Editing Horizon:Volume 10A Chapter 6 (section)

==Chapter 6: First One to the Waiting Area==
[[File:Horizon10A_p0189.jpg|thumb]]
''I turn back and someone is there

''They could be an enemy

''They could be an ally

''Which do I hope it is?

'''Point Allocation (Face Them)

●

…''I can’t believe this.

Ikeda truly wished he had gotten some sleep.

He had begun the night’s work out of camaraderie since Kani and the others were fighting at Shizugatake. And it had been concluded in the tent that it would be best not to rush extracting data from the automata, so he had been prepared for a long run.

“And now a new mission.”

A new mission when it was already late at night hit especially hard.

And it was in his field – his specialty. The request had come from P.A. Oda’s representative committee, but he knew Ishida Mitsunari was behind it.

Ishida was apparently on her way to Honnouji with Kani, Nabeshima, and Asano, so everything was on the move now.

He couldn’t refuse and he couldn’t be slow about it either.

…''So I’ll have to rush.

''It is what it is,'' he decided, leaving the tent and finding the moons had already descended a lot to the west. Earlier, he had seen Honnouji being drawn up toward one moon in the northwestern sky. He had his thoughts on that matter, but he had soon returned to the tent and resumed his work. Still…

“Y’know…”

The divine net said a meteor shower was still falling to the west.

From his position east of Honnouji, that would only start being a problem tomorrow, so all he did was check the path of the moons and record the falling meteors visible from the east.

It was all so cataclysmic.

But since it had started at Honnouji, the response differed between regions.

P.A. Oda had ordered all its people to at least remain on partial standby. Because it had been possible some groups or forces might make a move with the Honnouji Incident happening.

But while there had been some talk of that happening, there hadn’t been any lasting trouble.

Probably because what had happened had caught everyone by surprise.

“Yeah, from the outside, they just saw something rising up toward the moon.”

They would first need to determine whether or not that had been the Honnouji Incident. The Testament mentioned that information had also been confused during the Age of the Gods and Nobunaga’s death was never truly confirmed, so ''all of this'' would likely later be written off as a recreation of that.

…''Now.

There was activity around him since a partial standby order had been given. The transport ship they used as a base had lights on in the bridge and elsewhere.

This was not the familiar night of the Mikawa Cochin Farm.

Ikeda left the tent and walked along the path of light created by the tent’s entrance.

Even when he left the artificial light, he could see the grassy clearing below his feet in the moonlight.

A glowing figure sat atop the fence that had been hurriedly built across that clearing.

“Osakabe-hime.”

He snapped his fingers and the quiet sound traveled through the fairly damp night, getting her to turn around atop the fence surrounding the large free range space for the Mikawa Cochin.

“Teru-ru-ru-ru, you’re awake-ake-ake-ake? A job-ob-ob-ob?”

“Yeah, I’m taking a few specialists with me. And you too, okay?”

“Going on a trip-ip-ip-ip-ip?”

''Come to think of it, this is like a trip into the Honnouji Incident night with Osakabe-hime,'' he thought, but the others were also on their way there in the Azuchi Castle. Except…

“Will it take long-ong-ong-ong?”

“I’m not sure. I feel like it might not take long at all. If we keep them waiting too long, they might cancel.”

He also didn’t want to spend long away. Because he couldn’t leave the Mikawa Cochin alone that long. Everyone who worked here was attached to the place. Most of the others were upperclassmen, but he was basically their superior since he was a name inheritor.

…''If I said I was abandoning the Cochin, they might rebel.

He was honestly doing great financially. But when he turned around, he saw the tent he used as a workplace. He didn’t know what he would learn by searching the New Nagoya Castle’s automata, but…

…''That mysterious work is my job.

“What is it-it-it-it?”

“Well, Honnouji is happening and the Genesis Project is nearly at checkmate.”

“It’s going well-ell-ell-ell?”

“Testament, that’s right. So the others just have to defeat Musashi and it’s over. The Genesis Project will be completed and we’ll forget everything in a clean reset.

“But,” he said, pointing toward the tent behind him.

A few of the salvaged Mikawa automata were lying inside.

