Horizon:Volume 1 Prologue

Prologue: Those Lined Up Before the Horizon

Whether to be lost.

Or to be explored.

The reason to keep hold of your heart's compass is something.

Point Allocation (Protagonist)

●

A sky exists.

A clear morning sky. In the blue floated two pale white moons, and below the clear air, waves of dark green mountain gorges overlapped, reaching far.

The mountainous region, the expanding sky above the many-edged mountains.

In the sky, divisions which appeared to be pillars were there. Stretching from the earth to the sky, divided segments which held the appearance of pillars existed. Through the reality in which the clouds and wind traversing the sky disappeared as if reaching an invisible wall, and the division of the vegetation of the ground, those wide yet numerous pillar-like segments flaunted their existence.

Though the segments were uncountable, the spatial relationship was sporadic, and their wideness too varied.

The sky, divided in that manner, held three things.

The first was wind. The atmospheric flows of the mountainous region rose, appearing to be entwining, and birthing clouds, they faded away.

And, another one was the waves. In the sky, waves ran. Lines, not of clouds, but where the surf broke were many, stretching out toward the sky, outlining the character 「八」.

Things in the sky. The last was that which traveled between the clouds and created the waves.

Ships.

Through the pillars of the divisions of the sky reaching past the mountains, raising the sound of the surf, eight white ships sailed.

The Aerial City Ships, bearing towns and natural parks on the surface segment, brought their shadows together, descending towards the mountains. The shadow of the group of ships, two ships lined up in the center and three ships lined up to the left and to the right, engulfed themselves in one of the gorges, which stretched multiple kilometers from head to tail.

Each one of the ships created waves, which streamed from the bow and into the sky, and carrying the echoes of break of each wave, they continued on through the heavens.

Breaking the waves, advancing through the skies, each of the ships were connected to the ships close by with tens of thick ropes. Occasionally, when the group of ships changed their path slightly, the ropes which connected them would be drawn in and pulled out.

At the bows of the eight ships, the name was there. First, on each one of the ships, the name 'Musashi' was written with black characters. Next to that, the ship-names were, as expected, written in black characters.

First Starboard: "Shinagawa"

Second Starboard: "Tama"

Third Starboard: "Takao"

Center Leading: "Musashi Field"

Center Trailing: "Inner Tama"

First Port: "Asakusa"

Second Port: "Murayama"

Third Port: "Oume"

The three ships to the left and to the right acting as outer hulls around the two ships in the middle, with that formation, these eight ships sailed the sky.

And, a sound rang out.

The sound was a voice of song.

From the graveyard in the surface-segment of the bow of Inner Tama, the echoes of that slow voice　sang a trembling rhythm.

"--Let me pass--"

Let me pass, let me pass.

If I go, if at some point it becomes a narrow pathway.

The narrow pathway, which goes toward God.

Though you say 'Thine thoughts art useless, thou cannot pass'.

To celebrate this child's tenth birthday.

I go to dedicate two offerings.

The path there is well, the return is fear.

I wonder, is it the passage of the fear in me--

The song traversed the air, and eventually it disappeared.

In its place, a new, resounding sound was there. Other than the sound of waves from the ship's passage, ringing out was consecutive clangs of a bell.

Sounding once, twice, three times, continuing like music, the sound of the bell which told the time was covered by the voice of a broadcast.

"Our citizens, I inform you that in Bahamut Class Aerial City Ship - Musashi, by the bell of Musashi Ariadust Academy it is currently 8:30. The ship is currently withdrawing from the Sagarmatha Corridor and sailing southwest. In the afternoon, we will be docking in main dock Far East Representative State Mikawa. At the habitable high-skies, we will be entering stealth flight, and will experience information cutoff, therefore we wish for your co-operation. --That is all."

Where the sound and voice were sounding was above the Middle Trailing Inner Tama. A construction atop it was the source of the sound.

Next to each other, two long, wooden, three-story buildings stood. The two structures, ringing the chime, had metal nameplates at the doors of the entrance. Nameplates with "Musashi Ariadust Academy" written.

Between the gate and the school building, Musashi Ariadust Academy had a schoolyard and a bridge crossing over it.

The schoolyard held a wideness which was nearly a 100-meter line diagonally. The bridge crossing over started from the gate, and using steps, it ascended, connecting to a hatch in the second floor of the frontal school building.

And, the chime which told the time ended, and as if in its place the voice of a woman came from above the bridge.

"Alllllllllllright."

The voice, traveling quite far, flew out towards the school building.

"Third Year Plum Group--. You alright?"

In front of Musashi Ariadust Academy, where the voice rang out, atop the bridge, several figures were there.

First, by the door, one woman was standing. A woman wearing a black, light armor style-jersey, whose back was straight.

Behind her short hair, a single line was on her back. A longsword, painted white, with a hilt of metal.

The scene in front of her she was seeing. The school building. There, wearing black and white uniforms, were youths. Those that might have been human, and those that were not human too were there. Towards them, who were like this, the woman smiled and said this.

"Then, --let's start the physical education lesson!"

●

The teacher said this to the students gathered atop the bridge. With a tone which acted humble-

"Now then, the rules are simple."

-so she said. And, sticking her chin forward, she indicated the tip of the group of ships.

"Alright? --Now, I'm going to run with all of my strength to the Yakuza office at the front of Shinagiwa for some Yakuza beating, so I hope everyone can follow along. After getting there, it'll be a practical, all right?"

