Horizon:GT3 Chapter4

Chapter 4: Expulsion and a Visitor

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Counterattacking

Point Allocation (Variety)

●

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, Seijun! What kinda timing is this?”

Uh, oh. This idiot is useless. In fact, he’s even less help than I am here, but he’s also the Chancellor and President. For now, Masazumi faced to the sides and…

“Wait! We can talk this out!”

“You faced to the sides? Seijun-kun, you’re facing forward.”

“Well, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do when this happens! Fine, I’m facing forward as the midpoint between the left and right! That shows I’m impartial! Now, if any of you have a complaint, line up in front of me! And sit down!”

That was when Futayo arrived and knelt about seven steps down the stairs in front of Masazumi.

“Masazumi, I have a complaint! When I went to the Takao restaurant, Sensei was drinking there and they said they didn’t have any of the grilled Nagoya Cochin I had last time.”

“Just save me!”

●

Mitotsudaira arrived at the academy.

…I’m too slow!

She had dashed from the English embassy after her king sent a “Can you come to the academy?” message.

“He needs my protection.”

●

*Correction by Asama-sama.

Mitotsudaira arrived at the academy.

…I’m too slow!

She had leaped from the English embassy after her king sent a “Can you stop by the academy? But only if you’re free” message.

“My king! My king! What do you want!?”

○

“I’m not that much of a dog!”

“When the divine mail arrived, you did go ‘C-can you handle the rest here, Tomo!?’ and run out. Mary can back me up on this.”

“Having a close relationship with your king is a good thing, Lady Mitotsudaira.”

“Wh-why is it so much harder to defend my past actions than my current ones!?”

“Nate? Look to me, your mother, as a role model. Just forget that all the inconvenient things exist and life becomes so much more enjoyable.”

“That’s just being irresponsible!”

“Anyway, Mito, continue your record.”

●

Mitotsudaira rushed toward her king.

“He could easily have run into trouble these days!”

IZUMO had sent a lot of workers and cleaners aboard and there was a high probability of a spy among them. The Asama Shrine handled the boarding procedure, but Musashi had asked to have the process simplified. They had also placed a focus on security, but there were a few loopholes.

…It would be a pain if someone took advantage of those.

They did have countermeasures in place just in case, but they couldn’t stop all incidents in advance.

This was one such case.

“My king!”

If only I could run faster, she thought as she looked up to see the attackers blasted to either side simultaneously.

Futayo was responsible. She had used Tonbokiri’s extension device to jab the lead enemy on either side.

●

From Futayo’s perspective, Masazumi and the other one were seven steps up. The landing being used for the attack was five steps up.

She could cover five steps in a single step. She rose from her knee and converted that force into a low jump. She really only caught the edge of the 5th step with her heel and kicked off to send her body further up.

By then, she was already activating Tonbokiri’s extension device with the weapon oriented horizontally.

She held the center and sent the blade to the right and the butt to the left.

She chose to send the blade right due to the nature of the attack.

The pathways the attackers were taking had a railing on the fore side.

Most people were right handed.

The attackers to port wouldn’t have their right arms restricted by that railing, so they had more freedom of movement.

So she sent the blade toward them on her right.

She sent the butt starboard where the enemy would be slower but could still hold their ground. And with that impact…

“Got them.”

She struck the lead enemy on either side. The spear butt on her left struck the guarding enemy in the chest and the spear blade on her right crashed into the weapon the lead enemy had drawn and guarded with.

That man on the right protected himself well for what was more or less a surprise attack, thought Futayo, before using her right arm to jab the blade out.

Sparks flew as the enemy had to focus on deflecting the blade.

What would happen if she made another attack just as he was feeling a mixture of relief and tension?

…Let’s find out!

The enemy ducked low.

But not to evade.

He had given up resisting the series of attacks.

That meant it was only a fluke he had managed to block the first one. The second attack had told him he couldn’t keep it up.

So instead of evading, he realized battling this was a bad idea and crouched down. So…

“Kh!”

The attacker to Futayo’s right was stopped by his own crouch.

