Horizon:GT2 Chapter18

Chapter 18: Front and Truth

Is this the right thing to do?

It is

Is that the right thing to do?

It is

Point Allocation (A Simple Goodbye)

●

Mitotsudaira thought she heard a breath.

It came from Rodrigo about 12m behind her.

…Was that a gasp?

No. Looking back, Mitotsudaira knew it wasn’t. She had heard…

…If anything, a sigh of relief.

But Honda Masazumi was saying something more at the inn in front of Mitotsudaira.

She inhaled and clearly steeled herself before speaking. She raised her right forearm as she did so.

“Is that alright?”

○

Art-Ga: “I really don’t think it is.”

Vice President: “Do you have to interrupt me like that!? What is your problem, anyway!?”

Gold Mar: “Hey, Seijun? We mentioned this before, but did you really negotiate this eloquently and effectively back then?”

Vice President: “…Y-yes.”

Art-Ga: “I remember it being really hard to watch from up above. You kept going ‘um’ and ‘hold on a moment’ and ‘huh?’ and scratching your head. Like Neshinbara.”

Tonbokiri: “That sounds awful.”

Vice President: “You’re only reacting to that last part, right!? Right!? …But you’re not wrong. While thinking back and writing this down, I can’t help but notice how many unnecessary tangents I made and how long I took to get to the point. Also, I just can’t seem to recreate my terrible attempt at negotiating now that I know how it’s done.”

Unturning: “Intentionally wielding a sword badly is admittedly a challenge.”

Tonbokiri: “No, it isn’t. Just go like this: swawoosh.”

Tachibana Wife: “Th-that was hideous! Never do it again, Honda Futayo!”

Asama: “And if we are going to write this the way it really happened, we need to include the part where Kimi entered behind you a second time, danced, shouted ‘hey’, drank some tea, and left.”

Vice President: “She did that twice!?”

Wise Sister: “Heh heh heh. My foolish brother was taking so long with his preparations I decide to take another peek! It was super easy!”

Silver Wolf: “I say we don’t bother with that because it’s easier to understand this way. So, Masazumi, keep doing what you’re doing and give us a good summary of what happened.”

Horizey: “Yes, use your political power to rewrite history in your favor! A self-serving autobiography is a standard step on the way to becoming a politician, Masazumi-sama!”

Vice President: “Ugh, I really, really hate to admit it, but that is true!”

●

Setting aside everything else, Masazumi was not a name inheritor. Nor did she have the protection of a major nation. So she needed to confirm something.

“Is that alright?”

But she kept going. It might make her sound conceited, but she made sure not to sound timid.

“Rodrigo, I have a proposal as a mere student.”

“What might that be?”

“Tres España rules over Kyushu, but that land should only belong to the Far East. It is clearly a bit of a stretch for Tres España to rule it using the Far Eastern reservations.”

So…

“If those reservations are preparing to side with Hashiba, why not grant them discretionary powers?”

“Honda-sama!”

“That is asking a lot,” said Rodrigo, a note of warning in her voice. “Kyushu is valuable territory and you are asking us to essentially abandon it. Tres España cannot agree to that in its current state.”

“But you can’t oppose Hashiba either, can you?” said Masazumi. “I hear the final negotiations for Hashiba’s control of Kyushu are underway there right now. But once their invasion of Kyushu is complete, where will Hashiba go next? They will not go after Tres España right away.”

“True…”

“Hashiba will wait until you have been weakened by the Armada battle before they make their move. Once your national strength has been reduced by that defeat, they can economically rule over you and claim they are providing support.”

“Our Vice President is taking measures to prevent that.”

“But you could always use more options there, right?”

This is a complete bluff, thought Masazumi as she kept going.

…I’m taking a huge risk here.

It was slow going, but she used Rodrigo’s reactions to determine her position and used that to change her own tactics on the fly. But…

“Arima Harunobu, thank you. My current objective is to save your dream.”

Do you get what that means? Masazumi was inexperienced, had lost everything, and even her father was keeping her at arm’s length, but…

“I’m on my way there.”

●

Masazumi made her proposal.

“Your control of Kyushu has lessened thanks to Hashiba’s invasion and interference. So if you look to the future…”

“Are you asking us to abandon Kyushu as a bargaining chip to stop a Hashiba invasion of Tres España? Nonsense. Even Hashiba will fall eventually. If we look to that future, we cannot afford to lose Kyushu for something that will not last.”

