Horizon:Volume 8C Chapter 74

Chapter 74: Trapped Wolf

Well, this is inappropriate

Yes, very inappropriate indeed

And inappropriate things

Are so amusing

Point Allocation (Boomerang)

“Things have quieted down.”

Asama nodded in agreement with Naruze. Some of them had a hand on their chins, others like Mary had a delighted smile, and others were needlessly crouching down in great interest.

As for Asama herself…

…This seems inappropriate.

Unfortunately, it was also a lot of fun. It helped that she was confident this wouldn’t end badly for him and Mitotsudaira, but…

…Glimpsing an unfamiliar side of familiar people is a strange thing.

It was something of a surprise, but she mostly felt embarrassed due to identifying a little too hard with one of them. But that meant she was imagining herself in Mitotsudaira’s place.

“It does make me wonder what would happen if that was me…”

“And the two of us are in a position where that is a distinct possibility. Then again,” said Horizon, staring into the distance. “My personality presents a problem there.”

“We get that already, so can you choose whether you want to fix it or find a workable compromise?”

“But that would mean admitting defeat, Asama-sama.”

“Would it now?” was all Asama could say while hanging her head, but…

…Maybe that’s Horizon’s way of showing her love for Toori-kun.

It was like she would set extreme hurdles in his path.

But those hurdles kept him close by, so she wasn’t doing it because she disliked him. Just as Asama spoiled him and Mitotsudaira protected him, it was important for Horizon to help him overcome those hurdles.

Asama had arrived at that understanding recently.

It isn’t that she’s super domineering. She’s just strange- well, maybe she is strange, but I need to choose my words more carefully. I’m just saying she can be rather unique. Yes, and she seems to have some unique interests too. And speaking of unique interests…

“Asama-kun, why are you glaring at me? Do you have something to say?” asked Ohiroshiki.

Maybe unique isn’t as positive as I thought it was.

But Horizon did nearly lose herself before. Then she chose for herself to take a similar position to the one she had 10 years ago and that has led to the position she has now.

I bet that’s the reason for the hurdles she’s setting up now.

“Then again, I have heard my treatment of Toori-sama was set to hell mode in the past as well, so this must be normal for me.”

…N-no, don’t change your bet now!

Asama began silently arguing with herself, but Horizon’s position in the past had been unusual since she was Lord Motonobu’s child and her mother had been taken by the Double Border Crest.

That had made approaching her a challenge.

But if everyone was going to keep their distance over something she couldn’t control, she had decided to set up her own hurdles and keep that distance herself.

So those hurdles were tall.

But there had been one idiot who had attempted to clear those hurdles instead of tearing them down.

That had to explain it best.

So back then, she had stayed near him and chosen to lower the hurdles herself.

In the mornings, she had made breakfast because she didn’t have any family with her.

…Oh.

But he had rejected that. It was possible he had simply been teasing her to hide how happy he was that she had spontaneously made breakfast.

It was also possible Asama was mistaken about that or making assumptions, but…

“Horizon.”

She decided to say it.

“Do you want me to teach you how to cook when we get back to the Musashi?”

“That came so far out of left field I am worried about your mental health, but now that I think about it, that is the norm when it comes to you. I would like that very much.”

“Wait. That was quite an unusual assessment you made there.”

But that was just how it was.

This is fine.

I won’t let what happened a decade ago happen again.

So…

“Thank you, Horizon.”

“For what?”

“Just as you can see yourself in me…”

Asama had her own thoughts about this discussion with Horizon. She had failed to do anything a decade ago, but…

“I no longer think I’m as helpless as I used to be.”

“Heh heh. Took you long enough! It shouldn’t take much thought at all to figure that out! I cleared that one out ages ago!”

“Clear out? What are you even talking about?”

“You need to clear things out of your head if you want to keep your mind clean! Oh, dear! Asama, did you think I meant that physically!? Like an enema!? Adele, go fetch the transparent horse enema device from the shed! I’ll clear you out with the spring water!”

“Kimi, why is it always poop jokes with me lately!?”

Asama still wasn’t quite sure what that crazy person was talking about, but…

…None of this is stopping.

