Horizon:Volume 9B Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Communicators on Standby

What can be seen?

What can’t be seen?

But is conveyed?

But is understood?

Point Allocation (Will)

●

The Musashi group left the descending transport ship’s deck and moved to the unloading hatch where they would be jumping to the ground.

The ship was flying forward while descending, so whoever jumped out first would end up in the rear on the ground.

The transport ship carrying the officers was at the rear of the four ships.

The officers would be jumping down in the middle.

With so many people to jump down, the two steps of the ships’ inner hull were being used as a standby zone.

While they took the elevator down from the deck, Narumi took a look around.

The 1st Special Duty Officer was using his sign frame to exchange opinions with the Vice Chancellor and others concerning what they should do after jumping down. Past him, the Chancellor was speaking with the Vicereine.

“––––”

And they kissed.

The swarm of sign frames that appeared all around was nothing new, but she did have a few thoughts on the matter.

First, she noted that those two’s relationship had reached that point.

Second, she realized this was effectively the final showdown.

And third, she wondered if she should do that too.

The English princess was among those watching. She was smiling and blushing, but was that because she had already done her version of this in front of the bathhouse, or because she wanted to do it again?

…Yes.

What about me? wondered Narumi, but Tachibana Gin only exchanged a nod with her husband after watching it.

Still, Narumi felt she should make her own decision.

“Kiyonari. I want to make a bet.”

She didn’t even need to beckon him over. He was already by her side. So she only had to look up at him.

“Do you want to eat yakiniku?”

●

Gold Mar: “What’s going on here?”

Flat Vassal: “Is there ever any explaining what those two do?”

Silver Wolf: “Um, but, how was that a bet?”

●

Narumi heard his answer.

“I’m ready when you are.”

“I see,” she said. And, “Then I say I win this round.”

She stretched up and he crouched down so her lips could reach the corner of his mouth.

His exoskeleton armor was chilly. It was a late summer night, so it would only be getting chillier.

Once she tried it, she found it easy. She wasn’t even embarrassed. Although she still wasn’t quite sure what the point of doing it was.

Still, she did understand one thing.

“I can only do this because I have you with me.”

●

Horizon pondered what Toori had asked her to do.

…You could see this as a substitute for the combination move we did before going to sleep.

They had done this before, but the meaning seemed to have changed.

Had it, though?

While she didn’t dislike it, she also didn’t consider it to be necessary. If it is necessary, what would Adele-sama do since she is single? Do it with a dog, perhaps!?

Horizon got a little overexcited there, but she felt you could give these things meaning.

Such as providing good luck before a battle or providing mutual confirmation of their relationship. If so…

“––––”

When your relationship with someone grew, did it provide more meaning to the actions carried out with that person?

Perhaps even the meaningless actions could be given personal meanings using terms like “actually” and “subconsciously”.

And Horizon had another thought: if these things only happened in one direction, did they still count as love?

In most cases…

…Naruze-sama unilaterally creates combination scenes with all sorts of people, but does that count as love too?

Maybe it did. And when she applied that idea to herself…

“Horizon?”

She had not laughed, but she had pulled away from him with a quick breath.

“Yes,” she began, nodding. “I used to think you just had too much time on your hands. Because that interpretation was convenient for me.”

“If you ask me, dealing with you is the ultimate time sink…”

“Is it?” This time, she kissed him.

And she realized a lot of other people here were doing the same thing.

…I see.

They must have been influenced by her and Toori. That meant she was the top batter. That Toori-sama had asked her first could be safely ignored. I must set an even greater example for everyone! That was her duty.

So, she decided.

…I should go in deeper.

●

Wow, thought Asama, keeping a cool appearance while inwardly amazed by what was going on around her.

…Our class really has changed!

She saw the arms standing on Horizon’s shoulders and holding his face from either side. Maybe that position was more convenient? He seemed to have gone limp, but Asama hoped that wasn’t due to asphyxiation.