Oops, I took that too far. So to correct that…

“No, I’m not saying you should go that far.”

Wow, I just changed my win condition. That’s so lame. I bet dad would be mad at me, thought Masazumi. But, um…

“Once Hashiba falls, Matsudaira will rule. Then the Osaka Campaign starting with the Battle of Sekigahara greatly changes the power balance in the Far East. Once that happens, the ban on foreign religions will be more strictly enforced even without my assistance. Because the Far East’s isolationist policy begins then. At that point, Kyushu’s value will plummet.”

“Its Dark Continent side will still be valuable to our Tres España side. Through trade.” Rodrigo held her hand to her chest. “Trade in ore and gems. And we have our New World trade to consider as well. If we can use Kyushu as a port leading to the Gate, smaller ships can trade with the New World. So Kyushu will remain valuable.”

“Is that so?” said Masazumi.

She asked her next question, knowing this was the critical moment.

“So you’re telling me it is Tres España’s opinion that Kyushu is valuable?”

“Testament. We cannot let Kyushu go.”

“In that case.” Masazumi knew one thing here. “If Tres España gained control of the ban on foreign religions, I know exactly how you would use it.”

“Huh?” Rodrigo furrowed her brow as if to ask what Masazumi knew.

It was true Masazumi hadn’t given any hints about her true intention here, but everything she had done here was leading up to this.

“The ban allows the reservations to escape Catholicism. If it goes into effect, Hashiba will take Kyushu from Tres España and claim it as their own territory. That is why Tres España needs to have control of the ban. Because…”

Because…

“You want to keep it sealed away so you can keep Kyushu safely in your grasp.”

●

Masazumi opened her mouth.

“So read my lips.”

She knew the situation now. She understood what this major nation wanted.

…To avoid losing Kyushu.

That was their goal. Claiming and sealing away the ban was the means to that end.

So she knew what she had to say as someone who could influence those means.

“I can trigger the ban at any time. All I need to do is accept the recommended split inherited name and seek asylum here on the Musashi.”

“Do you have any idea what will happen if you do that?”

“Calm down. I want to talk so we can avoid that outcome.”

Would this work? This was in large part a threat, but, even with Arima and the others here, she was essentially alone in this. If she wanted to keep this major nation from crushing her, she needed to wield a weapon capable of threatening them.

She had just shown off the blade she could use to stab that nation. So…

“Let me ask again: is it possible for you to let the Kyushu reservations choose whether or not to keep the Tres Españan forces around?”

●

“I do not want much here, but the Hinoe Doman came to me for help. To be honest, the ban would send shockwaves through the Far East, so I would prefer to have no part in this. Besides, the ban is technically already in effect and if all that is going to happen beyond my control, I would prefer to get rid of it altogether.”

“So you are only intervening in Kyushu because…?”

“To assist them in getting rid of the ban. Can you trust a deal based on nothing?”

“Testament.” Rodrigo finally nodded and Masazumi nodded back.

“But demanding you grant all of your Far Eastern reservations the right to ask you to leave would be asking too much here. So with the history recreation approaching and as a sign of what triggering the ban would cause, I am only asking it of the Tres Españan reservations in Kyushu.”

“And what does Tres España gain from this?”

“Judge. If the reservations are free to tell you to leave, Hashiba will have an easier time with their negotiations there. You should be able to use that as a bargaining chip to protect Tres España from Hashiba. And this will still leave you with the right to negotiate with the reservations as their ruling nation, so while you have to worry about Hashiba now, this leaves the door open for your return to Kyushu eventually.”

“I see,” said Rodrigo to express her comprehension.

This would normally be where Masazumi observed Rodrigo’s reaction, but she instead kept talking.

Because…

“I’ve heard Tres España – especially your Vice President – is working to preserve your strength as a nation even as you construct your Grande y Felicísima Armada which is required to lose its battle. I assume a Student Council as skilled as yours has already considered what I am suggesting.”

So…

“As someone connected to the ban, I and the Hinoe Domain have a proposal: If you accept the policy I have described, I, Honda Masazumi, will forget about this entire affair like it was no more than a dream.”

She suggested a compromise before Rodrigo could speak up.

She sent a demand and a compromise to her opponent as a package deal. The compromise would make it harder for Rodrigo to refuse the demand, so she had given them both at once. It was a fairly forceful method, but…

…If only I had more knowledge and confidence in my negotiation skills.