She found herself understanding more and more all the time.

Was it the passing time, or was she changing?

She was realizing and remembering so much. Looking back on the past felt like a negative thing to her, so it seemed strange that she sometimes found the answers there.

The past was already set in stone, so why could she find new answers there?

Maybe people found these things easier as they grew.

She thought she had met a wide variety of people and attended plenty of weddings, funerals, ceremonies, and festivals, but she had lately come to realize there was still so much she didn’t understand.

And at the moment…

“Oh.”

She saw a right arm using a rope to rappel down from the candy house’s roof.

“I see.” Masazumi crossed her arms. “Is it going to break in if anything happens?”

You think I would know?

“Um, so you see, the cut and color of the bottom of the chest makes it look like fangs or claws.”

Mitotsudaira was explaining her swimsuit while seated on the bed.

What you thought about a design came down to emotions and personal taste, but the form of the design was more objective.

The meaning behind the shape, materials, and the different parts somewhat depended on what the maker had in mind, but her own thoughts mattered as well. So…

“It is actually a modification of the unique square parts found in Hexagone Française design, but it looks like fangs to me.”

“Yeah, but I can see it too, so let’s go with that.”

Her king seemed to love both that shape and the material. The part that ran between her breasts was designed to look like a chain, but…

“Can I touch it?”

“Eh? Yes, if you want.”

Once he had permission, he reached out his hand. She considered leaning down since he couldn’t reach from the floor, but he got up on his knees instead.

He touched her.

He wasn’t directly touching her body or skin, but she still thought she felt it.

“Neat, it’s really made of metal.”

He lifted, pinched, and rubbed the chain part with his fingers, but she felt like he was doing that to a part of her body.

…C-calm down!

She breathed a mental sigh of relief when he let go of the chain. And then…

“Why is the coloration on the chest diagonal?”

“Eh? Oh, that. That helps show off the lines of my body.”

The act of explaining helped cool her head.

“The angle of the diagonal lines at the bottom of the chest has them leading to the hip hard point parts. Whether that draws your eyes to the line down the side of my hip or toward the interior decorations is like a game played with the viewer.”

“Can I touch it?”

“Yes, if you want.”

“Okay,” he said and touched it with his finger.

It being the chest of her swimsuit. His finger arrived at the seam in the cloth.

…He meant there!?

Mitotsudaira had thought he meant the hard point parts.

Her heart leaped in her chest and her body tensed, but she praised her own courage for not running away. However…

“Oh, did that surprise you? Sorry.”

“N-no, I-I don’t mind.”

She wasn’t sure what she was really saying, but her mind worked out the answer that would least obstruct her king. So…

“You mean these lines?”

Her king’s fingers ran down the seam lines, along her ribs, and down her sides.

Some “eek” or “eep” noises escaped her throat, but she avoided any further reaction. Oh, the bottom of my ribs is more sensitive than my sides, she realized like this was a strange experiment, but then her king’s fingers reached the hard point parts.

“Oh, I see.”

“S-see what?”

“Nate, this part is really cool.”

He touched just below the hard point parts.

That was the side of her pelvis. On both sides, that area was more bony than fleshy and the line ran diagonally downwards. To the front, this was her lower stomach. To the the rear, this was the top of her butt.

“This part fits just right in my hands.”

He pushed on her right side with his left hand.

…Ahh.

Before – yes, it was during the Kantou Liberation – I landed on my king after jumping and ended up mounting him. He grabbed me here when he lifted me up.

She was somewhat sensitive there. There wasn’t much flesh there, so it felt like he was directly grabbing her bones. And with no joints there, she couldn’t use her strength to resist.

If someone grabbed her there, she generally couldn’t resist.

Well, she could, but it would require thrashing with her entire body. Something she couldn’t do with her king.

“Kh…nh.”

A shaky voice left her throat and her king gave her a serious look.

“Nate, is it just me, or…”

“O-or what?”

“Do you like being touched?”

She hit him with a quick chop.

“Okay, sorry, sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Toori apologized on his knees to the blushing and upset wolf.

…I see now.

He understood Mitotsudaira’s reaction.

