes from now. Over.”

Their strategy until then was to wait, but there was something they could do before that: defend, endure, and persevere. Afterwards, their efforts would be repaid with a chance to attack.

…''Either way, we can’t move until we sink the San Martín.

Adele waited for their chance with nervous sweat appearing on her forehead. She raised her right hand to give a command and realized she might be a little too into this.

“Not much longer now.”

While the Musashi settled into defense, the Tres Españan god of war squadron wore down those defenses and confirmed the location of their forces.

“B2 leader to Base1. It’s no use. The water on the bottom of the ships is flowing up too thickly. They seem to be changing the thickness in the areas we approach. A ship’s cannon could probably get through, but with ours, we need to split apart the water for a direct hit or it won’t get through.”

“Testament, Gran Muñeca unit. This is Base1. They most likely have lookouts, so please attack them if you spot any during combat. But do not try to follow them if they escape. Moving them from their post even temporarily is good enough.”

“A1 leader to C leader, please swap us out with A2. My left knife is about to break, but we’re in a bad position. We’ll remain until the last second, so have them attack from the top. …Oh, damn! They’ve got a lock on me!”

“C leader here. Testament. A2, you’re up. A1 leader got unlucky. Use the designated course to attack the first starboard ship from the designated position.”

“A2 leader here. Testament. What, I don’t get to watch him panic as they trail after him?”

“You got promoted just before we were sent out, so I’m not gonna let you just sit around.”

“It’s better than being promoted afterwards.”

“That’s true.”

They all laughed and continued exchanging divine transmissions as they fought.

“It’s about time we had a serious discussion. …How’s their air defense? Has anyone been stupid enough to check?”

“Testament. It’s thick but its range isn’t that big. It seems to be about five hundred meters on average. It makes sense when you remember they’re using what were originally developed as anti personnel spells. We should be fine as long as they don’t hit us in the joints or gaps in the armor. But be careful about the face. You don’t want your sensory devices reflexively shutting down.”

“Shut that off, you amateur. Are you still complaining about the wind hurting?”

“C’mon, I’ve got sensitive skin. …Anyway, where’s their Technohexen unit? I didn’t like the looks of their attack on the mechanical phoenix unit.”

“Those phoenixes came in too straight because they’re used to the beasts of the New World that aren’t on the lookout for an attack. Don’t forget that we can move in three dimensions. They haven’t been trained well enough to follow us if we do that.”

“Testament,” they all agreed and they all knew each other well enough to recognize each other by the voice alone.

But sometimes, their smiles would vanish in an instant when someone gave a report and that happened now.

“C leader to units A, B, and C. I’ve calculated the area Musashi’s defense unit covers and I’m sending it to all of you. The way they’re using the passageways and hiding behind buildings suggests locals of each area are in charge of defending it. It would be best to destroy as much cover as possible before Captain Takakane’s landing team arrives.”

“Wait, wait. If we try to fire horizontally, our own fleet will hit us from behind.”

“Why didn’t you turn down that promotion?”

“I don’t want to hear that from someone who’s working to pay off his mortgage. …Unit B1, let’s go. We’ll approach the second starboard ship via 8-2, lower to 150, and attack the surface. Scatter at 11. Let’s see if we can make our way out along the roads.”

“Testament,” replied C1 as the god of war squadron worked together. “Let’s destroy the surface. Don’t leave any walls behind. Create a pile of rubble and tear a hole in the ship.”

Adele watched as the god of war squadron lowered its altitude and attacked Tama.

Tama was primarily used for diplomacy and trade and its surface area was mostly residential, but the front of the ship was being flattened by Tres España’s blasting spells.

…''It’s like they’re saying this is where they’ll land.

Currently, containers of armor for repairs were being sent to most areas to combat the destruction. The passageways leading underground were sealed off and “Tama” had locked down the barrier doors along the corridors.

It would not be an easy place to enter from and there were plenty of obstacles before reaching anywhere important.

However…

“The defenses leading to the bridge in the rear are weakest on the second ship. The bridge is built low so diplomatic ships can moor themselves.”

…''So this is the most dangerous place for them to target.

The sounds of gods of war firing and flying through the air seemed to support that thought.

“The enemy god of war squadron is switching between low-altitude bombing runs and quick withdrawals! Over.”

The looping attack of descent followed by ascent continued one, two, three, and then a fourth time.

However, the gravity barriers and defensive formations were holding. There were danger reports, but Adele was patient.

And on the seventh attack, something arrived at the same time as the two attacking units, so she swung her right hand forward.

“3rd special duty officer! Please handle this!!”

“Judge!!”

Several figures flew out from Musashi’s inner hull.

They were black Technohexen.

They flew out before the transport route’s side hatch could fully open and they stood on the outside of the hull as if flipping themselves around. They already had acceleration spells prepared on their brooms or other weapons.

“Herrlich!”

But when they fired, it was not at the enemy.

They were all firing directly ahead and at the same altitude.

They simultaneously fired along the path of the gods of war attacking the surface from low-altitude.

None of them were trained well enough to target the enemy by sight, so they had decided on an altitude and all fired ahead to draw a straight line.

There were twenty-one of them and they each fired a roll of coins worth one thousand yen. The horizontal barrage created by those people and that currency flew toward the six enemies.

“…!?”

Two took direct hits and one’s right arm was hit.

They had been hit.

Of the two that took direct hits, one had the scatter shot of coins bite into its wing expansion mechanism which caused the god of war to tumble in the air.

It reflexively moved the opposite wing which accelerated the tumble.

As it spun away through the air, its right leg was bent the wrong way when it struck the deck and the entire machine fell of the inner side of the ship.

The other one that received a direct hit received no actual damage because the coins hit its armor, but the other one that was hit on the right arm lost control of the rifle that arm held.

“…!”

A shot hit the first god of war in the back of the left thigh, but it still maintained its posture. With no concern for appearances, it immediately evacuated upwards.

However, the one that had fired the shot stopped moving for an instant and that was a mistake.

The anti-air fire of the defense unit focused its fire on that on which had ended its three-dimensional motion and come to a stop.

The god of war was bending back at low-altitude, so the gaps in its armor were opened wide when viewed from below. A metal spear was accelerated into its stomach and it convulsed before colliding with a building.

“!!”

After its armor broke and strength left its body, the god of war fell into empty air off the outer edge of the ship.

That was two defeated.

But someone took action after the repeated losses to the god of war unit: C Leader who acted as the unit’s leader.

He rapidly ascended to a safe area out of range of the Technohexen.

He looked down to check on the Musashi from overhead and get a grasp on the enemy’s location.

However, the enemy was moving toward him.

This enemy rapidly ascended after moving from below the ship and up the outer hull.

“The Schwarz Hexen from Mikawa!?”

Naito fired.

She was already equipped with Schwarz Fräulein and she held up the broom with multiple layers of acceleration spells.

“Neshinbara Tou-chan can be pretty nasty in how well he reads things.”

As she spoke half in admiration and half in exasperation, she took an instantaneous action.

Just like in Mikawa, she fired up into the sky. C Leader tried to escape, but he was too slow to raise the wings on his back.

…''I can’t accurately guide the shot without Ga-chan, though.

His reaction had been slowed because he had only just escaped and come to a stop. Because the other Technohexen had fired from the Musashi, he had subconsciously assumed he would be safe up in the sky.

But Naito took advantage of that.

She held up her broom and used the several layers of acceleration spells.

“Herrlich!”

The supervisor of the Tres Españan god of war squadron was pierced through the left side and out the back.

A cheer rose from the Musashi and they covered for the descending Technohexen.

The god of war squadron scattered again and the sky cleared up for a short time.

In that moment, a ship-wide announcement from “Asakusa” cut off everyone’s cheers.

“To the northwest off the port side at ten o’clock!”

“Asakusa’s” voice shouted a direction.

“Low-speed shell detected! Tres España’s stealth ship has fired! Over!!”

Tres España’s stealth ship named the San Martín had supplied the damage that had kept the Musashi stuck in England and it fired on them again now.

“Preparing defenses! Over!”

“Musashi” handled the gravity barriers from the waiting room next to the bridge.

She coordinated the defensive walls with “Asakusa” on Asakusa without using their shared memory.

A single shell flew their way. It was a physical shell and it had no divine protection or spells applied, so a dozen or so gravity barriers would be enough to divert it.

They could not communicate their thoughts via shared memory, but they could statistically predict where the other would move first based on their past movement patterns. “Musashi” virtually synchronized her actions with “Asakusa” despite not being able to see her.

“We will divert this shell! Over.”

The shell ultimately struck the torii-shaped gravity barriers, lost speed as it broke through a few of them, and finally burst.

“…!!”

Cheers rose from the left side of the ship. “Musashi” could no longer see the shell from where she was, but…

…''It must have been diverted!

There was no second shell. Given the time from “Asakusa’s” shout to the interception, the enemy seemed to be staying more than three kilometers away in fear of Horizon’s Logismoi Oplo.

Defending against a shot from the stealth ship that had damaged them before was sure to raise morale and the guns on the Musashi’s port and starboard sides returned fire toward the position the San Martín had fired from.

However…

“The shells are passing through!”

Their shells did not hit the enemy.

“The San Martín has left the corresponding area!! Over!!”

“Musashi” thought. She made an estimation based on the hit they had previously taken near England.

…''I have determined the San Martín can move at the speed of a high-speed ship.

They could not hit it in time by firing back after it fired on them.

That had just been proven.

…''This has gotten much more difficult.

Adele on the bridge and Neshinbara listening in over the staticky divine transmission had to be thinking the same thing. They still had not located the enemy stealth ship and would continue to be targeted by it.

The enemy was certainly moving around so its location would not be known. It would likely fire if the Musashi tried to move or showed an opening.

With that in mind, it was clear why Tres España had only sent out their god of war squadron. Bringing in the many other ships would prevent the stealth ship from moving around.

If Musashi did not locate the stealth ship, they could eventually be hit. Even if they could detect and defend against the shells, it would not necessarily work so well the next time. After all, the god of wars were searching for more weakly defended areas and acting as a diversion.

“Musashi” then heard someone take a breath from the sofa behind her.

She turned around to find Suzu whose face was a bit pale.

“Judge. Do not worry, Suzu-sama. The defense is complete.”

“Wh-what was…that?”

“Judge. A low-speed shell from the enemy stealth ship. One of those hit us before, but we defended with multiple gravity barriers this time. I have determined ‘Asakusa’ was able to respond so quickly because she has the most data on the previous hit. Over.”

“I see,” muttered Suzu before taking a breath. “So that…first sound was…the shell being…fired.”

“Musashi” replied with “judge” to help put Suzu at ease, but she suddenly felt something in Suzu’s words did not fit.

…''But what?

She had determined it was odd for Suzu to say that, but she could not determine why that was without searching through the massive database or consulting the others via their shared memory.

For that reason, she analyzed the statement with only her own artificial brain and spoke to Suzu.

“If something is bothering you, please tell me because we are working to locate the stealth ship. Over.”

Fusae quietly clicked her tongue in Tres España’s main fleet.

“Their distributed spells and ether supply allows the Technohexen and defense units to do whatever they want when we get too close. And even the San Martín will have difficulty hitting with their gravity barriers. How are things with you, Taka?”

A ''cadena firma'' appeared and produced his voice.

“Didn’t I tell you not to call me when we’re in stealth because we don’t want to make any weird noises?”

“But I want a report from you.”

“They defended against San Martín’s shell. What else am I supposed to say?”

“I suppose you’re right,” replied Fusae while she sent him text information on the Musashi’s reaction.

She thought about the condition on the distant ship’s deck.

…''Their joy over defending will have gradually faded and they’ll be growing impatient.

The Musashi was stopped and the defensive formations on the deck were being repositioned or newly sent out. They were located at the center of the ships, along the outer edges, and on the major roads and they were all in the same stances as when they had responded to the low-speed shell.

“And in response to our gods of war… Oh, there they go. Their work gods of war are out holding giant shields. They’re in groups of two and one of those two has picked up the bow at their feet and started to use it.”

“If those bows and shields fit in a god of war’s armored outfits and hands, they must be the ones England’s ArchsArt makes for giants. But just like a ballista, those arrows can’t hit a god of war even with homing spells.”

“Um, Taka? From what I’ve seen, I think they’ve been ordered not to pursue anything moving left and right or up and down. They’re only firing at stopped targets or ones coming straight at them.”

“So they’re only swinging at stopped balls or strikes, hm?”

“Testament. I’d do the same if I was them. Narrowing it down to there lets the homing actually work and raises the odds of the arrows hitting. Also, the attack spells used by their normal students have a range of only about 500, but a god of war’s arrow can reach 1500. That’s probably the main point behind it.”

“In that case…”

“Testament. The god of war units can’t descend. The coordinated firing of the Technohexen unit and the sharpshooting of that Schwarz Hexen was enough to keep them from getting too close, but the long range of their gods of war means ours need to back off a little. And since C Leader was injured too, the injured will return to the aircraft carrier. The uninjured will form units of three and perform hit-and-run attacks to gather information for the landing unit’s entry. It’s actually decent timing.” Fusae fixed her track suit’s collar. “It looks like they understand what the San Martín’s presence means. I’m sure they’ll figure this out eventually, but let’s surprise them some more until that happens.”

Adele exchanged opinions with the automatons on the bridge.

They had calculated the coordinates from which the San Martín had fired earlier. They had then compared that to the flight patterns of the god of war squadron and the locations the other enemy ships had fired on.

“Adele-sama, it seems Tres España is leaving a certain amount of space open as they attack so as not to interfere with or accidentally hit the San Martín. The San Martín is currently to the rear port side of the Musashi.”

An object representing the enemy ship appeared on the model Musashi floating in the air. It was on the rear port side. As a clock position, it was at seven o’clock.

“We can estimate that the San Martín is moving here. We can use the guns set on the back of the second port ship and the outer hull of third port ship. Those guns have an effective range of seven kilometers, so it is well within range. Over.”

“Judge.”

Adele nodded and ordered the six guns on the port side to target the corresponding airspace.

They had not confirmed the San Martín’s location, so they could only predict it based on the space left open.

…''But there are plenty of other areas that are being left open.

The key to estimating the San Martín’s location was how quickly it could move with the spatial barrier of primary stealth active.

Calculating the enemy’s location while under the pressure of being targeted while motionless was exhausting to everyone involved. Even now, a divine transmission was coming in from the completely panicked idiot on the bow.

“Adele! Adele! Is it all over!? Are we all gonna die!? Nwooohh! There’s one sexual and businesslike thing I want to do before I die! Horizon, you know what I mean, don’t you!?”

“Judge. Do you wish to receive a urine test? Make sure to include as much blood and proteins as you like.”

“Huhhh!? I thought this was a game of catch, but you just hit the ball back at the pitcher, didn’t you!? Wait, Horizon! Horizon! Why are you pulling a giant paper cup out of your storage space!? Don’t draw a line on the inside! I can’t fill it up that much! Or do you want to see me get serious!? Is that it!?”

…''I can’t do this. It’s going to drive me insane. I need to stop listening.

At any rate, the automatons’ observations said the enemy ship was a high-speed ship meant for quick decisive battles. Based on its speed and the movements of the gods of war, it was determined to be on the rear port side.

This assumption made for a dreadful opponent, but they could put up a fight if they could estimate its location.

And so Adele ordered for the cannons to fire and Neshinbara gave some advice.

“Let’s find them. Fire all across that area of sky. If we hit them, we win.”

“Secretary, couldn’t they circle around behind us?”

“The smoke coming from the Musashi is still behind you, right? Primary stealth eliminates their visual form and sounds, but it doesn’t eliminate their existence. Even if they’re using a visual compensation spell, they’ll avoid moving through smoke because it’s so easily disturbed. If they do try to pass through, they’ll go under you, so angle your line of fire there.”

They did not have to hit. As long as they showed the enemy they knew where they were, they would be on equal footing.

And so Adele passed on the firing location and…

“Fire!”

But no cannon fire came from the Musashi.

Suzu and “Shinagawa” were the first to notice. “Shinagawa” had a lot of similarities to “Asakusa” as they were both captains of the first ships and she had been looking back in sky on the starboard side in case gravity barrier defense was needed.

“Low-speed shell detected!! It is arriving from the rear starboard side!! Over!”

They had thought the San Martín was on the port side, but it was actually on the starboard side.

“Did it move above or below the Musashi to reach the other side!?”

“Musashi” had only been able to respond to the attack from an unexpected location that did not match the automatons’ prediction because Suzu had turned in that direction. That acted as an accurate guideline and she deployed the gravity barriers as soon as the shell was visually detected.

After a short delay, “Tama” deployed her own barriers, but it was too late.

They diverted the shell, but not by enough. It struck the bottom of the arrival and departure deck for transport ships and diplomatic ships on Tama’s outer hull.

With a great sound, the materials were smashed to pieces and the deck broke from its connections with the ship. Tama also shook as if being rocked by waves.

As Tama shook up and down by about three meters, the defensive formations on its deck stopped moving. Anyone working on the outer surface of the Musashi was given a divine protection that kept them on the ground, but those who had not had both feet on the ground lost their balance.

Some were thrown to the ground and others fell.

Voices of surprise, repeated explosions, and the sound of the wind could all be heard.

“Ah.”

As soon as Suzu made that noise, “Musashi” saw it.

Several small ships had appeared in the sky off the starboard side where the enemy gods of war had been firing on them.

This fleet had been towed along within the San Martín’s stealth barrier.

It was the landing unit led by Hironaka Takakane and primarily made up of Tres España’s baseball and track teams.

The landing unit quickly approached Tama while letting the god of war squadron handle the defensive formations that were attempting to recover.

“The enemy is approaching…no, they are landing! Over!”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 60|Chapter 60]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 62|Chapter 62]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 56

2014-08-29T23:04:16Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 56: Howler in the Theatre */

==Chapter 56: Howler in the Theatre==
[[Image:Horizon2B_0735.png|thumb]]
''From whose point of view

''Is it a tragedy?

''And what is the opposite?

'''Point Allocation (Sentiment)

The people of London watched the overhead swordfight between King Lear and Michizane.

Even in their houses and behind their shutters, they could hear it and feel the wind.

The king pushed forward with repeated uses of his two swords while the Far Eastern noble responded with his lightning sword.

The white lightning sword arced through the sky and white light scattered when it was blocked by the crossed swords of its opponent.

They crossed swords with each other, launched a sword toward their opponent’s openings, deflected their opponent’s strikes, changed height and angle to attack again, and launched new strike after new strike.

They exchanged blows as if dancing and as if testing their opponent’s limits.

They wielded their weapons almost like wings, took steps that seemed to kick up waves, and turned the streets of London into the footing for a battle with all the roaring wind and white sparks that entailed.

The king and noble’s swords met and groaned as the two stepped sideways over the Thames and created great flowers of sparks from their swords with Westminster Abbey between them.

The people obeyed the queen’s command by leaving their shutters and curtains closed.

However, the queen did not rebuke them for peering through the cracks or cheering.

“Don’t lose!” shouted the Hamlet girl.

Hearing that, the king gave a small smile under his armor.

Everyone knew that Shakespeare’s Logismoi Oplo turned any attacks against her into internal Blessings, so they used that fact.

“Open the divine network! Choose your words carefully when cheering Shakespeare on! Tell her she needs to fight better! Otherwise it won’t reach her!!”

However, they also said something else with great expectation in their voices.

“Who’s the idiot who made Shakespeare call out King Lear!?”

Honestly.

“This isn’t something we’re supposed to see for free!!”

Neshinbara wrote.

He had not moved from his position on the bridge and Shakespeare had not moved from the end of the bridge.

To write was to imagine, so even if they could not see it, they could read the battle between king and noble from the text their opponent wrote and give their character the appropriate action.

Words were convenient.

However, words could not perfectly represent or convey one’s imagination. Even when writing “red”, the red the writer imagined would not be the same red the reader imagined. There would be two different colors.

However, it was that very ambiguity that made imagining and creating with words so much fun. How could one best build up the vision in their head and how could they best convey it to others?

''That’s right,'' thought Neshinbara. ''I want to get something across to her.

The girl in front of him sent more words his way.

<<King, wield your swords and attack the one who wields the power.>>

The moonlight was briefly obstructed as the king began to run.

Neshinbara responded by dedicating his instructions to the noble.

<Accept this power.>

<This is your final opponent.>

''That’s right,'' Neshinbara muttered in his heart. ''This is the opponent that will guide me to my future.

Who was she? Which one was she?

Long ago, he had met a girl who could consult herself about things. His time with her had been strange and lively. Perhaps because there were two of her, she had learned everything quickly and he had been unable to keep up.

They had been in a boring place and they had quickly finished reading every book available to them.

It had begun with discussions of their experiences in coming that far. Before long, they had started discussing fun and occult things and they eventually added in legends and the dramas popular in the city.

…''And then we started making them ourselves.

Because they had been doing it to kill time, they had been completely serious. And because she had been able to consult herself, her works were always well-made. He had thought they were just like what an adult would make.

When editing each other’s works, she had performed a hellish double-check of his works and he had rarely found much to correct about hers.

Even now, that probably remained true.

<Don’t let your guard down.>

He would not.

<Gain a firm foothold and lower your hips.>

He gathered strength.

<The time to randomly wield your power has passed.>

That was right.

<Let’s go.>

He agreed.

<nowiki></nowiki>

Neshinbara wrote while hoping it got through to her.

<nowiki></nowiki>

“Hey,” she asked. “Which do you think I am?”

He thought about her question for a bit before answering.

“It’s hard to say,” he said. “But I did remember one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Well,” he answered. “When you were with me you spoke a lot more formally.”

“…”

“When did you start speaking so casually?”

“Well…” She spoke slowly and quietly. “When you left.”

<<King, let out a cry. Cry out because you are aware of your misunderstanding yet also of your righteousness.>>

<Power.>

<Oh, power.>

<Carry the king’s righteousness to him.>

<<But, king, test that righteousness.>>

<<If that righteousness will bring tragedy, does it have any value? Test it and see, king.>>

<So what if it doesn’t?>

<I’m still going.>

<nowiki></nowiki>

<nowiki></nowiki>

“Then where did I go!?” she shouted. “Where did the formal me go!?”

<<The king lets out a roar and swings down his twin swords with two distinct surefire movements.>>

<The power moves straight toward the king.>

<<But the single power can strike but one of the king’s twin swords.>>

<<One of the king’s swords breaks.>>

<<But the young power is struck by the remaining sword.>>

<<The king weeps.>>

<<He holds the corpse of his beloved and lets out a wail based in his own righteousness.>>

The manifestation of Michizane vanished and the remaining king fell to his knees and opened his mouth toward the night sky.

The tragedy had ended. The scream indicating the loneliness brought by the king’s righteousness would be released into the heavens.

However, some words stopped it.

<The power brings an end to his righteousness.>

“Eh?”

She saw him. She saw him still typing words into his sign frame.

“Brings an end to his righteousness? How!?”

He did not give voice to a reply, but he did type one with text.

<Go, Macbeth.>

<Go, usurper of the throne.>

<Stand up and save the king.>

“That’s impossible!!” shouted Shakespeare.

Neshinbara shook his head.

“No, it isn’t.”

“How?”

“With some editing.”

While they faced each other from the bridge and just off the bridge, he held up his right arm.

“I broke down your Macbeth as a spell and rewrote it. Of course, I was only able to do it because I’m in this festival your stage created.”

Overhead, a young warrior appeared and stood calmly before the wailing king.

Shakespeare looked up at him.

“But then…this isn’t Macbeth! Macbeth can’t complete his usurpation!”

“No, it’d probably make for a terrible play. But stories are flexible. It may be a failure as a version of Macbeth, you can always make a different story on that groundwork. And I wonder if the people who’ve seen Macbeth a few times have ever wondered this.”

He spoke while moving his feet forward and across the rest of the bridge.

“Why couldn’t someone have made Macbeth into the king?”

So…

<Go, Macbeth.>

<Save the king.>

<Do what you must do and save the king going mad from the loneliness brought by his own righteousness.>

He had one thing to say.

<Stop the tragedy with your victory.>

With those words, Macbeth stepped forward.

In that instant, the mad king rose and indeed regained his sanity. He gathered his movements, prepared his one sword, and performed a steady counterattack.

However…

<Macbeth easily evades the king’s sword and thrusts his own blade into the king’s heart.>

Precisely that happened.

<<Stand proud, Leir, King of Heroes. You have given up the throne, but your name shall be remembered for all eternity.>>

In the end, the king embraced his usurper.

<<Smile, king. Through the flow of blood, your will shall be carried on by the usurper.>>

King Lear slumped down as if nodding.

<The usurper is with the king.>

<The king’s will shall never be forgotten.>

Everything but the still moonlight vanished as the two of them stood at the end of the bridge.

She hesitantly brought a hand to her chest.

“I…”

She shook her head and asked him a question now that he had crossed the bridge.

“Which one am I?”

Neshinbara nodded and gave a simple answer.

“Why not just say it’s the one that liked me?”

“Eh!? Wait! What’s this!? That came out of nowhere!”

“I mean, it’d be kind of sad if it was the one that hated me. So if we don’t know, this way is more convenient for me, don’t you think?”

“What?” asked Shakespeare while her face and ears grew red. “You idiot! Th-this isn’t about convenience. …And there’s no way to tell them apart based on that!”

He wondered if she knew what that implied and he gave a silent sigh while hoping that didn’t mean both of them hated him.

“Anyway,” he said. “I’m here, so where are you?”

She thought about that and lowered her head.

“…Here.”

“You made your way to England and did your very best here.”

Her glasses glanced up toward him when she heard that. She then leaned over and pulled a small book from the paper bag behind her.

It was the first printed work Neshinbara had ever made.

He shuddered as he wondered why she had it and questioned why his past embarrassment had to be shown off here as well.

“You only made fifty copies, so it was it not easy getting one. I paid an exorbitant amount at an auction in Genova.”

She audibly flipped through the pages.

“What was with this Sexy Dynamite Beam? Is it dynamite or a beam?”

“That’s your issue with it!?”

“What’s wrong with that? Honestly, and I was wondering if you and the illustrator were close.”

“Sorry, but that isn’t happening. There’s just no way.”

He seriously thought that, but Shakespeare did not seem to care.

“I think it was pretty original at the time for the heroine princess to be twins.”

“Yeah, about that…”

“The bigamy end was even more original.”

He had been prepared for this, but it essentially meant his life was over. She laughed and then slowly pulled a white and black shield from the paper bag.

It was the Logismoi Oplo.

“As promised. The queen will probably scold me and the people will say things about me. But…”

But…

“I don’t need it anymore. I’ve seen most every kind of criticism and I’m sure you’ll need it soon.”

“Are you sure? You’ll lose your inherited name.”

“Probably. And it’s going to be tough gathering ether fuel.” She shrugged. “But King Lear without the king dying can work. After all, the real King Leir was deceived by two of his daughters, but he was saved by his youngest daughter Cordelia and he restored peace. Shakespeare only modified it into a tragedy.”

So…

“The only one who can inherit the name of Shakespeare is me now that I’ve experienced ''something even greater'' just now.”

“You seem pretty confident and you do work for a complicated queen. But as long as you remain Shakespeare, I suppose the king will still die and he won’t hand the throne over to the usurper.”

Neshinbara suddenly pointed to the right.

“Hey, can you look over there for a second?”

“Eh?”

As soon as she looked over, he swiped the shield from her hands.

“Ah.”

By the time she turned around, he was already running away with shield in hand.

“Eh!? What!? What’s going on!?”

<It means I stole the Logismoi Oplo from you.>

<After all, I am Macbeth.>

“You’re up, people of the city!!”

The city replied to his shout. The people banged on their shutters from within. The percussive notes almost sounded like applause and Shakespeare gave a troubled smile in the moonlight.

“So we can have a Macbeth who becomes king, can we?”

Bitterness entered her smile and she brought a hand to her chest.

“Then can we have a king who wants to be with Macbeth?”

She bowed and an even greater din sounded out.

In the Tower of London’s changing chamber, Mary watched the end of the play using London as its stage.

…''Why are Musahi’s people here?''

She thought on the meaning of the kunai Milton had brought her.

“Is it Master Tenzou?”

As soon as she muttered that, a sudden voice came from the door behind her.

“Mary, the city seems to have grown rather lively.”

It was the Fairy Queen. Mary turned toward the voice and listened to it through the door.

“Let’s play a game, Mary. The same game we used to play with father.”

The words delivered after a breath backed Mary’s suspicions.

“Let’s make a gamble to see whether we should give our time to the fool who may be here soon.”

However, she heard another noise on top of the voice. It came from the distance on the south end of the city.

…''A wolf’s howl?

“Oh?”

Elizabeth gave a small sigh before continuing.

“Will the French wolf try to steal England’s moon?”

Walsingham saw the silver wolf stand up high with the light behind her.

With her arms crossed and her curly silver hair blowing in the wind, she perfectly overlapped the second moon.

She was to the north of the plaza. That spot had been empty before, but a wooden pillar had been formed for her to stand on.

The trees of the forest had been cut into logs with the wolf’s chains and then connected vertically.

She had her back to the moon while higher than the city of London.

And she spoke.

“A pillar standing in a park has two meanings. The first is a symbol of vegetative growth as seen in the maypole or the festival of Beltane. The other is one you should be well aware of as part of the public morals committee.”

“Scaffold.”

“Judge,” replied the wolf. “Once, a certain non-human girl from Hexagone Française was executed by England. It was during the Hundred Years’ War. Hexagone Française was on the verge of being ruled by England when the Maid of Orléans saved them. The girl led a unit of non-humans to liberate Hexagone Française, but she was captured by England and executed.”

Walsingham had heard of this from Drake. He would occasionally mutter about it.

Because of that, she had once looked into it.

“It occurred in the land of Rouen which was mainland territory belonging to England at the time. I have heard that even England sent members of the Testament Cross-Borders Unit during the history recreation of the execution. However, Hexagone Française sent a similar unit of non-humans.”

Walsingham knew that much. But for some reason, the closer Hexagone Française unit had never arrived despite being called for. That was why Drake suspected his grandfather’s unit had been betrayed.

However…

“Do you know the truth behind the execution? It seems the Hexagone Française unit arrived on the scene first, but the execution had already begun. They did not make it in time. No, from what I have heard, it was a little different than that.”

That is…

“The Maid of Orléans apparently wished for her own death. After all, she was of the angel race and she was prepared to disappear into heaven once her role was complete. She supposedly said, ‘This will bring an end to the war.’ No one else there wished for it to happen, but she was burned to ashes and ascended into heaven. And the truth of her martyrdom was not allowed to remain in the recreation of the Testament descriptions. So…”

At that point, something fell from the wolf’s shoulders and hips. They were fragments of silver that shook as they fell. These were the scattered pieces of the broken silver chains. The mist was slowly clearing over the plaza down below and the fallen fragments produced metallic noises around the wooden pillar rising up from there.

However, the wolf gave breath of satisfaction.

“The primary non-human force that fought alongside her managed to take some of her possessions from the scene. They were the execution tools that had been consecrated by the flesh, blood, and ashes of that holy maiden and angel. And they were made in England. One was a set of chains. The autonomous tools had enough power to bind an angel and they were later given the characteristics of an immortal race so they would not meet the same fate as her. And did you know this?”

With the moon behind her, the silver wolf opened her mouth in a crescent moon of a smile.

“On the night of a full moon, non-humans can use their full power.”

She then wrapped the silver chains below her feet. They looked like ripples or a lake surface reflecting the moonlight.

She sat in the center of the expanding ripple of silver, she raised her head toward the moon, and she howled.

“Ahh…”

Mitotsudaira did not resist her non-human instincts that throbbed in the moonlight.

She gave a slow, unsteady, yet carrying voice as she let her pulse run through her body and changed her voice to an “o” sound.

“Ahh… Ohh…!!”

Her voice continued trembling as it came forth and grew so high-pitched it seemed to travel endlessly through the sky. The wolf’s howl to the moon was joined by countless rustling sounds came from the earth.

The fragments of the silver chains fallen there shook and then made a sudden movement.

“Ohhh!!”

The shattered silver chains ascended. They clung to the wooden pillar of execution as if embracing it. They crawled up it with a sticky flowing motion, but their motion joined together with each other.

“————!!”

Two sprays of ether light rose along the surface of the wooden pillar. Those particles of light signaled for the broken silver chains to bathe in the moonlight and regain their form.

“These non-human chains can recover in the light of the full moon,” said the silver wolf. “You have returned to your birthplace, silver chains.”

She slowly stood, tore the four chains from the execution pillar, and lowered her arms. However, they were not bound by the chains. It looked more like they had torn the chains apart.

“It is a very old story and I do not know if it is true, but that is why I agree with Musashi’s princess. Musashi’s knight will also save any who have resigned themselves to execution.”

Then what would she do? The silver wolf stood with her back to the moon and faced Walsingham who was prepared to fight.

“Now, then.”

And she took a step into midair.

Just as Mitotsudaira stood one silver chain from the ground to the sky and placed a foot on it, Walsingham fired directly at her.

''This is dangerous,'' realized Walsingham. ''This is a dangerous opponent.

A clear sound filled the sky and the white line she had fired was blocked by a log tossed up from below.

At the same time, she launched her hound’s blades toward Mitotsudaira.

However, the silver wolf took action with the three chains she was not standing on.

“I’m in top form!”

The three of them were thoroughly wrapped around the logs rising from the plaza and they were sent Walsingham’s way.

The wolf did not hesitate and she used her full strength to attack, so Walsingham jumped forward and down.

With the attack coming from the front, she could not attack in that direction with her cannon or blades.

However, she could see behind her, so she jumped below Mitotsudaira so that she could move past her.

As soon as she kicked off the roof, three strikes hit the straw roof, but they were meaningless if they did not hit. She placed her left arm beneath her feet and kicked off of it to accelerate further forward and down.

She continued on and instantly passed below the silver wolf.

“————!”

Because she had used the three silver chains to attack the roof in front of her, Mitotsudaira could not turn them toward Walsingham right away. She could use the remaining chain she was standing on, but it did not hold a log and so Walsingham could deflect it with her blades.

While facing away, Walsingham aimed toward the wolf who was turning toward her.

However…

“You forgot something.”

Several lemon halves were thrown toward her back and they had already been squeezed of all their juice.

Mitotsudaira had presumably gathered them with her silver chains and the yellow objects were suddenly thrown toward the center of the back of Walsingham’s hair.

“…!?”

She lost sight of her target for an instant.

It was only a slight gap, but the enemy arrived in that instant.

The final silver chain that the silver wolf had stood on raced toward her.

However, she could deflect the light chain which did not hold a log. She only needed to strike it with a surface made from her hound’s blades.

And she did so.

However, Walsingham then saw that the deflecting blades were the ones deflected into the sky.

“!?”

Rather than simply having the final chain pursue Walsingham, Mitotsudaira herself pursued the hound while turning around.

She also saw the silver chain completely deflect the enemy’s blades into the sky.

…''I did it.

The enemy clearly did not understand what had happened, but Mitotsudaira did. This was the same as what Horizon had shown her before.

“The trick to peeling an apple while holding the knife backwards is to twist it.”

The instant Walsingham’s blades had reached the chain’s holes, she had rotated the chain as if twisting. Before the blades could gouge into the holes, she had grabbed them with the holes and thrown them.

It was the same as providing an instant rotation as soon as someone grabbed your hand.

However, coming up with the idea and mastering its execution were two different things.

She had gotten training from Naomasa who studied martial arts, but she had been thrown to the tatami mats countless times and gotten into the same martial arts debates every night at the yakiniku restaurant. There, she had learned that Naomasa preferred salt over yakiniku sauce and that she needed to begin twisting her hand before her opponent grabbed it.

…''And for some reason, half the class flocked to the restaurant and destroyed it!

Ignoring that last part, the chain and martial arts were the same. She had to twist the chain before the blades came to deflect it.

That would shorten the chain’s reach yet raise its attack power. Also, it could wrap around a joint-less automaton like Walsingham and prevent her from escaping.

And so she used that chain she had swung.

“Don’t think a hound can defeat a wolf on a moonlit night.”

She gave the silver chain a wrapping rotating and slammed Walsingham’s back into the fountain down below.

Mitotsudaira descended to the ground as if pursuing the enemy that had caused a great splash after being thrown down.

She then saw Walsingham’s back spring up. Without turning around, the hound accurately aimed her cross cannon at Mitotsudaira and fired.

“Bite!!”

In that instant, Mitotsudaira leaped toward the cannon.

She swung her arms as if folding them in prayer and fully closed the cross’s connection with a sharp blow.

The cross cannon lost an outlet for its power and it expanded while Walsingham held it over her shoulder.

It audibly ruptured, light burst out on Walsingham’s shoulder, and her hair shook. However, Mitotsudaira thrust her left hand forward as if holding it toward the light.

“This is it!”

While slamming Walsingham into the fountain with her left hand, she pulled something from the hound’s hair with her right and held it up.

“A Mouse!?”

Mitotsudaira looked at what dangled from her right hand amid the splashing sounds at her feet.

…''A small Walsingham?

She had super-deformed proportions and she even had the proper head decorations and tail-like hair. However, she already had tears in her eyes.

“Noooo.”

She shook her entire body left and right as Mitotsudaira observed her. Just looking at her made her small form jump, but the larger body that was collapsed in the water slowly and awkwardly attempted to rise up.

However, the automaton in the water was only making simple, autonomous actions and Mitotsudaira realized what that meant.

“It wasn’t that you provided vision for the area behind her. You are the OS for that automaton, aren’t you?”

After a while the small Walsingham finally hung her head.

Whether that was a confirmation or not, Mitotsudaira sighed at the hound’s OS that had stopped resisting. She placed her on the stone structure surrounding the fountain and the tearful OS looked up in surprise.

However, Mitotsudaira had already run off.

“Please excuse me, but I must report this to my king.”

With a regretful swing of the hand to make the silver chain flutter, she intertwined her gloved fingers and brushed her lips over the nails. As she ran, she lightly bit the tips of her white gloves with her lips.

“I need to tell him it was thanks to him that I won.”

“I’m not going to let myself lose like this!!”

Masazumi was held to the floor by several skeletons.

Hatton currently held a dictionary over his head in prayer, so she pleaded to him.

“W-wait! Surely there’s a process for handling things like this!”

“I hate a restrained lifestyle! I hate it to death!”

“Are you really the Lord Chancellor!?”

He must not have wanted to answer because he ignored her. She could tell the situation was truly bad and she felt this was the end.

She belatedly realized just how much of a disadvantage her abilities put her in during a battle between representatives.

She felt like she was seeing the trick to such battles here.

…''Physical ability and a personality that lets you ignore what anyone else says!

She knew both were impossible for her.

…''But wait. My class is filled with people like that.

“Waaahhh! Am I the only one to get the short end of the stick!?”

“Perhaps, but that hellish pain has now reached its end!”

Just as Hatton swung down the dictionary, a sign frame from Asama appeared.

“Masazumi! Your Mouse went to you! It used a ley line divine transmission, so take it!”

“Eh!?”

She looked around, but saw nothing.

The surrounding skeletons exchanged glances.

“…?”

There was nothing there.

…''It isn’t here?

The Mouse that was supposed to be there was nowhere to be found.

At the same time, Asama’s sign frame exceeded its allotted divine transmission time and vanished.

However, the Mouse remained absent.

“W-wait.”

Masazumi forgot about her own plight and felt a chill run down her spine.

That Mouse had not been attached to her. She had looked after it, but that and the treatment for its injuries were something any owner would have done.

She had not protected it. She had merely done the bare minimum.

She wondered if that was why it had not grown attached to her.

However…

…''Isn’t it dangerous for the Mouse if it messes up moving through a ley line divine transmission?

However, she had heard that method was often used of the Mouse’s own will. It would use it when it wanted to see its master, when it was lost, or when it wanted to hurry back from an errand. The Mouse did it out of a desire for its master and when it had a proper recognition of its master.

She did not know why a Mouse that had not been attached to her would have tried to use it.

But…

“Eh? W-wait.”

Tears involuntarily welled up in her eyes.

''No,'' she thought. ''Even if I survive this and return to the Musashi, will I only find an empty nest waiting for me?

That would be the same as with her mother.

And it was her own fault. The situation was partly due to putting herself into this dangerous situation and making the Mouse worry.

…''Why?

Why had she done nothing more than worry for the Mouse instead of trying to get to know it better?

Had she been comfortable in the fact that it had not been attached to her and had she been afraid to grow any closer to it?

Had she been afraid it would dislike her?

…''No.

She had once more done something irreversible.

What had she learned from her previous experience and what had she lost?

“No…”

As she muttered to herself, she saw Hatton begin to move.

He must have already said what he needed to say because he remained silent.

“—————”

As he swung down his arms, Masazumi let out a shout. She spoke the same words that had first leapt from her mouth when her mother had vanished and she had found the empty house.

“Are you gone!?”

There was nothing to speak an answer to that shouted question.

However, something did answer it with an action.

The front cover of the hard point part on her neck opened and a young anteater jumped out.

…''Eh?

What it meant for a Mouse to have come to her and the meaning of a Mouse’s very existence was something that Asama and the others might have understood but that a Mouse beginner like Masazumi did not.

A Mouse’s place was not next to or near its master. It was with its master and inside the hard point part.

After hopping out, the young anteater spun around on top of her chest.

“————!!”

With a howl that could be interpreted as anger or strength, a multitude of sign frames appeared around the anteater. Masazumi had never seen so many sign frames and they were all anti-spirit purification exorcism spells.

Also, a divine text from Asama arrived.

“To celebrate the confirmation of the master/Mouse relationship and to act as an emergency flare for you, I stuffed in every attack spell I could think of. Simply delightful, isn’t it!?”

''Is that anything for a shrine maiden to be saying?'' wondered Masazumi.

However, the surrounding Living Dead were clearly panicking.

As even more spells expanded outwards, they all exchanged a glance, let go of Masazumi, and spoke in awkward Far Eastern with calming gestures.

“Boss, how about we calm down?”

“Sic ‘em!!”

In the center of the danger, the young anteater did its best to comply.

As a beginner, its strategy was simple: it drew back in fear, closed its eyes, and fired every spell touching it in every direction.

“————!!”

As they all shouted out, a chaos of explosions that only affected spirits filled the inside of the transport ship.

From the heights of London, Dudley heard an explosion and saw a bright white light from the distant sea.

…''That’s purification light, isn’t it?

In that case, Hatton was likely out of the fight. ''That Lord Chancellor is always too kind to people,'' she thought while focusing on her own battle.

She was currently firing arbalest quarrels at the black-winged Technohexen before her.

The Testamenta Arma named Brachium Justitia on her left hand allowed her to control weapons. Her aim was accurate and she sent eight short quarrels toward the Technohexen’s stomach.

However, the Technohexen swung her right hand and the white pen she held drew a white line.

“Th-th-th-that is the acceleration line you used in the Battle of Mikawa, isn’t it!?”

Before the Technohexen could nod, the line captured the eight quarrels. She had predicted their path and placed a quick heart shape there.

Before Dudley could mock her for drawing something so cute, the acceleration line accelerated the quarrels toward the end of the line. In other words, toward Dudley.

The heart-shaped acceleration line catapulted the quarrels directly toward her face. Dudley realized this Technohexen was no one to joke around with and she held out her right palm.

“S-s-s-s-smash!!”

She used the repelling ability of her right palm to hit back the eight attacks. However, she did more than simply hitting them back. She also used her Testamenta Arma to correct their aim in the instant she touched them. This way, they were sure to directly return to her opponent.

However, the Technohexen had already drawn a new acceleration line.

But it was not a mere line.

It was a drawing and Dudley understood why she would do that.

…''That way it doesn’t count as a weapon!!

If it was not a weapon, she could not control it with Brachium Justitia. The Technohexen had learned that lesson from their previous encounter and she had overcome it with her own ability.

However, Dudley held out both her hands. The right hand could repel and the left could correct the aim. With those two abilities, she could send any attack back to her opponent just by touching it.

And she did so.

“…!!”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 55|Chapter 55]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 57|Chapter 57]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 48

2014-08-29T23:01:06Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 48: Decision Maker in the Heights */

==Chapter 48: Decision Maker in the Heights==
[[Image:Horizon2B_0481.png|thumb]]
''Why are the places

''Where we make up our minds

''Always the places that remain in our memories?

'''Point Allocation (Resolve)

The past few days had been filled with a single purpose for Mary.

That purpose was finding a way to fight the stress of being locked up.

She was not allowed to leave her room. A bath and bathroom were set up in a different room off the stairway landing, but it was not a hot spring so it would waste money on water and heating to take baths again and again.

Reading books made for a decent diversion, but it was not enough.

…''I’m just too used to moving around.

Her days of constant walking and working had left her unable to relax without moving her body.

That was why she had asked the person in charge of her for a small loom.

She had used looms a few times in the fourth level village, but she had never done anything more than make fabric. This was her first time creating something for herself.

She manipulated the colored thread while moving the loom affixed to her desk as if hitting it. Once she got a set tempo going, the time would fly by. When she took an occasional break, she could hear the festival noises outside, but the fact that she was accomplishing something made her feel like she was participating in the festival.

She had spent her time on that today as well, but the commotion outside was different.

She heard charming and joyful shouts coming from Ex. Caliburn’s tower to the north.

…''Eh?

Ex. Caliburn was being modified into an Andamio de la Ejecución and the work should have been continuing throughout the festival, but there seemed to be a large number of people and voices there now.

Wondering why, she peered out through the northern shutters and saw some familiar people.

First, she saw England’s mercantile guild celebrating with bottles of alcohol and a gathering of artists such as Jonson. They were all quite drunk. Shakespeare was only a bit tipsy, but her cheeks were red and she had trouble keeping her balance despite sitting still.

At the center of them all was Musashi’s fairy known as the Wet Man. He was naked expect for a skirt made of empty bottles and he spun around and around.

“Okay! I’m gonna pull it out now! I’m gonna pull out Excalibur!!”

A cold sweat covered Mary when she saw the surrounding adults give an excited cheer.

…''Sh-should he really be doing that?

…''They do say not even death can cure a fool.

Futayo thought to herself in front of the stairway entrance at the bottom of Excalibur’s northwestern tower. Three chairs were placed in the anteroom in order to block the entrance to the stairs. Sitting in those chairs were Futayo herself, Asama, and Suzu.

Futayo looked past Suzu and at Asama. Her hair was worn up just like Futayo’s and her cheeks were a bit flushed.

“Asama-sama, I did not know you could handle that much alcohol.”

“Eh? Oh, I can’t really. For the match, I used sacred sake which is made from rice. Sake has the power to purify, so it’s the same as water once my shrine maiden liver negates the intoxication. I couldn’t go that far with wine or beer. My limit then would probably be only about two dozen bottles.”

…''She too is something else.

Suzu looked up and nodded toward the excited voices.

“They sound like…they’re having fun.”

“Judge, but they will probably get in trouble for it later,” said Futayo. “Anyway, why are you two here?”

“Well, I went along with Suzu-san to recover Adele’s mobile shell, but on the way, we ran across Toori-kun who was chasing the townsfolk around with his apatosaurus. And then…”

Futayo wondered why Asama continued speaking on the assumption that she would not ask about that last statement.

“And then when Toori-kun said he was going to try to remove Excalibur, I thought about how to lecture him, but thankfully Mr. Jonson was there. At the pub, that is. He was simply too weak compared to me, so it ended up being 16 straight matches against the mercantile guild. But to make a long story short, I accumulated a lot of Blessings through the self-purification substitution using refined sake and I think the god was happy too. Suzu-san was on her way here anyway, so it was two birds with one stone.”

Even as they spoke, some student guards wielding spears stood before them. They had likely been given orders, but they were confused by the girls’ presence, their fellow Englishman up above, and the joyful shouts.

A man who appeared to be their commander stepped out, faced Suzu, and raised his hand.

“Ambassador!”

His sharp voice caused Suzu to tremble and cover her ears.

“Ah,” said the commander and booing erupted around him.

“You don’t get it! You don’t get it all, commander! Making her cry would be an international incident!”

“Testament! What are you gonna do if she cries, commander!? It’d be an international incident for my heart as well!”

“What are you even talking about? But I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, everyone!”

''Good, good,'' thought Futayo as she nodded twice. ''I am glad they get along so well.

Still, she wanted to avoid any conflict here.

…''But I have my duty to meet Masazumi.

However, if she left the situation to Asama, it would quickly lead to an international incident caused by arrows.

The chancellor was an idiot, but he seemed to understand that. He had told her, “If anything happens, just talk it out. In other words, keep talking and buy me some time.”

…''I must talk it out.

She did not have the same special skills as Masazumi, but she had something to talk about.

And so she began to speak to the gathered guards.

“Calm down, you bastards.”

“Is that any way to talk to someone you want to calm down!?”

“Do not worry about it. Anyway, this is an excellent opportunity. There is something I have been wondering about ever since arriving in England and I was hoping you could give me an answer.”

The men tilted their heads in confusion and she nodded once.

“Are you listening?” she began. “While in England, especially while protecting our ambassador, I have indicated I have no intent to fight by following the standard custom and fastening the top of my skirt so it is harder to move my legs.”

“Wh-what about it?”

“Judge,” said Futayo. “When I sit in a chair like this, the men who pass by all give a quick but definite glance inside the fastener. Why is that? It is merely the bottom of the inner suit that is usually visible. Why do you wish to see it so badly when there is a fastener over it?”

The men slowly hung their heads and fell to their knees.

…''H-huh? Did it just get quieter down below?

Mary saw spirits of the emotion of repentance on the first floor of the northwestern tower. Meanwhile, spirits of joy were surrounding the rooftop. Even in her limited view through the cracked open shutters, she could see the shimmering spirit effect.

“Okay! Time to try and pull it out!”

''Eh?'' she thought as the naked boy began to move.

His actions brought two images out from her memory.

The first was when she had once tried to pull out Excalibur.

She remembered the color of disappointment that her sister had been unable to fully hide. The memory was still strong enough that she wanted to apologize.

And the second…

…''Master Tenzou.

That boy had helped her maintain the graveyard and do many other things. And most importantly…

…''He said “it must be tough” for Mary.

Whenever she had been thanked for her actions, it had contained the assumption that she had no choice as it was her duty. However, he had been different. Instead of saying “it’s tough, but do your best”, he had said “it must be tough even though she’s doing her best”. That slight difference in nuance had been enough to make her cry. She may have been imagining it, but it had been too much for her.

Currently, the naked boy made the same pose as Tenzou had in the graveyard.

“Is that…?”

He was pushing down on the sword to widen the hole before he pulled it out. She wondered if the Wet Man had been watching back then. As if to answer that question, he spoke up.

“This is a technique our ninja showed me.”

He pushed down.

“Let’s try it!”

He pulled as hard as he could.

Everyone watched the naked boy put all his strength into standing up on his tiptoes and arching his back as if measuring his back muscles.

“Nwohhhhh!!”

He could not pull it out.

“Kwaaaah!”

He still could not pull it out.

“Mapyopergerpipipi!”

Even when he changed his shout, he could not pull it out.

But as he gave those strange cries, he lowered his hips into a weightlifting stance. Instead of pulling, he tried to lift up.

“Daaaah!”

But he could not pull it out.

And so while grabbing the guard from either side and pushing up, he held the blade between his thighs.

“Kyohhhh!”

Nevertheless, he could not pull it out. However, he did not give up. He made several more attempts which resulted in holding Excalibur in his crotch and grinding up and down on it.

“Kwohhh! What!? What is this thrill!? The name of the sword that threatens to split my crotch just like my butt is Excalibur! D-dammit! Don’t think I’m going to lose in an Excalibur competition! But I still can’t pull it out! I can’t pull out my Excalibur! Wait! Which Excalibur are you talking about, dammit!? Am I gonna die of ecstasy!? Am I!?”

Mary was unsure what much of anything outside the conjunctions and interjections meant, but the naked boy suddenly let go. His shoulders rose and fell as he caught his breath and he turned to the others.

“Okay, that ends today’s practice. The real deal begins tomorrow and continues until-…”

“This isn’t happening again!!” they all shouted back.

Mary clenched her fists and nodded in agreement with them, but then she saw a certain scene.

The naked boy stood behind Ex. Caliburn and faced her. The sword hid his crotch as he struck a pose to point at her.

“Are you listening!?”

…''Eh?

She wondered what this was about. She was forbidden to approach those outside, so she could not reply. Also, he would not be able to see her because she was looking out from the shutters.

Nevertheless, he smiled and spoke.

“Let me tell you something.”

“Tell me what?”

Without thinking, she muttered to herself and his smile strengthened.

“My Urban Name is Mr. Impossible, so it’s 100% correct that I can’t pull out Ex. Caliburn. If I managed to do that without really trying, the Testament Union and Old Man Innocen would never shut up about it. But…”

But…

“Someone other than me… That is, one of my comrades will definitely pull out Excalibur.”

Because…

“After all, it sounds like it’ll be tough for England otherwise.”

That reminded Mary of an important memory. And the return of the memory reminded her of what had happened to her then: tears had spilled from her eyes and her vision had blurred.

…''Ah.

The person who now stood before her had spoken to England.

The one who had been with her back then had spoken to her.

She wiped at the corners of her eyes while thinking about the difference between the two and what it meant.

The naked boy then looked to the southeastern tower to her right.

“Oh, or is she over there?”

…''D-does he not know what he’s doing!?

Mary was completely dumbfounded for a moment, but she soon smiled bitterly.

That just had to be the kind of spirit he was.

She was thankful and she watched him leave along with the others.

“Retreat! The queen is coming down the school’s front staircase and is on her way here!”

Everyone gave panicked shouts and began leaving more quickly. After watching them leave, Mary looked at Ex. Caliburn which remained and she slowly nodded.

…''They can enjoy themselves even with an execution so close.

But…

“It’s not possible.”

It would not be possible for someone to pull out Ex. Caliburn.

“Or for me to see it happen.”

By the time Elizabeth arrived on the scene, the culprits had already escaped.

All that remained were the student guards collapsed on their knees in the anteroom.

“What is going on!?”

That question brought tears to the men’s eyes.

“But…but… How could she say the part visible from the fastener while sitting is the bottom of the stomach and not the crotch? There’s no blood, tears, dreams, or anything in that answer!”

“What in the world are you talking about!?”

Dudley and Cecil’s hesitant attempts to calm her allowed Elizabeth to restrain her angry shouts.

“Dammit.” She crossed her arms. “What is this!? All of you have been acting strange since the Musashi arrived!”

“Judge,” calmly replied Masazumi after catching up. “That’s because the Musashi brought some strange people with it.”

“Another strange component. This is clearly a set of handcuffs, but who asked for them?”

Tenzou muttered to himself while looking at the components packed inside the leather bag he used to transport them. He had a lot of questions, but the inside of the bag had several division and the tools, screws, adhesive, etc. were separated into them.

Occasionally, he would transport food, drink, or charms that reduced fatigue or strengthened one’s abilities. It was not a safe workplace. At set intervals, IZUMO engineers would arrive with shrine workers to apply spells to alleviate heat and other things from the corridors, but most of the accidents occurred outside the main corridors. Once, a pipe had burst and the hot air from the boiler had leaked out. It would have been dangerous if those within range had not had defensive spells.

At the time, Naomasa had calmly held out her false arm and tightened the heated valve.

…''Why is Naomasa-dono so manly?

He was a little impressed by this new side of his classmate as he filled the bag with components. This time, there were flowers as well. They were an offering for someone who had died in an accident. They were also used to mark the dangerous areas and had spells applied to tune the area and display a sign frame with information on the accident.

The thought of a flower offering reminded Tenzou of the loss of someone who naturally followed the idea of flowers.

“…”

He shook his head.

…''I mustn’t let myself be trapped by my thoughts.

She had left of her own free will.

It was necessary for England’s history recreation and it meant something different from Horizon’s execution. No one was trying to misuse the history recreation to kill Mary.

She was prepared for this and that was why she had enjoyed that last time available to her without revealing any of it.

…''I hope she enjoyed it, but…

He had no way to know if his spirit of service had been successful, but he could not help but wonder.

How much of a salvation had he been before her execution? Had he been any help at all?

…''Was I?

“…”

''This isn’t good,'' he thought.

He began thinking about her at the slightest provocation.

…''That was just a brief dream.

“Yes. In the end, I’m nothing more than an unpopular guy.”

As he reached for the tools and other items he was to transport, he felt a sudden pull on his left hip.

''Hm?'' he wondered as he turned around.

There, he found two familiar people.

One was Toori who was naked with a towel around his neck and the other wore work clothes despite being a king.

“Vice Principal We!!”

“Do not think we will sit idly by and let you call us ‘we’!!”

Tenzou received a lecture.

Naomasa and everyone else turned toward a sudden voice in the transportation area. They found a ninja being lectured by a king in front of a naked boy.

They all sighed.

“Oh, right. Those up top sent a divine transmission saying the chancellor had done something so we need to hide him here.”

“We can ignore that breast sommelier, but the Musashi King sure comes by for inspections a lot. Although he hasn’t as much recently because he was sent as an advisor for England’s agriculture.”

“I’m just glad he doesn’t try to help where he isn’t needed.”

The others nodded in agreement while Naomasa watched the exchange between the naked boy and the other two. Tenzou nodded again and again while Musashi King Yoshinao talked on and on about something with his arms crossed.

“Honestly, your class has no sense of manners! You could learn a thing or two from Azuma-kun!”

“B-but, vice principal, Azuma-dono has recently been saying se-…saying an inappropriate word a lot.”

“I have no idea what you are trying to say, but even if he is a former imperial, there is nothing wrong with casually abbreviating the word second to ‘sec’.”

“Wh-what if it was the plural of ‘sec’?”

“It would not be. No one abbreviates it when using it as an actual unit.”

“Nwooooh! Why do I feel like you got away from me on that one!?”

''That idiot’s got a surprising amount of energy,'' thought Naomasa.

Yoshinao then handed Tenzou what he held in his right hand.

Naomasa could see it was a hand-drawn map with a good bit of detail.

“What you have here is one of the foreign maps that Musashi’s ninja guild keeps in secret, isn’t it? The other nations are forbidden to hand over maps for fear of invasion, but the Musashi can be useful when it comes to surveying. The ninja guild falls under the PR committee, and they are left in charge of the documents when the Musashi is used to create those maps. Of course, those maps will be returned upon leaving England and spells can detect if an illegal duplicate has been made.”

But…

“Look. Xs have been added to a map of England and they seem to approach London and Oxford. Also, this looks like a hand-drawn copy. Can you explain this?”

Naomasa’s comrades exchanged looks around her.

They understood what this meant and she understood the double and triple meaning as well.

…''That idiot!

It was most likely an infiltration route leading to the Tower of London. It was a nearly straight line along the shortest route. The Xs were likely the locations of the guard units. He had said nothing about Mary for the past few days, he had remained silent, and he had seemed to distance himself from the others, but…

…''Don’t you know that no one likes a guy who doesn’t know when to quit?

However, a nearby middle-aged woman resting her arm on a large wrench rejected that thought.

“A guy who doesn’t know when to quit is only hated after you’ve broken up.”

She hoped that was true and she thought about helping him out, but he spoke up before she could.

“That is…um…the location of the guar-…”

“Ah, you idiot,” someone muttered.

But a moment later, the naked boy suddenly shouted out.

“Ahhh!? For real? Tenzou, don’t tell me you’re gonna attack the Tower of London!”

Yoshinao shuddered at the loud voice of the idiot who had followed him in here.

…''That could cause an international incident, so do not shout it so loudly!!

From what he had heard, that idiot had also done something stupid in London and then run away.

He had asked the idiot what that “something stupid” was and the boy had replied “I tried to pull out Ex. Caliburn, but it was surprisingly cold when I held it in my crotch!” Yoshinao had considered killing the boy on the spot, but he had decided against it because it would have only caused more trouble.

He had allowed the idiot to accompany him until the commotion died down, but the boy had stripped off his clothes “because it’s hot”.

…''And now he is cornering us with his words!

Yoshinao was prepared to settle this peacefully, but the idiot was making that difficult.

“You can’t do that! Right, We!? Isn’t an attack on the Tower of London a really bad idea!? Do you think this ninja is gonna use his trick from the graveyard and bend back in surprise at how cold Ex. Caliburn is on his crotch!?”

“I am not going to do that!”

…''Quiet down both of you.

However, there was something he had to say.

Naomasa heard Yoshinao give a sudden shout. He made an announcement as the King of Musashi that was loud enough to drown out Toori’s voice.

“My goodness! Is this a strategy map for a date, Tenzou-kun!?”

…''A date?

Tenzou was clearly taken aback and the Musashi King spread out the map in front of him.

Toori smiled and the Musashi King gave a groan before tapping at the map without waiting for Tenzou’s response.

“These Xs represent popular festival stands, don’t they!?”

“Wait a second, We! Aren’t they guard units!?”

“No! You do not understand, you fool! These are the locations of high society festival stands! We can see why a teenage boy would be embarrassed to have looked into all this. We cannot blame you for making a hand-drawn copy for your own purposes. You intended to dispose of it after the date, didn’t you?”

“Eh? Oh… Judge.”

Tenzou frantically answered and the Musashi King nodded.

“Good. Then let us give you some advice to make your date a success.”

He pulled out a red pen and added some marks of his own.

“When we went around with our wife, the stands were stationed…here, here, and here. And Tenzou-kun, you seem to be avoiding the central plaza where the children are, but the children will no longer be there when you have your date.”

“Wait a second, We! Aren’t you being a little too nice!? A living date map like this is like a national treasure!”

“Do not be ridiculous. It is only natural for the King of Musashi to help out the people of Musashi.”

He drew another line on the map.

“If you are going, do so boldly yet stealthily. That is the trick to a secret lover’s rendezvous.”

“…Judge.”

Naomasa saw Tenzou take the map. The others exchanged looks, but those looks contained small smiles.

However, Yoshinao clapped his hands.

“What are you all doing!? Work! This is the time for work! The King of Musashi loves hard workers! Faithfully carry out your respective duties!!”

Tenzou stored the map in the slim case attached to his waist hard point and sighed.

…''They must know.

Everyone knew what he wanted to do deep down.

''But,'' he thought as he restrained his leaping heart and placed the items for transport in the leather bag.

…''I must not go.

After all…

…''First, Mary-dono might find me to be a bother.

Second, if he did go, it would undoubtedly cause an international incident.

And third…

…''A ninja follows his orders.

If someone wanted it and ordered it of him, he would definitely have to go.

But if they did not, he must not go. That was the law of the ninja.

If Mary, the one to be saved, did not want this as he suspected in his first condition, he had absolutely no reason to go.

He wished he had asked or told her. He wished one of the two of them had made it clear how they felt about the other.

…''I regret that.

Belatedly, he thought about one of his horrible classmates.

…''How did he manage ten years with this kind of regret?

He wondered if he would end up doing the same. He had a plan for rescuing her yet valued his identity as a ninja, so would he not go rescue her and then continue to feel this pain?

He could not abandon his identity as a ninja. That was where his family was and, more importantly, that was how he had spent his time with her.

He felt he could not forget that he had gained the trust he had because he was a ninja.

And so he had no choice but to give up.

He carved that conclusion into his heart and managed to calm his leaping heart, but a naked boy suddenly walked up next to him with a smile.

“Wait a second, Tenzou. Are you seriously going on a date? Can you really do it? Don’t mess up your line, okay?”

Tenzou thought about what Toori had said.

…''It would be so much easier if he just told me to go rescue Mary-dono.

But he doubted that would happen. No, that boy’s actions were always unpredictable, so it was possible he would give that order on a whim.

…''But then the others would stop me.

He lowered his head when he realized he was only thinking about all this because he had yet to make up his mind.

The Musashi King’s words had been filled with things he had been avoiding, but that had placed his original worries right in front of him.

Again and again, he wondered what to do, but he could not find an answer and he always returned to the same question he had no answer to.

…''How does Mary-dono feel about me?

In that instant, Toori spoke up while looking at Tenzou’s back.

“Tenzou, you said Scarred healed the wound on your back, right?”

But…

“Isn’t this it? Behind your right shoulder blade? …But from what I can see, the wound has healed, but it’s left a nice scar. You sure this was healed properly?”

“What?”

Tenzou looked toward the back he could not see. The right shoulder blade Toori had mentioned was there.

The wound he received protecting Scarred was also there, but she had supposedly healed it.

She had also said she could heal without leaving a scar.

“Is there…a scar?”

“Judge. Calling it ‘nice’ might be a bit weird, but…it’s perfectly white and clearly different from the other scars.”

Tenzou gasped at Toori’s confused comment.

…''Is this…?

When they had parted, he had asked Mary what kind of guy she liked and she had given the following answer:

“If I did meet someone like that, I would want to be someone who leaves a lifelong scar on him.”

She had left the scar.

And that had been before the festival and back when he had seen who she truly was in the graveyard and exchanged words of reconciliation.

“…”

“Hey, what is it, Tenzou?”

It sounded less like Toori was legitimately asking and more like he knew the answer but wanted Tenzou to say it himself.

Tenzou clenched his teeth and silently gathered the items for transport.

…''I am a ninja!

As a ninja, he would start by completing the mission given to him.

But afterwards…

“Toori-dono, I…”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Judge.” He nodded. “I will probably make an important announcement on the final day of the festival!”

He carried the filled leather bag over his shoulder and stood up. He glanced toward Toori, the Musashi King, Naomasa, and all those who had accepted him while he did nothing but hesitate.

…''Yes. Mary-dono must have felt this same comfort in that fourth level village.

“I just remembered I have another mission to take care of.”

More specifically…

“I previously made a promise without realizing it.”

Naomasa watched the three guys speak and begin to part ways.

The Musashi King began his inspection, Tenzou ran up the wall, and Toori began wandering around.

…''Guys don’t get as selfish, but they can get completely out of control when they start working together.

She then saw two people walking down the corridor the guys had deserted. One was someone not often seen here.

“Mito? What’s a knight doing here? We can’t fix your silver chains, you know?”

“Judge. I know that. I wanted to ask you to help with some training today. You aren’t attending the academy and you don’t seem to be reading your divine messages, so I came directly.”

“What, does it bother you that much that you lost to the Trumps’ hound?”

“Judge,” replied the knight without hesitation. She also held up the handbag in her right hand. “Can I reserve some training time? I am still not one hundred percent recovered or healed, so I will be training alongside my recovery until the festival ends.”

“Is that some venison you bought from Heidi? Do you always eat that when you’re injured? I can’t stand it because it tastes like liver.”

“I view it as a type of medicine. Venison has a lot of blood and little fat, so it is perfect for healing. I eat a lot, train a lot, and sleep a lot.”

“Judge, judge.” Naomasa nodded twice and narrowed her eyes as she looked the wolf in the eye. “Do you have a plan for getting stronger?”

“It’s hard to say.”

“What do you mean?”

Naomasa frowned and Mitotsudaira smiled.

“After all, it’s nothing more than peeling an apple.”

“What?”

Naomasa tilted her head in confusion. She wondered if the girl had finally gone insane, but Mitotsudaira’s smile grew bitter.

“Judge. If it surprises my own classmate, I should be fine. I’m sure it will surprise her as well.” She gave a quick nod. “I will be leaving then. I have the divine transmission open, so contact me if anything comes up. Adele is putting together a strategy for the armada battle right now, so I have to supervise.”

“Neshinbara isn’t putting together the strategy?”

Mitotsudaira raised her right hand and shook her head.

“There really does seem to be a curse. Naruze isn’t healed yet either, so there’s a lot to worry about with this battle. Adele and I both work with land battles, so I don’t know how well we can plan for a naval battle. We are having a meeting about that with the guard unit and Futayo.”

“Do your best. We’re trying to come up with what ideas we can as well.”

“What are you planning?”

“Well,” said Naomasa.

…''What we’re doing is less planning and more working out what’s possible with the Musashi’s technology.

They had used the gravitational cruising while travelling from the attack to England, but that had all been done completely by the book. It sounded good if one said they did not do anything reckless or strange, but…

“Everyone is thinking about what we should have done or could have done back then. We’re asking ‘Musashi’ whether it’s possible and, if so, we’re making any alterations needed for it. This probably has a lot to do with your planning, so how about we work together more closely from now on? Also…”

She then pointed behind Mitotsudaira and sighed.

“I asked IZUMO headquarters for an engineer to repair Jizuri Suzaku, but they sent you?”

“Hey, hey, hey. Is that any way to talk to me?”

A short girl appeared from behind Mitotsudaira’s hair. She wore a work cloak and her hair was worn up high to disguise her short height.

Mitotsudaira glanced over at the girl who wore the uniform of Qing-Takeda’s Kakura Academy.

“Um, who is this?”

“I can tell you that without an introduction. She’s Mishina Hiro. Old man Taizou’s granddaughter.”

Naomasa glared down at Hiro.

“I assumed you were still being an idiot in Qing-Takeda, but I see you were visiting IZUMO’s headquarters on their floating island and have finally made it here.”

“If I want to mess around with gods of war and aerial ships every day, the headquarters and Musashi would be the best places, right? And you don’t let people touch Jizuri Suzaku often, Masa.”

Hiro showed her teeth off in a smile.

“I transferred to a Far Eastern Academy on Izumo’s floating island this year, but I never thought I would get to help out on the Musashi so quickly. I’ve discussed it with my grandpa and I’m thinking of transferring here, so try to beat Tres España if you can.”

“Oh, dear.” Mitotsudaira looked at Naomasa with a smile. “That’s a lot of responsibility, ‘Masa’.”

“Judge.” Naomasa shrugged. “I feel like crying with all this trouble piled up on me. …But whatever. Hiro, go look around the ship a bit. This will be your workplace in an hour. You can touch Jizuri Suzaku for two hours each night. That’s enough, isn’t it?”

“Testament,” replied Hiro. But she soon smiled bitterly and corrected it to “judge”.

She then produced a folded bundle of papers from her dirty cloak.

“I’ve already come up with a plan, so I just need to bring it all together and check where the lines connect. It’s a pain that you’re up against Michiyuki Byakko, but I’ll make sure you aren’t too worn out.”

So…

“I’d like it if you won and came to get me.”

“It is a shame you could not come out to greet me, Master Muneshige, but there is a joy in being made to wait. My short trip also taught me that work feels different depending on if you have a daily routine or not.”

In a white hospital room, a girl in a vermilion uniform spoke to a boy sleeping in a bed.

Her armband said “3rd Special Duty – Tachibana Gin” and she pulled something from a paper bag she had brought with her.

“I thought about bringing food back from England as a souvenir, but nothing had enough of a punch to it. That is why I searched for something that would make for a more lasting memento and also be practical.”

She placed the item on the bedside table.

“This is an English cursed doll. It is a joke product, but some say it gives you a nightmare of having turned into a scarecrow. …Oh? Master Muneshige, you do not seem to be sleeping well. Is your anesthesia running out?”

Gin spoke to Muneshige while checking on the cross-shaped heavy charms for holy spells that were stabbed into his body. They were all fine.

He also had a restraining spell to keep him from moving carelessly if he were to wake.

Gin recalled the keyword for releasing that spell.

“Testament. If you shout ‘I love Gin! Amore!!’ five times, it will be released. However, no one expects that from you.”

She then brought her own face to that face she had been away from for too long. She remained like that for several seconds.

“…”

She finally moved away with a flush in her cheeks and took a breath.

“Honestly, this is pathetic. Three months for a full recovery? In that time, I must take back everything in the armada battle that we must lose.”

But…

“It has been a while since I had time to feel unease and hope, Master Muneshige. I will probably be unable to visit or contact you for a while…so please wait for me.”

Her light tone belied her words and she turned toward the window where the sun had started to set.

“When will we be able to view this sky together in our own home? After three months, the hydrangeas in our garden will be gone.”

As she spoke, Gin suddenly looked down.

She tilted her head in confusion as she looked at the person sitting on a bench in the plaza in front of the hospital. The person had her back to a tree and her hair was blowing toward Gin.

“Lady Juana?”

Gin noticed the woman’s long ears were drooping and that she was writing a letter in pen.

“Is that…?”

Gin realized a certain fact while looking down at the movements of Juana’s hand from above.

To check on that fact, she bowed to Muneshige, made some quick adjustments to the bed, and temporarily left the hospital room. She muttered to herself while walking down the hallway and still holding the paper bag.

“Why would Lady Juana be writing that letter?”

She had clearly seen the movements of Juana’s hand as she wrote the recipient’s name.

“Why would she be writing one of the letters that girl sends to the chancellor!?”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 47|Chapter 47]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 49|Chapter 49]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 46

2014-08-29T22:59:41Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 46: Performer in an Unrivalled Field */

==Chapter 46: Performer in an Unrivalled Field==
[[Image:Horizon2B_0415.png|thumb]]
''If it is not others

''That you wish to hear you

''Then who is it?

'''Point Allocation (Self-Declaration)

“…!!”

While the waiters and reserve warriors screamed, Matsu’s entire body stiffened.

“K-k-k-k-…!”

“M-Ma-chan!? Ah wah wah. What is it!? Are you going to give a cute ‘kyah’ scream!?”

A moment later, Matsu let out a shout that did indeed begin with a “k” sound.

“Crazy person!!”

“Ah wah wah wah wah! Ma-chan, that’s a bit hard hitting!!”

But amid the shouting, the half-naked boy made sure to strike poses as he looked around cautiously.

“Wh-what’s all this!? What’s going on, everyone!? Ah! Don’t tell me…”

He pointed one hand at Toshiie and the other at Velázquez and Gin.

“This is your doing, isn’t it!?”

“It’s you, idiot.”

Masazumi and Horizon both threw kicks at him from the side. In the time it took him to roll, hit the wall, and bounce back, Gin nodded twice.

“I just remembered. This is how things were at Mikawa and during our attack.”

“Wait a second, Gin. Aren’t you getting used to this a little too quickly?”

Before Gin could answer Velázquez’s question, Masazumi grabbed the idiot’s collar. She wanted to lecture him, but her gaze stopped on the uniform he was wearing.

“Th-this is mine, isn’t it!? What have you done!? What have you done!!?”

“Oh, right. I took off your dress in the girl’s changing room and sat around drinking some tea in the nude, but then I spotted a guy’s jacket and assumed it had to be mine.”

“Speak logically!”

“W-wait, Toori-kun! Th-the girls’ changing room!?”

“What’s the matter, Asama!? I didn’t look around for the clothes that contain those criminally-large boobs of yours or anything! They’re so criminal that I tried on those clothes to lighten your crime, but the chest space was just plain amazing!”

Asama fired an arrow and the idiot broke through the wall. Silence fell while she sighed and wiped sweat from her brow. However, the leader of the English warriors had run over to deal with Toori and he suddenly looked up in realization.

“I-I need to confiscate that! I need to confiscate that bow!!”

“Eh?” Asama suddenly realized what she held in her hands. “Nwoh! Wh-when did this get here!? U-um…uh…a-about this…”

She raised the bow.

“It looks like a bow, but it isn’t!”

“Oh?” The Fairy Queen gave an interested nod. “What a novel new argument. If it is not a bow, then what is it?”

“W-well, i-if you take it apart like this, um…look! This part is a one-string guitar and this is the bow you use to play it. D-do you hear the beautiful music?”

The sound of straining metal sent the many gathered people writhing in pain and Asama used that moment to casually put the bow away in her skirt. However, the Fairy Queen merely moved her eyebrows a little.

“I cannot believe you brought something like that to this meeting hall.”

“W-wait just a moment,” cut in Masazumi.

Everyone turned expectant gazes toward Masazumi with the vague desire that she “do something”.

…''Why am I always the one stuck doing things like this?

Nevertheless, she could not let the meeting fall apart here, so she feigned calm.

“To a shrine maiden, a tool such as that is necessary for a variety of rituals. It is a necessity. And look. That idiot remains unharmed despite being shot by it.”

He only remained unharmed due to the ''boke'' spell of his god of performers, but that did not matter if the excuse worked.

However, the Fairy Queen looked to the half-naked boy standing next to Masazumi and gave a firm nod.

“And how do you explain his state of dress?”

…''Why’d you have to bring that up!? Or have I just gotten too used to it!? Is that it!?

She groaned and many different thoughts filled her mind. She considered negative options such as giving into death or giving up on the entire meeting, but her sense of duty won out in the end.

She began sweating below her clothes just as much as Asama.

“Th-that is because…um…”

She tried to think up an excuse and hesitated to speak.

“It’s based on the Testament descriptions. Y’know, the story about the clothes that idiots can’t see.”

…''That’s really more of a fairy tale or folklore. If this doesn’t work, I’ll kill that idiot and then myself.

With that thought, she waited for the Fairy Queen’s response. The queen first exchanged a glance with the vice chancellor and vice president to her left and right.

“O-oh? I-is that so?”

…''She believed it!? Oh, or are fairy tales acceptable here in the fairy kingdom!?

In that case, Masazumi needed to follow through with it. She smiled and faced Mitotsudaira who stood by the right wall.

“Isn’t that right? That fabric is truly…something else.”

“Y-yes, th-that’s right. Um…he bought it from Heidi’s shop, didn’t he?”

“Kh! Y-yes, yes. Judge, judge. The new clothes made from it caused a fair bit of confusion since idiots could not see them!”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Ma-sa-zu-mi!!”

'''Marube-ya:''' “You too, Mito! Both of you are meeting me in the teahouse after this! Don’t you forget it!!”

…''Shut up. I’m standing on the front line here. Try to imagine how I’m feeling.

“So…um…Oh, Mr. Jonson. You are a literary man, so surely you can see it.”

“Eh? Oh, yes. Testament. It has an excellent black luster.”

“Oh? But I am holding a white fabric here.”

“Ah! Of course, of course! The light played a trick on my eyes!!”

…''I can go this far, can’t I? It feels so satisfying.

Masazumi sighed, looked to the Fairy Queen, and lowered her head.

“There seem to have been some misunderstandings, but the people of Musashi knew they were attending a meeting with the Fairy Queen and would never think of bringing weapons with-…”

She heard something solid hit the ground behind her.

Wondering what it was, she turned around and Horizon looked in the same direction.

Lype Katathlipse had fallen to the red carpet on the floor.

“…!?”

The look on Masazumi’s face brought a thought to Asama’s mind.

…''I never knew a human could be so surprised.

However, the Logismoi Oplo had fallen almost directly in front of Asama.

…''Y-you mean I have to do something about it!?

Masazumi made eye contact with her and Horizon merely tilted her head.

…''Eh? Ehhh!? But I don’t even have an official position!

As she thought, she heard voices around her.

“Ma-chan, is that what I think it is?”

“Mate, is that I think it is?”

Asama frantically picked it up and shoved it into empty space.

But she got the position wrong.

…''Eh?

She instead ended up swinging around a giant gunblade and gathering everyone’s attention.

“U-um…!”

She forcibly held it to her chest for no real reason and an unpleasant sweat covered her body.

“Oh, th-this!? U-um, it looks like a Logismoi Oplo, but it isn’t!”

“O-oh. …Wh-what a novel new argument. Th-then what is it?”

''Thank goodness the Fairy Queen is playing along!'' she thought from the bottom of her heart.

“I-it is, um….O-oh! A body pillow! It’s a body pillow! L-look. You put your head here and-… That is a very sharp blade!”

“…”

…''This is painful! This silence could not be any more painful!!

''Anyway,'' she thought while forming a desperate smile. ''I need to go through with this even if it kills me.

“B-but looking at this isn’t any fun! I’ll do a magic trick instead!”

This time, she really did shove Lype Katathlipse into empty space and then she held her clenched fists out toward the Trumps.

“Now! Which hand is the body pillow in!?”

“Um…” muttered all of the Trumps while lowering their heads.

Without raising their heads, they chose a sacrifice with their gazes. Finally, Howard let out a sigh.

“I…believe it went into the space behind your prin-…”

“Which hand!?”

A shout from a shrine maiden who recited Shinto prayers daily was enough for Howard to give in. With his head still lowered, he pointed at one of the hands.

“Right.”

“Right!? Right, is it!? Oh, wow! There’s nothing in the right hand. Ah! And nothing in the left either. Then where is it!? Oh, dear! And now a Mouse has come from between my breasts. Oh, my. Oh, my. The body pillow has transformed into a Mouse! Ah ha ha ha ha ha! How about that!?”

“C-clap, clap,” added Hanami.

A scattering of applause followed.

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Poor thing.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Yeah, I feel bad that this was broadcast pretty much everywhere.”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “I guess a cruel fate can await even those without an official position.”

'''Asama:''' “A-and whose fault is that!? Whose fault!?”

''Actually, whose fault is it?'' she wondered to herself.

She then heard a voice from the right. It belonged to Velázquez, Tres España’s secretary.

“Come on now, Musashi. Stop getting so worked up and answer our question.”

Before Asama could recall what that was, the vital question for Musashi arrived.

“Aren’t you going to war to rescue Mary just like you did your Princess Horizon?”

Both England and Musashi groaned at that question.

But a sudden voice filled the hall.

“Wait, wait, wait. I don’t get this! Why do we have to go to war!?”

It was Toori.

Asama heard her childhood friend place his hands on Horizon’s shoulders and give a piercing shout.

“Why do we have to…um… What was it!? Out with it!! I might even listen!”

…''Th-this could not be worse!

Velázquez scratched at his head.

“This is actually about you. You said you were rescuing that princess at Mikawa, remember? So I’m asking why you aren’t rescuing Mary who is in the same circumstances.”

“Who’s Mary?”

The idiot’s eyebrows really did twist in confusion, so Asama whispered in his ear.

“That Scarred person who rejected Tenzou-kun turned out to be royalty and about to be executed by England.”

“Oh! That guy who made us suspect Tenzou’s gay!! He’s being executed? Why?”

''Please listen!'' thought Asama as she looked toward Horizon.

Horizon may not have understood what “the same circumstances” meant because she only tilted her head.

And so Asama explained just the main points.

“It’s a little more complicated than this, but her execution is one of the factors leading to the armada battle. That’s why Tres España is asking if England is misusing the history recreation to execute her just like with Horizon.”

“Oh, is that it? Old man, you need to explain these things properly. Asama was way easier to understand.”

Asama saw the corner of Velázquez’s mouth stiffen and she began to sympathize with him, but he went on to speak.

“What are you going to do? You being an idiot actually speeds this up. No matter what excuse you make, this execution is still a misuse of the Testament descriptions and you therefore must go to war to rescue Mary. After all, you did the same to us. You can’t attack us and then not attack England.”

“Hm, hm,” muttered Toori with his arms crossed.

…''Is this really okay?

Asama gave a slightly worried look and Toori tilted his head and turned to Horizon.

“Hey, Horizon.” He asked a question. “You were the one saved, so what do you think about this?”

“Judge. That is a good question.”

Horizon thought for a moment, but she eventually nodded and turned to Velázquez.

“There is one thing I do not understand.”

“Oh, what’s that?”

“You say this is a misuse of the history recreation just like with me, correct?”

“Testament. That’s what I said.”

“In that case,” she said. “If the executed individual is prepared for her death, isn’t that using it effectively rather than misusing it?”

“Based on human rights and the weight of a life, loss of life should be avoided. I understand that we should prevent loss of life so that mankind’s total population will not drop. But if there is a single exception, that would be a death determined by the history recreation. After all, it is ‘correct’ for that person to die there. It has already been decided by history and that person’s death is within acceptable ranges as far as mankind’s total population is concerned. If the history recreation is accurate, that person’s death fits into the flow of events that allows the world to continue on. In fact, that person’s survival could disturb the flow of history and create even more loss. The human rights of the bearer of an inherited name are based in the historical recreation rather than in the person themselves. Those are the rules. Therefore…”

Therefore…

“If the individual undergoing a death in the history recreation wishes for that death, can it truly be a misuse of that recreation to go through with it?”

Horizon’s words brought a chill to Asama.

…''Is she saying what I think she’s saying?

She was saying it was not a misuse of the history recreation to offer up the death of one who wished for their death.

They were giving that person what they wished for. Looking at it that way, she was right.

But Asama noticed a smile on Toori’s face and it looked like he had found a good answer.

Just as she began to wonder what that was, he spoke.

“That’s right. You don’t have your emotions, do you?”

“Judge. I have determined it is an unfortunate thing, but I do indeed lack my emotions. As such, I can think about this in the optimum fashion. …Tres España, why are you attempting to stop a part of the history recreation that is desired by the affected individual?”

“Well…”

“Please answer me.”

Her piercing words seemed to urge the long-lived man on.

“You are stopping someone from doing what they wish to do. On what basis do you determine whether that is good or evil?”

…''Ah.

Asama realized why Horizon was confused and why Toori was smiling. And that realization formed words in her heart.

…''Horizon is interested in emotions!!

Asama understood.

Why had they stopped the death that Horizon desired at Mikawa?

That death had been her proper destiny and she had been prepared to accept that death, so what had made them turn from that proper destiny and oppose it as evil?

…''There was justice, the weight of a life, human rights, and plenty of other arguments.

But for him, it had not been anything cool or complicated like that.

…''It was simply because he loved her.

He had loved her and that had colored his view of what it meant to lose her.

…''From his point of view, it was an evil thing!

And so he could not allow it.

That was hopelessly selfish. She had wanted it and those around him were telling him it was the right thing to do, but he had gone to stop it simply because he did not like it.

And it would have been fine had he done so because he thought it was just, because of the weight of a life, or because of her human rights.

…''But he did it because he loved her.

One wrong step and that was nothing but a troublesome misunderstanding.

''But,'' thought Asama. ''Everyone believed that was the right thing to do.

“I do not understand how you determine whether it is good or evil. If Mary-sama is prepared for her execution, then is it not the right thing to do?”

So…

“Tres España, I apologize, but please stop making this my fault when I do not even understand it. But at the same time…”

Asama understood this as well. If Horizon was willing to ask about this, it meant she was interested in emotions. And so Asama knew what Horizon would say next.

…''She would become the same as us!

“If I understand what creates that division between good and evil or I come to understand it and it is not too late, the Far East and I will go to war with England to rescue Mary-sama.”

If she could understand emotions, she could understand the meaning behind stopping death.

And if she understood that, she would do so.

“Okay.”

When she saw Toori smile and nod, Asama gave a bitter smile in her heart. He was always worrying about Horizon, but he intentionally avoided teaching her the important things.

…''He waits for her to figure them out on her own.

She was not sure if that qualified as trust.

…''But I hope the rest of us can trust in something like that too.

“Isn’t that great, Toori-kun?”

“Ah? What, is your motherly side overpowering you again? More importantly, did you hear Horizon’s answer, Tres España?”

“Testament,” replied the girl with two false arms with a bow. “That answer could be viewed as proof she does not understand the importance of the history recreation, but it also proves she does understand the importance of interpretations.”

“Then…”

“It is simple,” said Tachibana Gin.

She narrowed her eyes and gave a glance toward the Fairy Queen and Futayo.

“We understand that Lady Mary’s execution is very nearly unavoidable now. As such, we must send Tres España a report telling them to prepare a declaration of war.”

“I guess that is how it’ll have to be,” said Toori. “But as for whether this Mary business is a misuse of the history recreation, if she wants for it to happen, then even I understand that it’s up to us. I was involved in this kind of thing before, after all. But that’s exactly why I have to say this.”

He pointed at Velázquez.

“Old man, don’t decide for someone what they think or force them to think a certain way. Not doing that is the standard for pure love porn games. I may be legitimately stupid, but I understand that letting others make your decisions is something different than being an idiot. And on that note…”

“What?”

“If Mary does want to be saved, you can turn to Horizon. If someone falls for this Mary person and Horizon understands what that means, we’ll definitely go to save her. Definitely.”

“Heh,” laughed the Fairy Queen. “Looks like we can’t let our guard down.”

“And keep it that way. After all, Horizon’s emotions are enough to take on the entire world. If possible, you want her to rejoice, don’t you?”

A voice from the south answered that question.

“You know that joy will spread chaos throughout the world, don’t you?”

The south wind carried that question and that sea breeze sent a cloak fluttering about.

…''Maeda Toshiie.

He spoke with the winged Matsu on his shoulder.

“Now then. Tres España may have backed off, but what about me? England, I have everything set up to go to war with Musashi.”

Toshiie had asked his question.

…''This sure is troublesome.

Currently, P.A. Oda had almost entirely unified Kinai and was conquering westward. According to the history recreation, once Hashiba conquered Mouri, they would be done with the Setouchi and Chugoku regions.

But the history recreation had another event occur almost simultaneously with the conquering of Mouri.

…''The death of our master.

In 1582, Oda Nobunaga was assassinated by Akechi Mitsuhide during the Honnouji Incident. That meant they had to tread carefully in their attack on Mouri. Their plan was to leave Mouri’s primary castle alone while conquering Kyushu and thus setting the general trend in the other areas before fully conquering Mouri. Hashiba was allowed a personal division known as the Ten Spears because warriors needed to be sent to all those different places.

Toshiie had entered M.H.R.R. to assist Hashiba and he had gained the second inherited name of Wallenstein to use Wallenstein’s military might and scope of influence to provide backup for Hashiba.

…''When moving as many different units as Hashiba does, it’s easy to end up attacking in lines, so I need to cover the larger surfaces.

That was also why he was in England now. A relationship with England was needed to suppress Mouri and Hexagone Française from the northern front.

“That was a close one. If England had been swayed by Musashi, it would have ruined a lot of our plans.”

He continued the conversation that had been interrupted by Tres España and Musashi’s discussion.

He raised his right hand and Matsu did the same on his shoulder.

“Give the order to attack the Musashi, Fairy Queen.”

As soon as he spoke, a voice cut in.

“Not so fast, Maeda Toshiie.”

That voice of rejection came from directly in front of Toshiie and it did not belong to Musashi’s chancellor or princess.

“This is a meeting between Musashi and the Fairy Queen. Outsiders will be treated as such.”

Musashi’s vice president kept her back to him, but she turned her head to face him. She shot a sharp look that threatened to stab into his eyes.

…''Ohh?

He found it cute how Matsu trembled a bit on his shoulder.

…''Oh, no. She shouldn’t be afraid of anything now that she’s a ghost.

If she was afraid…

…''It means I’m still inexperienced.

He sank into thought and the other members of P.A. Oda’s student council, chancellor’s officers, and Demon Army came to mind.

“What a terrible deal.”

According to the history recreation, he would survive the longest of all the Oda clan’s retainers. That was why a ghost body had been chosen to ensure that he “would not die”.

That led him to feel jealous when listening to Tres España and Musashi’s exchange. He was jealous of their freedom to discuss the preservation of life rather than the prevention of death.

But at the same time…

…''All of the people around me will die before me, and yet they’re so amazing.

Out of the Oda clan’s retainers and the Demon Army, he was deemed the least successful militarily. How did it make any sense that he would live longer than those who could do so much more than him?

For that reason, he wanted to live his life to its fullest for the sake of all those others who lived now.

And part of that was how he could help them here.

…''Musashi could bring chaos to our actions, so it stands in our way.

“Who is the real outsider, Musashi?” he asked. “You are an outsider to our history.”

“So what if we are?”

Musashi’s vice president turned fully toward him and he spotted a crumpled memo pad in her hand.

“Communication is difficult without sign frames. Let me say one thing, messenger of P.A. Oda, possessor of Mercenary King Wallenstein’s army, and ruler of the Maeda clan.”

She pointed her right finger at him.

“You will soon be fully excluded from this meeting hall.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Masazumi ignored what Toshiie said. Ridiculous or not, she would win if it worked.

…''And the true victory here is the rising balance between those who play the leading parts.

Crushing your opponent would create resentment and being crushed would lead to loss. Treating meetings like a battle would put other nations on their guard, eliminate possible negotiation partners, and eventually make enemies of many different nations.

So a true victory was to make a deal that benefited both sides.

The meeting would benefit both of them and allow them to rise higher. That was best.

…''In that case…

Who was she holding this meeting with and who should she benefit alongside?

Tres España? No.

P.A. Oda? No.

The Fairy Queen and her. England and Musashi. Those were the leading parts of this meeting.

So she first had to apologize for turning her back on the queen and…

“Fairy Queen, due to the change in the situation and interactions between nations, forming the trade alliance has become difficult. I would like to withdraw that suggestion. Will you allow that?”

“Testament. I would like that as well. In fact, that was always just a brief aside, was it not? It was a fantastical story meant to entertain this theatre-loving queen. After all, if we were to form a trade alliance like that, England would make great advances and incredible profits in the name of the Fairy Queen. What the other nations said or did would change nothing. I would be waited on by servants much younger than the old, worn-out Trumps while I bathed in gold coins, ate pudding, and was otherwise marvelous and successful. However, that would violate the history recreation and we can’t have that.”

Masazumi heard the Fairy Queen stand and swing her arms. The Trumps fixed their posture, so she had likely glanced over at them.

Masazumi then heard Elizabeth speak from behind her.

“The Trumps are enough for me. So what do you have to offer besides that fantastical story? Answer me, Musashi Vice President. I am fond of reality. I am the child of fairy and man, but I prefer the real world to the world of dreams in which the fairies live. So give me your demand. If it is realistic, I will grant it.”

“In that case,” said Masazumi while looking straight at Toshiie. “I would ask that you cancel your contract with Mercenary King Wallenstein.”

Toshiie could not understand what Masazumi was after.

…''Are you stupid!? It’s my recruiting that will allow them to fight the armada battle!

Matsu nodded repeatedly on his shoulder.

“U-u-u-u-…!”

“I know, right!? You can go ahead and call her utterly stupid, Ma-chan! C’mon, nice and loud.”

Matsu pointed at Elizabeth

“Ugly old hag!”

“Ah wah wah wah wah! Insulting our employer is simply too wonderful, Ma-chan!”

Anyway…

“What is the meaning of this, Musashi Vice President?”

The Fairy Queen also did not seem to understand the meaning behind the girl’s request.

Elizabeth frowned as she looked at her back. The glare would also occasionally reach him over the girl’s shoulder, but he decided that was within the margin of error.

“You understand the situation, don’t you?” asked Toshiie. “England needs a large force of warriors to defend their land and fight the naval battle. That is why they are using the mercenary recruitment system to make temporary students out of non-students and building up their forces. And I intend to make up for the rest with my Kaga Millionen Geist. England’s plan for the armada battle is to use my Kaga Millionen Geist mercenary force to fight at sea and the recruited temporary students to fill out their ground defenses. In other words, it is my ghost mercenaries that will be fighting the actual battle and England’s warriors will be the rear guard. That will reduce the number of dead and injured among the English citizens and eliminate the postwar burden. But if they cancel all that preparation…”

He took in a breath and spread his arms.

“Who will take the place of my mercenaries in the naval battle?”

“Judge. First, I would like to check with you about that mercenary system, Mercenary King Wallenstein.”

“Testament. What would You like to ask this mercenary expert?”

“Judge.” She nodded. “You are opposing my request for England to cancel. Does that mean I can think of your mercenary force as a type of business?”

“Testament. War is an economic activity. And to harvest victory, the fertilizer and seeds of personnel are necessary. The warriors I can prepare with money allow one to make a transaction to ensure the success of the harvest festival of war. As such, mercenaries can belong to any nation so long as they are paid and they will even kill each other if divided between enemy and ally. It all comes down to money and there is nothing particularly wrong with that thinking.”

“Judge.”

Musashi’s vice president nodded once more.

He nodded as well, but he had something else to say.

“It is possible for Musashi to hire me as well. Of course, I would be taking twice what England is paying.”

“That is an interesting offer, but where are we supposed to get that money?”

“I thought as much,” said Toshiie before turning back to the Fairy Queen. “Now, Fairy Queen. What will happen if you do not sink the Musashi here? Another nation could do so and take the credit for themselves. After all, the Musashi cannot fight. Even if it is resupplied and repaired at IZUMO, they will then be flying over enemy territory with very few convenient locations like that. They will eventually be worn down and sunk. Which is the better option, Fairy Queen? With me here and with your decision, the result is assured.”

He stretched out his arms to urge her on.

“Come on! Come on! Protect England’s students by sinking the Musashi and fighting the armada battle using my mercenaries! Act now and the sinking of Musashi will be reduced to the point that it is free! Wallenstein is bleeding money with this free service! Then again, I’m a ghost, so I don’t bleed!”

He took a breath.

“What will it be!?”

After he asked, Musashi’s vice president cut in between him and the Fairy Queen.

“Then let me say one thing. I, Honda Masazumi, have a suggestion as Vice President of Musashi Ariadust Academy.”

She took in a breath and spoke slowly.

“We will supply the Musashi as part of the English fleet during the armada battle.”

“She’s planning to treat the Musashi just like a mercenary force!! She is, isn’t she!? Hm!? According to the Testament descriptions, the Far East had warriors without masters who could be hired to work for money. In the Far East’s reservations, that’s interpreted as being mercenaries and used to strengthen the border defenses of the nation with provisional rule over them, but she’s using that method with the Musashi!”

Innocentius grabbed both sides of the ''cornice firma'' to peer more closely at the Musashi vice president it displayed.

“Mercenaries are a business! Wallenstein can be seen as embodying the mercenary system itself, so she had him assure her of that fact so that Musashi can engage in the mercenary business as part of their trade!”

“And what does that mean, former boy?”

“The Musashi is assumed to be disarmed! But when it’s hired by another nation and made a part of that nation’s fighting force, it is no longer the Far East’s Musashi and becomes a mercenary warship hired by that nation! After all, mercenary soldiers can be hired by any nation because their nationality is considered irrelevant!”

The mercenary business eliminated one’s nationality and made them a part of the hiring nation.

That meant Msuashi’s disarmament would vanish when it was under another nation’s control.

“That is the same as entering the other nations’ protection without forming an alliance!”

Galileo then spoke his thoughts.

“And if they take part in the history recreation like with the armada battle, they can avoid being freely manipulated by the hiring nation.”

“Testament. That’s right. If they only take part in history recreation battles, the mission is over once the recreation is complete. The Musashi will not be used for other selfish ends. And there are plenty of nations who have their hands full preparing the military force they need for the history recreation. However, what matters more is what they gain by being hired as mercenaries.”

…''It’s been a while since my imagination has made me gulp.

“The Musashi can acquire weaponry as ‘necessary businesses materials’. Isn’t that right?”

“It depends how far they can ‘interpret’ the disarmament forced upon them.”

“We’ll both use it to our own benefit to the best we can. But…”

Innocentius sighed and sat back down in his chair.

“This resolves all the problems between England and Musashi in one fell swoop.”

“I would like to use England’s stockpiles of weapons for the Musashi. All other expenses will be free of charge. In exchange, I would like permission to trade with the ships of other nations that visit England’s ports while we are trading with England. That should allow for some small-scale intermediate trade on England’s part. Also, the Musashi will fight the armada battle in place of England’s fleet.”

Masazumi nodded as she spoke.

“Maeda Toshiie, can you offer a better product to our employer?”

Maeda Toshiie took a deep breath and finally looked up at the ceiling.

“Musashi Vice President.”

“Yes?”

“I can’t leave empty-handed. The others will laugh at me if I do. Niwa pretending to cry and sympathize with me is the worst. If you believe her, she’ll reveal it all on the divine network and leave a scar in your heart.”

''Yeah, I know where you’re coming from there,'' thought Masazumi. ''This guy has a tough life too.

“We will give you appropriate thanks for cutting into your business.”

“In that case,” he said. “I would like to ask one thing. Although it might end up being a hint to you.”

That question was…

“Have you ever been to Avalon?”

“Eh?”

She had heard that word before, but where?

“…!”

As soon as she started to think, the Trumps to her right suddenly grew defensive.

This reaction from England reminded Masazumi.

…''I heard it from Scarred…no, Mary!

She had heard that word when asking about the Princess Disappearances while eating yakiniku on the beach. It was a meaningful enough term to produce a reaction from England.

…''What is going on?

But Toshiie used both hands to calm them down and then faced Masazumi.

“Let me guess, you know of it but have never seen it. Testament.”

In that case…

“So you have only made it that far.”

“With what!?”

Toshiie did not respond. He merely took a step backwards.

“Thank you for the valuable information. I now know that you still do not know everything of the Far East. You have been circling around and around and around the Far East, but that is all you have been doing. Westphalia is looking a long ways off.”

With that, he dropped a coin from his hand. Its falling motion produced a giant white arm that swallowed him up and…

…''What!?

Behind him, the collection of bluish-white flames surrounding the Musashi formed a certain shape.

“The Double Border Crest!?”

“Ha ha.” Toshiie’s laughter rang with the nighttime crest in the background. “Farewell. Fairy Queen, I will be taking the recruiting preparation money as my cancellation fee. Also…”

Also…

“Have a good war, those who still know nothing.”

With that, he vanished.

The pattern of blue flame surrounding the Musashi also vanished.

It had passed by.

“Ohhh, this isn’t good,” muttered Segundo as he watched the ''cadena firma'' in the darkness.

He then turned to Fusae who was staring out the window.

“Thinking of escaping?”

“Testament. How did you know? Looks like our chancellor really does understand women’s hearts.”

“No, it’s because I wanted to escape through there too. But…”

He sighed and sank back into his chair.

The ''cadena firma'' was already showing a close up of the Fairy Queen who was announcing the end of the meeting, Musashi’s chancellor who was raising a hand, and Velázquez.

Musashi’s chancellor must have violated Tres España’s moral regulations because he was entirely covered by a mosaic.

“Old man! I’m waiting for the new game! Don’t make it a sad one, though!”

“Just put on some clothes, you idiot. I’ll make you a character with a route, if you don’t.”

“P-please don’t make a porn game modelled on Musashi!”

“What kind of conversation is this?” asked Fusae with a tilt of her head.

Segundo also tilted his head.

“Velázquez sure is young. Oh, but now we don’t need to send out a ship. You can still take the bottle, though. Say hi to Takakane for me.”

“Testament. But can we really let the Musashi act as England’s fleet?”

“Tres España has strengthened its Grande y Felicísima Armada too. Also, not all of the Musashi’s personnel are combat-oriented and they can’t modify it into a full warship if they start arming it now, so there’s room for interpretation. They’re using M.H.R.R.’s mercenary system, so it’s difficult for M.H.R.R. to say anything without rejecting their own system. Also, the other nations will only be watching carefully since it is limited to the armada battle. They probably want to see the Musashi’s actual situation as well as our Grande y Felicísima Armada. Fusae, what is your opinion of having the Musashi as an enemy?”

“Well… If we view them as a giant city, we can bomb them since we can fly too. They may be large, but we have the advantage when it comes to attack since we can move above and below them. After all, smaller ships are faster and a smaller target. Also, the armada battle will be fought while circling England, so the Musashi will not be invading the Tres Españan mainland. In that case, we don’t need to face them head-on to stop them. If we bomb them from above and destroy the weapons on the top surface, we can board them and end it.”

“Testament. With the short time they have, they will only be able to load weapons on the top. Yes… They may be large and difficult to sink, but they have little offensive power. What tactics of theirs do we need to watch out for?”

“I’d like to hear your opinion on that, chancellor.”

“Well…” Segundo crossed his arms. “I’m afraid of them ramming us with their gravitational cruising, but the Musashi is not a warship and thus has thin physical armor. Damage from ramming would hinder their ability to move afterwards, so they will likely primarily use cannons. However, the Musashi can ascend quite easily, so I think it will be surprisingly difficult to bomb them from above. Instead of ordinary bombing…”

He made a wave-like motion with his hand.

“We should focus on attacking in waves that including a retreat. If we repeat the process by creating a circular formation and rotating it, the battle is ours. And if we add in additional movement, the Musashi will grow fragile. It’s a basic wheel formation. There’s nothing new about it.”

“It’s plenty new once you start controlling that circular formation at high altitude. We only have about ten more days, so we need to do some training.”

“Don’t you know what to do better than me?”

“And I’m saying I agree with you. All that’s left is what modifications to make.”

She took a breath and cracked her neck to the left and right, but then the student council room’s door flew open.

“Chancellor!!”

Juana stood in the light of the open door. She held a basket of water bottles and took a step forward.

“About what England just decided…!!”

She trailed off when she saw Segundo with Fusae.

“Hi there,” said Fusae with a raised hand, but Juana only looked back and forth between them.

“A-…”

She took in a breath and frowned while tears welled up in her eyes.

“Adultery!? How impure can you be!?”

She slammed the door shut and ran away.

“Wait, wait, wait!”

Segundo beckoned toward her and Fusae spoke with a tone of admiration.

“Ju really is funny. And she’s pretty popular despite that.”

“I think it might be ''because of'' that, not despite it.”

At any rate…

“After a short break, she should logically reject that possibility and return, so you take care of things then, Fusae.”

“What about you?”

“Testament.” Segundo opened the window and stuck a leg out. “I’m running away. Juana has probably found out I used all the money she was saving.”

The next day, the Musashi was modified in England while the festival continued and several meetings were held relating to the Logismoi Oplo and the Peace of Westphalia. The modifications to the Musashi were carried out with each ship in stealth mode so that the information would not be leaked out. The people enjoyed the festival while watching on in interest as sounds of construction came from empty air.

Musashi grew quite busy with the festival and the multiple days of meetings, but things returned more to normal once the residents of the transport ship were allowed to return to the Musashi. However, Naruze had been badly enough injured that she was still sleeping in the sick bay and she would only recover just before the armada battle.

As Tenzou recovered, he also assisted with the repairs and modifications and never tried to disembark to England alone.

Everyone had their own thoughts about the situation as the days of the festival and the Musashi’s modifications continued.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 45|Chapter 45]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 47|Chapter 47]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 45

2014-08-29T22:57:52Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 45: Performers from the Wings of the Stage */

==Chapter 45: Performers from the Wings of the Stage==
[[Image:Horizon2B_0391.png|thumb]]
''Can in intruder be necessary?

''And if so

''Why is that the case?

'''Point Allocation (The Entire World)

Two people in vermillion uniforms appeared in the meeting hall.

One was Tres Españan Secretary Diego Velázquez and the other was 3rd Special Duty Officer Tachibana Gin. The former looked across the gathered people and spoke.

“Now then. You suggested a trade alliance with Musashi, did you? To be honest, it’s a pretty interesting idea. And using it to prepare for future settlements isn’t wrong as far as the history recreation and advancing into the outer world is concerned.” He brought a hand to his chin. “But it’s all too idealistic.”

After all…

“Setting up primary trading ports for the Musashi will increase the number of times it trades. That will set up a circulation of wealth, but the participating nations will have to increase their domestic production to increase their supply.”

“And what is wrong with that?”

The Musashi vice president’s voice was completely emotionless.

That told Velázquez she knew quite well that and he lowered his hat over his eyes before continuing.

“Doing that will change the balance of power among the leaders of domestic industries and trade. After all, it will become easier for new businesses to enter the market. That competition and chaos will cut into the profit margins of those who have long controlled domestic industry and trade and they will all decline.” He laughed toward the floor. “The treasurers of England, the Far East, Hexagone Française, and K.P.A. Italia help manage commerce and hold real power there, so you can work to regulate that. However, we and M.H.R.R. manage commerce and industry on the committee and civilian level or we are divided between principalities, so it will not be so easy.

“Those afraid of decline will oppose the alliance to preserve their vested rights, they will prevent the student council and chancellor’s officers from providing money before that alliance is formed, and they have invested in the mass media and are therefore able to lower approval ratings of those in power by broadcasting criticism of them. If following the student council and chancellor’s officers will mean no more money, facilities, and materials, then politics will stall. The normal students will hold a special general student meeting to dismiss both the chancellor’s officers and the student council. And with the backing of those with vested rights, an extremely conservative academy that opposes the alliance will be formed.”

Velázquez’s words did nothing to change the look on the Musashi vice president’s face.

However, she still spoke.

“Tres España received the same treatment from those with vested rights in domestic industries when your economy switched from domestic industry to trade with the New World, but did it work back then?”

“It left our domestic industries in shambles. Even when we obtain money from outside, we can’t produce anything at home, so we end up buying things from outside. We truly are in dire straits. …We’re just barely holding on and now you’re proposing a new system of trade? Those in the trade industry are not going to allow that. If merchants trading with Musashi cut into our trade with the New World, the competing products will drop in value and decline. Y’see, if we increase our domestic production, it will put the merchants importing those products out of business. That’s why Tres España can’t agree to this alliance.”

“Judge.” Musashi’s vice president nodded. “And here I thought I could Tres-t you of all nations to agree.”

Masazumi’s joke bombed on a worldwide scale.

Masazumi was a little surprised when the hall filled with whispering voices.

“Wh-what!? I just felt like saying it, that's all!”

'''Me:''' “Yeah, but that one was bad. And I mean really bad.”

'''Asama:''' “Sorry. I had a voice erasing spell prepared, but I didn’t make it in time.”

'''Asama:''' “Vice President: D-dammit. Just you watch! Next time, I’ll get people to laugh!”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “I think you’re straying from the main point here.”

However, everyone saw the Fairy Queen turn her back on top of the stage.

She placed her hands on the chair back and her shoulders were shaking.

'''Almost Everyone:''' “She’s laughing!”

'''Asama:''' “Vice President: See! Look at that! It was a good joke! I told you!”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Is it just me or did Seijun just get really petty?”

After the wave of muttering and tension passed, Velázquez sighed.

…''What a pain.

Being a diplomat was nothing but trouble because it was a thankless job with plenty of troublesome duties. Gin remained perfectly silent next to him, but that was because she had dumped the entire job on him and increased the trouble for him.

…''But she’s reliable if it comes to a fight.

It was a complete mystery how Muneshige had managed to marry her. In the past, she had been the type to grow angry if you touched her. In fact, it had seemed like she would attack if you so much as approached her. As for now…

“Are puns like that a form of humor shared worldwide?” she asked. “I will remember that.”

He felt it would be better if she did not remember it, but it also reminded him of how much people could change.

…''But those changes can be a pain to deal with too.

It may have been because he was long-lived, but he felt an instinctual aversion to sudden changes like the one Musashi’s vice president was asking for. And since Tres España had a large long lived population, there was something he had to say now.

“It may not look it, but Tres España has been following the history recreation quite closely.”

''That’s exactly right,'' he thought to himself. ''The commander, Juana, and everyone else have been doing the hard work of looking to the future while recreating the management of a debt-filled nation.

…''Not that I understand half of it since I’m only the secretary.

Still, he knew it was not easy.

Just as Musashi’s vice president had said, Tres España had rapidly shifted from domestic industries to New World trade. The rise in the trade industry had partially been a method of restraining those with vested rights in those domestic industries because they began trying to influence the nation’s politics. And by giving that rapidly expanding trade industry freedom and protection, the royalty had received the benefit of its independence and tax income.

Under Musashi’s new trade system, the New World trade would lose its freedom and protection, so the royalty would lose that independence and tax income.

That would mean the end of it all.

…''If you want a beneficial relationship, just say so.

For the sake of the history recreation, the merchants crossed the skies, settled the New World, and greeted Velázquez when they met in the city or academy. They had their negative sides, but they all did their very best.

They had no money and their decline was guaranteed, but even in the slums, the merchants and other citizens had something in common.

…''They’re always smiling and enjoying themselves.

Tres España was a good nation. Velázquez and the others were making sure of it. After making it past the Lepanto and the Battle of Itsukushima, they had protected that way of living. It may have been conservative, but that was fine.

However…

“That’s the world I show in my paintings,” said Velázquez. “So I have a question for you, Musashi. Why aren’t you going to war with England?”

“What?” said everyone from Musashi.

'''Flat Vassal:''' “He’s asking why we aren’t? Do we have a reason ''to'' do it?”

'''Asama:''' “Everyone, let’s be completely honest. If you know a reason, you need to confess.”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “You’re assuming someone has a reason!?”

However, Masazumi was the one who stood at the front of them all.

…''A reason why we have to go to war with England?

She decided to look further into that question. Did they have a reason for that? And it would have to be something Tres España would want to point out.

''What could it be?'' she thought. ''Wait. It can’t be…

She did indeed come up with a reason and she was likely not the only one. All of those involved in the Battle of Mikawa would be able to come up with it.

“…”

Masazumi turned around and faced someone.

“Do you need something?” asked Horizon.

“Testament. That’s right.” Velázquez’s voice rang clearly. “One of your reasons for rescuing Princess Horizon at Mikawa was the misuse of the history recreation in her murder. You used that as a justification for rescuing that princess and going to war with us.”

In that case…

“England is trying to execute Bloody Mary for the armada battle. Can England really make that interpretation here? What do you say, Musashi of the Far East? You gave your justification for war in order to save that princess, but why aren’t you using that same justification here? Are we the only ones that get attacked? Even if you’ve sealed the right to declare war, England possesses a Logismoi Oplo and you can interpret that as engaging you in war. Or will you refuse to attack England and rescue Mary? Is Musashi really so inexperienced a nation that it will abandon its justification when faced with another individual being executed?”

…''So this is how they’re doing it!

She had known Tres España messengers had arrived and a notification from Musashi’s treasurers had led her to fear those messengers would oppose the trade alliance between their two enemy nations of England and Musashi.

Her plan for that possibility had been to ultimately gain England’s approval by negotiating over the advantages of forming the alliance.

However, this complaint was unexpected.

After all, this was urging Musashi to oppose England as an enemy.

…''And there’s no reason for it!

They had rescued Horizon because she was directly linked to the Far East’s sovereignty. It was only with several different justifications that they had made up their minds.

Their decision had not been wholly based on the misuse of the history recreation.

Meanwhile, Bloody Mary was England’s royalty and getting involved would count as intervening in England’s internal issues. Also, rescuing her would not benefit the Far East in any way.

Mary was not linked to the Far East’s sovereignty like Horizon had been and they would not gain a Logismoi Oplo by rescuing her.

There was only the one reason to get involved.

…''Because this can be interpreted as misusing the history recreation?

That was ridiculous.

Tres España was merely making a huge problem by announcing a tiny issue.

…''But if that qualifies as an “interpretation”, this could be trouble.''

“In that case,” said Masazumi while getting down to the heart of the issue. “Aren’t you misusing the idea of interpretations!?”

“I can say the same to you as you try to dodge the issue, Musashi Vice President. You misused the idea of interpretations and attacked K.P.A. Italia and us, but now that England is trying to be your ally, you’re using an interpretation to accept the murder of Mary. Who can trust a nation that does that?”

…''This man.

He knew what people would accept and what they would not. He knew he could win by only saying what would be accepted and not responding to anything that would not.

Just as Masazumi began to wonder what to do, she heard a voice from the stage.

“Tres España, you are being very rude.”

The Fairy Queen gave support in the form of criticism.

Elizabeth looked at Velázquez with slightly raised eyebrows.

…''How very troublesome.

She had no intention of allying with Musashi, but she would not let a misunderstanding about England spread to the other nations. She would say what she had to say.

“Listen,” she began. “Double Bloody Mary’s execution will not disintegrate her like you tried to do with that princess. England will not execute someone such that nothing remains.”

'''Drug Poet:''' “Lady, you are so merciful! And that composed expression is so wonderful!”

'''Queen:''' “Heh heh heh. Stir up the excitement even more, my excellent friends.”

'''Seal Boy:''' “Excellent! Excitingly excellent!! Excitingly excellent execution!”

'''Four Eyes:''' “Are we recording the logs of this divine chat?”

…''Perhaps I should delete some of it. Anyway, I must speak to Tres España.

“Listen, Tres España. Your execution was a bad execution while ours is a good execution.”

“That’s quite a claim there. What exactly do you mean?”

“Testament. It is simple. We will not waste the death of English royalty like Mary.”

So…

“She is a sacrifice to protect England, so we will mourn her execution which is required for the history recreation and then we will use that death to-…”

The Fairy Queen paused and thought for a moment.

After even more thought, she finally spoke.

“My mistake. We cannot simply use her death. That could be called misusing the history recreation. Ha ha ha.”

She nodded.

“Yes, it’s something else.”

Musashi’s vice president stared at Elizabeth with her mouth hanging open.

'''Silver Wolf:''' “M-Masazumi was just shot in the back!!”

'''Me:''' “It’s really convenient how you all bother typing up your surprise on here.”

'''Asama:''' “Th-this is no time for that! …Oh, but it really is convenient. No, wait! Masazumi! Masazumi! That was shallow as far as mental wounds go, so stay with us!!”

…''What am I supposed to do?

Masazumi mentally held her head in her hands.

She seemed to have maintained an appearance of calm, so she could still manage. Probably.

However, a thought came to her.

…''The Papa-Schola was easier to deal with than this!

She had never been shot from behind with him and she felt like he had operated under simple rules: hit him once and he would hit back once.

The accumulated arguments of Catholicism had been gentle for a beginner politician.

Still wondering what to do, she began going over various arguments in her head.

But as she did, something else happened.

“This sounds like an interesting discussion.”

An unfamiliar voice came from the southern main entrance behind her.

…''Who is that?

A figure in red and wrapped in wind had entered the meeting hall.

“Excuse me. I am currently working with Hashiba of M.H.R.R.”

The man wore the red uniform of A.H.R.R.S., the academy of M.H.R.R., and the bottom of his legs could not be seen. A super deformed and similarly footless girl sat on his shoulder.

“I am Five Great Peaks #4 and the student council treasurer of P.A. Oda’s P.A.O.M. I have the double inherited names of Maeda Toshiie and Mercenary King Wallenstein. I have come for an urgent recruitment discussion with the Fairy Queen.”

Sakai stopped even the slight movements of smoking his kiseru.

After a moment, he slowly released smoke from the corner of his mouth.

“To think Maeda Toshiie of P.A. Oda’s Six Heavenly Demon Army would show up. I really am behind the times.”

“Judge, judge.”

“Musashi” nodded twice and struck his shoulder a few times.

“Come to think of it, the Landsknechte were recruiting during the festival. I had assumed it was a plan to increase England’s forces by turning their non-students into temporary students, but it appears to have been more than that.” She spoke quietly as she peered into Sakai’s sign frame. “The Testament descriptions say M.H.R.R.’s Mercenary King Wallenstein held the greatest military force in history. Despite merely being the leader of a mercenary group, he had a massive enough military force to support the Thirty Years’ War. Unfortunately for him, M.H.R.R. viewed his expansion of power and increase in war costs as dangerous, so they assassinated him. However…”

“I’d like to hear what you have to say, ‘Musashi’-san.”

“Judge. M.H.R.R. did not want to lose that military force, so they put together a plan to keep him around as a ghost after his assassination. To prevent interference from the Testament Union, they chose someone from P.A. Oda to inherit his name and that was Maeda Toshiie. Over.”

“What’s going to happen?” asked Sakai as he blew smoke from his mouth. “This is trouble. M.H.R.R. is here for some fun.”

“Is that how you view this? Over.”

“Judge.” Sakai faced forward. “Just look. What could this be but a bit of fun?”

The land port and the third and fourth levels had previously been filled with nothing but the few hundred English warriors holding two torches each to disguise their small numbers.

But that had changed.

Now, a much larger force filled the night with the blue flames of their torches.

“That’s gotta be more than twenty thousand.”

The Trumps and the Musashi VIPs took defensive stances at the entrance of an Oda clan leader, but the Fairy Queen showed no concern. Maeda responded in kind.

“Long time no see, Your Majesty. My Landsknechte have done as you asked and used this festival to help expand England’s student force.”

The man who gave a small bow with a tiny girl on his shoulder was slender and of average height. Due to his build, the M.H.R.R. student uniform and its internal armor looked like a fairly large cloak on him. However, he did not stop standing tall and proud when facing the queen.

And…

“Drain!”

Light shot toward him.

Walsingham fired a glass from almost directly to his side. She used her gravitational control to shoot the glass which was filled with cider.

She targeted the base of his neck. Whether he caught it or broke it, the contents would get on his clothes. His options were to dodge it or…

“You’re telling me to bow?” muttered Toshiie.

In that moment, he dropped a small object from his hand.

It was a coin. It fell and, just before it struck the floor, a certain color burst from below his feet.

That color was white and it took the form of an arm.

A pure white and translucent arm snapped up from the shadow falling next to his shoes.

The arm was about three meters long, but it was not made up of a single arm. The hands and upper arms of men, women, children, and the aged were tangled together and twisted about. They wrapped around and grabbed at each other as if they desired each other and they devoured the coin.

“————!”

Rather than grabbing, striking, or swiping away the glass, the swinging palm swallowed up the glass.

The arm disappeared, wind blew about, and finally…

“Garrrrp.”

The girl on his shoulder opened her mouth as if expelling air from her stomach.

Toshiie turned a flustered look in her direction.

“Ah wah wah wah wah. That’s rude, Ma-chan.”

“Nn.”

The girl named “Ma-chan” nodded and Toshiie faced forward. While making sure not to look away from the queen, he crouched down to pick up the empty glass that had appeared on the floor at some point.

He used that motion to lower his head and bow.

“I believe you said I was free to come to this school building.”

Once he raised his head, the Fairy Queen asked a question.

“We are holding a meeting. What happened to the guards out front? Don’t tell me…”

Toshiie held his right arm forward to move it out from below his red cloak. The upper arm contained an armband with P.A.O.M.’s emblem and embroidery saying, “Treasurer – Maeda Toshiie / Treasurer’s Aide – Matsu”.

“If I show off this and say I have a free pass in, I can get into most places.”

He then tilted his head and looked around. The Musashi members, their vice president, and the Trumps were all about equally distant.

“I’m going to join in this discussion a bit. I do hold the treasurer position in M.H.R.R. after all. I’ll say this up front: M.H.R.R. also cannot agree with Musashi’s trade alliance. As for why…”

Musashi’s vice president spoke up for him.

“M.H.R.R. is a union of multiple principalities. You are currently fighting the Thirty Years’ War, but the aftereffects and economic friction of the Reformation have left the principalities unable to work together. The Catholic principalities and the Protestant principalities are completely scattered. Also, Hashiba unofficially holds the real power in M.H.R.R. now that Emperor-Chancellor ‘Wahnsinniger’ Rudolf II has been imprisoned for the history recreation. However, Hashiba is on the Catholic side. If the Protestant nation of England became the base of our trade, Catholic Hashiba is in danger of a pincer attack from the Protestants within M.H.R.R. and Hexagone Française. Isn’t that right?”

The vice president let out a quick breath and shrugged.

“I was planning to use that danger to the P.A. Oda-influenced M.H.R.R. to draw Tres España into the deal.”

“Oh? Then will you withdraw your request for this alliance?” asked Toshiie.

Musashi’s vice president turned her back without answering.

“Well, fine.” It was now Toshiie’s turn to shrug and he also snapped his fingers. “Musashi’s alliance won’t actually work. You know that, right?

“After all,” said Toshiie.

He smiled at how Matsu copied the movements of his mouth.

“Allying with England means joining their side. England is Protestant, but M.H.R.R. is rejecting the alliance despite being partially Protestant. Once Musashi joins the Protestant side, you’ll get – at best – Holland and the people of Kantou and Hokuriku. K.P.A. Italia will probably want to trade, but Tres España is sure to stop them. And once M.H.R.R., Tres España, and K.P.A. Italia are out, Hexagone Française will be surrounded and thus unable to take the initiative and join.”

Partway through, Matsu found herself unable to keep up with his mouth movements and started glaring at him.

…''But that reaction is so cute.

With that thought, he raised his right hand and stroked her hair. The action put the surrounding people on guard, but he did not mind. He simply opened his mouth and continued speaking.

“The real problem is that the Musashi has no armaments to deal with a situation like this. Even if you get English ships to protect you, the other nations will send out privateers to get back at England for doing the same thing to them. At the very least, that will make the European routes hell.”

The Musashi vice president spoke while keeping her back to him.

“The Peace of Augsburg in 1555 means the Catholics must accept the Protestant faith. At the very least, it cannot be used as a reason for an attack.”

“That comes with certain rights attached.”

As Toshiie stroked Matsu’s hair, he moved his hand in the shape of a plain, a house, and a mountain.

“Didn’t your treasurer tell you? Catholicism and Protestantism have different divine transmission, medical, educational, and welfare systems. That makes a large difference in who has the rights to construction, distribution, personnel, and the like. Do you understand? The age of religion bringing war is over. The trigger of conflict is now held by the struggle for rights to the systems that use the blessings of the religion.

“Isn’t it the same with Musashi? Catholics and Protestants are forbidden to proselytize within Musashi. That is partially due to the history recreation, but it also prevents confusion and complications in your economic system and provides a stable system centered on Shintoism. Having a primary religion allows you to much more easily manage divine transmissions, medicine, and welfare.”

He then turned to the girl with long black hair who stood next to the vice president.

“The successor to the Asama Shrine there should know that very- ow, ow, ow! That hurts, Ma-chan! I promise I’m not even slightly interested in these other girls!”

He pulled a lollipop from his pocket and handed it to Matsu who had turned away from him.

“Anyway, England and Musashi may be able to form a trade alliance, but if you do…well, assume we’ll get mad and come to crush you. And that would be a problem for England, wouldn’t it? That’s why I have a suggestion for England here.”

He took a breath and dropped a single coin from his right hand.

“If possible, could you crush Musashi?”

The instant the coin was swallowed up by his shadow on the floor, the large door into the hall opened behind him.

Beyond there, the even larger entrance to the building and Oxford’s main gate were already open. Through them, the darkness, the lights of London, and the Musashi in the distant land port could all be seen.

However, light surrounded the Musashi.

“P.A. Oda belongs to the Mlasi faith, so it has Testamenta Arma yet was not given a Logismoi Oplo. So instead, our master gave a weapon to each member of the Five Great Peaks and Six Heavenly Demon Army. This is what our master gave Ma-chan and me.”

He took a breath and indicated the bluish-white light that surrounded the Musashi and covered almost the entire third level.

“Israfil. It uses the healing power of the depths of the earth to preserve and deploy the souls of the dead. It effectively strengthens my already skilled necromancy. Wallenstein commanded tens of thousands of troops, but if necessary, I can outdo that history recreation and rouse an army of a million from the underworld. If I use up the entire history of M.H.R.R. and the Landsknechte, I can easily hire an army of that many dead souls. You could call this the Kaga income of a million condemned. Or to give it a more M.H.R.R. appropriate name…”

He took a breath.

“The Kaga Millionen Geist.”

Everyone held their breath at his words and his army, but then they all noticed a certain light. It came from small wings on Matsu’s back. When Asama’s gaze stopped on the wings that had appeared at some point, she frowned and asked Toshiie a question.

“Those wings of light… Those are different from a normal ghost. That ether light has been altered in some other way.”

“You can tell? Yes, Ma-chan has undergone a modification to Israfil to help me out.”

“But if you do that…”

“Testament. It becomes a spell, so she constantly needs ether,” he explained. “That’s why it takes a lot of money to keep our married life from simply vanishing. But…”

He once more pointed at the crowd of light behind him.

“Fairy Queen, it’s free this time, so can you give me the order to crush Musashi? After all, Musashi looks like it’s going to be trouble. We’re having fun conquering westward, but with all this Logismoi Oplo and Westphalia stuff, it feels like you’re completely ignoring P.A. Oda. If you keep focusing so much on the Testament Union, the Oda clan is going to get nice and angry. After our attack on Asai, Shibata said ‘Okay, I’m gonna celebrate our victory by confessing to Lady Oichi, but let’s go mess with Musashi to get things started!’ Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to surprise you all that much. Anyway, Fairy Queen, could you let us destroy them to let off some steam?”

“Wait.” Masazumi was still facing the Fairy Queen, but she looked over her shoulder. “Is P.A. Oda choosing to oppose Musashi?”

“Don’t be silly. I never said that. Then again, we’ll fight at Sekigahara via Hashiba, so I guess it goes without saying that we’re enemies.”

Everyone gulped, but Toshiie only shrugged.

“Shibata has really taken a liking to Hashiba though, so it looks like he’s been trying to figure out what to do about the history recreation of their opposition. But if we can get past that, the Oda clan is headed for a clash between Hashiba and Ariadust. It’s not yet known where that will occur, but we already know we’ll be enemies in the future.

“So give me this chance, Fairy Queen. Since this trade alliance won’t work, give me the order to sink the Musashi. You didn’t do it before because you were given a bunch of reasons, but if you lack the firepower, I can lend you more.”

He held his right hand out toward the Fairy Queen and spoke along with Matsu on his shoulder.

“Just as Tres España pointed out, Musashi must attack England to prevent Mary’s execution. And England can attack Musashi using my power. What will you do, England and Musashi? If you do nothing, the other might get in the first attack?”

Toshiie’s question and action awaited two answers among the cautious people.

One was the Fairy Queen’s reply and the other was Musashi Vice President Honda Masazumi’s reply.

How would the two of them answer?

Would they be enemy or ally? That question of expectation filled everyone’s gaze as they silently watched the two.

The space was absent of sound until a sudden noise arrived.

The noise came from the right of the hall. It came running out of the Musashi-side passageway.

“Wait just a minuuuuute!!”

It was the footsteps of Musashi Chancellor and President Aoi Toori running full speed into the hall.

An instantaneous response came from Masazumi who turned toward him with eyebrows raised.

“You idiot! Please tell me you actually changed your clothes!”

“O-of course I did! Just look!”

Aoi leaped across the center of the hall with a ballet-style triple jump and he was did indeed wearing a Far East jacket.

However, his lower half was completely naked.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 44|Chapter 44]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 46|Chapter 46]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 44

2014-08-29T22:53:01Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 44: Performers on the Stage */

==Chapter 44: Performers on the Stage==
[[Image:Horizon2B_0365.png|thumb]]
''If both sides are the protagonist

''How can that become a play?

'''Point Allocation (Mutual Understanding)

Masazumi took a deep breath within the silent stone hall.

The excitement had come to an end. She understood that her words had set the world in motion and that left only one thing.

…''I need to preserve that moving world.

It was often said that things were ‘easier said than done’ and this was the same. Creating the motion was easy, but keeping that movement going or keeping things fixed in place after it ended were difficult.

War had not broken out, but Musashi was facing the possibility of all-out war with the other nations. Their right to war thrust that possibility into the forefront.

''Do this carefully yet boldly,'' she ordered herself.

“Fairy Queen.”

“What?”

The queen replied, but not as a confident victor. This was the kindness of England. If Masazumi rushed this and attempted to take advantage of that kindness, England would use their justice to cut down Musashi.

“Musashi does not wish for a hostile relationship with England.”

“Meaning?”

The queen used as few words as possible so as not to hint at any possible promise. Nevertheless, she was likely interested.

…''That means I need to step forward here.

If Masazumi did not go for the openings in England’s attack, there was a chance they would simply push back with their attacks.

…''I need to warn her that they can’t force our hand with their military might.

But if she suddenly said that, England could take action to “prove their strength”. They could not allow themselves to be mocked while the other nations watched on.

Masazumi knew she had to be careful and she knew what she had to say first.

“England is not serious about its hostility toward Musashi.”

“Hah. Don’t be ridiculous. If my request to the other nations was a joke, it would bring shame to England. A sovereign nation cannot invite other nations for a mere jest.”

“Judge. Your request to them was likely serious. However…”

However…

“England can allow the other nations to sink the Musashi, but you cannot allow yourselves to carry out the attack.”

Innocentius took a swig of water.

“The Fairy Queen really is a woman. If the bird in her pocket escapes, she’ll send the hunters after it, but as long as it’s in her pocket, she wants to hear it sing.”

“It bothers me how you occasionally become a poet.”

“I had excellent grades in literature class.”

“And I was a science teacher. I wasn’t even in charge of politics or economics,” pointed out Galileo. “At any rate, what does this mean? England intends to surround the Musashi. I understand that much. But why is Musashi’s vice president saying England alone will not attack them in an all-out war? And what is her reasoning for saying it here?”

“Women never play fair. I worked as a merchant on the lowest levels before becoming pope, so I know. They care about themselves the most. Even if they serve another, they still care the most about their servant self. That’s why we have to watch out for England even if we have no choice but to agree to their request.” He took a breath. “Look. The Fairy Queen truly is a woman who manipulates the entire world in order to look after herself.”

In preparation to reach the gap in her opponent’s military power, Masazumi further emphasized the topic.

“We both stated at the beginning that this would be an equivalent exchange. So if that exchange can be achieved, England will be our ally. Isn’t that right?”

“Testament. That is how nations and academies interact as equals. But so what? We have the Musashi completely surrounded as it has proved dangerous.” The Fairy Queen tilted her head. “So why do you say England alone will not attack the Musashi?”

“Judge. I will state up front why I would say that. To me, it seems England wishes to give another nation the credit for Musashi’s destruction.”

Segundo sighed as he peered into the ''cadena firma'' with Fusae.

“Musashi’s vice president gave England’s justification before they could.”

“What do you mean?”

“Testament,” he replied as he watched the Fairy Queen remain silent.

She neither affirmed nor denied that vice president’s allegation.

“England can’t say whether this is true or not. In which case, it probably is. They never intended to attack the Musashi and they planned to justify that by giving another nation the credit for sinking the Musashi. However, England has its own worries. Namely, they have to be worried the other nations will suspect they have some ulterior motive behind handing out that credit. In other words…”

In other words…

“Is England trying to preserve their strength by not attacking the Musashi?”

“You mean…?”

“It’s probably true. If they said it themselves, the other nations would have their suspicions after sinking the Musashi. They would suspect England had preserved their own nation while manipulating the other nations. But if a sympathetic nation or Musashi says it, it can be interpreted differently. England can say they wanted to take part as well, but they interpreted Musashi’s statement as a test of England’s humble heart. They would claim the need to prove the Fairy Queen’s nation was willing to give the credit to another nation. However, this means Musashi has given England another excuse to not attack the Musashi.”

His breath turned to a laugh.

“Musashi has protected England from the questions of the other nations if an all-out attack on the Musashi does indeed occur. That is a massive favor. England can preserve its power and exhaust the other nations’ power while claiming to hand over the credit as a sign of loyalty to the Testament Union. Musashi has just used us as bait in hopes that England will feel obligated to return the favor.”

“Testament. If that is true, shouldn’t the rest of the conversation prove it? Musashi needs to show why England won’t attack them now that they have claimed they have no reason to.”

And…

“But once they show that, what does Musashi hope to gain from England? If England is not attacking them, what do they gain?”

“That depends on what their vice president is thinking. However, I have some doubts about this.”

Segundo tilted his head and Fusae peered at him with a questioning look.

“The conversation seems to be continuing at Musashi’s vice president’s pace, but this world is much crueler than that. As you probably already know, Fusae, this world is not that kind.”

So…

“I predict this meeting will undergo several more considerable changes, so let’s keep watching while showing the proper concern. Fusae, can you bring over the beer bottle and the dried foods in that paper bag?”

Masazumi awkwardly sensed she was correct based on the Fairy Queen’s silence.

…''Calm down.

When attacking her opponent, she had to remember to follow through. England was not a large nation, but it was a powerful one. Crushing a powerful nation’s pride could only be dangerous. They were not merely facing a dispatched military force like at the Battle of Mikawa, so she had to calm down and maintain her normal presence of mind.

'''Gold Mar:''' “It’s just a storyboard, but do you want to see it? Should Ga-chan send it through?”

…''Does nothing change the way you people act!?

Masazumi’s blood pressure briefly shot up, but she also felt glad the Far East had such a sense of freedom.

She reminded herself to at least maintain an appearance of calm before she spoke.

“Fairy Queen, in addition to giving another nation the credit for sinking the Musashi, I think you have another reason why you will not…no, why you ''cannot'' attack the Musashi.”

Her words were met by silence, but that was likely in order to not give any hints to the other nations. A careless reply could lead to interference based on unjust suspicion.

And so Masazumi gave a probing continuation in an attempt to read her opponent’s intentions.

“First, England’s newly constructed fleet still belongs to Holland who you can pass the credit to. Also, your older fleet is scouting out Tres España and will not return in time.”

“What about the ground forces? They are already deployed around the Musashi and here.”

''That was fast,'' thought Masazumi.

But the Fairy Queen seemed to have a reason for trying to rush her answer.

…''Does this mean England is hopeful of our answer?

She took a breath.

…''Don’t rush this.

She was more nervous than she knew and the conscious focus on her breathing when speaking was proof of that.

''But,'' she thought. ''Some people panic when they realize that and others don’t.

Which was she?

…''Most likely…

She was telling herself to restrain her excitement, so she would be the latter.

…''I’m the type of person who is excited to stand in such a tense place.

And so she worked to keep the corners of her mouth from rising while using her words much like moving pieces on a chess board.

“The ground forces?”

The Fairy Queen listened.

…''How much does Musashi’s vice president understand us?

When interacting with another nation, it was important to understand as much as possible about that nation’s situation.

In diplomacy, trade, and even the comings and goings of people, nothing one-sided would be accepted.

Even if sovereignty and the law allowed for it, interactions between nations could be similar to interactions between people. The Reformation had created some religious troubles in Europe, but some interactions overcame those troubles.

If both parties qualified as equal and both needed the interaction, it could take place.

For that reason, the Fairy Queen wished to know how much Musashi understood England and she asked a question to find out.

“Yes, England’s ground forces. They will attack you and the Musashi before it leaves port. How are we to give another nation credit for that?”

England’s ground forces were indeed deployed to the palace and around the Musashi.

However, Musashi’s vice president shook her head.

“Is that really enough personnel to secure the Musashi and attack before it leaves port? Let me make one thing clear.” She indicated her comrades with her right hand. “I made sure everyone accompanying me is capable of returning alive no matter what happens. What about you?”

“The Trumps are always perfect.”

“Judge.”

The vice president nodded and then pointed behind her to the hall’s entrance.

“Then let me ask this: are the defenses there also perfect?”

“This is a strategy for in case they actually have to run for it,” muttered Sakai atop the academy bridge as the Musashi finished its preparations. “By indicating their route ahead of time, it actually makes the enemy less certain where they’ll escape. It makes sure the enemy has to defend everything. Also, can Masazumi-kun and the others see what we’re seeing?”

He was referring to the countless lights surrounding the Musashi in England’s land port.

The lights came from the torches of England’s warriors who were prepared to board the Musashi.

“Sakai-sama, what is the meaning of this? Each one is holding two torches. Over.”

Sakai turned toward “Musashi” who was polishing the railing.

“That makes them look more numerous. They’re probably well aware we’ve caught on, but they still need to show that attack-oriented attitude. However, the situation has reached a point where an attitude isn’t enough. Masazumi-kun most likely knows the level of their defenses, so she may have realized that England’s defenses are not focused on London.”

Hearing that, “Musashi” stopped polishing and tilted her head.

“How do you know that? Over.”

“It’s simple,” replied Sakai. “The coming armada battle has a certain unique characteristic. While trying to land on England, Tres España’s Grande y Felicísima Armada travels around England along with the English fleet. It begins with a confused battle, but Tres España is forced to retreat after receiving an attack from fire ships. However, it is thought Tres España will use that to their advantage. They will likely lessen their damages by fighting a high-speed battle while withdrawing. They can also continue their landing operation to panic England and show off their ability to invade to the other nations.

“Anyway, that’s why England’s ground units should be stationed around the coast. They will also be preparing their defenses, maintaining camp sites, training to familiarize themselves with the terrain, and working to store the food gained during the festival. They must have been doing this for months now. Otherwise, they would not have sufficient research into defensive tactics using the terrain or reached an understanding with the local people. All of this will leave the fewest men for London which has the Trumps and Ex. Caliburn. …In other words, here.”

“Yes, this city has the weakest defenses. Isn’t that right?” Masazumi pointed straight down. “The personnel here can’t attack Musashi. The best you could manage was the previous attack that was meant as an excuse to the Testament Union. The same goes for the Oxford personnel.”

She turned to Futayo and Futayo responded with a glance to the queen and the Trumps.

“Based on the footsteps, there are around 500 in all. If they divide them equally between each exit, I can likely secure a path for us. That will mean leaving the Trumps to everyone else, but-…”

“Thanks, Futayo. That’s plenty.”

Reaching the level of certainty would hurt England’s pride, so it was better for both sides if they left it up in the air whether it could actually be done or not.

…''That brings this topic to an end.

Masazumi went in for the final point.

“Fairy Queen, I would like to ask one thing. You said you would take command and use Ex. Caliburn to sink the Musashi.”

The strength of the queen’s gaze did not change, but Masazumi continued regardless.

The final point was the reason why the Fairy Queen could not use Excalibur.

…''For this one, we need to create a reason!

Normally, the queen would have no reason not to use it, but Masazumi would create a reason why she definitely could not.

Masazumi could only give this reason because she had seen the state of Excalibur today.

“If you use Ex. Caliburn now, wouldn’t it hinder the execution of Mary?”

…This is such a cruel thing to use as a bargaining chip.

Masazumi thought that as a fact rather than out of kindness.

Due to the history recreation, Mary’s execution was needed to begin the armada battle. Also, that execution was being carried out with the Andamio de la Ejecución.

…''Ex. Caliburn’s power will be passed through the ley lines to return Mary to those ley lines.

She did not know how much progress had been made on the modifications to that end, but neither did the other nations.

That allowed her to use it as a bargaining chip.

“Mary’s execution using Ex. Caliburn is necessary for England’s history recreation, but its modifications do not appear complete and some from Musashi caused a bit of trouble there today. If you forcibly used Ex. Caliburn and a malfunction occurs, it would violate the history recreation, wouldn’t it?” asked Masazumi. “You would be forcing its use to do your duty as a Testament Union nation, but wouldn’t not using it and preserving the history recreation be the better option if you are to look to the future?”

“Are you criticizing me?”

“No.” Masazumi placed a hand on her chest and lowered her head toward the Fairy Queen. “It is all for the history recreation of the armada battle that will occur in one week. That is why England cannot attack Musashi. It is the obvious conclusion based on England’s sense of justice.” She took a breath. “All I have done is impertinently point out something so obvious anyone would notice it, Your Majesty.”

Everyone from Musashi heard the queen’s silence, but the divine chat was not silent.

'''Flat Vassal:''' “U-um… What does this mean?”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Judge. By saying this is obvious for England and insisting it is all for the history recreation, she is making it easier for England to agree. There are a number of justifications, but the Testament Union’s history recreation is at the base of them all. By bringing it all back to here, England is protected.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Ohhh, Mito-tsan! You sound almost serious!”

'''Asama:''' “Almost? Well, I suppose putting that way is safer.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Wait. I always try to be serious. …Does it not seem like it?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Oh, the queen just said something.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Y-you’re ignoring me! You’re all ignoring me!”

Elizabeth took a breath and faced Musashi’s vice president who stood ahead but below.

She had only one thought on her mind: ''This girl will become truly troublesome one day.

The vice president had little experience and her words lacked polish. Her knowledge seemed patched together or like something a child was using after just learning it. Also, it may have been an act, but she had a way of speaking as if she understood everything. It mostly came down to being irritating, but one point in particular was the most troublesome.

…''She’s enjoying this.

That girl undoubtedly thought of herself as the protagonist of this place.

She was troublesome.

After all, once that sort of person gained actual skill, her downsides would change to favorable idiosyncrasies.

As she gained strength, the irritating aspects would become something reliable.

That was how a protagonist worked.

…''I was the same!

With a mental nod, Elizabeth recalled how much of an idiot she had been in the past.

As she thought about the past, she recalled a certain scene and an individual within it. It was her sister back when they were younger and had often played together.

…''We made a promise.

At that point, she shook her head. She saw her vice chancellor and vice president give questioning looks from either side, but she waved a hand to say she was fine.

However, a few words escaped her lips. They were the words she had once exchanged.

“Save you from anything.”

The words may have reached Musashi’s vice president because she frowned.

However, this was nothing for her to worry about.

…''This is a reminder to myself.

The Fairy Queen then corrected her posture and faced her opponent.

The girl before her irritated her horribly, but whether she grew further in the future or not, the trouble would fall on the other nations. Her foolishness would likely be at least somewhat healed by the time the Musashi completed its circle of the Far East.

At any rate, the girl seemed to understand England’s situation.

England could not attack Musashi. The biggest reason was England’s need to preserve its strength for the armada battle and beyond.

They knew Tres España intended to use their retreat to give themselves an advantage in the battle. The attack on Musashi with a stealth ship had been more than enough of a warning to the English fleet that would pursue them. To damage a fleet of that power and yet not suffer what amounted to a defeat, England had to preserve its strength.

…''From that perspective…

Musashi’s vice president had been right when she said Excalibur could have a dangerous malfunction at the moment, but there was another reason not to use it.

…''Musashi’s ability to trade is indeed appealing.

If possible, the queen wanted to keep the Musashi around.

…''That is Phylargia.

While thinking about the Logismoi Oplo given to England, Elizabeth asked a question.

“Let me ask something before making my decision. You said this was an equivalent exchange, didn’t you? Then what can Musashi offer us that is equivalent? You will continue on and spread chaos through the other nations with your inexperienced ideals. If you wish for us to accept that and ally with you, what will you give us in exchange? What can you give us to make up for the damage of political and trade interference that the other nations are sure to begin if we ally with you?”

She asked her question.

“Answer me. What will Musashi offer England?”

“Judge,” replied Musashi’s vice president. “England will become Musashi’s primary trade port.”

“That’s just playing dirty!”

“You sound delighted to me.”

Innocentius ignored the glare Galileo was giving him and opened a ''cornice firma''. It displayed a map of the Far East and he drew a red circle around England where it floated north of Hexagone Française.

“Listen. By making England their primary trade port, Musashi will end their practice of travelling around the Far East once a year and instead create a system of leaving England to trade and returning to England afterwards! That means England can use the giant trade system that is the Musashi to amass wealth whenever the Musashi moves! And because the Musashi travels through every nation, every nation’s wealth will gather in England! Doesn’t that seem unfair to you? Hm, hm, hm?”

“I seem to recall that K.P.A. Italia used to do the same with trade on the Mediterranean and in the Middle East.”

“As did Ancient Rome. Also…”

Innocentius drew a few red lines with England in the center.

“These are the trade routes to the Logismoi Oplo nations. Look, if you exclude England, that’s Tres España, Hexagone Française, M.H.R.R., K.P.A. Italia, and Sviet Rus. They can travel to all of them from England without much difference in distance. And with England as their primary port, Musashi can choose to travel a certain route any number of times in a year rather than the single time of their current schedule. By making England their primary port in exchange for allying with them, they are telling other nations they can achieve an equal status in trade if they also join the alliance. To prevent all the wealth from gathering in England and to take their own cut, the other nations – especially those along the main routes – will want to join. By doing that, the allied nations can communicate and negotiate together in addition to trade.”

Innocentius thought for a moment before continuing.

“Fairy Queen, accept this alliance. Then we can use that as an excuse to do the same.”

“Can you really say that after going to such lengths to make an enemy of Musashi, former boy?”

“They would still be an enemy even if we formed an alliance. Also, the more nations join the alliance, the more complicated the Musashi’s course will grow and the less wealth will go to each allied nation. In the end, it will be no different from now. And once every nation has advanced their aerial ship technology far enough to trade with neighboring nations without relying on the Musashi, we can follow the academy rules for trade and more easily trade amongst ourselves. Once that happens, everyone will break their trade alliance with Musashi and become their enemies once more. But I’m sure Musashi will still make the proposal despite understanding all that. In which case…”

He erased all the red lines on the ''cornice firma''.

“When we become their enemy, it will happen all at once. There’s no reason to hesitate to build up our strength for that moment.”

“Your justice can be hard to follow because it has a way of switching between what lies on surface and what is hidden. Aren’t you afraid of misunderstandings?”

“Justice is always found in history. Catholicism can be said to be history itself and I am its representative, so I can only be justice. Whether on the surface or hidden below, justice is justice.”

Innocentius opened a divine mail ''cornice firma''.

“Let’s contact the industrial committee and have them consider whether K.P.A. Italia can use that trade system in regards to the other nations. If any nations not allied with us form an alliance, we can destroy that connection by bringing this system to even one of those nations. Also…”

He displayed the situation in England and spoke to the images of Musashi’s vice president and the Fairy Queen.

“Don’t think you can move the world with only two nations. Freeing this world is surprisingly difficult.”

…''I see.

Elizabeth gave a mental nod.

She knew very well what the Musashi vice president’s suggestion meant.

The suggested trade system would be effective in the early stages with few allied nations, but the effects would ultimately fade away and disappear.

And since the Musashi traveled around the Far East once a year, they would be forced to break that rule if they were to use England as its primary trade port.

By shrinking the time between trades, the rate of earnings would drop.

…''But changing Musashi’s annual visit to several times or even a dozen times a year would mean a lot.

If England could secure the production and emergency reserves they needed, the trade could be used to increase their domestic industries and they could use intermediate trade if they simply needed money.

The ideal system would be to gain money through intermediate trade, use that money to maintain their domestic facilities, and export goods made with those strengthened domestic industries.

If a victory in the armada battle and their influence at the Peace of Westphalia was added to all that, they could rise above the other nations in a very short amount of time.

Before the benefit of the trade grew meaningless with the addition of the other nations, they could also use the obtained funds to strengthen themselves and begin a large-scale settlement of the New World.

''I see,'' thought Elizabeth once more.

She then spoke to Musashi’s vice president.

“Your ultimate objective is not long-term success. You intend to give a powerful nation the benefits of short-term success to incite us to settle the outer world.”

“Judge. I knew the Fairy Queen would catch on.”

The girl bowed her head and spoke from that position.

“The Logismoi Oplo nations are powerful, but their economic situations and wars have left them unprepared and unequipped to settle the outer world. As such, I hope to have Musashi travel to England and then the other Logismoi Oplo nations in order to assist them using our trade. If the most powerful nations are equally prepared to begin settling the outer world by the time of the Peace of Westphalia, the world can return to its original form. To put it another way…”

Musashi’s vice president raised her head and looked directly at the queen from below her black hair.

“The provisional rule of the Far East exists because of the inability to settle the outer world. That is something that did not exist in history and Musashi wishes to bring back the world as it was in history. I want to help bring the world back to its original form so the history recreation can be carried out properly. We will return the world to its rightful form in order to stop the Apocalypse and continue past it.”

She once more made the action the queen had earlier rejected.

She reached out her right hand.

“Fairy Queen, will you move forward as the nation that will take the first step toward the proper world?”

Almost all the people of England heard those words via divine transmission.

“England. You were once the land of the Gaels. They were invaded by the Celts and the two reconciled, but then the Normans of Hexagone Française invaded. That Norman Conquest created England.”

“So?” asked someone listening. “What’s your point?”

The voice continued as if to answer that question.

“Even the Normans who arrived as conquerors eventually became English due to war against Hexagone Française and civil war.”

She could be heard taking a breath.

“You could travel to new lands, you did not fear traversing the ocean or the sky, and you possessed a love of independence. Has that vanished from England? Can those things not be found in a small, inexperienced nation? You are the nation of the ley lines which can defeat history or anything else and you are the nation of the Fairy Queen born of those ley lines,” she said. “If times have changed and that nation cannot take a great first step in history, is that not a sign that the Apocalypse is truly upon us?”

Silence fell. Quiet and stillness had filled that hall several times already, but it contained something different this time.

“…”

The one holding out her hand did not pull it back.

She waited.

That action moved nothing, allowed nothing to move, and acted as the starting point for the next action.

Eventually, the one waiting received an answer to her thoughts and action.

However, it did not come from the words or actions of the Fairy Queen.

A noise came from the left-hand corridor on England’s side.

Sounds of moving metal equipment and quiet voices of suspicion were overpowered by approaching footsteps.

“Hey, could you wait just a minute there?”

Two people casually entered the hall. The man and girl both wore vermillion uniforms.

“Hi there. I’m Secretary Velázquez of Tres España and this is 3rd Special Duty Officer Tachibana Gin. As Tres Españan diplomats, we have a special objection concerning this meeting.”

The tall, slender, and mustachioed long-lived man faced Musashi’s vice president and lightly raised his right hand.

“Nothing personal, okay?”

Study
[[Image:Horizon2B_0390.png|thumb]]

Armada Battle

Toori: Sis! Sis! Tell me about this armada battle that everyone’s been talking about! I want to know all about it so I too can be popul-armada! Sorry, that wasn’t a very good joke.

Kimi: Heh heh heh. Foolish brother, it’s important to recognize your mistakes when working on new material. Anyway, the armada battle is the naval battle that occurred when Tres España’s Grande y Felicísima Armada arrived to land at and conquer England and England repelled them. However, Tres España had a lot of transport ships and their ships were inferior to England’s since England had constant contact with the ocean. The Grande y Felicísima Armada made it to the ocean near England, but they were unable to land and they retreated while circling England. This is what it looks like on the map. Keep in mind that the whole thing took an entire week.

1: Hostilities Begin off of Plymouth at Southwestern England

The English fleet attacks from behind. Tres España’s vice-flagship is destroyed and their treasury ship is evacuated due to an accidental fire.

2: Second Round off of Portland at Southern England

Tres España’s fleet forms a defensive formation while England’s fleet pursues and destroys ships one by one.

3: Resupply Time

Tres España attempts to resupply at their mainland, but England interferes.

4: Third Round off of Southeastern England

Off of Calais on the Far Eastern mainland, England’s fleet crashes eight fire ships into Tres España’s fleet to throw them into confusion.

5: Fourth Round off of Gravelines near Calais

From here, Tres España begins retreating north and around England. England’s fleet begins pursuit.

6: Pursuit Ends off of Southwestern England

Map:

Top: Scotland

Upper left: Ireland

Lower left: Wales

Upper right: Oxford Academy

Middle right: London (Anglia)

Lower right: England

Kimi: Once their treasury ship was sunk in the early stages, I doubt they could have survived for long even if they landed, but it’s still plenty thrilling because they get really, really close to England. That tour around England will still happen in the history recreation, so all of England is on high alert. Also, the Grande y Felicísima Armada is known as the “invincible fleet” because England began ironically calling it that after the battle.

Toori: Isn’t the English fleet just harassing them for most of this?

Kimi: Why do you always have to go right out and say what everyone’s thinking?

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 43|Chapter 43]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 45|Chapter 45]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 43

2014-08-29T22:50:44Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 43: Storyteller in the Hall */

==Chapter 43: Storyteller in the Hall==
[[Image:Horizon2B_0317.png|thumb]]
''If differences are not aligned via compromise

''What do they become?

