Horizon:Volume 8C Chapter 75

Chapter 75: A Mother in Public

You two!

Why aren’t you

Really going at it

Right now!?

Point Allocation (Wolf’s Front Line)

“There’s someone here!!”

Mitotsudaira used her full reaction speed to break free of her king’s arms and wrap her shirt around herself. Once she was more presentable, she noticed more heads poking up next to her mother, who had a wafer balanced on her head. Naruze took a look around.

“Tch.”

“Wh-what is that tongue click supposed to mean!?”

“Nate! You betrayed everyone’s expectations.”

“Th-that is one of the last things a parent should say to a child!”

“Now, now,” someone said, moving between Mitotsudaira and her mother.

That someone was Horizon. She removed another floor wafer to give everyone more space.

“This explains why the room is so soundproof. I thought it simply had a powerful spell or divine protection applied, but it also uses a triple-layer wafer structure. This cream between the layers must have been absorbing the sound.”

“Correct,” said Mitotsudaira’s mother. “And the walls are 12cm of milk chocolate, so only the loudest sounds can get through. Also, the window is half-dry candy, which has excellent anti-shock properties. The house’s divine protections have the non-heat and moisture resistant settings switched on, which means the scents linger but if you peel any of it away you can eat it as candy.”

It was a little concerning how intently Adele was staring at the floor wafers.

But Horizon blew a whistle she had pulled from somewhere and raised her right hand toward Mitotsudaira.

“Anyway, Mitotsudaira-sama, you are this close to receiving a yellow card. I thought you were going for some smooching like Asama-sama did, but getting fired up over some finger sucking? Brilliant stuff. I will need to give some thought on how to outdo you in that regard, but that can wait until another day”

“I-I see. Okay.”

Mitotsudaira nodded awkwardly back, but then Asama put a hand on her cheek and sighed.

“That was pretty impressive, Mito.”

“Wh-what was!? How much did you people listen in on!?”

“Oh?” Her mother looked back Mitotsudaira’s way without disturbing the wafer on her head. “Don’t you worry, Nate. We were listening in on the wholllllllllllllllllllllllllllll-”

Her mother held the word and spun around, somehow not hitting anyone else in that cramped hole. She spun around thrice, breaking off pieces of the thick wafer on her head, passing them out to the others, reaching out and breaking off pieces of the chocolate bar forming the edge of the bookcase, handing that to the others, and tossing it to Mitotsudaira and her king.

“-lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllle time!”

“I-I know that can’t be true based on how you’re reacting!”

“3 minutes 27 seconds. A new record,” said Asama.

“Judge. I am not sure I could respond if someone did that to me,” said Horizon.

Mitotsudaira knew those two were teasing her, but her mother would not stop. The woman pulled an entire wafer panel from the behind the bookcase.

“Anyway, I do apologize for my gutless daughter, everyone. I can’t believe she would refuse the honor of bringing their king-knight relationship to the next level.”

“M-mother. Based on the stories you told me, you couldn’t bring yourself to make the first move and stewed in your jealousy.”

“That is because I am a refined lady.”

That claim earned a round of applause from the others.

“My, my,” she said, bowing in each direction. “My point is, Nate, that your father and I never did anything like finger sucking and crotch sniffing when we were meeting in secret. I did snuggle up against him from behind, but that was only to indulge in some peaceful closeness…while fantasizing about some much more extreme activities.”

“Y-you couldn’t resist undermining your own point at the end, could you!?”

“Take this,” said her mother, tossing her the wafer she held.

“What is it?”

“Testament. When your king was here last, he attempted to resist my charm and fell flat on his face. This is the wafer he scraped his crotch against.”

The boys cringed at the thought, but her mother continued all the same.

“I considered giving it to you back then, but you were in such a hostile mood at the time, I thought you wouldn’t appreciate its value. And then I forgot all about it when I left here.”

“Ture-yan gets all worked up about the weirdest things,” said Margot.

The Technohexen sounded legitimately impressed, but Mitotsudaira wasn’t sure what to think about that. However…

“Mother, um, what do you expect me to do with this wafer?”

“Well, if you think of it as your king’s virtual crotch, you could chew on it, lick it, or take it home and curl up with it while you sleep. You could even have it installed in the floor of your king’s house and enjoy sleeping every night in his crotch’s sweet embrace. That way we all win.”

