Horizon:Volume 9A Chapter 22

Chapter 22: King of the Bedroom

Hey

Did she

Steal my futon?

Point Allocation (Secret Royal Art)

●

Toori got up.

He looked around the dark room partitioned by curtains, confirming that this was the space next to his own room. This was Horizon’s place.

The futon here was meant for one, but they had decided to share it for the night.

“Share?”

He looked over to see Horizon sleeping with her eyes open and her body stiff and straight.

…Is this the Pharaoh Sleep that Naruze and the others mentioned?

Leave it to Horizon to remember to pull a gag even when she sleeps.

“But wait. Hold on. She wasn’t like this when I woke up earlier.”

Her arms had been removed, but he was pretty sure she had been sleeping normally.

Yeah, that’s right. The arms and I bowed toward Asama, Nate, and sis. Cause I have all of them to thank for what’s happening now. But…

“She must have started the Pharaoh after that.”

He opened a sign frame and snapped a photo on instinct, but then he noticed her right hand waving at him. Which would mean…

“Are you awake?”

“Oh? You wanted to photograph your sleeping wife? You have some…unorthodox interests, Toori-sama.”

Horizon artlessly got up. Then she bent her arms behind her head and wiggled her hips side to side.

“Hm! …Oh, I am simply doing some wakeup stretches. It assists my morning bowel movement.”

“You didn’t expect me to wake up then, did you?”

“Forget about it,” said Horizon in the dim glow of the auxiliary lighting sign frame hovering near the ceiling. Asama had it set to come on whenever someone got up.

“Toori-sama, are you ready? This is a time for secrets.”

“Eh? Oh, yeah. I guess it is.”

He reached below his change of clothes and pulled out a basket he had snuck in. It contained something he had whipped up quick after returning home last night.

“I made some marzipan. In two colors: white and red as celebratory colors. The red one has jam in it. Not that you can tell the colors in this light.”

“Toori-sama.”

“Yeah?” he asked and Horizon replied while skewering a piece of marzipan with a fork.

“Well, I just thought this was interesting.”

“What was?” he asked back and Horizon looked up at the ceiling for a moment.

“Well,” she said again. “I honestly thought the two major highlights of a relationship were docking scenes and fight scenes where the theme song is playing over them.”

“Eh? Are you saying our docking scene wasn’t any good?”

“It seems to me the quality of such things is a matter of individual taste, but as it included some historical firsts, I believe it was a major contribution to human possibility.”

“Wow, you’re sounding really smart right now, Horizon! …So what about it?”

“Well,” she said a third time. “If that is indeed a highlight of our relationship, then I was thinking that doing it again would give us more time for secrets like this.”

Her point was a little unclear, but he thought he got what she was trying to say.

He thought a bit before trying to respond.

“I guess you’re right. Without that, we wouldn’t have this.”

In that case…

“When you do something big and you think it couldn’t get any better, you discover new things you haven’t done yet. And that’s a discovery you only make after you do something that seems like it couldn’t get any better.”

“Judge. And I find that interesting. I can sense the possibility there. You wonder if there could actually be something better, something bigger. And…”

And…

“Whether relationships or anything else, what determines the value of the things we encounter in life?”

“What makes you ask that?”

“Judge,” replied Horizon. “It seems to me now that their value is determined by their newness – not how big or great they are.”

“How would you explain it in terms of boobs?”

“With boobs, you have to look past the size and shape and consider their firmness and the skeletal frame they are situated on. And you must not forget the people who prefer the more aged variety. This is a difficult topic to discuss in terms of boobs, Toori-sama.”

“I really didn’t think you’d take my gag seriously…”

“This is a time for our secrets, remember? …Although I did mostly respond on a whim.”

“D-do you have to lift me up just to tear me down again!?”

“Calm down.” Horizon held a hand to stop him. And she took a breath. “But if everything vanishes into the past eventually, how much does any of it actually matter? Because anything in the past can be framed as a good thing. The past is like a parallel happiness. …Oh, but I just woke up, so I’m really just saying things.”

“Yeah, I got that feeling when you started getting poetic.”

“It is true I am a poetic girl.” Horizon grabbed another piece of marzipan with her fork. “The world is filled with ubiquitous things we are unaware of and unknown things to be discovered in the future. If relationships are the same, then the more ways to arrive at them, the more fun there is to be had.”

“And now we can share those things and work at them together, huh?”

