Editing Horizon:Volume 10B Chapter 25 (section)

==Chapter 25: Children of the Battlefield==
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''We were born of a mistake

''We seek what is correct

'''Point Allocation (Family Matter)

●

“You were extracted from the future’s destiny?”

Masazumi simply asked her question without even noticing the continual booming of artillery or the shaking of the ships as they broke through walls of air.

“What do you mean?”

●

“It’s simple. The principle is, anyway.”

In the Azuchi’s 90-degree tilted hall, Katagiri stood on what was usually the starboard wall.

The chairs that people had brought here and thus weren’t bolted to the floor were lying on that same wall.

He righted one of those, sat in it, and took a breath.

He had a few lernen figurs open. The one on the left displayed his divine transmission with Musashi and the one of the right displayed the divine chat with the others.

…''They’ve left me in charge of a terribly important moment.

He was about to explain something they had kept to themselves for so long.

But you could say that was what they had come here to do.

This kind of thing should have been a job for Takenaka since she was so good at making statements. But she seemed to want to act as his assistant here. Currently, she was seated ''on the wall'' with her legs dangling down into the corridor.

“Listen, Katagiri-kun,” she had said earlier. “This isn’t my job or the others’ job. It’s your job.”

“I-is it really that important that I do it?”

“Testament,” she had said, her eyebrows a bit raised. “Listen carefully. The others are fighting. And I have to put together the rest of our strategy. We’re all busy. You get what I’m hinting at here, don’t you?”

“Th-that I’m only doing this because I’m the only one available!?”

“That is about 80% of it, but what’s wrong with that?” Takenaka had nodded. “Lately, the representatives of an academy of poor performers somehow managed to make their way all the way to the mid boss or big boss only to discover they did it all based on false assumptions and had to have that explained to them by the target of that assumption.”

“Yeah, that was pretty awkward… And I wasn’t even part of it.”

“I know what you mean. But we too need to present our own righteousness or justification. However, while we do each have our own individual ones, we have to speak as a group first. That is best handled by you rather than those whose responses tend to lead directly to combat.”

She had smiled a little.

“That last part rules me out. It would turn into a battle for me.”

“…Testament.”

He had nodded and accepted the job, which led to the present.

…''The principle of extraction of destiny of the future, huh?

He felt like he was using “of” too much, but he figured he was just nervous.

That aside, the extraction was simple in principle.

“You only have to access the ley lines and analyze them. And…if possible, it helps if the people in the future are working toward the same thing.”

●

Asama quickly searched the Shinto database. She delved as deep as her privileges allowed to see if there were any spells for accessing the ley lines like that.

But…

…''Nothing.

Of course there wasn’t anything.

“Asama, I have a question. What happens if you access the ley lines of the future?”

“I can only speculate, but I think you would be able to read the future.”

The ley lines were the source of all things. The way they contained even time was what allowed them to be identical to destiny.

But that made them, as a whole, disorganized.

“Extracting a specific part of the future would be like searching through the ocean to find the water that flowed from the Far East’s rivers.”

Was a spell like that even possible? Her search hadn’t turned up anything. But there could always be an unofficial one at a higher level than her own. But speculation like that would lead nowhere. So…

“Heh heh. Asama, whether or not it’s possible, would the method work in theory?”

“It would.”

It would work exactly as Katagiri Katsumoto had described.

“You would only have to find the current in the ley lines that handles the future timeline and access it,” she said. “But no one can analyze it. Or rather, it would overwhelm your ability to analyze it. …Even if the method was right there in front of you, you wouldn’t know where to start with the vastness of the ley lines.”

“Then,” said Horizon. “Would it have been possible for the Emperor?”

●

…''Oh!

Asama gasped at Horizon’s idea.

…''The Emperor!

Only around half a day ago, they had screwed up and the city of Kyou went “boom!”, but…

“You’re right.”

She understood how it could be done now.

“The ley lines – no, destiny was given a personality.”

