Horizon:GT2 Chapter9

Chapter 9: Misunderstanding and Conjecture

Slaying a bear does not make you any less alone

Point Allocation (How Literary…)

●

Narumi had spent her 1st year of high school as the Vice Chanellor’s aide and she was set to officially begin working as the Vice Chancellor in her 2nd year. The previous Vice Chancellor and Vice President, Oniniwa Yoshinao, had half voluntarily retired from his long service, so the Date clan had rapidly moved on to the next generation.

Oushuu Sibir was still quite cold during late March. It was said you could hammer a nail with a banana if it was cold enough and it was true. Highly dense banana hammers had even been recommended for construction- sorry, that’s a lie. My point is it was cold and the bears who had ended their hibernation too early were out, so it was the perfect time for the new generation to take over, no matter what some idiots were doing outside our borders.

The end.

○

Flat Vassal: “Y-you can’t end it there! You just can’t!”

Unturning: “Once I started, I realized how much of a pain it is. I have no literary talent.”

Flat Vassal: “Someone please give her some motivation! How about you, 5th Special Duty Officer!? Your territory is close enough, so you must have some salmon stories to tell!”

Silver Wolf: “My territory is close to there, but I was in Mikawa at the time!”

Scarred: “So what did happen?”

Unturning: “Something smells good.”

Scarred: “Judge. The soup for the boys and the sweets for all of you are nearly ready.”

Unturning: “I will help however I can. …And I guess I can tell my story while I do.”

Vice President: “I’m not sure how that worked out, but it did.”

●

From late March to April, Oushuu Sibir’s Sendai Aoba Castle was busy preparing for the festival. The Sibir region had a unique sun festival to welcome the start of the new school year.

The spring also meant spring lightning, so the different parts of Sibir would represent lightning in different ways and then celebrate the coming of the sun.

The festival was meant to be held on the New Year, but in modern nations, the start of the school year in April had become another New Year. Holding a small festival at the start had become the custom.

…Russia does love its festivals.

The festivals were almost all in the spring and summer, but a surprising number of them were dedicated to the local gods as the gods of foreign lands. Sibir’s spring festival was less about Orthodoxia and more about creating an image of a god named Jarylo. These festivals reached their peak during the summer solstice festival in which a wicked local god named Kupala was driven out.

“I feel like that’s too much information.”

Discussing the wicked god earned a complaint from a Technohexen. Regardless, these festivals had undergone a great change during Narumi’s generation. The festivals had mostly remained true to the original form before, but then Masamune took over as the leader of Oushuu Sibir. After that, the festivals changed because…

“The historical Masamune had an interested in the West and tried to establish relations with Spain.”

That led to an influx of Catholicism into the land of Orthodoxia.

Of course, the historical Masamune had been active at a time when foreign religions were banned in the Far East.

So it would seem like Catholicism couldn’t have any involvement in the Date Clan.

But Date of Sibir was located to the extreme east.

Mogami was to their west and the Kantou nations to their south, so they had a lot of pain-in-the-rear border issues. A lot had happened when Masamune took over, but they had needed to use his history recreation to take as much as they could get.

So what were they to do about the connection to Catholicism through Spain and Portugal which had been important issue for Date? And because Narumi’s generation would be taking over at that same time, they had to think about it. I think it was on the way back from slaying a large bear outside, but I – that is Narumi was walking down the hallway from the hangar bay.

“What do you want, idiot?”

“Oh? Did you just call me an idiot, Narumi-kun!? Yes, I know you said it because that’s something I could never understand myself! But the difference between idiocy and genius is paper thin! Yes, and I am on the genius side by that paper-thin margin! Which means a paper-thin shift in the wrong direction is enough to ruin me! Oh, no! Oh, no! Whatever shall I do!? Hey, don’t stare at me like that! Because it feels so wonderful when you do! Do I need to crawl for you freaks!? Yes, because I’m not just a freak! I’m an insect! A worm!”

“Hearing you use my name creeps me out, so just tell me what you want.”

“Testament! Mogami has contacted us!”

Why did he need all that preamble if it was something so simple? She made sure to give him a solid glare, but he started flopping on the muddy hallway floor shouting, “God, yes! I love it!”

She kicked him aside and accessed Sendai Castle’s divine network. She linked to her class’s privileged divine transmission and accepted the call from Mogami. A fox in white cold-resistant equipment appeared.

