Horizon:Volume 8C Chapter 66

Chapter 66: Outdoor Meeters

She fell for it

She did, didn’t she?

Another victim…

Point Allocation (Is This a Series Now?)

They ate their early dinner in relative peace.

Naruze could tell everyone had thoughts about their future.

They ate in the clearing next to the candy house, which made for an unusual location, but they placed a pot on the campfire surrounded by tents and sat around the fire on log chairs.

The sky was still light to the west. They looked up to see the stars begin to appear as they ate, but they were all picturing something else in their heads.

…Our intervention in the Honnouji Incident.

They had known this was coming, but that wasn’t the same as seeing it approaching so fast.

It was an important event from a historical perspective and it deserved attention in the present since it would mean a changing of leaders for a major power.

Intervening here would be very different from the more regional battles they had fought in before.

They wouldn’t be setting a small portion of history in motion.

They would be setting the very backbone of history in motion. But…

…When it happens, it happens.

They had been busy for the start and middle of the break, partially due to ImMoral Manga. But with that over, they had to start preparing for the second term.

This was their third year.

“How should I put it?”

Naruze spoke while some others chatted here and there, but she was more thinking aloud than expecting a response.

“I thought I would be focused on more cultural things by this point in my third year. You know, thinking about how to continue the delivery business after we graduate, making my creative work stand out more, and figuring out the best final doujinshi of my academic career.”

But…

“I never imagined I would be doing an early-morning concert at Nördlingen or causing a scene at the Ariake’s summer festival. I honestly planned to be a little more subdued than that.”

“Naruze.” Masazumi placed some boiled meat and vegetables between bread, added some tomato sauce, and asked a question. “Is drawing doujinshis of us your idea of being ‘cultural’?”

“Putting myself in your shoes and thinking through the scenarios counts as a literary thought experiment.”

Masazumi looked up into the sky and thought on that. And…

“I see. So it’s cultural.”

“It’s part of the creative process. And isn’t it more fun when it hits the protagonist hard?”

Saying that brought a thought to Naruze’s mind.

….It’s like what I said about the Honnouji Incident. When it happens, it happens.

I have a bad habit of accepting these things when I’m the one teasing someone else.

But it hadn’t happened yet.

They were still in the preparation phase. So…

“So how about it, everyone? Do you know what to do about Honnouji yet?”

Naruze saw Futayo raise her hand first.

“The Honnouji Incident will likely be a localized battle. I don’t know what will happen to the location, but it seems unlikely the battlefield will be lost. This should function similarly to attacking a castle, so everyone serving Musashi should spend the break undergoing charge and withdrawal training.”

“I see,” said Horizon, piling some boiled vegetables on her plate. “As this is an assassination history recreation, it would be nice if we could just blast the entire castle with Musashi’s Kanesada main cannon, but that is unfortunately not an option. Musashi is completely useless more often than not, isn’t it?”

Musashino: “ ‘Musashi’-sama! ‘Musashi’-sama! You don’t need to go on Tachibana-sama’s site and post ‘Lype Katathlipse, on the other hand, is always useless. Over.’ in the comments! Over.”

Horizey: “No, the problem with that one is that it does hit, only rarely.”

Tachibana Wife: “Master Muneshige! Master Muneshige! You don’t need to create a new ‘User Statements’ section!”

We got secondary and tertiary damage from that one, noted Naruze before asking Futayo a question.

“Do we know who we’ll be up against?”

Tenzou raised his hand in response. He scanned his eyes across everyone before answering.

“In the historical Honnouji Incident, it was almost entirely Lord Nobunaga alone. There were some smaller names there like Mori Ranmaru, but it is generally thought to only have been around 100 in all.”

“But,” said someone else – Narumi. She did not tilt her head. “What about our version of it?”

“There will likely be a half-dragon guard unit,” replied Asama, opening a sign frame. “When Mori Ranmaru spoke with Masazumi before, we learned she had a half-dragon named Yasuke along as a bodyguard. Tenzou-kun and Mito both noticed him, but…well…”

“Judge. Based on my inspection, Honnouji’s security is handled by Lord Nobunaga’s personal half-dragon unit and automaton unit.”

“Oh?” everyone nodded.

Gold Mar: “We’ve never gone up against half-dragons or automatons as a main fighting force.”