What would Oriotri say when she heard about this tomorrow? In fact, this kind of information tended to leak, so she would probably hear about it in only a few minutes. Asama had a feeling Oriotri would just laugh, but she had another feeling Sanyou-sensei would run off in tears.

But that was their relationship now and Asama and Mitotsudaira were a part of it too.

Asama felt she should officially give a word of caution because behaving like this in public all the time would be immoral, but…

…I can let it slide before such an important battle.

Everyone was using that as an excuse to pick up speed.

She wondered what the other academies were like in this regard. But then…

“That should be enough,” said Horizon, pulling away from Toori. He instantly fell to his knees.

“A-are you alright, Toori-dono!?”

“Heh, heh heh heh. I seem to have taken his breath away. Quite literally.”

“That’s a new one,” commented Narumi, but Asama made sure to up the strength of his health management spell.

At any rate, their battle preparations had to be more or less complete. Asama had already checked the tree list to make sure all the participants’ divine protections were in place. Each unit had a shrine maiden or someone with the appropriate experience, so those people would act as the foundation of each unit and as an intermediary for the divine protection pathways. That way, even if Asama had to leave, the shrine maidens and such with the other units could automatically fill in and keep it all running smoothly.

The new system was more decentralized.

She was still at the top, but she had checked through and rearranged all the divine protections used until the end of summer break, so she knew she could give most anyone on the scene the appropriate rights as long as she gave the initial authorization.

And that she wasn’t using many special spells was proof of her resilience on the battlefield.

Instead of using charms, most of the spells were placed in the ether pathways in a pseudo-activated state. That turned them into something like an inactivate divine protection.

They could not be returned to their original state, so anything not used by the end would go to waste if it wasn’t converted into a substitution, but they could be used instantly and authorization could be handed over even if the charms were stolen or a shrine maiden was eliminated from the battle. Of course, the warriors had their own spell charms, but it meant a lot that they also had these larger spells that could be summoned like a divine protection in a pinch.

…That’s everything I could think of.

After checking a few more things, she closed and locked her sign frame. She expected the next time she opened it would be when Masazumi or Tenzou asked about the state of the personnel.

“Hey, Asama.”

He raised his hand and approached. What could this be about? she wondered.

“Do you need something done with your divine protections? Do you need something tweaked?”

“Oh, no, no. It’s not that. This is about you. I’ve got a protection to give you.”

“An entertainer one?”

She looked over to see Kimi blow her a kiss.

…Maybe a singer’s protection related to evasion?

Kimi and the others’ song spell had been a big help at Nördlingen. And there was apparently a large stage inside Honnouji.

Asama had stayed back and managed the divine protections at Nördlingen. If she had worked with Kimi, she thought they could have done an even better job of dealing with Niwa’s song spell.

…Oh, but I didn’t bring my instrument.

She hadn’t thought of that. Of course, the odds were pretty good she wouldn’t have a chance to use it even if she had it, so she preferred to think of this as not bringing along unnecessary baggage. But all that aside…

“What kind of protection is it?”

“Well, uh, close your eyes a moment.”

“Okay.”

She closed them and he adjusted the position of her jaw before kissing her.

●

Toori thought he should say something.

They were heading for a big stage, after all. Maybe “I’m counting on you” or maybe “come to me if you need anything”.

But while Asama could seem well-behaved, she could actually be a bit tricky to deal with.

She assumed it was only natural for her to be the one to do things and she declined any help someone else tried to give her. The two of them had known each other for so long their roles had kind of solidified already. He felt like they had finally started to break out of that recently, but in this moment with so many people around, she would have a hard time of it.

What could he say to get her to accept his favor?

No, it didn’t have to be something he said. How could he convey this to her?

“Oh.”

There was a way that would work.

Something their current relationship allowed for. Something they both understood. A method of conveyance that seemed to carry their mutual trust and sum up everything leading up to this moment.

