Horizon:Volume 8C Chapter 67

Chapter 67: Questioners Around the Fire

Hm

For now

I’m hungry?

Point Allocation (Meat)

“You want to know whether Toori-kun or Horizon should inherit Lord Motonobu’s name?”

Good question, thought Asama.

If he achieved world domination and it was viewed from a Far Eastern perspective, it would make sense for him to inherit the name of the Far East’s ruler. Or rather, the state of the world would require it.

But then there was Horizon.

“You received a number of rights as Matsudaira Motonobu’s heir at Mikawa, didn’t you?”

Horizon responded with a tilt of her head.

She frowned and held a hand to her chin.

“Hm. I do not recall this.”

“Um, to give themselves a pretext for executing you and all that, the Testament Union gave you several different rights.”

“Oh, yes. I remember Caretaker Girl saying something about that.”

“You really need to thank that Caretaker Girl next time you meet her, okay?” he said.

Horizon began to sweat.

An awkward mood of “what now?” set in and Horizon raised her right hand before replying.

“I mentioned Caretaker Girl before, remember?”

“Judge. I remember,” said Mitotsudaira.

“Well, given the time of year, I decided I should send Tres España a summer gift. I spoke with the manager and wrote a letter to go along with the gift.”

“Wait.” Naruze held her right hand out. “What kind of letter?”

“Judge,” said Horizon, opening a sign frame.

“Dear Caretaker Girl. How are you enjoying your summer? I have you to thank for avoiding being squeaky-clean purified at my execution and am now making excellent headway toward world domination. Your land of the setting sun appears to be having a difficult time, but you’re not bankrupt yet! I believe you can turn this around and I am always praying you remain in good health.”

Gold Mar: “So do we have a new international incident on our hands, or what?”

Vice President: “Hey, Aoi! This hasn’t been sent out yet, has it!? It’s still at your place, I hope!”

Me: “It would be with my mom, not the Main Blue Thunder, so I couldn’t tell you.”

Asama: “Will it even reach her if we don’t know her name?”

Horizey: “Judge. That is why I sent it to the Tres Españan Student Council asking to have it delivered to ‘Caretaker Girl’. I assumed that would reach her.”

Worshiper: “The scary part is I can see that working.”

Horizey: “I did consider including a drawing of her just to be safe, but to get back on topic, I was seated with my back to her and do not remember what she looked like. How am I supposed to thank her now?”

Silver Wolf: “I get the feeling this Caretaker Girl holds a much more important position in your mind than she knows.”

Flat Vassal: “This feels like the kind of problem that will go away if we ignore it.”

We’ll have to deal with that eventually, thought Masazumi. But for now…

“Can we get back to talking about whether Aoi or Horizon should inherit Matsudaira Motonobu’s name?”

“When do you think we should do that?”

“I would be fine with doing it right away, but it would be easier to wait until Sekigahara. Because Matsudaira will control the Far East by then.”

“Judge,” said Horizon and the idiot raised a hand.

“Could we share the name?”

“It isn’t impossible. There is precedent.”

Everyone gave Masazumi a “there is?” look.

“Because some inherited names have absurd stories about them, like that they never slept or were all powerful. To make sure the other nations don’t get nitpicky, those names will be shared by a group of two or three.”

“I recall Leonardo da Vinci being handled that way.”

Naruze was correct.

“Judge. He needed to be an expert in art, design, language, and athletics, which some said was too much for a single person to handle. So his name was shared.”

“That’s right,” Naruze nodded and opened some art history information on a Magie Figur. “It was generally split between an athletic Leonardo and a literary and scientific Leonardo, but it was eventually expanded to be Strength #1, Skill #2, and then a V-3 who acted as an intermediary. Oh, and the V of V-3 was short for Vinci.”

“I remember that. Didn’t they all ride around on the futuristic mechanical horse they had designed? They said they were being ‘faithful to the source material’, by which they meant true to history.”