It was true the Emperor could access the ley lines. Because she had existed to calm destiny’s personality.

'''Vice President:''' “Technically, it was the Environmental Gods working through the Emperor.”

Right. That changed things. That provided a hook to access the vast amounts of information.

But the Emperor couldn’t leave Kyou and that underground space was sealed off by the automata. Akechi Mitsuhide could apparently get in and out, but Asama doubted a facility for extracting things from the ley lines existed there.

But if the facility wasn’t located there, where was it? And just as she was wondering that, Katagiri continued his explanation.

“There is a way to access destiny without using the Emperor. By analyzing that method and scanning destiny’s movements, it becomes clear that destiny is affected by time and ‘advances through time’ within the ley lines. From there, you only had to anticipate and continue on ahead. But…”

After listening that far, there was one thing Asama didn’t understand.

“I have a question,” she said, joining the divine transmission. “Even if you could access destiny, you would only find a massive amount of data inside. How can you extract future individuals from there? And where is the facility for it located?”

Accessing destiny through the Environmental Gods was a technique linking back to the Age of the Gods. But extracting things from there was an even more challenging problem.

But Katagiri continued as follows.

“I will start with your question about extraction. There is a restriction there.”

That was…

“Are you familiar with Avalon?”

●

“Yes. Say it. Tell them.”

Toshiie spoke his words up into the southern night sky. He took Matsu’s hand where she was perched on his shoulder while they considered taking a transport ship back to HQ or Lake Biwa Azuchi.

When he looked her way, Matsu’s shoulders were shaking a bit with laughter.

“What’s so funny, Ma-chan?”

“Just remembering what happened before.”

“What exactly?”

Matsu turned her narrowed eyes his way with tears in them.

“When we met Musashi in England and your negotiations broke down, you worked hard to agitate them.”

“That was a warning. Just a warning.”

Yes.

“They knew nothing of Avalon and, even after going there, they only used it to comprehend their immediate situation. But that isn’t the whole truth, is it? And without that knowledge, all they have been doing is fly around and around the Far East. …So tell them, Ten Spears.”

As if responding to Toshiie, Katagiri continued.

“The world will thin out and be destroyed. But what if there was a shelter that could just barely remain safe as that happened? What would it be? And where would it be?”

●

“Oh…”

Mary asked a question while working with Tenzou to fend off Kiyomasa’s attacks. Both sides were illuminated by the sparks of Excalibur and Caledfwlch clashing.

“Are you saying Avalon was created as a shelter against the Apocalypse!?”

“We were sent in there to survive!”

Kiyomasa sent over a slash with great force behind it. Courtesy of her mobile shell’s acceleration. Mary could tell Kiyomasa’s sword technique was the same orthodox type as her own, but that acceleration let her attack more frequently and Mary had trouble keeping up.

And just as she felt she couldn’t block all of Kiyomasa’s attacks…

“Why!?”

With a metallic clang, a dark figure cut in.

“Master Tenzou!”

He only nodded at her call. But that attack and the force pushing in from it were supported by the mobile shell. Even Tenzou had his hands full stopping it.

●

'''Uqui:''' “Hey, Tenzou. I can see you and you need to be able to hold off an attack like that. Because I’m on break.”

'''10ZO:''' “Th-that might have been motivating if not for that last part!”

●

Masazumi considered a possibility she couldn’t quite accept as truth.

…''Extracting future people from the future’s destiny.

The idea was simple, but actually pulling it off would be exceedingly difficult. However, they knew someone who had set out to do that and done it.

“Lord Motonobu?”

''No,'' she decided. Lord Motonobu’s plan had been more about directly interfering with and controlling destiny.

…''That’s right.

“What could you understand and accomplish by extracting people from the future?”

The greatest benefit would be knowing what situations and events led to the future.

It would even tell you whether or not Lord Motonobu’s planned direct interference and control of destiny had worked.

But this wasn’t so direct.