“How is that winning!?”

This was easily the most awkward gift Mitotsudaira had ever received. But then her king rubbed her head from behind. It felt unusually forceful, like he was pushing her hair down, but then he spoke to her mother.

“Did you hear what we were just discussing, maman?”

“Which part exactly?”

“About the future that might have happened but didn’t.”

Her mother’s expression changed when she heard that. She laughed quietly and narrowed her eyes.

“My daughter’s king is going to take all of her best points from me, isn’t he?”

“Ohh,” whispered Asama and Horizon gave a double thumbs up, but what was that about? And after a breath…

“Toori-sama,” said Horizon.

“Judge. I know. I’ll have a great story for you before long.”

“Judge,” said Horizon, exchanging a nod with the king. Then Masazumi raised her hand.

“Since we have the Reine des Garous here as Hexagone Française’s Vice Chancellor, how about the rest of you get changed and get some rest while Mitotsudaira inspects that shed.”

Also…

“Afterwards, we can have a meeting over dinner. Asama, Neshinbara, and Naruze can give us a report on their research then.”

“I know it requires ignoring the costs, but dismantling the Musashi isn’t going to take anywhere near as long as I thought. Of course, it’s only possible by redirecting all of the power output to that.”

“Milady, you do not have to discuss painful reality all the time, you know?”

That response came from higher up.

Ookubo was inside a Musashino god of war hangar. A few of the gods of war stored there were being equipped and then moved back into their hangar position.

This was being done with the pilots still onboard. The gods of war sat on or dangled from hanger-like hooks.

“Ow, ow, ow. I’ve done this before, but this position isn’t exactly comfortable!”

“Their structural integrity is subtly different from a human’s, so their optimal hangar position differs between model. Hey, you! Lift that crotch saddle a little higher if you can!”

“Ahh! But I’m weak in the armpits and crotch!”

Protests like that made the hangar a noisy place. But…

“Engine Division Chief, about my Righteousness…”

“It was repaired with great skill. And with a woman’s touch, looks like,” called down Engine Division Chief Mishina Taizou from the 2nd story area.

Righteousness stood within the 15m-tall hangar. It had been carried by the transport ship the Treasurers had sent as supplies after their negotiation with the Kantou nations the other day.

…I didn’t expect it to be stuffed in a container along with paper cushioning…

And the container had been labeled “XL Figurine”, so “Asakusa” had summoned her after receiving the container. When they had opened it, they had found Righteousness and a full set of its equipment. However…

“To strengthen the joints, they went for overall balance over a focus on the core. Makes sense. This works better for a focus on aerial battles than the settings you used previously.”

“Something more solid, would have made for more flight stability, though.”

“It’s all about getting a feel for the right balance. But I bet you can do amazing things with this after everything you’ve experienced.”

“You can tell?”

To answer, the Engine Division Chief opened a sign frame.

Large sign frames appeared over Righteousness’s joints in response. They displayed the rotating rings of the joints, which she recognized well.

Color appeared on the rings in the sign frames. Two points of red appeared at opposite angles along the inside.

“These were the most fatigued portions when you first arrived. The interior parts were worn down along the red and needed to be replaced.

“Yes. I’ve been wearing them down faster lately, so I was considering replacing them with stronger Orei Metallo.”

“I imagine so. Now take a look at this.”

The Engine Division Chief operated his sign frame. The red on the other frames began to spread.

It had started at two opposite angles, but it traveled 90 degrees from there until it covered the ring’s entire interior.

“Is that the wear and tear from the Kantou Liberation?”

“No.”

The Engine Division Chief shrugged while replaying that spread on a loop.

“This is simply a compilation of the points of greatest fatigue from each time you replaced the parts. Do you get it now? In the past, you had a rough piloting style that mostly took you along a straight line, but now you wear things down in all directions, even if you still favor one direction.”

So…

“Because you used to only every charge straight in, having a stronger core worked best. But now you move around a lot more freely, so while a strong core still feels right to you, it actually hinders you when you move outside your old comfort zone.”

“So what would happen if I made it more flexible?”

