Horizon:Volume 10A Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Pair at a Parting Place

I look at others

And become fascinated

Because I can’t

Look at myself

Point Allocation (Mirrors Don’t Count)

●

Takenaka took a breath and passed a paper bag to seated Katagiri.

“Good work, Katagiri-kun. If you need an end-of-work ero, go right ahead.”

“I-I’m not doing that! I don’t want that thing!”

“S-saying you don’t want my lifeline is rude, you know!?”

The arguing had a way of lifting her mood. But that aside…

…I appreciate that he made sure my work wasn’t wasted.

She honestly felt she had been losing the earlier discussion.

She had come up with a plan for what to do afterwards, but she was the literary type and preferred to win with words if she could.

But just because she preferred it didn’t mean she enjoyed it.

Had that made her less enthusiastic than she should have been? She hadn’t expected Musashi’s Vice President to take back her win over their Secretary, so her stomach had flipped over inside her.

She had needed to lie down for a bit, but the others had done well her in absence. It also helped that the Azuchi was no longer shaking her up and down as it accelerated.

Everything was headed in a positive direction.

…Although it really feels like they don’t need me anymore.

But she was Hashiba’s strategist.

So she stood up and spoke to the Musashi out ahead of them.

Kuro-Take: “Okay, Musashi. We will now begin the Battle of Yamazaki. I hope you’re ready.”

Vice President: “What are you talking about? We aren’t ready at all.”

The immediacy of the reply told her they were very much ready.

…Because Musashi was trying to use the Iga Crossing to avoid the Battle of Yamazaki.

They wouldn’t like having their Iga Crossing ignored like this.

So she asked a question of her own.

Kuro-Take: “You do understand that Hashiba and Musashi are split on their interpretation of your supposed Iga Crossing, don’t you?”

●

Silver Wolf: “Masazumi, what do we do?”

Mitotsudaira asked her question over the divine net.

They had held off the Hashiba forces this far, but…

Vice President: “ ‘Musashi’, could we shake the Azuchi with gravitational acceleration?”

Musashi: “Based on their previous pursuit, no. Most likely, the current Musashi has the greater acceleration, but we could not pull away from them if they used our rear slipstream.”

Vice President: “That’s fine. Making it a high-speed battle would limit the battlefield a fair bit.”

Unturning: “So we’re doing Yamazaki?”

Narumi didn’t sound displeased. She showed a readiness to fight if it came to it.

Just as Mitotsudaira noted the same readiness in herself, her king turned toward her.

“Can you stay by my side if we’re fighting on the ships?”

She considered what he meant by that.

…Um.

This felt like the first time he had asked for that. No, he had long ago, but she hadn’t expected it in this situation. But…

“Protecting the king is an important job of the Special Duty Officers.”

“Then you’ll be doing that as long as you aren’t needed outside?”

“Judge,” she confirmed, but if it turned out the way Masazumi had suggested, this would end up more or less how her king wanted. If the Musashi left at high speed, the Azuchi pursued, and they ended up fighting atop the ships…

…If I’m needed to join the counterattack, I will, but otherwise I will stay with my king.

However, the Ten Spears were all Special Duty Officer class. Fukushima Masanori was Vice Chancellor class and, based on the result of the Battle of Shizugatake, others had gained a fair amount of skill too.

They couldn’t rely on their previous experiences with the Ten Spears.

But her king had told her to stay with him. She wanted to avoid feeling hesitant or guilty until she was absolutely needed.

“Tomo, Kimi. What are those weird smiles for?”

“Nothing, nothing! I was just noticing how plainly your thoughts are written on your face, Mito!”

“Heh heh. You’re lucky you don’t have a tail.”

The arms lifted the rear of her skirt to check, but Horizon lowered her head and…

“All I see is tights and underwear. That aside, I would feel a lot safer with you here, so I would appreciate it.”

“Tomo’s presence brings a lot of safety too.”

“No, I have to manage the divine transmissions and ether conduits, I have to head out to do some archery if necessary, and I can’t do close-range combat at the Special Duty Officer level, so I couldn’t guard someone.”