She judged herself as really bad at this. Back in Mikawa, she had dreamed of taking part in international negotiations, but now she only felt a cold sweat on her back. Rodrigo, by comparison, remained calm, hinting at her great experience with these things. But she tried to think of that as who she would be in the future.

“You can rest easy if I forget everything that happened today and pretend it never happened, right?”

“Forget?”

“I’m asking you to let me move to Musashi.”

“Oh,” said Rodrigo with a bitter smile, so Masazumi smiled too.

“Staying at that empty house back in Mikawa wasn’t fun. I have my life here to think about too. I won’t lie. I plan to start over from the beginning here.”

“Then what will you do if we ignore your request and continue to hold Kyushu? Everything Hinoe did will have been meaningless.”

“Even if you ignore my request, there isn’t much you can do with Kyushu thanks to Hashiba.”

I know you know that, she added silently.

Rodrigo was testing her. Why was simple enough.

…So she can report back to Tres España.

This same discussion had to be occurring within Tres España. That was why Rodrigo had come here to assess Masazumi. She needed proof that Masazumi wasn’t just saying things, so she had asked a question that required an accurate understanding of the situation to answer.

“Then.”

Here it came.

“Then what about this? Can’t Hinoe simply side with Hashiba? Then there is no need to make this a problem for Kyushu as a whole. Correct?”

Masazumi already had an answer to this question. She had expected this.

“Incorrect,” she said. “If Hinoe joined Hashiba now, they would be betraying Tres España. They already lost land in their conflict with neighboring Ryuuzouji. Ryuuzouji is leaning toward joining Hashiba, but if they instead stayed with Tres España, it would give them a justification to attack Hinoe. Have you forgotten that the ban begins with Hinoe’s attempt to regain its lost land? What they want most is peace of mind and protection against anything that might happen. Why would they give that up by joining Hashiba?”

She kept pushing. She pointed at Rodrigo and gestured toward Arima who was still kneeling below her.

“Listen. I only ask for one simple statement from Tres España: that you grant the Kyushu nations the right to negotiate the terms of your provisional rule over them. Then the ban can remain in its current state.”

“But,” said Rodrigo. “What about our loss when Hashiba takes Kyushu?”

“That won’t happen.”

“Huh?” Arima tilted her head. But…

“–––––”

Masazumi didn’t miss how the corners of Rodrigo’s mouth twitched upwards while she inhaled.

●

…So we’re finally here.

Masazumi knew Tres España had to have considered this.

“Tres España will not lose Kyushu to Hashiba. Not even as things are.”

That was true.

“That’s why you’re so afraid of the ban shaking up the status quo.”

“Explain your reasoning.”

“Judge.” Masazumi nodded. She had never left Mikawa and certainly hadn’t been to Kyushu, but…

…I did a lot of research about this after failing to inherit my name.

She had researched the major incidents related to her name’s history recreation, including the events, the locations, the political entities, and the local cultures.

…So I know a lot more about Kyushu and Sunpu than I do Europe or Kantou.

That was at odds with the mainstream of the current age, but she couldn’t help that.

But that knowledge came in handy here.

“Hashiba is working with M.H.R.R., but there is no history recreation of M.H.R.R. entering the Dark Continent on their own in this era. So Hashiba cannot enter Kyushu as M.H.R.R.”

“Tres España agrees with that assessment.”

Rodrigo was finally showing her hand.

…Does that mean she’s begun searching for an agreement?

Rodrigo was most likely following the path Tres España’s Student Council had laid out for her.

So if Masazumi strayed too far from that, this entire discussion would fall apart.

That was why Rodrigo had revealed her hand and given a warning: she was about ready to strike a deal.

Or in other words, this discussion was moving beyond her level of authority.

Masazumi understood that.

So she took a breath and straightened her back.

“What has Hashiba said to Tres España regarding their invasion of Kyushu?”

“That they must adhere to something that did not happen in Carlos I’s reign over M.H.R.R. and Tres España.”

“In other words,” responded Masazumi. “They’re invading as a Far Eastern force. That allows Tres España’s provisional rule of Kyushu to continue, placing Kyushu under a double rule: by Tres España on the world nations side and by Hashiba on the Far Eastern side.”

Do you get what that means?

“You will be sharing that rule, but Hashiba will fall eventually. They know they have to withdraw in the future, so taking root in Kyushu is mostly a waste of resources for them.”

“And what would happen then?”