But he had trouble telling if she was legitimately enjoying this or if she was forcing herself to go along with it. Their king and knight relationship meant it was possible she was obeying even though she didn’t want this.

…She takes her knight stuff really seriously, after all.

But moving in with him had to have come from her personal wishes. It did, didn’t it? Please tell me it did.

So he wanted to get a better read of her. He knew she could relax if she slept in his lap, but he didn’t know just how close they had gotten.

“So, uh, Nate. You know how I’ve groped your chest a few times in the past?”

“How could I forget?”

…Wow, that is quite the look.

But he had something to say here. They had held an investiture when she moved in.

“Can I touch it?”

The wolf shrugged a bit.

“I do not mind, my king.”

“I’m not asking if you mind.”

That seemed to get through to her. “Oh,” she said, eyebrows raised, shoulders drooping, and legs somewhat apart. She scooted her butt forward a bit in the bed.

“I quite like it when you pet me or touch me, my king.”

“But you always get mad.”

“Because you treat me like a dog. I don’t make a fuss when you don’t do that, do I?”

He was pretty sure she had punched him at full power when he had groped her chest without any dog treatment, but apparently that time didn’t count. But he asked the same thing again now that he had heard that.

“Can I touch it?”

“Feel free.”

“Then I shall.”

She went “eh?”, but since he already had permission, he touched her.

He pressed his cheek against her inner thigh and held her legs around from the outside.

“You smell great, Nate.”

…Don’t sniff me!

This Mitotsudaira hadn’t expected. And her king was clearly enjoying it. He sniffed at her thighs like a puppy, moved to her stomach, then her side and navel, and continued up from there.

“Nh.”

He suddenly licked her.

An “oh” of question escaped her because she didn’t initially know what he had done. But the sensation soon sent a tremor through her.

“My king!”

“Oh, sorry. You just smelled so good. Then I noticed you were sweating and I wondered what it tasted like. Oh, and that was still only touching you – just with my tongue – so it’s what you agreed to!”

…No, it is not!

But she was curious about something. This was something she couldn’t tell herself.

“What do I smell like?”

Her king responded by moving his nose to the bottom of her chest and then her neck. He sniffed both times.

“Lean forward a bit.”

She leaned her head over and he sniffed at her hair. After asking her to sit upright again, he kissed her on the forehead, lowered his head, licked between her breasts and down to her navel, took her hand, sniffed the inside of her elbow, and finally licked between her fingers.

“Wait, my king!”

He was being far too generous. He had given her a quick lick of a kiss on the forehead back at the Blue Thunder, but this was leaps and bounds further. But he tilted his head with a thoughtful look on his face.

“Soup stock?”

“Soup stock!?”

“No, wait.” He moved down her body again, bringing his face to the thigh he had started at. “Can I sniff here?”

“Y-you might as well at this point.”

“Then I will,” he said, bringing his face between her legs.

…Wait.

“A-are you out of your mind!?”

“Well, I was curious about the back side, but I decided it would be better to start at the front.”

That made sense to her, so she lifted her hips and turned around for him. She fixed the rear lines a bit, but she wasn’t sure if she should keep her knees apart or together and ended up with them in an in-between state. She didn’t like that because it seemed to display her lack of resolve, but…

“Oh, the rear design drops diagonally down toward the center just like the front.”

“Eh? Oh, yes. Tomo and the others use the same basic design, so it has a standardized wedge shape.”

“I see.”

Her king’s finger suddenly slid down the rear wedge.

He was clearly tracing the center line, but he did it slowly and paused for a moment.

…Eek!

Resist. You must resist. You must not make any noise or movement now! Remember the arm-shaped warning you saw in the window earlier. You can’t avoid sweating, but you can keep yourself from trembling.

“Hm?”

“Wh-what does that mean?”

“Oh, uh, I was focused on the design, but was that over the line?”

That question made her tremble. It really didn’t help that she was lifting her butt up toward him. So she looked back over her shoulder.

“My king, move over there.”

She gestured to the side with her chin, so he sat on the bed by her back.

Mitotsudaira realized she had a thin layer of tears in her eyes and her mouth was trembling.

When she sighed, she found it was filled with heat.

“My king.”