Confused by the sudden obstacle in their way, those behind him hesitated over which side to circle around him.

That caused a bottleneck behind him.

They couldn’t swing their weapons when packed in tight like that. So Futayo shifted to…

“The left!”

She used her left arm to swing the spear shaft toward the attacker on the left who she had already hit with the butt.

Jabbing the blade toward the right had created about a meter of clearance, which she used to slam the butt into him again.

However…

“Ohh!”

When she had hit the lead attacker with the butt before, there must have been a tempo of delay in her action because he managed to hold his ground. A blow like that had likely broken a few ribs, so his resolve was impressive.

…No, I went too easy on him.

I still haven’t gotten over my battle with Gin-dono during the Armada Battle. I must still be concerned by how far I went there.

She didn’t think she had let her guard down, but there was a discrepancy between the version of herself she knew from the past and the real one here. She sensed a slight shift in her actions.

That is a danger, but I must endure for now.

So she poured her strength into this second attack.

“Hh.”

As she made the attack, the attacker took a defensive stance. He intended to block it rather than evade.

As he should.

His job in the lead wasn’t to evade or to attack.

He had to take a position and then let the others know.

He didn’t know what was going to happen to him, but he had told the others to keep going. Which meant attacking him would not stop the others.

If they had been even halfway decently trained, they would split to the sides and continue on past him. That would be a problem for Futayo, so…

“Excuse me.”

She struck again with the butt. First she shrank the spear down with the extension device and then…

“Between the legs!”

●

Masazumi saw a physical action.

Futayo rested the front end of Tonbokiri on the stairway railing and sent the bottom end diagonally down between the starboard group’s legs.

The extension device could give the spear a maximum length of just over 6m.

With the front end resting on the railing and the bottom end racing out diagonally down, it passed between the legs of the first man and continued through a few more before it began sliding along the floor.

“Oh?” said the idiot, standing up to take a look.

Just then, Tonbokiri’s shaft bent while passing between the attackers’ legs.

It appeared to bend downwards, but this was a combat weapon. The bend was absorbed, causing it to snap sharply back. This was meant to increase the force of a jab and prevent the shaft from breaking if the spear was blocked, but…

“Whoa!”

Tonbokiri had been extended from the railing of the aft-side stairs toward the starboard pathway, but now it was extended diagonally toward the bow.

Those above it had their legs leave the ground and the “snapping back” of the bent shaft launched them toward the bow.

“–––––”

A few attackers were thrown into the air above the park located below the 2nd schoolyard on the primary surface level.

The three following after them cried out and focused on their airborne comrades.

That created an opening. Or rather, it gave Masazumi and the idiot some time to act. So…

“Hey, idiot! We need to get up the stairs!”

“I don’t think we do.”

“The port group is still there!”

The starboard side was clear for the time being, but the port side was untouched except for the lead attacker.

“Futayo!”

Just as Masazumi was going to ask Futayo to deal with that, two things happened.

First, a shadow was cast down from the sky.

…Eh?

But it’s already night, she thought before a falling food stand crashed down onto the port pathway.

An English-style fish and chips stand had come to save them. Or more accurately…

“Nice one, Nate!”

“I wasn’t sure that would reach, but it did!”

Below, Mitotsudaira was catching her breath on the central street. Then, as the starboard group fell into the park, Masazumi heard clanging armor, rustling branches, and…

“Ah!”

Those left on the pathway had a Shinto sign frame open on their backs.

…Is that…?

Just as she recognized them as divine punishment spells, one of the three attackers pointed toward the Musashino bridge.

“We’re only tourists! Ooh, look how cool the Musashino bridge is!”

“It sure is! How about we go buy some souvenirs!? Where would be best for that!?”

“Oh, no! We’re just some harmless tourists, but some of our friends fell into the park! We’d better go collect them, buy some of the Asama Shrine’s divine figurines, and get back to our hotel!”

What was all that about?

●

Asama stood on the thick rope passage between Tama and Okutama as she received Hanami’s report.

“Umm, so they were identified as ‘trying to harm our people’, but just as the divine punishment was about to get them, they became ‘tourists’ and the punishment was rescinded?”