Lord Motonobu may have considered it, but nothing like this had been evident in his past actions. And the ability to predict the future would only have served to assist him.

…''In that case…

'''Novice:''' “Matsudaira Nobuyasu!”

'''Vice President:''' “You think so too?”

“Judge,” replied Neshinbara as his work dragged on in the belowdecks dumping ground.

'''Novice:''' “He was performing similar work to Lord Motonobu, but it was unknown what exactly he was doing! But he was ultimately consumed by the Double Border Crest, so he must have been doing something related to destiny!”

They had indeed seen that. She remembered what they had seen in the Sanada ruins.

'''Novice:''' “When we went where the former Shimabara Rebellion technicians had been, we discovered a single central extractor surrounded by a ring of eight extractors! Matsudaira Nobuyasu was doing something there!”

'''Vice President:''' “Isn’t that a bit of a leap?”

'''Novice:''' “I’m sure you’re thinking the same thing, so isn’t it a bit of a leap for you too?”

'''Vice President:''' “No, I’m thinking realistically. You need to think about this more seriously.”

“Okay, then,” said Neshinbara before continuing.

'''Novice:''' “Those eight extractors were where the eight members of the Ten Spears were extracted from the future. …Destiny discovered this and erased Matsudaira Nobuyasu with the Double Border Crest!”

●

“”Correct,” quietly confirmed Katagiri. “We still hadn’t stabilized, so to keep us safe we were sent to P.A. Oda since it was nearby and had a connection to Matsudaira Motonobu. We did not wake for a while afterwards.”

Some had stabilized quickly and others had taken more time. They had appeared generally safe by around eight years ago, so Hashiba, who had been designed as Nobunaga’s aide, had her OS altered so she could also act as their superior. But…

“Why!?”

Musashi’s 1st Special Duty Officer raised a question while dueling Kiyomasa.

“Why are you only saying this now!?”

●

“It is a simple matter.”

Mitotsudaira sensed something odd about her battle with Kasuya.

She had also sensed something weirdly off when they fought during the Kantou Liberation. But now that she knew her identity, the oddity she had sensed had become solid fact.

…''This opponent…

“If you were extracted from the future, why didn’t you say so sooner!?”

Her question was first answered by silver claws. A second and third strike immediately followed.

“You know what happened to Lord Nobuyasu, don’t you!? Because we passed through the ley lines, you could say we are a branch of destiny. So if we say any of this out loud…”

With those words from Kasuya, Mitotsudaira saw a light.

A red light. It drew out lines. First a circle and then a line running through the center to form…

…''The Double Border Crest!

“Watch out!”

Even in the midst of battle, Mitotsudaira instinctually gave a shouted warning about the mysterious phenomenon manifesting.

Her words must have told Kasuya about the Double Border Crest behind her because…

“––––”

She smiled a little but then launched an attack at Mitotsudaira.

Mitotsudaira couldn’t stop the Argent Clou attack, so instead of aiming for the claws made of ether, she deflected the cross mechanism and evaded.

A moment later, she saw red spray.

The Double Border Crest was scattering partway through being drawn.

“What?”

She had previously seen the Crest vanish before it was fully established, but this was different.

…''It’s being erased!?

Yes. It was clearly being shattered and scattering away.

As if to confirm that fact, Kasuya changed her stance.

“Testament, we are especially closely watched by destiny, so whenever we try to speak about the future, we and whoever is listening are detected and erased. If we were to carelessly reveal what we know, everyone who heard it would be erased.”

Meanwhile, Katagiri’s divine transmission continued from there.

“But the Double Border Crest will no longer appear. Because Nobunaga-sama has linked herself to destiny and can control it with her OS. And we can no longer see that moon from here. Today, we can finally explain everything.”

●

“Then,” asked Tenzou.

He honestly couldn’t quite grasp what was going on. He couldn’t confirm what they were saying and it was possible they merely thought it to be true.

He and the rest would have to scrutinize the logic behind it later.

But aside from that, there was something he wanted to ask them.