That would work.

●

…Oh, wow!

She had kind of hoped for this, but the fact that it actually happened only added to the surprise.

She was super glad she had shut her eyes. That let her hide how flustered she was, but now she didn’t know what to do with her hands. She had studied Mary and Tenzou’s kiss scenes, but what had they done? I can’t use him and Horizon as reference because of the arms situation. Yes.

Anyway, as she stayed still and let him lead, she heard some voices.

“Asama-chi will let the Chancellor do anything, won’t she?”

“There was no sign of Shinto resistance or an anti-crime divine punishment spell even beginning to activate.”

“So my doujinshi should start like this? Got it!”

They were saying some awful things, but that actually helped calm her feelings.

She matched the direction of her lips to his and he opened his a bit. Following his lead, she opened hers enough for a breath and then they were connected.

…Wow.

Thinking back, she had breathed air into him when they did this in Yomi at Houjou. He was only doing the same now, but it meant something very different.

This was a sharing of wills that was only possible thanks to that.

This sharing meant they were willing to trust each other with their lives. So…

“Nh.”

He was telling her he wanted to entrust her with so much of him. He was also telling her to come to him if she needed anything.

So she responded by opening her lips a bit and accepting him. First his breath. Then his tongue, that was like a warm, soft finger.

…Oh.

At the first touch, he started to pull back a bit.

She could tell he had only done it as a test. While this wasn’t their first time, they hadn’t done this much.

But she…

…No.

She responded without avoiding him, pulling back, or hesitating. She leaned toward him as he tried to pull back, inviting him to her.

She wanted him.

It wasn’t like anyone could see inside their mouths. And she felt like he would never try to communicate like this again if he fled here. Because he was thoughtful like that.

So she accepted him.

She leaned toward him in invitation and touched him. They weren’t connected or linked – they simply touched.

They didn’t normally do this. Their tongues shallowly tangled like linked arms or intertwined fingers. They licked and rubbed.

Do you understand? I understand.

Is this getting through to you? It is.

She had a habit of holding back when it came to words, but she had no established habits for this. Only…

…Should I be doing this with the same lips I use to recite prayers?

Then again, she did eat and drink sake with this mouth. But if Naruze and the others brought this up while she was reciting a prayer for her job, would she be able to ignore it?

Regardless, this was how things would be from now on.

Her lips and her tongue were for more than just speaking her desires. They would be used to achieve mutual communication.

“That is one long kiss.”

Narumi’s earnest tone only helped Asama make up her mind. Really.

She sent a small breath of laughter to him.

…It’s alright.

She let him capture her tongue and pull it toward him to accept what he had wanted to do.

She would normally have refused, but what did she really want?

…Yes.

Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine no matter what you do.

Instead of just letting him do what he wanted, she accepted it and smoothly carried it out. Until finally…

“Nh…”

They slowly parted. And…

“Phew.”

She sent one final breath his way. A breath sent as a shrine maiden. She wanted him to accept her just as she had accepted him.

…Swallow it.

His throat moved before she was even done thinking it.

He responded to what I gave him without avoiding it, pulling back, or hesitating.

This was a divine protection. She had sent him a shrine maiden’s breath so they could share their protections equally.

And when she pulled away, she found herself smiling.

●

My, my, thought Kimi.

…She’s smiling at my foolish brother in a way she’s never smiled at me.

Is this jealousy I’m feeling? Or am I just happy for them?

But anything I find beautiful makes me happy. That is what my name means. And the happiness in my foolish brother’s smile tells me they must have reached some kind of private understanding.

Of course no one else has seen a smile born of that kind of hidden success.

But if this is going to keep happening…

“Horizon was right. All sorts of fun things are going to happen.”

●

Asama waited for her smile to fade on its own.

She didn’t try to suppress it. Because it wasn’t a nuisance. But…

“Oh, Toori-kun.”