“You people know a lot about this,” said Masazumi.

“Only because there was a tokusatsu show based on it. It was recently remade as part of the Tensho Series, which is about famous people plotting against each other. The way Robo-Vinci is defeated each episode is pretty popular.”

People can get a lot of weird trivia from kid’s shows, thought Masazumi, but she never knew what they were talking about since those shows had been banned at her house.

She was only learning about the power of that kind of media now that she was working part-time at an elementary school.

…I can’t help it that my dad banned me from watching any of it.

“It’s time, Koni-tan! For the next week, the Eiroku Series version of Masked Universale is airing in the evenings! I had to deprive myself in Mikawa since it would have been bad for Masazumi’s upbringing, so I need to catch this broadcast here on Musashi!”

“Ho ho? So, Nobu-tan, when I accidentally handed you my V-3 ukiyo-e business card instead of my normal one when we first met, you accepted it without comment because you had an interest in such things!?”

“Heh. I had written you off as a lost cause for clinging to the old-and-busted V-3 instead of embracing the new hotness – the Sky-V primitive helicopter! I felt so sorry for you I declined to give you my #1 business card in return!”

“Nobu-tan! Nobu-tan! If you had given me that, I would have prostrated before you and licked your shoes!”

“My dad was so strict about that kind of thing.”

Mitotsudaira noticed Masazumi reminiscing with her arms crossed, so she decided it was worth saying something to her.

Masazumi seemed to think she was placing her father “above her” as an authority figure, but it sounded more like she was complaining about his narrowminded parenting style. So Mitotsudaira didn’t know if this was necessary, but she spoke up anyway.

“Your family was in a unique position, Masazumi, so can you really blame him?”

“Judge. Not really, no. …So what were things like with your family, Mitotsudaira?”

Still Got It: “Allow me! It was the end of the Renaissance back then and reproducing ancient culture and stories was the hot thing. So I always looked forward to the educational program about the Gilgamesh mythology. Then Nate’s father and I would reenact the part where-”

Mitotsudaira used a burst of acceleration to break the sign frame, but her king crossed his arms nearby.

“Oh, yeah. I remember that one. You could see it when the Musashi was near Hexagone Française, so I would stay up late, watch it, and talk about it at school the next day. Got me the nickname of Gil the Hero King.”

“Heh heh. My foolish brother would shout, ‘Sis! Sis! She’s got boobs like Asama!’, so I would correct him: ‘No, she doesn’t. Asama’s are more like this.’ ”

“Wh-why am I all of a sudden a part of this!?”

Mitotsudaira was surprised to find this weird connection between her king and her parents.

Her mother sent over some episodes she had recorded at the time, but the old videos had a really small file size.

…You can tell that was a long time ago.

That thought helped it all click into place for her. But then Adele spoke up.

“Oh, but the version of the Vinci Series aired at the 5th Special Duty Officer’s home would have been the special foreign version, right? It had some unique changes like including the Sun Son character leading up to the selection of the Roi-Soleil.”

“Eh!? Really!? You saw that, Nate!?”

I did. But…

“I-it was my father who liked to watch it. And thinking back, my parents knew Hexagone Française’s previous Chancellor, so they may have been involved in the Roi-Soleil selection specials.”

“Really? Damn, I should’ve asked papan about it when he was here before.”

My king is so cute when he gets really into something like this. So to spoil him a bit…

Silver Wolf: “Um, mother? I have a small – very small – very, very small – favor to ask you.”

Still Got It: “Oh? You only need a small one? Well, in that case…”

Her mother responded.

Still Got It: “Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-”

She really stretched out the first word.

Margot counted the seconds on her finger and made it to 32.

Still Got It: “-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat is it, Nate?”

Silver Wolf: “Wh-why do I get the feeling I’m going to regret this!?”

Tachibana Wife: “She held that word for an impressive amount of time.”

Horizey: “You can’t possibly back out after she hits you with that one.”