“Why? Why us!?”

…''That is my question!

He could tell one thing based on the method they had explained.

…''That technique using ether and ley lines is honestly more of a thing for Asama-dono and other experts!

But there was a different way of determining the truth of this.

Politics.

“You say the world was thinning and Avalon was used as a shelter to allow some survivors! But in that case,” he asked. “How was that political decision made!?”

●

“You don’t know?”

Kiyomasa reacted by taking a fighting stance, her mobile shell’s power system making noise.

…''Oh, that’s the sound of the latest M.H.R.R. power system, isn’t it!?

That high-performance model was designed for making charges. The general thinking within Musashi’s 1st Special Duty Team was to run away and wait for the situation to change if you heard that sound. But…

…''She has four!

'''Uqui:''' “Hey, Tenzou. I can see this…and it’s not looking good for you.”

'''10ZO:''' “D-don’t give up so quickly!”

But a moment later, Kiyomasa stabbed Caledfwlch into the floor.

…''Eh?

He realized she had stopped moving and had lowered her head toward him.

What did this mean? They were currently in battle and she had been attacking and pursuing him.

…''What is the meaning of this?

He was still puzzled, so he did not lower his guard. And…

“Master Tenzou!”

Mary ran up next to him. She took his arm, checked to see if he was injured, and then looked to Kiyomasa, wondering why she had stopped.

Both of them looked to the figure in a white mobile shell, but she did not look them in the eye. Still, they could tell she had to be able to see both him and Mary.

“You asked why,” said Kiyomasa, raising her head. Something glittering spilled from her twin blue eyes.

Tears.

Her brow was wrinkled and her lips pursed in an expression of protest.

Then she spoke with her powerful but tear-wavering eyes directed at them.

“Because we were your children.”

●

“Eh?”

Mary squeezed Tenzou’s arm in her right hand.

She honestly felt sorry for tearful Kiyomasa. But there was something she had to know before she could sympathize with her.

She had a question. So…

“Um, Kiyomasa? I have a quick question.”

“Testament. What is it?”

She took a deep breath and asked it.

“Well, when you introduced yourselves earlier, you said you were, and I quote, ‘your children’, correct?”

“Testament. That is correct. What about it?”

Mary nodded and realized she was leaning forward a little.

…''I-I am a little nervous.

This was a crucially important question, so she had to find out.

“I know this is likely extremely rude, but I interpreted that ‘your’ to broadly refer to Musashi or the Far East as a whole. But perhaps I was mistaken.”

So…

“When you said ‘your’, did you mean it in a more personal and individual way?”

●

'''Worshiper:''' “Oh, I can explain the confusion here while I clean up my stand. The English second person pronoun ‘you’ is used for both the singular and the plural.”

'''Gold Mar:''' “Oh, that’s right. A lot of us are from other countries, but we can forget these things after living in Musashi and speaking Far Eastern for so long.”

'''Vice President:''' “ ‘You’ is an un-you-sually you-seful word, isn’t it?”

'''Horizey:''' “Okay, everyone! Masazumi-sama is about to get funny! Wait for it! Any day now!”

●

Tenzou saw Kiyomasa tilt her head with a troubled “ohh…”

He had a feeling he knew where this was going. He sensed a great threat to his own person, but Mary’s left arm lock was firm and he just had to accept his fate.

…''Apparently that fate is coming to me from the future.

Meanwhile, Kiyomasa wiped some tears away with her right index finger. And…

“Of the eight members of the Ten Spears we mentioned, seven of them are your children. That is, the children of seven of the primary members of the current Musashi forces.”

“Then what about you?”

Mary’s arm tensed even more and Tenzou placed his hand on hers in response.

Then Kiyomasa answered.

“My mother is Double Bloody Mary. My father is…that boy. I have a double inherited name: Katou Kiyomasa and…your child James I.”

●

Asama saw an explosion of light at Oume’s stern.

