Editing Horizon:GT3 Chapter10

==Chapter 10: England and a Daughter Leaving Home==
[[Image:Horizon_GT3_p243.jpg|thumb]]
''Worries

''Can disappear

''Or be eliminated

''Like bubbles popping

'''Point Allocation (Joining Forces)

●

Masazumi and Futayo entered the English embassy. In the hall that had been turned into a dining room, they exchanged words while seated by a window which gave a view of the sun setting in the Musashi sky.

○

“Hey, wait a second, Masazumi. We have some information from the Blue Thunder to give first.”

“You just had to interrupt me right when I was getting started, didn’t you!? So what information do you have?”

“Judge,” replied Mitotsudaira. “When I went with Kimi and Tomo for practice, we encountered someone.”

●

Mitotsudaira spotted Kimi and Asama standing in front of the Blue Thunder.

They would be gathering at the Asama Shrine for a meeting regarding their performance at the next day’s victory celebration. The performances this time were intended as a purification, so the program didn’t give them much time.

So they had already decided they wouldn’t play any new songs and would simply play a few of their past hits and some covers, but…

“1st Special Duty Officer? The meeting at the Blue Thunder already ended.”

The 1st Special Duty Officer was there. He was looking inside the cafe.

“Has Masazumi-dono left yet?”

''Oh,'' thought Mitotsudaira in realization. Asama nodded in apparent understanding, so Mitotsudaira matched the head movement and…

“If you don’t get to the English embassy soon, visiting hours will end.”

“Tenzou-kun, I recommend arriving just as Masazumi and Futayo leave. Mito, how long do you think it will take them?”

“Good question,” thought Mitotsudaira. Unlike with Gin, most of Mary’s boarding procedure had been completed by Asama when she arrived on the Musashi. There was still the process with England, so she couldn’t go free right away, but…

“The paperwork on this end should only take another 20 minutes, I would say.”

Visiting hours were until 8 at night. It was currently 6:20, so he would have more than an hour of time to speak with Mary.

…''However…

Mitotsudaira exchanged a look with Asama, who smiled bitterly.

“I never imagined you would be in this position, Tenzou-kun.”

“I honestly can barely believe it’s real myself.”

“Barely? Bare lie? Lie? All a lie?”

“No, it is very much true, okay?”

The black algae must have known the fighting was over because they were in a very good mood. Meanwhile, Kimi must had gone inside to order a gift he could bring with him, so they were apparently going to stick around until he left.

“Mom? Can you whip up some pretzels or something real quick? Oh, you can spread some bean paste on naan right away? Then cut that into bite-size pieces and pack them up in a case please. …Eh? Oh, you know. We need to help Tenzou look good for the English Princess he abducted.”

“Really!?” said the owner, sticking her head out from the back. She pointed toward the 1st Special Duty Officer. “Your dad’s gonna be furious since he loves busty blondes and his wife’s always hitting him for it, Tenzou-kun!”

“I-is that how people see my dad!?”

“Don’t worry about it,” said the owner with a dismissive wave of her hand. She also gestured for Horizon to pull out a knife and a cutting board. “So are you going to move out? Are you getting ready for that?”

●

Asama saw Tenzou’s hat’s eyes form horizontal lines.

…''Yeah, that has to be pretty awkward.

“Well…”

Tenzou scratched his head. Asama couldn’t really blame him.

“The Musashi still hasn’t recovered from the Armada Battle. The people whose homes or dorms were damaged are getting priority when it comes to homes and that should start going through tonight, so it might be a bad time to be looking for a new home.”

“Oh? Can’t you get some help from Tomo-chan or Masazumi-san’s privileges?”

“The thing is,” said Tenzou. “Even if I could, I want to find it myself. But…”

That he swallowed the words “maybe I’m being naive” made Asama want to help him if she could.

So she quickly checked through the available places on Tama.

“I’ll avoid acting as an intermediary, but can I suggest locations for you? Tama would be a good fit since the English embassy is there, right? Oh, and it would have to be soundproofed.”

“Tomo! Tomo! Why is that where your mind goes first!?”

Asama leaned in close to Mitotsudaira.

“Soundproofing on the Musashi is usually based on divine protection rather than building material and, due to the diplomats living there, the protections on Tama tend to be designed to prevent spying. And with quality protections, you also know you will be getting decent security, climate control, and ether fuel management, so it is a sign of a comfortable home.”

“Oh, really? I thought you meant it in a more 18+ kind of way.”

“Well, Europeans do tend to be passionate and kinky, so that is another reason for the high demand on Tama.”

“Tomo! Tomo! You just ruined your explanation!”

There were times when VIPs with the “hidden” setting would go to her father with deadly serious looks on their faces. And when they left, they would be profusely thanking her father and saying “I can’t believe that’s allowed!”, so she did think Shinto could maybe be too lax.

“But my biggest concern is all the flowers Mary-san produces. Those are ether, so a room with a decent defense protection will be needed to keep them from leaking out. Otherwise they would become a nuisance for the neighbors.”

“Hm,” groaned Tenzou when he heard that. “But rent for a room like that would be high, wouldn’t it?”