'''Point Allocation (Destination)

A girl stood in a stone room.

She had long, braided blonde hair and scars covered her skin. This was Mary and she wore England’s female uniform.

She turned toward the door behind her. That door was tightly shut and the intelligent closet which acted as her maid could be heard descending the stairs.

“The southwestern tower of the Tower of London. I’ve finally returned.”

She sighed and looked around at the nostalgic scenery. She had been here not just after being born, but also when moving about England for the history recreation.

…''And during the conflict over my right to the throne as the queen of Scotland, I fled to England.

This had always been her room.

The bed, table, and closet were the same as they had always been.

“Only the shutters and curtains seem to have been touched.”

She knew who had done that.

“Elizabeth.”

She sighed again.

“In the name of recreating Mary’s travels around England, you gave me quite a bit of free time before my execution. But you would occasionally come here and pretend to be me for the people. What would they say if they knew that? They would probably talk about how much the queen loves the theatre.”

Elizabeth was her twin sister and the incredibly powerful Fairy Queen. Mary had heard it said their mother Anne Boleyn had chosen the Celtic fairy royal family to ensure she would receive that second name.

The few members of the fairy royal family had wished for that forbidden relationship with a human for good reason.

…''Fairies are ultimately an ether race, so they can only exist in the ley lines no matter how dense they become.

Just as it was difficult for humans to access the ley lines, the high-level ether races such as fairies had difficulty accessing physical objects. They would simply become a ley line with a form and will of its own.

That was why fairies periodically had relations with humans. The child born from such a relation would have great ability in spirit spells and could rule over both worlds.

That was why fairies would spirit people away.

''But,'' thought Mary as she looked to the wall.

A portrait of two women hung on that wall.

“Henry VIII’s first wife, Queen Catherine.”

And Anne Boleyn.

Mary’s mother was Catherine according to her inherited name, but her real mother was Anne.

She looked at her two mothers.

“I was not born from my mother and the mother who did give birth to me died from the great burden of birthing two children. Yet my power is far weaker than my sister’s. And…”

And…

“Since I took many lives in the history recreation, I suppose it really is a type of salvation for the recreation to continue. Can I be proud of returning to the ley lines and protecting England from there?”

She took a step toward the desk on the western wall. After two steps, she saw what sat on top of the wooden desk.

“My diary.”

The diary on the desk was covered in dust.

Mary smiled bitterly when she noticed.

“You could have read it, you know? I didn’t write anything bad in there. I had nothing bad to write.”

She approached, opened it, and found messy writing. She flipped through the pages and occasionally found dried flowers between the pages.

The years and dates were sporadic.

“I only wrote in this when I came here.”

But the writing gradually grew neater, the number of entries grew, and sudden color appeared at one point.

That page contained a dark red smear from a finger.

“…”

She subconsciously rubbed the scar above her nose, stopped flipping through the pages, and lowered her head.

“ ‘Save you from anything.’ ”

She almost seemed to swallow the words and she closed her eyes. After taking a breath, she opened them and smiled with the ends of her eyebrows lowered.

“Did I…”

She left the desk and walked to the bed.

“Did I accomplish anything outside of the history recreation?”

She lowered her head and placed a hand on the bed, but she finally gave a laugh that sounded like a small cough.

The trembling laugh had a gagging sound mixed in and she lowered her shoulders. She covered her face with her right hand and stroked the sheets with her left.

“Oh, no.”

She gave another coughing laugh.

“I’ve gotten so used to making my own bed.”

As that comment fell to the bed, she heard a bell. That bell indicated the arrival of night and it had a special meaning today.

The party at Oxford Academy had ended.

“Now, then.”

That voice was quiet, but it rang clearly through the silent stone hall.

The voice belonged to the Fairy Queen who sat on the throne located atop a few steps at the seat of honor.

Dudley and Cecil stood to her left and right while the rest of the Trumps were gathered to her right at the bottom of the steps.

Someone kneeled on the red carpet in the center with a hand to her chest.

“Allow me to introduce myself once more. I am Honda Masazumi, student council vice president and representative of Musashi Ariadust Academy.”

The girl in the white uniform stood and looked to the wall on her right and to the queen’s left.

Far Eastern Princess Horizon and Futayo were there along with the treasurer, his aide, and the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th special duty officers.

After nodding toward them and Asama who was in the corridor to the waiting room, Masazumi turned back to the queen.

“With that complete,” she said to the queen. “Let us begin the meeting between England and the Far East’s academies.”

Two figures moved within the hall being used as a meeting room.

Horizon lined up to Masazumi’s right to indicate her authority lay behind the girl’s words and Asama stood behind Masazumi while opening a sign frame with her and Masazumi’s shared settings.

“As our secretary is not present, a member of the Asama Shrine would like to take his place.”

“Testament,” replied the queen.

Asama bowed but did not name herself. She did not hold an official position and was merely filling in to manage the sign frame.

'''Asama:''' “Wow. This is really exhausting all of a sudden.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “If you can talk like that, you must not be under too much of a burden.”

Everyone had already opened their sign frames and that went for England’s students as well as Musashi’s.

The queen even opened a simple sign frame by her hand. Seeing that, Masazumi took a breath and spoke.

“Who will make their demands first?”

“Testament. It makes little difference because we will likely both begin from the same point.”

Elizabeth looked at her sign frame as she spoke from the throne.

“This all comes down to whether the Musashi will be allowed to leave port.”

“Whether the Musashi will be allowed to leave port, hm?”

…''That certainly is the beginning of the issue.

They had to receive permission to leave and she opened her mouth to lead in to that.

…''I have no choice but to go first.

She knew it put her at a disadvantage, but she also felt it could be her first foothold.

“Listen.”

She wanted permission for the Musashi to leave port and she spoke to that end.

“Currently, England is not allowing the Musashi to leave port in the name of protecting it until its safety can be assured. I would like for you to repeal that decision.”

Bertoni and Heidi had already given her the trade and economic reports and documents related to the issue and she now gave the political reasoning.

“After all, Musashi is currently acting as an independent nation and academy to gather the Logismoi Oplo in order to stop the Apocalypse. That is Musashi’s objective and we have already notified the Testament Union as such via K.P.A. Italia and Tres España. England’s actions are obstructing that objective of ours.”

“And?” The Fairy Queen rejected her request and continued speaking. “If England’s actions are obstructing Musashi’s objective, it means Musashi’s objective is obstructing England’s intentions. We both have our own objectives. If the achievement of one means the destruction of the other, the inter-academy rules do not apply. After all, if we were to unilaterally accept Musashi’s demands and withdraw all of our own demands, we would be forced to do the same when faced with the other nations in the future. If our objectives are in conflict and cannot both be achieved, they cannot be used as a bargaining chip. …In other words, our objectives are parallel. They cancel each other out equally, Musashi Vice President. You cannot negotiate with that.”

She paused for a moment.

“But even if this is a parallel argument, I do not wish for a parallel that simply cancels out everything we have. Given the future that awaits us, England must benefit here. If possible, I would like to create a parallel that we can exchange for mutual benefit. Instead of equally cancelling out, I would like an equal exchange. On that note, you need to remember that the greatest benefit for England would be for the Musashi to stay here permanently.”

''She doesn’t keep anything hidden,'' thought Masazumi.

It had been the same during the negotiation between Bertoni and Lord Howard. The English man had boldly attacked head on.

She checked on her classmates’ reactions.

'''Marube-ya:''' “That really pisses me off.”

'''Me:''' “Auge-chan, you really start talking like a child when you aren’t in charge.”

'''Uqui:''' “Well, if this doesn’t work out, I just have to announce the beginning of inquisition time and cause a commotion, so keep going without worrying too much.”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “In other words, this will turn to all-out war if it doesn’t work out.”

…''Th-this isn’t good!

The way Futayo was crossing her arms and giving meaningful nods only seemed to raise the level of danger.

''I need to distract everyone,'' she thought while realizing she was not sure who her real enemies were.

“Your Majesty, we have now stated what our objective is. We wish to exchange what value we have rather than cancelling it out. For island nations such as the Far East and England, trade is a very important term.”

In that case…

“How about we specify just how saving us from the Apocalypse via the Logismoi Oplo is equivalent to England protecting Musashi?”

The Musashi students listened as Masazumi began to speak.

'''Gold Mar:''' “Isn’t this being broadcast outside as an official meeting?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Judge. And as a part of the festival. That’s why we can’t do anything too absurd and why we tied up Toori-kun earlier. Some things would be dangerous to send out over divine transmission.”

'''Asama:''' “Vice President: Which is why Aoi has been divine transmi-shunned.”

'''Asama:''' “That wasn’t me! It wasn’t! Masazumi, please focus on the meeting!”

'''Asama:''' “Vice President: I was a little unsure what to say next and I just couldn’t help myself.”

'''Wise Sister:''' “The twist? It was Asama playing both parts!!”

'''Asama:''' “No, it wasn’t! It really wasn’t!”

That reply only made the others suspect it really was her and Masazumi took a breath.

“First, if the Musashi cannot leave port, we cannot gather the Logismoi Oplo. What does England propose as an equivalent trade for that?”

“Testament.” Elizabeth nodded. “Let me say something first. Gathering the Logismoi Oplo means to remove that firepower from the nations that possess them and the order in which they are removed depends on Musashi’s movements. In that case…”

In that case…

“If you retrieve England’s before our war with Tres España, we will have inferior firepower to them and their one remaining Logismoi Oplo. Also, it is thought Musashi will travel to Hexagone Française or M.H.R.R. next, but which comes first? Those two nations are fighting the Thirty Years’ War and which one you remove the Logismoi Oplo from first will certainly change the situation and progress of the war.”

So…

“Removing the Logismoi Oplo will bring chaos to the nations that currently use them to maintain a balance of firepower. Thus, preventing Musashi from removing them is a benefit to all those nations.”

“But,” said Masazumi while typing to the others that she had expected this. “That is a benefit to England and those other nations. That is different from stopping the Apocalypse, which is the Far East’s proposed benefit.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Judge. The Far East is proposing we stop the Apocalypse. That is a benefit to the future of the entire world. On the other hand, England’s proposal of international stability is a benefit in the present.”

So…

“The Far East’s proposed benefit and the benefit England has proposed to stop it do not match. We are acting to prevent a crisis that will occur in the future.”

Masazumi brought a hand to her chest and spread out her other hand to plead to the queen.

“We are prepared to receive any criticism in the present if it means avoiding that future crisis. England is certainly kind to protect us, but we wish for you to end that kindness for the common benefit of all nations.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Seijun’s really in the zone. Oh, we just got some fan mail from Ga-chan’s underclassmen. ‘Have Masazumi-san turn around. I want to see the back of her outfit so I can use it in my next doujinshi.’ ”

'''Asama:''' “Vice President: Please stop!”

Despite saying that, Masazumi casually turned around and pretended to wipe dust from her clothes. Everyone gasped.

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Are you a performer?”

'''Asama:''' “Vice President: No, I just thought it would be wrong of a politician to refuse a normal student’s harmless request.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “I forgot to mention it, but it’s an all-out gay doujinshi.”

'''Asama:''' “Um, excuse me, but can you stop chatting so much? Look at the English students. They’re behaving properly.”

They all glanced over at the Trumps who were nodding with crossed arms while facing their sign frames.

As if in response, Elizabeth also nodded.

“So you say a future benefit does not match a present benefit?”

She took a breath.

“We have come across a difference in opinion.”

England’s divine chat was quite lively.

'''Drug Poet:''' “The lady is simply wonderful! Her enunciation is spectacular! Someone should make a statue of her! Perhaps a bust!”

'''Seal Boy:''' “A bust! The queen’s bust!”

'''Queen:''' “Heh heh heh. You certainly are excited, my friends. Even if you are simply flattering me, I am not foolish enough to reject your excitement. Keep it coming.”

'''ヨ–––:''' “…”

'''O’Malley:''' “W-Walter just posted!!”

'''Guard Dog:''' “Rare.”

The queen nodded. The Trumps site on England’s divine network had been receiving letters of support from the commoners and she raised her excitement even further by reading through them.

Afterwards, she faced Musashi’s vice president and spoke.

“Musashi looks to the future while England focuses on the present. Are you asking us to allow Musashi to leave because of that difference? But even if Musashi is prepared to be damaged over that mission, that is an issue of your will and not one of actual damage. A sense of purpose will not eliminate that damage. No matter how you try to dodge the issue with this mission of yours, preventing actual damage to the Musashi is an actual benefit to Musashi.”

And so…

“I believe we have achieved a consensus concerning what benefits us in the here and now.”

“In that case,” said Musashi’s vice president. “How will England create something equivalent to the future benefit Musashi will provide for every nation? That future benefit is common to all nations, Musashi included. If you are to stop that, what equivalent future benefit do you propose to the world?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Wow. Seijun’s really going all out! Get ‘em!”

…''You’re going all out too.

But what mattered now was seeing how England would answer her question. She had a guess what that answer would be.

“A future benefit?” muttered the Fairy Queen as if to double check. “You say stopping the Apocalypse by gathering the Logismoi Oplo is a common benefit to the entire world and it does seem that will be lost if Musashi is stopped here. …But is that really the case?”

…''So she is bringing it to this.

The exact words Masazumi had expected came from the Fairy Queen’s lips.

“Listen. If you let the history recreation play out, the Peace of Westphalia will naturally occur. In that case, the different nations need only bring their Logismoi Oplo to that meeting. If they are gathered before that, you risk destroying the balance of power and slowing the history recreation. Do you understand? There is an opportunity for the Logismoi Oplo to gather without Musashi doing so. By keeping the Musashi here, damage to the Musashi, the destruction of the international balance of power, and the possible delay to the history recreation will all be prevented. No matter how you look at it, England’s protection is the most beneficial option.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Wow, that’s a good argument! It pisses me off!!”

'''Asama:''' “Um, I think that’s what a villain is supposed to say.”

Masazumi was worried about what kind of business their treasurer was doing, but she was glad Heidi had plenty of energy.

…''But the log of this chat will be given to our teacher and Principal Sakai, won’t it?

She decided not to write anything too strange. Then again, all of that was normal for her class, so it was also possible they were used to dealing with it. By hitting them, in their teacher’s case.

At any rate, Masazumi took a breath.

England’s argument was not wrong and she understood their proposition was indeed beneficial.

However…

“I appreciate England’s kindness, but Musashi cannot accept it.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Let me ask this instead.” She steadied her breathing. “Having the Far East gather the Logismoi Oplo has great meaning to the other nations beyond simply stopping the Apocalypse. Has England realized what that is?”

Masazumi snapped her right fingers and pointed to Horizon.

“Since Mikawa, the Far East names itself as a sovereign and independent nation under the rule of Princess Horizon. As its academy, Musashi Ariadust Academy is its representative.”

“And?”

''A well-timed question,'' sensed Masazumi. ''This is part of the Fairy Queen’s kindness. She gives me the proper timing to make a mental turn so I don’t simply continue speaking all on my own.

After all, what she was about to say would reveal one aspect of Musashi’s position, both to England and to the other nations.

…''I’m going to say it.

The idiot who was their leader had decided on his stance that day. As vice president, getting cold feet would accomplish nothing. After all, that idiot was supporting her.

And so she spoke.

“Horizon Ariadust is our leader and one element of the Far East’s sovereignty, but her emotions were made into the Logismoi Oplo. Musashi is gathering the Logismoi Oplo so that she is not exposed to imperfect slander. To put it another way, one could say the Far East’s sovereignty is currently incomplete. As such, we cannot agree to simply having the other nations bring their Logismoi Oplo to the Peace of Westphalia. We must reject that in order for Princess Horizon to preserve the Far East’s sovereignty.”

“Testament. Then let me ask you one thing.”

The queen was no longer asking for confirmation. She was going on the offensive.

'''Asama:''' “Vice President: Everyone, don’t let this shake you.”

She hurriedly typed on the sign frame.

'''Asama:''' “Vice President: This next response could make us enemies of the entire world.”

The Fairy Queen bent back a bit as she asked her question.

“The Far East is gathering the Logismoi Oplo not to stop the Apocalypse but to assert your sovereignty as a fully independent nation. Is that correct?”

“Judge,” replied Masazumi. “It is only once we gather the Logismoi Oplo, establish our sovereignty, and stop the Apocalypse that we will hold a position equal to England and the other nations. And we will face all of you as such at the Peace of Westphalia.”

“In that case,” said the Fairy Queen. “Does the Far East intend to overthrow the Testament Union’s provisional rule and reclaim its dominion of the Divine States? And are you asking us all to forget about the Harmonic Unification War from 160 years ago?”

The Queen of England’s words and the image of Musashi’s vice president were being broadcast to many different nations.

Two people inside a large stone cathedral watched the motionlessness and quiet of the Queen’s question and the vice president’s silence. They were K.P.A. Italia’s Papa-Schola Innocentius and Vice Chancellor Galileo.

Galileo spoke as he watched Masazumi’s back on the widescreen ''cornice firma''.

“Former boy, why has the vice president stopped moving instead of answering? Is she unsure how to answer?”

“Tes, tes, tes,” thrice muttered Innocentius before taking a drink from a water bottle. “Honestly, she made such a fuss about sovereignty against me and lost, but now she’s talking about making the Far East equal? She certainly likes talking big, doesn’t she? Hm?”

“What’s this, former boy? I thought you would be upset, but it seems not. If anything, you seem…”

“Testament,” replied Innocentius. “She is a foolish girl and she does not make excuses. Do you understand, Galileo? Right now, we are wondering how she could be crazy enough to claim independence. Most likely, the other nations are the same. Even Musashi and the various Far Eastern reservations are probably the same. There are probably some who are shouting for her to give the Fairy Queen her answer. Don’t you think? Hm?”

But…

“This girl is giving all of them the time they need to shout out and express their anger or doubt. Why is that, hm? The answer is simple. She knows people will be making those shouts of anger and doubt and she knows speaking in the middle of them will drown them out and reflexively bring out the next shout. Instead, she is remaining silent until they have spoken and calmed down.”

Honestly.

“Such a troublesome young girl, isn’t she? Hm?”

At the same time, two people sighed in the darkness as they watched the same divine transmission footage.

They sat at the desks by the window of Alcalá de Henares’s student council room. One was Chancellor and Student Council President Segundo and the other was Fusae who sat at the Chancellor’s Officers desk while operating the ''cadena firma''. Fusae then turned to Segundo.

“Chancellor, should I call Ju here?”

“No, she’s probably watching it from home. Can you keep it a secret that I’m doing this? Please? A-and sorry about the office work, Fusae. Thanks for doing it.”

“I think you should choose once and for all between whether you want to stay out of the spotlight or do everything in the shadows.”

“Which does Takakane fall under?”

“Testament. Taka is the type who excels on the scene.” Fusae looked at the image of England before her. “But what do you think of the Far East’s intent to stand on equal footing with the other nations? The current provisional rule and academy system were created to put the Far East below everyone else so they could take responsibility for the Harmonic Unification War. But if they secure their sovereignty with the Logismoi Oplo and become equal to the other nations…”

“Testament. The system of provisional rule will vanish. We will lose that postwar system that has lasted 160 years. It’s unthinkable,” muttered Segundo. “It could even shift from a postwar situation to a prewar one. I wouldn’t be able to say it if I was her.”

“Will Tres España be able to manage if that happens?”

“Manage? What do you mean?”

“Testament. I’m asking what happens if the provisional rule comes to an end. That will mean the other nations must leave the Far East and return to their original position in the outer world.” Fusae brought a hand to her cheek and sighed. “But the environment is still too harsh outside of the Far East and we do not have the power needed to prosper there. Settling of the Harmonic Divine States was almost a cooperative venture between the different nations, but the state of those nations would prevent us from cooperating when it comes to settling the outside world. We would most likely have to do so as individual nations which would make it nearly impossible. Real economic and agricultural crises would occur with no connection to the history recreation. Even if our spells and aerial ships function under that harsh environment, we still need footholds to achieve the self-sufficiency, trade, medicine, and transportation required for villages to survive and prosper. But due to the history recreation, we have not researched settlement techniques beyond what is needed for the New World.”

“Testament,” agreed Segundo. He too sighed and adjusted his sitting position. “England must be aware of that threat. The northern and western portions of the New World will be settled by England for the history recreation and they were still undeveloped regions at the Harmonic World stage. Due to a gate created by the environmental gods, the western ocean of the Harmonic Divine States was connected to Ezo on the eastern coast of the New World. During the destruction of the Harmonic World, a harmonic space including that gate appeared in the ocean west of Kyushu and it still exists to this day. That is what our trade vessels have been using to trade with the southern and eastern coasts of the New World, but…”

But…

“England’s attempts to settle the northern side of the New World using that gate have not been successful.”

Fusae displayed the results of England’s settling operations as designated by the Testament descriptions.

“According to the Testament descriptions, they send several settlement expeditions of several hundred each, but they are almost entirely wiped out due to the freezing and barren environment. They are then forced to rely on the land inhabited by the indigenous people. And the history recreation has had them actually take that kind of damage.”

The reason for this was simple.

“Tres España and Tres Portugal have settled the southern area which contains warm jungles measuring several hundred meters tall. It’s an environment where plants and other life can live. On the other hand, the northern area is either wetlands or freezing cold and dry, so it seems they have not even been able to grow edible plants. Potatoes would be able to grow there, but the history recreation has not given England free use of them yet, so their settlement expeditions truly have seen hell.”

So…

“If the provisional rule is removed, England will be far behind the other nations as it has been unable to settle in the New World. Of course, the same can be said of the majority of nations that have no technology for settling. They managed to settle in the Harmonic Divine States, but the actual world is much, much larger. Settling that will take a great number of citizens and a great number of engineering students to develop the technology. In which case…”

“Tres España and Portugal might have a chance due to our accumulated settlement technology. The only others with a chance to succeed are Qing-Takeda and P.A. Oda.”

“Actually, in our case…” Segundo held his head in his hands. “I’ve used so much of our treasury for the history recreation that we’re in no financial position for it.”

“What about the money Ju has saved up?”

“I used it all on the Grande y Felicísima Armada.”

“You aren’t trying to blame that on ''us'', are you?”

After another sigh, Fusae operated the office ''cadena firma''.

“Well, I more or less understand what you’re thinking, chancellor, but I don’t particularly like the method. And there are ways to take responsibility for that.”

“Will you keep it a secret?”

“I won’t tell anyone since I know that’s what you want.”

She then turned back to Musashi’s vice president on the ''cadena firma''.

“But to get back on track, the great financial investment needed will prevent almost every nation from settling the outside world. In that case, the other nations will never forgive Musashi if the provisional rule is removed and those nations are given nowhere to go. So my question was also about what we would do then. But…”

But…

“This vice president has grown a lot more resolute since the Battle of Mikawa.”

As the people gave several different reactions, Masazumi stood in the meeting hall and yet was thinking of something other than what her answer would be.

…''I’m here in order to discuss something quite important.

That had not been her impression before the meeting when she had been thinking of what to discuss. At the time, she had been too desperate in her attempts to eliminate any holes in her arguments and finding ways to handle any counterarguments.

But now that she had taken action and stood in the center of it all…

…''I’m setting something quite large in motion.

She was speaking out about the state of the Far East and she was taking the leading role.

But here, the Far East did not simply refer to Musashi or the reservations. She was dealing with the “Far East” that included the archipelago once referred to as the Divine States and all the nations contained therein.

If the Far East was made equal to those other nations, it would overturn the entire “Far East” and therefore the entire world.

It sounded like something one would dream of, but she was actually discussing it and taking the leading role.

…''I see.

She thought about herself.

She had her five senses and they were functioning properly with no changes, but one single thing was different.

…''If I say something here, it will set the world in motion.

She wanted to say something good, she wanted to do something people would admire, she wanted to draw attention, and most of all, she wanted to be the one who spoke the words that would set the world in motion.

…''But I must restrain my ambitions.

A result brought about by her excitement here was not what she truly wanted.

It was the same as buying a souvenir at a festival or on a trip and wondering why you had bought it upon returning home. It could act as a reminder of the excitement from that time, but…

…''Setting the world in motion should not be a reminder of one’s excitement.

Setting the world in motion to be proud of her own actions was getting her priorities reversed.

''Look at your father,'' she told herself. ''He does so much in public and behind the scenes, but he doesn’t brag about it.

He would sometimes arrive home after prime time when Purple☆Shikibu, a divine TV show full of self-deprecating humor, had just ended and she recalled his response when she had once asked what he had been doing.

“That is not for children to know. The most I can say is that I was at a meeting with the others.”

…''If I can’t show that much restraint, I can’t call myself a proper politician.

She nodded twice and took a breath.

She faced forward where the Fairy Queen waited. Given the history of England, the queen’s name would likely remain well known for a long time to come. Masazumi on the other hand had failed to inherit a name and this meeting was unlikely to be recorded in history.

…''Still…

At the very least, she stood on the forefront of the world with this one comment.

“Judge. The Far East is willing to end the provisional rule of the other nations.”

In an instant, explosive shouts and silences meant to hide them appeared in various places.

But in the center of it all, Masazumi simply narrowed her eyes and smiled.

“…”

She silently took a breath and nodded to accept the reactions she expected were being given throughout the world.

She then spoke without losing the smile.

“After all, our leader has already made up his mind.”

They had announced that at Mikawa too, but they now had a definite answer based on deep thought rather than mere momentum.

And she gave that answer.

“Let’s see who’s strongest.”

“This is no longer just to save your princess! Even if this is a meeting between academies, you are publicly declaring war against the world!”

Innocentius stood from his chair, but then looked to Galileo.

“Now she’s done it! Hm!?”

“You are rejoicing, former boy.”

Innocentius fell silent at that. He sat back down, crossed his legs, drank some water, looked in a random direction, and then glared forward in displeasure.

“Now she’s done it. Hm?”

“I think you should work to fix that personality of yours.”

“It’s called having individuality. But…” He then shook his head once. “When I was a kid, I hoped to become the Papa-Schola and start the crusades back up, but now a mere student is actually saying that kind of thing. The world really is coming to an end.”

Masazumi lightly spread her arms and spoke.

“There is no reason to grow cautious. We will simply use the system of war that is used to resolve conflicts between academies. After all, England and the other academies already have that as an option. Even under provisional rule, we too possess that option. The only reason we have not used it is because its use would mean all-out war with the other nations. As such, I have three things to say.”

She held up a finger on her right hand.

“As I previously proposed, the Far East will become a location of inter-academy exchange by making the reservations neutral and free markets.”

She raised another finger.

“The Far East’s right to war against other academies will be given only to Musashi and Mikawa which is now part of it.”

She raised her final finger.

“That right to war will be divided into the right to declare war and the right to wage war. The former is the right to begin a war with another academy and the latter is the right to fight in an existing war and to continue that war. However…”

Segundo spoke quietly within the dimly lit student council room.

“Are you using the state of war as a bargaining chip?”

He listened to Masazumi speak.

“Listen. Musashi is new to war, so we will not do anything reckless. As such…”

“Until the Logismoi Oplo have been successfully gathered, Musashi will provisionally seal its right to declare war.”

“Masazumi-kun is causing trouble again. Don’t you think, ‘Musashi’-kun?”

“Is that really something to say while smoking at night, Sakai-sama? The real trouble is having to clean up the ashes afterwards. And I am already busy with the requests and questions Masazumi-sama has given me. Over.”

“Musashi” spoke from the bridge in front of Musashi Ariadust Academy. In the darkness of the night, she looked up at the faults of England.

“But is Masazumi-sama’s statement truly that troublesome? Over.”

“Judge. People have doubts. Especially when it comes to their connections with others. A lot of the time, a connection someone sees as valuable is not seen that way by history.”

Sakai looked down toward Remorse Way. Someone stood in that place that had become a crossroads during the Battle of Mikawa.

It was Oriotorai. She carried a long sword on her back and Horizon’s memorial was to her right.

“This really is troublesome,” muttered Sakai as he watched the teacher stare directly toward England. “The world will be forced to decide whether it wants to go to war with Musashi. If they return the Logismoi Oplo, that’s fine. But the Logismoi Oplo are a portion of Horizon and therefore of the Far East’s sovereignty, so it infringes our sovereignty to not return them.”

How would this play out?

“If that infringement of sovereignty can be ‘interpreted’ as an act of war, Musashi will be able to engage the academies that possess the Logismoi Oplo and go to war at any time. And not only will those nations lose the firepower of their Logismoi Oplo, but dealing with Musashi will fill them with unrest. Even if they don’t go to war, they still have to spend time in negotiations. They will be forced to send personnel to handle Musashi while also fighting their enemies. All that extra trouble might make the Logismoi Oplo not worth keeping around, but they would still need some compensation for giving it up.”

“Compensation? Over.”

“Judge,” answered Sakai while still watching Oriotorai’s back down below. “A sovereign nation needs to do more than wage war against the other nations. Masazumi-kun needs to tell them what we can do for them.”

Masazumi held her right hand out toward the Fairy Queen.

“First, I have this to say to England which acts as a neutral intermediary between the Far East and the Testament Union.”

She took in a breath.

“Musashi is prepared to form an alliance or sign a nonaggression treaty with any academy or nation that returns their Logismoi Oplo or with any nation that does not possess one.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Does that mean…?”

''Judge,'' silently replied Mitotsudaira.

'''Silver Wolf:''' “We will ally ourselves with the nations who return their Logismoi Oplo or do not have one and we will aid them in any war they have against a nation that refuses to return theirs.”

In other words…

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Musashi itself will make up for the collapse of the power balance that retrieving the Logismoi Oplo would create.”

“This is an equal exchange, Fairy Queen. As a part of the independent nation of the Far East, Musashi will do whatever it takes to retrieve our sovereignty and we will work to prevent any delays to the history recreation. I would like to choose England and Oxford Academy as our first partner in that alliance.”

Mitotsudaira saw the Fairy Queen nod in response to Masazumi.

Her lupine vision saw the sword-shaped crown move slightly and the queen gave a clear reply.

“I reject your offer.”

'''Seal Boy:''' “Ehhh!? You reject it!? C’mon, just accept it! Being allies with Musashi would be fun! I’m not sure how it’d be fun, but I’m sure all sorts of terrible things would happen!!”

'''O’Malley:''' “That’s exactly why we can’t do it.”

'''Mr. Death:''' “After all, we have ghastly little guarantee about this!”

As everyone watched, Elizabeth nodded. She gestured for Musashi’s vice president to lower her outstretched hand. She then rested her elbow on the right armrest and rested her cheek on the hand.

'''Queen:''' “Give me some excitement. You have five seconds.”

'''Drug Poet:''' “Yeah! That pose of ennui is so captivating, lady! So lovely! So lithe! So tantalizing! For short, so lo-li-ta!!”

'''Seal boy:''' “Lolita! Lolita!!”

'''Vice President:''' “S-s-s-s-stop abbreviating it like that.”

'''Cecil:''' “Dudley, don’t type like you talk.”

'''Plain Merchant:''' “Is there a mirror around here?”

The queen laughed and they all began repeatedly tapping the macro they had to post “long live the queen”. After nodding twice, the queen spoke to Musashi’s vice president.

“War, an alliance, a nonaggression treaty. Creating a relationship using the nation’s own power is indeed the greatest bargaining chip when dealing with another nation. If a nation’s power is seen as a combination of its finances, military might, human power, political power, and stability, I do admit Musashi’s power is appealing. But…”

But…

“The Musashi can travel freely through the sky and possesses a powerful stealth system. It is a dangerous existence. You are suggesting that it wage war and attempt to drive the other nations from the Far East. If the entire world that is the current Far East is to declare its independence, Musashi must be eliminated as the representative of the old Far East. Do you understand? If anything, you are the final boss of the old army we must face as the new. Perhaps that is why you possess the name of the Leviathan.”

Therefore…

“If Musashi is to act on its sovereignty, England will act accordingly. We will begin an all-out attack on Musashi and use this as a chance to exterminate your student council and chancellor’s officers. Prepare yourselves, my friends.”

The term “all-out attack” produced countless metallic noises deep in the corridors. Reserve troops were equipping themselves. The Trumps also prepared for battle with the Musashi force on the opposite wall.

But even as those on Musashi’s side lowered their stances, Musashi’s vice president spoke from the center.

“Everyone, wait. Oh, do I have to use ‘stay’ for Mitotsudaira!?”

“Of course not!” shouted back Mitotsudaira.

As the others from Musashi expressed their doubts, the vice president asked the queen a question.

“You say you will begin an all-out attack?”

“Testament. You can call it large-scale assault if you like. You can also note that every shot will hit.”

“Judge. Then let me ask this.”

Musashi’s vice president pointed behind her and toward the southern sky that could not be seen from the hall.

“England’s primary fleet is mostly made up of privateers and cannot cause decisive damage to the Musashi. Also, Sir Drake and the rest of your primary force should be out scouting Tres España. Not to mention that a naval fleet is a poor choice for attacking on land.”

As soon as she said that, England shook.

“…!?”

It was not just Oxford or the first level that shook. Dudley’s eyebrows rose as the vibration resonated and grew to a great wave.

“I-i-i-i-i-it can’t be!”

“But it is. Musashi is on standby to leave port.”

“Judge. It has been a while, so controlling the internal pressure of the fuel transfer pipes was difficult. However, everyone did their very best. I will need to clean it all up afterwards, though. Over.”

The early startup meant the consecutive activation of the various engines and that repeatedly shook the Musashi’s giant form. A voice spoke in response to that trembling.

“Activating IZUMO-made surface ether engine Hull-Type Special #06 Susashizunami. Is this what you were waiting for, Sakai-sama? Over.”

“Musashi” and Sakai watched as an ocean appeared around the Musashi.

The membrane-like ocean appeared on the surface of the hull below the water line. In an instant, the water line was submerged in the thin ocean and spray from waves began splashing into the air.

“Ohh,” said Sakai as he nodded toward the roar of the sea. “It has almost no thickness, but aerial ships are pushed up by the ocean they infinitely create around themselves. I know it’s used because it’s the most efficient method for an ultra-heavy ship, but I just love how it looks.”

“Thank you for your praise. Over.”

“Musashi” bowed and looked toward the silhouette of Oxford straight ahead and above.

“I hope Masazumi-sama is also delighted. Over.”

As the vibrations shook England, Musashi’s vice president crossed her arms and nodded.

“The Musashi has yet to resupply its ether fuel, but it has enough for three days of normal cruising. IZUMO on the northern coast of Hexagone Française is two days away and England’s main fleet can’t catch up even if you call them back now.”

She then raised her eyebrows and spoke to the queen without fear.

“If you insist on not forming an alliance with us, the Musashi will move to another nation. There, we will simply perform the same negotiation as here. So…”

She intended to ask “what will you do?”, but a sudden action cut her off. Amid the slight vibration of the Musashi that resembled a mere noise, the Fairy Queen suddenly stood up.

“Show some respect, carefree girl whose name will not remain in history.”

Dudley immediately let out a shout.

“G-g-g-get down!!”

Light filled the hall.

Twin flower petals had been fired from Elizabeth’s back, but they instantly increased in number, spread out, and grew like bird wings.

“…!!”

In an instant, they reached over one hundred meters behind her.

They were clusters of immaculate flower petals made from light, their silhouette resembled butterfly wings, and they filled the empty space that had taken up most of the hall.

“Lady, we are witnessing the very proof that you are the Fairy Queen!” cried Jonson while taking cover on the floor.

Elizabeth nodded and raised her right toes.

In response, something welled up from the floor. It was a group of 15 cm kobolds, but she merely lowered her toes without speaking a word.

“Understood.”

With that single word, the kobolds sank into the floor and a certain phenomenon occurred a moment after that.

The shaking in England stopped.

“…”

The noise of Musashi starting up could be heard like the distant ringing of a whistle, but it lacked the shaking of England that should have accompanied it.

“Bluffs are meaningless,” said the Fairy Queen while spreading her wings. “I love the theatre, but I hate meaningless performances.”

Masazumi watched as the giant wings of light slowly vanished from the air before her.

…''What was that?

England literally did as its queen wished. The queen had been born here, she was descended from the spirits that were born from the land’s ley lines, and the modifications to England’s crust had created a system for making efficient use of those ley lines.

…''But that power is still extraordinary.

Around Masazumi, Asama had fallen to a sitting position on the floor and Futayo and Mitotsudaira were crouched down defensively. Those wings of light were likely a manifestation of the queen’s inner Blessings, but it made Masazumi shudder to imagine what would happen if it were turned on them.

“Listen, you carefree people made up of humans and other similar races. Have you forgotten where you are and who I am? Is that why you are speaking as if on equal terms? This is England, the country of fairies, spirits, and ghosts and I am the Fairy Queen who rules it.”

The Fairy Queen spoke as the wings of light were replaced by empty darkness behind her.

“Have you forgotten? England has Ex. Caliburn. In addition to defense, it can be used against the Musashi if it leaves port. As such, I will command the all-out attack against Musashi.”

And…

“If I am in command, there is another command I can give.”

“And that is?”

“Testament,” she replied. “I will have our ally of Holland intercept the Musashi before it arrives at IZUMO. Once England’s main fleet returns to pursue you, we will request a temporary break in our history recreation with Tres España and we will request assistance from Hexagone Française and M.H.H.R. Then, each of those nations will work together to sink the Musashi.”

“…”

“Needless to say, England currently holds a neutral position between Musashi and the Testament Union nations, but that does not mean we will act as an intermediary for violence. If Musashi turns violent, we will act as an intermediary to admonish you and we will work to stop you along with the Testament Union nations. That is what it means to be neutral.”

At that moment, people’s voices could be heard from south of London. They came from the third and fourth levels on the south side of England.

They began as cries of surprise and soon grew to a great roar.

“Masazumi-sama, this is ‘Musashi’. Our spell radar has detected the approach of an unidentified fleet from the southeast. You may use this information to assist in your discussion. Over.”

Just as “Musashi” had said, an unknown fleet was approaching from the south of England.

…''What is that?

As if to answer her question, someone moved to her left.

It was Charles Howard of the Trumps. He brought a hand to his chest and bowed toward the queen whose wings had vanished.

“I purchased an aerial fleet from Holland.”

He spoke casually, but Masazumi could imagine how much effort that would have taken.

“For the armada battle with Tres España?” she asked him.

“Testament. It was in exchange for a fleet I will later have constructed and for lessened tariffs. We needed a newly constructed fleet, but we did not have much money to put toward shipbuilding after preparing emergency reserves for the war and preparing our defenses. I felt a single fleet would tide us over for the moment. Once it arrives in England and I stamp my seal, ownership will fully transfer to me. At the moment, the ships are still registered with Holland.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “I’m getting the feeling he’s better at backroom deals than normal commerce.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Judge. I also get the feeling he’s creating an unstable bubble of prosperity and yet keeping a straight face all the while.”

'''Asama:''' “Yes, and I think he’s making deals based on nothing but trust in his own name.”

''Our business-oriented girls sure are harsh,'' thought Masazumi.

“Well, Musashi? You are surrounded.” The Fairy Queen lightly crossed her arms and nodded. “We have already deployed a ground unit to the third level and to this palace. How many of you can reach the Musashi? Or do you think the Musashi can reach IZUMO if it leaves port now and abandons you? Look at this.”

She rotated the sign frame by her hand so Masazumi could see.

It showed what she had been viewing and what she wanted Masazumi to see.

It displayed an image of a pet cat with the following comment below: “The cat to which the queen gave the noble name of Golden Ball just had kittens!”

“Eh?”

Everyone stared at it in confusion and the queen did not notice at first.

“?”

When she finally checked the sign frame and saw it was still displaying the cat, she gave a calm comment.

“Wrong page.”

Masazumi watched as the queen searched for the correct data page.

'''Flat Vassal:''' “W-wow. My hostility just lessened a bit! I-I’m sorry!”

According to the Testament descriptions, the Fairy Queen was quite playful, but Masazumi felt that was more airheaded.

The queen soon found the data page and displayed it.

“This is a signed letter to Hexagone Française, Tres España, M.H.R.R., Holland, and K.P.A. Italia. I have sent a probing greeting revealing what I plan to request and I have already received their responses. By sending this, the request will be officially made.”

She lightly raised her hand and smiled at Masazumi.

“I hear you made quite a fool of our treasurer at your transport ship on the fourth level.”

Everyone from Musashi did not hesitate to glare at Heidi and Shirojiro. Shirojiro ignored them, but Heidi expressionlessly struck her sign frame and Erimaki.

'''Marube-ya:''' “This could be a pain, so you can each order a single item from the gift catalog of the K.P.A. Italia sweets shop we’re partners with.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “You would dare stoop to a bribe!? But I will settle for the assorted chocolates package.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Y-you went right for the most expensive one, didn’t you!?”

''My friends don’t hold back,'' thought Masazumi as she saw the others choose items with similar prices.

It worried her how Asama was only looking at the section for sweets with alcohol inside.

…''Now then. What should I do?

In truth, she had simulated this much in the preliminary meeting with the others.

From here on, it was likely their opponent would go in for an offensive compromise. It would eliminate what Masazumi had said, but it would still be a great compromise.

…''It’s coming, isn’t it?

Before she responded, the Fairy Queen spoke for her.

“People of Musashi, there is a more peaceful resolution than world domination or independence. Would you like to know what that is?”

…''Here it is.

With her premonition proven true, Masazumi spoke.

“Judge. For future reference, please tell us.”

At Masazumi’s urging, Elizabeth smiled with raised eyebrows.

“Simply ask to have this entire meeting rendered null and void.”

“Do they have no choice but to accept? Even if that is a hellish compromise for Musashi?”

Fusae and Segundo sat in the darkness as the rising moon’s light began to wash over them.

“Is it really?” she asked “Redoing this would be safer for Musashi. They can give some reason to try the meeting again from a fresh start, so it seems like a decent compromise to me.”

She stood from her seat with the moonlight washing over her, but Segundo did not turn in her direction. He crossed his arms, watched the ''cadena firma'', and gently spoke.

“Having to redo a meeting is an embarrassment for a nation. On the diplomatic level, they will be seen as a nation that rejects another nation’s negotiation if the situation turns against them. In other words, they will be seen as only accepting what is convenient to them. A nation like that is dangerous and no one will perform diplomacy or trade with them. There is a threat of having that diplomacy or trade suddenly cut off and changed for their convenience. That is why no one suddenly refuses to continue a meeting or requests to redo the meeting unless diplomatic relations are being cut off altogether or the conclusion has already been reached. If Musashi does accept this compromise, the Far East will be unable to properly face the other nations and they will be seen as an inexperienced nation that only says what is convenient for them. However, that would essentially put Musashi under England’s protection. They would be unable to reach further and they would be seen as so inexperienced that they must be put under the Far East’s provisional rule system.”

So…

“This is what England is saying: we have shown you what it means to form alliances and to face all-out war from independence, so settle down and return to your rightful position.”

“Testament. In other words, Musashi has stepped out of bounds, so England and the other nations are threatening them by showing off their well-trained muscles. They are saying that the ability to wage war also includes the ability to inhibit war.”

“Testament. They are showing what it means to take this seriously and thus telling them to stop. The truly strong do not directly use that strength.”

“I see.” Fusae stretched by the window and then tilted her head. “Chancellor, how about you go back to being capable?”

“You would know all this if you would actually attend classes.”

Segundo glared at her, but Fusae looked out the window and placed a hand on it.

“Chancellor, what are we going to do?”

“Testament,” replied Segundo as he added another ''cadena firma'' before his eyes.

It contained the Fairy Queen’s letter and the emblem of England and Oxford.

“This same letter was sent to the other nations. I’m sure the other academies’ chancellors are also wondering what to do, but Holland has already sent a fleet directly to England.”

“Which means…”

“Testament,” he said again. He did not seem to mind that his responses were monotonous. “Holland is a small nation, but they are Protestant and a main player in the Peace of Westphalia. If England gives them credit for this, they will gain more authority during the negotiations at Westphalia. And in turn, England’s authority will also rise. In that case, we have no choice but to agree to this request. Where is Takakane?”

“Performing practice swings on the new ship. I need to bring him some beer later. …It really is a pain. If it isn’t consecrated, our ghost bodies won’t absorb it, but when it ''is'' consecrated, the added exorcism ability makes your tongue tingle. Anything with decent malt content just feels wrong.”

“Please stop drinking while piloting the ship.”

“We’ll calm down with some consecrated ramen afterwards, so don’t worry.”

“You two really are enjoying your afterlife.”

As if to take a break, Segundo tore himself away from the ''cadena firma''.

“Now then. What will Musashi’s vice president do? I doubt she did not see this as a possibility, but even if she did, what does she plan to do about it?”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 42|Chapter 42]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 44|Chapter 44]]
}}
</noinclude>

User talk:Krytyk

2014-08-21T22:18:34Z

Aagcnet: /* Elysion ending */

==Illustration editing==
Still taking requests into consideration, however depending on my workload I might, or might not do it. The better the art - and raw quality, the more likely I am do to do it. --[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk#top|talk]]) 22:52, 8 March 2014 (CST)
==Editor messages==
===ELYSION virtual region===

Well I read VOL 1 I have to say it was very interesting to me reminds me of SAO a bit, and Monster Hunter. Planning to edit this series as well starting at VOL 2 when you translate it. I read VOL 1 on my phone so I couldn't edit it, and I'm lazy to read it all over again to edit it =P. This is just a heads up. --[[User:Dual Blades|Dual Blades]] ([[User talk:Dual Blades|talk]]) 00:16, 29 March 2014 (CDT)

First of all thank you for your work till now and in future.Just curious about when u will continue to translate since you said you are taking a break?

The answer is pretty simple, when I catch up with my work :). No ETA.--[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk#top|talk]]) 06:45, 19 May 2014 (CDT)

Good to see you back!!! and thanks:D

Hi. Thanks for translating ELYSION virtual region, sorry and sorry in advance for inactive in editing really busy with exams and lectures recently. I will try my best to edit at least one chapter per day ( including volume one since I believe it could still be edited ) . You could still put me at inactive editors since I am one actually. Well I really enjoyed volume 2 so far so thanks again and keep up the good work ^^ [[User:X3Yogurt|X3Yogurt]] ([[User talk:X3Yogurt#top|talk]]) 09:33, 4 June 2014 (CDT)

Yeah well, I'm trying to keep everything orderly, I'll put you in the active group once some edits do happen, otherwise it would be unfair to those who actually do edits very actively (in this case Dual-Blades who's very active) ;). --[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk#top|talk]]) 12:08, 4 June 2014 (CDT)

===Antimagic Academy "The 35th Test Platoon"===

Quick question about Vol 3 illustrations, the description says most of the illustrations in vol 3. Does that mean not all of them are up, Or you can't get some of them?

[[User:Dual Blades|Dual Blades]] ([[User talk:Dual Blades|talk]])

Nah, it's all of them, I copied off the template from some other series and it was there already, never bothered to change it and it was left like that... I think the vol 1 and elysion say's the same. --[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk#top|talk]]) 23:02, 21 March 2014 (CDT)

Nice to see you going to be finish with work soon, keep at it. If you need any help or w/e just ask me I'm free to help/consult with. As for illustrations for Antimagic Academy and by extension Elysion, I think you should just upload all of them. However have like a spoiler notice for people to see before they click on the illustrations. I have done that for Antimagic, just take a look change however you deem fit. P.s I did spoiler warnings for each VOL, might be too repetitive, so many just one spoiler warning for the illustrations before people scroll down to the volumes.[[User:Dual Blades|Dual Blades]] ([[User talk:Dual Blades|talk]]) 22:04, 15 April 2014 (CDT)

I like the spoiler alerts, maybe just increase the font size a bit, kind of hard to see/notice. [[User:Dual Blades|Dual Blades]] ([[User talk:Dual Blades|talk]]) 15:44, 16 April 2014 (CDT)

Was just wondering since we know what Ikaruga's powers are in the recent chapter, should that power be listed under her in Character Introduction.--[[User:Dual Blades|Dual Blades]] ([[User talk:Dual Blades|talk]]) 14:54, 11 May 2014 (CDT)

Let me finish translating the entire volume for all the details, and we can list it. It's a pretty good idea. --[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk#top|talk]]) 16:50, 11 May 2014 (CDT)

Well with this 3 out of 7 VOLS have been translated about half we can say, so far it has been a pleasure working with you Krytyk on AntiMagic Academy. Hope it'll be the same or even better for the upcoming VOLS. Keep fighting, or TLIng on? I'll be right behind you. --[[User:Dual Blades|Dual Blades]] ([[User talk:Dual Blades|talk]]) 01:23, 12 May 2014 (CDT)

Well, I'll keep TL'ing it for sure, however I will probably TL ELYSION vol 2 for a change of pace next, Antimagic is a tough customer and dark like hell, though I still didn't make a final decision. Also your edits are much appreciated. --[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk#top|talk]]) 11:57, 12 May 2014 (CDT)

Btw it's possible to sign up for more then 1 VOL, for reference check Magref for Mondaiji-tachi ga isekai kara kuru soudesu yo (He signed up for multiple VOLs, though he might have talked to the Supervisor or somebody higher). I don't think anybody going to stop you, since you are the sole and main TLer, and the Proj. Manager. Anyway just food for thought --[[User:Dual Blades|Dual Blades]] ([[User talk:Dual Blades|talk]]) 20:25, 20 May 2014 (CDT)

Aye Sir. It would help to post things to my talk page, since I don't follow the pages I edit. I just happened to see it in the history :P I keep note of that while playing with them synonyms. [[User:All Nighter94|All Night]] ([[User talk:All Nighter94|talk]]) 20:07, 2 July 2014 (CDT)

Yeah well, I have the habit to check through all edits on these pages, though the less to check through the better :p. --[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk#top|talk]]) 20:54, 2 July 2014 (CDT)

My edits on Volume 2 are done :). I'll get around to doing a pass over on Volume 1 and 2 one of these days :P [[User:All Nighter94|All Night]] ([[User talk:All Nighter94|talk]]) 08:46, 4 July 2014 (CDT)

Whoops I guess I followed the wrong example ;) You changed it to 'there aren't not' though hehe I'll remove the second 'not' [[User:Acolyte|Acolyte]] ([[User talk:Acolyte|talk]]) 15:05, 27 July 2014 (CDT)

Sorry that I dropped off the map as your editor. Nevertheless, I appreciate being able to work together. I learned a lot from it. I wish you well on your future works. --[[User:Tasear|Tasear]] ([[User talk:Tasear|talk]]) 01:25, 31 July 2014 (CDT)

==General Comments==
I am back please bare with me. Sorry for disappearance had critical family stuff. --[[User:Tasear|Tasear]] ([[User talk:Tasear|talk]]) 06:37, 14 March 2014 (CDT)

That's fine, I've been busy as well, just attended granny's funeral yesterday myself. As for antimagic, I'm currently going through all translations up until now thoroughly editing them and rewriting awkward sentences from the scratch, also TLC'ing my old tl's (derp).--[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk#top|talk]]) 06:43, 14 March 2014 (CDT)

well if your going to tln a teaser i suggest Overlord(台灣角川) but it Cn i think. well do your best in your job.--[[User:SirEatALot|SirEatALot]] ([[User talk:SirEatALot|talk]]) 04:28, 24 March 2014 (CDT)

I think the recent indefinite block you applied for the post on the NT Prologue talk page is a little harsh. It wasn't true spam, in that the comment and link were actually related to the story in the prologue. --[[User:Cthaeh|Cthaeh]] ([[User talk:Cthaeh|talk]]) 22:34, 18 May 2014 (CDT)

Oh, really? It had a generic format similar to ones spambot used and was anonymous, but if it wasn't spam I'd apologize... but he/she's anon and doesn't have a talk page.--[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk#top|talk]]) 23:20, 18 May 2014 (CDT)

Hey Krytyk, thanks for ranting about the quality of translations on Mushoku Tensei. It pains me that these chapters were being posted without any sort of edit. I had half a mind to just redo the translations myself (and I still do). Thanks for pointing out what nobody wanted to point out. -- [[User:Fighter747|Fighter747]] ([[User talk:Fighter747|talk]]) 18:34, 14 August 2014 (CDT)

Editing won't help them, they need to be re-translated by an actual translator. As unfortunate as it is, two thirds of mushoku tensei project are in a similar state as far as I'm concerned... this is just one example I raised as my protest for MTL and superbad quality translations flooding bt. --[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk#top|talk]]) 19:02, 14 August 2014 (CDT)

== Possible Mistranslation? ==

Gonna start this just in case since the other areas dont fit this

In Chapter 2 of Elysion Volume 1 After they defeat the Monster they said "5 thousand yen for each of us" That feels like an absurdly low amount for what they did since 15 thousand yen is like 150$
Just thought I'd inform you --[[User:Godoffire|Godoffire]] ([[User talk:Godoffire|talk]]) 01:41, 22 April 2014 (CDT)

There's no mistranslation. It's 5000¥ each, meaning siblings got 10000¥. As you say, it's around 50$ each. You say it's a low amount, however considering the siblings got 100$ for an hour or two hours of work (Instead of doing more they went to do celebratory party for first hunt)? Meaning they could do 2-3 bosses per day, 300$ a day sounds like decent amount for two. Let's say they hunt 5 days in a week, it's 21 days of hunts in a month, meaning they can get up to 6300$ in a month together. I'd say it's more than enough to live on for two students. --[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk#top|talk]]) 11:24, 22 April 2014 (CDT)

Ahh, The way they were talking made it sound really expensive to repair themselves, and well for their fancy home that doesnt sound like nearly enough, Like for just spending money it sounds good, but to actually live on that sounds impossible in their situation

I guess it was just the overall tone of their lives that made it sound so strange, and possibly the fact that I recently Read Arisu Volume 1 and theyre literally dealing in the Millions for similar stuff --[[User:Godoffire|Godoffire]] ([[User talk:Godoffire|talk]]) 00:44, 23 April 2014 (CDT)

They aren't renting out their home, they bought it. Of course they have to pay for some things but that's it. Also, unless they break their characters completely, they won't have to pay for repairing them. What they have to pay for are living expanses, food and school tuition. That's pretty much it. --[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk#top|talk]]) 00:48, 23 April 2014 (CDT)

== Omae wo Onii-chan ni Shite Yarouka!?:Volume 1 Chapter 13, Where's Yuuki? ==

"Just lie down and go to sleep Nii-chan!"
After I was pushed down and sprawled on the bed, Tomomi used my right arm as a pillow.
"Early bird gets the worm!"
"Then, I'm over here."
In just a split second Sayuri settled on my left arm.
"...I'll settle for the leg."
Selene snuggled to my right leg.
"Then I'll take this leg."
It's as if they were sharing food. What am I, a fried chicken?!
"Mii-chan over here!"
The last one was Mika and Maple, they settled down on top of my stomach. Rather than a fried chicken, it was more accurate to call it a combining robot.
I confirmed how they were settled down.
"Are we really sleeping like this?"
All the little sisters nodded in unison. Apparently, they won't listen to my objections.

Might be an overreaction but its bothering me quite a bit for some reason, was there no mention at all of Yuuki when they were "getting in position" to sleep with each other? [[User:ZAIZEAH|ZAIZEAH]] ([[User talk:ZAIZEAH|talk]])
==== Human anatomy by krytyk (joke) ====
There is,

Tomomi: "Early bird gets the worm!" Right arm

Sayuri: "Then, I'm over here." Left Arm

Selene: "...I'll settle for the leg." Unknown leg

Yuuki: "Then I'll take this leg." The other unknown leg (she just wasn't mentioned by name)

Mika: "Mii-chan over here!" Stomach/torso.

So as such, we have confirmed humans have 4 limbs and a torso.

It's more clear to understand in Japanese because she uses 'boku' to adress herself, but if you pay attention it's obvious which line of text is hers.--[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk#top|talk]]) 13:52, 3 August 2014 (CDT)

Ahhh.... seems I didn't read that clearly enough, but I wonder why she wasn't mentioned? Anyway thanks a lot for the clarification Kryty, it still bugs me though that out of the five she wasn't addressed to when she "got into position" hahaha.[[User:ZAIZEAH|ZAIZEAH]] ([[User talk:ZAIZEAH|talk]])

It's very easy to recognize her in Japanese, that's probably why. It's similar situation to Mika, the moment she calls 'herself Mii-chan' you realize its Mika, same to Yuuki who uses (boku), but the english version doesn't have varying ways to call oneself. --[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk#top|talk]]) 06:02, 4 August 2014 (CDT)

Thanks, It's quite easy to tell if its Mika but boku....so that's what happened, quite a lot of quirks when translating stuff huh, perhaps the most hilarious one I know would be the French translation of Harry Potter where Wand is translated to Baguette, they'd make delicious wands I say, hahaha, thanks a lot for clarifying that part.[[User:ZAIZEAH|ZAIZEAH]] ([[User talk:ZAIZEAH|talk]])

== Elysion ending ==

Do you know why it Ended, was it not popular?

I mean out of the like 50 Series I've Read on here, I'd def put that close to the Top 10 from the get go--[[User:Godoffire|Godoffire]] ([[User talk:Godoffire|talk]]) 06:24, 19 August 2014 (CDT)

From what I've seen, author didn't state any reason for it. So I guess it really wansn't popular enough. --[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk#top|talk]]) 06:49, 19 August 2014 (CDT)

[[User:aagcnet|aagcnet]], Pal just so you know when you set the series as complete you deleted the whole text of it...

== Blog Switch ==

Whatever you plan to do is up to you, but do me a favor and make sure it has a good reading format, I've seen what some of these blogs do and they make it impossible to read--[[User:Godoffire|Godoffire]] ([[User talk:Godoffire|talk]]) 06:41, 19 August 2014 (CDT)

You're free to check up on the blog, as far as I'm concerned it's exactly same as baka-tsuki, which was my intention. The only difference is probably the dark skin which became default since quite a few people requested it to be so. You can check elysion for example: http://krytykal.org/elysion/ --[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk#top|talk]]) 06:49, 19 August 2014 (CDT)

Yep, I use the Dark color on the Bakareader App and like it more, I have no complaints now
So about these "Subpar Translations" Can you give me a list of series where this is a problem?--[[User:Godoffire|Godoffire]] ([[User talk:Godoffire|talk]]) 07:04, 19 August 2014 (CDT)

Everywhere, I am afraid, though mainly it's most evident on mushoku tensei. Normal readers don't notice it because skilled editors "cover up" mistranslations (they are '''not fixed but covered up'''), however some of us 'more experienced' translators who hang out on irc channel investigated those translations... and accuracy wise, they're garbage. Terribly inaccurate, anything the translators didn't understand was "made up" from their imagination. So great part of it is fan fiction and incorrect... okay, I'll stop here before I start ranting more, I have very rich repertoire of words to use when naming those subpar garbage translations. You can look at this rant of mine here: https://baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Talk:Mushoku_Tensei:Web_Chapter_114&diff=381726&oldid=381719 , as you can see the meanings are completely broken, imagine every second or third sentence changing "gaze" or "stare" into "attached herself". Utter nonsense. These translations get edited to cover up evident mistakes and are undistinguishable from legit translations. However, the fact that "stare" or "gaze" has been mistranslated into "attached herself(LOL)" will remain after editing. That's why no matter how readable they are, they are garbage. I won't mention other problems like... they don't know how to separate original Japanese texts into paragraphs, which was pointed in the first comparison where the guy merged paragraphs. Vast majority of these translations is of that subpar quality, and it's not just this one 'pseudo-translator' but most of them.

Aaand the guy from the link already wants to translate a different series... a light novel which is... 3 to 5 times harder than mushoku.

Now. While I could point out a few series with very poor quality translations, I would like to refrain myself from doing that, if you want to know then hang around among the translators on irc ^_^. --[[User:Krytyk|Krytyk]] ([[User talk:Krytyk#top|talk]]) 07:56, 19 August 2014 (CDT)

Owari no Chronicle:Volume6 Chapter 24

2014-06-18T23:35:26Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 24: Signs of an Approaching Enemy */

==Chapter 24: Signs of an Approaching Enemy==
[[Image:OnC_v06_0371.png|thumb]]
''The footsteps of the past are quiet

''The footsteps of the future are loud

''Both of them pierce into something

It was an old district.

A canal was surrounded by willow trees and the dirt roads on either side were lined with white walls and wooden buildings.

The canal started from the west and made a right turn to the south partway through. Both stretches of the canal were approximately two hundred meters long.

“This is the Bikan district, isn’t it?”

Shinjou’s voice filled the area in front of a teahouse on the southern end of the district.

She wore a white straw hat and Sayama wore a vest and suit pants as they sat on a bamboo bench covered in a red cloth. They both held piles of copy paper, but Shinjou’s focus was constantly stolen by Sayama next to her and the unusual scenery around her.

She knew she had to take this more seriously, so she lowered her gaze to the documents while continuing to glance around.

The documents were the ones from UCAT’s central server that Kashima had sent them. They supposedly primarily held information on the National Defense Department, but they could not read most of it. They could tell the text was Japanese and that there were diagrams, but they simply could not comprehend the contents.

“This is an information hiding concept,” explained Sayama. “It must affect any copies of the information as well.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have heard the urban legends of information that curses you simply from hearing it, haven’t you? This is the same. A concept has been applied to the central server data that leaves some power with the information even as it is spread.” He smiled bitterly. “It is as if they expected we would do this.”

Kashima had apparently been unable to read most of it either, but he had selected what unreadable information seemed most important based on what he could read.

What Kashima could not read had a checkmark at the top of the page, but they had found they could read a bit of what he could not. Currently, Sayama was reading through Tsukuyomi’s Georgius report rather than the other documents.

Shinjou watched him reading the report and spoke.

“Director Tsukuyomi really is kind.”

“Kashima mentioned a reason for that. She is apparently searching for a Cowling Sword.”

“A Cowling Sword?”

He nodded and showed her a diagram below the Georgius report.

It was a design diagram for a Cowling Sword. It looked like a Japanese sword with almost no curve, but the hilt was oddly long. The hilt on the diagram was likely made of some hard substance and it was almost half as long as the blade.

“Why is she searching for this?”

“It seems her husband created it during UCAT’s blank period. This is the reason she agreed to join UCAT after the great Kansai earthquake ten years ago. She found this diagram in the back of a drawer of the desk she inherited upon taking over the development department and it is currently all she has found about it.”

The copy of the design diagram was signed by a Tsukuyomi Aruhito.

Sayama placed Georgius’s report aside and reached for the same documents Shinjou was reading.

“What did it say about Georgius?”

“There seem to be a lot of unknowns, but Director Tsukuyomi and Kashima both think that gauntlet may be alive and that it is merely sleeping while possessing a will of its own.”

“Then was it made by 3rd-Gear? Living metal is a 3rd concept.”

“When I first put it on, it spoke in Japanese rather than some strange Gear’s language.” He took a breath. “The report speculates it acts as a concept pressurizer, but it is unknown why it only reacts to Concept Cores or why only I can wear it.”

Shinjou almost commented how they seemed to know nothing, but she swallowed her words. Sayama already knew that and there was nothing they could do about it.

She then realized that his right hand had been placed on the left side of his chest for a while.

When she knew he was feeling that pain, she could do nothing but place her hand on his back. However, her thoughts seemed to get through to him because he finally spoke while arranging the bottom of the Georgius report on his lap.

“It was said that my mother obtained it and left it for me. In that case, it would be best to assume it was made by UCAT using inferior copies of concepts from 3rd-Gear and other Gears. It seems Director Tsukuyomi and the others intend to look more deeply into this data, so let us hope they find something. …More importantly, what about your documents?”

“Eh?’

“Do not tell me you have not actually been reading them.”

He was exactly right.

“Um, well. uh… Oh, hasn’t it been about an hour and a half? Your handheld recorder is going to run out of material, isn’t it? C-c’mon, let’s head back and read this stuff with the others.”

As she tried to smooth things over, Sayama removed the bag containing the recorder and bugs. He removed the recorder from the bag, pulled another recorder from his pocket, and placed it in the bag.

“Sayama-kun, wh-what was that?”

“No need to worry. That was the second scenario. The previous one was the indoor version and this is the outdoor version. I also have the adventure version, happy version, demon king version, and more. How about listening to one to give you some ideas for your novel plot?”

“No thanks. That would probably make me want to rethink a lot of things.”

“I see. That is somewhat disappointing. At any rate, it is time for the outdoor version. Do your best, recorder.”

“W-wait! Outdoors!? I’m not into that kind of thing!”

“What are you talking about? Interests are not automatically present. They must be developed, Shinjou-kun.”

“That may be true, but don’t emphasize that here!”

“Anyway, keep in mind that you sabotaged our inspection of these documents when I ask for compensation later.”

She groaned, but she did feel bad about it.

“Why were you negligent about something so important?” he asked with a tilt of the head.

“Um, well… It’s the first time I’ve been somewhere like this with you.”

She was not sure what to say, but she made up her mind as she lightly embraced her own body. She shrank down and wondered if he would forgive her if she explained.

“I don’t have much experience going to strange places like this, but you can sit here drinking tea and reading documents like it’s nothing. …It made me realize how mysterious a person you are.”

“I see. Is that why you were staring at your surroundings and at me? Especially as I was lost in work?”

“Well…”

“Sigh… I may always gather the public eye, but even I will feel embarrassed if you do that, Shinjou-kun.”

“U-um? Please don’t tease me like that. B-but…” She felt herself blush and lowered her head. “It is true I was staring at you.”

“I see. Then I will forgive you, but only if you will let me stare at you in fascination sometime.”

“Okay, that would be fine… Wait, no! You never said what part of me, when it would be, or how you would do it!”

Despite her protests, Sayama pulled a memo pad from his pocket, wrote an entry titled “Promise” and wrote “All of her – Anytime – While unwrapped” below it.

“You are not ‘unwrapping’ me!”

He nodded and added “Discussion needed”.

“Ahh…”

Shinjou hung her head limply. A discussion was out of the question. A Sayama discussion was especially out of the question. She had no chance of winning. The word “discussion” took on a completely different meaning and he would force his view onto her.

…''Is there any way to oppose him on this?

As she thought about it, she felt heat gather in her face, but she told herself it was due to the weather.

Meanwhile, Sayama slowly closed the memo pad next to her.

When she looked up and turned toward him, he used the pile of documents as a fan to create breeze in her direction.

“At any rate, I have only glanced through these documents, but it seems to contain a few fascinating pieces of information. Let us go for a stroll. There are some things I wish to investigate, including the location of 3rd-Gear’s base.”

As soon as he spoke, an electronic tone sounded from his pocket.

It was his cell phone, so he removed Baku from the pocket, placed the creature on his head, and removed the phone.

“————”

“It is Kazami,” he informed Shinjou.

After exchanging a few words, he hung up.

He took a breath, looked down at her, and spoke expressionlessly.

“It seems the Hiba boy and Izumo will be having a sparring match. Ridiculously enough, they have bet the Hiba boy’s cooperation on the match.”

“Y-you mean…?”

“Yes. That is a bit much to decide on their own, but they have now received my permission.”

“You’re okay with it?”

“If Izumo wins, all is well. If the Hiba boy wins, I can be his next opponent as the true star. If the Hiba boy complains, I can claim Izumo has no human rights or make some other excuse.”

“Will an excuse like that actually work? …No, I’m sure you’ll make it work with sophistry.”

“Sophistry? How rude, Shinjou-kun. Refer to it as a creative argument. At any rate, we cannot arrive in time, so we must leave this to them.”

He looked inside the teashop and spoke to the female worker inside.

“Excuse me, I would like the bill and six sticks of dango wrapped so we can eat as we walk.”

Two people stood on the beach.

They both wore T-shirts and shorts and they both held wooden swords in their right hands.

They had different builds.

The roar of the sea washed over the two, one of whom was short and the other of whom was larger and a head taller.

Spectators gathered in front of the rocky area across from the sea. At the head of the crowd was a girl in a T-shirt and swimsuit who held a whistle.

“Okay, Team Leviathan Representative Izumo Kaku vs…um…”

“Kazami-san, how about Nice Guy Representative Hiba Ryuuji?”

Without agreeing, Kazami gave a half-hearted blow of the whistle.

“Okay, okay. Now start.”

“Ah, that’s even worse than being ignored!!” shouted Hiba.

However, his expression changed once he looked toward the girl sitting next to Kazami.

His loose expression became a smile.

His smile was directed at a girl with long, blonde hair who showed no sign of sweating despite wearing a long black shirt and a white dress. She simply looked back at him with no discernable expression.

“Don’t worry. I’ll do something about this, Mikage-san.”

After a short pause, Mikage nodded.

She held her cane close and nodded again.

Around a dozen seconds had passed since the whistle had been blown, but both Hiba and Izumo remained motionless on the beach near the crashing waves.

Hiba stared forward where Izumo stood approximately five meters away.

He stood on the flat beach with the ocean to his right and the rocky area to his left.

They both held wooden swords as weapons. Hiba specialized in unarmed combat, but he was well-versed in using a sword thanks to his grandfather.

…''And I often use a sword when fighting gods of war.

3rd-Gear did have projectile weapons, but one’s vision and predictive calculation speed were assisted by the machine while joined with it. One’s desires acted as a switch to zoom in on an opponent’s movements, view them in slow motion, or even anticipate them.

It was possible to view the path of a bullet and most concept-powered optical weapons were too weak to pierce his armor, so he could predictively evade or ignore projectiles.

However, doing that repeatedly could put a strain on the machine.

He primarily focused on strength and speed more than evasion.

What he needed was an iai strike or a barrage at too close a range to give them time to react.

And with his short body, Hiba had trained in attack methods that included quick rotation.

That was an effective method against large opponents and he could end everything with a quick series of attacks if he got in close.

His current opponent, Izumo, was plenty large for that to work.

Hiba was approximately 160 cm while Izumo was 190 cm.

Hiba could target the gut just by crouching while Izumo could only attack from overhead.

…''Did he suggest wooden swords to give himself the reach he needs to hit me?

Even if his hands would not reach, he could use the sword to strike from below.

…''If that’s what he’s thinking, I can’t let my guard down.

Hiba rotated his wooden sword with a light snap of the wrist and faced forward.

“Now, let’s get started.”

“Sure.”

At some point, Izumo had balanced his sword on top of his head, so he grabbed it with his right hand once more.

The surrounding crowd stopped moving and a tense atmosphere spread throughout them. Amid that silence, Izumo spoke.

“I’m a little reluctant to do this, but come on.”

Hiba frowned at that.

“What? You were the one that suggested this, so why are you reluctant?”

“Win or lose, this is going to bring about some unpleasant thoughts.”

“I thought you enjoyed fighting.”

“Oh, the fighting will be enjoyable. For me, at least,” he said. “But what about you? As your upperclassman, it’s difficult to get into the mood.”

Izumo then took a casual step forward.

The distance between them closed and the battlefield grew smaller.

While still facing forward, Hiba checked the left and right of the battlefield out of the corners of his eyes.

He saw ocean to the right, rocks to the left, and Mikage and Kazami in front of the rocks.

Next to Kazami, the German UCAT inspector named Diana was sipping juice in a chair below a beach parasol, but he felt that black and gold swimsuit of hers was downright criminal.

…''Mikage-san looks worried, but that look is cute too. Ahh, I just want to rub her head.

As he thought that, Izumo stopped in front of him.

They were five meters apart, so either one could attack after taking a few steps.

Hiba saw Izumo looking at him while checking on Kazami out of the corner of his eye.

Hiba suspected he was thinking something similar or possibly something even more amazing.

Hiba felt a sudden affinity with his opponent in this sparring battlefield.

“…”

But Izumo adjusted his grip on the wooden sword in his right hand.

He was indeed going for an attack from below. In fact, he held the bottom of the sword in his palm as if to strike a staff straight down.

…''Is he going for a one-handed strike?

Using both hands gave strength to a slashing attack, but it led to a slower initial speed. A single-handed swing using a snap of the wrist and raised elbow gave speed.

Izumo’s stance showed he was wary of Hiba’s speed.

His expression looked a bit sleepy and thus was difficult to read, but Hiba thought he saw some thought there.

Izumo brought his left leg forward and out a bit. That allowed him to immediately move his body if Hiba moved to the right.

If Hiba instead moved to the left, he only needed to swing the sword in his right hand.

…''In that case…

Charging straight forward would be safest.

If he did that, the wooden sword in Izumo’s right hand would be the greatest threat. A snap of the wrist could send the sword tip shooting up from the ground and it would be below Hiba’s range of vision as he approached.

It was possible he would receive a sudden blow to the jaw or side.

Hiba’s own attack would have reached by then, but their different body sizes would create a difference in damage absorption and the speed of Hiba’s advance would add to the strength of the counter against him.

His opponent might be able to withstand the blow, but he might not be able to.

And what would he do after he avoided the first attack?

Izumo was larger than him and he would not go down from any normal attack. He was perfectly fine after Kazami’s attacks, so it would require a fair bit of damage to defeat him.

Nevertheless, Hiba knew he could do it.

He wanted to defeat Izumo even if it was not a complete victory.

He had a single reason for this.

…''I can’t let them get any more involved.

He wanted to protect his exclusive right to battle 3rd-Gear. He had realized that once more when Mikage had clung to him earlier. He and she would be the ones to fight 3rd-Gear.

He did not want to rely on their strength and – as rude as it was to his upperclassmen – he would make it very clear who was stronger by defeating Izumo here.

He briefly thought about Sayama’s presence, but he doubted that boy outdid Izumo when it came to combat ability.

In that case, defeating Izumo held real meaning.

…''What should I do?

He answered that question in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, he realized what actions he should take.

This was nothing special. His long years of combat experience put together the actions he should take and simulated the flow of events leading to victory.

“…”

All that remained was the start signal. He waited for his moment to act which would be when his opponent showed an opening.

And that moment arrived.

It took the form of Kazami’s voice from the spectator group.

“Kaku! Try to keep your expression more serious.”

Hiba interpreted that as a form of cheering, just not one he would ever receive.

In response, Izumo frowned and turned toward Kazami.

“Y’know…”

Hiba used that instant to move toward him by kicking deep into the sand and leaning forward.

“!”

He travelled half the distance with his first step.

He was on his way to end the sparring match.

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| Back to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume6_Chapter_23|Chapter 23]]
| Return to [[Owari_no_Chronicle|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume6_Afterword|Afterword]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Owari no Chronicle:Volume6 Chapter 23

2014-06-18T23:35:07Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 23: Accusing Attacker */

==Chapter 23: Accusing Attacker==
[[Image:OnC_v06_0337.png|thumb]]
''What is faster than words?

''That would be something that exceeds sound

''It would be words and communication that exceeds sound

Miyako stopped next to Typhon.

At five meters, she was just within reach of its arms.

However, there was no light in its eyes.

''It isn’t running,'' she thought.

Five maids were moving about on Typhon and the hanger surrounding it. Their primary jobs were replacing the armor plates, repairing the head and right arm, and readjusting moving parts below the armor.

They sang as they worked.

Looking at it like this, Typhon was nothing but a weapon. It could only stand there as a hunk of metal.

It did not scream or do anything else.

…''How strange.

The light in its eyes the other night had made it seem alive, but that may have only been the case when the pilot was inside.

She looked to the side and saw Cottus’s giant blue form.

“Are you always here?”

“Affirmative.”

“Do Gyes and Aigaion not help with maintenance?”

“Different job. Busy.”

“I know Aigaion earns money at a greengrocer, but what does Gyes do?”

Rather than Cottus, Moira 3rd answered as she caught up to Miyako’s right.

“She’s patrolling and examining the area around here. She leaves the concept space to guard it and lately she’s been going to places that have something called the internet to check on some information.”

“I see.”

Moira 3rd continued speaking while stretching.

“Those two have philosopher’s stones for outside work. The gods of war and Cottus do too, but they can’t show up in public looking like that, y’know? I wish I had a philosopher’s stone so I could go outside.”

Her voice was bright, but Miyako guessed that last comment was what she truly thought.

Miyako had heard they were able to move their base. A few times in the past, they had moved the entire space so the base would not be found, but they could not leave the space surrounding the base.

…''Is it like being in a cage?

Their desire for guests and a master may have been to make up for their inability to leave.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey. Miyako. Next time you go outside, can you bring something back for me?”

“What do you want? Just tell me.”

“Hmm. Then get me the Sudden Death Man chocolates that Aigaion brought back before.”

“Oh, the ones with the Lifestyle Disease Angel and the Overwork Demon? Can you even eat candy?”

“No. I’ll take the sticker and you can have the chocolate. The others would probably be fine with that too.”

“Wait. I’ll have to buy an entire case to have enough for everyone.”

There were approximately 60 maids in all. If each one was 30 yen, that was 1800 yen. If she went to a supermarket where she could get 10% off…

…''Um…

She was bad at mental calculations. She converted it to about 1600 yen and upped it to 1700 yen to include tax. That was cheaper than a CD.

“Okay, I can handle that. It’s perfectly okay!”

“Um, Miyako? What’s okay?”

She decided not to answer Moira 3rd.

Suddenly, the automaton began to float. Miyako looked over and saw Moira 1st had approached at some point and was dragging Moira 3rd behind something by the collar.

“Oh, big sister. What is it? Where are you taking me!?”

The larger automaton ignored her and moved out of Miyako’s view.

“Stop making unreasonable requests! Lady Miyako has her financial situation to worry about.”

“B-but she said it was okay.”

“It obviously is not okay if she has to think about it so much first. Not to mention that she is busy.”

“Ehhh? She clearly isn’t busy.”

''You’re both right and I can hear you both,'' thought Miyako as something new began out of her view.

“If you say that, I have no choice but to punish you. Now, it’s time to crack that butt!!”

“Waaaah! Big sister! You knocked my hip joints out of place.”

“You can’t fool me with those fake tears. I can see it with my thermal vision. And to make sure you see your mistake, I will be taking your hip joint bolts.”

“Hmph. Fine. I can hold it all in place with my gravitational control. I don’t need legs.”

A dull metallic noise filled the air.

“Wah! You dented it!”

''Dented what?'' thought Miyako, but she turned her back because she felt wrong listening in on a fight between sisters.

She took a breath and looked up at Cottus.

“Do you ever want to go outside?”

“Battle request?”

“No, uh, that wasn’t what I meant.”

Cottus tilted his head and that action told Miyako something.

…''To him, leaving here means battle.

“Maybe I’m just being sentimental. Well, if you ever want to leave, just tell me.”

“Understood.”

He nodded and Miyako recalled the previous day. Apollo had lent her his cane and she would have been able to leave using it, but here she was.

…''Only the other two Hecatoncheires can leave.

As she muttered in her heart, she realized something was missing.

When thinking about who could leave, she was omitting a member of the 3rd-Gear group. She had failed to think about the person who would most naturally be able to leave.

“That would be…”

She remembered.

“That idiot.”

When she recalled the name “Apollo”, she let out a voice of realization.

She had completely forgotten despite exchanging headbutts with him the evening before. He had provoked her and had her say what she truly thought.

…''And he protected me when the cliff collapsed.

''Dammit,'' she thought ''He showed off and then had me blurt out my true thoughts.

“It all started with that idiot suddenly sitting down.”

She rubbed her shoe’s heel against the floor in frustration, but then she recalled something strange.

The concept that allowed machines to live had been weak there, so the automatons could only function there for a short period of time.

So why had a human like Apollo collapsed?

“…?”

She folded her arms. She knew she was not very smart, so she thought carefully.

…''Does he have some kind of disease? Did he have some kind of fit?

But if that was the case, why had he been able to go through with that argument shortly thereafter? Someone who collapsed just from walking a bit would have to be insane to raise his blood pressure by grabbing someone else’s collar, shouting, and headbutting.

…''He did bleed from that, so he must not be an automaton.

However, the automatons had been watching on from overhead during that argument. That meant it had been just barely removed from the outer boundary.

She had no proof, but an idea occurred to her.

…''Is he a human who can only live in places an automaton can function?

What did that mean?

She searched for Moira 1st to ask her, but she did not hear anything from the area Moira 1st and 3rd had gone. Something new may have been happening outside.

“That’s no good, then.”

She instead turned toward the automatons maintaining Typhon. One with black hair had finished removing an armor panel from the leg and was taking a break.

“Hey,” called Miyako.

She chose her words carefully as the maid turned a smile in her direction.

“Does Apollo come here often?”

“He stops by at a frequency I would call ‘occasionally’.”

“Is that so?” She made her way toward her real question. “Does that idiot ever go outside?”

The ends of the maid’s eyebrows lowered slightly at that question.

She did not know what to do.

Seeing that, Miyako asked further about the answer to the question before the maid could fall into mechanical confusion.

“He can’t leave, can he? Why?”

“Well…”

“Is he sick?”

“No.”

“Has he made some kind of promise?”

“No.”

“Does he simply prefer to stay here?”

“No.”

''Then what is it?'' she thought.

A word then occurred to her.

…''But that’s only worth making a joke.

She shrugged her shoulders and asked while assuming the maid would not understand what she meant.

“Is it a curse?”

“Yes.”

That answer caused her to freeze in place while still shrugging.

She remained speechless for a short time as she tried to grasp what the maid’s confirmation meant.

“Does 3rd-Gear have curses?”

“The translation concept is likely conveying our word ‘curse’ as the word you are hearing. Our word is defined as a defect that is remotely forced upon one by someone else and that can be removed under certain conditions.”

Miyako repeated that definition in her head.

…''In other words…

“Someone is forcing that rich boy to bear some kind of restriction or handicap?”

“Yes.”

“Is there a way to remove it?”

The maid reacted to that slowly-asked question with hesitation. She was trying to decide whether she should answer or not.

But after the span of a few breaths, she took a step forward and lowered her head.

“There is a single method.”

She hesitated to continue and fell silent, so Miyako scratched at her own head.

A curse.

That term did not seem to fit the mechanical Gear that was 3rd-Gear, but she had seen something similar the previous night.

“This is a strange place. You have curses and a strange ghost-like woman shows up.”

“Eh? A ghost-like woman…?”

“Oh, from your tone, I take it you know what I’m talking about. A pale glowing woman with long hair. She looked like she was about to cry.”

And…

“!”

Suddenly, Miyako was shoved to the right.

…''What!?

As her vision tumbled, she saw that a new maid had charged into the spot she had been standing in.

…''Moira 2nd!?

That automaton had shoved both Miyako and the maid she had speaking with.

Miyako looked up while wondering why.

A giant shadow that almost looked like a large tree was falling from overhead.

It was an arm. A metal arm covered in white armor.

Typhon’s arm had fallen from the shoulder block.

An instant later, Moira 2nd turned toward Miyako and their gazes met.

“…”

The automaton smiled just as the steel arm fell on top of her.

Miyako heard the singing stop.

The great noise had already ended and she only heard the sounds of scattering components.

The low, rhythmic sound in her ears was her own pulse which was raised in panic and surprise.

…''What just happened!?

The emotion of that mental shout raised her pulse even further.

She realized she could move her legs and she was not trembling, so she began to stand up.

“Ah.”

But she staggered. It was less that her footing was unsteady and more that she was too tense.

She placed a hand on the floor in front of her and managed to stand.

She then saw the giant arm only three steps away.

It was Typhon’s left arm which was covered in armor panels and surface buffering armor. The upper arm was as thick as Miyako’s torso. The shoulder connector was open, so a steel plug thirty centimeters thick was exposed and pointed upwards.

There was almost no gap between the arm and the floor and something was crushed beneath it: components made of delicate metal and ceramic as well as fragments of those components.

The parts that had not been smashed to pieces lay between the arm and Miyako.

The remaining parts were nothing but a portion of a female upper body.

The head, the right side of the back, and the right arm lay face down. The black maid uniform had been caught at and pulled by the arm and floor and it looked as if the maid had been squeezed out from between the two of them.

Her short blonde hair shook, her eyes were closing, and she was not moving.

Except that is, for her lips.

Miyako heard her voice.

“Please help…”

“Eh?”

Miyako frantically crouched down and listened closely as Moira 2nd spoke so very quietly while moving only her lips.

“Please help Lord Apollo. He is a victim of the Concept War. He is unstable as a human…and thus must receive the restrictions of a machine.”

“How do you remove those restrictions? Surely you have a way using your technology.”

Her frantic question received no reply and Moira 2nd stopped moving altogether.

But Miyako continued to shout.

“Don’t go to sleep!!”

That produced a small smile from the automaton.

“Understood…”

She opened her mouth and spoke the rest with difficulty.

“Th-the method is…”

“Is?”

“Something that…Lord Apollo c-cannot d-do…b-by him…himsel-sel-self.”

“I see.”

Miyako nodded and touched Moira 2nd’s cheek to tell her she had understood.

All strength left the automaton’s body and she did not speak any further.

No one moved, so Miyako stood up, turned in every direction, and shouted out.

“Someone take Moira 2nd to get help!”

With shudders of realization, some nearby maids, including the one who had escaped damage thanks to Moira 2nd, quickly ran over. Seeing that, Miyako breathed a sigh of relief.

“She isn’t going to die from this, right? Right?”

“There is nothing to worry about. As long as her head remains, her memories can be returned.”

“I see.”

Miyako looked toward Moira 2nd with a quiet expression.

“Thank you.”

After thanking the automaton for saving her, strength entered her eyebrows.

…''I could let it end like this, but…

She looked up toward Typhon’s shoulder, but not a single maid was there.

The maids working on it had been in the process of replacing the armor around the waist. Five of them were paused where they had been lifting the giant metal panel together.

…''In that case…

Typhon’s arm had fallen from the shoulder on its own.

“That wasn’t an accident due to poor maintenance, was it?”

She looked over.

…''Typhon’s eyes.

She saw a faint light there.

“…!?”

And it was a pale bluish-white. It was the same cold light as when she had been abducted.

“Is someone in there!?”

…''Who is it? No, it doesn’t matter who it is.

Typhon had definitely attempted to prevent her from speaking any further with that maid. And it had attempted to do so with her death.

She had not heard any footsteps on the overhead catwalk, so Typhon’s pilot would have been in the cockpit the entire time.

She wondered who it was. Was it the glowing woman from the previous night? Was it Apollo? At the moment, it did not matter which it was.

“Wait there!”

She lifted her heel, turned around, and began running.

Miyako ran.

There was a staircase up to the catwalk on the hangar wall, so she ran there while keeping her eye on Typhon to ensure no one fled from the cockpit on its back.

…''From now on, those maids aren’t going to tell me anything about Apollo or Typhon.

That falling arm had been a warning from the one controlling Typhon.

''Who is it?'' she wondered.

This was the final 3rd-Gear member who was refusing to show themselves. It was the person controlling Typhon, the person who had not let Moira 1st and the others show her the hangar until now, the person keeping Apollo inside the concept space, and the person who would crush their own automaton as a warning.

Miyako recalled what 3rd-Gear had done during the Concept War.

…''This sounds like someone who would do those things.

She ran up the stairs.

The catwalk was about three stories up, which put it at the height of a god of war’s back.

The empty passageway continued in a straight line and reached the left side of a back with six wings.

She had not seen anyone leave from the back, so she ran loudly and while swinging her arms.

She travelled the distance in an instant and arrived.

“I’ve got you now!!”

She stopped and stood on Typhon’s back. The cockpit located between the six wings stuck out quite a bit further than the other gods of war and the inside of the block formed the basin that decomposed the pilot.

“…!”

But it was empty.

“Ah?”

She caught her breath and peered inside with a hand on one wing.

“Wait a second. Why?”

Why was no one inside?

''That’s cheating,'' she mouthed while leaning further forward to peer inside the cockpit.

But all she saw was a dimly-lit empty space and a metal floor.

“Wait…”

She took a breath, frowned, and felt a sinking feeling deep in her chest. It was a dark feeling. It was a mixture of impatience and fear because she knew something was going on but did not know what.

And as the feeling filled her, she saw a light. The light formed writing. A panel inside the cockpit contained a word in a pale light. She could not read it, but she could tell what it meant.

She knew the word.

“What is this?”

Before she could picture the characters in her mind, they vanished. The cockpit fell into complete darkness and she realized Typhon was not going to move now.

Instead, she saw a strand of color.

“Hair?”

A single hair was caught in the cockpit’s door. She wrapped it around her finger to pull it out and the slender and soft blonde strand fluttered in the air.

She recognized the length and the color.

…''This is Apollo’s.

But he was not inside, so it may have simply blown there in the wind.

In that case, who had piloted Typhon?

As soon as she asked herself that, she saw a light. The light took the form of slender fingers and approached the nape of her neck from behind.

“…!?”

She frantically turned around but found only empty space.

“What?”

No one was here, but she was certain someone had been.

While eating breakfast, Moira 1st had told her that a ghost or something similar might appear next to Typhon as it contained the Concept Core which functioned as the Tartaros. That something would be unable to touch anyone, but it would exist.

The fact that something like that existed brought a chill to her spine. Once she caught her breath, she tensed her back.

“…”

And she silently walked back along the catwalk.

She remained focused and noticed that Typhon’s eyes no longer contained any light. The fallen left arm and the connector on the shoulder showed no sign of being pried open or of bolts being loosened from the outside. The attachment base that could not be accessed from outside had opened naturally. The opening to that attachment base contained no damage like the right arm did, no cracks in the armor, and no scratches on the frame.

Typhon’s left arm had definitely been removed by the pilot, but Miyako started to focus on the right arm that was being repaired.

She focused on that broken right arm and…

“The slightly damaged head.”

Also…

“That writing and the presence behind me.”

At that point, she sensed something about the damage to Typhon.

Something seemed off and she felt an odd sense of déjà vu.

…''What is this? I feel like there’s some important connection here.

Her vision then caught a hint.

Down below, the arm that had crushed Moira 2nd was being removed. Six automatons were lifting it on Moira 1st’s instructions.

However, Miyako was looking at the automaton who had saved her rather than at Typhon’s arm. The automaton’s head was lowered and she was collapsed, but Miyako was looking at her unharmed right arm.

Moira 2nd’s right index finger was pointing in a certain direction.

It was pointed straight down as if to some place below the floor.

An expanse of white sand lay below the blue sky.

Immediately behind the sand was a thin rocky area followed by a forest. The rocky area’s height change separated the forest and the beach and the sea breeze reached the sparse branches of the pine forest.

Several green tents were set up at the entrance to the forest and all of them had thick waterproof sheets as roofs.

The shallow and rocky land meant the tents could not use stakes driven into the dirt.

“Use the rocks and have the trees act as pillars. But don’t break the trees. Do that and you’ll lose points and be in charge of dinner. I’m in the mood for curry. What about you? It’s delicious.”

Ooki was giving instructions while walking unsteadily across the rocky area.

Her instructions were not very useful, but the tents were somehow getting set up one after another.

Those who had finished would construct their stove, bathroom, and other facilities and then split into two groups. One group would go train while the other…

“Break time! I’m first!!”

With that shout, Kazami ran toward the ocean. She dashed across the artificial beach while holding G-Sp2 and wearing an orange and black bikini. Water splashed into the air and she sank down into it.

“I’ve got our dinner!!”

Eventually, an explosive spray of water burst up from the ocean. The pillar of water reached around a dozen meters up and the rain of saltwater made it as far as the beach. Those on the beach cried out and avoided the rain which had several fish mixed in.

The fish flopped around as if in surprise after falling on the beach and Sibyl gathered them while wearing a light jacket.

Once a large basket was full, Kazami left the ocean.

She held up G-Sp2 in her right hand and did not bother wiping away the seawater running down her body.

[[Image:OnC_v06_0359.png|thumb]]

“Ah, that felt great. But you really can’t underestimate a desert island out at sea. The current is fast and deep. We should probably run a rope from the rocky outcroppings on either side to show where your feet can reach the bottom.”

“Good idea, but what about Izumo-sama? He will almost certainly laugh as he crosses the rope and end up swept out to sea.”

“Don’t worry. He won’t die just because he stops breathing. More importantly, where’s Mikage?”

“Over there.”

Kazami looked where Sibyl pointed and saw someone in a dress sitting in the rocky area. The girl held a cane and simply stared up into the sky.

“She does not seem to have brought a swimsuit.”

“Yeah, I think she’s still reluctant to show off her body. Well, there’s more to see on this island than the ocean, so I hope something here can help her evolve.”

Two boys carrying baskets approached from beyond the rocky area.

Izumo and Hiba both wore T-shirts and shorts.

Kazami saw Mikage try to stand up as soon as she spotted Hiba. Her actions had a brightness absent from her usual expressionless face.

…''She really cares about Hiba.

Kazami smiled and Sibyl whispered next to her.

“You looked just as happy when Izumo-sama appeared.”

“I’m not that straightforward.”

She shrugged and smiled as Izumo approached. He lowered the basket on his back a few steps away.

“Chisato.”

He turned toward her, looked at her face, her chest, her hips, and her legs.

“Chisato, listen closely.”

“What is it?”

“To be honest…” He placed a hand on her shoulder, looked up into the sky, and chose his words carefully. “I’ve always been a coward when it came to swimsuits, so I think I’m going to show more courage and- Don’t throw me that quickly!”

She immobilized the wrist on her shoulder just as she swept his legs out from under him and rotated him around.

He flipped completely over in midair.

She had only recently learned this technique. Punches and kicks could harm the opponent too easily, but locking techniques could only defeat a single opponent. However, there was a different sort of technique that could defeat a single opponent and disturb or damage any others around.

…''A throw!

The main trick was to continually pull her opponent’s hand forward and down to create circular motion.

As a result, Izumo quickly rotated in midair.

His back would soon be slammed against the ground, but she trusted him to prepare for the landing. That trust came from the years she had spent with him and it allowed her to use her full training without worrying about him.

''Good, good,'' she thought of her own movements when Sibyl suddenly spoke.

“Ch-Chisato-sama! Izumo-sama is going to fall into the ocean and get soaking wet!”

“Oh, no.”

She quickly corrected his trajectory and the top of his head slammed into the relatively hard beach.

The sound of the impact filled the air and the sounds of tent preparations came to a halt.

As sand blew up into the air and fell back down, Kazami was left letting out a breath and wiping sweat from her brow.

“Thanks, Sibyl. Knowing Kaku, I doubt he packed any extra changes of clothing.”

“Yes. Having him crawl around in wet clothing would affect both his health and our public morals.”

Kazami looked to the rocky area and found Hiba glaring at her for some reason.

She tilted her head and he frantically held Mikage’s shoulders and took a step back.

“U-um, I feel like I have to ask: is he okay?”

“Hm? Oh, he’s fine. C’mon, get up, Kaku.”

Kazami lifted Izumo up and struck his head with the tip of G-Sp2.

She would hit him with a vase to wake him in the mornings, but even that was taking a while recently.

She occasionally wondered if he still had some reason to hesitate.

He now slowly opened his eyes.

“Yawn. Is it morning already?”

“Wake up already. We’re at the training camp.”

“Oh, that’s right. So what was I doing? Last thing I remember, I was gathering fruit in the forest with Hiba.”

“You probably fell out of a tree. Heh heh. Yes, let’s say that’s what happened.”

For some reason, Hiba held Mikage’s shoulders, turned around, and tried to sneak away.

“Hey, don’t run, Hiba.”

“I-I think Mikage-san wants to go in the shade.”

“Is that true, Mikage?”

Mikage turned toward Kazami and shook her head.

“Ahh, Mikage-san, you don’t understand,” said Hiba frantically. “The world is headed in an odd direction right now!”

“Your world is headed straight for hell,” warned Kazami.

Hearing that, Sibyl frowned.

“Chisato-sama, I do not think you should make implicit threats of murder to someone you do not know very well.”

“Y-yeah, you’re probably right. But…”

“Yes. He does not know you very well, so he will not understand unless make the threat explicit.”

“Sibyl? That was a very good point, but how about you keep points that good just between the two of us? …I said don’t run, Hiba!”

“But I don’t see why I should stay here.”

Hiba looked toward Mikage. She had her usual expressionless face, but she did not seem to have made her own decision. She looked at him expectantly to tell her what to do.

He sighed and faced Kazami with lowered eyebrows.

“Is there anything for me to do here?”

“They’re training over there. Would you rather join them?”

Kazami looked to the eastern side of the beach. She and the others were on the western side while the eastern side was used for training. An empty car and dummy building for infiltration training were prepared and Boldman stood before those needing training.

Despite the sun beating down on them, they all wore three-piece suits, neckties, and leather shoes.

Kazami watched as Boldman pushed round glasses (minus the lenses) up his nose and tightened his tie.

“Now then,” he said with a training manual under his arm. “Students, the summer training camp for Japanese UCAT Tokyo Branch Special and Standard Divisions begins now. I am Robert Boldman and I have been the training instructor since last year. I will not ask anything difficult. Simply answer ‘yes, teacher’ to whatever I say.”

“Yes, teacher!”

“Very good.”

A young Japanese man on one side whose gray suit was already darkened with sweat raised his hand.

“Yes, teacher! May I ask a question!?”

“Questions are generally not permitted, but as we have only just begun, I will allow it this once.”

“Yes, teacher! Why wear suits as we train and speak overly politely like a bunch of homos? May I call you an idiot!?”

Around twenty of the others lined up gave looks of agreement.

“I see.” Boldman brought a hand to his forehead which was completely devoid of sweat. “During last year’s training camp on Mt. Osore, I gave the same training given to the American marine unit I belonged to. It started with shouting insults along the shore of the Sanzu River and running a marathon across Mt. Osore while singing an enjoyable round of an erotic song. Anyway, one of the trainees was filled with a rebellious spirit.”

He sighed.

“I tried to quell that rebelliousness, but the rebel…for the purposes of the story let’s say it was a she. Anyway, she said the lyrics of the song were horrible and I sent my aide after her, but she punched him and kicked him in the crotch. Her partner was a man who would not go down no matter how much you punched him, so I ended up receiving some injuries from the two of them.”

He indicated the area around the back of his neck.

“I was fine at the time, but aftereffects of the whiplash have been showing up lately and my wife is worried. At any rate, I spoke with the higher ups afterwards and realized my training method was simply too outdated, so some of the fault lay with me.”

He clenched his fist and looked up into the sky.

“And so I have given the concept of training new life. It has gone from being a wild and delinquent to stylish and politely intelligent! Training forever!!”

“…”

“Where’s your answer?”

“Yes, teacher.”

“I can’t hear you.”

“Yes, teacher!”

“Once more.”

“Yes, teacher!!”

“Okay, try to make it ''loud'' for once! Ready, go!!”

“Yessss, teacherrrrr!!”

“Well done! Now, everyone, run three laps around the island. If it’s getting tough, just tell me. We’ll be running in a line and the slowest person takes the lead. Do you know the trick to running?”

“Yes, teacher!”

“Can you tell me what it is?”

“Yes, teacher!”

“You don’t actually know, do you?”

“Yes, teacher!”

“Very good.” Boldman pushed the round glasses up his nose again. “The tricking to running is to stay M-A-D. M for ‘move ever forward’, A for ‘always accelerate’, and D for ‘dash and don’t stop’. If you don’t follow those rules, you’ll be doing the same thing tomorrow.”

“Yes, teacher! We’ll make sure to stay MAD!”

“Okay, you there can take the lead first. Everyone else line up behind him.”

“Y-yes, teacher!”

The man in a gray suit who responded ran across the beach as quickly as he could as if fleeing something. The next person gasped and frantically followed. More and more followed with no discrimination between the sexes or anything else. Lastly, Boldman ran after them.

“Okay, everyone, let’s sing a song to increase our sense of unity. Just repeat after me.”

“Yes, teacher!”

“Blooooming, blooooming, the target flower is bloooooming.”

“Blooooming, blooooming, the target flower is bloooooming.”

“They’re all in a rowwww, a nice straight rowwwww. Red clothes, black clothes, white clothes. Whatever flower you see, just cry yeehoo!”

“They’re all in a rowwww, a nice straight rowwwww. Red clothes, black clothes, white clothes. Whatever flower you see, just cry yeehoo!”

The alternating song disappeared into the distance.

After watching them leave, Kazami turned to Hiba.

He pointed toward the already vanished song and turned his head toward her.

“Is that really okay? The colors seemed pretty biased to me.”

“Don’t worry. They’ll get enough complaints for it to be changed next year.”

“I see. But I guess I can’t complain now.”

“Because you’re so happy to get to join them?”

“That is not what I meant!”

He let out a long, exhausted sigh and spread his mouth horizontally.

“That training is too much.”

“Then you’ll be training with me.”

He looked down toward the sudden voice from the ground and saw Izumo. Izumo sat up on the sand and faced Hiba on the rocky area.

“I asked you about joining us last night, but you didn’t give an answer even though we’ve showed you how well we can fight. …Of course, I’m sure you have your reasons.”

He stood up by leaping up from a sitting position.

“…”

With that single leap, he reached eye level.

“Hiba, you think you’re stronger than us, don’t you? How about we put that to the test?”

He landed as if stabbing his feet into the sand.

“C’mere. Let’s fight.”

“Fight? Are we going to spar? But do you have any martial arts experience?”

“Of course not. Only what they teach in the special division training.”

Hiba looked shocked.

“UCAT’s training is generally modeled after the militaries of different countries, isn’t it? Some of it may be filled with originality like what we just saw, but my grandfather gave me military style training until I was in tears and he trained me in the Hiba style of martial arts on top of that.”

“That’s fine by me. I’m twenty and you’re sixteen. When you were born, I could’ve killed you easy. Right now, I can vote and I can smoke without having to hide it. I easily broke through the 18+ barrier a whole two years ago. How about that!?”

“Well, that last one might be nice.”

“Is that so?”

Izumo ignored Kazami’s half-lidded glare and pointed at Hiba.

“How about this? Let’s spar while using wooden swords or something. If I win, you think about joining us in our fight.”

Someone reacted to that proposal, but it was not Hiba. It was Mikage.

“…”

She frantically peered into Hiba’s face and moved her lips to produce her silent voice.

“I oh’t ahnt aht.”

''I don’t want that.

Kazami read her lips and her expression.

…''What does that mean?

Hiba used a god of war to fight, so it was natural if he did not like joining them, but why would Mikage dislike when she only assisted?

…''It can’t be.

A thought occurred to Kazami. Did Mikage want only Hiba to fight?

If so, that was a ridiculous idea. That meant wanting the one she cared for most to fight.

But was that how she felt?

As she looked at Hiba, the ends of her eyebrows were ever so slightly lowered and Kazami imagined unease resided behind that look.

…''Is she worried that we will take their fight away from them?

If so, what would the two of them do?

“And what would we do? …Kaku, I know what it means to win this match.”

“Yeah, but nothing will ever happen if we stay still. Doing nothing will only lead to the bell indicating time is up.”

Izumo’s tone was light, but she could see a harshness on his face.

She guessed that something had happened to him in the past that she was unaware of. Something in which he had remained motionless and come to regret it.

Hiba’s eyebrows slowly rose and he nodded while drawing Mikage close.

“Giving thought to joining you if Izumo-san defeats me could work, but what will you do if I win? It would be pretty conceited of you to have not thought about it.”

“Okay, how about this?” shouted Izumo with a smile. “Hiba, if you win, I’ll act in your place and show some courage concerning Chisato’s swimsuit! What do you think about that!?”

“Here’s what ''I'' think about that!!”

Kazami punched Izumo.

<noinclude>
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| Back to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume6_Chapter_22|Chapter 22]]
| Return to [[Owari_no_Chronicle|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume6_Chapter_24|Chapter 24]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Owari no Chronicle:Volume6 Chapter 14

2014-06-01T22:20:10Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 14: Choices from a Cry of Suffering */

==Chapter 14: Choices from a Cry of Suffering==
[[Image:OnC_v06_0061.png|thumb]]
''Will you give a bitter cry?

''Or will you cry out in suffering?

''What is the difference between anger and weakness?

The metal and water fell to the ground in an instant.

A simple thing had occurred.

Eighteen metal water tanks had fallen inside the giant round cage created from water pipes.

As the final tank and the metal net remaining in the air fell, water burst through the gaps in the pipes making up the cage. The high pressure water included gravel and metal fragments.

It scraped at the walls of nearby buildings, broke through the windows, and produced a mist.

A single figure stood within the motion and sounds of the mist.

The large man wore a greengrocer’s apron and held metal pipes in his spread arms.

He was Aigaion.

The sound of water spraying from the cage surrounded him.

And he faced forward through the mist.

About five meters away, a single white line was visible stabbing vertically into the ground.

It was a spear over two meters long.

“That is the spear that destroyed the building earlier,” he muttered. “It must contain a Concept Core.”

He walked forward in order to take the weapon as a victory prize, but then he looked toward the metal cage where his enemies would be submerged.

…''That was almost too easy.

According to his visual records, the two of them had been together in the center of the cage just before all the metal fell.

The boy had been holding the girl from behind, but the additional concept Gyes had added meant it was actually the girl holding the boy.

Aigaion did not understand something about that fact.

“In Low-Gear, it is normally the male who attempts to protect the female.”

In all the Low-Gear stories he had seen on television and the like, that had almost always been how it had worked. The greengrocer’s owner’s youngest daughter had recently been watching the children’s tokusatsu show “Übermensch Liberator – Gewalt” which was a standard reverse political purge story on the surface, but it still followed that common theme at the core.

The owner would feed him dinner on Sundays every week and the youngest daughter always made him play the monster role.

…''Why did those two leave the standard pattern?

He quickly reached an answer. Based on their previous actions, he was able to make his decision almost immediately.

“Their brains must have malfunctioned.”

Humans were difficult to understand. While thinking he needed more data, Aigaion came to a stop.

A single spear was stabbing into the ground as water washed over the gravel.

He had no data on this weapon. He needed to acquire it and the large sword the girl had wielded in order to investigate them.

He stretched out his right arm to pull the spear out with his gravitational control, but then he heard a noise.

This sound was out of place amidst the quickly spraying and flowing water.

It was a footstep.

He heard a loud footstep of someone landing at some high place.

“…”

That single footstep was enough for him to determine the location and traits of the one who produced it.

They were about 15 meters to his front, about 8 meters high, around 50 kilograms, and a bit exhausted. He then used his sight to confirm the answer his hearing led him to.

…''Someone is standing on top of the broken water tanks?

There they were.

Beyond the mist, a figure stood atop the metal wreckage.

It was a girl.

Her white dress shirt and gray skirt whipped in the wind. She held a giant white sword that looked out of place in her slender arms.

Her shoulders rose and fell as she caught her breath and faced him.

She was completely unscathed.

Her eyebrows were raised and the intent to attack was plainly written there.

Aigaion withdrew the hand held toward the spear, prepared both hands for a fight, and asked a question.

“You weren’t crushed in the cage just now?”

His question was not answered verbally.

The girl silently answered with her actions.

“…”

She used her right hand to point her sword at him.

He noticed the white sword had changed form.

The blade’s cowling remained closed, but the rear thruster was open and the air shimmered above it.

She lightly raised the sword and spoke.

“That’s right.”

She looked over her shoulder at a student dormitory.

The window leading into the third floor hallway was missing its reinforced glass.

Seeing that, Aigaion understood what had happened.

“Did you use the sword’s thruster to fly to that window?”

In that case, he understood why the boy had grabbed her just before the attack arrived.

“Yeah. She used my body to soften the blow when we broke through the glass.”

His body had not made an appearance.

“It was enough of an impact to knock my body unconscious, so it must have hit Chisato’s mind pretty hard.” He smiled. “So I need to return the favor…using her body.”

She raised the sword and leaped toward Aigaion.

From the sound of her jump, he could tell she planned to charge forward.

“You’re heading straight toward me!?”

“Of course. This is round 3!”

As soon as he landed, Izumo ran.

He had wet gravel below his feet, a single enemy, and Kazami’s G-Sp2 between them.

There were a lot of elements to the battle, but the basic composition was simple. He only had to charge forward and smash the enemy with his sword.

He ran.

He found Kazami’s body to be light.

And he also found it moved immediately just as he had thought it would.

He had thought that from the moment he had first met her.

But back then, he had not known the language well and had only been able to be by her side.

She had often complained even though he could not understand what she said.

He had not understood the language, but he had understood that some kind of problem had occurred and she had been partially forced to quit something. When he had apologized for making her complain so much, she had said the following:

“I was trying to apologize first, but all I did was complain. That really wasn’t fair, was it?”

He had memorized the sounds and learned what it meant after he started living here.

He had also learned the meaning of the smile she had given then.

Even later, he had learned that she had been a part of some kind of athletic club, but there had been an accident leading to someone else getting injured and she had quit the club.

By the time he understood that, she had stopped complaining.

…''Did she stop complaining once I learned Japanese?

Or had she no longer had time to complain now that he was with her?

He did not know and he did not want to know. He may have gained her body, but he still did not understand her mind.

…''But I’ll never forget her expression or tone of voice when complaining back then!

Two years had passed since.

After her training at UCAT, she could move a lot more than back then. Even so, her ability to make light, detailed movements put a greater burden on her step reach and top speed.

…''I’m impressed she can keep up with a stamina-rich idiot like me.

He ran and swung his weapon using the body that normally ran alongside him. He found her breasts to be a bit in the way of his arms.

But their size was just right and everything else about her body was exactly the way he liked it too.

…''She’s such a wonderful girl. I should take her to a movie sometime soon.

As he ran, he did not feel the weight of the weapon. That proved V-Sw recognized him as its master. Since it could tell even with a different body, it meant V-Sw obeyed his mind.

…''I’ve learned a lot. This concept isn’t all that bad.

He moved forward and Aigaion approached.

Izumo attacked.

He chose a horizontal slash from the right shoulder.

As he held up the sword, a smile appeared on Aigaion’s face.

“Comparing your expression to my memories of the past, I have determined you are dangerous!”

With that comment, the automaton fell back, but Izumo continued after him.

“I won’t let you get away, greengrocer!”

With the press of a button on the grip, V-Sw’s thruster ignited.

It produced a roar and accelerated him forward.

After that powerful step, he launched a strike.

Aigaion’s back stepping could not overcome Izumo’s speed.

He was sure to hit, but Aigaion calmly reached an arm behind him.

“I do not need a thruster for additional acceleration! And if I evade once, it is over!”

His body was suddenly knocked backwards.

He had used his gravitational control.

Instead of drawing something else to him, he had drawn himself to a point behind him.

And in so doing, he evaded Izumo’s attack.

The centrifugal force of the missed swing caused him to rotate around.

“…!”

Meanwhile, Aigaion smiled and swung his right fist as he moved back.

At seven meters, his fist could not reach, but a fifty centimeter ball of shimmering appeared in front of his fist.

It was a mass of gathered gravity.

That bullet could bend light and it would contract anything it came into contact and tear it away.

The automaton bent his body in preparation to throw it and he shouted.

“Now what will you do!?”

Aigaion asked his question.

…''What will he do!?

If he threw the gathered gravity, his opponent could not avoid it while swinging around his sword, so he would die.

Killing was one job of a combat automaton.

…''But that would be boring.

He did not have many opportunities to fight.

If he was to savor this opportunity, he could not go all out and immediately kill his opponent.

But he had no intention of holding back.

''This is difficult,'' he thought. He wanted to help out his enemy so he could enjoy this longer, but he could not do that and so he had to rely on his enemy.

''Give it your best shot,'' he thought. ''Give it your best shot, enemy.

With that thought, he threw the gathered gravity with all his strength.

“!”

His large right arm launched an overhand throw.

It was a powerful fastball.

The instant after he swung his right arm, he saw the sword-wielding girl suddenly begin an attack.

“…”

She suddenly reversed the direction of her rotation.

…''How did she reverse the direction of such a heavy sword?

He soon saw his answer.

The sword’s back thruster had closed and the front blade had opened.

A light that outdid even the previous thruster came from the blade.

That light created acceleration and the girl reversed her direction.

“That light… That really is a Concept Core weapon!”

“Shut up and take my attack!!”

This second acceleration was wholly unexpected, but it did not hit Aigaion.

The back of the sword struck the gathered gravity between them.

A sound like shattering glass filled the air and the cowling on the back of the sword broke. In exchange, the shimmering of the gravity broke and scattered.

The impact knocked the sword’s grip from the girl’s hand.

With a metallic noise, the weapon flew through the air.

Aigaion smiled as he heard that noise. First Hiba and now these two.

…''These enemies know how to put up a fight!!

And so he chose not to hold back.

They had both lost their weapons, but they moved forward at the exact same moment.

Izumo ran.

He held nothing in his hands, but he had a weapon. He spread his left hand as he ran.

“G-Sp2!”

That spear stood between him and Aigaion.

The automaton caught on as well, so he raised his hand and tried to take G-Sp2 for himself. Izumo initially thought he would grab it with his gravity technique.

…''But he can’t use that so soon after using it for that gathered gravity attack!

Trusting in that assumption, Izumo did not hesitate to move forward.

…''I can make it!

“Chisato would make it!”

With those words, he did indeed clear the distance.

He made it.

“!”

But he was still in his running stance. Just because he had G-Sp2 in his grasp did not mean he could use it against Aigaion in time, so he took a certain action.

“Don’t falter!”

He kicked the base of G-Sp2’s blade which was stabbed into the ground.

He succeeded in kicking the spear up.

“I will endure,” said the spear.

As G-Sp2 rotated upwards, he ran below it.

He caught the rotating shaft on his shoulder and grabbed the butt end as it rotated upwards. Once he secured the shaft on his shoulder, he only needed to swing it forwards.

He pulled the shaft down as if beating it down and he launched an attack.

With his shoulder as the fulcrum, the blade flew down from above.

And it arrived above Aigaion’s head as he approached from the front.

But Aigaion raised his hands and smiled.

“Protect me!”

Izumo saw two attacks. Two objects leaped up from the mist-covered ground.

They were water pipes.

“!”

The twin metal serpents intercepted G-Sp2 from below.

The spear knew Izumo, but it would not let him control it as he was not its master. Without the power of the Concept Core, it was nothing but a giant blade.

The pipes were knocked away, but they managed to deflect G-Sp2 into the air.

Kazami’s slender arms were knocked upwards by the impact.

He had lost his weapon again.

Meanwhile, Aigaion came to a forceful stop and let out a laugh.

But Izumo spoke in response to that laugh.

“Not so fast, automaton.”

He held up his hands and something fell into them.

It was a sword. After being knocked away earlier, V-Sw’s hilt fell into his hand.

“I’m back.”

Aigaion stopped moving and all expression vanished from his face.

“It can’t be…”

“I can’t put too much of a burden on Chisato’s slender fingers. I only momentarily let go of my weapon earlier!”

He held V-Sw tightly and swung it diagonally to the left.

Aigaion abandoned the water pipes and leaped backwards.

“…!”

He flew.

He launched himself with his gravitational control and instantly left V-Sw’s range.

He was approximately ten meters away while Izumo did not bother stopping the momentum of V-Sw’s slash and made a full rotation to the left like a top.

As he rotated, he saw Aigaion raise his fist. That fist was quickly wrapped in shimmering.

The automaton planned to end this with a projectile from ten meters away.

…''What a predictable guy.

Izumo smiled bitterly and spoke.

“I only just introduced myself to Hiba!”

He would introduce himself here too.

“I’m Izumo Kaku, heir of the Izumo family! My current height, weight, and other measurements are just the way I like them! I’m currently repeating my time as a student and my current hobby is…”

He spun. The moment he faced forward again, he hit the switch on V-Sw as he swung it.

“…winning prizes at the batting center!”

He targeted what fell right in front of him: G-Sp2.

After being knocked into the air, the long spear was falling and rotating, so he targeted the bottom end.

As he swung, he kept the blade’s cowling closed and fully opened the rear thruster.

As soon as G-Sp2 was parallel to the ground, he struck the bottom.

“Clang!”

A metallic sound much like Izumo’s spoken sound effect filled the air as G-Sp2 was launched in a straight line.

Aigaion tried to use the gravity around his fist to defend.

“…!”

But he did not make it in time.

The spear that contained a dragon struck him in the chest.

“Out of the park with you!”

Izumo slowly rotated and looked back over his shoulder. He saw the large automaton knocked backwards and the gathered gravity scatter from around his hand.

An explosion filled with mist and dirt created a great noise.

And then the white spear flew up into the air once more.

Izumo raised his right hand, grabbed the falling spear, fell to his knees, and let out a heavy sigh.

A troubled smile covered his face.

“How does Chisato get by with this body?”

Several sounds travelled south to north along the deserted road crossing in front of the school.

The sounds were those of clashing swords and they were produced by a giant red god of war and a giant silver god of war.

They were being controlled by the two female figures who almost seemed to be dancing at their respective machine’s feet.

The red god of war’s controller wore red and the silver one’s controller wore white.

The one in red, Gyes, controlled six swords with her fingers as she moved forward and attacked.

Many different gusts of wind raged about her and metallic noises burst out again and again. Each time, she moved a bit further forward, but her mind urged her on.

…''Hurry.

She had three reasons.

One of those was the operation time of her god of war.

…''This god of war is a part of me.

It was meant to be sealed in a concept space. If she grew too exhausted or her artificial consciousness fell into disarray, the opened concept space would grow unstable and the god of war would disappear.

She had to keep this quick. Her experience told her a few more minutes was her limit.

Her second reason to hurry was Mikage who floated in the air behind her. Gyes could sense her gradually coming to and it would be troublesome if she awoke.

…''We must obtain her.

She was Rhea’s daughter and one of the two 3rd-Gear humans who remained. No matter what Apollo thought as the other survivor, Mikage was absolutely necessary to preserve 3rd-Gear’s bloodline.

And the final reason to hurry stood before her.

That silver god of war had once belonged to Rhea. She had not seen it since Rhea had escaped to Low-Gear sixty years before, but it now wielded swords before her.

Some parts of it were different from her memories. Most notably, the torso had been completely replaced.

…''Lord Zeus said he had sliced it in two.

Rhea was not inside it.

“But that is why I cannot allow this!”

Gyes thrust her right palm forward.

The three right arms of the red god of war simultaneously attacked the silver god of war. One arm swung down from above, one thrust in at middle height, and one performed a diagonal slash from below.

Sibyl leaped backwards, rotated around, and swung her right hand down.

The silver god of war moved in response. It turned to the side to avoid the attack from above, used the tip of a sword to deflect the central thrust outwards, and knocked away the diagonal slash from below by swinging down the guard of the other sword.

The sets of metallic noises and sparks scattered and they all vanished into empty air.

Sibyl tried to land, but Gyes used that moment to move forward.

Before the girl could reach the ground, Gyes used her gravitational control to throw herself right in front of her.

“…!”

Gyes could not eliminate the inertial pressure, but she could cut out certain functionality to ignore it.

And she did exactly that.

She linked the movements of her legs, hips, and arms and swung her hands from behind her.

She used her gravitational control to launch the six swords in her suit toward Sibyl’s landing position.

She thrust one each to the ankle, thigh, waist, gut, and chest and she swept one horizontally toward the neck.

It was an instantaneous attack, but it was blocked by something unexpected: a wall.

“!?”

[[Image:OnC_v06_0081.png|thumb]]

It took her a moment to realize the white wall between her and Sibyl was the white sword of the other god of war.

The giant sword stood up from the ground, but Gyes continued with all her attacks unchanged.

Metallic noises rang out and her swords broke, one after another.

The first, second, and third simply broke, but the fourth put a crack in the wall. She instantly altered the speed of the fifth and sixth and sent the decapitating horizontal slash on ahead.

Ultimately, the god of war’s sword broke.

Gyes launched her final attack while surrounded by the high-pitched sound of shattering metal.

The strike was meant to skewer Sibyl’s chest and it would reach her past the shattered wall.

“Go!”

The tip of the blade overcame the wind and pierced through while knocking away fragments of the large sword.

Gyes felt the feedback of a hit, but she saw Sibyl leaping further back through the airborne metal fragments.

…''What?

An instant later, she understood. Sibyl had kicked the belly of the blade Gyes stabbed forward.

“Are you planning to use the god of war’s sword as footing!?”

Nevertheless, Gyes’s blade reached Sibyl’s chest. It stabbed into the chest of her armor and her own movement tore the cloth.

This revealed the skin from her neck down to her chest.

“So you’re human.”

Sibyl had known about 3rd-Gear and was fighting them, so Gyes had thought she might be an automaton.

…''But this is all the more reason for you to die!

Gyes pulled back her sword and moved forward. Her opponent’s god of war had only one sword, so this was the time to attack.

As soon as she moved forward, her target took a certain action.

She turned to the side and pointed at Gyes with her right hand.

Gyes wondered what this was about as she watched the silver god of war take the same action. But the god of war threw the sword in its right hand.

Gyes instantly decided to have her god of war deflect the flying blade outwards.

This created an opening.

The silver god of war took advantage of that opening, but not with a sword attack.

It performed a tackle.

“!”

Gyes was unsure how to react to this unexpected attack, but she started by hurriedly pulling the red god of war back.

“Such a crude method of fighting! This will damage yours as well!”

The answer was accompanied by a troubled smile.

“Testament. I am in charge of maintenance, so I can only think of methods that will provide me a reason to work.”

As if to give its agreement, the silver god of war unhesitatingly stepped forward to collide with the red one.

They grappled.

For an instant, the silver god of war bounced in midair.

As it had leaned forward as if preparing to leap, a powerful horizontal impact had reached it.

“…”

It was suddenly slammed into the ground.

The fall was accompanied by the sounds of heavy metal being destroyed and it was caused by a large hole piercing from the god of war’s back to the ground.

Wind burst in every direction from the hole. It was a hot wind with a scorched odor.

…''Was this…?

As soon as she realized it was a sniper shot, Gyes looked up into the sky.

“You made it, Cottus!”

Sibyl looked up toward the heavens.

A large form was visible in the center of the blue sky.

It resembled a god of war, it was blue, and it was overall modeled after the human body. It had several rectangular objects on its back and waist that were likely cannons.

The silver god of war had been torn into by this blue giant.

Sibyl weakly lowered her shoulders and lowered her vision toward her enemy.

Past the wind, Gyes and the red god of war were falling back.

They were moving toward the point where that giant machine was descending. It was the Hecatoncheire named Cottus.

“A giant god of war…”

“Yes. He is an automaton that uses a god of war frame. Unlike a person, he can fight without being bound by time or physiological actions. However, Cottus is the only model that Lord Cronus completed.”

“Introduction unnecessary,” said the rapidly descending figure. “Requesting rapid retrieval. Hoping for immediate withdrawal.”

“Right,” said Gyes with a nod.

She gave a light wave of the hand and the red god of war seemed to fold in on itself. First the arms were swallowed up by thin air. The legs, torso, and head did the same.

Sibyl bit her lip and looked to Mikage floating behind Gyes.

“Wait!”

“You have lost, defiler of Lady Rhea’s possession.”

Gyes returned her last remaining sword to her suit and raised her other hand.

Mikage was drawn toward that hand.

“I suppose I should say farewell,” said Gyes.

Just as Cottus was about to land, he looked up with the green lights in his face that resembled eyes.

“Danger detected.”

“Danger? What could possibly…?”

Gyes’s question was cut off by someone.

It was Hiba.

His motorcycle cut right next to her.

By the time Sibyl gave a quick “ah”, he had already completed his action.

He raised his left arm and tore Mikage from the air.

“Cottus!”

Before Gyes even finished her shout, a light came from the west.

The horizontal beam of white light struck Cottus as he tried to swing a fist down at Hiba. A shallow piece of facial armor was torn off and he shook.

Two figures stood to the west at the end of the side road leading to the city street.

One was Shinjou in her summer uniform and the other was Sayama who held a long cannon on his shoulder.

“I am glad we made it in time!” shouted Shinjou. “Go, Hiba boy!”

While holding Mikage atop the stopped motorcycle, Hiba nodded.

With her in his arms, he let out a cry.

“Mikage-san!”

Sibyl saw Mikage’s eyes open in response to his voice and nod when she saw his red eyes.

Sibyl then heard Hiba speak because she could not.

“Susamikado!”

Sibyl gulped as she watched a metal torso frame appear behind the two of them as they got off the motorcycle. The moving parts and organ devices were summoned and the summoned arms, head, legs, and four wings were bolted into place.

While the metallic noises of the bolts filled the air, Mikage was enveloped by the black torso and Hiba was swallowed up as the stomach armor was attached.

A four-winged black god of war came together.

“Susamikado is complete!”

Hiba felt there was a pleasure and pain to gaining the god of war’s body.

His vision moved higher and he gained an awareness of the sides and back that he could not usually see.

He rose up toward Cottus who was the greatest threat.

His tall vision moved as he began moving at high speed. Each step covered just under four meters and Susamikado smashed the asphalt as it ran.

He went all out from the very first step.

“…!”

The movement felt wonderful. His widened vision and the warmth that enveloped him felt especially good.

His body had already combined with the god of war. He did not know the exact process by which he was broken down inside the metal, but he knew one thing.

…''The same thing happens to Mikage-san.

His own body was not actually there, but he did feel something warm wrapped around him.

He thought it felt like having Mikage embracing him from behind.

While enveloped by that sensation, he made full use of his new body.

His feet dug into the asphalt and his vision was trained directly on Cottus.

A moment later, Cottus fired on him.

Bullets flew toward him.

They were bullets of light. Those masses of great heat and pressure were thirty centimeters across and four of them approached while trailing a comet-like tail.

His reflexes were not enough to evade.

However, he heard Mikage’s voice emitted by his own body, by the god of war’s voice device.

“Ryuuji-kun.”

She could only produce that quiet voice when she had become Susamikado. She had not yet evolved the ability to speak and Hiba believed she had gained this voice specifically for combat.

But it was the only time he could hear her natural voice.

“You can dodge this,” she continued.

A sensation arrived alongside the voice.

The machine’s perception speed matched with his own mental speed.

This provided him with ultra-fast perception backed by the predictive speed of the machine.

“…”

It rushed in at him.

In an instant, a massive amount of information struck his body like music.

He loudly heard the warmth of the sunlight. The earth received and reflected it, the wind produced long breath-like music, and the trees and other plants sang the pulse-like noise of their various lives.

There were people there. The girl controlling the silver god of war was nearby, Sayama and Shinjou were more distant, and Izumo and Kazami were there as well. All of their music was slightly sped up and the tone color contained a pale heat. It was the tone color of expectation.

On the other hand, the automatons played a calmer and cooler tone. The female one named Gyes was nearby, Aigaion was approaching and his tone was in disarray due to injury, and Cottus was directly ahead.

…''The bullets…

Hiba perceived even those as music.

A powerful tone resembling a whistle approached from the front. This tone was slightly out of sync with the whole. It was the tone of destruction.

…''That’s an unpleasant tone color!

He could see their ballistic paths.

A moment later, his heightened perception left. His information processing ability had been overwhelmed and the limiter had kicked in before he drowned in it all.

But he was already moving forward.

“!”

Susamikado’s foot smashed the asphalt and its entire body flew forward as if pursuing the tone color seen before.

Hiba moved toward the center of the attack.

As he charged forward, a song escaped his lips.

“Jesus, Lord, with your birth.”

As if chasing the song, Susamikado slipped past the flying light.

It ducked low and moved forward.

It stepped, spun, tilted its body forward, scraped across the asphalt, and ran.

One bullet grazed its shoulder, but that had been expected. If Susamikdao had not avoided that one, the next one would have hit it in the gut.

…''And the rest won’t hit!

Hiba stepped forward to prove his words right. He stretched out his knees and practically threw himself forward.

He made it through.

“Shows the grace of His holy might.”

The blue machine lay before him, so he prepared his right fist.

Cottus raised one of the cannons on his waist and fired at close range, but Hiba instantly slipped below it and threw a right uppercut as he stood back up.

The strike dug deep into Cottus’s stomach armor.

“!!”

The heavy sound of metal filled the air and Cottus’s heavy body floated up a bit.

But Hiba did not let up.

He went on to send his left fist into Cottus’s side to bring up his chest armor.

“!”

He then rotated to bring his right leg up and into Cottus’s chest.

The three-strike combo bent and broke Cottus’s chest armor and knocked him backwards.

Hiba began to continue forward. He knew this was his chance, so he felt something similar to impatience. He wanted to defeat one of the Hecatoncheires and to bring an end to as much of this painful fight as possible.

…''I have to act now!

But something stopped Susamikado’s movements.

It was another sound, but this one was a voice and a distinctly human one at that.

“…Kh.”

Mikage used his mouth to let out a groan of pain.

Hiba reacted to Mikage’s groan of pain.

He distinctly felt his currently nonexistent heart skip a beat and he stopped his advance. His foot smashed the ground below and he took a defensive position.

“Mikage-san!?”

“It hurts…”

It took a breath before he understood what she meant.

He recalled the damage to the chest armor and wing from the other night’s battle.

And he recalled that Mikage had taken on all those injuries in his place.

He did not even feel any pain because she took it all on herself. But if he moved now, it would hurt her. It was only natural.

“…”

''Now I’ve done it,'' he thought. ''Why didn’t I realize?

He was so close to her now and they shared the same body.

…''So why was I thinking about nothing but fighting?

He stopped moving altogether.

He saw Cottus take a defensive stance after falling back.

Aigaion had caught up, so he and Gyes stood on Cottus’s shoulders.

All three of them were exhausted or damaged in some way.

Now was the perfect time to pursue.

“Ryuuji-kun…”

The pain-filled voice coming from his mouth kept Hiba from acting.

Another voice spoke up as if reprimanding him.

It was Shinjou’s voice.

“What is it, Hiba boy!? You are the one stopping our negotiations, so why are you choosing not to fight!?”

Sayama and Shinjou came running up along the side road and Shinjou was shouting toward him from behind Cottus.

But Hiba could not move. He could only determine Mikage’s state from her voice, but it was enough to bind him.

He felt like he was directly touching her wounds.

He simply could not move.

…''Wasn’t I supposed to be protecting her?

“I’m sorry.”

As if speaking the words in his heart for him, Mikage’s voice escaped his mouth.

He clenched his fists and faced Cottus and the two automatons.

“…”

He remained silent.

There was nothing he could say. If he did anything more, it would only increase her pain.

He could no longer choose to attack. That was his choice now.

He motionlessly looked toward those who controlled the battlefield now. Shinjou ran from the western road to the city road and Sayama followed while carrying a long white cannon.

Gyes brushed up her hair on Cottus’s shoulder and she spoke.

“I assume you are from Team Leviathan. What do you plan to do now?”

“Well,” said Shinjou. “We wish to mediate for you.”

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume6_Chapter_13|Chapter 13]]
| Return to [[Owari_no_Chronicle|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume6_Chapter_15|Chapter 15]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Owari no Chronicle:Volume6 Chapter 15

2014-06-01T22:19:16Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 15: Illusion of a Feeling */

==Chapter 15: Illusion of a Feeling==
[[Image:OnC_v06_0095.png|thumb]]
''That is why people act.

''Then…

''What makes a doll act?

Gyes froze in place atop Cottus’s right shoulder when she heard the word “mediate”.

She saw the black-haired boy cross his arms and raise one hand.

“We wish to negotiate with 3rd-Gear and with that Hiba boy there. So if you wish to continue this fight…”

He spoke with a smile.

“It will mean you have trampled on our attempts at a peaceful resolution and have chosen to fight. In that case, we will not hold back.”

“Hah. Don’t make me laugh. Do you really think you can stand up to us right now? Cottus could easily crush you underfoot.”

“I see. And can this Cottus-kun’s leg reach Sibyl-kun over there?”

Gyes turned toward Sibyl.

She was approximately ten meters away. Whether firing on her or using any other form of attack, it would take a moment to reach her.

The black-haired boy’s voice reached her once more.

“The one next to me is already preparing to fire on you and the two with Concept Core weapons should be running this way. Sibyl-kun, I have an order for you: run away.”

“Testament.”

Sibyl leaped backwards, abandoning the damaged silver god of war.

Gyes watched the girl take the first large step and then cautiously run away.

“Do not pursue her. If you do, we will be forced to stop you.”

“That just means we have to defeat you.”

“And if you kill us, Sibyl-kun will use UCAT to inform many others exactly what happened. She will provide evidence that 3rd-Gear has rejected peace.”

''That isn’t enough,'' thought Gyes. ''You can’t use that as a bargaining chip.

Sibyl had left the city street, entered the side street, and disappeared, but she would be easily located by tracking her footsteps. They could begin the pursuit later.

So Gyes raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to speak.

“3rd-Gear is already hated by the other Gears. Do you really think we are afraid of that?”

3rd-Gear had cultivated their impurity over the thousands of years that the Concept War had lasted. It would not simply disappear.

…''And how much will the opinion of the lowest Gear influence the other Gears?

The black-haired boy did not immediately answer her question.

First, he shrugged his shoulders in annoyance.

“…”

Then, as if swinging his body, he pointed his left index finger toward Gyes.

“As a Gear hated by the other Gears, 3rd-Gear does not fear creating new grievances. That is what you said, is it not? You certainly are a courageous Gear. But…”

“But what?”

“When you left for this battle, did you predict this situation? If not, it means you made your decision concerning Low-Gear’s mediation on the fly. And yet this is something that will affect 3rd-Gear’s future.” He waved the index finger he had pointed at her. “And as far as I am aware, 3rd-Gear automatons must follow their master’s intentions. Has your master authorized you to reject the mediation of a Gear’s representative?”

“Well…”

“If not, you are ignoring your master and rubbing dirt in that master’s face. …And yet you claim to be an automaton. If that happens, the following rumor will spread: 3rd-Gear’s master cannot control his automatons and those automatons are defective units that ignore their master and sully his name.”

The boy lowered his hand.

Gyes was very nearly glaring at him as she watched the motion.

While sensing her caution functionality kicking in, she asked a question.

“And if we accept your offer to mediate?”

“We will praise your master.”

“I see.”

…''So that is their justification.

She weighed the pros and cons and quickly reached a decision based on her pride as an automaton.

She turned to the black god of war.

“We have been interrupted, so this can wait until another time. Is that good enough?”

Shinjou was borrowing Sayama’s body while she held Ex-St.

…''We managed to settle this for now.

She took a breath and saw the blue humanoid machine aim all of its cannons toward the sky. While floating in midair, it lowered down another dozen meters.

This proved it had no intention of attacking.

In response, Hiba caused the black god of war to vanish.

Just like the other night, Hiba was ejected and then it disassembled.

The limbs and armor vanished into a different space and Mikage was released from the bottom of the torso just before it vanished as well.

Hiba caught her.

“Got you.”

Mikage was unconscious when he caught her. Her tall body was limp and as hard to grasp as a blanket.

He was short, but he managed to support her by embracing her from the front.

Shinjou then saw why he had stopped fighting.

The right side of Mikage’s back was dyed a dark red.

It was blood.

While Shinjou’s focus was on that color, she heard a voice.

“I’m sorry.”

It was Hiba’s voice.

Shinjou turned toward him in surprise when he spoke the words she had spoken a few months prior. But by the time she did, he was hanging his head and his mouth was closed.

The next words came from the automatons who had put some distance between them.

“We will let you save face this time, but you cannot keep up with the battles between Hiba’s descendent and us. …What will you do from now on? Will you intervene next time as well?”

“Oh? You mean you will not let us save face from now on as well?”

Shinjou saw her own body shrug in front of her.

Sensing Sayama’s presence in that action, she held up Ex-St just in case.

…''I didn’t think my body could reproduce Sayama-kun’s actions so well.

Her body then asked their opponent a question.

“Why do you insist on fighting? Do you have no intention of negotiating?”

“Of course not. After all, we will be victorious in the end. We would gain less through negotiating.”

“How can you know that for sure?”

“Typhon,” answered the automaton woman. “No one can kill Typhon.”

“Is it impossible even with the Keravnos of the Hiba boy’s god of war?”

The automaton’s eyebrows moved slightly when Shinjou’s body spoke that weapon’s name.

“You know of it?” she asked.

“Keravnos is the weapon given to Susamikado by Cronus,” said Sayama. “Typhon was given to Zeus and Zeus imprisoned Cronus, so couldn’t you think of Keravnos as a weapon created to defeat Typhon?”

“Only if it hits. I’m sure Hiba’s descendent knows what I mean.”

The automaton woman smiled bitterly and Hiba took a defensive stance while holding Mikage.

“You hit Typhon once the other night, but do you know why that was?”

[[Image:OnC_v06_0103.png|thumb]]

“Yes. Typhon was protecting someone.”

…''Director Tsukuyomi’s daughter?

Shinjou was not sure, but that was likely the answer.

“Sayama-kun,” she whispered and he nodded with his back to her.

He understood that this was their chance to acquire as much information as possible, so she left it to him. While looking down on her own back for the first time, she smiled and waited for him to speak.

“Then are you saying that Typhon is unbeatable?” he asked.

“It is unreachable. Even for us.” The automaton woman looked down on them from the giant blue humanoid machine’s shoulder. “Typhon erases time to always be the one attacking.”

“What?”

“You don’t understand? Typhon is always the one attacking. It is never damaged. After all, if it is ever about to be damaged, it erases its defense time and movement time and moves directly to its attack time.”

“…”

Shinjou gasped. While holding Mikage, Hiba held his breath and listened.

…''It erases time?

She had heard that Typhon had a mysterious technique that evaded the attacks of Hiba and Mikage’s god of war and instead attacked back.

“It doesn’t evade the attack. It cancels it?”

“Yes. It will move to the location that is a blind spot to all attacks and from which it can kill its opponent. If you attack, Typhon will return a surefire attack of its own. If you stick to defense, Typhon will push through with its strength. Whether you have Keravnos or anything else, it doesn’t matter if it can’t hit. In fact, attacking will ensure your own destruction.”

The large automaton standing on the opposite shoulder looked up.

“Hey, that’s supposed to be a secret.”

“What does it matter if they know? We had feared Keravnos, but not even it has been able to land a real hit. There is no longer anything that can defeat Typhon.”

The automaton woman’s tone was cold.

But…

…''Huh?

Shinjou sensed something odd in that tone.

While wondering what it was, she tilted her head and spoke her thoughts.

“U-um…”

The automaton turned toward her with a puzzled look.

“Why…?”

She thought about how to clearly state her question.

“Why don’t you sound happy that Typhon is unbeatable?”

“…”

The automaton woman closed her eyes and looked up in the sky as if taking a breath.

“Well…” She paused for a moment. “As I do not have emotions, I cannot answer that even for myself. My functionality has likely reacted to some fact, but I cannot say what that reaction is in relation to humans.”

“Sadness. I think that’s what your reaction is.”

“…”

The woman fell silent and lowered her gaze. She narrowed her eyes, but she did not frown as she looked directly at Shinjou.

“Why?” she asked. “Why would I be sad for Typhon?”

“I…wouldn’t know that.”

“But I do not understand it either, as I do not have emotions. …But you would, wouldn’t you?”

Shinjou thought about what she meant. An automaton without emotions would not know what caused such an expression even if it reached her.

She supposedly had no emotions, so what kind of decision had led to making that expression?

The only way to find the answer would be to ask a human who had emotions.

…''She’s a doll.

They stood by people’s sides, they had human form, and they helped people. They were superior to humans in many ways, but their similarities to humans meant they had to clearly define themselves.

Shinjou thought about how to answer her question.

They supposedly had no emotions, but emotions could be recognized in them by another. That was the form that automaton emotions took.

Therefore, Shinjou answered the question.

“No, I don’t understand.”

The woman frowned, but Shinjou nodded and continued.

“I may be able to see your emotion, but I don’t know what is causing it. It’s the same for you, isn’t it? You can see the emotion, but you can’t quite grasp it. And just like you want to know what is causing it, so do I.”

“Why do you want to?”

“Because I noticed your emotion.”

''She’s the same,'' thought Shinjou. ''She’s the same as me, Sayama, Kazami, Izumo, or so many others.

There were some things worth investigating further once you noticed them and wondered about them. That had resulted in her current relationship with Sayama and Team Leviathan’s relationship with the other Gears.

She knew it was conceited, but she decided this was the time to investigate further.

“If we know the reason behind your sadness, we might feel the same emotion.”

“Hah. Do you really think you can understand us like that? And what happens if you feel a different emotion?”

Despite her words, the woman gave a certain expression.

Shinjou was confused as Gyes’s eyebrows bent and her eyes widened a little.

But the woman soon laughed once more.

“What an amusing suggestion. After all, Typhon is unbeatable. Nothing could be better for combat automatons like us and I have no emotions. Yet here you are claiming I’m saddened by Typhon’s unbeatable status and you want to know why that is. You must be mistaken.”

“It’s fine if I am.”

“Why?”

“Because I believe in it. I believe that the dolls we speak with have their own emotions as dolls.”

“I see.” Without trying to hide the amused smile on her face, she drew a sword from her waist. “I see your methods are to approach 3rd-Gear with ridiculous conceit and to force your mistaken ideas onto us. But if we were to accept what you have to say and admit we have emotions, it would let me give this hope: we automatons would indeed like to gain emotions for the sake of our master.”

The sword’s blade fluttered like paper, but it straightened out as soon as she touched it.

She threw it and it audibly stabbed into the ground in front of Shinjou.

“Team Leviathan of UCAT, we currently have no intention of negotiating with you. We cannot defeat Typhon any more than you. That god of war is inviolable.”

“Does it have a pilot?” asked Sayama. “Could we negotiate with that person?”

“Due to certain circumstances, that is impossible and we utterly reject that option. And…Hiba there knows what those circumstances are.”

Everyone turned toward Hiba.

…''He knows why it is impossible and why they utterly reject that option?

Their questioning gazes caused Hiba to clench his teeth.

“…”

He shook his head and lowered it to show he had nothing to say.

“Hiba’s descendent, you understand, don’t you?” said Gyes. “If you reveal that secret, Team Leviathan will bear the same impurity as you. They will bear the impurity of one who uses any means necessary for personal gain.”

“Impurity?”

Shinjou’s shoulders trembled.

An impurity only Hiba knew of would be the second impurity. Only he and 3rd-Gear understood it and Team Leviathan would have to face it eventually.

She looked at him, wondering what it was, but he kept his head lowered.

The woman on Cottus’s shoulder shook her head.

“We cannot tell you what this impurity is. But instead…” She pointed at the sword in front of Shinjou and smiled. “Rather than a negotiation, we will give you a chance to make contact with us as individuals. …After all, that previous conversation told me you hold no hostility for us.”

“Why did Shinjou-kun’s conversation tell you we hold no hostility for you?”

The woman smiled bitterly at Sayama’s question.

“Seeing emotion in automatons is the thought pattern of those who are most quickly killed by automatons. Dolls like us will not betray trust, but we will betray emotions. We are willing to destroy ourselves without fear of the damage. The fact that she does not understand that fact is proof that she is not facing us as enemies,” she said. “Listen. My name is Gyes. That sword has enough power sealed inside its internal philosopher’s stone to retain gravitational control for about three days. If you locate our fortress within that three day limit, place that sword there. If we find that sword upon leaving our fortress’s concept space, we will speak with you.”

“You wish to speak rather than negotiate?”

“Are we your enemy if we do not hand over the Concept Core? It is true that 3rd-Gear does not wish for any more enemies than necessary. We would prefer to eliminate any unnecessary interference, so if you locate our fortress, we will speak on the condition that you keep that location a secret. But if you do not locate it and you interfere again, we will make sure to kill all of you first.”

“I see,” said Shinjou’s body as it picked up the sword.

Gyes then looked toward Shinjou in Sayama’s body.

“I do not understand humans. On the one hand, you desire further fighting despite having great difficulty. On the other hand, you stop fights despite possessing great power.” She tilted her head. “Which is the truth?”

Shinjou’s body did not nod and neither did Hiba.

Shinjou then saw Izumo and Kazami exit the school’s back gate.

Gyes seemed to notice them as well.

“What a pain,” she muttered.

“Rematch desired. Name is Cottus,” said the humanoid machine the others stood on.

“I am Aigaion,” said the large man on the opposite shoulder from Gyes. “The three of us are known as the Hecatoncheires.”

“Will we next meet on the battlefield?” asked Sayama.

“Undetermined,” said Cottus’s mechanical voice.

He looked up into the sky and began flying a moment later.

He supplemented his gravitational control with the thrusters on his back and the blast shook the ground.

“!”

His blue form vanished beyond the wall of blowing wind.

…''Amazing.

Fighters and UCAT-developed airplanes could not compare.

Shinjou looked up into the sky, but there was nothing there.

She only saw the clouds and the blue sky.

She lowered her gaze in amazement and saw herself turn around with an expressionless face. Her body looked around with sword in hand.

She looked as well and saw Izumo and Kazami running up in the distance.

“Those two…”

Hiba had sat down while holding Mikage’s unconscious body.

He looked like the one solid object on the wide road.

His head was lowered and he was completely motionless.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume6_Chapter_14|Chapter 14]]
| Return to [[Owari_no_Chronicle|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume6_Chapter_16|Chapter 16]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Owari no Chronicle:Volume6 Chapter 16

2014-06-01T22:17:27Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 16: Flowers on the Board */

==Chapter 16: Flowers on the Board==
[[Image:OnC_v06_0113.png|thumb]]
''The seasonal colors begin to change

''There is no right answer when coloring the blue of the heavens and the green of the earth

Sunlight filled a large space.

It was a lobby with windows covering the southern wall. An oil painting of the Virgin Mary holding her child decorated the back wall and six lines of a song were engraved into a copper plate below it.

Three figures sat on the sofas by the window to the side.

One was an old man in a lab coat.

The other two were a black cat and a girl in black with a bird on her head.

A three-cornered hat lay next to the girl and she was facing forward.

A shogi board sat between her and the old man.

She moved her hand across the board.

“UCAT Director Ooshiro, I hear Sayama and the others intercepted 3rd-Gear. Check.”

“Wow, you don’t hold back. …You weren’t there at the time, Brunhild-kun?”

“I detected a strange philosopher’s stone reading this morning, but it was all over by the time I went out. I threw the cat at the disguised food stand to stop it from leaving and I asked them what happened. I also got a rice ball. Check.”

“Oh, right. They were serving breakfast there. I’m jealous.”

The black cat glared at his owner from the side, but Brunhild did not notice.

“Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of pudding. Caramel tastes bitter to me. Check.”

“Damn, you’re persistent. Anyway, why are you here today?”

“I asked Siegfried about 3rd-Gear, but he wouldn’t tell me anything. Check.”

“Gwah. I think you might know more about it than him. When 1st-Gear and 3rd-Gear came to this world, you were right next to each other in the Chugoku region and the Setouchi region, weren’t you?”

“All I know is that they did not take any real action until five years ago. Check.”

“What do you mean that’s all you know?”

Brunhild stopped moving for a moment and finally grabbed a pawn.

“Will you give me that silver? I like silver. It’s nice and refined.”

“Fine.”

Ooshiro moved the silver general forward.

Brunhild returned the pawn to its previous spot, grabbed a bishop instead and moved it behind the silver general.

“Check.”

“Ahhh! That’s just immature, Brunhild-kun!”

“How about we start talking?”

“Okay.”

As Ooshiro calmed down, Brunhild lightly crossed her legs.

“It’s simple. Five years ago, 1st-Gear’s city faction considered moving to the west, but found that area was already occupied. Occupied by 3rd-Gear. Check.”

“Did you greet them?”

“Yes. Our scouts gave a polite and hostile greeting of weapons and spells. They were given a warm welcome by 3rd’s automatons. Check.”

“A warm welcome?”

“Yes.” Brunhild nodded. “They apparently held a sukiyaki party. And the leader of their automatons, Moira Something-or-Other, told them to stay away from their concept space between eight at night and four in the morning from then on. That prevented us from moving. Check.”

“I see. But I assume the radicals inside the city faction had other ideas.”

“Yes. We wanted a larger area. And…”

Brunhild moved her hand, announced “check” again, and continued quietly.

“There were those in 1st-Gear who held a grudge against 3rd because their relatives had been taken away. Those people formed a revenge unit before Venerable Hagen could decide how to handle 3rd.”

“And what happened then?”

“The day after they left without permission, they too received a warm welcome. Check.”

“Another warm welcome?”

“Yes.” Brunhild nodded again. “This time it was a slaughter party. We found them all as corpses and it seemed to be a message telling us not to approach them again. …Also, 3rd-Gear’s fortress had disappeared.”

“Disappeared?”

“It was no longer where it had been before. It had likely been moved along with the space it existed in.” Brunhild looked up at Ooshiro’s face. “I heard UCAT was spotted at the time. UCAT followed the string vibration of 3rd-Gear’s fortress being moved, didn’t they? Check. Having 3rd-Gear out there somewhere was a problem and UCAT was poking around, so we gave up trying to move. Check.”

The bird on her head chirped quietly and she pulled a small wooden box from her pocket.

She opened it to reveal some yellow bird food and a portable water bottle.

The bird started pecking at the food.

The cat stared intently at it, but Brunhild grabbed his tail and pulled him toward her.

“The final transmitted text from the ones who died said ‘white god of war’, ‘insurmountable opponent’, and ‘can’t attack or even defend’. Venerable Hagen realized what that meant. I’ll tell you what that was, so give me that gold.”

Ooshiro moved forward the gold general and she actually took it with the pawn this time.

“I don’t get this country’s culture. What do minerals have to do with war?”

“War is an economic activity.”

“I don’t care, so give me that knight.”

Ooshiro did as he was told and spoke with a serious expression.

“Please spare me this one. I’ll cry.”

“I won’t stop even if you do cry, so don’t worry. Or do you accept defeat?”

“No, no. I can turn this around.”

“Then let’s keep fighting and talking. The white god of war was likely Typhon, the strongest god of war that 3rd-Gear developed for their royal family. Venerable Hagen realized that, so the slaughter and the mysterious messages reminded him of another fact: 3rd-Gear’s next king and his sister possessed the 3rd-Gear’s concepts of time.”

“In other words, 3rd-Gear’s next king and his sister were piloting Typhon and controlling time to assist their attacks?”

“Not quite. Check. I do agree the attacks included time control, though,” said Brunhild. “The ones who had met 3rd-Gear earlier had learned a few things from their automatons: Apollo was 3rd-Gear’s only survivor, he was ill, and they wanted to keep things quiet for him. Check.”

“I see. That would mean Artemis was not there.”

“Yes. But that leaves a mystery. If Typhon really was created for the royal family and was controlling time, Apollo would have to be the one piloting it. But do you think a sick person could pilot a god of war and use something as powerful as a concept of time? Simply piloting it would sap his strength and kill him. Fighting would be out of the question.”

“Perhaps the automatons were lying.”

“It would take a special kind of automaton to lie about their master. There were countless automatons receiving them, but no one there doubted what they were saying. Check.” Brunhild raised her right index finger. “It seems 3rd-Gear’s concept of time is divided in two. Apollo controlled the daytime and Artemis controlled the nighttime. With only one of them, do you really think 3rd Gear could freely use the concept of time in the urgency of a battle? Also, wasn’t Artemis supposedly turned into a god of war?”

“Then who is piloting Typhon?” Ooshiro exaggeratedly tilted his head. “Such a mystery.”

“It seemed like Venerable Hagen had a vague idea of what happened. Check. He said it was all related to the connection between Zeus’s children. I hear UCAT is stopping the Leviathan Road with them, but I doubt you can stop Sayama and the others. How about you secretly tell them where 3rd-Gear’s fortress is? Check.”

Ooshiro tilted his head even further.

“To be honest, I don’t actually know where it is. UCAT is still searching for it. We know it’s somewhere in the Kurashiki region, but there are a lot of decoys and they’re hard to detect because they travel at extremely high altitudes.”

“I’d like for you to crush them. I’m not saying that as an inspector; it’s a personal opinion. They may not have been the smartest bunch, but a group of my brethren was killed by 3rd. …And you need to give up already. Check.”

“Brunhild-kun, you need to show more respect to your elders.”

“Oh? And how old are you? Check.”

“About sixty. I’m at the age where I finally gain a refined charm.”

He raised his right thumb and Brunhild replied by looking to the side and somewhat relaxing her shoulders and expression.

“Heh.”

“Th-that was a laugh of scorn, wasn’t it!?”

“Quiet down. Check,” she said. “Listen. While I’m here dealing with club activities and my summer break research project, Team Leviathan will apparently be enjoying themselves at the beach. Sounds lovely. Check. How about you actually make them do some work for once? I thought you Japanese were supposed to never stop working.”

“Brundhild-kun, I have nothing against sending one more person to the beach.”

“Oh, I said nothing about wanting to go along. Why would I want to soak in saltwater and throw of my body’s salt content? Anyone who confuses that for fun can go cleanse their body’s impurities with salt. Check.”

“Then if I win, you have to hold a photo shoot at the underground saltwater pool instead of going to the beach.”

Brunhild frowned.

“How can you hope to win now? Moving your king toward my pieces isn’t going to help.”

Ooshiro silently moved his bishop deep into Brunhild’s pieces.

“That promotes it.”

He flipped over the bishop, but the lacquered engraving said “nuke”.

“W-wait a minute! What is this!?”

“You’ve never heard of Ooshiro shogi? Too bad! This nuclear suicide bomber turns every piece in a range of three spaces to ‘ash’. Damn, that’s harsh!”

Without speaking another word, Brunhild flipped over the shogi board.

Below the afternoon sky were a forested mountain and a giant white building at the top.

Several figures stood in the empty land in front of the building.

Twenty were maids in black and one was a princess in white.

The maids all held flowerpots and the princess held a hoe in front of them.

They were all speaking together.

The princess spoke in a very masculine way and instructed them to answer her with “yes, sir”. The maids complied.

Her voice carried to the automatons who were opening the windows of the living space at the top of the white building.

They all looked down on the commotion.

“Okay, everyone. Get back to work. Lady Miyako is about to do something with the others, but she has prepared enough for everyone.”

Moira 1st’s voice filled the rooms and the automatons there resumed their work.

They placed their brushes against the floor or wiped down the walls, but still exchanged a glance. Their high-speed conversations achieved by accessing their shared memory devices were all about those down below.

Moira 1st walked between the rooms and viewed everyone’s shared memories.

Only identical models could access the shared memories and they were something like a multi-way phone connection. She listened to the conversations there, but still asked a question from the princess’s room.

“What are they doing down there?”

She did not actually know the details.

