Horizon:Volume 8C Chapter 77

Chapter 77: Speakers in a Circle

Hmm

Once you are

Asking why

You can find the answer within yourself

Point Allocation (I Speak From Experience)

The image of a faceless baby gave Suzu an odd chill.

She could not see, but she could perceive things around her from heat, air movements, and sound. Reflected sound in particular allowed her to sense objects’ shapes as if stretching out her sense of touch, so she could sense the shape of someone’s face and, in opportune conditions, the direction they were looking based on the bulge of their cornea and the movement of their eyeball.

Everyone’s face was shaped different. Their expression and the direction they were facing would reveal when they were focused on her and what they were thinking.

Ever since she had figured that out, she had paid a lot of attention to faces and expressions. However…

…No…face?

Suzu transferred Naruze’s image to her own sign frame, switched to a thermal display, and felt it with her fingers.

The detailed display gave bent lines of heat following the curvature of the domed ceiling. The simple display flattened out the heat lines into a 2D image.

She could not feel a face on either version.

Everyone should have had their own face.

But not this baby.

“What…does that mean?”

Babies were a constant presence. Whether they cried, laughed, or slept, they were always making noises to make their presence known. Their heat and scent also gave them a constant presence.

So what was this image supposed to be? It did have heat, but that was only the thermal display designed to let Suzu perceive it. Originally, it had only been lines reflected off the ceiling, so it wouldn’t have had a scent either. It was only an image.

But as an image, the artist would have been trying to express something. If this was indeed a baby, it meant the artist had drawn an image representing a baby in order to say something. And yet…

“…”

Suzu traced her fingers across the face but felt nothing.

The baby was lying down and facing up toward Suzu. So was it crying, laughing, sleeping, or just staring up at her?

None of the above. It wasn’t that she couldn’t tell. There simply was not an answer.

“Why?” The word slipped out of her mouth. “Why…would you…do this?”

Art-Ga: “Hey, I was just copying the original.”

Bell: “Oh…s-sorry. I didn’t mean it…like that.”

Horizey: “Suzu-sama is spared Naruze-sama’s doujinshis, yet some ancient artist has dragged an angry response out of her. My next mission is to strike back at said ancient artist. Masazumi-sama!”

Vice President: “Why is everyone gasping and staring at me like that!?”

Me: “How do you not have a joke for that one?”

Vice President: “Y-you try coming up with a pun about ancient people without warning!”

Wise Sister: “Heh heh. What did ancient physicians have in common with our Vice President who insists her jokes are funny?”

Horizey: “What?”

Wise Sister: “Some seriously mistaken beliefs about humor(s).”

Vice President: “D-dammit, I’ll show you one day! And that was the Aoi Sister’s joke, not Aoi’s, so it doesn’t count! But I’ll still judge it fairly!”

Bell: “U-um…calm down, Masazumi. Th-that was…my fault.”

Asama: “No, no, no, it wasn’t, Suzu-san. You did nothing wrong, so calm down!”

Their cannibalism is going full force, thought Ookubo atop the bridge to the Musashino.

The center of Musashino had only just been repaired from the damage caused by Kakei Torahide when it was damaged again by the “Take this, and this!” during the exam, so it was being repaired again. To give some clearance when firing Kanesada, they had decided to dig a valley straight down the center of the Musashino. That had meant connecting together the few parks on the ship and several bridges had been set up to provide a path above.

The wide and long blocks connected by the bridges used them as trade routes to and from the port and starboard ships. The bridges could also be split and connected to the level below instead.

“These bridges may be all we have here for the rest of the year.”

“At least we won’t have to run along rooftops if a battle breaks out on the ship.”

“True,” she agreed while waiting for Yoshiyasu. A pleasant wind blew in during the evening, carrying in an even stronger scent of daily life. Come to think of it, there weren’t any official bridges passing above the cities before, she thought, recalling that the cost of the bridges included the light blocked from the city below and any repairs if a bridge were to fall.

Personally, she liked the bridges because she would be able to see any foreign spy attempting to approach her and no one could tail her unnoticed. It helped that she knew Yagyuu was hidden nearby as a bodyguard, but…

Nagaya-stable: “So what’s up with this faceless baby picture?”

Art-Ga: “Good question. When I redrew this, I was worried I had overlooked something, but a closer inspection left me confident there wasn’t anything more.”

So…

Art-Ga: “This image shows everyone worshiping the faceless child.”

What did that mean?

Faces were everything in politics. You could read your opponent’s expressions, but you could also use yours as a weapon by forming expressions. Not to mention that you needed a mouth to speak.

