Horizon:GT3 Chapter5

Chapter 5: Position and Footing

I look up

And look up

What a pain

Point Allocation (An Unexpected Big Shot)

○

On Narumi’s suggestion, Suzu prepared drinks for everyone. Adele helped her while they listened to everyone’s confused reaction to the 5th Special Duty Officer’s ‘cliffhanger’. First, the 3rd Special Duty Officer…

“That was really how Ishin Whoever introduced herself!?”

“I remember thinking ‘that sounds like trouble’ when I heard about her arrival during our meeting at the Asama Shrine, but looking at it now she was even more trouble than I’d thought.”

“Also, Vice President, what’s her deal? Why was the former pope there? Was that really her?”

“I checked the name inheritor almanac later on and she was who she said she was. I’m sure some of this will be hard for the Tachibana Wife and the Date Vice Chancellor to follow, so we should provide some supplementary information while we continue the record.”

“Oh, can I say something?” asked the Reine Des Garous, raising her hand while Suzu prepared some tea. Since they had been drinking carbonated drinks before, she had served them spiced snacks, but it was about time to switch to the sweet things.

This would do a lot of damage as a late-night snack, so she decided to do twice her usual run tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the Reine des Garous spoke.

“I know a bit about Urban VIII, so I can provide some amusing supplementary information there, even if it isn’t entirely true. …Can I write the record for a bit?”

●

A man sighed while seated in a large chair inside a dimly-lit hall.

He was old enough to be considered elderly, but he was also tall. He wore a K.P.A. Italia uniform large enough to cover up his shoulders and it bore a Catholic symbol.

A massive form stood by his side. This other person had red armored skin and horns.

“Galileo…what are you going to do? Hm?”

“I’m not sure why you’re asking me that, former boy. You are her underclassman, aren’t you?”

“Her former teacher is better suited for the job, don’t you think? Hm?”

“No, I don’t think so. If I said the wrong thing, she would excommunicate me…”

They both sighed just before someone in a girls uniform arrived at the hall’s entrance. She led the liaison committee’s foreign relations team. She bowed before speaking.

“Papa Schola, Urban VIII has arrived at the Musashi.”

“Testament. I’ve heard. And what happened? Hm?”

“Testament. She told us ‘I’m Ishin Suden right now, so don’t worry about it’.”

“She asks the impossible,” said Galileo and the Papa Schola nodded.

Eventually the foreign relations team lead tilted her head at those two.

“Your Holiness, she was from before my time here, so what kind of person is Urban VIII? Knowing that would help us avoid making any mistakes while pursuing this matter.”

The Papa Schola pointed over at Galileo.

“Galileo here? When he was advocating his heliocentric theory, she protested and made him reject it.”

“Testament. She suggested that we keep my heliocentric theory within K.P.A. Italia and work through it with an interpretation, girl.”

“Testament. And was this interpretation done ‘correctly’? For K.P.A. Italia’s sake?”

“No. She suddenly changed the deal on him and really forced him to reject it. Didn’t she?”

“Yes,” confirmed Galileo. “In the end, you could say it was best for me to actually reject it to the world at large than to keep it an internal matter, because that connected me to so many foreign academics. Anyway, the point is that she hates interpretations, backroom deals, keeping your story straight, and such things.”

“That’s for sure,” said the Papa Schola. He adjusted his position in his seat and crossed his legs. “When I was battling it out with Sakai in Europe and Mikawa, she-”

Urb8: “I can hear you, my underclassman.”

“Wha-!?” Just as the Papa Schola’s brow creased, a cadena firma appeared next to the foreign relations team lead’s face

Urb8: “One perk of being a pope-class name inheritor is retaining your access privileges even after your history recreation is complete. Let’s hope you can do the same at some point. Learning something?”

“Also,” continued the vocalized divine transmission. “Innocen, I wasn’t the one who gave Sakai a way through Europe. That was Suleiman. Now, if anyone asks how Suleiman knew a route through Europe, you should excommunicate them for being too clever for their own good.”

“And when Mikawa’s Sakakibara stormed the Testament Union HQ, who was it that contacted the other nations and paved a path toward confirming Shimabara and the religious ban? Hm?”

“Mikawa wasn’t rejecting the Testament Union. Being fair is what it means to be Catholic. A spirit of ‘giving to those without’ is our greatest pride and helps evangelize Catholicism. I could also note, Innocen, that the Papal States don’t reach their greatest territorial size during your time. It happened during mine. And since I did such a good job, you could have gone ahead and given up some territory.”