“Oh, you’re back. I am enjoying some sake while viewing the snow outside our defense barrier.”

The fox was outside, so she was probably on the Yamagata Castle’s deck. She was using the cargo transport lift with a defense barrier open over her head.

“It has been snowing a lot lately, hasn’t it?” said Narumi.

She could see a wall of snow more than 5m tall had already formed on the deck. So the lift had taken the fox above the deck itself to forcibly place her level with the top of the snow.

…That must double as a visual observation point.

“Ko ko,” laughed the fox. “This does not keep the Yamagata Castle from flying, so do not let your guard down. So what did you want?”

Huh? thought Narumi. Didn’t she call us?

But then she recalled this was a fox. And if that fox was worried about anything at this time of year…

“We weren’t going to make plans for Komahime to stay here until the spring, but is that what you wanted to discuss?”

“Ho ho? You mean letting her spend time with Kojirou?”

“Testament,” confirmed Narumi. Peace between the two clans actually meant a lot to Date.

…Because we have almost entirely lost to Mogami Yoshiaki already.

According to the Testament, Yoshiaki was Masamune’s uncle. She was Masamune’s mother’s older brother.

Masamune’s mother was quite an eccentric person herself and, while Narumi didn’t dislike her, she found her difficult to dealt with, but that mother was about the only person who could get Yoshiaki to listen.

The two of them were apparently old friends, but it may have had more to do with a fox’s tendency to take care of her own.

But this fox was powerful. She was clever, she would draw you in and trap you, and she would rush in and take what she wanted. Yoshiaki and the Yamagata Castle were a force to be reckoned with, but they were far more powerful than the rest of Mogami.

Since they were practically just the one person and her castle, any attack would be met with their full force in response. That was not something Date was prepared for.

So they had a lot of small skirmishes instead.

Date had hesitant, localized forces and Mogami had all their strength in one place.

When attacked, Mogami would withdraw and fight back as much as they could while defending themselves. When attacking, they would never push too far.

Yoshiaki was a fox.

Whenever Masamune or someone else attacked Mogami, it felt like being lured somewhere.

Fortunately, Yoshiaki liked children, which meant she was kind to Masamune and the others. Whenever she fought back against an attack, she made sure they would all be unharmed once the battle was over. She wasn’t trying to mock them, but it was irritating how it felt like she was toying with them.

Come to think of it, Narumi was younger than Yoshiaki just like Masamune.

…So why isn’t she kind to me too?

She knew it was her own fault for not letting Yoshiaki be kind to her, but that just made it more irritating.

Anyway, the children of both clans got along well – especially Masamune’s younger brother Kojirou and Yoshiaki’s daughter Komahime. Politically, that gave them a stable relationship with Mogami. And personally…

…Yes.

There was something unstable about Masamune, which was worrying for Date as a whole since she was their foundation.

Date could seem trapped given its location, but if the two clans came together, it would greatly reduce the threat from the west. So…

“Testament,” replied Narumi after some thought.

So was Yoshiaki really calling about Kojirou and Komahime?

To probe further, Narumi tried a somewhat provocative statement.

“Everyone thinks our two clans could benefit from a furthering of that relationship soon.”

●

When Narumi mentioned the “furthering of that relationship”, she heard a quiet “eh!?” from someone outside the frame.

“Oh, really?” Yoshiaki looked outside the frame and reached a hand out toward the screen.

“No, wait, mom! Don’t aim the camera at me! I’ll die! I’ll really die!”

“Why are you young girls so self-conscious? Being half-dressed is perfect for this. Way to go, daughter.”

“I’ve seen Komahime naked a few times at the sauna or bath during her visits, so it really doesn’t matter,” said Narumi.

“A drunk young fox is something else entirely,” insisted Yoshiaki.

“I don’t think Kojirou-sama is old enough for that yet.”

“Must you be so strict? You act like you’re his big sister.”

“I’m well aware of that, so pointing it out doesn’t bother me.”

Does that mean this isn’t about Kojirou-sama and Komahime? Narumi wondered.

If so, what was it about?

Date was currently busy with their reforms. Plus, it was still winter. So if Mogami had business with them…

…They must have received some kind of information.

Date was on the Pacific Ocean side of the Far East and Mogami was on the Arctic Ocean side. They both had a lot of harmonic regions remaining, which were all frigid lands. But even the areas outside the harmonic regions had a lot of snow, so…

…The sea routes.