“Tres España must already have Catholic and Shinto infrastructure in your Kyushu territory. It would be simple enough for you to manage that through privatization or religious control while letting Hashiba handle the political side of things. That way Tres España controls the commerce and divine transmissions and Hashiba is restricted to things related to their history recreation.”

A breath.

“Then once Hashiba falls, Kyushu returns to Tres España. Of course, you would have to deal with Matsudaira and Shimazu at that point, but that’s a separate issue.”

“I see,” said Rodrigo. “It seems you have a decent understanding of our interests and strategy.”

●

Mitotsudaira noted the caution had left Rodrigo’s voice.

“Honda Masazumi-sama, with your understanding of Tres España’s interests, can you promise us you will seal away the ban on foreign religions?”

“I can’t make any promises concerning the possibility of someone other than me being given the split inherited name.”

“You do not need to. The Hinoe Domain has taken action, but the ban was not renewed. If we establish those facts, it will be very difficult for any Honda Masazumi to trigger the ban.”

Rodrigo’s tone could be seen as relieved or slightly relaxed.

She sighed before speaking to Masazumi again.

“But I am surprised you know so much about the situation in Kyushu.”

“I mentioned this to Arima before, but failing to inherit my name actually led me to research it all even more. I couldn’t say this much about another nation or anything unrelated to the ban. I was lucky this was connected to my specialty knowledge.”

Masazumi said that with a tone that said she was willing to reveal this. Because it doubled as a way of saying her knowledge of the ban rivalled that of Tres España.

But Rodrigo nodded and replied.

“Then what of Hinoe?”

“Like I said, in exchange for sealing away the ban, I want you to find a way to give your Kyushu territories freedom to negotiate. That should help you join the negotiations with Hashiba when those could remain between Hashiba and the locals.”

“Testament.” Rodrigo nodded. “We were undecided on that point. Because in our focus on the Armada battle, we basically handed Kyushu over to Hashiba in exchange for peace of mind back home. But we have recently settled on a plan for construction of the Grande y Felicísima Armada, so we are considering reentering Kyushu to protect them.”

“You’re being awfully open about this,” cut in Mitotsudaira, but Rodrigo smiled in response.

“Because this is only a dream. Isn’t that right, Honda Masazumi?”

“I will treat it like one, but don’t forget about our agreement here.”

“Testament. With the threat of the ban gone, we should settle on reentering Kyushu.”

“In that case,” said another voice. It was Arima, still kneeling in front of Masazumi. She turned toward Masazumi. “Were Paulo and my actions worth it?”

“Testament,” said Rodrigo. “The ban will no longer bring chaos to the Far East. In that sense, your actions were a history recreation that did not lead to the ban.”

But…

“Tres España is working toward the Armada battle, so we are trying to avoid any unnecessary issues, which will lead to issues down the road. If our decisions here allows us to avoid the ban and pushes us to reenter Kyushu, then your actions were valuable to Tres España. What do you think, Protasius?”

“Well,” began Arima before bowing her head to Rodrigo while still kneeling. “Please grant Hinoe the right to negotiate.”

“Testament,” said Rodrigo. That was an affirmation. Everything was progressing as it should. “I, Inquisitor Don Rodrigo, accept your terms. On my honor as an inquisitor, I promise to accurately relay this all to my government.”

“That’s settled then,” said Masazumi.

“Yes. However.” Rodrigo smiled bitterly. “Tres España will not be entirely pleased with one aspect. We have what we wanted and we have a path to the future, but we do not appear to be in charge of this matter.”

Don’t ask the impossible. Or rather…

…I’m just barely getting by since this is my area of expertise, so please don’t ask me for more.

Masazumi really was too inexperienced. But…

“I’m not sure what I can give you there…”

“Oh, I have a good idea!”

Someone emerged from the next room over. It was the Asama Shrine Representative. The girl in a shrine maiden uniform checked the time on a sign frame and raised her right hand. She had three fingers raised. Then two, one…

“Now!”

A girl’s voice – the new Chancellor’s – reached them from the stage plaza behind them.

“Listen up, everyone! The intro is finally over! It’s time to get this year’s festival started!”

Her shouted announcement was answered by cheers from the plaza.

A booming sound exploded from the center of the garden and a light shot into the sky.

That was a firework. A large one.

●

Asama watched the firework rising into the sky above Asakusa.

Only the Musashi group here had known about this.

…Because Toori-kun set it up!

He hadn’t openly told them about it, but they had all realized he was behind it.

“This was my king’s idea, wasn’t it? The fireworks were meant as a signal for us to run away if things weren’t coming together,” said Mitotsudaira on Asama’s sign frame.