Art-Ga: “Houjou used a lot of automatons and we fought them at Odawara, but half-dragons are definitely new.”

Naruze and everyone else looked to Urquiaga.

Eventually, Neshinbara spoke up.

“Urquiaga-kun? Do all half-dragons have the same fetish as you? If so, we could probably solve this all through negotiation.”

“I will have you know my love of elder sisters is an acquired trait.”

“We have also confirmed it to be incurable,” added Narumi and no one doubted her.

Then Mitotsudaira turned toward Futayo.

“So our enemies will be half-dragons and automatons. Futayo, can you adjust the training of our troops accordingly?”

The wolf’s question directed everyone’s attention toward Futayo, who was starting to sweat.

Eventually Gin cleared her throat.

“Um, Honda Futayo?”

“Gin-dono, do you promise you won’t be mad?”

Gin breathed in so deep everyone noticed.

Then she leaned back, visibly suppressed some kind of reaction, and scratched at the air with her prosthetic fingers.

“Gin-sama. If this is difficult for you, how about a quick drink?”

Horizon hesitantly handed her a teacup which Gin leaned back to drink in a single swig.

“That was pudding udon,” said Horizon.

Mitotsudaira saw Gin freeze in place.

Silver Wolf: “It’s caught, isn’t it?”

Sticky King: “Horizon’s jokes can be so extreme they leave you truly breathless.”

Unturning: “Wait, could this happen to me too?”

Uqui: “Narumi, our class is a battlefield. The slightest opening can be fatal.”

If only that weren’t somewhat true.

But in the meantime, Gin finally managed to hold her right prosthetic palm out toward Muneshige while she turned toward Mitotsudaira. Then she adjusted the position of her hips a bit.

…Oh, she’s using abdominal breathing.

And in time with her orderly breathing…

“––––”

She swallowed it.

“Ohh!” exclaimed Naito and some others with a scattering of applause while Gin corrected her posture, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and returned the teacup to Horizon.

“Thank you for the drink.”

“Judge. I had determined that pudding udon would be perfect for calming people.”

“Why?”

Vice President: “Why would you ask her that?”

But Horizon accepted the teacup, nodded, and…

“Sweet things are known to have a calming effect. And I felt udon would be better than soba.”

Gold Mar: “Why is she combining a known fact with a feeling?”

10ZO: “I’m more curious why she felt the need to include noodles at all…”

“Anyway.” Horizon took Gin’s hand and placed another teacup in it. “Now that you have calmed down, you can drink this. It is maccha flavor.”

“Master Muneshige! Master Muneshige! I have won!”

“Ha ha ha. Gin, I appreciate the elegant way you can drink without making a noise.”

Horizon placed a drink on Gin’s hand for her husband as well, but was that drink really safe, given everything?

“Futayo, shouldn’t you coordinate your training with the 1st Special Duty Officer’s intel?” asked Mitotsudaira.

“Judge. That would be best. That way Gin-dono will not have to yell at me. Ha ha ha.”

Gin clenched her empty hand so hard it trembled, but Mitotsudaira was concerned by how restless Horizon looked behind her. But to continue the conversation…

“So we know what kinds of forces Nobunaga will have, but…”

One thing bothered her.

“Is it possible some other force will join in using an interpretation?”

“Yes, the Hashiba forces,” said Neshinbara with a swish of his right hand.

The downward swing of his arm opened a sign frame, but it kept following his hand’s movement, crashed into the ground, and shattered.

“––––––”

After around 5 seconds, Neshinbara opened a new sign frame in the usual way.

“A-anyway.”

“Don’t just shrug that off!”

No one was letting him get away with that.

Wise Sister: “Okay! It’s Super Neshinbara Time, the show for all you history buffs out there! Our commentators today are Tachibana Gin, name inheritor of the female warrior who people often forget in favor of her husband, and our own Mitotsudaira, who’s barking and yipping out in front there!”

Silver Wolf: “H-have you forgotten that I am the landlord tonight!?”

Novice: “W-wait! Why is the show named after me if I’m not even part of it!?”

Art-Ga: “And then tragedy struck!”

Horizey: “No, Naruze-sama. Those sorts of tragedies do not actually happen. You see, when people are young, they assume they can do anything, believe all sorts of falsehoods, overestimate their own abilities, and see a hidden side to the world that does not actually exist. Now, Neshinbara-sama? Have you paid your printing fees from the other day?”