“Heh heh. I can defend myself, but defending the group would be a challenge for me as well.”

Mitotsudaira felt like they were cleverly talking her into this, but when she stood before her king, he rubbed her hair.

This was fine.

And because it was fine, she knew she would make it work.

So she asked a question.

Silver Wolf: “Masazumi, what do we do?”

●

Sounds like everyone’s mentally prepared, thought Masazumi.

But she was the negotiator.

Vice President: “Listen up, everyone. This battle still might not happen. But even if we do end up fighting, it might not actually count. Just like the previous Iga Crossing.”

So…

Vice President: “I will be negotiating to keep the Battle of Yamazaki from happening.”

Laborer: “Why!?”

…Do you have to be so direct!?

Damn him, she thought as she said what had to be said.

Vice President: “Think about it. Hashiba is gone now, so what’s the point?”

●

Asama looked to Horizon.

A large sign frame opened next to Asama’s face with everyone’s faces lined up on it.

Figuring that meant she had to handle this one, she waved her hand down once and gave a count of three.

Almost Everyone:' “You mean the Horizon Memorial Attack!?”

“Come to think of it, I do recall defeating Hashiba.”

“Yeahhh,” said Asama with a nod.

…We really got ahead of ourselves there, didn’t we?

Asama: “The Keichou Campaign is over and the Mouri invasion in Hexagone Française is also complete. So the only major Hashiba battles left are…”

Vice President: “The Battles of Yamazaki and of Komaki Nagakute. The former is obviously the battle against Akechi and the latter is Hashiba vs. Matsudaira, but Matsudaira wins the battle. That leaves Yamazaki as the only clear ‘win’ for Hashiba, but Hashiba herself is gone.”

“That’s right,” agreed Mitotsudaira.

Silver Wolf: “Hashiba’s defeat at Honnouji mostly completes the promise Masazumi made with Former Hexagone Française Chancellor Anne of Austria and the others at Magdeburg.”

Tachibana Wife: “Then if Musashi can establish the Iga Crossing, we only have to complete our showdown with the Hashiba forces at the Battle of Komaki Nagakute and then continue on to Sekigahara.”

Vice President: “Right. So, ‘Musashi’…give us a course toward Setouchi. We can retrace the path used for the Iga Crossing for a triumphant return to Europe.”

Art-Ga: “But what about the nuisance behind us?”

Yes, that.

The Azuchi refused to accept their Iga Crossing. But…

Novice: “Based on the power balance, our Iga Crossing should be accepted if we make it back to Europe. With Hashiba gone, the Hashiba forces will be on the decline. Leaving the Hashiba forces around would leave open a path to suppressing Europe through M.H.R.R., so the European nations will want to crush the Hashiba forces now that Hashiba is gone. And they benefit by assisting Matsudaira who will rule in peace for many long years.”

Asama: “So the Iga Crossing has begun a new era?”

Vice President: “That’s why we came all this way. And I’m sure the Hashiba forces understand that. Now we see what the third parties will decide. …You could say the conflict between us and Hashiba will be determined by the other nations’ political decisions. But…”

Asama knew where that “but” was leading.

Asama: “If that is the case, then why are the Hashiba forces bringing up the Battle of Yamazaki?”

●

Masazumi nodded at Asama’s question.

…So it felt off to Asama too.

Asama was Musashi’s Shinto representative, but she was not a politician.

Even she understood they had left their safety from the Battle of Yamazaki in the hands of the other nations and that the other nations would want to support Musashi over Hashiba.

With both Nobunaga and Hashiba gone, the world was headed to the next stage. The Hashiba remnants could complain all they liked, it was obvious who held dominance in the next age.

This should have been the same as Hashiba showing their strength to the old Oda forces during the Battle of Shizugatake.

They were both battles that determined who was superior.

For Musashi, the Iga Crossing had been their final test. If they escaped here and made it to safety without assistance, they would have given the world justification to let them survive.

…I do regret not ending that more cleanly.

Since the Hashiba forces refused to accept their Iga Crossing, there would likely be nations that tried to accept Hashiba’s opinion to get something out of Musashi.