…''Mary is certainly, uh, excited…

'''Asama:''' “So if we were to name that, would it be the Master Tenzou Love Love Explosion?”

'''Me:''' “Did that have anything to do with Tenzou, though?”

'''Horizey:''' “Then it would be the Master Tenzou Love is Unrelated Explosion.”

'''10ZO:''' “That just sounds like some dangerous attack! And it’s still indirectly about me!”

''Oh, so he’s made up his mind,'' realized Asama. She decided to contact her father.

'''Asama:''' “Dad? About Tenzou-kun and Mary. Tenzou-kun just announced his intention to say ‘yes’.”

'''Asama Dad:''' “Really!? Will you let him know we can even hold the ceremony later today!? I always thought he was the wishy-washy type, but apparently your environment really can change you!”

Did the arrival of your own child from the future count as “your environment”? And that it took ''that'' to get him to make up his mind was such a Tenzou thing. However…

“Heh heh. Asama? There’s a sign frame next to you talking about an external divine transmission.”

“Huh? I don’t remember allowing an external one.”

It was a really powerful signal. They must have forcibly accessed the system.

After checking the sender, she nodded. She couldn’t handle someone like that. So…

'''Asama:''' “Um, Masazumi? This conversation must have leaked out because we’re so close to Europe.”

'''Vice President:''' “Understood. Sending it their way would only complicate matters, so send it my way.”

●

Masazumi accepted the divine transmission with some good guesses who it was from and what it was about.

'''Vice President:''' “I’m hanging up.”

'''Queen:''' “It’s no use, Musashi Vice President!”

It wasn’t clear what was no use, but she appreciated the boldness of it. And with a thought of “so it’s you, huh?”…

'''Vice President “We’re busy right now, so keep it short.”

'''Queen: “It’s about that ninja!”

'''Vice President:''' “Oh, that ninja? Right, right. What about him?”

'''Queen:''' “What is this about him having a child and announcing his intentions!? This is the first I’ve heard of that!”

'''Vice President:''' “Is it? It is for me too.”

'''Queen:''' “That’s fine then! Wait, no, it is not fine! I gave my approval for my sister and that ninja to have the next English king, but I never gave my approval for the two of them to have a child!”

Now that was a tricky one to reply to.

'''Vice President:''' “Hmm. It’s still possible this is a big misunderstanding.”

'''Queen:''' “And what if it isn’t!?”

…''That’s the question, isn’t it?

'''Vice President: <Urgent Poll: Should we hand Crossunite over to England?>

'''Musashi:''' “Masazumi-sama, 90% of the male Musashi residents have responded in the affirmative. Over.”

'''Vice President:'''  “Then my hands are tied.”

'''10ZO:''' “D-don’t give up so quickly! What happened to respecting people’s personal dignity and freedom!?”

'''Smoking Girl:''' “Don’t ninjas have to give up those things?”

''What should we do?'' wondered Masazumi.

…''Well, it is surprising to find out someone you know has a secret child.

She decided to say what had to be said.

'''Vice President:''' “Fairy Queen, the individuals involved are currently having a (physical) family meeting, so can this wait until after that is complete?”

'''Queen:''' “They are!? What is my sister doing!?”

She checked. And a message arrived before she could.

'''Flat Vassal:''' “Whoa! What kind of flirting is the 1st Special Duty Officer doing at Oume’s stern to create that mountain of flowers!? I’ll guide the Bando Beam that way to blow it away!”

“Judge,” agreed Masazumi before speaking to the Fairy Queen.

'''Vice President:''' “At the moment, a beam is being fired at the ninja.”

'''Queen:''' “Get him! Nice! I’m rooting for the enemy now!”

''What kind of thing is that to say?'' she wondered just before the transmission ended. The Fairy Queen had her Student Council, so someone there was likely getting after her. And Masazumi had her own issues to focus on. But…

“So who is whose child?”

●

Horizon nodded.