“What kind of idiot would go ahead and do that!? Hm!?”

“If an idiot tries to expand their territory and someone else smartly gives away some territory, it’s the latter everyone will love. But you did a good job recovering after you were beaten by Sakai and had Suleiman pull a fast one of you. It worked out to the territory I was hoping for in the end. Yes, I misjudged you. You do good work after someone humiliates you first.”

“Former boy, take a drink of water and a deep breath.”

“I was about to!”

“Ha ha ha,” laughed the other pope. “Have some fun, current pope. After moving on as pope, I had taken on a useless inherited name to kill time and pursue something that interested me, but I didn’t expect it to prove so meaningful. Also…”

“Also what? Hm?”

“Oh, a private matter. Anyway, I won’t do anything that will harm K.P.A. Italia. So just shut up and watch.”

“That is precisely what I had planned to do! But…” The Papa Schola took a breath and leaned back in his chair. “Don’t do anything reckless. Times have changed, you know? Hm?”

“You can actually be considerate? Times really have changed, my underclassman.”

After a quiet laugh, the divine transmission ended.

Silence fell over the three people there, like they had been abandoned.

The Papa Schola rested his head in his hand and then the foreign relations team lead spoke as if breaking free of her bonds.

“Your Holiness, what should we do?”

“Report everything that happens.”

And…

“We will prepare for battle against M.H.R.R. and Hashiba. That is all. Got that? Hm?”

○

“Anyway, that about sums it up. That’s mostly just my imagination, but I think that’s more or less how it must have happened.”

Adele tilted her head at what the Reine des Garous had said. And the woman must have noticed.

“Oh? Did you find something confusing?”

“Not really. It’s just…that made it sounds like Suden-san wasn’t acting on K.P.A. Italia’s instruction. But she’s a former pope and from K.P.A. Italia, so how does that make sense?”

“Adele? Mito’s mom? We can always make corrections later, so what do you want to do?”

“Hee hee. I will wait until I have seen it all.”

If the person who had told that part of the story saw it that way, Adele saw no reason to disagree. So she focused on the other part that had her interest:

“Vice President, you can keep going!”

●

…The name inheritor of Urban VIII and Ishin Suden!?

Since Urban VIII’s history recreation was complete, that didn’t make her a double name inheritor. And it wasn’t uncommon for talented people to gain another inherited name once their first one had ended.

But the question remained: what was a pope-class name inheritor doing here?

Uqui: “Perhaps she is here to get back at you for what you did at Mikawa, Masazumi.”

Vice President: “Hey, Aoi! Get out here! That was your responsibility! Even if I did go along with it!”

Horizey: “Now, now, Masazumi-sama. You mustn’t try to shift the blame like that. Now, I wonder who was ultimately at fault for that one?”

Could they earn this visitor’s forgiveness if she apologized with the idiot and Horizon?

…No, probably not.

“So, Masazumi, who is she?” asked Mitotsudaira.

“Judge. Urban VIII was the pope before Innocentius. He engaged in a foreign campaign that expanded the Papal States to their largest territory in history. But despite having a deep understanding of Technomagie, he was hardheaded, forced Galileo to reject his heliocentric theory, and practiced a lot of nepotism. He is known as the last pope of the middle ages.”

Masazumi could only say she wasn’t sure what to do. Really, what was someone like this doing here?

…I did do some research into the Papa Schola.

She had done a lot of research to prepare a cheat sheet for Mikawa. If anyone had asked her then who in the world knew the most about the Papa Schola, she could have confidently said she did.

But that didn’t mean she knew so much about the previous pope. For one, that was a figure from the past. The period before the Papa Schola and Principal Sakai’s time as students was before even her parent’s generation.

The only knowledge she had was what she knew from her study of history and political history as well as what she had learned through her research into the Papa Schola. But despite knowing so little, one thing bothered her:

…She’s so young.

This girl looked even younger than Masazumi. In fact, she had to be.

Her lack of long ears meant she wasn’t long-lived. Then was she a spirit? Or could the Urban VIII name have been split and given to multiple people?

“––––––”

Masazumi considered looking up the name inheritor data to figure this out, but she stopped.

The girl had already said that inherited name had ended. The only information left would differ from the reality.

And she was curious about something else even more.