The night before, Miyako had asked for a list of all the automatons. She had given a powerful nod and thanked Moira 1st upon receiving the list, but she had not said what she wanted it for.

…''What is she doing?

Moira 1st asked the question out of expectation rather than suspicion and a maid in front of her looked down from the window.

“Well, from what I’ve heard…”

“?”

“It seems the princess is giving everyone names,” explained the maid running a vacuum cleaner across the floor.

“Names?”

Moira 1st looked out the window and saw Miyako speaking while gesturing with the hoe in hand.

“We told her that we do not have names,” said the maid next to Moira 1st. “We said that is not one of our functions. But then she asked Master Aigaion to prepare all this before he left this morning.”

“All what?”

“The pots they’re holding and the flower seeds.”

Moira 1st looked more closely at what those below held.

“She says we need to care for the flower with the name we choose. She says there are autumn flowers, winter flowers, and spring flowers, but we should take one of their names because they all bloom eventually.”

Below the blue sky, maids were lined up in front of a giant white building.

All twenty of them stood side by side in a single line.

Across from them, Miyako wore what resembled a white dress and rested her elbow on the bottom of a hoe.

“Okay, does everyone have your seeds?”

“Yes, sir!”

Miyako nodded at their answer.

…''This is going well. With a group this obedient, I could probably conquer Kantou at least.

But she noticed one maid with a downcast look who was not looking at her flowerpot like the others.

She stood at one end of the line, she had braided hair and glasses, and she was staring intently at the ground in front of her rather than the flowerpot with flower seeds in it. The ends of her eyebrows were slightly lowered and her expression was weak.

Miyako tilted her head and realized there were differences even among the same model of automaton.

However, she was curious what was causing the maid’s downcast look.

“What’s wrong?”

“Eh?”

The maid quickly pointed her glasses upwards and hurriedly spoke again after seeing Miyako’s bitter smile.

“Oh… Y-yes, sir.”

“Good, good. Always try to put some energy behind your answers. …Anyway, what’s wrong? Why do you look so down?”

“Y-yes, sir. I do not have that sort of emotional functionality. I am simply having trouble deciding.”

“What do you mean?”

Miyako stood in front of her.

“You chose a flower, right? Do you not want to take that name? If you don’t want a name, that’s fine. I was just hoping you would take one is all.”

The glasses maid lowered her head again.

''That must not be it,'' thought Miyako. ''This look is coming from somewhere else.

…''But what?

She thought back to when the automatons had taken the pots. They had walked up to the lines of seeds and pots and they had chosen the one they wanted while thinking and conversing.

…''Oh.

Miyako remembered that this maid in glasses had not joined in with the others.

She had been the one to take the last remaining option. Miyako sighed as she realized why she was having difficulty deciding.

“Do you not like a name you didn’t choose?”

…''Not that I chose my name.

Her parents had given her that name, but she could guess what the problem here was.

“You’re thinking that you might have chosen something else had you chosen on your own, aren’t you?”

And…

“You’re thinking that this name doesn’t suit you, aren’t you?”

The maid looked up in surprise and started to say something but stopped.

“…”

She lowered her head again, but Miyako did not overlook it.

Miyako pushed up the maid’s head with a finger under the jaw and looked her right in the eye.

“Where’s your answer?”

Miyako was sure she had been right, but the maid shook her head. By not answering, she was eliminating her own will.

Miyako understood why. If she said yes, she would be complaining about those who chose first and she would be personally admitting how terrifying it was to take a name.

…''This is her consideration as an automaton.

But something about it seemed odd, so Miyako mentally tilted her head. They were all automatons, so why was only this one lowering herself and prioritizing the others?

…''It must be a difference in ability. Or a difference in the work they can do as an automaton.

There had to be differences between automatons. Not only were they given different appearances, but there also had to be differences in the quality of their parts and the way those parts fit together. Just like a human’s height or muscle distribution, that would influence their body’s functionality and determine their strengths and weaknesses.

This maid likely had a great number of weaknesses and so her duty was to act after all the others so as not to be in the way. And here she had determined that those who worked more deserved priority in choosing a name and that she was not suited even for the name the others had not chosen.

''Don’t be stupid,'' thought Miyako. ''Look at it in reverse, and it’s obvious you want a name more than anyone.

“Where’s your answer?” she repeated.

The maid started to shake her head, but Miyako used her fingers to hold the maid’s jaw in place and facing her.

“Silly maid, ‘yes, sir’ doesn’t have to be an affirmation. Here in Japan, it works as a denial too, so feel free to use it.”

“Y-yes, sir.”

Miyako nodded, let go, and reached into her pocket.

[[Image:OnC_v06_0129.png|thumb]]

She pulled out a pile of documents made from strange sheets that were clearly not paper. They had data on the maids engraved into them. In fact, they contained all the information on the 63 maids that Moira 1st had supplied the night before.

Miyako had memorized the information during the night. She had done some teaching work in college and she had found that learning people’s names helped calm her down and helped relax the other person as well.

That was why she pulled out the documents but faced forward without looking through them.

This maid was 13th, but Miyako did not use that number. She instead picked up the seeds from the pot the maid held.

The white flowerpot contained a flower seed packet bought at a flower shop and that packet had a picture of purple flowers on it.

Miyako held up the packet and looked to the right.

On one end of the empty land was Aigaion who wore his greengrocer apron and some bandages. He currently had a large pile of flowerpots at his feet. When he had returned at midday, he had said “we failed”, but he had brought everything she had asked for. Feeling thankful, Miyako turned back toward the maid.

“That guy bought these and he made sure they’re all different.”

She held the seeds out toward 13th and asked a question.

“So why did you choose these?”

“Yes, sir…”

“When everyone was distributing them, you refused to join in, you hesitated even when invited, and you simply took the last one left, didn’t you?”

“Yes, sir…”

“Was this a leftover?”

“Yes, sir…”

“If so, were you the one that made it a leftover?”

“Yes, sir…”

All of her responses were identical, so Miyako felt she was repeating the same decision in her head. Miyako did not know how the individual automatons gained their individuality, but 13th understood she was the reserved one of the group and was trying to hold herself back to keep it that way.

…''This is not the time for that.

So Miyako asked a question.

“Do you not like this flower? Does the name scare you?’

“Yes, sir…”

“Is that because you chose it as the last one left? And is it because you are inferior?”

“Yes, sir…”

“Really? Did you really choose this one because there was no other option? Are you really not suited for this name?”

“Yes, sir…”

“I see.” Miyako nodded. “Then let’s throw out this leftover and unsuitable name.”

“!”

The instant Miyako let go of the seeds, 13th reflexively reached out and grabbed the seed packet.

The automaton brought the packet to her chest as if embracing it, trembled, and looked at Miyako with obvious caution.

“I see.” Miyako nodded again. “You were lying when you said you didn’t want it, weren’t you?”

“Eh?”

“Where’s you answer!?”

“Y-yes, sir.”

“Okay.” Miyako rested her elbow on the hoe’s handle. “Then let me ask again. You don’t like that flower, do you?’

“…Yes, sir.”

“You didn’t want to choose it, did you? You feel it’s wasted on you, don’t you?”

“Yes, sir…”

“But you still think it came to you, don’t you? Even if you think the name doesn’t suit you, you’re thankful for it and you want to make it suit you. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, sir.”

She was repeating the same words, but the strength behind them was changing.

Miyako smiled.

“I fell into old habits and spoke a tad harsher than I should have. Sorry about that.”

“…Yes, sir?”

The maid’s tilt of the head deepened Miyako’s smile and Miyako placed her fist over the hands holding the seeds to the maid’s chest.

“Listen. That flower’s name is Violet. It means ‘modesty’ in the language of flowers. That’s the name that came to you. If you choose to trust in that name, then use it as your own.”

“…”

The blank look on the automaton’s face did not mean she was indecisive. It meant she was truly unable to make the decision.

So Miyako gave a shout to awaken the one who had been given the name of that flower.

“Where’s your answer!?”

“Yes, sir!”

Hearing that, Miyako raised the hoe and slammed it down.

It created a clear noise as it gouged into the ground.

“Everyone, over here! I will once more teach you the names you’ve chosen! And from now on, even after I’ve left, take care of yourselves instead of waiting for some princess to arrive! And take care of the names that have come to you!”

Moira 1st smiled at the voices down below.

She turned toward the back of room where a maid stood hidden behind the window’s vertical blinds.

“Moira 2nd.”

Moira 2nd turned her blue eyes toward Moira 1st and tilted her head.

Moira 1st approached the window and used her gaze to ask what was going on.

Down below, Miyako was explaining how to plant the seeds. Moira 3rd stood next to her and she must have done something because Miyako karate chopped her head.

Laughter rose from below.

“We don’t use that function very often.”

Moira 1st looked toward Moira 2nd and found the ends of her eyebrows slightly lowered.

“I think we can trust her.”

But Moira 2nd shook her head.

In response to her younger sister’s denial, the elder sister placed a hand on her cheek and sighed.

“It is true that you might not be able to think about this like I do. The ability you were given means you must be the closest one to the princess. I erase memories and 3rd creates new ones, but you view child string vibrations. You are the Moira meant to manage the princess’s health.”

Moira 2nd said nothing, but Moira 1st continued.

“Is it that hard to forget the other princesses who have come here? Is it that hard to forget the ones who feared us when they learned we were automatons, who wished to return to Low-Gear as soon as possible, and who did not even try to leave this room? Is it that hard to forget the ones who did not call for you? And…”

And…

“Do you still insist on remaining silent because you were not given the opportunity to work when you wanted to?”

The question was quiet but not hesitant.

Moira 2nd closed her eyes while facing out the window.

Moira 1st lowered the ends of her eyebrows.

Suddenly, someone appeared at the room’s entrance and Moira 1st turned toward her.

“Lady Gyes. If you’ve returned, you should get some rest.”

“I have a new job thanks to information from Moira 2nd.”

Moira 1st saw her Moira 2nd’s expression stiffen, but that younger sister did not reply. She kept her eyes closed and her mouth shut.

Moira 1st reached out and grabbed her sister’s shoulders.

“Moira 2nd, what did you tell her?”

“Don’t scold her, Moira 1st. This is important.”

“It is important for us too. Have you forgotten our raison d’être!?” shouted Moira 1st while still holding her sister’s shoulders. “A 3rd-Gear woman might have fallen into some other Gear during the Concept War. If we find one, we need to teach her 3rd-Gear’s history and stabilize her body. That is why we three sisters were created in order to safeguard 3rd-Gear’s fate. And Lord Cronus once told us this.”

She took a breath.

“We are to support the Concept War’s surviving world even if it is filled with those of another Gear. We are to make no decision that will cause even one of them to be lost!”

“Even if that princess of yours might be from UCAT!?”

“…?”

Moira 1st froze in place, so Moira 2nd gently grabbed her hands and raised them.

Moira 1st saw her sister look out the window with opened eyes.

“According to Moira 2nd, that princess is a pure-blooded member of 2nd-Gear. We also have some internal UCAT information thanks to a certain information broker. Tsukuyomi Miyako is most likely the daughter of Tsukuyomi Shizuru, director of Japanese UCAT’s development department. She is part of 2nd-Gear’s imperial family! She might be giving names to those mass-produced models in order to control them through their names as a member 2nd-Gear!”

“I have determined there are too many uncertain factors in that information. For example, her mother belonging to UCAT does not mean she does.”

“True.” Gyes crossed her arms and entered the room. “That is why I’m suggesting giving her a test. Last night, you gave her as much information as you were allowed. And just now, Lord Apollo discussed something with me.”

“What did you discuss?”

“He suggested letting her leave even though the automatons like her and even though she has her memories.” Gyes nodded. “Lord Apollo knows nothing, not even that she is a descendent of 2nd-Gear, but if she takes him up on his offer and tries to leave the concept space…”

Gyes walked toward the window and looked at Aigaion down below.

“Aigaion and I will dispose of her. We must eliminate that possibility of danger.”

“So that is the conclusion of a combat automaton.”

Moira 1st could make no sense of it, so she remained motionless for several seconds.

Eventually, her stalled brain abandoned that line of thinking and produced a different thought from her memories. She recalled her conversation with Miyako the day before. Moira 1st trusted that Miyako would not run away.

She took a breath, turned toward Moira 2nd and Gyes, and used the breath to adjust her control mechanism.

“Fine then,” she said. “I know what Lady Miyako would say to this test: if you want to test me, go right ahead, but make sure you’re suitably prepared.”

“You certainly have grown fond of Low-Gear.”

“I tested her and received something suitable in exchange.” Moira 1st brought her hands to her chest and smiled. “She did not flee, she tried to learn about us, and she made sure to keep in mind her position here. Because of all that, I made a brand new decision to trust her even more. My payment for testing her was my obedience and the use of functions I rarely use.”

Moira 1st smiled again, but unlike before, this smile was filled with confidence.

She looked down below and saw a blond figure approaching Miyako and the maids who were moving the pots to a sunny spot.

The figure was Apollo.

He raised a hand in greeting and Miyako used the hoe as a cane with an annoyed look.

Moira 1st watched Miyako ask a question and Apollo scratch his head.

“I hope you are prepared, Lady Gyes. And Moira 2nd, if you really do not trust Lady Miyako, then go down there and see what she is doing. Go see that and learn what possibilities Low-Gear holds.”

<noinclude>
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| Back to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume6_Chapter_15|Chapter 15]]
| Return to [[Owari_no_Chronicle|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume6_Chapter_17|Chapter 17]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Owari no Chronicle:Volume6 Chapter 19

2014-06-01T22:14:51Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 19: Pursuit into the Depths */

==Chapter 19: Pursuit into the Depths==
[[Image:OnC_v06_0223.png|thumb]]
''Some answers contain traps

''That is normal

''So destroy them without thinking of immersing yourself in them

The black clock on the wall indicated the time was four in the morning, but there were no windows on the white walls to let in the morning sun.

The large underground space was divided by several partitions and a woman walked along the western side. The woman, Tsukuyomi, walked to the director’s desk on the south end while holding a bundle of documents.

The sound of her sandaled footsteps suddenly came to a stop.

Something lay at her feet. Namely, a figure in a lab coat had fallen forward and lay sprawled out before her.

She looked closer and spotted a nearby laptop.

“Oh, it’s Kashima.”

With that, she walked past him and he spoke up from behind her.

“You’re going to ignore me, Director Tsukuyomi?”

“Yes, I assumed you were asleep.”

“Adults don’t sleep on the floor.”

“I see.”

She began to walk once more, but he quickly sat up.

“You don’t want to know why I collapsed from shock?”

“I really don’t, but if you’re going to tell me anyway, get it over with.”

“Natsu-san is so cruel. You know the wash toilet we’re developing?”

“You mean the prototype product named ‘Right There!’? You brought it home with you last night, didn’t you?”

“Yes. Before leaving home, I hooked it up and set the spray pressure to ‘anti-ship beam’ since that’s the main selling point. Well, Natsu-san called me during the night with a slight smile in her voice and told me I can’t come home for three days as punishment. She even suspected it could take pictures. Honestly, she’s so cute!”

“Hm. Your point?” she asked expressionlessly.

He stared blackly at her, looked to the side, and lowered his shoulders in a sigh.

Finally, he stared off into the distance and spoke in an earnest tone.

“This workplace has grown so brutal over the past few months. Our boss is ignoring what her subordinates tell her.”

“You really are going all out with your lovey-dovey side. And you’re forcing your boss to listen to it.”

“I am not being lovey-dovey. It just so happens that subjectively explaining the situation makes me feel happy.”

“My sympathies. …Anyway, get to sleep. You’re Team Leviathan’s instructor, aren’t you? I hear you’re having difficulty putting together lessons recently.”

Kashima stood up when he heard that.

“I’m managing by including some of my own interests.”

He picked up his laptop and showed her the screen. The displayed window had a few spheres drawn inside it: ten small red spheres and one blue sphere.

He looked at the screen, smiled, and faced her.

“This is a simulation on the origin of the eleven Gears to confirm the meaning behind the Leviathan Road. The different UCATs have been researching this since World War Two and have achieved some results, but I doubt any of them know the answer. How the eleven Gears came about is still shrouded in mystery.” Kashima tilted his head. “Anyway, I heard they were leaving for a training camp.”

“They all left by helicopter at about three along with that boy named Hiba and that automaton named Mikage. They should have arrived above Nagoya at this point.”

“I see.”

“Are you interested in Mikage because of your grandfather and Susaou?”

He thought for a moment and eventually formed a weak smile.

“A little. After all, that Mikage was supposedly used to control Susaou. But I hear she doesn’t remember it herself, so I’m hesitant to ask her directly.”

“Yes, being considerate is a part of the job. Well, if you’re lucky, you might get a chance to ask.”

“Perhaps,” he said while looking at what she held.

Seeing those documents led him to ask a question.

“Are those documents for the training camp?”

“I’m not going along for that. As a director, I have the right to cancel.”

“But the Seto Inland Sea is where 3rd-Gear…”

“If it’s about my daughter, don’t worry. She wouldn’t get killed so easily. Plus, I think you’ll be more interested in this.”

She held up the documents so he could see.

“This is the report on the Georgius tests.”

Kashima pushed up his glasses, put his laptop under his arm, and stared straight ahead with a smile on the corner of his mouth.

“Nice. What did you find? What are its effects and its origin?”

“What do you think as someone who saw it firsthand when Yamata was sealed?”

“Its function is to amplify concepts, its purpose is to increase the power of concept weapons, and its origin is Low-Gear. Am I on the right track?”

“That’s a good question.” She gave a small smile. “You could be right and you could be wrong.

“Why are you being so vague?”

“Because that’s all I can be.” She shrugged and her smile grew bitter. “I don’t know the answers. It didn’t react when I applied concept fields around it with the examination device. As far as I can tell, Georgius is nothing more than…”

“A glove?”

“Yes. What we saw for ourselves conflicts with the results of the tests.”

She had learned this after experimenting for the entire day.

She recalled Ooshiro’s face when he had agreed to lend her Georgius. There had definitely been a broad smile there.

…''He doubted I could learn anything.

And in truth, she had not determined Georgius’s identity. She had learned very little else, but one fact stood out.

“At the very least, Georgius is strange. When Totsuka sealed Yamata, Georgius emitted light and the sword’s power increased. And the same thing supposedly happened in the battle with 1st-Gear.”

“Yes, Gram was apparently given power when it was too weak to withstand Fafnir Custom’s attack.”

“If Georgius did those things, there has to be something there, don’t you think?”

Tsukuyomi pulled a specific page from the report.

As she held it out to Kashima, he looked at her hand before looking at the document.

“Director Tsukuyomi.”

Her right hand was wrapped in bandages up to the wrist and she laughed toward the white cloth that was faintly stained with blood.

“Ha ha. I should have known better. When I wasn’t finding anything, I tried it without thinking. I put away the machine covered in a special defensive concept and grabbed it with my bare hand to try and put it on.”

The result lay before them.

“Doctor Chao says it will take two weeks for a full recovery. She’s going to the training camp, so she won’t start truly healing it until she gets back. I’m going to have to go out for meals for a while.”

“I see,” said Kashima slowly.

Whatever he was thinking, he took the paper while looking at her hand and then lowered his gaze to the printed paper.

“Is this…?”

“Looks like an ECG, doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” he agreed.

The paper contained rectangular waves running along a graph. Such a graph would normally have a lot more written on it, but this only had about three waves.

“But what are these occasional pulses?”

[[Image:OnC_v06_0231.png|thumb]]

“Check the unit of time.”

He looked above the graph and Tsukuyomi knew he would catch on if he was clever.

Sure enough, he frowned.

“What? One pulse at a rate of approximately eight hours?”

“Exactly. That is the faint vibration inside Georgius. Anyone who likes to jump to conclusions would say this means Georgius is alive.”

“…”

“Even in 3rd-Gear, some kind of internal mechanism is needed to supply a pulse to the metal parts. However, Georgius is nothing more than a leather glove and a metal chip and yet the pulse comes from both of them.”

Tsukuyomi did not know why that was, so she asked him.

He did not immediately reply but eventually spoke.

“It would be simpler to assume that Georgius is alive even so. If we cling to that theory and search deeper, we will at least know it is not alive if we find out we’re wrong.”

“Why do you think it is alive?”

This question received an immediate answer.

“It chose the one named Sayama as its master.” He took a breath. “What if that was not a setting and it wished for Sayama of its own free will?”

Tsukuyomi did not answer because she could not do so when she did not know the truth. He seemed to realize that because he lowered his head and apologized.

“Sorry, but to continue, Georgius was given to Sayama Mikoto by his mother. Can’t we assume it has a will of its own and was waiting for him?”

“Why do you ignore the possibility that it was set to do that and instead insist it has a will of its own?”

“If it was just a setting, it would only need to remain inactive when someone else wore it. However, it rejects others to the point of hurting them.” His expression was completely serious. “That is an action only taken by a being with a will of its own.”

“So you think so too?”

“What?”

His eyebrows rose in confusion, so she raised her right hand and snapped her bloodstained fingers to call him over.

“Come here. I think you’ll like this.”

She turned around and walked to her own desk.

It took only a few steps and the clock on the wall was approaching 4:10 AM. The time was likely drawing near.

“The night before I started the tests on Georgius, I set this up.”

“Wh-what is it?”

“I’m hacking into the deepest depths of UCAT’s databank. In other words, I’m illegally accessing the version of the Second Reference Room on the data servers. Only VIPs can view it and it contains the information on UCAT’s blank period, the Concept Cores, and the National Defense Department.” She smiled. “While investigating Georgius, I had some very limited access to that information in their examination room, so I used that as a way in from here. I have it set up to gather all the classified information at the core of the data servers.”

Kashima reacted after a short pause.

“Director Tsukuyomi, you’re betraying UCAT.”

“Are you going to stop me?”

“No, I just wanted to say that. Oh, and if anyone asks, this means I tried to stop you.”

She turned around in front of her desk and saw him shrugging his shoulders.

His expression softened and he sighed.

“This isn’t just about Georgius, is it? You’re trying to get information on the National Defense Department to help out Team Leviathan, aren’t you?”

“Well, if I take all the information, there’s sure to be some of that in there. And if I have it, I might as well hand it over to them.”

''And,'' she said to herself. ''If I find data on UCAT’s blank period, I’ll learn about my husband.

“…”

She decided to leave her sentimentality until later and switched on the deactivated display.

Tsukuyomi looked toward the newly lit-up monitor.

A black window filled the screen and had several symbols and words scrolling across it.

Kashima smiled bitterly when he saw it.

“You’re using our hacking software ‘Genius Hacker Girl – Gomez’? That’s the nastiest one, but it’s a pain to use because all the settings are done with text commands.”

“Yes, but it can do the most and it’s pretty smart. When the development department was reorganized, some idiot went too far in a demonstration hoping to increase our budget.”

“They hacked into a certain country’s databank, checked to see if their Secretary of State wore a hairpiece, and added a protector to keep the data from being altered. They did it all without being noticed, but it caused a small commotion in that country when UCAT Director Ooshiro checked to make sure it was accurate.”

“It’s a good thing that country had a sense of humor. When the Secretary of State was giving his official response to the accusations, he said he would reveal their nation’s greatest secret and then removed his hairpiece.”

“I hear Gomez has been upgraded a few times since then.”

“This is Version 4. After all the work I’ve put into it, she’s like a child to me.” Tsukuyomi pointed at the screen. “Anyway, this is a map of the area around the protectors on the strictest portion of Japanese UCAT’s servers. We set up the foundations of this ten years ago, so we should be able to break through it even if I don’t know what kind of modifications the UCAT Director has added since.”

A pursuit at the speed of electricity was unfolding in the server space shown on the screen.

The hacking program would access the areas it had access to and attempt to continue deeper. Sometimes it would delete data, use that as a hole to plunge deeper, and restore the original data so as to cover its trail.

However, the firewall working to cut off the hacking program was also well made. It would constantly check for illegal access, but the scope of that checking would expand or contract so as not to put a burden on the server’s main functions. While tracking the hacking program’s movements, it would also work to detect the origin point of the illegal access.

The hacking program recorded every point it passed through and constantly recalculated the shortest route to use on its way back. The destination of that route was the origin point in question.

Recording that route was much like a homing instinct.

If captured, that origin point could be checked, so the hacking program would destroy itself in case of capture.

The pursuit continued in the electronic world where a single touch meant it was all over.

The standard setting Tsukuyomi had used was to prepare a single hacking program to reach the core of the servers and to send out a great number of dummy programs.

Too many dummies could trigger an emergency where all the servers shut down, so the number of dummies was monitored in real time and new ones were sent out with randomly set destinations.

“From the looks of it, a few million dummies have already been sent out and then destroyed.”

“It says here seven dummies have been captured.”

“Those ones had their origin point set to the general affairs and security divisions. This’ll cause them some problems, so we need to secretly give them some nice equipment.”

“I’d feel guilty if they thanked us for it, so let’s send it anonymously. …But what happens if they capture a dummy from our territory?”

“It’ll say Atsuta’s machine was doing it, so there’s nothing to worry about. If someone comes by, boot up his machine and deal with it. I’ll pretend to play a game or something.”

“Atsuta’s machine has the Heart Sutra for the wallpaper. Do I really have to boot that up?”

“Give it your best shot,” she said with a sigh.

Suddenly, the image on the screen changed.

The black window displayed a straight vertical corridor. The corridor was drawn with two green lines and looked like a cross section of a straw, but it was an abstract image representing the digital world.

“Here we go. It’s on the path to the core.”

The green lines were ten centimeters apart and the blue line indicating the hacking program was falling between them.

“That blue line is long. Are you sure you don’t have it recording too much of its route? How optimized is it?”

“I want it to take a few detours to lose pursuit on its way back. This was the limit.”

Several yellow lines cut across the green corridor to block the way.

Those were the firewall, but the blue line broke through them in an instant and continued on down.

The blue line opened a console and asserted its presence.

“I’m 2nd-Gear.”

Red dots flew up from below to intercept it, but it fired light blue dots and curves that destroyed all of the red dots.

“I see you’ve given it more attack programs. It only had the blaster and zapper when I was working on it.”

“That was to avoid a barrage, so it had to be flashy as well. Personally, I enjoyed it more back when you could still grasp the location of all the bullets.”

“The times are changing. I don’t like saying it like that, though.”

As they spoke, the blue line scattered light blue dots around itself as options.

An especially thick yellow line formed a door down below and one light blue dot flew over and destroyed it.

At that point, the screen suddenly went dark.

They had left the corridor, so the corridor opened like an upside down funnel and then formed a circle.

The blue line had entered a large circular space.

“This is the core.”

Enough red dots filled that space to completely cover the screen and a white sphere sat at the very center.

The blue line paid no heed to the red dots. It fired the light yellow dots while slipping past the mass of red dots to access the empty space beyond. That was a spot of safety, a place where no one would attack it, and a location where it could view all.

It circled around to check on the white sphere in the center.

The sphere was about five centimeters across and the entire circular space was about thirty centimeters across.

“That isn’t a space you want a fight in.”

As if to check on that space, the blue line circled the entire space while slipping past the pursuing red dots.

It finally arrived at a location ten centimeters directly below the white sphere.

“What will it do?”

As if to answer Tsukuyomi’s question, light came from the blue line.

A blue dotted line extended from the front of the blue line and toward the white sphere in the center.

That dotted line represented the predicted access route and a window opened for just a moment.

“Go ahead? Y/N.”

But they did not even have to press a key because the development department’s program was autonomous.

“Y”

A moment later, the blue line raced into the darkness.

As it did, the mass of red dots pursued.

The wave of red surged toward the blue line’s destination and the blue line threw light blue dots out like a spray to intercept.

The light blue spray cancelled out the red dots.

The silent disappearance of the two created an open space and the blue line continued into that darkness while showing no sign of turning back.

The red group arrived and more light blue splashed out at them.

The red and light blue vanished and the blue line continued forward through the darkness.

That collision and cancellation of color continued at high speed.

As it produced the instantaneous sprays of light blue, the blue line broke through the center of their afterimages.

That line raced toward the white sphere. Once it reached a distance of 64 pixels, the red group changed its tactic.

It formed a wall.

The red group realized it could not predict the blue line’s actions, so it tried to surround the white sphere and prevent access from any position.

In other words, UCAT’s core was being completely cut off.

The expected result of this action was displayed on the screen with a note in parentheses.

“Emergency (of the awkward variety).”

The server was being shut down.

The firewall represented by the group of red had determined that shutting its own system down was the only way to protect itself.

The wall of red approached completion, but the blue line did not hesitate.

It continued on its predicted path below the white sphere because that was the shortest route from its current position.

The line cut through the darkness in an instant and approached the red group attempting to set up a wall.

“!!”

It danced.

It quickly travelled to the all access points around itself and fired its attack programs around as it did so to make the red wall collapse.

The light blue spray collided with the red.

Without even checking on the progress of that attack, the blue line rebounded straight up toward the white sphere.

Just as it arrived, text appeared on the screen.

“Mission complete!”

The blue line fired a light blue line from either side of its body and those two lines formed a protective corridor that repelled the red group.

The blue line began quickly taking data from the white sphere and the light blue corridor displayed the rate of destruction at different points.

“It should hold up long enough to transfer out the data!”

Tsukuyomi watched the indicator on the monitor. A window divided into 100 segments slowly but surely informed her of the data transfer rate.

She gave the program further instructions.

“Skip the core’s dummy data!”

“Select option: call keyword.”

“What keyword should I use to trigger a skip?”

She thought for a moment, but Kashima reached over to the keyboard.

“18+.”

As soon as he hit enter, the speed of the indicator shot up. The blue line was no longer reading the dummy data and was quickly extracting only the important classified information.

Tsukuyomi sighed toward Kashima as he watched the monitor.

“Not bad. …Wait. Why does the core contain mostly 18+ data!?”

“You were only supposed to download a few files, but now you’re downloading all of UCAT’s core data, aren’t you? Will it all fit on your machine?”

“Of course not.”

“But the development department server is directly linked to the other servers, so they’ll have no problem catching us if you put it there. What are you going to do?”

“Don’t worry.” She nodded. “I’m encrypting it and sending it to every development department member’s machine. By my calculations, there should be enough space as long as I delete the unnecessary data on the machines.”

“I see. It is true our individual machines have our exclusive security on them, so no one outside the department can view them. …Wait, Director Tsukuyomi! My latest family movies are on my machine!!”

The monitor they watched displayed the layout of desks in the department. On the overhead map that displayed the partitions as white lines, Kashima’s desk was gradually filling with blue.

“Ahhh!!”

As he watched, his desk on the map grew entirely blue.

After a quiet chime, the data switched from his machine to the machine next to his.

“Ahh…” He fell to his knees. “I couldn’t protect my family…”

“C’mon, stop that. You need to distinguish between 2D and 3D.”

A moment later, noise filled the room.

The emergency alarm was going off.

“Eh?”

She checked the monitor, but the light blue corridor protecting the blue line had not been breached.

That meant the electronic battle inside the server had not been discovered.

…''In that case…

“This must be something else.”

Kashima stood up and an announcement explained the situation.

“Um, sorry to interrupt all of you working the night shift, but, um, this is UCAT’s security department. An intruder entered the first floor and, um, the security department did not arrive in time to stop said intruder from moving further inside. Um, we would like to ask all the standby members of the field operation department to assist.”

Muttering voices could be heard in the corridor as some people began to take action.

They could be heard shouting to each other and equipping themselves as a further announcement arrived.

“Um, this is the security department. We have more information on the intruder. Um, she is a girl. I repeat, she is a girl. Her beauty has been ranked Class A. We have a beautiful girl accompanied by a large number of dogs. It is a truly moving sight. Even if you have nothing better to do, please remain where you are!”

The voices in the corridor grew oddly bright and the noises grew even louder.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume6_Chapter_18|Chapter 18]]
| Return to [[Owari_no_Chronicle|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume6_Chapter_20|Chapter 20]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Owari no Chronicle:Volume6 Chapter 20

2014-06-01T22:09:58Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 20: Noisy Challenge */

==Chapter 20: Noisy Challenge==
[[Image:OnC_v06_0245.png|thumb]]
''That which causes commotions should not stay for long

''It should remain on the move

''Like a sudden rain shower

Shino walked down a white corridor.

This was her first time in UCAT and she was likely the first non-intelligence member of the Army to be there.

The intelligence department had used invisibility and silencing philosopher’s stones to acquire the corridor layout down to UCAT’s second basement. They had been unable to continue further down because the doors were too well-defended, but Shino’s mission did not require continuing past those doors.

“Shiro.”

She spoke toward the ground as she walked through the corridor.

A large white dog walked next to her there, but it was not alone.

The entire corridor was filled with dozens of dogs.

They came in countless varieties: small, large, white, black, brown, striped, spotted, raised ears, floppy ears, a prominent bridge of the nose, a lack of one, short legs, and long legs.

None of those many dogs cast a shadow on the floor. They all continually turned to look at Shino and walked along as if protecting her.

She met the gazes of the dogs protecting her from all directions and continued on.

“Thanks, everyone.”

…''I only travelled from Okutama Station to here, but I gathered so many.

She grabbed the philosopher’s stone pendant hanging from her neck. The blue stone was glowing and that light used her will to give form to residual thoughts.

She did not know whether these could be called ghosts.

Even if the philosopher’s stone allowed them to exist, there was nothing more to it than that.

Hajji had speculated that their loss had created a “gap” that functioned as a mold for their form. Shino’s philosopher’s stone was a type of thought synchronizing concept, so he said it might be sending their residual thoughts into that mold and casting a new form for them.

Shino recalled what else Hajji had said:

“Do you not have enough power to give form to humans or did you set your specialty to dogs when you gave form to Shiro? Hm?”

She could now find the remnant wills of dogs, synchronize them with her philosopher’s stone, and allow them to touch objects other than her. When she did, most of them would be confused by being given a form and try to fight her. It was as if she were robbing them of their rest.

When that happened, Shiro would deal with them.

The dogs gathered here were the ones who had joined her and Shiro. She was their master and Shiro was their boss.

As she looked at all of them, she wanted to give them all food, but she could not.

“But we can go see your owners afterwards.”

She had promised to take them each to their former owners after they played together. When they met their former owners, their minds would reach their strongest point. The former owner would either see them for an instant or hear their cry before they disappeared.

Sometimes the former owner would have a new dog, but the dogs would always choose not to meet the owner in those cases. They would realize their appearance was an unneeded intrusion, but they would still lick Shino’s hand and disappear.

…''Will that happen to Shiro someday?

But she had another thought as well.

…''Where do they go when they disappear?

Did Low-Gear have a realm for the dead?

She had heard most of the other Gears did. 1st-Gear had Requiem Sense and 3rd-Gear had the Tartaros, but what about Low-Gear?

“If the concepts are released, will a realm for the dead be created?”

She tilted her head, Shiro looked at her worriedly, and the other dogs looked at her as well.

She was making them worry, so she smiled to tell them they did not have to.

She pulled a paper from her pocket. It was a map of UCAT’s second basement and she was on her way to the central hall.

“The northern wall has a communication line to the center of UCAT.”

With the map in one hand, she used the other to pull out a philosopher’s stone on a string.

“Hajji got this weakened concept from 3rd-Gear. It transforms thoughts into information.”

She wrapped the blue stone’s string around her hand and lowered that hand. The dogs formed a circle around her and licked her hand and the stone it held.

As she let them lick her hand, she showed them the map.

“Okay, everyone. It’s time to eat. Your food tonight is data. Once you’ve been turned to information, please eat everything you find deep in UCAT.”

She took a breath, faced forward, and pointed.

“Go!!”

The group of dogs immediately took action.

They first raised their throats toward the heavens and opened their mouths in a howl.

Several dozen howls shook the white corridor and led to the next action.

As the sound came to an end, they ran.

“…!”

They sprinted along in an undulating line.

With a mission in mind, the dogs did not turn back toward Shino. They quickly formed groups of a few dogs each. Some groups continued straight and others suddenly cut through the walls.

Those information beasts ran through the white corridor and continued to run.

Shiro alone remained to await their return and to protect their master.

Shino watched as the final group disappeared into the wall.

“I hope they’ll be okay.”

She stopped walking and Shiro turned toward her after circling ahead. An unhesitating face lay beyond his sharp nose and he seemed to be telling her not to worry.

She nodded, smiled, gripped the philosopher’s stone hanging from her neck, and opened her mouth.

The movements of her small lips produced a song.

''Silent night, Holy night

''God’s Son laughs, o how bright

''Love from your holy lips shines clear,

''As the dawn of salvation draws near,

''Jesus, Lord, with your birth

''Jesus, Lord, with your birth

The majesty of that song passed through the stone and reached the dogs and their power of information. It encouraged them and told them their master was still there.

She heard answering howls in the distance.

The howls came from the corridor ahead, the intersections with other passageways, and from within the walls. They were responding to the song and their master’s concerns.

Pushed on by their master’s voice, the dogs’ voices contained no fear.

To push them on even further, Shiro howled.

“————”

The bestial reverberation ruled the air.

Until, that is, another sound from directly ahead cut it off.

Several footsteps made by solid shoes and the clattering of metal equipment reached them.

…''Here they are.

Shino prepared herself and Shiro bared his fangs.

“UCAT.”

A moment later, that was exactly who arrived.

People charged out from the left and right at an intersection with another corridor up ahead.

They wore white armored uniforms and other white clothing. There were at least twenty of them and they must have known she had no projectile weaponry because they took up a position to block her path.

Those on the front line lowered their hips, held something in both hands, and peered into it.

…''Weapons!?

She opened her mouth to complain that they were firing without giving a warning, but she realized she was being naïve. Instead, a shouted name escaped her opened mouth.

“Shiro!”

The dog lowered his front legs and shrunk back. Once he began, she knew several enemies would be scattered in an instant.

However…

“Okay! Target is in photographic range!!”

One extraneous word confused her.

“…Eh?”

The doubt in her heart caused Shiro to turn toward her in confusion.

At the same time, the enemy’s front line activated their weapons.

“…!”

She frantically prepared herself and heard a surprisingly reserved mechanical noise.

And nothing else happened. No bullets flew her way and no pain filled her body.

…''Eh?

When she peeked forward between her fingers, she saw the enemy’s front line falling back and the second line stepping forward.

Finally, she noticed what their weapons were: cameras.

“Eh? U-um…”

She relaxed her posture and the retreating front line frantically turned toward her.

“Ah! Sh-she put her hands down! I couldn’t get a good shot of her face because her hands were in the way! Hey, second line. Give me another chance!”

One man tried to step forward, but the members of the second line forced him back.

“Don’t be stupid! This is the order we decided on using requests, recommendations, and official games of rock-paper-scissors! It’s your fault for thinking it’s best to have the first shot at it!”

“That’s right,” said one man who stood in front of all the others. “And by the third round, she’ll have gotten used to it, so the second round is what really matters.”

The old man wore a lab coat, the camera hanging from his neck had a telephoto lens the size of an anti-tank gun attached, and he was holding up his right thumb in Shino’s direction.

Shino knew him because he was well-known even within the Army.

…''Ooshiro Kazuo?

Her question must have passed through the philosopher’s stone because Shiro tilted his head toward her.

She wondered what to do, but Ooshiro spoke before she found an answer.

“Yes, that is an excellent expression. Everyone, don’t miss this once in a lifetime opportunity.”

He lay on the floor and opened the bipod on the bottom of the telephoto lens to prepare the camera like a sniper rifle.

“Okay, let’s go!”

“Eh? Um, okay.”

Shino had Shiro sit down and straightened up as she heard the sound of the shutter.

Ooshiro smiled and stood up.

“Thank you very much. Third line, you’re up!”

The third line frantically prepared their cameras and took photos.

“Okay, the three-line photo shoot is complete.”

The entire group began to cheerfully leave, but Shino frantically spoke up.

“Um! I-is that really all you’re doing?”

“Of course it is. We’re off duty right now.”

“Then where are those who are on duty?”

“The dogs arrived while they were gathering their equipment, so they had to deal with that too. With that extra work, I don’t think they’ve managed to locate you yet. They’re driving away the dogs while visually searching for you, but we decided to get what photos we could and then tell them where you are once we get back.”

“Wh-why wouldn’t you tell them right away!? I’m an intruder.”

She had no idea why she was arguing, but Shiro gave a bark of agreement.

However, Ooshiro nodded with his giant camera resting on his shoulder.

“You are indeed an intruder and we’re still UCAT members even while off duty,” he said. “But everyone has their own job. The field operation group is currently running around in order to fight you, so we took the role of recording the intruder’s actions while not getting in their way. But by some strange coincidence, we ran across you before they did.”

Everyone around the old man applauded.

The comments of “nice excuse” and “you are the law” convinced Shino that this entire encounter had been put together by Ooshiro.

…''The rumors about him were true.

It would not surprise her if he had sent false data to the other units just so he could take pictures of her.

“Then you don’t have any combat gear on you?” she asked just to be sure.

“Of course not. Nothing could be more disrespectful than worrying our model.”

''I knew it,'' she thought with a sigh.

“What will you do if I attack you?”

“N-nonsense. Would an honest beauty like you really attack a group of defenseless people?”

He stood tall and opened his lab coat to demonstrate his defenselessness. ''He looks like a flasher,'' she thought, but the word “innocent” was written across the inside of his coat in ink.

Her shoulders drooped.

“Sorry, but please leave. I have serious work to do here,” she said. “A-also, don’t make a bunch of copies of those and spread them around.”

“You heard the model! No publishing these without permission!”

''You were planning to?'' she realized. ''I guess that’s just the kind of place this is. UCAT is a frightening place.

Her shoulders drooped even further.

“Also, I want you to restate something.” She nodded and continued. “I don’t like simply being called a ‘beauty’, so please stop.”

“Ehhh!!?”

The entire group’s reflexive shout caused her to flinch back, but she quickly recovered.

“Wh-why are you so surprised!?”

“C-c-c-c-calm down! H-how about we start by defining our terms!?”

“Wh-what do you mean by defining our terms? I just don’t want to be called that!”

“No! What you want doesn’t matter here! It’s our fantasies that matter! Isn’t that right!?”

Shino smiled and immediately responded to Ooshiro’s question.

“Sic him, Shiro!!”

The group of adults ran in a panic from the charging beast.

Two emotions filled the atmosphere of the development department room.

One was a rushing impatience and the other was the tension that caused.

The source of those emotions was Tsukuyomi’s desk on the southern side of the room. Specifically, they came from Kashima as he watched the monitor and Tsukuyomi as she typed on the keyboard.

“What are these growing damaged areas that suddenly appeared?” asked Kashima as he peered at the monitor. “UCAT’s data is being taken from the server!”

The amount of gray indicating inaccessible damaged clusters was growing on the data map. Those damaged regions had appeared in every direction and were growing as if drawing a line toward the white sphere of the core.

“Director Tsukuyomi, do you think this is the intruder’s doing?”

“I would say so. The damaged regions appeared at almost the same time as the alarm sounded. …Uh, oh. It’s approaching our line.”

The white sphere and blue line were still safe, but the gray regions were drawing ever closer.

Kashima pulled the keyboard toward him and began typing.

“This damage is prioritizing the largest clusters of data, so wouldn’t it work better to gather dummy data as bait rather than setting up a defensive wall?”

The red group that had attempted to block Tsukuyomi’s program was attacking the damaged areas, but the red was overwritten with gray with no sign of resistance.

“It looks like the attack programs are being devoured as small pieces of data.”

“Do we have a large enough amount of dummy data to work as bait?”

“Unfortunately, almost all of the unnecessary data on our personal machines was deleted. What about the family movies left on your laptop?”

“That is not unnecessary data. It is a necessary part of a military god’s life.”

“That’s quite a leap in logic. Anyway, what other unnecessary data is there?”

The two of them exchanged a glance, took a breath, and shouted out at the same moment.

“The 18+ games!!”

Kashima pointed toward the white sphere in the center of the monitor.

“Director Tsukuyomi, there’s a whole bunch right here! It’s a treasure trove!”

“Quit shouting and pointing and actually do something!”

Kashima gave his instructions to the program. As it continued removing data for itself, it created a secondary pathway to send massive amounts of dummy data toward the damaged regions.

The data transfer rate dropped, but the tremendous amount of data slowed down the expansion of the damaged region. Tsukuyomi and Kashima watched as file names scrolled by on their way to be destroyed. It looked like names on a war memorial and Kashima spoke in a serious tone as he read them.

“These are some unpleasant titles. Like this one: ‘Repeated School Year’. The tagline is ‘Be held back!’.”

“I don’t care. I’m more concerned by this one: ‘The Creator of Esperanto Was Named Zamenhof (For Real)’.<ref>The “Zamen” of Zamenhof is spelled the same as “semen” in Japanese.</ref> Its tagline is ‘Time to take over the world!’, but what is it even about?”

“Maybe this is actually a valuable collection.”

“Don’t say that with a straight face. More importantly, look at this-… Wait. Why are we reviewing the titles and taglines of 18+ games!?”

Her shout was accompanied by odd noises out in the corridor.

They heard footsteps and barking.

After a large group of footsteps passed by and gave various frightened shouts, a dog pursued them and a single set of quieter footsteps followed.

“What was that?” asked Kashima.

“How about you get out there and find out?”

The wall of dummy data was forming on the monitor.

“I don’t think we can gather all the core’s data before the dummy data is eaten through.”

However, Tsukuyomi was already listing their gathered data in a different window.

As she looked through the list of names, she smiled.

“It looks like we have a lot of data on the National Defense Department. There are even digitized photographs. Kashima, you find out what’s going on out in the corridor. I’ll have this tidied up and printed out by the time you get back.”

“And then I’m supposed to do something with it?”

“Yes. Fax or otherwise send anything that looks important to the group in Okayama. Use a convenience store or something, so the higher ups won’t notice.” She nodded. “Those children will want this information too.”

Shino faced the bad adults in the central corridor of the second basement.

She had run around quite a bit, but she had been generally making progress toward the exit. The enemy had met up with the field operation unit at an intersection between white corridors and they were catching their breath behind that unit.

…''They’re holding the exit.

The dozen or so members of the field operation unit aimed guns at her. They aimed the guns directly at her and showed no sign of starting with warning shots. The middle-aged man with a commander-ish hat held a Hanshin Tigers megaphone in one hand.

“Um, can you hear me? We ask that you surrender peacefully.”

“I won’t.”

“Um, then can you give your name and affiliation?”

She was unsure whether she should tell them.

“My name is Shino. I am affiliated with…the Army.”

The unit stiffened at that name.

…''That isn’t surprising.

UCAT and the Army had fought a few skirmishes limited to Japan and most of them had involved the theft of UCAT’s information, materiel, and secrets. The Army viewed the battles as secondary and anyone who was captured was ordered to commit suicide.

…''But most everyone returns without being captured.

This may have been close to the first time someone had directly faced them and named the organization.

She noticed the field operation unit, including the commander, was speaking with the camera group behind them.

“?”

She tilted her head and the commander turned toward her.

“What is your objective?”

“Are you not aware what’s happening to UCAT’s data servers right now?”

“We are aware.”

His voice contained a tone of sadness which made Shino feel apologetic. However, she was also glad that the dogs were doing their job.

…''I really am selfish.

But she knew her behavior had to remain resolute and she knew these were her enemies.

“Then please give up. No normal attacks can stop my dogs. If possible, could you open a path and let me through? If you do, I will tell the dogs not to attack you.”

She poured strength into her words and prepared for an attack.

And…

“That expression is mine!!”

An ultra-long telephoto lens poked out from behind the enemy and she heard the sound of a camera shutter.

“No fair!!” shouted most of the enemy.

“I didn’t give you permission to photograph me!!” she shouted.

“That’s right. That’s right,” said the field operation unit as they grabbed the photo group by the collar.

“Listen up all of you,” said a representative member of the unit. “Don’t make us point a gun at a beauty while you have all the fun!”

“I-I said to stop calling me that. Is everyone in this organization a pervert!?”

They all turned toward her.

“You just don’t understand your value! Go look in a mirror and think about what truly matters!”

“I-I don’t want that kind of value! Please stop taking pictures!”

Ooshiro held his telephoto lens and wriggled back and forth behind all the others.

“How…how could you rob an old man of his adorable hobby?”

“Shiro, Shiro. Target that guy first. Don’t hesitate to use your canines.”

“When did beauties become so cement-like!?”

“Just let me leave!!” she shouted. “Do you have a habit of imprisoning young girls!?”

…''I need to move them out of the way so I can leave.

The dogs would catch up to her before long after the finished devouring the data and storing it in their bodies. Once she removed that from them and stored it in the philosopher’s stone, her mission would be complete. UCAT would lose most of its database and the Army would gain all that data.

…''Let’s get out of this unpleasant world as soon as possible.

Even without the dogs, she could use her philosopher’s stone’s power to break into an opponent’s thoughts and make them do what she said.

“Please move out of the way,” she said to the stone hanging from her neck.

A moment later, the few people immediately blocking her path unsteadily stood up.

It had worked. The power of a philosopher’s stone was the same as a concept and there was no way to oppose a power that simply stated how things were.

“…”

She took a breath. As a few people moved to either side, the people behind them frantically spoke up.

“W-wait! You’re controlling them! Is this some kind of miraculous beauty power!?”

“This is not a beauty power! It’s a philosopher’s stone!!”

“Ehhh!?”

She ignored their shouts of protest and stepped forward.

Ooshiro immediately ran forward and held out both hands.

“You’re on!!”

“Please move out of the way.”

She sounded almost exasperated as she gave her order, but then something like a crack ran between her and Ooshiro.

“Eh?”

She heard the sound of cracking glass and saw that Ooshiro had not moved.

She frowned at the fact that her philosopher’s stone was not working.

“Please…move out of the way,” she said while tilting her head.

Another crack ran through the air and a gust of wind blew through, but Ooshiro remained unmoved.

It was not working.

But as Ooshiro held his hands forward, his lab coat shook and a blue stone on a chain fell from his hand.

“Ha ha ha. Too bad. I thought it would be a good idea to bring a weakened copy of a concept that deflects everything.”

“But…”

“I simply deflected your power. Why don’t you try asking more nicely?”

“Please move out of the way!!”

Her shout produced another spatial crack and the bottom of Ooshiro’s lab coat fluttered about. The surrounding soldiers were bent backwards and plastered to the wall with their skeletons creaking from the strain.

“Gwah! U-UCAT Director Ooshiro! We can’t move out of the way any more than this!!”

“Just move out of the way!!”

“Gwaaaah!”

“You all seem to be having fun.”

Ooshiro withstood her power head on.

His expression and stance showed just how calm he was.

…''Huh?

She then realized something. If his reflection concept was related to the hands he held forward…

“Ah.”

She pretended to casually look to the left where the wall contained a single door.

As soon as Ooshiro looked over as well, his stance shifted just enough to alter the angle of his defensive power and he was blasted diagonally to the right. He struck the wall and energetically rolled two or three times.

“Ow! You need to treat the elderly with more care!”

“Please be quiet and let me leave!”

Shino ignored him and her shout silenced all of her opponents via the philosopher’s stone.

She received the desired silence, but she had a thought about her shout.

…''That isn’t what an intruder should be saying.

She realized she was blushing and the adults crawled down from the wall, pressed their heads together, and began discussing something. A few of them would glance her way on occasion and about a minute passed.

Once they faced her again, all their faces displayed the same calm smile.

“Now, let’s take this seriously. We aren’t letting you leave tonight.”

“Y-you sound like you’re lying. Are you hiding something?’

“N-no. O-o-o-of course not. None of you are hiding anything, right?”

They all gave three quick nods and Shino came to the realization that adults were liars.

“Anyway, please don’t move. I need to continue on and leave.”

“Yes, yes. Keep going if you wish.”

Ooshiro’s tone of voice confused her, but she did not know why.

She tilted her head and Shiro suddenly turned back toward her.

“What is it, Shiro?”

He turned toward the right wall and Shino started to as well.

“Ahhh! Don’t look at that wall!! It’ll corrode your eyes away!”

She looked regardless and found a white wall with a placard on it.

The placard contained a green arrow pointing behind her and a single word below it.

“Exit,” she read aloud.

…''Did I get turned around while chasing them?

“Oh, um, that’s where a man named Mr. Exit lives,” said Ooshiro up ahead. “The…the real exit is this way! C’mon, this way!”

“Good! Bye!!”

With that staccato exclamation, she started to turn around.

She was more bothered by her own sense of direction than by allowing them to trick her, so she decided to take some combat training in a closed space once she returned to the Army.

But as she turned around, she heard a voice from the exit leading up to the first basement.

It was a male voice and it was singing.

“A kissss exchanged innnnn the middle of the niiiiiight is a kiss of the niiiight!”

“He’s here!” said someone behind her.

“Wh-what is this strange song!?”

“Our secret weapon. The weapon we wanted to keep a secret!”

Shino heard a singing voice.

As it continued, she stopped moving and watched as someone appeared from down the corridor.

“Yooouuuuu and meeeee in our hearrrrrrrts!”

A pause.

“Yeahhhhhhh!!”

The shout ended just as the young man stopped approximately three meters ahead.

Shino observed him.

He had short blond hair and wore a white summer coat.

He seemed to be hearing things because he spread his arms as if to quiet imagined cheering.

“There will be no encore. Not when I get a job the second I get back from the Sea of Japan.”

Hearing that, Shino guessed who he was and breathed a sigh of relief.

He was most likely an ultra deep-sea fisherman from the coast of the Sea of Japan. The extreme loneliness of the sea had clearly caused him to go mad.

He glanced at her, Shiro, and the UCAT soldiers at the corridor intersection behind her.

“I’m here. It’s Atsuta Yukihito of the development department’s security team.”

“Eh? You’re not a deep-sea fisherman?”

“What are you talking about, brat?”

The young man named Atsuta frowned toward her and then turned back to those behind her.

She could tell he was an enemy, but his general atmosphere prevented her from moving. He was perfectly relaxed, but she had no idea what he would do if she did anything.

She had felt this same oppression when facing Tatsumi in training.

Shiro lowered down next to her but did not let down his guard.

''What should I do?'' she wondered just as Atsuta asked a question to his allies.

“So where’s this supposed enemy? Bring them out here for me.”

She followed his gaze in confusion and saw all those in the corridor intersection point at her.

Seeing that, Atsuta looked at her, paused, and then looked back at his allies.

“Are you stupid? This immature brat isn’t an enemy! If you’re gonna joke, at least put some effort into it. Hey, brat. I don’t know where they scouted you from, but hanging around people with rotten brains will make your own brain melt out your ears.”

“N-no. I…um…am the enemy.”

“Don’t be stupid, brat! Stop playing pretend, go home, and get some sleep!”

Everything he said irritated her.

He must have noticed the stern look on her face because he tilted his head.

“What? You got something to say to me, brat?”

That was when her self-control reached its limit.

She took in just one breath, clenched her lowered fists, and shouted back.

“I am not being stupid! And what is wrong with you!? Why do you keep calling me a brat!?”

“Shut up. You look like a brat, so I called you a brat. Isn’t it summer break? Go get to sleep, head out for the radio exercise tomorrow morning, and get yourself a stamp for attendance!”

“Oh? You keep calling me a brat, but you’re the one singing weird songs and hearing things. You’re more of a child than I am. In fact, you’re beyond saving! Also, the radio exercise wouldn’t be tomorrow morning. It would be this morning because it’s already past four in the morning! You idiot!!”

Her tirade received a response, but not from Atsuta.

The group behind her gasped and seemed to draw back in fear.

But she was no longer afraid and she stuck out her tongue before continuing.

“If you don’t like it, then say something! You stupid adult!”

She saw the young man’s eyebrows rise and he bared his teeth.

“Y-y-you…you…you…”

“Ohhh? Are you having trouble speaking? Heh heh heh. You double idiot!”

“I’ll rape you, brat!!”

His shout pierced through her, but it took her a moment to realize what he meant.

The entire area grew silent and she thought amidst the absolute stillness.

What exactly did those words mean?

“U-um…”

Her knowledge came from newspapers and magazines. When she mixed that with the current situation, she started to feel faint.

Something fell from her eyes.

She momentarily thought about calling for help from Mikoku, but Mikoku was not here. She had to be strong.

She endured and slowly looked up at him while feeling new tears welling up in her eyes.

She had a single word to say to Atsuta’s frowning face. She faced the ceiling, breathed in, and opened her mouth wide.

“Rapist!!”

“Y-you idiot! Don’t take it literally!!”

“Wahhhhh!!”

“Don’t cry!!”

But the next voice came from the corridor intersection.

“You bastard!!”

A thunderous voice was accompanied by countless guns being aimed.

“Atsuta! You’ve made one of this planet’s most precious resources cry! But that expression is nice too!”

“Stop being so inconsistently perverted!” he shouted back. “Anyway, is she the enemy!?”

“You’re the entire universe’s enemy!!”

“Don’t be stupid! Do you want me to slice you all to pieces!?”

As Atsuta’s shout reverberated down the corridor a new man spoke up.

“Wait just a second. Listen up.”

Shino rubbed the tears from her eyes with both hands and turned around to find a young man in a lab coat and sandals jogging from the right side of the intersection.

“What are all of you doing?”

“Oh, Kashima. These idiots are treating me like their enemy for some reason.”

The young man named Kashima turned toward Ooshiro and sighed.

“UCAT Director Ooshiro, Atsuta always approaches combat seriously. I can’t imagine why you would need to aim your guns at him. There must have been some kind of mistake.”

“That’s right, that’s right. Tell that perverted old man how wonderful I am.”

Ooshiro nodded and gestured Kashima over.

Kashima leaned in and Ooshiro whispered in his ear.

He nodded a few times and then turned to Atsuta.

“That was a bad thing, Atsuta.”

“Don’t betray me that easily!”

“Keep it down!”

Shino saw yet another new person enter.

The door on the wall to the left slid open and a short girl stepped out.

She had long gray hair and a black cat at her feet.

Shino knew that her name was Brunhild and that she had been part of 1st-Gear’s main force during their battle with UCAT.

She looked first at the corridor intersection and then at Shino.

“Is it all of you causing all that noise?”

She clearly did not expect an answer because she frowned and spoke in a quick, irritated voice.

“I am seriously busy, so keep it down.”

Feeling scolded, Shino frantically spoke up.

“S-sorry.”

“Oh? Do you really think sorry is enough?”

The frowning face turned Shino’s way.

''Oops,'' she thought. ''My reflexive apology gave her an excuse to accuse me.

Brunhild narrowed her eyes, tilted her head, and looked diagonally down at Shino.

“Do you want to know what I was doing?”

“N-not really.”

“I see.” Brunhild smiled. “I’ll tell you: I was working on my summer homework.”

Shino had heard that term before. She had never gone to school. The adults of the Army had given her a fair amount of professional knowledge, but she had only a little bit of knowledge on the customs of normal schools.

From what she had heard, summer homework was something everyone made a big deal out of yet always put off until the very end of summer break. People who finished it at the beginning of summer break were supposedly quite valuable.

And one such valuable person stood before her.

Her joy at meeting someone like that took the form of a question.

“Wh-what are you doing for your homework?”

That curious and interested question caused Brunhild to hold out her hand ten centimeters from Shino’s face to display what it held.

“Cicadas. I’m collecting insects.”

“…”

“I caught them yesterday evening. I just finished the preparations and was in the process of making specimens out of them. Do you know how that’s done? First, you inject an anesthetic into the end of their butt with a syringe. Once they stop moving, you inject a poisonous hardener into them, also through the butt. Then you stab a pin into the center like this.”

Shino gasped at the pierced stomach of the cicada.

“Don’t worry. I injected the anesthetic. But when I was injecting the hardener, the commotion out here caused the needle to go in at an angle and the hardener leaked out.”

“Eh?”

“It’s still alive.”

The cicada suddenly moved. Its six legs trembled and writhed about while it gave its chirping cry.

The sound of the bug made Shino step back.

“Nooo!!”

But Brunhild continued staring at her without so much as glancing at the cicada.

“I told you to keep it down.”

She pressed something hard against Shino’s forehead. It was slightly pointed, it moved, and it grasped painfully to her skin.

Once she thought about what it was, she just about passed out.

The cicada cries stopped and six sharp objects dug into her forehead.

She started hearing dog footsteps and barking in the distance and wondered if she was imagining things, but then another sharp pain reached her forehead.

As soon as she wondered what it was, Brunhild spoke.

“Oh, it’s sucking.”

Her instincts told her what was sucking, so she opened her mouth and her limbs tensed up.

“Cicadaaaaaa!!”

She screamed and dogs burst from the walls and ceiling.

The girl with the cicada prepared for a fight as the barking was accompanied by screaming adults and gunfire.

She threw the scalpel from her insect collection kit toward Atsuta.

“Sword god, make yourself useful!”

“You don’t have to tell me what to do!!”

Just as Atsuta caught the blade, Shiro began to move, and paper flew from Brunhild’s sleeve.

It was explosive paper.

A swordfight and explosion began.

The moon was visible as the night approached dawn.

The third quarter moon was already floating in the west at a height that indicated morning was near.

A woman stared at that moon.

She stood next to a white building atop a small mountain near a wide, flat city.

She wore white sleepwear and stood on an elevator at eight stories up. She was leaning on the railing and looking at the moon, but she suddenly stopped.

She lowered her gaze to the city.

“Kurashiki. It’s weird to think I can see it but they can’t see us.”

Night came early for that historical city, but its mornings seemed normal. The moon was out and the 3rd-Gear clock said it was early dawn, but…

“There aren’t many lights on.”

That flat city was not filled with agriculture and had no harbor, so the people there worked to protect history and preserve their city.

…''But they’re still living a life that faces the present.

“How preachy,” Miyako muttered self-deprecatingly as she looked into the sky.

When she had decided to remain that evening, Moira 1st and Gyes had given her two pieces of information to give her a chance to rethink that decision.

She turned her thoughts toward one of those two.

“I’m from 2nd-Gear.”

Her mother had never said a word about that.

According to Moira 1st, she had likely been naturalized and a lot of 2nd-Gear had joined Low-Gear once the Concept War came to an end. She had also mentioned that Tsukuyomi was the surname of 2nd-Gear’s imperial family.

“Heh.”

…''So I am a princess.

She didn’t like it and Gyes had gone on to say the following:

“According to some information we have received, a woman named Tsukuyomi works as the development department director at the Tokyo branch of UCAT, Low-Gear’s anti-Concept War organization and our enemy.”

“That would definitely be my mom,” she had replied.

…''What is with this? I was finally onboard and spoke so harshly, but it turns out I’m not from Low-Gear and my mom’s a leader in the enemy organization.

Moira 1st and the others had asked her to decide by the next morning whether she would leave or stay.

She thought about the ever-changing situation and began to sing a song.

“Silent night, Holy night.”

''What a memorable song,'' she thought.

On the last night she had spent with her father, the family had sung that song.

She would occasionally sing it to remember that time.

Her mother had instead avoided singing it, but she had suddenly started humming it again during May. It had started when her mother had stayed overnight at IAI for a “party” and come back with a hurt back.

''What happened to her then,'' Miyako wondered.

She then gave another self-deprecating laugh.

“Heh. First that interview and now I can’t figure myself out.”

…''And I don’t know anything about others.

“You’re far from being an adult, Miyako.”

As soon as she muttered that into the sky, she saw a light.

The pale light resembled moonlight, but it had not come from the sky.

“Inside!?”

The pale light was moving through the dim corridor visible through the emergency exit behind her.

It had a human form.

…''A woman?

The woman emitted a pale light and long hair of the same color rippled through the air as she climbed down the stairs next to the emergency exist.

''She’s not human,'' realized Miyako.

After all, humans did not glow and the background could not be seen through them.

“And can they make that face?”

She saw a face with the ends of the eyebrows lowered. The mouth was crumbled as if weeping and the eyes were powerless as if searching for something.

''If she were human, she would be wailing,'' thought Miyako. ''Her expression looks like it’s frozen in the instant before crying.

But if she was not human, what was she?

''A ghost?'' she guessed before shaking her head.

When Moira 1st had told her about 3rd-Gear the day before, she had mentioned the Tartaros Machina. People’s souls were wholly brought inside, but a specified person could not be called out.

That meant there were no ghosts of individual people.

“Then what is this?”

She stood up from the elevator railing, but the glowing woman was no longer visible even at the bottom of the stairway. She knew that stairway led to the hangar down below.

Wondering if she should go check, Miyako remembered something.

“Wasn’t that the woman in the framed paintings in the hallway?”

…''Artemis?

That was Apollo’s sister.

Was she inside this base in some form or another?

“Or am I so tired I’m hallucinating?”

She brought a hand to her forehead and found sweat.

That dampness and her cold forehead told her she had seen the truth.

And then noise came instead of light.

A shout reached her from below.

“—————!!”

The shout was in a mechanical voice and it came from the entrance to the hangar. It seemed to shake even the light leaking from the cracked-open door and it sounded almost bestial.

…''That was a scream.

The high-pitched scream continued from below.

She recognized it as Typhon’s shout, but she did not know why Typhon would be raising its voice now.

What was going on?

She tried to listen more closely, but the scream shook her spine.

“Kh.”

An unpleasant feeling twisting deep in her gut sent her inside.

The red carpet felt pleasantly soft below her feet and the scream from the hangar entrance vanished.

When she realized it was not coming from the bottom of the stairway, she breathed a sigh of relief.

With that warm breath, she leaned against the wall.

…''What was that scream?

It had already vanished and she did not hear a second one.

That relieved her even further, but at the same time…

…''Sorry.

Either because she had seen that pale glowing woman’s expression or because she understood Typhon’s scream, she wanted to do something about it.

“Dammit.”

She held her right hand before her eyes.

“Dammit!”

She clenched her left hand and struck the wall.

She realized once more how conceited she was. During the day, she had given the maids names and been surrounded by them. During the evening, she had spoken with Apollo. After that, she had felt she understood them to a certain extent.

…''But I don’t.

She decided to stay here. Tomorrow, she would eat breakfast and head to the hangar. There, she would face Typhon fair and square while the others worked.

“Dammit…”

As she spoke, she realized a sound lingered in her ears: Typhon’s scream.

The intensity of that scream had rivalled the yellow she had seen in Typhon’s eyes.

“Kh!”

She covered her face with her outstretched hand and recalled the young man with the same color eyes as Typhon.

What would he do if he heard that scream that had the same intensity as his eyes?

And who had caused Typhon to cry out like that?

…''Was it not Apollo?

Moira 1st had said he was the only human in the base, which meant he was the only one who could pilot Typhon.

But who had that woman been?

…''Typhon screamed after she went down there.

But she shook her head. An actual body was needed to pilot a god of war. That woman’s body had been made of light and she had not even created footsteps.

In that state, she could not cause anything to move.

“What is going on? I thought this was the land of machines.”

She considered asking Apollo, but she shook her head.

She would wait until tomorrow.

She would then head to the hangar and find the truth there.

“That rich boy wouldn’t give me a straight answer even if I asked him.”

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>
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|-
| Back to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume6_Chapter_19|Chapter 19]]
| Return to [[Owari_no_Chronicle|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume6_Chapter_21|Chapter 21]]
|-
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</noinclude>

HEAVY OBJECT:Volume8 Chapter 3

2014-06-01T22:06:42Z

Aagcnet: /* Part 3 */

{{Incomplete|parts=5|tparts=15}}
==Chapter 3: Eyes of the Goddess Glowing Deep in the Darkness >> All-Out War in the New Caledonia District==

===Part 1===

The theoretical idea had existed for a long time.

For example, an anti-ship missile fired from a submarine or guided missile destroyer would fly just a few meters off the ocean surface while travelling at speeds greater than Mach 5. It was created to slip past the Gatling guns and other close-in weapon systems, blow a hole in in the side of the enemy ship at the waterline, and ensure the ship flooded.

Just as mirages were used for fighters to escape anti-air lasers, those anti-ship missiles were the representative enemy the earliest Objects were designed to face.

If the missile was loaded with a small nuclear warhead, it was feared an Objects’ anti-air lasers and a satellite interceptor would be insufficient to protect a large city on the coast.

One suggestion put together as a countermeasure was to use mines or shells to produce tremendous pillars of water which would form a thick enough wall to knock the missile from the air. The liquid might seem soft to a normal person, but it became a tremendously solid wall to something flying at Mach 5. Striking the wall would tear the missile apart in midair.

Ultimately, getting the timing right proved extremely difficult and the idea was abandoned for a long time. Once improvements in parallel processing technology for anti-air laser targeting radars considerably raised the anti-ship missile interception rate, everyone forgot about it.

That unique technique was forgotten by the flow of time.

It should have ended there.

Should have.

“Agh, this is hopeless! There’s no way we can win!!”

A soaking wet Quenser flailed around while lying face up on a giant ship’s deck. The NTR girl named Mariage Nightcap was sitting nearby with her legs bent back to either side. Even if New Caledonia was in the southern hemisphere, they were still shivering from being soaking wet in the darkness of the night.

The pouring rain had stopped at some point, but that allowed them to focus more on the cold night air.

The Megalodiver was not there.

Once that New Model had retreated for some reason, Quenser and Mariage had been picked up by Legitimacy Kingdom hovercrafts. The innocent prisoners had also been collected from the containers they had been dumped into the ocean inside. All of them had then travelled back to the disguised cruiser known as the Scarlet Princess that Frolaytia was using as a flagship.

They had somehow escaped death, but it was not over yet.

They could not relax until they knew why the enemy had left (or rather, overlooked them) and the higher levels of the Legitimacy Kingdom military had decided to continue the attack, so they would be tossed in front of the Megalodiver again.

They had to find some way to defeat it during their short break.

“B-before even getting to the Tatami Shield, how does it detect things so accurately using only sound?”

“What?”

“Using sound to detect enemies is what submarines do, but that only works because sound propagates through water faster than air. Plenty of things can exceed the speed of sound in air and the Megalodiver needs to keep up with that supersonic world.”

“That thing isn’t evading after detecting the shells the other Object fires,” spat out Quenser while still lying on the deck. “It’s detecting the subtle noises of the targeting lenses and cannons moving and using that to predict where the shells will be fired. That’s how it can ignore the barrier created by the speed of sound.”

The situation would change if the enemy Object itself could exceed the speed of sound, but the Baby Magnum could not move that quickly.

“B-but! There are explosions everywhere! Both active sonar and directional microphones would be useless!”

“That’s the entire damn point! It can distinguish just the sound waves it wants out of the intense noise created from all those different waveforms colliding. I don’t know what kind of supercomputer it has installed to analyze that in an instant, but it’s definitely doing it! Crushing its ears would be difficult. We need to find a way to defeat it despite being detected, but I’m not sure anything like that exists! I’ve had enough of this!!”

A girl approached as Quenser began flailing around on the deck once more.

She was the Pilot Elite princess who wore a skintight special suit. The maintenance soldiers were working as quickly as possible to exchange the battered Baby Magnum’s parts, so the princess had nothing to do.

“Quenser, did you just say I’m weak?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Did your lack of screentime turn you yandere!?”

“You definitely said it. You said you have to do something about this because I’m weak. If you keep saying that, I won’t provide covering fire for you.”

[[Image:HO_v08_219.jpg|thumb]]

“Hold up!! That’s a death sentence in the clean wars ruled by Objects!!”

Quenser frantically sat up, but an odd weight obstructed his movement. He looked over and found Mariage still had her arms wrapped around his neck and her ample chest pressed against him.

He had a feeling an ominous shimmering began to rise from behind the princess.

“And who is this Holstein in sheep’s clothing?” asked the princess.

“In the red corner, Mariaaaaaaaaaage Nightcaaaaaaaaaaap!! I distinctly remember there being a detailed explanation during the pre-mission briefing!!”

“I want to know why she’s clinging to you like cheese toast!!”

“I’d like to know the same thing! What are you doing!?”

“Eh…eh heh heh. I still don’t feel like I was rescued. I can’t relax unless I do this.”

Mariage was essentially saying, “I’m afraid of the Megalodiver attacking if we don’t hide my heartbeat. I know I’m worrying too much, but I want to overlap our heartbeats.” However, the aura behind the princess only grew more ominous.

“Ahh, this really calms me down.”

“Quenser, you can go fight a war with nothing but two lumps of fat.”

“Wait. Wait a sec, princess! This girl is the type who’s pulled around by others! She’s the NTR type!! I already fell victim to that in the Château de Rouge! I know letting her manipulate me is not a good idea!!”

“But you still tore me away from that mean jailer in the very, very end.”

“…”

“That was to find a weakness in the Megalodiver, you backstabbing slut!! And I was caught between the jailors’ full-auto shotguns and that Object. Of course I’m going to kick a dirty old man in the face to survive!!”

“My policy is to cling to the strongest-looking guy in reach.”

“Then go join the Megalodiver! We’ll blow you away along with it!!”

“…”

“Oh, c’mon. If I joined the Megalodiver, you’d complain but still come to rescue me.”

“Like hell I would! Not this time!! And after this is over, I’m definitely reporting to the higher ups that you betrayed me at the end there. I hope you’re prepared to be thrown in prison for some weird crime or another!!”

“Saying ‘after this is over’ makes your hesitation plain as day. I can tell I’m on the safest route here.”

“………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Excuse me.”

If words had heat, the words that leaked from the princess’s mouth might have looked like flickering flames of phosphorus.

“The problem lies in this unique harmony between you two. Who do you think actually put her life on the line to stop the Megalodiver?”

“W-w-w-w-w-wait, princess! Stop climbing on top of me and shaking me by the collar!! My brain’s gonna turn to butter!! Gbh! U-ugh. I can’t even enjoy the lovely sensation sitting on my stomach like this!!”

“Hey, this is no time to be horsing around,” cut in a new voice.

The voice belonged to Heivia who had dragged Quenser and Mariage onto the Scarlet Princess’s deck. He was looking to the port side of the disguised cruiser rather than at Quenser, Mariage, and the princess.

“This isn’t funny. Our armed cruise ship is coming up alongside us. There’s no way this is going to end well.”

“ ‘Our’? You mean the Winchell family?”

Quenser looked over while working to tear Mariage from him.

A new majestic silhouette had appeared on the ocean to replace the Megalodiver.

The giant ship was just as gorgeous as the (seemingly) perfect and luxurious Scarlet Princess.

“That’s the Summer Vacation.” Heivia did not sound happy. “That must mean they’re onboard.”

The two ships were only about five meters apart.

The Summer Vacation had a happy-sounding name and looked like a luxurious cruise ship, but it had gigantic cannons and the Gatling guns of a close-in weapon system attached here and there. Unlike the disguised cruiser, this ship made no intent to hide the weapons. There was no sign of compartments to store them.

The watertight door on the side deck opened and a horizontal row of its crew exited.

They all had one distinguishing feature.

“Why are they all maids?”

“I’d rather not say.”

“Why are you doing your best to not look me in the eye? Don’t tell me this is related to some kind of conflict in your noble family.”

While Heivia grew oddly withdrawn, their own watertight door opened and Frolaytia walked out onto the deck with several bodyguards.

All the maids bowed, but Frolaytia did not salute in return.

“Private soldiers of the Winchell family? What are civilian bodyguards doing here?”

The oldest (using height and bust size for reference) maid who wore an eyepatch replied. The maid uniform did not suit her.

(It can’t be! I thought only cruel, scarred sergeants were allowed to carry those!)

“Yes, major. While on a sightseeing cruise nearby, we happened to learn that your unit had been forced into a difficult battle. I apologize for acting without permission, but we decided to lend a hand.”

Heivia started trembling and his lips were as blue as when he had been thrown in the pool the other day.

“Y-you mean it was your doing that the Megalodiver retreated? But how!? You’ve gotta be joking. You didn’t pay a new Object to fight, did you!?”

The maid narrowed her one eye like a dagger, turned toward him as if looking at a dung beetle, and gave a low groan.

“Yoooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu are so filled with delusions I’m amazed you’re still alive. Not even a noble can directly own an Object.”

“That tone!! No maid should be using that tone of voice!!”

Ignoring Heivia as he started crying, Frolaytia placed her long, narrow kiseru back in her mouth.

“I would like an explanation as well.”

“Of course, major.” The maid’s expression and tone instantly returned to normal. “The Object in question seemed to be frequently sending encrypted transmissions to a different unit, so we attacked them. That unit was likely used for supplies and maintenance. It would take a considerable amount of time just to prepare the inspection and maintenance of a fifty meter machine.”

Still soaking wet, Quenser looked up in realization.

“I get it. The Megalodiver was covered in lava by the submarine volcano and a few of its water intakes had to have been covered up. The Pilot Elite would have difficulty removing that lava alone, so he wants to get the maintenance done as soon as possible. That way they can revive the Megalodiver’s diving ability.”

The Megalodiver had decided to rescue the other unit despite lacking confirmation of Mariage Nightcap’s death.

They had spent three full days and used all the materials available to put together that makeshift maintenance base, so it was only natural for them to panic if it was attacked.

That had allowed Quenser and Mariage to escape the slaughter.

Heivia let out a sigh.

“Does that mean we can relax for now? With its supply line and maintenance cut off and its diving ability sealed, not even the Megalodiver can-…”

“Yoooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu are…”

Before even hearing her out, Heivia covered his face with his hands and started sobbing.

Showing no concern whatsoever, the eyepatch maid continued speaking.

“Our bombardment and landing operation destroyed about 70% of that unit, but we were forced to leave once the Object drew near. They can most likely perform maintenance once it arrives, so we must attack before that work is complete.”

“I see.”

“Major, this may be presumptuous, but we can supply some related documents we acquired during the attack. The papers and photographs we gathered from their base would be useless in the hands of civilians such as us.”

“Were you worried about the Winchell family’s heir?”

“We have no business with that dung beetle. We were only fulfilling our duty as Legitimacy Kingdom citizens.”

The eyepatch maid verbally discarded him with a smile.

The noble boy had long since curled up on the deck, but Frolaytia simply breathed out a long stream of sweet-smelling smoke.

“I would like to thank you for your cooperation, but I cannot accept your offer to share intelligence. We deal in a lot of classified information and we cannot place any responsibility on the shoulders of civilians.”

“Why not view it as civilians supplying intelligence or confiscating documents from an unofficial operation? If the flow of information is in only one direction, you need not worry about classified information leaking to civilians.”

“That would be improper treatment of those who saved us.”

Frolaytia grinned and the eyepatch maid gave a thin smile of her own.

The silver-haired, huge-breasted major pointed to Quenser with her long, narrow kiseru.

“Quenser and…Mariage Nightcap was it? You two board their ship as civilians. A conversation between civilians is no business of a soldier like me.”

The way the two of them were treated as a pair produced a noise of anger from the princess, but that was none of Frolaytia’s concern.

(Oh, no. The princess is looking angry! She must be starving for entertainment and she must think this cruise ship is like a theme park!)

Quenser seemed to be perceptive yet was actually misreading the situation entirely, but he spoke up all the same.

“Heh…eh heh heh. I have an idea, Frolaytia. How about we let the princess join us on the- hot! O-ow! You just jabbed me with the end of the kiseru, didn’t you!?”

“Are you stupid? The Pilot Elite has her conditioning and all the tuning and tests needed for the Baby Magnum as its parts are replaced. Where in that does she have time to go play? Well?”

“Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot☆”

As Quenser writhed around at the hands of his huge-breasted commander, the princess remained perfectly expressionless with sparkling angry sound effects surrounding her head like the VFX of an Information Alliance idol.

Next, Frolaytia pointed the kiseru toward Heivia.

“Heivia, you go visit home. I’m giving you leave, so head over to the Winchell family’s armed cruise ship.”

“No!! I don’t want to be thrown to that army of cruel tutors!!!!”

Despite Heivia’s shrill protests, the line of maids simply turned cold looks toward him.

Having received his orders, Quenser stood up from the deck while still soaking wet.

“So what’s with those maids anyway?”

“I’ll explain later, so please keep quiet.”

===Part 2===

Quenser, Mariage, and Heivia transferred from the Legitimacy Kingdom’s disguised cruiser “Scarlet Princess” to the Winchell family’s armed cruise ship “Summer Vacation”.

They moved from ship to ship using an unreliable makeshift bridge created by leaning a ladder on its side. The pitch black sea visible below needlessly filled them with fear.

Quenser scratched at his wet blond hair.

“Hi, I’m Quenser Barbotage.”

“I-I’m Mariage Nightcap.”

The eyepatch maid gave a frightening first impression, but she replied softly and with a smile.

“Welcome, you two. I am Karen I Winchell. Please feel at home during your short visit.”

Once she saw Heivia behind them, she blatantly clicked her tongue and spit over the handrail.

“Yoooooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu need to learn to introduce yourself without being asked.”

“I have to introduce myself!? As you well know, I’m your master, the great Heivia Winchell!!”

“Huh?” Mariage tilted her head. “That maid and the soldier are both named Winchell?”

Once she mentioned it, Quenser realized it was odd for a member of a noble family to be wearing a maid uniform.

But Heivia shrugged.

“My family has a custom of granting the name of Winchell to servants or cooks who give especially exemplary service. They’re adopted into the family, but adopted family has no legal rights in the Legitimacy Kingdom where bloodline is everything. They can’t inherit the family, so it’s nothing more than a title or a badge of honor. Speaking of which, the I of her middle name stands for Imitation.”

Karen I Winchell ignored the dung beetle and gave a splendid smile.

“The Winchell family has a custom of granting its name to servants who provide especially exemplary service. They are adopted into the family, but they have no legal rights in the Legitimacy Kingdom where bloodline is everything. I am well aware of my position as a maid. Oh, by the way, the I of my middle name stands for Imitation.”

“I just explained all that!! What is wrong with you!? Do you have a filter in place that keeps you from hearing what I say!?”

“The Summer Vacation is one of the Winchell family’s seven armed cruise ships. It is similar to that disguised cruiser, but the two ships deal with pirates differently: the cruiser is a military ship made to look like a cruise ship while this is a cruise ship with the weapons of a military ship added on. Rather than lure in enemies, we intimidate them into staying away.”

“Now you’re ignoring my protests!?” shouted Heivia.

The topic seemed to appeal to Quenser’s mechanical heart because his eyes began sparkling.

“That’s a huge gun over there, but how many centimeters is it?”

“It is 50cm. The Island Nation warships had 46cm guns, so this might be on the upper end of what is installed on ships. It is a far ways off from an Object’s weapons, of course.”

“It’s so huge that it all looks top heavy. How do you manage damage control?”

“This is a cruise ship, so a high center of gravity is unavoidable. However, the ship has a unique float structure, so it is sturdier than your average heavy cruiser.”

“M-more specifically! How does that technology work!? Pant pant!!”

“The entire outer shell is covered with small, honeycomb-like air tanks. In addition to acting as a simple float, it also reduces the effectiveness of chemical warheads that make use of the Munroe effect or metal jets.”

“Defense using air!? D-damn. So it’s made sturdy by faithfully following the standard of floating the ship with air. This has advanced in a different direction from the Objects that hold everything back with thick armor!! B-but wait. If I could overturn the idea that the two can’t work together, it might lead to a new Object design.”

Karen I Winchell tilted her head slightly and Mariage Nightcap had long since backed away.

“Um, excuse me, Mr. Barbatoge. Are you what is known as a geek?”

“N-no!! I may be interested in high-level technology, but it’s only because I want to become a dashing and productive member of society!! Y’know, the kind of person who the beautiful young lady in the neighborhood asks to hook up her recording equipment!!”

“Understood. So you are a geek who is not aware he is a geek.”

It seemed the maid had reached a strange conclusion.

As Quenser began protesting that she did not understand at all, a dark smile appeared on Heivia’s lips. The look in his eyes was telling Quenser to join him on the receiving end of the abuse.

Quenser knew being dragged down by that loser would not end well, so he began an attack in a more positive direction.

“Can nobles really own something like this? I’m not just referring to the weapons. It must take over one hundred specialists to run something like this.”

“We are nothing more than civilian maids trained in self-defense techniques. We may have acquired a few special international qualifications, but anyone could attempt to do the same.”

Heivia gave a piercing comment to throw cold water on Karen’s perfect smile.

“Don’t act like you’re not a monster of a woman who can kill a bear or a tiger barehanded.”

“What was that?”

Karen glared at him and he let out a shriek much like a tea kettle that had reached a boil.

Frolaytia gave a comment of her own over the radio.

“Not every noble owns an armed cruise ship. It costs 200,000 euros to run one of those for a full day. Taking a seven or eight day cruise around the world costs as much as a brand new stealth fighter. Unless you’re talking about the Winchell family, the Vanderbilt family, or another top-level noble family, they wouldn’t be able to keep a ship like that running even if they could purchase it.”

“And the Winchell family has seven of them? Huh? But why are maids riding around on something that eats up money like that?”

“It was originally a birthday present for some little sister or another, but she grew sick of it and now they ride around on it. If you don’t use machines periodically, they’ll break down, so the family turns a blind eye.”

“Uheh,” groaned Mariage.

However, Quenser latched onto something else entirely.

“Wait. Wait just a minute, Heivia. Did I hear that right? You have a little sister. And not just one! You have enough that you can’t keep track of them all? And on top of that, you have a beautiful maid as an adoptive older sister?”

Seeing his horrible friend nod, Quenser brought his radio to his mouth.

“Death to the bourgeois!! All who agree, raise your hand!!”

A thundering roar of voices reached them from the neighboring ship. Despite being past midnight, the lonely soldiers were full of energy. They likely had pent up energy after having nothing to do.

“The reality is nothing like what it sounds like!!” lamented Heivia.

“What!? Is this that theory about families with a real little sister having no dreams whatsoever!? I won’t allow it!! This is a crime of luxury!! What era of nobles are you from, dammit!?”

“I’m a real noble from this era!! Got a problem with that!?”

The two idiots began grappling, but Karen I Winchell intervened. Specifically, she sent a full-swing slap…no, strike with the butt of the palm into the noble’s cheek and sent him spinning through the air for several meters.

“Bbgh!! Bhbbh!!”

“Yoooooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu need to stop crying like a pig. Have you forgotten how to be polite in front of guests?”

All the blood drained from Quenser’s face as well.

“J-just the head? Y-you sent him several meters with a hit to the head? Just the head???”

“Do not worry. A strike from a slipper is not enough to kill a dung beetle.”

Mariage tugged on Quenser’s uniform with tears in her eyes. The look in those eyes said a further attack would kill Heivia if they did not change the subject.

“A-anyway! Miss Karen, I can think of you as part of the invincible maid unit that protects the Winchell family, right!?”

For some reason, the tall cool beauty’s face grew a bit flushed and she fidgeted while averting her gaze.

“I-I do not like that title. It is embarrassing.”

(Oh, this is working.)

Quenser decided to press on like this.

“Um, then what’s your actual title? Noble Maid probably applies to about a hundred maids on this ship.”

“I would fall into the Milk Maid category.”

“What kind of sexual title is that!!!???”

“Where are you looking and what are you imagining!?”

Karen’s entire face grew as red as a tomato and she covered her chest with her hands.

(I’m definitely on the right track!!)

Quenser gestured to his horrible friend, but Heivia did not see it as he lay limply on the deck.

Mariage tugged on Quenser’s clothes and whispered to him.

“U-um, isn’t a milk maid a maid on a rural farm that milks cows and makes butter?”

“N-not in this case, honey.” Heivia finally rose unsteadily to his feet. “She’s a legit combat type that directly controls the security of detached Winchell land such as manors or plantations.

Don’t think for a second that she’s some naïve maid who milks cows.”

Karen loudly clicked her tongue and Heivia grew desperate.

“There’s a custom of sending noble heirs to an area with clean water and air as soon as they’re born. That meant she was in charge of breastfeeding me, but you wouldn’t believe how that turned out!! The policy is meant to protect the heir from pollution and allergies, but the next thing I knew, that eyepatch maid kept trying to kill me!!”

“That was a part of your advanced education.”

“You mean that nonsense about a noble needing to be prepared for attempted poisonings or other assassinations!? You can imagine the disasters that led to!”

Quenser was on the verge of giving a groan of sympathy, but then…

“I also prepared you for the seductive techniques of female spies and marriage scam artists, dung beetle.”

“I’m going to encase you in concrete and throw you into the ocean! Get over here!!!”

“She wouldn’t have gone through with it!” shouted Heivia. “I knew it was a trap and she threatened to chop it off if I gave in!!”

Despite his protests, Quenser began beating him with clenched fists. He used the extra strength one gained in a crisis to do quite a bit of damage despite their usual division of roles.

Meanwhile, Karen I Winchell smiled.

“If you are finished preparing to execute that toilet beetle, how about we get down to business? Thanks to our attack on the Megalodiver’s supply and maintenance unit, we have information on that Island Nation Object. The documents are stored inside the ship, so please come this way.”

===Part 3===

The eyepatch maid named Karen I Winchell led Quenser and the others through the armed cruise ship named the Summer Vacation. Bright lights so thoroughly swept away the darkness and shadows that it was easy to forget it was the middle of the night.

Seeing the inside showed Quenser this truly was a luxury cruise ship. It was a stark contrast to the Scarlet Princess which had been primarily a military vessel and thus had been cramped and uncomfortable inside.

“Now I’m worried about being so wet,” he groaned.

The corridor was carpeted, so his wet footprints bothered him. If he was later asked to pay for any damage, he doubted a commoner could ever clear the debt.

He was also a bit worried about his crotch, but he figured he was unlikely to catch the kind of tropical rainforest disease that made the contents of his pants grow all wet and swollen.

“We have no clothing for guests as the ship was only meant to carry maids,” explained Karen apologetically. “We only have bathrobes and maid uniforms.”

“Heh. Sorry, young lady, but I’ve already sworn to forever seal away the legendary Quensette.”

“Eh!? You’ve worn one before!?”

Mariage’s hysterical question brought a distant look to his eyes.

“It was during a cultural festival back at my safe country school. Uniting the guys to all vote for a maid café was good and all, but the girls were so angry they employed a scorched earth tactic and made all the guys play baseball in maid uniforms.”

“Uheh…” groaned Mariage as she imagined that hellish scene.

For some reason, Karen held out her index fingers and thumbs to create two L-shapes and formed a rectangular picture frame from those. She used her one eye to point the finder of her heart toward Quenser’s face and then body.

“Hm. Now that you mention it, you have a cute face and a slender body, so you wouldn’t be bad. Heh. But even if we put you in a maid uniform, you wouldn’t have a partner! Putting our tree bug in that role just wouldn’t have the proper beauty!!”

“No…um…?”

A chill ran down Quenser’s spine and he decided to change the subject.

“A-anyway, I love seeing nothing but maid uniforms on the ship, but is that wise? Isn’t it dangerous if you fall overboard?”

“Do not worry. The uniforms are made for quick removal in case we fall overboard or our skirt is caught in a machine.”

“…”

Quenser was momentarily overcome by the wicked urge to push her into the ocean right that instant, but they were unfortunately walking down an internal corridor. He of course left it a secret that the idea of immediately removable maid uniforms filled him with an indescribable fuzzy feeling.

Their destination was one of several dance halls that took up multiple floors. The grand piano and snack table were pushed to by the wall and a simple blue sheet covered the entire floor. The sheet was covered with tidy lines of documents and burnt, misshapen pieces of metal.

The scene seemed somehow ominous and reminded Quenser of a line of body bags after a plane crash.

In truth, each of them may have been dyed with death.

“We gathered as much as we could in the fifteen minutes before the Object arrived. If that unit was in charge of supplies and maintenance as we suspect, these documents may help you learn how the Megalodiver works and where a weakness may lie.”

“That’ll really help.”

The look in Quenser’s eyes quickly changed.

Large machines, especially Objects, had a way of gathering his focus.

“So where was this unit hiding anyway?”

“On a rust-filled island here in the New Caledonia District. It’s used as a tanker graveyard and no one lives there. It’s about fifty kilometers from that prison.”

“Oh, so it’s a workshop where they dismantle old, rundown tankers? The point is to sell the parts as scrap metal, right?”

“They use crude acetylene burners, so there is no end to the accidental explosions. None of the locals except for those who work there ever get close and those workers have no reason to be there without a new tanker to work on. It seems like a decent place to hide.”

The eyepatch maid bowed and left the dance hall.

“Now then,” said Quenser as he cracked his neck. “Perhaps it would be wrong to call this a pile of treasure.”

“Stop licking your lips like that. Only slightly sexual girls should be doing that.”

But Quenser was not one to be stopped by that. The entire reason he had ducked through showers of bullets was to gain information on currently-active Objects. Not to mention that this Object was a second generation developed in secret by the Island Nation that was a legend in the field of Objects. If this was not enough to get him excited, he would be better off heading back to his safe country to stare at a blackboard.

“This is the heat-resistant reactive compound. Is this scorched thing the transparent reflector for a laser beam? And these documents here…”

“Hey, Quenser! Explain your plan. What am I supposed to focus on here!?”

“Everything!! For the moment, everything!! A-amazing. Is this a layout overview for the braces that distribute its weight!? B-back in a safe country, you’d never see this without sneaking into a national research lab!! And this is…pant pant!!”

“You pervert! I’m gonna call the Black Uniforms on you!!”

Mariage whimpered and then spoke up to focus the two idiots who were veering way off track.

“U-um… Aren’t we in a lot of trouble if we can’t find a way to sink the Megalodiver? Shouldn’t we look through the Tatami Shield defense system first as it’s the greatest threat?”

“Oh, that’s right!! Anyway, who even is this huge-breasted glasses girl? I think her wet clothes are a little see-through.”

“That’s Mariage Nightcap, the girl who was thrown in a cell. However, she’s the NTR type, so letting your guard down won’t end well. The more you push, the easier she ends up somewhere else. In other words, she’s easy to make yours, but it’ll end up hurting you later.”

“Sounds exciting to me!!”

Mariage jumped like a small animal and began keeping her distance from Heivia.

Karen I Winchell happened to return to the dance hall just as the noble boy started breathing heavily, so she performed an unrestrained middle kick on his side.

After the sound of a blanket being struck, he had been defeated.

“N-nfhhn!?”

“Yoooooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu really are creepy. Even your sounds of pain creep me out.”

As he lay collapsed on the floor, Karen stared down at him like she was looking at the contents of a balled-up tissue. She carried a silver tray so smoothly it did not produce any clattering noises and she lined up a tea set and a few baked sweets on the snack table by the wall.

“Have you found any useful information?”

“Wait. I think this might be it. It’s titled ‘Weapons for Zero Water Pressure’. This is a list of equipment used when fighting on the surface, right? Wouldn’t the Tatami Shield fall under that classification?”

“But doesn’t the Tatami Shield simply fire normal cannons at the ocean surface to create pillars of water?”

“No naval Object has pulled off that tactic before, but this one is turning aside 100% of attacks. We should probably assume it has a unique targeting system, a special type of shell, or some other secret.”

“I see. Oh, I have Ceylon and Assam tea prepared. Will that be a problem? Milk and lemons are over here. If you would like apple peels, just ask.”

“This is fine, this is fine. I want to focus on these documents right now. But…what are these symbols? This is the language unique to the Island Nation, isn’t it? It doesn’t use the alphabet, so I don’t even know where to start!”

“Is this their ancient writing system?” asked Mariage. “I’ve heard you read it top to bottom and back and forth at the same time. I don’t know much about it either.”

“Please eat these muffins and crackers with a spread of your choice. If I may, I would recommend the anchovy and cottage cheese spread.”

“Just looking at the diagrams, it’s…what? Looks like it’s pumping something into the water, but it doesn’t look like a shell.”

As Quenser muttered to himself, he suddenly gasped and stopped moving.

He had completely forgotten about something, so he grabbed his radio with a trembling hand.

“F-Frolaytia!! I just realized something!!”

“What is it? Did you learn something about the Megalodiver!?”

“This ship has normal food instead of nothing but eraser-like military rations! But why!?”

“Sigh. This is a civilian ship with self-defense weaponry, so we are not bound by military regulations,” explained Karen. “To maintain a sense of what day it is, the workers eat fish on Mondays and veal on Fridays, but we are free to eat what we wish on any other day.”

“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

Quenser shouted so loudly he thought he would shed tears of blood.

He was forced to eat flavorless erasers to maintain an even potential for all missions, so it truly felt like the ultimate luxury to have not just a meal fit for a noble but tea and snacks as well.

Meanwhile, Frolaytia sounded annoyed.

“Don’t forget that your paycheck comes from the people’s taxes. And don’t get carried away. You can maintain a sense of what day it is by making curry once a week and preparing all those ingredients adds an extra logistical burden. That isn’t going to fly with the military.”

“No fair! Don’t act like it’s that much of an issue when you always have your tobacco and mini-fridge with you!!”

Their inability to read the characters of the Island Nation’s unique language left them stuck, but Karen I Winchell spoke up.

“While preparing health foods for the Winchell family, I grew fond of the Island Nation’s cuisine and green tea, so I learned a bit of the language.”

“I doubt this is terminology found in a housewife’s cookbook.”

They had no other option, so Quenser handed Karen the classified document.

“I see, I see,” she said surprisingly cutely. “It seems these are natural macromolecules. After being heated to sixty or seventy degrees by the heat of the reactor, they are fired into the sea.”

“W-wait a minute. What the hell is a macromolecule?”

“Yoooooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu are-…”

“Fine! I won’t say anything else!! Keep going!!”

Heivia had tears in his eyes, so Quenser kindly explained.

“Heivia. A natural macromolecule is what you also call starch. It’s taken from potatoes and other plants. Do you get it now?”

“What!? Then why not just say starch!? Why would you go out of your way to make it confusing? Oh, I get it. You’re obsessed with specs, aren’t you?”

Karen grabbed a ceramic pot of hot water and pressed the bottom against Heivia’s forehead. It was not a thermos, so the outside was hot too.

“Because that’s what it says on the paper!!”

“Gyabaaah!? That’s more or less a brand!!”

Incidentally, fifty degrees is apparently the limit for hot water in the reaction business, so do not try that at home.

“Dammit…dammit! What do you have against me!?”

“I have no particular hatred for you, but I cannot stand you in general.”

“Don’t say that so nonchalantly, you idiot! It pisses you off that I’m on the battlefield, doesn’t it? You hate that someone who’s getting along well with a member of the rival Vanderbilt family is trying to inherit the family, don’t you!?” he spat out. “But I don’t care what you want! It’s wrong to be influenced by hatred from centuries ago, especially when no one remembers why it started. I’m going to end that in my generation! I swear it! And I’m not going to ask you for help, so I don’t need your approval. I’ve decided to do this even if I have to do it alone!!”

“Sigh. You can get as hot-blooded as you like, but have you forgotten that ''I'' hold the even hotter water?”

“Gyawaaah!!!???”

Mariage ignored the comedy act and asked a question.

“Why do they put starch in the ocean before using the Tatami Shield? And if they heat it to sixty to seventy degrees…”

“That temperature makes starch sticky like paste, doesn’t it? Does that mean what I think it does?”

“Yes. I think they’re trying to make a substance that will thicken the water,” cut in Karen while ignoring Heivia who writhed in pain. “A shame they aren’t using it for cooking.”

“Pillars of water tall enough to completely cover the Object are enough of a shield, but does using starch to increase the viscosity of the seawater help it even further?”

“Something bothers me about this,” muttered Quenser.

Mariage seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“I get that it’s making the water all around it sticky, but the Megalodiver itself cools its reactor and gains propulsion by taking in seawater, right? But can it really suck up that sticky water?”

(Not only that, but it was using a water intake on top when we met it in the deep sea. How is it handling it on the surface? Does it have another intake on the bottom? Did it surface for a short term battle because it was afraid of sucking up sand from the bottom of the ocean? But if so, it doesn’t make sense for it to create impure seawater with the starch. Does it have some further system?)

He could not find an answer, but the mystery needing solving was growing clearer.

“Frolaytia.”

“If this is about food, it can wait. If you put in for leave, I’ll turn a blind eye to any fish you catch during that time.”

“It’s about the Tatami Shield. …Or the Hiding Clothes of Water? Is that the official name? Anyway, I have a few simple topics concerning the Megalodiver’s defense system, so please contact the electronic simulation division.”

“Give me more details.”

He did so and she fell silent for a moment afterwards.

“I will of course have the electronic simulation division work on this, but I want you gathering information at the same time.”

“Of course. We will search through all these documents and-…”

“Not like that,” cut in Frolaytia. “The Megalodiver’s emergency maintenance will be complete soon, so we don’t have time to search randomly through a pile of documents. The only other source of useful information would be the tanker graveyard they’re lurking inside.”

“You don’t mean…”

Quenser had a very bad feeling and Frolaytia’s answer was simple.

“You discovered this mystery, so it’s your responsibility to solve it.”

At that time, he did not know that he would be punched by all the soldiers of a landing team in ten minutes time.

===Part 4===

“This could not be worse,” muttered Quenser as he changed clothes in an empty room on the Scarlet Princess.

He removed the soaking wet prison uniform and put on his usual military uniform, but he was still uncomfortable because he had not had time to take a shower.

“Honestly, I shouldn’t have said anything. Not noticing this kind of thing makes life so much easier. Is being a genius just asking for trouble?”

As his comrades had rather forcefully beaten him upon learning the details of the emergency mission, his actions were somehow unsteady.

He left the room and found someone in the corridor moving even more unsteadily than him.

(Hm?)

It appeared to be the princess.

Every maintenance soldier was at work on replacing the Baby Magnum’s damaged armor plates, so she would be on standby.

The repeated battles would have worn her out. When they had spoken earlier, she may have been merely acting fine so as not to worry him.

He was a little worried and considered calling out to her, but then he heard something horrifying.

He heard her mumble to herself.

“Sh-she’s asleep!? She’s walking around in her sleep!!!???”

Could humans even sleep with their muscles stiff enough to support their body weight? Was she walking in her dream or was she vaguely aware of reality? Quenser could not quite grasp the situation, but he had to believe it because she was indeed walking in her sleep.

It would be far from funny if the princess hurt herself before the battle with the Megalodiver.

She would be fine walking along a corridor, but he decided to stop her from continuing to the stairs or anywhere like that.

His first thought was to grab her shoulders and shake her awake.

(But wait.)

He suddenly stopped and his gaze gradually moved down from her face.

His eyes finally stopped on her chest which looked modest but was actually fairly plentiful.

[[Image:HO_v08_254.jpg|thumb]]

''If she’s asleep, it means nothing you do counts, right? Heh heh heh.

Quenser heard the whispering of something truly dark that the Faith Organization would likely do its best to crush.

His right hand automatically shot out, so he grabbed that wrist with his left hand to stop himself from touching the princess.

An all-or-nothing one-man play began.

“Tch!! Wait, my right hand. Giving in to those tempestuous emotions will lead to bad things in the future!! B-but I stopped at the last second, so it’s fine. I didn’t actually touch her, so it’s fine!! If I sneezed now, it wouldn’t be my fault if I happened to touch her, right!? It would be an accident, so it wouldn’t be anyone’s faul- Achoo!!”

Rather than a conflict between angel and demon, this was excuses from start to finish.

Forced along by his convenient arguments, his right hand attacked the princess’s roundness like a snake swallowing an egg.

But…

“Mnyahhh…”

“What!? She knocked my hand-…!?”

Before he even finished speaking, the bodyguards of the intelligence department took swift action.

By the time he noticed metallic noises all around him, he had more than ten gun barrels pointed at him from less than a meter away.

That student let out a heartfelt wail as his face was deformed by a carbine barrel pressed against his cheek.

“Where the hell were you hiding!? Were you making light bend around you!?”

Despite being disguised, that military ship contained complexly bending corridors with thick exposed pipes, so there was plenty of space to hide. Not that a student would understand that.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The surrounding bodyguards said nothing.

Perhaps because they were guarding a young female Elite, all of the bodyguards were female and the same age or a little older than the princess. Their all-black night battle uniforms were tightly fitting and skintight and all of them were giving cold glares to this enemy of women.

It was possible each and every one of them was a kuudere.

Quenser decided to overcome this by switching on his positive side.

Otherwise he would have started to cry.

“Okay, okay. I get it,” he said while raising his hand. “I won’t do anything else. From the looks of things, the princess is safe in your hands. I was going this way, so I’ll just - Ha ha!! Tricked you!!”

He quickly turned around and once more attempted to grab at the princess’s delicious fruit from close range.

However, a bodyguard girl’s carbine was jammed into the criminal’s mouth a moment later.

“Mhmhmhmh. Mhmhmh. Mhmhmhmhmhmh.”

“…?”

The bodyguard girl must have taken pity with what had become the most unsightly boy in the world because she pulled the carbine from his mouth.

As soon as she did, Quenser puffed out his chest, gathered strength in his gut, and shouted as loudly as he could.

“I don’t care whose boobs they are anymore!!”

“!!!???”

“And in the instant that announcement makes you pause, Striker Quenser Barbotage will slip through your defensive line like a shooting star!!!”

With a tremendous noise, Quenser became a gust of wind.

Afterwards, two tragedies occurred.

Even if his trick had made them panic for an instant, those bodyguards were thoroughly trained killing machines. They were not about to overlook a student trying to slip past them and their panicked state gave them all the more subconscious accuracy when one of them swept his legs out from under him.

Also, the princess was still wandering around in her sleep, so her legs were moving with no concern for the situation surrounding her. Naturally, she was not aware that Quenser was toppling toward her.

Those two factors created an unwelcome miracle.

The princess’s knee forcefully jabbed into Quenser’s crotch.

Unfortunately, his mind was not yet evolved enough to call that a reward.

===Part 5===

The princess, Frolaytia, and many other soldiers were aboard the disguised cruiser known as the Scarlet Princess.

One of those was the old maintenance woman who let out a light sigh.

She was originally from the Island Nation.

“Pro_be_12… The Twelve Earthly Branches Project?” asked Frolaytia.

The old woman gave an annoyed nod.

“I was reminded of it when I heard their Megalodiver specializes in diving underwater.”

“The Twelve Earthly Branches were the twelve original Objects that were created by the Island Nation and destroyed the nuclear age, right?”

The softness in Frolaytia’s tone showed she knew she could not stand up to this old woman regardless of rank.

After all, she was a true veteran who had seen the start of this age of Objects with her own eyes. Her experience, achievements, skill, and knowledge were all on an entirely different level.

“In the end, they couldn’t keep up with the advancing age and they’re all at the bottom of the ocean now. But it is true they still function as a symbol of the Island Nation’s ideals.”

“Are you saying this diving Object is related to them?”

“I can’t deny the possibility. It would take a huge amount of power to fish up those giant weights. Only another Object could manage it.”

The idea of the original twelve Objects contained some appeal even to Frolaytia who had no connection to the Island Nation. No one who received any benefit from Objects was truly unrelated to this issue.

In that case, just how much more of an influence did those twelve Objects hold in the Island Nation itself?

Frolaytia thought for a bit and finally spoke.

“Well, I would have no problem with this if that were all there was to it.”

“The Island Nation belongs to the Capitalist Corporations, so it would be of no concern to the Legitimacy Kingdom.”

That answer was perfectly natural.

In her personal life, Frolaytia may have been fond of the Island Nation’s culture, but she did not adore them so much she wanted to be killed by them.

“One thing bothers me,” she added. “It’s related to what Mariage Nightcap has done in the past.”

“Oh, you mean the Private Bank? That Object containing the main server of a tax haven bank and therefore filled with secret funds from around the world? Come to think of it, it belonged to the Capitalist Corporations as well and it’s also at the bottom of the sea.”

“If they’re dragging something up, wouldn’t that be a lot worse? The self-defense PMC is almost entirely dead outside of the Object itself, but VIPs around the world could easily protect them with smiles on their faces if they controlled that main server’s data. I would rather avoid that.”

However, a theory was merely a theory.

They did not even know if the Megalodiver could drag a sunken Object from the bottom of the sea.

Was the self-defense PMC behind it or was someone larger backing them?

A lot was unknown, but there was one important point at the moment.

“This opponent is too disconcerting to ignore,” said Frolaytia.

“If we’re sinking it because we ‘might as well’, it means we can’t claim to be allies of justice.”

===Part 6===

===Part 7===

===Part 8===

===Part 9===

===Part 10===

===Part 11===

===Part 12===

===Part 13===

===Part 14===

===Part 15===

<noinclude>{{HEAVYOBJECT Nav|prev=HEAVY OBJECT:Volume8 Chapter 2|next=HEAVY OBJECT:Volume8 Epilogue}}</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Prologue

2014-05-26T18:17:38Z

Aagcnet:

==Prologue: The Outsiders on the Bridge==
[[File:Horizon3A 0017.jpg|thumb]]
''Look at that which is close to you.''

''The times you cannot see underfoot are truly...''

'''Point Allocation (Consideration)'''

<center>●</center>

*'''[ANA]:''' 『Hey!』

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『What is the matter My Lady?』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『It's cold. ---No, well, it is not that it is cold, I am just feeling cold.』

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『It may be some type of failure with the artificial sensory. I will contact those responsible.』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『You are flawless... However, I have already had that task completed. I was told the same thing. It might be a possible error in the artificial sensory.』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『Hey, is it possible that I might break down?』

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『It is impossible for me to answer that question. The reason being is that that reality has not occurred. The only conjecture I can make with respect to a situation which has not occurred is, "It is possible that both possibilities exist.".』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『Then, for example if you were to experience the cold, what would happen?』

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『I would cease to function.』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『In that case, hey...』

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『What is the matter My Lady?』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『My older brother said it, right? "If something happens, please tell me." That he would grant any wish. ---Just because he has found a person who is important to him and started living properly, he is acting like he is an adult. In that case, hey, is it fine for me to act like a child?』

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『I have determined that My Lady has always remained as a child.』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『That is fine, is it not? However, — hey,』

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『Tes. Please say whatever it is that you wish to say, what is the matter My Lady?』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『I see that you are the same as always. You are flawless. Then I want you to hear me out. You see…』

<center>●</center>

In the morning sky there was an island.

Floating at a position lower than the clouds, there was a floating island that stretched from north to south for tens of kilometres. The lower strata area, which hung like an icicle, was divided into massive blocks by rocks and structures; sometimes these would slowly move as a result of the internal frame and change the shape of the island.
At the massive floating island there were two massive objects.
One of these, located on the northern side of the island, was a Shinto shrine which possessed a Shinto shrine-styled gantry crane, several tens of kilometres in scale and a sprawling large scale wooden research facility located at its base.

The other of these was located on the eastern side of the island, also connected with a Shinto shrine-styled gantry crane with a massive ship in the interior as though it was being protected.

The vessel, which was comprised of eight individual ships, was installed in the large scale dock which stretched from north to south across the eastern side of the island.
It was Musashi.
The eight ship fleet which received the morning sun on the port-side had all of its ships still maintaining their functionality as a city while they remained within the dock.
However, from the surface of each ship, there were multiple small, high-pitched noises being raised by countless shadows clinging to the surface.

Those shadows, whether they were gods of war driving in anchor bolts or people who were assisting in the repair of the ship, including the other species, were all hurriedly working.

Musashi was currently undergoing complete repairs.

There were the figures of many students among the people participating in the construction.

If you let the students talk, their reasoning would be
“Well, this makes it possible to earn cash during the early morning.”
“I have been helping out after school, so I started doing mornings as well.”
“Out our way, the outer wall is still broken, which is scary.”

Also, between the people carrying raw materials and the kobolds, there were multiple running shadows present.

There was a jersey clad girl with two artificial arms and a tall foreigner in a tank top, a jersey clad retainer who was running with dogs, and, following quite a considerable distance behind the others, there was a silver haired girl.

The girl with the artificial arms and the tall foreigner, who had run further ahead, raised their hand in greeting and split off into a different route.

In contrast the glasses wearing retainer, after passing through the path of a natural area at a leisurely pace, ascended the staircase which was located ahead of her.

As she did, the dogs which were following her circled around at the bottom of the staircase and let out a bark.

Yeah, with the retainer turning around and waving her hand, the dogs emitted one more bark and then dispersed.

The girl retainer then nimbly ascended the staircase.

Once she had finished climbing, there was a building with the nameplate "Musashi Ariadust Academy" and a bridge which reached up to the second floor entrance way.
Furthermore,

“Eh? Asama, are you here for morning practice?”

<center>●</center>

Asama, while continuing to replace the talismans for the hanging lanterns which were built into the bridge, turned around in response to the calling voice.

It was Adele. While regulating her breathing, which wasn’t really disordered, she came over this way.

“Are you here for morning practice Asama?”

“Yeah, something close to that.”

Asama replied with a bitter smile. She held the talisman in her hand out towards Adele.

“Lately our academy has been keeping the lights on all throughout the night, hasn’t it. That’s why I am working on replacing the lighting spells. There’s also that…”

“What is it?”

“When I consider about what might happen from now on, I thought I should increase my stamina. I started from my family’s shrine below, ascended the staircase, and then did a light circuit of the schoolyard with Kimi accompanying me. However…”

Asama looked at the schoolyard. Kimi was collapsed on top of a bamboo bench located in the corner of schoolyard. The red jersey which was covering her head and upper body belonged to her, however,

“Well don’t worry about a thing. I'll go to recover it later. I’ll return either by the way of my family’s spring or Suzu’s public bathhouse, though whether or not I'll make it in time for morning class is a mystery.”

“Kimi always makes sure to eat the breakfast the chancellor makes before coming to the academy after all. About Kimi, how should I put it, why is it that, while dancing is not a problem, when it comes to running she is just a slightly higher class than a normal person?”

“Kimi’s “Dance of the Summit” is similar to Futayo’s acceleration technique, they both have fatigue reduction protections being inserted into the ability. She insists that “I have no willpower so I did it like that!”

While saying that, Asama though to herself that the ability which required access to customization was quite annoying.

After all, Kimi often didn’t think about things, and when there appeared a situation that couldn’t be dealt with she immediately started on about “New version! New version!” “Okay okay, again? Once again?” “Groin!? Groin is high!?”, displaying her insanity. Each and every time, the two of us soaked into the spring together doing this and that,

“My Priestess’s ‘Yearly spell supervision amount’ status rating is in large part a result of handling Kimi’s requests.”

There letting out a sigh she was unaware Kimi had stood up and began walking in this direction. While walking she put on the jacket which had been placed over her,

“Eh, this kid’s jersey, the cloth around the chest area has stretched…! This Priestess, what are you attempting to achieve by creating a breast mould!? Planning on making manjuu or something!?”

“When it fits you perfectly fine what exactly are you talking about!? Ah Adele, would you please stop looking down and averting your eyes.”

From beyond Adele, who was looking this way, a hand suddenly grasped the edge of the overhanging bridge from beneath the staircase.

Eh? There, in front of the girl who was thinking that, from the far side of the grasped palm, an elbow appeared, and then proceeded as if to pull upwards the rest of the body.

“S-Somehow I managed one full lap around the ship.”

It was Mitotsudaira.

<center>●</center>

The jersey figure of Mitotsudaira arrived at the top of the bridge completely out of breath.

….I-It really does seem like a “somehow” situation.

In front of her eyes, there was Adele who had run the exact same course yet whose breathing was not disturbed, and although she was the same age as her, a huge priestess. Mitotsudaira felt a feeling of irrationality against both these parties, however there was nothing to be done.

In any case, Mitotsudaira used the banister as a support and attempted to stand. However her knees were shaking. “Ow…”

She grasped the banister and attempted to move forward however she began to fall from her knees. Hurriedly she attempted to support her body, though before she could take her next action, Asama had already approached. While she was already holding a talisman,

[[File:Horizon3A_0024-0025.jpg|thumb]]

“Ah, Mito, please do not push your body so much. I will cleanse your exhaustion with a purification ritual.

“It is fine, Tomo, I will use my internal bless for a thing like that, you should use it for another…”

Before she had finished speaking, Asama claimed that it was fine and came to her side. She had Mitotsudaira lean against the banister,

『Good Work—』

Hasami, in order to cast the spell, displayed several forms for conformation. Asama already had the talisman out and was already clearing her throat as the preparation for the activation so there was no way to stop her.

Therefore leaving everything to the agreement, Mitotsudaira lowered her hips, stretched her legs and took a breath. Thus Asama removed Mitotsudaira’s shoes, then, splitting at the seam lining of the ankle, she opened the tights.

“I’ll attach one to the soles of your feet. If it tickles, please let me know.”

“Even If I say it tickles don’t…”

It suddenly happened. Mitotsudaira tried to endure the strength of the fingers which seemed to be pushing into her sole.

“Hyaaa!”

… Impossible. This is impossible!

“Hey… Mito, aren’t you too ticklish? Perhaps I should say a rare sensitivity syndrome…... hey!”

“W-What is it?”

Asama nodded with a yeah,

“However, if it is like that then it won’t finish. Therefore, shall we continue?”

“Eh? Hey, go easy on meeee!”

Since she was unable to move her legs, her upper body started to thrash about.

She experienced a different type of being out of breath than before, and, at the point where she became exhausted, she also lost the power to resist. She became limp and was left at the mercy of Asama.

“Mito, you have the same soft soles as Adele… They do say that people with soft soles have fast legs.”

Even if she said it earnestly, there was nothing to do about the reality of the situation.

Letting out a sigh that was unrelated to exhaustion, Mitotsudaira lightly shrugged her shoulders.

“Even if you say that I am the same as Adele, I am not fast at all you know? I was even called a Heavy Tank type by Kimi.”

Hmm, the one who was puzzled was Adele. She looked at my feet which Asama was rubbing,

“If I had to say, the fifth special Agent seems more like the type who does the breaking type of movement. I guess you would say the Powerful type.”

Their smiling and attempting to cover for her was a thankful gesture.

That’s why Mitotsudaira took another breath and then opened her mouth. My, my, with a self-deprecating attitude, she raised her upper body,

“Is it because I am a Demi Loup-Garou? Or is there some trick that I am not understanding? I am just not good with fast movements. Where it is that I should put the strength into?”

“Fifth Special Agent. If you put too much power in it will actually have the opposite effect and become slower, you know?”

“Jud, I am often told that by Naomasa, I am taking care to avoid that happening though…”

There Mitotsudaira lightly waved her hand as a demonstration.

The movements were those of a jab, snapped with an open hand and at the end point clenched it.

Since she was relaxed when waving, it was nimble and fast. That is how it should be. It was also accompanied by the sound of the wind. There Asama responded,

“It is sufficiently fast, is it not? Right, Adele.”

“Eh?”

There Adele gave a small reaction. Immediately following this she hurriedly,

“Eh, well --- um Jud, It’s sufficiently fast. Yeah.”

Covering for people to hide the reality was Adele’s thankful but poor part as a retainer. Mitotsudaira bitterly smiled about it.
“Do not worry about it. I understand that I am slow. After all, in England, though I received martial arts training from Naomasa to deal with Wallshingham’s War of the Roses, I ended up just being thrown around."

<center>●</center>

Mitotsudaira thought of her speed. Her speed would be considered faster than a normal person, however would fall well short when compared to an expert.

That is the reason which Mitotsudaira believes that is preventing her from becoming stronger.

The Fifth Special Agent being located in the fifth position was due to this reason.

She was made to realize this while in England.

When she first arrived in England, when inside the falling cargo ship she witnessed firsthand the speed of Futayo’s actions… It would seem that viewing my role as the power type would be best.

When working on the anti-Wallshingham training, against Naomasa’s throws her nerves were able to react, but her body could not keep pace. "You are slow", is what Naosama clearly told her, that is why she remembered through experience rather than reacting and practiced until she was able to move though predicting.

However, while massaging my calf Asama abruptly said the following.

“Ah, the exhaustion removal is almost finished. Mito’s regeneration powers are amazing.”

“I did inherit the blood of Loup-Garou after all. Frankly, my toughness is my greatest weapon. It is due to the fact that my body is tough that I am able to strike with such power, and it also allows me to act as a shield.”

However Mitotsudaira saying that as an introduction bitterly laughed.

“If you remember what happened 8 years ago at Bizen IZUMO you will understand the circumstances regarding my mother and me. That is, how tough I am.”

Hearing those words, Asama and Adele exchanged glances, lowered their eyebrows and showed a smile.

After a little while Adele followed up with,

“The Loup-Garou family lineage is quite Spartan. About that story related to the silver chain which has been the subject of rumor for a while now, the Fifth special Agent’s family lineage was a noted family in a high position during the hundred year war, was it not?”

“Mother does not talk about those types of things… She also does have quite an irresponsible personality, however…”

“However?”

Jud, Mitotsudaira nodded her head. This was something that she had heard via the net on Musashi,

“According to a Loup-Garou related thread, after the hundred year war, the Hexagone Française Loup-Garou apparently consisted of two groups, those who choose to live together with the human population, and those which returned to the forest and retained their man-eating tendencies. There the Loup-Garou Queen and the nobles returned to the forest, however they were eventually driven out….It also seems Reine de Garous lost her life a while ago.”

“Lost her…, did she take her own life?”

Mitotsudaira nodded in response to Asama’s question which was asked with a frown. During the period she was in Hexagone Française, she was too young, so she didn’t know, and it was an embarrassment for the country and therefore not revealed to the public.

The things that I know are only from the past few years.

“The previous generation Reine de Garous who succeeded the line after the hundred year war, with the forest getting smaller and her companions disappearing apparently offered herself to someone who had come to hunt her. However you might say the Loup-Garou race declined, frankly. My mother as well had the characteristic of having her surroundings being wary of her; it was a species which has had trouble with intimacy with humans.”

Having said that much, Mitotsudaira fell silent once. She rethought that she should not say things to create a wall and shrugged her shoulders.

“My mother’s family line, however, was possibly in a fairly well off position. Before she met my father I do not know where she lived, however, according to her stories the house she lived in was sort of a strange place, something out of a fairy tale, then there is also the silver chain. If she does not talk about the past… She might have been a close associate of Reine de Garous.”

It was a thought that she had formed several times. She sometimes thought how it would be good if she had been a member of the Reine de Garous family lineage. In the past this was a result of her pride, however now this was about strength.

Having experienced a defeat in England was the depth of shame for a knight dedicated to protecting the king.

However,

“If there is the opportunity, I would like to hear the story from my mother, as well as the origin of silver chain, and a good fighting method for a Loup-Garou.”

“However, Mito, you were told by your mother not to descend down into Hexagone Française.”

“Y-yeah, I was made to promise that. I did promise that at Bizen IZUMO.”

Go live as a resident of Musashi; it was that sort of thing.

“IZUMO is a neutral zone. However, it is still part of the south of Hexagone Française which is a part of mother’s promise, the same holds true for Bizen IZUMO.”

That is why I have not descended on Hexagone Française or any of their territories you know, not since that time.

What happened at that time is not something I wished to recall, however it cannot be helped.

Thinking about it now, saying that she was a child then, and now if it happened now she thought she would have not been done in so badly.

“However the only good to come of that was…”

"That the Chancellor was absent" was what she was going to say but stopped.

The Chancellor did mention how he went to pay a visit to a relative who was on the verge of death.

That is why she nodded to herself on the inside and shut a range of thoughts inside her heart.

She possessed a variety of things to consider. Not just about herself, her surroundings were also piled up.

The issue where she had not received any communication from the Musashi knight alliance was still continuing.

Then, at the time where she had finished that thought, a shadow appeared ascending the staircase.

Kimi? Is what she thought and looked,

“Oh? Everyone, is this where you were?”

It was Tenzou, and following him was Mary, clad in a blue and white jersey.

… Ah.

Seeing her with E.X. Collbrande suspended on her left and right, Mitotsudaira unconsciously forcefully stood up.

<center>●</center>

“Ah! Mito.”

Tenzou immediately understood the reasoning behind the crouched down Asama’s voice.

She was in the middle of using an exhaustion removal spell.

Mitotsudaira’s tights were removed from her feet and the talisman still remained attached to the bottom of her feet. He faintly understood the reasoning about why she had suddenly stood up.

… It was because Mary was present.

At the moment, Mary who was lined up to the side was bowing her head towards everyone,

“Hello, good morning.”

“Good Morning Missus Mary.”

In a certain way, the mistranslation Adele returned was terrifying, however, reflected in Tenzou’s eyes was Mitotsudaira who chose to bow to lower her eye sight in greeting.

It was an inevitable issue.

Ever since Mary had transferred here, Tenzou thought that it was Mitotsudaira who was unable to properly grasp the proper distance. There was also the long-standings issue between England and Hexagone Française to consider.

There is also that they are both nobility.

Following Horizon, Mitotsudaira was second in line for succession for the Far East, while Mary was the future mother of the next king of England.
However Mitotsudaira's family was a lower noble house and the current status was something that had been assigned to them. On the other hand, Mary’s royal status was something that she was born with…

“Whatever is the matter Tenzou-sama?”

“Eh? Ah, um, it is just good that everyone is training from so early in the morning.”

That is right; Mary’s nod indicated this had no dark shadow.

This was a trait she was certainly born with.

This had nothing to do with the position of royalty; however this was something that was not distorted even through persecution.

However,

“………”

Mitotsudaira, while undergoing Asama’s treatment, remained standing with a downcast expression which could be seen as though she had been scolded.

Then, Asama unexpectedly directed her glance this way. While continuing to press her hands against Mitotsudaira’s feet,

“Umm, Mary, today, after school will you be coming to my family’s place?”

“Eh? Ah, it is okay for me to go, right, Tenzou-sama?”

Taking a part time job at Asama’s family Shrine, Tenzou nodded his head vertically,

“Um, yes, I am fine now.”

Mitotsudaira pulled her legs back almost as if she was running anyway from Asama’s hands. Then, with the talisman still attached to the bottom of her feet, she roughly put on her shoes, took the sock section in hand and started to walk away.

She lightly turned back this way, lowering her head was the minimum amount of consideration.

In response to her, who was seemed like she was going to descend the staircase, Asama went to say something, but stopped.

Adele spoke,

“Will it be alright? I don’t think that all of the exhaustion has completely disappeared yet.”
Yeah, well, there was nothing to do except for Asama to falter. However, Mary waited until the figure of Mitotsudaira had completely disappeared from sight down the stairs before taking a step closer to my side. The thing she whispered happily was,

“She was concealing a bent toe with a pedicure.”

Was this a request for me to paint my nails as well!? Was this a request!?

I must be overthinking the issue; Tenzou calmed himself down and asked Mary

“Still, is that something which one should be embarrassed about?”

In response to the question, Mary loosely bent the scar on her face and said the following.

“The more embarrassing something is, the greater the difference from others. It is something which one can be proud of you know?”

I see, while in front of his nodding eyes, Adele and Asama were fanning each other with clothes and talismans saying “Ah, hot hot, it's steamy in here!” “Yeah you think the same Adele, it’s very hot…!” and the like, however this was something that seems like it would be impossible to eventually be something to be proud of.

In any case, from the direction of the bottom of the staircase there was Kimi’s voice,

“Hahahaha, what are you doing slipping and falling onto your bottom Mitotsudaira!? I guess there’s nothing else to be done, I’ll carry you. Come now, ride on these breasts…! Wow! This child got seriously angry!”

Just when he was thinking that she has no mercy, he could hear a sound

It was the announcement of the time. Using the bell of the academy, the six a.m. announcement rang out.

The beginning of a day for Musashi.

[[File:Horizon3A 0036.jpg|thumb]]
<center>●IZUMO Outline Diagram●</center>

''Toori'' 『Sis! Sis! Exactly what type of shape is IZUMO! As I thought because it is Shrine related they say it is where a deity resides and make it an erotic shape!? Maaraaaaaaa— !(sound effect)"』

''Kimi'' 『Hahaha private brother, stop imitating reproductive sounds. — Anyhow IZUMO is a floating island which floats at an altitude of 1000 meters; it is land that was originally on the earth side that was floated. From ancient times, the section which has become the current center was floated for ship development research. Then, with the Harmonic Unification War and the downfall of the Amako clan, they saw the opportunity and took refuge from the surface. That was how it was made.』

''Kimi'' 『This should about sum it up. If Musashi was in this diagram it would have the bow towards the bottom and anchored in a southerly direction . The central area is, in reality, something of an abandoned land, however, when doing individual countries corporation exhibitions or aircraft shows, and when an urgent emergency landing is necessary, this location is used.』

''Toori'' 『Since it is territory where we can finally relax, let’s go to the town beneath the Shrine and go shopping! There are a lot of Far Eastern style goods here, so that's a relief.』

''Kimi'' 『Did you just implicitly say you are going to scour for erotic goods?』

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3A School Rules|School Rules]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 01|Chapter 01]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 01

2014-05-26T18:13:10Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 01: The Companions of the Closed Room */

==Chapter 01: The Companions of the Closed Room ==
[[Image:Horizon3A_0037.jpg|thumb]]
''What does it mean to be able to speak.''

''Without a guilty conscience."

'''Point Allocation (Composure)'''

<center>●</center>

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『My lady.』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『What is it?』

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『It appears that there is a situation in which I can go there. I think that it will become a situation where I will intrude on the co-operators. On the way, however, it seems that several kind souls will intermediate.』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『Yeah, I mostly understand, it is that old man... Ah, however however if you are coming over here, I want a letter. One from my elder brother, one from her and one from my friend. Ones which are handwritten, okay?』

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『That degree of an order then one way or another.』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『My my, you do not care who the requested party is?』

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『It is simply saying that I want the thing which I want. I determine that it does not matter who is the other party.』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『You are flawless.』

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『It is an honour to be praised by you. Well then, my lady, is it not about time that you sleep?』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『Yeah…, however…』

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『The cold is?』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『Perhaps that is right I wonder?』

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『In that case, please relax. During the next few days the sun should be visiting there. For my lady who has received the nickname “Moon” in order to receive the sun, the time when the sun has arrived has come. That is something that I try saying.』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『Once the morning comes, the moon disappears you know? Is something which I try and say.』

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『No, my lady, it is simply that it becomes impossible to see. It yields the light to the sun. There is no way that the moon disappears. It is a physical impossibility.』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『You are flawless.』

<center>●</center>

There was a classroom which was warmly accepting the light of the sun.

The window was open, with class being conducted among the incoming wind.

In front of the blackboard there was a female teacher with a nametag Sanyou, who while stretching her back was drawing a hexagon with blackboard chalk.

“Well now, Musashi is currently in Hexagone Française I’m sorry that two weeks have passed since we have arrived here, and that the scope of class had finally reached this part—”
Even since England, after covering English history, things had livened up and had been unable to catch up. While Sanyo was thinking that at this rate after the second semester would be perilous, for the time being she completed drawing the hexagon.

“Okay, this is the shape of Hexagone Française, however originally during the era of the Roman Empire this area was the land of the barbarians. At the present moment, this might be difficult to believe, however at the time with regards to Europe, beneath the southern areas of Rome was not a country but simply a deserted land in which several tribes came and went. That being the case, the Roman Empire called the part of this large land that would eventually become a part of Hexagone Française the Gaul province.”

Then,

“In order to suppress the threat of the barbarians, the Roman Empire dispatched Caesar. There in 511 B.C. Caesar oppressed a large portion of Gaul. This era of Caesar’s memorandum is still being conveyed today through “Caesar’s Military History”.”

Sanyou thought to herself, Lord Caesar had accomplished a variety of different things

With respect to the historical reproduction, since Caesar’s invasion of Gaul was the keystone for the territory segmentation that followed, it was re-enacted through a detailed plan. However as a consequence of being too passionate, a rehearsal ended up being conducted and after the main event, Caesar ended up writing “Came again, Saw again, and Won again” in “Caesar’s Military History”.

“Anyhow after the collapse of the Roman Empire, this land once again returned to being a lawless area. During the eight-ninth century, this area was once again conquered and the individual who granted this area peace was Charles the Great. In French he was known as Charlemagne. He put this area from present day Europe up to Tres España under his
command, however after his death this “Carolingian Empire” was split into three…”

On the right side of the hexagon Sanyou drew a shape like an upside down shogi piece. Beneath both of these she drew a boot shaped diagram.

“One of these, the one on the right side was M.H.R.R. Another one of these, the one at the bottom became K.P.A.ITALIA. Lastly, where the former Gaul province was located became Hexagone Française.”

Well then,

“Do you know which part of Hexagone Française makes it weaker in regards to M.H.R.R. and K.P.A.Italia?”

<center>●</center>

In response to the question everyone looked around. When she indicated someone as a test the blonde-haired student,

“Ah, I’m sorry, my family is Catholic…”

Sanyou formed a wry smile. People do have a lot of circumstances, after nodding in recognition she took a breath,

“Well Hexagone Française does not have either a Holy Roman Empire or a Pope. In other words, it is simply a country which possesses a large volume of land. Therefore compared to the other two countries they possess a weaker level of influence, even when they installed an internal king this wasn’t recognised by neither M.H.R.R. or K.P.A. Italia, with this conversely being something that was exploited. However…”

Sanyou drew multiple oblique lines on the interior of the hexagon and created a plane.

“The central region. In respect to M.H.R.R. which consists of a large number of mountains and forest and K.P.A. Italia which has a small landmass, Hexagone Française with its rivers and large plains had an advantage when it came to production. Using this land as a foundation, by the time of the crusades, Française had become a country which compared favorably to other nations, following this there were the civil wars due to the hundred year war and the religious revolution, however on the contrary these events were used to establish “Gallicanism”, a Catholic style which was not controlled by the Pope. Then…”

Sanyo wrote “Emperor” in the center of the hexagon.

“After increasing national power and obtaining an original Catholic style, they also obtained their own Emperor. This was not like the Roman Emperor who was bound by Catholicism and history; it was an Emperor for the sake of Hexagone Française.”

“Among those Emperors, the individual who led Hexagone Française to its peak was—”

There she took a breath. While looking over everyone, with her back hand she wrote on the blackboard.

“The current Chancellor Louis Exiv.”

Tapping the blackboard and taking a look, there was an unreadable something written on the blackboard, with that Sanyou halted her movements.

<center>●</center>

“… Well then,”

While thinking that the neighboring classroom that had suddenly become quiet was a mystery, Mary stood up from her chair.

Inside the silent classroom, she raised her right hand and at her hands appeared a Shinto style sign frame.

It was a set with Tenzou.

The previous day, the confirmation for the contract has passed through Asama and using the setting “Hidden Tsirhc” a combination of Catholic and Shinto was achieved.

“— Mary? Can you give your opinion? Is it all right?”

“— Eh? Um, Jud, my apologies teacher, I was just doing a bit of thinking about Tenzou-sama.”

For some reason everybody straightened their posture and took a position where they were straining their ears. By the window side, the wet man and his older sister were fanning each other with desk mats, and Musashi's Princess was watching that. On the opposite side, the corridor side,

“Muneshige-sama… I just now almost let my soul escape from my body.”

“Eh? What’s the matter Gin. There’s nothing strange about thinking about your partner.”

While thinking that there were people here who understood what she was saying, Mary operated her sign frame. While thinking that if Tenzou, who was next to her on her right hand side staying silent and looking downward, was feeling unwell she would look after him later, she,

“Well then, Hexagone Française which had gained Louis Exiv as its Emperor, increased the size of its territory. It was a result from of the shape becoming a hexagon that there was a trend for Française to be called Hexagon. This was the origin of Hexagone. Then according to the recreation of History, they will be the victor of the thirty year war and it is the current thinking that they will become an existence which could be said to be the supreme ruler of the entirety of Europe.”

However,

“Louis Exiv decided to cooperate with the Mouri clan who governed the Far East portion of Hexagone Française. He had a student marriage with the current head of the Mouri clan, the women who inherited the name of Mouri Terumoto.”

Mary thought. That there is someone who is in a similar situation as her.

She had come to the Far East by claiming the survival of England as her just cause however there was also that type of thing between Mouri and Hexagone Française.

Mary while thinking back on the knowledge on the Far East power balance that she had Tenzou teach her every night,

“Originally the Mouri lineage was a powerful regional clan of a small force; however in the generation of the enlightened monarch Mouri Motonari, they expanded the scale of their force. At that time, the Amako family who was overseeing the Izumo region was brought down, however IZUMO, which was being overseen by the Amako family, feared the intervention of Hexagone Française—”

Mary looked out the window. Everyone else looked as well.

What was outside the window was the land and city floating in the sky.

It was a floating island, a place where things such as the construction of Musashi were done.

On the occasion of the large scale reconstruction that Musashi had underwent 10 years ago; she had come from England to see it together with her younger sister.

This IZUMO was,

“Prior to the Mouri invasion, the shrine and the central development were floated; furthermore, the surrounding ports, companies and workshops were also floated and considered a neutral territory. There were many connections to the Amako clan in IZUMO…”

She had heard that Milton and Walter, who were of the Amako clan, even after overseeing the flotation of IZUMO, had continued to battle with Mouri. They were doing this as a preventative measure against Mouri and Hexagone Française who were trying to interfere with IZUMO.

It was two years ago when those two came to England. I wonder if it was because they had decided that IZUMO’s status as a neutral territory was stable.

On the inside Mary happily thought that it was after she had departed from England that she had become able to think that way about them.

“There are quite a number of individuals originally from IZUMO who are currently in Musashi.”

The one who nodded in agreement was Oriotorai.

“That holds true for me, as well as Suzu’s father, Toori and Kimis’ mother’s family side were also from IZUMO. Also… Sanyou was as well”

The one who nodded in agreement was Kimi.

“Haha, at IZUMO our grandmother was doing fluid related…., now she would be an advisor I wonder? Anyway, it's that type of feeling right? If I can make the arrangements, I was considering visiting her today, however, Foolish brother?”

In front of the dancing girl’s question, the wet man however tilted his neck.

“Hmm….. You’re planning to bring Horizon along with you right? Nah, I’m a little reluctant, I'll go afterward.”

“Is that so, Toori-sama? Why?

In response to the Musashi’s princess’s question he scratched his hair with an um.

“Well, for some reason or another I guess.”

Mary who was thinking that there must be some circumstances, looked towards the puzzled Horizon. There,

“So about this Mouri family, at the moment they have a slightly difficult situation approaching them. That is because in the era of the Mouri family current head Lady Terumoto, they become the representative of Hashiba’s side, the western force, during the final battle deciding the rulership of the Far East, and battle with the Eastern forces of Matsudaira—”

She took a breath.

“— As a result they meet their defeat and lose a large amount of their force.”

<center>●</center>

Nonetheless, in order to get across her words, Mary opened her mouth. There,

“However the Mouri clan, Lord Motonari prospered with his three sons, and prepared for what was to come. Towards his three sons so as to unite their abilities there in the story of the “three arrows”, a famous anecdote of Lord Motonari right?”

This was knowledge that she had heard from Tenzou just the previous day.

Lord Motonari called his three sons together and first handed his eldest son a single arrow which he was made to break.

After that he handed his next oldest son two arrows, which he somehow managed to break by himself. However,
…..when he handed his third eldest three arrows, he tried to break these on his own, however he was unable to do so.

The eldest and second eldest were both unable to break the three arrows. The three men who were unable to break suffered a trauma. Consequently Lord Motonari,

“……You must not ostracise. As to combine the abilities of the three of you. You will suffer emotional damage otherwise…!”

Saying that, the three of them peacefully combined their abilities and overcame the difficult situation, it seemed to be that sort of instruction.

This apparently was something that nearly became inconsistent with the historical re-enactment, however this was apparently averted thanks to Lord Motonari’s praised ad-lib ability.

The the people of the Far East have high skills for performance, is what Mary thought.

“— There Lord Motonari sent his second and third born sons into the east and west countries that Mouri was suppressing in order to solidify the defences of the indirect rule that Mouri was conducting. However the first-born son who was succeeding the Mouri clan soon passed away. Consequently the child of the oldest born son, the grandchild of Lord Motonari Terumoto ended up becoming the young heir to the Mouri clan.”

However Lord Motonari, who was supporting the young ruler, before long also passed away.

While being supported by her two uncles who had gone to different families and her other uncles who were the children of Lord Motonari’s concubines, she took command of the Mouri clan.

“However, afterwards they suffered the Hashiba invasion and surrendered, choosing to become incorporated into the organization as this was the path to keep Lord Terumoto alive.”

I wonder if it was because of this, it is said that Hexagone Française and the Mouri clan formed a close relationship in order to prevent the invasion on the Far East side and prevent the interference in Hexagone Française’s rule.”

Well then, there Mary spoke. What was being displayed in her sigh frame was Hexagone Française’s structure.

* '''Chancellor: Louis Exiv: Inherits the blood of the gods. Testament Armour user.'''
* '''President: Mouri Terumoto: Wife of Exiv. Also inherits the name of D'Artagnan. Testament Armour user.'''
* '''Vice Chancellor: Lord Turenne: Due to the name inheritance being announced only recently, details unknown'''
* '''Vice President: Luynes : Refers to the God of War Palais Cardinal . Also inherits the name of the treasurer Mazarin.'''
* '''Secretary: Mouri Motokiyo: Hexagone Française’s automated doll Mouri 1. Terumoto’s adviser'''
* '''Special Agent: The Three Musketeers (Henri, Armand, Isaac): Battled styled automated dolls attached to Terumoto.'''

“— That should sum it up. Since France had formed their relationship with Mouri, it was then that they first began to exchange automated dolls as personnel. It is said that they are a part of Mouri’s side force replenishment, however including that nothing is said about Turenne’s identity except that they are a first year different species, it is a source of uncertainty.”

The one who nodded in agreement was the glass wearing boy who was close with Shakespeare. In front of Mary’s eyes, while he was pulling out a sign frame with the same contents as hers,

“It would seem that it was a personal recommended by Louise Exiv’s younger sister, the former provisional chancellor and student president Anne D'Autriche, who as the result of an incurable disease is currently undergoing treatment at an M.H.R.R. Protestant city. However, according to talk, this person apparently passed the test implemented in Hexagone Française by quite a narrow margin. It is said she might be the possessor of some type of specialized ability or something.”

“Well, from what I hear, that is in other words an idiot?”

“No, after all being at the Vice president class, there is no way that it is that straight forward. It is something to be cautious of.”

The one who spoke in agreement was Oriotorai who was standing at the podium. While writing a summary of the words with chalk on the blackboard, she sent a smile of recognition this way.

“Well, that should sum it up. Thank you for your opinion Mary, you did a good job.”

Being told that by the person who was in charge of this class, there was relief that she was becoming a member of this class.

“Thank you very much!”

“Jud. Well Mary, our class has this kind of atmosphere okay? Um, the contents of your punishment are—”

She said Jud, however Mary tilted her head. While questioning what exactly was occurring on her inside,

“I think it was determined by majority so it become like that… however, how does me kissing Tenzou-sama constitute a punishment?”

The neighboring Tenzou hung his head, tilted it and fell onto his desk, and then Oriotorai, while still keeping her back facing this way, raised a strange noise with chalk on the blackboard.

<center>●</center>

Masazumi was reflexively taken aback at the ear-splitting noise which penetrated her ears to her core.

I’m really bad when it comes to this type of noise. Glancing around her surroundings, there directly in front on her, Mitotsudaira's hair was completely standing on end and shivering.

“My my my! Nenji! You’re rippling!”

“Yeah! Shake my surface!!”

How noisy.

Nevertheless, Oriotorai in response to Mary, dragged the strange noise until she reached the edge of the chalkboard.

During that time, Masazumi was lightly clenching her teeth and shaking, however

“Ah!”

The strange noises vanished, and at the same time that Oriotorai turned around the end of class bell began to slowly ring out

Oh, well, Oriotorai who had checked the time placed the chalk and paused for a moment.

“Well for now today’s class is finished. Then during HR we will discuss the preparations for the upcoming planned field trip. Well, the current Musashi has not yet decided where it is headed yet, when the situation is clear it is something that I want to decide. Also the person who is going to Miriam’s place, please take the notes."

Hearing the words being said, Masazumi suddenly thought.

Determining the situation of Musashi is my job, is it not.

Well, what should Musashi do for the current future? That plan had been mostly decided upon.

There Mitotsudaira who was in front of her turned around and spoke.

“Masazumi? In approximately one week, Musashi’s repairs should be completed. If there is something that you haven’t decided upon, I am available for consultation you know? My hometown is in the sky of Hexagone Française after all.”

“Ah, in that case, I’ll have you accompany me after school for a bit. There something that I wish to examine a little. I also wished to discuss with everyone where we should direct Musashi from here on out.”

With those words, everyone in the classroom turned around. Oriotorai also raised a smile, however loudly clapped her hands.

“Okay, okay but for now, wait until after we have finished HR okay? Then you can do as you please.”

Jud, Masazumi exchanged nods with Mitotsudaira, then as if to convince herself Masazumi muttered.

“I have to keep a level head. Both for the future of Musashi and the Far East… First thing to do is HR. Once that was finished, it would be after school. That was the start of free time.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Prologue|Prologue]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 02|Chapter 02]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 02

2014-05-26T18:09:38Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter Two: The Pioneers of the Location */

==Chapter Two: The Pioneers of the Location==
[[Image:Horizon3A_0051.jpg|thumb]]

''Being there''

''Even without being told''

''What is a good place''

'''Point Allocation (The Right Person in the Right Place)'''

<center>●</center>

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『My Lady, I have obtained permission. Before I depart tomorrow it seems I will be able to take possession of the letters. However your friend did require some arrangements being made . Also—』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『Also, what is it?』

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『There was also a letter from My Lady’s friend’s spouse. They were saying about doing something with the picked fruit however I took possession of only the flowers.』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『Jeez…. Everyone is being tactful of strange areas.』

*'''[Luuynes]:''' 『No, it was me who made that request. That I wanted them to be tactful.』

*'''[ANA]:''' 『……You are flawless.』

<center>●</center>

The after school activities had begun.

The students left the school grounds and headed off into their respective locations, however many went to assist in the repairs of Musashi or headed towards the location of their part time jobs.

The time when voices were exchanged, separated and once again assembled at the location where they pleased.

The gaze which overlooked all of this was however located inside a closed room.

From the bridge, which was as if it spanned over Musashi’s central forward vessel Musashino, there was someone who was observing everything.

The person who had hurriedly come here after school had finished was,

“Suzu-sama…. Here you go, green tea and apple pie which was purchased from the fair below. Over.”

“T-Thank yo-u , “Musashino”.”

It was Suzu.

<center>●</center>

The heart of the bridge. Even after the teacup and plate were placed on the side-table next to her chair she did not immediately reach for them.

For her who had just come here, the first thing she laid her hands on was the space which surrounded her chair.

…The imitation of Musashi and IZUMO are just about done.

In the space in front of her outstretched hands, was the surface section of Musashi as well as the surrounding geography and town, created of light.

As Suzu sat in a chair, the model of the world scolled with the movements of her hands, and adding and removal of the three-dimensional model was conducted accordingly.

Looking at that spectacle Musashi said,

“It appears that the modelling of Musashi has been considerably completed. Over.”

“Umm but since it changes e-every day… I am unable to keep up.”

Particularly in this area, Suzu pointed to an area near the deck of the first right and left ship which had wide repair spots, and formed a smile.

“When something occurs again, w-will this be useful?”
Jud, the automated doll nodded her head.

“I can conclude that when we carry out instructions it will be different if we have a detailed understanding of the deck, also when we act in the support of everyday activities if there is a map which was created with a different viewpoint than the reasonable judgment of our automated dolls, it will be very helpful. It will also be helpful to the elementary school children and the other people who come here for sightseeing. Also—, when Toori causes a problem, compared to the geographical understanding of the automated dolls, the map Suzu has created makes the “hiding places” easier to determine. —Over.”

It's That right?, Suzu nodded with a smile, took a breath and adjusted her seating.

After hesitating for a moment, Suzu took the teacup from the side table in both her hands and sat back in her chair.

However Suzu, who went as if to sink into the model of Musashi, then abruptly let out a small laugh.

“Whatever is the matter? —Over.”

“Jud, everyone’s after school is varied.… Look everyone.”

Suzu put the teacup up to her mouth and then as if to count the models individual locations she indicated with her right fingers.

The fingers which indicated in order from the front lastly indicated one location.

A building at the rear of Okutama. It was the imitation of the Musashi Ariadust academy.

<center>●</center>

Even when it was after school, there were still the shadows of people inside Musashi Ariadust Academy.

Among those remaining were not only the students who were part of the indoor clubs,

“So I came for this examination, however this school council room is totally not cleaned and handled quite irresponsibility. Mitotsudaira… is a member of the Chancellor's Board so you don’t use this room, right?”

Masazumi surveyed the place where she was currently standing.… This is the school buildings frontal side third floor’s student council room, huh.

You could even call this position the face of the school, however…

By all rights this room should have had quite a large floor space; however there were chairs, desks as well as other goods piled up left and right, as if to create a corridor from the door to the windows.

This was evidence that the successive generations of the student council had not been functioning.

In front of Masazumi, who was surveying the valley of goods, was Mitotsudaira who had opened a window and then turned around with a fed up expression.

“This is more like a storeroom than a student council room; however well it is the same for those of the Chancellor's Board as well.”

“Is that so?”

Jud, while trying to avoid touching anything, Mitotsudaira shrugged her shoulders.
“The members who make up the Board use the Board room down below; however it is in the same state as here. After all, the Far East operated under the premise that there would be no emergency situations under the oppression of the Testament Union. Even after Mikawa, if something happens, it is usually settled in the classroom or cafeteria or on top of the bridge. However — why now of all times did you want to use this place, Masazumi?”

I wonder why, Masazumi looked at the objet d'art which was composed of carelessly piled up goods and desks, enough so that the ceiling on the left and right was obscured, and she let out a sigh. She folded her arms, and while once again thinking about what was going on,

“When I was appointed as the vice president, I came here to look once, yeah the Far East Student Council was after all a mere skeleton and decided to give up.”

However,

“—The classroom, the cafeteria, on top of the bridge, the courtyard or Blue Thunder, we can hold a strategy meeting anywhere. I came to realize recently that the Far East was that kind of place. However on the other hand I thought it necessary for everyone to have a place to share.”

“Then, that place which everyone could share is—”

Yeah, Masazumi shook her head downwards. Motioning towards the floor with her right hand,

"It's not that I’m suggesting we have to be here all the time. However when we can’t make contact, when we wish to save someone, when there is a time to be patient… you should come here, what I want is a place like that.”

While saying that, she remembered something that occurred at Mikawa. The feeling of being dumbfounded when she returned home on a certain day and realized that her mother was gone still remained inside her heart.

To supress her past fear, she wanted a place where people could believe that someone was there.

“I wonder why!”

Masazumi looked at the outside of the seemingly narrow window. The city of Musashi was spread out under the afternoon sky, beyond that was the edge of the dock and fields and shelterbelts, the city of IZUMO. However Masazumi gazed with sharp eyes further into the interior, the south-eastern sky and the forest and valleys of the mainland which spread out beneath IZUMO.

“—Only one week until the repairs are complete. After that is complete, we will begin moving again in order to gain the cooperation of many countries. However this part of Europe is currently in the middle of the thirty year war. I cannot deny the possibility of sustaining damage like we did during the Armada battle. If we hold an official position when that happens there will be a large change in the civilian’s sense of security.”

“Jud, —it is also my opinion that what will occur from now on will be the true battlefield. There is also Neshinbara’s opinion that in the previous Armada Sea battle, in order to preserve their own fleet, the strategy of Tres España was “Through the use of a small efficient force, aim for not the sinking of Musashi but the stoppage”, it was not all-out war for them.”

Listening to Mitotsudaira’s words, Masazumi thought that she was correct.

That’s why she nodded and,

“I want to strengthen the Student Council and Chancellor’s Board. Think of it as a hidden urgent business.”

Masazumi thought after saying that. That in Mitotsudaira’s expression there was a shadow. That’s why,

“Is there something troubling you?”

“Eh? Ah, no.”

In front of Masazumi’s eyes, Mitotsudaira lightly waved her hand from left to right. Then as if she was arranging her thoughts,

“I have to make sure to be reliable. I have to take into account my true abilities.”

“I think that Mitotsudaira is doing a fine job.”

During the crash of the cargo ship it was her who had supervised things like the night watch, the transport of supplies and the construction inside the ship. If she had not been present at that scene then there were many of Tenzou's orders which would not have functioned, this was something that anyone who was at the scene realized. However,
….Was it because Mitotsudaira was a member of the Chancellor’s Board I wonder.

There is also one’s duty as a knight. Thinking about her role during battle,

…In England she suffered a draw with Walsingham….

While on-board Musashi together with Walsingham she was unable to stop Tres España vice Chancellor Takakane Hironaka, this is what is known as the difference in strength, however,

“Even though there is always someone stronger, I sill wish to become stronger you know?”

“In that case, the path of strengthening, it would be good to search for a suitable location. If there is anything let me know. After the Armada Sea Battle, there is an understanding in the public opinion towards battle. It will make it easier to gain acceptance.”

Jud, Mitotsudaira nodded and a slight silence occurred.

Thinking that it would be bad for the silence to continue, Masazumi purposefully let out a large breath,

“Well then.”

Saying that in a distinct voice to bring Mitotsudaira to her senses, she rolled up her jacket sleeves.

“Well then, shall we do a little examining….?

“L-Let us do that. However this is….”

In front of Mitotsudaira’s half opened eyes. What was there was,

“……Ah? Right from the start, what is this mountain of mail order, ….. Huh, eroge have been placed and piled up in here!”

<center>●</center>

Masazumi took the brown wrapped package which was lightly covered in dust in hand. Narrowing her eyes and holding it aloft that was indeed exactly what she had thought it was.

Good grief, after putting that as a preface Masazumi went,

“That idiot, what does he think this place is…!!”

“…..It is amazing that you have no doubts about who that belongs to, Masazumi.”
If there is some other possibility, I would like to know.

However Mitotsudaira with a testing air also took one in hand,

“However what exactly is this, on the invoice “Theban Genuine Force VS Spartan Homo army corps. Remaining 300” is resolutely written, you know? …. Furthermore not only the title but the subtitle “There are no women! Regain your sanity!” is excessive. Is his head alright?”

“Like I would know. In any case we have to dispose of any crying games because if that idiot dies, the existence of this country will be in jeopardy. I have to clearly tell him that he should buy the next one only after he had finished clearing the current ones.”

“However, I have the feeling the Chancellor puts all the earnings from his part time job into this….”