When she raised her right hand, Asama noticed. So she pointed toward the Azuchi, which seemed to get her point across. Asama sent her over a divine transmission sign frame.

“You can use that to speak with their Katagiri What’s-His-Name.”

“Is it a direct connection?”

“Yes, I forced it into their divine transmission using the interference from Musashi’s barrier. This will count as cross talk, but it should work.”

Some incredible tech was probably at play here, but as the landlord, Horizon intended to accept her tenant’s help. Asama also gave a nod of “go ahead”, so Horizon spoke over the divine transmission.

'''Horizey:''' “Katagiri What’s-His-Name-sama, this is Musashi Vicereine Horizon. May I speak with you? Do understand that no is not an acceptable response.”

'''The Boy:''' “Eh? Huh? Um, wait, what? Huhh!?”

Horizon exchanged a look with Kimi at his response.

“Kimi-sama, he appears flustered. Thanks to Asama-sama’s Shinto nerd power, I assume.”

“Heh heh heh. That’s right, Horizon. We have the upper hand now! So whatever it is you want to say, just lay it out for him!”

She decided to ask her question as calmly as she could.

'''Horizey:''' “Do Toori-sama and I have a child there?”

●

Kasuya saw her opponent suddenly stiffen in the middle of their battle.

…''Wh-what!?

It looked like she had lost her balance and tripped, but she hadn’t actually fallen over. She was probably rattled by the Musashi Vicereine’s transmission.

As if to confirm that, she glanced toward the bow of the Musashi’s second central ship and raised her voice.

“Y-you’re being too direct, Horizon! Which I really should have expected!”

''Oh, I see. Testament,'' thought Kasuya with a nod.

To match her opponent’s odd action, she too strayed from her combat actions. She took a single step back and…

“Your Vicereine and Chancellor’s child?”

“Is there one?”

Kasuya noticed the lack of hesitation in that question. How strong were the bonds between these people?

…''They believe their dreams will come true.

Just as she thought that, the answer arrived.

Katagiri responded on the divine transmission.

'''The Boy:''' “There was one with us. …Not among the Ten Spears, though.”

●

Asama saw Horizon and him strike triumphant poses.

“Having a child doesn’t make you better or anything, but this still feels like a win and it makes us a part of this whole deal!!”

“Right!? It’s not like it’s a competition, but I still feel like we definitely beat Tenzou here!”

'''10ZO:''' “This isn’t a competition.”

That said, it was a joyous thing for the Asama Shrine since they handled childbirths.

And Horizon had to have a lot more to think about now that she had confirmation from the future that she could have a child and pass something down to the next generation.

Asama knew it was a good thing. And personally…

…''I’m glad.

Horizon had guided them and pushed them onward, so she was happy to learn she had this possibility. Horizon was in a tricky position, so it was honestly wonderful that she could hope for anything she wanted. And this was Asama’s area of expertise, so she was happy to learn she could assist Horizon there somewhere down the road.

She was glad.

With a nod, she saw him using both arms to try and lift Horizon in her triumphant pose.

“Nwahh!”

“What’s this, Toori-sama? Is failing to lift your bride one of the classic jokes?”

Asama had no choice but to attach a strength boosting charm to his back. With that, he had no trouble lifting her.

“Yes! Thanks, Asama! So do you see now, Horizon!?”

“See what?”

“Remember what I said in England? You can hope for so much! And I was right!”

“That is what the Main Blue Thunder situation is for, Toori-sama. And the same goes for you. …You too may hope for much.”

Because…

“We should continue forward under the assumption that, if we stick together, we can accomplish anything and acquire anything.”

Asama sighed inwardly at Horizon’s words.

…''She’s come a long way if she can say that.

No one seeing her now would think she had accepted her own death back at Mikawa. Yes, and they wouldn’t think she would make so many weird noises, make so many jokes, and turn her own arms into mascots. Probably for the best if they didn’t think that.

Anyway, they likely needed to thank the enemy for this.