“You catch on quick,” he said with a smile. Then he pointed to the last frame of the looping diagrams. Four points on opposite angles, drawing out something like an X, had the strongest red.

“The red may never be entirely even, but as you progress, it should get closer to that. And not just one joint. This is true of the fingers, wrists, ankles, elbows, knees, crotch, shoulders, and back. If they were all more flexible, you could manage longer battles and allow impacts to escape more easily.”

“Then…?”

“But you’re used to a stiffer build and I bet it feels more comfortable for you. Changing it all at once would make it feel limp and weak to you. Let me guess: you noticed that in the past and made sure to choose the stiffest parts you could.”

She had to agree with that and he nodded back.

“Now the joints are given a directional tightness with spells. That way they can be flexible but still feel right to you, like they’re padded. For the exterior, it’s linked with the armor’s ASRA to stiffen things up and reduce the recoil when hit by a shock or impact. Beyond that, you’ll just have to get used to it.”

“Won’t that be expensive?”

“You’ll have to speak with the higher ups about that. …This is good work. Whoever did this has been paying a lot of attention to how you pilot.”

Hearing that, Yoshiyasu knew she had her work cut out for her: I have to negotiate the price with them? But she knew Tokishige was the type to do her job right. Yoshiyasu would just have to do the same here.

But when she looked to the movement in the hangar…

“Can you not send out every god of war in an emergency?”

Everyone looked her way and one of the god of war team leaders nodded her way.

“When the Musashi splits up for independent movement, we have to stay onboard as mobile cannons and to repair damage. If it comes to it, we can activate descent spells and jump overboard. But just in case, we want to leave behind enough of a labor force to keep things functioning. So…”

Another god of war took over.

“So a third of us will remain here. An Ookubo family transport ship will apparently carry this block, so we’ll be reliant on that. As will your Yatsufusa.”

Hearing that, Yoshiyasu looked to Yatsufusa.

The white canine god of war was stored surprisingly close to the front of the hangar.

“It didn’t even budge during the Kantou Liberation or since, did it?”

“You sure it isn’t out of fuel or something? Also, we were in Nördlingen during the Kantou Liberation, so maybe we were too far away.” The Engine Division Chief tilted his head. “You’ve gone to so much effort and it hasn’t responded at all. Maybe this thing’s just a jerk.”

“I’m thinking there might be something ceremonial I need to officially prove I can lead Satomi. Or maybe I’m just not ready yet.”

“You’re being awfully hard on yourself. But that attitude is a lot better than before.”

She felt some joy from that, but did that mean she was being more honest with herself?

People could change. So she knew what she had to believe in here.

“Yatsufusa isn’t saying I can never do it. For now, I need to build myself up, pursue my sister and Yoshiyori, and move past them.”

So…

“Now I need to figure out what it means to move past them.”

“This kind of talk is wasted in the hangar.”

“I doubt I can change who I am.” Yoshiyasu crossed her arms and looked to Righteousness and Yatsufusa. “Yatsufusa must be waiting. Not for my sister or for Yoshiyasu, but for me to show I’m on the path leading past them.”

She could believe that now. Because…

…That’s what the Kantou Liberation was all about.

The future her sister and Yoshiyori had left in her hands was not the same as the past those two had lived in. So Yatsufusa wasn’t asking for a recreation of the past – it was asking for someone who would lead Satomi into the future.

What would that require?

“Eventually, I will inherit Mogami and take control of Satomi too. I won’t even need Yatsufusa by then, but maybe it will accept me at that point.”

“You seem awfully sure of yourself.”

“How could I not be when Righteousness always receives such excellent maintenance?”

“Thanks,” said the Engine Division Head and the others raised their hands in thanks too. And…

“And this time, it looks like the maintenance wasn’t the only good part. Dammit, Tokishige.”

Yoshiyasu compared Righteousness with a vermilion god of war situated to the side of the hangar.

That was Jizuri Suzaku.

It was the 6th Special Duty Officer’s machine and it had been repaired at and returned from Satomi along with Righteousness. Side by side, they were blue and red – dog and bird. The gods of war had different motifs, but they had one thing in common.

“They gave us flight devices.”

Righteousness had brand new ones and Suzaku had vermilion ones.

