Horizon:Volume 8C Chapter 64

Chapter 64: Girl Wandering Nearby

Hey, where are you going?

Should I go with you?

Should I go regardless?

Are you going to the beach?

Point Allocation (Does it count as the beach if it’s a lake?)

Tomoe Gozen looked up into the sky.

It felt like forever since she had seen that sky, but also like no time at all. Because she was looking up at it from within the Ariake.

The top was open for the morning ventilation.

From 8 to 9, the Ariake would open its upper armor. They hadn’t done it during the Summer Exchange of Immaculate Morals in Manga Form for security reasons, but that was over now.

The top opened up every morning and evening, both to display IZUMO’s technological prowess and to give everyone in that enclosed space a refreshing change of pace.

The transport ships moving in and out of the Ariake would aim for those times instead of using the specialized hatches. That would get the air moving, increasing the efficiency of ventilation.

A lot was in motion at this time.

Everyone stepped out of their lodgings to look up into the sky and they often planned their meals for this time.

Tomoe Gozen had gone that route herself. She sat at the outer edge of South-3 Wide Block, one of the Ariake’s major restaurant wide blocks. The location also gave her a head-on view of the Musashi.

She was eating buckwheat dumplings and fruit at a Far Eastern restaurant’s parasol-equipped table.

“Guericke, what are the other nations up to? Your print-focused viewpoint should provide some valuable insights.”

“Testament.” Guericke sat across from her in a summer uniform. He set down a bundle of paper bags. “The Catholic principalities and our enemy nations are currently coming to greet us while we go greet them. It might not last, however.”

And…

“Those nations are interested in purchasing print equipment and we are discussing having IZUMO or ourselves begin some experimental business there to bolster our later budget.”

“Don’t we all have bigger things to worry about right now?”

“Testament,” he replied just as someone else walked up from the side.

“The other nations probably think the future of the Apocalypse and the Thirty Years’ War are dependent on M.H.R.R.’s Hashiba and P.A. Oda’s Nobunaga. Yes.”

Tomoe Gozen turned to face the newcomer.

“Christina. You aren’t accompanying them to Hexagone Française?”

Christina answered Tomoe Gozen’s question with a “testament”.

Today was the 25th. The Musashi group had departed for Hexagone Française early in the morning.

They were traveling west hidden aboard one of the trade ships traveling to the Protestant principalities. The more observant nations would probably notice they were missing, but very few people knew where they were going.

…And Hexagone Française’s Mouri will be making peace with Hashiba after the break.

Musashi was sneaking into a nation that would soon be an enemy. People won’t expect that one, thought Christina with an internal smile. And…

“May I take a seat?”

“Feel free. Unless anyone else around here has a problem with it?”

Tomoe Gozen looked to the surrounding tables and the people seated there quickly looked the other way.

Christina had apparently been gathering a lot of attention. She was bad at noticing things like that, but…

…This would have played out differently if Tadaoki-sama was with me.

But she would get to do that before long.

“Tadaoki-sama and I will be taking a look around the Ariake today, so I can’t visit for too long.”

“Seeing the sights?”

“We plan to visit the Ariake Sea, which is really just a large reservoir lake up on the second level. We will have some fun there for a while and then do karaoke.”

“Just like two young lovebirds, huh?”

“I was a late bloomer, so I can’t afford to worry about appearances.”

That changed Tomoe Gozen’s expression. Her eyebrows rose in surprise and then she smiled a little.

“I’m jealous, honestly.”

Christina bowed her head.

“I apologize for never taking any of your advice back at the Nagaoka residence.”

“Are you apologizing as an individual?”

“I am apologizing as Lady Nagaoka.”

“Glad to hear it. Now, I would love to say I only lectured you because it’s in my nature as Luther’s name inheritor, but unfortunately, I can’t.”

“Is this about Komaoumaru-sama?”

“You catch on quickly.”

“Claiming no interest in romance is a coward’s excuse,” she said, meaning every word.