“They were sus.”

“Yeah, but there’s a tiny chance it’s true. We’d have a hard time defending ourselves if we hit them with divine punishment and then they insisted they were only tourists. I think you made the right decision, Hanami.”

Silver Wolf: “Just out of curiosity, what kind of punishment would that have been?”

Asama: “My dad likes the more unusual ones, so it would inject a bottle’s worth of sake up their butts, an alert frame would begin singing an aria, their urine would be dyed pink for an entire year, and then they would be struck by lightning.”

Horizey: “As usual, I have to wonder why the Asama Shrine does not lead with the lightning.”

Asama: “Then it would hit whoever was around them, so it’s best to alert anyone else while making it clear to the target they can’t get away. Or that’s the usual excuse.”

Silver Wolf: “Did you just call it an excuse!? You did, didn’t you!?”

But these attackers had realized what was happening and found a way out of it, allowing some of them to escape.

Sakuya wouldn’t insist on hunting them down because they had stopped before actually making their attack and because they had displayed a fear of her divine punishment. Whether or not that frank personality was a good thing was a separate issue.

“Well, at least no one was hurt.”

“But Toori was attacked too.”

“How about we shorten the alert period for next time, Hanami?”

Silver Wolf: “Tomo! Tomo! How about at least setting some conditions!?”

At least the divine punishment had activated in the first place. They would have been in real trouble if it hadn’t done so before the attack began.

Asama: “Mito, who was it?”

Silver Wolf: “Judge. We captured some of them, but they are exercising their right to remain silent. Still, they are Tsirhc Catholics, just as you feared.”

Flat Vassal: “Why would she think that?”

Asama: “Generally, Tsirhc people use the ‘hidden’ setting on the Musashi to maintain compatibility with Shinto. But with the recent influx of people, there hasn’t been time to set up the ‘hidden’ setting for them, so they have little compatibility with the Shinto musicians. That’s why the spell took so long to activate. Based on Hanami’s measurements, the trigger wasn’t the attackers’ actions. The activation was triggered by detecting that something was being done to Masazumi and Toori-kun.”

But, she thought.

Asama: “They may have underestimated Shinto. While Futayo’s arrival helped, they were far enough away that I doubt they could have completed their attack on Masazumi and Toori-kun unless they really, really hurried.”

Gold Mar: “So was this only meant as a threat?”

Vice President: “”But wait. I can’t think of single thing I’ve done that would warrant being threatened.”

Almost Everyone: “You can’t?”

Vice President: “Hey! What’s that supposed to mean!?”

Me: “So, uh, hey, Asama? Can I go pick up my laundry?”

Asama: “Eh? Um, yes. That would be fine. We can discuss this further at the shrine.”

Me: “Judge. See you there. You coming, Nate?”

Silver Wolf: “Oh, um, I have to hand these attackers over to the guards. Do you mind if I show up a little late?”

Asama: “Then let’s gather at my place tonight.”

The Asama Shrine was open all night since it acted as a supply point for various divine protections and a management point for the ether pathways. People would be coming and going in the outer area without a spell barrier protecting it, but the inner area became a dead space at night.

Plus, everyone would be wanting a bath after a day of work.

Asama: “Okay, Toori-kun. You contact Horizon and we can all meet up at my place.”

○

“ ‘Okay, Toori-kun. Come over to my place tonight…’ ”

“Wait, Naruze! Don’t rewrite my line and then add an 18+ tag!”

Narumi got up while the Technohexen insisted “It’s only for my manuscript!” with a straight face and the shrine maiden got to work correcting the record. The Acting Captain noticed her and looked up, so she asked for a drink. And…

“This is getting complicated. Where were those attackers from?”

“The answer to that will only complicate things further…but can we move back to the first day now?”

“Huh? Why?”

“That can help us focus on the international situation. So-”

The Musashi Vice Chancellor stopped there and tilted her head.

“Masazumi, wouldn’t it be better to explain what happened next first?”

“Judge. I was just thinking the same thing,” said Mitotsudaira. “Before looking at the big picture, we should make sure all the players are on the stage.”

