Horizon:Volume 9A Prologue

Study: The Honnouji Incident and the Battle of Shizugatake

Toori: Sis! Sis! What’s going on with the Honnouji Incident and all that stuff!?

Kimi: Heh heh heh. Incident brother, people have been talking a lot about the Honnouji Incident and the Battle of Shizugatake recently, but they’re actually pretty closely related.

Toori: Are they married!?

Kimi: Now, I don’t know if you’re anthropomorphizing them or just don’t know what you’re talking about, but stop it. Listen. After Nobunaga dies at the Honnouji Incident, Akechi Mitsuhide is slain at the Battle of Yamazaki and then the Oda clan has to decide who inherits the clan.

Toori: Oh, so it’s a succession battle between Nobunaga’s kids?

Kimi: Yes, and this was determined at the Kiyosu Conference. All the important Oda retainers gathered and made a decision, okay?

Toori: Huh, huh? Why would Oda’s retainers and not actual Oda people decide Nobunaga’s successor?

Kimi: Because Nobunaga appointed people based on their abilities, so the Oda clan had started placing more weight on ability than blood. Anyway, this led to a conflict between Shibata Katsuie and Hideyoshi.

Toori: War already?

Kimi: No? They were all mature adults. But while Shibata supported Nobunaga’s third son Nobutaka who had been adopted into another family, Hideyoshi supported Nobunaga’s grandson Hidenobu. Hideyoshi laid his groundwork well and got public opinion on his side, so Hidenobu became the successor. Now, the Oda clan was in Hideyoshi’s debt after he slayed Mitsuhide, so when he proved he could also determine its successor, all the younger Oda retainers chose to serve him

Toori: Oh, and that gradually filled Shibata’s anger meter until he started Battle of Shizugatake?

Kimi: More or less. This chart shows how it happened.

• Honnouji Incident

Nobunaga dies

⇩

• Battle of Yamazaki

Hideyoshi slain to avenge Nobunaga.

⇩

• Kiyosu Conference

Hideyoshi opposes Shibata and comes out ahead

⇩

• Battle of Shizugatake

Shibata doesn’t like the outcome of the Kiyosu Conference and rebels

Toori: I wonder what woulda happened if he’d jumped straight to war like Seijun does.

Kimi: Let’s not speculate about these things, okay?

Prologue: Ruler of the Wide Block Out Front

If the world is not broken

It cannot be fixed

Point Allocation (Self-Purification is a Different Matter)

●

A commotion filled Kyou’s sky.

As evening turned to night, several large shapes gathered in and flowed across the sky.

They were aerial ships.

Most of them were transport ships and passenger ships sent by Kyou’s guards and government to help the people evacuate.

The city of Kyou had collapsed across a wide area in the center.

The former location of the Imperial Palace was now a gaping hole.

This hole was 500m across and no one knew how deep it was.

Red ether light occasionally flew up into the sky from the darkness in the hole’s depths. The hole was definitely deeper than it was wide and its interior walls crumbled inward as tremors ran through the ground.

The entire city of Kyou was shrinking. The ground below the center had liquefied and the surface was lowering as the opened hole filled in.

An evacuation order had been given for anyone within 3km of the center. And…

“I am Ishida Mitsunari and I have taken control of Kyou to replace Akechi-sama. We are working to assess the extent and continuing spread of damage caused by Kyou’s collapse, but anyone in the designated area should evacuate and take appropriate measures. A lernen figur directing you to an evacuation shelter will be sent in the next few minutes, so please follow the given instructions.”

Mitsunari responded to the disaster by appearing both by lernen figur and physically in several locations at once.

P.A. Oda had assigned her as Kyou’s new manager.

●

Mitsunari began by urging the people of Kyou to evacuate.

…Kyou is a historical land.

It contained many famous families and a lot of people owned many possessions, so they would be reluctant to evacuate.

In the worst case, they would turn her away at the door.

So after urging them to evacuate, she took a certain measure.

