Horizon:Volume 10A Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Corresponding Pairs

Huh?

This seems to be

Going better than I expected

Point Allocation (Shtick)

●

“Now, then,” sighed Asama.

She wasn’t picky, so she grabbed the jam bread toward the front of the basket held by the arms. And, along with Mitotsudaira who was eating a cutlet sandwich, she approached him.

“Toori-kun, you don’t have to sit there while you eat.”

“So, the thing is, okay? When a guy gets kicked in the crotch, okay? It kind of makes us want to sit down for a while, okay?”

Were the repeated okays due to the earlier kick?

While the arms were still out distributing food, Horizon couldn’t enjoy her own food. So instead, she stood before the others with the wind whipping at the stole she wore around her neck for warmth and to keep the wind off.

“Now, Asama-sama will act as my arms for my snacky-snack time!”

“Eh? What’s this?”

It seemed too sudden, but when Asama looked out ahead, she saw everyone giving her dry looks.

Behind Naruze, Naito rotated her right hand in a “get on with it” motion, so the others clearly knew this wasn’t going to end until they let Horizon make some kind of joke.

…Um.

Asama stuck her head into the back of Horizon’s stole that was flapping welcomingly in the wind.

Once inside, she found she had to crouch a bit.

“Tomo! Good luck!”

Mitotsudaira provided encouragement from the side, but Asama wasn’t sure what to do. She heard Naruze’s voice from past Horizon’s back, which was blocking her view.

“The size of her chest means her arms are attached pretty far back…”

Was she using this as an art reference?

Anyway, Asama needed to hurry it up. She felt certain it was necessary for the safety of Musashi. First, Horizon turned her head toward Asama’s right hand.

“Oh, would you look at this tasty jam bread!”

…So that’s it.

She had an idea what this meant, so she went ahead and did it.

●

Mitotsudaira watched Horizon and Asama’s nininbaori.

…Oh, they’re doing fairly well.

She had expected a complete disaster, but Asama’s spatial awareness was quite good. She managed to carry the longish jam roll right to Horizon’s mouth and, instead of making Horizon eat it all at once, she actually gave her breaks. She even skillfully let Horizon take drinks of water from the bamboo cup in her left hand.

Flat Vassal: “I thought she would just splat it against her face, but apparently not.”

Wise Sister: “Heh heh. She’s had daily practice working with large objects right in front of her. Combine that with practice using a bow and she knows exactly how far her hands and arms reach.”

Was that an advantage of having large ones? But…

Uqui: “I doubt Horizon will let it continue like this.”

After taking a mouthful of water, Horizon suddenly turned toward the idiot next to her and spat it out.

●

Everyone screamed and fled while Horizon and her true arms, which were holding a bamboo bottle, gave pursuit and spewed water like a street performance.

Left behind, Asama wiped away what little water had gotten on the thighs of her shrine maiden outfit.

“Wasn’t this supposed to be a tense situation? Oh, you can use this, Toori-kun.”

He had already stripped into nudist mode, so he used the stole she handed him to wipe off his face. She then noticed the basket of food had been left nearby.

“I think the arms bowed their heads(?) at me and left it here,” said Mitotsudaira.

“Our relationship with them is getting more complicated all the time…”

Asama checked inside and saw a rice bread BLT sandwich. She wondered if the others had left it there for her, but she noticed there were still a few other options left too. She decided to split those with Horizon when she returned and with Mitotsudaira who didn’t look sated yet. But then she noticed him watching the commotion moving around the deck.

As he watched…

“Wahhhhhhhh!”

“Tenzou! All this noise isn’t enough to wake Ma-yan!?”

“Just so you know, Mary-dono is a very heavy sleeper and squeezes whatever she grabs very hard.”

“So she sleeps like a turtle, huh? …Oh, here she comes!”

He spoke up while watching it all.

“I know she’s probably forcing this…but I’m just not in the mood myself.”

“Because of what happened up there?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

For him to bring that up here meant he still hadn’t gotten over the shock. Not that something so impactful would be easy to forget.

You might think you were over it, but then you would realize you weren’t actually over it at all, which would only make it hit you harder.

Kimi must have understood that because she approached from behind and smiled a little.

“This much can at least provide some distance. And whether you want to distance yourself from it or face it head on, you need to move on to the ‘next thing’ if you want to avoid getting all worked up.”