…This when I’m already finished with just food and book expenses! A family which provides food is enviable!

While thinking about her real motivations, she summoned her ant eater Tsukinowa as a response to the situation in front of her eyes. After getting positioned on her shoulders, patting her head and rubbing her cheeks, together they opened the chat,

*'''[Vice-President]:''' 『Asama, I will send you an image of the eroge that are here, if we sold them, how much would that be?』

*'''[Asama]:''' 『Umm, from the looks of it everything would be worth about 12000 yen… huh, why was I called as the appraiser!?』

She had already told me what I wanted to know. Having personnel who did not hold official positions yet were still talented was a good thing to have for the country.

“Anyhow, selling all this and only getting about 12000 yen. ….I really don’t understand males.”

“— Even though in the past you were trying to become one?”

Having that said to her with a bitter smile, Masazumi considered her own circumstances. However she was unable to come up with a good explanation.

“I’ll correct myself, I don’t understand that idiot.”

In contrast to Mitotsudaira’s deepening bitter smile, Masazumi, feeling uncomfortable, directed her gaze at the window. Beneath her eyes was the overhead bridge in front of the
school yard where she had done the public debate, thinking that it was around there that she had debated,

……she had also had her trousers yanked down…..!

“Ah umm Masazumi, you seem to be upset about something? Was it what I just said?”

“Eh? Ah no, it has nothing to do with that. It was something else, from a while back”

Masazumi shifted her glance to the front. As she did, beneath the bridge, on the other side of the descending staircase lay Remorse Way,

…the port side natural area is where the park is.

After she had seen Sakai off to Mikawa and returned, it is the park path she used when going through the natural area.

In the center there was a retreat building, a small place where there are always children playing. After that time, she had stopped by several times and spent her reading time there. It was one of the few spots inside Musashi where Masazumi could relax.
Sooner or later, while thinking that it might be nice to have a meal or a conference at the hermitage, Masazumi rolled up her the sleeves of her jacket.

“Well, I’m not planning to do a full-scale job, but shall we see what it's like deeper inside…”

Once that is complete,

“Shall we descend to IZUMO for a break? Mitotsudaira”

<center>●</center>

Mitotsudaira listened to Masazumi’s question.

“There is apparently a festival happening down in IZUMO.”

With those words, Mitotsudaira experienced a moment of indecision.

…She was being considerate of my circumstances.

As a matter of fact, Hexagone Française was the homeland of Mitotsudaira, however even after receiving permission to enter IZUMO, she had not descended into IZUMO. Naturally, there was a reason she had not done so.

The promise she had made with her mother.

That’s why; even though many people, including her friends, were descending to take a break, she herself did not go.
It seems like Masazumi had realized that fact. Consequently,

…That she didn’t ask why I do not go but instead invited me to go with her was—.

This was her way of being considerate due to the short friendship that existed.

Everyone in her surroundings already knew the reason, thus they no longer made this type of invitation, however it did provide a sense of freshness.

That’s why Mitotsudaira with a bitter smile mixed in,

“It is alright, I still have management of my territory inside Musashi to do. In a little while Musashi will be heading in the direction of Edo right? I think that I will descend at my actual territory.”

“I see.”

At that point Masazumi put an end to that topic. There with both parties taking a short pause the conversion did not restart.

……ah……?

Mitotsudaira thought about the present situation with a slight doubt, this was a situation almost as if “directly following mentioning a bad topic”.

……Uh

From Masazumi's current silence she could feel an atmosphere of “sorry”. Masazumi had also already realized it as well, however if she immediately brought out a new topic it is certain that it could be felt that she was avoiding the previous topic.

It was now Masazumi's turn to wait, and for her to bring out a new topic to as a way of saying “Do not worry about it.”.

Mitotsudaira thought that she had to say something.

….H-however, umm.

Frankly, she was not good with this kind of situation. Wiping away an uncomfortable sweat, Mitotsudaira continued,

“U-umm, that is…”

Right when she finished panicking. Unexpectedly a voice came from behind her. That was,

“Oi oi oi oi you guys! What are you doing with my treasure library!?”

Turning around, there in the corridor was an idiot carrying an eroge package.

Masazumi who was in a state of completely half-closed eyes turned around to the culprit responsible for the state of this room. On her shoulder

『Ma-』

There, there Tsukinowa. You were not mistaken in deploying attack spells. However, those were the anti-ghost spells that Asama gave us during the battle against Hatton. You need anti-object or anti-personal spells. Also, it is fine if you do not do that against other people, okay?

However, while this side was conducting something like a strategy meeting through eye-contact, that idiot said,

“Ah! These guys. Even though I went to great trouble to arrange the titles in several orders, you went and ruined that! Seijun! Do you understand how much the “The Changelings – throbbing labyrinth version” that you are currently holding is worth!?”

“It comes to about 300 yen out of the 12000 yen, doesn’t it?”

Saying that, the idiot pulled a textbook from his breast pocket, dammit!! , and threw it against the floor. Following that, the naked guy who was still wearing clothes pointed in this direction,

“You don’t understand! Don’t understand at all, Seijun! The values of goods are not determined by their price alone!”

“Ah! It is whether they are useless or not.”

The idiot again threw the textbook against the ground. Following that he looked at Mitotsudaira,

“Oi oi Nate! Say something to her. By the way Nate, won’t you come down to IZUMO and hang out with everyone? The fresh meat there from Hexagone Française is delicious. At the moment it's lamb! Lamb! How about having a bite of one which is only salted and spit roasted?”

“Uh…… Um, that is, well.”

In contrast with Mitotsudaira who was unable to follow the flow of the conversation, the idiot while scratching his head said,

“It’s fine Nate.”

Hmm, there the idiot tilted his neck,

“It’s not like your mother told you never ever to return. It’s not the mainland but IZUMO, once in a while let’s all go down and grab a meal together, yeah? Everyone wants to have a meal with you, you know!? An expensive one!”

“…Is that because you want it to be my treat?”

That is what I was thinking, is what Masazumi muttered to herself. However, on the other hand her thinking was,

……Mother?

That was the first time she had heard that story.

<center>●</center>

Masazumi did not know very much about Mitotsudaira.

About all she had heard was that she was originally of a small nobility, and that her family structure was her mother being a Loup-Garou and father being a human.

There was also that, for some reason or another, she had inherited the name of the Mito-Matsudaira clan and was dispatched alone to Musashi which had led to the current situation.
…Mitotsudaira’s last name was also originally a different name.

Masazumi did not know the specific details with regards to the circumstance regarding her name inheritance.

This was because recently in Hexagone Française, not only the important roles but also the noble lineage had been frequently interchanging due to the historical reconstruction of the thirty year war and the Catholic and Protestant civil war.

Recently the treasurer as well as the vice Chancellor had also just been changed. Everything was all part of the flow to welcome the era of the monarchy of Louis the Fourteenth.

Louis Exiv was the king who, after going through the civil war and the chaos of the thirty year war, would implement an unconditional monarchy.

In the Testament it was recorded that Hexagone Française would experience unprecedented prosperity at the behest of that king.

Consequently, other countries attempted to delay the name inheritance of Louis Exiv with Hexagone Française having to accept many disadvantaging conditions and to escape from these oppressions.

The year before last, from the time of the first year of high school, the name of Louis Exiv was inherited, however

…Mitotsudaira being dispatched to Musashi from such a young age was also part of a deal in order to speed up that flow.

From the fact that Mitotsudaira was placing importance on her livelihood as a dispatched knight from Hexagone Française even while aboard Musashi, it was likely she had not totally cut herself from Hexagone Française. That she would not even descend to IZUMO was,

Her mother, huh.

She did not know the finer details but when it came to family bonds, the story was different. If you became involved with the thing known as “family”, even if you pry into it there was also a portion which could not be dealt with through emotion.

“Mitotsudaira, afterwards want to go get something to eat?”

“Eh? …… It is not like I don’t want to go to IZUMO…”

“Nah, Tama is fine as well. Since Tama is also a foreign exchange ship, we can eat meat from Hexagone Française and there is also a good view. The guys who descended below will probably bring something as well. — Mitotsudaira, it’s fine if you bring green soybeans and ah, natto right?”

“No, that is, it is not that my main business is natto…., Chancellor! Where are you planning to sneak away to while carrying the goods that we are trying to clean up!?”

“Ah, don’t you get it? To a different safe house, safe house.”

“Where is that?”

“Ah! Beneath the veranda at Asama’s Shrine and inside the attic of Shiro’s shop, I spent a lot of effort remodeling them.”

*'''[Vice President]:''' 『Did you hear? Can you go and have a quick look?』

*'''[Asama]:''' 『They are really there. When did he!』

*'''[Me]:''' 『Ah! Idiot, that is where the ones with priestesses are, wait till I arrive!』

*'''[Asama]:''' 『I understand. Well, once you have arrived I’ll burn them in front of your eyes okay?』

*'''[Me]:''' 『You Idiot. Think about the feelings of the people who created them. Do you get it!?』

*'''[Novice]:''' 『If you burn them, they won’t become a part of the second hand market, I, as an author, see that as a viable choice.』

*'''[Me]:''' 『D-Dammit, the net is full of enemies! It’s fine since I’m living in reality. In this reality space my power is threefold! However your powers have fallen to one-third! Get it!?』

*'''[Worshiper]:''' 『That’s from “Space Magistrate Echizen” which started the other day. The one who equips their combat gear in 180000 milliseconds.』

*'''[Argente Loup]:''' 『How about a thirty minute program that ends with just the transformation? In a certain way it is realistic.』

*'''[Asama]:''' 『How should I put it, with those calculations if the original level of power was a tenth of the enemy's, even with corrections you would still lose by a narrow margin.』

“Da-dammit! You guys reality assessment is zero sugar! Did you see that just now!?”

However the idiot, perhaps realizing something, slowly turned around. There,

“Huh? Horizon, what are you doing pretending to smoke a cigarette and blowing smoke out of your nose? Are you going to help me?”

The following moment. The students of the exercise based club who were practicing in the courtyard saw the window of the student council room smash and a human shaped something fly through the sky. However, after conforming that it fell on top of the bridge, everyone returned their gazes and continued their respective defense, attack and training.

Jeez…, Mitotsudaira who saw Horizon stretching out the fingers of her right hand, looked at the broken window and while experiencing an uncomfortable sweat,

“H-hey, Horizon?”

“Jud, today I have plans to go with Kimi-sama to IZUMO. However on the way I thought about bringing Toori-sama along, and have been chasing after him.”

“Yeah, now that you mention it, you did mention something about that during class……”

“Jud. It is the store master’s family. The store master’s parent, Toori-sama’s grandmother, is there.”

The reason for going there was,

“It appears that grandmother knows about the past Horizon, therefore I wanted to meet her at least once.”

Hearing the contents of the spoken words, Mitotsudaira lightly held her breath.

There were a lot of things to consider.

There was the fact that Horizon had begun to hold interest regarding her past self, and that she was going to face her past head-on. There,

…Kimi had probably proposed the idea; however the Chancellor was not eager to go.

Horizon wished to know about her past self.

I wonder if the fact that he was trying as much as possible to not interfere, was because there's still a part which he was drawing back from Horizon.

That’s why,

“…Catch the Chancellor—”

She tried suggesting that for a reaction.

“Shall I accompany you? As an escort.”

Hey, Masazumi called out to her from behind. However Horizon,

“No.”

That was rejected.

However, before the shock of being told she was unnecessary arrived, Horizon continued speaking.

“Yes, — I have already requested that Futayo-sama accompany me.”

“I-Is that so?”

As if trying to fill the void which had opened up inside her, Mitotsudaira asked a question.

In front of Mitotsudaira’s eyes Horizon, nodded in response. That was correct.

“Jud, lately Futayo-sama has been extremely busy, due to her effectiveness at her job slicing the remains of armor plating she has been called “Lady Ueno”, I thought she should take a breather. Just now when I could not find Mitotsudaira-sama, I called out to Futayo-sama and there she was “I do have interest in the confections of France.”.

“…It seems that over there Futayo has been unable to acquire any free time, and her tension seems like it is falling.”

However well,

“In the case of Futayo's tension falling, if it is confection, if she had said so I could prepare them, you know?"

“Is it possible for Mitotsudaira-sama to produce confection?”

Mitotsudaira nodded her head slightly.

She was confident that she could cook.

Her cooking had a tendency towards those of a wolf, though with confection, as long as citrus fruits were not used, she could make them. Particularly those western confections which used dairy products such as butter and cream were among her favorites. That was, in other words,

“Confections that use the fat of animals. — They suit the tastes of a wolf, you know?”

“Jud. Well, eventually I would like you to teach me how to make those. If I had to say it, then a lot of what Blue thunder handled were “Meals”, the master had also said that she has wished for that kind of repertoire.”

Really? The one who raised their voice was Masazumi.

“Well, while I’m a supporter of the Eastern confection, I do still have interest in Western confection. My father likes them, and it would be good if I could serve them before and after meetings. — Would you be willing to teach me, Mitotsudaira?”

Jud, Mitotsudaira went to reply, however thought about it for a moment.

If I had to say, recently the main trend of French confection were small goods. Taking into account the fact that Horizon was working in a bakery,

“If it is something you plan to sell in the store, I believe that there is a more suitable person than me.”

“Who would that be?”

“Jud, Mary Stuart.”

Mary who was provisionally seeking asylum from England was, together with the Tachibana couple, presently members of our class. However, Mitotsudaira had hardly exchanged words with Mary. The reason was simple.

…It was because she was British.

During the Middle Ages Hexagone Française had invaded England; however those invaders became indigenous and created the southern part of England. Consequently, England repeatedly attempted to be involved with the Royal succession of France; there was also the famous Joan De Arc who caused the Anglo-French 100 year war.

Hexagone Française even now still considers England as a vassal state or territories of Française and is treating it as an insurgent nation. Mitotsudaira also had from a young age gown up listening to her mother’s stories about Joan De Arc. A mere two hundred years ago, France almost came under the control of England, with its lands and people being ravished, and there the girl who had leaded the salvation of France was burnt at the stake by the English.

It was a long time ago, is what her mother would always tell her and laugh and tell her. That now is the world of “stories”.

……That is why; it is not like she held any resentment towards England, however.

Her sentiment was that she must find some positive points. They interfered with her country and plundered many things, however England had probably gone ahead and returned something.

That was a negative way of thinking.

She was thinking that she should not bring historical problems into her and Mary’s personal relationship.

Therefore she was taking a distance from Mary to make sure that part did not come out during a chance remark.

However, during the time while she was thinking about herself who had made the claim that Mary was a suitable substitute concerning the production of confection,

“— Mitotsudaira-sama?”

“Eh?”

In contrast to her, who was falling into a spiral of deep thought, Horizon called out to Mitotsudaira who seemed as if she was taken aback.

“Why Mary-sama?”

“Ah, umm, well…”

While feeling a one-way sense of disappointment that if she did not explain, they would not accept, Mitotsudaira spoke.

“Rather the confection of Hexagone Française, in England there are more goods which would be considered evolutions of bread. If I had to say Hexagone Française’s confection has a lot of small goods—“

“That is the type that I wish for, Mitotsudaira-sama. If it is an evolution of bread then it would be somewhat difficult to distinguish from the goods on the shelves.”

“…Is that right?”

“Jud. — The store master is always originally from IZUMO; however it would appear that she is a magnificent real samurai and that confection creating and the like were our one shot in her way of living. If I had to say, it seems like that she learned to make bread in England.”

Well, she nodded and behind her Masazumi softly laughed.

“Argente Loup confection classroom huh. I wonder if this would be held regularly.”

“Masazumi…!”

Turning around, outside of the window a pair of black wings appeared holding a package.

“Eh!? What? Service contravene classroom…!? What is that material? I’ll use it!? — Ah, this is that idiot’s goods.”

“Malga, would you please stop mishearing such strange things… If that package is a Priestess work, then please forward it over to Asama’s place.”

Ah, Naruze looked at the name and address, then kicked the broken windowsill and did a backwards somersault.

It looked like she was correct.

Lately every night she had been flying around together with Naito testing the functionality of Schwarz Fräulein and Weiss Fräulein however,

“As expected, you don’t use them during the day? I understand that the noise is dreadful after all.”

“They have bad fuel consumption. During the day since people and ships are flying, we have to make quick stops and circumvent a lot of them, which makes the fuel costs nothing to sneeze at. That’s why at night, when it is only people we know, is the real deal. — For the time being, we have also been setting “Geheimnis Sabbat” during the night, will you come watch?”

Jud, Horizon was the one who replied. She nodded and,

“I will bring the confection that Mitotsudaira-sama has created along with me.”

Hmm, Naruze showed a meaningful smile and flew above the wind sill.

“That sounds nice — it has been a while. I’m looking forward to it.”

She thought about protesting, however before she could voices echoed up from below.

“He ran away!” “He’s crawling!... He’s fast” “Eh, no stop!”

There among the screams of the students was the sound of footsteps mixed in,

“…It’s the Chancellor.”

“…Horizion will ignore this and go ahead with Kimi.”

There’s nothing to be done, Masazumi’s voice was heard, however it suddenly stopped. Thinking about what the matter was, Tsukinowa was opening a sign frame.

Masazumi who was looking at the sign frame slightly furrowed her brow, however when she noticed here,

“Ah, — please go on ahead. A message has come in from Neshinbara, so I just have to deal with that.”

“If something happens, make sure to immediately let me know, okay?”

Jud, after hearing that answer, Mitotsudaira, together with Horizon, went out into the corridor. Everyone else as well, for example Mary, at this time was living while embracing a variety of thoughts.

[[Image:Horizon3A_0076.jpg|thumb]]
'''Study - IZUMO CORPORATION'''

''Toori'':　『Sis! Sis! I descended down into IZUMO however there were a variety of branded goods and I did not know which I should buy! Do you have any advice please!』

''Kimi'':　『Let’s see, having a basic look, there should be no problem if you buy the IZUMO brand. It’s a composite syndicate so you can go from a castle or ship to even a grain of rice. The representative brands of IZUMO as are below.』

*'''Izumo Industry:''' IZUMO’s parent organization. In reality IZUMO is also a brand of the Izumo Industry however since Izumo industry has Shinto and aviation technologies as the primary concern the positions are now reversed.
*'''IZUMO:''' IZUMO’s main brand. Having Shinto, aviation technology and commodities as the primary concerns, it has developed at many levels by using the transportation capacity of the Shinto network which connects the entirety of the Far East. It is the largest enterprise of the Far East. Since the Shirasago Enterprise started dealing with serious goods, in reality they have started developing into a variety of areas including joke material.
*'''Shirasago Enterprise''': In contrast to IZUMO which liked to develop a variety of new products, with serious staple goods and Shinto-related as the core of the brand, they have in reality changed into a different shrine. The headquarters are located below IZUMO on the land of the old IZUMO. They often get caught up in the messes of IZUMO and ends up in the role of facing that trouble.
*'''Bizen''': A brand which handles ironworking related activities. It is located upon the southern provisional country border of M.H.H.R. and Hexagone Française and conducts the provision of Olay Metal to both countries. Its expansion into other country is BIZEN.
*'''INARIFOX:''' an Inari-related development section which was merged during the Harmonic Unification War. Specialises in the development of Mouse and Executive Assistant
*'''Izumo Divine Transmission:''' A provider which handled the Shinto divine transmission network from ancient times. It is the foundation of the entire Far East’s Shinto divine transmission network, after the Harmonic Unification War they also took charge of the heavenly god divine transmission network system of the Capital and the Ise force.

''Kimi'':『There are also the gods of war MINO and the fast food stalwart BURGER, however these should describe those relating to life on Musashi and those located nearby. Musashi has the majority of Shinto goods and Divine transmissions of the Shirasago brand as a result of the Asama Shrine being connected to Shirasago, however in other cities of the Far East, the names of IZUMO and Izumo Divine Transmission are larger. Each brand has goods that are considered their speciality, so it might be good to keep that in mind.”』

''Toori'':　『Well…., with all these being available I have to make sure to decide by genre.』

''Kimi'':　『No, you’re talking about Eroge again.』

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 01|Chapter 01]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 03|Chapter 03]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 03

2014-05-26T18:02:12Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 03: Hard Worker of the Unfamiliar Site */

==Chapter 03: Hard Worker of the Unfamiliar Site==
[[Image:Horizon3A_0077.jpg|thumb]]

''In a place one does not know''

''To make a living''

''What should be done''

'''Point Allocation (Ability to Take Action)'''

<center>●</center>

“Wow, a pear tart from IZUMO below?”

The blonde with a scarred face turned around with a surprised voice inside the grounds of a Shrine which possessed the sky of an atrium.

The location was the third underground floor at the rear of Okutama. Within the atrium established using the two side streets, the ascending stairs there led to the Shinto shrine arch, where there was a grove and a shrine.

The name which was bestowed on the large Shinto shrine archway on the bow side was “Asama Shrine”.

Through the waterfalls formed by the rivers falling from the surface section and sunlight entering from the atrium, shadows and light intersected several places within the shrine grounds. Inside those shrine grounds the one who had spoken the previous words was the priestess-styled inner-suit figure of Mary.

She, while taking the paper box which was offered,

“Is it all right? Adele, is it alright for me to accept this.”

Jud, the one who nodded was the blue jersey clad figure of Adele.

“These were provisions provided by “Musashi” and the others to the official positions and important offices. Earlier when purchasing tableware from down below, “Musashi” requested that I carry them with me when I return, in order to reduce her load. Please have it together with the first special agent. — Hey!”
Adele who was speaking, directed those final words to the surrounding pack of shadows which was jumping around.

It was the dogs.

Those with collars, without collars as well as young, adult and old dogs. With Adele’s single word the dogs, with a stray white dog in the centre, sat down all at once. Adele faced the dogs,

“This is where you get your water from, okay? Anything else is prohibited. The toilet is also at the prescribed location.”

The dogs let out a single loud bark as if to nod.

Good, Adele nodded and began to provide the feed she had received from passers-by in orderly fashion. Turning around and looking, the smiling Mary who was there was,

“… However, well, I would never have thought that you would take a part-time job as a priestess at the Asama Shrine.”

<center>●</center>

She started to say that if you think about it historically, it’s a chaotic situation, furthermore

…… this is the First Special Agent’s tastes.

Is what she also wanted to say, however Adele remained silent. After all, she was a normal individual. She was not someone who should become too deeply involved in the situation of royalty or deviants.

However Mary, with a white inner suit as the base, and with red tights, shaking the tail ballast with the broom which hung at her waist, could be seen to look good.

That Mary showed a smile this way,

“I am only doing things such as cleaning, tidying and the preparations for the store, I think it would be good if I could work more… however, I lack a proper understanding of Shinto, so I'm depending on these a little.”

There was a small PC hanging from the hard point on her waist. What was displayed there was an explanation of Shinto formulas and spells. She was studying in her own way, there after understanding that,

“To continue to inherit the name of Mary, you are after all unable to discard the Catholic religion. However, being on board Musashi and continuing like that would be a bit of a difficult situation… that’s why I talked using the “Hidden” Catholic setting.”

“Jud, normally it seems the “Hidden” setting was used for believers of Shinto who wished to believe in Catholicism, however since my situation would be the reverse, it apparently makes the application complicated.”

So working at the shrine to “Demonstrate her belief” was done in order to relax the application conditions.

However, Adele thought. Like her who only believed in Catholicism, she was able to respect her beliefs in everyday life, and if Asama was there acting as an intermediary, it was simple to achieve messaging. However,

“Why did you say that you wanted to understand Shinto?”

Eh? After forming the words, Mary hesitated and her cheeks reddened.

“If I have the same as Tenzou-sama, then there are not a lot of inconveniences…”

If any of our class were here at the moment, the fate of the First Special Agent would have been sealed tomorrow. I’m glad it was me. I’ll let him off with just spreading it over the net.

However Mary bowed her head in this direction,

“— In any case, thank you for everything back in England.”

“Eh? Ah No, after all I didn’t cause a ruckus at the London tower nor have any real activity during Armada. I was waiting for maintenance on my armour shell so it was pretty easy-going.”

More importantly,

“Mary, how are you feeling at the moment?”

“Jud, I can talk with the neighbours, I can work here, cook food and sew, there’s a lot I can do. The Far East also has many books which allows me to enjoy my time here.”

“Have you descended into IZUMO?”

No, she showed something like a troubled smile.

“My free time did not match with Tenzou-sama; he has his job down at the engineering section, after all.”

That guy, leaving behind his blonde large breasted wife in priestess clothes, what exactly is he doing. Adele who was about to mentally enter a preaching stance, instead lightly stopped her breath at Mary’s next words.

“Also even if it is only IZUMO, as someone who was born in England, I feel some difficulty when it comes to the territory of Hexagone Française. I am also meant to have gotten married in Hexagone Française after all.”

Hearing the difficult content of those words said without any hesitation, Adele thought of the word “consideration”.

Her mother and father were both from Hexagone Française, however she was born on Musashi. There was also her father who had lost his place within Hexagone Française, she was taught to place a greater value on her existence as a retainer over her country. She was a Catholic, a retainer and from the lineage of Hexagone Française, however she was a resident of Musashi.

That is why she realised that Mitotsudaira and Mary were keeping a distance from each other. Like her, they both held the thinking of the era of knights, however following her birth one held a different type of awareness towards her home country. That was Mitotsudaira.

There was probably a similar situation for Mary. She bitterly smiled,

“… At the point when you feel that you should not be aware that it is already hopeless, you then think once again that is also hopeless, however you wonder if it is truly hopeless, and it goes around in repetition.”

However,

“I talked with Tenzou-sama about going down to IZUMO, — I requested about a variety of purchases at IZUMO, and he would help on a later date. It was simple to solve.”

<center>●</center>

“Really…”

Adele thought, that First Special Agent is doing quite well.

She was questionably moved emotionally. That is why Adele first went to go about her business,

“So, umm, I’m sorry, where’s Asama?”

“Eh? Umm, earlier she was peering under the veranda and then doing something about the arrangements for a seal… however now, something about stacking firewood out front towards the staircase, she is doing the cleansing of firewood in the forest around the back.”

… Something happened with someone close…

She nodded on the inside, however it would be better not to let Mary predict the particulars.

However Mary, who was tilting her head, compared here to the surrounding dogs.

“Adele, you were at IZUMO for shopping… and walking your pets?”

“Eh? Well, during the morning and evening, I run as training. However, since I continued from a while ago, the dogs thought I would play with them and continued to follow me. Then they gradually continued to increase in number, and lately this has become a sort of specialty with people who have a daily routine of throwing bait when I pass, and even people who seem they are too busy to take them for a walk, so they leave it to me.”

“Jud. It is very lively.”

Receiving an appropriate follow-up was something to be grateful for.

However well,

“This was something that Asama’s father thought up, attaching talismans to these dogs and have them run which would then conduct the ship’s tuning. Using the purification talismans “Space” which are created by the practitioners of Shinto as a rudimentary training — well even if they are badly made, we attach these which are gathered for free and attempt to remove the localized distortions within the vessel. In short, guard dogs to prevent the occurrence of Phenomena.”

However, if Asama was busy dealing with the misconduct of someone close,

“I guess it will not be happening today. Well lately, due to the repair of Musashi, even if there is a distortion the poor part should have disappeared, so it should be okay.”

I also wish to view the new tableware, which I bought to replace the broken tableware during Musashi’s full turn the other day, when placed on the table. That’s why Adele thought she would return home, however Mary

“Adele, it is almost time for my break, so how about this?”

She held up the box with the pear tart.

“Will you have it together with me? As well as having Asama and other part timers join us.”

There is a god…! Adele thought that from the bottom of her heart. That a suggestion with no downside would bring about a sense of awe! Ah, after this long time Adele was glad that this person was not executed.

Then in front of her. The goddess directed a smile this way,

“It is quite large after all; I shall have the remainder together with Tenzou-sama.”

While she was wondering whether this was all right. Black wings descended from the sky.

Descending and before touching the ground, spreading her wings as if striking the atmosphere and regaining her posture was,

“Fourth Special Agent? … Are you working?”

“Jud, could you pass this along to Asama for me? — It’s nothing important.”

“T-That’s a strange way of describing something…!”

“Oh, Naruze we were just thinking about having some tea, however…”

Hmm, Naruze looked at the paper box that Mary was holding. Then she directed her gaze below to the dogs that were looking up at her wings with great interest,

“We received ours a little while ago, but I guess it would be fine to have that tomorrow. — Okay, while it isn’t a Technomagi tea party I’ll join you for a bit”

“Fourth Special Agent, what about your work?”

“Margot should also currently be taking a break.”

Naruze pointed in the port side direction, over towards Tama.

Then towards Mary, with a smile on her face, what she said was,

“—Jud, over where your Husband and Naomasa are working.”

<center>●</center>

"To continue training even though it is your break time is admirable, Muneshige."

A single voice echoed around the outside front wall section of Tama which basked in the sun of the second day of the month.

As a result of damage to the outer wall, this location was one of the places where footholds had been installed for repairs. Not just the maintenance or the repairs section, but while the entire engineering division was conducting repairs throughout Musashi, there were many people being hired, however,

“Well, it is good that I have found a place to work where I can also complete my training. Don’t you agree, Tenzou.”

Jud, holding his hand to the white steel wall was the jacket-less figure of Tenzou.

“The fact that Naomasa and Mitotsudaira also participate is something to be highly appreciative of. Well then, about today's training it’s fine, right Muneshige?”

In front on him when he turned around was a single young married couple who were on top of a widely created foothold.

It was Muneshige who was wearing a work vest and Gin who was clad in the jersey of Tres España.

Looking at the two of them, Tenzou thought the following.

… However well, it is surprising that we managed to join together with the Tachibana married couple.

After all, it was only about two weeks ago when those two were considered the enemy.

However those two had now submitted an application to Tres España for the removal of their inherited names, and while Muneshige’s had been accepted, it was heard that Gin’s was still pending.

… That was due to Gin having her father also being a member of the Tachibana lineage.

Masazumi had made a deal with Tres España such that “If the individual in question wishes to be one of Musashi’s crew, we will treat them as a resident of the Far East” and with that settled things with Tres España. In other words, as long as they remained on Musashi, they were neither residents of Tres España or Musashi but “Far East Residents” as the original Tachibana Clan.”

In reality it could be said that Gin’s future was depending on what she wanted to do with herself.

This was not Gin’s comment. However, if Gin chose to remain with Muneshige who has had his inherited name revoked… he was thinking about doubling his efforts for the time when he would once again inherit the name.

Anyhow, Tenzou stopped that train of thought and went to deal with the issue at hand. What needed to be done now was,

“Advancing the rehabilitation training of Muneshige’s legs to the next stage.”

<center>●</center>

“Is it all right?”

Tenzou lifted his hand slightly in the direction of Naomasa. With that, Naomasa cut one part from the rolled paper-like object she was gripping with her artificial arms and formed a pipe,

“Here.”

Tenzou caught the somewhat heavy solid paper pipe which was tossed over to him. Then when he held that rolled up paper-like object and showed it to the Tachibana couple. Gin tilted her neck and spoke.

“… A Shinto damaged metallic part repair deity talisman. It provides an artificial life force to metal and using fluid as a basis, conducts an automated repair. It is however considered a prohibited technique by Catholics due to being similar to the act of God…”

Gin shifted her eyes to the side. Where she shifted her eyes there was multiple white talismans which were attached to the wall. All of that white was identical to the one which Tenzou over here was holding.

Then Naomasa also tilted her gaze towards the white horizontal line,

“Honestly, this is an ineffective method of repair. Well, for emergencies and light damage such as light scratches where it would be wasteful to replace the plating, it can be useful.”

“Jud, normally you assemble a foothold and then attach them horizontally in an orderly fashion—”

Tenzou indicated above. To a position which was approximately twenty meters above. Floating there on a broom were golden wings who waved her hand in this direction. It was Naito. She raised her hand next to her mouth,

“From what I can tell the repairs in this area aren't done properly.”

Naito poked a section of the outer wall with the tip of her broom. Seeing that, Naomasa nodded,

“Since this area is my responsibility, do you think you could give it a try?”

With that question, Muneshige looked up at the wall which seemed perpendicular.

“You’re saying to climb this?”

Nope, Tenzou spoke.

“— I’m saying to run.”

<center>●</center>

I see, is what Gin thought. That there was meaning in consulting with the ninja First Special Agent who seemed knowledgeable about occupations which could be used for training.

“At first, when I heard that it was work which could serve as training, I thought it was simply manual labour like carrying materials and assisting in creating footholds…”

Gin looked up at wall.

“That served as basic training, with the next stage being running up this near perpendicular wall?”

Inquiring to Muneshige who was beside her, he directed a sharp gaze towards the ninja. The proposed question was,

“— Without a run up?”

The way that this person was already seriously looking at this ninja conduct was something that Gin thought enviously of. There the ninja lightly nodded in response to Muneshige and with the head indicated towards his legs.

“Looking at the way that you are walking, you appear to be overly conscious of your knees.”

“— Certainty, since I damaged the ligaments I have developed a tendency to protect them.”

“I see. Then I wish for you to answer the next question honestly.”

That was,

“— Have your injuries completely healed?”

Gin heard Muneshige’s answer in response to the ninja’s question.

“— Jud.”

Previously he had replied with Tes.
However, now both he and I are different.
Not different, we have just tried to start our new selves. Thinking that was a meaningful answer, Gin slightly lowered her head to the ninja,

“Do not worry, — please provide instructions without holding anything back.”

“Jud, in that case I will have you understood the main aim here.”

Saying that, the ninja vanished.

<center>●</center>

…!?

The reason Gin reflectively looked upwards was not a result of her sense of sight, but a matter of intuition.

Sure enough, there looking above her head at the surface of the wall, the shadow of the ninja was already running at a position greater than ten meters.

Nimble.

He was not climbing. The ninja was running on the wall as if he was floating for every step.

It was martial arts. It was pure martial arts with there being no Fluid light being emitted.

However, usually if you were to climb, you would lose momentum and fall back to the ground. That’s why,

“— Muneshige-sama, that martial art…”

“Jud, in order to continue going upwards, it is important to keep accelerating faster than you are falling.”

To achieve that,

“Compared to a normal running style, you do not use your legs to kick. Instead, you use the sole of your forward leg to hang onto the well, and then, so as to not to lose momentum, you repeatedly pull yourself forward in a short cycle.”

It was not kicking behind and propelling the body forward but rather hanging on and pulling the body forward.

I see, is what Gin thought.

… Up until now as a result of carrying materials in an unstable environment, the kicking and pushing was done as rehabilitation and now, this pulling movement was the next stage of his rehabilitation.

“Ju— “

Gin who had gone to say that it made sense suddenly stopped.

“Is this it?”

In the sky beside the nodding Technomagi. The ninja was standing on the wall.

<center>●</center>

… Huh?

In front of Gin’s gaze the ninja was standing on the surface on the wall.

He had his right leg slightly lowered and while making his body seemingly slightly fall onto the wall. He stood on the wall with a seemingly relaxed atmosphere.
In front of her, momentarily dumbstruck, was Musashi’s Sixth Special Agent who folded her arms and formed the following words.
“— Ninja are apparently able to always stand on top of a still blade. Well, even though he is like that, on-board Musashi he is a high level ninja; it is good to observe.”

While those words continued, the ninja who while continuing to talk to the fallen angel tilted his body slightly forward towards the wall. Thinking that he was going to fall,

“There is some damage over here.”

The ninja remained on the wall like that and moved to the left.

Then as if following the fingertips of the Technomagi, he attached a talisman to the wall, then using his fingers and grasping the slight thickness of the talisman, he rotated his body in the opposite direction,

“Naito, here you go.”

From his breast pocket he pulled out a bamboo can of “Saint Max George Coffee” and passed it over to the Technomagi. In his movements there was no sense of him rushing or hurrying. He moved with an air of composure.

From there, the ninja turned his body and fluttered through the air.

“Well then.”

Without a sound or lowering his body, he simply descended onto the foothold.

The unstable foothold did not shake or make a sound.

… Unbelievable…

Musashi’s First Special Agent usually served a role as a feint during battles; even at England’s London Tower he had not participated in any direct combat. However even then,

“I see, I understand.”

Seeing the ninja who was approaching this direction, Gin muttered.

“What saved Mary Stuart was not just the actions of those in the surrounding.”

“— Hmm? Is there something wrong?”

I wonder if the ninja who tilted his neck had not realized his ability. No,

… If he had not realized it, then there was no way he would be displaying it.

He had self-awareness about his ability. However for those in his surroundings, this was a matter of fact. That was why it was not pointed out.

With respect to that fact,

“…It is the same as us in the past. I wonder if this is also that kind of place, Muneshige-sama.”

“Jud, it would seem so.”

While saying that, he moved forward.

With that sudden movement, oh, she looked up and the corners of Muneshige’s mouth there was a smile which seemed as if he was trying to tolerate something.

… Good grief. Even he had only just received permission for everyday activities from the treatment facility.

This person liked this kind of stuff, being challenged.

<center>●</center>

Muneshige, while nodding to Tenzou’s words “This area is right beneath the target.” stood in front of the wall. Then sending a fleeting glance in the direction of Tenzou,

“— Thank you for all the arrangements and such.”

Don’t worry about it; there Tenzou waved his hand from side to side.

“I don’t have the personally or position to be teaching people. That’s why after this assignment, I want you to learn on your own, is that all right?”

In other words that was,

“… In the First Special Agent's opinion, by the time I am able to complete this task, it will be that I have achieved a sufficient ability?”

That was also that; however Tenzou while scratching his head shrugged his shoulders.

“If you can complete this, then the places where you can work aboard Musashi will increase, you know?”

Jud, Muneshige laughed. He had realized lately that Musashi was constantly facing a lack of personnel, and engineering, maintenance and repairs job were always available. Among those jobs, the ones with the good pay were work on the outer wall or in high places.

It was Muneshige’s thinking that the most necessary thing for newcomers was money.

… In that case, the challenge will be whether my legs can take on those tasks.

Muneshige placed his right leg on the wall. Then,

“… well then.”

He went.

<center>●</center>

Muneshige ran up the wall.

He was beginning to understand the method. By the third step, he had grasped most of the tempo.

That’s why he thought he could do it, however

“Oh!”

At the seventh step he suddenly began to lose speed.

He understood the reason quite well.

Towards the leg which he was using to pull his body up, he was holding power into it for too long.

… His leg power had decreased by a lot.

He thought that if it had been the past him, he could have gone further.

In reality he thought that in his current form, he could still go about three more meters, a total of twelve meters, however Muneshige,

“—”

At the ten meter mark of the twenty meters that he was meant to run, he kicked the wall.

He did a backwards somersault, entered a landing posture and there from far above his head the Technomagi,

“Ah — Even though I waited with the coffee.”

Before he could assert he was sorry, he landed on the foothold.

Together with a banging sound, the wooden floor and the strengthened bamboo of the foothold let out a screeching sound. Thinking that it was an unsightly landing, he stood up and looked and there was Gin who had come with a towel.

He realized that his entire body was covered in sweat.

Tenzou also finally came.

“Okay. How splendid. Getting that far on your first time is well done. As expected.”

In response to his words, Muneshige went to say something. However

“—”

There was a weight from the depth of his chest.

It was oxygen deprivation. As a result of extreme tension and movement, light oxygen deprivation symptoms had occurred and the depth of his chest feel heavy.

… After all, I surprisingly enough don't do these types movements much.

Muneshige looked upwards at the ten meter position, and carved it into his heart. That he could make it up to that position.

There before he could say anything to Tenzou who had come to his side, Gin who was next to him and she lightly bowed her head.

“… Thank you very much. However Muneshige-sama, it did seem like you could have gone a little further—”

At Gin’s prompting words, Muneshige nodded his head. He breathed air into his lungs and lightened his body,

“Jud, — however I did, have to land afterwards.”

Muneshige thought back about his last landing. He had lowered his body to its limit; however the shock from his soles had not disappeared. That was to say that the springs of his muscle strength and sense of balance had decreased.

“It is my thinking that if I had gone any higher than that, something would have gone wrong with my landing.”

“Jud. — The best way is to not try the impossible, if you can manage that, then afterwards you will improve on your own. In no time you will be better than you were before.”

Tenzou said that and looked over everyone,

“Well then, shall we take an official break. I believe we can do something about drinks—”

“Ah, shall I go buy them? Even though I’m like this, I did use to be a deliverer in the postal service.”

“No, no. There." Tenzou waved his hand around his waist and returned it.

Seeing several bamboo cans hanging from his hand, Gin muttered.

“… You’re not saying you did that just now with that weight attached?”

That was,

“… Almost as if you’re always a fast gofer.”

“G-Gin, wasn’t that a bit harsh! Ah, I’m sorry!”

“No, that type of being at ease is also more comfortable for me.”

Saying that, the ninja paused for a moment. Then he looked in the direction of the west.

There was IZUMO and the path which led to it.

There was a flow of movement on the dirt path. With the tremor of the brown hair which could also be seen as a gathering of brown wind,

“Would that be Kimi?”

Kimi was heading in the direction of IZUMO. However, she walked towards a suburban house which was along the way.

<center>●</center>

Beneath the afternoon sky danced a brown color.

It was hair. The girl who was wearing a Far East uniform, modified into something suiting a dancing girl, was looking up at the sky.

It was Kimi.

The place where she was basking in the western wind was a garden of a suburban house at IZUMO.

The spacious garden was enclosed by a fence. It was a fence which was entwined with Japanese morning glory shoots which yet had no flowers.

Raising one’s face and looking up from there, it was possible to overlook everything in the surrounding scenery.

In the east was Musashi, in the south was country and forest and then in the north and west there was the city of IZUMO, there could be seen a massive multistory shrine combined with a white development center.

In this garden which took a distance from all of these was a house with a southern facing thatched roof.

It was just one of the many farm-like buildings in the suburb. It was that kind of house and farm.

Then after Kimi had looked in all four directions, she directed her gaze to the east, towards Musashi.

“— Well then.”

Beneath the blue of the early summer and the low clouds, there was a massive black and white ship. From her current position, the whole aspect of the starboard side looked as if a cliff of great length.

The dancing girl, while entwining her hair, blown about by the wind, around her arm, let out a small laugh.

“Looking from below makes it seem so large. Don’t you think so, Uzui?”

Calling out, there from the gap in her chest a wavy-haired little girl Mouse crawled out and nodded.

She clapped her hands once and pulled out a sign frame. The contents were,

*'''[Argente Loup]:''' 『Kimi, Horizon has headed that way. Can you see her?』

*'''[Smart Big Sis]:''' 『Easily Wolf. From just now though.』

As if following Musashi’s outer wall, Kimi moved her sight downwards.

On one of the several bridges connected to Musashi, there were two shadows on the road heading in this direction.
There, coming along between the shelter-belt forest road which had a slight heat haze was,

“Haha, as I thought, foolish brother chose to abstain. With your lady attendant as your escort — you seem to be on your leisurely way, Horizon.”

While still far away, Kimi saw the silver hair which seemed as if it was immersed in the heat haze come along. Well then, without changing her posture Kimi, turned her back on Horizon and Futayo.

*'''[Smart Big Sis]:''' 『Mitotsudaira, in that case you should come down here as well. Have you longed for your mother’s scent so much that you can’t come down? You being too considerate of Mary is also something you should avoid…』

*'''[Argente Loup]:''' 『This way of speaking…!』

Aha, Kimi softly laughed, however she lightly lowered her eyebrows.

Looking at the sign frame,

“Well, do your best.”

Leaving a voice which wouldn’t reach, she then looked forward, to the north.

There was a city.

In the surroundings there were rice-plant paddies and irrigation channels with in the north side there was a town, with a Shinto shrine arch and a group of research facilities that could be seen as a massive fortress. On the far side of the Shinto Arch there was a staircase which spanned over several kilometers, and above that a shrine.

“Izumo-Kitsuki-Taisha. — The core of the Large Company IZUMO, from the age of the gods it has been the large financial support of the gods and is now what the citizens of the Far East rely upon….. hmm”

Taking a breath.

“Meeting my grandmother who lives in a place like this, I wonder what Horizon will think?”

“Lives in place like this is quite a thing to say, Kimi.”

From the depth of the house, from the direction of the tatami mat floor which received the rays of the sun there was a voice.

It was a woman’s slightly subdued voice.

“— Grandmother”

“How many times do I have say that either Mitsu or Grandma are fine before you understand. I’m not someone who needs that much respect.”

Appearing from the house frontage was an elderly woman who was wearing the clothing of the Far East with the front closed as many married people had it, and whose hair had faded to a light brown.

“So? Horizon is alive? I heard about Mikawa and the rest. Here and there were disturbances and wariness. Then well, the reason you came here wasn’t to learn about ritual techniques or smiting, was it? — What did you come here for?”

“As far as we know, for the moment we want to hear the oldest story that we can.”

What stories? In regards to her grandmother’s question, Kimi answered like this.

“About Horizon’s mother. Mother would not talk about it… however, what about Grandmother? Is there anything that you can say in front of Horizon herself? After all, Horizon may have lost her memories but it is not like she has lost her past. There is a lot she should know—”

“She should know?”

Haha, Kimi nodded her head.

“Horizon might experience sadness if she were to suddenly come to face her past without knowing anything, you know? If that happens, foolish brother might become discouraged. That is also something which I do not wish for.”

That’s why Kimi directed her gaze to the silver hair which was walking to here from far away and said.

“For the sake of Horizon who knows nothing… Will you let her hear your words so that she can confront that past?”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 02|Chapter 02]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 04|Chapter 04]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 04

2014-05-26T18:00:32Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 04: Assemblers under the Eaves */

==Chapter 04: Assemblers under the Eaves ==
[[Image:Horizon3A_0103.jpg|thumb]]
''Why is it that.''

''The more you try to listen to a story.''

''The more you end up telling one.''

'''Point Allocation (Reciprocation)'''

<center>●</center>

Beneath the blue sky of IZUMO, beneath the eaves there was the muttered voice of an elderly woman.

“That’s right…, Horizon. About your Mother…”

There, the speaking Mitsu was traditionally seated on top of a cushion on the veranda, with Horizon seated beside her.

In front of her, Kimi and Futayo had put on gloves and were in the yard searching through the vegetable garden,

“Ah It’s a potato! Grandmother, even though it is still widely regarded as a prohibited good. —Confiscated! It’s confiscated!”

“Hmm, the green soybeans which my father liked are grown here, Kimi. —As an offering to my father's spirit, I think I may also take possession of some.”

『Boiled in Salt—』

“I had some left over so I said you could do as you please, but what exactly did you come here to do.”

Mitsu said that with half eyes; however the two women didn’t listen. That’s why Mitsu paused for a moment and directed her question to Horizon who was drinking tea by her side.

“Horizon? Why exactly did you come here?”

<center>●</center>

Why did you come here? The questioned Horizon considered that.

… At first it was just because Kimi had invited me…

She considered. If she had to say rather than being the reason she came, it was,

“The reason is that I thought it would be okay to come.”

“That’s nice, being condescending.”

Jud. Horizon raised her right thumb to show Mitsu. Mitsu was already returning the same action.

“……”

The two women exchanged gazes, both nodded and then Horizon once again opened her mouth.

“… Anyway, in the beginning I thought that it was meaningless. Even now, I am still conjecturing whether that is true.”

“You’re very straightforward.”

Once again the two of them raised their thumbs. There,

“Jud, thank you very much. However Toori went “Ah!? I am not going. I am definitely not going! I can’t go for your sake!” and acted stubborn, so I changed my mind and decided I had to come .”

“How rebellious.”

She raised her thumb.

“Jud, thank you very much. In any case, to tell the truth, it is a rare occurrence for me to disembark from Musashi, so in the meaning of study, it is valid.”

Then since she had come, she had only one purpose.

“The current purpose is to hear about Horizon’s mother, that is all.”

“I see!”

Mitsu nodded her head. However, there she tilted her head and asked the following.

“Why is it you want to know?”

It was a simple question. That is why she immediately answered. The contents of her reply was,

“It is because I want to be able to understand my mother.”

“Why?”

“If I can understand her, then the eventual sadness will be reduced. Even if I am no longer able to exchange words with that person, I can think about her, and it is possible for me to inherit her will.”

“Well then. — Let us do something like a little test. About how much meaning talking about the past has for you. A test to measure that.”

“Jud, Please do as you wish.”

That was a good answer, is what Mitsu said. There with a faint smile,

“Okay, I am going to ask? You are saying that understanding is important? In that case… if you can understand something, then is it okay to lose it?”

<center>●</center>

Oh? is what Horizon thought. She had had a similar discussion but from the opposing stance. In London, England, that act which Toori had called a date. Date, it was an English word. To translate it to Japanese, it was “Date”. Did Toori want that badly to go on a date with Horizon, it was strange.

In any case, considering the words he had said at that time.

What had he replied with when she had said the same words that Mitsu had just spoken.

… Ah.

She remembered, and it was something she could accept, that’s why Horizon said the following.

“That is not correct.”

When trying and standing on the opposite parallel line, she had the feeling that she could somehow understood the words that she had been told at that time.

“There is nothing that is okay to lose, that is what I am thinking.”
While conducting multiple layers of judgment, Horizon formed her words. After thinking over the things which he had told her in the past, she began to speak,

“That is why I do not wish to understand just so that I will be okay with losing something.… Unfortunately, everything will eventually be lost, however if you can understand and enjoy spending time together, even when that time unexpectedly comes—”

Was it this kind of thing.

“Would it not be possible to even understand what happens at that time, that is my conjecture.”

<center>●</center>

“That’s an idealist thought.”

With Mitsu’s words Horizon simply asked the following,

“Is that what you determine? That it is nothing but an ideal?"

Jud, Mitsu who was resting her chin in her hands spoke.

“If you die, no matter how much time you spend together, it is still saddening. For those who are left behind. It was the same for my husband and for my parents.”

“Is it not possible to have an understanding concerning losing something?"

“The contents of your question are quite harsh.”

The two of them raised their thumbs.

However, Horizon did not say that she was sorry in response to Mitsu’ words. If she apologized for asking something that was necessary to her, it would be that her necessity was lowering her head. That’s why,

“I understand that it will change the topic, but I would like to request a lecture. — Advice on how to resolve the sadness of loss.”

“Those are some nice words.”

Mitsu laughed. Then she said.

“Understanding the deceased is quite a difficult task. After all, they are already gone, however on the other hand, there is no way to confirm anything more than that. That’s why as a reference for you who is trying to learn about your mother, I will tell you a bit of my story. You may experience the same amount of hardship, after all.”

“There are hardships?”

Mitsu responded that there were.

“My mother, well that would be the great grandmother of that kid out there who is digging up potatoes. That great grandmother, when Toori and Kimi were in elementary school… was it the fifth year?”

“Haha, it was the fourth year. Eight years ago. Have things become a bit unclear?”

“You just grew up fast. Because you have nothing above your neck. — Well in that year, Musashi’s route was an eastern circulation via Bizen. It just so happened that they came to Hexagone Française's northern IZUMO during the end of the year. However great grandmother was in a bad condition. They wouldn’t make it at that rate. However—”

Mitsu pointed in the southerly direction.
The deal which Musashi made over in the direction of K.P.A.Italia — Due to Hashiba starting their full-scale movements, the rule of Nagahama begun, and the route was no longer useable, so they were forced to stop at Bizen IZUMO at the southern country border of Hexagone Française. However the Pope Chancellor of K.P.A.Italia Innocentius allowed the trade with the surrounding countries, and in order to obtain repair parts, there were permitted a limited capacity of cargo ships to come and go between IZUMO, so as to continue the trade of other countries with Musashi, well there were also a variety of political factors.”

“That was—”

“They came here, however only Toori and Kimi, the checks were apparently soft on children,”

Hey,

“Kimi, what sort of situation was that?”

<center>●</center>

With Mitsu’s question, within Horizon’s gaze Kimi raised her body with a state of disappointment.

“Don’t you remember?”

Well, Kimi folded her arms.

Then she looked over this way and pointed to the eastern sky and Musashi.

“That foolish brother did, right? He suddenly knocked on my door and said “Let’s go sis. If mum were to find out, it would be trouble, so let’s go while we can.” It seems like he had requested earnestly to the people in the provisional council. Thinking about it now, it is a lot easier for the other side to accept something when it comes to children going to give their final greeting to a relative.

“Now? Then, at that time?”

“That the adults were suspicious, I was thinking that if something happens I have to protect my foolish brother.”

I see, Horizon nodded. She was interested in the fact that Futayo seemed to be getting excited over the fact that the turnip had long roots, however at the moment hearing the rest of the story was more important.

That’s why Horizon returned her gaze to Mitsu. She thought that she wanted to hear the remainder of the story.

“It was in that way that Toori and Kimi were able to come? Apart from that… did anything happen?”

“Jud, the two of them only spent a few normal days here. After they returned… on the return, you returned to the halted Musashi at BIZEN IZUMO by carriage and walking, didn’t you?”

“That’s right, okay? Since the schedule didn’t match up with the cargo vessel, we returned while being assisted by some kind people. On the way too much stuff happened, even if I talked about it, no one would believe me which is why I don’t talk about it.”

Is that so, Mitsu said. Then she looked this way and paused with a smile.

“Horizon listen, okay? After some time had passed, a letter arrived from my stupid daughter on board Musashi saying “I locked those two who had returned for two, three days.”. Then…”

“Then?”

At the time when she was wondering what had occurred.

Mitsu looked up at the sky and spoke.

“Great grandmother, my mother smiled.”

<center>●</center>

“That was…”

Horizon thought that was a normal, an everyday reaction. There was a difference between people about the value of the existence called great grandchildren, however if they had arrived home safely, then you would be smiling.

However,

… In that case, why was Mitsu especially remembering that smile?

She didn’t understand. That is why Horizon did not speak,

“—”

However after being silenced, in front of her Mitsu tilted her brown teacup towards her mouth. Then,

“I wonder why!”

“What is it?”

Ah.

“Mother laughed and spoke. — That I don’t know whether my life was meaningful, however if my grandchildren who are connected through my soul came to visit me before I go… I think I lived a proper way of life if it meant they came.”

“That was…”

She realized that she was saying the same words as before.

The meaning that the words Mitsu were saying was something she thought she could understand, however could not. That was why she stopped her words part-way through,
“— I apologize; I am unable to reach an understanding.”

“That is a good thing. After all, I don’t really understand it either. That’s why I told this story.”

There, Mitsu showed her first bitter smile. Then she adjusted her chin in her hands,

“It is not like my mother spent a lot of time together with Toori and Kimi. After my mother died, I also became sad and wept. However… I think mother at the very least beatified the satisfaction that she felt towards Toori and Kimi.”

Do you understand? Is what Mitsu said. She then suddenly looked at the yard,

“I wonder what form that the satisfaction of understanding takes. — Hey, Kimi!”

“Haha, what is it? I’m in a good mood today so I’ll answer across the generation, okay?”

“Well then, — Kimi, how was it at that time when you and Toori returned to Musashi? Did you think about anything regarding my mother?”

“Actually Grandmother. There’s no way that I remember something from that long ago.”

Ah, however Kimi formed a wry smile.

“Foolish brother, he said it. — That great grandmother was cute. That she was thankful, thankful towards everything, that her being delighted was cute.”
With those words, Horizon nodded.

“Jud. I see, I have understood that part.”

There Horizon with the frank opinion which had formed inside her heart said the following.

“Toori is indiscriminate when it comes to raising flags.”

<center>●</center>

The women fell silent and the grandma conducted eye contact with her grandchild.

After that, the grandchild instructed “calm down” with her hand, and the grandma nodded. After a while the grandchild cleared her throat and spoke to Horizon.

“Okay? Horizon. It’s alright. They are relatives, you know? — You can’t conquer them.”

“In other words, it will be added as part of the supplementary DVD.”

The grandchild looked at her Grandma.

“— Grandmother, what should I do at a time like this.”

“How should I know.”

Anyway, is what Mitsu said. Then, saying however to connect her sentences, she once again took a breath.

“… Ah well, it is true that Toori looked at my mother in such a manner. That my mother ended her life being thankful to a great many things.”

… Ended her life being thankful….?

Horizon repeated Mitsu's words within her heart.

Then Horizon thought this.

……I don’t understand.

Why had the fact that the two, Toori and Kimi, had come led to being thankful to anything and everything.

Why had Mitsu’s mother,

“Why was she thankful? Should the thankful ones not be the later generation who had been given birth to and received their upbringing?”

“Horizon!”

Mitsu, while turning back this way asked the following.

“— Do you think that something that had completed its purpose is no longer necessary?”

Jud, is what Horizon went to answer. After all, a machine which had completed its purpose will become a unnecessary, useless object. Once you switch to a new good, the old good is fine to be dissembled and recycled.

That’s why Horizon went to voice an affirmative response,

…No.

Conducting her thoughts, Horizon shook her head to the side.

“I do not think that is true.”

“Why not?”

“That is because Horizon was once like that.”

That was,

“One may think their purpose is over, and while that may be correct, … being more important to someone than you think you are is something that often happens.”

Even Horizon, who believed that she was nothing, was not abandoned at Mikawa.

It was not just her. At England it was the same for Mary, in that case… perhaps it is the same for others.

That’s why,

“If you wish to decide that you are unnecessary, then you must ask everyone in the entire world. Also not just those people in the same generation, but also those in the generations which follow. The reason being is that I am now thinking about wanting to know my mother. In my mother’s generation, even if her mother had been shunned by the entire world, at the moment I, of the following generation, wish for her.”

“That is a good answer.”

The two of them raised their thumbs.

Thus, Horizon connected her thinking to the previous topic. The reason why Mitsu’s mother was thankful to everything was,

“She was able to believe that, not just the physical things in front of your eyes, but the things beyond, their thoughts of her, was important to them. … From that two people who were connected to her by blood had come from far away.”

“That’s right. That’s why it will be good to remember that.”

“What would?”

Ah, Mitsu spoke.

“Your mother is not here. however she is glad that you have come here. — Indeed, so am I who has once again formed a connection with you as well.”

“—”

Mitsu, as if to connect everything together, formed words. Understand? Putting that as a preface,

“I was also one of those people who thought of “meeting” the lost you. Well, to you it might be just a “test”. That’s why I am trying to teach you to think that meeting me was a good thing.”

That was,

“About your mother.”

<center>●</center>

“About… my mother?”

Horizon slightly prepared her consciousness.

She had come here wanting to know about her mother.

However, she had absolutely no memories of her mother.

It was certain that she had one. After all she was here, however

… what kind of person was my mother?

Was it a result of Phylargyria that she wished to follow up on the doubt she had suddenly thought up. However, that thought immediately became words, and turning it into a question. The words which escaped from her mouth were,

“Mitsu-sama, my mother was….”

“There isn’t much I can say.”

Towards her who had become unable to form words, the old woman showed eyes which looked like the shape of a smile.

“Your mother was a brilliant student. She came to this IZUMO during her middle school period, at the time I was at high school doing ritual Shinto spell and fluid research when she came to see me. She was doing earth pulse research and wanted knowledge on the Far East formulas.

“Mitsu-sama, you used to be an instructor?”

“Jud, I am one of the students who participated in the suppression of the Shimabara Rebellion, the accelerated reproduction of the Far East Catholic revolt from fifty years ago. After the harsh war ended and I returned here, I received a recommendation from the Testament Union. Well, they determined that leaving a young girl who liked to go wild was dangerous. Thus I served as an instructor here, and it was when my hair started to turn white that your mother came.”

“That was—”

“It was thirty five, six years ago. She came to this middle school the same year as my idiot daughter; they hit it off and got along well.”

In that case, Horizon thought. If she spent her time in middle school then what came next was,

“Was her high school here or at Musashi?”

With that question, Mitsu shook her head to the side.

Then she spoke the same words which had the same meaning as the shaking of her head.

“I don’t know. — Where that child attended high school.”

<center>●</center>

“… You don’t know?”

Determining that parroting her words was meaningless, Horizon followed with another question.

“Why is it that you don’t know? Academies are all facilities which have records being recorded; they are the cornerstone of politics and military of each country.”

That’s true; there the corners of her mouth formed a smile.

“I’ll say it in advance, but I’m the one who wishes to know something. My daughter was also quite indignant. — However, at a certain time, that child unexpectedly received a single letter and disappeared. Without leaving a note. Then once again at a certain time, she suddenly came back.”

Breathing in, Mitsu spoke.

“—It was around eighteen, nineteen years ago. She was slightly worn out though, surprisingly she possessed a permit to live on Musashi directly from Mikawa’s Lord Motonobu, however she said the following.”

In my womb is Lord Motonobu’s child. I will live with an escort on-board Musashi. However — before that I will travel through the individual territories of the Far East. Please protect me.”

“I determine that she is selfish.”

“That’s true. My daughter said quite a lot to her as well. However well, it seems like she reached some type of resolution. As expected after howling about it for three days, my daughter was tired of it. With exasperation, she was forcibly dragged by her companion through a journey of the Far East. It was a three month forced march through the important places.”

That’s true, speaking there was Kimi. She embraced her body,

“However by that time, she was already pregnant with me. Foolish brother came after boarding Musashi, though.”

“… If that is the case, then was Toori-sama a house warming celebration.”

“… You show no mercy on those close to you.”

Mitsu formed a wry smile and said this.

“Well, that’s about all I can say. If my daughter will not say what we saw on our journey, then it is not for me to say. However…”

“However?”

“I don’t know where she was and what she was doing during those several tens of years after she vanished. Honda and Sakai also shouldn’t know either. That’s why it is likely she was not in Mikawa, if anyone was to know, it would be only Lord Motonobu.”

What do you say.

“How’s this as a proposition? How about trying to understand your own parents. I still have a long way to go. That’s why — until you get at least to my age, even if you have not discovered the answer, you cannot give up. You cannot give up and reach the conclusion that losing something is saddening.”

Having that said to her, Horizon came to a self-realization. The fact that her mother was also certainly lost. She was an important existence to her, however she was a stranger. If she was able to understand that existence,

“People who I have not met, and also things I have not seen …… is it really possible to become able to understand these?”

“— You shouldn’t immediately try and come to a conclusion. However, the only advice I can give is to not give up. Following that? I think it would be good for you to go after that child.”

“Why do you think that?”

Ah, there Mitsu said.

“There is a theme the child was researching.”

That was,

“The resolution of the destiny of Sin through the Earth pulse.”

<center>●</center>

“—”

At the side of her who had involuntarily lost her words, Kimi and Futayo stood up together after extracting a green spring onion.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard that? Ah, I’m also going to take this spring onion.”

“Isn’t it about time you paid some money. — However, Kimi hearing it for the first time is that kind of thing. After all, it wasn’t something to be told to someone who was not involved, right? However Horizon, Lord Motonobu turned you into the Armour of Deadly Sins in order to influence the end of the world. Your mother was also doing research into the deadly sins. About the fate of Karma which people cannot escape from.”

What do you say, Mitsu said once again.

“—There is great value in understanding, don’t you agree?”

<center>●</center>

“That is also something I’ve heard for the first time, Teacher.”

There Kimi heard an unforeseen voice from the back of the house.

The familiar voice was,

“Teacher?”

Jud, there together with the voice, Oriotorai came from the back of the house carrying paper bags filled with goods. Both Horizon and Futayo turned that direction and then Grandma as well,

“Well, it is something that there was no reason to talk to you about, Makiko.”

“Grandmother, do you know our teacher?

Together with Horizon’s tilted neck question, Oriotorai showed the palm of her hand and urged grandma to go on. In a responsive movement, Grandma placed both her hands on her hips and nodded,

“For Makiko to become a teacher! I was in charge of her history and ritual spell instruction. Enough that there was even a time when she stayed over for a period. She ate a lot. — So, well, I also did teach this child’s former official, … I wonder was having two outstanding talents in a row due to the end of the world.”

No no, there Oriotorai smiled and puffed out her chest.

“Someone like me still has a long way to go, Teacher. There are other people who ate more than me."

Oriotorai not referring to herself as Teacher was fresh. However, hmm, Grandma and Horizon looked alternatively over here who was repeating deep nods,

“……”

If you were to say that being silent and at a loose end was cute, then it was cute. That’s why,

“Horizon, are you returning?”

“— Jud, I was able to hear a variety of important stories. Then—?”

From here on, Horizon continued her words with that.

“I think that I will search the obscure circumstances regarding my mother. It will be good if there are still records of her residence or grave and the like remain in Musashi, however.”

That's right, Mitsu nodded.

“There are some steamed sweet jelly beans in the kitchen, so take them and go. Also, Toori is-”

“If you’re talking about foolish brother, he will come later so don’t worry. Foolish brother is not good with difficult talk.”

“He’s been an idiot from long ago. However, the idiot became king, huh.”

Mitsu looked towards Musashi

“— The world is also ending.”

From far away from the direction of IZUMO, the sound of a festival orchestra which had been arranged into house style could be heard.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 03|Chapter 03]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 05|Chapter 05]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 05

2014-05-26T17:57:36Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 05: The Supervisor of the Hidden Room */

==Chapter 05: The Supervisor of the Hidden Room==
[[Image:Horizon3A_0125.jpg|thumb]]

''Even though there is nothing wrong''

''Is feeling that something is wrong''

''From being overly self-absorbed?''

'''Point Allocation (Outside World)'''

<center>●</center>

Mitotsudaira returned home after seeing Horizon and Futayo off from Musashi’s outside entrance.

Because the fighting in the previous day Armada Battle had been concentrated on the starboard side of the ship, the mansion, which lay about four hundred meters away from the hull, had only sustained some light damage from fires.
Nonetheless, considering the threat of fire she had, during the last two weeks, rebuilt the outer wall in a stone material and the roof with western brick, which was still rare in Europe.

… It could be said to be a new residence.

In the afternoon, towards the evening, there was no sense of life within the mansion. Neither in the narrow entrance nor in the connected dining room used for guest reception, nor in the sparsely decorated living room.

The only things in that place were the persisting perfume smell from the curtains and a pale light.

“—”

There were no exclusive servants. The maid model automated doll which had been assigned to her through Musashi’s knight federation attended to household chores during the day. Mitotsudaira’s afternoon schedule included examining the income and expenditure reports from her agriculture and cooperate divisions inside Musashi, granting permissions and giving instructions and also sending her ideas,

… There were two perfume bottles placed atop the dining room table.

The corporate enterprise which she owned had created this new product.

She understood that inside the bottles there was a cream type with the smell of flowers. This was a consequence of her wolf sense of smell.

Mitotsudaira, while thinking about slightly weakening the smell of the flower perfume, entered the bedroom. She hung the case of Silver Chain which she had taken with her to the academy on the wall, and then headed for the bed.

After this was the short patrol of her small territory and her work. She had to change into her street clothing equipment.

That is why she removed her shoes, detached her uniforms skirt and the sleeves of her shirt, fell onto the bed and suddenly sighed.

… What were Horizon and the others doing at the moment.

Kimi and Futayo were with her. As she had gone to hear the story of her mother from Kimi’s grandmother she was achieving something significant.

In the same way,
… Everyone else was as well.

The Tachibana married couple desired a comeback, and Mary was aiming for a fulfilling life aboard Musashi.

The rest as well, Masazumi and Tomo, Adele and Naomasa, they were all on-board Musashi currently doing repairs and strengthening and the like, they were all doings the things that were required of them. However,

“……”

She gazed at the wall.

<center>●</center>

There were two framed documents lined up on the bedroom wall where Mitotsudaira directed her eyes.

The one on the right side, was the verification of Mitotsudaira’s inherited name, a parchment with the country crests of the Far East and Hexagone Française stamped on it. The words which were lined up on the page were about fulfilling her role as both the head of the Mito-Mitotsudaira clan as well as that of a dispatched knight of Hexagone Française.

Lined up in the same manner, on the left side was the certification verifying her affiliation with the Musashi Knight Federation. On this was the purport that Mitotsudaira was welcomed into the top position of the entire federation.

“However… that was not a result of my actual ability.”

It was something from almost twelve years ago. When she had been dispatched here and obtained this certification.

“… It was because I was dispatched directly from Hexagone Française and I had inherited the name of Mito-Mitotsudaira that they placed a selfish girl in that position, and displayed allegiance to the Testament Union.”

In the past she had not realized this fact and had often pushed her selfishness onto the older knights. She was indignant when they did not listen, however they had soothed her because they were adults.

With the passing of time she had become one of the members of the Chancellor’s Board which moved Musashi, and in reality she should have be an equal to them,

… However at Mikawa she had done it.

She had appeared at the confrontation location as the collective representative of the knights to give the civilian side victory, however in the end she had remained as a knight, and furthermore she became allied with the side which had conducted the battle.

Since that time, there had been no notifications about the knight federation meetings or anything. When she had been trapped in the cargo vessel for two weeks in England, or during the London Tower battle, there had been no response at all.

She understood that she was being deprived of her role.

However, because of her status, there was no possibility of her being publicly stripped of her position.

She also wanted to ask some of the other knights about the current status of the federation. However,

“— That is almost as if I am afraid of the reaction of those who are below me, even though I am in the top position.”

While lowering her hips onto the bed she let out a sigh.

… She understood however, that she should not have this type of finalized thinking.

She was distancing herself from them, by arbitrarily deciding that the other side was avoiding her or not taking her seriously.

Thinking about it deeply, it was the same as with the case of Mary.

She had also unintentionally started to feel down after wrongly guessing that she would be selected as Horizon’s escort.

During inconvenient times she wanted to be alone, or if not that, then she wanted to be together with someone.

She was selfish, that was a bad habit.

However she understood quite well when it was that she had become like that.

“It was a long time ago… about the fourth year of elementary school.”

She looked outside the window. Far away, IZUMO’s Kitsuki-Taisha could be seen in the sky, however,

“It was not this IZUMO.… That was at Bizen IZUMO.”

Suddenly she dropped her shoulders and collapsed onto the bed.

She thought that her hair would become horribly disheveled, however it would be fine if she set it later. Anyhow, it was because she had abruptly touched a part of herself that she didn’t like. Even though the incident concerning the knight federation should not matter to her after she had decided to follow her King, once again it had come up.
[[Image:Horizon3A_0131.jpg|thumb]]
She thought about sleeping for 30 minutes to refresh herself, so while looking out the window she collapsed backwards.

Her clothing was partially removed and was in a horrid state, however she thought that since she was alone it was fine.

She collapsed.

Immediately following that.

Outside the window in the yard with the high wall, an idiot carrying a mountain of eroge was sneakily passing through.

“—!?”

<center>●</center>

Mitotsudaira lifted up the vertical closing window at full speed and jumped out into the garden.

Looking to the right, there was an idiot who, with his body drawn back in surprise, had turned one leg in this direction. Mitotsudaira faced her entire body towards there and pointed at the total idiot,

“H-Hey! What are you doing in the yard of another person’s mansion!?”

“Eh? W-What, Eh? isn’t that philosophical? That question. Umm, People are already constantly—”

She slammed the opened window down using one finger, and with that loud noise the idiot stopped his philosophizing.

Ah, the sighing Mitotsudaira bent her body and looked down on the idiot.

“… Chancellor, I will ask once more, okay? — What are you doing in the yard of another person’s mansion?”

“Ah? Ahh!? — I’m not doing anything in the yard, you know!? I have business with the storehouse around the back, I do!?”

“T-There is no storehouse at the back of my place!? Look!”

Pointing her finger and looking, there the ground of the yard had become a lid and was open.

“Eh? Eeeeeh!? W-What is that!? Why is it that the ground at the back of my yard has become a hidden door and has been opened? Is it an illusion!?”

“Are you stupid, obviously I created it of my own accord, okay?”

“It is true that is the only way that it could have happened, however when did you create it!?”

Oi oi oi, the idiot sighed and readjusted his grip on the pile of boxes at his waist.

“When this mansion was remodeled, I struck a deal with the master craftsman to work in exchange for fifteen married wife genre eroge. In other words, this is one of my safe houses. Thank you master craftsmen. Thank you married wives. I’m very blessed, right!?”

Mitotsudaira opened a sign frame with a smile.

"Ah, Tomo? I think that you are currently searching for a person at the moment; I get the feeling that that person is here. Will you come?”

『Yeah, I’m coming! I’m super coming! Hey Adele, please get the dogs to go ahead!』

『Eh? I don’t understand what is going on, but everyone please go on ahead—! Hey Boss, this is an eroge box with the chancellor’s scent so please remember this scent, okay?』

『Oh, we will have the remainder after you come back, right?』

Over there the situation appeared terribly chaotic, however Mary seemed to be having fun. That’s nice; for a moment she hated herself for thinking that, however right now, the situation in front of her eyes took priority.
Mitotsudaira dropped her shoulders and looked at the man in front of her eyes.

“So Chancellor. Is there not something that you wish to say?”

“Eh? Will you grant me forgiveness?”

Mitotsudaira thought about that question. She had already made the arrangements for the cannon priestess and the beast tamer to come; however this was a problem concerning her and him. That is why as for the meantime,

“Do you have the intention to apologize?”

“T-That is…”

The idiot shrunk his body and after taking a position of servitude, offered a pile of about ten eroge in this direction. Then he placed his hand on his cheek and in a flirtatiously manner,

“Could you forgive me with this?”

<center>●</center>

The following moment. The residents of Musashino’s surface section saw a human shaped object break through the wall of Mitotsudaira’s mansion and tumble onto the road. The gale that formed together with the blow made several rectangular goods fall from the sky; however the idiot used that as a distraction and attempted to crawl away. However,

“Yeah, Boss it’s your debut!”

The dogs swarmed on the crawling thing, with people ignoring it after a few seconds the situation ended.

<center>●</center>

She had heard some type of noise coming from the direction of Musashino. Masazumi had that feeling.

She was currently located on the ground.

She had descended from Musashi and headed in the direction of IZUMO’s marketplace. The location was the northern side, close to Kitsuki-Taisha, the symbol of IZUMO.
In the surroundings were tall fields of greenery which were alternated with shelter-belts.

There accompanying at her side was a broom in the sky,

“Naito, I’m sorry. Even though you were in the middle of work, I just saw you and summoned you.”

“Yeah, Jud Jud, Ga-chan said that she would work in my place, and it’s better to have a member of the Chancellor’s Board as an escort. Ga-chan also said that she would do some shopping in IZUMO later, so this works out fine to meet up.”

So then, the technohexen said that while a doing leisurely horizontal spin on her broom.

“Seijun, isn’t it about time you let me hear? Why you are going to IZUMO?”

Yeah, Masazumi responded.

“It’s a top secret conference. A bit of a story came in through via Neshinbara.”

“Neshinbara? Bara-yan is not going, but Seijun? Is it alright for me then?”

“Yeah, if by chance anything happens, then if it’s you it will be possible to escape from the scene, and in the worst case scenario, at least you can escape on your own. Also Naito — at this top secret conference, there seems to be a topic about M.H.R.R.”

Saying that quickly, Naito stopped as if her broom had fallen to the ground.

“I’m however not all that knowledgeable… Did you call the others?”

“Jud, I asked Neshibara and Futayo if they could do some shopping later at the town of IZUMO.”

While she was saying that, they entered the area of the final shelter-belt which was close to the town. In front of her eyes where the wind was flowing through the shadow of the trees, were the short sleeves of summer clothing, and the noises and voices indicating the liveliness of the town could gradually be heard.

It was a different set of noises than on Musashi. Was she just accustomed to Musashi, or was it that she was still observing Musashi as special?

This area which was positioned on the north side had the northern side land harbor, as well as many diplomatic facilities for the diplomatic ships which came from the side of the northern sea. The wooden five story inns which were lined up and creating massive rectangular shadows was something that you could not normally see on the mainland. Then,

“— They’re there, one of the conference attendees.”

At the entrance to the town there was a giant stone shrine arch which straddled the street. It seemed as if it had become a meeting spot with there being a food stall and people who were doing nothing but waiting around.

Among those people there was a tall man that had noticed, looked their way and raised one of his hands. That person was wearing the clothing of the Far East; he was either following the tradition of the country or using it as a disguise. That shadow simply showed a smile full of teeth,

“It’s been a while mate, how about a glass?”

“I have no money. — That’s why I am here as an invited person.”

Masazumi said the following to the other party who was bitterly smiling.

“Where is the meeting place? The “Trump” Number 9 England’s secretary — Ben Johnson.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 04|Chapter 04]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 06|Chapter 06]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 06

2014-05-26T17:51:12Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 06: The Negotiators of the Tea-house */

==Chapter 06: The Negotiators of the Tea-house==
[[Image:Horizon3A_0137.jpg|thumb]]

''Did I do something''

''That warranted being told''

''Thank you for coming?''

'''Point Allocation (After This)'''

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There was a dim however a location where the light shone.

It was a tea-house which had a dirt floor with wooden tables, chairs and lined up partitions. The entrance was open and the afternoon sunlight entered into the store. The store had only just opened for the late afternoon so there were only a few people, however,

“Mate, first of all, this store is an investment of an English cooperation. I promise you safety, peace and fairness on the honour of our Queen.”

“I hope it is like that”

Johnson and Masazumi secured seating at the second table on the left from the entrance which was located across the aisle from the counter.

Johnson took the seat on the interior of the store. Masazumi was in front of him alongside the wall and Naito sat with half her body on the seat on the corridor side.

Johnson formed a slight smile towards Naito who did not place her broom but continued to hold it and who had placed her right wing on the corridor side.

“That’s a good attitude Witch.”

“Even if you flatter me I won’t be swayed, don’t forget that okay?”

"Tes",there Johnson nodded and tea was carried over by only a hand.

The person who had brought it was the Japanese style lady attendant figure of Walsingham. On the other side of the Japanese style counter Walsingham floated a fish, which was held in place by several doubled edged knives, into the air and with her other hand encouraged here to drink.

『Please』

The content of the teacup, which had a picture of a dog drawn on it, was red wine. Masazumi looked at the red contents,

“An aperitif?”

“Well then let’s have a cup Mate.”

Masazumi looked at Naito however Naito had already averted her gaze and was facing towards the outside. There was nothing to be done, there Masazumi stopped after taking hold of the teacup,

“I heard that there was an important story concerning M.H.R.R.”

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Masazumi formed words while listening to the sounds of the double sided knives of Walsingham striking a chopping board.

“I want to hear your information first.”

“Why is that Mate?”

“The contents of that one-time information is something that I will eventually know. While we are talking like this the freshness of the information you possess is falling. That’s why after you show your goods — we will also reveal our material.”

It was equivalent exchange. She had already, after she had seen the text message that had come through the intermediary Neshinbara, created a list of several pieces of exchangeable information. That’s why Masazumi called out Tsukinowa on top of her shoulder and while thinking about what she should do,

『Ma—』

Tsukinowa suddenly started to pull out a large quantity of lists which contained attack spells.

『——!』

Walsingham pulled out the cross blade of “War of the Roses”, which she had used to dissect the tuna, from the beneath the counter and Johnson pulled half of his body towards the corridor side.

“Wa-Wait a minute Tsukinowa, this is not that kind of opponent! That is for friends! For use on friends!”

『Ma—?』

Tsukinowa tilted its neck however in the meantime folded up the pages of the spell sign frames to close them. While Masazumi, who had counted a number which was greater than triple digits, was breaking out into a cold sweat,

……When had Tsukinowa acquired all of those attack spells?

It would have been something that Asama had done. Anyway Masazumi paused and corrected her posture towards Johnson.

“So, —what is your reply?”

“Just now was a clear act of blackmail wasn’t it? Lady”

“Nope, it was just an accident, yeah”

The one who was the most assertive was the victor. If it was the England’s Fairy Queen then this sort of spontaneous situation was possibly an everyday occurrence. That’s why with a tone to change the topic Masazumi,

“What about M.H.R.R.?"

Yeah, there Johnson nodded and suddenly started speaking.

“—M.H.R.R has prohibited Musashi from traveling above the entirety of M.H.R.R.”

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……Traveling above M.H.R.R was prohibited!?

Masazumi was unable to react to the words which she had been suddenly been told.

Johnson, who was In front of her eyes, however composedly placed his elbows on the table and did not continue.

There was only one piece of information. This was that kind of secret conference. That’s why he raised his hand towards Walsingham,

“Bring the following”

『Tes』

Thereupon pudding and something that seemed like barley tea was carried over by hand in their respective teacups.

While Masazumi looked at the green tea colored teacup with the shaking custard pudding the neighboring Naito said with the following with a serious tone.

“……Thinking about it I wonder if this store has anything other than teacups.”

“Would a bowl have been preferable? Witch”

……Was this actually some kind of harassment that they had concocted?

While thinking that Masazumi drank the contents of the teacup, which had come with the pudding, in order to take a short rest.

It was caramel.

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“.....!”

There Johnson took refuge and ducked when she reflectively spat it out.

“Nuaaaaa! I-It’s super sweet!! I thought I was going to die!!”

“Yeah I realized but didn’t say anything, was that correct? It was amusing after all.”

“Say something! Why was it filled to the brim!? I thought it was something like barley tea!”

“There’s no way there is barley tea in England, Mate. You were the one who was careless”

She thought about knocking him down however it was true that this was her lack of attention. At the counter Walsingham had started to fill a large teacup with vinegar rice and was creating something like a vinegar rice topped sliced raw tuna parfait however if possible she wanted to end this conversation before that was finished.

……Anyhow since we have gained information from the other side now it is our turn huh.

Masazumi, while poking the teacup with the spoon, considered which information she should use as a card for the deal.

Then after leaving a slight pause for thought,

“I’ll say it as a result of receiving your information. ——From here the flight path that Musashi is planning to take is to travel throughout the M.H.H.R Protestant territories,”

“—Why is that?”

……That had come huh.

Johnson was not saying more than one piece of their information. However he was trying to obtain more detail about the information of here.

That was a good method.

That’s why Masazumi used words which indicated that a deal was necessary.

“I want to hear some type of interesting story”

Equivalent Exchange. Consequently, hmm, there Johnson folded his arms and opened a sign frame. He did not strike the keyboard with his hands. Keeping his hands free, with his feet,　the movement of his toes、 the keyboard in his shoes served as that replacement. Masazumi thought that he was conducting permission to release information with his home country.

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The English chat was in great prosperity.

*'''Poet on Steroids:'''　『Listen Mates! Musashi’s Vice President has requested an interesting story!! Okay Start!』

*'''O-Mari:''' 『Ah, well our second born children is a precocious brat and their school trip was to India where for their free time they decided to paying homage to an Ueno circumcision god. That was troublesome so before they left for their trip I arranged for an executioner, a splatter type. To break in through the window during the night and make them raise a scream.』

*'''Swimming Man:''' 『N-no matter how you look at it that is either a painful or a pitiful story!』

*'''Koto-Mermaid:''' 『However Men are such a pain. …We female mermaids often climb up onto the rocks for a break or to use it a tanning salon, look those types of scenes are drawn in pictures. So the male mermaids in an attempt to get close to us try to climb up as well, however since we have no legs we use our hands and climb up the rocks right? At that time, due to the design of the body, the area around the hips slams into the rocks with great force. If the waves are receding then it is fine however if they are coming in then the damage is doubled. Then it quite often happens that they make an unbelieving face for a moment and fall back into the ocean.』

*'''O-Mari:''' 『Ah, occasionally when male mermaids are floating and making sounds in the oceans is because of that! However when I rescued one once the way they spoke was emphasizing their femininity so I won’t be saving them again, that was because of that, hmm...』

*'''Four-Eyes:''' 『Doesn’t it seem that this is going in an undesirable direction?』

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Masazumi saw Johnson close his sign window. It seemed like he had done some kind of serious discussion. Then Johnson became silent and slightly pitched his body forward,

“Let’s confirm a consensus Mate. The current state of the world　...After Musashi has come to IZUMO what action does it seem that the other countries are taking?”

“Is it okay to start the conversation from M.H.R.R?"

Tes, there with the nod of the other party Masazumi realized the intent of the conversation. He was saying they should exchange the information of Musashi and M.H.R.R. under the pretense of confirming a consensus.

The things that were to be discussed from here on were what both sides already recognized as common knowledge. It was that type of performance.

In that case, there Masazumi who thought of confirming a consensus even just at the beginning listed up the knowledge she had actually acquired.

……M.H.H.R. huh.

Lately the contents of class had only been on either M.H.R.R or Hexagone Française. With an atmosphere of showing respect to the other party Masazumi spoke the contents which could be described as standard.

“—Germany.”

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So,

“The foundation of M.H.R.R was the “Carolingian Empire” which was created by the Great Emperor Carl to unify Europe which had fallen into a state of confusion after the collapse of the Roman Empire. After the death of the Great Emperor Carl that country split into the current three countries of Hexagone Française, K.P.A. Italia and M.H.R.R.”

“Tes”

Johnson nodded and displayed a map of Europe. Displayed there were the three countries of France, Germany and Italy.

Masazumi, while looking at the map of the three countries,

“These three countries continued to conflict over the ruler-ship. The one which was in the superior position at the beginning was K.P.A. Italia who had the Pope. After all M.H.R.R’s Holy Roman Emperor required approval of the divine right of kings from the Pope to achieve the position of Emperor and the network of the church was required for Hexagone Française to consolidate their massive territory.”

However, with that word at the beginning Naito spoke. She, with a slightly uninterested tone of voice,

“With the changing era and the country increasing in strength, M.H.R.R’s Holy Roman Emperor became weary of having their status being influenced by a small country. After all the individual territories which comprised the country known as M.H.R.R —well for the Far East the individual prefecture which were “countries” were eager about becoming independent. The Emperor used their status as the Emperor and went to subdue those individual territories however the Pope predicted that and demanded a number of conditions regarding the authority of the recognition of the Emperor."

However, there Masazumi heard Naito say that.

“However as a result of those negotiations continuing for a long the individual territories obtained strength. Eventually the representative of the individual territories became “Prince Elector” and it became that the Holy Roman Emperor was elected and decided from among these representatives of the individual territories.

Then the appointment of the Holy Roman Emperor as a result of elections meant that the Pope became unnecessary; however that Emperor had no influence or anything right? Conversely since becoming the Emperor they were constantly being requested to participate in other country’s wars and became impoverished from assisting with foreign matters and their own individual territories.

That’s why eventually the current situation is that powerful House of Habsburg began to succeed the Emperor. That is how things are.”

Yeah, there Masazumi nodded and Johnson also shook his head vertically.

That is how things are.

The name M.H.R.R was bombastic and then they also had named themselves as the pioneers of European history. However,

……In reality the individual territories were in conflict with even the position of the Emperor being used for political dealing.

In the present M.H.R.R even the position of the Emperor is considered to be just a representative position.

“Furthermore…….”

Masazumi spoke.

“The religious revolution occurred within M.H.R.R.. The individual territories, while still forming the country known as M.H.R.R., split into Catholic and Protestant and conflicted and which is still continuing with the thirty year war.”

“That's right. The flow of it would be something like this.”

There Naito indicated with a sign frame.

'''『The History of M.H.H.R.』'''

'''* Originally, after the fall of the Roman Empire, it was a large country which was subjugated by the Great Emperor Carl. Afterward it split into three, with one of those being M.H.R.R.'''

↓

'''* Beginning: Since the Emperor authority needed the Pope’s approval, the Emperor was at the service of the Pope.
'''

↓

'''* Middle: As a result of the Emperor becoming chosen through the Prince Elector elections the Emperors authority was forfeit. It became hereditary.'''

↓

'''* Present: Due to the religious revolution the individual territories split into Catholics and Protestants and are currently at war. The House of Habsburg inherits the position of the Emperor.'''

Masazumi, with a nodding motion at what Naito had written, stuck her spoon deep into her teacup.

Taking a look there was Walsingham placing a take home good into a paper box. The service here is thorough, there Masazumi clenched her fists inside her heart and said the following.

“—Hashiba effectively took advantage of that state of M.H.R.R.”

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……Hashiba skilfully took in the impoverished M.H.R.R.

While thinking that Masazumi lightly indicated the eastern side of M.H.R.R, that Johnson was displaying, with the front of her spoon. Then she slowly moved the tip of the spoon south to K.P.A.Italia.

“Firstly Hashiba of M.H.R.R. joined together with the Catholics inside the country and began the preparations to invade K.P.A. Italia. Originally the person who was meant to consolidate the country’s Catholics was the Holy Roman Emperor Councillor Rudolph II however…..”

Moving her gaze to the neighboring Naito there Naito shook her head vertically.

“Rudolph “Wahnsinniger” the Second is currently being imprisoned by his younger brother, the Student Council President Matthias and it is that Matthias who holds the actual authority of M.H.R.R. ……Well Rudolph II rather than politics had a trend towards Technomagi and those types of suspicious formulas so there really was nothing to be done though."

In front of her eyes Johｎson nodded with a peaceful face.

"—It’s as you say Mate.”

Johnson nodded.

“M.H.R.R is being controlled by Hashiba and the Emperor’s younger brother Matthias.”

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* '''Poet on Steroids:''' 『Well then everyone, the conference has continued wonderfully up to now! This is no doubt a result of my skill as a secretary…! Come now; please let me hear your praise mates! Praise please!!』

* '''Queen:''' 『You guys have been boisterous for a while now. Quieten down.』

* '''Swimming Man:''' 『.........』

* '''Koto-Mermaid:''' 『.........』

* '''O-Mari:''' 『.........』

* '''Seal Kid:''' 『.........』

* '''Queen:''' 『Okay, so Johnson what are you doing? —Have you written a reply to celebrate Golden-Tama Jr. who was born the other day?』

* '''Poet on Steroids:''' 『No, that is…』

<center>●</center>

Masazumi did not overlook that Johnson’s expression had become slightly sterner as he looked as his sign frame.

It was because from here on they would be talking about matters beyond the consensus. However nothing would begin if she was afraid.

Masazumi, after taking a fleeting glance towards Naito, turned to Johnson and spoke.

“It is a certainty that Hashiba has taken control of M.H.R.R.”

However,

“I am thinking that the reason both of them agreed was not just due to the circumstances of Europe.”

“What exactly do you mean by that? Lady”

Jud, there Masazumi nodded and indicated beneath her feet with her spoon.

“The circumstances of the Far East side.”

Beneath her feet was IZUMO and below that was,

“It is not only Hexagone Française which is in Europe. There is also simultaneously the Mouri clan which is representing the Far East.”

Then Masazumi once again indicated the map of Europe within Johnson’s sign frame with her spoon.

“Do you understand?”

She spoke.

“With the Historical Recreation of the Far East side Hashiba, who are in Kinki, advance their army into the Chūgoku region.

The objective is the subjugation of the western side of the country and firstly in order to crush the Mouri clan.

Consequently that P.A.ODA, Ottoman’s Hashiba, will enter due to the historical reproduction of the Far East side is something that M.H.R.R. cannot avoid, it is something that the Tsirhc countries of the Testament Union are also vigilant of. That’s why using that Hashiba had started support for the remnants of the Amako as an opportunity——"

That’s why,

“—the Student Council President of M.H.R.R. Matthias devised a plan. That if Hashiba was to change from the Murasai doctrine to Catholic and form an alliance then they could be appended into the organization of M.H.R.R."

In other words that was,

“They could bring in Hashiba not as an enemy but as an ally of the Catholics and the Emperor.”

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It was approximately two years ago when Hashiba had completely joined together with M.H.R.R.

It was a proposal from M.H.R.R. however that Hashiba had accepted that request become a huge incident.

……That M.H.R.R.’s Catholics converted the Ottoman forces was something that often caused a fuss for several days in the daily tile block print.

There was nobody who was able to simply accept that truth.

However due to the reality and achievements that occurred the Tsirhc based countries had no choice but to accept it. That the weakened M.H.R.R. had gained a vast power backer in P.a.ODA and including the fact that Hashiba, with its connections to Ottoman, had already embarked into Europe.

M.H.R.R as well did not know when Hashiba would reinstate the Ottoman side of P.A.ODA and overthrow M.H.R.R in one go. Depending on the situation,

……It would become a situation where Hashiba would take over the governing M.H.R.R.

The point of contact for that deal was the Holy Roman Emperor’s younger brother Matthias,

“At the moment it could be said that Matthias is winning his bet. Naturally Hashiba also inherited the name of the House of Habsburg which governed the territory of Austria where Rudolf II and Matthias were born ……On the side of the Far East the Himeji Castle of Harima was capitulated without any fighting due to Hashiba."

That’s why she understood. Why Musashi was being prohibited from travelling in the sky of all the territory of M.H.R.R.,

……It was that M.H.R.R. did not wish to increase the number of problems within their country.

Musashi was unable to form an alliance with England; however they were able to obtain their cooperation and friendship.

England was a Protestant country. If Musashi which had gained that cooperation and provisions was to head towards M.H.R.R. then obviously the destinations would be focused around the Protestant territories and Masazumi had also had decided to move in that manner.

The M.H.R.R. Protestant territories were concentrated in the northern region. If Musashi was to cooperate with the Protestants then Hashiba, who were presently preparing to invade K.P.A Italia at the Seto Inland Sea to the south, would have a dangerous situation at their rear.

……That’s why ……they had prohibited Musashi’s travel huh.

As a consequence of it being top secret information she could not speak of it. However Masazumi,

* '''Vice President:''' 『Neshinbara, could you please send me information which only concerns the recent changes in the circumstances of M.H.R.R.?』

In order to gain information she sent words to her comrades. However,

"?"

There was no reply.

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……Eh?

Even waiting for a few seconds there was no reply in the chat from Neshinbara’s “Novice”. Before here could say anything about that situation Naito was,

“Yeah.”

She slightly embraced her broom.

It was only that little of an action however Masazumi comprehended the situation.

……There was an atmosphere that there was something to be wary of.

Something was happening.

However, there Masazumi thought. That Naito was with her.

She was one of the prominent escorts of the Far East. Beside her was even throughout the entire world a rare level of Technohexen. In that case Masazumi believed in that fact that she could manage if anything occurred. That’s why she readjusted her seating,

“What is the matter Mate?”

Masazumi looked at Johnson’s questioning face.

Realising that the corner of his mouth were slightly upraised that was when Masazumi comprehended the meaning of this conference.

“Johnson”

Masazumi while being self-aware that her eyebrows were slightly raised asked a question.

“……M.H.R.R. has prohibited the passage of Musashi over its territory. I understand the meaning behind those words. However is it all right to ask a single question?”

“What is it Mate?”

She had obtained permission. That’s why she asked.

“……That information. Why was England able to learn that information concerning M.H.R.R.?”

In the face of that question. Johnson deepened his smile and nodded with a Tes,

“It seems that the preparations to confirm the real consensus have been finally completed, Lady.”

“……What do you mean?”

"Don’t you understand?", there Johnson tilted his head.

“—It’s something you’ll immediately understand. Look.”

A wind arrived together with those words. It was not the warm wind of the afternoon. It was a typhoon. Turning around and looking, there the wind which ran thought the street was a single shadow which jumped into the road in front of the store.

That shadow which she saw had rotated once through the air and while falling to the ground carried out control of its stance,

“—Futayo!?”

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A solitary movement occurred within the bridge of Musahino.

It was Suzu. She who had been reclining on her chain as if she was sleeping suddenly raised her body. With that movement “Musashino” nodded,

“……From earlier I have been hearing a strange noise coming from IZUMO’s northern market area. —Over”

“Ju…..d, There’s also that, umm”

Suzu stood up and with hesitating movements made her hands dance. That direction was at first east, then south, east and circled around to the north.

“U-umm”

Suzu spoke with a troubled expression.

“What are we going to do……”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 05|Chapter 05]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 07|Chapter 07]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 07

2014-05-26T17:47:28Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 07: The Gusting Individuals of the Neutral Zone */

==Chapter 07: The Gusting Individuals of the Neutral Zone==
[[Image:Horizon3A_0157.jpg|thumb]]

''That was a vague thing''

''That went through the air''

'''Point Allocation (Approaching)'''

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Masazumi, who had come out from inside the tea-house together with Naito, saw Futayo.

Futayo took a low landing stance after completing a backwards somersault on top of the road with upraised dust. Her figure which had landed on the ground several meters to the rear however payed no attention to over here and was looking in a slightly upraised direction.

In front of where her eyes　hurried to, in the gusty street, people were currently raising voices of surprise.

…That was natural.

Masazumi thought.That this was a neutral zone, a location where acts of aggression were prohibited. However Futayo had already drawn Tonbokiri and at the end of where her eyes were looking,

“An enemy?”

Was there.

On the rooftop of the alignment of buildings which formed the street. There was a single pair, composed of a man and woman, on the top of a three story restaurant.

The distance was approximately 30 meters. What was there was the figure of the Quin-Takeda school uniform.

Out of the group of two one was a woman with white hair and skin while the other was conversely a dark skinned man.

Both of them were roughly wearing the school uniform . The woman let her hair be blown by the wind while the man lowered his body like a monkey however both of them were looking towards Futayo.

In front of Masazumi’s gaze the man smiled in surprise and spoke.

“That you would be able to receive our first blow.”

The woman also spoke with a smile.

“It was only a simple first strike.”

“As expected of Musashi’s Vice-Chancellor, try saying something like that.”

“Why is it that you pass off the task of praising the enemy to me. It was a surprise attack and that force was no different from a normal attack, it was not anything special. For me and you that attack is the same as always. That’s why—”

“Yeah”

The man who remained crouched at the edge of the roof tilted his body. With the movement which could be described as more like dropping rather than falling he however remained looking at Futayo,

“The same as always.”

The next moment. Masazumi saw the wind in front of her eyes. The one who had coiled up the cloud of dust like a fluttering sheet was,

“I’m sorry for the late introduction. I am — “Unnecessary Number One”. She is number two.”

The next thing she knew the enemy suddenly appeared in front of her eyes. It was the man who just now should have fallen from the distant roof.

…huh!?

The distance from the roof to here was approximately 30 metres. Since the man was looking at Futayo she had been caught off guard.

The single strike from the man who had named himself. Masazumi did not move with the single strike from the thick blade which was released from behind his waist,

“……e!”

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The sound which Masazumi had resound in her ears was a metallic clang.

Then what her eyes saw was the colors of gold and black.

Furthermore the voice which reached her,

“That was dangerous.”

“That was close.”

In the space between herself and the enemy there was a fully open set of six wings and black hair.

It was Naito and Futayo.

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Naito gained a sense of amazement inside herself at the situation of being located between Futayo and Masazumi.

……Wow—.

There was no time to bring out Schwarz Fräulein. That’s why she had used her broom’s refreshed deployment defense spells as a shield and attempt to receive the enemy attack using that. However faster than that Futayo had,

……Gone and cut in front of her.

After Naito had rethought about the meaning of the words Vice-Chancellor the wind in front of her eyes occurred　once again.

The stirred up cloud of dust ascended above the road and in an instant the enemy was about 20 metres on the far side. They moved to the rooftop of one of the houses along the street. Then the two, the white woman and the dark man, landed with a light step on the rooftop.

They were composed, that was Naito's impressions.

Conversely in front of her eyes Futayo adjusted the readied Tonbokiri back to her side.

“Naito, please take Masazumi and distance yourself from here.”

Futayo spoke without turning around.

“The job of an escort is to distance that subject from any danger. —I will take charge of this area. You take Masazumi and distance yourselves from here.”

Will you be alright? there she went to say that but stopped. Futayo held a higher official position than her. Worrying about her would achieve nothing. What she should be saying was,

“Make sure that you don’t overdo it okay? You seem a touch irritated.”

“Do I seem like that?”

“Jud, —your horn is already raised to the first level after all. Did something happen?”

Jud, there Futayo nodded. She pulled out a small brochure from her skirt.

“I thought about eating a large amount at the recently rumored cream puff store here in IZUMO.”

“Ah, the store that followed the way of tea, the “Way of cream”. I do think they should do something about that store name though.”

“……However when I went there a previous customer had bought out all the stock and while I was experiencing a bout of anger I suddenly came under attack.”

Oh? The woman on top of the roof, “Unnecessary Number Two”, tilted her head. She pulled the paper bag from under her arm and from the inside took out a large amount of cream puffs,

“You mean these? I got full of myself and ended up buying about twenty of them.”

Naito saw Futayo’s horn shaped hair clip rise up to the second level. Ah, while thinking that this was not good she however also thought that it would fine since there was would be no harm to her. Consequently,

“— I’ll leave it to you.”

“……Jud!”

There at the moment that Futayo leaped forward.

There was a single shadow which passed above the head of her. The one who was leaping by twisting his body and adjusting his stance at a high position was,

“—Bara-yan!?”

It was Neshinbara.

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Neshinbara was in the middle of combat.

The circumstances that led to the battle were simple.

……While he was walking the street reading the book that he had bought someone had suddenly gone to punch him.

It was a dangerous story is what he had thought, however that power was strong enough to easily destroy a bench which was located at the side of the road was troublesome. The opponents were a group of two and one of them was at that precise moment,

“— Come on!!”

With a sharp enthusiastic shout they leaped and pursued after a person who was in the air.

It was a woman. It was a woman who was wearing a plumed female Far East school uniform with the belly exposed, the figure of a dancing girl .

She leaped into a high position. At the moment when Neshinbara saw that it was not a spell but martial arts.

“”Unnecessary Number Seven” ……On my way!”

The smiling eyes which were donned in heavy makeup stared this way and she waved the weapon she was carrying.

……An iron-ribbed fan!

A massive iron-ribbed fan with fur attached of which every spoke could be used as a blade. The woman gripped the side handle at the base to make it easier to swing around,

“……Okay, come on!!”

She deployed the folding fan like a blossoming flower and the blades were sequentially thrust forward.

“How persistent…!!”

«The wind blew and that body fell down as though it had been tripped.»

His trajectory in the air dropped down by one step.

The blade passed over his head and was it because she feared a counterattack; the woman spun her body around to above the circular expanding blade.

Neshinbara did nothing towards the enemy that was above his head. That was because,

……It was necessary to gain an understanding of the current situation……!

On the street that he was passing over, there beneath his eyes was Futayo who was also fighting with a group of two which were assumed to be enemies and Naito together with Masazumi were moving to take cover in a nearby tea-house. Furthermore on top of the opposite rooftop where he and the “Number Seven” woman were leaping to was,

“The second person of those who had suddenly gone to punch me earlier…!”

“I am the “Unnecessary Number Three……!”

The one who was wearing a Far East uniform which had been remodeled into the appearance of a monk was a middle-aged demon type Elf.
[[Image:Horizon3A_0165.jpg|thumb]]
A large physique. His height which rivaled that of the giants was over four metes. However that body was only slightly bending the opposing rooftop of the house which he was using as a platform,

“Now…!”

At the same time the Demon Monk “Number Three” took a high leap which passed over the street he thrust out his right arm.

However there was a distance of about 10 meters between him and here. While “Number Three” had a large physique and a high jump it was not a distance that his fist could reach.

However “Number Three” twisted his reddish brown arm and let out a shout.

“Preach cannon!!”

The characters and tattoo which were engraved into his large arm changed arrangement and design with the twist of the arm. There in an instant a Homa steps type crest appeared as if to surround the arm. On the palm the fluid letters “Scold” were formed.

…Seriously!?

Neshinbara understood. The woman, “Number Seven”, who had extended her fan above in the sky had not positioned herself above the fan shield as a forecast of his attack.

It was in order not to receive aftershocks from this Monk’s attack.

The cannon was fired.

“Scold…!!”

<center>●</center>

Due to the cannon blast the atmosphere spanning tens of meters was split with an explosion which could be called bright occurring.

In response to the expanding atmospheric wave the woman “Number Seven”,

“Did you get him!?”

Standing on top of the iron-ribbed fan she went as if stepping forward and completed an upside-down180 degree flip. However,

«That body fell in a straight line.>»

Her target was about to fall on his backside onto the second story thatched roof,

«Right before he impacted. He rolled up his body and regained his posture.»

«It was a rushed movement. However—.»

«He made it in time—.»

“Wow, how unfair! That’s cheating you aspiring author. You fell from your backside you know!?”

Towards the words of “Number Seven” who had closed her folding fan and landed two roofs to the side the prey yelled back.

“Won’t you please say that my hands are fast? In the first place why did you suddenly start attacking me?”

With those words the Demon monk who had descended next to “Number seven” yelled. He pointed to his target and,

“It is necessary to beat your immoral spirit back to normal!”

“What do you mean immoral?”

“What is that book that you are holding in your hand—!?”

<center>●</center>

This? there Neshinbara raised the book he had bought from the bookstore and that he was still holding.

“It’s only an ordinary novel right? It’s a modern arrangement of the Tale of the Heike-Awakening version. There’s a bit of “The wildness of my right arm is truly terrifying” and “Melt, drain them my Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi” however the contents are exceedingly normal okay?”

“Normal? Is it normal for a light novel to have its characters have names with “Dark”, “Kill”, ”King” or “Rome” in them you fool!! While walking on the street reading something with special attack names such including “Prison”, “Temple” or “Impact” what is up with saying “Ah, there’s no nipple ticket this time”!? In the first place what is up with talking about nipple tickets something which is nothing more than an urban legend with such a self-satisfied expression!”

'''* Four-Eyes:''' 『……What? You’re still reading those type of　embarrassing stories? It couldn’t be that you are writing them as well right?』

“B-Be quiet, don’t interfere. Well, you see—”

Neshinbara indicated in the direction of the Demon Monk. While thinking that it was a pain,

“—I’m sorry that I really like things such as “Ogre Slayer” and the “Three Sacred Treasures"! However in any case you probably read things like “A famous work which was composed about the exclusive thoughts of teenagers” or “Why is it that I can’t reach an equal understanding of others I wonder” and then say shameless things like “We’re sensitive existences that damage each other” right!?You’ve created those sorts of poems haven’t you!?”

“Huh!? Is there anything wrong with that—?”

“T-there’s an embarrassing old guy who became really serious here!!”

There is nothing wrong with that! there the Demon Monk clenched his fist and yelled into the sky.

“In eternal short poems the maiden is stricken with love and goes near the mansion of a person whom is outside of her reach with a tear-stained face! Alas how fleeting! In one word what can you say!?”

“No matter how you think about it that’s a stalker.”

As soon as he said that the Preach cannon attack came.

“Wah!”

He hurriedly avoided it however the approaching fluid ordinance was not just one shot. Apart from the right arm cannon the left arm of the demon monk was twisted as if it were pulled and there as if entwining it a large rosary form fluid crest assembled. That was,

“……A rosary form fluid charger!?

“That you do not understand is because you are a slow general who lacks imagination…”

A series of scold shots came. That was also at an overwhelming density.

Falling back or going left or right wouldn’t make it. If it were possible,

«That body rode the wind and leaped.>»

He leaped straight up. In addition to that it was a great leap as if to send something flying. With that movement Neshinbara danced his body into the air, however,

“—The imagination of an aspiring author is only that?”

“Number Seven” came from an even greater height than him.

……Damm!

She had used the cannon blast at a distraction. Furthermore she had kicked the back of the Demon Monk and from his shadow leaped overhead. Overhead she was already prepared to use her iron-ribbed fan,

“I’ll take the first credit…”

<center>●</center>

Futayo was conducting a battle with the enemy pair.

At her rear. Naito together with Masazumi had already retreated inside the teashop. That was a decision made due to that immediately flying away was dangerous since the enemy’s movements were clearly not those of a coincidental battle there was also the fear of snipers being arranged.

It anything was to happen they could always take off from the rear entrance, however everything was,

“Depending on my actions!”

The enemy was currently flying throughout the town.

They were not jumping. They were riding the wind, in the street, on rooftops and then freely moving through the sky.

It was the wind.

Thinking that they were going to charge they then instantly circled around to the rear of the teashop and completing several turns like that. There was no stagnation in their coming and going however occasionally they showed a shaking like bend the same as the wind.

That movement was not just horizontally; it was also from above and as if to gouge it oppositely came from below.

That’s why Futayo ran lengthwise and crosswise throughout the town.

The repairs to the half-broken Tonbokiri from her battle with Gin during the Armada battle were still not complete. The expansion and contraction went to the third stage; when it was fully expanded the length had become halved.

However tight turns were effective. In particular repetitive short jumps through the use of the expansion structure was possible,

“…!”

Futayo ran up the wall, ran swiftly around the roof, stepped on the eaves and jumped to higher roofs as well as to those on the far side of the street. The speed which could be said to be continuing momentum was due to using Tonbokiri as a balance stabilizer allowing for her to perpendicularly climb up walls and run horizontally.

As she desired.

Following the gusting enemy both sides were taking a roundabout path through the air. However the “Number One” man who attacked with a short sword and the “Number Two” woman were both aiming for her rear. That movement was,

……Not the actions of a swordsman.

The samurai type strike-forcer which had learned the arts of swordsmanship had a habit of enjoying attacking people head on. Swordsmanship in itself had crossing swords with the enemy from the front as a given.

However this opponent was different. Taking the initiative and aiming for the back was,

……A technique used for assassination.

In that case, these opponents were,

“Ninja!?”

<center>●</center>

Futayo realized that there was no reply to her question.

All that was there was the fact that she was running on the top of a three story building chasing the enemy and that the “Number Two” woman who turned back this way formed a smile for a moment.

That smile was completely fixed on her face,

……They were coming……!

When Futayo had thought that, the smile of “Number Two” completely formed.

“Go you!”

The woman’s hand struck the back of “Number One”.

When she heard the thick noise which was more flesh than clothing the figure of “Number One” had vanished.

She understood that he was riding on the wind. It was something that had previously happened several times. However this time was different. Up until now the two of them had been moving together however,

……A pincer attack from the front and rear!?

A presence appeared from the rear as if to confirm that she was correct.

The rear was dangerous. “Number One” was attempting to circle around there. However,

“How about this?”

“Number Two” grasped a large number of knives from the bag that she was holding under her arm.

At the same time there was the presence, that of “Number One” moving at her rear.

There the knives were thrown. They were not thrown to pierce the opponent. They were scattered, thrown on a trajectory to stop one’s movements. Even if she went to repel them, the knives which were not aimed for her made it hard to read the trajectory.

As a judgment against the enemy in her front and rear and the group of knives,

“………e!”

Futayo took a turn from her pursuit. She leaped to the left at a right angle.

It was an action to slip away from the knives and to escape from the pincer. However,

……They continued to follow!?

“Number One” whose footsteps had circled around to her rear rotated his body once and appended his trajectory. That was almost as if he was aiming for a back-to-back situation.

It was a position in which she could not attack however “Number One” without any unnecessary movements went to stab her left flank with the short dagger he carried with a backhand grip in his right hand.

She could not move left. Consequently as an instant determination Futayo tucked Tonbokiri by her right flank and from the center instantly made it expand to the front and rear.

“Go!!”

『Understood—』

In the direction of the front and the rear. Towards the left rear “Number One” went the butt-end. The tip was shot towards “Number two” at the front right.

It was released.

In response, a movement from the rear left occurred first. As “Number One” was very near, he abandoned his short sword then made his lightened body spin and opened up some distance.

Accompanying those movements, which also raised loud footsteps, was a voice containing a smile.

“That was dangerous….!!”

However Futayo had a strange feeling towards “Number One” who had accurately taken a distance against the lengthened butt-end.

…What that just now!?

Futayo had an unusual feeling regarding the enemy.

No, this unusual feeling was not just from this moment but something she had felt from “Number One” for the past few moments. There was something different from him whom she had faced up till now and the current him.

However before she could recognize what that was, at the front right,

“…Ugh”

The tip of Tonbokiri pierced through the chest of “Number Two”

The actions of throwing the knives had created an opportunity.

As if to gouge through the right of her chest the point of Tonbokiri made a direct hit.

It ran her through.

At the same time the voice of “Number One” which contained a hint of surprise reached her.

“Number Two……!!”

She had certainly killed Number Two.

<center>●</center>

“You bitch…!”

Futayo heard that voice of “Number One” from her rear.

In her hand the slightly hard however light reaction was coming from “Number Two”.

Then at the same moment that “Number Two” who had received the spear tip to her chest fell forward. The voice of “Number One” resonated as if to erase all noise. The sound of footsteps stepping on the roof echoed loudly from the rear,

“Damm you….”

He’s coming, there Futayo thought that. “Number Two” was dead. That’s why “Number One” was next.

To achieve that she either had to turn around, retract the butt-side and intercept him or enter an evasive movement. However,

……What was it?

Futayo felt a doubt about the strangle feeling towards “Number One” from before.

Something was odd. That thought changed into confirmation with every action that “Number One” took. There was a slight, however a clear difference, between him from the moment of contact up to now and the current him.

……It was odd!

She did not know what it was however there was something. It was dangerous to start a fight with “Number One” without knowing what that was. That’s why Futayo reached one conclusion,

“—I’ll face you at another opportunity”
Without turning around to “Number One”, who was at her rear, she leaped forward.

She ran away.

<center>●</center>

Futayo as if to pierce through and blow away “Number Two” took a large leap to the front right.

In an instant she had opened up a distance with “Number One”.

Then stepping on the roof creaking as well as footsteps certainly rang out.

……This is—

Futayo realized the source of the strange feeling. However at that exact same timing something moved.

It was “Number Two”

She who had been pierced by the tip of the spear and stopped moving however suddenly said this.

“I’ve been exposed.”

She was not dead. The body of “Number Two” jumped up together with those words.

She was alive.

The movements of her body however did not stop there.

……What!?

That was not a person.

From the area which was pierced by Tonbokiri the woman changed the shape of the entirety of her body like swirling water and distorted herself,

“Oh!”

from something like a half destroyed bag, like spreading smoke and then like a spider trying a to catch its prey, she changed shape. However there still remained the overall indefinite form of a person,

“…Here I go…!”

The entire body of “Number Two” with movements almost like a massive hand expanding and encompassing attacked over here.

What was the identity of those movements? Futayo furrowed her brow and reached a conclusion.

“A Monster!”

<center>●</center>

Futayo saw. From beyond “Number Two” who had changed into a wind monster and was trying to encircle her there was something that the tip of Tonbokiri was thrusting.

The thing that the tip of the white blade was thrusting was a single knife.

It was the same as those which were earlier scattered in this direction. She now understood the meaning for it being at the rear of “Number Two” .

……It was in order to provide a fake sense of reaction!

This woman was a class of monster which was related to the wind. It had no weight and blades had no effect. However the core of her power was to load things on herself and carrying them and she was likely primarily the assistant of “Number One”.

Now Futayo understood. That the cause of the previous strange feeling about “Number One” was the occurrence of footsteps. The footsteps which were not present at all since he had appeared suddenly came about after the two of them had separated to the front and rear. However in order to disguise the fact that woman who was made of the wind had no footsteps “Number One” had purposely created loud footsteps while moving.

Spreading out the knives was to create a false reaction and “Number One” yelling out at the time when the woman was stabbed by the tip of the spear was also in order to disguise that there was no piercing sound.

Creating the delusion that “Number Two” was dead then when she turned around to face “Number One”, “Number Two” would quietly attack from behind.

It was that kind of process.

However since Futayo had hesitated she was not caught. If you are hesitating then move forward,

……Yes, that was something that her father had taught her……

Futayo thought back to the past.

Often when Kazuno had approached her father with a scolding presence he had quickly retreated backwards.

That was that “I have no doubt! Since I have no doubt it is fine to fall back!”, however a serious faced Kazuno simply increased her speed so there was really not much meaning there.

Anyhow Futayo considered how to deal with the enemy.

The enemy was a wind like being, it had no vital point. Since stabbing with a blade did not work then the effect of Tonbokiri’s slicing ability would also probably be weak.

However with a blunder she was moving forward. That was a mistake.

……What have I done!

At this rate if she moved forward and was enveloped by the wind it was likely that she would be blown away. With the instantaneous speed of the enemy’s technique, with that momentum she would expect to be slammed into the ground or somewhere else

She wanted to avoid that.

“In that case”

Futayo moved her left hand around her back and waved it.
What she grasped with her fingers was the short dagger that “Number One” had just now released to lighten his body. Futayo grasped the blade of the dagger which seemed as it had fallen onto the roof which her fingers and while slightly shaving away her skin threw it at “Number Two”.

“Number Two”, the opponent that the heavy armor piercing dagger was flying at was the wind.

Blades have no effect on the wind. However there did exist a place where there was significance in attacking,

“The face!!”

<center>●</center>

In Futayo’s vision the appearance of “Number Two” was constantly changing as if dissolving.

However she could see the modeling of the face. In that case,

……Whether it is a monster or whether it is something else, if it had a face then the sensory organs should be concentrated there!

The same as for the black algae and spirits. That’s why if she aimed at the face, even if it did not stab, the shadow of the blade would steal the opponent vision. Sure enough against Futayo’s thrown dagger,

“…!?”

A minor disturbance occurred in the movements of “Number Two”. It was just for a moment. However Futayo did not overlook that. She lowered her body, ran swiftly and swung her body to the side.

To avoid attack of the wind. She passed through the side.

However “Number One” pursued her from the rear. The footsteps were softer than before almost as if they were fading away.

The pursuing footsteps from the rear grabbed hold of a knife from the space of “Number Two”. It was the hidden knife that “Number Two” had used to create the artificial reaction when she was pierced by the tip of the spear.

That was the moment when Futayo heard the sound of “Number One” taking it in hand. Futayo took action.

“……!”

There Futayo judged that there was an opportunity.

At the moment when the knife was grabbed the top half of the body became exposed. That’s why when Futayo had spun half her body around she extended Tonbokiri,

“Go!”

She drove the tip of Tonbokiri into “Number One” who was between here and “Number Two”. That was what should have happened. What Futayo first saw in her gaze when she half-turned around was the afternoon sky and the thatched roof.

Neither “Number One nor “Number Two” was there.

All there was at her rear was something which had fallen like footsteps pursuing her on the roof. That was,

……Shoes!?

The thing she had heard as footsteps was the sound of shoes being taken off and dropped.

The enemy was not at her rear.

By the use of a body replacement technique they had disguised their location. Furthermore “Number One” together with “Number Two” was concealing his footsteps with the wind and moving to somewhere.

……That was a wonderful swift change of pace!

Then what was going to come was,

“—The rear!”
With the movement of her arm, without any confirmation, she swung and drove the tip of the spear to her rear. The response was,

“……Got it!!”

Piercing through someone, going through bone, there was also the limpness of flesh reactionary stiffening. Futayo, as if following the handle rotated her body, turned around and examined the tip.

She was mistaken. The object the that tip was piercing was not “Number One”,

“A tree branch!?”

The thin tree branch was bonded with a talisman and the spear was piercing through the center of that.

This time was a real body replacement technique.

……This is Ninjutsu!!

When she had thought that the wind came from behind.

Tonbokiri was still extended. Then the tip was stabbed into a talisman which contained the same weight of a person.

She had no method to attack. That is why Futayo,

“—“

She took action.

Futayo let go of Tonbokiri and fell backwards into the wind which was approaching from the rear.

<center>●</center>

“!?”

Both “Number One” and “Number Two” were taken aback by Futayo’s abrupt movement.

After all the target had itself jumped towards here at the moment of attack.

“Number One” who had lost his timing gained a deep simile on his cheeks.

……Now you’ve done it!

Pursuing and attacking from behind was the core of a ninja. Consequently they were taken aback with the actions of the enemy who had fallen backwards towards them. He could not deny that he had the thought that the opponent was a Samurai.

Damm, there while he was smiling towards his chest,

“………e”

The black hair waved, it lightly danced.

Futayo’s back went as if to touch his chest.

At the moment when she thought they were going to make contact as if they were embracing, “Number two” who was enveloping her suddenly moved. She blew her away to the side.

“Noo—”

<center>●</center>

Futayo realized that the two at her rear had split to the left and right with the voice of “Number Two” that she did not understand the meaning of.

Immediately following that Futayo raised her right leg. She placed her leg on the grip of the Tonbokiri which was released into the air,

“Bind Tonbokiri!”

The branch at the tip split into two and scattered through the air. Then pulling her knee to her chest Tonbokiri flew horizontally with good momentum.

“…!”

Towards her who was stepping backwards, “Number One” was trying to pass by the side of her. Stooped his body to pass under Tonbokiri and conversely “Number Two” joined with the wind and climber over Tonbokiri.

She saw the enemy.

Now was the time she perceived the enemy at the forward right and left. She had also determined the above and below positioning.

There was a chance of winning.

However Futayo saw it. The strong gaze that “Number One” and “Number Two” had displayed to her when they had passed by.

They still had some sort of plan left. It was that kind of gaze.

At that time Futayo obtained one involuntary reaction.

At the edge of her mouth the looseness of an arc was born.

……This is amazing.

<center>●</center>

Futayo thought. That even though no matter how you look at it the inexperienced her was desperately evading and struggling, the enemy conveyed that was still going to continue with their gaze.

How admirable.

She had gained knowledge about ninjas from Kazuno and undertaken anti-shuriken training and the like however this was the first time she had dealt with them at this level in an actual battle. The earlier body replacement technique is something she had only seen in the anime “Underpopulated Ninja Tottori” and as she had thought the real technique was amazing.

If she was able to nullify all of the opponent’s attacks then would it be okay to say that she was at the same level as these people.

……No

The enemy’s attacks were something that had been created through years of training; she was just taking advantage of that.

She understood very well that between creating and using, the latter was overwhelmingly easy. In that case, ah, even if she were to win against these opponents she would she not be equal to them.

…That’s why it was interesting.

Futayo took Tonbokiri in her hand and after lowering and compressing her body she leaped backwards.

Into the sky which spanned above the street. There as expected the two enemies once again overlapped their bodies and pursued,

“—!”

A metallic sound loudly rang out.

<center>●</center>

At the time when the sound of ringing metal echoed, there was something that Neshinbara firstly gained. That was the softness of the hand which was lightly pressing on his chest.

Following that what he saw with his eyes was slightly dark skin, a dark haired head with horns and then carrying at the waist and shoulder,

……A four bladed Demon woman!?

The female demon warrior leaped towards “Number Seven” while keeping her eyes closed.

Her clothing was a white Far East school uniform entwined with some decorative fabric.

The blades which were drawn on the trajectory of intersection were the two katana at her waist.

In an instant she drew what could be called a long sword; it was a katana for which the blade length alone was a meter and a half.

The two katana, which were raised overheard as if they were being extended, almost at the same time intercepted the iron-ribbed fan of “Number Seven” which was falling from the sky.

Sparks scattered.

“……Damm!”

Through the expanding movements of the intersecting two swords of the demon woman the iron-ribbed fan was blown away. Conversely “Number Seven” clicked her tongue in the sky,

“How troublesome—”

Those words did not continue. That was because in the air the woman demon who had reached the peak of her leap launched a second attack.

…Eh?

Neshinbara who had been blown away by her observed her movements while landing on a faraway rooftop.

However he was unable to comprehend.

That was because the woman firstly released her hands from the upraised swords, which were raised up as if intersecting, then drew the two katana at her shoulder and then drove the previous two katana into the empty shoulder sheaths.

“You think you can get away, scum!”

While keeping her eyes closed the downward swing of the two katana easily shattered the fan-swords which were expanded into the sky as a shield.

“Ugh!”

The two Katana which were swung straight down cut off the left and right of the shield which was deployed as an arc. On the far side “Number Seven” who was in the trajectory of the katana raised her eyebrows and kicked the wreckage of the iron-ribbed fan towards the demon woman.

It would hit. Right before that the woman released her hands from her two katana. Almost as if spilling from her palms the katana revolved and fell in the empty sheaths at her waist and at that time the two katana from her shoulder were already being swung down.

The attack which entered a downward arc cut apart the kicked iron-ribbed fan and then towards the Demon Monk below,

“Well then. — Finally one down.”

……It was unreasonable!

Neshinbara opened his mouth and looked at the woman who had launched off the consecutive attacks. While wondering about why was it that all the other species of women who appeared in front of him were a bunch of Spartans.

However still while forming a silver arc using both katana and however while directing that power directly towards the enemy,

『—Wait!!』

There was something that arrived together with a voice from an audio device .

It was a God of War.

<center>●</center>

The thing that suddenly appeared on the street at the rear of Neshinbara was a large amount of wind and the sound of metal parts colliding.

There standing in the center of the earth tremor and roar which accompanied the dust cloud was a single blue god of war.

It was a female model with a flying unit. The head had armor modeled after the face of a dog and at the tip of the single sword which was trusted out with the right arm,

“If the enemy of my enemy is my friend — then both of you would be my opponent however?”

The white clothed demon woman remained standing in a stance with all four of her blades sheathed.

However the god of war while still creating a haze from the flight unit stopped its movements.

Neshinbara knew this God of war. No,

……That demon woman as well. As well as those people who had attacked them.

The thought in his mind was that it couldn’t be however with this much arranged he was sure.

……These guys are—.

Before he could finish thinking a sign frame opened at the side of his head. The thing that Michizane hurriedly indicated was,

* '''Argente Loup:''' 『It is an emergency situation! Please check the sky surrounding IZUMO!』

The likely hurriedly created short words immediately had follow up words being created. That was,

* '''Argente Loup:''' 『The fleets of various countries are gathering as if to encircle IZUMO!』

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 06|Chapter 06]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 08|Chapter 08]]
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</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 07

2014-05-26T17:29:38Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 07: The Gusting Individuals of the Neutral Zone */

==Chapter 07: The Gusting Individuals of the Neutral Zone==
[[Image:Horizon3A_0157.jpg|thumb]]

''That was a vague thing''

''That went through the air''

'''Point Allocation (Approaching)'''

<center>●</center>

Masazumi, who had come out from inside the tea-house together with Naito, saw Futayo.

Futayo took a low landing stance after completing a backwards somersault on top of the road with upraised dust. Her figure which had landed on the ground several meters to the rear however payed no attention to over here and was looking in a slightly upraised direction.

In front of where her eyes　hurried to, in the gusty street, people were currently raising voices of surprise.

…That was natural.

Masazumi thought.That this was a neutral zone, a location where acts of aggression were prohibited. However Futayo had already drawn Tonbokiri and at the end of where her eyes were looking,

“An enemy?”

Was there.

On the rooftop of the alignment of buildings which formed the street. There was a single pair, composed of a man and woman, on the top of a three story restaurant.

The distance was approximately 30 meters. What was there was the figure of the Quin-Takeda school uniform.

Out of the group of two one was a woman with white hair and skin while the other was conversely a dark skinned man.

Both of them were roughly wearing the school uniform . The woman let her hair be blown by the wind while the man lowered his body like a monkey however both of them were looking towards Futayo.

In front of Masazumi’s gaze the man smiled in surprise and spoke.

“That you would be able to be able to receive our first blow.”

The woman also spoke with a smile.

“It was only a simple first strike.”

“As expected of Musashi’s Vice-Chancellor, try saying something like that.”

“Why is it that you pass off the task of praising the enemy to me. It was a surprise attack and that force was no different from a normal attack, it was not anything special. For me and you that attack is the same as always. That’s why—”

“Yeah”

The man who remained crouched at the edge of the roof tilted his body. With the movement which could be described as more like dropping rather than falling he however remained looking at Futayo,

“The same as always.”

The next moment. Masazumi saw the wind in front of her eyes. The one who had coiled up the cloud of dust like a fluttering sheet was,

“I’m sorry for the late introduction. I am — “Unnecessary Number One”. She is number two.”

The next thing she knew the enemy suddenly appeared in front of her eyes. It was the man who just now should have fallen from the distant roof.

…huh!?

The distance from the roof to here was approximately 30 metres. Since the man was looking at Futayo she had been caught off guard.

The single strike from the man who had named himself. Masazumi did not move with the single strike from the thick blade which was released from behind his waist,

“……e!”

<center>●</center>

The sound which Masazumi had resound in her ears was a metallic clang.

Then what her eyes saw was the colors of gold and black.

Furthermore the voice which reached her,

“That was dangerous.”

“That was close.”

In the space between herself and the enemy there was a fully open set of six wings and black hair.

It was Naito and Futayo.

<center>●</center>

Naito gained a sense of amazement inside herself at the situation of being located between Futayo and Masazumi.

……Wow—.

There was no time to bring out Schwarz Fräulein. That’s why she had used her broom’s refreshed deployment defense spells as a shield and attempt to receive the enemy attack using that. However faster than that Futayo had,

……Gone and cut in front of her.

After Naito had rethought about the meaning of the words Vice-Chancellor the wind in front of her eyes occurred　once again.

The stirred up cloud of dust ascended above the road and in an instant the enemy was about 20 metres on the far side. They moved to the rooftop of one of the houses along the street. Then the two, the white woman and the dark man, landed with a light step on the rooftop.

They were composed, that was Naito's impressions.

Conversely in front of her eyes Futayo adjusted the readied Tonbokiri back to her side.

“Naito, please take Masazumi and distance yourself from here.”

Futayo spoke without turning around.

“The job of an escort is to distance that subject from any danger. —I will take charge of this area. You take Masazumi and distance yourselves from here.”

Will you be alright? there she went to say that but stopped. Futayo held a higher official position than her. Worrying about her would achieve nothing. What she should be saying was,

“Make sure that you don’t overdo it okay? You seem a touched irritated.”

“Do I seem like that?”

“Jud, —your horn is already raised to the first level after all. Did something happen?”

Jud, there Futayo nodded. She pulled out a small brochure from her skirt.

“I thought about eating a large amount at the recently rumored cream puff store here in IZUMO.”

“Ah, the store that followed the way of tea, the “Way of cream”. I do think they should do something about that store name though.”

“……However when I went there a previous customer had bought out all the stock and while I was experiencing a bout of anger I suddenly came under attack.”

Oh? The woman on top of the roof, “Unnecessary Number Two”, tilted her head. She pulled the paper bag from under her arm and from the inside took out a large amount of cream puffs,

“You mean these? I got full of myself and ended up buying about twenty of them.”

Naito saw Futayo’s horn shaped hair clip rise up to the second level. Ah, while thinking that this was not good she however also thought that it would fine since there was would be no harm to her. Consequently,

“— I’ll leave it to you.”

“……Jud!”

There at the moment that Futayo leaped forward.

There was a single shadow which passed above the head of her. The one who was leaping by twisting his body and adjusting his stance at a high position was,

“—Bara-yan!?”

It was Neshinbara.

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Neshinbara was in the middle of combat.

The circumstances that led to the battle were simple.

……While he was walking the street reading the book that he had bought someone had suddenly gone to punch him.

It was a dangerous story is what he had thought, however that that power was strong enough to easily destroy a bench which was located at the side of the road was troublesome. The opponents were a group of two and one of them was at that precise moment,

“— Come on!!”

With a sharp enthusiastic shout they leaped and pursued after a person who was in the air.

It was a woman. It was a women who was wearing a plumed female Far East school uniform with the belly exposed, the figure of a dancing girl .

She leaped into a high position. At the moment when Neshinbara saw that it was not a spell but martial arts.

“”Unnecessary Number Seven” ……On my way!”

The smiling eyes which were donned in heavy makeup stared this way and she waved the weapon she was carrying.

……An iron-ribbed fan!

A massive iron-ribbed fan with fur attached of which every spoke could be used as a blade. The woman gripped the side handle at the base to make it easier to swing around,

“……Okay, come on!!”

She deployed the folding fan like a blossoming flower and the blades were sequentially thrust forward.

“How persistent…!!”

«The wind blew and that body fell down as though it had been tripped.»

His trajectory in the air dropped down by one step.

The blade passed over his head and was it because she feared a counterattack; the woman spun her body around to above the circular expanding blade.

Neshinbara did nothing towards the enemy that was above his head. That was because,

……It was necessary to gain an understanding of the current situation……!

On the street that he was passing over, there beneath his eyes was Futayo who was also fighting with a group of two which were assumed to be enemies and Naito together with Masazumi were moving to take cover in a nearby tea-house. Furthermore on top of the opposite rooftop where he and the “Number Seven” woman were leaping to was,

“The second person of those who had suddenly gone to punch me earlier…!”

“I am the “Unnecessary Number Three……!”

The one who was wearing a Far East uniform which had been remodeled into the appearance of a monk was a middle-aged demon type Elf.
[[Image:Horizon3A_0165.jpg|thumb]]
A large physique. His height which rivaled that of the giants was over four metes. However that body was only slightly bending the opposing rooftop of the house which he was using as a platform,

“Now…!”

At the same time the Demon Monk “Number Three” took a high leap which passed over the street he thrust out his right arm.

However there was a distance of about 10 meters between him and here. While “Number Three” had a large physique and a high jump it was not a distance that his fist could reach.

However “Number Three” twisted his reddish brown arm and let out a shout.

“Preach cannon!!”

The characters and tattoo which were engraved into his large arm changed arrangement and design with the twist of the arm. There in an instant a Homa steps type crest appeared as if to surround the arm. On the palm the fluid letters “Scold” were formed.

…Seriously!?

Neshinbara understood. The woman, “Number Seven”, who had extended her fan above in the sky had not positioned herself above the fan shield as a forecast of his attack.

It was in order not to receive aftershocks from this Monk’s attack.

The cannon was fired.

“Scold…!!”

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Due to the cannon blast the atmosphere spanning tens of meters was split with an explosion which could be called bright occurring.

In response to the expanding atmospheric wave the woman “Number Seven”,

“Did you get him!?”

Standing on top of the iron-ribbed fan she went as if stepping forward and completed an upside-down180 degree flip. However,

«That body fell in a straight line.>»

Her target was about to fall on his backside onto the second story thatched roof,

«Right before he impacted. He rolled up his body and regained his posture.»

«It was a rushed movement. However—.»

«He made it in time—.»

“Wow, how unfair! That’s cheating you aspiring author. You fell from your backside you know!?”

Towards the words of “Number Seven” who had closed her folding fan and landed two roofs to the side the prey yelled back.

“Won’t you please say that my hands are fast? In the first place why did you suddenly start attacking me?”

With those words the Demon monk who had descended next to “Number seven” yelled. He pointed to his target and,

“It is necessary to beat your immoral spirit back to normal!”

“What do you mean immoral?”

“What is that book that you are holding in your hand—!?”

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This? there Neshinbara raised the book he had bought from the bookstore and that he was still holding.

“It’s only an ordinary novel right? It’s a modern arrangement of the Tale of the Heike-Awakening version. There’s a bit of “The wildness of my right arm is truly terrifying” and “Melt, drain them my Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi” however the contents are exceedingly normal okay?”

“Normal? Is it normal for a light novel to have its characters have names with “Dark”, “Kill”, ”King” or “Rome” in them you fool!! While walking on the street reading something with special attack names such including “Prison”, “Temple” or “Impact” what is up with saying “Ah, there’s no nipple ticket this time”!? In the first place what is up with talking about nipple tickets something which is nothing more than an urban legend with such a self-satisfied expression!”

'''* Four-Eyes:''' 『……What? You’re still reading those type of　embarrassing stories? It couldn’t be that you are writing them as well right?』

“B-Be quiet, don’t interfere. Well, you see—”

Neshinbara indicated in the direction of the Demon Monk. While thinking that it was a pain,

“—I’m sorry that I really like things such as “Ogre Slayer” and the “Three Sacred Treasures"! However in any case you probably read things like “A famous work which was composed about the exclusive thoughts of teenagers” or “Why is it that I can’t reach an equal understanding of others I wonder” and then say shameless things like “We’re sensitive existences that damage each other” right!?You’ve created those sorts of poems haven’t you!?”

“Huh!? Is there anything wrong with that—?”

“T-there’s an embarrassing old guy who became really serious here!!”

There is nothing wrong with that! there the Demon Monk clenched his fist and yelled into the sky.

“In eternal short poems the maiden is stricken with love and goes near the mansion of a person whom is outside of her reach with a tear-stained face! Alas how fleeting! In one word what can you say!?”

“No matter how you think about it that’s a stalker.”

As soon as he said that the Preach cannon attack came.

“Wah!”

He hurriedly avoided it however the approaching fluid ordinance was not just one shot. Apart from the right arm cannon the left arm of the demon monk was twisted as if it were pulled and there as if entwining it a large rosary form fluid crest assembled. That was,

“……A rosary form fluid charger!?

“That you do not understand is because you are a slow general who lacks imagination…”

A series of scold shots came. That was also at an overwhelming density.

Falling back or going left or right wouldn’t make it. If it were possible,

«That body rode the wind and leaped.>»

He leaped straight up. In addition to that it was a great leap as if to send something flying. With that movement Neshinbara danced his body into the air, however,

“—The imagination of an aspiring author is only that?”

“Number Seven” came from an even greater height than here.

……Damm!

She had used the cannon blast at a distraction. Furthermore she had kicked the back of the Demon Monk and from his shadow leaped overhead. Overhead she was already prepared to use her iron-ribbed fan,

“I’ll take the first credit…”

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Futayo was conducting a battle with the enemy pair.

At her rear. Naito together with Masazumi had already retreated inside the teashop. That was a decision made due to that immediately flying away was dangerous since the enemy’s movements were clearly not those of a coincidental battle there was also the fear of snipers being arranged.

It anything was to happen they could always take off from the rear entrance, however everything was,

“Depending on my actions!”

The enemy was currently flying throughout the town.

They were not jumping. They were riding the wind, in the street, on rooftops and then freely moving through the sky.

It was the wind.

Thinking that they were going to charge they then instantly circled around to the rear of the teashop and completing several turns like that. There was no stagnation in their coming and going however occasionally they showed a shaking like bend the same as the wind.

That movement were not just horizontally; it was also from above and as if to gouge it oppositely came from below.

That’s why Futayo ran lengthwise and crosswise throughout the town.

The repairs to the half-broken Tonbokiri from her battle with Gin during the Armada battle were still not complete. The expansion and contraction went to the third stage; when it was fully expanded the length had become halved.

However tight turns were effective. In particular repetitive short jumps through the use of the expansion structure was possible,

“…!”

Futayo ran up the wall, ran swiftly around the roof, stepped on the eaves and jumped to higher roofs as well as to those on the far side of the street. The speed which could be said to be continuing momentum was due to using Tonbokiri as a balance stabilizer allowing for her to perpendicularly climb up walls and run horizontally.

As she desired.

Following the gusting enemy both sides were taking a roundabout path through the air. However the “Number One” man who attacked with a short sword and the “Number Two” woman were both aiming for her rear. That movement was,

……Not the actions of a swordsman.

The samurai type strike-forcer which had learned the arts of swordsmanship had a habit of enjoying attacking people head on. Swordsmanship in itself had crossing swords with the enemy from the front as a given.

However this opponent was different. Taking the initiative and aiming for the back was,

……A technique used for assassination.

In that case, these opponents were,

“Ninja!?”

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Futayo realized that there was no reply to her question.

All that was there was the fact that she was running on the top of a three story building chasing the enemy and that the “Number Two” woman who turned back this way formed a smile for a moment.

That smile was completely fixed on her face,

……They were coming……!

When Futayo had thought that, the smile of “Number Two” completely formed.

“Go you!”

The woman’s hand struck the back of “Number One”.

When she heard the thick noise which was more flesh than clothing the figure of “Number One” had vanished.

She understood that he was riding on the wind. It was something that had previously happened several times. However this time was different. Up until now the two of them had been moving together however,

……A pincer attack from the front and rear!?

A presence appeared from the rear as if to confirm that she was correct.

The rear was dangerous. “Number One” was attempting to circle around there. However,

“How about this?”

“Number Two” grasped a large number of knives from the bag that she was holding under her arm.

At the same time there was the presence that of “Number One” moving at her rear.

There the knives were thrown. They were not thrown to pierce the opponent. They were scattered, thrown on a trajectory to stop one’s movements. Even if she went to repel them, that the knives which were not aimed for here made it hard to read the trajectory.

As a judgment against the enemy in her front and rear and the group of knives,

“………e!”

Futayo took a turn from her pursuit. She leaped to the left at a right angle.

It was an action to slip away from the knives and to escape from the pincer. However,

……They continued to follow!?

“Number One” whose footsteps had circled around to her rear rotated his body once and appended his trajectory. That was almost as if he was aiming for a back-to-back situation.

It was a position in which she could not attack however “Number One” without any unnecessary movements went to stab her left flank with the short dagger he carried with a backhand grip in his right hand.

She could not move left. Consequently as an instant determination Futayo tucked Tonbokiri by her right flank and from the center instantly made it expand to the front and rear.

“Go!!”

『Understood—』

In the direction of the front and the rear. Towards the left rear “Number One” went the butt-end. The tip was shot towards “Number two” at the front right.

It was released.

In response a movement from the rear left occurred first. As “Number One” was very near he abandoned his short sword then made his lightened body spin and opened up some distance.

Accompanying those movements, which also raised loud footsteps, was a voice containing a smile.

“That was dangerous….!!”

However Futayo had a strange feeling towards “Number One” who had accurately taken a distance against the lengthened butt-end.

…What that just now!?

Futayo had an unusual feeling regarding the enemy.

No, this unusual feeling was not just from this moment but something she had felt from “Number One” for the past few moments. There was something different from him whom she had faced up till now and the current him.

However before she could recognize what that was, at the front right,

“…Ugh”

The tip of Tonbokiri pierced through the chest of “Number Two”

The actions of throwing the knives had created an opportunity.

As if to gouge through the right of her chest the point of Tonbokiri made a direct hit.

It ran her through.

At the same time the voice of “Number One” which contained a hint of surprise reached her.

“Number Two……!!”

She had certainly killed Number Two.

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“You bitch…!”

Futayo heard that voice of “Number One” from her rear.

In her hand the slightly hard however light reaction was coming from “Number Two”.

Then at the same moment that “Number Two” who had received the spear tip to her chest fell forward. The voice of “Number One” resonated as if to erase all noise. The sound of footsteps stepping on the roof echoed loudly from the rear,

“Damm you….”

He’s coming, there Futayo thought that. “Number Two” was dead. That’s why “Number One” was next.

To achieve that she either had to turn around, retract the butt-side and intercept him or enter an evasive movement. However,

……What was it?

Futayo felt a doubt about the strangle feeling towards “Number One” from before.

Something was odd. That thought changed into confirmation with every action that “Number One” took. There was a slight, however a clear difference, between him from the moment of contact up to now and the current him.

……It was odd!

She did not know what it was however there was something. It was dangerous to start a fight with “Number One” without knowing what that was. That’s why Futayo reached one conclusion,

“—I’ll face you at another opportunity”
Without turning around to “Number One”, who was at her rear, she leaped forward.

She ran away.

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Futayo as if to pierce through and blow away “Number Two” took a large leap to the front right.

In an instant she had opened up a distance with “Number One”.

Then stepping on the roof creaking as well as footsteps certainly rang out.

……This is—

Futayo realized the source of the strange feeling. However at that exact same timing something moved.

It was “Number Two”

She who had been pierced by the tip of the spear and stopped moving however suddenly said this.

“I’ve been exposed.”

She was not dead. The body of “Number Two” jumped up together with those words.

She was alive.

The movements of her body however did not stop there.

……What!?

That was not a person.

From the area which was pierced by Tonbokiri the woman changed the shape of the entirety of her body like swirling water and distorted herself,

“Oh!”

from something like a half destroyed bag, like spreading smoke and then like a spider trying a to catch its prey, she changed shape. However there still remained the overall indefinite form of a person,

“…Here I go…!”

The entire body of “Number Two” with movements almost like a massive hand expanding and encompassing attacked over here.

What was the identity of those movements? Futayo furrowed her brow and reached a conclusion.

“A Monster!”

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Futayo saw. From beyond “Number Two” who had changed into a wind monster and was trying to encircle her there was something that the tip of Tonbokiri was thrusting.

The thing that the tip of the white blade was thrusting was a single knife.

It was the same as those which were earlier scattered in this direction. She now understood the meaning for it being at the rear of “Number Two” .

……It was in order to provide a fake sense of reaction!

This woman was a class of monster which was related to the wind. It had no weight and blades had no effect. However the core of her power was to load things on herself and carrying them and she was likely primarily the assistant of “Number One”.

Now Futayo understood. That the cause of the previous strange feeling about “Number One” was the occurrence of footsteps. The footsteps which were not present at all since he had appeared suddenly came about after the two of them had separated to the front and rear. However in order to disguise the fact that woman who was made of the wind had no footsteps “Number One” had purposely created loud footsteps while moving.

Spreading out the knives was to create a false reaction and “Number One” yelling out at the time when the woman was stabbed by the tip of the spear was also in order to disguise that there was no piercing sound.

Creating the delusion that “Number Two” was dead then when she turned around to face “Number One”, “Number Two” would quietly attack from behind.

It was that kind of process.

However since Futayo had hesitated she was not caught. If you are hesitating then move forward,

……Yes, that was something that her father had taught her……

Futayo thought back to the past.

Often when Kazuno had approached her father with a scolding presence he had quickly retreated backwards.

That was that “I have no doubt! Since I have no doubt it is fine to fall back!”, however a serious faced Kazuno simply increased her speed so there was really not much meaning there.

Anyhow Futayo considered how to deal with the enemy.

The enemy was a wind like being, it had no vital point. Since stabbing with a blade did not work then the effect of Tonbokiri’s slicing ability would also probably be weak.

However with a blunder she was moving forward. That was a mistake.

……What have I done!

At this rate if she moved forward and was enveloped by the wind it was likely that she would be blown away. With the instantaneous speed of the enemy’s technique, with that momentum she would expect to be slammed into the ground or somewhere else

She wanted to avoid that.

“In that case”

Futayo moved her left hand around her back and waved it.
What she grasped with her fingers was the short dagger that “Number One” had just now released to lighten his body. Futayo grasped the blade of the dagger which seemed as it had fallen onto the roof which her fingers and while slightly shaving away her skin threw it at “Number Two”.

“Number Two”, the opponent that the heavy armor piercing dagger was flying at was the wind.

Blades have no effect on the wind. However there did exist a place where there was significance in attacking,

“The face!!”

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In Futayo’s vision the appearance of “Number Two” was constantly changing as if dissolving.

However she could see the modeling of the face. In that case,

……Whether it is a monster or whether it is something else, if it had a face then the sensory organs should be concentrated there!

The same as for the black algae and spirits. That’s why if she aimed at the face, even if it did not stab, the shadow of the blade would steal the opponent vision. Sure enough against Futayo’s thrown dagger,

“…!?”

A minor disturbance occurred in the movements of “Number Two”. It was just for a moment. However Futayo did not overlook that. She lowered her body, ran swiftly and swung her body to the side.

To avoid attack of the wind. She passed through the side.

However “Number One” pursued her from the rear. The footsteps were softer than before almost as if they were fading away.

The pursuing footsteps from the rear grabbed hold of a knife from the space of “Number Two”. It was the hidden knife that “Number Two” had used to create the artificial reaction when she was pierced by the tip of the spear.

That was the moment when Futayo heard the sound of “Number One” taking it in hand. Futayo took action.

“……!”

There Futayo judged that there was an opportunity.

At the moment when the knife was grabbed the top half of the body became exposed. That’s why when Futayo had spun half her body around she extended Tonbokiri,

“Go!”

She drove the tip of Tonbokiri into “Number One” who was between here and “Number Two”. That was what should have happened. What Futayo first saw in her gaze when she half-turned around was the afternoon sky and the thatched roof.

Neither “Number One nor “Number Two” was there.

All there was at her rear was something which had fallen like footsteps pursuing her on the roof. That was,

……Shoes!?

The thing she had heard as footsteps was the sound of shoes being taken off and dropped.

The enemy was not at her rear.

By the use of a body replacement technique they had disguised their location. Furthermore “Number One” together with “Number Two” was concealing his footsteps with the wind and moving to somewhere.

……That was a wonderful swift change of pace!

Then what was going to come was,

“—The rear!”
With the movement of her arm, without any confirmation, she swung and drove the tip of the spear to her rear. The response was,

“……Got it!!”

Piercing through someone, going through bone, there was also the limpness of flesh reactionary stiffening. Futayo, as if following the handle rotated her body, turned around and examined the tip.

She was mistaken. The object the that tip was piercing was not “Number One”,

“A tree branch!?”

The thin tree branch was bonded with a talisman and the spear was piercing through the center of that.

This time was a real body replacement technique.

……This is Ninjutsu!!

When she had thought that the wind came from behind.

Tonbokiri was still extended. Then the tip was stabbed into a talisman which contained the same weight of a person.

She had no method to attack. That is why Futayo,

“—“

She took action.

Futayo let go of Tonbokiri and fell backwards into the wind which was approaching from the rear.

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“!?”

Both “Number One” and “Number Two” were taken aback by Futayo’s abrupt movement.

After all the target had itself jumped towards here at the moment of attack.

“Number One” who had lost his timing gained a deep simile on his cheeks.

……Now you’ve done it!

Pursuing and attacking from behind was the core of a ninja. Consequently they were taken aback with the actions of the enemy who had fallen backwards towards them. He could not deny that he had the thought that the opponent was a Samurai.

Damm, there while he was smiling towards his chest,

“………e”

The black hair waved, it lightly danced.

Futayo’s back went as if to touch his chest.

At the moment when he thought they was going to contact as if they were embracing, “Number two” who was enveloping her suddenly moved. She blew here away to the side.

“Noo—”

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Futayo realized that the two at her rear had split to the left and right with the voice of “Number Two” that she did not understand the meaning of.

Immediately following that Futayo raised her right leg. She placed her leg on the grip of the Tonbokiri which was released into the air,

“Bind Tonbokiri!”

The branch at the tip split into two and scattered through the air. Then pulling her knee to her chest Tonbokiri flew horizontally with good momentum.

“…!”

Towards here who was stepping backwards “Number One” was trying to pass by the side of here stooped his body to pass under Tonbokiri and conversely “Number Two” joined with the wind and climber over Tonbokiri.

She saw the enemy.

Now was the time she perceived the enemy at the forward right and left. She had also determined the above and below positioning.

There was a chance of winning.

However Futayo saw it. The strong gaze that “Number One” and “Number Two” had displayed to her when they had passed by.

They still had some sort of plan left. It was that kind of gaze.

At that time Futayo obtained one involuntary reaction.

At the edge of her mouth the looseness of an arc was born.

……This is amazing.

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Futayo thought. That even though no matter how you look at it the inexperienced her was desperately evading and struggling the enemy conveyed that that was still going to continue with their gaze.

How admirable.

She had gained knowledge about ninjas from Kazuno and undertaken anti-shuriken training and the like however this was the first time she had dealt with them at this level in an actual battle. The earlier body replacement technique is something she had only seen in the anime “Underpopulated Ninja Tottori” and as she had thought the real technique was amazing.

If she was able to nullify all of the opponent’s attacks then would it be okay to say that she was at the same level as these people.

……No

The enemy’s attacks were something that had been created through years of training; she was just taking advantage of that.

She understood very well that between creating and using, the latter was overwhelmingly easy. In that case, ah, even if she were to win against these opponents she would she not be equal to them.

…That’s why it was interesting.

Futayo took Tonbokiri in her hand and after lowering and compressing her body she leaped backwards.

Into the sky which spanned above the street. There as expected the two enemies once again overlapped their bodies and pursued,

“—!”

A metallic sound loudly rang out.

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At the time when the sound of ringing metal echoed, there was something that Neshinbara firstly gained. That was the softness of the hand which was lightly pressing on his chest.

Following that what he saw with his eyes was slightly dark skin, a dark haired head with horns and then carrying at the waist and shoulder,

……A four bladed Demon woman!?

The female demon warrior leaped towards “Number Seven” while keeping her eyes closed.

Her clothing was a white Far East school uniform entwined with some decorative fabric.

The blades which were drawn on the trajectory of intersection were the two katana at her waist.

In an instant she drew what could be called a long sword; it was a katana for which the blade length alone was a meter and a half.

The two katana, which were raised overheard as if they were being extended, almost at the same time intercepted the iron-ribbed fan of “Number Seven” which was falling from the sky.

Sparks scattered.

“……Damm!”

Through the expanding movements of the intersecting two swords of the demon woman the iron-ribbed fan was blown away. Conversely “Number Seven” clicked her tongue in the sky,

“How troublesome—”

Those words did not continue. That was because in the air the woman demon who had reached the peak of her leap launched a second attack.

…Eh?

Neshinbara who was had been blown away by her observed her movements while landing on a faraway rooftop.

However he was unable to comprehend.

That was because the woman firstly released her hands from the upraised swords, which were raised up as if intersecting, then drew the two katana at her shoulder and then drove the previous two katana into the empty shoulder sheaths.

“You think you can get away, scum!”

While keeping her eyes closed the downward swing of the two katana easily shattered the fan-swords which were expanded into the sky as a shield.

“Ugh!”

The two Katana which were swung straight down cut off the left and right of the shield which was deployed as an arc. On the far side “Number Seven” who was in the trajectory of the katana raised her eyebrows and kicked the wreckage of the iron-ribbed fan towards the demon woman.

It would hit. Right before that the woman released her hands from her two katana. Almost as if spilling from her palms the katana revolved and fell in the empty sheaths at her waist and at that time the two katana from her shoulder were already being swung down.

The attack which entered a downward arc cut apart the kicked iron-ribbed fan and then towards the Demon Monk below,

“Well then. — Finally one down.”

……It was unreasonable!

Neshinbara opened his mouth and looked at the woman who had launched off the consecutive attacks. While wondering about why was it that all the other species of women who appeared in front of him were a bunch of Spartans.

However still while forming a silver arc using both katana and however while directing that power directly towards the enemy,

『—Wait!!』

There was something that arrived together with a voice from an audio device .

It was a God of War.

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The thing that suddenly appeared on the street at the rear of Neshinbara was a large amount of wind and the sound of metal parts colliding.

There standing in the center of the earth tremor and roar which accompanied the dust cloud was a single blue god of war.

It was a female model with a flying unit. The head had armor modeled after the face of a dog and at the tip of the single sword which was trusted out with the right arm,

“If the enemy of my enemy is my friend — then both of you would be my opponent however?”

The white clothed demon woman remained standing in a stance with all four of her blades sheathed.

However the god of war while still creating a haze from the flight unit stopped its movements.

Neshinbara knew this God of war. No,

……That demon woman as well. As well as those people who had attacked them.

The thought in his mind was that it couldn’t be however with this much arranged he was sure.

……These guys are—.