“That is indeed what it would mean, Toori-sama.”

They both bowed their heads atop the futon.

“I look forward to our new life together. …Toori-sama, you must bow your head lower than mine.”

“Wh-why are you like this!?”

“But anyway.” Horizon raised her head. “We are sure to find many more things we are unaware of.” She narrowed her eyes. “After all, we are no longer alone. If I find something difficult to tell you, I can go to Asama-sama, Mitotsudaira-sama, or Kimi-sama for advice, which leads to secrets with them. And I of course look forward to hearing what they have to confide in me and achieving a deeper understanding of you and them.”

“Now, there’s a scary thought.”

When he said that, Horizon beckoned him over. She bowed toward the rooms where Asama and the others slept.

“You too, Toori-sama.”

He didn’t mention he had done so already because he couldn’t thank them enough. And…

“If I tried to thank Asama-sama, Mitotsudaira-sama, Kimi-sama, or the others, they would only smile and refuse to accept my thanks. But that does not mean I will forget how thankful I am.”

“Right?” He had to agree with her there. “Asama and Nate both said they would rather I rely on them than thank them. Like I do with sis.”

But…

“That isn’t easy. I’d have to say something like ‘thanks, I’ll rely on you more from now on’, which doesn’t quite get across how I feel.”

“You are bad at relying on people. You are much better at having them rely on you.”

“Of course I am. I mean, I’m a king. If I think it’s a problem when people rely on me, I’ll never get anywhere. And I know I can’t hand all that to someone else.”

However…

“They all understand that and share the burden with me.”

“Because even you are a normal person. Asama-sama, Mitotsudaira-sama, and Kimi-sama must all understand that.”

“Yeah, when you’re right, you’re right. I’m as normal as they come.”

“Judge.” Horizon nodded. “Without your bad jokes, nudity, and crossdressing, you would be a forgettable background character.”

“Wh-who do you think I am – Tenzou!? And what about my good looks!?”

●

Art-Ga: “What? Tenzou woke up all of a sudden? He had a nightmare about going unrecognized at Honnouji because the enemy ignored him as a background character? Sounds more like a prophetic dream to me. But why did you contact me about this, Neshinbara? You want me to draw a doujinshi about Honnouji? Titled ‘Secrets of Honnouji Laid Bare’? That’s such a cliché title. Ah ha ha! Sorry, I’m in a bit of a high trying to work out what I’ll be drawing about the Chancellor.”

Four Eyes: “I will buy three copies of that doujinshi.”

Novice: “Stop interrupting! Anyway, I also want you to call Stuart-kun for me. The damage here could spread. Because it will affect morale.”

●

“Anyway,” Toori heard Horizon say. “It probably is selfish to want to remain a normal person even as the burden you carry grows. I similarly want to take it easy and continue my work at the café. I think it is perfectly fine to do that while also conquering the world.”

“I agree there. In fact, you kind of have to do it.”

“Thank you,” quietly said Horizon. “I hope I can solve some of the problems you carry on your shoulders, but I will also share that burden with you. We have a goal and, as important as it is, we will still be tired at times and sad at times, but there is a risk we will be unable to keep our distance from it all. I have my time at the café, but you are frankly abysmal at taking time off.”

“Why do you always have to turn these conversations into jabs about me!?”

“Calm down.” Horizon held out a hand to stop him and then bowed toward the adjacent room again. “Fortunately, we have people who can teach us so much and who we can rely on and go to for assistance. I am thankful for the relationships that gives us all that. Because they came here knowing what it would mean. …For Mitotsudaira-sama, being with you effectively makes her dream come true, so you need not feel like you are burdening her as you share the problems standing between you and this other dream.”

“Yeah… She’s a lot like sis in that sense. She never really asks much of me.”

“That is true of Asama-sama as well. So you indulge in her kindness and rely on her. I think the extreme form of that could be the eternal task of building a kingdom and conquering the world.”

“Is that why you set all this up? Intentionally or not.”

Toori pointed around in a circle and Horizon tilted her head a bit. And eventually…

“Anyone can tell when something is important. And there have been many times when I realized anew just how important something was. As those things become our past, they reinforce the motives behind our actions. I am sure we will find many things we were unaware of and learn we should have done things some other way, which will also reinforce our motives.”

“You’re actually super smart, aren’t you?”

“I will make decisions about things, but instead of leaving that decision as final, I merely place it in a box of possible decisions. …Oh, and that you fail to understand this proves that you are an idiot.”