However, Matsudaira was the ruler of the coming age. Hashiba barely had any effective history recreations left, so they would only decline from here. So…

“Why are they so focused on the Battle of Yamazaki?”

“Do they want vengeance for Hashiba?” asked a voice from below.

It was Futayo.

Seeing as white and black Technohexen flew through the sky and landed on the roof, they must have carried her here.

Gold Mar: “If they send a transport ship after us, the two of us can handle it.”

Vice President: “No preemptive strikes please. Ignore them even if they try to provoke us with bad jokes.”

Horizey: “Masazumi-sama! Then are you going to provoke them into attacking!?”

What was that supposed to mean?

But then she noticed Futayo kneeling on the step below.

…Hm?

It took a moment to realize Futayo was bowing.

“Futayo, you don’t have to do that.”

“But, Masazumi, if it were not for my blunder…”

That’s a tricky word for her. Should I compliment her? But…

“The Tachibana Wife was right. If the attack had hit us then, it would have given them the upper hand in the negotiation. It was your decision that prevented that.”

So…

“If anything else happens, stop that too. And if there’s a way to get out of it without stopping it, then you can do that. I will use what you’ve done to help us on the political front.”

“But…”

“I’m the Vice President and you’re the Vice Chancellor,” she said. “When I want to use a battle between academies to resolve a political issue, you fight for me, right? In the same way, when you fight a battle between academies, I will use that to resolve a political issue.”

“Hm? Hmm???”

Oops, that may have been too complicated. But to put it more simply…

“Our jobs are linked and overlap. When I need something, you can do it for me. And when you do something, I can make it work for us. If it were just me, I would be all talk. If it were just you, you would only be showing off your strength.”

“You mean,” said Futayo. “If I have you, I won’t end up selling Horizon-sama to the Testament Union like I did at Mikawa?”

“Judge. I’m here to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Judge.” Futayo shut her eyes and nodded.

Seeing that, Masazumi realized she never could tell what that girl was thinking. Even though she had thought she understood her since they both came from Mikawa.

Futayo’s tendency to carry everything on her shoulders could be traced back to just how important her teachers had been.

…I wonder what kind of person the second Honda Tadakatsu will be.

But she had something to say.

“That’s been my intention ever since you came here. And you may not have been aware of it, but you’ve helped me out a lot too. But that means…”

Masazumi nodded as she continued.

“You’ve naturally been doing things the way I want.”

Futayo raised her head. Her raised eyebrows suggested this had come as a surprise to her, but…

“Have I really?”

Seeing the same eye-narrowing smile she had seen before, Masazumi realized she may have been handing out praise a little too liberally.

…I feel like I’m being manipulative here, but I guess I’m safe as long as I’m aware of it.

What mattered was the responding sincerity. While that thought made her avert her gaze, Naruze was watching them from the school roof with hands together as if in prayer.

Art-Ga: “Yes…I like what I’m seeing…I like it a lot…”

That’s the Shinto way of praying. Should a Technohexen really be using that?

Meanwhile, Futayo turned around to sit on the step and held her spear between her arms. She tilted her head in thought about something and…

“I will be napping, so wake me in an emergency.”

Futayo lowered her head before Masazumi even finished responding. Masazumi had a feeling she wanted a distraction from all the confusion more than sleep.

As for her own job…

Vice President: “Hashiba forces.”

She had discussed this with her people and made some preparations, so now she had to ask something.

Vice President: “We have reached different decisions regarding the Iga Crossing. That much we can agree on. But…”

Kuro-Take: “Testament. Then how about we begin the Battle of Yamazaki?”

Vice President: “Wait. We haven’t agreed to that. Why are you pressuring us to fight the Battle of Yamazaki?”

That was her question. But her opponent saw things differently.

Kuro-Take: “If you’re that worried, then we can carry out the history recreation a bit more strictly.”

Before she could ask “in what way”, her opponent explained.

Kuro-Take: “We have a Kani Saizou-kun with us. She serves under Fukushima Masanori-san. But the historical Kani Saizou moved around a lot before settling on Fukushima Masanori as a master and he actually served Akechi Mitsuhide during the Battle of Yamazaki.”

