Horizon:Volume 9A Chapter 16
Chapter 16: Gambler Starting in the Mounted Position[edit]
If I were an entertainer
My policy would be
To never let a once-in-a-lifetime joke get away
Point Allocation (A First For Humanity)
●
Toori couldn’t believe what had happened. Horizon was in his lap with her hand on her chin.
“If I am not mistaken, I believe this is a remarkable feat never before achieved.”
“Huh? Remarkable? What?”
“Isn’t it though, Toori-sama? What past saint or leader could have done something like this?”
“Hm. I can’t argue with that, but how in the world did this even happen?”
●
Art-Ga: “Drawn from the side, it went like this. When Horizon performed her midair flip and fell ass-first, the idiot must have pushed his hips up while preparing to catch her from below.”
Unturning: “As long as the angle and height were correct, it would only be a matter of speed.”
10ZO: “Do we really need to analyze this?”
Asama: “Um, Kimi? Are you okay? It looks like you’re having trouble breathing.”
●
Once they both had grasped what had happened, Horizon heard Toori speak quietly.
“Y’know, I was really hoping we could set a better mood than this.”
“Such as?”
“Well, I could say ‘Horizon, are you ready?’ and you would say ‘yes, please come to me, Toori-sama’.”
“You asked me to come at you and I did so, which seems within the margin of error to me.
“That said.” She struck him on the belly once. “I do not mind that it turned out this way.”
●
“You don’t!?”
Toori sat up straighter when he heard that.
“So you’re also thinking how nice it is to feel like we’ve become one?”
“It irritates me that you must use that porn game terminology. What does it even mean to ‘become one’? A predatory fusion? We are not Mitotsudaira-sama’s mother.”
“Th-then how would you describe what we’re doing?”
“Well.” Horizon took a look around. “That is easy to answer. And simple too.”
“Then what is it?”
“We are using every method we can think of to show that we will never let the each other be alone.”
And…
“If this does result in a child, then we really will not be alone. And even if it does not, we can confirm our feelings this way as many times as it takes.”
●
Everyone was listening to the divine transmission.
“You must not cry, Toori-sama.”
Because…
“The part where I smile has yet to come.”
●
She’s right, thought Toori. He took a deep breath and suppressed a great many things.
“I’ll make sure to smile, so you can cry if you want, Horizon.”
“Do not be silly. These are not tears. They are eye juices.”
“That’s what you’re going with?”
“Do you have a problem with that?”
Pursuing that further felt like it would ruin everything they had going here, so he chose not to. But…
“Oh, yeah. This is supposed to hurt, isn’t it? Is that why you’re crying, Horizon?”
“What is supposed to hurt?”
“Well, y’know.” He pointed at her hips. “They say a girl’s first time hurts, right?”
Horizon frowned, looked down, and tilted her head.
“But it doesn’t?”
“Eh?”
Horizon raised her right hand for him to see. And…
“I would like to question the assertion that it is inside me.”
“I-it totally is! Where else would my dick have disappeared to!?”
“Perhaps it was crushed by my approximately 80kg of weight and what you think you are feeling is a hallucination brought on by the brain chemicals meant to reduce the pain.”
“N-no, it’s in! I promise you it’s in! Try lifting your hips!”
Horizon did so and they both looked.
“Hm, it is in.”
“See!? I told you! Don’t scare me like that. I was wondering what I’d do if it had been crushed!”
“But then why doesn’t it hurt?”
He had an idea there.
“I know! This happens a lot in porn games! The slutty characters always say things like, ‘wh-why does it feel so good when it’s my first time!?’ ”
He took a fist straight down into the gut.
“Who are you calling slutty? I could see that happening with Asama-sama or Mitotsudaira-sama, though.”
●
Asama: “Th-that’s not true. I mean, I haven’t tested it out, but I will feel pain like normal. I promise. Mito, stop averting your gaze!”
Gold Mar: “It sounds like Asama-chi and Mito-tsan have really earned a lot of trust from Horizon.”
Flat Vassal: “Well, they are in a position where she can trust the Chancellor with them.”
Silver Wolf: “Um, why are all of you just accepting what she said about us?”
●
Toori saw Horizon look up at the ceiling like she had a sudden revelation.
“Judge. I know why there is no pain.”
“Really? Is it cause Porneia activated?”