She wiped off his lips with a kaishi and it came away with a faint lipstick stain. It was undeniably her color. She needed to reapply it later. But that wasn’t the biggest problem.

…I feel like I told him everything I needed to.

She wasn’t sure what to say out loud now. But if there was one thing she needed to do…

“Um, Horizon, do you have a moment?”

●

Mitotsudaira saw Asama walk toward Horizon.

She watched curiously as Asama gently held Horizon’s head and…

“––––––”

She pressed her lips against Horizon’s forehead.

This wasn’t a special breath like before, but direct application of a shrine maiden’s words and breath still had an effect.

“Oh?”

A few sign frames appeared around Horizon. Mitotsudaira recognized them as divine protection related. Incredibly, most of the spells had the phrase “administrator mode” on them. Which meant…

“Tomo, did you share your usage level with her?”

“Only temporarily. With Toori-kun and Horizon’s relationship growing, they can share divine protections more easily, so if I share them with Toori-kun, he can share them with Horizon.”

It was kind of complicated. But then Mary clapped her hands and commented.

“Is it like a family discount centered on the head of the family?”

“Well, sort of. It’s kind of like a grandchild contract or grandchild protection.”

“In that case.” Naito tilted her head. She was already in her Technohexen gear. “Since the Chancellor’s protections are linked to you, Asama-chi, and Horizon has been brought into that too, would it make more sense to protect you than protect the Chancellor?”

“Good point. And protecting Asama secures an excellent source of doujinshi material. We can just ignore the Chancellor.”

“Don’t ignore meeeeee! Kids need lots of attention at my age!”

Meanwhile, Horizon held bitterly-smiling Asama around the shoulder and spoke to the king.

“I vote for that plan.”

“Waiiiiiiiiit! The family discount started with me!”

Mitotsudaira wasn’t sure what point he was trying to make, but then he turned her way. And he approached her while Asama began explaining the divine protection sign frames to Horizon.

Her king sighed but didn’t sound particularly upset.

“They’re not being very nice.”

“That just means they feel comfortable speaking openly with you. It seems like a good thing to me.”

“I’m not so sure,” he said, stopping in front of her and then making a sudden move.

He moved slowly. She could easily see what he was doing. But…

“Nate.”

He reached for her head and stuck his hand in between her hair.

Instead of mussing up her hair, he patted her as if massaging her scalp. And while still doing that…

“C’mere.”

He reached his arm around the back of her head and pulled her toward him while placing his other arm around her back.

●

…Well played, Mito.

Asama set aside what had just happened with herself and joined Horizon in watching the wolf get patted.

Mitotsudaira was pulled in and more massaged than rubbed. She appeared to just be letting him take control, but that wasn’t quite accurate.

She was equipped with her silver chains, which made her quite heavy. So…

“She’s clearly using bursts of speed to keep her balance.”

“I didn’t realize she could use it for that.”

Narumi was correct. The wolf had been pulled diagonally by him, so her weight would have been leaning against him. And when she was pulled toward him…

“Nh…”

She would jiggle back just the same amount. But instead of the jiggling Asama knew all too well from her summer gear, this was a quick movement the wolf made herself. And her king responded by…

“Yeah, it’s alright.”

What exactly was alright?

…For the knight to move out ahead of her king?

In a way, this could be seen as disrespectful. She could see it as a sign of the full trust her king had in her, but Mitotsudaira would be more cautious and not want to come off as conceited.

So this was his way of telling her she could do as she wished.

…And a way of making sure she understands that she always consider him before she chooses to fight or act.

That could sound like placing a collar on her to bind her, but this was what Mitotsudaira wanted.

Asama could see the wolf leaning against him and twitching her nose while in his arms.

She was placing her scent on him and receiving his scent.

If she was equal to her king, they would be thinking the same thing. And if she touched him with that in mind, anywhere that contacted him would become evidence of what he had said.