“I’ve already told Naomasa, but they still need some fine-tuning and can’t be used right away. Still, Satomi sent us the basic specs and some virtual training spells, so I know she’ll be testing it out as soon as she’s back. After all…” The Engine Division Head looked up at the Suzaku with the corners of his lips rising. “With those 6 wings, the Suzaku must be closer to its original design than ever. Getting the balance just right is going to be a pain, though.”

Mary quite liked visiting other people’s homes. That didn’t mean she disliked her small home – she just liked seeing how other people lived their lives.

On the 4th level of England, most homes had been small, handmade structures made of stone, since wood was so valuable. Everything was done analog from the moment of construction, so they were always fun to look at.

…Thinking back, I may have been wishing I could abandon everything and live like that myself.

On Musashi, it was a minor disappointment that the underground houses and blocks were all basically the same. Spending the night at the Main Blue Thunder, Suzu’s bathhouse, and the student council rec room stood out in her mind because those had been fun times and because the larger spaces had felt more liberating.

And now she was enjoying the candy house and its storage shed.

“They are such unique places.”

Everyone was supposed to be resting now, but they had split between either playing in the stream and spring or investigating the shed. The shed team included Mitotsudaira, her mother, Mary, Asama, Horizon, and Naito.

“Is Lady Naruze not joining us?”

“No. She still has to finish up her research report for tonight, so she wants to be left alone.”

“Master Neshinbara must be the same. I imagine he would be eager to take a peek in here otherwise.”

They were heading toward the storage shed built as a separate structure to the side of the candy house. The gap between appeared to be a workspace for odd jobs and it currently had a scattering of dried leaves covering it. Mitotsudaira’s mother looked to the ground while leading the way.

“Nate, the environment is automatically preserved, but you should still clean up around here.”

“If you tell me how to access the necessary tools, I will do so after we finish this.”

“That’s just one more thing for me to teach you.”

Before, those two hadn’t been able to converse like this. They had managed it on the Musashi already, but…

…They really have changed.

It helped that Mitotsudaira was more confident in herself now, but her mother was also less cautious and hesitant when it came to her daughter.

They understood now where to take a step back and where to show their respect. They now had an understanding of “how hard they could bite” similar to playful wolves.

They had needed to fight it out once to reach this point. Excalibur had needed to fly in and assist, which showed just how far their “biting” had gone and that they had needed external assistance to end it.

That meant they had thrown everything but themselves at each other.

…Just like with me.

Was that conflict at England enough?

Actually, what am I even supposed to do if it wasn’t? How can I look her in the eye next time I visit England? I feel like a short visit won’t be enough to figure it all out.

“––––––”

But after coming so far, Mary knew one thing about herself.

…I want to get a look at the houses in England one day.

That perspective helped reduce her caution, fear, and sense of duty. Instead…

“It feels more like heading home.”

She applied the current situation to her own situation and the two wolves looked back at her.

“It does.” The mother smiled. “I do wish someone could make use of it while I am away, though.”

“Glance my way all you want, mother, I have a home at Musashi. And how am I supposed to know this place as well as you when this is only my second time here?”

“Now, now,” cut in Asama. “We already checked inside the shed. And, um, used that treasure chest you use as a storage closet.”

“What happened with the shed when you created your forest in Kantou, Mom-sama?”

“Mom-sama?” muttered Mitotsudaira, but the mother herself only smiled and rubbed Horizon’s head. Mitotsudaira then answered, causing a sway in the shirt draped over her shoulders like a coat.

“There was a silver weapon leaning against the outside of the shed here.”

She indicated the side of the shed.

They took a look. Naito flapped her wings a bit to get a higher vantage point. She could see the shed and the forest around it, but…

“There’s nothing but firewood all around it.”

“When my husband comes here…well, you know how skinny he is, right? So he tends to need a fire, but when he starts one, he takes off his clothes and his smell ends up all through the house. So when I get back, I go around sniffing at all the chairs and doorknobs and whatnot.”

“Mother! It took you no time at all to get off topic!”

Asama pursed her lips and gave her thoughts.

“Mito, should I ask Masa to give your partition a doorknob?”

“Please do!” answered her mother.

“Unnecessary!” shouted Mitotsudaira herself.

It was wonderful how they had complete opposite opinions, but while Horizon placed a hand on Mitotsudaira’s shoulder, Mary understood how this worked.