“No, my automaton body automatically shuts off its senses in an area experiencing a sudden burst of pain. This happened at Sanada too, but it means my OS is functioning properly.”
“Waiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit! You can cheat like that!?”
Horizon glared at him.
“Why wouldn’t I do this, Toori-sama? No one wants to feel pain.”
“But isn’t that also cutting off all feeling of me being inside you?”
“Yes, it is doing that too.”
“Time out,” said Toori with his right hand held out toward Horizon. “Um, can you try switching off that sensory block?”
“No. It would hurt.”
“Just for a second, okay? You might find out you like it, right?”
“Unlikely,” said Horizon. “Imagine you fell from a height of 2m onto a milk bottle that happened to be on the floor and it was vertically installed in your butt. Would you enjoy that?”
“Y-you’re trying to make me shrink, aren’t you!?”
But he wasn’t about to be discouraged.
“I really mean just for a second. That’s no time at all. Try it for just the one second and you might learn it’s nothing like you’re imagining. Isn’t it worth knowing?”
“Based on the statistical data I have gathered, agony is the much more likely result.”
“Wait, hold on!”
She had given him a hint earlier.
“You said your awful dad designed all of this, right? So maybe he predicted this and made it so you wouldn’t feel pain.”
“I see. So there is a possibility of an atypical result. Very well.”
Horizon opened a sign frame.
“Only for a moment.”
She operated the frame. She navigated a few levels down in the settings and then pressed the center button of a certain page. And…
“––––––”
●
Toori saw Horizon fall silent.
“W-well!? Experiencing a brand new feeling, Horizon!?”
She dropped a fist into his solar plexus much harder than her past punches.
●
“Owwwww! Wait, ah, no, ahn!”
Yeah, that’s about how that’s going to turn out, thought Asama while the sign frame continued to produce strange noises of that sort.
…But Toori-kun can be really persuasive when he wants to be. He just has this way with words.
Asama had trouble saying no when he asked for a favor, so she sensed danger in how things had gone there. Mitotsudaira was staring into the distance with exasperation on her face, so it seemed they both had a lot to learn from this.
Art-Ga: “Taking mental notes?”
Asama: “Yes, actually…”
Then Asama realized what she had said.
Asama: “I-I mean no! Why would I need to do that!?”
“Heh heh. Don’t even try to deny it. At least not when you’re with my foolish brother.” Kimi placed her arms around Mitotsudaira and Asama’s shoulders from behind. “Everyone has their own way of saying neither of you are alone. For Horizon, it means saying ‘I am here and I will not be lost’. You have your own way, don’t you? So you need to let him know.”
“Well…”
“He tends to get involved in other people’s business. And with Horizon, he tries to show off. You two need to tell him how you feel and give him the confidence he needs to do that.”
Kimi added an “okay?” and slapped their shoulders, but Asama felt like she had just been assigned some brutally difficult homework.
But…
…She’s right.
He had to be happy that he and Horizon could desire each other and share the feeling that they were there for each other and would not be lost.
…I…
What kind of feeling could Asama provide him? No, she already knew the answer. But how could she dedicate herself to him in order to convey that feeling? In other words…
Art-Ga: “ ‘What can I do to make him happy. Ahn,’ moaned Asama while wiggling in excitement.”
Asama: “H-hey! Stop inventing a monologue for me!”
“This is something to think about.” Mitotsudaira slumped down onto the bath duckboard. “My parents never went through this. They joined together to express their feelings for each other as soon as they met.”
“And I’ve heard my mother arrived in what amounted to eloping.”
“Heh heh. And our parents fought a duel.”
So…
“That things went so smoothly for you two actually makes your task a lot harder.”
Asama had to agree with Kimi there. But…
“Oh.”
She realized those two were speaking on the sign frame again.
●
“Hm,” groaned Toori. “I didn’t expect our first time to be quite so avant-garde.”
“I worried doing things normally wouldn’t be any fun, so this does have its appeal,” said Horizon. “Also, it is still inside me, so our first time is not over yet. You can still attempt to do things differently if you want.”
“Eh!? You mean you’ll help me set the right mood!?”
“Have you forgotten that I am on top?”
Horizon artlessly moved her hips back and forth. It was a simple motion, but…
“Ah, hey, everything leading up to this has left me pretty weak!”
“Oh? What’s this, Toori-sama? Am I doing a good job even with my sensory block in place?”