So…

Kuro-Take: “So we’ll do you a big favor! We’ll send Kani-kun to you and you can use her as a fighter.”

●

Kasuya heard surprised voices coming from all over the deck.

One of them was her own. She had no idea what the purpose of this could be.

“Eh? Eh? Um, wait, Kani, Kani is, Kani? Kani? As in, that Kani!?”

“Kime-chan, Takeko’s brain broke!”

“Unfortunate that the training camp was in Aki. She could have eaten as much crab as she wanted if it had been in Hokuriku where we used to train.”

“Not kani as in crab.”

“Seriously though, what is she talking about?”

Next to Fukushima, who was tilting her head in confusion, Kiyomasa addressed Takenaka since she didn’t know Kani very well.

Kiyo-Massive: “Based on her battle records, Kani-san is a great asset for us. This will deprive us of a Special Duty Officer class fighter and give the enemy one. Do you know how dangerous that is? Even if this is about strict adherence, I think it would be better to just have her not participate at all.”

Kuro-Take: “That would not give us the justification we need. Unfortunately.”

“But,” said Kasuya. She had fought alongside Kani in Kantou and had hung out with her in their off time. Kani was the honest type, so she would go if told to. But…

Black Wolf: “Didn’t Kani break her arm? She’s also exhausted, so she won’t be much help to Musashi. Is that what you were thinking?”

Kuro-Take: “Oh, she was fully healed earlier with a Mlasi extremity healing spell and the P.A. Oda jujutsu club’s Crack Crack Chiropractic treatment. Yes, it blew enough budget to buy a light warship and made me use five bags.”

Almost Everyone: “Five!?”

Why is that the surprise? wondered Kasuya, but that was admittedly easier to understand than the light warship. But…

AnG: “What is Take thinking? Why would she sell Kanitama to Musashi?”

Kuro-Take: “Oh, I will get Kani-kun back once the Battle of Yamazaki is over. It’s like a part-time job. She’s a temp.”

Llaf: “But is Kani-dono okay with it?”

If Takenaka ordered it, Kani couldn’t refuse. Fukushima had to know that, so she had to be speaking of Kani’s personal feelings on the matter. Noting that, Kasuya realized something.

…Fukushima has changed a lot, hasn’t she?

Before, she would have had a positive reaction along the lines of “then I need to smile as I see her off”, but now her tilted head made it look like she was at least keeping her own personal opinion a step removed.

Kiyomasa, who had voiced her question first, tapped on Fukushima’s shoulder and smiled.

“You are Kani-san’s superior, so…if you’re worried, you need to trust in her.”

“I can reassure you there,” said Kasuya. “Kani can attack as frequently as I can and she can launch heavy strikes, so she has reached quite a high level.”

Just like Kasuya had trained against powerful enemies at Aki, Kani must have received plenty of training and strengthening with the Shibata Team. It was no fluke that she had fought Fuwa during the Battle of Shizugatake and won despite being at a disadvantage. There was no reason to doubt her skill. Yoshiaki raised her hand, but…

“With our schale besen worn down right now, we definitely couldn’t win a fight against her.”

Then it came down to what Fukushima was worried about: her mental state. Wakisaka nodded and addressed that.

“I think Kanitama will take it very seriously. She’ll do everything she can to try and take us on.”

●

Asano had come to see Kani off. She had come this far to manage the supplies loaded on the Azuchi and was busy resupplying with the Battle of Yamazaki coming up, but she had still found some time to visit the side of the ship. A mixture of a night breeze and a sea breeze formed the Mikawa bay sky behind her as she followed Kani into the diplomatic station that opened onto the side of the ship. Kani was already completing the short-term transfer procedure, so Asano called out from a corridor.

“Heyyy, Kaniii.”

“Oh, Asa-chan! Seeing me off!? Great! I can’t turn back after going through the station!”

It was kind of incredible how the futon and pillow on her back were more noticeable than her clothes and such. Regardless, she looked ready to run off at any moment, so instead of raising a hand and keeping her here…

“Are youuu all right wiiith going to Muuusashi?”