“You have asked the spirits to automatically pile up the firewood, haven’t you?”

“Do you do that in England too?”

“Judge. England does not have much wood, so to ensure none of it falls off from the ocean, we have asked the environmental control water spirits to collect anything that drifts off and carry to a set location.”

But in that case…

“Is the equipment that Lady Mitotsudaira saw inside the shed?”

“Hm, where did that get off to? Give me a second, Nate.”

Mitotsudaira’s mother entered the shed.

“Wait,” called Mitotsudaira, taking the lead. And 30 seconds later…

“Hee hee. What about this swimsuit, Nate? I had it stored in the shed.”

“What happened to the equipment!?”

Mitotsudaira’s mother ignored the protest and opened the shed with her shirt draped over her shoulders.

“It’s in the back room, isn’t it? Which is locked.”

The mother looked to her daughter.

“Nate, you couldn’t open that?”

“Judge. It required your authorization.”

“I bet your king could have opened it.”

“Eh?” Mitotsudaira froze and her mother smiled bitterly.

“You still have a lot to learn.”

That was true of Mary as well, so why did she feel a smile growing inside her?

…The back of the shed…

“Coming in,” said Asama as she stepped inside the shed. The space was filled with tools – mostly agricultural ones – the treasure chest they had made such heavy use of, and some hemp sacks that were probably some other kind of artifact. She had come here and checked a few times, but the tools were surprisingly similar to the Far Eastern ones and fulfilled her thirst for knowledge.

“This door, right? Here, Nate, you do it.”

Mitotsudaira reached for the knob as told. She pulled. She pushed. But…

“It won’t budge.”

“No, it won’t,” agreed Asama. Then Mitotsudaira’s mother reached for the door and slid it to the left.

Eh? they all thought as the mother shut the door and then slapped her daughter on the butt.

“Try it again now, Nate.”

“Th-the trick was that simple!?”

Mitotsudaira reached for the door and tried to slide it to the left.

“Nh!”

It wouldn’t budge. She tried a few more times, using bursts of acceleration, but…

“It won’t open, mother! Stop teasing me and open it.”

“If you insist.”

Mitotsudaira’s mother placed a hand on her cheek and smiled. Then she reached for the door and pushed it into the room beyond.

Eh? they all thought as she gently shut the door.

“Does anyone else want to try it?”

Everyone quickly shook their heads, so she placed a hand on her cheek and snapped her fingers.

The door parted, one half sliding left and the other right.

“Now, let’s go.”

Silver Wolf: “Does she have to be so infuriating!?”

Gold Mar: “Everyone else is really missing out.”

Art-Ga: “Eh!? What!? Is something fun happening in that shed!?”

Scarred: “Yes. Lady Mitotsudaira’s mother told Lady Mitotsudaira to do it and then spread the entrance open.”

Art-Ga: “Noooooooooooo! I am so drawing that once I’m done with this! I swear I will!”

Asama: “Um, Naruze, it’s not what it sounds like, so please calm down.”

But what was inside the back room? The Asama Shrine had a treasure room where Umetsubaki and other equipment were stored, so could this be similar?

“Coming in.”

Asama switched her prosthetic eye Konoha into ether detection mode and stepped through the door.

…This room is huge!

That was Asama’s first thought after stepping through the door.

This was a storage shed. To match the candy house, the walls were made from chocolate bar columns and cookie walls and the roof was thatched with hard sugar candy made to look like straw. What is that stuff called again?

But the shed hadn’t looked all that large from the outside. And the entrance area had taken up about 2/3 of that apparent space. That shouldn’t have left much space for this room, but…

“Storing straw and other materials requires a lot of space, so I expanded this room as a phase space. If necessary, you can remove that wall over there for a larger entrance.”

The inside space was more than 3 times the shed’s apparent size. The floor was covered in straw, but…

“Are those chocolate covered wheat puffs and pretzels?” asked Asama.

“You can easily store them here with the right environmental settings.”

But that wasn’t the primary thing being stored at the moment. Duckboards and waterproof sheets were used to protect futons, tables, and other furniture.

“I remember these!” exclaimed Mitotsudaira.