Mitotsudaira felt terribly ashamed, although she wasn’t quite sure why, but she asked her mother to ask her father about that old program. And to send over any recordings if she had them.

…Th-that was exhausting.

Actually, this feels more like a good example of how a mother and her daughter are meant to interact. The problem is I don’t know how they’re going to exaggerate and misinterpret it. But anyway…

“My king, I will have an offering for you soon!”

“I didn’t expect to suddenly get some material from over a decade ago, but thanks, Nate.”

“I-it isn’t time to thank me yet.”

Naruze responded to that line by erasing part of her storyboard and redoing it, but then they heard someone clap their hands.

It was Masazumi. She looked to them all.

“Judge, judge. We got sidetracked there, didn’t we?”

They all nodded and Masazumi sighed.

“Who do I blame for this?”

“Yourself!” everyone shouted back.

Huh? thought Masazumi, tilting her head.

…Did I start that one?

Oh, well. It’s the future that matters. Yes, focus on the future. You can ignore your current mistakes when you have a bright and shining future to look forward to. And now I’m sounding like a self-help seminar. Not that I’ve ever been to one.

“Masazumi! Masazumi! Stop playing with your anteater and look back this way!”

Oops. I accidentally started playing with Tsukinowa.

“Let’s see, we were discussing whether or not the idiot and Horizon could share the inherited name, right?”

“Yes, I believe that was where we left off,” confirmed Mary.

Masazumi nodded to her and thought.

“They could share the name, but we don’t have much justification for it.”

“You can say it, Masazumi-sama. This boy lacks the- gah!”

“Horizon! Horizon! You’re not supposed to bite your tongue before you try and say the big word!”

This running gag has lost me. But…

“The fact is, Lord Motonobu did not share the name with anyone, so finding justification for it now would be difficult. That’s why I want to continue this discussion on the assumption that the name will be inherited by one or the other. Got that?”

Asama recorded Masazumi’s words and felt herself blush for no real reason.

She looked over to see Mitotsudaira and Suzu doing the same.

Because Masazumi had essentially said…

…Toori-kun and Horizon’s relationship makes them effectively the same!

They weren’t married, but their relationship was similar.

As the daughter of a shrine dedicated to such ceremonies, Asama wanted to rejoice.

It was a cause for celebration, but the others were involved in this as well. So…

…Oh.

Depending on the pair’s decisions or situation, she might need to reassess their divine protections and spells. There were services that prioritized name inheritors and there were family discounts, so a different relationship could mean a different choice was more efficient or otherwise beneficial. And since it involved the others too…

Asama: “I shouldn’t hesitate to adjust your contracts and divine protections based on your relationship to each other, should I?”

Me: “Looking at the shrine contracts, are Horizon, Nate, and I all basically part of your family?”

Asama: “Eh? No, it doesn’t go that far. See, a shrine maiden has to serve their god or goddess ‘first and foremost’, so if you were to become part of the Asama Shrine, it would cause some issues with my prioritization.”

Art-Ga: “Yeah, I wasn’t sure how that worked out when I was drawing a scenario like that, so what would happen if your relationship with the Chancellor became more clearly defined?”

You were drawing that? Asama thought, but she decided imagining the contents was too much of a challenge for her.

But to answer Naruze’s question…

Asama: “At the Asama Shrine, I don’t think it would actually cause too much of an issue with our Musashi-related Shinto activities. Because my dad is there and he could continue to serve Sakuya ‘first and foremost’. But I would have to decide whether to route my spells and divine protections through my dad or manage them myself. This is something I should probably work out now, so I might approach some of you to discuss it.”

Scarred: “What would you need to discuss?”

Asama: “Routing my contacts through my dad would require paying a routing fee, so it would be cheaper to make a contract with him directly.”

Everyone nodded in understanding and Narumi smiled Asama’s way.

“Enjoying yourself?”

Asama thought about what that was supposed to mean.