The salvage work was still underway, so they would probably find more that were mostly intact and there was a decent chance they would find materials from New Nagoya Castle itself.

But even now, P.A. Oda’s central figures hadn’t told him to stop working.

Would that change tomorrow? But he had been told to prioritize this over his schoolwork.

…''What is this?

Something felt off. This was different from the Genesis Project that had been gradually built up and was now being completed. He felt like he alone existed in some other timeline.

The truth of Mikawa and New Nagoya Castle had to be found out regardless of the Genesis Project’s progress.

“What is this? Could my research here play some role after the coming battle is over? What do you think?”

●

As information arrived from the Musashino’s bridge, Masazumi spread the sign frames out atop the academy bridge.

They had 15 minutes left until the Azuchi arrived. The two ships could already see each other.

The Musashi’s bow was directed east and the Azuchi was crossing Lake Biwa, which stretched north to south, and then continuing south from there.

At this rate, the Azuchi would collide with the Musashi’s side, but…

“Masazumi, does the Azuchi intend to ram us?” asked Futayo, who was up on the bridge as Masazumi and Horizon’s bodyguard.

“Judge.” Masazumi nodded. “I think it’s a possibility.”

“Yeah,” replied Naito who was above the port that formed a wing on Murayama’s northern-facing starboard side. She was in position to instantly respond if the enemy did send transport ships to ram them.

'''Gold Mar:''' “After all, we’ve only got the Musashi. Even without the Azuchi, they have the fighting forces of P.A. Oda and M.H.R.R. to draw on, right? But we only have the Musashi.”

'''Circle Be:''' “Judge. That’s what makes these battles such a risk for Musashi. You need to do whatever you can without hesitation, Masazumi!”

It felt like a long time indeed since Augesvarer last gave decent advice.

'''Circle Be:''' “We’ve been gathering foreign money in the Musashi ever since Mikawa, but if we lose the Musashi, we’ll be obligated to pay all that back, which will not end well for us! So don’t let us down!”

'''Vice President:''' “You sure are blatant!”

But if she was going to do whatever she could, what options did she have? ''As the commander, I need to know my options,'' she thought.

“Do we have some kind of last resort?”

Hearing Masazumi’s question, everyone there turned to look at Horizon.

Horizon did not notice for a few seconds, but she eventually realized she was the center of attention and raised both hands.

“That would likely be my stone monument attack.”

“You won’t be using the Logismoi Oplo?”

“Mitotsudaira-sama, we must not rely on weapons with such a low batting average.”

'''Tachibana Wife:''' “Muneshige-sama! Muneshige-sama! You don’t need to add a post to your site explaining how all the Logismoi Oplo were used at Honnouji!”

''It really was the monument attack that clinched things. So long story short: the Tachibana Wife has her work cut out for her.

Everyone opened their sign frames and checked on the pair at the Okutama stern deck that acted as a cargo port.

'''Asama:''' “Tenzou-kun, how is Mary doing?”

'''10ZO:''' “What do you mean by that exactly!?”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh. We just need to know if she’s awake or not. So is she?”

“Well,” replied Crossunite.

'''10ZO:''' “She cannot engage in any fierce fighting, but some defensive counterattacks from here should be fine. I explained that to her earlier and she agreed.”

●

…''But Mary-dono is doing a lot better than I expected.

Looking straight out from Okutama’s stern cargo port, you could see the south of Kyou, the land leading to Nara, and the forests of M.H.R.R. beyond that.

The bright surface visible at the far end of the forest would be the M.H.R.R. Protestant territory where the night’s excitement would mean no one was getting any sleep. Tomoe Gozen may have been a part of that, but they still hadn’t managed any official communication or information exchange with her.

The coming battle with the Hashiba forces was more important.

He and Mary were here in preparation for that.

He was here for range finding and observations. Mary was here to use Ex. Collbrande.

But he was curious about something. He had had the thought earlier too, but…

…''Isn’t Mary-dono doing a little too well?

Light was scattering. Glowing flowers continued to fall not so much around her as from her.

●

Mary was full of energy.