“Judge. And since it coincides with the festival, we can claim it wasn’t an intentional signal,” added Tenzou while a second and third firework shot into the sky.

The Tres España and Hinoe groups fell back, which was probably what he had wanted.

“In other words, you could get away if my negotiations failed and this went south?” asked Masazumi.

“Who knows if we could have recovered from that. Still, it would prevent the worst case scenario. That’s how we look at things,” said Asama.

“But could you really escape in that case?”

“Yes, you don’t have to worry about that.”

Meanwhile, the others approached. They took up positions to protect Honda Masazumi’s room from the Tres España and Hinoe groups cautiously observing the fireworks.

The three fireworks blossomed in the sky simultaneously. Two more launched from the floor.

The boom reached them from the sky and everyone was illuminated in the night for the first time.

They were the representatives of three different nations. No, Honda Masazumi was still a Mikawa resident, so was it four nations? They all faced each other while the new Chancellor’s voice reached them from the plaza.

“Now, let the attacking festival begin!”

The rules were simple.

“There were some things over the past year that pissed you off, right!? Maybe it was an unpleasant boss, hurtful words, or any number of other irritations! If the person responsible is here today, the usual rules of courtesy don’t apply tonight! You have two hours. The local medical center, shrine, and temple have people here, so go kick their ass! But don’t even think about trying that with me!”

The responding cheer grew into a ship-shaking tremor.

…Wow.

The initial clash included quite a few metallic sounds, so what was going on at the plaza out front? And…

“The usual rules of courtesy don’t apply, you say!?” Rodrigo smiled and cast impact spells on her hands. “Inquisitor impact weapons are quite effective. I will also inform my government of any bonus results I earn her.”

“Oh!? If that’s how it’s gonna be, you can count us in!”

The Hinoe group tossed away their cloaks and prepared to fight.

Persona-kun and Urquiaga stepped out from the Musashi group.

“I cannot fight a Catholic, but I would love to witness an inquisitor’s combat technique.”

“Hee hee. We have snipers on the roof, so we have the advan-”

Before Mitotsudaira could finish her sentence, the inn’s two rooms were broken open from the plaza side and a crowd of students and merchants poured in.

“Ah! There’s more over here! No courtesy tonight! I’ve got nothing against you, but I’m still gonna punch you!”

Around ten of them prepared to fight, but they were blown away by a firework launching below them. Their screams echoed on into the night.

“Hey! Over here!”

“They’re having fun back here too!”

“The hell!? Tres España’s taking part! You’ve got guts!!”

Everyone ran forward within the light and sound of the fireworks in the sky.

Oh, dear, thought Asama before noticing Rodrigo bowing their way. “Eh?” said Mitotsudaira before Rodrigo spoke too quietly for anyone else to hear.

“Thank you for helping my sister.”

●

“Your sister? Who is-”

Before finishing her question, Mitotsudaira realized something and gasped.

Rodrigo was an inquisitor but she wore an identifying weapon at her hip.

It was a knight’s sword.

Mitotsudaira had seen that type of sword during an incident two years prior.

“My inherited name ends after I return home from the New World along the eastern route. On the way, I hope I will be able to visit where my sister was lost…but I am also glad I was able to thank you here.” Rodrigo smiled. “I have long wondered if a name inheritor’s death is inevitable and if they are rewarded for it. But I have seen a partial answer here. I feel like I can trust in that hope now.”

“But…”

“Even if it was too late for someone, I now see it is possible to save them by giving meaning to their death.”

Mitotsudaira didn’t get a chance to hear the rest. Because…

“Captain!”

“Testament!” replied Rodrigo replied, preparing for battle. The Musashi group did the same.

“Sorry! They’ve made it up onto the roof!”

“This is not going to be easy without support from the Technohexen,” said Mitotsudaira just before a sixth firework blasted around a dozen attackers.

●

“Okay, you can use this chaos to sneak away. I honestly have no idea what’s going on myself.”

Masazumi spoke to Arima at the back door that had miraculously been spared the attack. Arima responded with a bow.

“Honda-sama. How can I ever thank you?”

“This is all just a lovely dream you gave me tonight.”

“Eh?”

“I tried so hard to be a name inheritor and you let me pretend at being one here. I can’t tell anyone about it and, even if Tres España goes along with it, they can claim they were always planning to do that anyway, so I was admittedly mostly useless.”