She was preparing to reassess her job and learn more about her limits in it. It was a bit like shutting down a small portion of what she had always done. But…

…Yes.

She was changing homes. Her room might be smaller, but there would be things she could only do at this new home.

She would still be the Asama Shrine Representative, but she would think about him first and foremost.

…I’ve decided that’s what I want to do now.

It wasn’t that she could if she wanted to. She did want to. So…

“Yes, I am enjoying myself.”

“I see,” replied Narumi with a nod.

Asama nodded back.

“Asama,” said Urquiaga. “Narumi’s ‘I see’ is a rare treat.”

That’s true, she thought, which filled her with heat. But her beating heart brought the heat to her chest, not her face.

When Narumi came to Musashi, she must have put some restrictions on herself but she had chosen who she would think about first and foremost in the same way. The same had to be true of Mary and she felt like the Tachibana Couple were gradually reaching that point.

Mitotsudaira would be the same too, but…

…Horizon.

Her too. Although she started out nearly at zero rather than restricting herself. But now she’s free to be herself…although “herself” can be a little much. Still, I’m part of what allowed her to reach this point.

The framework inside Horizon always put him first and foremost. He was the one who shared her borderline, so their position and height were equal.

In a way, all of that had been determined back at Mikawa when they first truly met. So she had to be aware that it was growing harder to understand just how significant that had been, but…

“Horizon.”

This was like when she had tried to reclaim her tears. No, this was something even more personal.

“Make sure you remember how Narumi-san said ‘I see’ here.”

She had decided to stay here. She had decided what she wanted to do here. And that wasn’t just mental activity. It was a small, meaningless piece of determination, but that was the entire point.

“The time will come when you ‘see’ too.”

“I had a feeling I would when I thought back on what I have observed the rest of you doing.”

Horizon looked to Asama and then to Mitotsudaira.

“You are saying I came here because I made a similar decision with Toori-sama, aren’t you?”

“I must have done so unwittingly,” said Horizon. “But…”

This would probably happen plenty more in the future too. But for now…

“I am here because I made that choice, aren’t I?”

She still wasn’t certain of it, but she felt that Asama was correct and she would eventually become aware of it in retrospect. She could tell that much from looking at the others.

You made the choice first, but the determination and resolve came even earlier.

“You must be able to make the decision before it can become your decision. And this ‘seeing’ is something that comes later.”

She still did not know what to call it. But she could sense something while watching Asama and Mitotsudaira now.

“I am convinced it is something I have too. This has given me one more thing to believe in.”

“Is that so?” Masazumi replied to Horizon, confirming her words.

…This is kind of incredible.

It can seem like Horizon hasn’t changed at all from Mikawa to here, but she’s actually calmed down quite a lot. Sure, she still shouts weird things without warning and does things that make no sense, but I’d like to think that’s just her schtick. But the more worrying parts of her behavior do seem to be gone. Well, other than the Horizon Rules. Could she please stop doing that?

But if Masazumi was going to let the others handle these issues…

“Horizon, I want you to make a decision about all of that and I want you to rely on Asama and Mitotsudaira when you need help.”

After hearing the “judge” in reply, Masazumi moved on.

“The rest of you should already be training and working on your concentration.”

“That’s right,” calmly stated Naruze. “Margot and I didn’t so great on that exam, so we need to shape up. But, hey, at least we didn’t do as bad as Tenzou.”

“You’ve got that right, Ga-chan. Almirante and the others caused me a lot of trouble during the exam. But, hey, at least I didn’t embarrass myself as badly as Tenzou.”

“Wh-what is with these double-team insults!?”

“That’s right!” replied Mary. She placed her hand on her chest next to Tenzou. “Master Tenzou had his hands full carrying me at the time!”

Art-Ga: “So, Tenzou. Which do you want uploaded to the divine net – that statement or what you said about us insulting you?”

10ZO: “Um, I would really prefer neither?”