Maybe energy was an odd way of putting it, but she just felt so lively. She had fought so much and been present during the ley line disturbance that was the Honnouji Incident, yet…

…''What is this?

Flowers were scattering.

White water lilies were falling from her hair and scattering in the air around her.

They wouldn’t stop. She had tried shaking them off, thinking they were in the way, but that had caused many more to spill out like rainwater gathered on a roof and she had stopped making any unnecessary movements.

She more or less knew the cause.

The first cause was the time spent at Mitotsudaira’s mother’s house during summer break.

The forest and spring environment had matched her spirit side, so the excess that had entered her during her human life had vanished.

She had always thought she didn’t have much of that “excess”, but she had underestimated Musashi. They left their mark on a spirit who wanted to be human. Some might call it an impurity, but it wasn’t a bad thing. It simply meant her phase was adapting to them and, without that adaptation, she would eventually fade away into nothing unless she returned to the land of her birth.

For this, she thanked her parents who had made her a half-spirit. And she knew her spirit mother and her father had made sure to complete their history recreation even if it meant their deaths. She was only now appreciating just how strong their relationship had been.

But Mitotsudaira’s mother’s land didn’t require any of that adaptation.

She had noticed it when she visited before, but the spring was especially “powerful”.

Her body carried a human phase. When soaking in that spring, she had felt her own “presence”, which supported that phase from the outside, being worn away.

In other words, it was purifying her.

But all that did was purify the ether conduits within her and help her recover. It didn’t lead to this activity within her.

The second cause was, most likely, Sassa.

This activity had begun with her battle against him before Honnouji.

His Israfil made use of the earth’s power. Because her “phase” matched, she had been able to neutralize it by returning the power to the earth, but…

…''That taught my body how to circulate the earth’s power.

Was it something like breathing?

She had faced that powerful foe with swordplay based on official techniques. She had blocked and deflected it all using the same breathing and motions she had used when slaying the 300.

With such great earth power passing through her at the same time, her body had learned how to circulate that power and let it flow through her.

But this too was a circulation. The conduits had been purified and she had learned how to circulate it, but the power itself was missing here.

That was where the third cause came in.

Namely, Tenzou.

●

Mary thought.

…''Am I absorbing this from Master Tenzou?

She honestly didn’t know much about how spirits obtained their power.

Some might wonder how a half-spirit and name inheritor wouldn’t know that, but spirits primarily used their power based on their moods and, beyond the most basic level, it differed from spirit to spirit.

Then what was that basic level and how did the rest work with her?

On the basic level, the famous Spirit King Oberon was a good example. His history recreation had played a role in the early Merovingian dynasty and he had apparently acquired a magic cup that would later be considered a candidate for the holy grail, but that cup was said to “endlessly fill with wine”. So…

“Oh, dear. It just keeps on filling up, so I need to drink it or it will spill. Wait, wait, wait, wait, ahhhhhh, it’s spilling, it’s spilling, it’s spilling. Well, I’ll just have to drink it! Yes, drink it all!”

Due to this he was always drunk. It was said this was the source of his name since Far Eastern slang for drunk was ‘beron-beron’. Mary had her doubts that was true, though.

Similarly, the Greek god of drinking was known as Dionysus, but supposedly his real name was Dios and Dionysus meant ‘Young Dios”. However, it was said he was actually just really drunk and was slurring his words as he shouted, “Dios! The name’s Dios! Nyame’s Dio...nyames…Dio…nyasus…” before passing out, but that story was from the Age of the Gods, not the name inheritor, so it was best not take it too seriously.

Now, this might seem unrelated, but it was in fact closely connected to their nature as spirits.

A spirit’s power was generally replenished by absorbing it from an outside source.

A spirit was recovered and purified when they returned to their birthplace, but their power itself came from “eating”.

Making an offering to your god was the same as feeding the god the Blessings produced by your worship.

Alcoholic drinks were a classic example of a food containing plenty of Blessings and, whether it was wine or sake, those Blessings came from the blessings of the earth. That was why those things were so effective on earth phase spirits like her.

She knew this quite well after getting drunk on the Asama Shrine’s sake.