She called in guard ships from P.A. Oda and the Azuchi region and positioned them around the city.

Kyou was a well planned city. Its streets were generally of a standard width, so she called in ships capable of landing on the streets and positioned them between the different sections of the city. The guard ships would prevent any crime while the evacuees were away from their homes and they could act quickly if the people who refused to leave needed to be evacuated in a hurry. And…

…They can monitor the Musashi’s movements above.

The guard ships were also meant to keep an eye on the Musashi so it couldn’t descend on Kyou.

Some would feel relieved to have the guard ships there, while others would ignore them.

And while the people decided to either evacuate or stay, Mitsunari had transport ships loaded with supplies from the Azuchi. They were all Dragon-class.

“They contain crust adjustment spells and a biodegradable hardening agent.”

Meaning…

“Those transport ships will be used to fill in the hole.”

The task was simple: fly several transport ships in to fill the hole.

But she opened a lernen figur and used a diagram to explain to the people.

“P.A. Oda’s construction skills are advanced enough to build Hashiba-sama’s one-night castle. We will be using the transport ships themselves as materials this time, but just in case a survivor shelter is caught and buried, the ships will be linked together with pillars between them to fill the hole in level by level.”

After demonstrating this on the diagram, the actual transport ships descended from the sky toward the center of the hole. A group of four ships acted as the main shaft. They searched for any life readings and then flew underground.

“First group has dropped.”

The 500m transport ships descended while packed only as tightly as necessary to fit in the pit. The downwards-pointing noses performed the crust hardening to establish a “bottom”.

The diagram showed the ships settling down while a tremor more than a rumble reached them.

“Done,” Mitsunari calmly announced to everyone. “The first group worked perfectly.”

●

Nari Nari Nari: “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! We don’t know what the bottom of the hole is shaped like, so we had no idea if that was going to work!? How could you ask me to do this, Takenaka-sama!? Not that I’m much better since I did it!”

Kohime: “Hold on, Mitsunari-sama. Are you telling me that diagram you’re showing everyone is a lie? Is that what this means?”

Nari Nari Nari: “N-no, it is not a lie! I am receiving real time readings from the bow sensors as the ships descend. But after learning the bottom of the hole was a bit thicker and flatter than expected, I determined there was no need to fix the diagram.”

AnG: “Eh? Then what’s the problem?”

Kimee: “Angie, Mitsunari doesn’t like gambling on it turning out fine. She wants to have prepared enough to know it is going to work before she even begins. …A nice idea, but good luck finding a task with that much extra time.”

AnG: “Oh, yeah. That is never happening.”

Super Justice: “Y-you two could learn something from her! Please learn something!!”

Kuro-Take: “Anyway, even though the destruction of New Nagoya Castle happened in the ocean, I managed to simulate the movement of the crust there. Thanks to that, my Three Thousand Worlds had enough data to more or less predict what would happen here. I think the margin of error was only 3 percent.”

Nari Nari Nari: “Th-that 3 percent is what I don’t like!”

Tsurugi: “Calm down, Mitsunari. 3 percent is like water. It’s like looking at the label afterwards and realizing the drink you bought isn’t nonalcoholic. Sigh, the sunset sure is pretty.”

Black Wolf: “Hirano! You’re drinking up on the deck again, aren’t you!? Aren’t you!?”

●

All hell was breaking loose on the divine network, but Mitsunari had her work to focus on.

To be honest, she was worried about Fukushima and Kani whose connection on the wide-area divine network had been cut off after the Shibata team suddenly announced their rebellion. Everyone was discussing that here and there, but…

…I need to focus on the more immediate task.

The first stage of filling in the collapsed hole with transport ships was complete.

Now she had to add more layers of transport ships filled with a hardening agent.

The hardening agent was made from Substance A that filled in the space, Substance B that triggered a hardening reaction, and Substance C that accelerated the process. It would fill the hole with a solid density once acclimation and stabilization spells were added on top.