“But that also means the room wouldn’t have been assigned as one of the shelter homes being assigned to people right now, so you could sign a lease right away.”

“Heh heh. Tenzou, sounds like you can solve everything by starting to earn enough to support your family.”

“Couldn’t he just forgo his usual three porn games a month?”

“I need those to keep up with the conversations with the other guys, so it’s not that easy…”

''Why are boys such a pain?'' thought Asama, but then Tenzou nodded.

“It sounds like I won’t have trouble finding a room with help from Asama-dono or Masazumi-dono. That just leaves being able to afford it, so I should probably visit an employment agency tonight.”

“After the battle, you shouldn’t have a hard time finding work,” said Mitotsudaira. “But even if it doesn’t pay as much, I would recommend finding a job at a major or local company that you can keep longer term. Those places should be looking for help right now too. And don’t be shy about using your position as 1st Special Duty Officer and Mary’s presence to help you keep that job.”

It was times like this that reminded Asama that Mitotsudaira owned a corporate syndicate.

And Tenzou gave a deep nod.

“I don’t want Mary-dono seeing me look bad, but staying with her is the most important thing right now. I will do what I can.”

“I imagine Mary-san will want to work too, so don’t stop her when she makes the offer. Besides, I can just see you getting so obsessed with the work you forget your goal is to earn money and end up using up time you could be spending with her. So whenever you’re away from your room, you can both work and then spend the rest of your time together.”

“It pains me to admit it, but I could see myself doing that too. …Thank you for all of this.”

“Heh heh. You think too much. …Being together is a meaningless concept while on the Musashi. As long as we’re somewhere on these eight ships, we’re all together.”

“True,” said Tenzou just as Horizon stepped out with the Blue Thunder’s lights shining from behind her.

She carried a wicker basket wrapped in a Blue Thunder handkerchief.

“Horizon-dono, that is actually food, I hope?”

“Judge,” nodded Horizon, opening the basket’s lid. As Kimi had described, it contained bite-size snacks made by cutting up hard, thin naan with bean paste spread on top.

“It is naan-food.”

''I suppose that technically counts as a pun.”

○

Adele saw Mary prostrate herself toward Asama and the 5th Special Duty Officer.

“Eh?” they said in confusion. “I-is something the matter, Mary?”

…''You could say it’s a ‘naan-issue’, Asama-san!

Adele noticed the Vice President swaying and warming up in preparation to speak, but she chose to ignore that. But after her prostration, Mary wrapped herself in a blanket and lay down.

“Thank you so much! Oh, Master Tenzou…!”

Adele wasn’t certain, but it seemed like the 1st Special Duty Officer was responsible. Mary then sat up with her face flushed and took a breath.

“U-um, my discussion with Lady Masazumi ended awfully quickly, didn’t it?”

“Judge. Some real naan-sense if you ask me. Completely naan-sensical.”

Adele knew everyone’s lack of response was a kindness.

●

Masazumi organized the sign frames Tsukinowa produced, took the ones she was giving to Asama, “Musashi”, and the committee heads and stored them on the divine network, and directly handed over those she was giving to Mary.

“Now, your boarding and release processes are complete. We’re still waiting for a response from England, but the current plan is to release you on the evening of the third day. I should visit again then to let you know.”

“Thank you so much for all of this.”

Mary started to bow, but Masazumi stopped her.

She wasn’t done yet. To get a grasp of the current situation, she wanted to ask similar questions to the ones she had asked Tres España earlier.

…''What decisions have England made after the Armada Battle and what is their situation with the other nations?

The English embassy’s staff were all around here. But this place was meant for discussions like this and Futayo was waiting behind her if anything did happen. So she got straight to the point.

“Currently, Musashi is said to have won the Armada Battle. And we have invited some guests, such as Tachibana Gin. If you have any ideas about what nations we should be concerned about in this situation, I would like to hear them.”

“Well,” replied Mary. She raised her right hand toward the nearby staff members to tell them this was fine. “At the moment, I think Musashi should be most concerned about England.”

●

Mary didn’t hesitate to give her analysis.

The Musashi Vice President listened without expression or comment. But their Vice Chancellor…

“Are you saying England will turn on us, Mary-sama?”

“Yes. Looking at the nations that participated in the Armada Battle and are currently close to the Musashi, Tres España cannot keep such a large fleet in this airspace long term, so they will return home. And until they can fix up their domestic issues, they will want to avoid any conflict against foreign opponents. Plus, from a history recreation perspective, Musashi is a nonexistent factor for the provisional ruling nations. Battling an opponent like that would generally be a negative, so Tres España cannot attack Musashi at present.”

“Judge. We heard much the same thing at the Tres Españan embassy earlier.”

That meant they could trust what Mary had to say.

…''I need to live up to that trust.

If she didn’t think through her responses, it could hurt their future trust of her. And that would affect Tenzou’s honor.

○

Adele saw Mary curl up in a blanket and roll lightly atop a futon.

“Honestly! Why was I so clueless!?”

''So the 1st Special Duty Officer is to blame then?'' Adele understood that much.

●

Mary took a breath and continued speaking.