“You said Ishin Suden, right?”

“Testament. That I did. Urban VIII’s history recreation is also one of the Papal States’ economic collapse, so it was best to end it quick. So after leaving Innocen in charge – since he’s good at making money – I decided to pursue what I’d done for a bit.”

“Eh?” said Mitotsudaira. “Ishin Suden…is a Far Eastern name, isn’t it? I know I’ve heard it somewhere before, but what connection does it have to Pope Urban VIII?”

“Judge. While Pope Urban VIII was expanding the Papal States, he put a number of policies into action. For example, he banned the enslavement of indigenous people in the southern New World who participated in religious evangelism and protected their free evangelism. And in Asia, he banned the monopoly some sects had on evangelism on the continent and in the Far East and again made sure everyone was free to engage in Catholic evangelism there.”

Asama: “So are you saying he made sure Catholics of any nationality or sect could evangelize in the New World and the Far East and he even protected them?”

Vice President: “That’s right. Evangelism to the Far East began more or less by accident, but Urban VIII’s papal bull played a big role in helping get it properly established.”

“Then,” said Mitotsudaira. “I…just remembered, but is Ishin Suden…?”

“Judge. And do you see now why Ishin Suden would be coming to see me?”

Masazumi saw Mitotsudaira nod, but she still spoke to the others via the divine network.

“That allowed Catholicism to spread to the Far East, but a few incidents in Kyushu led to its ban in the Far East. That was the religious ban made in the Matsudaira era. And it was Honda Masazumi who suggested Matsudaira issue such a ban after the primary incident. That means the man whose name I use worked against Urban VIII’s policy.”

And if they were going to follow the Testament further…

“It was Ishin Suden here in front of me who drafted the religious ban.”

●

Flat Vassal: “So according to the Testament, Ishin Suden-san and the Vice President picked a fight with the Catholics?”

Horizey: “This is a raiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid!”

Wise Sister: “Heh heh. So we can fix this by tying up the flat politician and the mini pope and sending them to K.P.A. Italia!? That’s so easy!”

Vice President: “Ishin Suden and the pope are the same person!”

Novice: “Heh, so destroying her own past actions is her aesthetic ideal? Yes, I understand. …Oh, how I understand. The aesthetics of destruction! Like missing the deadline you set for yourself!”

Art-Ga: “The next time you do that, I’m not doing any more discount group printing deals with you. Got that?”

●

“That should be enough to understand why I find Musashi so fascinating,” said Urban VIII from down the stairs. “Just to be clear, you have me to thank for the Shimabara Rebellion established by Sakai and the conditional religious ban, but I had nothing to do with the earlier original recreations of the Shimabara Rebellion and the religious ban. 50 years ago, I hadn’t inherited the Papa Schola’s name yet, but I found it all very odd when I heard about it. The Far East had already done their religious ban themselves, which seemed like a suicidal narrowing of their possibilities, or like a desire to escape the Tsirhc Testament Union nations even if it meant harming themselves.”

So…

“I wanted to know if the Far East still intended to resist the Catholics even with the Harmonic Unification War in their past. So after my Urban VIII name ended, I wanted to have complete control over the religious ban and chose to inherit Ishin Suden’s name.”

●

…She is an odd one.

That was Mitotsudaira’s heartfelt reaction. The religious ban was related to Masazumi’s name, but it would go on to cause a few later incidents.

And it all began with the Shimabara Rebellion from 50 years ago.

The Far East claimed to have used the religious ban to escape the influence of the Tsirhc Testament Union nations, but since the Far East had led that history recreation, the other nations had generally ignored it. But twenty-odd years ago, when K.P.A. Italia had tried to enter the Far East in the name of evangelism, Sakai, a student at the time, and some others had resisted and other European nations had assisted the Far East in order to suppress K.P.A. Italia. That had established the Shimabara Rebellion and the religious ban.

Novice: “To provide some additional details, something known as the 2nd Shimabara Rebellion occurred within the Far East. It occurred around 30 years ago in Sanada where the Shimabara survivors had found shelter. It was suppressed by Lord Motonobu and his brother Lord Nobuyasu, but since the conflict was not based on the Testament ideology, it was not accepted as a continuation of the Shimabara Rebellion and became a conflict in name only.”

“Sanada, huh? We might end up going there one day.”

Tachibana Wife: “Sanada? I hear their academy has a peaceful view of the mountains.”