The straining of metal rang through the sky. The ships sent into the hole rubbed together, producing sparks and noise. It was a bit annoying, but she could manage. The cicadas had started crying and she knew it was important to keep the residents informed about what they were doing here.

The hole had been filled up to 30m from the surface, so now they had to apply pressure from above to harden the filler and then begin filling in the artificial crust.

…I can have it done in three hours.

If P.A. Oda had negotiated with the local gods, it would have required assistance from nobles and other name inheritors in the Shinto priesthood, but she was the manager of Kyou. She would have to go over the heads of Kyou’s elites when she negotiated with the gods, but the best way to win the power game in an emergency was to end it quick with a show of the full power available to you.

“Honestly.”

When humans were in a crisis that put them in more danger than they could fathom, they had a tendency to play those uncertain games, perhaps to make them feel like they still had some control. That would sometimes help them escape the continuing threat, but it would not this time.

They were simply at risk.

There was a threat beyond the collapse.

“Tonight of all nights, we need to avoid any excess stimulation of the ley lines.”

So after another check on the situation, Mitsunari sent a divine transmission to a certain person.

“Ikeda Terumasa-sama. How are things in Mikawa?”

●

“Terururururururu. Message-age-age from Kyou-you-you.”

“Eh? What was that about a yoyo?”

That was really what he had heard, but Osakabe-hime raised her eyebrows in anger.

“Message-age-age from Kyou-you-you!!”

“Oh, that makes more sense,” he said while calling it up on his lernen figure. “Yeah, that’s from Kyou alright! Wow, and from Ishida Mitsunari! She’s super important! What would she want with me!? Does she want an offering of Nagoya cochin!?”

He opened the divine mail to find it was only a simple request for him to write up a summary of the current situation in Mikawa and send it to the Hashiba HQ.

Oh, is that all? he thought, his shoulders slumping, but what else would it be? He was a noncombatant. Hashiba and P.A. Oda’s main forces were gathering at the center for the Honnouji Incident tonight.

“Of course, I have my own inspection to deal with.”

“Losing-ing-ing your nerve-erve-erve?”

“No, it’s not that bad.”

She’s learning to remain stable during a conversation, he noted while thinking that he had to do what he was told. After all…

“It is kind of pain, though.”

With that, he looked south where a single light was shining.

It was in the bay.

Mikawa Bay was more than a dozen kilometers across and still slowly growing. A pale light was shining from the bottom.

The water dulled the light, but the light still seemed to be spreading. Across the entire bay, the pale light shined up on the water’s surface from below.

“That’s ether light.”

“Ether light-ight-ight-ight-ight-ight-ight.”

You are too come to think of it, he thought while considering what he should work on today.

He had been planning to access the mind of one of the repairable salvaged automatons, but he decided it would be better to continue taking measurements of Mikawa Bay.

“The ocean looks like its glowing blue right now, but it’s probably really a different color. The ley line at the bottom of the ocean is activating and that’s altering the ocean’s color.”

He looked up into the night sky where a vermilion light appeared several dozen meters above the ocean and flew northward. That red light phenomenon had been seen coming from the ocean here ever since the Battle of Mikawa.

It hadn’t been examined too deeply since it looked normal enough and they could conclude it was noise coming from the ley lines, but they still didn’t know exactly why it was happening.

The sea was glowing. It wasn’t bright enough to be noticeable during the day, but night was falling. Were there lights at the bottom just like the red lights in the sky?

He watched the blue light filling the bay, but it remained constant, never growing stronger.

“This started when Musashi stormed the Imperial Palace.”

Staring at it wasn’t going to help. He had work to do. He needed to order someone to monitor that light, he needed to assign personnel to the other tasks, he needed to see if the salvaged automatons had recovered, and…

…After all that, maybe I’ll have some time to think about other parts of the world.

“Most likely, they’re seeing lights like this elsewhere too.”