“I won’t know until I get there!”

Was that anything to say with a smile? She seemed to have learned how to act like she was a big deal, but she probably really would go the furthest of everyone in their year.

…Wait? Isn’t one of us flirting with an OS near here?

That one already had an aerial warship, so he had the most in terms of assets. How irritating.

Anyway, Asano felt like that one statement had more or less ended it. And while she was wondering if saying anything more would be wrong…

“What kind of souvenir do you want!? A kosode with something weird written on it!?”

“Laaast time I said that would be fiiine, you bought meee one that said ‘corned beef’, so pleeease don’t.”

“You didn’t like the corned beef!? Nabe-chan said the same thing, so I’ll have to think of something!”

Nabe3: “That ‘organic’ one is off limits too! Oh, but wearing that would be kind of funny, so actually do get me that.”

“Really!? Then I’ll do that!”

…So dazzling…

Asano realized Ikeda was being completely ignored here, but that was also just like Kani.

“If there’s tiiime after you get baaack, let’s do karaoooke.”

“Testament! We can do that to celebrate my return!”

“Testament, testament,” she replied just as the station finished reviewing the paperwork. A few lernen figurs opened in front of Kani and they disappeared when she pressed her thumb against them.

This technically meant she was transferring academies. That seemed like a lot of effort for a temporary thing, but then Kani’s shoulders suddenly relaxed.

She was about to go.

Realizing that, Asano decided to ask a question of their year’s greatest success. Kani had already talked about souvenirs and what the others would want, but…

“What are youuu most looking forward to therrre?”

“Testament! That I get to go all out fighting our upperclassmen!”

“They’re on ourrr side.”

“That’s the point! I can show them how strong I’ve gotten and they can show me how strong they are! That couldn’t happen without this!”

…But do the upperclassmen want to do that?

Asano was truly concerned about that, but maybe it wouldn’t be an issue once they actually fought.

Just as Asano prepared to say “go do your best”, she saw the futon on Kani’s back was already hiding her from view. But she could see a hand sticking out and waving goodbye.

…Incredible.

Catching up to her won’t be easy, she thought with a bitter smile while pointlessly waving back.

●

Gold Mar: “A transport ship displaying a ‘noncombatant’ sign frame just left the Azuchi! Do you think Kani Saizou is onboard?”

Wait a second, thought Masazumi.

…Are they pushing this history recreation onto us?

Vice President: “What is the meaning of this, Hashiba! Are you sending Kani Saizou to us and then using that as reason to demand we fight the Battle of Yamazaki!? This is a forced history recreation!”

Kuro-Take: “What are you talking about? Isn’t it obvious that you are the Akechi forces of the Battle of Yamazaki?”

Vice President: “That depends on the outcome of the Iga Crossing! Because we completed the Iga Crossing, we have already stepped down from the role of the Akechi forces!”

She continued to shove a “because” in Hashiba’s faces.

Vice President: “The Iga Crossing is a battle in which Matsudaira is pursued by Akechi! We are Matsudaira, so if we were still Akechi, it would lead to a contradictory situation where we were forced to attack ourselves!”

Worshiper: “Huh? But don’t we attack ourselves all the time?”

Yes, but it’s not the same thing. You have to understand that.

Anyway, Masazumi had no intention of going along with this.

Vice President: “We cannot accept Kani Saizou! We intend to return to Europe and let the other nations decide our position here.”

Kuro-Take: “Do you? But we had the history recreation of the Great Return.”

Takenaka spoke clearly.

Kuro-Take: “This may have been the Iga Crossing for you, but it was the Iga Crossing and the Great Return for us. So even if it was the Iga Crossing, the Great Return means that you are still Akechi to us.”

Now.

Kuro-Take: “We did the Great Return and Akechi escaped. We pursued them. If you insist you are Matsudaira because of the Iga Crossing, then this is how we see things. But our Great Return has now ended and we have finally managed to capture the Akechi forces.”

Vice President: “Then I have one thing to say.”