But the blessings of the earth were, in a way, nothing more than the earth. Unless they were a local spirit, an earth phase spirit would only receive earth blessings based on the yearly pattern.

Even harvests would remain the same each year unless the land was further developed.

And because there was no such thing as a constant harvest, a spirit’s strength was determined by the space their ether quantity could control minus the amount needed to manage that space. That was why a great spirit could manage a large space, while a smaller spirit would vanish if they tried to gain that much space.

But even a small spirit could reach a strength greater than their foundation.

Using equipment was one method. In terms of land, this meant a temple or terrain that formed a special mold. For people, this meant using a fuel tank or a booster like Excalibur.

Another method was to receive Blessings from a follower’s worship and use that as fuel.

And yet another was much like that one but a little different.

…''A sacrifice.

That meant to absorb the life force of someone the spirit had taken a liking to, making that life force their own.

Linking that idea to the third cause she had arrived at earlier, led to a single answer.

Was she absorbing Tenzou’s life force?

●

“Um, Master Tenzou?”

Mary turned his way while scattering flowers into the wind.

She was currently on the stern terrace with the moons behind her.

…''She is so beautiful.

Lit by the moons, the shooting stars, and the snowflake-like ether light, her blonde hair swayed as she asked him a question.

“Am I sucking you too much?”

●

'''Art-Ga:''' “Sucking him too much!?”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Ga-chan, Ga-chan, you need to at least keep your eyes on the Azuchi as it approaches, okay?”

'''Art-Ga:''' “But she’s sucking him too much!”

'''Still Got It:''' “My, kids these days are so passionate shortly before a battle! I do that too!!”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “How did you even join this chat group!?”

'''Vice President:''' “Hey, Crossunite. I know the odds of it happening are basically zero with you, but do remember that her family could cause problems.”

'''Me:''' “Basically zero? Isn’t that just being rude to Tenzou?”

'''Horizey:''' “That’s right. In the long history of humankind, there are times when it slips in on accident.”

'''Asama:''' “Um, Horizon, that’s only going to make us all remember what happened. And we don’t need that right now.”

●

Tenzou noted that Mary was tilting her head while viewing the sign frame.

…''Good, she remains untainted…

Feeling deeply relieved, he considered what Mary had meant.

…''Perhaps my life force?

Ever since the Honnouji Incident, she had been clinging to him and sleeping. The others had responded to this in their inimitable way:

“Oh? So is this what Mary is like when they sleep in their small room?”

“Cicada mooooooode!!”

“So, 1st Special Duty Officer, how do you get Mary-san to let go of you?”

Hearing them made him realize Mary didn’t hold onto him this tightly when they were in their room.

He wondered if it could also be the battle that was worrying her, but if Mary’s concern was correct, then wasn’t this like a predator pinning down its prey and latching on with its jaws?

But in that case, he would be feeling some kind of burden or loss.

…''Hmm.

“Master Tenzou?”

“You were wondering if you are absorbing my life force, yes?”

He considered it. Curious, he tried rotating his shoulders. But…

“I don’t see any ill effects even if you have been ‘sucking me too much’ as you put it.”

●

'''Art-Ga:''' “Sucking him too much!??”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Ga-chan, Ga-chan, the Azuchi is looking pretty big out there, so you really need to be paying attention to that.”

'''Art-Ga:''' “But she’s been sucking him too much!”

'''Horizey:''' “Yikes, I think we may be misinterpreting. Maybe she actually meant that he sucks too much at wrestling so she keeps managing to land moonsaults right on his dick.”

'''Me:''' “I see. So Tenzou can endure that with no ill effects? He doesn’t even seem like one of us anymore…”

'''10ZO:''' “Don’t act like I’m not human because of something you made up!”

'''Wise Sister:''' “Wait! She may have actually meant ‘too hard’ and his dick came right off! How about that for some brilliant deduction!? But where did it go!? Someone must have hidden it! Oh, come on, Asama! I know it wasn’t you because you already have a mental dick in your heart! And it’s as big as an onbashira!!”

'''Horizey:''' “Hm, I didn’t expect yet another alternate interpretation to crop up!”