●

Kasuya noticed it after climbing onto the deck.

They were hurrying from Aki to the Azuchi. But traveling east from K.P.A. Italia meant taking a coastal route along the Seto Inland Sea. And when she looked out from the transport ship’s upper starboard deck…

“Hirano, what is that?”

Night had fallen, so the western sky only contained a hint of purple and red lights.

But the ocean was a different matter. It glowed with a yellow light. If that was ether light, it meant the ocean floor was covered with activated ether light. This wasn’t contained to a single location. The light continued along the entire east-to-west stretch of the Seto Inland Sea, so it covered a very wide area.

Hirano rested her elbow on the edge of the deck and brought a bottle to her mouth.

“The Seto Inland Sea is a shallow sea and its floor is close to the bedrock, so the state of the ley lines’ ether can be seen more strongly there when the conditions are right.”

“What conditions?”

“The harmonic territories,” said Hirano, turning her back on the glowing ocean. “Most of the Harmonic Divine States broke apart and disappeared, but there are places you can still find remnants too small to show a difference in their airspace. Those are mostly on rivers and inland seas. Those areas were naturally broken down that small by river and ocean currents rather than collapsing from the overlap of the harmonic territory and the real world, so they managed to acclimate at the time of unification. These areas tend to gather at the river mouths and oceans.

“So,” she said. “The Pacific Ocean’s trench appeared in the Seto Inland Sea and the effect of the unification causes the bottom of the inland sea to behave like the trench despite being so shallow. It is admittedly very small, but it is the closest place in nature to the ley lines.”

“So what is this light?”

“Call it a ley line light or a dragon line or whatever you want. The entire world is responding to what is happening and what is about to happen.”

“The events in Kyou are pretty shocking.”

“Testament. And given what’s going to happen at Honnouji, I imagine the inland sea will be like this for a while. I hope the local people will hold festivals to calm the ley lines.” Hirano shrugged. “But what do you think? We no longer know what’s happening to the world. That became clear starting with the Battle of Mikawa. And now we have another question to add to the mix.”

“Testament. But from us, only Hashiba and Mitsunari will be heading out to deal with this.”

“Testament. Still, this is not going to be easy for Musashi. After all…”

She kept her back to the Seto Inland Sea but looked to the right.

It was clear why she was staring into the northeastern sky.

“The Musashi is there, isn’t it?” asked Kasuya.

“Yes, but it’s too far away to see from here.”

They were at the Seto Inland Sea. Musashi was floating in the sky, but at their low altitude, the curve of the Earth was more prominent and the mountains leading to Kyou were enough to block their view.

“Would you shoot them if you could see them?”

“Traitors are to be put to death, but my divine duty would be to unsheathe my sword and execute them, not simply shoot them. But that will have to wait until we actually face Musashi.”

“Who taught you that?” asked Kasuya.

Hirano was smiling with the light of the inland sea behind her.

“My mother taught me to only use my bow to protect…but she never taught me how I should choose when I have multiple things I want to protect.”

So…

“I think I should prioritize the largest thing and protect it.”

“I see,” said Kasuya and Hirano nodded once.

“I’m not talking about chest size there, okay? Or height.”

“I-I am not lacking in either department.”

Kasuya knew Hirano was only trying to keep the serious mood at bay, so she smiled a little and looked to the northeast.

“Something we cannot predict is happening. But…”

But…

“That does not put us at a disadvantage. This must be a kindness from those who are already on the move. They are telling us to do our thing.”

●

Kani did her thing. In this case, that meant eating.

…I wouldn’t be any help when it mattered if my stomach was empty!

She was inside one of the Shibata Team’s warships. Her home for the time being was a holding cell.

She had been imprisoned. But as long as she didn’t leave the cell, she was free to do what she wanted. There was a comfortable bed and floor inside and she could get as much to eat as she wanted. So for now, she had ordered a pork chops and a steak from the dining hall and was mixing that in with the rice she had ordered.