Tonbokiri: “I sort of remember my father and his friends going there a long time ago.”

“Wh-what is with all these deadpan comments!? And a deadpan Gin is rare indeed!”

Anyway, this had clarified some things about the religious ban. But looking just at the current situation, Mitotsudaira had some questions.

“If the religious ban has already been established, what does it matter if Ishin Suden visits us? Besides, Masazumi is named after Honda Masazumi, but she isn’t a name inheritor. If you want this to count as some kind of history recreation, you need official name inheritors, which would mean having Masazumi inherit her name.”

“Hold your horses, Loup-Garou girl.” Urban VIII spoke through a smile. “The religious ban was just a hobby of mine and it was only what initially got me interested in all of you. I came here on a request.”

“A request?”

“Testament. I thought it would be about my religious ban hobby, but it wasn’t. But it is about someone that interests me, so I still accepted. Now, do you know why I’m here?”

Mitotsudaira did not. She was only familiar with Ishin Suden through the religious ban related to Masazumi’s name.

…Does Masazumi know?

Mitotsudaira turned to look and saw Masazumi’s eyebrows somewhat raised.

“The pieces are coming together.”

Because…

“Ishin Suden. You’re the one keeping the Musashi from docking, aren’t you?”

○

“Oh.” The Reine des Garous raised her hand. “Um, I know a fair bit about Ishin Suden, so can I be in charge of writing her part? You can add in the parts you know while I provide what I can based on my knowledge of her as a person and of the situation in Europe.”

Asama’s mouth was full of a cheese tart brought over from the Main Blue Thunder, so she raised her hand first.

The woman only smiled with a grownup confidence as she waited for Asama to finish chewing.

…Sh-she really is the highest evolution of a girl!

Asama broke up the sticky and sour cheese part and the salty tart part before swallowing. She washed it down with some black tea. The Main Blue Thunder usually made green tea, so how good the tart was with black tea was a new discovery for her. But, um…

“Since you aren’t her, it will be listed as a supplementary record. Is that alright?”

“Perfectly. Let’s think of it like practice to help tear down any walls in our way so it can all go more smoothly.”

“Walls…” said Adele while staring at Mitotsudaira’s mother, but Asama decided not to record that part. If this would help the process go more smoothly, then it was for the best.

“Okay, Masazumi and Mito’s mom. I’m ready.”

●

“That’s an interesting accusation.”

Ishin Suden saw this situation as the time to test Musashi. So…

“You think I’m keeping Musashi from docking? What makes you say that? Have you given any thought to who you’re accusing just in case you’re wrong?”

“Thank you,” replied the Musashi Vice President. “So if I’m not wrong, you will reward us in kind?”

●

Gold Mar: “Wow, that was bold, Seijun!”

Horizey: “You’re so cool, Masazumi-senpaiiii!!”

Wise Sister: “Nice excuse, Flat-senpaiiii!”

Vice President: “What is that last one even supposed to imply!?”

●

Mitotsudaira asked Masazumi a question.

“What makes you so certain you’re right?”

“Since Ishin Suden drafted the religious ban, we know he was on Matsudaira’s side. In the Testament record, he was a specialist who managed the Matsudaira shrines and temples and drafted their official documents.”

Mitotsudaira considered this.

…We can set the religious ban aside for now, can’t we?

If so, this would be about the shrine and temple management or about the official documents. But if this was about shrine and temple management, this girl would be meeting with Asama, not Masazumi.

That would mean it was about the official documents.

Plus, that girl was also Urban VIII.

“Urban VIII issued papal bulls on the protection of and other matters relating to evangelism, right?”

Creating one’s own laws was a privilege of the pope and other popes did it as well, but Urban VIII’s had been for the purposes of expansionism.

So what if that expansionist pope was here to restrict the Far East?

“Does Ishin Suden ever draft a document to restrict the Far East?”

“Judge. Ishin Suden goes on to create a law that gains quite a few supplementary additions.”

It was known as…

“The Buke Shohatto. The edict’s 13 articles describe how all Far East daimyo must be role models in all things.”

●

Masazumi understood what this girl intended and how it related to what was happening.

“The Buke Shohatto are like laws for the daimyo all across the Far East. Issuing the 13 articles will change the nature of the Far East as a whole, but deciding to do that here would require Musashi and the reservations to reach an agreement.”