She lowered her hips to the bed to take a sideways seat. And she looked to her king.

“It was way over the line.”

“Hmm.”

Toori sucked in a breath and interpreted things in his own personal way.

…My knight and I were discussing her swimsuit and enjoying some touching when she underwent a class change to wolf?

He knew from maman how incredible wolves could be. He wondered if Nate had that same mental synchronization ability

“Nate, Nate.”

The wolf tilted her head silently, so he slowly embraced her from behind.

Her shirt had already slipped off of her, so here bare skin touched him. But…

“How about this?”

He opened his own shirt and wrapped his arms and shirt around her. That brought her back against his chest and stomach.

“M-my king?”

“Here.”

When Mitotsudaira turned around, he held out his right index finger.

“––––––––”

After some hesitation, she bit it.

The first few gentle bites were nothing but the damp flesh of her lips, but…

“Nh.”

Then her teeth came. Awkwardly at first, seeming to test it out. But then she pressed them against his finger, leaving solid teeth marks as if she were seeing what he tasted like.

…Oh, this feels pretty nice.

I hope this doesn’t awaken something weird inside me, he thought while the wolf bit and sucked his finger like he had given her a new toy. She licked at it with her tongue and tried to bring it further into her mouth, so he placed the remaining fingers on her chin for support. And…

“What do I taste like?”

She pressed her tongue against his finger and licked off a glossy string before turning her eyes toward him. She let out a quiet laugh before answering.

“Like the meat you just ate. Like soy sauce.”

“Hm, but that isn’t what you smell like.”

“What do I smell like?”

“I couldn’t place it until you gave your answer now, but like that stuff – y’know, like papan’s sauce.”

“Father’s?”

Yes. Probably that.

“So like meat mixed with citrus?”

Her eyes widened at that. Then she blushed and looked away.

“I…prefer the smell of your cooking.”

“Yeah, but I think your smell is pretty great too.”

He took her left hand and brought a finger into his mouth. He sucked and bit the hard nail and slender finger so they couldn’t escape. He used his tongue to tell her to move it deeper into his mouth.

“You’re right. Your fingertip tastes like soy sauce.”

“I-I haven’t washed my hands yet!”

Well, that explains it, he thought before holding her in his arms again.

“My king?”

“Hm, you know how there’s that thing I haven’t told you about? From when you fell asleep after the Kantou Liberation?”

Well…

“This feels a lot like that time, so I guess I’ll tell you now.”

Mitotsudaira listened with her king’s finger against her mouth. The finger was only just barely touching her lips, so it felt like she was constantly kissing him. It felt the same for him, so…

“So, Nate. You’ve been by my side for a long time now and you’ve saved my rear a lot.”

“Of course I have. I am your knight.”

“But do you get anything out of it?”

That reminded her of the past. He had once saved her. She knew that wasn’t the only reason she did all this, but she still brought it up now.

“You have been by my side and saved me as well.”

“Um, so you’re saying it’s the same for both of us?”

“Any differences would be those born of the king-knight relationship.”

“Makes sense,” he said, holding her closer. “Then I’m not going to hold back anymore.”

“I would appreciate that. It is difficult for the knight to make the invitation.”

“Just wait in front of by the front door and I’ll know.”

“I’m not asking you to take me for a walk!”

“But anyway,” he said. “I once intended to do exactly that. Back when I was planning to leave Musashi.”

Her heart pounded in her chest. She had known he had planned that at one point, but he had ultimately chosen a different path for his life.

“I was so pathetic back then. I kept dropping hints about those plans, trying to see how you would react.”

“I wouldn’t have minded. I would have accompanied you no matter where you went.”

“In that case,” he said. “If we had left Musashi, we might have been doing this somewhere else.”

…You win.

Mitotsudaira suddenly felt defeated.

He had won.

At the time, she and Asama had considered what they would do based on the assumption they would follow after him.

But at the time, she still hadn’t settled the conflict with her mother. If she had carelessly gone to Hexagone Française, she could have been driven out. So if it had come to that…

“I had considered letting Tomo take over then.”

“Oh, you would’ve come with us. I mean, you came to search for me at IZUMO, didn’t you?”