“Th-that sounds pretty final to me! What happened to the box or whatever!?”

“I meant it as a compliment. I will toss this in the box despite your lack of understanding. …Even if I do know you are indeed an idiot.”

“You refuse to back down, don’t you?”

“Because I am starting from a different place,” said Horizon. She then took a look around. “I am sure a lot more will happen and we will likely find more advantages for doing this sort of thing. For now, a lot of it feels more like a burden than anything, but I also think our family will grow and become livelier in the future.”

So…

“Our future is filled with fun.”

Toori smiled a bit at that.

“So it comes back to what’s fun, huh?”

“Relationships come in endless variety and they provide new values and pleasant memories. Wanting as many of them as possible does feel greedy.”

“So what will you do?”

“Judge.” Horizon nodded. “I think you should take my awful father’s inherited name. Besides,” she said, gesturing toward the Logismoi Oplo on their wall hangers. “Politically speaking, the leader of Matsudaira is free to start blasting with these, which should help us attack the other nations. Fortunately, they won’t actually hit anything. We wouldn’t want to be responsible for any real damage.”

●

“Why did you just spring out of bed, Muneshige-dono? Do you need to call Gin-dono?”

“Oh, no, I am fine. I just had what I believe to be a prophetic dream. Yes, a prophetic dream about the Logismoi Oplo hitting.”

“Sounds like a bad omen to me!!”

“Noriki-kun, that is not something to say with a big grin.”

●

“Anyway,” Toori heard Horizon say. “As much trouble as it will be, we should be fine for the time being as long as I remain Matsudaira Motonobu’s daughter.”

“Hmm, that’s not going to be fun for you.”

“I will be fine. Because if anything does happen, I can blame it on my father.”

“Y-you’re also going to blame him for things that are your fault, aren’t you!?”

“That aside, I do not want a repeat of what happened at Mikawa. That battle established the precedent that it is acceptable to include the Logismoi Oplo in the history recreation. At the very least, I want to avoid any other groups hoping they can use me to get their way.”

“You really are super smart, aren’t you!? You’re so clever!”

“Heh,” breathed Horizon. “Of course I am. I have saved Masazumi-sama from disaster on more than one occasion, after all.”

●

“Why did you just spring out of bed, Masazumi? Do you need to use the privy?”

“Oh, no, I’m fine, Futayo. I just had what I think was a prophetic dream. Yes, a prophetic dream about Horizon introducing the Horizon Rules to the Honnouji Incident.”

“Yeah, I could see that happening. Vividly even.”

“4th Special Duty Officer, let’s not encourage her.”

●

“But,” said Horizon. “Since I have the authority of Musashi’s Vicereine, I can participate in political matters as Musashi’s princess and assist Masazumi-sama, so nothing will change there. Meanwhile, when we are speaking with foreign VIPs, Masazumi-sama could use your inherited name to our advantage.”

“Hey! Don’t you mean I could use my inherited name!?”

“Are you planning to follow the history reaction by pooping your pants and then eating tempura?”

“What the hell!? That’s a new one to me!!”

But this leads into what I want to do, he realized.

“That would make me king of the Far East, wouldn’t it?”

“I suppose that would make me the first lady.”

“What, do you like the sound of that? Because it would, Horizon. …What’s that look for!?”

Eh, she’s probably just happy. As for him…

“We’re about to start so much, Horizon.”

“Looking back, we are constantly starting things. That tends to be how we live our lives.”

Horizon lay back down, opened a sign frame, and checked something.

“Since we woke partway through the compressed sleep cycle, its effect was reduced.”

“Can’t we go back to sleep? And ask Asama to give us a hand once we get up.”

“I feel bad relying on her already. She does so much for us.”

Horizon bowed toward Asama’s room.

“Pleasant dreams, Asama-sama.”

●

Asama woke with a start, her heart pounding.

“A lewd dream!” she shouted, but then she realized…

…Huh?

She didn’t remember her dream. That wasn’t unusual. She wasn’t sure if she should be disappointed by that, but her sleepwear was badly disheveled.

She looked down to see they were parted from the bottom up to just past her navel and the top had somehow managed to pull down enough to expose just her breasts. She was glad she was wearing a swimsuit below, but based on the structure of the sleepwear…

“This would only happen if I forcefully spread my legs wide and pushed the chest down…”

What kind of dream had she had?