“Yes, I took them to the mansion when you were little, Nate. They are artifacts passed down in our Loup-Garou family and the children’s bed is always filled with straw to make it feel like sleeping in a den. The study desk is made so you can feel the silence and darkness of the forest when you sit in it.”

So…

“I put them all in storage in case you ever have a child. And I am sure you will do the same once you are done with them.”

…Wow.

Asama felt outdone.

She was beaten.

That woman was several steps ahead of them in life. She had so many more experiences. She had everything her species and family had built up over generations. And this knowledge covered everything from childhood to adulthood.

…Yeah…

Some might call her overprotective or forcing her lifestyle on her child, but there was another way of looking at it.

“This is the only thing I can do for you,” said Mitotsudaira’s mother.

“I really don’t think that’s true.”

Asama decided to interpret that as modesty.

The equivalent for Asama was the knowledge and techniques her mother had taught her.

Those had been left with her so they could help her as she grew up. Mary and Naito likely had the same in some form or another. And in Mitotsudaira’s case, this was it. Plus…

“Listen.”

Mitotsudaira’s mother hugged Horizon from behind.

She’s being buried… Wait, my chest size is perfectly normal if you compare me to her. Naito, you don’t have to mime drawing spheres in the air to compare.

But the wolf mother kept talking.

“You may have forgotten, but that just means it is forgotten. It does not mean it never happened. So if you are curious, then come to me and I will teach you. Nate was a challenging child to raise, after all.”

And…

“If anything I teach you inspires an emotional response, then that must be something you were once taught but later forgot.”

Horizon raised her right hand and the mother tilted her head with a smile.

“Yes, what is it?”

“What should I do if I only react to the poop stories which are always found when discussing childrearing?”

“That would be troubling…”

“Mother! Mother! You weren’t really planning on telling any of those stories, were you!?”

The stubborn mother lifted the still-buried Horizon and moved to a corner of the storage shed. The two of them whispered about something for a bit before the mother carried Horizon back.

“Do not worry, Nate. She knows most everything now.”

“How is that a reason not to worry!?”

“I do believe this has been an educational experience for me,” said Horizon.

“Wouldn’t any childrearing stories be valuable for all of us to hear?” asked Naito.

“Judge. I agree. I often babysat back at England, so I could add to the conversation too. Plus, I would love to hear those stories.”

Mitotsudaira’s situation wasn’t looking good, so Asama tried to help out.

“Maybe we could minimize the damage to Mito by having individual lessons for anyone who wants them?”

Art-Ga: “When is it!? When does the class start!? I’ve already written myself a reservation form!”

Sorry, but that would be counterfeit.

But Mitotsudaira’s mother gave Horizon a squeeze before releasing her. The fact that it looked like removing Horizon from a mold showed just how big the woman’s size was. Then she raised a hand to call everyone over.

“I found it over here.”

A few items were lined up and stacked up in the back of the large space.

What was that one that looked like the fang bone of an unfamiliar creature? There were also swords and spears.

“Are those spoils of war?” asked Mitotsudaira.

“I imagine each generation had something they were proud of winning. Oh, but these could curse you or cut you if you touch them, so be careful. If anything does happen, kick the shaft as hard as you can and then stomp on it. Then it should cry and apologize. Afterwards, you can pour vinegar on it to make it scream.”

…That might be the harshest artifact management system I’ve ever heard of.

I guess that’s what you get with werewolf royalty, thought Asama as Mitotsudaira’s mother came to a stop in front of a few items in a wooden frame.

“Well, Nate? Is the weapon you saw in my past here?”

Kasuya Takenori of the Hashiba Ten Spears had used a silver weapon.

Specifically, silver nails. Asama had seen them herself through a telescope spell. They had attached to Kasuya’s arms, expanded in a cross shape, and attacked with a drilling action.

If they weren’t here, it would mean Kasuya had stolen them. But…

“That’s them right there,” said Mitotsudaira.

She reached out to the two silver nails placed in the wooden frame.

Mitotsudaira had found the pair of silver nails. They were definitely the ones she remembered from her mother’s past.

But the same thing occurred to her now as it had back then.

…Something’s different.

She recalled her memory of battling Kasuya. Kasuya’s weapons had transformed, greatly changing shape in the process. But…

“These are no more than pile bunkers.”