All in all, it was enough for three. It covered the dining table they had brought in for her, but…

“Will this be enough!?”

She had to fight after eating and sleeping. To make sure she still felt full by then, she limited her vegetable intake. The more she ate, the heavier she would be, but she was light to begin with. She decided to think of the food she ate now as an anchor to increase her charging power.

At any rate, she ate and ate. She had scheduled out time for sleep afterwards. And…

“Kani-kun, I’m going to be leaving soon. Will you be alright?”

“Oh! Maeda-senpai!”

She bowed toward the lernen figur that appeared by her face.

“I’m on a tight schedule, so I’ll eat while we talk! Sorry if that’s rude!”

“Testament. I don’t mind at all. I have to go join Hashiba’s side now. That’s what the Testament says, after all. So I can’t stay here.”

“Are you really okay with that!?” she asked.

“No!” shouted Matsu, shaking both her fists up and down on top of Maeda’s shoulder.

“Ha ha ha. I love how open you are with your feelings, Ma-chan. She really likes you, Kani-kun.”

“Thank you very much! But are you really sure!?”

Because…

“Fukushima-senpai, the rest of the Ten Spears, and I are going to win!”

●

A bold declaration, thought Toshiie.

He had thought she was criticizing him for leaving everyone else here. But…

“How much stronger are you now, Kani-kun?”

“Testament! I can’t beat Shibata-senpai! And I’d generally lose against Sassa-senpai too!”

Yeah, that’s probably true.

“But,” said Kani. “Fukushima-senpai and the rest of the Ten Spears will win!”

“Really?” he asked to test her.

Hadn’t Fukushima grown so timid that Sassa ordered her to go train in the mountains? So…

“You think your timid upperclassman really will show up at the upcoming battle and defeat Shibata-senpai?”

“She will!”

“I see…”

You aren’t just saying that, are you? he wondered, but someone slapped him on the cheek. It was Matsu. He turned her way to find she had grown to her true size.

“Ha ha.”

She was laughing. She pressed her forehead against his shoulder with her own shoulders shaking.

“Toshiie-kun, you asked her if they can win and she said they can with utmost confidence.”

Matsu lightly slapped him on the back.

“You’re the doubter here, Toshiie-kun.”

Only then did he realize it was true.

He would only ask if they could win if he was considering the possibility that Shibata’s side could lose.

He could claim that came from his rational outlook. He could claim Kani’s confidence came from blind trust. But…

“Kani-kun, Na-chan will not be fighting in the Battle of Shizugatake either. He’ll only be sending some of his people.”

“Really!?”

“You didn’t know?”

“I was hoping he would be there to see how much Fukushima-senpai had improved!”

Incredible, he thought.

“Aren’t you afraid you or someone you know will die?”

“I already answered that!”

Probably so, he thought before Kani said more.

“I’m more afraid of living my life without drawing on my full strength! Because that leads to regrets!”

“Testament.”

He understood that. And agreed with it.

The Warring States period would be over soon and the Thirty Years War would follow suit. The worldwide conflicts that had been raging since the day he was born would be coming to a close.

The greatest and ultimate battlefield was out there.

The end was nigh. So…

“If you never once draw on your full strength, you will end up wondering what could have been, won’t you?”

“Not just once! All the time!” said Kani. While eating. “I’m still inexperienced and there are so many strong people all around me! If I end up fighting them, it’s only polite to go all out against them, but they’re all so strong that, um, well…!”

She tried to find the words and Matsu spoke up with a smile.

“Being an underclassman is tough, isn’t it?”

“Testament! But the underclassmen have to inherit what our upperclassmen leave for us! Like we did when we left our middle school clubs!”

“Is the Warring States period a school club?”

“Not what I meant! Every day is a battle! I was taught that to live is to fight!”

“Who taught you that?”

“My parents! They told me that life isn’t easy! So…”

So…

“They told me to get my rest on the holidays! But today isn’t a holiday!”