She glanced at her surroundings, but she honestly didn’t understand why.

She knew the person next to her was Saxony Representative Guericke. He was a Protestant leader involved in the print business, so he often worked as an aide for Luther, aka Tomoe Gozen. Most of his income came from the print business, but that business was mostly comprised of printings based on the history recreation and doujinshis.

…That makes it a very unstable business.

Did all his serious political work leave him wanting to cut loose and enjoy something more fun?

But Christina decided someone like that would be easier to talk to.

She could let him take the records, which would make it easier to reach a consensus with the Protestants. With that in mind, she continued the previous topic.

“What has Komaoumaru-sama been doing since then?”

“We don’t know. We lost track of him after he was transported to Lake Biwa Azuchi. We know he is working for Hashiba, so he will likely be sent in to fight when Hashiba deems it necessary. I would love to deliver the finishing blow myself, but we might not meet on the battlefield.”

“You will have to trust Musashi to handle it then.”

“The Date Vice Chancellor nearly lost all of her equipment to him. He’ll likely be even stronger next time, so he will be a formidable opponent indeed.”

“Should I pass that on to them?”

“Probably so.” Tomoe Gozen smiled a little. “I’m sure they’ll do whatever they please and find their own response. That’s just how they do things. The problem is I have to work under the assumption that I might run into him at some point down the line.”

“Is there any way to defeat him?”

“Plenty. The question is whether or not you can pull them off.”

“So you can’t just be all talk, is that it?” said Christina, smiling bitterly.

Guericke raised his right hand next to her.

“I apologize, Tomoe Gozen, but I forgot to schedule a morning program to record. May I do so now?”

“What kind of program?”

“The summer break special for Absolute Tax Collectors: Matthew 7 put out by Ariake Academy. It begins at 10.”

“Yes.” Christina nodded. “The Vatican carelessly gave the Far East approval to produce it, so it ended up depicting a flying pyramid warship transforming into a giant god of war and then crushing the Roman army.”

“Testament. The Catholics have been greenlighting a lot of things like that lately, perhaps as a way of combating us Protestants. And the Protestants gave authorization as well because it was deemed too absurd for anyone to worship.”

“They fail to understand how much Far Easterners worship giant transforming gods of war.”

“Which has given me one more thing to look forward too while here on the Ariake.”

He bowed toward Christina for some reason, but the Protestant representative who had authorized it was right there at the table with them, so she felt like he should be thanking her instead. But regardless…

“Is this an example of a cultural exchange?”

“The Far East actually sends a delegation to Europe in this time period. If we interpret things too liberally, the Testament Union will put a stop to it, but Innocentius is gone now and I hear Olimpia is still asleep from her dreaming spell.”

Christina had honestly been out of the loop on this stuff of late. She was no longer engulfed in information like she used to be. If anything, she was living her life rediscovering the things she now had at hand and within herself.

But she did have one relevant piece of information available to her.

“I had heard the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope were on close terms.”

“Matthias is an eccentric and quite literally inhuman. Olimpia is, if anything, the young and sociable type. They both prefer remaining indoors, but I expect Matthias is the one being pulled out of his comfort zone.”

In other words…

“That Holy Roman Emperor makes you realize people’s appearances are entirely meaningless, but he’s fallen in love with this ‘new’ pope who ages backwards and will eventually disappear. What was that, Guericke? You just laughed at me, didn’t you?”

“N-no, I wouldn’t dream of it. I was laughing at the preview for next week’s episode of another show that I happened across while setting this one to record.”

It sounded like a bad excuse, but Christina noticed the show on his screen was All-Around Genius Leonardo Village. Tadaoki watched that one and it was indeed a funny show. Every episode had the leader invent something dangerous and his apprentices had to work together to solve the problems caused by the invention. In the last episode she had seen, the leader had built a military base, but she hadn’t seen what happened with the stairs on the second floor they couldn’t get open.