She noticed her pillow was badly deformed, perhaps from burying her face in it and squeezing it tight. She patted it back into shape and, by the time she took a break, her night sweat had cooled.

It wasn’t chilly since this was a late summer night and the room was air conditioned, but her sweat had cooled. She opened a sign frame and activated a cleaning spell. After adjusting the impurity away, she collapsed back into her futon. And…

“Toori-kun and Horizon.”

They were asleep in the adjacent room. They already had been when she and Mitotsudaira had gone back to their rooms after she cleaned up.

…Finally.

Maybe it was wrong to think it was impossible for those two to ever calm down, but they had at least accepted each other. She was sure they had discussed and confirmed many more things, including the value of what they were doing. And then they would be moving on to the next thing.

“Good.”

●

Good, she thought again.

Thinking back, she had known Horizon as P-01s since last year, but everything had changed at Mikawa and now they had the present.

Given what had happened ten years ago, this felt like a long-awaited conclusion.

Nothing like ten years ago would happen again.

When he had returned, he had stopped doing anything at all and Asama had often wondered what would have happened if not for Kimi.

But all of that had been fulfilled here.

…It’s like purification.

All the bad things could ultimately be converted into something good. She knew they were still on their way to “all’s well that ends well”, but she also knew that things were “well” now.

Good.

Had she created a single blessing here? Something that would help guide them? She felt conceited to feel that way, but those two were definitely there in the adjacent room.

…Good.

She thought that about the two of them, about him, about Horizon, and about herself. Could she believe it was the same for everyone because it was late at night and the room was so dark? Whatever the reason, she felt an excitement she didn’t think was related to the strange dream she apparently had. And…

“Yes.”

The tears caught her by surprise. Just like when she was back at the shrine. She again shed tears of happiness. She knew this would be far from the last time it happened. And…

“I…”

I want that too, she thought. I can wish for it while I wait. Because I’m part of the “family” now.

His very presence made her happy and she knew he needed her and wouldn’t hesitate to seek her help. She understood deep down that showing appreciation didn’t need to be the most important thing.

“Yes.”

If she hesitated to claim her happiness, she might as well not be part of the family. She hoped she could shed these happy tears for herself someday.

She knew there would be much fun to be had going forward. With him of course, but also teaching Horizon things, simply spending time with her, and nodding along while hearing the complaints she couldn’t share with him. She would be doing it all with Mito and Kimi too, so she doubted there were enough hours in a day for it all. But…

“Huh?”

She did have one question. It always happened this way, but…

Asama: “I just checked the sign frame and why are all of you still awake?”

●

Gold Mar: “Well, Gin-chan woke up all of a sudden and tearfully shouted something about the Logismoi Oplo gaining perfect accuracy.”

Tonbokiri: “Gin-dono, why did helping update that site help you calm down so much?”

Tachibana Wife: “I-I am so sorry for losing my composure!”

Asama: “Hm, I’ll retune the compressed sleep spells and distribute fresh ones, so please actually stay asleep this time.”

Art-Ga: “So what about Mitotsudaira on your end? Is she fast asleep?”

●

Mitotsudaira woke with a start, her heart pounding.

“A lewd dream!” she shouted, but then she realized…

…Hm?

She didn’t remember her dream, but she did remember the sensation. Someone was petting her head and all over her body, holding her tongue between their fingers and playing with it, letting her lick their skin and flesh, and letting her rub and grab it so she could feel its shape.

“Um…”

A dream was only a dream. Reality was reality. So she looked down at herself to find her sleepwear was disheveled.

The front was completely open and the swimsuit she had worn below was scattered around her. I can’t wear this again tonight, she realized, but her body’s condition was another problem.

She must have been hot because she had rolled the futon up and held it sideways in her arms. It even had bite marks on it.

…What kind of dream did I have?

But she did know why this had happened. Partially because of what happened that day, but also…

“The smell was so powerful.”

Asama had kept a cleaning spell constantly active in field-effect mode, but just once Mitotsudaira had caught the full scent before the spell took effect. The scent was gone now, but its remnants still lingered in her mind.

His sweat and such had been mixed with Horizon’s, but that had only made it stand out more. And…

Asama: “Mito! You had a lewd dream, didn’t you!?”

Silver Wolf: “Wh-what makes you think that!?”

On her sign frame, she saw everyone was awake and having fun. But she was awake too. Asama scent over a retuned compressed sleep spell, so while she accepted that…

…Whatever.