“Yeah, I’m realizing letting you have your way with me is pretty great!”
This deserved high praise, so he arched his back in preparation to give it.
“Superb.”
“Ho ho? I imagine my awful father designed it based on what he enjoys, so this must mean the two of you have similar tastes.”
“Noooooooooooooooooo! Are you trying to kill me with sorrow!?”
●
Gold Mar: “She actually said it.”
Flat Vassal: “The Vicereine is ruthless.”
Silver Wolf: “My king! Keep fighting! You can survive this!”
●
“Settle down,” said Horizon. “There is always next time, so there is no need for you to do this your way this time. …By the way, Toori-sama, you seem to be at your limit. Are you alright?”
“D-don’t be ridiculous! I can last longer than this! I totally can!”
“Then if you last another 5 minutes, we can trade places.”
Horizon removed her arms and had them grip her hips. Then she had them move her up and down.
“This makes it a lot easier.”
“Stoooooop! Don’t mechanically milk meeeeeeeee!”
“Class is about to begiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!”
“W-wait! Are you trying to milk me or make me shrink, Horizon!? Make up your mind!”
“Oh?” said Horizon. “You seem to be at your limit, Toori-sama. And a one, two, one, two.”
“Nwahhhhh! Stop keeping tempo! Please, please stop!”
How could you even describe this situation? Whatever you called it, she couldn’t imagine it any other way.
“Are you enjoying yourself, Toori-sama?”
He held a pillow over his face and gave her a thumbs up with his other hand.
She had the arms remove that pillow and brought her lips to his raised thumb.
“This is Porneia, Toori-sama.”
As soon as she squeezed her lips around his thumb, he reached his limit.
●
Sensing a terrible tremor or shaking, Mitotsudaira exchanged a glance with Asama.
She could tell they were both frowning in confusion, but Asama still opened a sign frame to check the king’s physical state.
“This says he isn’t dead.”
“In fact, it looks like he’s extremely excited. Look at this spinning heart symbol.”
“I didn’t know it did that,” commented Asama before smiling at the voices coming from the other sign frame.
“Okay. Let’s do it again right away, Toori-sama.”
“I-I’ve been defiled…”
True to Asama’s sign frame, the joy in the king’s voice was plain to hear.
“Anyway,” said Asama, applying a soundproofing spell to the other sign frame.
Asama: “It would be crass to listen in any longer. Not that it wasn’t crass to listen in as much as we did.”
●
But I’m glad, thought Asama.
She had been lost once and he nearly had been, but they had gotten over that and now they had sworn their futures to each other.
They were enjoying themselves.
They weren’t just protecting each other to avoid losing them.
That much went without saying, so now they were imagining what kind of future they wanted together.
“Way back at the beginning, he said to have fun with it.”
He was always saying that and it had finally come to the forefront.
…Yes, that’s right.
This had to be what those two wanted.
They wanted to have fun.
Where did they want to go while they made so many people’s dreams come true, conquered the world, and stopped the Apocalypse?
It wasn’t just to avoid losing anyone.
They wanted to have fun.
It was a small wish.
But it was such an important one.
The king who would grant everyone’s wishes had decided on a small wish for himself.
What did he want to do while he granted everyone’s wishes and made Horizon’s dream come true?
He wanted to have fun.
He understood that now.
But that would be a difficult dream to realize. It was predicated on never losing anyone. That was enough of a challenge that Masazumi would definitely purse her lips if asked to make it happen.
But it was worth it.
And Asama and Mitotsudaira would be supporting him in that. After all, he pushed himself hard. No matter how much fun he was having or how happy he was, he would sometimes be worn out.
This had to lead to what Kimi was talking about before.
They had established the hooks needed to support him in the future.
…In my case…
Asama saw the answer in the place, the connection, the time, and the things she could do for him.
Everyone had to have their own ideas regarding this. And Mitotsudaira turned to look at Asama.
“Yes.”
The knight nodded, so she may have already understood all this because she had long supported him. Kimi had been laughing in the tub, but now she was only smiling.
So Asama sensed something.
Asama: “I’m glad.”
For both Horizon and Toori-kun. And…
Asama: “No one’s worried anymore, are they?”
●
“Right.” Naito agreed with Asama while Naruze lay on her side after finishing her drawings for the moment. She then rolled over to the wall.