Before he could finish thinking a sign frame opened at the side of his head. The thing that Michizane hurriedly indicated was,

* '''Argente Loup:''' 『It is an emergency situation! Please check the sky surrounding IZUMO!』

The likely hurriedly created short words immediately had follow up words being created. That was,

* '''Argente Loup:''' 『The fleets of various countries are gathering as if to encircle IZUMO!』

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 06|Chapter 06]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 08|Chapter 08]]
}}
</noinclude>

Owari no Chronicle:Volume6 Chapter 18

2014-05-26T17:21:40Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 18: Future Circumstances */

==Chapter 18: Future Circumstances==
[[Image:OnC_v06_0179.png|thumb]]
''Do you call ambition for oneself the ego?

''Do you call ambition for others hope?

''Do you really need to think so strictly?

When Miyako awoke, her vision was filled with scarlet light.

Every part of her vision, from the center on out, was filled with the colors of orange and reddish yellow.

She noticed the state of her body a moment later. She was lying on her back and the leaves of the forest and the sky lay before her.

Even the layers of green leaves were dyed red.

…''It’s evening.

She looked around and saw a shadowy form. That shadowy form was a man she recognized.

“Hey, you idiot!”

She quickly rose up for two reasons. First, she was not actually lying on the ground. He was holding her. And second…

“You’re bleeding!”

She got up and turned around to find him sitting with his back to the earth that had crumbled from the cliff.

His blond hair was in disarray and dyed red by the light and something dark was flowing down his forehead. For an instant, she recalled her upperclassman in middle school who she hit in the head with a baseball, but she shook her head.

He was not bleeding as much as that incident.

A closer look showed his right arm was bent at a questionable angle. One of the two bones making up his forearm had to be broken.

“You idiot…”

She could tell he had protected her. She felt the pain of a scrape on the outside of her right calf, but it was a light injury compared to his. She could rub some spit on it and let it heal.

She looked around and saw no one else around. It had clearly been a fairly large landslide and the cliff had collapsed diagonally toward the inside of the concept space.

While atop the cliff, Apollo had said the concept weakened around the outer edge, but how strong was the concept here? They were farther from the outer edge than before.

She opened her mouth to call for someone, but something stopped her.

“There is no need to worry. I will heal before long,” said a quiet voice.

She turned around in surprise and breathed a sigh of relief that he was alive, but she spoke so as to hide her relief.

“Don’t try to protect me to show off, you idiot. You’re too weak for that.”

“And here I thought you might thank me.”

He wearily closed his eyes, but formed a smile with only his mouth.

That was the expression of his lies, so Miyako ignored it and took his right arm.

“It’ll hurt a bit, but bear with it. I’ll set it in place.”

“No need. It’s no use, so please stop. You’re being a nuisance.”

“Don’t be stupid. Is that anything to say to the person you just tried to save?”

“Are you any different, Miyako? You are complaining to the person who saved you.” He gave the mouth-only smile once more. “Why didn’t you leave? Now is your only chance. This base will soon prepare for battle and we will be unable to let you go. …I hear you are ‘job hunting’. In other words, you are being tested in order to join an organization.”

“That doesn’t matter. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“It does matter,” he insisted. “Miyako, you live in the world beyond that wall. You must leave those of us who live on this side of the wall. You should prioritize your own future over us.”

“Even if I still have things left to do here?”

“You mean naming the automatons? It makes no difference whether they have names or not.”

“Yes, it does!!” she roared back.

She was aware she was losing her cool, but it was too late.

She grabbed his collar and made him face her. As soon as he opened his narrow eyes, she stared into them.

“My name is Miyako. My father gave me that name so a great number of people would gather around me. You have the name of the sun god and you have that power, don’t you? Are you saying it’s meaningless to give those maids names and let them trust in their own strength!?”

“You truly trust in your name, don’t you?” His eyebrows lay flat and he looked her directly in the eye. “But my father was not like yours. He gave me my name, controlled what I did, and then left after forcing everything onto me. …And I can no longer live up to my name. 3rd-Gear’s sun was lost and there are no more people to wish for a king. Having a name includes things like that as well.”

Apollo spat out a short laugh.

“Go home, Miyako. Go home and tell your father you gave names and strength to a great number of people who gathered around you, but then a heartless man prevented you from doing anything more. That gives you enough of a reason to go crying to your father, doesn’t it? Return to that father who understands you, unlike mine.”

“My father died ten years ago! He left to save others and died!” said Miyako. “Do you even know what Christmas is, foreigner!? I got into a lot of trouble as a kid and I was always thinking that I should be honest with my dad at some point. I used that as an excuse to buy him a small bottle as a Christmas gift, since he loved alcohol. He laughed and we both promised never to drink too much. That was when he first told me why he gave me my name. He said he had work to do and we could discuss it more later, but that was the last I ever saw of him!”

Had he understood her or not?

...''I can never know what he thought of me.

She then realized they were more or less arguing over who had been the most unfortunate.

She did not like it, but she could not forgive someone who thought of themselves as unfortunate.

…''Even in similar circumstances, I never thought of myself as unfortunate.

After all…

“A lot happened after that. I’m not trying to whitewash the past, but there’s one thing I can never forget: the meaning of my name. And I’m trying to live up to that name! Even if my dad is gone and no one is expecting it of me, I won’t back down when it comes to my name!”

She punctuated her words with a headbutt and felt the impact.

It brought pain, but the man shook his head once and glared at her beyond that pain.

She heard him speak.

“You’re trying to live a life you aren’t ashamed of? You won’t back down? Don’t be naïve!”

An answering headbutt reached her.

The sound of impact rang through her head.

It had a decent ring to it.

''This bastard’s not half bad,'' she thought as she was knocked back and quickly recovered.

She started with a return hit.

“Urah!”

But the sound of impact was weak because he had kept his head from being knocked back.

They pressed their foreheads together, he grounded his teeth together, and he spoke some more.

“Leave, Miyako. If you are that insistent, then use your name to take on the world outside of here.”

“Yeah, I will leave and I will take on that world. But I’ll finish things here first.”

“What is there to finish here? Do you like being pampered by automatons that much?”

“I’ll overcome that pampering!”

She gave a point-blank headbutt and pushed him away with the movement of her head.

“The automatons started saying they were grateful for what I had done. I’ll go from being a guest and become someone who can do for them what they can’t! What’s wrong with that!?”

“That is for their master to do!”

“If you’d been doing it, I wouldn’t have been able to take your place!”

“Then are you trying to become their master!? Are you doing these things while setting aside the final human of 3rd-Gear and ignoring his decisions!? How will you take responsibility? The automatons would not have changed if you had left well enough alone, so how will you take responsibility for changing them!?”

His question was accompanied by a headbutt and it was quite effective.

She felt briefly dizzy and somewhat reevaluated him.

…''He’s got a decent amount of resolve.

There was more to a fight than having resolve, but that could be the deciding factor in some things. Without resolve, one could not gather the strength needed to withstand pain.

His question shook her resolve and filled himself with it. That synergy caused twice the damage.

His question of responsibility had likely been what he truly thought, so Miyako opened her mouth to speak.

To bring back her shaken resolve, she did not bother calculating anything out in her mind. If he was throwing his true thoughts her way, she would say what was on her mind as well.

“You don’t know what to do, do you? You lost your world, you lost your father, and now you don’t know what to do.”

''I’m tearing into him,'' she realized. ''But I’m also talking to my old self.

But these were her true thoughts. She did not hold back and she did not think about the consequences.

She went on to say something she should not have if she wanted to maintain an amicable relationship.

“I don’t care about taking responsibility. It doesn’t matter to me that your world was destroyed.” She raised her head. “But I know what I’d do if I were you. I’d eventually find a job in the outside world. I’d make sure of it. Once I desired that, I’d go to the place I desired, work there, become accepted there, make mistakes, complain, kick my boss, get punched by my boss, become friends with my boss, and all the while create something and earn money. And…”

“And?”

“I’d use that money to feed the automatons here.”

She faced forward and saw Apollo’s yellow eyes looking her way.

“The automatons do not need you in order to be fed. They are self-sufficient. In fact, they do not need to eat anything other than small amounts of fuel. And how would you feed all of the automatons here? Would you earn enough money to pay them all a wage?”

“Are you stupid? People don’t eat food. They eat satisfaction.”

She felt she was being naïve, but this was what she truly thought.

Strength filled her grip on his collar. ''This will work,'' she told herself before saying what she had wanted to say at the company interview.

“Money, food, things, social status, questions, answers, going somewhere, returning home, doing something, destroying something, being with someone, and leaving someone are all forms of the same sense of satisfaction!!” she said. “If serving people is what automatons do, then even a small amount of money will make a record of that service. Even adding on one more coin to the pile will make a noise they can store in their mechanical memory and the number of those stored noise will show the passage of time as they’ve served their master. Those memories will prove that it happened in the real world and not just in their heads.”

“And what will that accomplish? That is sentimentality and you are forcing it onto them.”

“What’s wrong with sentimentality? Even machines remember the past and they need some proof to feel pride in their work. If that kind of sentimentality is wrong, are you saying it’s wonderful to have no emotions at all, Apollo!? If you do nothing and avoid any emotions, you’ll never gain the pride you might lose and you won’t have any pain in your past! But isn’t it the lack of those things that led to the destruction of 3rd-Gear’s people and left only machines behind!?”

She laughed.

“The hopeless humans who had lost their emotions died off while the machines with the ability to gain those things survived. And where’s the god who made your world like that?”

“Well…”

“That god is no longer just in our minds. He’s in the sky above those machines who are growing flowers! When those flowers inevitably die, it will scar those dolls’ memories and I’ll tell them not to fear the fact that flowers die. Just as they let the flowers bloom to create their own pasts, the flowers created their pasts to leave behind seeds. The same satisfaction lies in both the dolls and the flowers. I’ll find my satisfaction in increasing 3rd-Gear’s sentimentality like that, so I’ll be perfectly happy ignoring you as you reject that satisfaction!”

She swung back her head and felt strength fill her entire body.

…''This will definitely work.

She gave one last comment as she swung her head toward his forehead.

“Just you watch! If you insist on being an emotionless master, I’ll become a sentimental master!”

Her shout was immediately answered by a voice from the cliff overhead.

“Is that true, Lady Miyako!?”

Moira 1st’s sudden voice was followed by a few dozen figures leaning out from the cliff.

Miyako froze in place when she heard the sounds of several people moving at once. She looked up at the cliff while still holding Apollo’s collar and pulling him toward her.

Moira 1st and the other maids were gathered below the scarlet sky. Moira 2nd was missing, but all those she had named were there.

Miyako looked at them while on her knees.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“We arrived to save you two, but Lord Apollo said he wished to speak with you first.

Hearing that, Miyako looked down and saw the young man’s shoulder’s shaking as he averted his gaze.

…''That son of a bitch.

“Were you faking when you looked unconscious before?’

“Yes, I suppose you could put it that way.”

“And…were you guiding my thoughts?”

“Such cruel suspicion, Miyako. I simply wanted to speak honestly with you.”

“Oh? That’s surprising.”

She nodded and some new dark emotion welled up from the bottom of her gut.

She opened her mouth to speak and only a simple verb escaped.

“Die.”

“Ha ha. No need to be so violent, Miyako. Women should speak with more lovely language than that.”

“Have a lovely death.”

“W-wait. Calm down, Miyako.”

“Death is an instant. Not even I can make it wait.”

“You are quite the poet.”

“Then do I need to write you an elegy? Viva the afterlife.”

As she spoke, Miyako realized something.

…''Huh?

She grabbed his right hand and looked at his supposedly broken right arm.

“What is it, Miyako? Is there something wrong with my arm?”

It was no longer broken.

She felt her back tremble, but not from fear or surprise. She did not understand the truth in her hand, so she gained a feeling of the unknown.

But as she remained speechless, Apollo pulled on her hand and lightly brushed off his arm.

“It seems to have healed. The people of 3rd-Gear have long lives, after all.”

“S-sure,” she agreed while thinking back.

According to Moira 1st, the people of 3rd-Gear had long lives, but their metabolisms were about the same as the people of Low-Gear.

…''So why did his arm heal so quickly?

The injury on his forehead was also gone. She touched her own forehead and found no blood on it. That meant his forehead injury had healed before the exchange of headbutts had begun.

…''What’s going on?

As she thought, Apollo stood up and the maids descended the cliff to meet him. The maids held their hands down, used their gravitational control to press and hold the crumbled cliff face in place, and jogged down.

Moira 1st took the lead and she looked back and forth between the two humans with a smile.

“We have now reconfirmed the two of you as our masters.”

“No, um. I was only…”

As soon as Miyako frantically spoke up, Apollo turned his back and his shoulders shook.

Once she realized he was laughing, Miyako felt her cheeks flush. She assumed no one could tell in the evening sun, so she turned toward Moira 1st, relaxed her shoulders, and had a single thought.

…''Well, that’s how it turned out.

“Fine then. I’ll help out where I can. A university student working to find a job in modern Japan only knows the ideal form of a corporation and I’ve heard people seeking a workplace to achieve their goals is the way out of a recession. Sorry I don’t have the experience to say anything that isn’t straight out of a textbook.”

She took a breath and spoke in response to Moira 1st’s deepening smile and the smiles of expectation behind her.

“Doing nothing is an acceptable choice too. It’s a whole lot better than actively making thing worse. Still, I want to do something with this world that’s being wasted.”

“Really, what is going on?”

A voice filled a small, oblong room.

The student dorm room contained a bunk bed and the lockers near the entrance were labelled “Center of the World – Sayama” and “Sensible One – Shinjou”.

The beginnings of night could be seen through the window across from the entrance and someone sat at the desk by the window. The short boy had a white bandanna around his head and he wore a black T-shirt and the pants of his school uniform.

He spoke to someone over a cell phone.

“How is Mikage-san doing? Oh, that’s her journal. She writes in it every day. Could you put her on for a moment?”

After a few seconds, he spoke toward the sounds coming from the phone.

“Mikage-san, you’re writing in your journal, aren’t you? I don’t think I’ll be able to read it today, but would it be okay if I read it tomorrow morning when we travel to Okayama with the others?”

After a short silence, he lowered his head a bit.

“I’m sorry. I should have been more reliable. Anyway, I’ll call again in the morning, but you can have Kazami-san call me if there are any problems. Don’t worry. She’s my upperclassman, so she holds a higher position than me and you can trust her. I promise she won’t do anything you don’t want. Can you put her back on?”

After more silence, he scratched at his head.

“Oh, yes. That’s right. I can somehow understand her even though she can’t speak. I just have an idea what she’s probably thinking. Sure, I’ll put Izumo-san on.”

Izumo appeared from the bottom bunk wearing a black track suit and raised a hand toward the boy by the window.

The boy tossed the cell phone and Izumo caught it

“What is it, Chisato? Are you lonely?” he asked sleepily. “Yeah, Hiba said something about understanding her even when she doesn’t speak. Making all those assumptions seems pretty dangerous to me.”

“I-Izumo-san! You’re ruining everything!”

“Hm? Don’t worry about it, Chisato. It’s just the complaints of a small fry. We can get across what we want to say without speaking too. Like when we’re in bed every night and- you’ll kill me if I say any more? You’ll shove me out of the helicopter tomorrow? Ha ha ha. No need to be shy.”

“That’s being shy?”

Hiba glared over from the window, but Izumo ignored him.

“Well, I hope you can enjoy your time with Mikage. It’s been a while since you’ve had a female roommate, hasn’t it?”

“Oh, can you pass something on to Kazami-san? Tell her not to help Mikage-san when she uses her cane to walk and not to help her even if she trips. And even if it’s easier to communicate in writing, tell her to avoid it if possible. It might take longer, but she can figure out what Mikage-san is saying from her limited pronunciation.”

“You sure are strict.”

“Mikage-san is the one that wants it.”

“Oh?” Izumo sounded impressed. “Did you hear that, Chisato? Of course, I hear it caused quite a commotion when you reserved the women’s bath for her. She’s pretty mature.”

For a while, Izumo simply nodded as he listened to the voice over the phone.

After a fair number of comments and about seven nods, he turned to Hiba.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“No,” answered Hiba.

Izumo passed it on, hung up, sighed, and placed the phone in the charger stand on the floor.

“Now then.”

Izumo faced Hiba and Hiba frowned.

“What is it? You look like you have something to say.”

“I was just thinking how strange it is that my grandfather, yours, and Sayama’s all knew each other.”

“It is a strange feeling. But…”

“But?”

Hiba scratched his head apologetically.

“I still have no intention of telling you about the second impurity. Sorry.”

“That’s fine, but did that battle this morning make you want to join us?”

Hiba gave a troubled smile and did not answer, so Izumo gave a quiet laugh.

“Hiba, what do you plan to do if the battle with 3rd-Gear ends?”

“That’s easy. That should mean Mikage-san can evolve once more, so I would leave Keravnos with all of you and live in peace.”

“Are you fighting for her evolution?”

“Yes,” he replied. “I think she isn’t evolving because we have to fight and because we don’t have the Concept Core. I just want to be with her and-…”

“Don’t say it all. You’ll spread the feeling too thin.”

“Perhaps, but do you have anything like that?”

“Yeah. I’m always thinking about…well, unspeakably dirty things I can do with Chisato and- What’s with that look? Is that not what you meant?”

“No, but I did gain a bit of respect for you. About 20%...no, 15%.”

Izumo nodded in satisfaction.

“But it doesn’t look like that’s all there is to it. Do you have another reason?”

“Yes. 3rd-Gear’s Typhon abducted someone the other night, remember? Well, I lost an older sister a long time ago. She went missing.”

“An older sister?”

“Yes. My grandfather took her in about ten years ago. It was about three months after Mikage-san arrived. He said he was making her his granddaughter.”

“What kind of girl was she?”

“Despite being a girl, she was an incredibly good swordfighter. I was no match for her at all. I tried so many times to get up close and grope her breasts, but I never managed it.”

“I see. If someone as agile as you couldn’t manage it, she must’ve been quite something.”

Hiba nodded, but clenched his right fist and gathered strength in it.

“I don’t know how it would turn out now. At the time, my father had died and I think my grandfather was planning to make her his successor, but she suddenly vanished about a year later.”

“Vanished? What was her name? I might be able to check on it with IAI’s intelligence network.”

“Her name was Miki. Do you know a Hiba Miki?”

“No.” Izumo scratched his head. “Sorry. But you think it might’ve been 3rd-Gear’s doing, don’t you?”

“We’ve covered more or less why I’m fighting, but what about you?”

“Because it’s fun. Why else?”

His immediate and casual response caused Hiba to stop moving.

After a few seconds of silence, Hiba frowned.

“Fun? People die in these battles.”

“I can’t help it if I find it fun and there’s no point in lying. I’ve given this a fair bit of thought even if I don’t have as much combat experience as you.” A bitter laugh leaked from his mouth. “I have divine protection from my mother, a place where I can go all out, my bonds with Chisato, my trust with my foolish underclassmen and comrades, and other things you wouldn’t believe if I said them aloud. And for the moment, I find all those things out there on the battlefield. With a normal life, I’d probably find them on a sports team or in a club, though.”

“Are you treating the concept battles like a sport?”

“The classroom and the workplace are their own kind of battlefield. Or do you think your battlefields are especially harsh compared to school or work?” Izumo looked straight at Hiba. “If so, you need to apologize to everyone staring out the school window or doodling in class. And you need to apologize to the people standing behind the register or riding a scooter around delivering pizzas. You can apologize by stripping naked, fully prostrating yourself on the ground, and having a photo shoot. And make sure to do it outside.”

“I-I don’t want to do that outside! Oh, but I don’t want to do it inside either.”

“I see. So you don’t like exhibitionism. Then remember this,” said Izumo. “You’ll find battlefields everywhere. No matter where you go, some people win, some lose, some succeed, and some fail. And people can leave or die in accidents anywhere. All I’m saying is that I want to enjoy it all if possible. In that way, there’s no such thing as a fun and peaceful life where you do nothing. If you want to find real peace…”

“Yes?”

“It’s when you sleep with the girl that means the world to you. Although you could say that’s its own kind of battle. So are you going to do nothing but sleep with Mikage?”

“That’s not possible… And you’re absolutely horrible. My respect for you rose to 30%, though.”

“Good, good.” Izumo nodded. “Anyway, I heard from Chisato that you’ve been taking baths with Mikage every day.”

“W-wait a minute! Someone needs to wipe down her body and help her when she can’t get up from the bath.”

Hiba frantically stood from his chair, but Izumo held out a hand to stop him while sitting on the bed.

“No need to panic. I’m not criticizing you. In fact, I heard that her body is still not fully made. Is that true?”

“Yes.” Hiba slowly sat back down and crossed both his legs and arms. “I couldn’t say it before because she was with us, but nothing related to being a girl has developed. I think it’s because her evolution stopped before she had any knowledge about that stuff.”

“Does she have the knowledge now?”

“Yes. An upperclassman in my club works part-time at Yokota, so I asked him to get me a foreign textbook. Mikage-san’s questions when she reads it are so unintentionally severe that you would have a hard time making me that embarrassed if you tried. She’ll lean up against me or suddenly take off her clothes to compare with the textbook. I’m just…how should I put it? I don’t know what to do!”

“Calm down, boy. To her, she’s just trying to learn. You need to restrain yourself. Although I suppose she isn’t equipped for it even if you couldn’t.”

Hiba narrowed his eyes at that and sank a bit in his chair.

“She sometimes asks if I would be happier if she were a proper girl.”

“What do you say?”

“I’m not telling.”

Hiba smiled bitterly and Izumo did too.

“Well, from what I can see, she’s a good girl. I thought she would be more reliant on you, but she’s actually doing what Chisato tells her.”

“She’s neutral about anyone I don’t view as an enemy. The only people she will smile at or let touch her without getting cautious are my mother, my grandparents, and me.”

“She smiles?”

“That was the first thing she learned with her evolution.”

“I see.”

Izumo nodded but did not ask further.

Hiba then seemed to realize something, looked around with a serious expression, and shrugged.

“Anyway, what’s the deal with Sayama-san and Shinjou-san?”

“What do you mean?” asked Izumo.

“There are rumors going around the school that they’re in a homosexual relationship,” he said quietly. “The Daily Rose Taka put out by the girls newspaper club is serializing a novel, the school-wide hard gay poll had Sayama-san at the top, and they were seen embracing each other this morning.” Hiba slapped his knee. “Oh, right. Kazami-san might know something. I hear she was at the school department store with Shinjou-san buying swimsuits. And both of them bought girl’s swimsuits.”

“Wait just a moment. I need to check on something.”

Hiba tilted his head as Izumo pulled out his cell phone.

“Hey, Chisato? Have we not told Hiba about Shinjou?”

As Hiba continued tilting his head, Izumo quietly said something into the phone and nodded a few times. Finally, he slowly returned the phone to its stand.

“…”

He sank back onto the edge of the bed, hung his head, and rested that head on his hand.

“D-did something happen?” asked Hiba.

“Well, it looks like we’ll be seeing a lot of each other for a while, so I should probably tell you.”

“Is it about Sayama-san and Shinjou-san?”

“Yeah.” Izumo nodded and faced Hiba with a serious expression. “Keep it a secret, but everything you’ve heard is true.”

“Really?”

Izumo said nothing and did not nod, but then he sighed.

“As your upperclassman, I order you to sleep on the top bunk tonight. I don’t want to catch the Sayama germs.”

“W-wouldn’t Shinjou-san’s bed be the same?” asked Hiba as he stood.

His foot caught on the chair and the chair’s wheels sent it sliding into the dresser to the side. The collision produced a dull noise.

“Oh, s-sorry. And this isn’t even my room.”

“I wouldn’t poke around over there. You might find some evidence.”

“P-please don’t scare me like that.”

Hiba moved to the dresser hidden behind the bed, so he left Izumo’s sight.

“It looks like something fell from the top of the…”

Hiba trailed off and the silence continued for several seconds.

After a few more seconds of nothing, Izumo tilted his head.

“Hey, Hiba. What’s the matter?’

“Um, Izumo-san?”

Hiba moved out from behind the bed holding something white. He spread out the white object between his hands.

“This fell from the top of the dresser.”

“Looks like girl’s underwear to me.”

“D-don’t act like it’s normal! Why is this here!?”

“Let me be blunt: with Sayama and Shinjou, it is normal.”

“Wait a minute! Have this schools morals completely crumbled!?”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Izumo as he stood up and slapped his own chest. “Well? Do you see how normal I am now?”

“I think you’re making an unfair comparison.”

“Don’t worry about that either. Anyway, at the Seto Inland Sea training camp tomorrow, I order you to share a tent with Sayama. Good luck. I know you can manage.”

“No, I can’t!!”

As soon as he shouted out with the girl’s underwear in his hand, the chime indicating lights out rang.

A hard sound broke through the stillness.

In the forest below the night sky was a clearing behind a lit factory.

The fifty meter clearing had been created by digging down into the ground and it contained two figures.

The two figures in the darkness were female.

They were both tall, they both had long black hair, and they both held wooden swords, but one was collapsed on the ground.

The one who had fallen to a sitting position was the younger of the two. The girl had sharp eyes, she wore a white denim shirt and jeans, and she clicked her tongue.

“You’re the same as always, Tatsumi.”

She glared up at her opponent. The girl named Tatsumi’s wooden sword was hanging down and not at the ready.

Tatsumi wore a yellow dress and a white cardigan and she had a smile on the eyes below her hair which was brushed to the side.

“If you can give me a look like that, you have the right attitude, Mikoku. You have to leave before long, right? If you’re catching the ten o’clock train to Yokohama, you need to leave here by eight.”

“Isn’t that a little early?”

“You’re going to Yokohama and you’ll be eating dinner there, right?”

Mikoku sighed, ignored Tatsumi’s subsequent complaint, and pointed toward the factory with her chin.

“I would love to visit Chinatown there, but Shino has prepared something for today.”

“Really? But she has her own work to do. …Alex, where is Shino?”

“Asleep. On top of me.”

The voice seemed to come from a megaphone, but it did not reach the surrounding area. It was a directional voice.

“I see,” replied Tatsumi as her shoulders lowered. “If Shino has prepared something, that may be better.”

“That would be best. I’m sure she has made much more than necessary.”

Mikoku began to stand up.

“…!”

But Tatsumi stepped up to her and swung her wooden sword at the younger girl’s ankle.

Mikoku evaded the high-speed attack by using her standing motion to jump straight up and she brought her wooden sword toward Tatsumi.

“!”

Tatsumi was already twisting her body upwards.

The sword swinging down responded to the twisting by jumping upwards.

A clear sound filled the air and Mikoku’s wooden sword broke in half. Pieces of cloth scattered from her shirt’s collar and wind struck her cheek.

She could do nothing while in midair and something struck her chest.

The hard and gently pointed object was the tip of Tatsumi’s wooden sword.

The wooden weapon was lightly pressed against her sternum and a smile gave a warning from the other end of the weapon.

“Open your mouth and breathe out.”

Before she could, something happened.

Strength slowly gathered in the tip of the sword. It was not enough strength to provide pain, but it accelerated over a series of instants.

“This will knock you away, so prepare to land!”

Exactly that happened while still providing no pain.

Tatsumi vanished from Mikoku’s vision and was replaced by the sky.

Mikoku did not know what had happened.

She finally realized she had rotated around, but then her back struck the grassy embankment making the edge of the clearing.

“…!”

She had known this would happen, so she was sprawled out and relaxed. The air in her lungs had vanished and her loosening muscles opened up her chest before she could try to breathe in.

She was able to take a normal breath of oxygen which steadied her vision.

''Where is Tatsumi?'' she thought.

The other girl’s location would tell her how far she had been thrown.

But that idea proved fruitless because Tatsumi stood to her right.

“You are absurd.”

“You should be able to do this much yourself.”

“…”

She did not think she could, but she did not feel like saying it now. They had argued countless times and she always lost.

As Mikoku remained silent, Tatsumi narrowed her eyes and held out a hand.

“I taught you a good bit in today’s lesson. Do you realize that?”

“Yes,” she agreed while reaching out her own hand.

Their hands touched.

“…”

An instant later, Mikoku heard her own footstep below her.

This was simply because Tatsumi had lifted her up in an instant. That footstep had been the sound of her standing.

Tatsumi stood before her like always and that made Mikoku gulp.

“Stick with it, okay? You haven’t been putting much effort into it lately.” Tatsumi narrowed her eyes. “You were not made Hajji’s bodyguard this time out of trust or obligation. Of course you weren’t. You understand, don’t you? You can use that technique too.”

“But I have never gotten a single attack on you during training.”

“You’re the type that shines during real battles.” Tatsumi shot down that excuse and tilted her head with a smile. “The trick is to carefully observe your opponent and use your strength to its fullest. If you observe them, you can see how to evade or block as much as possible, right? I prefer to block and knock them away, but you would likely do better evading and using their own movements to cut them down.”

Tatsumi made a small spiral movement with her outstretched hand.

That motion was the trick to scooping up one’s opponent’s strength and using it against them.

[[Image:OnC_v06_0211.png|thumb]]

Mikoku had never succeeded in using it.

…''I do best when simply using my full strength.

“I do not think I can fight like you, Tatsumi.”

“You don’t have to, but you’ll be in trouble if you can’t even keep Fafnir Custom’s cannon from hitting you. What if Hajji or Shino had been shot immediately afterwards?”

A gentle summer breeze washed over the concept space as Tatsumi spoke.

“Don’t worry, Mikoku. You can gain even more power than this and you will be able to master it for the sake of your world.”

“How can you know that?”

“Because that is what you wish for,” said Tatsumi. “Think about it. The more power people have or desire, the harder it is for them to fully utilize their power. I do not desire much power, but even I can reach this level.”

So…

“The fact that you still can’t fully utilize your power says you will grow to incredible heights.”

“You’re giving me too much credit. What I desire is a small thing.” She brushed aside Tatsumi’s hand, turned her back, and stepped up on the embankment. “I will wake Shino, eat dinner, and head to Kurashiki. Shino has her own mission to deal with.”

She heard a sigh from behind her.

“Are you worried about Shino?”

“Yes. Even if she will have Shiro with her, she is still-…”

“She’ll be fine. The problem is how worried you are, Mikoku,” said the voice behind her. “I’ve thought this for a while, and I think I should tell you now that you are taking on Army missions as an individual. Mikoku, what are you fighting for? Answer me like this is teen film.”

Mikoku could not answer Tatsumi’s question.

…''What am I fighting for?

She knew the answer, but it was no one else’s business. Not even Tatsumi’s.

She remained silent, stepped on the grassy embankment, and began walking away.

“You can’t do it like a teen film?”

“No,” she answered. “I can’t do it like a yakuza movie or a monster movie either.”

“Yeah, that probably wouldn’t work. Although doing it like last week’s Heidi vs. Mecha Onji could be good.”

“They never showed how the fight between Mach Peter and Giant Clara turned out, so I give that one a D. Anyway, if you have something to say, stop beating around the bush and say it.”

She turned around on the embankment and found Tatsumi had not moved.

As Tatsumi looked up from halfway up the embankment, the moonlight illuminated her quiet smile.

That expression was enough for Mikoku to draw back.

“If you want me to tell you, I will,” said Tatsumi while still smiling. “I believe I know what you are thinking concerning Shino. Once the coming battle with UCAT is over and this world is ours, you will leave everything to Shino and disappear.”

“…”

For a moment, Mikoku was unsure what to say.

…''How does she know that?

She forced herself to shrug in order to hide the surprise in her heart. She gave a mocking laugh and tried to deny Tatsumi’s allegation.

She opened her mouth, but Tatsumi spoke before she could.

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell Shino and she won’t be able to tell how desperate you are unless she crosses swords with you.”

“Wait, Tatsumi. Enough with the crazy delusions.”

“You wanted me to tell you, didn’t you? You have no right to stop me from speaking, so I will speak and you will listen to the end. If you have any complaints, then feel despair and do so with a loud sound effect.”

“Shobon!!”

“Alex, you be quiet. And no eavesdropping on a conversation between girls.”

“Shobon…”

Tatsumi sighed, but Mikoku brushed up her hair while feeling the impatience inside her.

Tatsumi was exactly right.

The Army would eventually clash with UCAT and the Army would use its power to take the leadership role of this world.

But Mikoku knew a certain fact.

…''Winning by force rarely ends well for you even if you manage to maintain control afterwards.

If the Army gained the rights to the world after their victory, Mikoku felt it would be best to leave those rights with the person who seemed the farthest removed from the Army’s power.

And as the one who used that power, she would have to distance herself from that person.

…''I need to distance myself from Shino.

But Tatsumi had also mentioned how she had realized this.

…''She realized I was desperate as we crossed swords?

“Tatsumi,” she called out. “Why is my being desperate related to Shino?”

The answer came immediately.

Tatsumi opened her mouth and spread her arms in the moonlight.

“That’s simple. Being desperate means you are willing to die, but why are you willing to die? Normally, people do not die for their own sake. That means it’s for someone else, and with you, who could it be but Shino?”

Tatsumi’s shoulders moved and she arrived before Mikoku’s eyes before the younger girl could prepare.

She could not even cry out in surprise before Tatsumi held a hand over her head.

The hand was clenched into a fist and pointed down.

“You idiot.”

A great noise burst from the space between the fist and head, pain shot from the top of her head to her butt, and all strength left her legs.

“…!!”

She held her head and crouched down while Tatsumi sighed and put her hands on her hips.

“Y’know,” said Tatsumi as if asking her to prepare for the coming words.

Mikoku looked up toward that swordsmanship teacher who had stopped smiling and gave a relaxed expression.

“Mikoku, you’re fighting for Shino’s sake,” came Tatsumi’s voice. “But if you die, it will be Shino’s fault. That’s what it means to fight for someone else’s sake. You are able to fight because they are there, but it will also mean you died because they were there. It means you would not have died if they had not been there.”

“…”

“It’s fortunate Shino has not realized what you are thinking. If she had, she would stop you from heading out to fight. She would tell you not to do that kind of thing for her. However, that would be more about escaping responsibility than about worrying for your safety.”

“Shino would never think about escaping responsibility!” reflexively shouted Mikoku. “She cares about others and she would never worry about her own responsibility!”

“That is why you can so easily blame your injuries on her. That isn’t fair, Mikoku.”

“…!”

“What’s with that look? Did I hit a sore spot? You can get mad if you want. Give a nice explosion of rage.”

Mikoku took action at that.

Her movement was sudden, but Tatsumi stepped back calmly as if she had predicted it.

However, Mikoku was able to see Tatsumi.

…''To the right!

She used her instincts more than her eyes to step on the embankment and send her right hand out in a jab.

An instant later, she felt something wrap around that hand.

Her hand had been grabbed.

“Kh.”

She could not move. Her wrist was held in place and her legs were stopped by pressure on her thigh.

However, her hand had made it through.

“Is this the first time one of your attacks has reached me?”

Mikoku turned toward that question and found the two of them facing each other halfway up the embankment. Tatsumi’s right hand had grabbed her hand and Tatsumi’s usual expressionless face lay beyond their hands.

“That anger brought your attack to me, so who was that anger for?”

Mikoku’s vision rotated.

By the time she realized she had been thrown, the moon had come into view. She felt the pale moon looked like a glowing jewel.

“…!”

When she struck the ground, she was no longer anywhere near the embankment. She was near the center of the clearing twenty meters away. The impact made her cough and Tatsumi’s voice reached her from the distance.

“You really can be stupid. Why did you let your guard down? Don’t forget to prepare to land and make it easier on your lungs.”

She did not have the composure to reply and she continued coughing as she got up and Tatsumi jogged to her side.

“C’mon, c’mon. Stand up and think. You have a decision to make. Will you yourself desire to fight or will place the blame on Shino? I will not say either one is right or wrong. If you choose to fight for yourself, you might selfishly head off to your own death,” said Tatsumi. “But Shino is doing her best to be accepted by all of you. She’s not doing it ''for'' you, though. She’s doing it for herself.”

“I…” she began until Tatsumi struck her head.

“You don’t need to give your answer now. Don’t be so hasty.” Tatsumi laughed. “Think about it for as long as you need. Whenever you fight, you will hurt your opponent, they will hurt you, someone important to you may be hurt, and yet you will survive. Whenever that happens, see if you are glad that you survived. See if you can selfishly be more glad that you survived than that you hurt your opponent.”

As Tatsumi spoke, she suddenly looked Mikoku in the eye and her expression crumbled into a smile.

“Don’t make me lecture you too much, okay? Shino is obedient, so lecturing her is boring. You on the other hand fight back, so lecturing you is a lot of fun.”

“That last half was nothing but forcing your own ideas on me.”

But after standing up, Mikoku asked a question.

“If I fight, will I eventually be able to speak on and on about nonsense like that?”

“Do you want to?”

“I have no one to tell it to,” she Mikoku. “And I think I need a partner like that if I am to find my reason to fight. I need someone who will not be shaken when I ask for the meaning of my actions and who will accept it all with a smile.”

“Am I not good enough?’

“Sorry, but you’re just someone I train with. The kind of partner I need in order to fight is an enemy. I need an enemy to take Shino’s place.”

As she spoke, Mikoku realized something.

…''Oh. I’m rejecting the idea of fighting for Shino’s sake. I really am simpleminded.

She had not verified it and Tatsumi may have been guiding her there on a whim, but she was trying to choose some unknown enemy over Shino who she had been with for so long.

…''But I don’t want to make Shino cry when I get hurt.

There had once been a certain dog and that dog had saved Shino at the cost of its own life.

Had that dog done so for Shino’s sake? If not, why had it done so?

…''Did it think doing that would satisfy it?

Or had it been a sudden thing with no real thought behind it?

Mikoku did not know and Shino likely did not either.

What Mikoku did know was that Shino had still not forgotten that dog, that she would leave flowers and water for the dog, and that she would embrace the dog when it was summoned with the power of her philosopher’s stone.

…''Would the same happen if I died?

Part of her hoped so, but another part knew it would be painful.

“Painful…”

She made up her mind.

“But if you make something abnormal a part of everyday life, is there no avoiding that pain?”

Mikoku gave a nod and the harshness vanished from her face. She turned to Tatsumi and found the usual narrowed-eye expression.

“Do you have an enemy, Tatsumi?”

“Yes, I do. And I fight to ask a question.”

“What question?”

“That is something only my enemy knows.”

Mikoku did not know what that meant, so she could only nod toward the other girl’s troubled smile.

“I see. I wonder if I have an enemy as well.”

“Don’t you? For example, there is the one with the surname Sayama on Team Leviathan.”

“I’m not so sure. That boy knows nothing. …Do you think he will become my enemy once he learns the true meaning of the Leviathan Road?”

And…

“Will I be able to find my reason to fight before that happens?”

She looked up toward the moon.

Looking at the cold light of that pale arc, she nodded.

“I need to head out on my mission to protect Hajji. If that results in a fight, I may learn something.”

She lowered her gaze and looked Tatsumi in the eye.

“But why did you bring this up all of a sudden?”

“That’s simple,” said Tatsumi. “I felt like it.”

<noinclude>
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| Back to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume6_Chapter_17|Chapter 17]]
| Return to [[Owari_no_Chronicle|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume6_Chapter_19|Chapter 19]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 39

2014-05-26T17:20:03Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 39: The One Left Behind in the Cage */

==Chapter 39: The One Left Behind in the Cage==
[[Image:Horizon2B_0231.png|thumb]]
''What if you parted ways

''Before even meeting?

'''Point Allocation (Confusion)

Neshinbara was turned to the side and leaning against the back of his chair. This was partially to turn his back to Shakespeare as she read her novel, but he had another reason as well.

…''They look familiar.

The wall was not directly behind him and there was a walkway for participants and storage space for items being carried out. He had a good view along the wall and he was currently focused on the break area a few booths away.

That area had chairs and tables, but most of the people were sitting on the floor.

Neshinbara noticed two in particular sitting with their backs to the wall.

One wore a sheet over his head and had tights on the legs sticking out. The other wore a hug pillow cover and tights. The sheet and pillow cover both had characters from the popular English divine television show “The Evil Fairy Teletubs” printed on them. The two of them had a pile of doujinshi in front of them and were loading them into wooden boxes to carry out.

“Nobu-tan! Nobu-tan! We hit the jackpot today and it feels great!!”

“It does, Koni-tan! England truly is wonderful! I love it!”

They were likely Musashi residents, but Neshinbara decided it would be best to ignore them.

…''Being considerate is tough for us normal people.

“Twisting your body like that is bad for your legs,” commented Shakespeare.

Thinking it would be too childish to ignore her, he fixed his posture and found her holding out something white with other colors. It was a round piece of bread with cooked vegetables and meat inside.

“Eat this. It doesn’t look like you brought anything. Was that because you planned to leave early as you assumed no one would come?”

It irritated him that she was exactly right. He had brought some snacks, but he had never seen anything like this offered bread and accepted it out of curiosity.

He noticed she held an identical bread and he held up his.

“What is this? Some kind of history recreation?”

“It’s a slight modification of the Roman offula. Try it.”

He took a bite and found it was still warm and had soy sauce in it.

“Isn’t this a pain to make?”

“Testament. Quite a few bread products are sold in the market, but if their existence is later discovered in the Testament descriptions, the already existing ones are used as an interpretation. That means we can prepare things in lots of ways without worrying. For authors like us, the experience of making them for ourselves is important research.”

“Thank you for that lecture from a professional. Are you hoping to use what I think as research?”

“I need you to describe the flavor. Do it directly with no comparisons.”

He chewed and noticed the texture of the mincemeat and the bean sprouts which were cooked with salt. As he relished the elasticity of the meat with his back teeth, he spoke.

“You don’t usually have salt with bread, but it’s interesting that you can manage it by adding in these ingredients. Bread already gives two different flavors with the inside and the cooked crust, and adding the ingredients allows you to enjoy both of those flavors.”

As he spoke, Shakespeare took notes with her sign frame’s keyboard.

“Thank you. I didn’t think you would answer.”

“Why not?”

“Anyone would think that after reading the interview from when your novel was published in that magazine.”

''Oops,'' thought Neshinbara. ''I gave my opponent a foothold to attack from.

But he also realized how petty he was for being unable to ignore her.

“I was so excited then that I couldn’t see anything around me.”

“I thought as much. You wouldn’t be able to say what you did otherwise.”

She then said the words he found so embarrassing he wanted to die.

“ ‘I am the type of person who could not work in any other profession, and I think I received this honor because I am someone who can only become an author.’ ”

She took a breath.

“Well said.”

He wanted to gather his things and run away, but Shakespeare took a bite of her offula and spoke.

“When you maintain a road in a public works job, you feel you have created a piece of the nation. When you add numbers to a register in an office job, you imagine some grand industry lies beyond those numbers. When you farm, you hold pride in the fact that you are supporting the nation and its people. In truth, someone who can become an author is the type who can feel sentiment for any profession. Of course, athletic abilities and personality compatibility come into play as well.”

Neshinbara understood what she was trying to say, so he spoke up for her.

“Are you saying I was wrong when I said I couldn’t work as anything but an author? Are you saying I simply wasn’t looking at any option except that?”

“That is true but not what I am getting at,” stated Shakespeare. “You said two interesting things. The first is what you just mentioned. The other…”

He had a guess.

“ ‘I am someone who can only become an author.’ Is that it?”

“That was quite interesting,” she said. “Most people – myself included – are ''trying to become'' an author or are ''trying to remain ''an author, but you were saying that you had been born as someone who would definitely become an author, weren’t you?”

Realizing what she meant, he felt his body temperature sink.

He heard a shuddering sound form his blood vessels as Shakespeare continued speaking quietly.

“I still do not think I have become an author. I still don’t know what I can do to equal William Shakespeare whose name I inherited or how much I must accomplish to…” She took a bite. “How much I must accomplish to overcome the bonds of this name and name myself an author under my own name of Thomas. But you were the type who would definitely become an author.”

“I’d say you’ve done more than enough to be called an author.”

“To you, is ‘author’ nothing more than a term to write down as your occupation because it is ''something you will naturally become because of who you are''? If so…”

If so…

“Is that why you quit writing just because of a few insults? Was it of little value to you because you ''became one'' so easily?”

She still did not turn toward him and took a breath after eating half of her bread.

“You haven’t changed.”

“You…”

Just as Neshinbara began to protest, Shakespeare asked a question.

“Who do you think I am?”

“…”

“A good question, isn’t it?” she said as he took a bite of offula.

Just as he noticed the mincemeat tasted like salt, her voice suddenly rang out once more.

“That girl died.”

“Which one?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know which one I am.”

That left Neshinbara speechless and she did not stop there.

“After we parted ways, you went to Hexagone Française and we went to England. …She wasn’t doing well back then.”

He had a feeling he did not want to hear this, but he also had a feeling she would stop and never again tell him if he told her to stop. He instead remained perfectly silent.

“On the ship to England, she said she couldn’t go with me any longer.”

Why was that?

“The three of us had said we wanted to write books and see our books in a bookstore.”

Shakespeare lowered her head and filled her mouth with offula. She cleaned her thumb with her tongue, wiped her hand with the edge of her white coat, and slowly stood up.

“That girl might have become an author.”

As she quickly gathered her things, no strings of letters were coming from her hair.

…''Has the theatre space ended?

That fact made him worry about his classmates’ safety, but he could not do anything because of Macbeth on his right arm and the cast on his left leg.

She grunted as she put on her backpack and lifted her paper bag.

Neshinbara watched her prepare to leave, but she asked another question.

“Does the current bearer of the name Thomas resemble that girl?”

It was only then that he realized what she was looking at. He averted his gaze and heard her speak as if from overhead.

“So you don’t know which one I am. It is true we were very much alike aside from our personalities.”

So…

“If you ever realize the answer, will you tell me?”

“If I realize that, will you forgive me?”

“No,” she said with her back turned. She had circled to the side of the table and continued toward the canyon formed between lines of people. “If you realize that, it will make that girl happy.”

Tenzou and Scarred stepped outside in the afternoon sun.

Scarred was a step ahead to his right.

He had not spoken with her since learning of the Princess Disappearance of Chancellor Henry VIII in the Tower of London’s southeastern tower, but a certain thought was on his mind.

…''Who is she?

Upon leaving Chancellor Henry VIII’s study, she had placed the key in her pocket. That meant she was someone close to Chancellor Henry VIII, but who?

…''Fairy Queen Elizabeth?

But that could not be it. Unless she held a position similar to Toori’s Mr. Impossible, her time would be too filled with official business to spend it on anything like this.

…''Mary-sama?

That did not make sense either. Double Bloody Mary was imprisoned in the southwestern tower, she occasionally made an appearance for the people of London, and that had continued while he had been with Scarred.

…''Then who is she?

Was she a maid or some other relative?

As he thought, Scarred walked around the Tower of London’s moat and toward Oxford.

A blockade preventing access to the first level was still in place before the stairway to Oxford. The crowd was thick and the people still seemed intent on making their way up. People walked by and Tenzou passed by a few children and adults.

“Scarred-dono, that area is still-…”

As he tried to slow down, she continued on ahead.

Who was she? For that and many other reasons, he wanted to see more of her and so he tried to line up beside her and then move out ahead of her.

However…

“…”

She noticed what he was doing and took a half-step lead.

He filled that half-step gap, but she took the lead again.

…''This is Zeno’s paradox!

Tenzou recalled that Zeno was a Greek philosopher. He had been gay, but he had put together a method of dialectics using questions and answers. One of his playful demonstrations was known as the Paradox of Achilles and the Tortoise. It created an impossible paradox where swift Achilles attempted to catch up to a tortoise but ''could never do so'' because the tortoise was constantly moving forward.

…''But that also describes the current situation between Scarred-dono and me.

For the history recreation, someone recruited to be Achilles had tried to catch up to the tortoise and Zeno had charged in from the side to physically stop Achilles and keep him from catching up. At the time, Zeno had begun his question and answer method by asking “Does it hurt? Well? Does it hurt?” and Achilles had tapped out. That had been the world’s first demonstration on the effect of the Achilles lock.

As it was only a history recreation, some had wondered if it was going too far to force a paradox to work, but it had been ultimately deemed “close enough”.

That paradox was also used in movement spells, but Tenzou compared it to the distance between Scarred and himself and he realized a certain fact. They were almost competing over whether he could fill the gap, but he was enjoying himself.

“Scarred-dono.”

He spoke up to ask if she was enjoying it as well, but she immediately replied.

“Master Tenzou, how about we play a game?”

“A…game?”

Thanks to living with his horrible class, he had nothing but bad memories concerning that word.

…''N-no. She isn’t like them.

Despite that thought, his long years of experience made him afraid to ask further.

“What kind of game?”

“Judge. If I see your face, I win. How about that?”

''Oh, but that would be impossible,'' he immediately concluded.

That was only natural for a ninja.

…''Revealing our face is the same as dying.

Just as he tried to tell her that, a shadow passed over him, he heard a voice, and a noise filled the air.

The top of the Tower of London’s northwestern tower was suddenly smashed to pieces.

“…!?”

Stone and wooden fragments fell from the sky and to the side of the moat.

Tenzou made up his mind in an instant.

…''I’m worried about Scarred-dono, but she can use spells!

“Scarred-dono!”

He was certain saying that would be enough, so he began to move. He was near the moat. The falling stone and wood fragments would likely fall in the moat, but that was not all that mattered.

…''The children!

Even if they were not hit, the fact that no one had protected them would carve fear into their hearts.

Crying in fear and crying in relief over being protected were greatly different things, so he ran in front of the three children and tried to hide the danger from their view.

“…!!”

The rubble ultimately fell in the moat behind him. He heard several sounds of the water splashing and being struck, but nothing hit him as he carried all three children forward a few steps. Their eyes were wide with surprise, but they did not know what had happened and showed no sign of crying.

…''I made it in time.

After the final sound from the moat, he lowered the children to the ground.

“That was a close one,” he said cheerfully.

The children nodded as they gradually grasped the situation. Men and women who were likely the children’s parents rushed from the crowd in front of the stairway to the first level, but Tenzou merely raised a hand toward the children and moved away. Not standing out was crucial for a ninja.

…''Okay. Um…Where is Scarred-dono?

The commotion had caused confusion in the surrounding people, so he looked around trying to find her.

“Scarred-dono!”

“I’m over here!”

He saw her white shirt beyond the crowd and under the arcade opposite the moat. Her hand was raised and she seemed to have moved away from the commotion.

…''?

The fact that she had avoided the danger seemed strange, but he was not entirely sure why and mentally tilted his head.

…''Well, no one was hurt, so it doesn’t matter.

He moved past the people moving about in confusion, faced Scarred, and prepared to ask her if she was hurt.

“I’m glad nothing happened,” she said while suddenly moving up to him.

She lightly embraced him as if clinging to him.

Tenzou realized he had stopped moving.

The reason for this was simple. His life had contained very few opportunities to touch the creature known as the opposite sex, but one of those stood directly in front of him and was taking an action he had even less experience with.

She was leaning against him.

…''H-how indecent! More! More!

His outer facade and true thoughts mixed together, but when he tried to speak aloud, nothing came out.

“…!?”

All he knew was that heat was rapidly gathering in his face and he was sweating all over.

…''Wh-wh-what is going on!?”

Even as he asked himself that, he had yet to figure out what had seemed so strange since a moment ago.

“…!?”

He reflexively grabbed her shoulders and peeled her from him.

Not only that, he lightly shoved her forward and moved back a few steps.

With some distance between them, he lowered his hips a bit and saw Scarred’s confused face before him. The lowered ends of the eyebrows and the tilted head formed an expression he would call pity.

However, he ignored that expression and his entire body grew cold.

He finally noticed that her hair lacked the white water lily.

Realizing what that meant, the remnants of the heat and sweat completely vanished. All that remained was a faint chill on his spine and tension in his side.

…''This is dangerous.

“Who are you?” he asked Scarred.

Scarred once more tilted her head when Tenzou asked for her identity.

“What is it?” she asked while raising her right hand to stop him and taking a step forward.

“…”

But he took a step back and turned his body to the side. He held his left elbow forward to use in defense while his right hand reached for the short sword on the back of his waist.

“Who are you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s me. It’s Scarred.”

“No, it isn’t.”

There was something else he could point out beyond the water lily.

“Scarred-dono is not the type to prioritize her own safety and move away from danger.”

“But you called out to me, telling me to fall back.”

“No, I didn’t.”

His doubt had solidified to certainty and his right hand wrapped around the short sword’s hilt.

“I called Scarred-dono’s name to have her take up a position to aid anyone I could not. Most likely, she is currently helping someone beyond that crowd.”

He took in a breath.

“Who are you?”

Scarred brought a hand to her cheek, lowered the ends of her eyebrows, hung her head, and frowned, but she stopped moving.

“So you saw through it.”

Tenzou watched as she raised her head.

She peeled off the scar on her face with a finger and revealed a face that look much like Scarred’s. However, the lack of scars on this similar-yet-different person confirmed the danger for Tenzou.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter if you saw through it. She only needs to understand.”

As she walked, her hand slowly reached for his throat.

She did not move quickly, but Tenzou realized something.

…''I can’t move!?

His mind was resisting, but his body would not move.

…''No, is it obeying the air and the earth!?

The air settled like a solid, the wind wrapped around him, and the earth grabbed at the bottom of his feet and refused to let go. He tried to pull his arms and body away, but his clothes and the air around them were as hard as armor and would not let him pull or push.

As he inhaled, he felt as if his body were being controlled by his windpipe, so he stopped breathing.

…''This is…

The technique controlled the ether making up the space.

…''A spirit spell!!

Spirits could be said to be ether itself. At a certain level of density, they gained wills of their own and could even communicate with humans. Spirits spells were primitive spells used to communicate one’s intentions to them.

The most important aspect of spirits spells was having an affinity with the spirits in question.

…''But the spirits read her intentions from nothing more than the movement of her hand and they obeyed her!

This was not normal. It was rare even among veteran spirit spell masters to control multiple types of spirits at once, but this girl had simultaneously used wind, earth, and air spirits without speaking a word.

Who would be able to do something like that? Before he could find an answer, her hand reached further toward him.

“I will take away the key to her decision”

She grabbed his throat.

“…!”

But an instant later, her hand was pulled away.

At the same time, a warmth akin to listlessness filled his body and he regained his freedom to move.

The girl was looking at him after taking a few steps back. Her eyebrows had risen slightly, but the corners of her mouth rose and she was clearly trying to agitate him.

Before he could realize why she had moved away, she opened her mouth to speak.

“Why so serious?”

She glanced over his right shoulder, stepped further back, turned around, and started toward Oxford. Meanwhile, Tenzou looked to the right and found why the girl who resembled Scarred had ended her attack.

“Scarred-dono.”

She and the white flower were there.

Her eyebrows were raised, her lips were pursed, and she was staring intently at the other version of herself.

Tenzou noticed a few tears in the corners of her eyes and that her shoulders were rising and falling a bit.

No, it was not just her shoulders. Her breathing itself was trembling.

…''Is she afraid?

He understood what scared her without having to say it.

That girl who resembled her stood before the stairway to Oxford.

She turned her back to the people trying to reach Oxford, folded her arms toward Tenzou and Scarred, and gave a small smile.

“I suppose I should say it now: long time, my friend…no, my sister. Isn’t that right, Double Bloody Mary?”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 38|Chapter 38]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2B Chapter 40|Chapter 40]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 09

2014-05-26T17:17:46Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 9: Instigators in the Dining Hall */

==Chapter 9: Instigators in the Dining Hall==

[[Image:Horizon3A_0215.jpg|thumb]]
''When one feels needlessly nervous

''It is not needless

'''Point Allocation (Feeding)

“So in the end Seijun went to the meeting with Naruze?”

Musashi’s chancellor’s voice rang through the outer edge of Tama. The landing zone there was primarily used for diplomatic ships.

A dining area with a nice view was located there. That area was lit by the lights of the landing zone, but the lights of IZUMO’s city were visible not far away.

Mitotsudaira sat at one table which was set up for yakiniku.

…''The chancellor is across from me, Naito is next to him, and…

For some reason, Horizon was next to Mitotsudaira. After glancing at the chancellor who was looking toward IZUMO, she turned toward Horizon.

“I may have only been invited by the chancellor after finishing bringing in some cargo, but shouldn't you sit next to the chancellor, Horizon?”

Horizon looked toward her and tilted her head. She also tied a paper apron around her neck.

“To more easily hit him? I see. That is indeed an excellent suggestion.”

The chancellor lost his nerve and lay his head down on the table which contained a grill.

At the same time, large amounts of various meats arrived and Horizon began casually placing the plates on the chancellor.

''Eh?'' thought Mitotsudaira, but five or six plates had already been placed on the idiot.

His reaction came later.

“Nwah!? Ah, wait, wait, wait! This is really, really, really heavy! What is this!? Is it love!? This is a heavy kind of love! This is what you call the desires of the flesh, isn't it!?”

“This is nothing but animal flesh meant to be eaten, but it must be nice having such an active imagination.”

The idiot lost his nerve even further and went limp, but Horizon finished balancing all of the plates on top of him.

Mitotsudaira looked over as the idiot shouted things like “Nwoooohh!”, but she was unsure what to say.

…''Th-this conversation is too fast for me to keep up!

While Mitotsudaira truly wondered what to do, Naito calmly grabbed some meat from a plate on top of the chancellor and placed it on the grill. Once she finished cooking the meat, she tossed it onto Mitotsudaira’s plate.

“C’mon, don’t worry about the others. Start cooking and eating. You need both quality and quantity, right?” She grinned. “Let’s get eating.”

Naito’s comment got Mitotsudaira thinking.

…''What should I do right now?

She had thought about a lot today. In fact, she had thought about a lot over the past few days.

She had thought about her own skill, about Mary, about the meaning of being a knight, and more.

…''But if I make the others worry, it’s all worthless.

“You are right. Judge. Let’s eat.”

“Judge,” added Horizon with a nod. She turned toward Mitotsudaira. “But at that time, they could never have guessed what would happen afterwards.”

“Wh-what!? What is going to happen!?”

“I do not know. I simply felt I needed to make things more exciting as we are eating.”

“Um… I think we are supposed to get excited because we enjoy the food.”

Hearing that, Horizon began cooking and eating the meat with Naito. She then spoke expressionlessly.

“Wow, this is so delicious, Naito-sama.”

“Yes, it is. Wow. Delicious.”

“…Is that what you mean, Mitotsudaira-sama?”

…''Wh-what is with her!?

Mitotsudaira was bad at ad-libbing, but she could tell the other customers were looking at them and whispering.

“Doesn't it look like Musashi’s princess has taken a liking to the silver wolf?”

“And I thought Nate-sama was more into Masazumi-sama.”

“The relationship between ruler and knight sure is nice.”

…''Eh!? What!? Is this really acceptable!? Or has everyone on Musashi been corrupted!?

'''Mal-ga:''' “Oh, damn. And there’s probably a lot of material there.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “That is not the issue here! Also, who is leaking our information!?”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Eh? Don’t be rude. I’m not leaking it. I’m just sharing it.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Y-you are the worst! The absolute worst!”

'''Vice President:''' “You people never give it a rest, do you?”

Mitotsudaira wanted to shout back “I really wish we would!”, but she remembered Masazumi was in a meeting. Instead, she sighed and pulled her personal chopsticks from her pocket.

Next to her, Horizon gestured toward the pile of plates on the chancellor and nodded.

“Now, eat as much as you want. It is all meat, but I suppose you prefer that.”

“No. It’s not like all I eat is meat.”

“Eh!?”

All the other customers stood up from their seats. She expected to hear cries of protest, but instead they all muttered blankly.

“You’re kidding…”

It turned out that this way of saying it was much more painful, so she spoke up as if trying to shake off the damage.

“Wh-what is with all of you? I do not live entirely off of meat. I enjoy wine with my meals and, as I mentioned this afternoon, I eat dairy-…”

Horizon pulled out a large pitcher of wine and a large pitcher of cream, and placed them on the backs of the idiot’s hands.

“No, wait. Stop crucifying me like a saint!”

“Mitotsudaira-sama, do not worry about it. Please continue. But if you insist on being shy, you can have these which I have brought out early.”

“No, um, I’m pretty sure drinking all that at once would make me sick!”

“Do not worry. To cleanse your palate, I have prepared some meat.”

“No, uh… Some vegetables are fine on occasion… I am a girl, after all.”

“Not a problem.”

Horizon used her chopsticks to point toward the plates on top of the idiot. She first indicated that the types of meat were divided by plate.

“Now, listen. Beef is meat and pork is fat, but lamb is a vegetable. After all, sheep eat grass.”

“W-wait! C-cows and pigs eat grass too!”

They are no match for the vegetables known as sheep. Oh, and poultry is egg. Because they lay eggs.”

Mitotsudaira suddenly felt a bit dizzy.

''Ahh, if only that were true. I could eat nothing but meat every day,'' she thought. ''No, but if that were the case, the low rate of productivity would undoubtedly lead to mankind’s destruction. Return to reality, Nate Mitotsudaira. The princess is still ignorant of the world.

But Horizon sighed and shrugged.

“Oh, dear. I cannot believe a meater like you does not know that.”

“Ehhhhh!? I-I’m wrong!?”

Just as she decided to correct Horizon, the entrance grew noisy.

''Eh?'' she wondered as a number of people walked in.

Asama and Adele were in the lead, carrying a metal plate given Shinto divine protection. They were followed by Suzu, Tenzou, Mary, and the Tachibana couple.

Asama looked around, and then…

“Oh, there you are.”

Mitotsudaira sat up a bit and looked toward these friends who had just arrived.

“Are all of you eating dinner here, too?”

“Yes.” Asama nodded and turned toward IZUMO. “With everything growing so busy in the sky, this is probably our last chance to have a meal while looking out on this scenery. And Masazumi and Naruze are over there, so we need to be able to head out right away if something happens.”

“Judge. That is true.”

''Good. Everyone is giving this proper thought,'' inwardly sighed Mitotsudaira.

And then her gaze met Mary’s.

“…Ah.”

Before she could figure out what to do, Mary smiled and lowered her head, so she frantically nodded back.

…''Honestly.

While she was still unsure how to handle the situation, the others sat down around them. The way everyone took up positions around the table without a word caused her shoulders to lower in relief.

…''Everyone considers eating together to be an enjoyable activity.

They all turned toward her and nodded lightly.

“Thanks,” they said.

“Wh-why does that give me such a bad feeling!?”

“Huh? But Toori-kun said you were treating everyone to a meal.”

She slowly turned toward the idiot in front of her.

…''Calm down. Calm down, Nate Mitotsudaira. As a knight, there would be no greater disgrace than killing your king. …Do not entertain thoughts about doing it “just once”. On the other hand, doing it 0.5 times might be okay.

“Chancellor? Um… Do you have anything to say concerning everyone’s comments?”

“Oh c’mon, Nate. You’re thinking that I set you up, aren’t you!? You need to think more positively! This is a test!!”

“That is effectively the exact same thing!!”

“Judge, judge.” Horizon nodded and added a few pitchers on top of the idiot’s head. “Toori-sama, how about you say that while looking Mitotsudaira-sama in the eye?”

“Wait a minute! From the weight, I think you just put three on there. Is it just me, or is my skull creaking?”

“You can probably manage about two more,” commented Naito as she munched on a chicken skewer.

Mitotsudaira felt a bit like she was witnessing cannibalism, but then the people around her began mercilessly ordering plates.

“No. Wait, everyone.”

Everyone tilted their heads, but Mary alone tugged worriedly on Tenzou’s sleeve.

“Um, Master Tenzou? Are you sure this was not a misunderstanding on our part?”

…''Wh-what a refreshing reaction!

Mitotsudaira was truly surprised. Hoping for a similar reaction, she turned toward the Tachibana couple.

“Yes, waiter? We would like three of these and two of these. Oh, and we will order more later. Yes, with barley in the rice. Spoons? No, no. Chopsticks are fine, thank you.”

This comparison taught Mitotsudaira that it was an issue of personality and not one’s origin.

…''I need to remember that. It will help me give up more quickly.

At any rate, the way Mary tugged on Tenzou’s sleeve bothered her.

…''Honestly.

“Do not worry. I will pay for today.”

Mary looked over in surprise and Tenzou held her hand.

“Listen, Mary-dono. Mitotsudaira-dono is from a Demi Loup-Garou family, but for a variety of reasons is now second in line to ruling the Far East. And she is also the representative of Mushashi’s knights.”

''Right, right.'' Mitotsudaira nodded inwardly. ''An excellent description. Well, if you overlook the fact that even the league of knights is ignoring me.

“But some gear fell out of place somewhere and now she is a natto master on a level that influences the Far East’s natto market. Some parts of the world, especially west of Kansai, say they have no tradition of soy to prevent her from encroaching on them as well. It is truly what you call a sticky situation. Oh, and this will be on the test. Anyway, after she gains so much money from selling natto, Mitotsudaira-dono wants to return that money to the people, so she donates it by paying for us to eat meat.”

Correcting each and every untruth would have been a pain, so she thought about dealing with it all at once. Also, Mary was nodding in understanding, so she thought about stopping that right away.

Meanwhile, Horizon spoke while sticking skewers in the chancellor’s ears.

“Are you really okay with paying, Mitotsudaira-sama?”

At this point, there was nothing she could do about it. She would simply have to take time later to lecture the plate holder in front of her.

“I think I will deal with this via Heidi. She let me eat for free on that English beach, so I intend to pay her back double. And it will be cheaper if I buy directly from her Marubeya.”

“I see. …Oh, the vegetables are done cooking, Mitotsudaira-sama.”

It was actually lamb, but Horizon picked up one of the sauce-covered “vegetables” with her chopsticks and held it up. Mitotsudaira only stared at her, so Horizon held it out even more invitingly.

“Um, Horizon? What are you doing?”

“Oh? It appears you do not understand why I chose to sit next to you.”

“Eh? Um, wait… Why is everyone staring at us!?”

Everyone let out frightened shouts and sank back into their seats, but she could still feel them glancing her way.

“Mitotsudaira-sama, if you do not eat it soon, it will grow cold.”

She groaned, thought a bit, and finally…

“I-I suppose I cannot let it grow cold…right?”

After making sure everyone heard her excuse, she pursed her lips and accepted Horizon’s chopsticks.

…''Masazumi and Naruze must be having a difficult meeting right now.

Meanwhile, Masazumi and Naruze were in the snack shop they had met Jonson in for the “coincidental meeting”.

…''This has gotten out of hand.

To disguise it as a coincidence, Masazumi had intentionally arrived at her seat a bit late. She was now checking over the situation once more.

Most of those within the snack shop were already completely drunk.

The biggest offender was Yoshitsune. She had apparently brought her own unglazed ceramic pitcher filled with old Qing liquor made from wheat and she was currently breaking it over the heads of those around her.

“Kah kah kah! Just have some fun, everyone! What’s wrong with going nuts like this every so often!? Ah? What’s your problem, you bald demon monk!? Try to eat my food again and I’ll drown you at Dan-no-ura!”

''The elderly can be unreasonable,'' thought Masazumi as she used chopsticks to poke at the soba-gaki that Walsingham served her in a teacup.

Yoshitsune was not the only drunk one. Jonson was completely gone and Sasuke was saying things to Saizou like “Y’know, you could stand to take some cooking lessons” or “Stop buying all those shoes you never wear.” Meanwhile, Unno Rokurou, who usually did the teasing, was laughing with or attempting to calm the other two.

However, the greatest victim was Satomi Yoshiyasu.

She was young. According to the Testament Union, she was a year younger than Masazumi. She had initially ignored the drinks, so Masazumi had assumed she was not interested in alcohol.

The problem had arrived when Ujinao, one of the drinkers, had sat next to her.

She had fallen for Ujinao’s provocation and she was now sleeping on a chair at a table away from the center of it all.

Earlier, Yoshitsune had violently shaken her and suggested stripping off the girl’s clothes. By the time the surrounding women had loosened Yoshiyasu’s coat and shirt, they had fallen silent. With comments of “Poor thing”, “I can’t do this”, “Why? Nothing worth seeing below?”, “Nothing?”, “Sh-she’s still young!”, “How big were yours at her age?”, and “Well…”, they began discussing Yoshiyasu’s future development and ways to change it. Ultimately, the stripping plan was abandoned.

…''But with Satomi Yoshiyasu passed out, we can’t hold the meeting.

Masazumi wondered what to do while tearing pieces from her soba-gaki with her chopsticks and dipping it in soy sauce.

“Hey! Heyyyy, Musashi vice president!” shouted Yoshitsune. “Y-you…thi…ch-chah! Kah kah kah!”

Masazumi had no idea what the drunk was saying.

She ignored her some more and finished her soba-gaki. She poured the remaining flavorings and soy sauce into the teacup containing the water the soba-gaki had been soaking in and drank it. She then heard Naruze speak while she worked on roughs for a doujinshi.

“You’re pretty elegant.”

“Am I? My mother taught me my manners, so it’s hard for me to judge.”

“I bet these manners turned your dad on.”

“My father is not that kind of person. He is apparently holding a meeting with influential people in our house today. He had me clean up my room before leaving and had me prepare some snacks for the meeting. I suppose being able to boss around the vice president is part of his status as a councilor.”

“Hm. Sounds strict. But I bet there’s a ton of backstabbing in meetings like that.”

It was nighttime, but the Honda household had all of its lights on and was filled with life.

“See!? I bet you’re jealous now! My Masazumi made these hors d’oeuvres! Heh heh. If you don’t bow down and hand over some of your rights, I won’t give you any!”

“Kh! That’s not fair, Nobu-tan! Th-then I take this sofa hostage!”

Nobu-tan turned to the side and pointed toward Konishi who was trying to touch the sofa.

“You fool! Masazumi made that sofa cover with the skills my wife taught her! Taking the first seat there is my right as head of the household!”

“Enough, you two! Let’s get down to the business at hand. Let’s watch the final episode of ‘Distinguish Good from Evil! Magical Girl Desdemona’ we recorded! We’re about to be busy, so this is our last chance to watch it! The OP was omitted for the finale, so we can act it out on our own beforehand. Provisional council, I hope you have all perfectly memorized the dance.”

“Wait,” said Masazumi’s father as he passed out shirts printed with the characters. “Masazumi cleaned that divine television by breathing on it and wiping it off. If you want to touch it, you need to give me one of your rights.”

“Y-you really play dirty, Honda Masanobu!”

“Yeah. My father and the others are apparently masters of intrigue. He came home in a really bad mood the other day, complaining that Konishi had extorted a ton of rights out of him. He seemed to want to be really close to me.”

“I see.”

Naruze nodded and took some notes in her Magie Figur sign frame.

“What are you going to use that material for?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure you don’t find out.”

“Please stop!”

“Oh, c’mon. Plus, most of what I draw is going to end up unpublished.”

“Really?”

Naruze nodded while scratching her head with the bottom of her pen. She seemed unable to gather her thoughts because she tried to cross her legs and hit her knee on the bottom of the table.

“In Europe, most of Musashi’s literary club’s material is handled by M.H.R.R.’s Protestant principality of Saxony. The history recreation allows new commercial printing technology there thanks to the rise of Protestantism. We’ve done a lot of business with Magdeburg’s ‘Hemisphere Printing’.”

“So being blocked from M.H.R.R. is causing you trouble…”

“I might be able to send the data itself over divine transmission. We usually pick the published books up at a nearby hub port, but shipping costs are huge just before an event.

“I see,” said Masazumi with half-lidded eyes.

She had already sighed a few times since arriving and she did so again.

And then…

“It sure is lively in here.”

She suddenly heard a male voice from behind. She turned around and found a young man wearing a Far Eastern coat over a modified Qing-Takeda uniform.

He was of average height and a sword with a blue scabbard hung at his waist.

Behind him on the road was a god of war. Only its legs and waist were visible from inside, but the countless scratches visible on its armor told just how many battles it had seen. However, something else was even more important.

…''When did it land here?

Even Masazumi could tell what this meant and Naruze had already begun moving. All of a sudden, she was standing and had countless crop mark frame Magie Figurs around her. She was drawing walls to provide defense.

As Naruze closed the Magie Figur containing her doujinshi rough, she pointed her pen toward the young man.

“I know who you are. During the summer event at Edo, the Houjou clan is always arguing with another clan over who will guard the coast. That clan is the Satomi clan.”

“I am glad you know us,” said the young man with a troubled smile.

Masazumi also knew who he was.

“You are the Satomi clan’s chancellor, Satomi Yoshiyori.”

Masazumi saw the young man nod at her with his eyes narrowed as if in a smile.

“I am very glad that Musashi’s forces know me. I hope you can get along with the Satomi clan. After all, we are a small nation and it is difficult to hold a stable relationship with Musashi as your chancellor’s officers and student council are replaced each and every year. I hope this will make for a good opportunity.”

“Judge. We look forward to expanding our options when planning our future actions.”

“Ha ha.” He placed his hand on the back of his neck and laughed bitterly. “I just want to ensure Satomi’s future stability. You can depend on us.”

Hearing him speak and seeing the scratches on the god of war behind him told Masazumi something.

…''He has to have seen a lot of hardship.

'''Asama:''' “If he is protected by his name, he may have lived while relying on duty and honor. …Oh, by the way, I will be providing support from here.”

[[Image:Horizon3A_0233.jpg|thumb]]

As that divine transmission from Asama arrived, two more figures arrived behind Yoshiyori.

They were old men. They were both long-lived and used long swords in place of staffs. They glanced at the commotion further inside, sighed, and turned toward Masazumi.

“We are the Satou Brothers, vice president of Qing-Takeda’s Kakura Academy.”

She knew them as well. Both of the old men had the wrinkles and gray hair of age and they were indistinguishable from one other. However, their posture was quite good for being elderly.

…''They must still be training their bodies despite being so old.

They both bowed at the same time.

“Vice Chancellor Benkei could not come, so you will have to settle for us.”

“Ah.” Masazumi frantically stood up and lowered her head. “Satou Brothers, I heard that the two of you hold the position of Qing-Takeda’s vice president together. I look forward to speaking with you, but…”

Which was the elder brother and which the younger? Even the color of their equipment was identical, so she was not sure how to tell them apart.

In response to her unspoken question, both old men pointed at themselves and spoke in unison.

“Oh, I am the older brother.”

They paused for a moment and exchanged a glance.

“You have guts trying to look good in front of a young girl, younger one.”

“What’s that? You know I’m the older one. Have you forgotten what our mother said?”

They were so indistinguishable that Masazumi wondered if their mother had only pretended to know.

“Excuse me, but how am I supposed to tell you two apart?”

“It is easy.” They both nodded, pointed at each other, and spoke at the same moment. “He is the younger one. You can tell by how much of an idiot he-…”

They both trailed off simultaneously and looked at each other.

…''Oh, no. I shouldn’t have asked.

“Um, what business do you have with Musashi?” she asked.

“Eh? Oh.” The Satou brothers simultaneously looked further back in the building, lowered their shoulders, and scratched at their heads. “Lady Yoshitsune predicted this would happen, so she sent us to handle the meeting.”

“That’s right.” Satomi Yoshiyori looked over to where Yoshiyasu was sleeping and nodded. “I apologize for Yoshiyasu. She’s terrible with alcohol. I hope you understand.”

“Well, it wasn’t her fault someone brought such strong liquor to a meeting.”

Meanwhile, the Satou Brothers hung their swords from their backs and began preparing bamboo benches out front.

They intended to separate from those inside and hold the meeting. Noticing this, Houjou Ujinao casually stood up from her seat and walked over.

The meeting was about to begin.

But Naruze suddenly passed her a Magie Figur with a handwritten message.

It was titled “Concerning Satomi Yoshiyori”.

…''What is this?

Masazumi read through the text which was made so each word disappeared after she read it.

“Listen. That nerd just sent over some information.”

Then came the information.

“You have me as a bodyguard, but be careful. The Satou Brothers and all the others from Kantou are fierce warriors who will do anything if necessary. That sword hanging from Satomi Yoshiyori’s waist is the spirit sword Murasamemaru. When I told that glasses-wearing history nerd, he almost ran over here, but don’t forget that man is ready for battle at any time.”

She continued reading.

“Also, you probably already know, but this is the second Satomi Yoshiyori. He was originally a military commander named Masaki Noritoki who acted as the Satomi clan’s chief retainer. But he killed the original Satomi Yoshiyori and took over the inherited name. That was taken in the reverse sense to give him his Urban Name ‘Retainer Killer’.”

She had known that. She had heard of the incident when it happened and it was mentioned in the almanacs of chancellor’s officers and student councils that the Testament Union published.

…''And the original Satomi Yoshiyori that this man killed was…

“The older sister of Yoshiyasu sleeping over there.”

Study:
[[Image:Horizon3A_0236.jpg|thumb]]

The Minamoto Clan and the Taira Family 1

Toori: Sis! Sis! People are talking about all sorts of old stuff! What’s the deal with the Minamoto clan and Taira family!? All I know is that the Minamoto clan is cool with everything from housewives to lolis while the Taira family has to put a stop to anything that’s erect!

Kimi: Heh heh heh. Foolish brother, both of those are just stories. Anyway, the division between Minamoto and Taira is a bit complicated, so are you sure you want me to explain it?

Toori: I feel like you’re making fun of me there, but let me be clear about one thing: if you don’t explain it simply, I won’t understand!

Kimi: Well, to put it simply, both the Minamoto and Taira clans were originally part of the imperial family. But as the generations went by, they strayed from the direct line and were no longer recognized as part of the imperial family. But the emperor gave them surnames to give them a proper lineage and made them his retainers.

Toori: So it was a thinning of the blood.

Kimi: More or less, yes. This mostly applied to the people in the same generation as the emperor’s grandchildren. Now, the surnames they were given were Minamoto and Taira. However, those surnames were not given to individuals or to a single family. They were a collection of families with the same ancestors, so they were classified as a “clan”.

Toori: The Genpei War that Yoshitsune appeared in was fought between the Minamoto and Taira clans, right?

Kimi: Not exactly. See, the Minamoto and Taira were both “clans”, so they were collections of different Minamoto families and Taira families. During the Genpei War, the Minamoto clan had all of the Minamoto families with them, but the Taira clan which fought against them was just one Taira family led by Taira Kiyomori. The rest of the Taira families joined with the Minamoto clan. The Satou Brothers are from the Bandou Taira clan which was another powerful Taira clan in the east.

Toori: Wait, wait. Doesn’t that make it really tough for that one Taira family?

Kimi: They may have been in the minority, but they controlled the Imperial Court and could send orders across the entirety of the Far East. During the Genpei War, both sides viewed the other as enemies of the Imperial Court. One side was seen as usurping control from it while the other was seen as opposing it. In the end, victory went to the Bandou Taira clan, the other Taira clans, and the Minamoto clan who won the Imperial Court to their side. The “Taira family” which opposed them was destroyed.

Toori: Wait a second, sis. I just realized nothing about this was “simple”.

Kimi: Why do you always point out what I was trying to leave unsaid?

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 08|Chapter 08]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 3 Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 25

2014-05-02T23:30:23Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 25: Ruler of the Theatre */

==Chapter 25: Ruler of the Theatre==

[[Image:Horizon2A_761.png|thumb]]
''What are the odds

''Of an uninvited guest showing up?

'''Point Allocation (Feeling of Distance)

London covered a large portion of the southern side of England’s second level. The Thames River was the primary waterway and the city was divided into a few different sections.

The festival was held on the main streets, parades were held daily, and food stands had been set up. And on the side streets, local stands and stores provided food, dancing, and music.

Due to the history recreation, London was divided into two major sections: the northeast section known as the City which handled things such as trade and the southwestern section known as Westminster which contained the political and religious facilities. Between the two sections was the royal family’s hunting ground known as Soho. The areas of Soho bordering the two sections contained a lot of residential land.

The festival was centered on a plaza in Soho and a lot of the surrounding buildings (especially trade warehouses on the City side) were being used for events.

Some warehouses were used for business with Musashi. Some were used to store festival stands and supplies for groups taking part in the festival. Others were used to sell local crops or as dining halls to serve them.

One warehouse to the south displayed the logo of ArchsArt, England’s representative corporation, and the number 16. It was 100 meters long and 50 meters wide, and it contained countless long tables arranged to sell printed books.

It was a convention for selling self-published materials.

The wooden building had the tall roof common to warehouses and it was filled with people. The convention inside was known as the “Incomparably Esteemed Doujinshi-Lovers Club” which the signs abbreviated to “IncEst Club”. This abbreviation concerned some people, did not bother some others in the slightest, and caused a few to accuse the convention runners of false advertising.

The area was very crowded and the only gaps existed in the enclosed area created by the creator’s tables and the snack spots in the corners. It was easy to control the lines by the walls, so a balance between guidance and crowd concentration had been achieved. The lines extended outside, so ventilation was not a problem.

However, there was one area by the wall that had no line or crowd.

The long tables usually had two sellers at them, but the tables by the wall were made for major sellers and thus had only one to a table. This allocation made it clear that a certain seller had no line.

That seller was Neshinbara.

His printed book was placed on the table and he had a decorative fisherman’s flag bearing the circle name “Missed Fish”.

But no customers approached. With half-lidded eyes, Neshinbara sat in his chair and watched the surrounding sellers gradually work through their lines.

While standing in line, people with similar tastes would exchange information and discuss their hobbies. Common topics of discussion were artists with inherited names, those artists’ works, and fan works based on those works.

“As a flat-lover, should I go for Muromachi Room’s new work ‘Flat Chronicles: Volume 20’ first? Or should I go for a new awakening with ‘Non-Flat Chronicles’ from the original author, Imagawa Sadayo?”<ref>Flat Chronicles and Non-Flat Chronicles are a play on words based on the Taiheiki and the Nan-Taiheiki respectively.</ref>

“I know I’ve got to get my hands on ‘A Basara Farewell!’<ref>Basara was a slang term used an intensifier that was common in the Nanboku-cho period of Japan.</ref> that is supposed to bring an end to the popularity of writing about the Nanboku-cho period. Something new is going to overthrow it.”

“You know Geoffrey Chaucer’s short game collection ‘Canterbury Tales’ that follows multiple occupations, right? What number is it up to now? I tried playing ‘Final Canterbury Quest’ for the next-gen console, but it just confused me when it started with ‘Occupation: Slime – Job: Sticky Liquid’.”

Everyone was speaking cheerfully about things like that. Beyond them was another line for those receiving a light crucifixion as punishment for cutting in line or running through the crowded convention center. The men running that wore a mask and no shirt.

“Okay, the end of the line is back there,” one of them said. “Please form a straight line. It will be over soon enough, okay? You’ll just feel a slight stabbing sensation, so raise your hand if it hur- Run and I’ll drive this scorching stake into you!!”

That area was quite lively.

…''European execution grounds always stink of burnt flesh.

Neshinbara occasionally spotted a familiar face passing by and they would raise a hand in greeting so as not to disturb the lines on either side. Neshinbara would stand up and begin raising his right hand.

“…”

And then raise his left hand which was not wrapped in bandages with spells written on them. The other person would soon lower their hand and walk off to their next destination.

The convention would continue throughout the festival period with novel sales, comic sales, video sales, etc., but any one seller could only stay for one day. The popular works would be sold across the Far East through the Far East Academy Stores, but they would only have so many in stock. Any passionate fans wanted to line up and get their copy as quickly as possible.

And if they were seeking and attempting to acquire what they believed in, the buyers were the main character in their relationship with the work in question.

The high spirits of these main characters would continue even after returning home and speaking with others. It would not leave until the next work was released.

The roof of the building could open and it was opened just slightly, so the morning sun and wind had a way in. Even so, the light had difficulty reaching the walls and the lines to Neshinbara’s left and right blocked the light out like canyon walls.

But as noon slowly approached, the thin line of light rose above the people’s heads. Only then did it finally fall on the floor in front of Neshinbara.

The light should have illuminated a deserted canyon floor, but it was not deserted.

Someone stood there.

The girl wore England’s girls uniform with the skirt and sleeves removed, but she did wear a kinked white coat over it. She wore thick glasses with the sides placed over her long ears, she wore a backpack, and she held a novel and a paper bag.

“Thomas Shakespeare.”

A stir ran through the people forming the canyon walls. They turned curious eyes in her direction, but no one was able to utter an actual comment.

…''Is this what you call awe?

They were curious. They could not look away. They turned their ears toward her to hear any words spoken.

But they were afraid of saying something and having that curiosity turned back on them. More importantly, if anything they said would simply be ignored…

…''Then they might as well say nothing.

But…

“Hamlet!”

A girl suddenly ran out from the line to the right.

With a theatre pamphlet in hand, a girl ran from the line and toward Shakespeare. A woman who seemed to be the girl’s mother frantically walked out of the line after her.

Neshinbara glanced to the right and saw the line was for something titled “Gothic Hamlet Drawings: Costume Pattern Collection”. It was an art book containing costume patterns and design drawings. Different corporations used different interpretations to mass produce clothing with spells and machines, but families in areas with poor distribution were forced to make their own school uniforms based on patterns. That culture had spread to the cities as a way of creating one’s own fashion. This allowed people to wear clothes from the same era as the main characters of the novels and plays in the Testament descriptions.

…''That’s a luxury only possible with the Testament.

Hamlet was one of Shakespeare’s four great tragedies. Its official title was “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, took revenge against his uncle who killed his father and stole the throne and his mother, but he ultimately lost the woman Ophelia who had feelings for him and both killed and was killed by the young man Laertes who could have become his friend. He died after asking his friend to pass the story on to the people. Hamlet feigned madness and faced evil with evil but lost so very much. He was popular with both men and women, but there was another difference between the girl and mother standing in the center of the canyon.

“Even with the generation gap, they both accept the contents of the play.”

Wanting to wear the costumes from the play most likely meant they wanted to become a part of the play.

It was no different from putting on makeup and becoming the ideal version of oneself.

…''That means Hamlet lets some people become an ideal version of themselves.

Macbeth in Neshinbara’s right hand throbbed.

''This is so much trouble,'' he thought while Shakespeare stopped and let the girl face her.

The girl held the pamphlet out toward Shakespeare.

“This!”

Neshinbara thought the girl would ask for Shakespeare’s autograph, but she said something else.

“It’s yours!”

For an instant, Neshinbara did not understand what the girl meant.

But it slowly dawned on him.

…''Dammit!

That one word appeared in the bottom of his gut.

He understood what the girl was trying to say to Shakespeare.

…''Everything she saw, heard, felt, and learned in Hamlet belongs to Shakespeare.

The pamphlet was just the physical form of her memories. She could hold it in her hands and she wanted to express her feelings to the author now that she saw that author.

“Stop that,” said the mother as she frantically ran over, but Shakespeare stared blankly for a moment before responding.

“Testament.” She crouched down to put herself on eye level with the girl. “Thank you, little Ophelia.”

“No. I’m Hamlet!”

“Is that so?”

“Testament.”

“What is your name?” asked Shakespeare with a smile to the girl.

“Ophelia!”

From behind the girl, the mother looked up into the sky to feign ignorance.

“I see.”

Realizing the situation, Shakespeare held her hand over the pamphlet. She muttered something under her breath and fragments of light scattered from her paper bag and into the air. And something was created in place of that scattering light.

“Wow…”

Writing appeared on the surface of the pamphlet in the girl’s hand.

The girl had her back to Neshinbara, but he could see the pamphlet over her shoulder as she held it up. Shakespeare had not written her signature with that spell. A new name had been written next to the title of Hamlet.

“ ‘Ophelia’. Perhaps those two can continue being together one day. …And with that in mind, have this passage from Hamlet: ‘costly thy habit as thy purse can buy’. Do exactly that, girl.”

“Testament!”

With a word of thanks, the girl showed her prize to her mother. From his position, Neshinbara could only see the mother’s bowing back, but he doubted her expression was a bad one.

Shakespeare stood up and slowly turned toward the line to the right. She then spoke to a student midway through the line.

“Could you let this lady and her child in? After all, she did not hesitate to leave the line when her child ran out. I think it is only fair to let her back in.”

Not a word was spoken in response.

“…”

But a space was opened in the line and let the girl and mother in with a bow. Shakespeare lowered her head toward all of them.

“You have my thanks.”

“Don’t worry about it,” muttered someone. It was likely a Musashi resident who did not know Shakespeare very well. “The worst thing to do to a child is give them a bad memory.”

Someone from England spoke next.

“After growing up, you really want to give them good memories.”

“Yeah,” replied someone who could have been from either place. “Ha ha. We at least succeeded on one side of that!”

“Yes,” agreed everyone as the girl and her mother sank into the line.

“Thanks!”

It was unclear who that comment was directed at, so Shakespeare and everyone else responded with either “testament” or “judge”.

Someone then began to move. Shakespeare turned toward Neshinbara and began walking toward him once more.

Her smile vanished and she silently stood before the full pile of books on the long table in front of him.

“Is the seat next to you free?” she finally asked.

Neshinbara had expected her to ask about his book, so he was unsure how to respond.

“Eh? Oh, um…”

“It is, isn’t it?”

A stir ran through the surrounding crowd as she pushed aside the long desk to walk behind it and arrived at his right side. She sat in an empty chair that had been prepared but no one was using.

But…

…''Why would you come over here just to read a novel?

She buried her face in the novel she held and began reading.

The stir in the crowd finally vanished. The only movements were the gentle flow of the surrounding lines and the mother and child bowing both to Shakespeare and those in the line after buying what they had lined up for.

That was the only point at which Shakespeare looked up from her book.

“…”

She nodded and bowed her head a bit. After that, only silence and motionless remained.

As he felt the pressure of that silence, Neshinbara had a question about this foreign name-inheritor.

…''Why is she even here?

The bandages around his right hand and the lack of sales for his book were both her fault. Then again, if one took his earlier criticism of her works as the initial cause, this could be viewed as her revenge.

“…Eh?”

The next thing he knew, she had finished reading her book and begun flipping through the one he had written. The book contained a small short story and a literary criticism. Specifically, self criticism.

“W-wait a second!”

She ignored him. She was completely immersed in reading it, but he did not feel that was because of the quality of his writing. After all, her reading style led her to read anything this way. If he physically took the book from her, he was sure she would counterattack using the curse.

…''Dammit!

He could not interfere. As he endured the joyous stirring of the writing in his right arm brought on by the proximity of its master, Neshinbara waited for the half-lived girl to finish reading the book he had written and place it on the table. And he cut in before she could pull a new book from her paper bag.

“Why are you here?” he asked.

She did not even turn toward him as she answered.

“I see you are still creating things like this.”

“W-well…”

“Are you trying to say you would have written something else if you had written this after confronting me?”

It was possible. It annoyed him that he could not deny her influence on him, but he decided saying nothing would be best. He sat back down in his seat, folded his arms, and faced forward.

“I would appreciate it if you continued doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“Please do not look at me.”

It irked him all the more because she was not looking toward him. But if they were ignoring each other like that, was there any meaning in exchanging words?

''Is this a new form of harassment,'' wondered Neshinbara with a sigh.

“Yes, that is for the best. After all, you cannot act with Macbeth in effect.”

Her words bothered Neshinbara, so he responded while still facing forward.

“Why do you say it’s for the best that I can’t act?”

“A lot is going to happen, but it is for the best that you stay like this,” said Shakespeare. “Let us discuss many things.”

''We can discuss all sorts of things today,'' thought Scarred in a wheat field.

In the distance to the north, the third level looked like a towering wall made of earth and stone. The second level could similarly be seen even further away. The sounds of fireworks and low rumble of the people and music resounded in her body even more than the ocean waves.

Meanwhile, Tenzou spoke from directly in front of her while looking at the ears of wheat.

“Hm. You have planted a few different varieties, but I see no problem from a soil standpoint. The Far Eastern style of condensed planting should be possible. If you include legumes, you can grow multiple crops per year.”

“In the European style, the wheat is not simply sown in tilled land. Small ridges like this are made and the seeds are buried inside them. It protects the seeds and makes maintenance and harvesting easier, right?”

“Judge. It takes a fair bit of effort, so it is a decision you must make.” He stood up and turned toward her. “During a crop shortage or when you need the income, it is good to provide the possibility for those willing to put in the effort. Oh, but you should at least redo the waterway.” He indicated a few points on the land. “The current waterway passes over a mostly dirt crust, so the water seeps underground. You should redo it along the line from somewhere near the field – like where that tree is over there – and to that rocky area on the other side. Over the past few days, I laid out some cloth at night to check, and it seems there is bedrock below that line. The water will not seep underground much and any that escapes will flow into the fields on either side. Also, using that line will help when a village is created at the base of the mountain.”

“Judge,” replied Scarred, but it was a sign of admiration rather than agreement.

She saw Tenzou stretch and let out a sigh because their inspection for the day was complete.

…''Honestly, he works so much.

Over the past few days, he had prepared for the spring school festival, helped her in the early mornings, and exchanged ideas with the local people. He had interesting and unique methods for treating crop diseases, searching for water, and other things. Scarred felt his presence was quite significant. In England, people would resolve those problems by listening to the voices of spirits, but not many people could use spirit techniques. The methods were less certain, but anyone could use Tenzou’s methods. That meant a lot.

According to him, his agricultural knowledge was so he could get along with the locals while on a spy mission. She had laughed when she had heard that.

…''He is completely unaware that his current actions are no different from getting along with the locals to spy on them.

Pointing it out would sound like she was suspicious of him, so she had said nothing. She had felt bad for laughing, so she had made a portable lunch for him whenever he went off to prepare for the school festival. When she had seen the box after he returned on the first day, it had been clear others had swiped some of the food, so she had given him even more on the subsequent days.

And this was the first day of the festival.

He was taking a break on the festival’s first day, so they had been together since morning. The water lilies in the spring by the hot spring had begun to blossom, so they had eaten lunch there and stayed afterwards.

Tomorrow, he intended to spend the morning running messages and checking on supplies at the festival. Once the festival began for the day, he planned to take morning and afternoon shifts. He would spend the week doing that.

…''And then he will leave.

She would no longer be able to see him.

Despite her thoughts, he folded his arms as he looked at the surrounding fields.

“Wheat is fine, but I think you can grow some even better crops. Growing rice as they do elsewhere would be perfect, but England has no provisional rule over Far Eastern land and setting up paddies takes a lot of work.”

“Judge. We couldn’t do that even if we wanted to. It requires altering the land on too large a scale.”

Scarred wished they could talk about other things, but time continued on and she could not think of anything to talk about.

“I am sure you have noticed, but England’s crust is almost directly below the ground, so growing wheat quickly leaves the land barren. That is why we need to grow other crops like legumes to bring back the land’s fertility. The practice of growing legumes like clovers to improve the land has been spreading to various areas, but it isn’t quite enough. The spirits like to play around and assist the improvement when they find a four-leafed clover, though. It would be nice if we could grow potatoes which can grow even in land with low fertility, but there is that story about the Fairy Queen saying potatoes are poisonous. That is why IZUMO has been working on breeding a poisonous potato for killing rats. They are calling it the Potato Smasher.”

“I heard they tried to create one that exploded five seconds after being pulled from the ground, but the project was scrapped after the experimental field was destroyed by a chain reaction of explosions. If only the troubles we cause other nations could remain more subdued. For one thing, that isn’t even about poison anymore. At any rate, it seems the Fairy Queen’s rule is not all good.”

“Oh, my. Saying that kind of thing around here can get you arrested for treason.”

“Judge. My apologies.”

As soon as Tenzou spoke, he heard the sound of a bell. It came from far off in the north.

“That sounds like an academy’s bell. What bell is it?”

“Judge. That is the bell in the Tower of London’s chapel,” slowly replied Scarred. “That is the sign of Double Bloody Mary’s…that is, Mary Stuart’s weekly appearance. She simply looks outside from the viewing platform of one of the towers.”

She looked to the north where clouds filled the sky.

“If the armada battle is to begin in a week’s time, she will probably only make one or two more appearances. Once the sounds of the festival vanish from London, it will be time for her execution.”

“Her execution?”

“Judge,” said Scarred. “Master Tenzou…”

She suddenly asked him a question.

“What do you think about the execution of Double Bloody Mary?”

Scarred listened to the ninja answer her question.

“Well…”

He often began a response that way when he wanted to think about it first. She waited a while longer and he finally gave an answer.

“As a ninja, I cannot say anything about a decision that someone like you has made.”

“Then…”

She tried to ask if he approved of the execution, but he let out a quiet breath and continued speaking.

“I am a ninja after all.”

Hearing that, she finally caught on. He was saying that this was not what he actually thought. But no matter what he thought, he could not reject the decision of someone in a higher position than him. And so he said even more.

“Y-you call it an execution, but some other method has been prepared as an interpretation, correct?”

Scarred focused on the fact that he had asked the question more than the question itself.

…''He is hoping it will work out somehow or another.

And what did that mean his true thoughts were? Scarred thought on that fact for a moment.

“Judge,” she said. “An interpretation is being used to make the execution a means of saving Mary Stuart.”

“Judge. That is good…”

Before he could say “to hear”, he stopped and scratched at his head.

“My apologies. I said too much.”

“It’s fine,” she said with a smile.

She appreciated it. She was thankful that he felt that way and she was thankful and glad to have this time with him.

“…”

She heard fireworks in the distance.

As noon approached, the festival arrived at its first peak.

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 24|Chapter 24]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 26|Chapter 26]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 24

2014-05-02T23:27:16Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 24: Guide to a New World */

==Chapter 24: Guide to a New World==

[[Image:Horizon2A_739.png|thumb]]
''If something is convenient

''But you stop just before reaching it

''Is it inconvenient?

'''Point Allocation (Unease)

“Now, let’s get started. Come over here, Masazumi. Everyone else, we will be borrowing the area of the tub near the tap.”

Asama moved toward the edge of the tub on the northern end of the bath and Masazumi unsteadily followed.

Masazumi copied how Asama had her towel on her shoulder and her long hair on top of that, but she was still self-conscious about her body. It did not help that she was comparing herself to Asama. She watched the other girl from a bit behind.

…''She really is big.

She meant her height. Asama was as tall as Naomasa and the Aoi sister. Mitotsudaira was somewhere in between and Masazumi was shorter still.

…''Is this what it would be like to have an older sister?

As she was made painfully aware of what she lacked, she watched Asama check on the tamagushi and charm she had placed in a bucket. The other girl then came to a stop.

“Okay, we can do it here. Um, to prepare…”

Asama picked up the Shirasago-made tamagushi with her right hand, held it up to her forehead, and chanted something. She then spread out the tamagushi with a snap of the wrist, kneeled down in the tub, and placed the tamagushi’s paper decoration in the water.

The light paper decoration sank into the water without resistance and Asama narrowed her eyes as she watched the water soak into it. As if crawling up the tamagushi, small firefly-like jewels of light and something resembling a vine wrapped around it.

“Eh?” exclaimed Asama.

“What is it?”

“Nothing really. It’s just that there should be some filth in the bath after two people bathed in it. But…what is this? Not only is there no filth, but it seems to have been sublimed to a level greater than my purification. Either Tenzou-kun or that Scarred person must have used a sublimation spell rather than a Shinto purification spell. Tenzou-kun is as filthy as the rest of our class, so I assume it was Scarred-san. How strange.”

As light clung to the tamagushi, Asama removed it from the water and brought it to herself.

Starting from the tip, the tamagushi was rapidly dyed in the color pink.

“H-huh? What? Wh-why is there so much impurity in me!?”

“Your wicked thoughts were at full swing back when Crossunite and Scarred were bathing. By the way, what kind of impurity does pink signify?”

“Um, well…”

Asama suddenly looked to the side where Hanami was looking at a sign frame.

The title of the frame read “Impurity Meter (Personal Use)”.

“Um…Hanami? Who…uh…is that for?”

When Hanami noticed Asama, she turned around, frantically hid the sign frame behind her back, and shook her head back and forth.

“Th-th-th-th-this is nothing. Nothing at all. C-clap!”

“No, wait, Hanami. Is that what I think it is?”

Asama’s eyebrows rose slightly as she smiled and tried to peek behind Hanami. The Mouse turned around in an instant and broke the sign frame with a karate chop. She then started clapping her hands above her head to avoid the issue.

“C-clap! Clap!”

“That Mouse is quite well made,” muttered Masazumi.

Asama’s head drooped a bit and nodded, but she recovered after a few seconds.

“Okay, time for a new contract. I have a quota to fill, so I need to focus and do my best.”

That last comment worried Masazumi, but the other girl’s different-colored eyes were looking firmly at her.

“Please sit on the floor here.”

She laid out a meter long piece of thin paper that was shaped like a human’s upper body. It was Japanese paper with visible fibers, but the bathwater did not soak into it. Assuming it was used for spells, Masazumi sat down and Asama fixed her hair. As she did, she removed the towel.

“I will be pouring water on you, so please sit still.”

As soon as Masazumi closed her eyes, hot water poured over her. It soaked through her hair, and poured over her scalp, neck, and shoulders. The warm caress of the water brought a sense of calm. As she sat with her eyes closed and her straightened back to Asama, she was reminded of the past.

…''My parents would wash me like this when I took baths with them long ago.

She wondered what her father was doing now.

Even thought it was nighttime, around a dozen carriages were stopped in front of a mansion on Musashi’s surface. It belonged to Konishi, a wealthy merchant. The drivers were gathered around a fire in a waiting area inside the mansion while their masters were drinking aged wine in a parlor further inside.

“Okay, tonight’s viewing party will cover the episodes of Transforming Musician Peterman we have been recording since it began in April. The only advance information we have is that it is a ‘giant hero’ series following the previous series and his special attack is the Petrification Beam.”

“Judge. We have had so many meetings over the past month or so that we haven’t had a chance to watch any of it! Avoiding any information on the divine network was really hard, Nobu-tan!”

“Yes, Koni-tan. We have both experienced the same joy and suffering in this journey. I hope this is the beginning of an excellent series.”

“Judge. I know what you mean. To distract yourself from the loneliness of Masazumi-kun’s absence, you have become all the more diligent. Is that why my delivery department has been visiting your place a lot more often?”

“Judge. I normally have things sent to somewhere other than my home, but simply going around to the different delivery locations keeps me from getting home. Lately, I have grown fond of loading offerings into the storehouse before meetings.”

As everyone nodded in agreement, someone hesitantly raised his hand.

“Um… I actually watched a recording of the first two episodes with my kid.”

The others raised their wineglasses, crossed their legs, and adjusted their positions on the sofa.

“Merely stay silent. If you spoil anything, we will force you out of the committee and the market! After all, you can only ever watch a show for the first time once! Nothing is better than preserving that innocence!”

They all took a sip of their wine.

“Glory to our new meetings and partings, and glory to Vice President Honda Masazumi who we adore in secret!”

“My father is probably having a serious meeting right about now.”

“He does seem like the serious type.”

“Judge. …Ever since the Mikawa incident, I think he has been working to change how he views me. But I sometimes think he’s been trying too hard lately.”

“May I ask why?”

“Judge.” Masazumi recalled what had happened before the transport ship crash and began to speak with an exasperated tone. “He just seems really restless whenever we’re home together. And there have been a few times when he suggested things like seeing an anime movie as father and daughter because he got some tickets from Konishi. He’s clearly trying to build a closer relationship, but wanting to see ‘Las Casas, Protector of the Indians’ is a bit much. Does he think I’m a little kid?”

“He is probably having trouble deciding how to approach a child.”

More water was poured on Masazumi. This action had been repeated several times now and she could tell Hanami was using a sign frame nearby.

“Oh, Masazumi. I am cancelling your contract with Mikawa. Mikawa shrine disappeared when Nagoya Castle went boom. A new shrine is being built aboard Musashi, but the former shrine would interfere with this contract if the previous contract remained in effect. That is why I am cancelling that contract before transferring you to a contract for our shrine on Musashi.”

“Will my contract with the god of my birthplace remain?”

“Mikawa’s birthplace deity works with Asama Shrine, so you can keep that contract. Your contract will be with the same god, but you will be using us as a point of contact since your previous one disappeared with Mikawa. You did make a resident contract at our shrine when you came to Musashi, but you received weak divine protection because you retained your birth contract with the birthplace deity of Mikawa and did not own a handheld.”

“This is complicated…”

“Yes, it is,” replied Asama with a bitter laugh. “The free divine protection of a birthplace contract provides support for your entire body via the parts on your neck, sides, and waist. You did make a resident contract with the Asama Shrine here on Musashi and that provides support for life on Musashi which travels through the sky, but that support was weakened in you due to interference from Mikawa. That may be why you are always about to starve to death.”

“Oh, so I might stop collapsing on the roadside now?”

She thought she felt everyone glance over at her, but she decided to assume it was her imagination.

“Anyway, this is a major contract, so we will throw in the Asama Special of sunblock and dry skin protection for free. You must meet with important people in your position, so that certainly can’t hurt.”

“I don’t really worry about that very much, but I guess that just leaves…”

“Yes. You have completed your contract for the protection of your birthplace god and resident god. In other words, the god of your birthplace and the god of the land you currently live in. They do not actually have names because local deities are simple nature gods. Now, before moving on to the Mouse contract, you can make an individual contract with a god you want to worship. Will you?”

“Is there a reason to do that before the Mouse contract?”

“Personal contracts are made with powerful named gods and spells and the like can be acquired via the shrine in charge of that god. However, that god will usually have a Mouse specific to them, so it is recommended to make the personal contract ahead of time. After all, a Mouse is usually modelled after a god’s messenger, so they are a symbol of that god.

“But you only have a birthplace and resident contract. Those are usually made with nameless local deities that do not have their own Mouse. If you do make a personal contract first, you can later choose a Mouse specialized to that god’s abilities.”

“So not only are there nameless local deities, but there are also named gods one can make a personal contract with?”

“Yes,” replied Asama. “In the Far East, gods are a part of nature and they reside in the land. The earthly gods reside in the Divine States which are governed by the environmental gods that became local deities. On the other hand, the heavenly gods reside in the heavens.”

When the gods had abandoned the planet due to the worsening environment, it had been the environmental gods who had normalized the environment based on instructions left by the gods. But their overly strong definition of “normal” led them to go overboard in creating an environmental balance. When the people had returned from the heavens, they had only been able to descend to the Far East which the environmental gods had left relatively safe. Afterwards, the harmonic world had been created and the people had started the Harmonic Unification War.

“The gods and mankind managed to calm the environmental gods who were doing ''too good'' a job, but we’re still essentially renting space here, aren’t we?”

“The environmental gods were absorbed into the ley lines, so you could say they and the world are now one and the same. Rather than saying they do not have names, it would be more accurate to say they are on too great a scale to have names.”

“I see.”

Hanami then showed Masazumi the sign frame. It showed a site that let one search for a god. It had lists of gods in order of name, ability, sex, court rank, ancestors, and more.

However…

[[Image:Horizon2A_748-749.jpg|thumb]]

“What is with these aggressive categories in the genre search? ‘Loves crossdressing’, ‘peels back the skin’, ‘an older sister is fine too!’, ‘cruel’, ‘crotch splitting’, ‘quick to prostrate’, and ‘always running errands’?”

“There really are gods like that. Shinto is great with genres.”

''It sounds more like it just tries to pander to everyone,'' thought Masazumi. ''Anyway, what should I do?

Hanami opened another sign frame which displayed gods related to negotiations and politics.

…''There are a lot of Amaterasu-types here, but they’re too over-the-top for me. Oh, the God Mosaic is on the list of popular techniques.

“Would it be possible to eventually make another contract for this?”

“Oh, of course. …Just make sure to do it with me.”

The corner of Masazumi’s mouth stiffened when she saw Asama’s smile, but Naruze began adding to her storyboard in the bath.

“And while naked, Asama says to Masazumi, ‘Just make sure to do it with me.’ Okay, the next chapter is going to be great!”

“Ga-chan, I think you just drew up five years’ worth of storyboards.”

''Would the student council’s approval rating drop if I wrote up a bill cracking down on doujinshi events?'' wondered Masazumi with a half-lidded glare.

But then Asama spoke up.

“Well, we can scold her plenty later. …So, um, you can make a personal contract at a later date, but those gods usually have specialized Mice. If you already have another Mouse, the shift can be inconvenient, so keep that in mind. …Anyway, what will you do? Do you want a personal contract? Um…Are you sure it wouldn’t make you feel better to make one?”

“Why did that last part sound like you were trying to sell me something?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Asama smiled and held out a hand to stop her. “For now, would you like to use a generic Mouse as a substitute? A generic Mouse is ranked lower than one under direct control of a god. Their abilities are not specialized, so they may be unable to draw out the full ability of the god you ultimately make an individual contract with. And given your job and status, it would need pseudo-shock absorption, so even a generic Mouse can cost a fair bit.”

“You can’t make it any cheaper? I’m worried about after I graduate.”

“Okay,” said Asama while smiling more than necessary. “In that case, we can keep the cost down with a heavenly blessing contract.”

“A heavenly blessing contract?” asked Masazumi.

“Yes.”

Asama showed her the wooden charm in her hand. She pressed in on a few of the characters written on the thirty centimeter oak board and the characters began to emit a bluish-white light.

“Your Mouse is determined randomly. A choice contract is expensive because searching for a Mouse that meets your requirements takes some effort. In some cases, a request has to be made for a new Mouse to be created via the union of two existing Mice.”

“Is it really okay to decide randomly?”

“It usually produces a dog, rat, fox, or bird as there are large numbers of them. A heavenly blessing contract is inexpensive, but it can produce a powerful Mouse or one that would otherwise be quite expensive. …Oh, just press here.”

Asama handed her the charm. At the bottom was a super-deformed shrine maiden face with the words “press here” below it. Masazumi placed her finger on it, worried about the state of the Shinto religion, and pressed it.

She handed the charm back to Asama who turned around. Beyond her swaying black hair, Asama used the end of the charm to draw a square on the floor.

“Clap.”

Hanami clapped her hands and a glowing box suddenly grew from the ground in front of Asama.

“Oh?”

As everyone in the bath watched on, a charm invoice could be seen on the surface of the glowing one meter square box. It said “To: Honda Masazumi-sama via Asama Tomo-sama. Contents: Mouse. By: God.” Without bothering to read it, Asama tore off the ether seal and it vanished into thin air.

She focused on opening the top of the box and peering inside.

“Oh?” She nodded twice. “Oh, oh?”

“Why do you look so impressed, Asama?”

“Oh, um…” muttered Asama as she circled around to the other side of the box.

''The light from below really emphasizes her breasts,'' thought Masazumi, half in exasperation, as she watched Asama place her hands on the box.

“I have a question for you: what kind of Mouse has arrived?”

“How am I supposed to know?”

“Then I will give you a hint. Um… It is not a symbol, an inorganic object, a plant, or a person. It is an animal.”

“A fox?”

“Wrong. Have another hint. It begins with a vowel in Far Eastern.”

Masazumi’s first thought was “Is it a dog?” And in the next instant…

…''Is it a dog!?

She had often wanted to own a dog. She liked cats too, but cats had a way of not settling down and making her feel lonely with all empty rooms in her house. A lot of her classmates had owned dogs to prepare them for strange phenomena and to frighten away criminals. She had often seen the dogs being taken for walks on leashes or sitting by their owners in the park. Her general thoughts at those times had been the following:

…''How nice.

''Okay.'' Masazumi nodded. ''Bring on a dog. In M.H.R.R., they would call it a Hund. I think it will be small enough to ride on my shoulder, but a puppy is delightful in its own way.

She swung up her right fist.

“Okay, Asama! Open it!”

“As you wish.” Asama lifted up the box and brought out the Mouse. “Tah dah! It’s a giant anteater!”

“What kind of scam is this!?”

Masazumi saw a mother and a child anteater that were too big to have fit inside the box. The mother was almost two meters long and the small child was clinging to her back.

“Right, right.” Asama looked down at the two. “IZUMO has been working in Kyushu and the New World recently, so they have been creating Mice for people there. Also, having many different types available helps the shrines respond to many different situations and increase the survival rate. Dogs, cats, rats, and foxes are popular, but there are situations they cannot handle. If they were the only ones, they would be wiped out.”

“Sure, but…an anteater?”

“Oh, it eats special food made from ether, not ants, so don’t worry. It can go inside the hard point pocket on the neck of your clothes.”

“But…”

Just as she was going to continue complaining, she saw the mother anteater cry as it tore its child from it and moved away. While still shedding tears, the mother waved its front right paw and disappeared. The child anteater looked absolutely grief-stricken now that it had been left behind.

Everyone began whispering as the child anteater lay on the ground, cried, and trembled.

“Poor thing. If Masazumi doesn’t take it in now, she belongs in the ‘cruel’ genre.”

“Is it just me, or are a lot of politicians cold-hearted people?”

“Masa…zumi… H-how…about it?”

…''I have to take it in to keep my approval rating from dropping!!

Masazumi approached the twenty centimeter anteater and tried to place her hands under its front legs to pick it up, but it merely trembled in her hands.

“…!”

“Wah!” she shouted in surprise as it flailed its legs and tail, but she did not let go. “Are you-…”

Before she could say “okay”, the child anteater rolled up into a ball. Instead of curling its tail around itself, it seemed to hide its face and legs inside its own tail. Masazumi now had a trembling ball of fur in her hands.

…''What am I supposed to do?

Asama picked up on her thoughts and lowered the ends of her eyebrows.

“Um… It seems you received one that is a bit too young.”

“What should I do?”

“You can only wait for it to get used to you. But it cannot perform its job as a Mouse like this, so I can arrange another Mouse for you.”

“Well…” muttered Masazumi.

She could feel it trembling in her hands. With the shock-absorption setting, she would likely have been unable to feel that slight movements of the animal’s heat and fur.

…''But this isn’t about feeling sorry for it.

“Okay.” Masazumi nodded. “It isn’t actually running away. It’s just afraid of the unfamiliar outside world. Once that fear goes away, it should do fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Judge.”

Masazumi gave her judgment. She placed the child anteater in a nearby bucket while it continued to curl up as if trying to hide inside itself.

“Asama, is that all?”

Masazumi’s decision produced a sigh of relief from the others in the bath. Naomasa wiped her face with the towel folded up on her head while leaning her left elbow against a stone in the tub.

“Ha ha. Now you have a kid, Masazumi. Not too long ago, you wanted to be a father, so this is a good change.”

“Uuh…”

Masazumi blushed and everyone else smiled bitterly. Meanwhile, Suzu laughed while leaning against the wall on one end of the tub. Just like Masazumi, scarlet tinged her face.

“This is fun,” she muttered quietly. “Everything has been…more fun…since Horizon…came back.”

She sighed and relaxed her body.

“This is fun…”

She leaned to the side and collapsed onto Adele.

“H-huh? Suzu-san!? W-wait!”

Adele held Suzu up, but Suzu had already passed out. Adele frantically held her up so she would not sink.

“U-um, everyone! Everyone! Suzu-san is…”

Suzu slid down in Adele’s arms but then stopped. Adele frowned at this fact.

“…bigger than me!? Sh-shit…no, I mustn’t swear! Um, Suzu-san, I’ll be lifting you… Wow! I can hook my arm under her breasts! Shit…no, I mustn’t swear. At any rate, I’ve lost! Am I in our class’s lowest caste!? Does failure taste like milk!?”

“Um… Are you trying to say Suzu-san spent too much time in the bath and passed out? Please calm down, Adele.”

Asama entered the tub while having Hanami use a stimulant spell. Adele turned toward her, but her vision was not great without her glasses.

“Ah! Instead of a stretcher, you brought some lovely cushions! Okay, let’s place Suzu-san on top!”

A carelessly outstretched hand grabbed onto Asama’s “chest armor” and knocked her over.

Asama gave her diagnosis of Suzu who had been carried to the beach.

“She has a slight fever. She was heated by the yakiniku fire and then the hot spring, so it is not surprising her body temperature rose a bit. She is delicate, after all.”

“Wait… Then why is everyone else perfectly fine?” asked Adele.

As the other girls hung their heads down, Suzu was asked if she would leave the diplomatic ship and return to Musashi, but she said she wanted to do her job as diplomat. Even on Musashi, everyone would be busy in the coming days and the coming and going of the transport ships would make everything noisy, so England’s first level had been chosen as a peaceful place for her.

Adele and Futayo would go along as her bodyguards.

“Listen up, Bell-san. If they say anything inconvenient or you want to force some kind of demand, just start coughing.”

“I-is that really…okay?”

She received plenty of advice like that. The next day, the three of them took their luggage and travelled to London. The day after that, preparations for the joint spring festival began.

Suzu’s health recovered on the second day of preparations and she began her work as diplomat along with Futayo and Adele in the guest building of Oxford Academy’s central school building group.

Her first job was nothing more than handing Jonson, England’s diplomat in charge, the data gathered by Heidi, but the English group was curious and cautious of Suzu and her two bodyguards who had combat styles useful in battle. The English students in charge of looking after her observed Suzu’s attitude and demeanor to make sure they did not intrude on her lifestyle.

The preparations lasted four days plus one day off. Musashi’s presence alongside England’s third and fourth levels produced excess food consumption over that extended period and the ship’s location meant it primarily affected England’s middle class.

On the night of the fifth day, when festival preparations truly came to an end, large-scale celebrations were held in various places. The following day, the joint spring festival finally began with a combined announcement from Masazumi and Dudley.

After the opening ceremony on the second level, the residents of both nations were allowed to come and go between the two nations and the cultural exchange of the festival began.

Below the clear sky, carriages travelled about and the area grew filled with people, music, dancing, and flowers blowing in the wind.

The week-long festival had finally begun.

In the transport ship, Horizon’s Logismoi Oplo had yet to be found. It could still be detected “nearby” and the search continued.

However, the festival had begun and Toori had challenged Horizon to a date so he could decide on a stance. Also, the others attempted to watch on from a distance.

Many different people moved throughout the festival.

And among them…

“My moment has finally come. I just hope my books made it to the event site.”

Neshinbara looked up at his bandaged right arm as he held it in the air and he walked with a splint on his leg.

Unlike the others, he had arrived on a standard transport ship as if he were a normal person.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 23|Chapter 23]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 25|Chapter 25]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 23

2014-05-02T23:25:58Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 23: Scarred Ones in a Closed Room */

==Chapter 23: Scarred Ones in a Closed Room==

[[Image:Horizon2A_711.png|thumb]]
''What rises up

''As if emitting a scent

''Even if you hide it?

'''Point Allocation (Sitting Politely)

Tenzou sat politely in a wooden room.

The room was almost ten meters square and the walls on either side contained shelves lined with baskets. In front of him was a wooden sliding door, he sat in the changing room, and a stained glass sliding door was behind him.

The stained glass led to the bath and it was made to show Mt. Fuji.

…''We planned to put this room in the transport ship, didn’t we?

They had instead set it up outside because the transport ship would be abandoned and likely destroyed after Musashi left England. By building the bath outside, the local people could use it even after Musashi left.

He and Scarred had both been outside about ten minutes earlier, but Scarred was currently bathing to check over the inside of the bath.

He had planned to wait outside the whole time, but she had said it would look suspicious if someone saw him waiting outside. That was why he was now waiting in the changing room.

Scarred would call out to him when she was getting out, so he could leave ahead of her and pretend to have taken a bath.

…''That is the ninja technique False Bath!

He would place hot water on his cheeks to redden them like a beautiful woman’s and he would lightly dampen his hair.

“Except I always hide my face.”

''In that case, I can just head out like this,'' concluded the ninja.

“Excuse me,” called a voice behind him.

“Wh-what is it?”

Having a naked girl call out to him for the first time in his life made Tenzou nervous.

“I checked over the floor and tub, but there is no sign of the water or air leaking out. Is there anywhere else I should check over?”

Tenzou recalled the work they had carried out that afternoon and mentally went over the instructions he had given the kobolds.

The inside of the bath had been made by placing another layer of stones over the tub and floor which had been surfaced with spells and stones. The water flowing in was also sent through a pipe to the northern wall. The pipe led to a few holes which would pour water over the people in the washing area.

There was one thing she needed to check on.

“Is the pipe sending water evenly out of the holes at the washing area?”

“Of the five holes, the two that are farthest back are weaker than the rest. There is a stopper partway down the pipe, so I can try to regulate it.”

“Please do.”

“Judge.”

Her voice contained a smile as she began working.

The girls were frowning and pressed up against the wall and door of the bathhouse.

They had initially come to see the water lily blossoms in the spring near the bathhouse. They had been discussing whether the blossoms were white or red, but their atmosphere had changed as soon as they saw Naomasa kneeling down in front of the door. She was pressed against the square glass to hear what was happening inside, but she frowned and spoke to the others.

“Kimi, Mito, Heidi, I take it you three finished cleaning up. Asamachi, were you able to detect Horizon’s Logismoi Oplo?”

“Yes. I used a detection spell usually used for mysterious disappearances, but it seems to be nearby.”

She could not tell what direction it was in, but it was not far. They had decided to begin a search later.

“It’s possible Horizon stored it somewhere while asleep and she simply doesn’t remember.”

Only those aboard the ship were going to continue searching because having unfamiliar people wandering around would only confuse matters.

“Then I’ll leave that to you. Anyway, listen up, all of you. It sounds like something interesting is about to happen in here. You know what I mean, right?”

“W-wait, Masa. Stop this. He’s our classmate.”

“C’mon, Asamachi. It’s because he’s a classmate that we can do this. Otherwise it would be illegal.”

“No, but…” mumbled Asama. “Wait. I think it’s illegal regardless.”

Asama began using the divine network via Hanami to search the sites of shrines for law gods. Naomasa ignored her and waved over Suzu who was blushing. Suzu detected the gesture with the sensors on her waist and head. She tilted her head and approached the beckoning girl.

“Um, Suzu. That Noise Neighbor or whatever you call it can amplify voices, right?”

“Y-yes… This?”

Suzu reached for the small cylindrical terminal hanging down from the sensor on her right hip. With a quick manipulation, she pulled out a connected cord. Naomasa took it and placed the sensor against the square glass of the door.

“Oh, but this will force you to repeat everything they say. Asamachi, could you have Hanami sync with it and display it as text? It’s IZUMO-made, so you can do it, right?”

“Ehhh?” Asama frowned. “I-if they’re saying anything weird, I’m going in to stop them.”

“Judge, judge!”

Everyone nodded enthusiastically and Hanami hopped to Suzu’s head. After Hanami produced a default setting sign frame, text started to appear.

“Scarred-dono, this is rather difficult, isn’t it?”

“Oh, we’re picking up their voices!” exclaimed Adele in admiration.

Masazumi folded her arms and closed her eyes partway.

“Still, I do not approve of this.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Naomasa waved a hand dismissively. “And this is Tenzou, so I doubt anything is going to happen. He can be quite conservative.”

“Really?”

“You saw that hooded guy he was speaking with today, right? Well, that guy asked that stupid ninja about why he stopped him during the transport ship crash.” She nodded. “And, because he’s an idiot, he wouldn’t give a straight answer. Yet he even has a proper answer.”

“But…”

“As a ninja, he wants to take all failures onto himself. His combat style is to erase his own heart.” Naomasa took a breath. “That idiot refuses to give his reason because he does not want to give that guy the shame of being ignorant and not realizing the truth. While ignorance is nothing to be ashamed of, the children’s lives were on the line. Ignorance doesn’t cut it when that guy is this level’s representative. …A ninja wears down his own body for the sake of his leader. The problem with him is he takes it beyond his combat style and into his everyday life.”

“Then,” said Suzu quietly. “Isn’t it…diffi-….tough for…the one in the hood…too? He wants to…apologize…but he isn’t…able to.”

“That’s right.” Naomasa nodded. “There’s nothing he can do while Tenzou is trying to be considerate. Then again, he must be a bit of an idiot too since he tried to run out toward the crashing ship. I think that is why Tenzou respects…no, that sounds a bit off. Well, I think he likes the guy. Tenzou understands what the guy is trying to do but can’t admit the truth because he is a ninja. He appreciates what the guy is trying to do, but I’m not sure if the Englishman will notice.”

“After how well they were getting along today, I could see Tenzou staying in England,” added Naito.

“Surely he wouldn’t go that far,” said Asama as she looked back down at Hanami’s sign frame.

The others followed suit and read the text representing the voices inside.

“How…How about further in, Scarred-dono!?”

“Ah…oh! Farther, yes! I-it’s coming out! The warmth is going all the way in!”

“Scarred-dono, reach for the front now! That should settle it down!”

“Nnn. I-it’s really hard! Ah, M-Master Tenzou! All of it is coming out now!”

“Oh, well done, Scarred-dono. I would never guess this was your first time doing this!”

Everyone exchanged a glance. Naruze had already produced a crop mark sign frame and was speedily drawing a storyboard with her pen.

“Okay! Their erotic conversation is giving me tons of progress! That cloaked man speaking to Tenzou with feminine language is reaching uncharted territory for characters in my works! I have so many ideas now!”

“W-wait. This has to be some kind of misunderstanding.”

As Asama tried to find another explanation, more text appeared.

“Th-then let’s move on, Tenzou-sama.”

“Yes. Making sure everything is working properly will prevent problems later.”

“Okay,” said Scarred in the text. “That just leaves this thick one down below and the rear penetration.”

“What in the world are you doing!?”

As Tenzou sat politely in the bathhouse, the sliding door directly in front of him suddenly opened, revealing Asama with her eyebrows raised.

The sudden action and Asama’s attitude surprised him.

…''Eh!? Ehh!? I don’t know what’s going in, but should I apologize?

After all, they had been about to test the thick pipe leading to the bath lower down and to check and make sure none of the water was penetrating the seal at the rear of the bath. Scarred seemed to have noticed the situation because he heard her hide in the bath. Meanwhile, Asama still did not understand the situation and she frowned when she saw him sitting on the floor.

“Huh? …Why are you here, Tenzou-kun?”

“Eh!? What!? Am I an unwanted ninja!?”

“No, that isn’t what I meant. Oh, Hanami, you can continue searching the site ‘Castration for Minor Crimes’. …Anyway, why are you here?”

Tenzou suddenly realized what she meant. He and Scarred were supposed to be in the bath together.

“Have you not taken your bath yet?”

“W-well, um…”

He frantically gave a vague answer, but that turned out to be a mistake. Asama sighed.

“I do not know what is going on here, but let me take a guess. You were too afraid to take a bath with someone else, so you were sitting out here putting on a one-man play of your perverted fantasies, weren’t you!?”

…''Ehhhhhh!? I-I mean, a few perverted things – just a few! – may have gone through my head, but that would happen to anyone in this situation. But still…

“Honestly,” said Asama as she seemed to stretch her body forward to look toward the bath. That action and her curiosity were bad enough, but Tenzou caught sight of a Technohexen and some other girls crouching down and peering in from the darkness behind Asama. He decided to settle this here and now.

“N-no need to come in! I am simply inspecting the floor here. Scarred-dono is performing the inspection in the bath.”

“Um, Tenzou-kun? We can look over the floor here afterwards, so please hurry up and take your bath. An inspection with a purification spell will find any flaws, so I will tell you later if there is anything wrong. …Everyone is waiting out in the cold and we cannot wait in here before you two finish changing.”

…''You certainly showed no restraint in coming in just now.

He decided he needed to pretend to take a bath, but Asama gave one final half-lidded comment while closing the sliding door.

“Oh, and Tenzou-kun? After living in the transport ship for so long…um… How can I put this gently? You smell like a dog, so go take a bath.”

“Nwoh! That was hardly gentle!”

She ignored his protest and closed the door.

He heard the sound of the door shutting.

…''What do I do now?

'''1: Take a bath with Scarred, thus making her hate you. ← Making a well-endowed blonde hate me would be the greatest disgrace of my life.

'''2: Do not take a bath, thus making the other girls hate you. ← They’re a bunch of monsters, so who really cares?

'''3: Peep on the bath without taking one, thus making Scarred and the other girls hate you. ← How did I even think up this one?

…''Basing it on who I have known the longest, 1 would be the answer, but all of our girls are of the cement type, so maybe 2 would be the way to go. I have a feeling that would achieve the most damage control.

But then Asama cracked open the door and glared at him.

“You still haven’t gone in?”

“Th-that’s really scary, Asama-dono! Are you an overprotective mother!?”

“Just hurry it up.”

The door closed again and he heard whispering from outside.

“Eh? What? So it was all Tenzou putting on a one-man play? Why isn’t he part of one of the literature clubs!?”

“Personally, I think he has been rejected so many times his fantasy engine has reached warship-class.”

“P-poor…T-Tenzou-kun…”

…''Was that the three-hit combo of misunderstanding, assumption, and pity?

But there had to be as many variations as there were people there, so he tried to think positively and assume having them speak about him like this was a victory.

But then…

“Um, Master Tenzou?”

He heard Scarred speaking from the bath.

“What is it?” he asked while turning her way.

“I do not mind, so…please come take a bath.”

“…”

For an instant, he considered using the “quick disrobe” or “jumping disrobe” ninja techniques developed for disguises.

“N-no. I-I-I-I… Th-that…”

He realized he had already failed by growing flustered like that. But…

“You don’t want to…?”

“Of course I do!”

For some reason, he reflexively and proudly answered.

“Then…feel free to come in.”

There was nothing he could say in response to that, so he collapsed sideways to the floor.

The bath was large. Of the 30 square meter space, about 10 was taken up by the tub.

It was simply constructed. The tub and floor had been constructed directly on the ground and a pre-made room had been placed on top with the floor removed. For the construction of the foundation and the hardening of the floor, they had used the same spells and quick-acting materials that were used to build the residential districts on Musashi. The material used to fill the gap between the foundation and the walls was still drying, but it was holding up well enough.

The tub had a large stone sticking up from the bottom to alter the flow of water and to give people something to lean up against. Scarred currently had her right shoulder leaning up against it.

The stained glass door depicting the Far East’s sacred mountain opened and the ninja entered.

The ninja had a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Master Tenzou, I see you did not remove your hat and scarf.”

“That is because I am a ninja.”

''The real deal really is something else,'' thought Scarred while feeling a little impressed.

However, he avoided looking at her and began washing his body at the washing area.

“Oh, this stopper…”

“I already checked that.”

“Th-then what about this pipe?’

“I checked that on your instructions as well.”

“Umm, th-then what about…”

“I checked it all. Your instructions were very good.”

She could tell he was trying to be considerate.

…''But this is no big deal.

With that thought, Scarred watched the ninja as he let the water wash over him from the pipe above. He held his hands together and muttered some kind of sutra, so she guessed it was a type of mental focus ritual.

“How about you do that after warming up in the bath?”

“I suppose I could do that, but…”

“Do you not want to take a bath with me?”

…''That wording should get through to him.

He did indeed tilt his head and groan, but she decided to avoid using that kind of wording in the future.

He approached the tub, said “excuse me”, placed his towel on the edge of the tub, and quickly submerged himself up to the shoulders.

“Ahh…”

The way he let out a relaxed sigh seemed to be the Far East method, so Scarred moved next to him, turned her back to him, stepped into the tub, and placed her towel on the edge of the tub.

“Nn…”

“Wah! Scarred-dono, what are you doing!?”

“Eh? But this is Far East etiquette, right? I will make sure to teach the village children about it. And I hope you can teach me a lot more, too.”

Tenzou lowered his head.

“Um…”

“What is it?”

“This situation is…indecent.”

''Oh, my,'' thought Scarred with an inward smile.

This ninja had moved resolutely and quickly enough to cut in and stop her as the transport ship crashed, he had acted on an intention to keep the children unharmed, he had moved the graveyard and constructed the bath, and he had even given tips on improving their farm land.

…''I can’t believe someone like him would get embarrassed.

As someone who always hid her identity, for better or for worse, being treated this way was a new experience for her. She felt he was quite diligent, but she decided not to tease him about it.

“There is nothing worth seeing here,” she said.

“O-on the contrary! There is an entire genre for it!”

He suddenly spoke very passionately, but she did not know what he meant.

“Genre?” she asked before speaking the words in her heart. “My body is covered in scars, so it is not worth looking at.”

“That is…not true.”

“Is that because of the…genre you mentioned?”

“No.” The ninja shook his head. “Your scars are…I apologize, but as far as I can see, they are only on the front of your body.”

He then stopped speaking.

…''It can’t be.

A mixture of unease and hope filled her heart, so she spoke to him.

“Please…continue.”

“Judge,” he replied, but he hesitated a while longer before speaking. “I may be wrong, but it appears a lot your scars were gained during a single event and the others were gained with gaps of time between. As an outsider, I do not intend to inquire what it was that caused them, but I can say one thing for sure.”

She listened to him.

“You have never once turned your back and fled. You have always faced your opponent and your opponents understood and appreciated that fact.”

In which case…

“Speaking ill of those scars is an insult to both your opponents and to yourself.”

“…”

Scarred gasped. She recalled when she had gained those scars. She went over what had happened and what she had thought.

…''Is he right?

Part of her wanted to agree, but the reverse side of her intent to punish herself produced a question.

“You could say I gave myself these scars because I wanted to. I felt I might as well die.”

“Then…”

The ninja named Tenzou faced her.

“If you gave yourself those scars and are still alive…”

“Then I should live on and accomplish something? Are you saying fate is telling me that? That would just be deceiving myself.”

“No,” he said. “I was saying you could continue doing so until you are satisfied.”

But…

“But I feel you have done enough. After all…”

Part of Scarred wanted to hear what he was going to say, but part of her did not.

He was definitely going to speak about her. She had not told him much about her, but she would still feel disappointed if he said something that showed he did not know what he was talking about.

…''He chooses to live a life where he remains on the losing side.

She was jealous of his ability to be satisfied with that.

And so she spoke up as if taking a step forward.

“After all?”

Her resolute question received an immediate response.

“I do not think you need any new scars. If you wish to have pride in the scars on the front of your body, you should not add on more scars. You should maintain your current body with the proud scars on the front and the untouched back which proves you never faltered. Adding any more scars would only damage the pride you and everyone else have. This may be presumptuous of me, but I think you have done enough.”

And…

“I think you have done well to continually protect so much.”

Tenzou’s words had contained a hint of admiration.

…''This girl…

The girl with the Urban Name of Scarred had likely been an excellent leader. He did not know why she now used “judge”, the response of a criminal, but he knew one thing without knowing her identity.

…''She is a good person. And she is the type to walk a life filled with negative things.

He had seen her scolding the village children. Scolding held the risk of making the children wary of you or angry at you, but she had made sure each child knew what exactly they had done wrong and then forgave them.

…''She left them with the memory of being scolded and the memory of improving themselves.

But that was likely why she had gained those scars. And she was hiding her identity as if to make sure no one could tell her they had changed their ways. In that case…

…''Someone, it doesn’t matter who, needs to be her ally.

He turned toward her and saw her lower lip was a bit tense.

“…”

Her eyebrows wavered and a tear suddenly fell down.

…''Eh?

As she suddenly cried, lowered her head, and covered her face with her scar-covered hands, Tenzou panicked.

“No, um…. Did I do something wrong?”

But as Scarred covered her face, her arms squeezed her breasts together and Tenzou instinctually looked down. As he saw the distortion and change to the physical shape caused by the pressure, he prioritized saving the image in his brain.

…''I am being terribly indecent!

As the phrase “Now I’ve done it!” repeated in his head while accompanied by alarm bells, he chanted a Mikkyou sutra and managed to take back control from the evil thoughts.

“U-um, Scarred-dono?”

He called out to her, but Scarred continued to lower her head and cover her face with her hands. Her only response was to shake her head a bit.

…''I have no idea what to do! I should have studied those porn games more.

While trying to keep everything below Scarred’s neck out of vision, he stared into empty air and thought. The first thing that came to mind was a fragment of an article from the ninja magazine Monthly Cannabis Jump.

—'''Immediately tell a joke.

…''I can’t afford to tell a terrible joke like Masazumi-dono! In that case…!

“Okay, Scarerd-dono. Um…To change the subject…”

As he spoke, he recalled the title of the article had been “The Stereotypical Patterns of Unpopular Ninja”. ''I guess my life is over now,'' he thought while somehow finding it easier to speak now that he knew that.

“Well, you see… All of my scars are on the back because I am always running away.”

He sat back down next to Scarred and raised his right arm. That arm had a scar on the front.

“This is a rare example of a scar on the front, but I got this while Musashi was stopped at Edo. A monster appeared due to a disturbance in the ley lines down below. Anyway, I went out to face it as a part of my training, but it turned out to be a monkey that understood human language. As soon as I faced it, it shouted ‘monkey magic’ and attacked. I assumed it was using some kind of spell, but it simply scratched at me. Anyway, the monkey was captured and sent to the monkey mountain in Ueno. Because that is on the god of Ueno’s land, the monkey was probably at least partially cut.”

He looked over and saw Scarred’s shoulders shaking while she continued to cover her face. He drew back, assuming she was angry. But…

“Honestly.”

She raised her head and faced him with eyes and face wet from the tears and steam and with a smile on her flushed cheeks. However, the ends of her eyebrows were lowered.

“I really do not understand you.”

…''That would be my line!

Then again, if he did not understand her, it was only natural that she would not understand him. But he was relieved that she did not seem to hate him.

…''No. I mustn’t interpret this in a way convenient for me. I always end up losing something when I do that.

After telling himself that, he spoke to her.

“I will get out first. I will hold off the others outside, so use that time to get dressed.”

“Y-you make it sound like holding them off will be difficult.”

“Judge,” he agreed. “If only they could be…”

He started to say “more like you”, but stopped because he felt that comparison was rude. He started to leave the tub, but instead scratched at his head and thought.

…''Oh, no. If I would so readily use her as a comparison, I must be focusing on her a lot.

As Tenzou began to leave the tub, Scarred quickly looked away from his naked body. As she did, she spotted something floating in the tub.

Wondering if it was trash, she looked closer and saw it was a scrap of reinforced wood. She wondered what it was doing here, but she quickly stated her answer as a question.

…''Part of the transport ship’s outer hull?

The bow of the ship had been smashed during the crash and the water in the bath had come from a hole in the crust opened on the edge of the inlet.

…''A piece that fell in the hole in the crust must have floated up with the water.

She knew why it was here, but its presence still counted as a failure on her and Tenzou’s part as the ones performing the final check. And so she reached toward it.

“…”

But the fragment gave her an odd, dull pain.

…''Eh? Why does it hurt?

She had not touched a sharp corner or edge. She had only reached for what looked like the painted surface.

Nevertheless, she felt a pain like something was being jammed below her fingernail or scraped across the bottom of her finger, so she jerked her hand back. Tenzou seemed to notice as he left the bath.

“What is it?” he asked.

However, he considerately did not turn around.

“Nothing,” she quickly answered.

With slight doubt in her mind, she reached for the floating fragment once more.

…''It can’t be…

She felt as if she had found the answer to the mystery that had been filling her mind for so long.

…''Why did he say it was his own carelessness that led him to stop me during the crash?

Why had he insisted he had not noticed her spell when he had to have noticed?

“…”

She carefully reached out and touched the fragment. The palm of her hand felt as if a mass of needles was pressing against it but not breaking the skin. She knew what this pain meant.

…''It is resisting my ether control.

The wood had been treated to oppose spells. Specifically, it would repel them. In order to protect the ship, it had been given the ability to repel any external power. However, it was rare for even warships to have this spell applied to all of its armor. The costs were too great, so spells would normally only be used to defend certain points.

But she quickly realized why this spell had been applied to the transport ship’s outer hull.

…''Because it is Musashi’s transport ship.

Not only that, but it was a high-level transport ship that Musashi was willing to use even during battle. The repel spell had created an outer shell that protected the ship from wind resistance and the inertia applied during quick actions.

…''In that case…

If she had tried to save the children by using her spell to blow away the crashing transport ship, the spell might have blown the ship away, but the repelled power would have struck the children with her spell.

“…!”

Even in the warm water of the bath, Scarred felt a definite chill.

…''If that’s true…!

Why had he rushed in to stop her?

And why was he refusing to tell her the truth and insisting he had not noticed her spell?

She had solved the first question, but she had to guess at the second.

…''If Master Tenzou had told me the truth…

Scarred’s speculation brought her to something close to certainty.

…''Everyone would learn that I ignorantly and hastily rushed in.

Part of her wished he had told her and did not want to feel that ignorance was something to be ashamed of. But if the people learned her ignorance could expose them to danger, they would lose their trust in her. Also, this situation was very out of the ordinary and the children had been safe in the end. He had likely decided that there was no need to tell the truth and have the people lose faith in her.

What was she to the residents of the fourth level? She could not answer that question in a way that was not conceited or self-deprecating, but he had seen through it all in the instant he saw her spell and he had taken action to keep that shame from her.

He had lied and said it was his own carelessness and he had not blamed her of anything despite her ignorance.

…''He did not just protect the children. He protected me, too.

“…”

How much easier would it have been if he had simply let her apologize? After all, even though she understood the truth now, he would still not admit the truth because he understood her position.

And on top of that, she spotted something else he had done.

He had a wound on his back, near his right shoulder blade. It had a complex shape and it appeared to have gouged out his flesh as it stabbed in. The flesh below could be seen through the new skin growing above.

She remembered that wound. He had gained that while protecting her.

And so…

“Master Tenzou.”

She stood up, scraped her waist along the tub, and approached his back.

Tenzou gasped as he placed his hands on the edge of the tub and suddenly felt wet skin press against him. Her skin felt cold at first, but he felt a wet and sticky warmth as she pressed up against him.

…''Boobs!! No, stop thinking about this like Kimi-dono would. You need to focus on analyzing and recording the-…no, stop thinking about such indecent things. Just calm down and chant a sutra!! But…

“Master Tenzou.”

“Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-what?”

…''I am hopeless. I should just roll over and die.

Just as he came to that simple conclusion, he felt a damp wetness on the right side of his back. After a moment, the sensation vanished and she spoke.

“Where did you get this injury?”

…''She would feel ashamed if I told her truth.

“I-I was attacked by a talking dog the other day.”

He heard her laugh, but she did not move away.

“Would you mind if I healed it? Or does it need to be healed with a different spell?”

Tenzou recalled Scarred’s spell ability. Her healing spell could likely heal that shallow wound without leaving a scar.

…''But that would erase the sign that I protected her. Such cheap heroism.

But from her point of view, the wound may have been nothing but a burden.

…''How does Toori-dono feel when he sees Horizon-dono as an automaton? Then again, he peeks between her legs when she crouches down and wants to touch her breasts, so maybe he is satisfied like this. He may be looking at things in the long run.

And so he made up his mind.

“Please do.”

“Judge.”

As she spoke, her bangs touched his back and he felt a small damp sensation. Before he realized that was her lips, she had passed her arms under his arms.

“Please do not turn around. It would interfere with the spell.”

Tenzou poured all his energy into mentally chanting sutras and the healing was complete in a few minutes.

After Tenzou and Scarred exited the bath with a slight delay between the two, some other people entered the bath.

“First of the vanguard in the bath!”

Adele dashed full speed into the bath with her glasses removed.

“Ah… Don’t run,” warned Suzu as she followed her in.

Adele slipped, flipped around, and unintentionally dove into the tub, causing a huge splash.

Next, the rest of the girls entered with exasperated looks. Two of them with black hair exchanged a glance. The taller one, Asama, spoke to Masazumi.

“Okay, let’s begin.”

She nodded along with Hanami on her shoulder.

“Masazumi, it’s time to make a Mouse contract and get it all set up.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 22|Chapter 22]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 24|Chapter 24]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 22

2014-05-02T23:23:49Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 22: Replier on the Chopping Block */

==Chapter 22: Replier on the Chopping Block==

[[Image:Horizon2A_679.png|thumb]]
''What do you need

''To give an answer?

'''Point Allocation (Next Question)

''It’s been a while since I walked on the sand,'' thought Masazumi on the nighttime beach.

She had visited the beach during the summers while her father was still in Mikawa, but she had stopped after her unfinished sex change operation.

While listening to the nostalgic sound of the sand beneath her feet, she faced the others.

“It does not matter that the English residents are still here. We are discussing our stance toward England, so having them hear us should speed up their understanding. Augesvarer, how is the commercial relationship between England and the other countries?”

England’s battle with Tres España was drawing near, so their international connections were bound by religion and the Testament Union. However, it was worth checking to avoid any possible surprises.

“Judge.”

Augesvarer stood up and Erimaki produced a sign frame on her shoulder.

The sign frame showed a map of the area around England.

“Currently, England is primarily trading with Holland and the Protestant principalities of M.H.R.R. M.H.R.R. is backed by the Mlasi Oda forces, but their control through Hashiba is focused on the Catholic principalities. That is why England has not actively tried to form a relationship with Oda’s main forces. Still, it seems Hashiba has been trying various things to form a relationship with England,” she said. “But M.H.R.R.’s Catholic side has used the Thirty Years’ War to suppress the Protestant side, so the Protestant principalities can’t trade freely with England. That is why most of England’s trade is with Holland. Their tariffs are quite low and Holland is also making a good profit off of it, but Holland is fighting the Eighty Years’ War against Tres España and they are too small a country for large-scale trade.”

“That increases Musashi’s value as a trade partner, right?”

“Judge.” Heidi nodded. “Over the twelve days starting the day after tomorrow, we need to do our best to trade our other goods in addition to the meat. The everyday goods we brought from Mikawa and could not trade on the way should sell well.”

“I see.”

Masazumi snapped her fingers through the white glove on her right hand. With that sound, Augesvarer sat down and Masazumi looked across the group again.

“That should be enough on Musashi’s current position. We need to get to what is truly important.” She took a breath. “During Tres España’s attack, we caught a glimpse of a large nation’s strength. And the way England is currently treating us shows how nations deal with each other during war. I think we need to discuss once more how we will face England now and the other nations afterwards.”

She turned toward the naked boy sitting on the sand before continuing.

“We need to decide how we will recover the Logismoi Oplo and how we will settle the Apocalypse.”

As she listened to Masazumi essentially ask a question, Asama felt somehow uncomfortable.

Most of those here were the student council member or an officer, but she was neither. As the successor to the Asama Shrine, she had avoided involving herself in politics. For the same reason, her assistance in battle was not in the form of offense. She instead defended and prevented damage to the city.

This meeting was taking place after everyone ate, so Suzu and Kimi were there as well.

But it was not an issue of being interested in the topic. She was wondering if her presence was acceptable.

''I may have gotten too deeply involved,'' she thought. ''Kimi has it easy. As the one who looks after Toori-kun and Horizon, she can stay here without feeling out of place.

But then a sudden thought hit her.

…''Come to think of it, I don’t think Kimi feels she is out of place anywhere!

Whether at the academy or visiting the shrine, she always had her midriff and the top of her breasts exposed. Asama’s father would warn her not to dress like that because it was inappropriate, but he never seemed to have a problem with Kimi dressing that way.

…''Well, she probably has her own troubles. She has to. I hope she does.

But meanwhile, Asama’s out-of-place feeling only grew.

Masazumi continued speaking in front of everyone.

“There was one important meaning behind choosing to travel from Mikawa to England. As I am sure you all know, England possesses a Logismoi Oplo, so they are our enemy as a Testament Union member. But England is also a final chance for us.”

Asama had a lot to think about, but she focused on Masazumi’s voice.

“In England, we can withdraw Aoi’s proclamation of world domination.”

Futayo reacted to Masazumi’s statement.

“We can do that?”

“Sure! That’s easy! If I seriously say I take it back, no one’ll care!”

Everyone glared at the idiot and he settled down. Masazumi cleared her throat.

“Judge. There is a simple reason why we can withdraw. That is-…”

Before she could continue, Bertoni spoke up while operating a sign frame.

“England has no provisionally ruled Far Eastern land and no reservations. They are an independent land that is truly difficult for a Far Eastern merchant to deal with. Isn’t that right, vice president? We announced we would conquer the world, but our conquest would take the form of gathering the deadly sin weapons which are the key to saving the world from the Apocalypse. Essentially, we said we would conquer anyone who refused to give us their Logismoi Oplo. That statement is backed by the world’s urgency toward the Apocalypse, but it was also caused by the other nations taking the Far East’s land. It gives us the justification to overturn the other nations’ provisional rule and regain the original Far East.”

But…

“But England does not provisionally rule any of the Far East’s land, so the Logismoi Oplo are our only justification here. Conquering England’s land has a different meaning from conquering any other nation’s land. We will be recovering our own land for the others, but here we will be taking their land.”

“Then how do you think we should deal with them?”

Bertoni did not even turn toward her as he answered the question.

“I believe the rest is your job, vice president.”

He was right, so Masazumi nodded and took a breath.

“We need to obtain England’s Logismoi Oplo, but I think it would be best if we did not conquer England. As Bertoni explained, we would be taking land which is not ours, but it would also make for a valuable bargaining chip afterwards.”

“Why do you say that? Not conquering them to avoid taking their land seems only natural to me. For one, it avoids exhausting the resources of both nations,” said Asama. “Why would something so natural be a bargaining chip?”

Masazumi smiled.

“You answered your own question, Asama.”

“Eh?”

Asama tilted her head and Masazumi let out a breath.

…''If I had a sign frame, maybe I could write down what I want to say and provide supplementary information orally.

“It is exactly as you said: fighting each other would exhaust the resources of every country involved. And that does not only apply to England. We are sure to face Hexagone Française and M.H.R.R. later, so it goes for them as well. Not to mention Sviet Rus. If we fight, we will deplete each other’s resources. And all of these countries are currently fighting the Thirty Years’ War, fighting Oda, or dealing with internal conflict. If we begin fighting over the Logismoi Oplo, we will wear them down as well which will show an opening to the countries they were originally fighting.”

“But how can we negotiate with them if we do not fight England?”

“When facing the next country along, we can play a card saying we will not attempt to conquer them so long as a certain condition is met. England will set a precedent. Fighting us will create an opening other countries can take advantage of, so some countries will likely accept our terms.”

“That sounds like blackmail to me. Should be profitable, though.”

“Judge,” said Masazumi. “But it is a valuable card. It influences the fate of that country. And if England or some other country avoids depleting their resources by simply returning their Logismoi Oplo to us without opposition, more will surely follow. The Logismoi Oplo can turn the tide of a battle, but wars between nations are on a much larger scale. Some will decide it is better in the big picture to lose their Logismoi Oplo than to fight us. But…”

“But?” said everyone with a frown.

…''All of this is based on the assumption that this can be resolved peacefully.

It was true that avoiding conflict was best. However…

“The odds of England or any later country agreeing to return their Logismoi Oplo are extremely low.”

After all…

“They will be looking even further into the future.”

What was the future the other countries would be looking toward?

“They will be thinking about the world past the Thirty Years’ War and the Sengoku period. They will be thinking about the world past the Apocalypse where nothing is known. Even in that unknown world, the different nations will continue to fight for power. While dealing with the Apocalypse is important, they do not want to create a powerful enemy by giving the Far East great military might and the credit for saving the world from the Apocalypse.”

She took a breath.

“They will be fine with letting the Far East deal with the Apocalypse, but they will insist that we deplete our resources and lose all our power after the Apocalypse.”

“So they will oppose us?” asked Asama.

Masazumi nodded.

“To be honest, I do not expect anyone to simply return the Logismoi Oplo to us. They may very well ‘lend them to us’ until Westphalia. ''And that is why England is the key.'' How exactly we acquire England’s Logismoi Oplo will act as a guideline for the other nations and decide Musashi’s fate. Will we be able to peacefully collect the Logismoi Oplo or will we sink into the whirlpool of strategies laid out by the nations that are thinking about the world after the Apocalypse? In other words, if things do not continue peaceably with England, Musashi will enter a state of all-out war with at least the Testament nations of the Testament Union.”

Silence fell over the group.

Masazumi looked toward Aoi. While sitting naked on the sand, he double-checked the seaweed on his crotch, stared toward her with a serious expression, and began pointing at his crotch with both hands.

…''I’m not going to comment on it! I’m not!!

While mentally averting her gaze, Masazumi spoke.

“Aoi, I want to hear your policy. How much will you permit in the name of gathering the Logismoi Oplo? Can you say it again now? Are you willing to face all-out war?”

“Well…”

As everyone focused on him, Aoi folded his arms. He finally stood up, but eventually slowly lowered back down again. He then stood up again and repeated the process.

“…”

“Stop performing nude squats!”

Aoi was a bit out of breath, but he still responded.

“Don’t blame me. You’re the one that suddenly asked such a difficult question.”

“Foolish brother,” said the Aoi sister without a smile as she combed Mukai’s hair. “Have you forgotten what happened long ago? Or do you plan to pass that off as something you did while you were still an idiot?”

…''Long ago?

If Masazumi did not know what she meant, it had to be something only this group knew about. She did not know how long ago it was, but she was curious what it was if it would help Aoi make up his mind.

…''Will they eventually tell me?

Suddenly, a new voice spoke up.

“Kimi.”

This voice was Asama’s. She turned around with her eyebrows slightly raised.

“That is important to us, but it was only a starting point. Starting points tend to be simple things, so it becomes difficult later if you try to use that starting point as the standard for everything. That is why we add all sorts of things to that starting point and use the resulting combination as our current standard. Do you understand that?”

“Heh heh heh. No bra shrine maiden, I understand that better than you. After all, I started out with a small cup size, but it became difficult later and I repeatedly had to cast off my old bra. Do you understand the pain of realizing every bra you have bought is now useless!? Not to mention the anger with no outlet when my mother considerately bought me an over bra at that time! It felt like the world was shouting ‘replace your over brassiere!!’ You have it easy in that regard. You face only the benefits of being so huge.”

“Th-there is more bad about having large breasts than there is good! It makes your shoulders stiff and it shifts your body’s balance forward so you have to constantly focus on straightening your back. Also-…”

Asama was unable to continue because Balfette raised her front forearm with her head hanging down.

She hid her expression behind her bangs and glasses.

“I will agree that there is nothing good about large breasts. I can allow that.”

But…

“But having a flat chest definitely damages your pride.”

Everyone fell silent for a short time.

“…”

But then applause began. Masazumi instinctually nodded in understanding of the group of clapping people.

But then…

“No, wait. We need to get back on track.”

When she thought about it, she did not know the details of their past.

They of course knew that, so the Aoi sister shrugged and urged Aoi to answer.

“Foolish brother.”

“Hm…”

Her naked younger brother turned around, scratched his head, and looked toward her.