She had always been so stubborn. She did have her domain and standards to consider, but…

“I want to have fun.”

She smiled toward the adjacent room and the one beyond that and then collapsed back into her futon.

While wondering if she would return to that same dream.

●

“Why do they never seem to sleep? Over.”

A question I should have asked ages ago, thought “Musashi” while she continued her management of the ships.

She was on Musashino’s bridge. She stood behind the stage created as a command post. In front of her, “Musahsino” had taken that stage to complete the follow-up work after purging the base hulls and to organize the Asama Shrine and other areas waiting to be purged.

They also had a visitor.

“Hanami-sama, how are we doing? Over.”

“Very good.”

“Judge,” replied everyone on the bridge. “Musashi” could see the answer well enough from her sign frame.

“Musashino” was writing out the process for the Musashi’s lightening and its shift into combat mode. “Musashi” was checking the work and approving it. This process had been planned long ago, but this was more or less their first time actually doing it.

It was originally meant to help them escape.

…The imagined scenario was using gravitational cruising to escape an attack by another nation’s fleet and then being attacked again at our destination.

If more than one nation worked together, their odds of trapping the Musashi improved. If that were to happen, they would dump their cargo to lighten the ship and ensure the Musashi itself could escape. Of course, requiring the crew to evacuate the base hulls would cause a number of problems, but the plan was to escape to Mikawa, IZUMO, or the Ariake.

What would have happened during the Battle of Mikatagahara if the Ariake hadn’t been waiting for them and the Satomi Chancellor hadn’t done what he did?

“Imagining worrying hypotheticals is useful for simulating a worst-case scenario, but you cannot rewrite the past. Over.”

Then a voice came from the front right corner of the bridge.

“ ‘Musashi’-sama, did something happen between you and Sakai-sama? Over.”

“ ‘Musashi-Sakai’, if you require more work, you need only say so. Over.”

“N-no, ‘Mitaka’ said something to that effect! Didn’t she, ‘Kokubunji’!? Over!”

“Uh, next up is ‘Kichijoji’. ‘Kichijoji’. Over.”

“We are passing through ‘Nishi-Ogikubo’. Next up is ‘Ogikubo’. ‘Ogikubo’. Over.”

“W-wait, you can’t just skip ‘Nishi-Ogikubo’ and go to me! How is that fair!? Over.”

None of them seemed to have enough to do, so “Musashi” sent them all more work. Processing work from the other ships was transferred to the bridge and they all groaned, but…

“You are allowing the humans’ reactions to influence you too much of late. It creates a time lag and accomplishes nothing, so be more careful. Over.”

“You say that, ‘Musashi’-sama, but didn’t you cook breakfast for Sakai-sama earlier? Over.”

“I know how to keep it from influencing my work. Over.”

They gave her skeptical looks, but she concluded that a fact was a fact.

But while she was scanning the incoming data, she noticed a few curious things.

Musashi: “Ookubo-sama, we have external data coming in from outside observers. The Protestants are sending information on the Azuchi’s movements. Over.”

●

I knew it, thought Ookubo.

Since she would not be fighting on the front line at Honnouji, she was staying up working, but the world refused to stay still and kept giving her more work.

She was currently on the top of the academy stairs.

She had no interest in using the Student Council rec room that class used as their home base. At the same time, she found visiting this location of so many meetings and decisions stirred up a variety of emotions in her.

…If only everyone hadn’t seen my underwear here.

But the vantage point did give her a view of the Musashi in its entirety. It was missing a lot of pieces at the moment and she could see transport ships, gods of war, and automata at work. Most of them using the guide rails on the hull to install torii-shaped devices that would open up and deploy defense barrier shields. Others were adding on all sorts of equipment, but…

Nagaya-Stable: “The Protestants must want to earn some points since we just had a meeting with Catholic Tres España. Especially when we let Tres España evacuate our base hulls to Shikoku instead of getting the Protestants’ help. …Might as well reap the benefits of this popularity while it lasts.”

The data being sent over was indeed about the Azuchi’s movements. Kanou stood behind Ookubo as a bodyguard, but she also scanned and interpreted data for Ookubo. She briskly prepared some tea and…

“Milady, the Azuchi has jumped over the Shibata base, reaching a point behind them.”