That was a primitive way of thinking of a “pack” or of a master and servant.

But after receiving his permission and oneness with her full body, the wolf would be free. Her king himself had told her that her actions were what he desired, so the Loup-Garou no longer had to fear being a wolf.

“That boy is getting carried away. He has stuck his hand down her underwear to grope her butt,” pointed out Horizon.

“With Mito, touching her with anything in the way would probably defeat the purpose.”

“I see… So like the biwa-ist possessed by a Taira ghost who wrote the lyrics all over his body to escape possession, but forgot to write them on his dick and ears, so he received a kick to the crotch, had his ears torn off, and was severely lectured for getting the lyrics wrong?”

“People like to give that story alternate endings, don’t they? Like that he used a mirror to write on his back, so he was slapped hard enough it left a mark for writing that part backwards.”

“Oh?” Naruze turned around. “The version I’d heard had him ask the temple’s chief priest to do the writing, but the priest got really turned on doing the part on his butt and decided to see where his desires would lead him. Let’s just say what happened next didn’t actually solve the problem.”

“How many versions of that story are there?”

“Good question,” said Naruze. Meanwhile, Mitotsudaira had changed direction. She appeared to be turning her back toward Asama, or toward everyone really.

…Oh, Toori-kun is buried in her hair.

●

Mitotsudaira wasn’t displeased with what was happening. She had already leaned her front side against her king to get his scent on her, so now she was doing the same with her back side. Nothing more. Her king had been rubbing, pushing, and massaging her back before, so now he was reaching around from the back to the front.

…Wait, this is happening too fast!

Why did I think this was “nothing more” just a second ago? Of course, her king was being thoughtful and only touching her over her inner suit, but their practice had paid off. For the parts he had touched during the Kantou Liberation and at the candy house, he reached his hands in from the sides of the suit.

There was nothing wrong with that. She had given him permission. In fact, doing less than before seemed like it would lessen this important moment. But…

…That’s between my tights and suit!

He had his hand on her lower stomach – between her legs. Her body trembled ticklishly a few times, but he must not have interpreted that as trying to move away.

“Um, my king?” she asked with no real question in mind and without thinking of how he would respond. The words were only meant to fill space.

And…

“Doing this kind of thing with you is so much fun, Nate.”

That made her blush. When he stuck his hands in from the open back and sides of her summer uniform, she could really feel his hands and fingers. When he touched her through her suit, the touch of the thin material told her exactly how her body was shaped.

It also pleased her how their bodies traded heat and scents, becoming equal. They would never actually be entirely equal, but if the growing similarity made her this happy, maybe true equality was more like an aspiration.

This sense of closeness with someone who accepted her seemed to help her accept herself even more than she did already.

The wolf felt like she could become even more of an animal than she knew she was.

She let it take over.

She wanted to do this forever and, if he enjoyed this, she wanted to let him do it forever.

But then some cold sweat formed on her back.

“Um, my king.”

Just as she said that, he crouched down and licked her back.

●

Oh, he’s really going at it, thought Naito while loosely hugging Naruze from the side.

She could see Mitotsudaira’s hair rolls shaking a lot while her ears…

“–––––”

Art-Ga: “She’s really enjoying that.”

Gold Mar: “Yeah, she isn’t escaping, kicking, or elbowing.”

But something had occurred to Naito while watching Asama’s long make-out session.

…Words are a lot of trouble to use.

When you wanted to say something, indicate something, or reach a mutual understanding, it could be hard to do so with words. It took time and both sides didn’t always associate the same meaning with the same words.

Besides, words could be used to lie or refuse. Courtesy, customs, and other rules placed on the usage of words could place an unexpectedly firm “lid” on what you wanted to say. That was obvious enough from seeing Asama.

Horizon preferred to communicate with actions than words, but the Chancellor had a good sense for that too.

…He did a great job of dealing with Asama-chi and Mito-tsan in different ways.