Me: “Hey, hey. Lay off, Black Mar. Mary’s one of our most powerful weapons and we can’t move her around without Tenzou.”

Flat Vassal: “Sure, the 1st Special Duty Officer carries Mary-san, but Excalibur can fly. Him carrying her around seems kind of redundant.”

Me: “Tenzou, what good are you?”

10ZO: “Your support didn’t last long!!”

This gives us a lot to think about, thought Mary.

The exam had arrived without warning, so she hadn’t been prepared. It was true she had hesitated when it came time to run on the rooftops. Because if her foot broke through the roof, the poor resident would have to fix it.

That was why she had let him carry her, but it was true Excalibur belonged to her. It liked him a lot, but it did not belong to him. So…

“Master Tenzou, I am sorry for stealing your thunder.”

“No, the point was for us to all work together. And carrying you meant you did not have to worry about being caught by the transport ship. It is important to view the tactical value of our actions. So,” he said. “You managed to run some at Nördlingen, but most of the structures on the Musashi are wooden. The next mock battle should happen halfway through the 2nd term, so how about you try running through some open spaces before then? Once you are used to it…”

“Yes?”

“We can run hand in hand.”

He would not be letting go of her hand. That insistence made her happy, but also embarrassed. She knew she had to do better than this as some flowers spilled from her.

On the other side of the fire, Naito and Naruze were fanning her with paper plates. But it’s quite cool out, so that isn’t necessary.

But if she was going to join the battlefield…

“What will the Honnouji Incident be like?”

That would be a localized battle, so they did not know if it would involve a large group of warriors or a naval battle.

Based on Mary’s own research, the battle was fought around a single temple being used as lodgings.

In that case, she thought just before he spoke.

“We expect it to be some type of fortress newly built outside of Kyou.”

Tenzou pulled up a sign frame showing a summary of his investigations over summer break. He bowed toward Asama and she distributed it to everyone.

It first gave P.A. Oda’s activities.

“P.A. Oda’s Lake Biwa Azuchi is still on alert and we have not done much investigation there because sending someone in and having them captured would be a major pain. But…”

But…

“We have confirmed some largescale construction within a stealth field at the new location of Honnouji east of Kyou. We have also confirmed materials being transported there from Lake Biwa Azuchi.”

“Why do you think it’s a fortress? Couldn’t it be an aerial ship?” asked Naruze.

Asama shook her head.

“This will be a largescale ley line ceremony, so I think it will be a grounded facility. Especially if they are including a ley line reactor.”

“We have information saying they have set up something like massive keystones in order to erect the field. The original terrain was a hill, so they may be building a surface structure with something built underground.”

“It would be trouble if they holed up inside there,” said Futayo.

He had to agree with her there. But…

“I’m not sure they will,” said Masazumi. She stood up and grabbed more bread from the table. “When we arrive at Honnouji, I have a feeling they might just let us in or let us watch the proceedings.”

“Because of Hashiba’s insistence on strictly following the Testament?”

“Right. The Honnouji Incident is basically P.A. Oda’s domain, but they could pass it off to Hashiba if they want. We shouldn’t throw out the possibility quite yet. If our intentions are in line with theirs, they can at least let us observe. We still have to deal with the Battle of Yamazaki against Hashiba afterwards, so it won’t all be so easy.”

“Then,” said Gin. “What is the plan for breaking into the surface fortress?”

“Neshinbara-dono, what are your thoughts?”

Neshinbara answered Tenzou’s question by striking a new pose.

“An excellent question. There is one main point we need to keep in mind vis-à-vis the history recreation. Namely…”

Neshinbara displayed a fire effect on his sign frame. He opened four such frames and placed them around him.

“Honnouji is burned down. Which leads to Nobunaga’s body never being discovered.”

So…

“Normally, they might not need to be so strict, but I expect they will recreate this to prevent any other nations from interfering. They have already shown some insistence on keeping battles to their original form – like the fire ships during the Armada battle or Nördlingen being mostly fought outside the city.”