“The next thing, huh?”

Gin had hinted at that earlier.

There was a “next thing” they had to face.

“You mean the Battle of Yamazaki against the Hashiba forces rushing here, don’t you?”

In the history recreation, that was a battle between Hashiba and Akechi. Since Akechi himself had granted Toori his inherited name, Asama had made sure to look up more than she already knew about it.

The battle happened immediately after Nobunaga’s death during the Honnouji Incident.

Hashiba received word of the Honnouji Incident while battling Mouri, so he rapidly returned from Mouri territory in what became known as the Great Return and pursued the Akechi forces before they had a chance to prepare for another battle.

The Hashiba forces were apparently hurrying here now.

P.A. Oda’s Vice Chancellor Shibata had done an early recreation of the Battle of Shizugatake in order to test the Hashiba forces. Hashiba had passed that test and were now on their way here.

“The Hashiba forces must be in really high spirits,” quietly commented Mitotsudaira, since she had fought Shibata before.

She and Tenzou had fought him at Novgorod and Tenzou had successfully severed Shibata’s left arm.

Later, Futayo had faced Shibata and they were evenly matched even with him missing an arm.

And it wasn’t just them.

…Gin-san fought Lord Shibata’s wife Oichi, didn’t she?

Oichi used a K.P.A. Italia Testamenta Arma, so her own combat ability was improved by a regenerative ability bordering on immortality.

Muneshige had managed to get the better of Oichi and drove her away.

Asama had been waiting in the rear back then, but all those on the front line had fought powerful figures.

However, the Hashiba forces now had a leg up on them.

Mitotsudaira must have been aware of that as she spoke quietly.

“We never did defeat any of the main Shibata fighters, did we?”

●

Mitotsudaira’s words made everyone stop as Horizon pursued them.

Horizon added the remaining water in her bamboo bottle to what was in her mouth, and…

“–––––”

She spat a gentle fountain over the edge of the deck, but this resulted in several screams since there was a lower deck sticking out below.

Once Horizon and Kimi were done spitting water all over the warriors fleeing below…

“Hm, they assumed they were safe down there, so I truly caught them by surprise. Any representative of the ever-vigilant Far East must have more tension than that.”

“Heh heh. Mouth Spout Sudden Attack! But anyway, Mitotsudaira, aren’t you underselling our abilities somewhat!?”

The way Kimi could wipe her mouth off without disturbing her lipstick was impressive, but Mitotsudaira knew she had to ask about something else instead.

“Kimi? You might think that, but have any of us ever defeated the Shibata forces?”

After a pause, Persona-kun pointed at someone.

At Hassan.

●

…I forgot about that!

It wasn’t quite a direct victory, but…

Hassan did fully purify Maeda Toshiie’s ghost fleet with curry, didn’t he?”

“Every time I hear that, it sounds like some brand new form of Far Eastern,” said Ohiroshiki.

“Keep in mind that was not my doing – it was the mystical power of curry.”

“He’s being modest…” everyone muttered, but his claim did seem to be true.

However, Hassan’s accomplishment did have a flaw.

“You managed it at the Battle of Mikatagahara, but they had a countermeasure ready at Novgorod.”

“Yes. I couldn’t do any more than that in a northern land. Next time I have a chance, I will spice it up with a flour dust explosion.”

I see, thought Mitotsudaira before Ohiroshiki raised his hand.

“Also, I’d forgotten since it was more related to Hashiba, but we did have a win over the Shibata forces recently.”

He was pointing at Adele and the 1st Special Duty Officer who was propping up sleeping Mary.

…Oh.

That was right. It had slipped her mind since it happened at the Honnouji Incident and because of everything with Hashiba and Nobunaga, but they had defeated Sassa who was part of the Shibata forces.

The focus on Adele made her quickly speak up while waving her hands side to side.

“N-no, I only delivered the final blow! It was Mary-san and the 5th Special Duty Officer who set that up for me! Not to mention Persona-kun and Ohiroshiki-san who set the stage! I was nothing more than hard-working ballast!”

“Adele, downplaying your achievement is rude to the opponent.”

“And isn’t it rude to omit Crossunite-kun when giving credit?”

“My accomplishments there were Mary-dono’s accomplishments.”