“But I was no match for mother.”

“If that had happened, I would have smoothed things over for you. I would’ve resigned as chancellor and whatever, so your mom wouldn’t have taken me hostage or anything.”

She realized he was probably right. And…

…Oh, he redirected the topic away from Tomo.

He was a good conversationalist. Or rather, he was hinting that he wanted to focus on her right now.

But in that case…

“If your mom had taken us here, we might have ended up doing this right here, just at another time. Probably next year sometime. That would fit the schedule I had in mind.”

“What were your plans exactly?”

“If you did come with me, I figured we could travel around doing the history recreation of your national pilgrimage or whatever it’s called. And if you said you didn’t want to join me, I figured I could go around learning the history of each region’s breads and learn how to make them.”

…If Tomo came along too, we probably would have discussed what route to take after descending to the surface.

My king would want to visit all the famous sites while traveling through Echigo and Tomo would want to visit all the power spots and distilleries. If all three of us went on a pilgrimage together…

…Oh, we would probably have a pretty good time.

She felt like her depressing view of the future from back then was crumbling around her.

But…

“My king, did you think we would go with you?”

“I thought I would be going it alone.”

That felt like a rejection, which made her sink down.

But in exchange, he held her even tighter from behind.

…Oh.

Her arms were basically digging into her body at this point. Her king’s arms were pressing against her enough to feel the softer flesh and harder bones against her. The way he subconsciously sniffed at her scent felt nice and she fought back by biting the finger held to her mouth.

“But I figured if I decided to travel on my own that you would choose for yourself to follow after me.”

“Well…”

“At the time, I thought you might, but now I know you would have.”

So…

“I prefer things the way they are now. That’s what I’ve been trying to say, Nate.”

“I also prefer things as they are.”

Toori nodded at the quiet comment from the wolf who was still facing forward.

The act of nodding rubbed his chin against her neck and shoulder. He wondered how her warm, damp skin would interpret his nod.

“I need you to keep on saving me, Nate.”

“Judge. I intend to.”

“I see.” He nodded again. “Then,” he began. “So, uh, Nate. This is something I haven’t told the others yet.”

“What is it?”

“I’m going to create a kingdom.”

“Everyone already knows that.”

No, that’s not what I mean. I’m not sure how to put it, but…

“I’m really going to do it.”

“What do you mean?” Mitotsudaira raised her head and looked back toward him. “So you don’t mean what we have now? Something beyond this?”

“Judge. It’s so obvious, but I think that’s why no one’s thought about it.”

He didn’t see any change to the knight’s expression. She was simply waiting for him to say more. So he did.

“We all have our own dreams, right? Even Horizon’s starting to find a dream she wants to try and make true. So we’ll need a place to do that.”

“Isn’t that what the academy is for?”

“School belongs to the underclassmen. We’re gonna graduate.”

He was glad the word “but” came so readily to his lips.

…Seijun told me this, didn’t she?

He had a vague premonition, expectation, or prediction.

“The world is changing and the current age is when we need to try and change it if we can.”

So…

“I dunno about the other nations, but can’t we start to think about what we’ll do after graduating?”

“Well…”

“I don’t know how to do it.”

I don’t know cause I’m an idiot. But…

“I’m hoping someone – maybe all of you – will gather around, add in whatever’s necessary, take away whatever isn’t, and either naturally or forcefully create a place for us. That’s what a king wants.”

And…

“And I want that place to be where we can reach for our dreams and make sure they come true.”

He had some vague thoughts about this.

“Like the Main Blue Thunder. I was thinking we could remake it into a gathering place for us all. Seijun can come up with a plan for Musashi, Tenzou can bring us intel on the other nations, Asama can talk about spells and divine protections, Shiro can talk about money, Neshinbara and Black Mar can talk about doujinshis and books, and so on. And it doesn’t have to be just us. Flatty and the Glasses Underclassman can join us there too.”

Because…

“With a place like that, if anyone’s dream isn’t going well, the rest of us can gather there and make it happen in some form or another. I mean, think about it. Nothing we’ve done was done by just one of us. We did it all together, with each of us winning some and losing some.”