“Then you’ll just have to go for it.”

“And I will!”

“So what will you do now?” asked Matsu.

“Eat and sleep!” replied Kani. “And once I wake up, I’ll escape! Once I escape, I’ll fight someone strong!”

“Can you win?”

“Fukushima-senpai and the others can!”

“That isn’t what I asked,” Matsu said quietly. “You need to win.”

“I’ll do my best!”

With that, Matsu closed the lernen figur showing Kani lifting her rice bowl.

Oh, thought Toshiie, looking back to see she had shrunk again. Returning to life size must have exhausted her because she was already nodding off on his shoulder.

I can’t believe this, he thought.

“We have some incredible underclassmen.”

Until a few months ago, he had been agonizing over the thought that their age would be over soon, but he had since replaced that with making an effort to end their age.

The excellent underclassmen would take over for their failing upperclassmen.

Why was that? It was obvious. Everything his generation had built up was taken for granted by their underclassmen, so no matter what they did now, the next generation was going to use their predecessors as a stepping stone.

“Sigh.”

The name of Maeda Toshiie didn’t play much of a role there. He didn’t pay a leading role in any major battles and he wasn’t blessed with a successor to take over for him.

It was strange. Before, he hadn’t wanted it to end before he was ready. That was why he had chosen to become a ghost.

But now he rejoiced in his underclassmen’s progress and wanted to fight them if he could.

…I can’t believe this.

He would be joining Hashiba soon, but that didn’t mean he would be actively fighting on the front line. This conflict was internal to P.A. Oda. In some places, the fight would drag on and inspire war weariness, so he would visit there to intermediate and occasionally come between the two sides to stop them.

He felt like a middle manager. Probably because he was. When he thought about it, both his inherited names were. Maeda Toshiie had spent all his life worrying over others. And Wallenstein had been assassinated while negotiating for the continuation of his mercenary unit, which was an extremely middle manager thing to happen.

But what could he say? He had raised and supported some excellent underclassmen.

“Oh, so that’s it.”

He now had underclassmen he could rely on. So that just left…

…Our own problems.

But just as he thought that…

“Hey, Maeda. You’re going to Hashiba, right? Give me a ride.”

“Michi, if you’re going to evacuate, you should plan ahead.”

“Shibata-senpai sprung it on me last second! He doesn’t give a thought to us noncombatants!”

She must have thrown together what luggage she could in a hurry because she was dragging a waterproof leather trunk. She took a look around, and…

“What? You’re evacuating too? Are you sure?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“This could be your last time seeing Shibata-senpai.”

●

Toshiie heard Fuwa talk with her shoulders slumping.

“I made sure to go say goodbye and thank him just now.”

“What did he say?” asked Toshiie.

She shrugged her slumped shoulders.

“He thanked me for working 14-hour days as his on-site treasurer when the Testament says I’m already dead. And Oichi-sama thanked me, saying that chasing after me in the snow was a good experience for her.”

“How moving.”

“I did cry a bit given the circumstances, but maybe I should have complained some too. What do you think?”

“Did Shibata-senpai say anything else?”

“I’m not telling you that.” Fuwa pointed back the way she had come. “Why don’t you go see him yourself?”

“I’m good.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure.” He honestly didn’t know why he had answered that way, but when he opened his mouth, more words came out. “It just doesn’t seem like something we would do.”

“You’re loss.”

“I kind of agree. I’ll probably wish I had done it later on.”

But…

“I don’t have the guts. Because it feels like accepting that it really is over. That might be fine for you, Michi, but we want to always remember Shibata-senpai as the strongest.”

“So you’re laying the pressure on him by not saying goodbye?”

“Testament,” he replied. “I’ll be leaving to help out the Hashiba group and I can’t imagine more pressure than having to refer to him as ‘Shibata-san’ instead of Shibata-senpai.”

“Oh, that I can understand.” Fuwa smiled bitterly and nodded. “And since I do, I won’t press the issue further.”