They’re both enjoying this a lot, thought Naito as she watched the wolf’s hair move from below. Her king was doing something again.

●

…My king!

The licking felt like ice sliding down her back, but she endured it. I deserve credit for that. And I did not briefly think that was disappointingly short. I swear I didn’t.

But after standing back up, her king embraced her from behind and spoke.

“Nate, you taste salty.”

“O-of course I do. That was sweat.”

He laughed a bit at that.

“Now your flavor and scent are inside me.”

He licked his fingers – two of them – and brought them to her mouth.

“–––––”

She didn’t hesitate. She took them into her mouth, bit down enough to sense the shape of the bones, and sucked with her cheeks.

A kiss would have felt disappointing. Because that would be the same as with Asama.

…Oh, I’m becoming a bit of a pain to deal with.

But after she licked up her king’s scent and let it spill from the corner of her mouth, his face leaned in over her shoulder.

“Now it’s my turn.”

…Eh?

When she saw him take the fingers into his mouth and make noise, her heart pounded in her chest.

This would make her king’s scent closer to hers. Of course, that change would quickly fade, but he had to know that.

…Yes.

The feeling that had been growing inside her seemed to change shape. The feeling of longing seemed to become a sense of firm calm.

If he had expressed this with words, she couldn’t have experienced it in this way even if she did understand it. But…

“Nate.”

He held out his fingers again, so she nodded and took them into her mouth.

When she licked them, he grabbed her tongue between them and played with it. She pursued his fingers, caught them, let them escape, and then – when she saw an opening – caught them again. She enjoyed letting them rub and grab her tongue, sometimes even immobilizing it. It was a miniature replication of what she had been doing with her full body before.

As this continued, her scent and his scent joined together. And…

…For mom and dad, that must be my scent.

No, her parents ate the same things and lived together, so their scents would be nearly identical. So this scent was what her and her king’s scents would be in the future. But…

“Nh.”

It seemed somehow familiar.

…Was it when our scents combined in the candy house?

She had been spending a lot more time with her king. This scent was denser, but it was the same sort of blend. So she figured that must be where she recognized it from. Meanwhile, her king’s fingers rubbed lightly at her canines.

While she was a Loup-Garou, her canine teeth did not stick out. Maybe they would if she ever managed a beast transformation, but that didn’t change when her mother let her true nature out. So they weren’t generally visible, but she thought they were pointier than an ordinary person’s.

…Oh, I’m becoming a pain again!

But she was glad he had noticed something about her that was different. This felt like him praising her wolf side, so she decided to let him keep doing it a while.

Eventually, his fingers said goodbye by grabbing her tongue and then pulling out from her lips.

Her king was removing his fingers from her mouth. She was sad to see them go, but she only sucked on them a little bit. And as he pulled out his fingers, she grabbed his wrist.

“No, my king. What are you going to do with that hand? You can’t touch anyone else like that.”

She pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his fingers off.

She returned the handkerchief to her pocket while her king gave her a toothy grin, but she decided to view this as a game of theirs. Her clothing was out of place, so she fixed it from the hard point parts.

…Um.

She turned around to see everyone giving her sideways glances as they covered their mouths and gossiped.

“Wh-what kind of reaction is that!?”

Then again, I’m not so clueless I couldn’t predict this. Really, I’m not.

●

With their final meeting more or less complete, Masazumi saw Noriki open a sign frame.

“Not often you use one of those.”

Come to think of it, when did he get a sign frame? she wondered. She had noticed because she used to use one, but now no one in their class used a portable shrine for divine transmissions.

Noriki still had a portable shrine hanging from his neck, but he used that to store the divine protections and spells he had always used. He now used a sign frame for divine transmissions. According to Asama, minor gods offered a lot of divine transmission plans that allowed the usage of both an older device and the latest sign frames. The plans were primarily meant for the elderly who might switch to another god if they had to change how they did everything.