So…

“To create a kingdom where everyone’s dreams come true means creating a kingdom where everyone works to make everyone else’s dreams come true, and it has to be the king who holds it all together.”

“My king…”

“Hm? What is it?”

The wolf straightened up in his arms.

“Once you have a better grasp on your thoughts, I think you should tell Horizon about this. Because I just know that would be the kind of place where her dreams would come true.”

In other words…

“That would be a gathering place for our dreams and everyone else’s dreams too.”

“Right. So as the king, I’d serve the food and chime in whenever I wanted. You know, tease Seijun, have Tenzou research stuff I’m curious about, and tell Neshinbara or Black Mar about the latest trend so they’d do a story about it. And when everyone started sharing their dreams, I’d be slightly involved in all of them, giving me the highest overall involvement rate, proving it was my kingdom. How’s that sound?”

“I’m not sure what to say, but…it sounds like you’re saving the best position for yourself.”

“Hey, it was my idea.”

“In that case,” said the wolf. “What would I do?”

“I’d be a pretty pathetic king if I didn’t have knight.”

The knight nodded as if to say “of course”. And…

“My king, this is quite the sneak peak you are giving me.”

“Well, if I told Horizon at this point, she’d probably tilt her head and give me a weird look. And if I told Asama, it’d put her in one of her ‘half-excited, half-worried’ moods.”

“You’re right…”

The wolf laughed a little in his arms. That was when it happened. It was partially due to letting her shoulders droop and partially because she was shrinking down in his arms.

With a metallic clatter from her sides, the swimsuit fell away.

“Oh.”

Which one of them said that?

Mitotsudaira tried to catch the garment falling from her chest.

“Ah, m-my king.”

“Um, right.”

Her king held her around the chest, trapping her arms in the process.

…That isn’t what I meant!

She had meant for him to release her arms, but he did the exact opposite. In his mind, he was helping her cover up, which made her feel like he was protecting her and like he cared about her.

…Wait, have I always been so easily influenced!?

But this kept both of them from moving their arms, so they had no way of picking up the fallen swimsuit. And…

“U-um, my king?”

“So, uh.” His tone was deadly serious. “Can I cover you up with my palms instead of my arms?”

“That would ruin the mood, so no!”

…Come to think of it, isn’t there an urban legend about them growing if a boy massages them?

If that memory was surfacing, she knew she was extremely flustered. But…

“So what now, Nate? I know you’ll throw me right off the bed if I try to grope you now.”

“T-try not to imply you would do it otherwise.”

I get the feeling Tomo would have let him and Horizon would have sicced her arms on him before it got this far. Oh, we each have our own unique roles, don’t we? she realized, but that did nothing to solve the current problem.

“Um, my king?”

She decided to ask just to be sure.

“Do you want to see-”

“Yes!”

“-them? You could at least wait until I’m done with the question before answering!”

But regardless, she felt a belated blush rapidly coming on. When she had let him look at her earlier, the blush had gradually emerged from her entire body, but this time it seemed to come directly from her thoughts.

…My king is interested in me.

They had known each other long enough that she knew this wasn’t just an “as long as you’re offering” or “if it won’t cost me anything” sort of thing. They had touched on this topic back in the Udon Kingdom, but that had been about Horizon and this was a separate matter. So…

“My king…”

What was she going to do? She had an excuse to let him see. And it wouldn’t be weird to do so here. She felt some definite happiness at knowing he was interested in her. So…

“U-um.”

She hesitated. And finally…

“Today is for seeing my swimsuit.”

So…

“I want you to see that…some other time.”

How about that? thought Mitotsudaira.

Yes, today is the swimsuit day. Anything beyond that is going too far. But if she had to prepare something else for another day…

…I-I’ve lost either way!

This was a temporary retreat leading to another invasion. Yes, I’m taking a few steps back, but I have to take even more steps forward.

But at the moment, this was the most she could manage. That just left one thing.

“My king.”

She prepared to ask him what he thought about that.

That was when the large wafer floor in front of her shot straight up and her mother’s head popped out, shaking the audio and video recording spells she held in her hands.

“What are you doing, Nate! Keep going! You need to keep going!”

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