…Oh, I can ask Tadaoki-sama what happened!

That was called communication.

She nodded toward Guericke in thanks and he nodded back, looking bewildered. And…

“Tomoe Gozen, what do you make of the current situation in the world?”

“Testament,” replied Tomoe Gozen. “The same as you. Everyone is waiting to see what Musashi and Hashiba do.”

Tomoe Gozen grabbed the menu to order something before they talked.

She had just eaten some buckwheat dumplings, but…

“I think I’ll have some amanatto and salmon jerky.”

“Tomoe Gozen, you sound like a drinker!” said Guericke. “Oh, and I will have this ‘salmon sandwich – good fortune set’.”

“Why does it come with a dog doll?”

“I-I want this princess one, not the dog!”

“Excuse me, waitress! We will have this, this, and this – with the dog.”

“Tomoe Gozen!”

“Oh,” said Christina, raising her own hand. “I’ll have the ramen burger from the All-Around Genius Leonardo Village collab.”

“Quite the adventurer, aren’t you?”

“You need to pursue the latest trends if you hope to have the latest information.”

“Anyway,” said Tomoe Gozen. “The other nations have been pretty busy during the break. Let’s discuss that.”

…The world sure is keeping busy for the Apocalypse being so close.

Tomoe Gozen focused on the things she had seen herself.

“Mouri will likely use Ankokuji Ekei to make peace with Hashiba after the break. But they haven’t done anything regarding Sekigahara outside of saying they will strictly follow the history recreation. Things seem to be going well for them, but what do you think?”

“Mouri is working to build up their ‘earnings’ from the break until Sekigahara.”

That reminded Tomoe Gozen that Christina had been there for Ankokuji Ekei and the Musashi Vice President’s discussion.

Tomoe Gozen wished she had been able to be there too, but…

“In other words, Mouri is working to protect their purely Mouri people. They will side with Hashiba, but they will do whatever it takes to ensure Mouri does not decline. That means Hashiba can’t use Mouri until Sekigahara begins. And I suppose Mouri will use their cooperation at Sekigahara as a shield to give them an edge when dealing with Hashiba.”

“Meanwhile, the Kantou nations are beginning to cooperate with Musashi.”

Christina spoke quietly, seeming to let the words fall onto the table.

…Oh?

It was interesting that a European like her had that Kantou information on hand.

She must have been gathering and analyzing information on a variety of topics herself.

Christina intertwined her fingers on the table as she continued.

“Kantou, Oushuu, and Sviet Rus are all well on their way to becoming Musashi’s allies. Same for Hexagone Française and England in Europe. I think we can assume Musashi and those allies are attempting to restrict P.A. Oda’s actions.”

“What will the other nations do if that happens?”

“I’m sure they are doing all sorts of things during the break, but by now on the 25th, I assume most nations have progressed their history recreation to at least mid-September. Because,” said Christina, but that was when the amanatto arrived.

“Want some?” asked Tomoe Gozen, considerately indicating the pile of food on her plate, so Christina took one. She held it in a napkin, transported it to her mouth, and raised her eyebrows.

“I thought that was sugar, but it’s salt.”

“It uses ghost-friendly salt, so they call it ‘unsweet amanatto’. You can decide for yourself if that’s contradictory or self-defeating.”

“Fair enough.” Christina nodded. And, “I assume most nations are predicting the Honnouji Incident to occur at the end of the break or in early September. They should have seen Hashiba following that schedule and the result of Musashi negotiating with them when they entered Kantou. Thus, we can predict those nations will have their anti-P.A. Oda and anti-M.H.R.R. plans in place by the end of the break. I expect they hope to reduce Musashi’s influence at Westphalia by saying Musashi’s actions forced them to oppose P.A. Oda and Hashiba like that.”