Meaning…

“IZUMO is preventing the Musashi from docking because, if Musashi agrees to issue the Buke Shohatto, then it will ‘cease to be internal to Musashi once we dock’.”

“Their concerns are such a bore.” Suden twirled her cap on a finger. “The religious ban I love so much is basically fixed in place unless you really worked at dislodging it. And I’m not a fan of the current trend of forced history recreations. I want to enjoy this as a hobby. So join me in my hobby.”

“Y-you’re not making any sense.”

Suden answered Mitotsudaira’s confusion with a snort.

“I’m not? Where did I lose you? I’m Ishin Suden and that there is Honda Masazumi. She may not be a name inheritor, but she is the Far East’s representative. If we’re gonna do the history recreation of the Buke Shohatto, we need me and we also need the Far East’s representative. We’ve got both, so I don’t see the problem.”

“No, if we do this your way, there is a problem.”

Masazumi didn’t know that much detailed information about the Buke Shohatto. For one, she had assumed the Far East would be in charge of its history recreation.

…Do we really have to do it now?

In the Far East, it was still the age of Hashiba and Oda. But this was from the upcoming age of Matsudaira.

“It’s too soon for this history recreation. The Buke Shohatto history recreation isn’t even for Matsudaira Motonobu, it’s for Hidetada, the second shogun.”

“Too soon?” Suden smiled bitterly. “It was issued in 1615. What year is it now, Far East? If you don’t have that second shogun yet, that’s on you for taking your precious time with your history recreations. Don’t blame me.”

And…

“When was the Shimabara Rebellion? 1637. That was done 40 years ago, so don’t even try to tell me you can’t do a 1615 recreation now. Do you really think you can get away with that?”

Horizey: “Masazumi-sama! We are waiting on the Asama Shrine’s roof, but I was thinking I could solve all of this by firing a Logismoi Oplo in that direction!”

That would hit us too, so don’t.

But Suden had a point.

…Why was the religious ban done so early?

Still, there had to be a response here. For example…

“Wait! You called me the Far East’s representative, didn’t you!? Well, I’m sorry to say it – really sorry – truly sorry – but I am not the Far East’s representative. That title belongs to Chancellor and Student Council President Aoi Toori.”

“Did you have to emphasize your sorriness so much?” asked Mitotsudaira.

Masazumi chose to ignore any comments showing sympathy for the idiot. But Suden nodded.

“You mean Musashi’s Chancellor and President? But are you really sure you want to leave him in charge of this? Are you crazy? Snap out of it.”

She couldn’t have been more right.

○

Horizey: “Her lack of trust in you is on par with a national treasure, Toori-sama.”

Me: “Eh!? What!? Did you say something, Horizon!?”

Flat Vassal: “See!? See!? Now say something biting, Asama-san!”

Asama: “Toori-kun, shouldn’t you be getting to bed early tonight?”

Flat Vassal: “Ahhhhhh, that is not biting! Really let him have it! None of that babying!”

Wise Sister: “Heh heh. Foolish brother, Adele wants something sweet, so can you bring something over and pass it on to Suzu for us? Aaaaand go!”

Me: “Hm, I’ve got some twice-baked biscotti soaked in butter. Bell-san, can you come pick it up at the guard station?”

Flat Vassal: “Ahhhhhh, I don’t know how this happened, but thank you so much! I don’t care that I lost!”

●

Mitotsudaira sensed danger in the situation.

…Wait, are we about to do the history recreation for a law that applies to the Far East as a whole!?

It was all moving so fast. They hadn’t had any time to prepare.

“When a history recreation includes multiple parties, doesn’t it need each party’s consent?”

“Do you have an actual argument against doing it here?”

“Well…” she trailed off, but Masazumi raised her right forearm.

“Whether or not we have an argument is not the same as whether or not we consent.”

“Oh, it isn’t? Then are you saying you will not participate in determining the Buke Shohatto – the rules that will bind the Far East’s most powerful?”

…We can’t do it now!

That was Mitotsudaira’s thought, but Masazumi did not react behind her.

She looked back to see their Vice President frowning.

“I would like to ask one thing before we get into consent or refusal. I need to confirm something before I make that decision.”

“I am not a patient person. You said one thing, so this had better really be just one thing. Is it?”

“Yes. Although it might be linked to another question I’ve been wondering about.”

Masazumi asked her question.

“What is your affiliation, Ishin Suden?”