With Hashiba and the Ten Spears, they had been fighting over the Genesis Project, but…

“I feel like this lets us confirm what matters most.”

Horizon and his child was not here.

But their child had been with those others.

Knowing that was enough for now. But now was a time for duels and their opponents claimed to be their children.

And they proved their righteousness by the fact they had come from a doomed future.

So out of pure curiosity, Asama asked the same question Masazumi had earlier.

“So who is whose child?”

●

Asama’s question led Mitotsudaira to look to her opponent.

Kasuya Takenori.

She was a Loup-Garou, but unlike Mitotsudaira, her hair was black. That said…

…''A Loup-Garou gets her “color” from the thoughts of the people and the condition of the Loup-Garou species in her time…

In Mitotsudaira’s mother’s time, the species had been nearing its end, so her color was that of the setting moon.

Mitotsudaira herself had been born as that mother’s daughter, so her color was that of the moon at its peak.

But Kasuya’s color was black. Mitotsudaira’s mother had said she must have been born in a harsh environment, but…

“Kasuya Takenori.”

Mitotsudaira dodged an attack and tried asking. But she was somehow reluctant to ask directly, so…

“Are you my mother’s grandchild?”

●

'''Wise Sister:''' “Heh heh heh! Why are you still not giving in!? Just accept her already and bring her home with you! C’mon, I mean right now! Hurryyyyy!”

'''Asama:''' “Right, Kimi? Mito, you don’t have to be so evasive in your questioning.”

'''Silver Wolf:''' “I knew you would be like this, but there is still a lot we don’t know!”

●

Kasuya sent in another attack.

Her enemy – known as the Mito Lord, Musashi’s 5th Special Duty Officer, and the Silver Wolf – used her chains to defend.

Silver clashed with silver, scattering sparks. The clang rang loud and everything used its movement to put distance between them.

They paused for a breath.

…''That’s right.

She told herself now was the time to say it.

“Testament. My mother is Nate Mitotsudaira. …That is, you.”

●

“Wow…” sighed Asama at the words coming from the sign frame.

She felt nervous and also shock. But it had all happened so suddenly and without warning, so she wasn’t quite sure how to react.

For now, she spoke over the divine transmission.

“Mito, you need to calm down.”

“Judge, you’re right. I am fine.”

There was strength in Mitotsudaira’s reply. She likely intended to process this after she dealt with the more immediate situation.

She was a special duty officer, after all. She saw herself as his knight, so she knew what really mattered. So Asama too set aside any personal feelings and…

“Understood. …Then, Mito, I will ask my dad to add her as your dependent. We can arrange everything with the authorities, so any related taxes should be relatively low.”

“I never agreed to do that!”

The wolf’s response was followed by another voice over the divine transmission.

“Is that the Asama Shrine Representative?”

It was an unfamiliar yet somehow recognizable voice. Could it be Kasuya Takenori? Asama wasn’t sure, but did this mean she was contacting her?

…''I don’t know what this is about, but I might as well hear what she has to say.

“What is it? Do you have business with the Asama Shrine?”

“Testament. Have you still not noticed?”

“Huh?”

After a “yeah” of slight disappointment, Kasuya continued.

“Hirano, c’mon.”

●

Hirano was watching her mother from the divine transmission revelation tower protruding from the roof of the 90-degree rotated Azuchi’s bridge.

''She’s the same now as she was in the future,'' she thought. She hadn’t seen her mother for a very long time, but she was wrapped in that same air of happiness as always.

She had expected her mother to have somehow given up, but she could tell now that wasn’t the case.

…''Because…

She had been someone who could always accept her condition because of the happy times she had had in the past.

And this here was probably close to what had formed the foundation of the mother she had known.

“Asama Shrine Representative.”

No, she had never called her that in the future. So she called her what she always had.

“Mom. Look this way.”

●

'''Gold Mar:''' “H-hey, we’re busy fighting up here, but we were just hit by maybe the most powerful blow this year.”