“Testament. I agree with you there. It was Musashi moving up a few history recreations that pushed us past our defeat at Nördlingen already. If Europe could just work together, we could stand up to Hashiba without that ‘defeat’ hanging over our heads. Hexagone Française is going to be the key to all of this, but it’s already determined they’ll be the conquerors of Europe. So the other nations are going to plan their post-break actions based on how much they think Hexagone Française will use that position to help Mouri out. But…”

Tomoe Gozen grabbed one of the beans and noted how tasty the salt was seeping out from between her teeth when she bit into it.

…Oh, it’s extra salty for Summer ImMoral Manga, isn’t it?

She was clearly in high spirits if she thought that tasted good. Her sense of taste could be malleable.

But she did have something to say about this.

“On the 10th, Musashi decided to head west like they were leading the way for Hashiba. On the 15th, they arrived here along with the Ariake. All the other nations must have started asking some questions about that. They had thought they could spend the 2nd term focusing on P.A. Oda and Hashiba and wait until Westphalia to deal with Musashi, but what if this means Musashi will be more involved than they thought?”

“Testament. Which is why they were focused on internal issues starting in the second half of the break. Because if Musashi successfully intervenes and defeats P.A. Oda, all of their preparations to focus on P.A. Oda and Hashiba will go to waste.”

And…

“In that case, Europe will be forced to instead deal with Musashi, if not with both Musashi and Hashiba leading what remains of the Oda clan.”

“And?” prompted Tomoe Gozen, wondering just how much she was smiling. Hopefully I’m not enjoying this even more than I think I am, she thought as she continued. “Which history recreations will those countries need to start considering now?”

“To start with, the Honnouji Incident, the Battle of Yamazaki, and the Battle of Shizugatake, which determines where Hashiba will be going,” said Christina. “And before they deal with Musashi at Westphalia, they may have to consider Sekigahara and the Battle of Komaki Nagakute, both battles fought between Hashiba and Musashi. None of the other nations can make any careless moves until those are complete.

“That is why I have concluded the other nations won’t be doing much of anything until mid-September when Honnouji and Yamazaki should be complete.”

Christina took a breath after laying out her speculation.

…It has been so long since I’ve had a discussion like this.

Not since she spoke at Musashi’s pool. Since then, she had done some information gathering, but she had mostly been discovering new aspects of this new life, spending all day on dates with Tadaoki, and sometimes sulking in bed all day when she couldn’t see him.

…Why didn’t I use those days for information gathering!?

She decided to chalk it all up to her being a late bloomer. At any rate, she had enjoyed the summer festival that had doubled as preparing the inside of the Ariake after departing Kantou. She had also enjoyed the three days of Summer ImMoral Manga. Not to mention…

“Hey, Christina? I don’t know where your mind’s gotten off to, but bring it back.”

“T-Testament! I will try my best!”

She opened a lernen figur showing the photos of Tadaoki she had taken during Summer ImMoral and set the back of the screen to be nontransparent. That would make it look like she was reviewing the data Tomoe Gozen and Guericke had sent her.

Nagaya-Stable: “Excuse me, Nagaoka-kun. I am Musashi Representative Council Head Ookubo. Do you have a moment?”

Nagabuto: “Huh? What do you want? I’m kind of busy right now.”

Nagaya-Stable: “Well, I just received word from the secret bodyguard we have following Lady Nagaoka. Apparently she’s viewing some pictures of you in public, but while she made sure no one can see them from the front, anyone behind her can see them just fine. She’s basically surrounded by different nations’ 1st Special Duty Officers or their subordinates, so I just thought…but if you’re busy, don’t worry about it.”

Nagabuto: “Don’t let that sliiiiiiiiiide! Dammit, I’m on my way! I’ll be right there!”

Christina set the photos up in a slide show, which was enough to make her happy.

With that done, she had something to tell Tomoe Gozen. She used the voice she always used with that woman.

“Were you aware that one nation has been making some troubling moves?”

“You mean the nation of the setting sun, don’t you?”

“Testament. Tres España is using its baseball team as an excuse to visit here.”