In reaction to the teacher's words, from the middle of the group in student uniforms, the students, voices went "Eh?"

However, the teacher ignored their voices and smiled.

"If you're late, I might have you do the early morning classroom clean up. --And, your response? Jud.?"

"--Jud."

In answer, everyone returned these words which carried the meaning of 'understood'.

At the same time, a hand was raised. A tall boy to whom the armband 'Treasurer: Shirojiro Bertoni' was attached-

"Oriotorai-sensei, --What kind of relationship does physical education have with the Shinigawa's Yakuza? Is it money?"

"Don't be stupid, Shirojiro. Physical education is doing exercise, you know? And, beating people up is an exercise. A simple thing like that--if you don't know it, there's a problem."

The figure clad in a female uniform tugged the sleeve of the student whose name had been called. The long-haired person to which the nameplate 'Treasurer's Assistant: Heidi Ogezevara' was affixed, smiling all the while-

"You know, Shiro-kun, recently, Oriotorai-sensei was assigned a solitary house on the surface, and when she was rejoicing wildly, her land was bought up, and she went to the bottom level, and she drank some beer, and she　got violent, and she cracked the wall, and she was seriously scolded by the teacher's department.--In short, everything past the middle was her own fault, but without forgetting her original intention, it's revenge, I think."

"It's not revenge. It's just that I got kind of irritated, so I'm just returning the favor."

"That's the same thing!!"

Everyone Tsukkomi'd, but Oriotorai-sensei didn't even seem to care.

And, taking the longsword and sheathe on her back into her hands, clasping it to her side. Rubbing the emblem of the brand name IZUMO, which was on the surface of the sheathe, and with the IZUMO's unique Slicing Effect Amplification, she laid her fingers on the hilt, which had a slightly twisted design.

"Is somebody missing? There's no helping Miriam Polk. Other than that, it's about how Azuma finally returns noon today, but as for any others--"

At the question, the group looked around at each others' faces.

Having done that, a girl wearing a black three-cornered hat, the golden-haired girl to whom a "Third Special Duty: Margot Knight" armband was attached opened her mouth. While shaking her six golden wings at her back, she-

"As far as Nai-chan can see, Seijun　「正純」 and Chancellor aren't here."

In response to that voice, the girl with black wings who she was hugging, "Fourth Special Duty: Malga Naruze" shook her head.

"Masazumi 「正純」 is going to Tama's Elementary Academy as a Elementary Instructor, and in the afternoon she's going to send Academy President Sakai to Mikawa, so today she should have a free absence. Chancellor..I don't know about Toori."

"Mmm, then, is anybody who knows about "Impossible" Toori here?"

At the question, everyone looked at one place. At a place a little bit backward and below the middle of everybody. Standing there was a girl with tea-coloured wavy hair. She folded her arms, making a bow-shaped smile, and-

"Fufu, everyone, you want to hear about my idiot brother Toori that much? You want to hear about it, don't you? I mean, he's Musashi's Chancellor and Student Council President, isn't he. Fufu. --However, I won't tell you!"

'Ehh?" Everyone raised a questioning voice. With that, she who was going against them nodded a meaningful nod,

"Because around eight in the morning, when I woke up, he wasn't there already."

"Even though you're always so lively, you wake up really late, you know!"

"Fufufu, it's all right,　my make-up　was done, and I, Belle Flore Aoi, will make clear my time in the morning. But, that idiot brother, waking up early without making my breakfast, it would be good if at the judgement after death he would receive the foul ball judgement by the umpire and drop to hell! After all, it's about time the world ends from an apocalypse!"

"Umm, Kimi-chan?"

At Knight's call, Kimi turned around. With an expression where her eyebrows were slightly raised-

"Margot...not that name, you know? Something like Aoi Kimi 「葵・喜美」, if it's something like "Blue yolk 「Aoi Kimi(青い黄身)」" then what kind of name is it when it's like you don't know if it's something you ate and came out of your ass? So, call me Belle Flore, alright?"

"Nai-chan is just thinking, but wasn't it Josephine three days ago?"

"The Nakamura-san three over named the dog she's taking care of the same name, so it's not that! That girl has a cute hobby of, with the enjoyment of an old person, attaching a collar to that animal with long and soft-looking fur just like a little girl, and training it while it's nude! It was frustrating, so next time she'll let me hug it, you know!? Hey, aren't I the underdog like this!?"

'I wonder' As Knight, who was being grabbed by the collar and being shaken, said those words, Oriotorai was silently adding check-marks to the attendance record she had taken from out of the chest-area of her jersey.

"Then, Toori is...late?--Even though he's the Student Council President and Chancellor...this won't do."

At her line, everyone smiled helplessly. Voices going, 'We-well,' could also be heard.

And, Oriotorai, who was against them, too faced everyone, who was like that, and smiled wrly.

"Well, yeah. It'd be dangerous if Musashi's Chancellor were to get a hold of himself...There's a reason, after all."

After sweeping her gaze about as if looking at the surroundings, she opened her mouth.

"Well, this is troublesome. Even though Shinshuu, below us, was our territory, it's now being provisionally controlled by every country, and people're being chased into the Far East residency area--Can't believe the direct control territory which is Shinshuu is going to become that of just Musashi."

●