“Fair enough,” said the Musashi Vice President, but this brought a question to Narumi’s mind. What player still wasn’t on the stage?

“Is it someone important?”

“It would be hard to say otherwise. …Just watch the record. You will soon see a fairly unexciting figure who played a critical role for the Far East and for Musashi.”

●

Mitotsudaira estimated the distance she had thrown the food stand and gained newfound confidence in how far she could throw things without the silver chains. At the same time…

…It would be better if I could just run in.

This had highlighted how problematic her slow speed was, so that was a task to deal with in the future.

As she resolved to improve herself, she completed the process to hand the attackers over to the guards.

She worked for Futayo when it came to these things, so…

“Um, Mitotsudaira-sama…what am I supposed to do when this happens?”

“What did you do when you were with the Mikawa Guards?”

“Judge. I was generally on the patrol squad, so if I spotted anything, I would tie them up and then leave them for one of my subordinates to deal with.”

The term “hit and run” came to mind, but if the rules said her subordinates were supposed to handle it, then that was probably the best way of doing it. Mitotsudaira was used to calling the guards thanks to her king. She didn’t have Asama’s level of expertise there, but when she called them here…

“Is it the Chancellor!? No!? Then we’ll be right there!”

What was that about?

In the end, the public morals committee was sent out as well and around six of the attackers managed to escape as tourists. Three had fallen below and failed to escape and three had been hit by the food stand and failed to escape.

The six captured ones were taken to the nearest guard station and apparently remained silent throughout. But…

Flat Vassal: “So are they mercenaries?”

Silver Wolf: “They were awfully sloppy for professionals.”

They had been captured too easily and making an attack on the Musashi had been a poor decision thanks to the Shinto divine punishment protection.

…What were they thinking?

Mitotsudaira didn’t know. The day had been full of mysteries.

Futayo had gone to an Oume restaurant on Masazumi’s instruction and Mitotsudaira’s king had gone to the Asama Shrine. Masazumi was still here to inspect the scene of the attack, but after they had some time for a break, Mitotsudaira should probably take her to the Asama Shrine.

She wanted to exchange information. But…

“Listen up, you two.”

An unfamiliar girl’s voice came from below the stairs.

Who is that? wondered Mitotsudaira, turning around to see a girl climbing the stairs.

She had black hair and wore a red hat. Her hard point parts were in the K.P.A. Italia style, but her clothing itself wasn’t a uniform. She had a medium level of equipment.

Mitotsudaira didn’t recognize her.

●

…Who is she?

Mitotsudaira descended a single step and turned her side toward the girl.

With the attack so recent, the guards approached cautiously, but…

“It’s alright. Stand back.”

She didn’t have her silver chains, but she had her training as 5th Special Duty Officer and as a knight.

Based on her movements, the girl appeared to have standard middle school level training and little to no combat experience. Her openings were large and numerous.

But she raised her right hand and opened a sign frame. It was a Catholic one and Mitotsudaira resumed wondering what nation she was from.

“Don’t bother investigating. I’ll introduce myself soon enough, half-Loup Garou.”

Next, the girl displayed two names.

One was in Italian and the other in kanji. The Italian one may have been an ended inherited name because the text wasn’t lit up. But the kanji one was.

That was why Mitotsudaira’s eyes first landed on the kanji. They said…

“Ishin Suden?”

The name sounded vaguely familiar.

She could also read the Italian name through her translation protection. It was an ended inherited name, but it was still presented here.

“Former Pope…Urban VIII!?”

“Ha! Surprised it’s just some kid? With that history recreation over, all the portraits have been swapped out to be some old guy to match the Testament, so I don’t look anything like them, do I?”

The girl grinned and doffed her cap. She bowed and her black hair spilled down, revealing its considerable length. The hair was glossy and bright.

“I’m supposed to be retired, but I heard about something interesting happening here. So I felt like joining the fun. Surely Musashi’s Vice President is at familiar with the name Ishin Suden.

“Now,” she said. “Do you have the guts to determine the state of the Far East right here and now?”

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