That much wasn’t too strange, but…

“I heard Vice President Juana intends to continue traveling with the baseball team after Summer ImMoral.”

“Did you get that from your information network?”

“Their tournament’s location means a lot of that information finds its way to Nördlingen.”

She had several guesses what this could mean, but…

“Depending on how you interpret that information, I believe this counts as repaying the favor you paid me at Nördlingen.”

“In what way?”

“Testament.” Christina nodded. “You were the one that set it up so Musashi could use Summer ImMoral as an excuse to return to Kantou, weren’t you?”

“Um, that was me actually,” interrupted Guericke.

“Shut up, you!”

Tomoe Gozen shouted so loud the surrounding people turned around and Guericke shut his mouth. What was that about? wondered Christina as she continued speaking.

“Musashi coming here forced the other nations to rearrange their plans with a new focus on Musashi. And since you, Tomoe Gozen, set that up, they now must give thought to your influence as Westphalia approaches. It was a brilliant move, Tomoe Gozen.”

“Please, it was noth-” began Guericke.

“Shut up, you!”

Tomoe Gozen shouted again and the entire area went silent.

At any rate, Christina had repaid the woman for Nördlingen.

“Tomoe Gozen. The way I put that should help prevent Musashi and Hashiba from ignoring the Protestants, gather the other nations’ attention on you, and make them listen to what you say.”

“It’s just like you to be so confident in that conclusion. But I have a hunch this was also meant to help you reclaim your influence as the Swedish Chancellor.”

“We are on summer break, Tomoe Gozen, so we need to enjoy ourselves.”

She saw Tadaoki running this way. For some reason, he was shouting “Waiiiiiiiiiiit!” which was odd since she wasn’t going anywhere. But…

“I wonder how Musashi and Hashiba will spend the rest of their break.”

Koroku was bored as could be.

Summer break had entered its final week. She had already finished all of her summer homework, but…

…Maybe that wasn’t the best idea.

Summer homework was meant to keep your academic abilities up during the long break, but each student was allowed to choose their own completion rate and she had completed hers before the break was even half over.

She hadn’t been rushing through it; it had just happened when she completed as much as she could each day without stressing herself out.

It just so happened that she completed a lot of it at once that way. Not so much because she liked schoolwork, though.

“It’s the video games.”

She spent her spare time on games and her maintenance or improvements for Genbu. Schoolwork was a hindrance to those things.

“Schoolwork gets in the way of everything else.”

And everything else got in the way of schoolwork.

Which led to her concerns about her summer homework:

…Maybe that wasn’t the best idea.

She had finished it all early so it wouldn’t get in the way of her free time for the rest of the break, but…

“After so much free time, I’ll end up an idiot who can’t remember a thing I studied.”

She had asked the others about that last night. Ishikawa and the Spears currently on Azuchi had all been in the dining hall for once, so she had explained the issue. Ishikawa had been the first to respond:

“Koroku-chan? You seem to think you’ve discovered a flaw in the education system, but to be honest, even us teachers want to set everything aside and take a long break sometimes. I mean look at how much summer homework we give ourselves: none.”

“Aren’t you being a little too honest there?”

“Don’t worry, Shouroku,” chimed in Wakisaka, stirring the bamboo charcoal syrup into her shaved ice. “My plan is to get away with never doing the homework at all, so we can all start trying again when the 2nd term starts.”

“Angie, you have guts saying that right in front of your teacher,” said Ishikawa. “But, Koroku, let me make one thing clear. Not studying doesn’t turn you into an idiot.”

“It doesn’t?”

“Testament,” confirmed Yoshiaki. “It doesn’t. The people who study get smarter and the rest return to being wild apes.”

“Kime-chan! I’m on track to being a monkey next term!”

Koroku recalled how, in the 4th and latest season of Pendragon Ball Z, the protagonist had started saying “Howdy! I’m a country boy!” to emphasize his past as a feral child, but that in turn reminded her how few divine TV shows there were in Kantou.