Mogami was trapped in winter, but some small trade routes traveling across the Arctic Ocean remained active there.

They either came from or through Sviet Rus, continuing west of Russia.

“The sea routes developed by the Hanseatic League reach Tres España and even the New World, don’t they?”

“Do you really think they can reach us in the winter?” asked Yoshiaki.

“Your information network isn’t buried in snow, is it?”

The Shinto-based divine transmission infrastructure would reach from Europe to Mogami as long as Sviet Rus didn’t stop it. But…

“Date can’t reach Europe using the Arctic Ocean,” said Narumi. “And Europe is too far away using the Pacific. So we are naturally distanced from Europe.”

The same was true of the divine transmissions.

Even if they had access to the communication network, they needed connections with the people on the other side. The frigid lands of Sibir and Date were just too far away from Europe.

“But isn’t it about time you establish some connections with a major western nation?” said the fox.

Date was in a period of reform. And if they were going to start something new, it had to start on the new school year.

…She’s right.

It would be best to deal with Tres España.

The fox knew that. She had hinted at it by mentioning a connection between Masamune and a major western nation.

But, thought Narumi. Yoshiaki has involved herself in the topic, but would the leader of Mogami – Urban Name: Fox of Ushuu – really make a divine transmission just to hint at that?

…She wouldn’t.

The members of the Girls God of War Unit were rushing to the hangar bay when they stepped on the idiot lying collapsed on the floor.

“Kyahhhhhh! Katakura!”

“Noooo, why is Katakura here!?”

“Ah! You’re right! He’s all muddy, but that’s Katakura!”

He was a well-known guy, but not in a good way. And Narumi’s attention was elsewhere.

…Odd.

Something bothered her about Yoshiaki’s call.

She tried figuring out why.

She meant no insult to Komahime, but Yoshiaki hadn’t called about a meetup between the clans. Because Yoshiaki had redirected the conversation away from that when Narumi brought it up.

That suggested Yoshiaki had called to learn about Date’s relationship with Tres España.

But why was she interested in that?

A relationship between the two nations was a known fact from the Testament.

The relationship would affect Mogami, of course.

But what about that made the fox make this call?

“Understood,” Narumi said to Yoshiaki. “I will tell Masamune to speed up our interactions with Tres España.”

○

Bell: “Eh? Eh? I…I don’t…get it.”

Horizey: “It is simple, Suzu-sama. Narumi-sama went crazy.”

Unturning: “I suspect I have from time to time ever since I moved to Musashi.”

Gold Mar: “Horizon’s pretty impressive for taking a verbal kill shot against Narumin like that.”

Tonbokiri: “Gin-dono? Will you be alright? Horizon-sama is fair and impartial, so she would take a ‘verbal kill shot’ against you as well.”

Tachibana Wife: “Why must you drag me into these things, Honda Futayo!?”

Flat Vassal: “So can you explain what that was about, Date Vice Chancellor?”

Vice President: “Balfette, didn’t you go to Mogami during the three nations negotiations?”

Flat Vassal: “Th-that doesn’t mean I know what happened there more than a year ago!”

Unturning: “Yoshiaki was telling us to set things up in advance.”

Flat Vassal: “I-I’m going to need more than that!”

Silver Wolf: “Simply put, Mogami Yoshiaki feared something might come between Tres España and the Far East in the near future. And if that happened, the Testament Union might take action and introduce a lot of friction into the interactions between the Far East and Tres España. So she was telling Date to establish relations with Tres España and give themselves a communications route before that happened.”

Unturning: “Right. By checking on our relations with Tres España, who helps establish our connection to Europe, she was telling us to take a second look at all of that. And since there were no problems with the relations between Date and Mogami, she wasn’t telling us to cut off our relations with Tres España. She was in fact telling us to expand them because Mogami would also win if we profited from it.”

Flat Vassal: “So? Ummm? Tres España was causing trouble in Mikawa at the time, but are you saying that trouble was big enough to involve Mogami and Date?”

Vice President: “Hm. I was in the middle of it all, but I’m only now learning just how big an issue it was.”

Horizey: “Now, let’s check in with our reporter in Mikawa while Masazumi-sama was away.”

●

“Yes, I am reporting from the crime scene in Mikawa.”