Masazumi filled her lungs with air and spoke.

She directed her words toward the unseen Azuchi behind her with the intention of striking at her opponent’s flaw.

Vice President: “Hashiba fell at Honnouji. She was in truth an automaton used by Nobunaga that used the Hashiba name, but she was lost. Now, Hashiba forces. What basis do you have for doing the Battle of Yamazaki? Are you attempting to fight it without Hashiba?”

Kuro-Take: “What do you think?”

“Huh?” Masazumi tilted her head at the divine chat on her sign frame.

…Why would the Hashiba forces question her about their plan to fight the Battle of Yamazaki without Hashiba?

Flat Vassal: “Is this payback for the Secretary and Vice President messing with her earlier?”

Novice: “Oh, so it’s a roundabout form of personal attack!? It is, isn’t it!? She must be jealous of my imaginative writing style.”

Art-Ga: “Is an ‘imaginative writing style’ your term for being unable to finish anything by the deadline to save your life?”

Worshiper: “Naruze-kun is yet again hitting where it hurts.”

Gold Mar: “But could this be vengeance for Hashiba or for Nobunaga?”

It probably is, agreed Masazumi.

…But even if it is, that’s their business.

Vice President: “Hashiba forces. We’re never going to see eye to eye. So can’t we just agree to disagree?”

Kuro-Take: “Don’t be silly. There is something we can agree on.”

Vice President: “No. Without Hashiba with you, your history recreation of the Great Return and the Battle of Yamazaki are both-”

She stopped mid-sentence.

…Wait.

She sensed she was treading on dangerous ground here.

●

At the loading dock on Okutama’s stern, Tenzou watched the Azuchi and the approaching transport ship.

He knew why Masazumi had suddenly halted her negotiation.

“Because Hashiba isn’t here, right?”

“Master Tenzou…what is the concern here?”

“Judge,” he said to Mary, suppressing the urge to tense up for no reason. She was still scattering flowers, but her head was tilted when he turned to face her. “The Hashiba we faced at Honnouji was an automaton you could call Nobunaga’s borrowed form. We defeated her and Nobunaga returned to Horizon-dono’s body, which you could call her true form, but she then ascended to the moon.”

“That means Lady Hashiba’s automaton body was left behind, doesn’t it?”

“We couldn’t have escaped there without using a transport spell. There was no sign of any other ships escaping after us, so it was effectively impossible to retrieve Hashiba’s body.”

But he was still concerned.

Mary brought up the thought he didn’t want to consider but knew he had to.

“The Hashiba forces said they completed the history recreation of the Great Return, didn’t they?”

“Judge, they did say that.”

“But, Master Tenzou…doesn’t the Great Return require Lady Hashiba herself?”

“Judge, you would certainly think so.”

Even as he answered, an unpleasant feeling increased the pressure on the top of his gut.

…This might mean trouble.

Then a question reached him.

“Master Tenzou. But Lady Hashiba wasn’t aboard the Azuchi, was she?”

“Judge. Because she did not participate in the Battle of Shizugatake. And that was because she was at Honnouji.”

“Then how could the Azuchi have completed the history recreation of the Great Return without Lady Hashiba?”

“That would be because the Hashiba forces didn’t need Hashiba for an internal history recreation within M.H.R.R. or P.A. Oda. …And for the Battle of Yamazaki being discussed now, Lord Akechi was originally part of P.A. Oda. So I believe they were originally trying to complete all of this, including the Honnouji Incident, as internal history recreations.”

“Judge.” Mary nodded, nodded again, raised her head to view the Azuchi, and opened her mouth again. “In that case, Master Tenzou, the Azuchi must have changed during their Great Return.”

●

Asama had a thought when she heard Mary’s comment over the divine transmission.

…Something about this is fishy.

Based on everything she had seen so far, Tenzou’s opinion was correct.

But based on what was happening now, Mary’s opinion was correct.

“The Azuchi changed on its way here from the Battle of Shizugatake.”

“Judge,” replied Mitotsudaira. “Hashiba was not present at Shizugatake, but if Hashiba is necessary for the Great Return and Yamazaki, then we must change our thinking in two places.”