In Houjou land, they had replayed the same show in an infinite loop as “a demonstration of reincarnation”, but she had her doubts that was the real reason. At any rate, Katagiri was the last one to give his advice.

“Can’t you just do some extra studying during the rest of the break, Hachisuka-san?”

“Would you?”

“Eh? Yes, I would.”

“But it’s a waste of time.”

Her response there made everyone freeze in place. Sensing everyone’s attention on her, Takenaka shrugged and gave her opinion.

“If you ask me, whether or not you find something to be a waste of time and whether or not you feel guilty not doing it are different things.”

“Oh, well said, Take! I can’t wrap my head around all these issues, so I’m gonna ignore it all until the new term!”

“I am not looking forward to grading the work of a bunch of apes,” said Ishikawa.

“Y-you’re the one who abandoned us for so long last term!”

“Testament,” said Ishikawa. She held a Kyoto-style parfait in her left hand and was about to dig in like it was chazuke. “Teaching is so much easier when your students are so self-sufficient.”

Koroku didn’t like that focus on what was easier, but it sounded like the best plan was for everyone to take a stance on the homework they felt comfortable with. She had tried to do some extra studying, but she couldn’t get in the mood for it and stopped after only a quick review.

…So the rest of the break will be playing games and heading out.

She looked up overhead.

She saw the white sky there.

The real sky was covered by the giant dome of a stealth barrier.

She looked back down to see the Azuchi’s deck and the Azuchi’s water dock past that.

“It’s been ten days since we got back.”

Past the enormous water dock space was the lake itself.

“When will Lake Biwa Azuchi be able to remove this dome?”

Koroku could see Lake Biwa Azuchi, the giant water dock built into the lake’s north side, and the castle town.

…Azuchi Academy was originally here and the town was built around that.

According to the Testament, the Oda clan’s Azuchi Castle had been the largest castle in the Warring States period and its castle town had been large and prosperous. To provide some prosperity while under provisional rule, this place had been built before the inheritance of Nobunaga’s name “to prepare for the coming age”.

That had been led by Nobuhide, the previous head of the Oda clan, but…

“One day, the Oda clan suddenly demolished Azuchi Castle and began to construct Lake Biwa Azuchi here.”

“Huh? What? You studying Oda history, Shouroku? Is that part of a summer project?”

She heard a voice from overhead.

Wakisaka wore a swimsuit and carried a bag while hanging upside down from the bottom of her descending schale besen.

She used her wings to keep herself aloft.

“Want to head out, Shouroku? Kime-chan and the others went to the sail pool built on Lake Biwa.”

“Why are you running late?”

“I was doing a bit of my homework after what you said last night. Ballistic calculations and stuff like that. I figured it would be best to know the basics of how physically launched shells move.

“But anyway,” said Wakisaka. “Did you bring a vacation swimsuit?”

“Are you trying to provoke me?”

“Not at all.” Wakisaka waved her hand dismissively. “This year has been so heavily influenced by the wars that started last year, you know? And curiously, fashion here has started adopting the latest trends from Hexagone Française and K.P.A. Italia. The stuff from the Sa’id and Far East Academy Store brands are all so plain, but the Sakaiya and SAKAI brands are putting things out this year, which gives us blues and reds.”

“I like the NORIKANE-ASIA brand.”

“The fashionable brand from Fan Gang!? I underestimated you, Shouroku.”

In what way? At any rate, she wanted to step out and get some fresh air. “Just take me outside.”

“But your swimsuit!”

She sure was stubborn. Koroku saw no option but to reach for the schale besen’s propulsion part and pull herself up.

“Oh, you aren’t taking no for an answer, are you?”

“I’m not in a good mood.”

She meant that in regards to the immediate situation, but…

“I can imagine.”

The quick response suggested Wakisaka had a good understanding of her.