'''Unturning:''' “Judge. I was wondering what was about to happen here.”

'''Art-Ga:''' “Oh, not often people start an Asama thread about something other than her swimsuits. It’s titled ‘A New Genre for the Asama Shrine Representative?’ ”

●

'''Tsurugi:''' “Ah, I let that slip out… But to her, that was a stranger calling her ‘mom’.”

'''Black Wolf:''' “Sure, but we know who she is, so it seems fine to me.”

'''AnG:''' “Mom!”

'''Tsurugi:''' “Okay, that pissed me off! Do you want me to shoot you!?”

●

Asama felt an odd sweat cover her entire body in a flash.

…''What!?

She tried to say “wait”, but the word wouldn’t come out. What was going on here?

“What? W-w-wait, wai- huhh!? Hweh!? What? What did you say?”

She looked around hoping to find something that would help her understand, but all she saw was Kimi rolling on the floor and laughing too hard to breathe.

“Ah hee hee hee! Heh heh! Mom!? Asama! Heh heh heh! It’s finally happened! You’re a mommy!”

“What are you talking about?”

Seeing that lunatic’s reaction helped calm her. And she felt a need to respond.

“Hirano Nagayasu…-san?”

She checked the girl with her Konoha prosthetic eye. The telescope spell she activated showed her the girl. The automatic brightness amplification and color correction let her see…

…''A Tsurugi Shrine shrine maiden outfit.

It was Far Eastern, so it was fairly similar to the Asama Shrine one. The sword motif incorporated into parts of the design likely came from it being a shrine that prayed for victory in battle.

Hirano Nagayasu.

She was tall and had a large chest. She was a shrine maiden and used a bow.

But Asama didn’t think that was enough to say she was her child. Her own mother fit those conditions too, after all. You could likely find plenty of others like that across the Far East.

She was honestly skeptical of the claim at this point. So while it wasn’t very nice if the girl was serious about this, Asama couldn’t respond as her mother yet.

…''That’s my lid again, isn’t it?

She really would feel bad if that girl was hoping for an emotional family reunion.

But her life hadn’t reached that point yet. She would omit the details, but, simply put, Horizon came first. Things were still at that stage.

And…

“Um…”

She was curious about one thing that hadn’t been addressed.

…''Let’s say that Mito and I are their mothers.

But it took more than just a mother to make a child. So…

“Uh…I know this is a weird thing for me to ask, but do you mind?”

“What is it?”

Hirano tilted her head, which told Asama she was willing to answer.

So she asked her question.

“Who is…your father?”

●

Hirano immediately answered her mother’s question.

…''Does she really not know?

No, she knew but she didn’t want to know. She was likely at that stage. In Hirano’s time, her mother had mentioned she had only been able to take that step after fully accepting it. But…

“Him. Over there.”

She knew it was rude, but she pointed at her father. Straight at the boy standing in a prominent position.

●

Asama followed Hirano’s pointing finger.

…''Huh? W-wait?

It was true she had asked, but this would tell her who her (maybe) future self had chosen as a partner.

What if it was someone she didn’t like or didn’t know? And…

…''No…

What if it wasn’t him? She couldn’t bring herself to look where Hirano was pointing.

But something did move.

The arms. The left arm grabbed and lifted up the right arm. The right arm’s index finger was approaching her as if sliding in from a position a bit above of head on.

It was following the path of Hirano’s pointing finger.

“Wah.”

It was directly showing her what she was hesitant to see. It was too late to avoid it or escape from it. Furthermore…

…''Huh?

The finger was pointed at the center of her chest. The finger dug into the chest cloth of her shrine maiden outfit and stopped there, which meant…

“Um, are you saying I gave birth to her through cell division?”

After making that joke, she looked behind her. And…

“I’d say this is a cause for celebration, wouldn’t you?”

He was standing right behind her and smiling.


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    | [[Horizon:Volume 10B World|World]]
    | [[Horizon:Volume 10B Chapter 26|Chapter 26]]
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