“In other words, Hashiba is aboard the Azuchi?”

Horizon readily changed her thinking in one place.

●

…She does have a way of saying what the rest of us are hesitant to…

Whether or not that was a good thing was a separate issue. But if this was true, Asama had a question. It was related to the other place to change their thinking as Mitotsudaira put it.

“When did Hashiba board the Azuchi? And how?”

Only after speaking did she realize that was two places, not one.

“T-Tomo? Why are you glaring at me?”

“Yes, I suppose now isn’t the time to be so strict… Anyway, doesn’t this mean Hashiba must have boarded the Azuchi after it left Shizugatake and before it arrived here?”

They knew the Azuchi had retrieved supplies and materials from Lake Biwa Azuchi. A group of transport ships had docked with them while flying at a fairly dangerous speed. But…

“Did those transport ships bring her over?”

“That would require a ship to have collected Hashiba from Honnouji,” said Mitotsudaira.

Asama didn’t think that had happened. When the Musashi group had been taken from the Honnouji remnants by transport ship, she had used an observation spell to ensure their surroundings were safe.

She had not detected anything like a transport ship around the wreckage and crust being taken up into the sky.

…In that case…

If Hashiba had a time and method to transport Hashiba out of there, what could it have been? Asama opened a map of the Honnouji area and then noticed something. To put it simply…

“An embarrassing attack name!”

●

Novice: “Whaaat!? How dare you!! It’s true my previous MC’s Behind Cold Stomach Ripper sounds pretty lame now, but my current MC’s Invitation to an Eternal Chain of Explosions is so cool, especially with the English ruby text calling it Call Fortune Chained!”

Almost Everyone: “That’s way worse!”

Art-Ga: “She didn’t mean you, even if she really should have. Someone else comes up with equally bad names.”

Silver Wolf: “U-um, you mean Maeda Toshiie’s…K-Kaga Millionen Geist!?”

Horizey: “Excellent job getting the whole name out while blushing, Mitotsudaira-sama!”

●

As soon as she received Asama’s instructions via divine transmission, Suzu replayed what Asama wanted to know about.

…Northwest of Honnouji!

The automata had spotted a shrine in the mountains there. They knew Maeda Toshiie’s transport ship had landed near there after flying on from the north.

They also knew The mechanical dragon called Unambitious had taken off from the Azuchi and flown to that shrine.

Asama: “When Maeda Toshiie interrupted our meeting in England, Walsingham threw a glass at him, but it was absorbed by a ghost arm. I don’t know if the ghosts carried them through the ley lines or if they had to endure that destruction and were carried in later, but Maeda Toshiie’s Landsknechte passed through Honnouji’s defensive ley line net and appeared at Honnouji.”

And what did that mean?

Asama: “Honnouji and Maeda Toshiie were definitely linked.”

The model showed the same thing. Replaying the past events showed the mechanical dragon receive something from the shrine in the mountains and then fly back to the Azuchi.

“Musashino” raised her voice.

“Suzu-sama! Based on its course and speed, the mechanical dragon had an estimated 70kg more weight on its return trip! Over.”

That was the truth. By combining Asama’s opinion and the data she had now, Suzu knew what decision they had to made.

Bell: “Masazumi! Please!”

●

Masazumi had a question.

Everything was heading in a dangerous direction. She remained cautious, but she already had set several countermeasures into motion. However…

Vice President: “A question, Hashiba forces!”

Kuro-Take: “Testament. Ask.”

She asked the biggest question of all.

Vice President: “Who is Hashiba!?”

Maybe Hashiba hadn’t been retrieved. Maybe she hadn’t boarded the Azuchi.

Another possibility was a second Hashiba inheriting the name on the Azuchi or within P.A. Oda immediately after the Honnouji Incident.

Of course, a rushed name inheritance like that left room for negotiation over its validity.

But even then…

…That’s assuming Hashiba wasn’t retrieved!

She asked her question into empty air ahead.

The Azuchi was behind her and she was seated on the stairs with her back to it, but…

Gold Mar: “Seijun, you can look that way if you want. We’ll keep an eye on it for you.”