So Koroku sighed and viewed Lake Biwa Azuchi from the slightly more elevated vantage point. The elliptical dome with a maximum diameter of 12km across contained the wharf, the town of Azuchi which was becoming little more than a warehouse district, and an R&D facility. And…

“How can this not put me in a bad mood?”

“You mean that such a large facility was built to prepare for the Genesis Project?” asked Wakisaka, gesturing toward a large empty space.

The otherwise dense warehouse district and wharf had an empty area with a radius of about 2km.

That space was shaped like a mortar and it was paved all the way down. It had ten holes on the interior and some structures that must have been supporting something there before.

“Honnouji,” murmured Koroku, naming what had filled that great space before it was dismantled and transported away. “The starting point for ending it but not letting it end.”

Wakisaka nodded at what Koroku said while sitting in the space that functioned like a rear seat.

…Shouroku takes this all so seriously.

She faced the plain facts and accepted them using her senses.

She had shown a fair bit of emotion during the confrontation between Musashi and Azuchi before, but she didn’t let that influence her point of view or judgment of what was right and wrong.

That suggested a reason for her “bad mood”.

…She isn’t convinced this is the right thing to do.

But there was no helping that, so Wakisaka knew what she had to do.

“Time to go.”

No more sitting around. Never brooding is one of my strong points. Besides, you can’t brood over all this complicated stuff if you’re keeping busy, which means actions are more important than thinking. Probably anyway.

But if I’m going to keep Shouroku company…

“So anyway, have you heard?”

“No.”

…You could at least ask “heard what”?

But this was their usual pattern. Her airspace management divine protection sensed the white sky ahead of them and displayed a safe route on an insha kotob.

She synced that insha kotob with her schale besen’s controls and made any necessary adjustments with her feet, allowing for hands-free flying. She adjusted the position of the bag holding her swimsuit and other supplies.

“The previous clan head, Nobuhide…-sensei I guess I should say? Apparently it really was the Double Border Crest that got him.”

“I knew that.”

“Huh? So you had heard? Did Take tell you?”

“I heard it from Hirano’s mother along with you.”

“You did?”

She didn’t really remember. But…

“Well, that happens a lot with us, doesn’t it?”

“Testament. It isn’t worth worrying about.”

Such a realist, this girl. She might be more grownup than me, thought Angie.

“Then had you heard this?” she asked. “Nobuhide-sensei’s top student was Matsudaira Motonobu, who was a hostage of the Oda clan at the time for the history recreation. Y’know, the old guy who blew up Mikawa.”

“I knew that,” said Koroku.

Angie nodded.

That much anyone would know if they bothered to look into it. The history recreations between P.A. Oda and Matsudaira were pretty important, both because they went on to control the Far East and because their connection was what had allowed Matsudaira to use Mikawa as neutral ground between P.A. Oda and the Testament Union.

“How about this?” said Angie. “The Oda clan fell into chaos after Nobuhide-sensei’s disappearance, but did you know it was Matsudaira Motonobu who set in motion all the plans leading to the present?”

“I had my suspicions.”

Ooh, a less confident answer. But…

“Oh.”

The insha kotob displaying directions suddenly told her to ascend.

A transport ship had left the port behind her and it was traveling southeast.

…On its way to Honnouji, huh?

“They said they moved it to a new location because this was going to be too largescale to do here.”

The new location was southeast of Lake Biwa. That ship was probably carrying materials there. Based on the ether readings her Magie Figur was getting, the construction was really getting underway over there.

…Will Nagayasu be here soon?

Angie wondered that while the ascent moved her legs.

“What made you suspect that?” she asked.

“The Genesis Project was Lord Motonobu’s idea, so of course he played a part in it.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Koroku wasn’t done yet.

“After Oda Nobuhide’s disappearance, Motonobu ran a few research projects, but those all failed. Only then did he start the Genesis Project. Since that project was fulfilling Nobuhide’s will, at least to an extent, P.A. Oda’s leaders chose to play their part. Now, I’m sure all that wasn’t as simple as that summary makes it sound, but I’ve heard bits and pieces about that part of the story and I figure that covers the general outline of events well enough.”