'''Art-Ga:''' “Wait! I need to jot this all down! Line up and say that again! One at a time!”

●

Tenzou thought to himself while hearing the crazy people on the divine transmission beginning to chant “onbashira”.

…''Hard to believe this is us preparing for a battle that will determine the fate of the world.

Tenzou was once again grateful that Mary only tilted her head at it all.

''But do their jokes have to be centered on me?

Regardless, Mary’s concerns about him were unfounded.

“I can work like normal. I’m more concerned about you, Mary-dono.”

“About me?”

Her question made him suddenly curious so he tried explaining.

“Judge. You sleep while clinging to me, but does that ever make you sleep wrong on your arm or leg?”

At first she didn’t seem to know what he meant, but then…

“––––––”

She blushed, lowered her head, and sent flowers scattering all around her.

The light was bright enough to briefly illuminate the stern cargo port. He was more or less used to it, but he decided it was best not to mention the attention from everyone nearby and the opening sign frames.

He scooped up some of the flowers floating all around and returned them to Mary.

She used a frantic wave of her hand to scatter the uncontrollable flowers away.

“S-sorry. Whether or not I’m sucking up your life force, I shouldn’t be letting this happen.”

“No, no. If your arms and legs are fine the way you sleep, then I have no problem with it.”

“Eh?” Mary looked surprised. “N-no problem?”

“Eh? Yes, judge. No problem.”

“Judge!”

Mary smiled. He didn’t entirely understand, but he knew her affection for him was rising. At the same time, she had more to say.

“Then it’s alright if I hold onto you like that when we sleep!”

●

'''Gold Mar:''' “Sorry, but Tenzou is really annoying me right now, so can I snipe him with a high-angle shot?”

'''Art-Ga:''' “Margot, Margot. Look, the Azuchi is looking really big now. You should really be looking in that direction even if just for show.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “But didn’t that really piss you off? Like how out of sync he was with Ma-yan?”

'''Tachibana Wife:''' “He did seem to get exceptionally lucky there.”

'''Unturning:''' “If it all worked out even by accident, what’s the problem?”

'''Asama:''' “I had thought Tenzou-kun’s luck would plummet after his confession, but it’s only been rising. I’ve found that odd ever since the Armada Battle, but could that be Mary’s doing?”

'''10ZO:''' “That’s not a very nice thing to say, but I also hadn’t noticed it myself!”

●

''The amount of flowers is growing,'' thought Mary.

But Tenzou was right. She had been holding onto him so tightly, but her arms and legs hadn’t gone to sleep and didn’t feel stiff.

If Tenzou wasn’t feeling anything like that either, then – while it didn’t make sense – apparently this was fine.

…''Yes! That’s right!

“There is no problem at all, Master Tenzou!”

'''Horizey:''' “Could Tenzou-sama be an exhaustion recovery compress spirit or something? That way Mary would be absorbing his nutrients to recover and he would remain unaffected.”

'''Novice:''' “Not even I considered that possibility!”

'''Vice President:''' “Then shouldn’t we just ignore it?”

'''Asama:''' “No, Shinto does have gods in the Futsunushi, Takemikazuchi, and Ookuni lines who handle exhaustion recovery protections. So there would have been a low level god who dealt in compresses during the Age of the Gods.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “Shinto is highly developed in the weirdest areas.”

''But what if that is what Master Tenzou is?

●

“Master Tenzou!”

Mary’s cry made Tenzou think, “Oh, this one really got to her.”

But Mary spoke directly to him all the same.

“Do you have a compress god in your family tree?”

“It would be quite something if I did!”

“…I see.”

Her shoulders slumped and the amount of flowers settled down a little. Instead of the flowers cooling down, it was like they had calmed down with her mood.

There was still a mystery here, but he knew what mattered to them at the moment.

“It is a good thing you are in such a good mood, Mary-dono.”

“Judge. It’s a little embarrassing, but I feel like I could launch two Excalibur attacks right now.”

She raised the Excaliburs at her hips and held them together.

The holy swords joined together with a sucking metallic sound and blue ether light wrapped around them.

…''Just like at the Armada Battle.

Excalibur had saved them from time to time and he felt certain it would happen again soon.