“I haven’t forgotten. It’s just…”

Before he could continue, the Aoi sister suddenly cut in.

“Heh heh. Foolish brother, that is fine. You do not have to say the rest.”

She smiled and brought an end to that line of discussion.

Faced with everyone’s questioning gazes, the sister narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth in a crescent moon shape.

“The rest of that is a political issue which is not what I am concerned with. I only care that my foolish brother has not forgotten his promise.” Her lips formed a clearer smile. “That was all I needed to check as his sister. I have no intention of checking on anything political for the Far East. …I know. Foolish brother, this is what you mean, isn’t it? You have not forgotten the starting point, but so much has been added on that your foolish and simple mind cannot gather it all together. If that is not it, then bow down before me.”

“Hm. That’s mostly it, but I guess I still owe you a third of a bow,” muttered the idiot with a troubled tone. “I feel like it was all so simple up until Horizon came back.”

But…

“But aside from that, I think I’m overthinking this a bit. As out of character as that may seem. To be blunt, it makes me so happy that I’m too much to handle and I have to tell myself to stay. Sis, you understand, don’t you? You take the wild animal within yourself on a walk and it won’t stop barking and rubbing up against people! You’re such an amazing beast!”

“Heh heh heh. Foolish brother, I see that your wild animal is on the level of a Spitz. You sound like a cute little toy dog. You could be a Maltese or a Chihuahua, or… Ahh, these breed names sound so dirty! Maltese!? Chihuahua!? You can write them with such dirty kanji! Oh, these are too much to describe even me! Just imagining what an Asama Chihuahua would be is so very dirty!”

“Why would you drag me into this!?”

“Um, enough dog jokes. Let’s get back on topic, Aoi sister…or rather, Aoi.”

Masazumi looked over and the naked boy slowly nodded and folded his arms.

“Well, if I was going to explain my thoughts right now…”

“Yes?”

The idiot nodded.

“You know how Neshinbara and Black Mar are right now? It may be weird or creepy to say I understand, but I’ve been wondering what to do from now on and if what I’m doing is fair to the people around me. In that way, I feel like I’m not all that different from them.”

“Not that different? Neshinbara doesn’t walk around naked,” pointed out Masazumi.

Everyone nodded but began whispering to each other.

“Masazumi really has gotten used to things around here.”

“If you ask me, I think she adapted a lot faster than we did.”

“Hm. Maybe pulling down her pants was the switch to awaken that side of her.”

“You people don’t pull your punches, do you?” muttered Masazumi.

…''So Aoi too has been thinking about a lot of things.

…''It would be a problem if he wasn’t, but I can’t just openly praise him.

Masazumi let out a breath.

“Well, please gather your thoughts before long. As Howard said earlier today, we will have a proper meeting with England after the party on the festival’s first day in about a week. That will determine what happens to Musashi. You do not need to make a clear decision until then, but I want you to be able to say which way you’re leaning. Even if you do not make up your mind, the world will continue to move and create a situation that requires a decision. I would like for you to make up your mind by the meeting on the opening day of the festival.”

“Yeah, I’d like to have an answer by then.” Aoi looked at her and then turned toward the others. “But I’m not very smart, so it’s hard for me to say exactly what we should do. Still, I intend to never compromise on what I think is wrong and what I think is right.” He turned back toward Masazumi. “So could you wait a bit? I’ll definitely find an answer along those lines.”

Aoi spoke in a quiet and calm tone, but Bertoni narrowed his eyes and cut in.

“Definitely? Will you bet money on it? If you are willing to say ‘definitely’, I can draw up a contract.”

“W-wait, dammit! D-definitely probably! Got it!?”

Masazumi and everyone else hung their heads worriedly, but she changed her train of that.

…''He’s an idiot, but he doesn’t leave the important parts to someone else.

He would make the final decision on his own.

…''He may be unreliable, but it is my job to support him.

With that thought, she nodded.

“Judge. Understood. I would like to make a proposal to support the optimal decision for the Far East: everyone, please work to provide Aoi with as much information as you can.”

“Judge,” agreed everyone.

But Aoi suddenly tilted his head.

“What will happen if I don’t make up my mind in time?”

“Normally, we would leave England without deciding anything. After all, the leader of the academy will not have decided on our policy. But if a decision is absolutely necessary...” Masazumi paused. “I will take full responsibility and make the decision under my authority as vice president.”

The phrase “full responsibility” caused everyone’s expressions to tense up. After all…

“Someone lower down will decide the policy that the leader could not make up his mind on. It will display the weakness of Musashi’s political leadership and it will cause a lot of pressure from below. I would likely take responsibility and resign to show that it is not a coup d’etat.”

…''Well, that’s part of my duty.

They had agreed to mutually support each other, so she would have to take responsibility and cover for his mistakes and weaknesses. If Aoi and Horizon remained, the Far East could continue on. She might have to step down, but it was only natural for her to defend the Far East like that.

…''But I would prefer it if that did not happen.

“So personally, I would appreciate it if you made up your mind to a certain extent.”

“Hmm…”

The idiot began thinking. He looked indecisive and unreliable.

…''But I suppose this is actually a good thing.

It meant their king viewed his will as important and was willing to think about everyone else too.

…''He may have a hard time getting there, but he will do a good job in the end.

“Oh, I know.”

Aoi suddenly clapped his hands together and turned to Horizon.

“Go on a date with me at the festival, Horizon.”

Mitotsudaira handed Heidi a fifth empty plate while looking toward Horizon and the naked boy.

…''A date?

“What?”

As Horizon tilted her head, Kimi served some five-grain fried rice to Mitotsudaira via the silver chain.

“Heh heh heh. Foolish brother, have you put together a proper plan? The trick to a date is to not rely on manuals but to go to all the right places! You might think you have won when you make the girl think you have thought about it yourself yet still done everything she wanted, but that only cuts it in middle school. That is only the starting point! Be extra careful that you do not split the bill while eating! Do not even mistakenly do anything that would ruin the mood like going on the Lackland Experience Tour or the Thames Sewage Ecology Tour! If you are going to choose a tour, you could choose the Mysterious London Execution Tour that I would never go on…Oh, but Horizon can’t feel fear, can she? Kwah! Nice mistake, wise sister!”

“Sis! Sis! Is it just me or did you not give any actual answers in that rant?”

Mitotsudaira thought as the siblings spoke.

''Th-they pass the conversation back and forth too quickly for me to cut in! I’m just not fast enough!'' she thought. ''Where did the enjoyable dinnertime conversations go? Am I not wanted? Then again, Horizon is still wordlessly focused on feeding me expensive meat. I cannot take her lightly.

“Wh-why do you want to go on a date with Horizon now?” she asked the two odd siblings.

“Oh, that’s simple. It’s because there’s so much I don’t really understand.”

“Heh heh heh. Foolish brother, I do not understand that explanation at all! Explain it so your wise sister can understand it!”

“Sis! Sis! If you’re so wise, then why can’t you understand? That makes no sense.”

Horizon struck Toori with a backhand blow. He let out a shriek and sank down to a sitting position as the automaton turned a half-lidded glare in his direction.

“To be honest, I would like to hear why you are speaking like that to someone so close to you.”

“B-but punching them is okay!?”

“Those are two different things.”

“Yes, they really are!!”

Things were growing troublesome, so Mitotsudaira helped up Toori with her silver chains and then lightly wrapped them around him so he could not move. Horizon faced him while sitting politely and tapped the sand a few times as if demanding something of him.

“Now, how about you give an answer to it all?”

“Yeah, but…it’s kind of pathetic.”

He took a breath and turned so he was looking only at her.

“Horizon, I want to see and discuss all sorts of things with you. After all, I skipped past all that and went straight for the confession. So I want to go back and discuss all those things now.”

“What would you like to discuss?”

She tilted her head.

“Well…” He thought for a moment. “I want to return the things you lost because of me. But what about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, y’see… You might not be interested in emotions. I made you cry during the Battle of Mikawa, so you might not want any more if emotions are that painful.”

“I will be blunt,” answered Horizon too quickly for him to prepare. “At the present, I feel emotions are unnecessary.”

The automaton’s answer made Mitotsudaira gasp a bit.

…''Unnecessary?

That would mean everything he had done and was doing could be meaningless. And what if that brought him sadness?

“…”

Mitotsudaira did not know what to do, but she instructed her silver chains to prepare to take action at any time. However…

“Mitotsudaira, pass me some yakisoba.”

The silver chains satisfied Kimi’s request by quickly moving a metal spatula and a plate. The silver chains wrapped a towel around themselves as a headband and instantly prepared the plate, the soba, the seaweed, and…

“Oh, I don’t need any pickled ginger. Give me barley tea instead.”

The chain in charge of the ginger slumped dejectedly, but then undulated happily as it stretched toward Heidi who had the small barrel of barley tea. As Kimi took the mid-sized mug of barley tea, Mitotsudaira turned toward Toori.

As he entered her vision once more, he was fine.

He was still alive.

He had not died of sadness. She breathed an inward sigh of relief at that fact.

…''Thank goodness.

As she watched, he looked up in the sky and opened his mouth to speak.

“Yeah, I guess that’s the normal reaction. Emotions are unnecessary. They’re kind of a pain, really.”

Mitotsudaira realized why he was fine. He had likely already predicted that Horizon would not want her emotions.

…''After all, they are on parallel lines.

As an automaton, Horizon sought the best possible decision that contained no waste. And that was why Kimi asked her a question.

“Horizon, our wolf is about to become a watchdog, so could you tell your future sister something? Why are they unnecessary?”

“Judge. To put it simply, I have gotten by for an entire year without them. I have determined that their absence did not cause me any inconvenience. In that case, the effort put into obtaining them would do nothing but add something extra to my daily life.”

“Yeah, I suppose so,” muttered Toori while still staring up into the sky. “Well, even if you say you don’t need them, I long ago decided to get them back.” He lowered his gaze to the sand and scratched at his head with his right hand. “It was my fault, so I have to get them back. You could say I’m reimbursing you by replacing what was lost.”

Reimbursing.

Mitotsudaira almost laughed when she heard that word, so she lowered her head. She heard a few other people stifle their breathing like she had, so everyone’s reaction must have been the same.

…''Why is his sense of responsibility so strong in the weirdest ways?

But she could tell he was serious about this. He was the kind of person who would look at the things he had done from all sorts of joking angles, but in the end, he would always circle around to face it from the front.

…''That is why he is so hard to deal with.

If he was not so insistent on that final position, he would live an easier life.

Once she had suppressed her laughter and raised her head, she found him was looking her way. His gentle eyes looked past Horizon’s shoulder and toward her.

“The thing is,” he began. “I think Nate suspected this and asked about it, but we – Shiro, Neshinbara, Tenzou, and I – thought something smelled fishy back when the Logismoi Oplo were distributed to the different nations. And even ignoring that, what your father, Lord Motonobu, created were the deadly sins. We had wondered if you would get a person if you brought them all together. So, Horizon, even if you hadn’t come back and even if Mikawa hadn’t blown up, we would’ve negotiated with these countries over the Apocalypse. It didn’t have to be with Musashi or the Far East, but we would’ve gathered the Logismoi Oplo and then performed the Eight Sins Combination! Or maybe the Eight-Level Combination – The True Deadly Sin! …Wait, I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! But we really did say that! It was wrong of us, so stop glaring at me!”

“How many times must I tell you I am not glaring at you? …For reference, this was the first time.”

“Nwohhh! I don’t even know how to respond to that!!”

Everyone told the two of them to calm down.

Finally, Toori collapsed to his knees once more and turned to Horizon.

“Anyway, we put together a plan to use them in a memorial service for you.”

“Then…”

As Horizon began to speak, it was clear what she was going to say. In his original plan, she had not been present.

“I was never needed for what you are doing, was I? In that case, please stop using the retrieval of my emotions as an excuse.”

Just as Mitotsudaira realized why she was saying that, Horizon continued.

“After all, this makes all of your injuries and all this conflict a direct result of me being here. You say you want to go on a date to see whether I want my emotions or not, but do you want my presence to be the cause of all of that?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then I am not needed here. Wouldn’t it be better if…”

Just as Horizon was going to say “I was not with the rest of you”, Mitotsudaira saw tears dripping down Horizon’s cheeks.

…''Eh?

Mitotsudaira wondered how that was possible, but she remembered something.

Horizon had the emotion of sadness. That single emotion had returned. And in that case…

…''Why?

“I…” she said. “I do not want to be unwanted.”

Horizon’s tears and words caused Mitotsudaira to gasp.

…''Is this…?

She had made her best decision as an automaton, but this was a different decision that her heart wanted.

She wanted to make the best decision that said she was unneeded.

…''But being unneeded or unwanted is sad.

Mitotsudaira understood that sadness.

…''I came here from home all on my own.

But Horizon had no memories and little life experience. With her foundational knowledge as an automaton and what she had read in books, she had a lot of knowledge with little experience to back it up.

…''Simply feeling unwanted makes her sad.

She was like a crying child clinging to her parent so they would turn around.

Mitotsudaira wondered if she had been the same long ago. She recalled a time when her mother had promised to go shopping with her, but her mother had been unable to find her because she was off playing. Her mother had been forced to leave without her and she had run crying after her mother.

…''That came from a desire to not be forgotten.

It was possible what Horizon was feeling was not the same.

Incidentally, Mitotsudaira’s mother had tried to pacify her by taking her to a batting center on the way back from shopping. Her mother had hit a wonderful homerun, but it had broken through the roof. Her mother had said “L-look, my daughter is apologizing too” and used her to earn forgiveness. Mitotsudaira wished there was a way to cut out the unneeded parts of one’s memories.

At any rate, the silver chains seemed to be worried as they gathered around the crying automaton and used themselves to ask if she was okay. However, a few of them lacked the proper number of angles due to being wrapped around Toori.

“Are you okay?” “Okay?” “Ay?” “?”

…''That last one was a bit harsh. And what is with this echo effect?

However, the main boy in question only watched Horizon as she cried. This irritated Mitotsudaira.

“Chancellor, how about you do something?”

“I-I can’t move because your chains have me all wrapped up.”

“Sorry,” said the chains.

They released him and he gently placed his fingers on the teary cheeks of Horizon’s downturned face. He brushed up his hands to wipe away the tears and she held her cheeks out toward him.

“What is it?”

He nodded and slowly whispered to her.

“A girl sheds her tears

Lean in close to console her

Look down to her boobs”

“Fight off the creepy pervert

Provide justice for us all”

On the final lines of the poem, Horizon threw a motionless uppercut at the face peering down at her. The idiot fell to a sitting position and spun around once.

Mitotsudaira watched the series of actions that played out before her eyes.

…''Sh-she does not hold back!

As the idiot rolled across the sand, the silver chains lifted up the metal plate of the grill to move it out of the way and Kimi nodded twice.

“You forgot the seasonal word, foolish brother. No, I suppose you do not need one with a tanka.”

“Y-yeah, but I wasn’t expecting to get a poem in return! W-way to go, Horizon!”

Horizon responded by stretching her right arm into the air and looking down at him.

“I have been studying Masazumi’s book of traditional poetry. At any rate…”

“Let’s go on a date, Horizon.”

“I have no idea what you mean.”

Her eyes were half closed, but he gave a thumbs up, raised his eyebrows, and smiled.

“Don’t be stupid. It’s too late to say that now that you let me see you cry! Listen. You’ll go on a date with me, see all sorts of things, eat all sorts of things, have all sorts of fun, let me massage your boob-…hyan! I-I’m sorry! I got carried away, so please forgive me! Now, getting back on track, um…”

He thought for a moment.

“How about you try out this emotions thing to see if you’re interested or not?”

“And what would happen once I ‘tried it out’?”

“If you’re interested, you can try to get back the Logismoi Oplo with me. If you’re not, you can cook some food and wait for me. Either way is fine with me. You are here with us. In my mind, you are already ‘here’ and I’m sure it’s the same for everyone else. So if…if by some chance you become interested in emotions and you want to help us get them back for your own sake…” He took a breath. “We will act based on our expectations of you and you can act based on your expectations of us. Basically, if we’re both thinking about each other, all of our power will be doubled.”

“And if I am not interested?”

“Our original power should be enough. That’s normal and expecting anything more is getting greedy.”

Horizon’s eyes remained half-lidded. However…

“That is a dangerous idea. After all, you are telling me to start a world war if I want emotions.”

“Hold it right there. World domination is my thing. You think up your own idea from your parallel line. Leave all the world domination to me and seek some more enjoyable emotions on your line. And we can start it all by going on a date to see if you’re interested in emotions. What do you say?”

“You wish to carry your doll around town?”

“No.” He took her hand. “I’m going to take your hand and lead you outside.”

That comment brought a thought to Mitotsudaira’s mind.

…''Honestly.

She gave an exasperated yet relieved sigh in her heart. But…

“You continue to mention a date, but what will we do about clothes and the date course?”

“Nate, you can choose the clothes, right? And sis and Asama can handle the course.”

“Eh!? Wh-why are you dragging me into this!?”

She thought she should be angry, but it was already too late. She heard a bitter laugh from Kimi and Masazumi spoke as if to help her out.

“Judge. I don’t exactly approve of our student council president and chancellor determining Musashi’s stance by going on a date, but it’s worth a shot if the Far East’s successor agrees.”

She clapped her hands and the high-pitched sound rang throughout the beach.

“Will Aoi continue with the same policy as the past? What does Horizon want concerning that? As we wait for those answers, I bring this meeting to a close.”

Just as she said that, someone approached from the transport ship. Everyone turned toward them and saw one of the crewmembers running their way. Adele walked out to meet the person and nodded as they spoke to her.

“Um, Vicereine Horizon?”

Adele raised a hand and walked back from the crewmember.

She tilted her head while faced with everyone’s questioning looks.

“I just received a quick report.”

She thought for about three seconds and nodded.

“It seems your Logismoi Oplo has disappeared.”

“What?”

Everyone tilted their heads and Horizon did the same.

“Come to think of it, I had a feeling it was not under my bed when I woke up today.”

“W-wait a second! Is that really something you can lose!? It isn’t, right!? Right!?”

“Of course not. Are you okay, Seijun? You haven’t gone stupid, have you?”

“H-he said! He of all people just said it!”

As everyone tried to calm her down, Horizon retained the tilt to her head and looked at those around her.

Mitotsudaira cleared her throat.

“U-um, everyone, after a short break, we will clean up here and take turns in the bath. While heading back to the ship for a change of clothes, keep your eyes open. It is not that small an object, so let us try to find it.”

She then turned toward Asama and Masazumi who had announced they would bathe together.

“As you are going first, could you hurry up and check?”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 21|Chapter 21]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 23|Chapter 23]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 21

2014-05-02T23:22:52Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 21: The Two in the Meeting Place */

==Chapter 21: The Two in the Meeting Place==

[[Image:Horizon2A_639.png|thumb]]
''What is it

''That cannot be done alone?

'''Point Allocation (Misunderstanding)

Masazumi could see the sea from where she sat.

Naruze and Naito sat between her and the sea while Mitotsudaira sat between her and the hill. Balfette and Mukai were sitting among the English and eating with the local children. According to Mukai, she could still hear the periodic odd sound from the upper levels, but the local children and adults had not noticed it.

…''But she never doubts herself and thinks she might be imagining it.

That was just how much she trusted her ears.

…''That level of confidence is rare for her.

As the representative of the English village, Scarred sat with Crossunite, Aoi, and Horizon. Despite being a student council officer, Masazumi had a reason for not sitting with the English.

…''I hold a political position, so they are worried about a spy or attacker.

Naruze, Naito, and Mitotsudaira were her bodyguards.

Mitotsudaira came from Hexagone Française who historically did not get along with England, so anyone plotting something would think twice when they saw her next to Masazumi. Masazumi felt they were going overboard, but she understood why they were doing it.

…''But…

There was one problem.

…''I’ve never really eaten yakiniku.

“How am I supposed to eat this?”

Mikawa had mostly produced vegetables and fish, so the most meat Masazumi had eaten there was the occasional chicken.

She was used to eating at home, so she had never had only a sauce plate, chopsticks, and rice bowl.

…''This isn’t enough!

She was used to having three dishes on the table and there was no soup here, so it all felt horribly lacking.

…''Is the meat really that good? I guess it is different from ham or bacon.

The students who had been aboard the transport ship began to move. Masazumi saw Futayo take command of the grill.

“Ch-chief! After two weeks, meat is so delicious, isn’t it!?”

“Was yakiniku sauce this delicious before?”

“Thick slice,” displayed Tonbokiri.

“Listen up!” declared Futayo. “Everything past this line is my territory.”

''That’s more than half,'' silently commented Masazumi before turning to her right.

There, Mitotsudaira was adding more and more vegetables to her plate.

…''Girls do need their fiber.

Guessing Mitotsudaira was displaying a more normal method of eating than the others, Masazumi began emulating her.

…''I’ll start with some vegetables.

She looked over and found all the vegetables gone from the grill. They had also vanished from the large plate to her side. A glance over at Mitotsudaira showed her plate was empty too. The girl sighed and then smiled.

“Okay, I ate all the vegetables. Now I can eat as much meat as I want.”

…''She really is a wolf!

“W-wait a second! I didn’t get any of the vegetables!”

“Eh? Will you be okay tomorrow morning?”

…''Whose fault do you think it is?

Meanwhile, Naito and Naruze were speaking across the table.

“Margot, I’m sorry I haven’t been very useful lately. …Look, you can eat this meat while imagining it’s me. With chicken, eat the wings! With pork, eat the butt! With beef, eat the legs or arms or whatever!”

“Ga-chan, that sounds great, but I’m pacing myself to have room for the yakisoba and Asamachi’s five-grain fried rice afterwards. Oh, and Seijun? This table eats a lot, so be careful. Ga-chan and I both have wings, so we consume about twice the calories of a normal person and Mito-tsan-…”

Suddenly, a naked boy and Horizon showed up. They both held large plates that required both hands. The plates contained various cuts of meat.

“Hey! Heidi sent these over for Nate.”

As she held out the meat, Horizon gave a satisfied nod.

“You are a carnivore, Mitotsudaira-sama? I will remember that.”

“N-no, I am not exactly carnivorous.”

“You put up a good fight for the past two weeks, so just leave it at that, okay?”

Mitotsudaira hesitated for a moment but ultimately took the two plates with her silver chains.

“Do you love meat that much?” asked Masazumi.

She only asked out of curiosity, but Mitotsudaira blushed.

“That is my nature as a Bête du Personne.”

“I can explain,” cut in Naito. “You know how carnivores and herbivores have different cells in their stomachs and their organs are otherwise different, right? For example, rabbits and guinea pigs have trouble digesting meat while tigers and ferrets have trouble digesting plants.”

“I do think I’ve heard that solid pet food is divided into those two categories.”

“Judge.” Naito nodded. “Herbivores can acquire the nutrients they need just by eating plants, but carnivores can’t eat plants. To gain those nutrients, they eat herbivores and gain the nutrients stored up in their body. Well, wolves are basically carnivores. Dogs are pretty omnivorous, but Mito-tsan isn’t a dog. That pretty much covers it.”

“So…”

…''It must have taken a toll on her to go two weeks without meat.

She had not been imagining it when she thought Mitotsudaira was not eating much.

…''She must have decided going hungry was better than eating grains and vegetables which could make her sick.

If Mitotsudaira accepted Masazumi’s ignorance as an excuse, it showed how tolerant she was.

“So that’s why you brought this over, Aoi.”

For someone who walked around naked, he could be quite thoughtful at times like this. Masazumi wanted to criticize him for not having a clear stance on England, but he was not completely slacking off.

Meanwhile, the idiot had a huge grin on his face.

“Meat beats sweets, right?”

“I-I will eat sweets too. I would love it if you sent some over. I am half human, remember? …Wait, Horizon?”

Horizon was using chopsticks to hold some cooked meat out toward Nate from the side. She expressionlessly held up the sauce-covered meat.

“Judge. Have this entire piece,” she said. “Now, say ah. This is a ceremony to recognize what you have done for us.”

''What is going on here?'' wondered Masazumi as Mitotsudaira blushed and tried to draw back from the meat held up to her.

However, the naked boy circled behind her and grabbed her shoulders. She shrunk down, her eyebrows twisted, and her nose twitched a few times as the steam hit it.

“…”

She closed her eyes, opened her lips with a resigned look, and stuck her tongue out a bit as she received Horizon’s chopsticks. She pursed her lips and drew in the steaming piece of food with the back of her teeth.

“Nn…”

She lightly bit down and slowly swallowed.

She took a breath.

She stretched up a bit and then relaxed as her expression loosened up.

“~~!”

She leaned forward to escape the idiot’s hands and quickly covered her face with her hands.

“Wait, wait! What’s wrong, Nate?”

[[Image:Horizon2A_647.jpg|thumb]]

The excess silver chains twisted their long forms into words.

“Embarrassed. Troubled.”

She tugged and pulled back the intelligent chain that was speaking out of turn. She then slipped from her short chair and her butt fell to the sandy ground. She placed her hands between her legs.

“…”

With her eyes closed, she raised her chin to look up at Horizon. She looked like a baby bird asking for food, but everyone exchanged a glance as she wordlessly stretched her throat up.

…''Is this…?

Before Masazumi or anyone else could say anything, Horizon grabbed the idiot’s hand and handed him another pair of chopsticks.

With the griller and feeder roles set, they worked to feed Mitotsudaira. Everyone watched as the girl continually narrowed her eyes every time she had meat brought to her mouth.

Masazumi sighed and looked around.

…''This got out of hand quickly.

“Hey,” she called out to the others. “Does anyone have any extra vegetables?”

The tables with a mix between Musashi and England had extra vegetables because some had been brought in from the local area.

With Wet Man and Musashi’s princess gone, Scarred was left alone with Tenzou. Tenzou went to hand their extra vegetables to Wet Man and returned.

“Does anyone need anything to drink?” he asked.

“Heh heh heh. Ninja! Get me a beer! Three minutes!”

He was back in thirty seconds. Whenever Scarred tried to speak with him, someone would call out to him and he would quickly return. She was left staring blankly at him.

…''He certainly works a lot.

Only he knew her identity, so her look of admiration was hidden deeply beneath her hood. She tried to do her best for the fourth level village, but he completely outdid her in consideration, effort, and especially problem solving.

The same had happened with the hot spring Wet Man had asked them about that morning.

…''I never thought he could actually do it.

Scarred recalled what had happened a few hours earlier.

They had finished having the kobolds carry the gathered stones and swords of the graveyard to a hill with a nice view. He had asked her if the original graveyard had contained any remains.

…''When I told him no, he simply nodded. He did not question it at all.

That graveyard contained no remains. All it contained was the last thing the people had held and a stone from the spot on which they had fallen.

“Then let us move on to the hot spring.”

His idea was to send water to the hole created when the ground below the graveyard had collapsed.

As a water source, they used the waterway passing between hilltop wheat fields. To create a conduit, they used the unused water pipes the diplomatic ship had brought for the cargo ship.

A few of the living blocks had only been used for remodeling floors and walls, so some leftover walls and a roofs had been set up for the changing room and bath area. They had hired the kobolds to dig up the ground and lay stones for installing the living block.

“Now, all we need to do is pour the water into the hole in the ground.”

She had had her doubts whether that was all it would take, but while they were preparing the floor with the kobolds, new kobolds had poured into the hole along with hot water.

…''It was like magic.

But he had explained it.

“Kobolds are spirits that live along veins of ore and land with those veins is more likely to have hot springs. In other words, land with kobolds has heat sources closer to the surface. That means a hole opened where kobolds are will lead to magma or somewhere close to it. As long as the hole does not open up somewhere else, if you pour water in to fill the hole, a blast furnace level of geothermal heat will warm the water and create a natural boiling pot. Basically, we have artificially reproduced the structure of a hot spring.”

England was a floating island and each level and block had its own crust. Accumulated trash on the surface and side walls would be swallowed up and the internal heat would melt it down like a furnace so it could be reused as part of the crust.

This technique took advantage of that aspect of the crust.

“England’s crust is controlled, so a hole leading down this far is quite rare. But if you understand the system, this is not difficult.”

The mud had left the water they had sent in and the geothermal heat had turned it into hot water which rose back up.

From what she had heard, the Far East’s mainland had a lot of hot springs and a similar method was used to dilute the much hotter springs in the mountains and send them down to the base where health resorts could be built.

The elders of the village understood how rough this area could be on those working the fields, so they had rejoiced. It would also help with the children’s health and with washing clothes.

…''Honestly.

Tenzou had surprised her again and again when he had looked after the spring’s water lilies and removed the graveyard’s swords. And now…

“Okay. I should finally be able to eat,” he said as he sat next to her.

Tenzou sat to Scarred’s left so as to hide her from the others.

He had planned to do everything he could to protect her identity. Luckily, the most dangerous of his classmates had moved to other seats or wandered off, but that had produced a lot of odd jobs for him and he felt bad about leaving her alone for so long.

“Here you go.”

Scarred quietly offered him some grilled meat and vegetables, so he accepted.

Until that morning, he had felt something threatening between the two of them.

…''But working together helped us understand how to get along.

But…

“What is it, Scarred-dono? You aren’t eating.”

“Judge. Um, about that.”

Because she was speaking too quietly for the others to hear, she used more feminine language and she looked awkwardly at Tenzou.

“I was just wondering. How do you eat with your scarf like that?”

…''I had never thought about it. I guess it’s a form of ninja technique. Probably.

He had formed the habit before his earliest memories, so he had never questioned it. In fact, he was a little confused how one ate ''without'' wearing a scarf.

After thinking for a bit, he decided he should give a standard response.

“It is a ninja technique.”

…''Ah, I feel like I just became an incredibly boring guy! But at least I don’t tell terrible jokes like Masazumi-dono.

Scarred nodded a few times in understanding and the action contained none of the harshness she showed while hiding her identity.

…''This is quite a gap.

He found it hard to remember her using masculine language like she had before.

…''She is a good person and a diligent one.

When building the bath, she had not hesitated to work in the dirt to level it off for the floor. When walking through the village, people had called out to her. They were usually thanking her for something she had done for them, so it was obvious she was the type to do work for herself.

…''That harshness came from a misunderstanding and her diligence.

And then…

“You really are diligent, aren’t you?”

“What?”

He had been thinking of her that way, but he had never thought of himself that way. When she suddenly used that word to describe him, he spoke up without thinking.

Scarred was placing meat on top of the grill while facing him.

“Isn’t it a lot of work? I have only seen you today, but you have done so many things and you are always running around doing things for people.”

“Judge. I suppose so.”

It was true that the horrible people around him were a lost cause, but this was a different issue.

“The truth is, I enjoy it the most,” he said. “At least, that is what I think.”

“What do you mean?”

“Judge.” Tenzou grabbed some meat. “You just saw how I perform a lot of odd jobs and get asked to do a lot of things, right? In a way, I am filling in the gaps everyone else leaves behind, but if you think about it differently, this allows me to be involved in more than anyone else.”

Tenzou nodded and ate the meat Scarred had grilled.

Scarred glanced down at his hand for an instant, but she missed the instant he ate it and bit her lip in regret below her hood.

Tenzou inwardly smiled at that and continued speaking.

“I am not involved too deeply in any one thing, so I feel no responsibility toward it yet I get to play the role of the mini-hero. Butting in on so many things is nice and I can give a ninja’s opinion whenever it is needed. I enjoy helping everyone with what they aren’t doing, what they are trying and failing to do, or what they can’t do. I lose interest in things quickly, so being able to pop in for just the best part like that fits my personality well.”

“Then… You couldn’t continue doing the same thing?” Scarred switched from beef and began grilling pork and chicken. “And…doesn’t that put you on the losing end?”

“The losing end?”

“Judge,” she said. “You may gain something from the things you do, but aren’t some of them things you would rather not do? And aren’t there also times when you end up doing things for someone else so they will not suffer a loss? You fill the gaps the others leave behind by doing the things they do not want to do.”

“I suppose so.”

He did not deny it. Most of the requests were unexpected and he would sometimes make a sacrifice for those in the leading roles who kept the situation moving. But…

“That is the point of a ninja.”

“What do you mean?”

“Judge. A ninja is one who acts while hiding his own heart. And so-…”

He was going to give a businesslike answer of “I do not view it as a loss”, but she spoke up before he could.

“But… That means you still think of it as taking a loss, right? You are still human, after all.”

He could not come up with a response to her preemptive statement.

He thought for a bit, considered how he felt about his job, and said “I suppose so” yet again.

“But it is not just the things you yourself hold that have value,” he added.

“…”

“I have little strength and I cannot use many Shinto spells. But if my actions help someone who has more strength, I can be proud of supporting everyone else. The Testament descriptions decide history ahead of time in this world, but the influential people who protect those descriptions and maintain the proper flow of history require people like if they are to do their jobs. And…”

And…

“Even if I am only involved in just a few of the words written in those history descriptions, that is more than enough for me to feel proud.”

Suddenly, Tenzou recalled an article he had read in the ninja magazine he had bought the other day.

'''“The Three Major Types of Unpopular Ninja”

'''1: A ninja who talks on and on about himself.

'''2: A ninja who denies what the other person says.

'''3: The kind of ninja who reads this article.

…''I fall under all three!!

As he ate more meat, he began to panic and felt like all his strength was being sapped from his butt.

But Scarred suddenly spoke up while sitting next to him.

“Thank you very much.”

…''Eh?

He turned toward her and saw her looking down at the grill with a small smile.

“The others are starting to notice.”

Their voices must have grown too loud because the others were glancing over at them. Tenzou straightened his posture and lowered his voice again.

“But you must have it tough too, Scarred-dono.”

“Eh? Wh-why do you-…?”

“Judge. You look after this fourth level, don’t you?”

Scarred smiled bitterly at that. She seemed to be unsure whether to correct him or not.

…''Did I get something wrong?

But she sighed and returned her expression to normal.

“This is indeed a tough time for England. The country’s religion changed and we must fight a war with another country. The Testament descriptions say we will prosper the most, but what must we do to gain that and how do we oppose the other countries who will try to suppress it? Most of the residents of the fourth level could be called victims of all this. A lot of them were driven here as scapegoats for political problems,” she explained. “England was moved here 160 years ago during the Harmonic Unification War, but our land was remade via our cooperation with IZUMO. The island used to be made of a single rock, but now we are all separated. And it is true that remaking has left us trailing a bit behind in areas such as farming. Master Tenzou, could-…”

She trailed off.

“Um, may I call you Master Tenzou? I have been calling you that, but I never asked.”

“O-of course. Call me whatever you like!”

“Heh heh heh. Mr. Grass! Cider! One minute!”

He was back in five seconds.

Once he sat back down, Scarred nodded and continued.

“Master Tenzou, could you teach us some of your knowledge?”

Scarred continued her request.

“How to cultivate a wheat field, how to create a waterway, and how to build roads and houses. While carrying the swords and stones to that hill and while building the bath, you asked about all of those things. You know a better way of doing them, don’t you?”

The ninja looked toward her a bit, but…

“Well…” He nodded. “I think that might be making myself a nuisance.”

“Why? Why would you think that?”

“The people here respond with ‘Judge’.”

She was left dumbfounded, so the ninja scratched at his head and continued.

“These people have escaped political strife, so I do not know how abundant a lifestyle they want.”

Scarred realized what he was thinking, so she finally spoke.

“S-sorry.”

“I-it’s fine,” he said. “If I keep that in mind though, we have a pedo-…I mean, a life worshipping agricultural expert. It might be best to just give them the knowledge at first. Rather than giving them a method they must use, we can give them methods they can incorporate if necessary. Plus, we will be back next year, so there is no hurry.”

Scarred accepted his point of view. And…

…''Next year.

The people of Musashi would eventually leave. They would return after a year, but with the Apocalypse coming, it was unclear if that would ever happen. However, it relieved her to hear he would be coming again next year. They had had their misunderstandings, but…

…''He does not hate me.

“…”

She suddenly realized what her thought meant and stopped herself.

…''If he does not hate me, what does he think of me?

She felt this was a foolish thing to think and that she was reading too much into it. She felt reversing the concept to reach the conclusion she wanted was improper. But…

“What is it?” he asked.

“Oh, u-um… Nothing.”

He nodded and took back the question while Scarred was thankful for the hood over her head.

''Honestly, why am I thinking such improper things?'' she thought. ''He is a lot like me yet quite different at the same time.

He put himself on the losing end of things and he gained pride from it.

…''On the other hand, I cling to pride. If I could live like him, would I have an easier life?

And…

…''I…

Before her thoughts could continue, something shot between the two of them.

“Stop, you two! Scarred! You must not get so close to this strange boy!”

It was Milton.

Tenzou looked toward the black bird that had suddenly flown between him and Scarred.

He wore the coat of an English boys’ uniform and had three legs.

“Honestly! I was wondering if you were getting along with them, but who is this boy!? Do not get so familiar!”

“Milton. Settle down, Milton.”

Scarred’s words reminded Tenzou of what she had said when he had learned she was a girl.

…''She said Milton would get mad at her.

He had wondered who that was, but he had never expected this.

“A giant hill myna?”

“No! I, Milton, am a splendid crow! A crow! I am Milton the crow! I am also the messenger of death told of in English legend, but the one time I tried it, I got lost and ended up giving the person a long life! The grim reapers were not happy with me, let me tell you!”

“Here you go, little myna-dono. Have some friendly yakiniku.”

“Nh!? Yakiniku from the hand of the enemy? You must think me a-… Delicious! What kind of meat is this!?”

“It is the skin of a Mikawa Cochin.”

“Nwohhh! This may nearly be cannibalism, but this is some delicious Cochin!!”

“Here, little myna-dono. This squash will cleanse your palate.”

“Kh… And now I must eat my favorite food from the hand of the enemy!? I cannot stand this! But I will remain positive and eat it! Also, I am not a myna!”

Milton began pecking away at the squash.

…''There are so many different races in this country.

Musashi had their own half-werewolf who was being fed a few tables over, but it was still interesting to see.

…''But does this Milton-dono act as Scarred-dono’s guardian?

Tenzou felt Milton was in some kind of assistance role like a butler. That was why he had risked his own safety by flying in between her and a stranger.

Scarred on the other hand…

“Milton, this is Master Tenzou, a ninja. He is Far Eastern technician who moved the broken graveyard and built a hot spring for the fourth level.”

“A hot spring!? How… How lewd!”

…''That was fast! He reached that conclusion way too fast!!

Scarred tilted her head with a troubled expression.

“Milton, you had a reason to come here, right? What do you need?”

That question brought fear to Tenzou.

…''N-no, this hill myna was probably worried about her as a man!

That was also why he had flown between Scarred and Tenzou. Tenzou did not know if it was due to the species difference, but his actions were getting across to Scarred yet his feelings were not. This meant he came across as something like a parent.

…''Ahh. When I was rejected, is this how I looked when I was rejected?

He was so shaken up he accidentally made a redundant sentence. He decided to show his support for the energetic hill myna, but Asama suddenly looked toward them while preparing five-grain fried rice on a grill instead of yakiniku. Her sleeves were rolled up and she was mixing a pile of fried rice with two spatulas while Hanami used sign frames to carry out some work.

“Huh? That crow…”

When Milton realized she was talking about him, he slowly turned toward her. Their gazes met and he gently hid one of his legs behind his body. Asama frowned in response.

“Wh-what is a yatagarasu doing in England? They’re supposed to be doing work for the shrines!”

“I-I am not a yatagarasu! Y-yes, I am just a cute little hill myna!”

Asama ignored him and turned a half-lidded look toward Hanami.

“Hanami, contact my father and ask him why a yatagarasu is eating yakiniku in England. He is probably filled with impurity, so we will have to give him a fist cleansing from a stubborn priest at a shrine that specializes in purification.”

“Eeeeee! Anything but that!”

While everyone tilted their heads at this exchange, Suzu spoke up while holding a bowl for the fried rice.

“Yata…garasu…? Yata…grass? Is it a plant?”

“Suzu-san made a joke!” whispered someone.

“Was that unintentional!?” whispered someone else.

“Eh? Aren’t you treating her a lot different from me?” complained Masazumi.

Everyone ignored her and Asama took a deep breath to suppress what she wanted to say to Suzu. She then gave a proper explanation.

“The yatagarasu is a spirit beast type of Mouse from the Far East’s Kumano shrines. It is also one of the information-type Mouse models we use. They can of course act as messengers, but they can also store and supply Blessings. They are supposed to be in the care of a Kumano shrine and perform labor when a contract is made with them, but this one…”

As she spoke, Milton turned his back and started moving away from everyone else.

“Wait a second, you runaway Mouse!” shouted Asama when she noticed.

“I must escape! Secret Technique: Crow of the Night!”

As the crow vanished in the darkness, Asama closed one eye, aimed her bow, produced a flash of light from her false eye, and fired.

“Clap!” declared Hanami.

An indistinct shriek could be heard in the distance and Asama sighed.

“Honestly, spirit beasts are surprisingly unstable, so they need regular care in a stable land. I’m impressed it can survive on its own.”

Scarred nodded in response.

“Judge. England has ley lines running through it, but their supply is limited. I have heard strange phenomena are common on the Far Eastern mainland, but they are not very common here.”

“I see.”

Asama nodded and Scarred began eating once more.

However, Toori turned toward her.

“Cloaked gentleman, if you know so much about the ley lines, do you know about the Double Border Crest?”

“The Double Border Crest?”

“Oh, he means this.”

Tenzou used his finger to draw a diagram in the sand. It was a circle with a horizontal line down the center.

“It is said to often appear along with the mysterious disappearances known as the Princess Disappearances.”

The instant he said that, Tenzou heard Scarred gulp.

…''Eh?

He looked up questioningly and found her drawing back in the firelight. As he wondered what this was about, she spoke up quietly. And she did not use the masculine language she used when speaking to everyone.

“England is looking into that as well.”

Masazumi had barely heard Scarred’s words, but she found them odd.

…''Feminine language?

But she needed to focus on Scarred’s comment about the situation in England more than on that question.

“Looking into it? Where?

“Oh.” Scarred looked up and nodded. “Well…”

After a brief hesitation, Scarred continued.

“If you meet those on the higher levels and gain a friendly relationship with them, ask them about a place called Avalon. If you tell them you learned of it from me, they should let you see it.”

“Avalon?”

“Judge.” Scarred nodded. “A flower garden like Avalon is the safest place in this country of fairies. After all, the fairies would be eaten in a forest, drawn under in a river, taken away on a hill, hidden in a mountain, chased on a road, locked in within a house, and drowned in the ocean. Hence, the flower garden. If you meet the gatekeeper, you should gain some kind of hint toward what you seek.”

Scarred paused for a moment.

“Sorry. I am an outsider now, so I do not know what the current state is. I cannot say much, so please do not ask me to show you the way.”

“Judge. Simply knowing England has some information is useful.” Masazumi nodded and looked between Tenzou and Scarred. “Mr. Scarred, if you remember anything else or have something you would rather not say here, feel free to tell Tenzou. As our 1st special duty officer, he takes care of our intelligence work.”

“Judge. If I have a chance, I will tell him what I know concerning the Double Border Crest and the Princess Disappearances.”

“Judge. We appreciate it.” Masazumi glanced across everyone else who looked back at her in confusion. “Now, we need to have the meeting we missed out on earlier due to England’s representatives arriving. I would like to discuss what we will be doing here. After all, we will be truly entering England the day after tomorrow.”

Suddenly, a voice came from the path to the inlet beyond Tenzou and Scarred.

“Finished.”

“Eh?”

Masazumi and everyone else turned toward the sudden voice and saw a 15 cm dog-like creature beyond Tenzou and Scarred. Masazumi knew it was a kobold, but she had never seen one in person before. Scarred and Tenzou exchanged some words with it and Tenzou pulled a 5-yen coin from his wallet and handed it to the kobold. The kobold forcefully threw the coin to the ground.

“I will take it,” said the kobold as it put the coin in its mouth.

“Kh!” groaned Tenzou. “If I get mad, I lose!”

“Don’t you lose either way?” muttered everyone as the kobold left.

Scarred turned toward Masazumi

“It seems the hot spring and bathhouse are ready.”

“I see,” said Aoi as he fed a third plate to Mitotsudaira. He and Horizon were working together to thoroughly cook the cartilage. “Tenzou, you and the cloaked gentleman go take the first bath together. There might be some kinks to work out, so you two go check on it ahead of time.”

“S-Scarred-dono and me!? N-no, that wouldn’t work.”

“Eh? What’s wrong with that?”

Scarred and Tenzou froze in place and did not respond.

…''They’re both guys, so I don’t see why it would bother them.

Then again, Masazumi still showered at home rather than using Musashi’s general bath, so she was not one to talk. But before Tenzou or Scarred could say anything, Asama looked up from the fried rice again.

“If you don’t mind, could you two hurry it up?”

“Eh? Wh-why?”

She turned a serious expression toward Masazumi.

“Masazumi, you and I will be taking a bath together after them.”

…''What?

For about three seconds, Masazumi had no idea what had just been said. Even after three seconds, she had not figured it out, but that was when Naruze spoke up.

“Reality has outdone the doujinshis! Asamasa!? Or Masa-asa!? Which is it!?”

Masazumi did not understand any of that, but the general atmosphere it brought told her it was nothing good. If people started saying what they thought was going on and she denied those possibilities, she had a feeling it would take five hours to arrive at the truth.

“Asama… Um…” She chose her words carefully. “My sex change operation was not completed and I still view myself as a girl.”

“I-I didn’t meant it like that!”

“Heh heh. Bath shrine maiden! So you meant something even more amazing!? Like body soap! What a sexual term! How wonderful!”

“No! I wasn’t talking about body soap or anything inappropriate!” she shouted. “I was talking about her Mouse!”

She held Hanami up in her hand.

“I keep seeing Masazumi borrowing sign frames from Mito today. Handhelds are unstable in England and during attacks like the one by Tres España. So when I heard we had a bath, I thought I could use it as a place of purification to contact the shrine. That way Masazumi can sign a contract for a Mouse.”

“I can get…a Mouse?”

A Mouse required at least an average plan out of the different divine transmission contracts.

They were autonomous and could be given plenty of additional features, so they were quite convenient. But even if they entered sleep mode while inactive, keeping one around used up one Blessing’s worth of internal Blessing or ether fuel every week. If one was negligent in feeding them, their information density would thin out and they would be destroyed.

…''But in exchange, you get a pet.

When Masazumi had been in Mikawa, the students in elementary and middle school who had a Mouse would always brag about it. Masazumi’s family had been poor, so she had barely even had a handheld.

…''That’s why I wasn’t able to head there right away when my mother disappeared.

That would no longer happen if she had a Mouse. And she did kind of want to raise a small animal type like Heidi’s white fox.

“But…I have no money.”

“Judge. Then we can cover for it with the student council’s divine transmission budget. Shiro-kun, that will work, right?”

“It will, but she will no longer have that money once she graduates. That will cause problems because she will still have to pay for the Mouse.”

Asama smiled.

“If that happens, the shrine will freeze her contract and either buy back the Mouse or hang on to it temporarily. Once she does get some money, she can take it back.”

“Good, good.” Heidi nodded twice. “The Asama Shrine is a monstrous place with only a 2% cancellation rate. Once they get their teeth in you, they never let go.”

“You could just say we have excellent service, you know? Anyway, I will make it a temporary rental with Far Eastern ley line properties, but who is the manager of the ley lines in this area?”

“That myna, maybe?” suggested Tenzou.

“Oh, that’s good. I can have him do it in exchange for keeping quiet about his escape just now.”

“Shiro-kun, I think Asamachi might be a formidable enemy.”

“Yes. Offerings are meant to cover the shrine’s managing costs, but she is so authoritarian that people throw money her way even though she does nothing. She is the enemy of merchants everywhere.”

“Give it a rest,” said Masazumi to the merchants.

Next to her, Mitotsudaira was chewing on the cartilage Horizon had given her and Horizon spoke up.

“Tenzou-sama, shouldn’t you hurry to the bath with Scarred-sama? Once we finish eating, everyone will be waiting. And after this, we intend to perform a ceremony as an offering to the campfire god. We will all dance a super high speed folk dance and the slowest will be thrown into the fire while we all shout excitedly. You do not want to be caught up in that, do you?”

Ohiroshiki suddenly tried to crawl away, but everyone grabbed him and stopped him.

“H-how exciting,” muttered Tenzou.

Scarred then resolutely stood up.

Scarred tugged on Tenzou’s shoulder, exchanged a few words with him, and began walking toward the bath.

As Tenzou followed, he turned back.

“N-no peeping, okay!?”

“Who would peep on you?” muttered Naomasa whose right arm was removed for maintenance.

As everyone nodded in agreement, Tenzou hesitated for a moment and continued after Scarred.

Once the two of them disappeared into the darkness, everyone let out a breath.

“Those two are suspicious,” said Adele slowly.

Adele’s comment brought silence. After a while, Ohiroshiki spoke up as if it was his duty to say something.

“Adele-kun pinpointed exactly what I was trying not to think about.”

“In Ga-chan and my homeland of M.H.R.R, they are developing techniques of making children between two guys or two girls,” said Naito. “As Protestants, England trades with M.H.R.R., so I see nothing wrong with it.”

“That makes it okay?” muttered most everyone else.

Suddenly Azuma looked up. He was sitting politely on a handkerchief spread out on the beach and he was eating yakisoba with chopsticks.

“By the way, I wanted to ask you again about something, Naruze.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Well.” Azuma nodded. “Could you teach me more about sex?”

After Azuma’s final word, Mitotsudaira choked, Asama stabbed her spatulas into the fried rice, Naomasa took a swig of alcohol, Suzu tensed up, the treasurer duo began recording, Adele clenched her fists excitedly, Kimi performed a joyous dance, Urquiaga meaninglessly raised his primary wings, and Naito let out a groan.

“I-I never thought I would be made into the foolish husband of an NTR doujinshi…”

“N-no!? That’s not it, Margot! This is a misunderstanding! That’s all! Right, Azuma!?”

“Right… I don’t really understand, though. All you did was teach me in that underground passageway during the battle. I asked you what it was and you said it was about getting along.”

“Ga-chan, you shouldn’t give a sudden roadside lesson on that kind of thing.”

“Th-that isn’t what happened! Azuma! Why are you explaining this so strangely!?”

Everyone began wondering when Naruze would realize they were teasing her, but Masazumi was fairly certain Azuma did not understand the situation.

“You see.” He tilted his head. “When I said it to Miriam, she got really mad, so I was wondering if Naruze’s explanation or my interpretation of it were wrong. Anyway, she locked me out of our room, so I began knocking on the door shouting ‘Miriam! Miriam! I don’t understand, but I can tell I was wrong! So please have sex with me!’ After that, she sealed the door with a Classic Sign.”

“Oh? Poqou-san did?” said everyone with a nod.

However, Azuma did not pick up on their nuance and nodded back.

“She was in a bad mood and made some excuse about being Catholic and needing to drive out evil. Since she won’t let me back in, I thought I would ask to see if I could resolve the misunderstanding. Could you teach me, Naruze?”

Everyone turned toward Naruze, but she frantically shook her head and embraced Naito’s arm.

“I-I can only teach you so much! So, u-um… Masazumi!”

“Why would you hand this off to me!?”

Masazumi felt a burst of surprise and a flash of anger, so she frantically looked around at the others. At some point, Asama and Naomasa had turned their backs to her and started poking at their grills. They were clearly not going to listen to her. Kimi and Aoi were gesturing welcomingly, but even without hard evidence, she knew for a fact those horrible siblings would turn this into a disaster if she asked them. That left…

“S-sensei!”

The silver chains appeared in the edge of her vision and pointed toward the person in question. Oriotorai was near the ocean with empty bottles stabbed into the sand around her. She was fast asleep with her head resting on a tripod created from three of the bottles. The seaweed on her mouth showed she had enjoyed a full course meal all the way to the yakisoba. Simply put, their teacher would be no use here.

“I would also like to learn about this,” added Horizon.

“Ah! Th-then I will-…gwah! Y-your backhand is wonderful too, Horizon!”

…''That guy never learns, does he?

Meanwhile, someone else raised their hand. Surprisingly, it was Futayo.

“I am not familiar with that word either, so I would like to hear this. I am sure you can give a proper explanation, Masazumi.”

The other girls nodded several times while moving to the other side of their grills to have a proper view. This formed a half circle around Masazumi.

…''I-I’m trapped!

Just as she was wondering who would save her, Mitotsudaira hid a sign frame behind her hair and positioned it so only Masazumi could see it. Masazumi curiously glanced at it.

“Your only option is to make a bad joke!”

…''I don’t want to always be limited to that! And what kind of joke am I supposed to make here? Oh!

“I look forward to Seijun sitting down and saying ‘There are five or sex important things to know here’.”

…''That idiot said it! What is going on!? Is this the end of the world!? This is it. I can’t stand it anymore. I’m just going to die. The commanders during the Three Kingdoms period would “feel shame and die in agony”, but that was due to a rise in blood pressure, right?

However, Azuma, Horizon, and Futayo were staring intently at her, so she had to give some kind of answer.

“Okay, to put it simply…um… when a man and a woman…um…you see…”

“What’s that, Seijun-kun? I can’t hear you! Can you speak uuuup!?”

She swung up her fist and the idiot quickly crawled out of range. She sighed and used the momentum of the breath to speak.

“Anyway!”

Even she could tell she was angry.

“It refers to deepening your relationship with each other! There is nothing else to it!”

Horizon, Futayo, and Azuma all nodded deeply, but everyone else returned to their original seats with exasperated looks. As they did, they began speaking to each other.

“But that was only one thing.”

“Yeah, weren’t there supposed to be five or sex things?”

…''Are all of them against me!?

Meanwhile, Asama spoke up while moving the finished fried rice to a large place sitting next to the grill.

“Masazumi, we can prepare for the bath after this meeting. Before the contract, we need to check over the plan and perform a quick identity check. Is that okay?”

…''I guess I have no other option.

Masazumi sighed and felt a mixture of anticipation and unease, but she decided to keep it all inside for the time being.

“Okay. Before heading to the bath, we can finally have our meeting about England.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 20|Chapter 20]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 22|Chapter 22]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 19

2014-05-02T23:21:10Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 19: Those Descending to the Surface */

==Chapter 19: Those Descending to the Surface==

[[Image:Horizon2A_557.png|thumb]]
''How does one handle

''An excess of thoughts?

'''Point Allocation (Gratitude)

Below the morning sun, Treasurer Shirojiro and Heidi welcomed their English guests on the diplomatic ship’s white deck.

“This is Vice President Honda Masazumi.”

The deck contained a terraced negotiation spot with a lunch table prepared below it.

Masazumi sat at the table with Shirojiro and Heidi to her left.

In front of her were bespectacled Treasurer Charles Howard and Secretary Ben Jonson. Behind those two stood the automaton F. Walsingham.

She felt this was a sufficient group for a meeting between nations, but she also felt there was little need for her own presence. After all, Howard had asked to discuss trade.

Ohiroshiki and Hassan had whipped up a light meal of several courses in the ship’s kitchen and Asama and Adele were bringing it out as waitresses.

Once the first large plate of hors d’oeuvres had arrived, Shirojiro held out his hand.

“Please, eat. This is Musashi’s famous freshly-caught sashimi with a curry sauce. We will be eating later, so go ahead without us. Yes, we will be eating later.”

As Masazumi faced the three visitors, she lowered her head and glanced past Shirojiro and to Heidi, but the girl was calmly typing away at her sign frame.

Howard finally took a bite of the food and almost looked like he was going to bring a hand to cover his mouth.

“O-oh. Th-the raw fish has a completely separate flavor from the curry which gives it a delicate warmth.”

…''You could just come out and say it’s disgusting.

Despite Masazumi’s thought, Shirojiro showed no mercy toward Jonson who had not touched the food.

“Please, go right ahead.”

“N-no. As an athlete, I must watch what I eat.”

Howard gave Jonson a look that held about five years’ worth of scorn, but the athlete poet ignored him. Just as Masazumi began to worry about the meeting, she saw a small light at her feet. Wondering what it was, she realized the white fox Mouse named Erimaki was under the table. Heidi was calmly using her sign frame, so there could only be one reason for Erimaki to be here.

“Do you understand?”

Erimaki held a sign frame so that she could see it. It displayed text that had clearly been written by Heidi.

“Can he come up?”

Instead of nodding, Masazumi beckoned toward Erimaki with her finger. The white fox climbed up her leg, lay down on her right thigh under the table, and pointed the sign frame toward her.

…''He has actual weight.

The weight felt less like an actual animal with four legs and more like something wrapped in a round towel.

''This is nice,'' she thought as she read the sign frame.

“I will be opening a chat room so everyone will know what is going on. Connect.”

'''“Connect : Shared Sign Frame : Shrine-wide Divine Transmission – Limited Domain Authorized via Asama Shrine : Confirmed”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Oh, it went through. Thanks, Asamachi. Everyone should be in by default, so just start posting.”

'''Asama:''' “Everyone, try not to make your names too long. And if anyone says anything too indecent, you will be temporarily removed. Be careful.”

'''Me:''' “Eh? Then am I allowed to say boobs or will saying boobs get me kicked out!? Boo-

'''“Me has been forcibly removed.”

'''“Me has reentered.”

'''Me:''' “D-dammit. You’re as merciless as ever!”

'''Asama:''' “The punishments will only get longer, so please stop saying things like that!”

…''What?

Masazumi looked around without actually moving her eyes. The others behind the English group and further in the distance all had sign frames open.

…''So this is the divine chat system.

It was a text-based discussion system using sign frames that had been developed by the religions with a monotheistic recreation basis such as Tsirhc.

It was nothing more than exchanging text, so it only created a light load. It could also reach people over long distances and it simplified saving the minutes of a meeting or sending attachments. Its value had been especially evident during the Harmonic Unification War.

The Far East had tried to oppose the other religions, but they were polytheistic, so they had many conflicts over rights to divine transmissions and had therefore not developed a divine transmission discussion system at the time of the war. After the war, IZUMO had joined together the major shrines from different parts of the Far East and finally developed a similar system.

Masazumi had not made a contract on the level needed to open a sign frame, so this was the first time she had seen it.

'''Asama:''' “I can attach videos with mine, so just ask if you need it.”

As Masazumi gave a silent expression of admiration, the next course arrived.

“Next is the salad. We have a lightly-smoked raw fish salad with a curry dressing.”

…''Are they going for a raw fish joke more than a curry one?

Just as Masazumi realized she was starting to grow accustomed to her classmates, Erimaki produced more text on her lap.

'''Marube-ya:''' “While Shiro-kun buys us some time, let’s go over the important points of this trade discussion.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Simply put, this trade discussion with England will discuss what products Musashi and England will trade, under what conditions we will trade them, and when we will begin trading them. Here is what we primarily know.”

'''Products: Due to the battle with Tres España approaching, primarily foodstuffs.

'''Conditions: Quality of products = discounted price.

'''When: To be discussed, but the expiration date of the foodstuffs will determine it.

'''Smoking Girl:''' “We aren’t going to sell them fuel and mineral resources? They have a war coming up.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “With England’s forest resources and coalfields, they can supply close to 100% of their own fuel. And with ether treatment, the coal can be made into Orei Coke, the highest quality of Orei Metallo. As far as minerals go, we would be buying from them. If we did try to sell them IZUMO’s Scarlet Metal or BIZEN’s White Metal, we would lose money.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Excuse me a moment. Fuel, minerals, and all other items with a high unit price will rise further in price when they are being hurriedly gathered as supplies before a war. The price was originally high because few can be supplied by the producing area, so the price will not lower when a large number are bought. Products like that are stored up over a long period of time while short-term consumable goods such as food are instead bought cheaply and in large quantities so they will not run out during the war, correct?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Nations are not much different from the high-level ladies shopping at the market, are they?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Judge. That’s more or less it. During the armada battle, the invincible fleet arrives to land in England. They then battle for a week while travelling counterclockwise around England. If this is carried out in full, no other nation will be able to approach England and they will have difficulty resupplying their food.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “How much food does England have stored?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Probably about two weeks’ worth. They may look like they have plenty, but they also have to worry about the food supplies for the ships taking part in the battle and the different defensive units scattered across the surface.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Alsoso…”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Alsoso? Have you finally gone insane, Mitotsudaira!? Excellent!”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “I have not! /Oh, sorry about that. This is Adele. I’m Catholic, so I’m borrowing hers. I’m not used to this keyboard, so I accidentally sent an incomplete message. Anyway… Also, the end of the armada battle means England will expand and destroy the power balance of the other nations. Their trade situation will be forced to change. The other nations will try to suppress England’s expansion. In the worst case, that could continue all the way until the Peace of Westphalia. If that happens, England’s trade would be restricted for over five months. To raise morale and sweep away people’s worries, they need food. If they’re thinking of having a festival, they need to at least have some food.”

'''Worshipper:''' “Ahhhhh! I could add so much to this conversation, but I’m busy cooking!! Okay, next course is up!”

“Go ahead. Our school’s chefs have poured all of their skill into this raw fish foie gras with a curry sauce.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Can Masazumi keep up with this? She is only watching after all.”

'''Asama:''' “If you don’t know how to react, scratch your head with your right hand.”

'''Azuma:''' “Oh, she scratched it. I don’t really get it either, but is that food good?”

'''Worshipper:''' “D-do you doubt my skill!? I am invincible when it comes to cooking!”

'''83<ref>83 can be pronounced Hassan.</ref>:''' “Curry is invincible too. That makes it doubly invincible.”

'''Asama:''' “Um, I’ll just ignore all that. Adele seems to be having trouble, so I will set the shared settings to allow ‘hidden’ members. Is there anyone else who can’t post?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Are you stupid?”

'''Asama:''' “Eh? Oh! I didn’t say that! I didn’t!! Everyone forget it!”

'''Me:''' “Okay, everyone who forgot make a post saying-…”

'''Asama:''' “And there’s the final blow! A-anyway, I changed the settings!”

'''“Flat Vassal has entered.” “Gold Mar has entered.” “Mal-Ga has entered.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Is that everyone? Then let’s continue the discussion.”

“Now, have a light drink. This is a cold, raw fish soup. Curry flavored, of course.”

Howard gulped slightly when he saw the soup arrive in a teacup.

…''I’m glad I’m Far Eastern.

With that earnest thought, Masazumi lowered her gaze slightly to look at Erimaki’s sign frame.

The information Heidi was sending her way held great meaning.

For the past two weeks, she had not had any new information on the state of England and Musashi. They had also not been given time before landing to decide their stance concerning England.

That was why she had wanted to gather everyone on the deck and hold a meeting.

…''But then these three arrived.

It was possible the timing of their arrival had not been a coincidence.

They wanted to get the upper hand in the negotiations before Musashi could decide on a clear stance.

That was why Shirojiro was almost hostilely stalling for time so they could achieve a consensus.

Fortunately, England had asked for a discussion of trade. Being commerce related, Shirojiro and Heidi could handle it. If it had been a diplomatic issue, Masazumi would have been forced to take charge, but she would have been unable to achieve a consensus with the others because she could not use sign frames.

Currently, Heidi typed out another message.

'''Marube-ya:''' “And so the primary product to trade here is food.”

'''Mal-ga:''' “What will we be selling? Wheat and meat like always? Or will they finally be introducing potatoes using the Fear Eastern interpretation some other countries have used?”

''Mal-ga must be Naruze,'' guessed Masazumi. ''That means Gold Mar is Naito.

They dealt with loading and unloading cargo, so they knew what products Musashi carried.

…''It would cause an international incident if we introduced potatoes to England.

Potatoes were originally from the New World and had been brought to Europe by Tres España halfway through the 16th century. They could be grown on barren land, they were high in nutrients, and they were easy to cook, so they were expected to make a decent replacement for wheat as a primary food. Many European countries were planning to cultivate potatoes instead of making bread, but not every European country could freely cultivate them.

'''Marube-ya:''' “According to the Testament descriptions, most of 17th century Europe still was not cultivating potatoes as standard crops. They were considered dirty because they were root vegetables and they were rumored to be poisonous because of their ugly shape.”

Potatoes could easily become a better primary crop than wheat, so cultivating them was directly linked to the increase of a nation’s power as it tried to support a growing population. The different countries held each other in check when it came to recreating the food-related descriptions and potatoes were a perfect example. The only parts of Europe that had begun to cultivate them were certain areas of Tres España and K.P.A.Italia.

If England began cultivating them and therefore ignored the other countries’ restraints, it would cause an international incident.

'''Silver Wolf:''' “I doubt they will try that here. If they ignored the other countries now, they would be completely isolated even if they won the armada battle. Also, do you know why England cannot cultivate potatoes?”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Did something happen?”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Judge. According to the Testament descriptions, Queen Elizabeth ate a potato leaf in a salad and got solanine poisoning. That led to concerns over growing them, so the other countries say England cannot grow them during Elizabeth’s reign.”

Mitotsudaira came from Hexagone Française which opposed England, so she knew a lot about these issues.

At any rate, what mattered was that England could only grow wheat as a primary crop and their barren land could not produce large crops of wheat. However, wheat could be made into flour, so emergency reserves could be made by gathering it over long periods of time and trading with other countries. They were planning to go to war with Tres España, so they would have been preparing for a long while and they could not quickly make up for it if they failed.

Even knowing that, there was still another question to ask.

'''Smoking Girl:''' “Heidi, then what food does England want right now?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Judge. That would be meat.”

Below the bridge of the diplomatic ship was a small waiting room. Oriotorai, Yoshinao, and Azuma were sitting around a table. Azuma was grabbing Far Eastern fried potatoes from the table while looking toward Yoshinao across the table.

He asked a question to the man who wore farming clothes yet sill wore his crown.

“Is meat really that important, Vice Principal Yoshinao?”

“Judge,” said Yoshinao with a nod.

He turned to the side to look at a bucket containing selectively bred crops brought from Musashi. A lot of those buckets had been brought along for Ohiroshiki’s cooking, but some of them also contained meat wrapped in paper. Yoshinao looked back toward Azuma before speaking.

“In a year, the people of Europe eat an amount of meat equal to their body weight, Azuma-kun. During the same time period, the people of the Far East eat little meat and instead gain their protein from soy. …Oriotorai-kun, why are you trying to flee? Consuming meat is not forbidden in the Far East. The Testament Union simply decided it could not be a ‘standard food’. There is no problem.”

''That’s odd,'' thought Azuma while tilting his head.

“The Testament Union usually isn’t so lenient when it comes to the Far East.”

“Judge. There is a simple reason for that.”

Yoshinao pulled a knife from his pocket. It was engraved with a wild beast emblem.

“Europe requires a massive amount of meat for food, but religions such as Tsirhc create an incredibly difficult problem concerning the production of meat. Do you know how meat is produced, Azuma-kun?”

Azuma began to think. He thought about what the starting point was for the meat lined up at the butcher shop.

“You own a farm or specialized breeding center and raise cows, pigs, chickens, or sheep?”

“An excellent answer. But we have worked on farms, so we know you are missing an important step.”

Yoshinao swung the hand holding the knife.

The silver light flew in a straight line toward the wrapped meat in the bucket.

“The slaughter.”

The knife stabbed into the watermelon next to the meat.

“Ah.”

Yoshinao rose from his seat and a few sign frames appeared before him.

'''Me:''' “What was that, We? This is why you’ll always be We. Can’t you do a little better?”

'''Asama:''' “Well, some people hate watermelons because the inside is the same color as blood.”

'''Worshipper:''' “Ahh. Just wait a moment. I’ll add it to a dish.”

“Here is the next dish. Raw fish marinated in watermelon juice with a curry dressing.”

''Should we really be doing this to them?'' wondered Masazumi, but it seemed England had reduced the number of victims to just one. She was also concerned because that victim was their negotiator, but Jonson was preparing a long cylinder labelled “stomach medicine”.

'''Azuma:''' “According to Vice Principal Yoshinao, Tsirhc and other religions forbid the taking of life, so meat production was done by non-citizens or people of other religions.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Judge. Cows especially were a great blessing to humans, so killing them was banned. That is why sheep and pigs became preferred. Workers would perform the killing outside the cities and the butchers would sell it using the excuse that they had found an animal which died of natural causes.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Tres España’s obsession with purity drove out the pagans and other races, so they had fewer and fewer people to do those jobs. That’s why they began to eat more seafood.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “M.H.R.R. had a strong hunting culture, so they still ate a lot of meat. They also have a lot of ways to process the meat. You can think of them as eating meat along with the beer that they drink instead of eating bread.”

…''But that butcher work can be done by anyone in the Far East regardless of religion.

Even in the Far East, pointless killing was forbidden. However, they had a culture of hunting, so some interpretations could be used to solve the problem.

Basically, the Far East was used as a scapegoat to share any food which could not be produced elsewhere due to the other countries holding each other in check.

Masazumi had known meat was an important item in trade and she had known the general reason, but this was the first she had heard the related information.

''I still have a lot to learn,'' she thought. ''If only I could join in the conversation.

She almost petted Erimaki, but stopped herself. She could not let England realize the Mouse was on her lap.

'''Marube-ya:''' “Anyway, before entering Mikawa, Musashi had made a bulk contract with England which included an order of meat. They asked for a month’s worth of meat for their population of 400 thousand. At Mikawa, we managed to buy a lot of goods cheaply. That of course included meat, so we were able to procure England’s order of meat there.”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “Wait a second. Something about that doesn’t make sense.”

…''What doesn’t make sense?

'''Smoking Girl:''' “The Testament descriptions have allowed the Far East to use freezing-point refrigerators known as ice houses ever since the Yamato period. For most other countries, the descriptions end at their downfall, but they continued on for the Far East. The engine division manages the ice house aboard Musashi and it allows us to preserve perishable products like meat long enough to trade them. But do you remember how long it took us to get here from Mikawa? Normally, we would barter at the reservations on the Seto Inland Sea, but we weren’t able to stop at the major trading spots like Shikoku and Kyushu. The engine division hasn’t opened the ice room for almost a month. The meat has to be almost at its expiration date.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Judge. That is the main issue here. Does anyone understand what this means?”

Azuma frowned and asked Yoshinao a question.

“You mean the meat on Musashi is about to go bad?”

“Judge. The refrigeration includes spells, but that will only last about two more weeks. If meat like this is sold at market, it would have to be bought the first day. Which means…”

Oriotorai continued for him while munching on an apple she pulled from the bucket.

“I love cheap meat. That taste just before it goes bad is the best.”

“Judge,” muttered Yoshinao as he pulled a pad of paper and a pen from his pocket. “Ignoring the flavor, they will want to drive down the price of meat that must be consumed immediately. We have a month’s worth of meat that will go bad in two weeks, which is half a month. Now, what will this do to the price? Azuma-kun, can you use a simple calculation to tell us?”

“Umm,” thought Azuma. “If they have to consume a month’s worth in half a month, the price will drop by half.”

“Judge. Precisely. Now, let us calculate the amount of meat and the price.”

With a glance toward Azuma, Yoshinao began writing on the memo pad with the pen.

“First, let us calculate how much meat will be sold. In a year, Europeans eat their body weight in meat. On Musashi, that is thought to be approximately 60 kg. According to Heidi-kun just now, England’s meat-eating population is currently 400 thousand. They ordered a month’s worth for that population, so…”

'''Amount of meat = (400,000 people x 60 kg) x 1/12 of a year = approx. 2000 tons

Azuma posted that calculation to the divine chat.

'''Me:''' “Oh, We, you can do math!? That’s amazing! You’re so great! I have to completely rethink my view of you!”

“Shut up. We will have you know that we were certified as a Rank 2 abacus user.”

''Did he handle the finances when he ruled his old territory?'' wondered Azuma.

Meanwhile, Yoshinao continued writing on the paper.

“In Europe, half a cow, or approximately 400 kg of meat, can be bought with three months of the average person’s income. The average Far Eastern daily wage is 10,000 yen, so let us assume the average person can buy 400 kg of meat with approximately 900 thousand yen. A single household needs over six people’s worth,” he said. “Now, then. 900 thousand yen is the standard price for 400 kg of meat on the English market.”

After writing out the numbers, he tapped the paper with the pen.

“If Musashi sold all of its 2000 tons at this price, how much money would be spent?”

“Um,” thought Azuma as he rolled the number of digits around in his head. “If 400 kg is 900 thousand yen, 2000 tons would be…4.5 billion yen.”

'''83:''' “Indian curry arithmetic gives the same answer.”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “A-all right! Hard work got me to the same answer!”

“Judge. Well done. We believe you may have been relying on the correct answer, but you still did well, Hassan-kun and Adele-kun.”

'''Me:''' “Tch. I feel like We and Imperial Boy have been standing out too much lately.”

'''Asama:''' “Toori-kun, can’t you just come out and compliment them?”

'''Worshipper:''' “H-how does it feel, Azuma-kun!? Do you feel the joy of the humiliation I always face!?”

…''Hm. They aren’t attacking my personality, so it doesn’t really bother me. And what does he mean by joy?

As Azuma mentally tilted his head, Yoshinao straightened up.

“This trade deal includes that much meat and money, but the value drops by half because of the expiration date,” said Yoshinao. “Heidi-kun, what is the profit ratio for meat?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Judge. Normally, it is about 20% of the selling price. The remaining 80% goes to the transportation costs, production costs, and processing costs. Even if you deduct the 20% of profit, reducing the price by half leaves us 30% in the red, so we can’t even recover our expenses.”

'''Noriki:''' “The shortened sales period was for their convenience, but we still have to take the loss?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “We crossed the provisional national border in battle mode and brought an enemy ship with us. They can claim the delay was out of caution and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “Then can’t we make preserved foods out of it?”

'''Worshipper:''' “We don’t have the facilities or equipment for it. We can dry the meat in drying rooms, but the only places aboard Musashi with enough exposure to the wind are on the surface. Unfortunately, it would be unfeasible to build dedicated rooms now. And since Far Eastern culture does not include much meat-eating, we are not allowed a large-scale preservation industry. That is why we use the ice room instead.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Judge. That’s right. They plan to profit by adding the difference in price to their national treasury. We agreed to the trade contract, so we can’t back out even if we lose money. I wonder if the men of Musashi’s merchant guild have been waiting for Shiro-kun to fail. He can always make up for the loss by the end of the year, but taking out loans within Musashi would be a bad idea and those men can be depressingly annoying.”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “But, um, even if he makes up for it by the end of the year, losing 30% instead of gaining 20% makes for a loss worth two and a half years’ of the profit.”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Judge. That just means the student councils for the next two or three years will end up hating us.”

'''Everyone:''' “?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Shiro-kun will take measures to recover and those methods can be really underhanded. I can’t wait to see what he does here. Anyway, it’s time to start the trade discussion, Shiro-kun.”

“Now that you have finished the curry sherbet with raw fish topping, it is time we got down to business.”

Masazumi heard the two people sitting across from her and the two sitting next to her adjust their positions in their seats.

…''So it’s starting.

She realized this was her first time seeing one of Bertoni’s business negotiations. Merchants belonged to the same negotiation combat style as a politician like her, so she was curious to see how he would handle it.

Plus, their opponent, Howard, was also a merchant. Not only that, but he was wealthy enough to have presented an entire fleet of ships to Elizabeth. She expected to see high-level bargaining here.

As she watched, Howard leaned forward and placed his clasped fingers on the table. His eyebrows were raised and he was fully prepared for battle. He must have been nervous or expectant because his face was slightly red and he had sweat on his forehead. His aura showed just how important this discussion was.

Bertoni chose to speak first.

“I would like to make the first statement.”

“Y-yes…!? Testament! What is it!?”

Howard leaned further forward to draw closer to Bertoni. Bertoni nodded once and spoke calmly.

“How about we cancel this trade?”

With a fibrous tearing sound, two beams of blood erupted from Howard’s nose.

“Waaaah!!”

Masazumi knocked her chair over as she moved away from the table. Howard held his nose with his left hand and began quickly wiping up the table with the handkerchief in his right hand.

The handkerchief quickly became a blood-soaked rag, so he threw it away in a nearby trashcan and wiped up the rest with a new handkerchief. Shirojiro, however, remained calm.

“From that reaction, I will assume you agree with my suggestion.”

'''Asama:''' “Ehhhhh!? How did you reach that conclusion!? Are you insane!?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Oh, my. Shiro-kun is extra lovely when he’s forceful.”

It frightened Masazumi how the assistant treasurer could type that out so calmly. At any rate, she cautiously sat back in her seat and thought.

…''Is this normal for negotiations between merchants?

'''Me:''' “C’mon, Shiro. You can go further than that.”

…''Don’t say anything that will worry me, you idiot.

Meanwhile, Howard’s nosebleed had not stopped.

“Nh… If I die of blood loss here, my wife will kill me!”

''How many times are you going to die?'' she thought. ''But we need to start the negotiations.

“When this happens, you need to look up, hold your nose, and tap the back of your neck two or three times,” she explained.

“Like this?”

Howard held his nose and looked up. Behind him, Walsingham prepared the puppet arm which was drawn back to her chest and displayed text on a sign frame.

“This way?”

She launched a gouging horizontal chop toward Howard’s medulla oblongata.

A sound of impact rang out and blood sprayed up into the air.

“Waaaaah!”

Masazumi knocked her chair over as she frantically moved away from the table and Howard collapsed into a pool of blood on the table.

Everyone fell silent for a while, but Heidi finally spoke slowly.

“The murderer is one of us!”

“You just watched as he died just like the rest of us.”

“C’mon, Masazumi. You’re no fun.”

…''Is that really something worth frowning over?

At any rate, Howard energetically recovered, wiped off the table again, and wiped off his face.

“It seems I still have plenty of youth left.”

…''What do nosebleeds have to do with youth? And I’ve been doing nothing but playing the straight man for a while now.

“Unfortunately, I have one important reason for cancelling our trade,” said Bertoni in a tone that quieted everyone down. “We are being carefully watched by the Testament Union.”

As Azuma watched the information on the divine chat, he asked Yoshinao a question.

“Why is Bertoni-kun trying to cancel the trade? We may lose money, but we’ll still make 50% of the money, right? Wouldn’t that be better?”

“Azuma-kun, England is not Musashi’s only trading partner. And we can also sell things within Musashi.”

''Oh, that’s right,'' thought Azuma.

Musashi itself was a city. It had an economic cycle within itself.

Yoshinao nodded and continued his explanation.

“Of course, we cannot hope to fully cover the expenses now that the quality of the meat has fallen. However, selling the meat cheaply to Musashi’s butchers would improve Bertoni-kun’s relationship with them and stimulation to Musashi’s own economy would bring thanks from our own people. If we are to lose money either way, he has decided the latter is preferable,” he said. “He is also saying to England that we will not sell the meat to them if we will lose more that way. This prevents England from obtaining the meat while forcing a great loss onto Musashi. He is saying they must at least gain our consent first. Also, using the Testament Union as a shield is an excellent tactic for the negotiation. It allows us to ask about England’s stance toward the Testament Union. And thus…”

“Thus?”

“Judge.” Yoshinao folded his arms. “He can attack somewhat forcefully here.”

Masazumi saw Bertoni place a hand on the table as he spoke.

“If we trade with you, will you not be seen as opposing the Testament Union? That thoughtless action would also lead to the other countries being even more wary of us. We wish to respect England’s interests and are thinking of Musashi’s safety. If we cannot avoid a conflict with the Testament Union, it is in both of our best interests to not go through with this trade.”

That was true, but there was another side to it.

…''He’s pointing out that not selling the meat to them is an option for us.

“If neither of us will benefit, we have nothing to sell. We will take responsibility and pay the fee for breaching the contract and then deal with the goods on our own.”

In other words, Musashi would not be giving England anything.

If that happened, it would be fully an issue of Musashi’s responsibility, so Howard could not say anything. He remained silent and that silence pointed toward a certain fact.

…''If he isn’t opposing us here, it means they want Musashi’s goods.

They were not unnecessary. They needed them and wished to buy them cheaply, so Howard finally spoke.

“Testament. In that case, let us work together to make this deal beneficial.”

“Judge. That is a most welcome proposal.”

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Oh, he’s leaving it unclear whether that means to work together as individuals or as nations. At any rate, the worst case scenario is set at cancelling the trade.”

But Howard leaned forward and spoke as if driving in a nail.

“However, our battle with Tres España is drawing close.”

“Judge. Might I ask when it will begin?”

Howard shook his head.

“That is classified, so I cannot answer. However, the question is whether Musashi’s goods can be consumed or prepared for storage before it begins.”

Masazumi felt a chill when she realized what that truly meant.

…''He’s saying the armada battle is beginning in two weeks!

Masazumi went back over the information. The meat within Musashi would expire in two weeks. If England was unsure if they could be consumed or prepared for storage in that time, it meant the battle with Tres España would occur in two weeks.

'''Gold Mar:''' “In other words, the armada battle begins two weeks after they receive supplies from Musashi?”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Most likely. Tres España has been strengthening their Grande y Felicísima Armada for a long time now. Also, two weeks from now is a convenient time for the non-human races.”

''Why?'' wondered Masazumi just as Mitotsudaira sent the answer.

'''Silver Wolf:''' “The full moon. That night most revitalizes the non-human races who make up most of England. They will likely use that night for the armada battle.”

''I see,'' thought Masazumi just as someone seemed to respond to her understanding.

'''Marube-ya:''' “We can sell that information for a lot.”

Heidi’s usual talkativeness was cut short because she was calculating out the value of that information.

''But,'' thought Masazumi. ''In just two weeks, the two great nations of England and Tres España will approach a historical turning point.

That turning point would begin Tres España’s decline and England’s prosperity. It greatly affected those two nations as well as any related to them.

The world was on the move. In the form of Testament descriptions, this turning point of history would be written about in textbooks long after their deaths. Masazumi thought she could feel history here.

“…”

She shuddered for a moment.

…''So this is the true joy of being a politician!

Heidi then posted some additional information.

'''Marube-ya:''' “The battle with Tres España will take place in two weeks. Also, when he said the question is whether Musashi’s goods can be consumed in time, he was saying the expiration date is near but they will consume it all somehow or other.”

'''Azuma:''' “He wasn’t suggesting reducing the amount they buy because they can’t consume it all?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “An opponent as thoroughly prepared as him would not make a complaint like that. We made a bulk contract, so they have to buy it all and they will have some plan for consuming it all. They will have thought about what is possible and used money and personnel to accomplish it. This was nothing but a reminder of what he has already given us.”

'''Noriki:''' “So he was just warning us to stop being so forceful?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “Judge. To protect England’s producers from Musashi’s cheap goods, they will most likely add tariffs, adjust the price, add compensation fees, and temporarily restrict importing other foreign goods. In other words, they are making a shift toward trading with Musashi and the length will be determined in negotiations within the country and with other countries. I think they have decided it will last until the battle with Tres España.”

…''So they are not invincible.

They wanted the goods and they wanted them cheaply, but they had to protect their domestic goods and negotiate trade with other countries.

…''But…

'''Marube-ya:''' “The battle with Tres España begins in two weeks, but they will decide when the trade begins. That is the problem for us. They will decide on a trade period based on their consumption rate and how long it takes to prepare goods for storage. The period they choose will benefit them and ignore our circumstances. The later the starting date, the lower the price will be driven. We are guaranteed to get a bad deal and it will be Shiro-kun’s responsibility.”

Several pieces of data appeared on the screen. Heidi had created a chart of the circulation of goods throughout England and Ohiroshiki had sent data on England’s factories that processed meat as well as private methods.

…''They made this during our conversation here?

Erimaki looked toward Masazumi and Heidi.

“Praise me,” he said.

''Good boy,'' she thought, but could not move her hand for fear of revealing the Mouse’s location.

She did not know how to respond to the confused little thing’s expectations, but a fried tofu icon appeared and disappeared on the sign frame.

'''Marube-ya:''' “Afterwards, okay? That’s all you get for now.”

Erimaki nodded and Heidi continued typing.

'''Marube-ya:''' “According to this data, England can process a month’s worth of meat for storage if they work for a full week without resting. However, that would require the nation to operate at full capacity which includes the normal citizen’s kitchens. But if they had all the households buy the meat like that, a lot of them would be unhappy, so they will likely use another method.”

''That’s right,'' mentally agreed Masazumi. ''I was thinking the same thing.

That other method was…

…''The processed meat could be bought and sold between the processers and the nation as a whole.

'''Marube-ya:''' “Basically, the more they drive down the price of the meat, the more leeway they will have in their original budget. Once the normal households process the meat for storage, the country can buy back what meat the households don’t need. The extra money in their budget and the expectations for the war allow them to pass some money to those households. …Also, they’re tightening down on goods as the war approaches, but this should help morale.”

All of this told them something.

'''Marube-ya:''' “Simply put, England’s strategy is based on this ‘one week’. The meat inside Musashi expires in two weeks, but England wants to delay the beginning of trade for another week. Consuming a month’s worth in a single week will mean four times the normal amount of meat, so the price will drop by 75%. That is why delaying the beginning of trade by a week is best for them.”

She continued typing.

'''Marube-ya:''' “Of course, they haven’t mentioned anything about being able to process the meat in a week. If that was the baseline, they could no longer lower the price based on the expiration date causing an excessive supply. That is why they are purchasing the meat in the name of selling it normally. Our knowledge of this means we want to maintain the two week time limit by beginning trade as soon as tomorrow.”

'''Silver Wolf''' “But two weeks means the price drops by half, doesn’t it? We were going to drop out of the deal at that price, so doesn’t this mean the trade will not happen at this rate?”

Heidi started typing while also showing Bertoni a sign frame containing a summary of the data.

'''Marube-ya:''' “Shiro-kun came here with an idea for that.”

''An idea?'' wondered Masazumi as Bertoni began to speak.

Musashi’s merchant’s voice was as deep as ever.

“Musashi wishes to rescue England from this danger, but it must be done so the Testament Union does not take issue with the deal.”

“Is there a way to do that?” asked Howard.

Bertoni folded his arms and nodded.

“There is a way of trading that will receive no complaint from the Testament Union and cause no trouble for England.”

That was…

"Musashi and England will hold a joint spring school festival in English territory.”

A spring school festival.

“That…” began Howard.

But Bertoni began speaking plainly without nodding again. To Masazumi, it sounded like the recitation of a pre-arranged statement.

“It will be a history recreation interpretation of the European custom of May Day and the different spring festivals in Asian customs. Musashi contains people from many different countries. Those residents all have their own festivals, so we often gather them together into a single school event that functions as a festival for everyone. Musashi has recently been too busy to hold any of these events, so we still have not held a spring school festival which primarily takes the place of the Duanwu Festival.

“We can do this. As a spring festival, it will naturally include research publications and food stands put out by the different committees and clubs. Musashi is planning to prepare for and open a two-week joint spring festival starting tomorrow. Visitors from England are welcome. As a joint festival, we ask that England hold a festival as well.”
Bertoni looked toward Howard once more.

“The stand for Musashi’s student council will handle meat as well as the other trade items. And that includes purchases.”

''I see,'' thought Masazumi. ''A festival will increase the consumption of food and create secondary economic effects.

'''Marube-ya:''' “During the festival, we can make every night a party to liven things up and a lot of people will have to work to make preparations. During the preparations and the festival itself, we hope to sell some of the meat at the stands and other small sales. If possible, we want to double the consumption rate. Doing that will sell the entire month’s supply in the two weeks of the festival. If they are negotiating based on their secret plan to process the meat for storage in a single week, we can negotiate based on our plan to use the festival to double the consumption rate. This is a clash between our true intentions and our claimed intentions.”

…''If we do that, the value of the meat won’t fall.

The double supply would halve the value, but doubling the consumption rate would balance it out. In reality, it was not that simple, but…

'''Mal-Ga:''' “If we earn a bunch at the festival, it will provide enough of an economic effect. We should be able to make up for our losses.”

“But,” said Howard. “If we do that, won’t the Testament Union complain?”

“Judge. They almost certainly will. But if we take the leading role, you can leave all the blame with us. And if it is based in the school rules, it will become a school event which prevents them from taking military action. They cannot touch us. Musashi will take the leading role in this joint spring festival despite not celebrating Beltane, so we hope for compliance from England. …Now, we wish to make the transactions for most of the trade goods during the preparation phase while deferring payment to the actual festival. That will accelerate the trade period.”

“I see,” said Howard with a nod.

He then fell silent once more.

'''Me:''' “C’mon, man. Quit acting all high-and-mighty and hurry it up. If you get another bloody nose and agree, everyone’ll be happy.”

'''Hori-ko:''' “Oh? Bloody noses are happy things to you, Toori-sama? Then I will not hold back.”

Masazumi heard a few screams in the distance, but she ignored them.

…''That must mean Horizon signed a sign frame contract.

'''Brown Algae:''' “Screams? Screams?”

…''How did they get on this line!?

After another long pause, Howard finally nodded.

“Testament. As long as a certificate can be made guaranteeing the accelerated transactions.”

That meant he agreed to the trade between Musashi and England.

…''So we’ve created a path to trade.

Bertoni nodded and turned an expressionless glance toward Howard.

“Judge. We shall prepare one. However…”

“However?” asked Howard just as a message appeared on the sign frame.

'''Marube-ya:''' “Ah, wait just a second. I’m about to get some urgent work!”

A dozen or so sign frames appeared around Heidi.

Howard also opened several sign frames, but his were the rectangular style of Protestants. Just as Masazumi wondered what was going on, the two merchants spoke at the exact some moment.

“Let us negotiate the length of the festival and the preparations.”

Masazumi first heard Bertoni’s voice as she looked at the sign frame Heidi had sent her. He spoke calmly to Howard.

“Two weeks.”

That was the best length because it created a balance with doubled supply and doubled demand.

'''Marube-ya:''' “Our profit ratio is 20%. 20% of two weeks is about three days, so the trade period can shrink by that much and we will still earn a profit. That means we can concede down to eleven days.”

However, Howard shook his head as if it were only natural.

“Three days.”

'''Worshipper:''' “He’s ignoring the time needed to process the meat and is simply choosing a short time period to give him the upper hand in the negotiation.”

England needed a week to process the meat, but starting there would lead to a larger time period after the negotiation. That was why Howard had set it so low.

…''He’s surprisingly reckless.

Bertoni had announced that Musashi would call off the trade if they were losing 30% which would happen at 50% off the original price. That meant seven days and below was off the table. Eight days was the best England could hope for.

Nevertheless, Howard had started at three days.

Some might call it unfair, but there was a reason he had gone through with it.

…''He has confidence as England’s treasurer.

Despite Howard’s number, Bertoni’s expression was unfazed and he shook his head.

“A week and seven days for preparation.”

Howard had given a number which was excessively low and Bertoni had remained at the exact same number with a different phrasing.

Howard of course shook his head.

“Three days and one day of preparation.”

…''Oh? He conceded a day first but is still pushing for a foundation of three days.

Three days was simply not happening. It was a bluff. But he was sticking with the bluff and treating it as the truth.

…''The final agreement England is going for might be “three days and five days of preparation” for a total of eight days.

Musashi would refuse seven days, so they would add one day to make eight.

England needed these goods, but they would never stop focusing on their own interests above all. And if they could not push a bluff through, what good were they?

But Bertoni let out a breath and made a sudden counteroffer.

“One week and five days of preparation.”

He all of a sudden conceded two days.

Bertoni’s offer caused Howard’s eyebrows to rise.

…''How interesting.

Howard had thought they would use some condition to negotiate in units of one day.

…''But he suddenly gave up two days for nothing in return.

He suspected Musashi had some sort of plan, but unfounded suspicions only led to anxiety. He would continue with his own method.

…''I need to give something of equal value to their offer.

“Testament. Three days for the festival and two days for preparation.”

Now they had both conceded two days. He assumed this brought things back on course.

“Musashi will use its transport ships to transport goods to Scotland and the other blocks.”

Bertoni’s statement led Howard to tap his right index finger on the table.

…''I see. He is trying to buy days with a method other than money.

That gave meaning to the previous two-day concession.

…''He is adding the transportation on top of that concession to see if I will make a large concession in return.

To probe out Howard’s methods, he had conceded his own days while he still had plenty to spare.

…''This is his strategy.

He had played the card of conceded days plus an additional condition while also bringing the starting date closer to his target date.

Howard’s target number of days was eight. He had just offered five, so his remaining options were three days’ worth of cards and whatever additional conditions he had.

Meanwhile, Musashi’s break-even line was likely at eleven days. However, their merchant’s cards had been reduced to twelve. He had only one day remaining.

Even if he tried to concede three more days to bring Howard down to eight days, he would end up in the red at nine days. If they continued making concessions as is, they would end up negotiating over eight or nine days.

Eight or nine days.

…''That is where the true battle lies.

Also, Howard had already considered the idea of having them make the deliveries with their transport ships.

Aerial ships were the Far East’s specialty. England had some technology via IZUMO, but their transport ships for trade and their piloting technology were inferior to Musashi’s. That led Howard to his decision.

“Understood. We will leave that to you. As for land ports…”

“We will use the IZUMO trading companies and warehouses located at the destinations. I own them, so we can handle the transportation charges. Think of it as a complimentary service.”

“Testament,” agreed Howard.

He had intended to have them use the transportation companies he owned, but he would retain all the preparation fees if Musashi would cover them instead. In other words, this meant more profit for him.

Accepting this as an additional condition, he conceded one of his cards.

“That should allow some extra time for the festival, so how about three days for the festival and three days for preparations?”

…''Now, then.

Howard read Bertoni’s hand.

Bertoni was currently at twelve days. He only had one more day to give. Meanwhile, Howard was at six days and had two days left before reaching his target of eight days.

Because Bertoni only had one card left to play, he would fall to ten days if he wanted to meet Howard’s two.

But Bertoni made another unexpected counteroffer.

“How about seven days for the festival and two days for preparations, making a total of nine days?”

He suddenly reduced his offer by three days.

''So he has made his decision,'' thought Howard.

Bertoni had conceded past his break-even line at eleven days. He may have been planning to make up for the loss with secondary income at the festival, but Howard knew one thing for sure.

…''He wants us both to concede three days and settle on nine days.

But Howard did not go along with it.

He cleared his throat.

…''I can add a small condition to counteract his three day concession.

“In that case,” said Howard. He went on to state the condition he felt was necessary to achieve a safe trade. “To reduce the burden of the festival and its preparations, England will expand your landing privileges. Musashi’s residents will be allowed on the third level and the second level. How about those two added conditions?”

Those two additional conditions would reduce the burden in preparations and transportation, so it made up for two days of Musashi’s three day concession.

And…

“I will concede one day. That leaves us at three days for the festival and four days for preparations, a total of seven days.”

If they both conceded one more day, they would agree on Howard’s goal of eight days.

And so he showed no unnecessary greed and simply spoke.

“Then again, you might need some more time for preparations, so I will concede one more day.” He took a breath and shrugged. “Eight days. I would like to settle on that length.”

“Toori-sama, does this not put us in danger of going into debt?”

Toori tilted his head as Horizon asked him a question on the deck’s forward terrace.

“Why?”

Now it was Horizon’s turn to tilt her head. Their heads were tilted in opposite directions.

“Looking at the situation, it seems inevitable. Their negotiator has brought the negotiation to a close.”

“Yeah, but why is that a problem for our cruel merchant?”

“?”

Horizon tilted her head even further and Toori placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Do you want to know what I mean? Here’s the best option: let me massage your chest and you’ll understand!”

“What a coincidence. I just arrived at the best option as well: if I hit you, I will understand.”

“Okay, okay!”

Toori used both hands to calm Horizon down as she held up a hand in preparation. He then used his chin to indicate the negotiation terrace on the stern of the ship.

“Who do you think that is back there?”

“Shirojiro Bertoni-sama. His opponent is England’s treasurer, Howard-sama.”

“Howard is pretty damn good. He isn’t just using England’s authority here. He’s fighting fair and square so as not to tarnish that authority. He isn’t going to let his guard down. To be honest, I don’t really get it, but if a ‘best option’ lover like you says he’s trouble, Shiro must be in a fair bit of trouble. But…”

“But?”

“Shiro is Musashi’s treasurer. And he isn’t Mr. Impossible like me.” Toori smiled a bit. “They’re both treasurers. Anything Howard can do, Shiro can do too. Shiro can do things that will make a ‘best option’ lover like you think Howard’s in a fair bit of trouble.”

Masazumi held her breath and observed her surroundings.

Currently, Howard had conceded one day and proceeded to bring the negotiation to an end.

As he had made a concession, Musashi would have to answer with a concession as well.

…''And that concession has to be accepting his proposal.

Now that he had said eight days was enough, they could no longer get him to concede any more days. They had fallen for his tactic of starting at three days.

…''What do we do!?

She knew she must not look toward Bertoni. That would expose him to the uncertainty she was feeling. Instead, she worked to remain expressionless and lowered her gaze to Erimaki.

'''Me:''' “Seijun! Tell a bad joke! Tell a terrible joke and buy us some time!!”

…''Damn him. I really am going to kill him one of these days!!

'''Asama:''' “Sh-she can’t! If she tells a bad joke and he falls out of his seat, he might use that to stand up and end the negotiations!”

'''Urqui:''' “Hm. You understand this well, Asama.”

…''Wait. Are they indirectly making fun of me here!? If only I could post…

But even if she could, the negotiations would have prevented her from doing so.

…''Then what am I supposed to do?

Just as she thought that, she saw a sudden movement. Bertoni had stood up to her left.

“…!?”

Howard and Jonson were too slow to react to his sudden and expressionless action. Walsingham, however, moved the controllers floating behind her back to prepare for an attack, but a sudden voice came from further back and to the right.

“Hold it.”

Mitotsudaira’s voice and the jangling of chains stopped the bodyguard automaton.

As everything fell silent, Bertoni continued to move. He circled around to the side of the table, arrived to the right of Howard, and lightly jumped up into the air.

In midair, he performed a high-level triple axel and…

“That number of days simply will not work, so I beg you to concede further!”

He completed his pose in midair and landed in a prostration.

Masazumi almost cried out, but she managed to press her lips together and swallow the cry.

…''Ehhhhhh!?

'''Marube-ya:''' “Oh c’mon, Shiro-kun. A Triple Axel Prostration!? I haven’t seen you use that since you nailed it at Interhigh when we were in middle school. Have you been practicing when I wasn’t looking!? I’m falling for you all over again!”

''You’re okay with this?'' thought Masazumi, but a glance forward showed Howard’s expression had changed.

He had wrinkled his brow, clenched his teeth, and sweat had formed on his forehead.

She followed Howard’s gaze and noticed something had appeared between Bertoni’s hands as he prostrated himself. He held a cloth-wrapped confectionery box above his head.

…''Wh-when did he get that!?

Howard noticed Jonson staring at him from the side, so he held out a hand to stop him.

He could not show how much this had shaken him.

…''Splendidly done!

Far Eastern uniforms were known for their long sleeves and wide cuffs. Rotating sideways in midair would wrap those around you and fall out of place on landing. However, this boy’s cuffs were neatly spread out the sides and his landing had not caused any noise.

…''This is the real deal.

The Testament descriptions said a Far Eastern merchant’s special technique was the prostration, so Far Eastern merchants practiced daily to ensure they could perfectly recreate that part of history.

A prostration required shrinking down one’s entire body using one’s flexibility, so it required exercising the entire body as well as anaerobic exercise. To pull them off required three sets of five hundred training prostrations every single day. Even in England, prostrations were required learning to handle Far Eastern merchants, so Howard knew several different techniques: the Left Prostration, the Right Prostration, the Over-the-Shoulder Prostration, the Walking Prostration, the Standing Prostration, the Overturned Prostration, etc.

…''Simply splendid!

When faced with an authentic prostration, Howard knew his own were nothing but conceited child’s play. Far Eastern dance had a technique for forming a sitting position in midair and landing like that, and this was based on that.

In addition, this young merchant had produced confectioneries. In that case, Howard had no choice but to respond. After all…

…''I began this discussion with a prostration of my own!

This merchant had conceded to hold the discussion when faced by Howard’s prostration.

That meant Howard now had to make a concession when faced with this prostration. If he did not, his own prostration would become nothing but a type of fashion. As England’s representative merchant he could not allow that to happen.

“Please raise your head.”

However, the boy did not. But even that was…

…''Splendid!

A prostration was not to be ended until the other party had given in. As a negotiation skill, it was the ultimate technique in which one would not move an inch until their opponent conceded. While it was a type of bow, it was also the ultimate defense. It allowed any insults to pass over one’s head and it prevented one from leaving no matter what trained body tried to make them leave and no matter what attack or removal attempt was made.

Howard gritted his teeth.

“Do you need more time for preparations?”

He received no response, so he took a breath and the confectionery box.

“How about nine days: three days for the festival and six days for preparations?”

Azuma turned toward Yoshinao and Oriotorai with a surprised look.

“Prostrations are amazing, aren’t they!?”

“Don’t try it yourself, okay?” Oriotorai then shrugged. “Nine days? That won’t cut it. I’m not an expert at negotiations, but I’ve done my best to teach you not to do anything halfway.”

“Judge.”

Bertoni rose and bowed toward Howard.

Masazumi saw him slowly return to his seat. His expression was as blank as ever. He looked perfectly composed.

He sat down and placed both hands on the table. Masazumi guessed that was a way of showing he had room to spare in the negotiations and Bertoni went on to lower his head again.

“I appreciate the concession of an extra day for preparations.”

“Testament. Due to the coming battle with Tres España, we do not want to take more time than is necessary.”

Howard’s voice was blank. Not being led by one’s emotions during negotiations was a necessary skill for merchants and it was part of Masazumi’s own politician combat style.

However, that allowed her to guess at his true state.

…''He’s probably livid with rage.

He had likely wanted to settle on eight days, but another day had been added. This was likely still within his margin of error, but the merchants who wanted to defeat him would use this as ammunition. The specific reason he had been forced to concede that ninth day was also an issue.

…''He prostrated first to show his understanding of the Far East.

If he had not done that, he would not have lost the eight day agreement. It had been his own error.

His anger was toward himself, so it would not vanish easily. He could not blame anyone else, so it would simply smolder within him.

''But,'' thought Masazumi. ''This English merchant is no fool.

Earlier, he had prioritized ending the negotiations at eight days, so he clearly did not like unnecessary gambles. He was proud, but he was steady and would not make an attempt if he did not think it would work. He would build up his strategy and do nothing more than what he planned. Setting the starting point at three days was a sign of that method.

Meanwhile, Bertoni’s style still showed he had room to spare. He would aim for an even more advantageous number of days.

…''But how is he planning to draw out the fight any longer?

Meanwhile, Howard spoke.

“Then let us agree to nine days and bring this negotiation to-…”

Just as Howard tried to conclude this negotiation, Masazumi heard Bertoni raise both his hands.

“Nine days, you say?”

He nodded.

“…”

And suddenly, he smiled.

Masazumi saw Bertoni’s slight smile. His eyes arched and his teeth were partially visible. The expression was downright refreshing.

“…!”

Walsingham held her arms up in preparation.

Howard seemed to sense something because he sucked in a breath.

On the other hand, Bertoni kept his hands raised.

“That was a truly excellent negotiation. I was completely outdone. As such, I will provide you an additional concession for free.”

“No, thank you!” shouted Howard. “The negotiation is over!!”

“No, I merely said I was outdone. I had not agreed to your proposal, Lord Howard, so the negotiation is not over. After all, Far Eastern merchants always provide perfect complimentary services as part of the negotiation.”

“And what service are you offering?”

To suppress his caution, Howard erased all expression from his face.

“Do not worry,” said Bertoni. “This may be part of the negotiation, but I will not ask for any concession from you. This is a complementary service after all. It is for your sake and it is entirely free of charge.”

This was the first time Masazumi had heard Bertoni use polite language in his negotiation.

She realized Heidi had stopped typing.

Instead, her expression had loosened up.

…''Is she enjoying this?

However, Masazumi saw no way that a complimentary service could get Howard to concede anything.

…''How is he planning to obtain any more days like this?

As if to answer her question, Bertoni took a small breath, smiled, and spoke.

“I have made many impertinent comments during this negotiation. I believe I have put a great burden on you. As an apology, I will reconsider the length of the trade period.”

He then stated what the “complimentary service” was.

“We can revert to your original suggestion of three days. Yes, that would be best.”

Three days.

After Bertoni went as far as to say that would be “best”, Masazumi turned toward Howard. The merchant was expressionless, but there was a change to his face.

The color of his face had changed from flesh-colored to red and it was quickly growing darker.

The veins on his forehead and nape of his neck were bulging out.

“…”

Suddenly, Howard grabbed his nose and a fibrous tearing sound rang out.

“…!”

Beam-like geysers of blood burst from both his ears.

“Waaaah!!”

Masazumi knocked her chair over as she moved away from the table.

However…

…''Huh? None reached me.

As she had expected, Jonson had toppled his chair backwards to avoid the blood. While trembling, he pointed toward Howard and shouted toward Walsingham.

“Mate! Stop the bleeding! Plug his ears!”

“Testament.”

Walsingham nodded, circled behind Howard, and slammed her palms into either side of his head. Two clear sounds rang out and Howard stopped moving altogether.

'''Noriki:''' “That’s a concussion if I’ve ever seen one.”

'''Flat Vassal:''' “That automaton has been using nothing but dangerous techniques.”

But Howard finally stirred while lying limp in his chair.

“Kh! I-I apologize, but I cannot move right now! So, um…”

His speech was somewhat slurred.

“Three days!?”

“Judge,” replied Bertoni who was no longer smiling. He had returned to his expressionless state. “As a sign of my apology, I am providing a great concession as a complimentary service. That is all.”

“P-please wait a moment.”

“What is it? Surely you do not mean you cannot prepare and hold the festival in three days. You were the one to propose this. I am merely agreeing with you.”

…''I get it.

Bertoni was using Howard’s bluff against him. To end the negotiation at eight days, Howard had set the starting line at three days. It was a bluff, but he had attempted to force it through.

Their information told them England could process all the meat for storage in one week, but what would happen if they only had three days?

…''England will only obtain as much preserved meat as they can create in three days.

England could process a month’s worth of meat in one week, but they could only process 3/7 of that in three days. Of the 2000 tons of meat, 4/7 of it would go to waste.

'''Azuma:''' “Approximately…1143 tons would end up in the trash!”

As a politician, Masazumi knew how much garbage was created. She recalled the daily amount of kitchen waste created by the average household on Musashi.

…''I think it was between 700 grams and 1 kilogram.

Even if it was all rounded up to a kilogram, that was 1,143,000 households’ worth of waste.

London’s population was said to be over 200 thousand. This deal would suddenly create over five times the waste their population did. There was no way they could manage it all.

However…

“Three days. Judge. We will fully comply with your demand.”

…''He’s throwing his bluff right back at him.

If they settled on three days, the value of a months’ worth of meat would fall to 1/10 of the normal. Even at twice the consumption, that was 1/5.

Nevertheless…

“We are prepared to do what it takes. I want you to understand that.”

If Bertoni was going down, he was taking Howard with him.

'''Mal-Ga:''' “Why didn’t he use this reverse bluff earlier?”

'''Marube-ya:''' “He wanted to draw out those additional conditions. We agreed to handle transportation and Lord Howard granted us further landing privileges, remember? If he had used the reverse bluff right away, we wouldn’t have gotten those. Those two conditions allow us a lot more freedom in England. Lord Howard decided to end the negotiation right afterwards, so Shiro-kun just barely got this in at the very last second.”

…''They did a lot to help out.

The transportation and landing privileges would normally be Masazumi’s problem as they were political issues, but Musashi’s merchant duo had achieved them as well.

…''They seek the greatest profit possible.

She felt like she had come to understand their mercantile viewpoint.

They were not wealthy representatives of a great nation like Howard was. They were young merchants on Musashi where merchants of various descents fought over a small and limited pie.

They were greedy and they would forcibly earn a profit even if it meant taking advantage of their opponent.

The idea of using Howard’s bluff against him came from that disposition.

And Howard now had to release himself from the reverse bluff Bertoni and Heidi had placed on him. In other words, he had to return to the negotiating table.

…''He can’t run away now, so he has no choice.

After all, England would create a massive amount of waste if they accepted the three day offer.

Not only would that cause problems for England and its citizens, but he would be effectively punishing England and its citizens for his own failure.

''This Howard is not the sort of man who would run from this,'' thought Masazumi. ''Someone like that would not be trusted enough to hold the position of England’s representative as treasurer.

He had become the great merchant he was because he would take responsibility for his own actions and he had the hidden ability to do so without difficulty.

And to prove it, Howard lightly raised his right hand.

“Testament. Understood. I would love to accept your generous offer.” He nodded once. “But Musashi and the Far East already bear a great burden. As a member of Trumps and therefore a servant of our great nation of England and of our kind Fairy Queen, I do not wish to place any more of a burden upon you. As such…”

As such…

“To show our understanding of Musashi’s burden and to give you more flexibility in your work, how about five days for the festival and four days for preparations?”

Howard suggested a total of nine days. Masazumi reacted by looking at Erimaki on her lap.

'''Silver Wolf:''' “He wants to eliminate the reverse bluff with the same one day addition we earned from that previous farce?”

“Three days for the festival and two days for preparations,” responded Bertoni. “Three days is enough for us, so five total gives us plenty of flexibility.”

Bertoni continued with the reverse bluff. He did not intend to release the opponent he had latched onto.

His strategy was clear.

He would concede two days for every one day Howard conceded. It seemed he was conceding more, but Musashi was still at five days. They still had two days left before reaching seven days and those two days meant just under 600 tons of waste. Howard of course wanted to bring that waste down to zero.

“Ten days. Six for the festival and four for preparations. Will that allow Musashi to carry out its work without any extra burden?”

The tone of Howard’s voice had fallen, so Masazumi gulped in her heart. Hiding one’s emotions was a standard of negotiation, but he had allowed this change in tone to show itself.

'''Marube-ya:''' “It looks like he’s completely given up on the negotiation. If he sees the loss as growing too great, he will call the entire deal off just like we threatened at the start. We need to sniff out where his limit is from his attitude.”

…''In that case, this is the time to back off.

However, Bertoni readily continued speaking.

“We should avoid including your day of rest. Tsirhc considers it immoral to work more than necessary on that day, correct? How about six days for the festival, one day off, and four days for preparations? That is eleven in all.”

Howard fell silent.

He took several breaths. He listened to the waves outside the ship, took a few more breaths, and finally let out a resolved and stifled voice.

“Te-…”

“One more thing,” said Bertoni calmly.

Howard seemed to suddenly realize what that meant and raised his eyebrows slightly.

The English merchant opened his mouth again.

“…!”

Just as he began speaking, Bertoni once more spoke up before he could. However, Bertoni was not addressing Howard this time.

“Mukai, are you listening?”

Howard was left speechless because he did not understand why Bertoni had suddenly called for Mukai Suzu who was blind. Masazumi, on the other hand, did understand.

…''So that’s it!

She finally realized why she was sitting at that table.

And so…

“Wait, Bertoni. This is not for you to decide.”

“Judge. Then I will leave it to you, vice president.”

“Judge,” replied Masazumi with a nod.

She ignored Howard who seemed confused and instead looked at the divine transmission sign frame Heidi gave her.

It displayed the scene in one of the ship’s corridors where Mukai sat on a bench by the wall. Asama sat next to her and the shrine maiden seemed to be controlling the footage.

Masazumi cleared her throat and began.

“Now, Mukai. This may be sudden, but I want you to listen calmly.”

Mukai nodded and visibly prepared herself as Masazumi continued in a definite tone of voice.

“You will be sent to London as a temporary ambassador.”

…''Eh?

Suzu did not understand what Masazumi meant.

…''An…ambassador?

She had heard the term in politics class. An ambassador was sent to another country as a political representative to speak on behalf of their own country. During the history recreation, the practice had begun in 1455 when K.P.A. Italia’s city-state of Milan had sent a diplomat to the city-state of Genoa.

…''Eh? You want…me to do that?

Asama and the others had relayed the details of the negotiation to her. But…

…''Why?

“U-um…”

“You will be able to freely contact us using sign frame divine transmissions. And Adele, you go as her bodyguard.”

“Eh? Me? U-um… Okay. Judge.”

“W-wait a s-second,” began Suzu. She tried to stop the situation from continuing to progress so quickly. “Wh-why? I am…a lot of trouble. You should…not choose me. That would be…better.”

“Well…” said Masazumi in confusion.

The wavering of Masazumi’s voice told Suzu her worries had been misplaced. She felt bad for what she had said, but at the same time…

…''I shouldn’t…make people worry so much.

She wanted to sweep it all away, but it was unlikely to be that easy.

She heard a breath from Masazumi who was unsure what to say and no immediate answer arrived.

However…

“C’mon, Bell-san! How about you leave it at that?”

Toori’s voice suddenly came from the sign frame and Suzu straightened her posture without thinking.

…''Will he think…I’m an unpleasant girl?

“Huh? Bell-san, your face is really red. Are you okay?”

“I-I-I’m fine. Just fine. …Wh-what is it?”

“Eh? Oh, right. You may not have realized it, but even Seijun can’t stand up to you when you question her. That’s what happened here, right?”

“…”

“Listen,” began Toori. “Out of all of us, you’re the one that speaks your mind the clearest, is the most stubborn, and yet takes care of yourself.”

“Th-that…that isn’t…t-true.”

She did not know what to do when he suddenly complimented her like that. She wanted to go hide somewhere, but then she would miss out on the important thing he had to say.

“Wh-what should I…do?”

“It’s simple. Y’see, that money-lover and that flat-chested girl who can’t tell a joke to save her life are-…! S-Seijun! I think your aim’s gotten better!”

“Y-you shouldn’t…do that, M-Masazumi,” said Suzu. “The tsukkomi…is Horizon’s j-job.”

Asama lowered her head along with everyone else.

…''That’s not entirely wrong, but it isn’t exactly right either.

However, she somehow understood what Toori meant. Shirojiro had spoken her name and Masazumi had supported the decision for the same reason.

…''She’ll immediately tell you if you shouldn’t do something.

Anyone could tell the difference between what they should and should not do. But when faced with those things, could everyone come out and say it without compromising or making excuses? Most people could likely do so when it came to protecting those who were important to them, but Suzu was a little different.

…''She can say it when it comes to Horizon.

As seen in her essay from a while back, Suzu respected Horizon. She had said she loved Toori, so it would not be unusual if Horizon held a complicated place in her heart. But Suzu had not forgotten about Horizon and she had continued to value her relationship with Horizon as it had been back then.

She did not waver.

She was blind, so if she wavered, she might not be able to trust anything even if she received help. She did not rely on her vision, so her decisions were instantaneous and that decision always occurred within herself. Letting it leave her would only let it decay.

“Bell-san, can you continue on like that and act as a diplomat for a bit? Seijun and that money-lover will teach you the more difficult things. I’ll contact your parents, so-… Wait, wait! Seijun! Don’t say you won’t let me do it. Don’t worry. I’ll put on some clothes, so don’t worry. It’ll just be knee socks, though! …Anyway, Bell-san. You’ll get a nice room, eat nice food, bathe in a nice big bath, and sleep in a bed so big you’ll sink down into it. There’s nothing to worry about. If someone fires a shell at you, Adele will protect you.”

“Diplomacy doesn’t have such extreme highs and lows!”

Everyone shouted back at Toori without thinking, but Suzu’s tone was still doubtful.

“W-will I really…be okay?’

“You will, Mukai. This is Masazumi. It will only last two weeks and your freedom there is guaranteed. The festival will begin after a few days and that means we should be able to visit you more frequently.”

“Th-then…what do I need to…do?”

“A diplomat has two jobs. First, act as an intermediary between us and England. Second, you have the right to make decisions on our behalf if England insists on a decision.”

“Th-that…that’s…t-too much for…me.”

“Hm? Bell-san, don’t think about it so much. It’s easy as can be.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah,” answered Toori. “You just have to be our ally like you always are. If you think anything is bad for us, just say no. If you think it’s perfectly fine, then say yes.”

“R-really? I-is that…really all…it is?”

''That’s the hardest part, but she finds it hard to believe that’s “all” it is,'' thought Asama. ''She really is a virtuous person. It is most impressive she managed to remain like that in this filthy class. If some monster tries to contaminate her, I’ll shoot them.

Toori then replied to Suzu’s question.

“I’m asking you to do this because your ability to do that is perfect for the job.”

“R-really?” said Suzu. “Then…I’ll do it.”

Suzu nodded as if trying to convince herself, so Asama rustled her sleeves as she gently hugged Suzu. She used her strength and warmth to tell Suzu to do her best and Suzu nodded again.

“M-make sure to…come get me, e-everyone.”

“Sure thing,” said Toori.

Everyone else nodded as well and Kimi’s voice came from the sign frame.

“Suzu hasn’t signed a sign frame contract, has she? Asama, make a quick contract with her. Also, Adele is Catholic, so give her a quick lesson on using Shinto sign frames. If anything happens, Adele would be able to use it more quickly.”

Kimi then gave further instructions but via divine message rather than by voice.

“Also, Adele mentioned that Suzu heard an odd noise coming from England. It apparently sounded like construction or a bell. It occasionally comes from the Tower of London up above, so sending Suzu there has another meaning.”

“Do you think there is something there?’

“I don’t know, but I am curious. Suzu knows a lot about sounds. If she found it odd enough to question it, it must be something not heard in everyday life on Musashi. England must be making various preparations for the Apocalypse and their battle with Tres España, and it wouldn’t hurt to come across one of those things.”

“I see,” said Asama with a nod.

Masazumi nodded back at her before turning toward Howard.

…''The sound Mukai heard does not fit with anything England has mentioned so far.

They had held a light negotiation, but nothing like that had been brought up. However, it was doubtful Mukai was wrong about something like this.

…''Now we can send Mukai herself to check on it.

Most diplomats were also spies. With that in mind, Masazumi spoke to Howard.

“We have no objection to sending a diplomat. And it seems to me that bringing one of our residents into England as evidence of our diplomatic relationship would make a sufficient achievement for England even if it would not remain in history. How about it?”

After asking her question, she immediately spoke again.

“Aoi, can we send Futayo as another bodyguard for Mukai?”

“Eh? Oh, sure, sure.”

“Me?” cut in Futayo. “I am currently consuming curry.”

“Judge.” Masazumi nodded. “This will begin tomorrow. Adele Balfette is solely defensive and she is from a Hexagone Française family. She is perfect for protecting a diplomat who could effectively be taken hostage, but she and Mukai have not trained for their roles. For the next few days, the student council and the cultural types will be busy preparing for the festival, so the bodyguard has to come from the chancellor’s officers. However, England would be wary of Mitotsudaira because she is from Hexagone Française, Naomasa has yet to repair Jizuri Suzaku, Crossunite is busy being gay, and we can’t exactly send the two Technohexen from M.H.R.R. That leaves you, Futayo.”

“Masazumi, I think one of those reasons was a bit odd.”

…''Just ignore it.

“Anyway, how about it, Futayo? With you along, Mukai will have Musashi’s greatest defense and offense with her. Also, Mukai’s words and actions will hold authority as Musashi’s ambassador. You know what that means, don’t you?”

“Judge. In other words, she will not just be the representative of Musashi Ariadust Academy, but of the Far East as a whole. That makes her a representative of the Far East’s ruler, Princess Horizon. …It seems Mukai-sama wishes to express her understanding as well.”

Bertoni nodded next to Masazumi and spread his hands.

“If you think of them as hostages, this is a splendid achievement, isn’t it? You can take away Musashi’s greatest defense and offense. …Then again, it also means you are holding a bomb, but thinking about how to announce your results is another joy of being a merchant, don’t you think?”

“Testament. That is indeed wonderful. Now, the festival will be seven days with one of those days set aside for rest, and…now that we have come this far, how about 5 days for preparations? Let us agree on twelve days total.” Howard shrugged his shoulders. “However, the other merchants’ attempts to interfere should be quite intense now that I have conceded so much. If possible, I would like to be given full authority over England’s side of this deal. Would that be okay?”

“You mean you want us to sign a contract saying Musashi can only trade with England through you?”

“Testament.” Howard nodded. “And if you are the one to make the request, I can use it as an excuse to suppress the other merchants. Also, if you do not charge for the contract, I will be in your debt for that small amount.”

“Judge. Then that is what we shall do.”

Bertoni nodded and produced a sign frame containing a seal in his palm. Howard smiled bitterly but still held out his hand. As he prepared for a handshake, his palm also showed a sign frame containing a seal.

…''The negotiations are over.

Bertoni reached across the table and completed the handshake. At the same time, a sign frame appeared.

'''“Approved : Religion-Independent Seal : Subject – Far East, England, Official Trade Negotiation – Transmitting to Both Administrations : Confirmed”

Fragments of light scattered from their palms. As the light scattered to the ground, the two merchants stood from their seats. Heidi also stood up while typing.

'''Marube-ya:''' “Ahh, ahh. So we have to use our own transport ship? It is true we have some extra fuel because they haven’t been running lately. And, well, I guess persuading them is part of our job.”

Howard must have realized what she was thinking because he released Bertoni’s hand and spoke.

“We will send a carriage for your ambassador tomorrow morning. And in a few days, your representatives should be invited to our royal palace. After a party, we will hold a meeting. That will likely be no sooner than the evening of the festival’s first day.”

“Judge. We appreciate it. Is that information free?”

“Testament. Think of it as a complimentary service.” Howard bowed deeply. “After two days to make arrangements, the twelve days for the preparations and festival will begin. With that, the party, and the meeting, I hope we will both have excellent business with profitable results.”

[[Image:Horizon2A_626.png|thumb]]
Study

Importation of the Potato

Toori: Sis! Sis! Everyone’s been talking about po-tay-toes or po-tah-toes or whatever, but did they really not have potatoes in medieval Europe!?

Kimi: Heh heh heh. Potato-head brother, how was Europe supposed to have foods from the New World before the New World’s discovery? Sweet potatoes, corn, tomatoes, pumpkins, bell peppers, pineapples, and chili peppers are the same. Tobacco came from the New World as well. Anyway, I wrote up a list of years when the potato was imported to different countries.

'''England: Arrived 1586. Cultivation encouraged starting in mid-17th century.

''' Tres España: Arrived circa 1534. Cultivation began in certain areas starting in mid-16th century.

'''K.P.A. Italia: Arrived circa 1566. Cultivation began in certain areas starting circa 1582.

'''M.H.R.R.: Arrived circa 1588. Cultivation began in the western areas starting midway through the Thirty Years’ War.

''' Hexagone Française: Arrived at the end of the 16th century. Small amounts cultivated in very small areas starting at the same time.

'''Far East: Arrived circa 1600. Cultivation for food began circa 1624.

Toori: That’s a wide range. And the Far East got them by circa 1600? Isn’t that too soon?

Kimi: Some theories say 1576 or 1598, but it’s a bit unclear because the taro and the sweet potato were brought in at about the same time and the European ships bringing them in were filled with all sorts of things. It’s thought they had definitely arrived by 1610, though. They were apparently grown even in the cold areas of Tohoku.

Toori: But wasn’t Europe really slow to start growing it? Weren’t people saying growing them provided enough food for a population explosion? So isn’t this a bit slow?

Kimi: Heh heh heh. Foolish brother. The earth was warmer during the middle ages, so it was easier to grow food than it is now. But there was a little ice age during the 14th century and the peak hit right around mid-16th century. Until then, wheat and other crops were still producing enough food, but everything grew too cold by the 1600’s. Wheat’s output dropped even further and potatoes finally became a primary source of food.

But in Europe, it was disliked for being a root vegetable and looking ugly, so it was slow to spread even once people started growing it. The Far East did not avoid it like that, so it spread more quickly than in Europe. Also, some areas used the 1576 theory during the history recreation.

Toori: You mean it’s possible Nobunaga and Hideyoshi shouted “Hot damn! French fries!” at some point?

Kimi: First of all, French fries is an English term. Second of all, bow down in apology toward Mikawa this very instant.

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 18|Chapter 18]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 20|Chapter 20]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 10

2014-05-02T23:13:18Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 10: Hopeful People with Nothing to Do */

==Chapter 10: Hopeful People with Nothing to Do==

[[Image:Horizon2A_327.png|thumb]]
''Can you use the phrase

''“Below the umbrella”

''And not hide?

'''Point Allocation (Chatting Over Tea)

“Well? How is the transport ship doing, ‘Musashi’-san?”

The rooftop of the school at the rear of Okutama created a broad area with an unobstructed view of the sky. Two figures were exchanging words there.

One was a man passed middle age and the other was an automaton dressed as a maid and pouring tea for the man below a paper parasol set. The automaton, “Musashi”, spoke as she poured the black tea from a small teapot and into a teacup.

“Sakai-sama, this is a local Darjeeling. It is expensive, so make sure to savor it as you drink it. Also, perhaps you could close your newspaper. Close it now. I will not tell you a third time. …Judge. Very good. At any rate, this tea is expensive, so I have determined you should give your thoughts on its flavor. Over.”

With a nod, she held out the teacup. Sakai frowned a bit.

“Do I really have to give my thoughts on it if it’s expensive? I don’t think the price has that much to do with the flavor.”

“Judge,” replied “Musashi” with a single nod. “Unfortunately, an automaton’s sense of taste is merely a passive sense based on chemical reactions. It is difficult to determine if a flavor is good or not. However, price is a representation of value, so I have determined that is an accurate standard, assuming the market is not filled with falsehoods. Additionally, the trust in the British market makes it a high-level standard. As for flavor, we automata mostly accumulate records, reproduce food and drink based on those records, gather the reactions of those who eat or drink them, and use those accumulated reactions as a basis for how to make something delicious.”

“But you sometimes give me things that are nowhere near delicious.”

“Judge. You noticed, Sakai-sama? We also must accumulate data on unpleasant flavor or the balance of our knowledge will collapse. And it is you that eats the food, not me. Over.”

“Oh, c’mon. That’s just mean. Does that mean half of everything I eat is going to be disgusting?”

Sakai then glanced over at England to the north.

“Anyway, let’s get back on topic. How is the transport ship doing?”

“Judge. It is in British territory, so the surrounding area is in a state of quarantine so the locals cannot contact them. The 87 people aboard the transport ship are imprisoned within the ship and the nearby land so England can question them, but England shows no intention of performing that questioning right away. Bertoni-sama predicts that questioning will be addressed in the negotiations. Over.”

“I see,” muttered Sakai.

Suddenly, he heard a shallow vibration from the stern of the ship.

“———”

The steam whistle blew. A low, thick noise that one felt shallowly in one’s skin continued for about five seconds.

“…? Is it just me or has Tamako been blowing her whistle really weirdly from time to time? What is this?”

“It is a response to the transport ship. Over.”

More specifically…

“The transport ship has prepared two lights with a deep umbrella over them. They ask questions using a blinking code. The code is quite simple. One light blinks one to five times to indicate the vowel and-…”

Toori’s head suddenly poked up from below the edge of the roof. He looked around and spotted the two on the roof.

“I know how to say ‘boobs’ with it! Okay, that’s all I wanted to say. President, “Musashi”, don’t bother changing he channel. I-…ahh!?”

An arm wearing a track suit reached up from below, grabbed Toori’s hair, and pulled him down out of view.

“Eh? What’s this, sensei? You actually crawled up the wall after me? You must really love me to-… No, don’t throw me down! Today’s the day for non-burnable trash, so wait until Monday, Wednesday, or Friday!!”

“Musashi” gave a quick wave as the voice disappeared and she nodded expressionlessly.

“Toori-sama has become very strange during his separation from Horizon-sama. His abnormality is on the verge of boiling over. Over.”

“Wow, that’s the first time I’ve heard you make a joke.”

“All I did was say ‘over’ after saying ‘over’. Over,” said “Musashi” in confusion. “To continue, one of the lights indicates the vowel and the other indicates the consonant row. Over.”

“Judge. And we respond with the steam whistle, is that it? Do we not use the lights because England would see them?” Sakai began counting on his fingers as he recalled the whistles he had heard. “A long whistle means yes and a short one means no. Any time it blows twice or more, it’s usually a random dummy signal, but a single long tone followed by several short ones is some kind of code.”

“How did you know? Over.”

“Because the first one last night was long. The very first question is definitely going to be ‘can you see us’, right? Our response was a long whistle, so that has to mean ‘yes’. Also, no complex response is needed to answer yes or no questions. That means all of those are dummy signals except for the ones that repeatedly use a fixed noise after a beginning sign.”

“Judge. That is very logical. When we have an urgent matter, we begin with a long tone and send the message using only the number for the vowels. Over.”

“I have an urgent matter to send-… Y-you’re too fast, sensei!! At least let me say it has to do with Horizon’s boobs! No, wait! That’ll kill me!!”

“Musashi” waved her handkerchief and Sakai nodded.

“Judge, judge. So they’ve been asking awkward questions and we’ve been giving yes or no answers.”

“Tenzou-sama came up with their method using the lights. Over.”

“I wonder if they’ve caught on.” Sakai turned toward England again. “Well, I guess they aren’t saying something to show they aren’t completely hostile toward us.”

“The problem lies in Masazumi-sama and Futayo-sama’s presence on the transport ship. Musashi does not have its negotiator and vice president or its divine weapon user and vice chancellor, so our negotiations with England are not going well.”

“Who’s in charge? Neshinbara? He’s a literature type like Sakakibara, so he’s pretty eloquent.”

“No.” “Musashi” shook her head and held up her right arm. “The curse of Macbeth has attached to Neshinbara-sama’s right arm, so he is currently suspended from his duties. It seems he attempts to harm his king whenever he tries to do anything. Over.”

“Oh, right. The curse of Macbeth. Can’t Asama-kun purify it?”

“Judge.” “Musashi” nodded and tilted her head while looking at her raised right arm. “From what I have heard, it is not technically a curse. It seems he has been given a part in a play, so it cannot be purified. Plays are dedicated to the gods, so any purification attempt is repelled. It also seems it will fade away and disappear if he leaves England. Neshinbara-sama says he is busy and wishes to make the most of his suspension, so he is not showing up at the academy either. The negotiations are currently being led primarily by Bertoni-sama and Augesvarer-sama. Over.”

“Hm. So Neshinbara was cursed and now he’s ‘busy’? I see,” muttered Sakai.

“What is it that you ‘see’? Over.”

“Well, y’see…”

Sakai slightly adjusted his position in his chair.

“I feel like Innocentius right now,” he commented with a bitter smile while taking a sip of his tea. “Tres España attacked, right?”

“Musashi” turned a surprised look toward Sakai.

“You mean you are already starting to forget? Simply put, I believe you need your brain modified by the ship’s IZUMO Institute. Over. Now, to continue…”

“Wait a second, ‘Musashi’-san. Don’t skip right past my tsukkomi phase.”

“Musahi” ignored him.

“Your brain is of low priority as far as I am concerned, so I shall continue on. The surface areas, the transport ships, and the towing belts have been left in a terrible state, we were struck twice by an undetected ship, and that later attack was also what led to Ex. Caliburn pummeling us. When one seeks someone to blame yet finds nothing, the spiral of thoughts leads to what I believe can be expressed as ‘anger’. Over.”

“Well done. And that is an emotion that will be turned our way quite a bit, so it’s worth remembering.”

“Judge. So that is what one refers to as ‘feelings of gratitude’. I have a lot to learn about humans. This is not logical at all. …What is with that look, Sakai-sama? Oh, is that gratitude? Over.”

“Enough of that. …Anyway, you just mentioned what Tres España did to us, right? That’s what has Neshinbara so ‘busy’.” Sakai let out a breath and looked up at the sky outside the parasol. “Neshinbara was the one in command during the attack.”

“Musashi” nodded in response to Sakai’s words.

“Judge. I see your memories have returned. Well done. …Now, what do you mean? I have determined Neshinbara-sama’s command and plan produced excellent results. Over.”

A smile appeared on the corner of Sakai’s mouth and he pulled a kiseru from his pocket.

“But you just said the transport ships, towing belts, and surface areas are in a terrible state. And there was the second attack.”

“Damage was indeed done, but it was necessary. Most residents had already moved underground and most of the damage was done to Takao, Oume, Musashino, and Okutama which have non-residential buildings such as stores and companies on the surface. There was little damage to people’s homes,” she said. “The damage from the later shells was outside of our expectations, but no one could have predicted Tres España would have a practical stealth ship. Plus, that entire battle was unexpected. As such, his handling of the attack was the best anyone could have done. Over.”

“But we’re stuck here, Musashi is falling apart, and our people are injured and separated from us. It was more of a loss than a win. The original battle was closer to being a tie, so we tried to earn a win by showing off the speed of our gravitational cruising to say we could fight back and could not be caught. But…”

“We ended up showing we could fight back but could be caught? Over.”

“Judge,” said Sakai. Low in the sky ahead of them were the eight ships of Musashi and something was visible on the port side. “We can’t fully repair while floating and without more supplies. We can’t use our gravitational cruising right now and can only continually show off how weak we are. And with some of our people separated from us, the burden has been falling on the representative committee and the 2nd-year committee. On top of that, Musashi’s residents are getting impatient since we can’t choose when we negotiate while England has their hostages. Also, the emergency rations don’t taste very good.”

“Judge. From what I can see on Musashi’s divine network, more and more people want to land at England or move on to the next port. We had plenty of reserves for food and other goods, but it is still only enough for three weeks. The personal indulgences are beginning to run out. Bertoni-sama has bought the trading inventory of the other merchants and sent those goods into the marketplace, but some of those will have to be sold at a loss. Over.”

“While belonging to the student council or chancellor’s officers, a merchant can make a lot of money with their authority. …The other merchants will probably overcharge Shirojiro so a young merchant like him doesn’t use this emergency to grow too powerful. And who is it that created this situation?” He took a breath. “Tres España started it and England prolonged it, but Neshinbara is the one responsible on Musashi.”

“But this was an unanticipated-…”

“If I told you not to underestimate people’s feelings, would you find it unfair? Unfortunately, that’s the only answer I have. This was unexpected, Neshinbara made no clear errors, and this result may very well have been the best possible. You might want to ask the people complaining to do better themselves.”

Sakai took the lighter for his kiseru from its case. The end of the small, folded charm had small red flames hanging down as if it were ink the charm had soaked up. He placed the charm over the kiseru’s opening.

“But…Neshinbara was the one in charge.”

“…”

“Even if it was all unexpected and even if he did the best he could, men like to hope for too much. And when you hope for too much of a past event, you end up with doubts similar to regrets. You begin questioning your every action. Neshinbara is probably looking over the records of that attack again and again. And if he thinks he’s found something he could have done better, he’ll get depressed.”

“That sounds like he is not looking at reality. Over.”

“You only experience reality once, but you can enjoy looking back at something as many times as you want. If something enjoyable happened in the past, you want to do it again in reality. But if something bad happened in the past, you want to think it was not as bad as you thought, so you go back to it again and again.”

“Do you do that as well, Sakai-sama? Over.”

“Well.” Sakai returned the lighter to the case around his neck and let smoke out into the sky with a bitter laugh. “That’s pretty much all I do.”

“Judge. Is Mikawa one of the things you think back on? Over.”

“You have a lot of questions today, ‘Musashi’-san.”

Sakai sat up straight, but continued on to lean forward. He rested his elbows on his lap and held his kiseru at cheek height.

“If Neshinbara isn’t busy, I’d like to ask him some things about the Double Border Crest.”

“The Double Border Crest,” muttered “Musashi” as if rolling the words around in her mouth. “Have you asked Asama-sama about it? Over.”

“I already have a lot of examples like Asama-kun’s. After asking about the people who have disappeared and the circumstances surrounding their disappearance, you end up hearing the same pattern again and again, so there isn’t much point. And when I try to directly ask the temple about it, they say they aren’t allowed to tell me anything.”

“Is the temple keeping the information secret? Over.”

“I can’t figure out why. Asama-kun’s father told me what he knows, but it seems the instruction to remain silent on the issue came from pretty high up. I really don’t want to think about how high up you have to get to control a major temple like the Asama Temple.”

“I see two possibilities,” said “Musashi” as she tilted her head. “Either this silence is meant to conceal some kind of truth or the temples do not know the details and the silence is meant to prevent confusion from spreading through the people. I suggest the latter. Over.”

“Why? The former is more exciting. Everyone loves uncovering hidden truths.”

“If they knew the truth, they would be handling the problem in some fashion. If they knew the details of this strange phenomenon causing people to disappear, a solution to the problem would come first and foremost. They would also need to inform people how to avoid the disappearances. As they are hiding it and not guiding the people to safety, I can only assume they know nothing. In other words, the order of silence is meant to hide their own incompetence. Over.”

“You’re pretty harsh. But if they did know the details, it is true they would make the details known, dispel people’s fears of the Apocalypse by solving the disappearances, and improve Shinto’s reputation in the process. …After all, this is apparently a problem occurring all over the world. After England, we’ll probably visit Izumo, so maybe I can look into it there.”

“Judge. You are curious, aren’t you? That is a good thing. It is much better than spending every day wandering around Musashi and reading in the bookstores without buying anything. Instead of doing that, how about you watch the Black Disk box set of Dangerous Decameron you ordered. ‘Okutama’ is still holding on to it for you. Over.”

“Well, it turns out I bought the sequel More Dangerous Decameron and one of the duo is almost never there.” Sakai let out a puff of smoke. “Well, I want to give Neshinbara time to think, see the people around him making a fuss, and come to his own decision. His surname is based on Sakakibara’s, after all. I can’t have him saying nothing of importance and disappearing like the real one did.”

Sakai then glanced over at “Musashi”.

“Don’t you have something to say about that?”

“No, I do not have the necessary knowledge to comment on your friends. I do wish I had the same level of familiarity with you as the Kazuno that occasionally comes up in your stories. Over.”

“Having two of her would do twice as much damage to the world. You’re fine the way you are.”

“Judge,” she said with a nod.

“Well,” began Sakai while puffing out more smoke. “If Neshinbara finds an answer, I can ask him about the Double Border Crest then. England is a good spot for that.”

“England is?” asked “Musashi” with a tilt of the head.

Sakai nodded and breathed in.

“Spirits and non-human races are easily affected by the moonlight. That’s because-…”

“That is because one of the two moons is made of ether crystal. It is said to have been created long before the Age of the Gods when humanity had yet to ascend to the heavens. What about it? Over.”

“Because England is the country of spirits and non-human races, its research into ether and ley lines is more advanced than any other country. It’s also partially due to joining with Izumo and acting as a neutral party between the Far East and the other countries during the Harmonic Unification War, but they were the ones to come up with some of the names like ATELL. And the strange phenomena come from disturbances in the ley lines.”

“You think there will be a hint concerning the Double Border Crest and the Princess Disappearances in England? Over.”

“I don’t know,” said Sakai. “I’ve looked into a lot of this like I’m a student and I think there’s a chance. England is definitely worth checking out, especially the royal family.” He took a breath. “In the past when people have been spirited away in England or Europe, they were caused by spirits. And the current leader of England is the Fairy Queen. …What is going to happen in England? And how will Tres España handle their attack?”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 09|Chapter 09]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 11|Chapter 11]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 09

2014-05-02T23:10:47Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 09: Onlooker at the Crash Site */

==Chapter 09: Onlooker at the Crash Site==

[[Image:Horizon2A_291.jpg|thumb]]
''Is the speed at which your heart drops

''Greater than gravitational acceleration?

'''Point Allocation (Sensation)

Musashi’s approach and turn were watched from England as well.

The approach of something as large as Musashi was dangerous, so it kept a low enough altitude for its deck height to be lower than England’s foundation. From the cities on the upper level of England, Musashi looked more like a moving city than a ship.

From the southwestern coast of England, each building on Musashi’s tilted surface was visible and they appeared to be flowing north at high speed.

However, the edges of Musashi’s deck and a few of the buildings on its surface were trailing curves of mist from its high speed turn. Even its buffering control could not fully eliminate the atmospheric disturbance, so England itself shook.

England used the slight operation allowed by the structure of the floating island. They lowered the crust structure of England’s four blocks and four levels to lower it to the east as much as possible.

The movement caused the shallow ocean surrounding the fourth level to spill off the western side. The scattered seawater formed a salty mist in the air at an altitude of two kilometers.

The mist of the atmosphere and the mist of the ocean mixed together and the air compressed between Musashi and England’s western side roared as it flew further up into the sky.

Several hundred meter pillars and curtains of mist rose into the sky and the floating city tore through them.

The ship seemed to be following an evasive line that just barely avoided a collision course.

But Musashi did not eliminate the tilt from taking the corner so tight and it shot to the north with panicking speed.

If its speed dropped and it straightened out, it would crash into England with all that momentum.

And so it did not lower its speed and somehow managed to move its trajectory to the west. All the while, the residents of the fourth level’s west coast watched Musashi. Those non-students lived off of what they could produce on the coast and nearby land. They stopped their work as Musashi approached and turned, but they could do nothing but watch.

And among them…

“Scarred! You need to get to safety! Even if Musashi is trying to evade and move around Ireland, who can say what fragments from the battle or the wind will do!”

A male voice cried out on the white beach where the horizon between the shallow ocean and sky was visible.

The voice belonged to a crow. Specifically, a crow with three legs. He wore the navy blue coat of a school uniform and hopped across the beach on his three legs toward the lean figure standing on the edge of the water.

This figure he had called out to had the Urban Name of “Scarred”. Scarred wore a green hooded cloak and wore a fetter with a chain connected to a metal stake.

The tide was very far out on the shallow ocean before Scarred. The sand and bedrock at the bottom were visible and the fish were leaping from the water’s surface. And in the sky…

“…”

Fish spilled over the outer edge and into the sky. They were then blasted up along with the sea mist where they ultimately fell onto the beach.

The crow turned toward the sporadic fish beginning to fall around them.

“My, my. This is an excellent catch, Scarred! This is quite an auspicious occas-…”

The crow trailed off because Scarred’s hood was turned toward him.

Scarred leaned forward and picked up the metal stake at his feet. He glanced at Musashi in the distance, used his empty hand to pull a thick book from his pocket, and opened the book.

“Judge. So they are travelling around England. I suppose Grace will be sent out. Not only does she use a high-speed ship, but the north is her land. I decided to fish before heading to the graveyard today, but…”

“But?”

“Judge,” said Scarred with a nod.

The face visible below the waving hood had a sword scar travelling from above the nose to the left cheek. His neck as well as the hands and lower arms visible in the cloak’s sleeves all had a few white scars from cuts. Meanwhile, Scarred flipped through the pages of the book.

“Milton, I never thought Musashi would pull off the same fishing method I accomplish with spells. I suppose this saves me some Blessings. No…”

Scarred turned away from Musashi’s approaching city as the wind and noise shook his long cloak. He raised his right hand which held the metal stake. Several firefly-like bluish-white spheres of light clung to that hand.

“This method is not particularly smart.”

Scarred swung down the hand holding the stake and the floating spheres of light vanished.

“Return.”

As if in response to that word, the raging sea and wind behind him suddenly calmed.

In an instant, the sea and wind became as still as if Musashi were not passing by.

“Very good,” said Scarred and the gentle waves stopped at his feet.

Milton gasped as the ocean grew still before his eyes.

The pillars of water and visible ocean floor were gone and nothing but gentle waves approached. And this was despite the wind from Musashi still being present.

“What spell was that?”

“The spirits of the ocean and wind seemed troubled as they spilled over the edge. Spirits cannot take actions that exceed their rules, after all. I only had to call out to them with a spirit spell. The great number of sympathizers increased its effects, yet it used fewer Blessings than what I usually use fishing. But,” said Scarred, changing the subject. “Milton, I want to go to the graveyard now, but have you heard that odd noise for a while now?”

“A noise?”

The crow named Milton held his wings above his forehead and twisted his three legs to look around, but he heard nothing beyond the low rumbling of Musashi’s passing.

“I have great familiarity with the wind, but I cannot hear anything beyond Musashi and its surroundings. Scarred, you often worry too much, so are you sure this is not an overreaction to Musashi’s approach?”

“Judge. You may be right. And…are you always this calm, Milton?”

“Ha ha ha.” Milton proudly puffed out his chest, clenched his right wing, and smacked his chest. “A man like me could not run this fourth level if this was enough to disturb him.”

“Judge. I suppose so. You were quite calm during the recent birth at Sail’s house. You began praying to the Testament in a corner of the room during the crucial part. The midwife said it helped a lot that you stayed out of the way.”

“Ha ha ha. I am quite popular!”

Milton laughed, but he looked up at something in the sky.

It was something that should have been impossible.

Three straight white lines suddenly became visible in the sky beyond Musashi. Milton realized what they meant.

“Shell fire!?”

Shells which were impossible for Musashi or England to have fired suddenly appeared in the western sky.

Three shots travelled toward England and Musashi which was trailing mist. They all produced the sound of lightly scraping at the air.

“Scarred!” shouted Milton.

Scarred quickly turned around and cried out when he saw the same thing.

“Low-speed anti-ship shells!? Only a large ship can secure the speed needed for those!”

But the doubt in his voice formed words of protest in the next moment.

“Has an enemy ship with stealth ability arrived near England!?”

As he spoke, a few different things happened. First, enemy attack sirens began blaring on Musashi and England.

“…!”

And second, the anti-ship shells made to break through armor struck Musashi while its surface was expanded for gravitational cruising.

Two shots coming from an unknown ship struck from close range.

The various sounds of destruction combined into a single noise that exploded into the sky from Musashi’s port side.

In the instant the shells struck and damaged the ship, most of the ships’ command authority was transferred to “Musashi” for the gravitational cruising. The natural equality of the automaton’s nature made her slow to react to the emergency situation.

“I cannot deploy the gravitational barriers in time! Transferring power to the inner anti-shock buffering! Over.”

As soon as a decision was made in the automaton’s controlled common thoughts, the first two ships on Musashi’s port side were struck and the front port side was damaged.

The roaring and shaking indicated two shells had hit. The remaining one flew above them, but they had taken two direct hits.

As those two shells penetrated into the ships, the impact transformed and split open the ships. This destruction smashed the front port side on the outer wings that had been deployed in the switch from gravitational cruising to inertial cruising.

The front outer wing on Asakusa’s port side and the rear outer wing on Murayama’s port side had been deployed to act as a shield protecting Musashi’s side, but their shape was greatly distorted by the impact of the shells.

The outer wings were a dozen or so meters wide. The impact and destruction bent them, but their frames prevented the force of the shells from escaping. The giant wings bent in around the hole created by the shells and the inner frame bent and twisted. The people who had evacuated to the port side reacted to the advancing damage.

“Low-speed shells are big and heavy! Has Tres España built a stealth-capable ship large enough to fire them!? And did they send one here at high speed!?”’

No one could answer that question because no enemy ship was visible in the sky. But despite not having an answer, the damage continued.

The ship continued to be destroyed.

The distortion of the frame created cracks as if the outer wall and inner shell were being torn off the ship. This cut off the supply of ether allowing the ship to buffer against the impact. This produced an obvious result.

“…!?”

As the people watched, the inner shell and armor of the wings shattered like glass.

And once that armor and shell were easily destroyed, the wind burst inside, widened the cracks, and expanded the range of the destruction by blowing up the inner shell like a balloon.

“Get away from the port side! Here come the outer wings!!”

Air resistance caused the outer wings to dance like they were flapping and only the twisted inner framework remained.

“Brace for impact!!”

And the wings struck the port side.

A great noise rang out and intense vibrations scattered everywhere.

The basic structure in the center of the ship was protected by the impact buffering that used gravitational barriers, but most of the inner armor bordering the outer wings had been destroyed.

At the same time, the contents of the ether fuel supply lines and other circulation systems spewed their contents out of the destroyed areas and into the air. The high speed and altitude caused those contents to transform into mist and smoke.

The wind danced and the sky let out a groaning cry. In an instant, Musashi’s port side was covered in trailing white mist and smoke, but something else happened overhead.

The third shell had passed by above Musashi. It was clearly targeting the middle portion of England, so England intercepted it. The ship-wide warning from “Musashi” described it.

“Ether reaction detected on Anglia, the top level of England! The output pattern matches their mainland defense spell sword, Ex. Caliburn! Everyone, brace for impact! Over.”

What those words meant arrived immediately afterwards.

It was light.

An instantaneous beam of light literally stabbed toward Musashi from England in the distance.

The light which swept through the sky was shaped exactly like a sword.

The blade that came from the center of England was about twenty meters wide and two meters thick.

However, it was long enough to cover the sky.

More than ten kilometers existed between the center of England and Musashi, but the light arrived across that distance.

“…!!”

The tip of the sword swept away the flying shell with a horizontal attack.

The wind pummeled Tama on the port side where Asama saw the light and muttered what she knew about it.

“Ex. Caliburn is the foundation of England’s defense and it can cut open any target.”

Its edge was not all that sharp, but that meant the sword itself and the massive shockwave it produced would smash apart the target. Plus, it had a spell effect.

“The target will not fall into England. It will be knocked away!”

Exactly that happened before their eyes.

The pressure from the sliced atmosphere ruptured and sent the attack toward Musashi rather than England.

“…!!”

The cascade of air struck Musashi as if raining from the sky.

An immediate decision was made concerning the body press from the sky.

“Musashi” lowered the altitude of the port ships which had been moved back for the turn. The explosive pressure coming from diagonally up on the right could be handled by sending the starboard ships forward and up.

That formation was meant to keep the shock from rolling Musashi toward England.

In the very next moment, the shadow of the long glowing sword passed over Musashi’s third starboard ship.

“…!”

A white light appeared on the surface of that ship.

As the atmosphere was torn by Ex. Caliburn, it struck Musashi’s buffering.

The air was compressed by its own weight and momentum, so a massive and sudden explosion of mist appeared above Musashi.

The white mist appeared above the second central ship as well and the white pressure struck almost all of Musashi’s eight ships from above.

However, the white cascade appearing over the rising third starboard ship instantly grew in thickness and let out a roar as it spilled over the edge of the ship.

The mast split the flood-like waves of mist and the roofs of the city finally appeared as if rising from the depths of a flood.

The ship rumbled and let out a shaking roar.

However, the white tsunami flowing backwards split widely apart.

The school building of Musashi Ariadust Academy had broken through the white pressure.

“…”

And just as everyone thought they were through, the explosive pressure struck something else.

It struck the transport ship connected to the rear of Okutama by a towing belt. And something happened to that towing belt.

“…!?”

One of the lines holding them in place suddenly snapped. The belt that burst was the one Gin had attacked earlier.

With one point of support gone, the transport ship swerved erratically through the sky.

“…!?”

Many people let out cries of confusion as the ship quickly collapsed to the right.

“We need to straighten out! At this rate, the towing belt will drag us into Takao’s surface!”

The destroyed towing belt had been attached to their port side, so the transport ship quickly tilted toward Takao on the right.

Everyone exchanged a glance, wondering what to do.

“Chancellor!” cried Futayo’s sharp voice. “Do I have permission to cut the other towing belt!? I wish to cut this ship free of Musashi!”

Futayo left the decision up to Toori. That was the proper thing to do when a superior was present. However…

“Oh?”

Futayo looked to the starboard edge to which Aoi had been tied with a rope.

However, Aoi was nowhere to be seen near the deck railing where the rope had been tied.

Only the end of the rope attached to the railing remained.

The other end was hanging over the edge of the deck beyond the railing. When Futayo noticed the rope swinging as if something heavy were attached to the other side, she frowned.

“I never thought I would be the first to discover the body.”

“Futayo!” shouted Masazumi from behind her. “What is it!? Is Aoi not there!?”

“Masazumi… The chancellor is certainly there. But perhaps I should be using the past tense now.”

“What? Where did that idiot get off to!? Honestly, and I just saw him a second ago standing on the railing pretending to be sailor!”

“No, um, Masazumi. Please listen to me. Even if you have indirectly committed murder, I am on your side. I promise I will testify on your behalf in court.”

“Judge, judge,” said Masazumi who was looking around and clearly not listening. “He really has disappeared. Futayo, I will make the request as vice president. Please cut the port side towing belt. Aoi may be gone, but we can explain the situation later.”

“Judge. Please look over there for a moment, Masazumi.”

“Hm? Over there?”

The instant Masazumi looked to the stern of the ship, Futayo approached the railing with an acceleration spell and cut the rope’s knot using Tonbokiri without bothering to check below. Futayo nodded as she saw the rope dance through the air in its fall.

“The evidence has been destroyed. Problem solved!”

“Did something happen, Futayo?”

Not wanting to leave a scar on her friend’s life, Futayo gave no response. Instead, she turned toward the port side towing belt and swung up Tonbokiri.

“Bind, Tonbokiri!”

The cutting power flew through the air and severed the towing belt. An instant later, the bent towing belt whipped back into place.

“…!”

That and the inertia from Musashi sent the transport ship into a high speed swing to the starboard side. It was thrown toward England’s coast.

As soon as Musashi left the cascade of mist, “Musashi” rechecked the situation from the bridge in front of the academy.

The light of Ex. Caliburn had disappeared from the sky.

And the transport ship was falling toward England’s coast.

However, her processing ability was at its limit controlling the damaged port side and handling the buffering control against the atmospheric pressure wall striking the starboard side from above. She could not also save the transport ship, so she chose the best option given the circumstances.

“…!”

“Musashi” sent data on England’s surface to the transport ship. On top of the data supplied by England, she added the area the transport ship could land at. That was…

…''The coastal area on the fourth level!

She looked up and saw the transport ship shake and suddenly fly forcefully toward England.

The great pressure of the wind had hopped over the large wall that was Musashi and knocked the transport ship to the side. With the previous momentum of the towing belt swinging it around, the transport ship fell diagonally toward England.

“Musashi” understood she had no choice but to leave the situation to those aboard.

“…?”

But she suddenly heard a voice from below.

Despite the wind and shaking of the ship, someone was climbing up to the bridge.

“Oh, Konishi-sama and the others from the Commerce and Industry Guild. What are you doing here? Over.”

Konishi was a representative of the Commerce and Industry Guild as well as a member of the provisional council.

He raised his eyebrows and spread his arms in protest.