“Ugh.”
“What’s wrong, Ga-chan? You’ll hurt your wings doing that.”
“What am I even supposed to draw? The only way I can outdo that is to give them a corner post and have them use a High Fly Flow to achieve their docking! This was supposed to be a bonus stage, but now doing a documentary is the only option left!
“Ugh,” she groaned again. “I’m exhausted.”
“Ga-chan, I love that you know how to think about others when you need to.”
10ZO: “She does?”
Scarred: “Don’t be rude, Master Tenzou. Lady Naruze traveled to London and rescued you to support our confession, remember? She has a good heart.”
That made Naruze scramble into a sitting position with her face bright red.
“No, wait. You can’t just say that. I- k-kh!”
Ga-chan is so cute when she gets like this. But the biggest issue at present was…
“When will the Chancellor be done?”
●
It was quite some time before Asama heard Horizon’s voice from the sign frame.
“Asama-sama, we are done here, so take care of the rest.”
What is she handing off to me? wondered Asama while she shut off the theatre viewing sign frame in the bath and quickly set the tub to drain and refill. While the water drained from the tub, Kimi shouted, “Oh, no! I’m being sucked down the drain! It’s vacuum sucking me!”, but Asama ignored her. After draping her sleepwear over her worn out swimsuit, she took Mitotsudaira and Kimi to the living room.
But Mitotsudaira tapped out on the way. She suddenly gasped and…
“I-I need to go change in my room real quick. Is that alright?”
“Oh, can you smell it?”
“Y-you don’t have to mention it out loud!”
The wolf left and Asama stood in front of the curtain.
“Oh, the arms. Are you here to greet us? Heh heh.”
Like Kimi said, the arms emerged from below the curtain and then opened it for them.
…Wh-why am I so nervous!?
“Excuse me.”
Asama looked cautiously inside. And she found…
“There you are, Asama-sama.”
Horizon had already put on her sleepwear and sat atop a noticeably disheveled futon. Asama had been concerned Horizon’s hair would be messed up, but it seemed fine. As for him…
“I-I was defiled…”
He was doubled over, but his crying was obviously fake.
Asama sat down, placed a hand on Horizon’s chin, examined her for any unexpected injuries, and then opened a sign frame to check her status that way.
…Oh, she’s in a great mood.
I’m glad, thought Asama before speaking it aloud.
“Are you glad you did this?”
Horizon took a look around. Then she scooted over to the entrance on her knees and beckoned Asama over.
“What is this about?” asked Mitotsudaira, who had finally worked up the courage to enter the room
Horizon beckoned her over as well. Kimi was called over too, leaving only him and his fake crying left. Horizon sighed at the center of the gathered girls and spoke quietly.
“Judge, it was a good thing. But do not ever let that boy know I said so.”
Why do they have to turn everything into a competition?
●
After helping get Horizon bathed and otherwise cleaning up, Asama was finally getting bed at shortly past 10, leaving only an hour and a half until they had to leave.
Not everyone had stayed up so late. Mitotsudaira had gone to sleep much earlier since she would be on the vanguard. Kimi was the only other one still up.
“We should probably at least get a nap now on the assumption that we can get some real sleep once the Honnouji Incident is over. A nap using compressed sleep.”
“Heh heh. Thanks for helping out. But, Asama.”
“What?”
“I can’t wait until you and Mitotsudaira get a turn.”
“W-we will not let you listen in.”
“We’ll see,” said Kimi before leaving, so Asama could only sigh.
He and Horizon were sleeping peacefully in Horizon’s room. Those two could be a pain and tended to cause trouble, but if they would continue to do this sort of thing and if Asama would as well…
“––––––”
Did she briefly smile because she too thought this was fun?
“Good night.”
When she woke, it would be time to fight a battle. And afterwards, a new age was sure to begin.
●
The Musashi activating its stealth barrier was visible from the city of Kyou below.
“It’s finally happening. They must be preparing for their night attack on Honnouji.”
Mitsunari watched as the massive ship vanished and the sky opened up above.
Similar activity was occurring at the Lake Biwa Azuchi.
Once the Azuchi was ready to depart, it turned toward Hokuriku and floated up.
“Now, how will this play out?” wondered Mitsunari while quickly arranging to have food and blankets distributed to the shelters. “Such a quiet beginning for such a momentous night.”
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