“So, Secretary, what will this fortress version of Honnouji be like?” asked Adele.

Neshinbara covered his face with a hand before responding.

“Judge. It is home to the one known only as…Darkness.”

Horizey: “To be blunt, I think we should create a new rule where anyone who hinders our discussions is physically ejected from them.”

Vice President: “Hmm. I feel like it wouldn’t be long before there wasn’t anyone left, which would hinder our discussions in a different way.”

Me: “Now, hold on! Who’s been hindering our discussions!? I can’t believe anyone would have the gall to get in the way of these crucial meetings! Right, Tenzou!?”

Silver Wolf: “My king! My king! Are you aiming to be the first victim of that rule!?”

“Okayyy, moving on.”

Neshinbara saw the arms looking at him from 5m away on the other side of the campfire. They sometimes shook their hands in a threatening way, but based on their frequent attacks on Aoi, any actual attack would be instantaneous. I need to be on my best behavior.

But he did have a question about Crossunite’s opinion.

“They have no reason to build a fortress.”

“Why not? They’ve transported in all the materials.”

“We’re discussing on the assumption that we’re attacking, but P.A. Oda would have planned it as no more than Akechi Mitsuhide slaying Nobunaga.”

So…

“Defenses against interference from outsiders makes sense, but take that to the level of a fortress and now Akechi Mitsuhide can’t get in either.”

“I see. Then what form do you think Honnouji will take, Neshinbara-dono?”

“Give a real answer or we will entertain ourselves by chucking you into the spring out back,” warned Horizon.

“Heh. The answer could not be more obvious. There is only one possible form for Honnouji.”

He displayed a hand-drawn prediction on a sign frame. A distinctive castle rose toward the heavens.

“A demon castle!”

“Now that Neshinbara-sama has been dealt with, does anyone else have an opinion to share?”

Mitotsudaira saw everyone avoid reacting to armless Horizon’s question.

She also heard the distant sound of something being thrown into water from the direction of the spring, but she chose to ignore that.

“I think his point was that it would something they could use to complete the history recreation but would also prevent anyone from interfering. In that case…”

There was a precedent here.

“Aki’s Itsukushima had the shrine itself built to match the historical shrine, but the ground below it was made into a floating island, remember? The Asama Shrine is similar, just with the Musashi instead of a floating island.”

So…

“Instead of asking whether or not Honnouji will be a fortress or the historical temple, shouldn’t we be asking what kind of facility it will be built on top of?”

“What makes you think there will be some kind of facility below it, Mitotsudaira?” asked Masazumi.

Mitotsudaira turned toward someone then: Asama.

“Tomo, do you have any idea what they could have built for that field the 1st Special Duty Officer was talking about?”

“Eh? Um, yes. I can’t know for certain, but I would guess they were a set of keystones to suppress the 8 or 12 directions. You know how my binder skirt stabs into the ground in different directions to stabilize me when I fire Umetsubaki? It’s the same as that.”

Mitotsudaira based her answer on that.

“Directional keystones make for a powerful defense barrier, but they have fallen out of style because destroying one of the directions opens a gaping hole in your defenses. That would suggest these are not for defense, but then what are they for? We have heard of something similar, haven’t we?”

Masazumi raised her hand.

Mitotsudaira wasn’t sure if this was due to Masazumi’s Mikawa background, but…

“What do you think they are, Masazumi?”

“Ley line reactors,” she replied, folding a jam-coated piece of bread in half to make a simple sandwich. “At New Nagoya Castle, the ley line reactors in the four cardinal directions were pushed past their limits to trigger an explosion in the center. So what if the structures in each direction here are indeed ley line reactors?”

She took a breath.

“We know Lord Motonobu started the Genesis Project on the P.A. Oda side of things, so what if the explosion of New Nagoya Castle was a test run for this?”

So…

“What if the Honnouji Incident is a key part of the Genesis Project?”