“You have to ask!? What do you intend to do about the damages to our goods and barriers to future trading!? We do intend to cooperate with Musashi’s student council and chancellor’s officers.” Konishi spread his arms even wider as he stood at the head of the group. “But ‘Musashi’-dono, who is responsible for this battle!?”

Toori fell naked from the sky and into Konishi’s arms.

He had likely fallen when the transport ship had been knocked away earlier.

But when this naked boy with a rope around his neck fell with an audible impact, Konishi’s veins bulged out as he fell into a sumo wrestler’s crouch and struggled to catch him.

“Waaaaah! ‘Musashi’-dono! A naked boy just fell from the sky!”

“Oh? What are you doing here, Koni-tan!? And this is a repeat gag!”

“Musashi” determined Toori would have preferred a fresh gag in which Konishi failed to catch him. She then turned to Konishi.

“All responsibility lies with him. Feel free to send any complaints to him. Over.”

She then turned toward the corrected course she had sent the transport ship.

“Judge. They are on course for the coast on the fourth and lowest level. Over.”

“Eh? They’re crashing!? Where, where!? Wait, Horizon’s with them!”

“Judge. We can no longer see them from here,” said “Musashi”. “But judging from the time, they have two more seconds. And they have landed. Over.”

Just before the emergency landing, Scarred and Milton had noticed the transport ship falling toward the western cost of England’s fourth level. They were urging the residents of a nearby village to evacuate. There was a slim chance the ship would crash there, fragments could fly that far, and…

“An earthquake or ley line disturbance could create a fault in the grown crust! Just like always, hurry to the central plaza! Remember to turn off any sources of fire before leaving! Milton, you lead the way. I will check the site and return once I’m sure it’s safe!”

Milton bowed and Scarred parted ways with him and ran out of the village. The fetter and chain on his right leg rattled as he did. In the sky, the transport ship was falling with white mist trailing behind it. However…

“House #23 here is the last one. These temporary evacuations would be easier with someone who could use a sign frame. Not that I’m one to talk,” said Scarred in self-derision.

He continued on past the final house of the village.

Several bulges appeared on the ocean next to him and water-colored horses poked their heads above water. It seemed they were evacuating from the area the ship was falling toward, but a few turned back toward him, shaking their manes made of seaweed.

“Scarred. Hurry?”

“Judge. This is a bit dangerous, so go play over there!”

“Okay. Scarred. Honest.”

“Scarred. Always. Listen.”

“Play?”

The young horses began to climb onto land to play with Scarred, but the parents bit their manes to stop them.

Scarred smiled a bit at that.

But as he ran on, he heard a sudden voice from behind. He turned around to find the resident of #23. She was a banshee with wet, messy black hair and her white face was even paler than usual.

“Scarred! My children are over there!! They have yet to return from the other side of the hill!”

Hearing that, Scarred ran even faster. The banshee’s voice seemed to follow him.

“They said they were capturing crabs where the water gushes out!”

“Judge,” said Scarred with a nod and a glance at the metal stake in his right hand. This was enough. He hurried to the other side of the beach and a hill rose up to the right.

“The other side of that hill is just in front of the inlet graveyard. Will I make it in time? It’s been a while since I used spells for anything other than fishing and healing…”

He ran up the hill while the ship seemed so close overhead he could reach out and touch it.

And as he ran as quickly as he could, he saw something.

“Is that them!?”

He ran down the hill and arrived at a beach where the rocky ground was exposed in places.

“The rocks around here grow quickly. It has a lot of leaks and caves that water passes through, but it also crumbles easily.”

On maps, it was labeled as a dangerous area.

However, an area too dangerous for the adults to go had a way of becoming a hunting ground and playground for the lighter children.

And the children who could be called small hunters were there.

Below the falling shadow and above the sand were three small forms frozen in fear as they looked up.

“…!!”

A loud voice could be heard from the falling ship.

The ship would have known this was a dangerous area that people avoided. That was likely why they had chosen it. From how tilted the ship was, they must have used their limited time and position to desperately steer the ship away from the nearby village.

However, three children had been playing in the blind spot created by the hill.

The ship was trying to do something about it, but there was no time to steer the ship out of the way.

“In that case…!”

As he ran, Scarred held the metal stake forward in his right hand and pointed it toward the falling ship. He held a thick book up in his left hand and read through the text.

“Sorry, but I will blast you out of the way!”

The transport ship was filled with confusion.

Everyone had noticed the children on the coast below them and they were all reacting in their own way.

The first to react was Ohiroshiki who had been forcefully brought along to play the role of a tank.

“Ahhhh, little girls! Ahhhh, little girls! That’s two out of three! 66.666666…”

“What are you talking about!?”

“N-no, it is much too rude of me to get so excited just from seeing the little girls! C-c’mon, Tenzou-kun! You’re a ninja, so use your explosives to self destruct and blast this ship to smithereens! All the old hags and men must die! The little girls must live! Oh, but make sure I survive!”

At least a dozen nearby fists struck Ohiroshiki.

Meanwhile, Mitotsudaira opened a sign frame and tapped on Futayo’s shoulder.

“What is it, Nate-sama?” asked Futayo as she turned around. “Do you wish to schedule an assisted suicide concerning the coming scandal?”

“Far Eastern feudal knights really like bloodshed, don’t they? At any rate, Naomasa sent me some advice from Musashi, so let’s do what we can on our own. I don’t know if we can actually pull it off, though.”

“We will see that when we try.”

Futayo took a step forward to lead Mitotsudaira, but then she turned around.

“Where are we going?”

Mitotsudaira smiled bitterly, passed a sign frame to Futayo, and quickly explained the process. The two of them then ran toward the bridge.

They opened the front hatch in the bridge and made their way to the staircase leading into the ship.

“Futayo, if this works, our respective rulers should be happy.” Mitotsudaira took a breath. “Everyone is doing their best! We will do the same!”

By the time Futayo and Mitotsudaira ran inside the ship, everyone aboard was preparing for the impact of landing.

They were fixing the objects on deck in place with rope and carrying the injured to the stern.

They had little time, but everyone moved quickly as the ship shook and tilted. Masazumi placed a hand on her mouth as she carried Horizon to the bridge.

“Ten more seconds! Everyone, brace for impact!!”

The ground was visible down to the front and left of the ship. The children on the beach were now hidden from view by the ship.

Masazumi wondered what was going to happen, but she decided to trust Mitotsudaira and Futayo.

“…!?”

On the starboard edge of the deck, Tenzou was tightening the stay supporting the mast. As he did, he noticed movement down below.

Someone was running in from the starboard side on the ground.

The figure wore a long hooded cloak.

Ether light was visible around the staff-like object the figure held up in their right hand.

…''Are they planning to use a spell or something? From the ether light, it must be quite a powerful spell. But…

The spell would have to cause a great impact to either knock the children out of the way or instantly knock the transport ship out of range. An inertial control spell would also be ended, but a high level combination of spells like that would need the help of a charm or multi-step preparations.

However, the running figure did not appear to be using either. Most of England’s fourth level was treated like a slum, so most of its residents had not received religious divine protection.

“In that case, is this one of the ancient spirit spells passed down within England?”

It was a primitive method and the user did not have strict control because it borrowed the power of spirits which were ether with a will of its own. However, certain spirit spell users could draw out tremendous power.

“Are they planning to hit the ship and knock it off course!?”

The instant Tenzou grasped the figure’s intent, he took action. He knew what he had to do based on this person’s decision.

Scarred ran toward his target location as the sand seemed to grab at his feet.

He sensed the shadow and pressure of the ship overhead and the thick atmosphere between the ship and the ground created a wind that gently pressed against him.

But Scarred did not hesitate as he ran toward the children about twenty meters away.

“Get down!!” he shouted.

He adjusted his grip on the metal stake such that he grasped the very bottom and held it up as if trying to stab it into the crushed bow of the falling ship.

But in that instant…

“Eh?”

Scarred first noticed that his body was floating as he tried to carry out the activation ceremony.

For an instant, he did not know why.

But understanding came a moment later.

“Who are you!?”

Scarred realized someone was carrying him away.

He did not recognize the person. A boy in black clothes and a hat had tackled him in the gut.

It was as if the boy wanted to say Scarred’s actions were dangerous.

“…!!”

Scarred flew a few meters along with the boy.

The ether light in his right hand swelled a bit but quickly burst and vanished.

“Ah.”

Just as that wordless voice leaked from his throat, he was pushed further through the air. His back struck empty air and he reached out his hand, but he could not reach the children or the ship. He could only see the children standing motionless on the beach and staring toward him. The children suddenly looked up and…

“Scarred!!”

The transport ship crashed into the crust of the coast.

It began with an intense sound of stone striking stone. Next came two sounds of destruction.

The first was the sound of the transport ship’s bow bending and breaking as the bow slammed into the ground like it was stamping a giant seal.

And as the ship was destroyed, the other, slower destruction could be heard.

The crust crumbled.

As the ship stabbed into the ground, the grown earth was initially smashed in the shape of the ship’s bow. Cracks ran from there and passed by the ninja who was hurrying to a hill while carrying someone in a green cloak.

The ground crumbled.

The entire ship lowered as the bow stabbed further into England.

The beach was smashed apart, the rocks on the surface were ripped up, and the foundation below them split and crumbled.

The ninja ran while lifting and carrying the person in the cloak. He kicked off the ground that began to flow backwards.

“…!”

He threw his body and the cloaked person to the stable hill.

“…”

The ship finally came to a stop while shallowly standing up on its bow.

All it left behind was a wholly changed landscape. The beach and the shallow ocean were gone. In their place was a slanted area of exposed bedrock several meters down. Water was beginning to flow into it.

And the children were nowhere to be seen.

From the beginning of the destruction to the very end, Tenzou had not taken his eyes off of it.

Even as fragments of wood had flown through the air and fallen nearby while spinning vertically, he had stood perfectly still while holding the hilt of the short sword on his back. If he took any careless action, harm could come to the civilian he was protecting.

And he himself felt a dull warmth near his right shoulder blade. A fragment from earlier had hit him and made a shallow stab wound. He was likely bleeding.

''I am injured, but I am a ninja,'' thought Tenzou. ''A ninja’s primary duty is to gather intelligence from other academies and to return alive from any situation, but protecting important people is another one of our duties.

Preventing people from other countries and other academies from coming to harm due to Musashi’s participation would avoid future trouble.

…''This is all part of my duty.

Tenzou checked on his surroundings.

…''Things have quieted down. The destruction of the ship and the primary collapse of the crust have come to an end.

There was a danger of a secondary collapse, so the area was off limits to anyone without specialized knowledge.

…''Well, that too is the duty of those with my specialization.

“…”

Tenzou took a deep breath and gathered strength in his body. He released the hilt on his back and stood up while holding his back.

And without taking his eyes off of the ship, he took an additional breath and spoke.

“Are you okay?”

As he stood up, he reached a hand down.

He reached a hand out to the person he had protected who wore a long cloak and had charged into danger on their own. However…

“…!”

A sharp pain and noise came from his left cheek hidden below the brim of his hat and behind his scarf.

He had been struck.

“!?”

With this sudden turn of events, he finally turned toward the person.

They wore a long cloak, but Tenzou gasped when he saw the hand which had stuck him and the person’s cheek and neck below the hood.

He saw scars on the back of the person’s hand, their wrist, their lower arm, from their nose to their cheek, and on their neck.

…''Those are from swords.

Not all of the scars had been made with sharp blades. A lot of them were from tearing lacerations made by dull blades. The person’s palm also had countless scars as if it had been torn by thorns.

…''Is this person in charge of protecting this area?

He tried to say something. At the very least, he felt it may have been rude to reach out his hand and ask if they were okay. He opened his mouth to speak, but the other person spoke first.

“What have you done!?”

That sharp cry left Tenzou speechless.

He also noticed something glittering as it flowed down the person’s cheek below their hood.

“…”

Instead of saying something, Tenzou sensed the meaning of the hot pain coming from his cheek. He sensed what that slap had meant. But before he could grasp the details, the person quickly turned toward the ship and began to run toward it.

“…”

The person then saw the state of the ship and the beach. They slowed their pace when they saw the beach beginning to fill with water from the ocean.

They came to a stop and stared at the ship. About a third of the ship was sticking into the crust and it gave off a slight creaking sound, but no one moved aboard the ship for fear of causing a secondary collapse.

The children were not visible where the bow had been.

The transport ship merely stuck up into the sky and Musashi could be seen continuing northward beyond it.

The person in the cloak watched that for a moment.

“…”

And they began to collapse to their knees with a sigh of resignation.

But in that instant, Tenzou cried out toward their back.

“Look more closely!!”

The ninja’s shout brought strength back to Scarred’s knees.

The instruction from behind was telling him to “look”. That could hold several different implications in the language of the Far East and the liberal translation provided by Scarred’s divine protection made it hard to tell which this was.

But Scarred saw something from underneath his hood. First, he saw the ninja circling around to block his path. The towering form of the ship was visible over his shoulder.

On the deck of the ship standing vertical in the morning sun, five figures could be seen standing on the mast which extended horizontally.

A samurai girl carried a boy over her shoulder.

“We saved all three British lives!!”

A silver-haired girl carried a girl under each arm.

…''Those are…?

Scarred did not know what had happened, but the children were unconscious.

“You…saved them?”

Those words escaped Scarred’s throat and the ninja before him nodded.

The ninja merely looked toward him.

“That’s certainly good,” said the ninja with a sigh of relief.

Scarred felt his inner thoughts had been revealed, so he felt a meaningless impatience in his chest. Scarred looked back and forth between the unconscious children and the ninja.

“U-um…”

He was unsure what to say. Should he give his thanks for saving the children? Should he express his anger over crashing the ship here? Or…

…''I slapped him and cried despite not knowing the situation.

He may not have known the situation, but he had still been hasty.

…''But…

“Um, uh…”

The ninja had to have seen the ether light from the spell in Scarred’s hand. He had to have predicted what kind of spell it would be.

…''So why did he stop me?

With that thought, Scarred frantically shook his head.

''No,'' thought Scarred. ''It is wrong to doubt him.

The children had been saved.

Scarred took a breath and shook his head again. He knew what he had to say.

…''I’m sorry.

He prepared to say those words that held a number of meanings, but the ninja suddenly disappeared.

It happened so suddenly that Scarred did not even have time to say “eh?” All of a sudden, the ninja had vanished from the hill and could be seen running across the seawater beginning to fill the beach down below. He sent water splashing into the air with each step.

…''Was that the ninja art of escape!?

Scarred understood why he had left. This was England and Musashi was in a delicate situation with the Testament Union nations. If the ninja disembarked without permission, it could be used as a negotiating card.

But Scarred called out for a different reason.

“Wait!” cried Scarred.

He had yet to apologize for acting hastily or thank them for saving the children.

However, the ninja was already running across the coast and back to the ship.

A shallow ocean had already formed around where the ship had sunk into the ground. It was cut off from the land.

As the ninja’s footsteps on the water’s surface approached the ship, Scarred took a step toward his back.

''I look like a child left behind by their parent,'' thought Scarred.

“Please wait!”

Scarred had something he wanted to say. He just had to say it.

But he could not form the words.

“…!”

As Scarred walked across the grass, he noticed a certain color at his feet.

It was red. A trail of red dots led toward the ocean.

…''Is this from that ninja!?

Scarred quickly looked up.

The ninja had protected Scarred from injury and then Scarred had made a hasty misunderstanding. But…

“He’s gone…”

The figures on the ship were gone as well. Instead, an emergency escape boat was floating in the seawater filling the area below the ship.

The three unconscious children were aboard the boat.

The only people remaining were Scarred on the grassy hill and the children.

Musashi’s steam whistle could be heard in the distance to the north.

Musashi circled England and sent out a ship to aid the crew of the transport ship and to carry out special negotiations.

While slowing down, Musashi completed a full revolution in half a day, but England instructed them to remain in the air south of England until they received permission to enter port.

But there was a reason Musashi could not respond simply by heading on to their next destination.

In the name of “investigating the damage to British territory”, England demanded the crew of the crashed transport ship remain onboard. England even cut off the nearby land with a concealment barrier.

This essentially took Horizon Ariadust, Honda Masazumi, Honda Futayo, and the rest of the crew as hostages. Musashi also had to repair its damaged ships, resupply with food and other goods, and carry out the trade with England they had agreed to, so most of those on Musashi agreed they should go along with England’s demand to wait.

But with the coming war with Tres España and Musashi’s anti-Testament Union position, England’s representative council could not agree how to deal with Musashi. The Trumps had been spread out across various areas of England, but the council decided they had to be called together.

Musashi’s negotiations earned them the assurance of the human rights and protection of Musashi’s ruler as well as the removal of the barrier around the transport ship after three days. However, ley line protection prevented the transport ship from being contacted by divine transmission and those aboard were forbidden to leave England so that further investigation could be carried out.

England provided supplies for the transport ship, but because “England is short on goods with the approaching war”, “England feared an uprising aboard the ship”, and “the distribution could be left to those inside”, the supplies were kept to the bare minimum. For the most part, it was only food and clothing.

The transport ship could not contact Musashi and those on board had to make use of their survival training. However…

“They’ll be fine. I’m ''really'' worried about Horizon and I want to tell someone to do something about it, but most of the people I tell to do something about stuff are over there. There’s no point in trying to do something about it from here. We just have to do what we can so they don’t get too lonely and hurry up our negotiations to land in England.”

Those instructions from Aoi Toori led to a few different actions aboard Musashi.

First, the school announcements were played over Musashi’s external speakers to provide the transport ship with a link to their normal lives. They also attempted a unique communication method based on a code using Musashi’s steam whistle.

Next, they completely eliminated the transport ship’s existence as a negotiating card as they negotiated with England for the right to land.

And a week after the transport ship’s crash, the transport ship finally sent back an awkward transmission using a light. Once Musashi knew everyone onboard was safe, they decided to grow more assertive in their negotiations.

But at the same time, the Trumps were gathered from around England and Tres España prepared for the war with England.

Musashi and England both received two pieces of information from their respective information networks.

First, Tres España had finished assembling their invincible fleet known as the Grande y Felicísima Armada.

Second, the large stealth ship which had attacked Musashi had not been seen within it.

Time was already approaching two weeks since the transport ship’s crash.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 08|Chapter 08]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 07

2014-05-02T23:08:31Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 07: Creators on the Battlefield */

==Chapter 07: Creators on the Battlefield==

[[Image:Horizon2A_223.png|thumb]]
''When one creates

''Does one build up?

''Or does one shave away?

'''Point Allocation (Molding)

Naruze questioned the sudden shaking and weight that came down from above.

…''What kind of spell is this!?

The pressure from above had to be some kind of spell. Naruze’s pen was a spell focusing device as well as the summoning device for the Weiss Fräulein which was her spell tool as a Technohexen, but the Orei Metallo on the tip of the pen was dyed in red light. That meant the pen’s ether analysis defense spell had automatically activated.

While the others collapsed to the ground or to their knees, Naruze resisted the pressure and thought about the enemy’s spell.

What was this weight she felt?

Some power was affecting her as if pressing down from above. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see those behind her collapsed or kneeling, but one fact held true for all of them.

…''Their hips fell first, so they landed on their knees.

She then focused on the pressure she felt on her own shoulders, head, and wings.

“Gravity has not been increased. Is every surface facing the heavens being ‘crushed’ from directly above!?”

As if affirming that analysis, the four British students other than Shakespeare stepped forward.

Naruze folded her wings to either side to divert the burden on her back to the left and right.

“Everyone, stand as vertically as you can! If you cannot manage standing, kneel on both knees and straighten your back! Focus on using incantation spells! Aim any projectiles above their heads!”

As she spoke, the weight only grew.

''What kind of spell affects an entire area like this?'' wondered Naruze as she looked forward.

The four standing before her showed no sign of bearing the weight. However…

“God’s divine protection.”

Cecil was floating. Her arms were extended to the side and she lightly swayed in the wind.

“It can’t be…”

Naruze felt the pressure increase and Cecil floated up even further, so Naruze shouted out.

“That woman is ‘handing out’ her weight, isn’t she!?”

“Testament,” said Dudley with a nod. “H-historically, William Cecil was the queen’s Secretary of State and her good friend, but the stress of being envied and his hard work led him to regularly overeat. He became mocked as England’s representative of obesity. H-his may be an honored position, but the men backed away due to the dishonorable treatment. That is why she, England’s greatest competitive eater, was recommended. Her ability is…”

The lipstick-colored lips on that withered face formed a crescent moon. At the same moment, Cecil spoke in a chirping voice from over a meter above the deck.

“The wealthy should give alms to the needy.”

“No, thank you!” shouted Naruze.

Dudley moved forward while holding her right palm out in front. Her footsteps rang loudly as she moved closer.

“Oh-oh-oh dear. How can this fallen angel say that when she is so n-n-n-needy. Especially in the chest. Y-you should at least accept the weight any normal woman would have. Or is that enough to make you unsteady?”

“Kh! Th-that doesn’t matter!” Naruze raised her voice as her entire body trembled under the great pressure. “And I can embrace Margot and bury my face in her chest like this, so it’s perfect if there’s a little extra room here!”

As Innocentius listened to the voices picked up by the Hexagone Française broadcast committee’s parabolic microphone, he wordlessly closed the sign frame and turned to Galileo behind him.

“Okay, let’s get to Pisa like we planned. I bet we’ll scare some people throwing those balls down. Hm?”

“You need to grow at least somewhat accustomed to Musashi’s performance style, former boy.”

Back on the transport ship, everyone turned toward Naito as they focused on Shinagawa via sign frame or sight.

“Oh, my,” said Naito while scratching at her head. She put on her usual smile and said, “I can’t exactly bury her face in my chest even if she embraces me, so we don’t do that.”

“Y-yes, of course. Y-you do not do that, right?” said Mitotsudaira who was unsure what to say.

Naito nodded and said, “Right. It’s impossible with clothes on, so we don’t even try.”

“You mean you do it while naked!?”

“Well, um…”

Naito tried to laugh off everyone’s comment, lightly embraced her broom, and stared forward. Her eyes narrowed as she looked toward Shinagawa which was still wrapped in mist.

“But Ga-chan looks pretty irritated. I hope she doesn’t do anything reckless. She can get really, really reckless when she does.”

With an instantaneous movement, Naruze threw a new water bottle. She “replayed” the spell from before and threw it once more, but it required over twice the ether because the defensive spell protecting her from the pressure was still active.

She targeted Dudley who was now less than ten meters away. It was a short distance, but the weight caused the bottle’s trajectory to drop. Naruze had aimed well above the woman, but it flew toward her stomach.

“How reliable. According to our information, you are from M.H.R.R. and you certainly have that feel to you.”

As she spoke, Dudley’s opened right hand flew.

Immediately afterwards, a sound of impact was followed by a steam explosion.

However, something odd happened around Dudley’s right palm.

“You repelled the explosion!?”

It had been a casual action. She had swept her hand as if sweeping trash from a desk and the explosion itself had been pushed away from her palm just like a piece of trash.

“!!”

The explosive noise was repelled and Dudley and the other three were unharmed.

Naruze, however, shouted into the steam explosion which was brushed to the side.

“Is that the ‘Repel’ Testament Sign!?”

“Y-y-y-yes,” rang Dudley’s voice. “We are to brush aside any difficulty.”

''I see,'' thought Naruze.

This was the ability to repel any power, but all it could do was repel. To use it as an attack, it had to be slammed into the floor or wall with a quick snap. The burden from Cecil was of course meant to hold their enemy down, but it would also automatically slam that enemy to the ground if Dudley merely knocked them to the side.

…''So if these two are working together…

“Qu-quite the clever fallen angel, aren’t you?” muttered Dudley, cutting off Naruze’s thoughts. “A-a-anyway, w-w-we don’t have time, so let’s keep this short. I wanted to show I could make it through without using this. I had hoped to be praised by Her Majesty the Queen, but at this rate, I will not even be praised for stopping Musashi.”

She held her left hand up so it crossed her right hand. That left hand was decorated with a hard object.

“Th-this is one of England’s Testamenta Arma, the great gauntlet Brachium Justitia – Vetus.”

Naruze saw a giant silver gauntlet on Dudley’s left hand. It was wrapped in bluish-white light in a pattern that resembled feathers and that light trailed after the gauntlet as it moved. A few crosses contained in boxes appeared on its surface and it wholeheartedly worked to make its presence known. Finally, Dudley raised the gauntlet in front of her chest.

“Wh-wh-wh-what do you think of this? One of England’s Testamenta Arma is pretty r-rare, don’t you think? And the power granted by the Brachium Justitia – Vetus is…” She pointed the gauntlet toward the floor. “…remote control of the battlefield’s weapons. As a Testamenta Arma, its effective range is not as large as a Logismoi Oplo, but it still works over several dozen meters.”

As Dudley, spoke, Naruze heard countless noises.

Many archers around her had been crushed under Cecil’s weight and they had all held bows and arrows.

…''They’re turning toward me!?

“Do you get it now?” said Dudley. “R-r-r-right now, you are a hostage.”

“…!”

The word “humiliation” floated up in Naruze’s gut. She heard the straining of drawn bows behind her as well as the voices of those holding the bows.

“My hands…”

They could not let go of their weapons. Out of the corner of her eye, Naruze saw everyone moving to take aim. And it was not just the bows. The spears, swords, and everything else were pointed her way as well.

“Kh!”

One person allowed Cecil’s weight to crush her down onto her bow. However…

…''It’s still aiming this way and she can’t let go?

Several female students allowed themselves to collapse, but they grimaced when they realized their bows and arrows were being drawn even tighter than before. They gave anguished groans and shed tears.

“N-Naruze-sama, I-I’m sorry! What am I supposed to do if I end up killing you!? Then you couldn’t draw any more of ‘Asama-sama Shoots’ featuring Asama-sama and Suzu-sama!”

“What!? Whaaat!?” said Asama over a sign frame. “Why Suzu-san and me!? I thought Naruze only drew guys!”

“The guys are my trade. This is for the money.”

“No, it isn’t.”

That final comment may have been spoken using male language, but the voice belonged to a girl.

Behind Jonson, Shakespeare sat in her white coat and with her backpack sitting next to her. She spoke with her face buried in a paperback novel.

“Malga Naruze. You aren’t the type to create something for money.”

Naruze heard clear-toned male language come from Shakespeare’s lips.

“Malga Naruze, you are the head of Musashi Ariadust’s manga research club and have gone by the penname of Black Hair & Wings. You use romances that transcend gender to illustrate your primary theme of physical interactions being a means of accomplishing mental interactions. That theme has not wavered whether the characters are original or based on real people. In other words, drawing people regardless of their gender is your ''Fides''.”

“Oh…?”

Naruze began to mentally sweat as Shakespeare began reading once more without even looking over at her. This sensation could be described as a slight chill, and there was a good reason for it.

…''Black Hair & Wings was my penname in elementary school.

“Oh, right,” said Shakespeare as if she had just remembered something. “I pray you will eventually be able to draw the perfect form of your ''Fides'' that uses you and your partner as the model.”

“…”

Naruze felt herself give a hard gulp.

…''I hadn’t even told Naito I wanted to draw that someday!

Naruze felt something a bit different than simply having a secret exposed. This was something she had not told anyone. It could only have been read in the foreshadowing of what she was doing with her current works.

Naruze did not know if this was her opponent’s intention, but she felt this was a method of “unbalancing” her. And so Naruze spoke into the sign frame which had opened near her face.

“Asama, how about we make a virtual experience doujinshi using spells? By using coordinate gravitational control, we could even manipulate things inside people while not hurting them. And if you have a partner, it could be made mutual.”

“Sh-shrine maidens don’t do that kind of thing.”

“Don’t be stupid. That’s why you make it an unofficial doujinshi. Asama, listen to my speech carefully: If you join, you can start with things that are more elementary. And as a club, you can make the excuse that it’s part of school. We’ll make sure to give you a grand entrance. You can learn a lot and it will make a nice break from the shrine and all its ceremony.” Naruze gave a small smile. “I know. How about we call it ‘What I Want to Do’?”

The sign frame silently disappeared. Meanwhile, Dudley stopped at five meters away.

She looked over and sighed.

“I-I-I see your pointless chatting is over. In that case, I have a demand for Musashi’s officers and student council.”

With a smile on the corner of her mouth, Dudley opened that mouth. Instead of looking toward Naruze, she turned her sharp gaze toward Okutama in the distance.

“A-a-a-acknowledge that Musashi is now under England’s full control.”

Place Musashi under England’s control.

Naruze’s mind jumped up at those words.

…''Don’t be ridiculous!!

However, she also heard something else. Some solid mass struck the deck to her right.

At the bottom of her vision, she saw one of the water bottles she carried for spells. It was meant to be made into a steam bomb, but it should have been nothing but a water bottle as long as she did not put a spell on it.

But something was wrong.

She frowned as the water inside the bottle began to bubble.

…''It’s started to boil!?

Before she could wonder why, Jonson shrugged beyond Dudley. He took a light step and the printing incantation device installed in his shoe printed a letter.

However, this letter was not printed on the deck. It was driven into the air and was wrapped in ether light.

This was a spell.

'''“Ah.”

He leaped into the air, swung his arms to his chest, and lightly spun a full 360 degrees.

'''“Heat dances through the water while its heart is trapped in a cage.”

As he spoke, he typed the same words into the air using the soles of his shoes and the number of bubbles in the bottle increased. Jonson landed and spoke without typing the words.

“You, what did you think of the athlete poet’s poem to the spirits? I cannot do it in a single second like your spell, but it should explode in…let’s say thirty seconds. So…”

The sounds of bows being tightly drawn grew louder around Naruze. The bowstrings started to sound metallic.

And Dudley’s trembling voice could be heard over the straining of the bows.

“S-surrender, students of Musashi. Wh-wh-wh-what is it? I thought the students of Musashi Ariadust made an enemy of the Testament Union to protect a single princess. …Your primary defender is now our hostage. So what kind of performance is this?”

Dudley held up her gauntlet and raised her eyebrows slightly.

“W-will the leaders of this academy abandon one of their own?”

However, Naruze heard an immediate response.

“C’mon, c’mon. Don’t look down on us like that, ladies. We haven’t abandoned her.”

This voice came from a new sign frame.

“M-M-Musashi’s chancellor and president, Aoi Toori!” cried Dudley with a frown. “Wh-why are you naked!?”

Dudley saw the naked boy displayed in the pagan sign frame.

He looked at her with his arms folded, but Musashi’s vice president and vice chancellor could be seen behind him retying a rope around his neck. The naked boy looked back at the two girls.

“Eh? Hey! What are you two doing this time!? I’m not gonna run away!”

“Shut up. We don’t want you wandering around and being a bother while we’re busy rescuing people. And we can’t have you doing anything to Horizon while she’s unconscious. At any rate, hurry up and say what you have to say.”

“Chehh,” muttered the naked boy below his breath. He then frowned toward Dudley. “Well? Um… What is it you want? Hurry up and tell me.”

“Y-you contacted me!!” shouted Dudley as she felt somewhat dizzy.

…''Ah, my chronic high blood pressure.

Her excessively low weight gave her somewhat high blood pressure, so she tried to avoid getting too angry. She could handle slow-going types like Cecil, but not everyone was like that in reality.

''Lucky for them, I am a very helpful woman,'' she thought.

“I-I was asking if you are willing to abandon your friend.”

“Eh? Oh, don’t worry about that. Listen up, okay?”

Just as he struck a pose, the vice president tied the rope to the deck railing behind him and tugged twice to make sure it would not come loose.

“The way I see it…kh!? The way…keh!? Are you not going to let me speak!?”

“Eh? Oh, sorry, sorry. I’m done. You can talk now.”

“O-okay! In that case, listen up!”

“Oh, it has come loose over there, Masazumi,” cut in the vice chancellor.

“As I was saying, I…gh! I…kh! …Keh!? Did you have to pull it a third time!?”

The Weiss Hexen fallen angel visible beyond the sign frame nodded twice. She turned toward Dudley with the ends of her eyebrows lowered in a look of pity.

“Don’t talk to him too much or you’ll catch his stupidity.”

“Don’t lie, Naruze! You can’t catch that just from talking to me! Touching me is a different story, though!” The naked boy took a Y-shaped pose of protest, but soon got back on topic. “Listen. I’ll never abandon anyone! You can count on that!”

“What? Really, Aoi? Even if it was Tenzou?”

“Eh…?”

“Wh-what kind of question is that, Masazumi-dono!? Your personality really has taken a turn for the worse lately!”

“Calm down, calm down.”

The boy in the Y-shaped pose and Musashi’s vice president restrained the ninja with their hands.

“Whatever’s going on in Musashi, the Far East, or the world, I will never abandon anyone,” said the naked boy as he folded his arms. “And listen. Naruze there has more willpower than you think she does. At the very least, she isn’t the type to just let someone take her hostage.”

As those words left the sign frame, something happened.

The fallen angel in front of Dudley swung up her right hand.

…''What is she trying to do!?

What did she hope to do against the arrows and the time bomb?

Dudley did not know what the fallen angel was doing, but there was nothing she could actually do. Dudley gave a command using Brachium Justitia – Vetus on her left hand. She instructed the arrows to shoot the girl.

She had already warned the girl, so it was the girl’s own fault for moving despite the warning.

And so Dudley let out a cry. She had already sent the command mentally, but vocalizing it seemed to drive the meaning home.

“Sh-sh-sh-shoot her!”

As soon as Dudley gave the command, she saw a bitter smile appear on the fallen angel’s lips.

“Too bad. I suppose I will be leaving now that I have exposed the abilities of three of you.”

The fallen angel spoke those words at almost the exact same moment as the arrows were fired behind her back.

Several dozen arrows flew to pierce that fallen angel’s body in an instant.

But something else arrived before those arrows. A line of light flew from the center of Musashi to their right. That white trailing ether light was…

…''A stake!?

No, it was a thick cylindrical arrow with the tip crushed down.

Wondering what it was, Dudley followed the line back to where the thick arrow had been fired. Her gaze moved faster than her body and she saw a female student standing atop the towing belt travelling between the front center ship and the second starboard ship.

She held a giant white bow that had just been fired.

“Th-th-th-the rumored sniper shrine maiden!”

“Who are you calling a sniper!?”

While taking her follow-through breath, Asama waited for the feedback of a hit.

She had accurately read location, distance, and the wind. The divine purification protection had successfully taken the arrow through the area ruled by Cecil’s gravitational burden and Dudley’s strange Testamenta Arma. She had gone to all this trouble for one reason.

…''Blow Naruze away!

It had started with the divine transmission earlier. Naruze’s response had told Asama what she should do. The meaning had been hidden in Naruze’s speech.

…''If you join, you can start with things that are more elementary. And as a club, you can make the excuse that it’s part of school. We’ll make sure to give you a grand entrance. You can learn a lot and it will make a nice break from the shrine and all its ceremony.

Without being told, Asama had known to take the last word of each sentence.

“The elementary school entrance ceremony!”

And Naruze had followed it up with the title “What I Want to Do”.

''In that case,'' thought Asama.

There had been a few different people she had failed to shoot that day approximately twelve years ago. Naruze was one of them. If that was what Naruze wanted, this was a good chance to somewhat make up for her failure twelve years ago. And so Asama had prepared a non-penetrating anti-shock arrow.

“Hit!” she cried as white light exploded above Shinagawa.

Her arrow had crashed into Naruze.

The girl with six black wings was blasted to the starboard side.

The arrow burst the instant it struck and its light expanded with a pressure that pushed the girl out of the way. Due to Cecil’s weight, she did not float well, but she was still knocked a few dozen meters away.

“…!”

She had wrapped her wings around herself in advance, but she still rolled quite a bit.

An instant later, the arrows flew into the spot she had just been in, but now their trajectory took them toward Dudley.

“…!”

Just as Dudley’s cheeks bent in a frown, the steam bomb exploded in front of her.

The white steam hid the arrows and Dudley could not see for a moment.

However, the countless arrows instantly stabbed through the steam. They crossed paths at the spot Naruze had been in, but they continued on to Dudley.

Dudley therefore swung the Testamenta Arma on her left arm.

“Drop!”

The command just barely arrived in time. Only a dozen or so centimeters in front of her, the arrows stabbed into the ground like a thicket with sharp leaves and branches.

However, it did not end there. Instead of breaking through the steam in front of Dudley, something with giant wings blew the steam away altogether.

“A half-dragon!?”

“2nd Special Duty Kiyonari Urquiaga is here!”

A giant body covered in a blue and white exoskeleton charged toward Dudley.

Despite Cecil’s weight, the half-dragon charged forward while partly running and partly flying.

“I will give you a warm welcome, heretic!”

He held no weapon, so he faced Dudley simply by charging forward.

He filled the distance in no time at all, so Dudley did not have time to swing her right hand.

However, someone managed to move in that time.

“Mate, I hope this is not enough to give you trouble.”

Those words were accompanied by the movement of legs covered in white tights and thick shoes. Behind Dudley, Jonson instantly accelerated from a crouching start.

On his third step, Jonson swung his right leg up and struck the half-dragon’s right shoulder with the sole of the shoe.

'''“Express yourselves, oh words!”

The printing incantation devices on the bottoms of his feet wrote printed words in the air using light.

'''“As she stands still, oh wind, pass by her in human form!”

An attack that was not a restraint or a kick struck the half-dragon and knocked him to the left.

As a sound of impact rang out, Jonson landed and clenched his right fist.

“Good!”

Just as he spoke, a figure suddenly appeared before him. It was a boy who had jumped down from the half-dragon’s back.

With a calm look in his eyes, he carried a piece of squared lumber that could be used as a support.

“You are Noriki who defeated Professor Galileo, are you not!?”

“If you know who I am, why bother mentioning it?”

“I see,” said Jonson as he looked to the left.

There, he saw a certain sight. The half-dragon had used the momentum of being knocked away in order to pick up the black-winged girl who had rolled away earlier.

“I see. That charge was a decoy allowing you to rescue the Technohexen and transport a warrior.”

“I’m no warrior,” said the boy with a calm look in his eyes. “I’m a laborer.”

Naruze’s body was unsteady due to the impact and the tumble, so she could only watch the battlefield.

More in front of her than to the side was Urquiaga who stood between her and the British force. The 2nd special duty officer obstructed her view quite badly, but he made excellent cover. Naruze managed to stand up behind him.

“Well done getting here,” she commented.

“We could not have done it without you exposing their abilities.”

“Any more praise and I’m going to feel humiliated, so could you leave it at that?”

“I see Technohexen these days are terribly conceited.”

Urquiaga then moved forward. Naruze tried to follow, but…

…''Kh.

Her wings felt heavy. She could feel heat in the flight muscles exclusive to winged races which were located on her shoulder blades and the lower portion of her trapezius, and she could not gather strength in them. She felt the same heat above her right knee and in the front lower portion of her shoulders.

Those muscles had been tense under the heavy burden of Cecil’s weight and the previous impact and tumble had caused that tension to collapse.

To make matters worse, that weight was still affecting her because she had not escaped its effective range. Each time she moved her body, that heat seemed to produce more weight, so she felt as if her body was hanging down from her bones.

''Like this, I’m only in the way,'' she muttered in her heart.

Urquiaga seemed to understand how she felt because he moved forward without speaking a word.

The half-dragon loosely moved both shoulders around in a circle and took a large step toward the British force.

As Naruze watched, she took half a step back.

…''Damn.

She felt a thick weight over her entire body below her inner suit, so she took another step back.

A few black feathers scattered as she moved away from the battlefield.

Even as she left the noises, movements, and wind of the battle, Naruze kept her back to the rear of the ship and made sure Naito could not see her.

“Dammit…”

She wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her right hand.

She could hear the sounds of the battle beginning once more.

The battle took the form of martial arts underneath extra weight.

Cecil floated and added that extra weight while Shakespeare was immersed in a book. Ahead of those two, Jonson and Dudley fought Noriki.

England’s goal was to stop Musashi and leave it unable to fight. Musashi’s goal was to stop England from doing so.

However, the situation would come to an end once Musashi entered its course around England.

“Just two more minutes! Please hold them off that long!” Masazumi’s voice filled Musashi via Mitotsudaira’s sign frame. “Once we begin circling England, Musashi can reach them! That will mean Trumps failed to keep England untouched. Even if they stop Musashi then, it won’t be a complete victory. Any further fighting will become a matter of pride rather than actual use!”

“You are giving meaning to this battlefield, aren’t you? Your words give different meaning to the situation and point the spotlight away from who wins and who loses,” said Jonson as he took a step away from Noriki, leaped lightly into the air, and wrote words as he spun around. “A very poetic method. There is more to a situation than what meets the eye. You retain the dignity for the ones who created this battlefield by betting on our win or loss, but rather than let those creators speak for themselves, you express that result with different words.”

He took a breath as he landed.

'''“Fly into the sky.”

The instant Jonson both finished typing his spell and landed, the large wooden container under his feet flew up.

Despite the extra weight being placed on the battlefield, the twenty meter tall container rose with ease.

Dudley then struck it with her open palm. With a sound of impact, the box spun around and flew through the air.

“How very light.”

The container fell to the deck and was smashed to pieces along with the furniture loaded inside.

Sounds of cracking and snapping wood rang out as the fragments flew into the air and disappeared. However, no one looked in that direction. All focus was on Dudley.

“C-c-c-can you see this?”

She held one of the arrows that had been fired and stabbed into the deck earlier. She held the arrow vertically over a cargo opening.

“Cecil. F-f-f-focus your ‘handing out’ on this.”

In the next moment, two things happened.

First, the weight bearing down on Shinagawa vanished for only an instant.

Second, the arrow in Dudley’s hand disappeared.

“…!!”

An intense vibration came from the bottom of the opening at her feet.

The ship shook as if jumping up and “Shinagawa” gave a ship-wide announcement.

“!? An unknown object of extreme weight has penetrated the fourth underground level!! The suspension frame and wide block #9 of levels 1, 2, and 3 have been damaged! Beginning native control to prevent secondary damages during cargo transport!” She took a breath. “I have determined this attack is very dangerous! Over!”

Everyone heard “Shinagawa’s” words that could be taken as surprise or a scream.

And in response, two members of the Musashi side stepped forward.

Noriki stepped forward to confront Jonson.

“Noriki, you handle that poet. I will take care of that floating gravity source,” said a voice to starboard.

A single giant form walked toward the battlefield. It was…

“The half-dragon from before?”

“Indeed. I am Kiyonari Urquiaga the Inquisitor.” He calmly walked through the weight bearing down on him. “I have two things to tell you. First, my ancestors were the race that explored high gravity areas. We have become a bit rare as a race, but we have not lost that ability. This much weight will have no effect on me. And second…”

Without nodding, Urquiaga pointed at Jonson.

“Men should not read poetry.”

The silence and motionless brought on by Urquiaga’s words was eventually broken by someone.

It was Dudley. She glanced over at Jonson and slowly nodded twice.

“S-s-s-sometimes his light, conceited style gets on my nerves. I’m left wondering what he is talking about.”

“Mate, wh-whose side are you on!?”

“I’m light, too,” added Cecil.

The weight suddenly increased and the deck lowered a bit. The wooden containers making up the deck were beginning to warp.

That weight was passed on to the ship’s frame, so Shinagawa creaked as the sides were pushed out from the center. The weight of course affected those on the deck as well.

“…Nh.”

Noriki fell to his knees, but held onto his piece of lumber to stay upright. However, Jonson was not affected by the weight, so he sighed and stared at Noriki.

“You are done for either way. We only have a little more than a minute left and that half-dragon’s endurance is a threat, but Cecil can provide more weight and Dudley can throw more arrows. So…”

So…

“You – and I mean that as the plural ‘you’ – are done for.”

“I hope everyone is okay,” said Asama as Kimi walked up next to her on the thick rope passageway connecting the rear of Shinagawa to Musashino.

Kimi observed the warping of Shinagawa that was visible from outside and listened to the ship-wide announcement.

“During the age of the gods, half-dragons were modified as a race to survive in high gravity areas and on high gravity planets, right? They may be a rare race now, but they make an excellent trump card for moments like this.”

Kimi then tapped on Asama’s shoulder and wrapped her left arm under her own chest.

“More importantly, you have nothing to do here, so why don’t you go elsewhere?”

“But…”

“Heh heh heh. As a sniper woman known on an international level, I know you want to shoot people left and right and make some victims bleed, but this is no longer a situation in which shooting will do any good. You need to leave.”

Asama initially wanted to deny most of that yet agree to the ultimate conclusion, but…

“You aren’t going to do anything, Kimi?” she asked instead.

She was essentially asking if Kimi did not want to help given the situation. However…

“No. I am a normal student, remember?” said Kimi casually as she looked toward Shinagawa. “Then again, so is Noriki. But I have no actual combat abilities. And…”

Kimi raised her right hand and placed the index finger on Asama’s forehead. Asama looked up slightly from beyond that finger.

“You are a shrine maiden, so you are not supposed to participate in combat either.”

And yet…

“If you feel the need to do something and force yourself to take part, you will only make things more painful later. In your current state, my foolish brother and the others are hesitant to include you in combat. A proper woman should not force herself into the middle of it all where she will accomplish nothing. Try inviting them over to you without trying to win their favor.”

“I-I’m not forcing myself into-…”

“Don’t bother lying.”

Kimi forcibly cut her off. Asama tried to resist, but she realized growing stubborn would not help.

“You miss out on a lot being a shrine maiden,” lamented Asama.

“Yes. You aren’t allowed to shoot people.”

“I-I think your view of me is a bit off, Kimi!”

“Heh heh heh. The fact that I was only ‘a bit’ off is making me shudder.”

“Huh!? Wh-why is everyone being so harsh with me today!?”

Asama hung her head down upon realizing how useless she was, but Kimi opened her mouth to speak once more.

“Aren’t there others things you can do? All the blood will make you want to shoot something, but you can go heal Naomasa and listen to her complaints. And. Another. Thing,” she said with clear distinction between each word. “You need to trust the others more. They are more than just idiots. After all, they are all people my foolish brother fully trusts. And you fall under that category as well.”

Kimi lowered her finger and lightly pressed in below the edge of Asama’s uniform’s chest band. Immediately afterwards…

“Eh?”

Just like a grape skin being peeled off, the black chest band slipped around below her breasts due to the weight from above. With the band slipped down, her breasts pressed down on the center fastener.

“…!?”

This weight split open the fastener, opening the suit wide from within.

With her body and skin fully exposed from the neck down to below her breasts, Asama frantically wrapped her arms around them to hold them in place.

“Eh!? Ah…kyaaaah!!”

“That’s quite the energetic scream for someone hanging their head like that. Did you not notice I was supporting mine from below?”

“O-of course I didn’t!!” shouted Asama.

She saw injured and non-injured boys gathered on the edge of Musashino and Shinagawa, all with giant grins and pointing their right thumbs upwards, so she fired arrows in both directions.

The screams and other sounds produced by her arrows were accompanied by a metallic groaning.

Shinagawa was creaking under the weight being placed on it.

Everyone frowned and turned cautiously toward Shinagawa.

“Huh?”

But they quickly let out confused voices.

“Is that…?”

The mist above Shinagawa had been sinking down under the weight, but it was now gently floating up and beginning to produce convection.

“Is the weight lessening!?”

As Jonson fought with Noriki over his location, he saw something.

The half-dragon was advancing.

Step by step, that giant form with solid wings approached Cecil despite the weight bearing down on him.

The weight was definitely there. The half-dragon’s feet were breaking out of his shoes and he was leaving definite footprints on the wooden deck.

However, those footprints also meant that he had not stopped walking.

“You really are a half-dragon!”

As far as Jonson could tell, the half-dragon could not freely fly while under Cecil’s weight and he could just barely walk.

“Concentrated attack,” said Cecil lightly.

That meant she was placing the weight such that the half-dragon was in the center.

Cecil’s eyebrows rose, her altitude rose, and the half-dragon’s exoskeleton began to creak. However…

“Not nearly enough!” roared the half-dragon as he took another step forward.

“…!”

Cecil arrogantly poured the weight on, but it took time to raise the weight over the entire area. Instead, she diverted the overall weight toward the half-dragon. And so…

“Are you going to ignore me?”

The boy named Noriki began to move more lightly.

Jonson had a single thought concerning this laborer warrior who opposed him.

…''This boy is dangerous, too!

Jonson faced the opponent who he alternatively attacked and defended against.

Due to the weight, Noriki had sweat on his brow and was relying on pure strength in his movements. Jonson, on the other hand, raised his attack speed with a spell. Noriki chose a certain strategy when faced with that situation where his opponent had an overwhelming advantage.

“You’re focusing solely on defense!?”

“It’s kind of pathetic, so don’t say it out loud.”

The lumber he had used as a support now functioned as a shield as he focused on defense. His arms, legs, and movements stopped, deflected, or evaded attacks. He seemed to take some attacks as feints, but…

…''Even those are throw-away delaying actions used as defense!

Those feints had meaning. They sealed Jonson’s actions as he stood between Cecil and Dudley.

Noriki did not have to win. He only had to keep Jonson from helping the others.

…''This boy is good for someone who is not an officer or student council member!

Jonson observed his opponent as he started mentally writing poetic praise.

“…!”

He saw Noriki with his hands full simply defending and moving his wooden support in and out of place. He was covered in sweat and baring his teeth, so it was difficult to think of any word despite “desperate”.

He made up for his lack of skills by going all out. He had stamina and speed, but his arm strength was average for his age. That was his weakness.

One could call him unbalanced and awkward.

It was poetic.

…''But…

“To choose a defensive focus in this sort of short-term battle, you must be on the level of the chancellor’s officers or the student council!”

Jonson received no response. He raised his speed, so Noriki wordlessly worked at his own speed. The boy truly had his hands full now, but he still managed to force his defense through.

He was dangerous.

And so Jonson turned toward Dudley.

“You! Can you fire another arrow!?”

“I-I-I can! More importantly, C-C-Cecil!?”

Cecil was attempting to hold back the gradually approaching half-dragon. She had both palms stretched out toward him and her face was red, but she managed to speak.

“Testament. I can do it.”

“Testament! W-w-w-wonderful, Cecil!”

The fletching of Dudley’s arrow vibrated as if shuddering. This showed that Cecil had reset the distribution of weight.

Dudley released the arrow as if placing it in midair.

“Arrow #2! G-g-go all the way to the primary frame!”

To make doubly sure, Dudley struck the arrow down with her right hand.

The arrow immediately vanished, the weight instantly vanished, and everyone braced themselves for the coming vibration.

“…”

After a moment of silence, a loud noise reverberated from the hole the arrow had vanished into. However, it was not the creaking of metal or the roar of destruction. It was a human voice.

“Owww!!!”

Dudley looked down toward the source of that scream which had been accompanied by a loud impact.

“Wh-wh-what is that round thing!?”

She could tell it was a vassal’s mobile shell, but why was it being held by a half-naked macho man wearing a bucket helmet and why was it staggering unsteadily.

“A-ah. W-wait! Um…Wh-what was that thing that just fell on me!?”

Dudley dropped the next one, but the macho man swiftly placed the mobile shell in the spot the arrow dropped toward.

“Eh? I just have to stand here? Okay, but… Oww!?”

With the sound of a direct hit, the mobile shell floated up lightly from the rebound. However, the arrow did not pierce through.

…''That mobile shell’s anti-impact structure and broad feet are dispersing the impact!?

The ship still creaked, but it only shook lightly.

“I can’t believe it,” muttered Dudley while beginning to sweat.

She recalled seeing that vassal acting as a shield during the Battle of Mikawa. It had not been noticeable then because the mobile shell had only been fired on horizontally, but the anti-impact structures of each part were made to almost perfectly stop even impacts from above. The way the mobile shell bounced up in the rebound was proof of that. Its defenses were set quite high.

The one wearing the shell would have a hard time moving, but their safety was ensured by the perfect defense.

And so Dudley leaped to the port side to her right.

“Kh!”

And she fired another arrow.

However, she saw immediate movement below. Down in the cargo opening, a nude and muscular incubus gave a refreshing smile from the port side wall.

“Ha ha ha! Over here, Persona-kun! Come on over!!”

The macho man named Persona-kun picked up the mobile shell and moved to the port side.

“Eh? Ah? Owww!?”

“Kh,” groaned Dudley.

This time, she leaped to the starboard side and fired an arrow, but a slime was attached to the starboard side wall.

“Yes, now you must come toward me!”

“Ah, wait… Eh? Owww!”

A great vibration and noise exploded out and wind blasted up through the hole, but the arrow did not penetrate any lower and the mobile shell only staggered a bit.

“S-s-s-stop pissing me off!” shouted Dudley with veins bulging on her forehead and an arrow between each of her spread fingers. “It’s time for rapid fire!!”

The noise and impacts of the mobile shell stopping the arrows were transmitted by the recording devices in the cargo area.

The students on the transport ship used a sign frame to watch Persona-kun move left and right while Dudley dropped arrows from above while also moving left and right.

“Tenzou, doesn’t seeing this scene on a sign frame make you want buttons for moving them left and right?”

“Judge. I used to have a black and white handheld charm game like this. It was made by a Kyou corporation and I had the Giant Octopus and Fire games.”

“This is more like the Insane Monkey Man game that had two screens. You move Persona-kun back and forth on the bottom screen while Noriki moves up and down on the top screen to hold the poet back.”

“Oh, I can hear you!” said Adele from within the mobile shell. “That kind of video game is…owww! W-wait! You’re rattling my brain! My brain! My brain!!”

“What do you do when the damage builds up, Tenzou?”

“Judge. You recover by tapping the right button as fast as you can to drink the goop Nenji-dono hands you.”

“You two need to take this more seriously,” said Futayo with a sigh.

“That’s right,” agreed Masazumi.

“Listen,” began Futayo as she pointed at the sign frame and raised her eyebrows. “The two of you need to worry about what comes later. After all, the true challenge begins when you reach 100 points and enter high speed mode.”

“You need to take this more seriously, too!” shouted everyone.

“I-if I get hit by 100 of these, I’m staying home from the academy tomorrow!” said Adele through the sign frame.

“A day off would be enough?” someone muttered, but the impacts and screams continued.

Toori would occasionally give comments like “Pe-yan, not there!” as time passed.

Whenever the arrows were fired, the weight holding Urquiaga down would lessen and he would walk forward. Eventually, he made it within ten steps of Cecil.

Someone shouted out in response to that situation.

“Shakespeare! Help Dudley with the arrows!”

But Shakespeare did not respond to Jonson’s voice. The sign frame footage showed her with her face buried in a book.

“Heh heh. ‘Whose tentacle is this!?’ So they’re bringing back the tenta-collector joke here.”

“Listen to me, you!”

That shout finally caused Shakespeare to raise her head, but she did not close her paperback book.

“Shut up,” was all she said.

She turned back toward the book and closed her covered long ears to shut out the surrounding noise. However, she gave one offhand comment as she immediately losing herself in the book again.

“That’s a pain, so I’ll just write it. That’s fine, isn’t it?”

“W-w-w-wait!”

Dudley’s voice caused the sign frame’s voice device to tremble. She stopped firing arrows and turned toward Shakespeare with her eyebrows raised.

“Th-th-this is an order as vice chancellor! Do not use that power without restriction outside of the mainland! We only brought you with us because you agreed to that, so…”

“I only wanted to go to Musashi’s bookstores after we took control. …Including the used bookstores. Seeing my books with ten yen stickers is quite thrilling. More importantly, Dudley, do your job. Do it for the queen.”

That last sentence seemed to affect Dudley more than the rest.

She gave a snort and a final parting glance toward Shakespeare.

“Y-y-you are an impertinent child, but I will forgive you as you have not forgotten about Her Majesty the Queen. E-e-even if it was a blatant attempt to manipulate me. And in that case…”

Dudley swept her hand across several arrows to fire them.

“Th-th-th-three at once!”

Three arrows. They could not defend against that with Adele as their only shield.

Everyone knew the triple attack would reach the bottom of the ship.

But in the next instant, everyone saw a certain sight.

<The arrows were swept up in the wind and fell to the ground.>

As if swayed by the words which reverberated through the air, the three arrows moving at high speed suddenly lost their speed. It looked like they were swaying in the wind.

No one there had the ability to do that.

If someone had done it, it was a newcomer to the battlefield.

The first to notice the newcomer was Shakespeare as she looked up from her book. She quietly looked beyond the lines of large wooden containers and spoke.

“There he is.”

The person to whom Shakespeare referred arrived on the battlefield.

“Sorry I’m late.”

He released a few divine texts into the air, lightly raised his right hand, and gave his name.

“I am Musashi Ariadust Academy’s secretary, Toussaint Neshinbara.”

As Jonson fought Noriki, he handled his enemy’s attacks with his feet and turned toward the newcomer.

Musashi’s secretary, Neshinbara, ran over form the opposite side of the cargo opening.

A civil official Mouse stood on his shoulder and his hands typed on a sign frame keyboard.

As a literature type, Neshinbara was out of breath. However…

<His breathing slowed and his running legs reliably brought him toward his enemies.>

Jonson saw the bluish-white light of ether scattering above Neshinbara’s head and around his shoulders. As the ether scattered like snowflakes, Jonson realized what it was.

…''Cecil’s weight spell is breaking apart.

Cecil’s spell was not affecting Neshinbara. This was because…

<With less than thirty seconds remaining, he finally arrived at his enemies. And he spoke.>

“Sorry I’m late. I’m just a slow runner is all.”

While dealing with Noriki, Jonson realized something from what Neshinbara said and the feeling it gave him.

“Shakespeare! He is-…”

Jonson trailed off before he could say “an author”.

Shakespeare had stood up with her book in hand.

…''That capricious girl stood up!?

But Neshinbara took action before anything more could happen.

“Sorry.”

<As the enemy stood up, she was suddenly slammed to the deck.>

Neshinbara typed those words into his sign frame keyboard.

<He had broken up and stored the weight bearing down on him, so he was able to strike her with it.>

The text became reality.

“It’s a type of prayer. In Shinto, it can be used as a spell. You just need a god that can pull it off, but with intermediaries, most anything is possible. In my case, it’s Sugawara-style Itsuru, the god of writing.”

<He said.>

“My spell is named Mountains of Words. I pray that the writings I have dedicated will be reproduced in reality.”

<With a great roar and a creaking of the deck, the enemy crumbled to the deck. The falling weight became an impact that struck the enemy and the space around her and produced a powerful explosion of wind.>

An explosion blossomed in front of Neshinbara and a great noise burst out.

<And that left one less enemy.>

Neshinbara took a breath.

…''I’m glad I could finish that quickly by taking the first move.

Once the strategist defeated one of the enemies, the people’s image of the battle would change greatly. That fact would demonstrate that the strategist had put himself in danger on the front lines and that he had the power to handle that danger. And by proving the strategist was useful, opinion of him would be more positive. So…

…''Well, that should be good enough.

The battle was not over, but he needed to focus on covering for the others because Mountains of Words was a slow spell to activate.

The god of writing enjoyed being entertained, so he loved reading the novels and other writings of his followers. Anything entertaining one wrote could be dedicated, but it was not an immediate judgment like money was for the god of commerce. A high quality text was needed to entertain the god of writing. And to use the powers of other gods using the god of writing as an intermediary, the conditions necessary for that god’s power had to be written in novel form. All in all, it took time.

Neshinbara had undergone a semi-high level contract, so he could use his past writings as dedication copy-paste material. That allowed him to abbreviate a lot, but reusing the same text like that caused the dedication efficiency to drop. That was why Neshinbara had his Mouse, Michizane, automatically create copy-paste material from the doujinshi he had written. This gave him a stock of unused dedication copy-paste material.

He had just used dedication copy-paste material from the manuscript he had prepared for a spring event. He had not used his entire stock during the Battle of Mikawa, so he had several doujinshi’s worth to spare.

“Well, that should do it…”

Neshinbara began to turn to the starboard side. He began to turn to look at Dudley, Jonson, Noriki, Cecil, and Urquiaga.

“…Eh?”

But before he could, he saw someone standing in front of him.

It was a skinny long-eared girl wearing a white coat. It was Shakespeare.

She stood within the wind as if nothing had happened. It was as if she had ignored his attack.

And she opened her mouth to speak.

“Quite an interesting spell,” she said as she slowly nodded and stared at him through her glasses. “You could say this is author vs. author. Surely you didn’t think you could burn down a fellow author with expressions at that level.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 06|Chapter 06]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 08|Chapter 08]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 06

2014-05-02T23:07:15Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 06: Greeter on the Deck */

==Chapter 06: Greeter on the Deck==

[[Image:Horizon2A_205.png|thumb]]
''When and where do you say

''Nice to meet you?

'''Point Allocation (Battle Progress)

Someone on the towed transport ship groaned in response to “Musashi’s” request to prepare for battle.

Naito turned toward the bow.

“The problem is where the battlefield is. The bow is almost completely abandoned.”

“Judge,” replied Mitotsudaira with a nod. She turned her golden eyes toward Musashi. “Who will make it to the bow!?”

The transport ship was being pulled by the towing belt in the air behind Okutama. A glance into the sky reminded Mitotsudaira of this fact and she clenched her teeth.

Musashi’s primary combat force had gathered on the transport ship to fight back against Tres España.

Former guard unit member and current vice chancellor Futayo, special duty officers Tenzou and Naito, Mitotsudaira herself, and chancellor and student council president Toori were all there.

…''And most of those down below are supporting members.

“I am heading down!”

“Please stop. I have determined you will not make it in time. Over.”

As Mitotsudaira began to run, “Musashi’s” face appeared in a sign frame.

“Pourquoi!?”

“Judge. The ship cannot be stopped immediately yet will paradoxically arrive very near England in about three minutes. If England can stop us in that time, that is fine. If we can stop them for that along, that is fine too. The time limit is a mere three minutes, so you will not arrive at the bow in time even if you begin now. Also, your transport ship is being provided with buffering control distinct from Musashi’s. Heading here will result in removing or even destroying a portion of that. Working to control and protect the transport ship after that will delay our approach to England. Over.”

“Then…”

Just as Mitotsudaira began to speak, a new sign frame opened. This torii-style frame displayed Neshinbara.

“Then we have only one option: use those on Musashi to oppose England. That’s all there is to it.”

Mitotsudaira watched Neshinbara sigh in the sign frame.

“You have no choice but to leave this to us for the next three minutes. Could you focus on aiding the injured on the transport ship? Whether those injured can stand or not when you return to Musashi will change how the people view this battle,” said Neshinbara expressionlessly. He looked around at all the people on the transport ship he could see. “Sorry. A lot of people were injured.”

Those words worried Mitotsudaira. As a knight who was expected to take part in combat, she understood what role a strategist bore.

…''This will only get worse for the strategist.

They had endured the attack, but it had resulted in a lot of injuries. The city had been damaged, some areas were no longer functioning, and cargo had been lost. Blame would be turned toward the student council and chancellor’s officers at the top, but the most blame would fall on Neshinbara who had given the instructions and authorization.

Every member of the main force on the transport ship understood this, so Mitotsudaira exchanged a glance with Masazumi, Futayo, Naito, and the others before turning back to Neshinbara.

“It is not yet time for the strategist to apologize, is it?” asked Mitotsudaira with a bitter smile.

Letting her worry show at this stage was rude to the strategist and a knight needed to show trust in her strategist.

“Once all of this is over, we can have a small victory celebration and meet up with England. That will give us an excuse to make up for the injuries and damage.”

“I see you knights love your glory,” commented Neshinbara while smiling bitterly.

Mitotsudaira suddenly noticed the background behind him was moving.

“Neshinbara? Don’t tell me…”

“Judge. I’m heading out myself. Bertoni-kun wants to have some fun, but he has his hands full dealing with the commerce and industry groups. And in a direct confrontation, I don’t have to worry about giving instructions to so many people.”

“But…”

Mitotsudaira wanted to say it was dangerous, but he cut her off.

“You understand, don’t you? We were attacked, people were injured, and the city was damaged. Unlike the Battle of Mikawa, we didn’t gain anything, so people are going to be wondering what the strategist was thinking. I need to do my best as the strategist. I need to show them I gave it my all so we could pull through to the end. I want to avoid having the student council and chancellor’s officers criticized because of me. We’re on our way to England which has a neutral relationship with the Far East, so I want to rid us of as much uncertainty as I can.”

He took a breath which developed into a long sigh.

“Three minutes is a long time.”

A sign frame emitted light within a vast white sanctuary.

Someone sat at the top of the carpeted stairs leading up to the altar in the back.

“What is it, Innocentius? And after I went out of my way to bring the large and small metal balls.”

The elderly demon wearing a black uniform looked over at the Papa-Schola who also wore a uniform.

“Just as I was growing bored with the dull direction things were headed, something even less interesting happens,” said Papa-Schola Innocentius. “You heard that, didn’t you, Galileo? The emergency broadcast went out to everyone with an official post.”

“Yes, it seems England has gone out to intercept Musashi. It only just happened, though. As an excellent student, what do you think of England’s actions?”

“England has decided to show a more conservative face to the other countries,” said Innocentius.

He watched a sign frame showing Musashi and England in the distance. The footage was being recorded from the north coast of Hexagone Française. Booths were being set up to sell food to onlookers as a male Hexagone Française student began to speak. He wore the armband of the Catholic joint divine transmission organization named Divine Correspondence.

“Oh, look at that! It seems several people thought to be from England’s Trumps just boarded Musashi! The War Commentator Club provided the following report on those who boarded Musashi: their ages range from child to elderly; their sexes are male, female, and maybe something else; and their combat styles or offensive or maybe not. …Okay, can someone please execute the idiot who wrote this!? Anyway, over to the broadcast room!”

“I don’t see why they would board them. Hm?” muttered Innocentius. “Well, England had two options. One was to hold the Testament Union in check by accepting Musashi, clear the armada battles with ‘interpretations’, and work to resolve the Apocalypse along with Musashi. If they chose that path, they would not need to divide their exhaustion and war expenses between this and the armada battles. Then they could use the Apocalypse resolution to their advantage during the Peace of Westphalia. England could take the lead in bringing about the independence of their Protestant trading partner, Holland. Their influence in the Testament Union would have risen dramatically and they could have become a leading world power.

“However, England chose the other option. They are treating Musashi as an enemy of the Testament Union and reliably reproducing history by refusing their entry. If they do not disobey the rest of the Testament Union, the other countries won’t interfere or pull any unnecessary ‘interpretations’ during the armada battles and the Peace of Westphalia. They may even try to help England out some. Instead of aiming for excessive gain, they chose the reliable route. England may have the Logismoi Oplo of greed, but they’ve managed to restrain themselves this time.”

“But what led them to make this decision?”

“It was Tres España’s attack on Musashi. Musashi opposed the Testament Union, and Tres España chose to respond with an attack. In that case, what is England to do as a member of the Testament Union? If they protected Musashi, they would be making an enemy of every other Testament Union nation. And if England hadn’t intercepted Musashi, Tres España could have sent in their main force to scout out England’s strength and warn them that they were now the Testament Union’s enemy. England would have been charged with a crime and attacked before they had a chance to make any kind of excuse. And as long as Musashi stuck around, Tres España would have continued hounding them. At any rate, England can no longer act as an intermediary between Musashi and the Testament Union. Carrying out the attack so close to England rather than to the west of Tres España gave England less time to make their decision. That was probably Vice President Juana’s idea. The long lived race is a little too clever, don’t you think? Hm?”

Innocentius turned toward the sign frame. Musashi had already grown more distant, but something else had happened as well. The first starboard ship was wrapped in fog and that fog could be seen moving even from this distance.

“Well, even if Tres España’s attack brought this on, England must have resolved themselves to carry out the armada battles soon. If they want to go the reliable route, they’ll want to keep the adventures to a minimum. It’s probably due to how difficult it is to find a reliable path through these troubled times that no country wants to take any major steps toward resolving the Apocalypse. At any rate, now that England has made this decision, they must be planning to tackle the Apocalypse problem on their own. I hear England is performing research into the Apocalypse.

“Today, Tres España used Musashi to show off their strength and to display their loyalty to the Testament Union. And now England has displayed their own loyalty to the Testament Union and exhibited their intent to remain on the reliable path. As a man heading toward the Apocalypse, that is reassuring to hear and it is amusing to see them use Musashi as proof of their loyalty. Of course, it is always possible England’s hostility and refusal to accept Musashi are just for show, but the other countries are likely already working to pressure England away from that.”

“…And have you already done so?”

“Do you want me to say testament?”

“Testament,” said Galileo with a nod.

Innocentius laughed.

“We can’t let up. M.H.R.R. is preparing a Far East force and gathering strength toward the east. But even if we’re busy dealing with that, we still have to do what we can here as the Testament Union,” he said. “But England needs to execute a certain royal before the armada battles can begin. They need to execute Mary Stuart who attempted to assassinate Elizabeth. According to the history recreation, she is Catholic, the former queen of Scotland, and Elizabeth’s cousin. She had a close relationship with Felipe II, the leader of Tres España, so her execution was one of the factors leading to the armada battles.”

“But that Mary is in a complex position for England.”

“Yes. She has a double inherited name with Elizabeth’s older half-sister Mary Tudor, aka Bloody Mary. This Mary represents England’s ‘unfaithfulness’.” He took a breath, looked at the screen, and continued speaking. “England is prepared to start a war by executing a royal and Musashi is opposing them. Now that is a scene you never would have imagined not too long ago, hm?”

Suddenly, a noise burst from the sign frame.

“Was that…?”

An explosive noise reverberated through the sky as Musashi grew more distant.

“Did that do it!?” cried a girl with six black wings.

Large wooden containers covered the floor of that storage district at the front of the first starboard ship Shinagawa. The black-winged girl, Naruze, wore the armband of the 4th special duty officer. She held up her Technomagie pen and faced forward.

A storm of steam produced by her attack rose where the enemies had stood a moment before.

As soon as she had arrived on Shinagawa’s deck, she had made a surprise attack before even looking at the enemies.

The attack was recent enough that she could not see her enemies through the steam.

Naruze used the short time until that steam cleared to check her surroundings.

An archery unit stood behind her, but…

''I shouldn’t expect them to be able to shoot someone if I ask them to,'' thought Naruze. ''They aren’t like Asama. No, I suppose Asama technically isn’t like that either. But she did suddenly start shooting people at our elementary school entrance ceremony.

The tradition was to hold a festival after the ceremony where the upperclassmen and their parents or guardians set up stands.

There had of course been an archery stand. Asama had been urged to play because they assumed a shrine maiden would know how to use a bow, but that had been a mistake. The upperclassmen and adults had been amused by how well the daughter of the Asama Shrine could shoot, so they had made the targets more distant and smaller. As Asama had continued to nervously hit all of the targets, focus on her had grown and her anxiety had reached its max.

“Okay, now let’s try some moving targets! Can you do it?”

That comment had been the biggest mistake of all.

Asama had been so nervous that she had started shooting everything in motion around her. The long combo she pulled off had turned the festival into a disaster. Ultimately, it had been the fault of the upperclassmen and adults egging her on, but Naruze still remembered running away from Asama, who Naruze had not known at the time, as she had targeted Naruze’s back. Naruze had later asked Asama why she had done it and Asama’s answer had been “I was nervous, so I wanted to end it all as soon as possible.”

…''Yes, but I think you were trying to end more than just the archery, you stabbing shrine maiden.

However, Asama was not here. Once she gained her qualifications as a shrine maiden, she had been banned from shooting people. She would still playfully shoot her comrades, but she was not generally permitted to seriously shoot people. The restriction was due to the fact that the power of a god’s servant was meant to be used for purification. Probably.

At any rate, Naruze prepared her next spell.

The foundation of Technomagie spells was preparing internal Auspuff, but that Auspuff was then broken down into ATELL units. The creation of spells required formulas and a focusing device to influence the appropriate space. In some cases, a catalyst was also needed. Naruze went over the basic formula.

…''To apply a change over one cubic meter for one second, I need 10 ATELL.

This was the smallest expenditure unit to operate a spell and each additional change added 10 ATELL. And each other factor included was another value needing to be added or multiplied in.

The rules governing the addition and multiplication of changes did not always match up with the physical laws and they could even change based on one’s level of understanding of the space the spell was acting on. But despite those difficulties, understanding those rules was what it took to perform magic.

''Well, a lot of the knowledge can be troublesome,'' thought Naruze as she held up a bottle filled with water.

The bottle held a liter of water and she used her pen to draw a water thermometer on the bottle’s surface. To draw was to create. It could give life and it could take life away. The result of the spell she applied to the object she drew on was the same thing she had thrown before.

“A steam bomb using heat!”

Heating and acceleration were the specialties of Weiss Techno.

The steam from the previous spell began to thin.

However, she could clearly see the silhouettes of the people beyond it.

The enemy was there and they were approaching.

Naruze did not know if the previous blast had been effective at all, but she completed the second by using her pen to add red to the water thermometer.

As the color vigorously rose up along the bottle, Naruze threw it underhanded.

She targeted the silhouettes approaching through the steam before her. Not even she knew the exact timing, but once the water boiled and turned to steam, its volume would explosively expand. The bottle would compress it and finally burst, sending shards everywhere.

“Herrlich!”

Steam spread out over a large area and dampened the movement of the wind.

After the burst of steam, Musashi’s movement caused it to move toward Naruze and the others as it gathered together. But Naruze received this rough, heated air with her wings rather than her skin.

“How about that!?”

She received a response from the comrades behind her rather than the rough steam-filled wind ahead. She heard victorious cheers as the groups waiting behind her began to move forward.

They all seemed impatient to achieve some great deed themselves.

“L-leave this to Musashi Ariadust Academy’s Body Building Research Group ‘Gol☆iath’!”

“D-don’t be ridiculous! This is a job for the Greek Sun God Research Club ‘Helio-ga-balus’!”

“No, the Buddhist Research Group’s Warrior Monk Unit ‘Buddhist Sentai Mikkyoger’ will handle this!”

''Shut up. I hope my Weiss Techno kills all of you,'' thought Naruze as she prepared her next spell with half-lidded eyes.

The steam cleared up as if splitting down the center and a voice came from within it.

“Ohhhhh, dear. Do we only get the one opponent?”

A few figures stood approximately fifteen meters away.

There were four of them.

…''They’re unharmed!?

The steam explosion should have sent fragments flying everywhere. From as close as they were, they could not have evaded it, but the people standing there were unharmed. Also…

“There’s something wrong with them!?”

The person standing closest to Naruze was a very thin woman with giant metal balls chained to her legs.

Her flesh seemed to have been scraped away, her body seemed made of withered branches, and she wore heavy makeup. England’s female uniform was wrapped tightly around her and her right hand was lightly held up with palm out. She trembled, but her face twisted into a smile.

“I am one of Trumps’ 10s and Oxford Academy’s Vice Chancellor, Robert Dudley.”

Naruze had heard of them. The group that protected Elizabeth, as well as the entirety of England, went by the name Trumps and even had their own divine website.

The historical Robert Dudley was the cornerstone of the army and rumored to be Elizabeth’s lover, but he had left the political world due to suspicion in a murder case. So in England…

…''They gave the name to a woman to avoid that confusion.

“Then that person behind you is...?”

The figure seemed to nod. Standing behind Dudley was someone a head taller than Dudley who was quite tall herself. Also…

…''She’s round.

It was a woman shaped like an egg. She wore England’s female uniform like an eggshell.

“One of the 10s. Vice President. William Cecil.”

She gave each statement slowly as if having trouble breathing.

Next, a man with black skin stepped forward next to Cecil. He had a slender yet well-trained body, wore a white tank top on his upper body, and had two long, narrow cases hanging down from his waist.

Naruze recognized him. Anyone involved in modern cultural works would recognize him. He stared at her through his glasses and noise sounded from the printing incantation devices attached to the bottom of his shoes, but Naruze spoke up regardless.

“I never thought the leader of England’s cultural clubs, the athlete poet Ben Jonson, would be here.”

“You. Trumps was my idea, so I want to be involved as much as I can. And today, I have brought this treasured girl.”

[[Image:Horizon2A_221.jpg|thumb]]

“Judge,” said Naruze with a nod.

She then turned to the girl standing behind Jonson.

…''An otaku. No other word would fit

The girl seemed to have the long ears of the long lived race, her hair was tied casually back, and her bangs were long. Her glasses hid her face, she wore the uniform suit with no skirt below a white coat, she wore sandals, she wore a backpack over her back, and she carried a paper bag.

“You would never think she’s Shakespeare, England’s most famous author.”

“You. Does the charm of the real deal surprise you? Jewels are meant to be kept tucked away in boxes, are they not?”

As Jonson spoke while taking some light steps, Shakespeare stared down at the paperback book in her hand and occasionally muttered something. Naruze on the other hand waved a hand to those behind her.

“Stay back.”

“Eh?” they all asked.

Naruze responded without bothering to turn around.

“That group includes one of England’s Testamenta Arma users and their Logismoi Oplo user.”

Just like Tres España, they likely intended to use Musashi as a stage to show off their strength. In which case…

“We need to make sure we don’t end up being the underdog. Trainers would use weak underdogs that could not even fight back to give their fighting dog confidence, but what do you call them if they can and do fight back?”

“O-oh? If you fight back but still lose, doesn’t that just make you a loser?”

Dudley held out her right palm and began to move forward.

However, someone else stepped forward first.

“Here I go...”

It was Cecil. Despite the great size of her round body, her gait was light and silent. However…

“…!?”

Shinagawa violently shook and everyone toward the front of the ship was slammed to the deck in an instant.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 05|Chapter 05]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 07|Chapter 07]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 05

2014-05-02T23:06:42Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 05: Restraint from Every Direction */

==Chapter 05: Restraint from Every Direction==

[[Image:Horizon2A_159.png|thumb]]
''Where is the expectation

''For quality of expectations?

'''Point Allocation (Top Performer)

Masazumi looked over her shoulder at Horizon.

She was looking at everyone else, enemies included, more than at Masazumi.

“Why is everyone gathered here?” asked Horizon. “To be honest, I do not know what I should do in front of such a crowd. …Oh, are you telling me to fire?”

“Our side is still on there, so don’t shoot!!” shouted everyone.

Horizon nodded expressionlessly and raised her right thumb.

“How do you like the grip I have on the crowd? I have determined this comes from the quality of my base ability.”

“Um, Horizon? …Can I say something here?”

“Judge,” said Horizon with a nod. She walked up next to Masazumi and placed her left hand on her shoulder. “Okay, everyone. Listen up. Now that I have finished warming up the crowd, Masazumi-sama will say something amusing.”

Masazumi heard the sound “eh?” drop from the bottom of her stomach and down to the ocean below.

…''Something amusing? Wait a second. I don’t know what to do. What kind of expression should I use here?

As Masazumi went over the different human emotions in her head, the Tres Españans exchanged a glance.

“…”

She heard scattered clapping coming from the crowd.

…''Th-they’re expecting something terrible!!

She glanced over at the sign frame next to her face where Neshinbara’s eyes were half-lidded as he made a gesture resembling stretching rubber out between his hands. They had not stopped their cruise toward England, so he was likely telling her to stretch this so they could approach England.

''Then this is okay, I guess,'' thought Masazumi. ''Where is that idiot Aoi when you need him?

She recalled seeing him and Tenzou the messenger fishing through the goods left in the transport ship. She had heard Aoi say, “Oh! This is a vintage ‘Divorced Wife Anne Boleyn’!”

However, the Tres Españans and even the Musashi students including Futayo were waiting expectantly.

…''Is this an interpretation of the exchange of names from the Sengoku period?

And so Masazumi thought. She needed to say something amusing, but she had almost no knowledge in that regard. She thought about going with a Western-style joke, but that would be a disaster if she messed up the nuance. Finally, she went with a reliable option.

“O-okay, um… Let’s get some help from the god of humor from the Age of the Gods.”

Everyone nodded and focused on Masazumi even further. She silently told herself to calm down, took a deep breath, and spoke in as low a voice as she could manage.

“The year is 16XX! Earth is wrapped in the flames of the apocalypse!”

She nodded.

“Hello, I’m Utamaru.”

The joke bombed.

In K.P.A. Italia, Innocentius had been watching the change using a sign frame, but he casually shut off the divine transmission.

In Musashi’s snack shop named Blue Thunder, the customers stared blankly at the divine monitor and the female shop owner wordlessly rotated the device 180 degrees so the footage faced away from them.

In Musashi Ariadust’s faculty room, Sakai continued with the shogi puzzle from the daily newspaper. Oriotorai turned a refreshed smile toward Sanyou who was flustered.

“Yakiniku! Let’s go get some yakiniku!!”

The massive silence brought a sticky sweat out all across Masazumi’s body.

…''Oh, no! I shouldn’t have done this. People expect something of me, I get carried away, and this is what happens! I had a feeling my life was always like this, and I was right!

Horizon silently placing a hand on her shoulder once more only made it worse.

Everyone in the crowd remained silent and expressionless, but after a few seconds, scattered applause started.

“W-wah! Stop giving me scattered sympathy! That hurts the most!”

She waved her arms in denial while holding the box to the cleansing toilet seat “Rapid Fire” she had frantically taken with her when leaving the elementary school. However, everyone had already begun folding their arms and tilting their heads while discussing why the situation had gone this way. Masazumi even saw some of them bring up sign frames and make posts on Musashi’s divine network. Horizon on the other hand…

“Masazumi-sama, to be blunt, you should probably get to the topic at hand.”

…''And who was it that stopped me earlier!? Then again, it was my fault for going along with it. The cause and effect here is like something from a Zen dialogue.

At any rate, Masazumi had to quiet everyone down, so she could not take the time to suppress her blushing.

“Um… Listen up, everyone! To get back on topic, we have no more reason to-…”

Just as she was going to say “continue fighting”, Michiyuki Byakko’s arm moved and she heard two sounds.

…''Eh?

Confused, she checked what the noises had been. The first was Michiyuki Byakko throwing something hidden at its waist by making a quick snap of its lower right arm and wrist. The other was the thrown object flying over everyone’s head with incredible speed and landing before her on the crushed bow of the transport ship.

An object had arrived directly before Masazumi. It had been thrown with the perfect timing to stop her ceasefire announcement. It was a person wearing vermillion. It was a short female student of Tres España with two false arms.

“Tres España’s Alcalá de Henares 3rd Special Duty, Tachibana Gin.”

With those words, she swung both her false arms. The hands held double cross-shaped swords equipped on the outer edges.

Her hat sat down too far to see her eyes, but her voice could be heard. She spoke while light came from the holy spell accelerator on the back of her neck.

“Prepare yourself.”

In an instant, the two swords on the right quickly stabbed toward Masazumi who stood perfectly still.

Masazumi had never experienced actual combat. She had been through something similar during PE classes, but she had never been faced with the combat speed of someone with actual combat training.

As the double swords flew toward her, the first thought in Masazumi’s heart was…

…''U-um!?

She did not know what to do, so she hesitated.

Meanwhile, Gin’s right false arm held a double sword. It resembled two crosses attached side by side and Gin stabbed it straight toward Masazumi’s chest.

Masazumi made a split-second decision but not because of her own will. She heard a dignified voice of someone accustomed to combat.

“Masazumi!!”

Futayo’s cry brought Masazumi to her senses.

She checked her surroundings in an instant. Gin was coming in for the attack.

“…!”

Masazumi could not see Gin’s eyes, but the Tres Españan girl did turn her head a bit toward Futayo on the deck.

That slight movement was a stroke of luck for Masazumi.

She needed to move out of the way, but she also needed to make sure Horizon evaded as well.

“Horizon!”

She swept her right hand back as if protecting Horizon from the danger.

However, her fingers tightly grasped Horizon’s chest. The unexpected feeling of her hand sinking deeply into that chest completely surprised Masazumi. Both her eyebrows and mouth twisted into a frown.

“…Munyu?”

A groan not even she really understood escaped her nose just as the automaton spoke expressionlessly.

“Oh? I have determined Masazumi-sama has risen one step on the ladder of corrupt politicians. Is this because Toori-sama instructed you in the groping survey back in Mikawa?”

“Just get back!!”

The double sword arrived. Masazumi cried out and bent back as it mercilessly targeted her face. She instinctually held up Rapid Fire’s paper box to guard her face.

[[Image:Horizon2A_167.jpg|thumb]]

For usage purposes, the center of Rapid Fire was open, so the double sword pierced straight through the paper box.

“…!?”

Masazumi frantically twisted out of the way of the double sword tip stabbing toward her. Rapid Fire was U-shaped and she held it diagonally, so Gin’s double sword was held from the left and right and could no longer move.

With the blades stopped a few centimeters from Masazumi’s face, she and Gin remained motionless.

Perhaps because her attack had been stopped, Gin clenched her teeth and let out a groan.

“So you had a sword breaker with you. I would expect no less from Musashi’s vice president. You were fully prepared for battle.”

“No… If anything, this was preparation for the battle one has every morning. Or maybe I should say for cleaning up afterwards…”

“Every morning!? Normal students going into politics go through morning training on Musashi!?”

…''What? I think we’re talking about two different things now. Is this information going to spread to the other countries?

As Masazumi thought, shadows rushed toward Gin’s back.

They were the Musashi students who had formed an arc on the enemy ship’s deck.

“Ohhh!”

Normally, they should not have faced an opponent on Gin’s level. They were only attacking because Gin had her back turned. The large false arms attached to Gin’s shoulders were built for strength, so they moved in a straight line and could be slow. While Gin was in a pose to attack Masazumi in front of her, it would take a moment to reach behind her.

The students held no weapons and for some reason had their fingers spread out like birds.

“Officially, anything we do is fair game!!” they shouted.

“That’s still a crime, you idiots!!”

Meanwhile, Gin pulled her double sword from the paper box. Masazumi frantically moved back, but Gin swung her heavy false arms back toward the students rushing in behind her.

“Silence. We are trying to fight.”

The giant wrists on the ends of Gin’s arms suddenly slid outward.

She did not swing the actual arm around. Instead, the wrists on the end of the lowered hands began to rotate.

“…”

As the wrist used some kind of driving force to rotate, the double swords stabbed out into the air at several levels like she was weaving a design.

This was not a human motion. It was a mechanical motion only possible with her false arms.

And just as this mechanical action began at full speed…

“…!?”

She forcibly swung her arms around and swept away those charging toward her.

Gin saw the people around her flying away in the edge of her vision.

The two double swords and her false arms protected her by essentially creating a protective dome around her.

…''I can create a wall.

To her, those arms were weapons. Just as swords and spears were weapons and were not a part of the human body, those false arms could not fully become a part of her body.

She now used them as her possessions.

She heard the sounds of the people she swept away falling onto the ship or hitting other people.

''These are the sounds I heard long ago,'' reminisced Gin. ''I did not have these false arms back then.

It felt so long ago to her, but it had only been two or three years before.

To be exact, it had been two years and ninety-two days before. As her wrists returned to their normal location, she recalled the past following that time.

“…”

A smile appeared on the corner of her lips.

…''Yes.

She had felt unending contentedness in those few years. However…

“I might lose that…”

Gin looked forward where Honda Masazumi and Horizon Ariadust were rapidly moving away. Arms on the ends of chains had grabbed their backs and were pulling them toward the stern of the ship.

“Take this!!” shouted Nate Mitotsudaira as she swung two chains into the air from the stern.

Just as Gin wondered what was happening, she sensed a shadow coming from directly above. It belonged to a wooden container a dozen or so meters tall. It appeared to be empty, but the frame and outer walls gave it more than enough weight.

…''Throwing something like that is just absurd.

As she thought, the massive weight dropped toward her.

Naomasa and Jizuri Suzaku had been lowered to the surface of Tama using one of the containers. She had met up with Asama and Noriki who were working on firefighting and repairs. The three of them saw it happen.

Using her Argent Chaîne, Mitotsudaira threw the giant container toward Tachibana Gin. When Asama saw it, she and Hanami raised both their hands.

“Kyah! She’ll be smashed to a pulp!!”

“Asamachi, are you enjoying this?” asked Naomasa and Noriki gave a nod with half-lidded eyes.

Meanwhile, a new action and noise occurred in the air.

There were two sounds. The sound of a cannon firing was followed by a sound of destruction. Then came the action.

“The container…”

As Naomasa and the others watched, the container was blown to pieces.

The container was completely smashed. The air and top of the ship were filled with a downpour of countless wooden fragments, loosened pieces of wood, and twisted or torn pieces of the metal frame.

A single space was untouched by this downpour. The rotating wrists of two false arms swept the container fragments away from that space. Gin stood in the center of it.

The silhouette of her body, false arms, and double swords were visible, but a new shadow had been added.

Two long cross-shaped cannon floated near her shoulders.

“Arcabuz Cruz. I pulled these from the two-pitch space of my false arms.”

The light of Testamento Firma spell smoke leaked from the ends of the cannons that were pointed toward where the container had been. Gin then turned them toward Honda Masazumi and Horizon Ariadust.

She aimed the two Arcabuz Cruz.

“Now then.”

But before she could fire, something arrived from her left in a flash. Someone unleashed a direct attack with a scraping speed rather than a tearing one.

“I, Honda Futayo, shall be your opponent!”

Gin reacted to the attack from Tonbokiri. She opened her eyes wide and brought Futayo into her field of vision.

“…!”

And she smiled. With her eyes still opened wide, the corner of her mouth rose, she deflected Tonbokiri with both double swords, and voicelessly rejoiced. Futayo corrected her stance in an instant and Gin aimed both cannons toward her.

“I will take back everything you stole from me!”

And she fired the cannons toward her enemy.

Gin’s cannon fire acted as a signal and the battlefield began to move.

Footsteps, people’s movements, the flow of the air, and the sounds of firing weapons shook the battlefield. While standing just forward of the center, Fusae noticed something different about the Musashi students’ movements.

…''They’ve split to the left and right while trying to have us push down the center?

Her gaze raced across the battlefield and she instantly grasped the overall flow of the battle.

“Everyone, fall back to port and starboard!!”

The track-and-field and baseball teams replied from the deck.

“Testament!”

With unquestioned consent, the vermillion Tres Españan uniforms moved with no confusion between male and female. The center split to the left and right as if a paper had been ripped down the middle. Something could be seen through the opening this created.

“The Logismoi Oplo ‘Lype Katathlipse’!!”

Just as Fusae said, Horizon Ariadust was in the process of expanding the Logismoi Oplo.

…''That vice president’s negotiation was the key.

They had planned to use the Logismoi Oplo if the vice president’s negotiation had not gone well.

''Not a bad scenario,'' thought Fusae. ''That Logismoi Oplo is Musashi’s greatest weapon and this is a good way to show it off to another country.

“But I wasn’t opening up this space to let you fire it.”

As she raised her right arm, Michiyuki Byakko raised its right arm as well.

“Ju! It’s your turn!”

As Masazumi supported Horizon, she saw someone new arrive on the scene.

A woman stood on top of the enemy ship’s bridge just in front of where Velázquez had been.

The long-lived woman wore glasses and an eboshi-style hat. Her armband said “Vice President Juana”.

According to Masazumi’s knowledge…

…''She is the political and economic leader who supports Tres España. Also…

“She is one of the Eight Great Dragon Kings who uses a Logismoi Oplo!”

“It is rude to refer to a Catholic by that name.”

Juana gave a thin smile and held in her right hand the giant weapon Masazumi had mentioned. It was a long sword. The sword’s black and white exterior resembled bone and it was two meters long, but she easily raised it.

“My Akedia Katathlipse is already ready to use.”

As sunlight poured down, several sign frames made of crosses could be seen around her.

On the other hand, Lype Katathlipse was still being prepared.

Juana held the long sword up to the right and slowly swung it down.

“Overdrive!”

As she spoke, its power fell upon the Musashi students.

The power that assaulted the Musashi students aboard the transport ship could be summed up with the word “restraint”.

The restraint took the form of rings of bluish-white light. Those rings of ether light were several centimeters thick and they suddenly bound the Musashi students’ bodies.

“This is heavy!? No, is this…?”

A ring wrapped around Masazumi’s chest like a sash and the light gave her a certain feeling.

…''Is this Akedia!?

The restraint felt heavy, but it was not a weight pulling her down. It was a sticky weight keeping her in place.

Juana then spoke up to prove Masazumi right.

“This is the deadly sin of dejection. The power of dejection affects people in the parts of themselves that they understand to be evil.”

As if in response, the Musashi students began groaning as various restraints took hold.

It seemed all of them had something about themselves they felt bad about. As far as Masazumi could see, everyone had at least one place restrained and some people had several. Everyone tried to shake off those irremovable restraints.

“Dammit. Why is this how everyone has to find out it bothers me how my stomach sticks out!?”

“N-no! I really did go to Ueno! I-it wasn’t for your sake or anything!”

“U-um, my breasts don’t r-really bother me. Right, Masazumi? Isn’t that right?”

''Don’t pass it on to me. But I guess this means it does still bother me,'' she thought calmly.

However…

“Horizon!”

Horizon’s entire body was almost entirely covered in restraints. They covered her arms, legs, waist, stomach, chest, neck, head, and even fingers.

“…”

A ring of light covered her eyes like a blindfold, so Masazumi could only see her twisted mouth. However, her body was doubled over a bit and she could only move within the restraints made of light.

“You are an automaton who has lost her emotions. …You must feel that everything about you is ‘lacking’.”

Juana’s words gave Masazumi a chill.

…''Everyone has things like that!

Masazumi wanted to help, so she touched the ring of light binding Horizon’s hand which held the Logismoi Oplo. However…

“!”

As soon as she touched the light, a gasp of pain escaped Horizon’s mouth.

Masazumi’s hand jerked back and she felt sorry, but then she realized why Horizon had felt pain.

“Even if you can fool yourself, it hurts when other people touch on it, doesn’t it?”

This was the overflowing Akedia one felt for oneself. The things one could not help and the things one had hidden deep in their heart now became their enemy and bound them. And one could not hope for help from others because that would be the same as letting them know your faults.

“What are we supposed…?”

Masazumi heard a noise before she could say “to do”.

The enemy units had split to the left and right aboard Tres España’s command ship. Now, the batters from the baseball team spread out on top of an open lane. They fanned out and prepared for a concentrated attack while the Musashi students could not move properly. Masazumi could do nothing more than realize how bad this was which left her feeling inexperienced.

…''What do we do!?

As she mentally groaned, she saw Juana raise her left arm.

She was giving the batters their signal to attack.

But before she could, Masazumi, everyone around her, and all of the Tres Españans saw something. Someone stood next to Juana on the roof of the command ship’s bridge. It was Aoi who had his arms folded while completely naked.

Every single person was left speechless, but Juana had not noticed Aoi.

Masazumi’s mind was unable to react, but her body honestly began to sweat worriedly. Velázquez’s eyes opened wide as Aoi tiptoed by with short steps. Aoi went on and stood right next to Juana.

However, Juana nodded because she still had not noticed him.

“Fi-…”

She swung her left arm down at exactly the height of Aoi’s crotch.

“Waaah!” screamed Masazumi and everyone else.

Hearing them, Juana frowned, stopped moving, and tilted her head.

“What is the matter, all of you? Why make strange noises in the middle of battle?”

Fusae frantically spoke up.

“U-um, Ju? You should… You should probably check behind you.”

“Eh?”

Juana turned to her right and looked over the shoulder of the arm holding her Logismoi Oplo.

“There is nothing there,” she said after a few seconds.

“The other side! The danger’s on the other side!”

“The left?” Juana tilted her head. “But I am using Akedia Katathlipse and our side is not affected by it. Well, if you think it is dangerous, I have no choice. Excuse me, secretary, please stand back.”

Juana slowly swept her glove-covered left hand backwards.

“Ah,” was all anyone could say before Juana’s left hand firmly grabbed at Aoi’s God Mosaic as he stood with his arms crossed. She must have felt something as her hand sank rather deeply into the God Mosaic because Juana frowned.

“…Eh?”

She looked to the side and Aoi nodded with his arms still folded.

“Oh, too bad. That’s my ‘real version’.”

Hearing that, she looked down toward her hand, saw the God Mosaic she could not see past, and took a very, very deep breath. While she reacted, the idiot continued speaking.

“I like high places, so I happily climbed up to the roof. I’m glad the effect of my stealth tools didn’t wear off partway up. Now that would’ve been embarrassing! Right!?”

The naked boy directed that last question at everyone present and then turned toward the dumbfounded Velázquez.

“Oh, you’re the president of Team Velázquez! I buy a lot of your porn games! I thought a mosaic tile pattern was best for skin color, but your realistic coloring is great too! Just the title of The Surrender of Breda stimulates the imagination, don’t you think!?”

“O-oh, I see you have an eye for this. But I’m trying to make art, so keep that in mind.”

“Okay! Now, you there. Could you give me that Logismoi Oplo? I’m willing to take it for free.”

Juana’s reaction to his offer was a bit delayed.

She finally looked back down at the location of her left hand.

“Kya…”

“What do you mean ‘kya’? Is just holding it not enough? Here, how about this?”

“Kyaaaaaaah!!”

Juana screamed and instantly and unhesitatingly knocked the idiot from the rooftop and into the air.

She then swung both fists straight down.

“Fire!!”

At the same time as the naked boy was launched into the air, a dark figure suddenly appeared from the open hangar hatch below the bridge. He wore a Musashi student uniform as a ninja outfit and wore a hat deep over his eyes.

“I, Tenzou Crossunite, have used plenty of stealth ninja techniques to steal all sorts of information! Ha ha ha!” He laughed and spread his arms out. Something stretched out between his hands. “Look at this long scroll printout. It’s filled with Tres España’s wartime secrets! Who would think everything was prepared as a diversion to allow me to steal Tres España’s secrets just before we escape using gravitational cruising? Just out of curiosity, where is Toori-dono? He was using stealth techniques along with me earlier.”

A naked boy fell into the arms holding the scroll. The document itself was ripped to pieces which scattered into the sky. The impact of the naked boy’s fall forced Tenzou down into a sumo wrestler crouch, but he somehow managed to bear with it.

“Nwohhh! A-a naked person just fell from the sky!? Nwaah! I went to a lot of trouble to get those secrets! And this is Toori-dono! Nnn, the first time I carry someone in my arms and it’s a self-deprecating naked boy!? Am I cursed!? I am, aren’t I, god!? Cancel this! It doesn’t count!”

A notice from Tenzou’s contract shrine opened next to his face.

“That request is outside my jurisdiction : By, god.”

“Dammit. I just saw the dark side of these contract-loving shrines! Isn’t that right, Toori-dono!?”

“Hey, hey, listen, Tenzou. Isn’t that woman a complete monster to knock me off like that?”

“Y-you aren’t even listening!!”

“Neither are you!?” shouted everyone.

The Musashi students suddenly realized something: the restraints were gone.

When Juana had pushed the naked boy off the bridge roof, she had let go of her Logismoi Oplo.

“…”

Everyone fell silent and looked back toward Horizon Ariadust. She held her Logismoi Oplo up like a wall, stuck half her face out, trembled, and stared at Juana and Tenzou with the whites of her eyes visible on the bottom.

“Y-you thieves! …How was my artificial jealousy?”

“Just fire already!!”

In the next moment, great power erupted between the two ships and the powers crossed paths several times.

What came first was a black line shooting out straight ahead from Horizon Ariadust’s Lype Katathlipse. That line could be called the harbinger of the Logismoi Oplo’s tearing.

The line extended approximately three kilometers and Tres España’s command ship existed near the very beginning of the line.

However, Fusae gave an instruction before the tearing exploded out.

“Descend straight down!”

The command ship forcibly lowered its altitude, but its bow could not lower because it was digging into the transport ship. The command ship ended up tilting backwards.

And something shot by on a straight line toward the back of the tilted deck.

This figure with six golden wings was Margot Naito. She straddled a ''Schale''-covered broom and shot full speed toward the two boys standing in front of the bridge.

In an instantaneous movement, Tenzou hopped onto the back of Naito’s broom while also tossing Toori into the air. Naito then caught Toori with her broom. However…

“Ohhhhh! Gold Mar! The broom is sticking up between my legs into my crotch!”

“That doesn’t matter and we need to get going!”

As Toori bent up vertically, Naito caught him over the nose of the broom while they moved diagonally upward at high speed. Naito used seven acceleration spells at once and the needles of seven speedometer-style Magie Figurs swung fully to the side.

“Herrlich!!”

With a roar, they shot up above everyone’s heads.

In the next instant, four decisions were made to prepare for the instant after that.

First, Velázquez and Takakane reactivated their Testamenta Arma.

Second, the Musashi students activated defensive spell shields.

Third, Tres España’s baseball team began their bombardment.

And last, Fusae’s Michiyuki Byakko and Gin ignored the black line of light coming from Lype Katathlipse and charged forward.

They charged directly forward along the path of the Logismoi Oplo. Of the two who made this decision, Gin swung her two double swords backwards as if they were wings.

“Here I go!”

After those few preparations were made, the preparations were used against each other.

First, the Musashi student’s activated their defensive spells which produced shields. However, the activation speed depended on an individual’s ability to operate and prepare the spell, so Velázquez and Takakane’s Testamenta Arma activated before all of them had finished.

The two Testamenta Arma named Crus Temperantia – Novum and Vetus had the ability to halve speeds and divide power by number of uses.

But the Musashi students thought they could still defend even with their speed lowered. They thought they could make up for the halved defensive strength with how they held the shields and by doubling up the shields.

Tres España’s baseball team then began their bombardment.

The batters’ attacks focused on strength, but the pitchers were different. They used precise control to attack within the gaps between the shields. They mostly focused low and aimed for the defenders’ crotches as they crouched down.

“…Fgh!”

More and more defenders fell to their knees as if their teeth had fallen out, and holes opened in the front line.

However, Horizon fired an attack to support them.

'''“Solid Emotional Expression : Overdrive : Output : 60.”

“…!!”

At an emotional expression level of 60%, countless numbers of tearing power shot out across the weapon’s range of three kilometers. It shot by around the black line which had been sent out first to reserve a spot. Those on the command ship moved toward the bridge in the back so as to avoid the line. However, the tall bridge was still in range.

A great tearing power was produced.

It took the form of black claws. Due to the Testamenta Arma, the massive amount of claws made of black light had their speed halved and strength divided by their number.

Even so, it was enough power to destroy the command ship’s bridge.

Two great forces shot toward it.

One was Gin whose double swords contained ether light, whose false arms swept by, and who fired her cannons. The other was…

“Go, Michiyuki Byakko!”

''Cadena firma'' expanded around both shoulders and Fusae fired ultra vibrations over Gin’s head and by either side of her.

Ether light-covered double swords, cannon fire, and ether-interfering ultra vibration destruction cannons that used the same system all struck the countless tearing claws.

The attacks hit.

While faced by the slowed and weakened tearing claws, Gin swung her body a bit to the left and right and made sure the trajectory of her false arms and double swords was not thrown off.

“…!”

She slashed and produced destruction from the clash of ether with ether.

“…”

Black and pale white flowers blew through the air around Gin. Her swords flew along continuous arcs that created countless flower petals of light. The heat from her false arms produced a shimmering which danced around her.

However, that was not all.

Both Michiyuki Byakko’s shoulders had opened into lion faces and the black and pale white light scattered into a mist around its arms. That mist produced a storm that wrapped around Fusae and Gin.

This ultimately produced a mountain wind of light and darkness. As if riding that wind, the girl with the two double swords created more blowing flowers and fired her cannons repeatedly.

“Is this working!?” she asked while looking forward.

Their dance of wind and destruction had produced a single effect.

They had gouged out a large hole in the central bottom portion of the tearing claws shooting forward.

The tearing was headed toward the bridge, but Gin and Fusae had opened a space.

“The port and starboard divine transmission church towers have been damaged!” shouted a voice over divine transmission.

However, the next statement gave the overall conclusion.

“Also, the central bridge is undamaged!”

A cheer rose into the air from the Tres Españan students.

As if to amplify their joy, an especially large blizzard of flowers and storm of mist came from within the black tearing.

That was the last attack. Gin and Fusae’s defensive attacks had bought enough time for the ship’s tilt to take it out of range of Lype Katathlipse. The wind and blizzard made of light danced through the air, and the black wind gathered together and disappeared.

A girl and a white god of war stood within it all as if brushing aside that wind.

“Sigh.”

They were so filled with exhaustion and injuries that even a quiet sigh could be heard.

The two double swords had all broken as if bitten off partway down. The false arms, the pair of cannons, and the white god of war’s armor all had claw marks gouged out of them. No part of them was unharmed. Michiyuki Byakko had been able to protect Fusae because the damage had come from ether, but some claw marks were visible across her body as well.

However, both Gin and Fusae still had strength left in their gaze. They sweated, they panted, and their hair was in disarray, but they did not lose sight of their opponent.

“Everyone, attack!!” shouted Fusae.

Tres España’s bombardment and charge began once more.

However, the following transmission brought everyone to a stop.

“Musashi is switching to gravitational cruising!! Over.”

The very next moment, Musashi’s giant form vanished, transport ship and all.

“…!?”

The large-scale air pocket created by such a massive object moving so suddenly slammed the command ship and other ships into the air.

Gin’s eyes saw everything that happened during that high speed turn of events.

…''They are going to depart.

She looked forward as her mind raced to find a way to stop the leaving transport ship and Musashi, but Fusae spoke up behind her.

“Everyone, gather in the center of the deck!”

Gin understood what Fusae meant. The severity of a ship’s shaking would be smallest in the center. Fusae likely understood what was coming next, but Gin did not care.

“…!”

She took a few steps forward, but something happened as she tried to advance.

Musashi suddenly moved away.

The atmosphere shook and Musashi’s high speed movement created a vacuum. This produced a mist in the air and a great roar. The departing vessel was already too far to reach by running. Musashi Ariadust Academy should have been directly below, but Gin only saw its back and the stern of the ship growing more distant.

“…!”

Gin fired a volley with her two Arcabuz Cruz.

The shells tore through the atmosphere as they flew in two straight lines for the transport ship being towed away. They pierced the raging atmosphere and mist, and reached the transport ship. One shot dug into the towing belt pulling the transport ship.

The other was on its way to strike the enemies gathered atop the ship, but Gin heard a single voice just before it did.

“Bind, Tonbokiri!”

That voice which reached Gin through the wind caused the shell to explode.

The destruction called in more mist and wind and Gin faced her enemy through the white swirling wind.

This enemy was Musashi Ariadust Academy’s Vice Chancellor.

“Honda Futayo!”

They were too far apart for their attacks to reach, but they could see each other. The other girl’s gaze seemed to produce noise and even pain, but Gin could not look away.

But it only lasted an instant.

Musashi quickly picked up speed, produced a massive steam explosion when it struck the atmosphere, and moved further forward.

As she was left behind, Gin felt a mixture of regret, anger, and hatred sink into the bottom of her gut.

“———!!”

She let out a wordless cry just before the command ship shook violently from the air current produced by Musashi.

Azuma felt the ship shake especially hard just as he arrived back at his room.

The reverberating noises had grown more distant and were now mostly made up of sporadic loud noises, so he guessed the battle was already coming to a close. It had been a mistake to go around to see if anyone had not yet evacuated to their homes.

…''I’m not a combat member, so Miriam is going to be mad I’m not getting back until the battle is already over.

He knew she would start by demanding to know what he had been doing. He knew it could not be helped, but the notebook under his arm felt oddly heavy.

The notebook contained notes on the day’s lessons for Miriam. The girls would take the notes and Miriam had two notebooks she would alternatively give one to them or receive one from them. Today, Naomasa had taken the notes and it described Ohiroshiki’s execution with angular writing and diagrams. Azuma wondered if the vector arrows and output calculations on the diagram of the enema being injected were out of habit due to her occupation.

They had only had the first and second periods that morning and most of it had been spent on the execution, but it must have had some meaning to Miriam who spent all her time in the room. And for that reason, Azuma resolved himself as he arrived in front of the room.

…''I need to go in before I hesitate.

He opened the Western-style sliding door and entered.

He brought himself inside the small room and immediately heard a voice.

“Nooo! I’m going out!!”

He looked forward and saw a girl in a wheelchair and a white, translucent girl struggling in the first girl’s lap.

“Out! I don’t wanna stay in!”

Azuma grasped the situation in an instant.

''Oh, she wants to go out and Miriam is stopping her,'' thought Azuma. He then added, ''She really is a mother.

Meanwhile, Miriam held on to the girl.

“You can’t! It is dangerous outside right now! Are you going to disobey your mama!?”

“I don’t wanna!”

''This is complete mayhem,'' thought Azuma.

He then opened his mouth with absolute confidence.

…''I’ll use a technical term to sound really cool as I tell them to get along.

“S-stop that, you two! Let’s calm down and have sex! C’mon! Hurry up and have sex! As the papa, I will watch over you and make sure you can do it!”

“…Azuma?”

For some reason, Miriam looked as if cold water had been thrown on her. The girl stopped struggling when she saw Miriam’s expression.

“Umm? What was that? Could you say it again? I think I misheard you.”

“Eh?”

“Well… It’s just that I thought you were a serious person, so…I’m pretty sure that was a mistake. Could you say it again?”

“Judge. What I mean is, you have to have sex, don’t you?”

''Does Miriam of all people not realize she was instigating one side of the conflict?'' wondered Azuma as Miriam’s face grew more and more red. ''Is she embarrassed because she realized how immature she was acting toward a child? She really is an adult if she can honestly admit her mistake.

And so…

“Miriam, you are an adult, so you know what to do when having sex, don’t you? That girl is still young, so make sure you teach her.”

“N-no, um…Azuma? How can you say that to a Catholic girl? No, wait…that isn’t what I meant. Um, where did you learn that word!?”

Miriam’s reddened face and raised eyebrows told Azuma she was angry. However…

…''What I’m saying is right, so why is Miriam angry with me?

One possibility did occur to him. Miriam was Catholic and he had been taught that word by a Technohexen. Historically, Technohexen had been rejected by Catholicism.

…''It would only make this worse if I told her Naruze taught it to me.

With that in mind, he kept his answer ambiguous as he told her where he had learned that word.

“Just now, I…had a girl I know teach me about sex.”

While holding the girl, Miriam bent back and took a deep breath.

''What is it now?'' wondered Azuma as she shook her wheelchair forward.

“Oh? Judge, judge. And while everyone else was fighting? Ohhhhhh?”

…''Oh, no. Should I not have said it was a girl? I can’t have her making any misunderstandings about this.

“Oh, s-sorry! But the girl who taught me about it is already committed to someone else.”

“Ohhhhhhhh!?” Miriam bent back again but quickly straightened up. “Y-you’re skipping way ahead here! Reverse adultery!? So wh-who is this girl!?”

“Well, I can’t exactly tell you. But the person they are committed to is another girl.”

Miriam shook slightly and the veins visible on her forehead grew denser.

“…Miriam?”

“Mama, are you really fired up?”

“Th-that is fine. Y-yes.” Miriam averted her gaze and trembled. “I-I knew this was a virtual family, but I-I never thought it was a family where the father would be stolen by a lesbian… Heh heh…heh. This is just like some kind of trap. Was this entire family a trap? Heh…heh heh. Ah hah. What is with this sense of humiliation!?”

Azuma could instinctually tell this was very, very bad. He did not know what, but he had apparently angered Miriam by making some kind of serious mistake. Azuma frantically thought.

“S-sorry, Miriam! I understand I did something wrong, so let’s hurry up and have sex!”

The wheelchair slammed into him at high speed.

The sky rushed by around Musashi fast enough to be visibly noticeable. Tension still covered those on the deck of the transport ship being towed by Okutama.

They had begun healing or providing first aid for the injured students, but the tension remained in those for whom this had been their first battle.

“N-no! I didn’t mean to! I thought you needed a cardiac massage and acted without thinking. Um…It was my hands fault! My hand!!”

“Okay, that leaves a lobotomy as the only option!”

Inexperienced mistakes such as that were happening frequently.

“Horizon!” shouted Toori as he joined the group.

Horizon was limply being held by Masazumi. The uninjured or lightly injured students saw Lype Katathlipse dropped at Horizon’s feet while Horizon herself was very weak and had her eyes closed. However, Toori ran over as quickly as he could while still naked.

“Horizon!”

Everyone’s expression clouded over when he simply called out her name. He may have been naked, but they were still worried about him.

As Toori approached, Horizon suddenly opened her eyes. Her gaze held no strength, but she still spoke weakly when she saw Toori.

“Toori-sama…C-could you come closer?”

“Wh-what is it, Horizon!? Do you have something to tell me!?”

For some reason, Toori wiggled around as he ran over with his arms outstretched to embrace her. Horizon slowly stood with a lowered center of gravity and threw a counter into his crotch using her tightly clenched right fist.

With a dull sound, Toori’s waist jerked back and his knees collapsed underneath him. The other boys gave shrill gasps as they saw it, but Horizon remained expressionless.

“I insist that you put on some clothes. What if you catch cold?”

“I don’t get why you punched me!!”

Horizon nodded and wiped her right hand on Masazumi’s coat, causing the other girl to shriek.

“Judge. It is within the margin of error for a warning.”

At that point, her energy must have run out because she closed her eyes and passed out.

Horizon went limp and Masazumi had to support her once more. Meanwhile, Toori was down on both knees with his legs turned inwards. As everyone turned sympathetic looks his way, he slapped his stomach as if trying to bear with something.

“Nnn… Unfortunately, I didn’t use my boke spell because this was a serious situation… I just can’t let my guard down around you, Horizon! You are a worthy opponent!”

“Why are you acting like some kind of military commander? And you really should put on some clothes. Also, um…”

Masazumi laid Horizon down, took the end of a rope connected to the railing along the edge of the deck, wrapped it around Toori’s neck, and had him sit like a dog.

“Okay, okay. I’ll stay. …Wait, Seijun! What is this? Naked with a rope is one you don’t see every day. And wait, is this a square knot!? Seijun, you really are bad at this.”

“Shut up. You stay here until the ship comes to a stop. You’ll get in the way otherwise.”

That blunt statement led Toori to collapse sideways onto the floor while still naked. Masazumi ignored him and looked around.

“If anyone needs to be transported, quickly prepare them for transport. I’m also worried about Horizon. Mitotsudaira, can you transport people with your silver chains?”

Mitotsudaira shook her head while wearing her blue personal clothes.

“With the height difference, there is no way I can reach. I think it would be safer to wait until the gravitational cruising is over and use the towing belt to bring us alongside Okutama or one of the other ships.” Mitotsudaira looked down at her disheveled clothes. “But this battle gave us a lot to consider for the next battle.”

“Judge. It did and I’m sure the others down below agree. But…”

Masazumi looked over at Rapid Fire’s paper bag on the floor next to her. When Gin had removed her double sword, the contents had broken. It was clearly no longer usable.

“I have to thank Tres España for doing this during the warranty period. Now I don’t have to demand they pay for this next time we meet.”

As Musashi cruised in a straight line at high speed, damage occurred in several places on the ships.

This damage was not caused by the atmosphere, the wind, or the shaking of the ships.

“Asamachi, can you hear me? It’s Heidi. According to ‘Musashi’, the areas with a weak ether supply are in trouble because they have surpassed what their buffering can protect them from. The surface is being treated as roughly as the outer walls, so be especially careful there. I’m on my way around with Shiro-kun. …Oh, and pass this on through the communication network.”

Wearing her uniform, Asama nodded in response to Heidi’s sign frame.

“Understood. I will go around to them all as well. I will be working on tuning the ships after putting out the fires, so call me if you need anything. Okay, um… Hanami?”

Asama looked out across the streets of Oume which was smoking after the fires had been put out. She then gave a few instructions to Hanami.

She looked over a stack of divine messages Hanami had automatically produced.

“Um, Hanami? Just because everyone calls them that does not mean you have to address the messages to ‘cruel bastard-sama’ or ‘flat chest-sama’. Also, ‘die’ and ‘go to hell’ are not proper greetings.”

''The people around me are so outrageous,'' thought Asama just as a nearby building began to groan.

Musashi was shaking as it flew at high speed and low altitude, and shocks would occasionally run through it like a vehicle running over a stone, but this groan was caused by something else.

…''This is due to inadequate ether supply caused by the gravitational cruising.

In gravitational cruising, the space in which Musashi existed was brought under the influence of special directional gravity acting in the direction Musashi was to travel. Simply put, Musashi alone would “fall” in that direction.

…''The basic elements are to produce the gravity source and to specify Musashi as the only target to be pulled by that gravity. Also, there is the ships’ internal gravity control to protect the people and objects aboard.

To ensure they did not destroy the surrounding environment, buffering had to be set up against the movement of the atmosphere created around Musashi. According to what Asama had learned in middle school, the shockwave of the ships’ high speed movement would shake buildings on the surface even at an altitude of 5000 meters. Even over the ocean, it would cause massive primary and secondary damage to aquatic resources and cause changes in the weather. And whatever damages were caused, Musashi would be the one blamed on the political and trade fronts. These buffering spells were used even during normal cruising and they acted as the foundation of Musashi’s defenses while cruising.

…''But they need to be strengthened during gravitational cruising, so the fuel economy gets really, really bad.

“The ether supply within the ship is thrown out of order, so buildings and sections can be destroyed.”

To provide protection during gravitational cruising, each section of Musashi had spells carved into the structures, keystones, and primary pillars. When supplied with ether, those spells would protect the buildings, sections, and people, but the protection in some areas would weaken when the shaking and creaking prevented the ether from circulating properly.

A spell user like Asama was needed to provide adjustments.

“Beginning performance.”

Asama spoke up, reached for the bow named Kataume at her waist, and attached charms to the string.

After attaching around seven charms on either side of the string, she plucked the string and a high-pitched noise rang out.

“Clap.”

The trembling and groaning of the surrounding buildings and floor grew stronger, but gradually disappeared.

Several small forms appeared from behind buildings and within the seams between sections on the ground. They were small spirits produced by the ether disturbance. Their vague outlines formed circular, plantlike, humanoid, or animalistic shapes.

Asama saw them looking around the area with their sensory organs.

“The disturbance has been temporarily settled, but a lot of them showed up. We don’t have to supply ether during gravitational cruising very often, so you can really see where the ether has built up.”

From the clouds flowing by in the sky, it appeared they had reached their top speed. According to “Musashi”, they could continue gravitational cruising for 32 seconds. They would use that time to reach a high speed and then cruise on inertia. They would shift the produced gravity over to keep their altitude fixed and the output would instead be used to protect the ship and those aboard.

Several of the small spirits with large heads pulled out something hidden behind a nearby water bucket. Asama checked the B5 sized object which was tilted in her direction.

“The R-rated porn game Captain Magellan’s Surprising Tropical Heaven? Actually, I think he really did end up in heaven. …Anyway, why did you hide this here, Toori-kun?”

She was blaming someone without proof, but she was certain it was him. Most likely, he had either had no more room at home or something else had come up on his way home after purchasing it.

However, that was not something that should be out in the open, so she admonished the spirits and put it back.

“I hope the spirits don’t make that their home…”

Just as she began imagining a dark future, a torii-style sign frame appeared showing the city message board.

“This is ‘Musashi’. The gravitational cruising acceleration has finished without issue. We will now transfer to inertial cruising and head straight to England. I will contact you again once it is safe to exit to the surface, but you may move freely throughout the underground and residential areas. Over.”

That message from “Musashi” prompted Asama to look ahead to the east. She saw something in the distance.

“Is that…?”

A giant shadow floated in the sky like a black mountain.

It was England.

“We can now visually detect England. Over.”

While making various arrangements for arriving at England, “Musashi” looked forward.

England was a vast mass of land floating above the ocean. It looked bluish-black, the land resembled upside down plates overlapping each other, and the underside’s silhouette looked like a collection of stalactites.

…''England is a floating island nation. It is thirty-one kilometers from north to south, thirty kilometers from east to west, and four kilometers top to bottom.

Just like Musashi, issues concerning weight distribution and warping were solved by not making the land from a single rock. Instead, countless crusts were intertwined as a spell movement structure. These structures then formed four levels from top to bottom and four blocks. Musashi would stop at the land port at the mouth of the Thames, but it would first circle the entire floating island once to both lower its speed and allow England to check that Musashi was disarmed. Simple trade would be performed at the same time, so it took three days to ultimately enter the Thames.

''However,'' thought “Musashi”.

Even if she was deliberately lowering their speed in inertial cruising, they were still cruising at greater than 120 knots. Musashi was over seven kilometers long on average, but it still travelled the distance of its entire length in about two minutes.

They were already less than forty kilometers from England, so it would only take a dozen or so minutes to arrive. That bluish-black island’s structure grew more apparent and its forests and cities became visible.

However, there was a problem.

Musashi’s speed was not dropping fast enough.

''Our only option is to drop our speed while circling England. Two wide revolutions will be necessary,'' concluded “Musashi”. ''The simple trade will not be possible.

Meanwhile, a few ships appeared in the sky near England.

England sent out a maritime pilot to lead the way and a few escort ships. Musashi’s bridge raised a flag requesting a maritime pilot.

“Musashi will now enter England’s territorial waters. We plan to cruise around England to lower our speed, so we will follow England’s guide ship around England. Over.”

At the same moment, a divine voice transmission arrived for “Musashi” over the common divine network. A few sign frames appeared, all with their borders formed with the crosses that indicated Protestantism.

“Notification for Musashi of Far East’s Musashi Ariadust Academy!” said a low female voice.

The notification came from a high-speed crayer already turning to come up alongside Musashi’s starboard side. The crayer had several cannons on either side, its high-speed spell sail stuck forward like a spear, and it drew an arc through the traces of the waves in the sky.

However, the next voice contained a sharp tone.

“This is the escort ship Granuaile belonging to England’s Oxford Academy. I am the captain, Grace O’Malley of the same academy. I have a warning as one of the Fairy Queen’s Trumps!”

“We order you to immediately stop your ship! You have already entered British territory, you are in a battle-ready state, your relationship with Tres España and the Testament Union is unclear, and no cooperation has been established between England and the Far East! If you do not stop immediately…” The speaker took a breath. “England will stop you by force!!”

Immediately afterwards, “Musashi” saw four figures jump from Granuaile and onto the tip of the starboard ship Shinagawa. Those figures all had human form and four shoots of ivy rushed from Grace’s ship to guide them.

“…”

The anti-wind spells and inertial buffer control were pierced and destroyed wide enough for people to pass through.

The destruction produced a low-pitched sound similar to cloth being whipped by strong wind and it was followed by repeated sounds of splintering wood. In an instant, the inside of Shinagawa’s buffer control was dyed white by fog.

“We are under attack! There are four enemies! I have identified them!”

“Shinagawa” sent out a ship-wide broadcast.

“They are from the student council and chancellor’s officers of England’s Oxford Academy. They are from Trumps!”

There were only four of them, but they were the top-level people who supported an entire nation. And Musashi had to confront them.

“All who are able to face them, please prepare for battle! Over!”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 04|Chapter 04]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 06|Chapter 06]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 2A Prologue

2014-05-02T22:58:24Z

Aagcnet:

==Prologue: Lecturers Surrounded by Tranquility==

[[Image:Horizon2A_023.png|thumb]]
''What kind of time

''Is a time of peace?

'''Point Allocation (Exposition)

Several ships were surrounded by the white sky.

They sailed through the sky while surrounded by cocoon-like walls of white fog.

Both the left and right had three ships front to back and the center had two ships front to back. Altogether, the group of ships measured approximately 8 kilometers in length. Written on the bow of each ship was the name Musashi followed by the individual ship’s name.

Some students were listening to their teacher in a large park on the second portside ship, Murayama.

As they sat on the grass, they could hear the chirping of birds from the surrounding forest as well as the words of their track suit wearing teacher named Oriotorai.

“Okay, that’s enough for today’s morning training. I see all of you can keep up with me until Murayama now.”

The students sitting on the grass in front of her were panting and gulping down their sports drinks.

“After a five minute break, we’ll have first period out here. Okay?”

The students exchanged a glance and nodded once.

Their voices rang out into the white sky in unison.

“Judge.”

That was their word of response.

One of the students, the track suit wearing Honda Masazumi, let out a breath and reached for the bamboo bottle attached to a hard point at her waist.

She wet her throat with water she had drawn at Musashi Ariadust Academy back at the rear central ship of Okutama. She wished she had been able to bring a sports drink like her classmate Ohiroshiki or old acquaintance and vice chancellor Honda Futayo.

…''But I don’t have the money.

During second period, she would be working as a lecturer at the elementary school on Tama. She felt no guilt because she had completed the substitute exam for the lessons she was missing, but she felt she had to do her best to play the role of the teacher. Also…

…''I should stop by the wholesale store on Tama and pick up that item father reserved.

The item was the cleansing toilet seat “Rapid Fire” which had become popular lately. It was an IZUMO product, but an anti-ship bombardment version had been released as a tie-in with the TV anime Netagashima and it was constantly sold out.

Her father had somehow managed to acquire one and she had assumed he would use it as a bribe during a business negotiation, but it seemed he would be using it at home. She thought it might be a status symbol for him. That morning, he had told her, “I am going to be busy with negotiations today, so you go pick it up for me. If I asked Konishi, he might take it for himself.”

“Well, at least he’s started coming back home recently.”

As she muttered to herself, she undid her hair which had been tied up while she ran. She wet her lips with water and poured the extra water into the ditch cutting across the grass. Some brown algae creatures appeared from within the ditch.

“Thank you, Masazumi.”

“Water.”

“Masazumi. Water.”

“Masawater?’

She found it amusing how they would appear almost anywhere, but she was not sure what to make of that last one.

Masazumi sighed and looked up into the sky.

The sky was white.

Musashi was wrapped in the color white, but it was not due to the clouds.

“Let’s see… We’re sailing along the northern coast of Tres España in stealth mode, right?”

''This has been a lot of trouble,'' thought Masazumi. ''It’s been two weeks since the Mikawa incident, hasn’t it?

“Our environment really has changed.”

Masazumi decided to sit on the grass.

…''A lot has happened.

Mikawa had been destroyed two weeks before, they had rescued Horizon the next day, and they had announced they would resolve the Apocalypse.

…''Musashi has more or less picked a fight with the Testament Union.

Ever since Mikawa, Musashi had remained in stealth mode except when stopping at a reservation. They were travelling in order to resolve the emergency of the Apocalypse, so they were not informing the Testament Union of their course. The marker signal used to indicate their location was sent to a set point that relayed it on.

And Musashi’s destination while hiding like that was…

“England, the floating island above the Sea of Japan.”

England did not have provisional rule over any Far East territory and had once acted as an intermediary between the Far East and the other nations. Masazumi had decided England would be the safest place to learn how the other nations had reacted.

To avoid travelling along the northern coast of the Seto Inland Sea which was lined with European powers, Musashi had travelled clockwise along the southern coast from Shikoku to Kyushu.

They were currently travelling east between the islands of Tsushima and Iki near the Kawajiri Cape on the northern coast of Shimonoseki which corresponded to the Iberian Peninsula.

In stealth mode, it would take another two days to reach England, but they were apparently close enough to view the floating island of England from the bow.

Masazumi thought this was a lot of trouble, but she also thought it was necessary. After all…

…''We already announced we would resolve the Apocalypse.

She herself had given that as a justification for Musashi and the Far East to rescue Horizon.

But the Logismoi Oplo based on Horizon’s emotions worried her. Their creator, Lord Motonobu, had said they could influence the Apocalypse, but she did not know how exactly they would resolve anything.

But despite not knowing, Masazumi thought to herself while taking a sip of water from her bamboo bottle. Despite not knowing so much, she knew what had to be done.

There were three things:

'''1: Do not take any actions that will provoke the Testament Union.

'''2: Retrieve the Logismoi Oplo.

'''3: Gain the approval of as many countries as possible to gain an advantage during the Peace of Westphalia.

If they could do that, she felt they would approach a solution to the Apocalypse. She just wished they had some kind of feedback to know they were on the right track.

The coming of the Apocalypse could be seen in the strange phenomena and disappearances, but it still felt unreal to most people.

Wanting a sense of crisis to consolidate those within Musashi was a dangerous idea, but at the same time…

“Masazumi, what are you thinking about?”

“Eh?”

Masazumi quickly turned around and found golden eyes looking at her.

It was Mitotsudaira.

Masazumi had become lost in thought, so she relaxed her shoulders and turned her focus to the outside world.

When she looked around, she saw her various classmates taking a break.

“They all have their own way of staying hydrated, don’t they?”

As Masazumi watched on, her classmates drank their drinks and caught their breath.

Treasurer Bertoni and Heidi were drinking blended health tea. Secretary Neshinbara had taken a slow pace, so he calmly typed some text into a sign frame without drinking anything.

As for the special duty officers, Crossunite the ninja was discussing a cross review of a porn game with half-dragon and fellow special duty officer Urquiaga. One-armed Naomasa was smoking something smelling of mint in her kiseru.

Mitotsudaira, who had werewolf blood and still wore her uniform, was drinking tea from a tea set she had taken out from somewhere. The Technohexen combo of the descended angel and fallen angel Naito and Naruze were…

“What? Is Naito asleep?”

The blonde-haired and gold-winged Naito had fallen asleep while leaning against the black-haired and black-winged Naruze’s shoulder. Naruze looked worriedly at her partner.

“Work has been putting a large burden on her lately. …The flight parts of my Weiss Fräulein were completely broken, so I can only work on land. I’m saving up as much of my internal ''auspuff'' in an Orei Metallo for her, but it looks like Margot isn’t using it.”

Neshinbara nodded when he heard that.

He glanced over at the black-haired Technohexen.

“We’re giving you a lot of trouble. …And it is thanks to your victory that we are here now.”

“Was that meant to be a compliment, four-eyes? Are you telling us to just accept the damage done?” asked Naruze with half-lidded eyes.

Her words were a bit harsh, but no one bothered to turn around.

…''I guess comments on that level aren’t serious.

Unlike Masazumi, the others in the class had apparently been together since elementary school.

They understood the trick to dealing with each other.

Meanwhile, the slime named Nenji and the incubus named Itoken were speaking.

“Hm. When I run around and work up a sweat, I lose weight and my volume shrinks!”

“I know what you mean, Nenji-kun! My body is made up of gas, so running around lowers my overall density a bit!”

…''You two need to take better care of your bodies.

Hassan’s bamboo bottle contained curry.

…''What a close group.

As Masazumi thought so, she was approached by Asama who wore the red and white track only used by shrine maidens.

“Oh, Masazumi. I’m about to make sports drinks for Kimi, Suzu-san, and the others. Do you want some?”

''These days, tea ceremony club members fire arrows and have all sorts of other idiosyncrasies, don’t they?'' added Masazumi silently.

She then turned her attention to Aoi, the president of both the academy and the student council, and the automaton who was both a Logismoi Oplo and princess of Matsudaira.

…''There’s such a thing as being too close, Horizon.

Horizon gave Aoi a bamboo bottle containing the drink she had prepared.

“Judge. As you made a request yesterday, I woke up early this morning and tried my hand at a powdered drink. It has the shop owner’s endorsement, so how about a cup, Toori-sama?”

“Ohhh! You put some effort into this! The problem with powdered sports drinks these days is how they all go for some confusing joke like the cucumber flavored Doctor Kappa. Anyway, I’m thirsty, so I’ll take some!”

“Judge,” said Horizon with a nod.

Aoi took a large swig from the bamboo bottle and Horizon gave a calm comment with expressionless half-lidded eyes.

“It is sports corn soup.”

Aoi spat the drink out into the center of everyone else, so they began to scream and flee.

Aoi trembled and said, “Nwoh! Wh-what is with this…u-um…let’s call it an original flavor! The hot corn and the saltiness hit you as soon as it enters your mouth, but it has a lemon flavor too!? Amazing!”

“Toori-sama, it smells of vomit.”

“Wh-what!? How did you so perfectly hit the word I went out of the way not to say!?”

“Judge. The shop owner praised it as perfectly recreating a morning with a hangover.”

“Please listen to what people tell you! And aren’t you being awfully detached about this!?”

“What are you talking about? I am merely being kind. Now, finish it off before it gets cold.”

“I-I don’t like this kindness!! …By the way, Horizon, what’s in your bottle?”

“Judge.” Horizon held her bamboo bottle out toward Aoi. “This one is a normal sports drink, so it is a bit boring.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” said Aoi as he took the bottle and took a swig to cleanse his palate.

“This one is a normal sports corn soup,” said Horizon calmly.

Aoi spat it out into the center of everyone once more. As he trembled, Horizon spoke with half-lidded eyes.

“I made too much. It is merely repeating the same joke, so I thought I would be boring.”

“Huh!? Huh!? That’s what you meant by boring!? That!? Am I the one at fault here!?”

“Now, please dispose of it all before it gets cold.”

“Enough of this partial kindness! And you told me to ‘dispose’ of it, didn’t you!? Didn’t you!?”

As Aoi lay collapsed on the ground after disposing of both bottles’ worth, Oriotorai watched on.

She nodded to herself twice.

“Okay. With that, Masazumi will give today’s lecture.”

“H-how did you reach that conclusion, sensei!?”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Oriotorai while waving her hands and smiling. “During second period, you work as a part-time lecturer at the elementary school on Tama, right? There’s not that much difference between elementary school and high school, so try it out.”

Oriotorai’s instructions were to give a lecture on the origin of Tres España.

There was a good reason to have a lecture on Tres España while on the way to England.

…''England and Tres España are enemies.

So before arriving in England, it was worthwhile to know about England’s troublesome opponent.

''So I have to talk about world history,'' thought Masazumi as she glanced over at Horizon and Aoi who lay unmoving next to the automaton.

“Everyone, Toori-sama is taking a nap. Please remain outside this line so as not to disturb him,” said Horizon.

She proceeded to draw a chalk outline of his collapsed body.

Once they finished passing through Tres España, they would arrive in England.

…''How that idiot acts in England will determine everything from here on.

Musashi’s overall objective had been decided during the battle of Mikawa, but they had not yet shown how they would act when faced with other countries.

Aoi had said he was prepared to take over the world in order to regain the Logismoi Oplo which were made from Horizon’s emotions. However, they had not decided how to confront the other nations when it came down to it.

Their meeting with England would be used to test them. And how they dealt with England would be used as a basis for how Musashi dealt with the other countries.

For that reason, they had to be prepared to confront England in negotiations, battle, or whatever else was needed. If possible, Masazumi wanted to show Aoi how Musashi should deal with England. That policy would remain the same for the other countries, but…

…''This is the last chance to change our mind or turn back.

She did not think it would be easy, but she thought they had a chance with England. After all…

“Aoi, wake up. You will eventually have to make a decision and I will prepare the stage for that decision. But you need to have the proper knowledge to make the decision.”

First, there was the enemy nation giving England trouble.

“I will now give a lecture on Tres España. Can someone assist me with a sign frame? I only have my handheld.”

“Judge. I will do it,” said Mitotsudaira with a nod.

She walked in front of the others, stood next to Masazumi, and expanded a torii-shaped sign frame measuring a meter square. Oriotorai gave a nod when she saw it.

“Okay, the two of you can give the lecture. Mitotsudaira, you go first so you can show Masazumi how to use the sign frame.”

“Judge,” replied the two girls before taking a breath.

At the same time, Mitotsudaira called up a map of Tres España with Shimonoseki in the center.

“I shall begin then,” she said with no shyness.

Mitotsudaira began her explanation below the afternoon sun. She placed a hand on Shimonoseki displayed on the sign frame.

“The western side of Honshu centered on Shimonoseki and the northern side of Kyushu make up the country known as Tres España. Tres España did not originally hold north Kyushu, but they indirectly control the territory of the Oouchi family after the unification of the Oouchi and Ootomo families. Both Oouchi and Ootomo were dependents of the Kamakura Shogunate. And do you know what that means?”

Kimi suddenly stood up and waved her hand invitingly.

“Heh heh heh. Female knight, are you challenging someone as wise as me!? Fine, I will answer! But I am so clever I know things that one could never know! I am super clever! However, the stripping rule is in effect for the beautiful, so I hope you are prepared! They say the beautiful die young, and the beautiful’s relative lack of clothing makes that very true for the stripping rule!”

''What a waste of oxygen,'' thought Mitotsudaira as she cleared her throat.

“Anyway, let us continue. Let’s see… Their dependency on the Kamakura Shogunate brings us back to the Genpei War. When mankind descended from the heavens and created the Harmonic Divine States, humans were not the only ones to remain in the real Divine States as residents of the Far East. Interestingly enough, an investigation of bloodlines discovered non-human races included in the bloodlines of Far East residents. They chose to remain in the real world. And during the history recreation, two of those races prospered after being given a family of their own. Those two families were the Minamoto clan and the Taira clan. The Minamoto clan went to the long-lived race and the Taira clan went to the giants. At this time, the environment was still too harsh for humans to…”

Mitotsudaira cleared her throat and added, “I mean people.”

…''This kind of consideration may actually make things worse. Still…

“Anyway, the environment was still too harsh for people to easily live in, so they got help from the long-lived race and the giants. After all, part of the recreation led to the word ‘apocalypse’ being used quite a lot in that era as well.”

“?”

Toori tilted his head. As Mitotsudaira wondered what that was about, he folded his arms, stared at her, and asked a question.

“Nate, I’m an idiot, so I wouldn’t know. Was there an Apocalypse a long time ago too?”

“Judge,” replied Mitotsudaira. “Each country, including the Far East, has experienced a period known as the Apocalypse a few times in the past.”<ref>The Japanese term usually translated as “apocalypse” technically refers to the Latter Day of the Law in Buddhism.</ref>

Mitotsudaira opened a new sign frame and reversed the display.

“In the Far East, it was said an age in which the teachings of the Buddha would no longer apply would arrive 1000 years after the establishment of his religion. Using the western calendar, it was thought to begin in the year 1052. People long thought this ‘apocalypse’ was coming. However, it did not refer to a literal destruction of the world. It was thought to be a lawless age without peace.”

Mitotsudaira began writing years on the sign frame.

“However, this period in the Far East saw the end of the age of nobles and the beginning of the age of the samurai. Every nation entered a period of war and the world fell into chaos. This had a negative effect on the ley lines, so it seems strange phenomena began occurring frequently across the land. The effects appeared in the harmonic world as well, so the knights and your ancestors appeared on the orders of the current leaders, the Testament Union, and the emperor. For a period of time, the history recreation was ignored and attacks were made across national borders.

“For the purposes of the history recreation, the successors of that 700-man unit were treated as if they did not exist. All information on them was deleted and it is said they took on the role of an elite unit called the Testament Cross-Borders Unit. A framework for this remains in each country’s academy as a post, so-…”

Mitotsudaira realized she was drifting off topic.

The Testament Cross-Borders Unit was thought of as an urban legend-like existence. Each country had an official position for it, but no records were kept as they existed outside the rules of the history recreation. As such, their activities were always spoken of like rumors.

…''I often heard those rumors when I was in Hexagone Française.

However, their actions had stopped producing even rumors after the Harmonic Unification War. That combined with the lack of records had caused knowledge of them to fade. Due to the weak connection between nations due to the Testament Union and the development of spells, weapons, transportation technology, and divine transmission technology thanks to interpretation of the history recreation, their role had dropped to merely providing aid between regions.

Currently, stories of them were passed by word of mouth and derivations of them were classic contents of doujinshi and the like.

“Now then.” Mitotsudaira looked at the others and brought the conversation back to the main point. “Back to the Genpei War. As the world saw an ‘apocalypse’ on the horizon, the Taira clan used military might to subjugate the world. However, the Buddhist power they attacked expanded, stole the authority from the nobles, and the world was ultimately thrown into chaos.

“It was the Minamoto clan that suppressed this. After the Genpei War, The Taira clan was destroyed and the Minamoto clan created the Kamakura Shogunate, but it was destroyed due to internal conflict. However, some dependents of the Kamakura Shogunate remained in places. Some of those were the Oouchi and Ootomo families. As they came from Kamakura, they were primarily made up of the long-lived race.

“When Tres España arrived to conquer them, they sided with Tres España earlier than anyone else. This was partially due to knowing Tres España would prosper in the history recreation, but it was also because Tres España historically contained a lot of the long-lived race that possessed Celtic blood.”

Mitotsudaira turned to Masazumi.

“Now, as for the origin of Tres España, I believe Masazumi will be explaining that while including the political aspect. Please give us a quick lecture.”

As the lecture was passed to her, Masazumi thought.

…''I can speak about the political side, but the history is a bit difficult.

Then again, she had been planning to do it all herself originally.

“I will start with the main point. This is how Tres España came about.” She took a breath. “Many different clans and nations took turns controlling the Iberian Peninsula on the western end of Europe and ultimately the Catholic Reconquista unified the area.”

Masazumi stepped in front of Mitotsudaira’s sign frame. She found it easier to speak while in front because it was similar to having her back to the blackboard during the elementary school classes she taught.

“Is it set up so I can write on it?” she asked Mitotsudaira.

“Judge. You don’t mind if the device is a bit rough, do you?”

“No.”

As Mitotsudaira operated the device, Masazumi drew a white circle around the eastern mountainous region and coast.

“Just like England, the Iberian Peninsula was originally ruled the Celts and various other clans.” Masazumi tapped a finger on the central area and the eastern mountains. “Different areas were cut off by the Pyrenees and the other mountains in the area, so even when Rome arrived and conquered, the people only lived on the coast and near the mountains. The central area remained empty. However…”

Masazumi drew an arrow from the east to the west. The arrow pointed to the southern coast.

“However, after the Roman rule, the Germanic tribes travelled eastward en masse.”

…''This part gets a bit tricky.

After all…

“What you have to remember is that the ‘Germanic tribes’ are not one single group. The term refers to all the various tribes that lived in the Northern European area of Germania.”

A uniform culture had spread throughout the Far East, so they did not have a concept of “tribes” which held unique cultures and civilizations.

Also, the Far East was primarily filled with farmers, so they tended to settle in a single location. The Germanics were hunting tribes, so they would stay on the move. They would travel vast distances without building villages and they would hunt and wage war all the while.

Rome had tried to get along peacefully with them when they passed through or collided, but…

“Among these tribes were a people known as the Goths. They built up so much momentum that they passed right through the Romans to the west and ended up at the Iberian Peninsula.”

Masazumi smiled at how well her explanation was going.

“In other words, you could say the Goths ‘got’ too far.”

That joke slipped out.

…''Oh, no!

Masazumi froze in place while still smiling.

She had prepared this lecture for the elementary school, so she had prepared some jokes she thought they would like. It would also make a good mnemonic for them to remember it with. However, she received only silence from this class that often derived its humor from harshly mocking each other.

…''I just stuck myself out there as a target!

Just as she thought that, a certain idiot forcefully stood up.

“Everyone! Everyone! Don’t attack Seijun too much! Listen! She’s doing her best to fit in with all of us! The way she’s putting up such a desperate attack is quite noble! Okay, I think we should appreciate her efforts. Isn’t that right, Seijun!?”

Masazumi swung her fist up and the idiot frantically hid behind the others. She sighed and continued.

“Th-the Goths created the Visigothic Kingdom, but it became very Roman due to interaction with the Romans. This continued even after Rome’s destruction. They were sealed in the Iberian Peninsula by Clovis, the founder of the Frankish Kingdom which became the foundation of Hexagone Française. They managed to live in peace, but then…”

On the southwestern edge of the Iberian Peninsula, Masazumi drew an arrow coming from the south and a stick figure.

“Internal conflict over money and the position of king threw the Visigothic Kingdom into chaos and the Mlasi crossed the ocean into the Iberian Peninsula after extending their influence to the northern coast of Africa. These Mlasi were a group driven away by the other Mlasi forces and they conquered the Iberian Peninsula and named it the Caliphate of Córdoba.”

Masazumi then had Mitotsudaira bring up a new sign frame. She wrote the following sequence on it:

'''Celts and other tribes -> Roman conquest -> Migration of Germanic Tribes leads to the Visigothic Kingdom -> Internal strife leads to the Caliphate of Córdoba

“Judge. Do you all understand? England has the Norman Conquest where the Normans conquered England, and Tres España also has several layers of ruling powers over its history.”

“Seijun… I’ve always thought the Norman Conquest sounds really erotic. Don’t you agree?”<ref>The “man” of Norman and the “co” of Conquest create “manko” which is Japanese slang for vagina. In addition, the “nor” of Norman is written as “noru” which is Japanese for “to mount”.</ref>

“How about you die in two seconds?”

“Well, it makes it sound like you have to mount them. And what about the Normans themselves? Do they mount men?”

“So what does that make the Germans? Do you think they’re made of gel?”<ref>The “ger” of German is written the same as Japanese for “gel”.</ref>

Everyone turned to Nenji.

“Where were you born?”

“I have been on Musashi as far back as I can remember.”

Everyone took that to mean he was a Musashi German. Masazumi could only sigh.

“The remnants of the other kingdoms were driven to the northern edge of the Iberian Peninsula by the Caliphate of Córdoba. They later received support from France and gained enough power to drive the Mlasi force to the south over a few hundred years.

“That was the Reconquista. It ended in 1492, but earlier in 1469, representatives of two of the allied kingdoms recovering the Iberian Peninsula, the prince of Aragon and the princess of Castile, married and became the Catholic Monarchs. That formed the foundation of modern Tres España.”

And…

“The child of those Catholic Monarchs was the woman who became known as Juana the Mad. Juana married M.H.R.R.’s Duke of Burgundy, so her son Carlos I ruled both Tres España and M.H.R.R. He was the previous chancellor of Tres España. His children were Felipe II and his younger sister, the second Juana. They are the ones who have inherited the position of Tres España’s chancellor and student council vice president.”

Masazumi snapped her fingers and Mitotsudaira copied down the following family line.

'''The Catholic Monarchs

↓

'''Juana the Mad (Political marriage with M.H.R.R.’s Duke of Burgundy)

↓

'''Carlos I (Karl V – M.H.R.R. Emperor-Chancellor and Tres España president)

↓

'''Felipe II (Tres España chancellor)/Juana II (Tres España student council vice president)

“Needless to say, these people are not actually all related. They all inherited their names.

“After the death of her husband, the first Juana became known as the mad queen and was kept confined. The son Carlos I, who was the previous chancellor of Tres España, was quite active after her death and was a complicated person.”

Masazumi manipulated the screen to display the area to the east of Shimonoseki. It now showed the northeastern portion of Izumo.

“This is the Netherlands or Holland. Tres España controls the area, but Carlos I was born here. M.H.R.R. had been shaken by a religions revolution, so they saw meaning in giving power to Tres España which was prospering as a Catholic nation. Tres España wanted to prosper as an emerging nation, so they saw meaning in gaining the name and authority of the Emperor-Chancellor which was an old representative of Catholicism.”

“Judge,” said Urquiaga with a nod. “That is about when my grandfather lamented of the poor crops and left Tres España. The first Juana’s marriage and Carlos I ruling two nations was one thing that supported Tres España’s later success.”

“Judge. That’s right. Carlos I became the chancellor of España and, according to the history recreation, also became the Emperor-Chancellor of M.H.R.R. as Karl V. He was a powerful chancellor whose rule spread across Europe and even into Africa.”

…''This part gets tricky.

“Carlos I travelled across Europe as the chancellor of Tres España and as Carlos V of M.H.R.R., but he primarily lived in M.H.R.R. And once the inheritor of the name Felipe II was officially determined, he retired. That is why the current leaders of Tres España have no direct connection to Carlos I. To strengthen their influence, they include a lot of those who have a second inherited name from the Far East and a lot of the long-lived race. I’m sure some of you already know this, but here is a list.”

'''<Tres España, Alcalá de Henares: List of Representative Students>

'''Chancellor: Felipe II – Also inherited the name Oouchi Yoshinaga. Also holds the position of student council president. Far Easterner. Likes office work.

'''Student Council Vice President: Juana – Also holds the position of treasurer. Far Eastern long-lived woman. Logismoi Oplo user.

'''Secretary: Velázquez – Far Eastern long-lived man. Painter. Testamenta Arma user.

'''Vice Chancellor: Hironaka Takakane – Also inherited the name of Army Leader Peréz. Captain of the baseball team. Ghost. Testamenta Arma user.

'''1st Special Duty: Tachibana Muneshige – Also inherited the name of Postman García. Currently retired?

'''2nd Special Duty: Era Fusahide – Also inherited the name of Naval Leader Álvaro. Captain of the track and field team. European long-lived ghost.

'''3rd Special Duty: Tachibana Gin – Tachibana Muneshige’s wife.

'''4th Special Duty: Pedro Valdés – Baseball team. Flores’s older brother.

'''5th Special Duty: Flores Valdés – Baseball team. Pedro’s younger sister.

“That should sum it up.”

Aoi suddenly raised his hand and pointed at the center of the list.

“What are these Testamenta Arma things on the list?”

What were the Testamenta Arma?

Naruze was the one to answer his question. She pointed at Horizon.

“They are divine weapons that were once distributed to the countries which possessed a Testament because they were meant to protect the Testaments. They used each country’s Testament as a fuel source, so they could only be used above the ley lines in that country’s territory. Even so, they could be used continuously to a certain extent. They were likely used as a model for producing Horizon’s Logismoi Oplo.”

“You know a lot about this, Naruze-sama. I have determined you are doing quite well.”

“I suppose,” said Naruze. She smiled bitterly when she looked at Naito sleeping while leaning against her, but she quickly began speaking once more. “There are seven different types of Testamenta Arma because they were modeled after the seven cardinal virtues that correspond to the seven deadly sins. However, there are two Testaments, the Novum and the Vetus, so there are a total of 14 in all. And the seven sets of Testaments each have one of the seven cardinal virtues. So…”

She drew on a sign frame with a pen to display the Testaments’ corresponding cardinal virtue and the nation that possessed them.

'''1st Testament: Fides (Faith) – K.P.A. Italia

'''2nd Testament: Spes (Hope) – Sviet Russia

'''3rd Testament: Caritas (Charity) – M.H.R.R.

'''4th Testament: Prudentia (Prudence) – Hexagone Française

'''5th Testament: Justitia (Justice) – England

'''6th Testament: Fortitudo (Fortitude) – P.A.ODA

'''7th Testament: Temperantia (Temperance) – Tres España

“These countries all possess the Testamenta Arma corresponding to their cardinal virtue. Before the Logismoi Oplo were made, these Testamenta Arma formed the power balance between nations. However, the non-Testament countries gained power through economic means and the history recreation, and the Testamenta Arma were difficult to use even as defense when faced with a member of the Testament Alliance because those weapons used the Testament as a fuel source. Overall, they were difficult to handle. However…”

Neshinbara took over here.

He spoke while continuing his own work on his sign frame.

“Then the Logismoi Oplo appeared which could replenish their fuel and could therefore be brought outside the country. This drastically increased the power of Testament countries. And now Musashi has showed up to take those back,” he said. “While inside Testament countries, they will likely bring out their Testamenta Arma to prove that their fight is just. Those weapons are difficult to use while Musashi is travelling along the national borders, but our enemies can use them as much as they want within their borders. We need to be careful.”

“I see,” said not just Aoi but everyone.

Masazumi nodded and lightly pointed back at her sign frame.

“Okay. Tres España’s chancellor, Felipe II, inherited the Netherlands from Carlos I when he was designated chancellor. However, due to being overworked with managing Tres España and not understanding the foreign language, his management of the Netherlands has been sloppy. There have even been revolts and independence movements in response to the exploitation of the bureaucracy in charge. Holland’s war of independence against España is known as the Eighty Years' War.”

Naito reacted to those words while fighting back a weary yawn. She blinked her eyes and nodded a few times.

“Right, right. That’s near my hometown, so I know about it. That war of independence is still ongoing, right?”

“Yes. Do you remember what I said while confronting the Papa-Schola? The Peace of Westphalia includes the resolution of the various wars and Holland’s independence. In other words, when we go to Westphalia and begin the conference, Tres España will lose Holland. And…”

“Heh heh heh. Enough insinuations. How about just getting to the point?”

“Judge,” said Masazumi with a nod. “Holland’s independence is supported by England which is fighting Tres España. Holland and England are both protestant and England has been stealing Tres España’s wealth by obstructing their trade with the New World using privateers. Holland still has no clear military might, but they are expanding their reach via trade. While England and Tres España fight over them, we show up holding the key to the Peace of Westphalia and therefore Holland’s independence. Things have remained calm so far, but they will grow much busier soon. After all…”

At that point, Neshinbara unexpectedly spoke up once more while continuing his own work.

“After all, England and Tres España are preparing for the Naval Battle of the Armada.” He took a breath. “England will win this battle and it is said to begin soon. Musashi’s arrival in England is sure to be used as an opportunity.”

“Armada…?” asked Suzu who wore a track suit.

She tilted her head in confusion and Neshinbara continued speaking without turning around.

“That naval battle is said to settle things between Elizabeth of England and Felipe II of Tres España. Tres España constructs a new fleet and begins a landing operation against England. Both sides send out over 100 ships. It begins in complete confusion, but Tres España begins withdrawing counter-clockwise around England. England wins the battle, but with the ‘interpretations’ allowed in the history recreation, I doubt Tres España will accept defeat so easily.

“It is being said that Tres España will most likely put on an act of being thrown into confusion and then retreat so as to prevent any damage to their fleet. They will then carry out a landing operation on England to show the other countries they have the ability to invade. That way, they will come out essentially victorious despite ‘losing’ the battle. On the other hand, England is still a weak nation and they have not put together a proper fleet. I have heard they are planning to use the pirate privateers to strengthen their fleet.”

So…

“With the Naval Battle of the Armada so soon, we should find opportunities to negotiate if we go to England. After all, Musashi holds high potential for trade. An offer of replenishing their goods can be used as an effective bargaining chip.”

Neshinbara gave Masazumi a look that said, “Isn’t that right?”

“You have to see a way we can take advantage of this situation, Honda Masazumi-kun.”

Masazumi had a single answer to that. She gave a deep nod and spoke.

“I would like to stay out of the Naval Battle of the Armada if at all possible.”

“As you can see, Musashi is currently in a dangerous situation,” said Masazumi as she tapped at the sign frame displaying a map of England and Shimonoseki. “A lot is still unknown, so I cannot say anything for sure. However, we will soon be deciding what we do next, and that includes our negotiations with England. And so…”

Masazumi glanced over at Aoi.