Novice: “Gwahhhhhhhhhhh! The flames of hell are sapping my body of its freedom!!?”

“Anyway,” said Mitotsudaira with a glance to Gin and a raised index finger.

“The biggest threat is the Battle of Yamazaki that follows Honnouji.”

Gin explained for her, dipping a spoon into her teacup.

“When Hashiba returned to avenge Lord Nobunaga, he caught up to Akechi Mitsuhide during the Battle of Yamazaki and some say he slew Lord Mitsuhide there. If Musashi takes Akechi Mitsuhide’s inherited name as the Vice President suggested, then this will present Hashiba their greatest opportunity to strike Musashi.

“And,” she continued. “I expect Hashiba will send either the Azuchi or their main fighters to Honnouji to prevent us from intervening. Their presence would act as a threat: intervene and we will start the Battle of Yamazaki immediately afterwards.”

Mitotsudaira agreed.

But she did have one thing to add. She turned toward Masazumi as she did so.

“I have one question as my king’s knight, Masazumi.”

She had to ask this.

“Who will inherit Akechi Mitsuhide’s name?”

“Judge.”

Mitotsudaira saw Masazumi cross her arms and nod.

…Who will inherit that name?

Akechi Mitsuhide would be slain.

That was a plain fact written in the Testament. And Hashiba forced people to keep a strict adherence to the Testament. So…

“That name inheritor could end up dying.”

“I know that. So,” said Masazumi. She tilted her head and paused for an “um”. “Do we have any volunteers?”

Everyone responded to her call.

They all lowered their hands, counted to three, and raised them.

“Figure it out yourself!!”

Masazumi responded to that rare unified retort.

Vice President: “Why can’t you show such a united front all the time?”

Gold Mar: “Wait, wait, wait, wait. Seijun, that’s not what this was about.”

Art-Ga: “And does this mean you set this up without any kind of plan?”

No, she had a plan. A few of them in fact. However…

“Whatever we end up doing is going to have its downsides. There are pros and cons to each method.”

“I would love to hear your ideas,” said Mitotsudaira.

“Judge,” replied Masazumi before pointing at Mitotsudaira. “My first idea is you. You can inherit Akechi Mitsuhide’s name.”

“M-me!?”

The Mito Lord expressed confusion, but Narumi realized what the Vice President was hinting at here.

…Makes sense.

“A defensive choice.”

When she stated her impression of the idea, everyone turned to look at her.

She was used to gathering attention, so she raised her hand and explained her meaning.

“Her provisional inherited name as the Mito Lord doesn’t come into play until after Akechi Mitsuhide’s death. Thus, it would be politically difficult to make her die even if she is Mitsuhide. Especially when Hexagone Française would be involved too.”

“Judge. Precisely. A lot of our name inheritors have connections to other nations, so it would be dangerous for any one nation to try and have them killed. So even if we do inherit Akechi Mitsuhide’s name, Hashiba will have a hard time forcing the name inheritor’s death.

“Which means,” she added, “the Tachibana Wife and Date Vice Chancellor are candidates too.”

“Judge,” was all the response Narumi provided.

She saw Tachibana Gin nod as well.

Tachibana Gin had the look of someone determined to do what was necessary in an emergency. Narumi knew she probably did too. Same for the Mito Lord. But in that case…

“What’s the downside?”

The Musashi Vice President took a bite of her meat sandwich and a sip of her barley tea before responding.

“It would be hard to justify,” she sighed. “You are all capable enough to fill the role, but I don’t see how we justify choosing you specifically to inherit that name.”

In that case, Narumi knew what to ask next.

“If a defensive choice is hard to justify, then what about an offensive choice?”

The Musashi Vice President’s eyes scanned the group. And…

“That would mean me…”

She pointed at two others. She barely had to move her right index finger to move from one to the other.

“Or that idiot and Horizon.”

Gin wondered how the others would respond to the Musashi Vice President’s suggestion.

…Let’s see.

That boy could be seen as their king and choosing him created the possibility of him being slain in the future.

How would everyone react to that? Gin imagined it.

…That’s right.

Just as she thought she had a good idea, the Mito Lord stood up.

She turned her gaze toward her king, turned her body toward him, and placed her hand on her chest.