Gin felt the Vice President was jumping to conclusions.

Jumping from an examination of the materials to ley line reactors and then to the Genesis Project was too much.

But while Gin hadn’t been involved in all that, the Vice President was from Mikawa. She would know far more local information and rumors about Lord Motonobu and other Mikawa officials than Gin would.

It was possible all of that extra information had created a connection that Gin only saw as jumping to conclusions.

But she did agree with part of it.

…Yes.

“We saw it too.”

Back in Mikawa, she and Muneshige had seen the four pillars of ether light rising into the night sky. Muneshige had tried and failed to reach their source and they had withdrawn.

Muneshige had even spoken with Lord Motonobu. So…

“I have a suggestion,” calmly stated Muneshige. “At the time, Tres España and K.P.A. Italia, under the Papa Schola’s command, had trouble believing what they were seeing play out before their eyes.”

“We had no idea what was going on either,’ said the Chancellor.

Muneshige nodded.

“Hence my suggestion.” He placed his hands on his lap and gave a slight bow. “Even if something seems impossible, it can still be the truth. And if Lord Motonobu has prepared something here, I believe we must overcome it since we are the ones who have strayed from his plans.”

Gin knew the battle on that night had been a valuable experience for Muneshige and a crucial turning point for him.

His defeat to Honda Futayo had been the true deciding factor, but he had taken the first step down his current path on that night. He had thrown everything he could against Honda Tadakatsu at Mikawa and it hadn’t been enough.

If that man still lived, Muneshige could have worked to surpass him. But…

“I told Lord Motonobu that I did not know.”

And…

“He said that saying ‘I do not know’ to avoid thinking about it any further meant I would look away from a crisis and I would die if something even more frightening were to come along.”

However…

“Maybe I am just not that smart, but there are a lot of things I do not know. But never again will I stop thinking about those things.”

“Is that true, Master Muneshige?”

“Judge.” He nodded. “When I realized you were gone, Gin, I immediately thought about it, shouted ‘amore’ five times, and rushed all the way to Musashi.”

Flat Vassal: “Isn’t that more of a reflexive response, which is the opposite of thinking?”

Bell: “Adele, this is…a sweet story. I think…”

Gold Mar: “And what made you feel the need for the ‘I think’ qualifier?”

Gin somehow managed to endure the surprise attack.

She took a deep breath and suppressed the reflexive urge to scold him. Her habits of scolding and protesting were something of a problem. She had recently found a trick to breaking those habits on the divine network.

…Before scolding him, I need to understand why he did it.

Yes, reaching an understanding prevents you from acting rashly. So I need to know why Master Muneshige mentioned me here.

“…”

The understanding she found came with embarrassment so great she nearly died, so she stripped away only the positive parts and threw out the rest.

The 3rd and 4th Special Duty Officers were providing commentary.

“Oh, look. That really got to her.”

“Yeah, you can see how hard she’s trying to look calm.”

She really wished they would not make things up about her. Because in truth, it had hit her even harder than that.

But she knew what Muneshige was trying to say.

“We did not join Musashi in order to die,” Gin said to the Vice President. “We joined so we would not have to stop thinking. And it seems that has led our thoughts beyond what Lord Motonobu had expected, but this may be putting that to the test.”

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

“Judge.” Gin nodded. “The location. The materials sent to the structures in each direction. Their knowledge of and technology for ley line reactors. Lord Motonobu’s participation and the Genesis Project. With only this to go on, it seems too soon to think something like the Battle of Mikawa will happen here.”

But…

“It does not seem too soon to think something like the Battle of Mikawa could happen here.”

So…

“Since that could happen, I have a recommendation as someone who was there the first time.”

This is a form of vengeance, thought Gin. They had lost so much and then gained so much and it had all begun with the loss of Mikawa.

But some things had been lost forever.

Thus, this was a form of vengeance.

Those who remained were avenging those who were lost.

They would ensure nothing like that could happen again…

…And we will surpass who we were back then.