“Tomo! Tomo! Why are you speaking into empty air!?”

Asama and the Extra Special Duty Officer were performing some kind of skit, but Adele had come to Mikawa to work.

Her main job was…

“Oh, Tenzou-san. Here are the messages you asked for.”

Tenzou had been undercover in Mikawa since yesterday, so he needed someone to bring him all the latest information from the Musashi. The 1st Special Duty Unit he belonged to was preparing for its new structure in the new school year, so they were focused on the state of Mikawa since a good performance there would give them a good start to the year.

…If they can accomplish something here, it will mean a lot internally and externally.

Adele spoke to the wall at the entrance of the teahouse designated as their meetup point.

“Umm, do I just connect to the hidden setting you arranged for me? Will that work?”

“Yes, that will be fine. It will automatically connect.”

Tenzou emerged from the wall below the eaves of the teahouse. He had only been hiding in the shadow made by the wall, but the optical illusion was impressive. Especially when it was entirely pointless in this case. Shouldn’t he be focusing on more than just looking cool?

○

Flat Vassal: “Oh, sorry. That wasn’t a very nice thing to say about the 1st Special Duty Officer.”

Silver Wolf: “Hm? Where did Mary go?”

Horizey: “She and my arms walked outside with the soup pot earlier.”

Vice President: “So the usual from her. …Anyway, what happened in Mikawa?”

Asama: “We ran into even more trouble.”

●

Naito and the others listened to Tenzou explain the current situation. But…

“And so Honda Masazumi-dono boarded the Musashi not long ago.”

“Eh?”

Asama and Mitotsudaira exchanged a glance.

“Wait a moment.” Asama quickly opened a sign frame and checked a few links. “Huhhh? But she was here not long ago.”

“Where is she now?” asked Mitotsudaira.

“Let’s see, on Musashino I think. Honda Masanobu-san’s house is there. …I can’t see any more without using my admin privileges.”

“Hm.” Tenzou crossed his arms and nodded. “You could send her a divine transmission asking to meet with her.”

“Oh, you’re right.”

Asama began to arrange that. Meanwhile, Naito joined Adele and Mitotsudaira.

“They’ve gotten the place pretty well cleaned up.”

In front of them, the site of the fire was roped off with an Atsuta sword-type shimenawa barrier. The barrier apparently hadn’t been there the day before, but…

“Did Asama-chi showing up yesterday get them worried about another shrine’s involvement?”

“We do have permission to enter, don’t we?” asked Adele.

Mitotsudaira answered while passing through the barrier.

“We have permission to investigate, but I get the feeling we can’t get careless. Because…”

As soon as she passed through, small lightning bolts crackled all around her. The dry bursting sounds were on a small scale, but…

“Atsuta is probably managing the area as the local god’s superior,” explained Mitotsudaira. “They are monitoring everything that happens here. They’re checking on us to make sure we don’t disturb the land.”

“Is Mikawa our enemy?” asked Naito.

Adele immediately took a concerned look around.

But there was no point in saying things like that at this point.

…It’s like they’re obstructing the investigation, or like they’re telling us not to dig too deep.

But they were still allowing Musashi to investigate, which suggested they either wanted to pretend they had tried or they were hoping Musashi would actually end up digging deeper and then make their own decision based on whatever they ended up finding. Which was it? Asama seemed to think it was the latter, but based on how the Mikawa representative had reacted…

…Yeah.

Naito chose to trust her classmate’s judgment. They had been chosen for this mission because they could handle whatever might happen.

And…

“Margot, Adele, can you come over here?”

They followed after Mitotsudaira who was still crackling with electricity.

…Ohh.

Naito crackled too. She was also nonhuman. She wasn’t a spirit-type like Mitotsudaira was, but the barrier must have sensed she was different. The lightning scattered from her like jumping candy, but it didn’t cause pain the way static electricity did. It simply flashed and disappeared. But…

“Margot, your transmissions aren’t coming through clear,” said Naruze over a staticky connection.

This is going to be a pain, thought Naito as they arrived at the back of the fire site.

The ground was burnt and parched. The foundation allowed her to imagine the original layout of the rooms.

…The heat of the fire caused a lot to rise to the surface.

Mitotsudaira turned around at a point at the center of the back room.

“This is where the two victims were killed.”

It was time for round two of the investigation.

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