That helped cool her head.

…That’s right.

The others were here too. The idiot, Horizon, and that group were here and Futayo was right here with her. So…

Vice President: “Aoi. What do you want to do?”

Me: “We can’t get away?”

Probably not, she thought, but they had to try.

So she knew she had to clarify the situation.

Vice President: “Answer me, Hashiba forces. And show me. …What happened to Hashiba?”

Kuro-Take: “Testament. Hashiba-kun is right here. Look.”

Just then, a Magie Figur from Naito opened by Masazumi. It displayed the output of a sniper scope spell. It showed the roof of the bridge on the Azuchi’s first central ship.

●

Masazumi saw three people standing there.

One was an automaton. That was probably “Azuchi” who operated the Azuchi.

Another was Takenaka Hanbei. Masazumi could tell because she had seen her a few time before.

And the last emerged from between the other two.

Kuro-Take: “Do you like our renewed Hashiba-kun?”

The Hashiba who took a step forward looked almost identical to when they had seen her at Honnouji. Except the nervousness was gone, her hair had been cut short, and…

…Ether light?

She was an automaton, but she was surrounded by bluish-white light. Masazumi felt like she had seen her somewhere before and, as if responding to that thought, Hashiba looked to her.

She stared straight at her in an almost challenging way.

848: “Hello again, I suppose I should say.”

She named herself.

848: “I am Ishida Mitsunari. I currently have Hashiba Toukichirou as a double inherited name and am operating the body that should have been mine to begin with.”

●

Mitsunari sighed while keenly aware of how much trouble a physical form could be.

…I have to breathe.

Even an automaton body had a lot of biological parts, so breathing was necessary.

She had never breathed before, but in this body she had to constantly send instructions to different parts, such as the respiratory and circulatory systems. These things were of course automated, but as a data entity these parts of her body were automated but not subconscious.

She considered changing that later as she faced forward.

The Musashi was out ahead. Moonlight shined on the white and black ships from the west.

…It looks so different now.

That was because she now had eyes. Before she had always received data from video spells, but now it occurred through her artificial eyes. That change was enough to make the visual less precise but also gave it greater depth.

Then light appeared by her hands. A lernen figur had opened.

Vice President: “Has it been since Nördlingen, Ishida Mitsunari?”

848: “Testament. We have passed by at a few locations since, but I was traveling through the divine network as a data entity. Now I am concentrated here.”

Moving this unfamiliar body required everything she had. Some of her copies were in the Azuchi’s divine protections and management system to support her from the outside.

…I really need to get used to this!

This body had been hurriedly repaired, but…

848: “Originally, I was meant to enter this body and support Nobunaga-sama. But my development was delayed and Nobunaga-sama’s OS was compatible with the body since it formed my foundation, so it was modified to act as her arms and legs.”

That had given the body some quirks beyond the initial plans. She could understand it having some quirks in the movement since the power system received some feedback from Nobunaga’s memories, but the quirks the OS left on the command system had been a surprise.

However, she could sense the presence of the being known as Hashiba in here, so combining with it in this way felt…

848: “Irreverent.”

The Musashi Vice President nodded and sent over a “judge”.

Vice President: “So…your claim is that Nobunaga acting as Hashiba was the abnormality?”

848: “This automaton body itself is Hashiba…is meant for Hashiba. So whoever is installed within it, they can name themselves as Hashiba’s name inheritor. However, only I and Nobunaga-sama, who is similar to me, can be installed in it.”

Vice President: “So your mind is a second Hashiba and your body is Hashiba. And the previous Hashiba was Nobunaga and the current you is the true Hashiba? Do I have that right?”

…Um, um, umm!?

She wanted to open a whole bunch of lernen figurs and respond with multiple copies of herself, but she didn’t have to since she had a body.

And to answer that question…

848: “I am now the only Hashiba. That is what we are saying.”

Vice President: “It is, is it?”

848: “It is.”

“Okay,” said the Musashi Vice President.

Vice President: “Run away, everyone!!”

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?

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