That had to be what Noriki was using now.

He didn’t immediately respond to Masazumi and first lightly struck his hands together. His left hand was open and his right formed a fist. It made a loud noise, but then…

…Oh.

He opened his right hand and closed his left to repeat the move. And…

“…”

He did the same thing three times on each side. After the rapid strikes, he turned to face Masazumi with the refreshed look he generally had lately.

“I want to get this over with so I can go to Shikoku!”

“Judge. Your family’s headed to Shikoku, right?”

Not everyone was going to Shikoku. Depending on the order and timing of the purging, some parts of the ship were being taken to M.H.R.R. Protestant territory or simply taken away from the battle zone by Musashi transport ships.

But the Shikoku group had mostly come from the ordinary residential areas.

“Its my wife’s first time visiting Shikoku. I so wish I could’ve gone with her!”

“Why didn’t you? The former Houjou Chancellor could’ve used help since she doesn’t know Shikoku.”

“Ha ha ha! If I didn’t join you here, she would’ve felt guilty! And,” said Noriki. “I just contacted her and asked her to learn how to make authentic udon before I get back. She’s learned how to cook rice and a lot of other things, but it isn’t often you get a chance to try the authentic stuff. Since we don’t have much money, I asked her to learn to make it herself!”

“And what did she say?”

“Judge.” Noriki laughed. “She said reaching her uncle’s skill level would be a challenge.”

“Yes,” agreed the Date Vice Chancellor. She raise her right hand, aware everyone was looking her way. “During the Siege of Odawara, I spent some time at the small restaurant while he was cooking. He might be a lunatic, but his cooking skills are legit. Also, he was dressed as a maid.”

“So will my wife dress as a maid too!? I need to make sure I’m mentally prepared!”

Um, yeah, thought Masazumi. I don’t think I could stay calm if I suddenly saw her dressed as a maid.

…Oh, but she looks different now, doesn’t she?

She had “retired” from the events of history and decided to pursue happiness as an ordinary person. That Noriki referred to her as his wife instead of by her name probably held some meaning in their relationship.

Meanwhile, Mary asked Crossunite a question.

“Master Tenzou, would you need to be mentally prepared before seeing me dressed as a maid?”

“No matter how you are dressed, it would overwhelm any preparations I might attempt, Mary-dono. But a maid outfit would be frilly and include an apron. That would be cute and different from your usual look.”

Art-Ga: “He actually remained calm…?”

Me: “You were going ‘Yahoo! Yahoo! It’s finally happening! Thank you, Noriki-donoooo!’ on the inside, weren’t you? Admit it.”

10ZO: “Toori-dono, why did you open the maid section of that crossdressing clothing list!?”

These people never change, thought Masazumi, but she joined the others in opening a sign frame and having Tsukinowa add plenty of posts to the Crossunite thread.

“Maa?”

Don’t worry about it. Think of it as much-needed exercise.

But Noriki smiled and spoke.

“I’m sure I’m going to say this a lot and probably not always in a good way, but…”

He said it.

“Back at Mikawa, I never imagined this would be happening!”

●

Horizey: “Hm, one of these days, I must teach New Ujinao-sama my authentic recipes for bread and water.”

Unturning: “For…water?”

Gold Mar: “Uh, yeah. For water. Super water. I think it had a purifying effect.”

●

I think it did too, thought Masazumi, but was that really safe? Regardless…

…That’s right.

She hadn’t known what she was doing back when she was dragged into the disappearance of Mikawa, but now she was a leading figure in the Honnouji Incident.

She was tempted toward self-praise, but it was too soon for that.

“Tonight’s battle is crucial.”

Everyone relaxed their shoulders but still nodded. And…

“Our descent preparations are complete. The ship will now complete your drop-off process with a priority on safety while we travel toward Honnouji. Over.”

It was all about to start. To start with, they had to reach the entrance to Honnouji.

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