…''If only he was a bit more level-headed.

She had thought the same thing earlier.

Musashi had announced it would resolve the Apocalypse, but it had not yet made it clear how it would deal with the other countries.

…''We have an objective, but we have not set a clear policy as to what methods we will use.

What relationship should they build with what countries? Would they make an enemy of some or all of them? Or would they ally with them? Would the basis of who was an enemy and who was an ally fall to who had the Testament and who did not?

Together, they would surely be able to present the elements needed to make all these decisions. However…

''It will be that idiot making the decision. And if he does not make a decision, we will not be able to unify our thoughts on this,'' thought Masazumi. ''And most likely, the other countries will not understand unless he does.

She was aware of how drastic a thing they had done at Mikawa.

After all, she had been the one to initially create that path. And so if things did not go as that idiot wanted as he walked down that path, it would mean her path had been too vague.

So…

“Well, there is a lot I want to say, but we can make those decisions in England,” said Masazumi. “We need to understand our relationships with the other countries, we need to know what those countries are doing at the moment, and we need to understand why they are taking those actions. Also, we need to determine what we should do and we need to determine how we can do it.

“Due to England’s relationship with Izumo and the fact that they did not directly take part in the Harmonic Unification War, we can at least talk with them, even if we are not on friendly terms. That is why we are on our way to England. We must learn what we can and then make our decision. Do you understand?”

“Judge,” replied some. Others nodded.

Masazumi and Mitotsudaira then turned to Oriotorai and Oriotorai smiled and nodded.

“Judge. Well done. Thanks. To be honest, I get the feeling I never need to teach another class.”

“Heh heh heh. Sensei, I do not recall you ever teaching many classes.”

“C’mon now,” said Oriotorai with a smile instead of giving a proper response.

She then clapped her hands together to clear the atmosphere.

“Okay. We’ll end class here. This had a lot packed into it, so you should read back over everything if you recorded it. We should be getting involved with England, Tres España, and Holland soon. And with that…”

Just as she spoke, they heard a bell ring. That bell indicated the end of first period. Oriotorai continued speaking with the bell ringing in the background.

“Let’s get back to the classroom. Second period is Modern Japanese. Ohiroshiki will be giving the lecture and…let’s see, a few of the academy officers will be on lookout while the AM course marker is being dealt with, right?”

“Judge,” replied Mitotsudaira and Tenzou. Naito raised her hand.

Mitotsudaira then turned toward Masazumi.

“I will be on lookout from Shinagawa, so how about we walk together part of the way?”

“Judge,” replied Masazumi before having a sudden thought.

…Am I fitting into this class a bit now?

[[Image:Horizon2A_054.png|thumb]]
Study:

Full Musashi Diagram

Toori: Nee-chan! Nee-chan! What is Musashi’s general shape like!? I asked “Musashi”, but I only got a nerdy response that I didn’t understand!

Kimi: Heh heh heh. Foolish brother, that is a surprisingly good question for someone who doesn’t look nerdy at all yet is obsessed with porn games. It looks like this when viewed from above. I will explain the details individually if I ever get a chance, but it is made up of two ships in the center and three on both the left and right. All of the ships are connected with towing belts, rope passageways, and transport pipes. Also, transport ships are always wandering between and around the ships. The ships directly in front of or behind the other overlap quite a bit and are very close together, but don’t worry because they move away during turns.

Toori: Nee-chan! Nee-chan! What are those grid-like patterns on the decks!? Are they spell missile launchers!? ♪Mi-mi-missile la-la-la-la-la-launcher!

Kimi: “Foolish brother, it takes courage to not say anything when you find it boring. Anyway, the grid-like patterns running front and back along the center of the ships are the divisions of the different sectors on the surface. Can you see the lines of wide blocks and long blocks? Musashi Ariadust Academy covers the entire back of the central rear ship, Tama, from port to starboard.

Toori: Wait, wait, wait. Aren’t we being pushed way back there? We’re like chickens on a poultry farm.

Kimi: You may be the rooster, but do you want your breast to be cooked up and eaten?

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 School Rules|School Rules]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 2 Chapter 01|Chapter 01]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 1 Chapter 41

2014-05-02T22:21:30Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 41: Those Facing Each Other from Parallel Lines */

==Chapter 41: Those Facing Each Other from Parallel Lines==
[[Image:Horizon1B_687.jpg|thumb]]
''Wait a sec

''What am I supposed to do?

'''Point Allocation (What do I do?)

Masazumi stared up into the sky from the western plain that acted as an entrance to the land port.

The Tres Españan aerial ships had stopped firing and were slowly turning and travelling to the southwest.

Similarly, the Tres Españan warriors had parted from the K.P.A. Italian warriors and started to leave the battlefield.

…''Was I at least a little useful?

She had negotiated via the command center. Now that Tachibana Muneshige had lost and he could not use the Logismoi Oplo to prevent the Musashi from taking off, she had suggested Tres España should preserve their power in order to protect the pope-chancellor during his return.

After bringing out various conditions and making various compromises, she had convinced them to stop everything but the extraction of the Logismoi Oplo in the interrogation ship.

The command center had sent a transport ship to carry their people back to the Musashi and the Musashi would soon leave and begin stealth cruising. An armed fleet from the Tres España-controlled Tres Portugal had already arrived in the east and it was clear the current situation would not last much longer.

…''We need to quickly prepare to withdraw.

She heard repeated heavy metallic noises behind her. When she turned around, she found a red heavy god of war and a silver chains girl approaching. Naomasa, the girl with a false arm standing on the god of war’s shoulder, spoke.

“We’ve quieted things down over here. How are things on your end?”

“Stithos Porneia is keeping us from attacking and the pope-chancellor is using spells like crazy.”

Masazumi followed Mitotsudaira’s gaze and looked forward.

“But it seems Aoi has reached the interrogation ship.”

That was only a guess, but she soon received confirmation.

It came in the form of a sign frame. That torii-style frame appeared in front Mitotsudaira and Naomasa’s faces and it showed a certain scene.

The video came from below the interrogation ship’s bow. Toori stood in front of the Andamio de la Ejecución which was enveloped in light.

It was being filmed by one of the half circle of students protecting him. It was most likely the broadcast committee member in charge of the land port.

And the sign frame displayed a number.

That number gave the time remaining and it was currently at five minutes. At 6 PM, the Andamio de la Ejecución’s preparations would be complete and Horizon would be disintegrated in an instant. The number was likely being displayed as a time limit.

Masazumi lined up next to Mitotsudaira and watched the lowering number and Toori’s back.

“It’s up to you now.”

The area around the interrogation ship was filled with countless sounds.

To sum it up, they were the sounds of the battlefield. They could be described both as lively and as noisy.

But Toori ignored it all and faced forward.

A wall of light lay before his eyes. He thought about touching it, but there was something he had to say first.

“Hey, Horizon! Are you in there!?”

But his shout received no response. Instead, several sign frames appeared.

“Um… Why are you treating this so normally?”

“Just go save her already, idiot. You are wasting both time and money.”

“If you need an extra push, eat some curry.”

“Shut up, all of you! I’m nervous, y’know? Nervous.”

As he yelled back, he saw motion in the light.

The motion had a human form. As it approached, it turned into the silhouette of Horizon in her personal clothes and finally turned into Horizon herself.

…''Oh.

Only a single wall of light separated them and they were less than two meters apart.

Horizon stood before him. This was the automaton who had gone by the name P-01s until the day before.

When everyone saw her approach, sighs of relief and astonishment came from the surrounding students and sign frames.

In front of him, Horizon tilted her head and held a book under her left arm.

“…? Do you need something?”

“Y-yes.” Toori nodded, stuck out his right thumb, and gave a huge grin. “I’ve come to rescue you!!”

For a moment, Horizon did not react.

After a few seconds of silence, she looked at him expressionlessly as if she had rebooted.

“I will bluntly give the best decision for this situation,” she declared. “Who are you? You are nothing but a bother, so please leave.”

Back in the command center below the evening sky, Neshinbara turned toward all those gathered.

While smiling, he lowered his hands, said “three, two, one”, and raised them.

“Ehhhhh!?” they shouted in unison.

The force of their voices almost caused Suzu to topple backwards, but Kimi caught her from behind.

“Heh heh heh. Suzu, if it was a shock, feel free to collapse. Look, you have an even better cushion than before.”

“Oh, th-thanks. U-um… Why does…this cushion…feel evil?”

“Heh heh heh. Feel free to call me evil. Yes, I am bad! I am a bad girl!”

“Kimi, I think you should give it a rest, face reality, and watch Toori-kun.”

“Ahh, ahh,” said Kimi as she covered her ears and looked away.

The others ignored her and watched their sign frames.

As Horizon tilted her head, Toori turned toward the screen while trembling.

“Th-that was a close one! Just a bit further and I would’ve felt sad and died just like a rabbit! I-I’ve recovered though, so someone praise me! Bring on the praise! Bring it on!!”

As Toori continued his cries of “bring it on”, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

“Tch. So that isn’t enough to kill him. The idiot’s got more endurance than I thought.”

“Whose side are you on!?” he shouted while Horizon once more tilted her head behind him.

“At any rate, I am scheduled to commit suicide, so there is no rescuing me. Please leave.”

“W-wait a second!! H-hear me out!”

As Toori frantically turned around, Horizon nodded expressionlessly a few times.

“I have determined you are a stubborn person.”

Everyone in the command center hung their heads and exchanged glances.

“I get the feeling they have terrible compatibility. If I did a Schwarz Techno fortune telling, I’d probably get ‘go die a painful death’.”

“You’re right, Margot. It would lead to a murder. With a Weiss Techno fortune telling, it would probably be ‘could you perhaps go die’.”

“After seeing this, I bet a normal confession would have failed too.”

“Okay, okay!” shouted Toori. “That’s enough fun fortune telling results and thoughts on the past! This isn’t over yet! I can still make a comeback! I’ll make back double what I lost!!”

As Toori spoke, Horizon tilted her head and turned her back. Everyone in the command center saw her disappear behind the light as if to say the conversation was over.

“You idiot! Behind you! Behind you!!” they shouted.

“Eh? Huh? Oh? Hey, Horizon! I’m not done talking!!”

“To be honest, I see no purpose in speaking any further. It would accomplish nothing.”

She did not even return to the wall of light, so the command center group hung their heads again.

“Seeing a final boss this wonderful makes me want to pay out some money,” said Shirojiro.

“Hmm. Final bosses in games these days tend to be logical, but for some reason won’t let you settle things with money.”

“I am starting to wonder if that idiot did something to her in the past,” said Urquiaga.

“St-stop giving your thoughts and figure out a way to deal with this!” shouted Toori.

Everyone in the command center used their sign frames to exchange glances with those on the battlefield and then they all nodded.

“How about you apologize?”

“W-wait a second! Why are you assuming I did something wrong! And Horizon! I was a customer at your shop! Can’t you at least greet me!?”

A few seconds after his complaint, Horizon arrived once more and bowed expressionlessly.

“Thank you very much for your patronage, but we are currently closed. …Now, then.”

“You’re welcome. …Don’t leave!!”

“What is with you? This is unreasonable.”

That last word caused everyone to look toward the ground once more, but Toori was not discouraged.

“U-um, I was a customer and I went quite a lot. A-are you sure you don’t remember me?”

“His method of picking up girls is worse than a porn game protagonist,” commented Ohiroshiki.

“Eh? Eh? I just got here,” said Azuma. “Can someone explain the situation?”

“W-well… I-I think it…might be hopeless…” explained Suzu.

“What happened to all my allies!?” shouted Toori. “Is no one on my side!? Where did this cruel atmosphere come from!?”

Horizon suddenly untilted her head.

After a moment, she lightly struck her left palm with her right fist.

“I just remembered. You are the customer who would often come during my morning shift.”

“Y-yes, yes! You remember!? Ohhh! I’m so lucky!”

Toori turned toward the sign frame and pointed at it with a triumphant look.

“Did you see that!? You did, didn’t you!? That’s right! You and you and you! My uncontainable charm creates such harmony in people’s memories that…um…well, you get the picture! Do you get it now!?”

“Why is this idiot always so hard to look at? Is it because he is poor?”

“Hm… I think it’s just that his soul’s blood pressure is high.”

“In novels and plays, this kind of character always loses in the end.”

“Oh? Oh? What are you all saying?” he started again. “Heh heh. I can handle this much scorn just fine! After all, Horizon understands me! Isn’t that right, Horizon!? You remember me, don’t you!?”

“Judge. I also remember speaking with the owner of the shop about you.”

“For real!? You gossiped about me!?”

“Judge. I told her there was a boy who always held my hand when I gave him his change. I said his hands were always sweaty, so the owner of the shop gave him the Urban Name of Wet Man.”

“Sorry, but that’s kind of disgusting. I’m Schwarz Techno disgusted.”

“Yes. And I’m Weiss Techno disgusted. We should have kept him confined yesterday when we had the chance.”

“How did he think he could confess to her after doing that?” asked Urquiaga.

“Wh-what’s with all of you!? What’s wrong with wanting to touch the girl you like!? Just like this!”

Toori reached out toward Horizon’s chest, but Horizon quickly spoke up.

“I failed to mention earlier that this wall of light will supposedly instantly kill anyone who touches it.”

“Ohhhhhh! And my fingernail was just about to touch it!! Tres España, wh-why did you create such an exciting contraption that sounds like something an elementary school kid would think up!? Is it cause you’re perverts!? Murderphilia is just the worst!”

Toori turned back toward Horizon and spoke as if only just then noticing something.

“What the hell!? Tres España! Doesn’t the inquisition normally chain people up while naked!? This isn’t right! This isn’t right at all! Keeping everything decent is the worst!”

“You have now said perversion and decency are ‘the worst’. Please stop holding double standards.”

“Horizon, have you never heard of flip-flopping? …Ah, I’m sorry! Don’t leave! Please don’t leave! L-look, I brought a letter for you! Here, I’ll read it. Um… ‘What I Want to Do – Asama Tomo’ ”

“Waaaah!” shouted someone back at the command center. “Why do you have my essay with you!? Read any further and I’ll shoot!”

“Shut up!” shouted Toori as he returned the essay to his pocket.

“What is he doing?” muttered everyone else.

However, a small laugh came from the command center.

Everyone turned toward it and found Kimi pressing the back of her hand to her mouth to suppress her laughter.

“Oh, sorry,” she said once she noticed everyone watching her. “But doesn’t this exchange seem familiar?”

She spoke quietly as if seeking confirmation.

“That’s Horizon, isn’t it? Yes, that exchange is definitely Horizon.”

Masazumi was watching the situation through Mitotsudaira’s sign frame.

“Really?” she asked.

Mitotsudaira simply stared at the sign frame as if waiting for what Kimi would say next, so Masazumi stopped speaking as well.

“Isn’t that right? If you do not whitewash your old memories and do not naively think anyone my foolish brother would confess to is ‘normal’, this should not seem out of place. You should remember there used to be two people who spoke like this.”

“She might be right.”

Masazumi thought she sensed some disappointment in Mitotsudaira’s voice as the wind whipped at her hair.

“What do you mean?”

“It is an issue of the right person for the right job. There used to be a foolish boy who would do nothing but cause trouble for everyone around him, but he was able to continue acting so foolishly because there was a girl by his side who that foolishness had little effect on. There was just the one girl who could get the boy to listen to her.”

“She was an obedient girl,” continued Kimi. “She would always read books in some corner or another, but she would reach out a hand to anyone in a bind and she was truly harsh on my foolish brother and only my foolish brother.”

“That’s right,” said Urquiaga. “Whenever Toori would make a gag, she would expressionlessly ask him to explain what about it was supposed to be funny. It was truly frightening.”

“Yeah…”

For some reason, everyone hung their heads and nodded.

“She was really harsh on him.”

“W-well, Kimi is right and it did seem like she was trying to kill Toori-kun, but you all know how important he was to her, right? So it must be the same for this Horizon.”

“It’s possible the only reason she seems the same now is because she was a very automaton-like girl back then,” warned Mitotsudaira.

“Then…” said Asama.

Mitotsudaira nodded and the two of them spoke in unison.

“That automaton might be able to fill Horizon’s role perfectly.”

“That’s right,” muttered Toori on the battlefield.

“To be blunt, I do not understand what exactly you are saying is ‘right’.”

“Just wait there. I’m gonna rescue you now.”

“Do you not understand that my death is best for the world?” she immediately replied. “I wish for the best choice which will not inconvenience the world, so your intervention is not needed. That is the correct answer.”

“What?”

Toori crossed his arms behind his head and looked at Horizon.

“I don’t care what it means for the world. It would inconvenience me if you died.”

“A question: which is more important, you or the world?”

“Which do you think?”

“To be blunt, the world.”

“That settles it.” He took in a breath. “I just have to become a king who rules the entire world. Isn’t that right?”

In the many places around the world where the divine transmission reached, those who were interested in him watched and listened.

“With your Logismoi Oplo, saving the world from the apocalypse and becoming the king of the world isn’t just a dream. And the Logismoi Oplo are your emotions, so we can bring back your original self if we gather them all.”

So…

“I will… Are you listening? I will – definitely will – conquer the world with you. We can free everyone from the apocalypse and flirt a whole bunch while I take back everything you lost because of me.”

He then addressed all those listening.

“So I have something to ask of you, world. You only have to do it to deal with the apocalypse, but could you give me your Logismoi Oplo? If you say no, then let’s fight a war. And if you don’t like the word ‘war’, it can be a fight, a clash, a confrontation, a negotiation, or whatever else. I don’t care what method it is. If it gives you a reason to hand over Horizon’s emotions, anything’s fine.”

Yes.

“Let’s take Shintoism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, the Anglican Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, Dunhi, Oat, Technomagi, sword fighting, martial arts, gun fighting, mechanical horses, mobile shells, gods of war, mechanical beasts, mechanical phoenixes, mechanical dragons, aerial warships, humans, non-humans, normal citizens, knights, vassals, samurai, ninja, warriors, kings, nobles, rulers, sovereigns, emperors, popes, the Far East, K.P.A. Italia, Tres España, Hexagone Française, England, Sviet Rus, P.A. Oda, Qing, the Indian Alliance, money, authority, negotiations, politics, the will of the people, military might, information, divine weapons, Logismoi Oplo, Testamenta Arma, the Five Great Peaks, the Eight Great Dragon Kings, chancellor’s officers, student councils, men, women, those who aren’t either, the young, the old, the living, the dead, the Musashi which can confront you with all these powers, our feelings, our reasons, our thoughts, your feelings, your reasons, your thoughts, and everything everything else that I don’t know about,” he said. “And then we’ll see who’s the strongest.”

Masazumi gasped.

…''That’s crazy!

This was the worst possible time to be instigating a war. The Testament Union and all the other nations would grow cautious and become their enemies. And yet he continued speaking.

“Whether it’s resolved peacefully or by force, the one who wins in the end is king of the world. After all, he’ll save the world from the apocalypse.”

The idiot had linked ruling the world with saving it from the apocalypse.

“What do you think?” asked Mitotsudaira with a smile and with the sounds of battle behind her. “You have most likely joined the most worthwhile academy in the world.”

Masazumi was unable to respond, but Toori’s voice continued.

“How about we play by those rules? In other words… Huh?”

…''What has him confused now?

As she watched him through the sign frame, he hesitantly glanced over and tilted his head a few degrees.

“Huh? Um, I was trying to confess, so why am I announcing plans for world domination? Huh? This makes no sense.”

“Think before you speak!!”

Everyone single person on the battlefield, enemies included, shouted at him. Horizon then gave a confident nod.

“I see. I have determined that reasoning is clear and easy to understand.”

“Eh!? For real!?”

“Ahhhh! Don’t encourage him!!” shouted Masazumi.

But…

“But to judge fairly, that is your reasoning and not mine. As we hold parallel views, this is ultimately a nuisance for me.” She shook her head. “Please leave. I wish to avoid harming the Far East with my existence.”

“Even if I say I don’t want to lose you?”

“Why do you not want that?”

“Eh? W-well… Um… Saying it in public is embarrassing.”

“Stop that bashful fidgeting!!”

After Masazumi’s comment, Tenzou appeared from the right side of the sign frame. He was initially in hiding, but he soon showed himself.

“Toori-dono… Huh? You still aren’t done? H-hurry up and get out of there! The pope is enjoying himself so much we can barely hold him off. Reel her in! Reel her in!!”

“What, are you here to make me rush this? Fine then.” Toori took in a breath and spoke clearly to Horizon. “There’s a lot to it, but it of course comes down to the fact that I love you.”

The girls at the command center let out excited cries.

But Masazumi heard Horizon nod twice a moment later.

“Judge. I am truly sorry, but as an automaton, I have no emotions and cannot understand what you mean. Please leave.”

“Waaah!” everyone shouted. “After all this, she turned him down!!”

At the command center, Suzu collapsed once more.

“H-here, Suzu-san. Th-this cushion isn’t evil.”

“Heh heh heh. This shrine maiden has a shock-absorber on her chest. And what do you think? Doesn’t she seem even more Horizon-y than before?”

“Y-yes, I agree. I never thought her ability to handle Toori-kun would increase this much.”

“I-I won’t lose!” yelled Toori. “If I gather the Logismoi Oplo, your emotions will return. When that happens, I’ll make you regret what you just-… no! Bad words! Anyway, uh, sorry. Give me another chance.”

“Oh? Now you are behaving more modestly? An excellent decision. But it is no use because I will die.”

The conversation seemed confusing to all the others, but Horizon simply glared at Toori.

“Also, I have never heard of someone confessing to an automaton before. I am a doll, you know?”

“D-don’t be stupid! You really are stupid! I’m A-OK with an automaton!” Toori spread his arms. “I wasn’t so sure myself when I first saw you, but when you bring food out to people at the shop, you crouch down like this to pick up dropped spoons, right?”

“Checking my memories, I would indeed crouch like that.”

“Yeah. Well, one day I realized I was instinctually peeking between your legs from a low interior angle. My instincts didn’t care you’re an automaton. And when Mitotsudaira let me fondle her bra-less chest, I learned I have no problem with a hard chest! It’ll totally work!!”

“St-stop spreading lies!!”

Horizon ignored Mitotsudaira’s interruption and nodded expressionlessly.

“Ha ha ha. To be blunt, you are the worst.”

“It’s over,” muttered someone and everyone hung their heads in agreement.

But then they heard Horizon speak once more.

“I have determined that you and I currently hold parallel views.”

For some reason she looked somewhat relieved.

“We are parallel, so I say this: please leave.”

Masazumi looked up in surprise when she heard that.

“Aoi!!” she suddenly shouted. “Don’t give up!!”

…''If their views are parallel…

She had to tell him that she knew what Horizon wanted.

She understood and so she opened her mouth to speak.

However…

“Don’t worry, Seijun. I understand too. This is where we wear down each other’s arguments, isn’t it?” he said. “We’re parallel, so I say this: I will bring you back with me.”

Toori took a step forward and stood as close as he could to the wall of light without touching it.

Horizon approached as well and she spoke.

“We are parallel, so I say this: there is nothing we can both agree on.”

He opened his mouth to reply and gave an “um” of thought.

“We’re parallel, so I say this: I know something I can get you to agree to.”

She continued.

“We are parallel, so I say this: there is nothing you can do.”

He followed.

“We’re parallel, so I say this: I think I can do something for you.”

She answered.

“We are parallel, so I say this: I desire death.”

He replied.

“We’re parallel, so I say this: I want you to live.”

“We are parallel, so I say this: I do not have a human life.”

“We’re parallel, so I say this: I know you have a human soul.”

“We are parallel, so I say this: automatons have no emotions.”

“We’re parallel, so I say this: I will return your emotions.”

“We are parallel, so I say this: this is all meaningless.”

“We’re parallel, so I say this: I don’t think anything about you is meaningless.”

“We are parallel, so I say this: an automaton’s decisions are perfect.”

“We’re parallel, so I say this: I don’t think your decisions are perfect.”

At that point, Horizon let out a sigh.

“We are parallel, so I say this.” She let out a breath. “I do not want to hear your answers.”

In that moment, Masazumi shouted from an end of the battlefield.

“Aoi!! Don’t let her go!!”

She then heard him slowly speak as if checking over his own words.

“You don’t want to hear my answers?” he said. “But that is just another way in which we are parallel.”

So…

“So I say this as your parallel.” He took in a breath. “I want to hear your answers.”

Horizon responded to that with a simple nod.

It was a deep nod of approval.

“Judge.”

And she looked up.

Everyone in the command center silently watched their sign frames.

On those screens, Toori’s body relaxed as he stood before the nodding automaton.

“Um,” he thought while Horizon was visible through the light.

“She is waiting to see what he will ask her, isn’t she?” commented Asama.

True enough, Horizon did not urge him to speak or ignore him. She stood without moving.

“Go ahead. As we are parallel, I have an obligation to provide an answer to what you will say.”

“Is that so?”

Toori nodded before continuing.

“It’s all parallel,” he began. “So I say this: your decisions are perfect.”

And...

“We are parallel,” she began. “So I say this: I must be wrong.”

That statement of her own error caused everyone to gasp.

“Automatons always make the best decision, so why would she say she’s wrong?”

“It’s the nature of automatons,” said Neshinbara. “Automatons respond with the best decision. That is why Ariadust-kun says her death is the best option for what she should do here. But the best decision is not necessarily the decision the automaton originally wanted. There would have to be several other options below that best one.”

So…

“She may have been waiting for someone who did not follow the best option which she was powerless to resist, who would not be persuaded, and who would convince her to give up. …And that idiot realized it.”

And her answer was…

“When dealing with someone who won’t go with the best, giving the opposite of the best becomes the best.”

The conversation on the divine transmission continued just as Neshinbara had indicated.

It seemed to work back through the previous exchange.

“We’re parallel, so I say this: you think everything about yourself is meaningless, don’t you?”

“We are parallel, so I say this: I do not want to think that everything about me is meaningless.”

“We’re parallel, so I say this: you might not actually have any emotions.”

“We are parallel, so I say this: I believe I do have emotions.”

“We’re parallel, so I say this: you might not actually have a human life.”

“We are parallel, so I say this: I have a human soul.”

“We’re parallel, so I say this: you desire death, don’t you?”

She responded.

“We are parallel, so I say this: I want to live.”

He answered.

“We’re parallel, so I say this: you think there’s nothing I can do, don’t you?”

She continued on.

“We are parallel, so I say this: there is something you can do.”

So he did not stop.

“We’re parallel, so I say this: there is nothing we can agree on, is there?”

She opened her mouth, took in a breath, and spoke as if pleading him.

“We are parallel, so I say this: I know something we both agree on.”

“And?” asked Toori. “Where is that, Horizon? Where is the point that these two parallel people can agree?”

“Judge. That would be the place where parallel lines cross and differing thoughts converge,” she answered. “That would be the borderline.”

Toori ignored the sounds of the battlefield and everything else as he asked a question.

“And do you not want to go to that borderline?”

“No, I do want to go there.”

“Do you not want me to take you there?”

“No, please take me there.”

“I see. But I thought there was nothing I could do?”

“No, you can do anything.”

“I see. Will you not let me fondle your boobs later?”

“What in the world are you talking about?”

“Th-that’s what you really think! I got an honest answer instead of a parallel!!”

Comments started arriving via the sign frame.

“You need to die.”

“That really wasn’t the time for that.”

“Listen. If I display it on a graph, your value started to rise and then plummeted.”

“Sh-shut up, all of you!” he shouted back. “Wait. Are you mad, Horizon? You are, aren’t you?”

“Do not decide things for me. Let me be very clear: I am not mad at all.”

“You’re definitely pissed!!”

However, Horizon remained standing on the other side of the light and she clasped her hands together.

“You are intent on rejecting everything I say, aren’t you?”

“You can reject what I say, hit me, and play the role of tsukkomi all you want.”

“In that case,” said Horizon. “The best choice is for me to be the ruler of the Far East. However, I also wish I could have been a snack shop worker. What do you have to say to that?”

Toori tilted his head.

“Hm?”

He tilted it further and finally spoke.

“I know. Even if you’re our ruler, you can still work at the snack shop.”

After all…

“I’m chancellor and student council president, but I do all sorts of stupid stuff.”

Hearing that, Horizon opened her mouth and nodded.

“Judge! To be honest…”

She nodded even more vigorously and gave voice to her thoughts.

“I want that to be the best choice!”

Toori nodded in return and a smile spread across his face.

“Yeah. So do I, Horizon!”

Toori immediately pointed at the wall before him.

As Horizon looked at him curiously, he smiled at her.

“Hey, this wall’s in the way, isn’t it? Or would you prefer I didn’t destroy it?”

“It is not in the way, but please destroy it. Or do you not want to be here with me?”

“I want to be with you. I want to be all over you!”

“You are the worst.”

“You’re the best.”

He held up his left hand. His left shoulder moved a bit awkwardly, but the pain was gone and his body was beginning to forget the past. He clenched his fist.

“How do I destroy this wall? Or is it just an illusion?”

A female student’s voice came from the speaker on the wall within the Andamio de la Ejecución.

“That wall recreates the sin of whoever touches it and uses it to kill them.”

“And how do you destroy it?”

“You cannot deny a sin from your past, so you can only die.”

“I’m asking how to destroy it. Please, I don’t have much time.”

The clock on the sign frame was down to one minute and was closing in on half of that minute.

“The wall itself is not solid. If you touch it and deny the sin from your past, you will reject the ether making up the wall and it will vanish. But that is something no one can do.”

Suddenly, the wall of the battlefield audibly collapsed.

“Quit wasting your time and accept your judgment! Isn’t that the normal thing to do, hm?”

The pope-chancellor had used repeated spell attacks to break through the Musashi students who had been focused on defending. He smashed the repeated spell shields and limitless defensive divine protections that the students gained from Toori’s ether supply.

“No one has touched that wall and returned alive! If death is seen as the end of the performance, it is your duty to the world to let the curtain close with your judgment!”

“Hey, everyone,” said Toori as he reached for the wall without turning around. “Stop that guy. He’s keeping me from flirting with Horizon.”

“Damn you!”

Innocentius produced spell light from the charm floating alongside his Mouse and he raised Stithos Porneia.

“Any power you might use to destroy that wall is an attack! In that case, I can stop you with Stithos Porneia!”

The bell-like sound of Stithos Porneia activating rang out and the air was split in a straight line.

“!?”

But once the sound of shattering glass followed it, everyone changed what they were doing.

The unusable weapons of the Musashi students produced noise.

“Is this…?”

And they came together while showing no sign of coming apart once more.

Stithos Porneia was no longer active.

“I cut it with Tonbokiri.”

At some point, a female warrior had appeared amid everyone else. She was catching her breath, kneeling, and holding a spear. Her clothes were cut all over, leaves and branches had caught on her, and cuts decorated her skin.

“Honda Futayo, Temporary Vice Chancellor of the Far East’s Musashi Ariadust Academy. I have arrived in response to my ruler Horizon Ariadust’s desire to live!”

Even after speaking, she did not stand. She had to have run full speed across the mountain between the land port and the eastern mountain barrier. It was similar to a sprinter running a long distance.

She could not move. Innocentius realized that and frowned once he noticed Lype Katathlipse on her back.

“Retrieve that, Tres España!! It belongs to you! And our troops are not to let the Far East have the power of a deadly sin either!!”

The enemy let out a cry and approached. Futayo groaned as she tried to stand up, but her knees gave out.

“Protect our commander!!”

The guard unit charged forward, surrounded her, and defended against the enemy.

All of them were injured and deeply exhausted, but they had come this far as Musashi’s guard unit.

And…

“Today, we have gathered all our chancellor’s officers. This is a good day!”

Mitotsudaira drew midair arcs with her silver chains and both Noriki and Tenzou lined up to strengthen their defenses.

Futayo looked up in surprise and found the second-in-command and all the others forcing smiles.

“You are being reckless,” she said blankly.

“Don’t say that. The Far East has lasted 160 years, so what’s another thirty seconds or so?”

That produced a shout from Innocentius.

“Then I request a confrontation! I will settle this in a confrontation with Musashi’s chancellor!”

“You must first defeat me, the vice chancellor!”

Futayo raised her voice while supported by all the others. Her expression was one of pure exhaustion, but she smiled a bit when she looked at the others around her.

“Sorry. I made you worry for me and support me, but I cannot even rely on you here.”

But…

“I too can easily last another thirty seconds or so.”

When the temporary vice chancellor declared she would buy them some time, Innocentius gnashed his teeth and Toori smiled.

“Mr. Pope, this won’t take long, so just wait there.” He pointed at Horizon. “And I have a prior engagement with her, so surely you can wait until that’s over. Of course, if you want to flirt with me that badly, I’m willing to hear you out.”

Everyone watched Toori’s hand.

The finger pointing at Horizon was sticking into the wall of light. It stabbed right through it and pressed against Horizon’s chest on the other side.

Everyone froze in place, Toori looked over at his hand, and they all yelled in unison.

“Sexual carelessness!?”

Immediately afterwards, Toori vanished from before the wall.

He had been thrown into the space the wall had created to recreate his sin.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 1B Chapter_40|Chapter 40]]
| [[Horizon:Volume_1B_Chapter_42|Chapter 42]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 1B Chapter 40

2014-05-02T22:18:56Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 40: She who Seeks the Realm of Speed */

==Chapter 40: She who Seeks the Realm of Speed==
[[Image:Horizon1B_647.jpg|thumb]]
''I want to think on the meaning

''Of that which is gained

''By losing something

'''Point Allocation (Succession)

Muneshige heard metallic noises from every single direction.

The wind carried the sounds of attacks, defense, and sparks.

Some were from his strikes and others were from strikes he deflected.

He wanted to avoid clashing weapons as much as he could. Metal was hard, but that was why a nick could lead to the entire blade breaking and a bend might not be reversible.

The Logismoi Oplo were top-class weapons that could repair themselves, but that did not mean he could use it with reckless abandon.

…''But I can’t worry about that against an opponent like this.

She was fast.

A repeated mixture of high-speed attacks came from every direction.

When he tried to evade, a counterattack would arrive and the butt of the spear would add on yet another attack.

If he moved his right leg out, she would try to cut off that leg. If he moved his shoulder forward, she would jab the spear toward it. If he drew back, she would push forward. If he moved forward, she would deliver a shower of jabs and other attacks.

The speed of her rotation was something her father, Tadakatsu, had lacked.

And the reason for that rotation speed was obvious.

…''A shorter spear and frequent use of the butt of the spear.

By rotating the spear like a baton, she could simultaneously attack, hold him in check, and defend. And once some space opened up, she could close that space with a jab. If the spear was deflected, she could reverse the rotation and attack from the opposite direction.

The shortened shaft raised her rotation speed and allowed her to switch direction more quickly.

The butt of the spear was not an emergency weapon for her. She used it just like the blade, so she could attack twice as often.

…''And she uses a spell!!

Shinto spells were based around cleansing impurities. Her spell would purify everything obstructing her speed, allowing her to use the full strength she had obtained in training.

She was likely purifying and reducing air resistance and weight quite a bit. She could raise her pure speed simply by reducing her number of actions.

…''Would you call this a chain of attacks?

It could also be called a never-ending series of attacks.

“Did you develop this chain of attacks to battle your father!?”

He put some distance between them with a powerful strike of Lype Katathlipse.

“…!”

But she did not respond. As if speaking would obstruct her speed, she kept her sharp gaze on the leading edge of her speed and continued moving.

Occasionally, she would spin her spear from one side of her body to the other in order to raise her attack speed even further. She used the spinning of the spear to gain some distance for her body.

Even her footwork and breathing were synchronized to her forward and back movements. She did not falter in the slightest.

She was fast.

Every motion led into the next and she did not stop when an attack was deflected.

As her blade flew about and landed grazing strikes, several red lines appeared on Muneshige’s skin.

The sound, the sparks, the wind, her dancing black hair, and everything else drew horizontal and vertical arcs.

…''But…

As Muneshige repeatedly used compressed contracts in the holy spell activator on his back, scraps of paper and a shimmering of the air scattered from it.

“Surely you can take this even further!”

As Muneshige’s speed began to rise, a twisted feeling filled Futayo’s heart.

She was fully focused on controlling her body.

She had no idle thoughts. All worldly desires could be easily sealed away with training and she always chanted a certain phrase before battle.

…''Just resist until you win!

Victory would lead to paradise. In that case, she just needed to keep quiet and win.

But a twisted feeling still arrived in that heart lacking idle thoughts. The feeling had some bitterness to it.

…''Here he comes!

Muneshige was raising his speed.

His method was simple. He used a holy spell that produced acceleration.

He would continually reproduce a compressed foothold needed for movement and use it to raise his entire body’s speed.

That method had to produce tremendous exhaustion during battle. Even now, the shimmering of heat was rising from the cross-shaped composite radiator on his back that expelled the heat extracted from his entire uniform.

His method was very unlike Futayo’s. Her exhaustion was purified as a type of impurity. If she raised her speed too much, the purification would be unable to keep up and the exhaustion would begin to build, but she would still have greater endurance during battle.

He used a high output for a quick battle.

She used a low output for a long battle.

That was why she had chosen a battle style including a great number of movements and frequent use of the butt of her spear. Doing so would build up her acceleration and reach her top speed more quickly.

…''But…

Her chain of speed was reaching its limit and he was beginning to push back.

She felt bitter.

After all, if he gave no thought to his exhaustion, his speed had no upper limit. If he gave no thought to the consequences and did not worry about damage to his body, he could instantly produce great speed and defeat her.

He was fast.

She recalled that morning when she had accelerated by purifying her stagnation and he had interfered.

The fact that she had not been at her top speed from the first step was no excuse. The same was surely true for him.

…''My speed is a direct result of my training.

Her Shinto purification did not strengthen her. It removed the excess and impurities to allow her true strength out. If she had lost, it meant her true strength had lost.

But his spell strengthened him. He was producing something greater than his true strength.

…''But I will still win!

This man had fought her father and he was still alive.

…''So I will win!

Her father’s name meant to ‘simply win’.

Her father had helped with the destruction of Mikawa. That destruction had been successful, but his enemy lived.

Had he won or had he lost?

She did not know. She knew the result, but she still did not know what to think.

But there was one way to know.

…''I must win.

Then she would learn the answer. And it would feel better than losing and learning the answer.

And so she raised the speed of her chain of attacks. She arrived at the highest point she had reached in her training with her father and Kazuno.

Muneshige judged his opponent as he moved at high speed.

…''Can you speed up even further!?

She began to attack even more quickly. Her chain of attacks was already fast enough that he was almost exclusively defending. The color red flew from both of them thanks to scrapes and shallow cuts, but he had more such injuries.

…''And her tactics are quite careful.

She had previously lost to him in a competition of speed, so she was challenging him at close range without using her legs much. She would approach and push to prevent him from moving freely.

It was a good tactic.

''But,'' he thought. ''It is too straightforward.

By using a chain of attacks, each one had to flow into the next.

Her focus on that meant the attacks themselves were less decisive than they might have been. In exchange for a continuing stream of attacks, she could not make her attacks any stronger. She was also worried he would move in toward her, so she was not throwing her weight into the attacks or extending her arms or body for greater reach.

Needless to say, even these attacks were dangerous at the speed she was moving. Even if she could not use a single decisive attack, raising her speed had made all of her attacks fatal.

…''But…

The lack of a single major attack meant she had no ups or downs.

By watching her flowing motions, he did not have to worry about what attack would come next.

He only had to determine when her high-speed motions would send the next attack.

And once he determined that, he had to move. First, he focused on the bottom of his feet.

“…!”

He moved.

He charged directly toward her.

In response, she swung her spear from left to right.

…''A good decision.

After all, she held the spear in her right hand. If an enemy charged in from the front and circled to the left, she would need to swing her spear around to her back.

By swinging from the left, she prevented him from circling to her left.

But Muneshige took action against the slash from his right.

“!”

He used his right hand to strike it with Lype Katathlipse’s blade.

He swung it left and upwards. Tonbokiri’s blade was deflected into the air and the butt end immediately rotated in from below.

Before the butt end of the spear could arrive, Muneshige ran right and to the front to reach Futayo’s back.

She rotated Tonbokiri vertically with the right side of her body, but this caused a slight delay. After spinning the weapon vertically to hold it in her right hand, she could not immediately attack to the left.

Before she could turn around, he adjusted his grip on his weapon and passed by the side of her back.

It was a simple opening.

To continue her chain of attacks, she had to keep Tonbokiri rotating. That rotation would be used as a jab or slash, but it was a wasted motion until it struck him. A vertical rotation was especially bad. It could not guide the enemy to the left or right and it was difficult to shift which side she held it on due to the weapon’s weight.

She used the motion of her opponent deflecting her attacks, so he could deflect it in such a way that she held it on one side and then circle around to the opposite side of her back. He could then do whatever he wanted.

…''But that is being too naïve.

Creating an opening like that was an elementary technique.

She was the daughter of the man who had inherited the name of the Peerless in the East. She would have been trained in how to handle this.

As Muneshige circled to the left side of her back, he watched his blade swing toward her.

If all went well, his strike would hit.

“…!?”

But she casually moved her body to the other side of Tonbokiri as it rotated vertically on her right side.

The rotating spear became an obstacle between his blade and her.

He understood what had happened.

She had let go of Tonbokiri as it rotated vertically and she had slipped through that rotation.

It was a simple action; she only had to take a step. That was enough to create a rotating barrier between her back and her foe.

But she had slipped through when it was rotating quickly enough to attack him.

…''How much training has she gone through!?

She then took control of the rotating shaft with her right wrist. Using the point of contact between the spear and her wrist, she altered its angle and speed.

It resembled a horizontal backhand that aimed to sweep out his feet as he ran toward her.

“!”

He jumped to the left.

She grabbed Tonbokiri’s shaft as it passed horizontally behind her waist and rotated her entire body to perform the right backhand strike, but he performed a high-speed aerial cartwheel to move behind her.

As he landed, he would swing Lype Katathlipse toward her.

Her backhand could not reach him there. The shaft was placed against the back of her waist, so she could not continue the swing.

This was not a naïve opening as before. This one was created by his speed outdoing hers.

But he saw her continue to move. She lowered her hips below the metal shaft that moved behind her in a backhand motion.

Her hands remained on the shaft and she rotated Tonbokiri over her head as she sat. With her waist no longer obstructing its rotation, she spun the spear toward the spot he would land in.

And it was going to hit.

Futayo did not hesitate to act.

She swung Tonbokiri horizontally toward the spot at which Muneshige would land.

Just as she thought she had him, she heard a single noise.

It was a metallic noise.

It was the sound of his feet landing after shrinking his body down as he cartwheeled through the air.

He had landed on Tonbokiri’s shaft.

He had shrunk down as much as possible and achieved a grip on the swinging shaft with the soles of his shoes.

“…!”

After landing on the shaft, he turned toward her.

He was about to attack.

She was sitting, so she could not evade.

But she made a certain decision.

“You are mine!!”

As Muneshige started to run along the spear’s shaft, he felt something off about his movements.

He was trying to move toward her.

…''But the distance is growing.

He was moving away from Futayo.

He had been within arm’s reach, but now he was a few steps away.

…''What is going on!?

And then he caught on. The socket controlling Tonbokiri’s extension was in her hand.

The spear’s length could be altered. Its greatest length was six meters and its shortest was one meter.

She quickly extended its shaft as far as it would go with him on top. A distance of six meters would require several steps.

And then he heard her speak.

“Tonbokiri!”

He knew that shout meant she would use the cutting ability.

Tonbokiri could cut anyone reflected in its blade.

He did not know how much it had accepted her, but she could likely activate it normally.

And so he looked behind him. The horizontal blade contained his reflection.

An instant later, he heard her voice.

“Bind, Tonbokiri!”

It all came down to a series of decisions.

First, Futayo saw Muneshige move.

He bent his upper body as if preparing to dive and collapsed atop Tonbokiri’s shaft.

But he could not escape its blade with just that.

Once it cut, it would all be over.

But she saw him take further action.

While lying atop the shaft, he stretched his right leg back and bent the ankle as far forward as he could manage.

“…!”

He covered the blade with the sole of his right shoe.

With the blade covered by his shoe and his body following the shaft, he was hidden from the blade.

It was no longer reflecting him.

The cutting ability did not activate, nothing happened, and Futayo was dumbfounded.

…''It did not work!?

As her confusion created a lethal opening, Muneshige let out a roar.

“I have neutralized its ability after reflecting on my previous failings!”

As he spoke, he gathered up his body.

“…!”

And he ran.

Muneshige ran in a perfectly straight line with the speed needed to climb a wall.

He wielded Lype Katathlipse in his right arm, but his enemy was positioned to the left. On his second step, he stood up and rotated his entire body clockwise.

He was positioned for a right elbow jab and he performed a right backhand to slam Lype Katathlipse into Futayo who was still sitting.

It hit.

He heard a dry sound resembling breaking bones or snapping wood and the wet sound of struck flesh. Futayo’s body and Tonbokiri were knocked away.

“…!”

As she flew about a dozen meters, Futayo’s black hair trailed after her. With Tonbokiri still in her hand, she and it tore into the ground, rolled, and finally came to a stop.

Following that, the only motion was Muneshige landing with smoke and a shimmering of heat coming from the radiator behind him.

The people saw Futayo as she was knocked away and stopped moving.

Musashi’s broadcast committee had pursued Futayo on Neshinbara’s instructions. As soon as they caught up and began broadcasting the battle live, the result had shown itself.

The one left standing was Muneshige.

The students acting as commentators were speechless. Muneshige merely took a deep breath, did not bother wiping away his sweat, and turned toward the broadcast committee members when he noticed them.

He held up Lype Katathlipse to show them.

“I will now fire on the Musashi with Lype Katathlipse. The fleet’s ether extraction and supply will provide approximately 20% power, which is enough to destroy a single ship, so I must ask the residents of Musashi to quickly evacuate.”

He explained what he was about to do and that Musashi had lost.

“Rescuing Princess Horizon will be meaningless if the Musashi cannot depart. We can surround the Musashi and take her back once our reinforcements arrive. That is how this will end.”

He then began walking up the mountain and toward the Musashi.

But he stopped before taking even a few steps.

The broadcast committee’s film equipment moved to discover why.

The people watching the scene via sign frames heard a voice before they saw the motion.

“Kh.”

It was half a growl and half a groan.

But the short breath had indeed come from Futayo who lay on the ground in the distance.

“It can’t be.”

The commentators turned to look in the same direction as Muneshige.

Futayo had not moved.

“…Kh.”

But they heard a voice. However, that slowly led to Futayo’s hips rising. Soon she was up on her knees.

“…”

She then collapsed once more, but did not give up.

“…”

She tried to get up again. Her arms, neck, and back moved unsteadily. She had yet to fully recover from the damage, but she continued moving even when she collapsed yet again.

“Is this…?”

“Yes, Honda-san is still in the fight!” said the commentator.

Futayo almost looked like a shadow as she swayed but still stood up with Tonbokiri in her right arm.

“Honda-san stood up!!”

Futayo used her dim consciousness to think.

Her thoughts were about as clear as when she first woke up each morning. She would suddenly find her thoughts digressing in ways she did not remember and almost forget what she had been thinking about before.

But she knew one thing for sure.

…''I…stood.

But she did not quite remember why she had stood, why she had fallen, or why she was here.

…''If I fall…do I lose?

She tried to remember how it had been when her father and Kazuno had been with her. That had been training. And during training, falling had meant she lost. She did not recall having fallen recently, but it was not that she had never done so.

But that was wrong.

“It didn’t mean I lost.”

''That’s right,'' she thought.

During training, falling had not meant she would be helped up. It had meant another attack.

…''Is that right?

She recalled the times when she had fallen to the ground during training. She had not been able to use her legs. She had not been able to swing her arms properly. She had known she needed to stand and a spear blade had stabbed toward her.

The clear memory of that sharp blade snapped her thoughts into focus.

…''That’s right. When training with my father…

She thought and remembered the weight in her hand.

It was Tonbokiri. That weapon was viewed as synonymous with her father. Why did she hold it now?”

“That is because…”

She had gained it after losing so many things.

Her father and Kazuno were gone. She would never train with them again. She had gained enemies, she had gained battles to fight, and she had inherited Tonbokiri. But…

“Ah.”

She took in a breath, looked up into the sky, and released a shout toward the ground.

“…!!”

She felt like she was waking from sleep and that was when she truly understood the meaning of loss. Her heart understood clearly how precious the things she had lost were. After casting aside society, obligation, and reputation, she embraced the feeling as an emotion.

“———!!”

She bent her body and raised her voice.

But that voice ended when she ran out of breath.

…''My emotions can be stopped by running out of breath!

She took in a breath but did not let out another shout. After all…

…''You do not gain a second chance at a first shout.

So instead, she asked a question with her head still downcast.

“Tachibana Muneshige, I would like to ask something.”

She could tell her voice and body were trembling due to the damage she had taken.

“If you continue past here, will the Far East lose its ruler?”

“Testament.”

She heard Muneshige turn around twelve meters in front of her.

That meant he was willing to answer her.

…''That is fortunate.

In exchange for losing her father, Kazuno, and the days of training with them, she had gained a battlefield that would answer her questions.

And so she spoke again to the one who stood before her on that battlefield.

“What are your thoughts on the death of the Far East’s ruler?”

“That is what our ruler desires,” answered Muneshige. “And it is a samurai’s duty to give him what he desires.”

“I see. In that case, my father, Tadakatsu, defeated you. After all…” Futayo raised her head and looked at her opponent through her disheveled hair. “The destruction of Mikawa was the desire of my father’s ruler and he successfully protected that desire.”

Thus her father had been victorious.

In hindsight, it was a simple matter. Regardless of the emotions inside her now, her father had remained true to himself to the end. And he had left her with the weapon that was synonymous with his identity.

The rest was easy. She simply had to remain true to herself. And what must she do if she wished to be Honda Tadakatsu’s daughter?

“I have yet to meet her, but the ruler I must serve as a samurai is currently facing an unjust suicide.”

“And what will you do?”

“As you intend to force that suicide on her, I shall defeat you as a samurai of the Far East.”

She was injured and exhausted, but…

“A samurai does not serve herself. She protects her ruler and gives that ruler what they desire.”

“The ruler you intend to serve, Princess Horizon, might fill this world with war.”

“Ha ha,” she laughed. “That is on an even greater scale than my father’s ruler. Has the changing of the age already made the destruction of Mikawa an insignificant thing? I would expect no less of my ruler. She is well suited to one day rule the Far East.”

Futayo prepared to fight. Without gathering too much strength in her knees, she tensed her thighs enough to show off the flow of her muscles. The crack in her right ribs brought a creaking pain just from breathing.

“…!”

But a sign frame suddenly appeared near her.

“Reinforcements are coming! We’ve gathered everyone we can!”

She saw the broadcast committee raise their eyebrows in a smile and clench their fists.

And she heard a voice from the sign frame next to her face.

“It’s me! It’s the other Honda! The idiot has gone to rescue the princess! If you need some of his ether supply, I can have him begin the procedure.”

“That will not be necessary.”

After all….

“Your voices are enough!”

That comment was followed by countless new sign frames opening on top of each other. The second in command of the guard unit, the other members of the unit, Musashi’s chancellor’s officers, Musashi’s student council, and many others she had never met all spoke together with their respective battlefields in the background.

“Go, temporary vice chancellor!!”

She nodded, but did not speak her response.

She simply leaned forward and launched her body in the same direction.

She had lost a lot, but she had gained more than just a battlefield and enemies.

“———!!”

This new emotion produced a shout from Futayo and she clashed with Muneshige.

Muneshige judged his opponent as they exchanged blows and evaded.

…''She’s slow?

He did not need to ask why. She was injured.

He had run along Tonbokiri and struck her with his full strength. Given their weight difference, she could not have escaped unscathed.

''But,'' he thought. ''I used Lype Katathlipse’s blade.

Rotating his body to attack was the proper way of using the weapon. It had been a backhand attack, but the double-edged Lype Katathlipse should have sliced through her.

However, she had done the very best she could to evade. She had realized her position prevented her from evading his attack.

…''And so she remained crouched down.

She had lowered her body to guide Lype Katathlipse’s blade lower.

And in the instant the attack struck, she had raised her body.

As a result, the shield at the base of the blade had hit her instead of the blade itself. She had taken the shield attack full on, but it was far better than taking a blade attack.

…''That was an excellent decision.

He could sense the high level of Tadakatsu’s training. Achieving damage control by reflexively knowing which part of the body to sacrifice was not taught in the academies. And the effect of that skill was clear. She had taken damage, but she was still moving.

Yet she was slow. She was obviously much slower than before.

…''What is this?

Her movements somehow felt faster than before.

She would just barely evade, she would not deflect attacks, and her slashes and jabs whipped up the wind differently from before.

Wondering why, he began watching her movements more carefully. And then he figured it out.

…''Her chain of attacks is lacking?

That chain of attacks moved her entire body at high speed. With her exhaustion and pain, a slight distortion should have prevented her from continuing it.

But she was managing. With her exhaustion and pain in mind, she was lowering the number of movements in the chain.

She was lowering the burden. Sometimes she would flow into the next movement in the proper way, but other times she took irregular actions.

But this produced one major result.

…''Her chain of attacks is no longer limited to close range! She has added in attacks with a running start!

And there was one other difference from before.

Muneshige was moving his feet less than during their previous clash.

…''That is because she is moving more.

She could not rely on her chain of high-speed attacks and defense, so she would move her feet to search out openings and to evade.

In the previous match, she had known she could not outdo his speed, so she had not challenged him in speed. She had moved as little as possible and used her chain of martial arts techniques to challenge him to a close range exchange of offense and defense.

He recalled the battle she had fought on the bridge in front of Musashi Ariadust Academy. Her opponent had danced while mostly remaining in a single spot and she made repeated high-speed attacks that surrounded that opponent.

That had not been a chain of attacks like before; it had been repeated high-speed movement and attacks.

What would happen if she took that speed and added in this partial chain of attacks?

The fact that it was only partial made it difficult to predict and it included heavier hits that used a running start.

“…!”

Muneshige clenched his teeth and made up his mind.

He was outdoing her in speed. He could not allow himself to forget that fact. Whether she had a complete chain of attacks or a partial one, he would win if he was faster.

His divine protection reinforced his physical body, so he could produce as much speed as necessary as long as he was prepared for the exhaustion after the fact.

And so he raised his speed.

Wind and sparks flew in the evening clearing.

The wind was powerful and the scattering sparks decorated the top and bottom of the wind until they vanished into the setting sun.

The sounds were dozens of times as numerous, but a voice suddenly joined them.

“Wow,” said the broadcast committee student holding the filming device. “This is even more amazing than before!”

Shadowy afterimages began to appear in the clearing.

The afterimages were of Futayo attacking, Futayo evading, Futayo defending, Futayo spinning around, and Muneshige responding to all of those actions. So many shadows appeared that the word “many” was insufficient. Each time the wind and metallic noises rang out, the clearing was filled with sparks.

Futayo could be seen by her blue armor and calmly fluttering black hair.

Muneshige could be seen by his red uniform and the black and white Logismoi Oplo.

They both attacked head on, attempted to circle behind the other, and avoided receiving an attack from the side.

The ensemble of clashing blades sounded like strange music based in a single sound.

“———!!”

One of them let out a shout and the other replied.

“…!!”

And their speed rose.

It rose, continued to rise, and did not stop.

Futayo worked to continue head on because she felt she would pass out if she lost focus.

Her body remembered the motions.

She had learned these motions when training with her father.

That had continued for over a decade.

She did not think about what she should do. She tried things and learned with her body.

Her training had taught her body what to do and her experience accurately guided her movements.

And so she simply released herself.

How about this attack? How about this evasion? How about this defense?

She tried it all and built up what worked.

She found at what speed her attacks would hit and went with that.

Her opponent had tremendous speed. His reinforced body could raise that speed as far as necessary.

But what did that matter?

Her speed was built upon her training.

Her muscles, balance, and timing were taken to the extreme.

In that case, she could cut away all else.

She would not rely on her spell until she absolutely had to.

She was still inexperienced with her purification and she could only purify a certain amount of stagnation.

If she relied on the spell, the spell’s limits would become the limits of her own speed.

…''I cannot allow that.

Her father had not been training her in spell usage.

The spell had merely been one part of her combat training.

And yet…

“…!”

She had forgotten that recently. She had felt unease and impatience over having no actual battle experience and she had felt a fear which could also be called vainglory. Those things had led her to show off her spell before she had sharpened her own movements.

…''But I lost!

Her spell was not the way forward. She could not win like that. Then what was the foundation of her speed?

…''I know the answer!

It was her body.

There was something she needed to do before using the spell to cleanse the impurities.

…''I must eliminate the stagnation in my own movements!

She would rely on the spell and then move. She would use all of her training and then rely on the gods.

…''Yes, that’s right.

She would raise her precision.

She would eliminate the waste.

She would cast aside her hesitation.

She would use her entire body, she would not be bound by her chained-together movements, and she would move with the speed created by her own movements. She would create the extreme form of the movements one could only make after long years of training.

She could wait to ask the gods for help until after doing all that.

“…!!”

If she did that, she would be able to purify all of the stagnation.

If her opponent was reinforcing his body, she would become nothing but speed.

When she took that to its extreme, no instantaneous reinforcement could stand up to her training.

…''Go.

She raised her precision and poured out all her strength.

…''Go!

Her body could go further. She became painfully aware that she was made of flesh and bone, but that told her she had not gone far enough. She had to sharpen her movements until she felt nothing.

…''Go!!

She could not fear her opponent no matter how fast he might be.

“Futayo!!”

She heard a voice. She did not know whose. She did not try to figure out whose. Her eyes did nothing but watch her movements and her ears could only sense the wind.

But the next word reached her ears clearly.

“Win!!”

And she acted to do just that.

Muneshige continually pursued the change in Futayo’s movements.

Her lacking chain of attacks had suddenly grown more honed.

…''This is not a chain of attacks!

Her attacks were growing more indefinite.

Her movements were those of pursuit. She was constantly releasing her body’s pent up energy toward a single point.

…''But it does not seem to be reaching anything.

Rather than a chain of attacks, she would pursue the attack she herself threw and use that in her next attack.

It looked like her speed was growing with each attack, but that was not actually the case.

She was shedding the excess holding back her attack speed.

To her, the motions of her attacks were honing her speed.

The more slashes and jabs she released, the sharper her movements grew. It was a lot like a baby bird initially being unable to flap its wings properly but learning how to do so as it pecked at the inside of the nest.

…''She’s fast.

Her movements looked like she was tearing at the air with a thin blade to create an even sharper tip.

Muneshige responded by raising his own speed. As he increased the pressure of his spell and a shimmering of heat rose from his radiator, he avoided her attacks and unleashed attacks of his own.

But Futayo did not receive those attacks.

Defense would only be stagnation for her, so she did nothing but evade.

“…!”

And with those evasions, she moved forward.

Muneshige finally saw her directly before him.

She had caught up.

As he moved at high speed, he saw her expressionless face with slightly raised eyebrows. Blood blew into the wind and her hair was a mess.

…''But she is not looking at me.

She was looking behind him.

“Is that her intended destination!?”

As if to answer, Futayo tilted her forehead forward.

“…”

She struck his chest as if to shove him out of the way.

And so he took action. He further increased the pressure of his bodily reinforcement and travelled ahead of her speed.

This ultra high speed step back put him in front of her speed so he could intercept her as she approached her limit.

But just as he prepared his stance, she raised her speed even further.

“!?”

In that moment, he saw that the wind, sand, and everything else around her were not obstructing her movements.

…''She purified them…

She had been using the same spell the entire time.

But she had been holding it back by focusing on her body’s movements.

Now, she released it.

She raised her head in front of him.

Her gaze stabbed into his eyes, but she was still not looking at him.

She was looking further back.

“Kh…”

He knew that the destination of her purification was not where he stood.

It was much further along. That was the location she sought with her true limit based in her training.

“Kh!”

As she approached, she gathered a bit of strength in the right arm holding Tonbokiri.

Muneshige leaped toward her.

He gave a compact swing of Lype Katathlipse.

“This ends here!”

And he leaped.

Through the sign frames, everyone saw what happened next.

Futayo walked past Muneshige as he charged in headlong.

The powerfully raised precision of her movements and the chained-together purifications treated even Muneshige as a stagnation and her training provided her with the movements needed to surpass him.

In an instant, her feet planted on Muneshige’s raised knee, the chest of his uniform, his shoulder, and his back.

“…”

And she descended to the ground on the other side.

But everyone saw another movement.

After Futayo passed by him, Muneshige planted his left leg in the air.

“…!”

A tremendous metallic noise rang out and he turned around.

He sacrificed his left leg to kick off the air and rotate 180 degrees.

“Ah!”

The young man in a red uniform let out a roar and leaped with his greatest speed yet.

''This should work,'' thought Muneshige.

Having his opponent step over him had taught him her speed and how she achieved it. And from her countless attacks and evasions, he understood the speed of her attacks.

He was certain that Futayo’s speed would rise even further.

But she now had her back to him. Even if she used Tonbokiri’s long shaft to send a backhand blow behind her, that very same long shaft would be slowed when it reached her body in the middle.

Even if she tried to swing Tonbokiri in her hand, he could attack before it reached him.

“…!”

So he moved forward to hit.

But then he saw Tonbokiri come apart in her hands.

She had removed the expansion device and held only the shaft and blade that formed the spear’s core.

It was lighter and it was shorter. She had inherited this weapon from her father, but to make it her own, she eliminated the stagnation it had contained when she inherited it.

It looked like she was coming to a stop.

“!”

And in an instant, she performed a back snap to send Tonbokiri flying up from below. The short shaft did not strike her body, the butt end passed vertically below her arm, and she completed a full swing.

Its speed was on an entirely different level from before.

She did not fully turn around for this counter, but the counter itself was directly facing Muneshige.

It would hit him, so he made an immediate decision.

He would use his right leg.

“Go!”

With a metallic roar, he kicked off the air with that leg.

Without thinking, he simply launched himself toward her left side.

He flew, but this would mean he could no longer use his right or left legs.

…''But I will win!

He rotated his body and prepared Lype Katathlipse. He would strike her with the blade as he passed by her.

She was still swinging up the right backhand, so she had her back to the left.

He would hit.

Futayo took instant action.

As Tonbokiri compactly rotated up and around, she slipped underneath it.

…''That is the technique she used when training with her father.

Her body had chosen it almost subconsciously.

She circled to the other side of Tonbokiri and grabbed the rotating shaft in her left hand.

A moment later, Muneshige’s Lype Katathlipse reached Tonbokiri.

“!”

And the two weapons struck.

The core of Tonbokiri was slender, so it bent and creaked.

“…”

As soon as his attack was blocked, Muneshige received an attack.

She launched a rapid-fire shower of attacks that exceeded her previous chain of attacks. In an instant, dozens of attacks reached him.

“!!”

The armor on the arms and legs he used to defend shattered and the right arm holding Lype Katathlipse broke.

“!”

Lype Katathlipse flew into the air.

As he looked up into the air after it, a slash from Tonbokiri fell from above.

If it hit, he would die. What would happen if he died? For him, he would simply disappear. But for the one he left behind…

“…”

As soon as the one precious to him appeared in his mind, his back struck the ground and the blade stopped before his eyes.

Sound returned to his ears.

That sound was the wind and gasping breaths.

“Once you defeated me, you did not finish me off, so I will return the favor.”

He heard her turn around while still panting and he saw her swaying unsteadily, but he remained on the ground.

“Well done. You win.”

“That is not the case.”

He saw her slowly gather the fallen parts of Tonbokiri and rebuild it with her trembling hands. The parts shook and clacked together a few times, but it finally took form.

“You had likely lost from before this battle even began. You may be able to evade the cutting of my father’s Tonbokiri.”

Once Tonbokiri was whole again, she held it to her right.

“But my father had already cut the name of Garcia that refers to your speed. If it appears that I was the victor here, that is because my father had decided the outcome ahead of time.”

“Are you offering my loss up to your predecessor?”

“You are not one who would lose to one as inexperienced as me.”

“You have my thanks.”

With that one comment, Muneshige closed his eyes. Rather than the intense pain assaulting his body, it was the massive weariness and sense of relief that took away his consciousness.

Futayo picked up Lype Katathlipse and held it into the air.

She had won, but she did not know what exactly she had won or what she should do now.

She suddenly realized this had been her first real battle.

The new experience of defeating an opponent belatedly caused her to tremble.

“—————”

She shouted out.

She had learned, realized, and come to know many different things, but she still did not fully understand them. And so she let out a roar.

She recalled what she should do when she defeated an enemy leader.

She raised her voice, raised Tonbokiri, and let her sweat scatter in the wind.

“The enemy leader Tachibana Muneshige has been defeated!”

A short distance away from the land port battlefield, a group of Tres Españan civil officials and students with support duty had been evacuated to the outskirts of Mikawa. Among them, one female student fell to her knees when she heard the report of Muneshige’s defeat.

“Master Muneshige…” she muttered blankly.

Around her, the students began putting together a rescue team for Muneshige.

At about the same time, the Musashi assault team centered around Toori finally arrived at the Tres Españan interrogation ship even as their numbers continued to dwindle. As warriors exited the ship, the Musashi unit formed a half-circle formation to protect Toori as he headed for the Andamio de la Ejecución. The Tres Españan warriors received support from Stithos Porneia as the pope chancellor ran back and they began breaking into the unit protecting Toori.

The battle over Horizon had entered its final stage.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 1B Chapter_39|Chapter 39]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 1 Chapter_41|Chapter 41]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 1B Chapter 40

2014-05-02T22:15:16Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 40: She who Seeks the Realm of Speed */

Horizon:Volume 1B Chapter 39

2014-05-02T22:13:16Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 39: He who Gouges Holes in the Mainstream */

==Chapter 39: He who Gouges Holes in the Mainstream==
[[Image:Horizon1B_623.jpg|thumb]]
''What must I do

''To regain my original position?

'''Point Allocation (Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems)

On the deck of the Musashi’s first central ship, everyone gradually gathered around Neshinbara.

Ohiroshiki and Hassan had brought the food cart up top, Shirojiro and Heidi had finished dealing with Musashi’s accounting issues brought on by Mikawa’s residential ship, Asama had left the derrick mast, and Naruze and Naito had been healed.

“What’s happening now?”

“Well,” answered Neshinbara. “Honda-kun is buying us some time with the pope-chancellor while Noriki-kun confronts Galileo.”

Everyone frowned when they heard the name Galileo.

“Hm… If you ask me, the odds are about 7-3.”

“At least say which side is Noriki, Margot.”

“Noriki-kun’s contract is with the Suwa Shrine, so it’s hard to comment from the Asama Shrine’s viewpoint.”

“You all are pretty harsh on others, aren’t you?” Neshinbara’s shoulders drooped, but he quickly fixed his posture. “At any rate, the battlefield has begun to move and the next stage has begun.”

What did that mean?

“Our main forces have finally begun confronting their hero-class fighters.”

The black-clad demon looked at the boy who stood before him on the battlefield.

He had confronted this very same opponent a few hours earlier. He had said his name was Noriki.

He did not have the strength to damage Galileo with his attacks and he could not avoid Galileo’s spells.

…''Nothing has changed.

Fighting an opponent who had not changed would accomplish nothing, so Galileo spoke.

“Could you give me a moment to think?”

As he spoke, he heard a sudden noise.

“…?”

It sounded like a paper bag splitting in the distance.

He looked over and saw the Tres Españan ''acorazado'' beginning to fire on the Musashi again while it fell back to the south.

…''It is going to get noisy again.

It did not particularly matter. As Galileo began pondering the value of this opponent once more, that opponent tilted his head.

“The pope won’t be happy if you don’t do your job.”

“It is important to think things through, boy. Innocentius has always been easily worked up. When he used to jump out the academy window, I warned him countless times to think carefully before jumping out, but I never taught him it was okay to jump from an even higher place without thinking.”

“It’s okay to jump out if you think about it first?”

That was obvious, so Galileo saw no reason to respond. What mattered was giving things thought. As long as one thought, the rest did not matter.

''But,'' thought Galileo as he considered his opponent’s value.

The Musashi side was receiving an ether supply from their chancellor. They could freely use Blessing-powered spells.

…''But that of course has its limit.

Aoi Toori’s ability came from a transmission divine protection, so he acted as a tap connecting the others to the Musashi’s power.

He would bring the ether inside himself and then pass it on to the others.

And there was a limit to how much ether he could hold inside himself.

That was known as one’s maximum internal Blessing quantity.

His was the ability to transmit that which was inside him, so he could not send out more ether than his own internal Blessing quantity. And in general, one’s internal Blessing quantity was equal to one’s age and stopped growing at about age thirty. Training and divine protection could extend it, but Galileo had seen the data on Aoi Toori.

…''His internal Blessing quantity is in the upper forties or lower fifties.

It was an abnormally high number for his age, but it was likely supported by his contract with a performing arts transmission god. In all likelihood, he had been training to convey his feelings and thoughts to others for a long time.

''But,'' thought Galileo. ''Forty or fifty is much too small a Blessing quantity to act as a tap for a giant aerial ship like the Musashi.

Even if he passed a single Blessing to each person, he could only aid around fifty at a time. There were many times that number on the battlefield.

He was not passing a massive amount of Blessings to all of them. He was choosing the most opportune moments to supply them with the bare minimum amount needed to activate their defensive divine protections or spells.

…''But even that is amazing.

No other king could manage it.

A king wished to live on as the nation’s leader and to stand above his subjects. Kings wanted to connect themselves to the authority of a god because they were a symbol of immortality and power.

But putting one’s life on the line to transmit all of one’s own ability was too great a risk. Also, possessing multiple divine protections would split their effectiveness, so he could not have any others while doing this.

This method put him one wrong step away from losing everything. He could not even possess a divine protection that would protect him or raise his own abilities.

…''He is the opposite.

Innocentius and the kings of other nations focused on the centralization of power. They gathered all authority and riches on themselves and tried to move the nation while using their own plan as the foundation of it all.

This boy opposing them now was the opposite of that.

It was interesting.

That which lay outside the mainstream was valuable for its very existence. After all, if it could exist outside the mainstream, it might be the truth. Whatever one might say about the mainstream, the joy of holding the truth in one’s hands was the ultimate entertainment.

…''How very interesting!

“In that case, I wish to know more. Yes, I am done thinking now.”

Galileo faced forward once more. The boy named Noriki stood there. Galileo saw no meaning in the fight, but touching that which lay outside the mainstream had value.

And so he gathered strength in his palm.

What would happen when he used the spell that had knocked the boy to the ground before?

How would the boy respond to the spell he had already seen once before?

With expectation in his heart, Galileo raised his arm toward the boy in front of him.

In response, the boy crossed his legs just once, rose sharply up on his toes, and turned a bit to the side. He then charged in to throw a punch.

“Too slow.”

Everyone on the battlefield saw what happened in the next moment.

Noriki took a direct hit from Galileo’s spell and was dragged along the ground.

In an instant, the sound of someone tearing into the earth caused everyone to stop moving. After a moment they spoke.

“A gag?”

Galileo was more surprised by the result than the surrounding people.

…''Mh?

To his right, someone was doubled over and partway embedded in the ground.

The boy had not evaded in the slightest. He had rushed in and taken a direct hit from the spell.

…''Did he have some reason to do that?

Galileo looked around. Those who had stopped to look his way frantically and awkwardly turned back to their proper opponent.

“U-um… Take this.”

“O-ow, that hurt.”

They were gradually building back up their energy. In a few seconds, they would return to a full-blown fistfight.

But the surprise of the others meant the boy was not working along with them.

Galileo could not sense the effects of a spell and they had not prepared a sniper.

He looked around in the distance once more but still found nothing.

…''Then did he truly just take my attack?

Galileo did not understand it.

…''But this may be part of his method as one who stands outside the mainstream.

By taking his opponent’s attack and enduring, he could prove his strength.

“I believe the wrestling that has caught on in the New World and M.H.R.R. has an element of that to it.”

“I was born in Sagami.”

A voice rose from the ground. With the sound of tumbling stones, the boy rose to his feet while trembling.

His body shook and his eyes were unfocused, but he faced Galileo.

Galileo was just about to ask if he was okay.

“…!”

But the boy leaned toward Galileo and threw a fist with a torii-style emblem floating above it.

Galileo evaded. He used a spell to do so, so he circled behind the boy in an instant.

He now stood directly behind him.

And the boy was pulled forward by his own fist, so he could not turn around.

“Kh.”

He moved a few steps forward and fell to one knee.

Galileo heard him let out a breath. His body trembled and was clearly still suffering from the shock of the previous blow. He had to have been just barely managing to stand.

But he took in a breath, and stood up once more. He swayed unsteadily as he turned around on his right leg.

“This is tough.”

“What is with you?”

It was not that he was highly durable. He had taken severe damage.

…''He is only able to stand because the ground was made of dirt.

The first time, he had been dragged along the hard ground of the schoolyard. But this dirt ground had absorbed some of the shock. And as this was the second time, he had been prepared for what kind of attack was coming.

But that still left him just barely able to stand. He had not endured especially well.

“Are you buying time?”

Musashi’s vice president who Innocentius was running toward had also chosen to stall for time, so Galileo assumed this boy was doing the same.

But the boy’s body lightly shook. As his dirty body trembled, he moved to the right and a torii-style emblem appeared on his right arm.

“I will now defeat you.”

Galileo did not understand what he meant.

…''What?

He did not know how the boy could be saying something so baseless.

He could finish this with a single use of his spell and the boy would be unable to avoid it in his current state.

“Do you understand what my spell is?”

“It recreates the movements of heavenly bodies,” said the boy. “Your movement spell and the one that knocks me to the ground both use the motion of revolution.”

“An excellent answer. Yes, the former is Heliocentrism and the latter is Geocentrism. Heliocentrism is a spell which causes me to revolve around a target. It moves me at the same speed as the earth’s revolution, so it is impossible to see with the naked eye.”

And…

“Geocentrism causes a target to revolve around me. I would prefer not to use it very much, but its existence was necessary in order to promote Heliocentrism over it.”

“It seems to me you use it an awful lot.”

“I have only had you revolve 90 degrees so far, so let me warn you. Next time, it will be a full 360 degrees.”

“I’ve already said what I need to say.”

The boy deepened his stance, regulated his breathing, and lowered his hips.

“…!”

In the instant Galileo saw him throw the punch, he used Heliocentrism on the boy.

In the next instant, everyone on the battlefield saw the result.

Light burst between Galileo and Noriki.

Everyone heard a clear echo resembling shattering glass. The scattering light was deflected in every direction. It backlit the two of them, provided direct light, and then vanished.

Everyone turned toward that instantaneous rumbling and light.

But as they watched, the boy had not collapsed as before.

He was unharmed and he was preparing his next punch.

The loss of weight in his hand and the lack of damage to the boy both confused Galileo.

…''Why?

He did not understand, but he knew one thing for certain.

“My Geocentrism…”

“I destroyed it. And it will remain destroyed for at least as long as this confrontation lasts.”

Hearing that, Galileo looked toward his palm.

He willed the spell to activate as always. He imagined his internal Blessing ether gathering in his palm and built up the puzzle of his will. How, what, why, with what, and for what purpose? He passed ether through his will as he answered those questions, removed the excess, and created a spell.

“…”

But Geocentrism did not appear in his hand. He could think it and feel it, but the spell would not complete.

…''What is this?

He suddenly looked up at the boy and the spot the boy stood in.

…''It can’t be.

A few different figures were collapsed on the battlefield. Those figures were groaning and trying to move and they were a mix between Musashi’s side and K.P.A. Italia’s side. But Galileo looked at one individual in particular: the commander of K.P.A. Italia’s guard unit.

He was the commander of the unit that had secured Princess Horizon the night before and he had defeated the boy who now stood before Galileo.

He had said that the boy’s punch had not affected him at all.

Galileo’s experiences had told him that the man had been exactly right.

…''But what if this boy is not contained within that normal and “mainstream” line of thinking?

Galileo saw the torii-style emblem on the boy’s arm gradually disappear.

The one he had seen on Ariadust’s schoolyard had been a Suwa Shrine created spell named March. Galileo knew enough Far Eastern to know the name referred to the 3rd month.

That gave him an idea as to what had destroyed his Geocentrism.

'''“Created Spell ‘January’: Complete.”

“So that is it!” Galileo understood. “You used March and you likely also used February to arrive at January!”

“There’s no need to say it if you understand.”

''No,'' thought Galileo. ''Speaking it aloud to check is an important part of memorization.

“Boy! Your spell is made to overcome how weak your punches are. You dedicate two punches and use those dedications to activate a spell to strengthen your third!”

“Don’t call me weak. As long as I can discipline my younger siblings, this is enough.”

The boy prepared for another attack.

“A warning.”

He pulled back and clenched his right fist.

“The first punch is a dedication to ignore any defense. The second is a dedication to ensure the impact will reach any target. So as long as I am aware of it, there is nothing I can’t punch. And…”

Galileo sensed danger.

…''Heliocentrism!

If he instantly circled behind the boy, there was nothing the boy could do. A demon’s outer shell and weight were a weapon in and of themselves. If he struck the boy with his arm, that would end it. He simply had to ensure the boy’s fist did not reach him. But…

“This is the third one. I already punched this in the schoolyard and just now.”

His punching motion caused light to scatter and sound to fill the air.

The next thing Galileo knew, he was not moving and the boy had struck his gut with another powerless punch.

“This is the second time.”

'''“Created Spell ‘February’: Complete.”

“…!?”

Galileo frantically moved back. The boy jabbed his right arm upwards, opened his hand, and clenched it again.

“It looks like you won’t understand if I don’t, so I’ll say it.”

He took in a breath, pulled back his fist, and spoke as if confirming it with himself.

“I will defeat you with the third punch.”

Galileo moved back as if forced away by those words.

…''This is…

He moved back and took a defensive stance. At the moment, both Heliocentrism and Geocentrism had been destroyed.

…''Interesting!

What was happening? No, more importantly, he felt something resembling surprise or joy. He realized just how far on the “mainstream” side he had been.

And then the boy opened his mouth once more. Galileo waited expectantly for his words. He wondered what kind of non-mainstream thing he would say now.

“It will be too late afterwards, so I will say it now. You have lost because you think of the heavenly bodies as something on a piece of paper, as something flat.”

“Well…”

“Can’t telescopes look straight up?”

That question brought a sudden thought to Galileo.

…''Come to think of it, I have not been able to look straight up in the heavens since I started using these things.

He looked up in thought and then something arrived from the sky.

It came from the very center of the sky above. It looked like a dot, but it flew down in an instant.

“Heretic Galileo! You’re mine!!”

It was a half-dragon. He was dressed up as an inquisitor and he was the one Galileo had knocked to the ground that afternoon.

Galileo remembered the noises he had heard from the Musashi before the fight began.

…''That was the sound of him being launched from the derrick!

At that time, he had only looked a bit into the air. If he had looked straight up into the heavens, things might have turned out differently.

There were two moons in the sky and a half-dragon flew in front of those two white spheres.

“!!”

And he struck.

Masazumi saw the explosion on the southern side of the land port.

…''Can’t they keep it a little quieter?

But that might just have been how battlefields were.

…''The boys probably love this kind of place.

Beyond the dust and fragments rising into the air, Urquiaga stood up while adjusting the angle of his head. Noriki had gotten on the ground to avoid the blast, but he now moved over to Galileo who had passed out while on his knees. Noriki lightly punched his sheep’s horn while an emblem appeared on his right fist. That was enough to knock Galileo to the ground.

“I kept my promise to defeat you with my third punch.”

“And that is where our violent teacher told us to punch them.”

As Masazumi tilted her head and wondered if that was how it worked, the pope sent a cloud of dust into the air as he ran toward her. He appeared to be ignoring Galileo’s situation, but that was the appropriate decision given the overall situation.

He held Stithos Porneia under his right arm as he ran, so Masazumi closed the novel in her hand.

“U-um…”

She was trying to buy time. She only needed to declare defeat once he arrived, but she wanted to hold the pope there for longer in order to buy even more time.

…''H-he’s going to crash into me!

Just before he stepped onto the battle-scarred ground, she drew back a bit and yelled.

“I lose! This counts as my loss! Um… I admit defeat!”

As soon as she finished speaking, the pope quickly braked. He jammed his shoes into the ground and gouged out an area of dirt almost ten meters long. While still in his sliding pose, he stopped within arm’s reach.

He was right in front of her.

The pope slid into place while almost toppling over forward. He was sweaty, panting, and muttering what sounded a lot like a curse. But he slowly straightened up, turned his back to her, and drank from a bottle of water he pulled out of his pocket.

He began drinking the entire bottle.

“U-um…uh…”

She felt it was none of her business, but she could not help herself.

“You shouldn’t drink only water. You need to get some other nutrients.”

The pope said nothing in response. His Mouse also said nothing as it looked at him worriedly and wandered back and forth in the air. Once he finished the water, he took a large breath, and turned quickly toward her. With Stithos Porneia under his arm and the bottle in his hand, he still managed to point at her.

“You lose!!”

“Eh? Oh… Yes.”

“Listen! First the negotiation and now this! That’s two wins in a row for me! Default game settings are best of three, so this is my official victory! Do you understand!? Hm!?”

“Yes,” she agreed half in surprised reflex.

…''Why do guys get so hung up over wins and losses? …And wait. Wasn’t the negotiation a draw? Does victory go to whoever claims it first?

“And listen up!”

“Eh? Wh-what is it?”

“Girls should dress like girls!!”

…''He’s lecturing me now!?

“And what are you even doing here!? Why is a young girl who isn’t even a warrior on the battlefield!? You’re lucky I’m the pope! If I wasn’t, I would have run you down without stopping! Honestly, this is why I can’t stand heathens! As pope, I won’t forgive you!!”

Masazumi could only bow, but once the pope-chancellor was finished yelling, he turned his back again and started to run off.

“You’re going to run again?”

“If I am not around to act as an example for the others, who will!? Well?”

With that said, he shouted toward his allies on the battlefield.

“Listen! Musashi’s vice president may have prepared a ridiculous diversion, but she has repented like crazy now that I’ve lectured her! Those who use the proper methods will always be victorious! And as long as I am with you, you will not lose sight of those methods! Everyone, repeat after me!!”

He began running and raised his speed as much as he could.

“In a world with the Testament, all is filled with justice!!”

His words received a response.

Many voices responded. They came from the K.P.A. Italia students who raised their arms despite being forced back and having their numbers worn down.

“In a world with the Testament, all is filled with justice!!”

“Testament!”

They raised their voices.

“Testament!” “Testament!” “Testament!”

“We act on the words of the Testament!”

“We find our answers in the Testament!”

“We model ourselves after the Testament!”

They gave what sounded like a cheer while the sounds of clashing students continued.

The pope began running even faster as he heard it and Masazumi sighed as she watched him.

…''This is crazy.

She heard something being fired overhead, but that brought a question to her mind.

It was odd. Tres España’s warriors had been almost completely defeated. Based on what was to come, they would want to find a reason to stop firing and see how things progressed.

The fact that they were continuing to fire meant one thing.

…''They think they can win?

As soon as she started thinking about why they would think that, she pulled out her handheld shrine.

“Is this the command center? This is Neshinbara, right? Can you contact Futayo?”

“No… I haven’t been able to for a while now. So it’s probably exactly what you’re thinking. I’ve sent the broadcast committee to check on the situation.”

That situation being…

“She has most likely come into contact with Tachibana Muneshige.”

The eastern mountain pass heading east from the Musashi and leading to Mikawa had a barrier partway through.

While the Musashi was stopped at Mikawa, the open area in front of the barrier would normally be filled with wagons carrying goods, but that was not the case now.

Two figures faced each other as the setting sun lit the area.

One was a blond man standing at the foot of the mountain and wearing a red uniform and armor. He held a long black and white blade.

“Tachibana Muneshige, 1st Special Duty Officer of Tres España’s Alcalá de Henares and Strike Forcer.”

The other was a girl standing toward the mountain and wearing a black and white uniform and blue armor. She held a spear.

“Honda Futayo, Temporary Vice Chancellor of the Far East’s Musashi Ariadust Academy and Strike Forcer.”

And the girl asked a question.

“Are you alone?”

“I would not have made it in time otherwise. Are you alone as well?”

“Yes. As I have no friends. That is also why I did not receive any of the chancellor’s ether supply.”

“U-um…”

Muneshige averted his gaze and opened a ''cadena firma''.

“Um, Gin. How am I supposed to talk to someone with difficult circumstances?”

“Testament. No girl is more difficult than me. She ranks at about 1/5 a Gin.”

“I see.” Muneshige looked up and finally spoke to Futayo once more. “Why are you here?”

“What do you mean?”

Muneshige tilted his head at that question and he used his left hand to point at Futayo’s spear.

“Tonbokiri is a prototype for the Logismoi Oplo and its cutting ability can cut their power. I believe that divine weapon may have been created as a stopper for the Logismoi Oplo. But in that case, wouldn’t it have been easier on everyone if you had used it to defeat the Papa-Schola’s Logismoi Oplo?”

Futayo remained silent.

After a while, she looked up in the sky and suddenly brought a hand to her forehead.

“How could I be so stupid!?”

“Eh…? Ehhh!?”

But Futayo quickly lowered her gaze. She brought a hand to her chin, hung her head, and muttered under her breath as if counting something.

“Wait.”

“…For what?”

“Just give me a moment. Yes.”

She lightly stuck her left hand with her right fist and looked back toward Muneshige.

“I have a feeling this arrangement was decided by four-eyes and Seijun.”

“I see.”

“I only heard half of what they said, but I believe they had a good reason for it. In that case, there is a good reason for me to be there.”

“You sure do have a positive mindset.”

“No,” she answered. “I think about nothing but fighting, so my mindset is neither positive nor negative.”

“Do you think you can defeat me?”

Muneshige lightly spread his legs as he spoke. He moved them forward and back while maintaining a gentle width.

“You cannot defeat me in speed. You understand that, don’t you? If so…I will accept your surrender.”

“Unfortunately, having one of the Eight Great Dragon Kings as my opponent makes my blood pump with excitement. Also…”

Futayo lightly spread her legs as well. She also moved them forward and back, but then she leaned forward.

“I was not serious back then.”

“Neither was I.”

“I was at 50%.”

“I was at 30%.”

“No, I meant 25%.”

“I said 15%, right?”

The two of them pulled their weapons back as if extending them.

“Then…”

They slowly began to move as if pushing their bodies forward.

“Now is the time to get serious!!”

Immediately afterwards, red speed and blue speed collided.

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 1B Chapter_38|Chapter 38]]
| [[Horizon:Volume_1B_Chapter_40|Chapter 40]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 1B Chapter 37

2014-05-02T22:12:21Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 37: Those Travelling Through the Blue Sky */

==Chapter 37: Those Travelling Through the Blue Sky==
[[Image:Horizon1B_563.jpg|thumb]]
''Who are those that move above

''While seeming to embrace?

'''Point Allocation (Air Superiority)

A battle had begun in the air above the Musashi.

Two sets of wings struggled against Tres España’s aerial mobility enabled god of war.

The wings were white and black, but their clothes and flight equipment were the opposite colors.

The two sets of wings accelerated, stopped, reversed direction as if struck, and sometimes flew in an arc to evade.

The two sets of six wings were only used for midair attitude control. Their speed was supplied by the cowling-covered broom and pen they rode as if clinging to.

They flew at high speed using those white and black accelerators that used Technomagie.

Black light burst from the nozzle covering the broom’s brush.

Several crop mark frames and a white line stabbing through them came from the tip of the pen.

They both moved about with enough speed to keep up with the god of war.

And it was all accomplished using Technomagie, the power of a Technohexen.

One was Weiss Techno and the other was Schwarz Techno.

Some basic Technomagie was common to both types, but Weiss Techno primarily created and restored things. It generally worked in the positive direction to aid the user.

On the other hand, Schwarz Techno primarily eliminated and decayed things. It generally worked in the negative direction and did not aid the user.

Originally, there had been no distinction. If the user harmed others or used it for their own benefit, it was considered Schwarz. Otherwise, it was considered Weiss. But once the witch hunt began and both sides were persecuted, the Technohexen classified the spells as either Weiss or Schwarz to make it the techniques simpler and easier to pass on. The division between positive and negative increased the speed of understanding and systemized the learning process. This lessened the all-encompassing power of Technomagie, but it also allowed the Technohexen techniques to survive.

Thus, the flying pair of white and black had similar and different aspects.

The white Technohexen flew using the acceleration that the pen tip drew in the air. The black one flew using the repelling force of the negative gravity produced from the brush of the wooden broom.

The black one had spells to reduce the acceleration resistance, so she was slightly faster. The white one could control what she drew, so she could make tighter turns.

But as they competed between speed and mobility, the battle required the unilateral use of power. While the god of war fired repeatedly with its rifle, the white and black sets of wings prepared their own weapon.

“…!”

They both produced coins from the handheld safes they used for their legitimate transportation business.

The white one drew an arrow in the crop frame style magic circle opened around her and she placed a silver coin in it.

The black one accelerated a copper coin by passing it through the speedometer style magic circle opened around her.

When the coins were loaded in, the spell reached them and they became bullets that wore down the god of war’s armor and sent sparks flying.

“But this isn’t enough to break through!!” shouted the white Technohexen.

Naruze clenched her teeth, but it was only partially to withstand the inertial forces.

…''This pisses me off!

Each of those shots would have been a considerable blow against a human, but they had only scratched the god of war’s armor at best. Naito lined up next to her for a moment and flapped her gold wings.

“I wish we had a decent attack spell, but we’re only allowed crime-fighting and self-defense spells in Musashi!”

“Can we increase the pressure by upping the amount of ''auspuff''!?”

“That thing is too fast!”

Naruze knew Naito was right. Their only combat training was the technique training against those in the land port with flight abilities, but that focused on tight turns and how many times one could accelerate in quick succession. Musashi had no aerial combat gods of war, so the only combat-related training was against people.

Everyone had their different modified accelerators and reinforced parts to increase their flight ability, but a god of war vastly outclassed them in both size and continued acceleration. The most they had were lessons and second-hand image training from former god of war pilots.

…''But a real one is completely different!

Weiss Fräulein and Schwarz Fräulein were the previous year’s fastest ''schale'' on the market from the Technohexen brand of Edel Brocken. As the Thirty Years’ War approached, Technohexen began to be persecuted as a scapegoat for the people’s unease, and the Fräulein series had supposedly been created as a means of resisting that. Because they were sold on the market and because they had been bought by Musashi residents, their weapons and equipment which could be directly used as such had been omitted, but that had made them lighter. With a few modifications they had requested of Musashi’s transportation specialists, the individual devices had straight-line speeds approaching those of a god of war.

“But we can only just barely take one on while working together!” shouted Naruze as she thought.

...''Still…

The lessons and training from the former god of war pilots were paying off with their practical skills.

Ignoring speed and mobility, they would have been immediately shot down if they had not experienced the practiced movements of a warrior during their training.

Also, their countless times using spell-modified airspace to fly full speed, raised ability attacks, and competition between the two had given them the experience they needed to put up with the inertial forces and reckless turns they were making.

…''We even developed spells to ensure the inertia doesn’t ruin our looks!

That data was sent back to Edel Brocken and Edel Brocken would send them products making use of that data or equipment created specifically for them. Edel Brocken was a gathering of Technohexen and those who had been kicked out of normal aviation jobs and it seemed the Musashi was a good spot for showing off their products, so Weiss Fräulein and Schwarz Fräulein contained quite a few components designed specifically for Naruze and Naito.

Needless to say, their opponent was no different.

To achieve air superiority, each academy needed to defend against unilateral attacks from the sky. God of war pilots, especially those who used the few aerial combat models, were elites who understood their actions were directly linked to defending their nation.

Rumor had it that those charged with monitoring and guarding the Musashi were promising pilots who would use that duty to learn about the state of other nations, grow familiar with the sky, and ultimately become the elites who would protect their own nations.

“These are the people who monitor the Musashi with only a few gods of war,” shouted Naruze while rapidly braking and turning to avoid enemy fire. “But we’re representatives of Musashi!!”

Three trajectories cut through the evening sky that was growing red.

In the span of a breath, sharp turns caused wings to creak and hair to whip about. Attacks continued to fly, but the hits were meaningless.

The enemy was closing in on the Technohexen, but their attacks were having no effect.

They nevertheless continued to fire because of the Magie Figur opened before their faces. It displayed a diagram of the enemy god of war from different angles and its weak points were highlighted. The indicators on the sight devices of its face, the base of its wings, the gaps between its sides and chest, etc. were linked to the targeting Magie Figur also floating before their faces.

If they brought the god of war into view and remained within firing range, they only had to watch. The targeting Magie Figur would select the closest weak point to their sight and make a decision after a short period of hesitation.

The black Technohexen took a nearly right angle turn and charged in.

The accelerator broom inscribed with the name Schwarz Fräulein did not eliminate the shaking produced by the black reactionary acceleration light.

The god of war attempted to shake her from its tail, but the black Technohexen would not allow it. She leaned forward while clenching the pressure-sensitive grip protruding from the bottom of the ''schale'' to squeeze the accelerator.

“…!!”

Schwarz Fräulein lurched but then its front end forcefully pointed in a different direction.

The nozzle surrounding the brush fired black light directly backwards.

“Here I go!!”

With that shout, Schwarz Fräulein sent all its trembling forward and moved.

The black Technohexen caught up. The shaking and air pressure caused her hair to wave about and she circled around to the god of war’s side as if being reeled in.

“Found it!!”

The black sign frame emitted a voice.

“Targeting complete.”

“Four shots!”

Just as she said, four speedometer style Magie Figur appeared and black copper coin bullets were accelerated from them.

The needles of the meters rotated and the small bullets were instantly given speed too great to be seen.

At the same time, a few numbers appeared in the Magie Figur.

“Margot! How much!?”

“Bullets are 72! Flight time is…6 minutes!”

Without checking to see if she hit, the black Technohexen turned to the right.

She braked.

Enemy bullets made of green light shot through the spot she had been in a moment before.

As the god of war held up its rifle as if stroking it, several pieces of paper scattered from it and the bullets pursued the black Technohexen. Meanwhile, the Technohexen’s copper coin bullets flew toward its face, but they hit the armor resembling the brim of a hat and merely sent out four bursts of sparks.

And…

“…!!”

To avoid being defenseless while firing, the god of war swung its wings and rotated to the left.

As the black Technohexen tried to circle behind it, it rotated to follow and it tried to fire in the Technohexen’s path. But the white Technohexen arrived from down and to the right as if trying to cover its entire body.

She had already fired four silver coin bullets in the same trajectory as an uppercut.

She was targeting the bottom of the chin. Even among a god of war’s movable parts, that spot had especially soft and thin armor.

The god of war was turning to the left, so it could not simply evade to the left or right. And even if it used its wings to escape upwards, the arrows of light would pursue it like an uppercut from below.

“I have you now!!”

In the instant the white Technohexen’s voice entered the air, the god of war took action. Of the four cross-shaped wings on its back, the large top pair rotated 180 degrees and pointed upwards.

They then flapped toward the heavens above.

With an explosion of air, the god of war’s giant form rotated back and to the left.

It spun.

It evaded the silver coins approaching its jaw, so they continued toward the heavens. The white Technohexen followed.

And after completing its rotation, the god of war turned its own gun barrel toward the white Technohexen flying above it.

It flapped its wings again. It swung its legs to perform attitude control, bent backwards, and focused its vision on the black wings and white pen.

But…

“…!”

The god of war had not forgotten about its original opponent.

The black Technohexen had circled to the left, so the god of war faced her, laid its wings on the side, and folded them up as much as possible.

“…!”

It performed a flight attack while prepared to spin.

The attack consumed a large chunk of the tension from the spring device on its back that provided the source of its converted energy. As air was consumed by the wings, it was built up inside the god of war. The energy obtained from the spring device was added to the compressed wind and it was fired toward the black Technohexen.

It struck.

“!!”

With an intense sound of impact, gold feathers scattered.

“Margot!”

The white Technohexen cried out as her partner was hit.

“…”

And the god of war merely fired on her. It was rotating quite quickly, so its aim was not certain.

And so it fired repeatedly. Testamento Firma charms scattered from its magazine and the wind blew them about like a blizzard.

As expected, the bullets took scattered routes.

“…!!”

But they did their job. One of the bullets smashed into the back of the long pen-shaped staff the white Technohexen frantically held up.

The Technohexen immediately drew anti-shock barriers. A great number of anti-shock barriers.

But they were weak. The crop frame style barriers were all smashed and the staff was destroyed.

The white staff bent and warped until the center burst.

“!”

The rapid loss of speed tossed the white Technohexen into the air while she still held the front end.

Behind her, black feathers scattered and the white staff exploded.

The change in the battle above the Musashi was visible from the western plain.

The hue of the explosion spreading through the air caused the Musashi side to gasp. Meanwhile, the combined Tres España and K.P.A. Italia unit quickly cornered the Musashi group.

“That settles it!”

Someone let out a shout.

“Those who follow the Testament’s guidance are on the side of justice!!”

As their enemy chanted, the Musashi group was driven to the foot of the mountain on the east side of the western plain.

“Those who follow the Testament’s guidance are on the side of justice!!”

While speaking as if teaching or warning the Musashi group, they readied their pikes and shields and charged in.

They planned to bring the battle to an end.

Back in the sky, the aftermath of the white and black Technohexen’s defeat remained.

But the god of war had not stopped moving. The black Technohexen had yet to be completely shot down.

The explosion of air had knocked her away, but her equipment would be unharmed.

The impact would have put all of her muscles into a reflexive state of shock and she would be unable to control her body, but the god of war’s safety was not ensured until her equipment was destroyed or she was killed.

Without taking a break, the god of war pointed its wings upwards and tipped its upper body down.

It pursued the black Technohexen that fell while clinging to the black broom.

It aimed its rifle barrel and began to flap its cross-shaped wings.

But a voice reverberated from the sky.

“Ma-…”

It came from the heavens the god of war had already turned its back to. The injured Weiss Hexen that had been shot down there was speaking.

Her words were strained and she seemed to spit them out, but her voice still burst through the air.

“Margot! Wake up!!”

At the same time, a sign frame appeared next to both of their faces. It was a torii-style sign frame paid for by the sender.

“Wake up!!”

On Musashino’s deck, the members of Musashi’s internal delivery union had run up the stairs.

A lot of them had been born in different nations and were of different races, but they all looked up into the sky.

“We’ve left Musashi’s skies to you, so we can’t have you not protecting it now! Show me the spirit of the ones who stole the position of Edel Brocken tester from me!”

As if in response, a winged young man spoke to the old man in an old vermillion uniform standing next to him.

“Almirante! You were originally the ace of Tres España’s god of war unit, weren’t you!? Say something!”

“I suppose so,” said the man known as Almirante. He folded his arms. “Listen. I was the first of this group to lose to you two.”

But…

“I’m the strongest of the group, y’know? If you get it, then open your eyes, Zwei Fräulein!”

The god of war saw the black Technohexen’s body shake even as her six gold wings continued to scatter feathers.

“Ah.”

As she opened her mouth, she suddenly swung up her broom.

And she took action.

But aiming the brush toward the god of war required forcing her entire body to move and her face twisted in pain. The previous impact must have rattled her brain because her eyes were not focusing properly.

While still falling, she unsteadily held up the broom’s brush and a speedometer type Magie Figur appeared over it. She opened multiple layers of reactionary acceleration Magie Figurs to produce an acceleration cannon that created repeated acceleration.

She had not yet loaded a coin bullet. She was planning to expand the spell and raise the power to its limit.

Her lips moved weakly.

“After that, I expand ten acceleration emblems for up to 200 kph with the size at 1/10 of normal, so it will have a consumption of 200 ATELL each.”

She was performing the ATELL consumption calculations needed to construct Technomagie. Rather than calling in a spell as before, she was making a specific incantation to construct the spell for her attack. This was the original activation method for Technomagie.

But the movements of the broom were unsteady and she could not see the god of war. Even if she added a homing ability, it would not be able to home in on the god of war if her initial aim was poor.

But the god of war was not about to let its guard down.

And so it prepared to pull the trigger while making sure not to let its rifle barrel waver.

“…”

And then it noticed something.

It had not noticed earlier due to the red of the setting sun, but there was a light coming from its neck.

It was a narrow line of white light.

That was the light of the drawings made by the white Technohexen. Those drawings produced acceleration.

“!?”

The god of war realized that line had been “drawn” when it rotated backwards to avoid the white Technohexen’s attack. It had rotated as if leaning backwards to let her continue on upwards.

“Ga-chan is a quick drawer, so you couldn’t completely evade,” said the black Technohexen in a trembling voice.

The fading light linked the god of war’s throat to the brush of the black Technohexen’s broom.

Weiss Techno used positive power.

Schwarz Techno used negative power.

What would happen if a negative bullet were placed on that line drawn with positive power?

The negative power would race along the positive power while absorbing it.

“…!”

The light was no longer visible, but the Technohexen loaded the bullets. And these bullets were not just coins.

“Ten 1000 yen rolls of 10 yen copper coins! Go, average daily wage!!”

As soon as the Magie Figur latched onto the loaded coins, the black Technohexen cried out the word that settled the spell calculation.

“Herrlich!”

Once the ten coin bullets were given the power of decay, they were loudly launched.

They used the counter-current of the decaying power to fly along the line of acceleration drawn by the Weiss Hexen. Each type tried to outdo the other in its acceleration as the bullets travelled along.

The god of war swept its hand across in an attempt to defend.

“!”

Two struck its arm, knocking the arm out of the way.

The light drawn by the Weiss Hexen began to vanish, but the bullets had already accurately reached the god of war’s throat.

They stabbed into an area impossible to reach with a bullet that travelled in a perfectly straight line. They struck the border between armor panels that had to be left open so the god of war could move.

The bullets would normally have been completely stopped by the armor.

“Schlag!!”

But the guiding line allowed them to circle around the armor and strike along the same trajectory as a punch.

The impact lasted only an instant, but its effects continued on.

The shock of the impact broke the packaging of the roll of coins and the coins scattered.

A total of 800 shots flew from the right of the god of war’s jaw and into the structure of its head.

The inside was a collection of precise components and a specialized technician was needed to perform maintenance there. The armor’s range of protection was carefully calculated out, so it was normally unthinkable for a high-speed bullet to make its way inside.

But that unthinkable situation was happening now. For the god of war, the situation was similar to having its armor completely ignored as a shotgun was blasted through the jaw and into its head.

A god of war moved by taking the pilot into the cockpit, combining with him, and gaining life. For that reason, each of its parts held the same function and structure as the corresponding part of a human body.

As the scattershot of coins sent an impact directly into the inside of its skull, the coins struck the inside frame and ricocheted. Each strike bent and transformed them, the bullets smashed the devices used in place of an upper and lower jaw. When some smashed the left hearing device, they struck the left inner wall.

“…!!”

They tore through the neurological device in the back that controlled the left half of the body and they shot out into the sky behind.

The god of war’s system had already performed an emergency shutdown on the connection with the pilot. The god of war had been abandoned to preserve the valuable pilot.

“…!”

But the god of war retained the senses of the pilot for an instant and it forcefully bent back with no pilot.

“!”

Like a wave of blood, the coins illuminated by the red setting sun poured into the sky from the lower neck.

The god of war’s automatic controls spread the four cross-shaped wings on its back to stop its movements.

As a great number of coins, transfer fluid, and ether fuel burst from the front and back of the left side of the neck, the god of war fell.

Its wings still had power, so it automatically maintained its balance. However, the wind blew it around as its massive form slowly fell.

On Musashino, the members of the delivery union looked up into the sky and understood what had happened.

“…!”

Their cheers burst upwards.

But as some clasped hands, one old man slowly sat on the floor. He took a breath and a nearby young man spoke to him.

“Almirante, what is it?”

“I’d like to say it’s just that I’m tired, but that isn’t all. …It may be selfish, but I don’t like seeing a god of war from my old nation being destroyed. But it’s fine.” He pulled a small bottle of alcohol from his pocket and spoke to the others as they quieted down a bit. “Alcohol works for both celebration and mourning. Let’s celebrate for the two up there. You all remember how you were welcomed back after your first battle, don’t you?”

Two figures remained in midair.

The gold and black winged figures embraced in the evening sky.

They both caught their breath, the gold one had sweat on her brow, and the black one had blood. However, neither wiped the liquid away as they created a divine transmission Magie Figur in the air.

“Neshinbara, we’ve taken care of their god of war.”

“Good. We still have to worry about their cannons, but we don’t have to worry about an attack from above now. Come on back.”

“Judge,” they both said before eliminating the Magie Figur.

“Ha ha. Ga-chan, you got Weiss Fräulein destroyed.”

“Quiet.”

The white Technohexen embraced the black one even closer.

“Ga-chan, are you trembling?’

“So are you, Margot.”

They exchanged a glance and nodded slowly.

“Just for now.”

They both nestled close and joined their lips to rid themselves of their trembling. And…

“We managed,” said Naito as she licked up the blood on Naruze’s lips.

“Yes,” agreed Naruze.

When Naruze looked to the southwestern sky, Naito did the same.

“That ship let off some troops, so the ones in the western plain are having the hardest time right now. But…”

They slowly turned to the east. They looked to Asakusa, Musashi’s first port ship. That cargo ship was hidden by the mountain in the center of the land port.

“Everyone’s counting on you. Hurry!”

On the western plain, the K.P.A. Italia and Tres España troops finally clashed with the Musashi group driven to the foot of the eastern mountain.

The combined unit’s morale was high. Their god of war had been shot down, but the Technohexen had been more or less taken out as well.

Their overwhelming advantage remained.

And their enemy had no way of sending in additional support. The mountain pass’s barrier was sealed and the Musashi’s starboard side was held in check by the aerial ships. Even if they attempted to cross the eastern mountain, they would put themselves within range of those ships.

So…

“Push!! Don’t just try to stall them! Let’s go for a true victory!!”

They applied great pressure and pushed at the Musashi group that was deflecting their attacks with spears and charms.

“Crush them! That is how we will sever all of the Far East’s regrets!!”

With that cry, the combined unit began working in perfect unison. The one thousand K.P.A. Italia and Tres España troops worked together.

They sealed off the exit of the western plain and pushed Musashi’s attack unit further eastward.

Their momentum and their wall of people applied great pressure to the Musashi group and tried to crush them as if sewing them to the foot of the mountain.

But someone let out a yell.

As the Musashi group quickly fell back, a slender figure at the center brought a hand to his forehead and looked up into the heavens.

“Ohhhhh! Right now! Literally everyone’s trying to penetrate me with their spear!!”

“You’re gonna distract us from defending, so quiet down!!”

But despite everyone shouting at him, Toori showed no change of expression and continued speaking while raising his arms.

“Ohhh! Please help me! Officer!!”

His cry carried into the distance. Naturally, no help came and the combined unit shouted back in unison.

“You aren’t getting any help, you idiot! How is help even supposed to get to you!?”

But that was when everyone heard a light sound of something bursting.

Twice, the sound reached them through the air.

“…!?”

It came from beyond the eastern mountain. It came from Asakusa, the Musashi’s first port ship and a cargo ship.

A few of the soldiers recognized the sound.

“A god of war being launched?”

They had distinctly heard that sound twice.

“But not even the Musashi can launch a god of war over the mountain!”

“Yeah! You’re right! That’s meant to move our gods of war around the Musashi itself. It flies almost straight up and it doesn’t have enough height to cross the mountain,” answered Toori to explain exactly why it was impossible. But he did not stop there. “But we’ll show you that there’s another method that only the Musashi can pull off!”

“You have another method!?”

“Ha ha ha,” laughed Toori. “We do! I call it the Derrick Ultimate Destiny! C’mon, everyone!!”

“We have to go whether you tell us to or not!” shouted Naomasa from the shoulder of a red heavy god of war on Asakusa. She raised her right false arm. “Prepare yourself, Jizuri Suzaku!!”

With those words, Jizuri Suzaku lowered its hips.

A thick rope was attached to the back of its waist. The rope was one used with the derrick cranes and both ends passed forward and up in a V-shape from either side of Jizuri Suzaku.

“Are the two derricks ready!?”

The two giant derricks used for carrying cargo, Asakusa’s first and second derrick, had the ends of their arms lined up to the side.

The rope extending from either side of Jizuri Suzaku passed through and hung down from the pulleys on the left and right arms located 150 meters up. But…

“…!!”

Two gods of war were launched from up in the sky. They had anchors attached at the waist to weigh them down.

And the two gods of war fell at almost the exact same time.

Their trajectory slipped just past the derrick arms on either side and touched the ropes hanging down.

“Contact!!”

Without negating the momentum of their fall, the two gods of war grabbed the ropes as if colliding with them.

In an instant, the ropes grew taut and the ends of the derricks bent.

“Go!!”

All of those in work uniforms standing on the lines of cargo shouted out and the two gods of war continued to fall while holding the ropes.

The left and right ropes were pulled with blinding speed by the falling gods of war.

Sparks burst from the base of the pulleys and the ropes waved and drew tight.

The rest was simple. The center of the V-shape created by the two ropes was located at the back of Jizuri Suzaku’s waist.

“Oh.”

The ropes pulled it up, it floated, and then…

“Go!!”

The red god of war was launched into the sky as if by a catapult.

Atop Regno Unito, a single action occurred below the command and divine transmission tent.

The divine transmission arriving from different areas caused everyone there to stand up and look to the northern sky.

A red god of war flew through the sky after being forcibly launched.

Its legs and other parts had been given reinforced parts to withstand the launch and landing. It must have been used to being launched because it showed no sign of panic.

Someone spoke quietly below the command tent.

“If a god of war can fly that far, how far would something else go?”

The voice trembled slightly and a similarly shaking voice slowly answered.

“No, the lighter the object, the sooner it would decelerate, so it would not fly as far. …I think.”

“Either way, it’s going to land in the middle of our unit! If it falls that quickly along that trajectory, our ''corazzata'' can’t aim their anti-air weaponry fast enough!”

The foundation of their tactics had been for Musashi’s aerial forces to be held back by the Testament Union’s aerial weaponry and the natural terrain.

The Testament Union had data on the Musashi and they understood how far it could launch things. They also had full understanding of the armaments it contained.

However…

“Who would have thought they could use it like this…” muttered someone.

“I have the estimated path of the god of war!!”

Everyone turned toward the female student in charge of divine transmissions. She took a breath before speaking.

“The center of the eastern plain! It will land in front of the combined unit currently concentrated on the southeastern side!”

“Have the northern side of the unit concentrate their defenses! Even if it’s a god of war, it’s only one! They can minimize the damage by focusing their defenses and falling back! After withstanding the blow, they can push back! And…”

And…

“Crush Musashi’s chancellor while they do!!”

“Go, Jizuri Suzaku!!” cried Naomasa from the shoulder of the red god of war that had already begun to descend.

It had not flown far enough. They had hooked up the ropes at the angle they thought was best, but its weight was still a bottleneck.

…''But the reinforced parts are necessary.

If it was going to fly, it needed to withstand the recoil of launching and the impact of landing. A middle or light god of war might fly further, but it would not hold up when it clashed with the enemy formation afterwards. And a person was so light it would decelerate.

Thus a heavy god of war was the only option.

But it was not flying far enough; it was going to land in front of the enemy formation.

The enemy clearly understood that. In the eastern plain below, the parts of the giant formation not heading toward Toori’s group had pressed together and were pointing their spell shields forward.

The god of war had to crush them and rescue their fellow students.

“And after Naruze and Naito finally secured our air superiority!”

If an aerial combat god of war had remained in air during the launch and flight, Jizuri Suzaku could have been attacked. That was why they had made the preparations behind the cargo while Naruze and Naito battled the god of war.

And the two of them had done well.

“That just leaves our flight distance!!”

Naomasa knew the god of war was not going to reach.

But the corner of her mouth rose in a smile as she looked down at the one thousand or more white spell shields.

“So their frontal defenses are perfect. In that case…” She shouted out. “Go, Mito!”

“I am right here. You do not have to yell.”

The color silver stood up on the opposite shoulder.

It was Mitotsudaira. She did not wear her uniform below her silver hair. Instead, she wore an outfit that resembled a light blue and white dress. However, her usual four long leather cases hung down from her hands and shoulders.

She leaped through the wind. She lightly and surely landed on Jizuri Suzaku’s left hand.

“Go!!”

Jizuri Suzaku swung its arm through the air and threw Mitotsudaira forward.

A silver flower blossomed over the heads of the combined unit preparing its defenses forward.

At thirty meters above the ground, Mitotsudaira’s silver hair whipped in the wind and the two leather case in her hands opened.

“Go, Argent Chaîne!”

With those words, she pulled one meter obelisks from the cases.

The two obelisks connected to the hard points on the back of her shoulders. A dull metallic noise confirmed that they had clicked into place.

“Begin chain supply!”

The puffed out shoulders of her armor shook.

A slit opened in the sides of those shoulder puffs and the color red spilled out.

That color was a giant jewel resembling three claws.

But that was not all. The obelisks on her shoulders produced metallic noises and shook as the two jewels were pushed outwards and something else followed them.

They were chains.

The chains were thicker than a human hand and the jewels hung from the ends. As they were released, they travelled along her arms like living creatures and passed through metal loops attached to her wrists.

The chains were long and they were only growing longer.

“…!”

The two chains instantly grew to silver tails measuring several meters and they swung wide around her.

She swung her arms backwards as if to strike something as she prepared for her landing.

She travelled toward the center of the one thousand man defense.

That unit had already focused their defenses on the front, so they were left almost defenseless against this overhead strike.

But the commanders of each individual unit shouted out.

“They’re just chains! Endure the first strike and crush her when she lands!!”

“Oh, how crass.”

As she fell, Mitotsudaira swung the chains. She swung them upwards as if to circle around behind her.

“My Argent Chaîne are not mere chains. They are ''intelligence chaîne''.”

Something flew in behind her.

The giant metal objects resembled arms. They were the reinforced parts attached to Jizuri Suzaku’s arms so it could withstand the recoil of being launched. They weighed several tons each and they had been thrown toward Mitotsudaira’s back.

Everyone thought they would hit her.

“These transmit my strength and can be called a part of my body.”

The jewel-like decorative claws at the ends of the Argent Chaîne grabbed the god of war parts.

The chains casually swung the masses of metal upwards. The movement started gently but eventually became a smashing movement.

“…”

Mitotsudaira bent the several meter pieces of metal as if trying to throw her entire body forward.

“In the name of the Argent Loup, let out a howl, Argent Chaîne!!”

She used brute strength to attack the thousand soldiers.

The two strikes from overhead were disastrous for the formation with its defenses focused forward.

The attack was cleverly made to cross slightly to the left and right so as to knock everyone outwards.

“…!?”

A cascade of intense noises spread out.

The soldiers were not just swept away or knocked away. They were blown away by a combination of the two.

The instant of impact appeared to happen in slow motion, but the people were thrown high into the air an instant later. Some were slammed into the ground, some flew further into the air, and others struck their fellow soldiers. The only things that were certain were the sounds of impact, the mixture of screams, and the person standing in the several meters of cleared space.

“Musashi Ariadust Academy’s 5th special duty officer, Nate ‘Argent Loup’ Mitotsudaira. I look forward to having you as my opponent.”

As she spoke, her blue outfit wrapped its arms deeply around her body.

Synchronized with that action, the silver chains flew in an arc. The masses of metal were half buried in the ground, but they were easily lifted into the air and pursued the arcing path of the silver chains.

“!!”

And they struck the people who were taking defensive stances.

That was when it began.

The soles of Mitotsudaira’s shoes became triangular blades and she stabbed just the right one into the ground. With that supporting her, she swung her body around.

Her arms raced about as if fluttering in the wind and the chains reached the enemies faster than whips.

“…!”

The massive pieces of metal rotated around her. The rotation reached 360 degrees and knocked the enemies away like a windstorm.

Her attack hit.

They tried to endure but were ultimately unable to. In an instant, several dozen soldiers flew into the air.

Even in armor, a human weighed no more than 200 kilograms. For the pieces of metal being swung around at high speed, that was like a baseball bat hitting the ball dead on. The ones launched upwards were the lucky ones. The ones slammed to the ground took out their own comrades and were unable to even scream.

Each strike took out several people as she wore down their numbers.

“…!!”

The storm of blows did not stop. The sounds continued, more space was opened, and the chains extended further.

And then Mitotsudaira raised the speed of her rotation.

“I have come to save you, my king!”

The silver wind continued across the battlefield without end.

With each step, she swung her entire body and swung the chains such that they intersected. The spiraling light of the chains raced through the air, pulled back, squeezed, arced once more, undulated, danced, and knocked even more people through the air with each consecutive sound of impact.

It was a storm of silver light.

And Mitotsudaira bent back and swung her arms back as if they were wings.

The chains racing ahead of her flew behind her like waves.

“!”

And then she flapped those wings. She lowered her upper body almost to the ground before swinging both arms forward along either side. The masses of metal flew horizontally. With repeated snaps of the wrist, the people along their paths were launched into the air.

“Strike!”

As they flew forward, the two pieces of metal assaulted the back of the unit charging toward Toori’s formation.

It hit them hard.

The strike from an unexpected direction slowed the charge, but Mitotsudaira’s chains had grown lighter.

She only had the chains now and the enemy noticed.

“Now!”

With that shout, they held their shields and pikes toward her.

They had enough numbers to push her back, so they charged in with their spears without thinking about friendly fire.

But their movements were too slow and lacking in skill. Mitotsudaira quickly drew back the Argent Chaîne and swung them around.

“Heh,” she laughed quietly.

She then opened the lids on the bottom of the cases on her shoulders.

Those charging toward her watched in surprise.

“Two more.”

By lowering her waist, the obelisks attached to the chain suppliers at the base of the slits on either side of her skirt.

[[Image:Horizon1B_597.jpg|thumb]]

Chains were instantly released from either side of her waist. They wrapped around her arms and gave her four in total.

“…!!”

From there, she could do as she pleased.

Before the enemy made it even a few steps, her Argent Chaîne grabbed the chests of four of them.

With an instantaneous movement, the claws grabbed them and lifted them up.

“…!”

It slammed them to the ground, grabbed another and repeated the process.

Mitotsudaira moved as if dancing. She moved her arms like wings, she tore at the air, she leaned forward, she leaned backwards, she rotated around, and she became the eye of the storm.

The silver chains danced through the air around her. They formed a helix around her slender body, surged out like waves, and shot out in straight lines. They swung enemies around, swept them away, tossed them, grabbed new enemies, swung them upwards, slammed them down, and occasionally grabbed an abandoned cannon to slam it into them.

“…!”

She danced. The Argent Loup continued the unrestricted howling dance of the silver chains.

In the center of the storm of Argent Chaîne, Mitotsudaira’s dance led the movements of the chains.

There were weapons everywhere in the storm. Even an enemy soldier would work.

The chains transmitted her strength. Rather than simply swinging around, their paths changed to match the movements of her arms and they raced about devouring the enemy like a beast.

As the enemy drew back in fear, the chains grabbed four of them and lifted them up high.

“There is no need to fear me. After all, our chancellor does not fear me.”

Her words led to her power beginning to move once more. The enemy let out screams and moved away, so she passed through the opening, ignored those with their backs turned, attacked those still resisting, and ran onward.

The silver wind destroyed the enemy formation as she moved to the east.

She swept away the group as if opening a gate to Toori’s group at the foot of the mountain to the east.

“!!”

She swept through them and faced forward.

She had arrived, so she let out a warm breath while ignoring the sweat on her brow.

“Can I hope for words of thanks? Or will you be using my old debt here?”

The idiot raised a hand and answered while clinging to a tree.

“Okay, good girl. Stay, stay.”

“I-I am not a dog.”

“True,” he immediately replied. “You’re a knight.”

Mitotsudaira almost smiled at that.

“…”

But she restrained herself. Only the slightest hint of a smile reached her face, but it was a full-faced smile in her heart.

“I will pave a path, my king. So that you might seek your loss. And leave the rest to me. I will make sure none here pursue you.”

And…

“That is something only I can do.”

A moment later, a sound of great impact came from the recovering enemy formation behind her.

Naomasa’s Jizuri Suzaku had charged into the regrouping combined unit.

Silence had fallen over the white K.P.A. Italia ship named Regno Unito.

The sounds of battle could be heard in the distance and a divine transmission had arrived to describe the situation.

The aerial ships over the western plain continued to fire on the Musashi while falling back in the southern sky. That was to prevent the Musashi forces from boarding them now that a god of war and a knight had arrived in the battle below.

The Testament Union was falling back, but the command center and divine transmission center were both motionless.

But then a sudden voice broke that silence.

“This is about imagination.”

Those words sent a chill through the silent area.

Everyone saw a white figure stand up from the table set on the front deck.

A middle-aged student in the command center frantically spoke up.

“Your holiness, there is no need for you to get up.”

“Can your imagination keep me in this chair? Hm? Can it?”

Innocentius’s eyebrows rose in a smile and he looked to the north.

About a kilometer away, Musashi’s guard unit was surging from the eastern plain’s exit.

The Testament Union had cargo ships at all important points and the remaining land units were prepared to intercept. But Innocentius spoke quietly as he saw the Musashi students’ momentum.

“Super derricks over 150 meters in height can only be found on the Musashi. They must have had all sorts of silly ideas while looking up at them, day in and day out. And that has given them reinforcements who can literally handle a thousand troops singlehandedly. Even if we use armies, weaponry, and heroes to fight in the style of this era, we cannot bind them. With their level of imagination, I will surely be forced to leave my chair.”

He grabbed the water bottle from the table, sipped, and took a breath.

“In that case, we need imagination too. These idiots are willing to say they hate me to my face, but I will not crush them with words. I will prove myself with results. And to do that, I will use every means available to me. And that includes heading out myself. Isn’t that right? Hm?”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 1B Chapter_36|Chapter 36]]
| [[Horizon:Volume_1B_Chapter_38|Chapter 38]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 1B Chapter 36

2014-05-02T22:08:12Z

Aagcnet: /* Chapter 36: Communicator between Two People */

==Chapter 36: Communicator between Two People==
[[Image:Horizon1B_529.jpg|thumb]]
''What kind of communication

''Can be achieved in a fistfight?

'''Point Allocation (New Sensation)

The battlefield began to move.

Voices shook the air and footsteps shook the earth.

Gunshots rang out, smoke scattered through the air, and those who were hit fell to the ground.

Some moved out of the way of the collapsing people, some continued forward, but no one stayed still.

In the western plain, the Musashi forces split into two groups: a small formation mostly composed of Musashi’s guard unit and a scattered diversion unit led by Tenzou. Those two groups began to battle the Tercio.

Musashi’s formation started toward the front left of the Tercio. They were targeting the seam between the corner musket unit and the primary pike unit. They lowered down, activated their defensive charms, and advanced along a zigzag route.

However, the amount of Blessings given to the charms decreased each time they purified the speed of the enemy bullets. Each student had about five charms, but that was not enough.

“Don’t fully rely on your charms! Lower down, bring any bulletproof armor to the front, and spread out!”

While lowering down to the point of almost falling over, they advanced. And they were supported by Tenzou’s diversion unit.

Tenzou and the others move in an arc along the front and center of the Tercio and they repeatedly approached and fell back. They threw weapons such as kunai and quickly fired small bows as they moved. They were not expecting their attacks to accomplish anything. They were merely meant to prevent the column at the front of the Tercio from focusing.

But all they were doing was approaching and creating a diversion.

They were not eliminating their enemies.

Musashi’s guard unit was primarily equipped with spears and swords, so they could only fight once they approached.

“———”

As one student took too long swapping out charms, he was shot in the right shoulder and blown backwards.

Someone clicked their tongue toward the enemy, tossed an activated charm toward the collapsed student, and continued forward.

They could only continue on.

Meanwhile, Tenzou and his dozen or so companions fell back while throwing kunai. They could hear the bullets flying through the air nearby.

“Do not fall back too far!” said Tenzou.

An enemy ship was visible overhead. The giant ship waited above the Tercio formation. It was intended to handle any transport ships sent from the Musashi, but it was equipped with cannons that could fire down on the ground.

“Go too far and that will fire on us!”

Tenzou glanced back toward the barrier at the entrance to the western mountain pass. The gate was destroyed.

It had been fired on the instant Toori had been spotted. They had frantically charged into the western plain and avoided the danger.

…''But they were not trying to hit us. They were trying to destroy the barrier behind us.

That would prevent any reinforcements from arriving through the mountain pass and cut off their escape route.

The enemy was attempting to completely destroy them. If a knight or god of war showed up now, the enemy likely thought they could restrain them with defensive spells.

They were sure of their victory. As such, K.P.A. Italia and Tres España’s broadcast committees were likely broadcasting the situation to the world.

…''And then there is our situation.

The Musashi could not move as it secured the energy needed to depart. It was an unpleasant period of time. The transport ships accompanying the Musashi were also immobilized while the enemy aerial ships were targeting the Musashi.

Every nation in the world would be watching that scene. The Musashi could do nothing due to its size and it was faced with the closely-packed formation that the nations of Europe were still using.

…''It is a solid formation and a terrible match for us!

It could be worn down bit by bit using long-distance attacks, but the Far East avoided possession of firearms due to their required disarmament. Bows were allowed for sports, but firearms were only allowed for the clans or forces with legitimate historical reasons.

The Matsudaira clan was allowed the possession firearms, but it was not enough to put together an official unit.

And so they needed to get close. If they could not, there was nothing they could do.

That was why Tenzou supported the Musashi formation that included Toori. He threw kunai, drew the aim of the enemies targeting the others’ defenses, and watched as his fellow students were shot.

“…!”

The formation approached within one hundred meters. They only had one option.

“Go!”

They all cried out as the head of the formation crossed the hundred meter line.

In that instant, Tenzou saw the enemies take a sudden action.

With the sudden sound of a trumpet, the Tercio slowly but surely began to move.

“…!!”

They fell back.

As he heard the rumbling of their footsteps, the Tercio most definitely moved away.

They did not move far.

But the entire formation moved far enough to bring something else to the forefront: a cannon.

“!?”

As Tenzou watched, a great noise rushed toward Toori and the rest of the charging Musashi formation.

The cannon fired from only one hundred meters away.

All but one of the people making up Musashi’s formation reacted in time. The second-in-command and the rest of the guard unit got down on the ground as they had been trained to do, Toori had his head held down by Noriki, and Persona-kun frantically leaped to the side after seeing everyone else’s reactions.

But…

“Eh? Ah? What is everyone doing? Huh?”

As Adele arrived at the very back in her mobile shell, she saw everyone else getting down on the ground.

“What? Are you…sliding?”

Just as she looked forward, the cannon hit her head-on.

A metallic noise reverberated throughout the western plain and into the sky.

An instant later, everyone there heard Adele’s voice.

“Owww!”

It was a scream that could not exactly be called a scream.

But the Musashi group on the ground and the Tercio’s soldiers all looked toward the mobile shell that’s waist had fallen to the ground.

“…It’s okay?”

Even if it was a field cannon, it was made to destroy barricades, buildings, and rock walls.

Rather than a bullet or cannonball, it used a smooth shell with a streamlined front end.

It used a normal Testamento Firma charm to fire the shell with compressed air and a single charm should have been enough to pierce a twenty centimeter stone wall.

“Ow ow ow ow…”

For a bit, the blue mobile shell shook its helm back and forth as it trembled from the impact.

“Ow… What is wrong with you!? Why would you fire a cannon at someone out of the blue like that!?”

Inside the helm, Adele’s glasses had partially slipped from her face, her bangs were in disarray, and a bit of snot dripped down her tearful face. However, her tears were more from surprise than pain.

“Th-that’s dangerous! I can’t believe you!”

The first to react to her protests were those in the Tercio.

“A heavily armored vassal?” said the commander next to the cannon. “How outdated can you get!?”

The confusion remained on his face as he gave direct instructions to the student operating the cannon. Three charms were loaded into it. After some hesitation, a fourth was loaded.

“Eh? Um, uh…. Owww!!”

With a great roar, the second shot hit as well. The intense sound of impact filled the air and sparks flew.

“W-wah! Th-that scared me! It really, really scared me!”

As she shouted, the shell spun through the air and fell into the small mountain forest to the east.

Meanwhile, Toori opened a sign frame.

“Neshinbara, Adele’s looking pretty invincible here. Any idea what’s going on?”

On the bow of Musashino, Neshinbara tilted his head at Toori’s question.

“I’m not sure. Normally, a direct hit would do a lot of damage.”

But someone else was watching him from a short distance.

Yoshinao sat at a table as he listened to the battle reports.

He recalled what Adele had said earlier.

“Come to think of it…”

…''There was a vassal with a rather old mobile shell in our territory.

The man had referred to himself as the Eternal Vassal and his vassal family had long protected that territory surrounded by Tres España and Hexagone Française.

…''He supposedly protected that territory even when there were no knights.

Constantly modifying the mobile shell to handle any kind of enemy had led to a certain result.

“It is nothing but heavy armor to act as a wall.”

Thick armor that could repel any attack was given the mobility of a mobile shell so that it could just barely move.

It was not all that useful on the battlefield. If it could not move, one could simply ignore it or get close and attack at a weak point. Modern battlefields focused on mobility and modern mobile shells could fly and charge at the enemy ranks. This old-style mobile shell focused on defense so much that it could only walk and could barely move its arms, so it could not keep up with the speed of the battlefield.

Even when protecting a castle or city, the individual defensive power of a vassal or knight was not as important as the spell defenses of the castle or city as a whole.

Due to a need to protect, that obsolete device had not been thrown out and had been further specialized as the generations went on. The result had been the Eternal Vassal’s mobile shell.

The girl named Adele had said her father had given her the shell. In that case, the design principle would be the same: it could not move at all, but it could protect.

…''And it is also a feminine model. How very interesting.

Feminine mobile shells tended to be given feminine body lines and shorter heights. Its ability to deflect enemy attacks, especially those from the front, would be greater than that of her father’s generation.

Up front, Neshinbara tilted his head.

“Knight and vassal armor has been mass-produced lately, but they used to be custom made. To be honest, I don’t really understand this, but I think the era has come full circle.”

“What do you mean?” asked Tenzou.

“This extremely heavy armor design was made to block any kind of shell back in an age before everything became so high-speed, but that same design has suddenly become useful again. Of course, something that cannot move will not be useful as a fighter in the modern high-speed and high-mobility battlefield.”

“But it can function as a wall.”

“A-a wall?” asked Adele. “What do you mean by that!?”

Yoshinao laughed.

“Honey, what has you so happy?”

“Nothing,” he replied to his wife. He straightened his back and returned his expression to normal. “We must not say we are happy. Not while Musashi’s representatives are fighting!!”

As Adele staggered from the second hit, she was half in tears.

…''I-I have to persevere! You withstood it. You put in a good effort. You did well. Good job.

While praising herself, she stood firm.

Her father had often said that perseverance was an important job of a vassal.

When she had heard that, she had assumed he meant it could be hard to go along with what one’s knight superiors said.

…''I-I never thought he meant physical perseverance!!

She then realized that the others had vanished. ''Huh?'' she wondered while unsteadily looking around.

“Why are you all behind me?”

“C’mon, don’t worry about it, Adele! We’re all supporting you!”

“Oh, thank you for that kind of moral support… Wait. Don’t tell me that support is also physic- Oww! A-a third shot!? Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!”

“Bow wow wow wow wow! Are you a dog or something? Anyway, that’s amazing. You’re getting hit pretty good, but you still deflect it. You’re like a god of war.”

“N-no, the armor is being worn down quite a bit! The upper armor will be destroyed after another twenty shots!”

The estimate of twenty put a grimace on the faces of the Tercio students.

''Huh?'' thought Adele as the others began whispering behind her.

She had a bad feeling about where this was headed. She tilted her helmet in suspicion and saw Persona-kun peering at her.

…''Oh, come to think of it, we’re helmet brothers right now.

“Um, Persona-kun? Why are you looking at me like that? Oh, and sorry, but why are you, uh, putting away the nail-covered bat you took from your personal armory? You’re lifting me up from behind? Um, uh… a shield? You’re using me as a shield, aren’t you!?”

As she was lifted into the air and pointed toward the Tercio, she heard Toori’s voice behind her.

“Okay, Pe-yan can handle the mobility, so don’t worry about being so slow, Adele. Your value lies in something other than speed right now.”

“Ah! That was actually pretty good! …Um, why are you running forward? Wait! They have two cannons now! They’ve doubled their motivation and…uh…I’m a pacifist, so…don’t shoot! L-look, I can’t protect myself right now!! I can’t resist!”

A short moment passed.

“Owwww!!”

But something drowned out her shout.

The aerial ship floating overhead suddenly began to fire.

“!?”

The many noises and shaking of the air were pointed north.

“Are they trying to keep the Musashi from sending anything here!?”

As they all groaned worriedly, “Musashi’s” voice came via divine transmission.

“Do not worry.” She took in a breath and regulated her breathing. “We will stop this bombardment. Over.”

That statement was followed by intense noises coming from the direction of the Musashi.

The sounds of fired shells led to repeated sounds of impact in the air above the starboard side and center of the Musashi.

But they were not the sounds of the ship being hit. They were the sounds of the shells fired by Tres España’s guard ship being deflected above the ship. Clear sounds rang out, sparks flew, and the shells fell after either shattering or being crushed. Newly created gravitational barriers stopped a few of the falling fragments and lowered their speed.

Those barriers were being operated by a maid standing on Musashino’s bridge.

It was “Musashi”.

She was as expressionless as ever.

“The academy rules say only a student may confront a student, but they likely intend to interpret the shells falling on the city as ‘stray shots’. Over.”

She spread her arms in the air and controlled the production of gravitational barriers.

She stopped the shells.

Noise filled the air and sparks scattered.

As multiple shells arrived at high speed, she moved her fingers as if playing a keyboard.

And “Musashi” was not the only one intercepting the shells. Several figures stood on the derrick masts of Shinagawa, the first starboard ship.

“That must be the Musashi Ariadust Academy archery club and the others with sharpshooting spells. Over.”

They used a standard method for anti-air interception.

They would first target the shells so they could be tracked and intercepted.

To do this, those on the second mast from the front spread spell curtains over the dangerous airspace the shells would pass through on their path to the ship. Over a wide space in the air, three vertical and four horizontal curtains of light were created. They came from a spell that would track any shell that passed through them.

Next, the different firing squads atop the masts at the back of the ship were tasked with different expanded frames. They were to shoot down any shells that passed through those frames.

Lastly, any missed shells, ones considered dangerous despite passing outside the frames, or ones that were not wholly destroyed, would be handled by “Musashi”.

The students’ voices were audible in the sky.

“Fire!”

All of them had been too nervous to fight on the front lines. In fact, most of the normal students were lacking in combat training and had insufficient physical and mental strength. But even they were able to handle defense or other work on the ships.

“Musashi” looked starboard where the students were intercepting the shells from the masts of Shinagawa.

…''I have determined this is most welcome.

They were protecting their own everyday lives and thus the Musashi itself. As such, she had no objection to helping them.

But she received a report just as she caught an attack that slipped through.

“ ‘Musashi’-sama! I have detected a high-energy ether change from the Tres Españan guard ship!” “Asakusa” communicated via a simple sign frame. “It is coming from their main ether cannon! It is 25cm/38 calibers and is spell operated! Over.”

A moment later, light burst from the southwestern sky.

Those in the western plain saw the light in the sky.

The Tres Españan guard ship floating in the air – a frigate – fired the light that demonstrated it was a warship. The light came from an ether canon that transformed ether into “destruction” and fired it along with a shell.

With a noise like the sky being torn in two and a massive explosion of steam, the beam of light shot toward the Musashi.

That light flew in a curving trajectory as if it had been thrown. Unlike a normal cannon, this ether cannon could be given various effects via spell manipulation. Homing shots and mid-flight directional changes were entirely possible.

The light continued stabbing through the sky even after enveloping two of the tracking curtains of light deployed by the students.

It maintained its energy and flew over Musashino to reach Okutama.

“Musashi” made an instantaneous decision as the ether-enveloped shell arrived. She repeatedly opened gravitational barriers in the air.

“…!!”

An ensemble of crashing, bursting, and shattering sounds was created.

The gravitational barriers were destroyed and the last one ultimately shattered.

“!”

But the ether shell’s trajectory altered slightly so it passed just barely above Okutama.

While leaving a burned color in the air behind it, the light struck the mountains beyond.

With a great roar, the mountain was destroyed down to the roots of the trees over several dozen meters.

“Musashi” did not turn back toward the uprooted trees or the dirt and sand rising like smoke.

She silently remained on guard while “Asakusa” spoke from the sign frame.

“ ‘Musashi’-sama! Well done! Over.”

“No, that was due to their pour aim. They must not be able to see us at the base of the mountain. I have determined the next shot will be a direct hit. However…”

A pale light was visible in the southwestern sky. The ether cannon was preparing its second shot.

It was going to fire.

The second shot would fly in a chopping trajectory that would certainly hit Okutama.

Once it was fired, there was no chance of avoiding it or deflecting it.

But “Musashi” turned forward toward a girl standing on the front mast of Shinagawa.

She wore a white and red outfit with a red binder skirt on either side of her waist.

“Asama-sama. Please handle this. Over.”

“Okay,” said Asama over divine transmission. “The Asama Shrine will use its power to protect the Musashi.”

With the evening sky behind her, a figure in red and white stood in an elevated place.

This was Shinagawa, the first starboard ship of Musashi. The one standing atop the first derrick mast with her black hair whipping in the wind was Asama.

To avoid air resistance, the top of the mast was shaped like the cross-section of a leaf. Her left and right binder skirt, which functioned as a shrine maiden’s red hakama, expanded.

The process only took an instant. Each piece of the skirt’s hem moved and the tips displayed torii-shaped emblems. As those emblems displayed, each binder fixed her position in space and stopped moving.

Then the picks on either side of her white and red shoes drove in the floor. As soon as they did, the two tail binders stretching from the back of her waist ''auspuff''ed a shimmering of heat.

Hanami danced lightly atop her shoulder and spoke.

“Position purification complete.”

“Thanks. …Now, then.”

Asama’s next action was a well-practiced one.

She pulled two bows from behind her waist. After lining them up left and right, she raised them in front of her.

She removed the left bow’s string from the top and bottom and removed the right bow’s string only on the bottom. She then grabbed and pulled the string hanging down from the right bow and attached it to the bowstring reel at the bottom of the left bow.

This attached the left and right bows together top and bottom. The right one was on top and the left on bottom.

“Shirasago Enterprises ‘Umetsubaki’.”

The wrist of the gauntlet covering her left arm had a hole on the thumb side and the little finger side. She stuck a bow into each hole and fixed them in place.

“Connected.”

[[Image:Horizon1B_547.jpg|thumb]]

With the two bows connected vertically, she created the single large bow named Umetsubaki.

With a light shake of the wrist, the top and bottom bowstring reels spun and the tautness was automatically tuned.

It was finished in an instant.

Asama’s actions seemed casual or natural as she held up the large bow.

And the arrow she pulled from her back could easily have been called a stake.

She nocked the meter-long stake that was covered in a white outer shell.

She let out a breath and raised the bow to shooting height.

“Nn.”

When she took in the next breath, she quickly drew back the arrow.

The sound of the drawn bowstring reached its limit and then stopped.

But that was not all. As Hanami clapped atop her shoulder, she spoke.

“Hanami, I want to purify any impurities on its path that will lower its speed or cause its trajectory to stray, so set it to use two Blessings for five hundred meters.”

“Clap.”

As Hanami clapped, Umetsubaki began to change. The upper and lower bows began to transform such that the bow portion protruded forward around the original grips.

“…”

The tension increased and the burden on Asama’s fingertips and arm increased along with it.

“…!”

She clenched her teeth and raised her eyebrows as she endured it.

She ignored the sweat on her brow while strength gathered in her eyes.

As Umetsubaki formed an upper and lower V shape as if bending in the wind, her green eye looked into the distance.

“Located.”

In that instant, the light arrived.

The beam from the ether cannon arrived before the sound did.

But even as that light drew near, Asama did not waver. She withstood it all until she heard the metallic noise of Umetsubaki completing its transformation. And at that point…

“!!”

She released it.

Umetsubaki’s tension was released as if repelled and both the bow and bowstring split the air. A slicing sound rang out, the great speed created a mist around her, and the mist became a wave decorating her red and white outfit. The mist danced in the wind, Asama’s red and white was visible through it, and it finally vanished like scattering flowers.

By the time she finished her follow-through pose and took a breath, the arrow stake had already reached its target.

“!!”

An immense shattering of light filled the sky.

The ether cannon’s attack was purified and smashed to pieces.

Cheers rose from within and atop the Musashi.

They expressed praise for Asama and relief that their safety was assured.

And two people heard those voices from the sky.

Naito flew above the Musashi on a wooden broom with Naruze riding tandem with her.

She turned toward the Tres Españan guard ship which did not fire a third shot.

“The Musashi is an aerial city ship, so its defenses are on the level of a fortress city. During its great renovation, the Testament Union didn’t allow anti-air equipment to use against pirates, but they did allow defensive barriers. Shrine spells like Asamachi’s are also allowed as long as they are for monster extermination or defense, so we can withstand a fair bit. Of course, it’s because they know, that they aren’t approaching and are just making sure we can’t move.”

“That’s right.”

Naruze looked toward a spot near the bottom surface of the Musashi. On the back of each ship was a spell shaft driver that the engine division used to eject materials. One of those was currently activated.

“Naomasa making a show of preparing to send out her god of war seems to have done the trick. She can also adjust the angle to a certain extent, so a Kraken-class frigate isn’t about to fly above us.”

“Thanks to that, they’ve been indecently poking at us like this. What about K.P.A. Italia’s white one over there?”

“The Regno Unito is the pope-chancellor’s ship, so its weapons have been quiet. Its closer to being a galley and the spell cannon on the front is its main cannon, so it has to face the Musashi to fire on us. It’ll probably head out if the Musashi begins to fly.”

Meanwhile, the shellfire grew more numerous once more.

Gravitational barriers appeared and disappeared between them and the Musashi. Every time they did, a clear sound raced through the air.

“It feels like having our head forced down. I don’t like it.”

Naruze used the white pen in her hand to draw on a manuscript crop mark frame floating in the air. A still image of Neshinbara appeared in the top right corner of the frame. She surrounded his face with lines to form a panel. An image of him looking to the side appeared next to it and she surrounded it with a panel as well.

“Neshinbara, how are things there?”

A speech bubble appeared to provide his answer.

“Our preparations are going well. We should be in position soon. Urquiaga-kun must have nothing else to do because he’s even helping out. The work in elevated places is dangerous, so his help is most welcome.”

“You make a long storyboard.”

Someone then intruded on the line. A panel in a small frame appeared with “Musashi” inside it.

“Naito-sama, Naruze-sama, our sound detection picked up on the engine of a god of war just now. It is the clockwork-conversion engine of the god of wars made by K.P.A. Italia’s Fino Alba brand. After the current covering fire, a single craft is likely to attack. Please intercept it as planned. Over.”

“That cross-legged guy must be pretty motivated to come here on his own.”

Naito gave a small nod.

“We’ll have to do something. It would be very bad if it slipped past the gravitational barriers and fired on the surface. After all, the Musashi’s living areas are made light and divided into blocks, so they’re pretty fragile. And if the people panic, more problems will come. We need to do something, Ga-chan.”

Naito’s voice had a slight low tone to it.

Meanwhile, a shimmering appeared from the land port.

The red and white four-winged god of war wore aerial combat armored clothing.

“Here it comes, Margot!”

Naito nodded and prepared herself along with Naruze.

She placed her hands together on the wooden broom she rode and pressed her forehead against it as if crouching down. Behind her, Naruze held out the pen in her hand.

“I never thought we would end up fighting Tsirhc as Technohexen.”

Naito gave no response.

Naruze smiled while watching her back and raised wings.

“Sorry, Naito. I see us as us, so let’s work together, keep living, and show them what we can do.” She took a breath. “Technomagie are the spells shared in secret that cannot be sufficiently studied because the Tsirhc religion fears them, views them as an enemy, and prioritizes their destruction. Musashi has been an excellent hideout.”

As she spoke, they watched the enemy approach and they moved in opposite vertical directions. Naito and her broom moved up into the air. Naruze and her pen threw themselves toward the earth.

“And so there is meaning in exposing our status as Technohexen in order to fight for Musashi’s safety!!”

The two joined voices in the air.

“Verwandlung!”

And with metallic noises, their Technohexen equipment was summoned behind them.

Naruze spread her black wings.

“Weiss Fräulein!!”

Naito spread her gold wings.

“Schwarz Fräulein!!”

Their Technohexen outfits opened like flowers in midair. Naruze’s was white and Naito’s black.

The center of the development was the wooden broom and the pen.

A yellow light flashed in the stone embedded in their respective tools and an alarm sounded.

'''“Expanding allotted space. Everyone, please be careful.”

White and black witch outfits spread out in midair. They both looked like spiders with their legs spread, but as they expanded, they also looked like butterflies or birds. They quickly wrapped around the two of them.

At the same time, their current uniforms carried out an automatic hard point disrobing.

A field built into the witch outfit expansion process removed and stored the uniforms. The space opened by the summoning stored the uniforms and removed or filled in the unnecessary empty space.

Their skin was exposed for just an instant. The very next moment, the white and black inner suits forming the foundation of the witch outfits had wrapped tightly around their bodies.

The inner suits had a simple shape, so there was almost no difference in their coloration at this point.

But that quickly changed.

The hard point parts which acted as base points for equipment and fixed the inner suits in place, attached around their necks, on the sides of their chests, and on the sides of their waists. They were all rectangular or square, but black-winged Naruze’s were white and gold-winged Naito’s were black.

Each part contained the Edel Brocken emblem and either the words “Weiss Fräulein” or the words “Schwarz Fräulein”.

White and black waves then raced around the two of them. The wind flipped up the skirt, stole, and other parts of their witch outfits. As all those attached to the hard point parts, they both spoke.

“Come out, Schwarz Fräulein!

“Come on, Weiss Fräulein!”

Steel parts appeared around the broom and pen they held up.

These were the Verstärken Schale for Technohexen equipment.

The brush portion of Naito’s broom was surrounded by a vernier nozzle and the rest was wrapped in a long and narrow ship’s hull.

Meanwhile, Naruze’s pen was surrounded by a long spear-like collection of parts.

Bolts were fired into the air to fix all the parts into place.

The rest finished in a series of instants.

They were both wrapped in black and white witch outfits, Naito was given a black three-cornered hat, and Naruze was given a white bonnet.

The bolts assembled the specialized Verstärken Schale around their respective tools.

With metallic noises, white and black ether light ran through the air and the joints to complete the process.

Gold-winged Naito held a narrow ship-like wooden broom as a Schwarz Hexen.

Black-winged Naruze held a long spear-like pen as a Weiss Hexen.

The two Technohexen exchanged a glance.

“Right!”

They both straddled their weapons and looked up into the sky.

“Draw some speed, Weiss Fräulein!”

“Accelerate, Schwarz Fräulein!!”

The two of them raced into the sky to pursue the flying god of war.

A giant white ship had the emblem of K.P.A. Italia on the side.

It was Regno Unito. On the bow which was shaped much like a rectangular, a table had been set up and a man in a white cloak sat at it.

He wrote a letter without listening to the steel noises from the north or looking toward the ships producing them. He was writing to the kings and chancellors of various lands and other influential people with an interest in Catholicism. He signed one of them as he spoke to himself.

“ ‘I hope to eventually visit you up north.’ …I really am terrible at polite language.”

Innocentius finally looked up into the sky dyed with the colors of evening.

“What is going on, hm?”

“Oh, yes,” replied the female student underneath the nearby tent.

She appeared from next to the desk covered in divine transmission equipment because an upperclassman pushed her out.

“A first year? What city’s academy are you from? I can’t believe they would send someone like you to the front lines.”

“Oh, I, um, your holiness… Genova.”

The girl standing between him and the divine transmission desk seemed to wither before him, so he spoke with no change of expression.

“It doesn’t matter here that Genova tried to get rich by using Sion non-humans escaped from Tres España as financial agents. We are here as K.P.A. Italia and thus a representative of the Testament Union. Also, it was thanks to cities like yours and Lombardia that we avoided the hell of debt that Tres España has found themselves in.”

“Y-you do not have a problem with Genova?”

“As long as you keep it to the foreigners or stay within what is allowed to recreate the Testament descriptions. Any Catholic that goes beyond that will be punished. I do understand the meaning of money.”

Innocentius emphasized his last statement which seemed to relieve the girl because she gave a small sigh and approached.

She produced a ''senicale fiamma''.

“Tres España’s god of war has engaged Musashi’s Technohexen in combat above the Musashi. The three Tres Españan guard ships in the western plain are firing on the Musashi while receiving backup from the supply ships.”

“Given that they still have to return home, they’re lucky they can send out that many main ships and supply ships. How are they doing?”

“The three ships are fixed in place to provide the concentrated firepower needed to shoot down any of Musashi’s transport ships before they can reach the western plain. They are currently firing on the Musashi’s three starboard ships and two central ships. The bombardment is also reaching the farthest back port ship, but…”

“The Musashi’s front port ship is a cargo ship, isn’t it? Could they send a transport ship from there?”

“Testament,” replied the female student. “Their two front ships, Asakusa and Shinagawa, are cargo ships, but a mountain exists between them and us. They would need to fly over that mountain to send a transport ship here.”

“But our ships could fire on them as they did? I went to check the barrier to the eastern mountain path today, but the valley wasn’t wide enough for a ship to fly here while hiding behind the mountain.”

“Testament. We have decided the port side poses no threat. And it seems the ground unit has clashed with the unit containing Musashi’s chancellor.”

“Clashed? Taking this slow, are they? Tell the special duty officers in charge to crush them.”

“Oh, y-yes.”

“Testament.”

“Oh, Testament. Sorry.”

“Very good. Now hurry. What are those special duty officers doing? The strong are not supposed to gradually injure the weak until they eventually collapse. The strong crush them in an instant with immeasurable power.” He took a breath. “Crush them right this instant.”

In the western plain, the charge continued with Adele at the lead.

The Tercio students saw them running forward.

“…!?”

They began to back away, but it was too late.

The charge approached the left side of the Tercio, at the edge of the pike unit surrounding the musketeers. They were targeting the gap between the different units. Approaching there meant being fired on from the front of the Tercio and from the musket unit at the left corner.

“Go!”

But Musashi’s formation split into small groups. First, it was a group of ten.

“Go, us!”

That group split into two columns and ran.

As they ran forward, those in front would let the bullets hit until their charms had been consumed to a certain extent. They then circled to the back. This rotation allowed them to maintain their speed.

The enemy hurriedly took aim.

“…!!”

But another group of ten split off after a short pause and ran as if pursuing the leading two columns.

A moment later, a new group of ten split off. They all took different routes, but their destination was narrowed down to a single point.

As they split into several groups at such close range, the front line of enemy musketeers was unsure where to aim. The commanders of the enemy platoons used their swords to point out the group for that platoon to target, but Musashi’s students were lighter and quicker than before.

The musketeers could not immediately target them and the gap between them shrank.

“Ohhh!”

The leading members of Musashi’s guard unit held their defensive charms in their left hand and their spears in their right.

As they continued forward, they noticed a sudden movement.

A trumpet blasted from within the Tercio and the earth rumbled.

And then everyone on Musashi’s side saw the Tercio rapidly fall back despite being so closely-packed.

Tenzou saw it happen as he continued his diversion at a distance.

The Tercio rapidly retreated.

“No! This is just a trick to make it look like they are!!”

The Tercio moved in his vision, but they were not simply moving away.

The Tercio was splitting in two. One group fell back while the other advanced.

…''Is this…?

As a group, that sort of closely-packed formation was highly defensive and kept losses to a minimum, but they lacked mobility.

However, that meant high-level orders were not needed and warriors with little training could be used.

And as a major formation often used in training, the Tercio was a simple way of gaining a consensus in a group containing warriors from both Tres España and K.P.A. Italia.

Tenzou had assumed that was the purpose behind the Tercio.

…''I was wrong!

It was a simple matter. The enemy had split the Tercio between the Tres España unit and the K.P.A. Italia unit. K.P.A. Italia had moved left and right while Tres España remained in the center.

On top of that, the enemy divided their chain of command in three.

Rather than moving the entire giant formation, they would split apart when needed.

They were three phalanx-like formations that had merely taken the overall form of a Tercio.

And due to the division between academy, they could quickly and surly create the split.

The left edge unit that Toori’s group was charging toward had split off and fallen back, but they were replaced by two units that came forward from the right.

Rather than simply falling back, two units moved forward to fill the gap.

“Toori-dono! They are coming from the side!!”

At the sound of a trumpet, the two advancing units turned ninety degrees to the right and faced Toori’s group.

Toori’s group was obstructed by the retreating formation to the front and now had great pressure from the side.

And…

“!?”

Bullets flew toward them. But rather than from the legion in front, it came from the western mountain to the right.

“It can’t be,” said someone as everyone turned toward the western mountain.

Lines of red uniforms could be seen descending the slope with spears and guns in hand.

They slowly yet surely approached the western plain from the tree-filled slope.

“Did they come from the ship up above!?”

They must have travelled in small groups through the forest from behind so that the Musashi group could not see. It had taken time, but it was proving extremely effective. They were already forming ranks between the trees and they were clearly attempting to drive the diversion unit toward the eastern slope where Toori’s group was.

“Kh!”

Tenzou raised a hand and waved to the east. He was instructing his diversion unit to retreat and regroup with Toori’s group to the east.

The battlefield was beginning to corner Toori’s group.

They were on the verge of being crushed.

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| [[Horizon:Volume 1B Chapter_35|Chapter 35]]
| [[Horizon:Volume_1B_Chapter_37|Chapter 37]]
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