“That isn’t-”

“Don’t bother,” she said. “I told you to sneak away, so get going, Arima Harunobu. But first, I need to return this. It belongs to you, doesn’t it?”

Masazumi handed over the knife she was wearing on the back of her hip. And…

“This too. I assume it belongs to your partner.”

She also pulled out the knife she had received at the Blue Thunder. It was burned, but she removed it from its case and handed it over. Arima took the women’s one. And the other one…

“That knife…”

Arima was hesitant to reach out and take it.

“Excuse me.”

An out-of-breath voice arrived from the just past the eaves.

A man stood there, wearing the same Tres España-influenced Far Eastern uniform as Arima. He was a tall young man, but…

“Paulo, you’re injured.”

He had bandages wrapped around his left arm, left eye, neck, and presumably under his uniform as well. His left arm hung limply at his side and he bowed with his right hand on his chest.

“I apologize for the sudden interruption. I was meant to have served as your bodyguard along with Arima. I am name inheritor Okamoto Daihachi. Call me Paulo.”

“Are those injuries from getting caught up in some kind of trouble?”

“Um, well. You could call this a personal shame. Or a sign of my resolve.”

Next to him, Arima looked awkwardly away and blushed.

…A couple’s argument?

This seems a bit extreme for that, thought Masazumi while he crouched and accepted the other knife.

“Honda-sama.”

“You don’t need to kneel before a non-name inheritor. It makes things awkward.”

“We owe you at least this much after the trouble you went through for us.”

So he’s aware this was a lot of trouble for me, she thought but did not say.

“We will take our leave now,” said Okamoto with a bow.

“Judge. You gave me a wonderful dream. They’re still fighting out front, but that should provide cover for a while longer. Now’s your chance to escape.”

“Testament. There is someone there I would like to thank, so we will stop by there before departing.”

“May I ask where you’re going next?”

“We will be going,” said Arima with a smile, “where we want to go.”

That was when a Loup-Garou shrine maiden – was that the Mito Lord? – shouted from out back.

“The pressure is building! If those two are going to escape, make it soon!”

“Judge. You heard her.”

“Testament. I wish you many more pleasant dreams.”

“I’ll be stuck in the waking world for a while. But maybe this means I can finally move to the Musashi.”

I should ask Rodrigo about that, she thought with a glance to the garden. And when she looked back…

“Oh.”

Those two had vanished. The pair of knives were gone, leaving only the case.

●

Kimi put on quite a show at the festival.

That was because the band playing the battle music on the stage was wiped out by a long-range attack quite early on.

No entertainment god worshiper could leave a stage sitting empty. In this case, the stage was visible in the distance from the excitement in the back garden.

The rest was simple: she started up an acoustic spell, played a song of her own creation, and sang along.

“What, not one of you can even touch me!? Honestly, Musashi is suffering from a real dearth of quality men and women. Fortunately, I’m here to show you how it’s done!”

Whenever someone climbed onto the stage, her dance step would kick them away, knocking several others down as they went.

“Ha ha!”

She laughed, sang, attacked, and dodged.

…Hm, this still isn’t quite enough.

She was still working on this dance spell. She wanted an absolutely untouchable entertainment spell based on refined movements, but she still hadn’t progressed past the point of needing to dodge. She needed to find a way to link her skill to the dance so she felt like the dance itself was protecting her.

“Maybe I should start a band and get a look at myself through someone else’s eyes. …Oh.”

When she kicked away several people with a single dance step and shouted “hey”, a group of fighters threw up their arms and shouted “hey” back. She spotted her brother in the crowd.

There was a strange untouchable zone within all the fighting.

She knew her brother had to be creating his own type of entertainment space there. Two people were smiling with him.

One was a blonde woman and the other was an injured man wrapped in bandages.

They both bowed, so he smiled and spoke.

“You idiots.”

She could more or less tell what he was saying by reading his lips.

“I guess I can’t blame you, though. But…are you smiling?”

The pair responded with a nod. Yes, they had been smiling this entire time.

Today was a festival day. It was a night for smiling while you had fun and smiling while you said goodbye.

…That’s the spirit.

Some words came to mind. If she made them into lyrics, would she have the song ready by the summer festival?

“Hey, what day is tomorrow? The day of the summer festival.”

Yes, the song can start like that, she thought while planning to let her brother hear it.

When she looked back, he was selling drinks left and right with his hips struggling to support all the weight.

“Silly boy. Make sure to secure a stand next time.”

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