“I appreciate it.”

“Testament,” said Fuwa with a nod. She watched a transport container carried past as part of the evacuees’ cargo. “Where’s Sassa?”

“He probably went off somewhere on his own. He’ll be back eventually. Around when the Battle of Shizugatake is over, I would imagine.”

“Why is he like this?”

“He probably has his own thoughts about the battle Shibata-senpai has to lose.”

“Are you sure that’s it?”

“What else could it be?”

Fuwa lifted up her trunk and rested it on her hip as she walked.

“He’s changing too. He’s watching our skilled underclassman catching up to us and bringing about a new era.”

“So he’s wishing he had done a better job too?”

“Something like that,” said Fuwa with a bitter smile. And then…

“Oh! Fuwa-sama, Maeda-sama! Are you preparing to evacuate!?”

A tentacle came to a stop while moving between the transport ships.

Come to think of it, Mori-kun is an underclassman too, thought Toshiie. But…

“Why do I feel like you haven’t influenced me very much?”

“O-of course I haven’t, Maeda-sama! Let me influence you and you’ll get all stiff at the most awkward times! I hate that part of myself, so I don’t want you learning from it!”

“I don’t think we could do that if we wanted to.” Fuwa continued in a “but anyway” tone. “We are about to evacuate, but what is Shibata-senpai ordering everyone to do here?”

“Testament! The participating combatants will be gathering soon while the warships take up an aerial defense formation! Then we will wait for Hashiba-sama’s group to arrive!”

“Should you really be saying that while I’m present?” asked Toshiie.

The tentacle thought a bit before reacting.

“Oops…”

“Stop that, Maeda! Mori’s gone flaccid!”

“N-no, I am not flaccid! I just have poor circulation!”

“I can tell. You look pale.”

“Maeda, you need to take responsibility and cheer him back up.”

“Don’t ask the impossible, Michi. I was going to tell you to do it, but that wouldn’t work either, would it?”

“It would not,” said Mori. “I don’t even see her as a girl anymore.”

Toshiie had to physically stop Fuwa from throwing rocks at Mori. The tentacle cried out as he dodged, but he soon straightened back up and held his head high.

“Don’t you worry! I found a photo of Naomasa-san from the data sent over from the mess Musashi caused in Kyou! One look at that and I can reinvigorate myself during combat!”

“Michi, wouldn’t Mori-kun receive some Shinto divine punishment if we reported this to that Musashi girl?”

“L-leave me alone, Maeda-sama! I’m in love!”

“Being in love is fine. Taking creepshots is not,” said Fuwa before pointing to their destination transport ship. “Anyway, don’t you die before I get back.”

“Thank you very much!”

“That wasn’t something to thank me for. Besides, you’ll be fighting Musashi eventually.”

Fuwa shifted her pointing hand to the south.

Only forests and mountains were visible in that direction, but they all knew what was there.

“The Musashi is actually already close enough to see,” she said. “Now, I’ll be gathering information on what happens with Shibata-senpai and at Honnouji. The entire world is in trouble if we don’t keep up with what happens next. And I’m sure Musashi knows that too.”

●

“Hey, that’s the wrong way! Do you have any idea where you’re going, idiot!?”

“Huh? You mean the meeting’s not at the Asama Shrine?”

Up in the sky, Masazumi heard the idiot’s voice.

They were at the diplomatic port on Tama’s wing. Several ships had landed there. Most were the ones they had used when evacuating from Kyou, but there were others with an entirely different design. The Far Eastern ships had a flat design, but these others had the rounded hulls of sailing ships. They hadn’t dealt with this nation’s ships since England.

“Tres España has officially landed on the Musashi and intends to hold our meeting here.”

Tres España had chosen Musashi for their temporary evacuation after the trouble in Kyou. They had been mercenaries hired by P.A. Oda’s Akechi before, so they must have decided siding with Musashi would be more valuable at this point.