“And now we’re flying above it all.”

“Hence the bad mood,” said Koroku.

An enormous water dock sat below them. Azuchi currently occupied it, but next to it…

“We need to stop our enemy if we want this to succeed and that means we need power.”

There was another enormous water dock.

Its storage space was larger even than the Azuchi.

“It’ll all end soon. And then it will never end.”

And once that happened…

“How about you buy a swimsuit, Shouroku?”

The white wall in front of them opened to reveal the blue sky.

Koroku sat up and tried to get a view past Angie’s wings.

Would you look at that, thought Angie. She’s interested in things outside after all.

“I can’t help but wonder,” said Angie, relieved by her nearby teammate’s behavior, “what’s going to happen with Fukushiman and the others.”

Fukushima had a dull awakening.

It was a little late to call it morning, but that was unavoidable. The throbbing in her back last night had bothered her so badly she had slept shallowly and never for very long at a time.

She knew she couldn’t keep going like this, so she skipped breakfast and got right to training, hoping that would help clear her drowsy mind.

“––––––”

After striking a tree with her wooden sword a few times, last night’s throbbing came back.

That told her this wasn’t it.

“This does not count as training.”

She had hoped to train in the basics of sword fighting by striking, jabbing, and slashing the trunk with her worn-down wooden sword.

But last night’s throbbing in her back had been due to insufficient exercise.

“I am supposed to be training my mind, but I am only engaging in some wooden sword exercises.”

That wasn’t enough. But another cause came to mind too.

…I keep remembering what happened with Kiyo-dono.

She could tell her focus was slipping.

Yet sitting cross-legged and meditating did not stop the unwanted thoughts. No matter how much she managed to calm herself, the memory would pop into her mind and she would end up wracked with regret.

She needed to make sure she couldn’t think at all. As a fighter, she knew exactly how to do that.

“My best bet is to lose myself in training.”

She had learned last night that her current level of training was insufficient.

If she was truly exhausted, she could fall asleep without being plagued by unwanted thoughts.

And her dull mind this morning told her just how important sleep was.

If that throbbing returned and she couldn’t sleep tonight, her outdoor life would only get worse.

In that case…

“No going easy on myself. I need to do some real training and get some proper sleep tonight. An excellent plan.”

But now that she had to come up with “real training” to do, she hit a roadblock.

She leaned her elbow against the tree torn up by her attacks and spoke to herself.

“What exactly am I supposed to do?”

What kind of training would wear her out enough?

She needed mental training. Simply moving her body was not going to get her there.

But what would?

Her mind wandered in search of an answer and Kiyomasa suddenly came to mind.

The “suddenly” was the worst part.

The rebound was really bad. She felt ungrateful for trying to forget about Kiyomasa and she also recalled how badly she had hurt Kiyomasa, which made it all the worse.

“–––––”

When Kiyomasa’s tearful expression and voice in that moment of rejection sprang to mind, Fukushima peeled herself away from the tree.

“Kh.”

Impulsively, she just about struck the tree trunk again, but she stopped herself.

She knew doing that wouldn’t help. She had learned that all too well last night.

“That is right.”

Simple exercise did not clear those thoughts from her mind.

She would still recall that moment when she slept or took a break.

How could she stop the throbbing sensing that created?

…Testament.

“How am I supposed to atone for hurting her?”

Fukushima sighed and looked into the sky.

The sky was only visible as a white light past the leaves of the trees, but it looked like afternoon was beginning.

Her body felt dull, but more like it was rusty than weary. She lowered her head and found her chin was a bit narrower than usual.

I have lost weight, she thought while placing her hand on the tree trunk, turning around, and walking away.

She walked to her tent, grabbed some portable food, and made her way to the water to wash her face.

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