Light glowed like a blue flame in the open space at the bottom center of Excalibur.

“I think Excalibur is in a good mood too. To be honest, I have trouble judging my own condition, but we need to make sure this all ends well, don’t we?”

Mary looked toward the moons. Tenzou kneeled ahead of her in the right and opened a range finding spell.

'''10ZO:''' “Masazumi-dono, all stern preparations are complete. We are ready to go at any time.”

●

Masazumi watched everyone’s positions on her sign frame.

…''They never shut up, but they do at least do their jobs.

The Musashi was currently showing its port side to the Azuchi, so groups capable of aerial combat were being positioned from port to stern.

Their strategy was to ensure they could respond no matter what happened.

“Winning isn’t what matters. Surviving and continuing on matter.”

She didn’t know what was about to happen, but they had several measures in place. Still, she needed to confirm one thing for that.

While watching the “complete” signals come in from each post as the people assigned there arrived…

“ ‘Musashi’. I have one question. What do you consider to be the final line?”

Both the question itself and who it was addressed to caused all the motion around her to halt.

…''Not too surprising.

Before, they had always been fighting as themselves. But the Musashi was “Musashi”.

“You manage the defense barriers and the ship’s flight, but that means you are fighting alongside us more than simply supporting us. So I wanted to ask.”

She asked.

“ ‘Musashi’. What is the very final line that must be preserved for you to see yourself as ''surviving''?”

●

…''Judge.

“Musashi” put off answering Masazumi’s question and continued her work.

She filled a white teacup with tea and served it to Sakai who was seated with a view of the night sky and Okutama behind him.

“Sakai-sama…your tea is ready. Over.”

They were atop the Musashino’s bridge.

Sakai sat in a chair and took his teacup from a table, but…

“Do you really have time for this, ‘Musashi’-san?”

“I always have time for this. Over.”

“Then,” said Sakai. “Am I safe up here?”

“To be entirely honest, the safest place aboard the ship is anywhere within 5 meters of me. Over.”

●

'''Musashino:''' “Thanks to a lot of work. Yes, a lot of work. By us. Over.”

'''Asakusa:''' “ ‘Musashino’, you shouldn’t say that. Really. Over.”

'''Takao:''' “Judge. We must respond with a smile no matter how absurd ‘Musashi’-sama’s requests are. That is what is required of a Musashi automaton. As much as I would rather not. Over.”

'''Okutama:''' “You know we can all hear this, right!? Over.”

●

No surprises on the divine net. ''Wonderful,'' thought “Musashi”.

It was nighttime. Yes, the Musashi could fly just fine at night.

Most of the people had been evacuated, but enough personnel remained to operate the ships. Others commanded the workers. And most important of all, someone had to serve Sakai tea as he relaxed.

So what was the current status of the ship? She instantly reached a conclusion.

“I have determined everything is as usual. Over.”

And on top of that:

“We are about to battle the Azuchi. Given the scale of the fleets, this will be like taking revenge for the Battle of Mikatagahara. And when it comes to facing identical model ships, they appear to accept ramming tactics.”

But…

“In that case, we must make our own decision, Masazumi-sama. I can think of one final strategy to ensure the Musashi’s survival.”

As the top captain, only she had the right to speak these words.

“Once all but the captain automata have been evacuated for their safety, six of the Musashi’s eight ships will sacrifice themselves to destroy the Azuchi’s six ships.”

That would be their last resort.

And their victory was ensured. Because…

“It is eight against six. The Musashi can lose six ships and still have two surviving. Over.”

●

“Musashi” spoke. And viewed the later version of her ship’s model approaching from the north.

“Once, 30 years ago and earlier as well, the Musashi was not eight ships. The number of ships was increased to eight for the convenience and to accommodate a growing population, so I can determine that the number will change in the future as well.”

So…

“Our greatest advantage against the later six-ship model is our greater number of ships. We increased our number out of a necessity that could not be satisfied in just a few years. And unfortunately, it seems that the Hashiba forces will be facing us with only the Azuchi this time. Fortunately, we have clearly increased our own abilities since last time.”