“Mito-tsan. I feel like pile bunkers should be impressive enough on their own.”

I think you’re right. But…

“They were a lot like these, but not exactly the same, mother. These can’t transform into drills or claws.”

“Drills? Claws? Nate, are you sure you didn’t dream that?”

“You fought Kasuya too, mother!”

“Fought? I was simply having fun singing, dancing, and playing. I was so into it I don’t really remember much about the people who were playing with me.” Her mother tilted her head. “But I do agree that the weapon that black-haired girl used was a bit different from this.”

“Do you have any more like this?”

“I would have to ask my mother to know for sure.” She turned toward Asama. “Do you do necromancy?”

“No, and there’s a bit of a debate over whether or not that is acceptable in Shinto. And I’m not sure it works with a spirit’s ancestors anyway.”

Mary tilted her head at that.

“When a nonreligious spirit dies, its soul joins the ley lines separate from its body. That is why the ley lines contain such vast memories which are said to link to the future. That is supposedly what triggers the updates to the Testament.”

I see, thought Mitotsudaira, but if this continued much longer, they would have a lecture on religion and spirits on their hands. Asama and Mary both loved discussing these things and Mitotsudaira knew her mother was fond of it too. So…

“Do any of the other Loup-Garou families have silver items?”

“You do see a lot of black hair in the Eastern European Loup-Garous.” Her mother placed a hand on her chin. “But during the Hundred Years’ War, I thought the Loup-Garou families from that region fought for the M.H.R.R. side instead of for Hexagone Française and Joan of Arc. And I had heard the frequency of black hair came from the fierce fighting against the prominent equestrian nomads in the east.”

“Which would mean…?”

“Maybe Hashiba made it themselves? Or one of the peoples in Eastern Europe made it?”

“W-would it be that easy to make!?”

Her mother smiled bitterly and pulled a small silver box from her cleavage.

“This was made about 200 years ago. To be honest, the way the Musashi flies through the sky is a lot more technically impressive.”

“Y-you have a point…”

Mitotsudaira had to give her mother that one.

Besides, their family’s silver nails were right there.

“Could you use these ones, Mito-tsan?” suggested Margot. “That would give you twice the weapons and give you even more of an advantage at close range.”

“Um, mother?”

“Most divine weapons choose their wielder themselves. I have my mother’s sword in here, but I can’t use it. And I so wish I could since it’s so cool.”

“Stop staring at the sword and sighing. …Then what about the silver chains?”

“Testament.” Her mother nodded. “They’re very friendly, so I knew they would accept you soon enough.”

“You’re telling me I inherited a family artifact for such a silly reason!?”

But it was true they had been friendly from the moment she had first tried using them.

For her own sake, Mitotsudaira took a breath.

“This must mean Kasuya is a lone werewolf just like me.”

“Nate.” Her mother stroked the silver nails. “There aren’t many of our species left, so do treat that girl with care.”

Mitotsudaira knew what her mother was getting at, but they had their positions in their respective nations to consider.

“Mother, she and I are enemies.”

“That is the problem, isn’t it? If only you were as strong as me. Then you could bring about peace without worrying about her.”

“Mitotsudaira-sama, I believe that is asking too much of you both physically and mentally. Do you agree?” asked Horizon.

She very much did. But…

“Well, this investigation didn’t last long.”

Mitotsudaira wanted to search for some equipment she could use, but apparently there wouldn’t be time for that.

She sensed a familiar presence outside. A familiar voice called in from the entrance to the shed.

“Hey, Nate!? Horizon!? Asama!?”

It was her king. But what did he want?

“Come on out or you won’t have any time to rest.”

That was true. The sun was hot, but they could not spend all their time in the water.

They had a meeting at dinnertime, after all. So the three of them exchanged a glance.

“Mother, is there a spot around here you think we could have a lot of fun playing around in?”

“Since you are in swimsuits, you could try digging into the bottom of the spring. You will find some polished stones in the sand there, but some of them are gemstones from a nearby vein.”

Everyone froze when they heard that. Everyone except for Mary who clasped her hands together.

“That could cover the expenses of moving to a new house!”

“Now things are getting interesting,” said Naito, so Mitotsudaira chose to simply nod and accept it.

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