“If you make that choice, my king, I swear I will protect you.”

Yes.

“The idea might be frightening and make us cautious, but that is why we will not let our guard down. If we all work together, there is nothing we cannot do.”

Gin nodded on the inside. Exactly as I imagined.

Art-Ga: “No, that won’t work. She needs to stand up and say, ‘That is unacceptable! My king could be slain! It is too dangerous! I will inherit the name to ensure his safety!’ Then he says, ‘Nate…’. But later on, the knight gets worried and visits her king late at night… Can I fit all that into 2 pages?”

Still Got It: “Wonderful. I would like three copies once it is finished. One for me, one for my husband, and one to put in storage.”

Silver Wolf: “Why are you listening in on this meeting!?”

Nate’s right, thought Toori.

“If I do it, I know you’ll all make it work and I’ll have Nate by my side. And if something does happen, there’s always Asama’s divine power and sis. And if Horizon does, she has all of you plus me.”

Horizon immediately held a hand out next to her ear.

“What was that you added at the very end there, Toori-sama?”

“W-well, that you would have me.”

“And how would that be remotely useful? Please, elucidate us.”

He considered it. And…

“I’ll make sure you’re never lonely?”

Asama saw Horizon stare up into the sky in thought for a few seconds before tilting her head.

“I suppose that works.”

She tapped his shoulder a few times.

“Doing the Honnouji Incident to keep me company is not a bad follow up to declaring world domination as a love confession.”

…In that case…

Just as Asama nodded to herself, Horizon spoke.

“Masazumi-sama, we will manage. No matter what might happen.”

Good, thought Masazumi.

…This is a lot easier when I have our leaders’ support.

Since she felt that way, she decided she was not cut out for a position at the very top. And since she was that way…

…As an upperclassman, I need to show that kind of support for the underclassmen.

She nodded inwardly a few times and sent a divine mail to her underclassmen.

“Milady! The Vice President just sent a bizarre message promising her support if we want help with anything!”

“It’s a trap, Kanou-kun. Trust her and ask for help and we’ll end up with twice as much work!”

Masazumi received a reply from Kanou saying, “We do not have any pressing issues at present, but thank you for the thoughtful offer.” She nodded again at how great these underclassmen were.

I’m so lucky to have them. And what’s this about no pressing issues?

…That means I can send them more work without worrying.

She did so.

Now to focus on her class’s current issue. She had the idiot and Horizon’s approval, so…

“The question is what happens if either Aoi or Horizon inherited Akechi Mitsuhide’s name.”

“What does happen?”

Mitotsudaira was the first to ask, probably because she was worried as his protector knight. A look around showed Asama had opened a sign frame and started a search for relevant divine protections.

…It means so much that I can leave the idiot and Horizon’s safety in their capable hands.

They were individuals, but they had power and authority. She couldn’t imagine anyone better to immediately handle a problem.

Then she realized she held a similar position.

She took care of the problems on the political front.

So while the distance between them and the type of relationship they had might differ, everyone here now was letting her handle things for them. In a way, everyone from Musashi was supporting their goal and handling some portion of it.

…Judge.

She could sense this so much more clearly now that they were away from the Musashi. Well, she had noticed this plenty of times before, but…

“Oh.”

She kind of got it.

“There must be a lot of pressure leading up to these turning points.”

When she said it out loud, she felt so much surer it was true. Was that the Kotodama at work?

But everyone here was like that, including her.

“Both the idiot and Horizon could easily inherit Akechi Mitsuhide’s name. Not only are they Musashi’s Viceroy and Vicereine, but the one is Musashi Ariadust Academy’s Chancellor and President and the other has inherited the name of Matsudaira Motonobu’s daughter.”

In other words…

“Aoe is the representative of an entire nation, so he is plenty qualified…in name anyway. Horizon’s position was accepted by the Testament Union at Mikawa, so they have to respect that position now too.”

“Wh-what was that about me only being qualified in name!?”

You really don’t want me answering that one.

But this did introduce a problem.

“Aoi, Horizon. I feel like this is a problem for just the two of you, but listen up.”

“What is it, Masazumi-sama?”

“Judge. The two of you have another name inheritance issue to deal with.”

Namely…

“Matsudaira Motonobu. Which one of you will inherit the name of the Far East’s future ruler?”

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