●

“Oh?” said Suden, wondering why that breath had escaped her lips.

…Am I impressed or relieved?

Her affiliation wasn’t a hard thing to figure out. She was a former pope, after all.

But she appreciated this cautious stance of making sure before making a decision.

“Then I will tell you: I am with K.P.A. Italia.”

“Judge. Understood. Then I can make my decision.” The Musashi Vice President swung her right hand outwards. “Let’s do the Buke Shohatto.”

But…

“I will need some documents and such so I can investigate the matter. Will you give me time to reach an understanding there?”

●

…She agreed to do it!?

It was so sudden.

Of course, Masazumi had insisted on a condition. Needing to read the relevant documents would buy them a fair amount of time.

But even with that, this seemed sudden.

Silver Wolf: “Masazumi, what is going on?”

Vice President: “Judge. Knowing Ishin Suden is with K.P.A. Italia tells me this is dangerous.”

What does she mean by that?” wondered Mitotsudaira just before she heard a voice.

“That was a smart question. You really did need to confirm my affiliation before you could ensure this was all safe. I am from Matsudaira after all.”

Mitotsudaira thought about that and then realized what it meant.

…If Ishin Suden is from Matsudaira, then she should be with Musashi, shouldn’t she?

Then why was she with K.P.A. Italia instead? The Secretary’s words arrived to provide an answer.

Novice: “Because the 13 articles of the Buke Shohatto can influence the Far East.”

It was true the Buke Shohatto could be used to bind the daimyo forces held under the provisional rule of the other nations. From Musashi’s perspective, it could be used to bring together the reservations and increase their influence.

But this only applied to the Far East. The other nations had used the provisional rule to absorb the daimyo forces, but they would also be able to say “this doesn’t affect the world nations”.

Then why? wondered Mitotsudaira before arriving at an answer.

“Ishin Suden. I know why you didn’t come to Musashi despite being from Matsudaira.”

Suden smiled a little while Mitotsudaira hastily checked a few things on the divine network.

“Oh? And why is that? Do tell.”

“Judge. Very well.”

She had finished her checks. As she had suspected from the fact that Ishin Suden managed the shrines and temples, he had originally been a Buddhist monk. And what Far Eastern location held the most power in regards to shrines and temples?

“Ishin Suden…was originally from the Isshiki clan in Kyoto, wasn’t he?”

She opened a sign frame displaying Ishin Suden’s information. Instead of the name inheritor almanac, this was the generally available information. But…

“Control of Kyoto will shift from the shogun to Oda. Oda grows powerful as a Far Eastern force and then Hashiba takes over Kyoto, so it would have been too dangerous to leave control over the Buke Shohatto there. Thus, once you were confident of P.A. Oda’s expansion, I am guessing you chose to go to K.P.A. Italia, knowing your influence as pope would protect you there. Am I wrong?”

●

Masazumi heard Suden’s voice: “Ha ha.”

She was laughing. It was bitter, mocking laughter, but it was also relaxed laughter.

She was happy.

“Excellent. Great job, you rebellious Far Easterners. This is what I was hoping for.”

Suden turned to look at Mitotsudaira.

“Far Eastern knight, I will address you as the Mito Lord, not as Loup-Garou girl. Your mother is sharp, but her daughter isn’t stupid either. You are just hopelessly lacking in information.”

“You know my mother?”

“Testament. She helped me out long ago, when I had ended my first inherited name and was searching for my second.”

…When she ended her first inherited name, huh?

Would that be when she quit being Urban VIII? wondered Masazumi just as Suden looked her way.

“It looks like you have some sense. …Because you must have had some understanding of what the Mito Lord just pointed out.”

“Judge,” replied Masazumi. “If you are with K.P.A. Italia, it means the Testament Union nations decided that treating you as part of the Far East would be a problem. And only two Far Eastern forces would have inspired that kind of caution before we came along: Oda and Hashiba.”

Once she had figured out that much, the rest was easy.

“You said you would be negotiating with ‘the Far East’s representative’, not with ‘Honda Masazumi’. So if we refused to negotiate, you would find some other representative.”

Meaning…

“You were threatening to bring the Buke Shohatto to P.A. Oda or Hashiba.”

“Threaten is such an ugly word,” said Suden. “All I want to do is have fun sharing my hobby with someone.”

Now.

“Do you understand your position here? Then let’s get to the Buke Shohatto.”

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