“Then what will you do, ‘Musashi’-san?”

“Judge,” she replied to Sakai’s voice spoken from behind her. “Rebuilding six ships would take a lot of time and effort, so I would like for everyone to work at keeping this an ordinary battle.”

That was all she had to say. She gave the other automata their usual instructions through their shared memory.

They would do this the usual way. And if she had nothing more to say on the matter, she knew how to end her statement.

“Over.”

●

“Okay,” said Adele at her post: a small cargo port on the stern of Murayama.

…''That showed everyone just how far “Musashi” is willing to take this.

Even if they lost six out of eight ships, this would still be a win.

By those standards, the damage they had taken during the Armada Battle was well within the bounds of victory.

Of course, they didn’t intend to let it get that bad, but even if the ships took damage, they would remember what “Musashi” had said and not let it get them down.

Had the Vice President managed to receive this kind of understanding from “Musashi” because she was from Mikawa?

But for the rest of them, it only gave them more motivation to protect the Musashi.

'''Flat Vassal:''' “If I’d heard that during the Armada Battle, I could have kept a bit more calm as I took command.”

'''Bell:''' “I think…the way you did things…was for the best.”

Yes, it had worked out in the end. So they should be able to do the same this time.

“Musashi” had called this revenge for the Battle of Mikatagahara.

The Hashiba forces had faced them a little at Novgorod, but this was their first head-on clash since ''that night''. So…

“It’s time for a rematch, Vice President!”

●

“Judge,” agreed Masazumi.

Atop the academy bridge, she could see the idiot, Horizon, and some others running down the stairs.

“Hey, where are you going!?”

He must have been slowing them down because the idiot was being carried over Mitotsudaira’s head in a Y-pose, but he still turned Masazumi’s way.

“To harass them! Isn’t that obvious!?”

''What are you planning?'' she wondered, but seeing Asama bow this way from the rear of the group told her someone was there to look after things.

Up here, Futayo used a simple map to check the footholds across the Musashi. Then she handed a sign frame to Masazumi.

“Masazumi, use this sign frame to let me know if anything happens. I just identified routes across the entirety of the Musashi, so I will be able to run to your position in an average of 20 seconds.”

“Futayo.”

“What is it, Masazumi?”

“You really are incredible. I’ve thought so since Mikawa.”

Futayo’s eyebrows rose and then she smiled. The smile shut her eyes but showed off her teeth. Masazumi thought of it as a childlike smile, but…

“I have had a high opinion of you since Mikawa as well. …It was a great relief when I was reunited with you during the Battle of Mikawa. Because I knew I could continue on without having to think much.”

''I’m not sure that’s a good thing,'' thought Masazumi, but Futayo was the only one she knew from her life in Mikawa.

She didn’t know what was going to happen here, but if it all went well they would have a path to Westphalia.

The path she had indicated at Mikawa would be open to them.

…''Will this be a turning point?

They would finally be able to follow the path she had indicated at Mikawa as an outsider.

Until now, they had been proving their worth to the world, but now they would be heading to Westphalia as equals to the other nations.

No, they weren’t there yet. They still hadn’t reached that point. But…

“We can finally get back on track,” said Futayo with her back turned. “Now we might be able to move beyond what my father and Kazuno-sama indicated.”

At the same time, the air moved. But not as wind. The air simply shook.

“Oh.”

By the time Masazumi noticed, Futayo had already jumped to the main street below the stairs.

…''What the hell?

At times, Futayo hinted that she was thinking some surprisingly deep thoughts.

So was the thinking she left with Masazumi the thinking she considered to be of less importance? If so, Masazumi knew what she had to do.

Alone atop the bridge, she raised her right hand.

“Listen up, everyone.”

She gave her instructions as Vice President.

●

Masazumi spoke to everyone outside and inside the Musashi’s eight ships.

“Musashi will now be using every means and interpretation at our disposal to avoid and break through the Battle of Yamazaki and our subsequent defeat.”

That was their objective. They had to successfully break through so they could reach Westphalia.

So what would they do to make that happen? She swung her right hand forward and recited the first line.

“We will now attempt a new history recreation!”

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