He had been a name inheritor back then and now he had to surpass that. He had to avenge the past he had lost by overcoming it in the present.

The exam from the other day had ended well.

60 points. Different people would view it differently, but they saw that not as a failure but above the median. And that had now become their baseline.

Against an opponent on the Reine des Garous’s level, 60 points was an excellent result for now.

Their goal for next time would be around 75 points. Between that and 80 points was about where Muneshige had been at Mikawa.

The time for vengeance was nigh. So…

“Make every possible preparation,” she announced.

A voice immediately answered her.

“I grant my authorization.”

She looked up in surprise to see a familiar face directly across the campfire.

Honda Futayo was looking to her and him as she spoke.

“I grant my authorization as Vice Chancellor to prepare for this as a second Battle of Mikawa.”

Futayo must have her own thoughts on this, thought Masazumi, reaching a silent understanding.

Based on the records from the time, Futayo had taken a “wait and see” stance on the conflict her father’s group had begun at Mikawa.

It had been the most sensible choice for the Far East, but the results had been disastrous.

She had been in contact with K.P.A. Italia, so the “wait and see” stance had created a distinction between her group and the Mikawa group. That had led to Futayo’s group working for the Testament Union until her defeat against the idiot sister at the conclusion of the student body assembly.

But what would have happened if she hadn’t waited to act?

She wouldn’t have had to oppose the Testament Union.

Would she have started by trying to join with the Musashi group? Or would she have instead tried to explain Mikawa’s actions to the Testament Union? If she had, it would have at least reduced the Testament Union’s effectiveness in the earliest phase, such as with capturing Horizon.

Masazumi could see that much.

Futayo herself could probably see so much more.

That other Honda never said much, rarely revealed what she was thinking, and seemed to live life based on her current mood, but based on what she had just said…

…What’s this?

Has it been eating you up inside this whole time?

Masazumi mentally relaxed her shoulders before speaking.

“I also grant my authorization as Vice President. Is that fine with you, Aoi?”

“Yeah, I don’t see why not.”

A casual response, but what else was new? She knew she could trust him to have her back. So…

“Everyone, assume this is the greatest threat we have ever faced. It really is for P.A. Oda, so I’m sure they’ll be following Lord Motonobu’s teachings by thinking it through and acting accordingly.”

So…

“Crossunite, give Futayo and the others your findings based on the assumption that Honnouji is ground-based, but as a ‘lodging temple’ built to prevent interference rather than as a full-on fortress. Neshinbara, you work up a strategy for-”

“Neshinbara-sama is still absent after being ejected, Masazumi-sama,” said Horizon.

“I-I’m right here! I ran back as soon as I could!”

Masazumi looked back to see a soaking wet Neshinbara running over from downstream.

“The river carried you far,” commented the Date Vice Chancellor while Neshinbara started wringing out his clothes below a nearby tree.

Given how much water was coming out, he wouldn’t be useful for a while. Masazumi had no choice but to move on.

“Okay, Crossunite. You work things out with Neshinbara. Next…”

“Wait.” The Date Vice Chancellor raised her right hand. “There is one thing I would like to say.”

“Judge. What is it?”

“Judge,” she replied. And, “The Honnouji Incident begins the downfall of P.A. Oda. And you think it may double as the Genesis Project meant to stop the Apocalypse, right?”

Everyone nodded. This was the kind of topic Neshinbara really liked, but it had come from Masazumi this time. She wondered what the Date Vice Chancellor was going to say about it.

“If the Genesis Project and the Honnouji Incident are one and the same, it means P.A. Oda’s international standing and value will rise rather than fall – since they stopped the Apocalypse and all. They will be the ones to pave the way to the next era instead of declining like they are supposed to. But that means the reverse can also be true. Do you see where I am going with this?”

She continued.

“If we stop the Genesis Project with no plan of our own, Musashi will be seen as the great enemy of the next era. So do we have a plan?”

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