She gave her answer to the Musashi Vice President’s question. Her job here wasn’t to give them the answer they wanted to hear or an answer that would make her look good. She simply had to provide a reasonable response.

“And in our current position, I am also concerned about Hexagone Française since IZUMO is located there. But the Musashi has not yet docked at IZUMO, so Hexagone Française has no right to approach the Musashi. I imagine the Musashi will be immobilized after it docks and you will need to be careful then, but Hexagone Française is currently focused on the Thirty Years’ War. I think they should be paying more attention to the actions of M.H.R.R. and other relevant nations there.”

The point was she felt both Tres España and Hexagone Française would have a hard time messing with Musashi at the moment and they had little right to do so. As for England…

“There is a chance some Tres Españan students failed to escape the Musashi in time and are still hiding onboard. Have you already sent students like that from the embassy to Tres España?”

“Judge, we’re in the process. The problem is that Tachibana Gin is a name inheritor, so a record would remain of her presence on the Musashi. So instead of a prisoner, we freed her as a guest. That means she has chosen to remain on the Musashi of her own free will.”

“That was a good decision.”

Mary was relieved for a few different reasons.

She had barely met Tachibana Gin, but she knew the girl had participated in the Armada Battle because her husband had lost to the Musashi Vice Chancellor who was here now.

The wife had hoped to avenge her husband to preserve his inherited name.

…''So there are those who suffer to preserve an inherited name.

Mary herself had nearly been killed for the inherited name she couldn’t get rid of. From her position, she wondered if Tachibana Gin would be happier freeing herself from her inherited name. But…

…''She did it for a loved one.

She had someone just like the loved one who had saved Mary. For Gin, their inherited names would be what tied the two together. And the same could be said for Mary.

So Mary was glad Gin hadn’t fallen into even greater suffering after her loss. Also…

“With Lady Tachibana Gin and any others you have taken prisoner, England might declare their connection to Musashi as part of the cleanup after the Armada Battle and then request you hand over Lady Gin.”

“Your sister would go that far?”

“This isn’t about what my sister wants. I imagine the academy is safe now, but the people who actually live on the coast will still be afraid.”

So…

“Anything that could put their minds at ease can be seen as necessary to protect the people, even if it isn’t strictly necessary.”

“And handing over Tachibana Gin would qualify?”

“Yes.” Mary nodded. “But with Lady Tachibana Gin freed, England has no right to demand Musashi hand her over.”

“Do you think an English spy could board us and abduct her?”

“She proved herself superior to Lord Drake. If anyone capable of abducting her boarded the Musashi, wouldn’t you detect them right away?

“And so,” said Mary. “I think your arrangement drastically reduces the threat posed by England. The only thing to worry about would be if England claims the Armada Battle remains in effect until Musashi docks at IZUMO, but…”

“Even if England did send out a fleet, we would be docked at IZUMO before they arrived.”

The Musashi Vice President smiled a little. And Mary…

“–––––”

She felt her expression relaxing too.

She was on the Musashi now. Even if she was still in the English embassy, she felt like she could create shared secrets with them here.

“If my sister does send out a fleet from England, it will be to demand I return home. I won’t say it isn’t possible, but I don’t find it very likely.”

○

Gin felt herself rapidly awakening while slumped on the floor.

She sat up. And faced the English princess.

“Mary-sama, I failed to think things through that far back then. Thank you very much for hinting at what might have happened to me.”

“I don’t see how you could have viewed the situation rationally with the loss of your inherited name looming like that. If you had been as calm as you are now, I bet you would have had even greater insights than mine.”

Her kindness soaked into Gin. Meanwhile, the 3rd Special Duty Officer spoke from behind her.

“She’s a goddess…”

Gin kind of agreed, but why did she suspect the two of them meant it in different ways?

○

Masazumi thought as she created the record of that first day’s conversation with Mary.

…''So England was innocent too.

“Tres España didn’t have time to set up or interfere with the Buke Shohatto. And England…”

“Yes,” said Mary. “Looking back at my decision now, I can see that I was considering measures based on the Armada Battle because I honestly knew nothing about the Buke Shohatto. That said, I am confident my close involvement in England’s history recreation gave me an understanding of England’s circumstances on par with the Fairy Queen. She might have interfered with Musashi and called it a continuation of the Armada Battle, but I don’t think England could have chosen to interfere with the Far Eastern history recreation of the Buke Shohatto at that point in time.”

“Ohh, that’s a bold statement, Ma-yan.”

Mary suddenly blushed and wrapped herself in the blanket again.

“No, I’m not bold at all.”

“So Masazumi and Futayo left and then the 1st Special Duty Officer arrived, right? What happened then?”

Masazumi was a little interested in that herself. Partially because they hadn’t had an easy topic for a bit now and partially because she was puzzled by the lack of an answer.

“Yes, we can use that to take a short break. Mary, what happened when you met with Crossunite on the first day?”

“Well, Master Tenzou showed up and gave me some treats which I shared with everyone in a casual tea party.”

“Hold it! We need to start a new chapter in the records for this one! Okay!?”

Masazumi was sort of appreciated Naruze taking charge here.

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