Mary herself had a powerful grasp on the 1st Special Duty Officer’s back collar and side. It had looked like she was only leaning against his right shoulder at first, but now…

“I understand completely. She wants this. Yes, I understand. And I will give her what she wants by leaking this onto the divine net.”

“Why must you be like this!?” protested the 1st Special Duty Officer.

At any rate, it did feel like they had improved their scores somewhat.

After passing out water to everyone, Gin returned a bamboo bottle for herself and Muneshige to the basket and…

“The Battle of Shizugatake is a localized battle, but since it was his final battle, I imagine Lord Shibata wanted to make it fairly decisive. One-on-one battles, or close to it, must have been fought across the battlefield. The meaning and tension must have been very different from our fairly chaotic many-against-one battles,” said Gin. “But we have experienced quite a bit since Novgorod. Sassa Narimasa gave us trouble at IZUMO and Magdeburg, but we managed to defeat him without losing much at Honnouji. Even if it was a many-against-one battle.”

“Judge. To be honest, that was in large part due to the English Princess taking charge there.”

Mitotsudaira understood why Narumi said that while choosing her words carefully.

Mary and Adele had settled the battle against Sassa, but neither of them reached the Special Duty Officer level when it came to individual fighting ability. They had only won against Sassa because they had been able to play to their strengths and they were a good match against him.

…Being able to do that is impressive in itself, though.

But the opposite could also happen. Yes, what would happen if they went up against a skilled fighter without those advantages?

…It takes the strength of a Special Duty Officer or greater fighter to win then.

Narumi had a reason for hinting at that fact.

“In any major battles going forward, it will be those of us at Special Duty Officer level or higher who will be fighting on the front lines.”

●

Adele thought she had managed a nice play with Mary.

It had helped that the fight against Sassa had happened at Honnouji’s entrance, but Mary had chosen for herself to duel him.

…Although that might have only been to let the 1st Special Duty Officer and the others go on ahead.

That had allowed them to preserve their best fighters.

And Mary was a half-spirit. The 3rd Special Duty Officer tapped the 1st on the shoulder and…

“You should stick with Ma-yan as much as you can. She’s absorbing you to recover right now.”

“Are you saying Mary-sama is like a cicada!?”

The Vicereine posed with her hands held out and she seemed a little too into this. But that wasn’t the point.

“Ma-yan is more of a forest spirit, but Musashi doesn’t have much in that regard. Still, there is one thing here that can help her recover.”

”There is?” asked Mitotsudaira.

“You bet there is.” The corners of the Chancellor’s mouth rose in a grin. “Her lovey-dovey time with Tenzou gets flowers everywhere. That’s what you’re talking about, right?”

“Oh, I get it,” said Asama. “When a spirit is in a good mood, the ‘field’ under the spirit’s control activates and that’s what happens when Tenzou-kun puts Mary in a good mood.”

Which meant this was an important cicada time for her.

…If it works, she might just be recovered even if the next battle happens soon.

But something still bothered Adele.

“Will the 1st Special Duty Officer be worn down by Mary-san’s cicada-ing?”

Everyone exchanged a glance.

And a sign frame suddenly appeared next to the 5th Special Duty Officer.

Still Got It: “Oh? What’s this!? Sucking out your beloved’s energies to recover both mentally and physically is a standard thing for spirits. You could even call it our Vitamin Love for maximum vitali-”

A silent chop from the 5th Special Duty Officer shattered the sign frame. Then she turned to the others and waved her hand dismissively.

“Um, she was talking about a special case, so you can just ignore that.”

“But what does happen?” asked Noriki.

The 2nd Special Duty Officer turned his way.

“Noriki, how is it with you?”

“She rejoices when I compliment her.”

After a moment, everyone frowned. And the 4th Special Duty Officer raised her hand.

“She rejoices?”

“Just so you know, she’s been a lot more cheerful since she retired. A lot like me, really.”

“I can imagine so,” said the Vice President. “I’m a Vice President without a real inherited name, but even I’ve been caught up in inherited name issues which can go beyond troublesome and become complete emergencies. As a Chancellor with a real inherited name, she must have been under even more pressure.”

“Coming to Musashi was good for her. In a way, it forced her away from her home, allowing her to begin her retired life without worrying too much.”

“I think that comes down to her personality. And yours too.”