“Yeah, but the Shibata forces will respond to that and it’ll end up being a head-on confrontation anyway. I suppose the Protestants aren’t in a position to tell if the Azuchi has split up or if the Shibata forces are responding to that.”

“After completing their post-flip attitude control, I have determined the Azuchi began some new movement. The observers should have been able to observe the sound and light that produced, so wait for that, milady.”

“Judge,” agreed Ookubo, resuming her work.

She had to greet the nearby nations regarding the Honnouji Incident and its likely aftermath. Several nations had already asked to hold negotiations on a number of topics.

…We need to win this.

The Honnouji Incident’s start time was approaching fast and some nations were taking advantage of that by making demands at the last second. In particular, the tribal groups that couldn’t even be called small nations located between Sviet Rus and P.A. Oda were volunteering as mercenaries, but they likely wanted a foothold for their eventual independence.

From P.A. Oda, AK was brazenly demanding to negotiate a business deal. He seemed to be doing well. I need to pull myself together to, thought Ookubo just before…

Musashi: “Ookubo-sama, I have a question. Over.”

Nagaya-Stable: “A question? Like what?”

Musashi: “Will the Azuchi arrive in time for the Honnouji Incident? Over.”

●

“Musashi” saw Ookubo start with “well”.

Nagaya-Stable: “If we knew that, it would greatly change Musashi’s response and our preparations right now. Whether or not we need to battle them as well makes a big difference. But…”

Musashi: “You do not know? Over.”

Nagaya-Stable: “Sorry.”

Musashi: “Not knowing is the default state, so do not let it bother you and continue your work. But do you really not know even though the history recreation says Hashiba must win? Over.”

Ookubo said “well” again.

Nagaya-Stable: “In addition to the possibility of interpretations, as much as we would like to think Hashiba has the upper hand, Shibata has Niwa, Sakuma- oh, Sakuma was already defeated, but the point is he has fighters like that on his side. And…I’ve received word that Hashiba herself is not present with the Hashiba forces.”

Why would Hashiba be absent from the showdown between Hashiba and Shibata?

Nagaya-Stable: “Since they’ve already dealt with Mouri and they want to prioritize the history recreation of the Great Return, leaving Hashiba alone at Honnouji is a valid choice. Ishida Mitsunari or Ootani Yoshitsugu would make an excellent bodyguard for her.”

Musashi: “That would mean the Hashiba forces are fighting at Shizugatake without their top level commander. Over.”

Nagaya-Stable: “It’s a great chance to prove the worth of their Ten Spears. But at the same time, the Shibata forces aren’t stupid. They’ll use their strength and their heads to respond. This could be an even greater challenge for the Hashiba forces than their attack on Paris.”

And…

Nagaya-Stable: “This is more a battle of numbers than it is how well they can respond and react. Because the Hashiba forces can’t afford any losses. They have an overwhelming disadvantage here, so they have to be careful. The best we can do is…well, I suppose making sure we’re ready for anything that might happen.”

“I see,” said “Musashi” in understanding. This told her what plan to go with.

She viewed the others on the bridge and found not one of them looking back at her. As it should be. They had work to do and automata did not require rest except when undergoing maintenance. She found the state of the bridge beautiful. So…

Musashi: “I have two things to tell all of you.”

She continued.

Musashi: “First, until the conclusion of the Honnouji Incident, this ship will provide assistance for the representatives of Musashi. Their job is to swiftly bring an end to the Honnouji Incident’s history recreation no matter what it takes. Our job is to assist them and ensure they will be successful. Over.”

That determined what they must do.

They would support everything that happened so it could end as quickly as possible. If they did that, the speed of the Azuchi’s arrival would be a moot point.

…We only need to quickly resolve the Honnouji Incident and leave.

And she had one more thing to tell them.

Musashi: “You must all think. I have a task for you. Until the Honnouji Incident ends, consider how your post and the Musashi as a whole can respond to the Azuchi. Come up with at least 1024 options each and upload them to our shared memory. I will compile that into a library we can use at any time during battle. Over.”

All Ships: “Judge! Over!”

An excellent response. Did she think that because she too had been influenced by the humans?

But they had a task to complete. And…

“ ‘Musashi’-sama! The Azuchi has passed the peak of its side flip maneuver. Its ships are twisting while taking their descent orientations! It appears they will stop their rear inertia after completing their descent north of the Shibata forces!”

Outside observers provided data on the enemy’s unseen movements.

That location was now a battlefield.

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