And if they were to hold a meeting arranging that, it was safer up here in the sky than down on the troubled surface.

…Then again, there is a lot going on at the Musashi, both inside and out.

Internally, the base hull structures were being removed from the residential and commercial districts of each ship and people were being urged to evacuate from the Musashi before the Honnouji Incident. The wide and long blocks were being loaded on transport ships and sent outside of Kyou with a week’s worth of supplies. Some would be sent all the way to the Seto Inland Sea and Shikoku to wait.

They had considered hiring an M.H.R.R. Protestant mercenary fleet to guard those transport ships, but…

…This is a really big job.

But it was possible P.A. Oda would use a ley line reactor. Anywhere within visual range of Kyou could be hit by the long-range blast of a ley line reactor struck by a transport ship. That was one reason the M.H.R.R. Protestants were keeping an eye on Kyou but refused to get too close.

However, removing the base hulls left the Musashi more maneuverable and the power systems could be restructured to support combat. They would be able to hold their own against the Azuchi now. Because…

“If it comes to it, we have the two Kanesada cannons.”

“I notice you haven’t fired those in a while, Masazumi-sama.”

“Why would she when firing them ends the war?”

They were saying some awful things about her, but they had their own preparations for Honnouji to complete. Most importantly…

“It’s going to be rushed, but we will be holding a simple pre-Honnouji meeting over dinner with a representative of Tres España. Tres España has been working with Hashiba and they are a Catholic force, but if we can bring them to our side, we can ensure Musashi’s safety before, during, and after Honnouji. So we can’t let this chance slip by us. Do you all understand that?”

Masazumi took a breath and turned around.

“I had hoped to hold a meeting about Honnouji at the Asama Shrine while we prepared our equipment and divine protections, but that will have to come later. So the meeting with Tres España has to start right a-”

She stopped speaking there.

…Oh.

The others were unexpectedly close, which took her by surprise.

They were here. These were the people who had fought through the battle in Kyou and returned to the Musashi. The idiot and Horizon were there too, as were Asama, Mitotsudaira, Mukai, Itoken, and so many others. Even Naomasa was here, having left her damaged Jizuri Suzaku with the engine division.

Bertoni and Augesvarer were absent because their job had them working on a way of dealing with the Kantou nations, but…

…We don’t need their help until after all this is over.

She decided to ask the others about the upcoming meeting with Tres España.

“Do we have all the necessary information for that meeting ready to go?”

They all exchanged a glance and eventually Mitotsudaira spoke up.

“Do we, Tomo?”

“Eh? I record what’s said during the meetings, but I don’t organize the political information like that. Wouldn’t that be Neshinbara-kun’s job?”

“No, I keep my own records and I make decisions based on the compiled information.”

They all turned to Mitotsudaira. As their representative, the idiot held his hands out toward her.

“So do you have it?”

“I-I knew you’d make me do all the work! I just knew it! Okay, fine. …Ookubo!”

Nagaya-Stable: “I-I knew you would make me do all the work! I just knew it!”

Vice President: “Quit being a baby and hand it over.”

Gold Mar: “Are you mugging her?”

What a rude thing to say. Anyway, the necessary information arrived from Ookubo. That just left…

“Let’s get something to eat and hold that meeting. Don’t you run away, idiot! Tres España asked for a pre-Honnouji negotiation as a Testament Union nation.”

Up ahead, a large warship had landed at the center of the port. The vermilion and white aerial ship was formed by a collection of crosses. That was likely one of their main ships that had survived the Armada battle.

Someone stood in its side entrance.

“That is Vice President Juana,” explained Gin. “Which means these negotiations will not be easy. If you want her to accept your points, you must stick to your own pace throughout.”

I get the feeling you were undefeated against her.

●

–It’s already close enough to see

Academy Rules

Article 209

–When recreation of the Testament requires internal conflict or political upheaval within a nation, that nation’s policies shall be given precedence.

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