No sooner had the Vice President said that than light burst overhead.

The fireballs hadn’t gotten any closer, but the ship had gained a lot of altitude. It was probably because she had been spitting water onto the deck below earlier, but Kimi was looking north from the otherwise empty edge of the deck.

“She sure took a lot with her.”

It was a long way down, but the remains of Honnouji were visible below them.

A big, dark hole gaped in the moonlit surface.

●

Suzu fixed the Musashi in a position 5km southwest of Honnouji’s outer edge.

The bow was pointed east and the stern west.

That was the correct position, but she was honestly unsure if the orientation was correct. Masazumi had instructed it, but…

…Is this really…a good idea?

Several possible problems were being investigated on the Musashi’s bridge. The Representative Committee Head was sending questions and report requests to each of the committees and responses were coming in.

Masazumi’s decision for the Musashi’s position and orientation were one result of that.

Masazumi’s direct instruction had been fairly vague: “Ignoring the orientation, keep the Musashi in a position where it can either fight or flee.” And Suzu had ultimately made her decision based on…

Bell: “I’ll use a position that…makes it easier to gather…all of you.”

So she had chosen southwest of Honnouji. The others had entered through the south entrance and had then left – or been kicked out through – that same entrance, so it was best for the Musashi to be to the south too.

But the large hole where Honnouji had been created a problem.

Initially, an area of crust covering a diameter of about 2km had been taken up into the sky. Suzu had sensed it start from the center, like someone grabbing the center of a tablecloth and lifting it from there.

Instead of flying up, it had all been snatched up.

That basic hole had formed while the other were riding the transport ship to the Musashi.

But the real challenge was yet to come.

The surrounding crust was sliding into the open hole, expanding the size of the hole.

The same had happened with the imperial palace’s collapse at Kyou and the scope of the collapse at Mikawa had expanded with a similar landslide.

Suzu had sensed the strata bordering the hole sliding into it.

The intermittent destruction had created a mortar-shaped hole with a diameter of about 5km.

Fortunately, Honnouji was on the north slope of a mountain, so the village and such to the south had been almost entirely undamaged.

Suzu had chosen the Musashi’s position and orientation after all that happened.

And the wind had changed since Honnouji had still existed.

“It’s…falling.”

The great pit below had altered the surrounding air currents.

The Musashi had circled around Honnouji when the others made their entrance, but the wind had blown from the north then.

That north wind now fell into the 5km-diameter hole, changing its course.

Instead of continuing south, the wind circled around the southern edge of the hole, colliding and roaring loudly.

…Yes.

It was all flowing forcefully back down the north slope.

That was something the Musashi had to watch out for, but Suzu also concluded it formed a wall.

If they entered the range of the hole, the Musashi would be tugged down by the wind blowing back to the north. But the same would happen to the enemy coming from the north.

With the hole there, the enemy coming from the north would have a hard time approaching the Musashi.

The enemy.

Suzu couldn’t help but focus on that word.

The Hashiba forces.

They couldn’t be detected even by optical sensors yet, but they were definitely rushing this way from Hokuriku.

They were traveling in the Azuchi, which had been designed as the same model as the Musashi. If they were using a gravitational cruising system equivalent to the Musashi’s, they would appear here in about an hour even if they had only just finished their battle.

All Suzu could do was extend the Musashi’s sensors to their maximum range and be on the lookout.

She could only come up with one way of expressing her thoughts.

“What do…we do…now?”

And she had another thought.

So much had happened yet the nearby nations hadn’t done a thing. There was no sign of anyone launching high-speed ships or light warships to see what had happened to the Musashi or at Honnouji.

The M.H.R.R. Protestants had initially exchanged a few messages via optical signals to confirm the end of the Honnouji Incident, but they had made no move since.

Everyone had to have noticed.

So the lack of action had to mean…

“They’re doing things…behind the scenes.”

“Judge. Exactly, Suzu-sama. Over.”

Around her, the automata were operating sign frames via keyboard with blinding speed. “Musashino”, who was wordlessly commanding them all, spoke to Suzu.

“Currently, every nation in the Far East must be holding internal meetings and exchanging intelligence with trustworthy neighbors and allies.”

Meaning…

“The world has begun something new, so they are adjusting their stances, hoping for a fresh start, and making deals. Over.”

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