It was necessary to do anything passively or actively.

Flat Vassal: “Is this…you know.”

Is Risotto-senpai at it again? Ookubo thought on reflex.

…No, don’t be rude.

Every suggestion was useful since it could help lead to the correct answer. Musashi had often found the route to victory in that way, so it was worth listening. Although risotto definitely wouldn’t be a useful suggestion this time.

Asama: “Know what, Adele?”

Flat Vassal: “Judge! You know, that thing you see at tourist destinations! Where you stick your face in from behind and get your picture taken! They have a Tengu one on Takao!”

That’s my home! thought Ookubo, breaking her sign frame.

“I have to say, I never realized how much of a pain it is to draw something without knowing what it is.”

Naruze crossed her arms and sighed.

The arms offered her a bamboo glass with a “please, have a drink” gesture, so she accepted it.

…I’m getting the hang of figuring out what they want to say.

Masazumi sometimes seemed to converse with them with ease. She had thought that was too out there to work in a doujinshi, but maybe people just needed to get used to it first. Yes, it can work. I’m sure of it now.

She took a sniff of the bamboo glass’s contents and found it contained barley tea. So it’s safe. At least I didn’t smell custard.

But she had something to say first.

“Only the face is missing. The hands and cloth have plenty of detail.”

“Then did they just forget to draw it in the original?” asked Adele.

That was a possibility.

“That could be. The artist could have run out of time or suddenly died in a sports accident.” Naruze zoomed in on a portion of the image. She focused on the part of the cloth around the neck like a collar. “But this must have been meant for people to look up at it from below. The image had deteriorated at the ‘collar’ located near the center, so there are signs of redrawing and reinforcements. The paint is thicker there.”

The repairs were well done. The painting and linework had clearly been done either by the original artist or one of equal skill. So…

“I think the face was left this way intentionally.”

“The what is this baby, 4th Special Duty Officer?”

“There is one more thing I’ve noticed.”

Naruze smiled a little as she held up her drawing. She spread her arms a little to make it look like she was holding hands with the group drawn there.

“Everyone is celebrating. That much is clear. And there is a baby. That too is clear. But…”

“There are no parents,” bluntly stated Horizon. “Did the ancient people have a habit of abandoning their babies, Masazumi-sama!?”

“If only those parents had instead gotten some lessons from a port manager.”

“Let me guess, lessons on ‘berth control’?”

Naruze’s answer made Masazumi freeze, so Naruze sighed and took a swig of the barley tea in her bamboo glass. Horizon chose that moment to turn toward her.

“That is barley tea pudding.”

She really did it, thought Naito. Horizon was setting a new record for consecutive wins.

“You alright, Ga-chan?”

Naruze responded by turning away while bending backwards in disgust.

…Ohh, her skin is always so beautiful after she bathes.

Winged species’ backs had muscles forming the base of their wings, so it was hard to see directly where the wings connected to the rest of them. Naruze’s back showed definite tension at the moment, but…

“You alright?”

A light tap wasn’t going to get through. She pushed her finger in like a jab instead. She struck hard enough it made a noise. That forced Naruze’s main wings to spread apart. And…

“You jabbed her pretty hard,” said Mitotsudaira.

“Yeah, but don’t worry. We’re protected well there. It’s the same as a chicken’s breast meat.”

“Is it?” said Mitotsudaira while Naruze twisted her back. Finally, Naruze sighed and turned a tearful face toward Naito.

“H-hey, Margot?”

“Yes, I know. That wasn’t fun, was it?”

Naito kissed Naruze, ignoring the excited reaction from the others. And…

“Nh.”

Naruze fed her the barley tea pudding mouth-to-mouth.

…Impressive.

Naruze knew from Margot’s tongue that the other girl accepted and swallowed the pudding without panicking. Once she got it down, she pulled away.

“Thanks,” said Naruze.

“Don’t mention it. What’s that faint mint flavor, Ga-chan?”

“Oh, I was chewing on a mint leaf before dinner.”

Naruze laughed and that was the end of it. There would probably be more later on, but she had to focus on the present.

And personally, there was one thing she hoped might help with her drawing.

“Neshinbara, give us one of your crazy leaps of logic.”

“Judge.” He nodded. “What we have here is evidence of the Motherless Children.”

Gold Mar: “Why plural?”

Tachibana Wife: “Probably to hint at the existence of more than just this one.”

Tonbokiri: “Interesting. Well done, glasses boy! A well thought out premise!”

Unturning: “Sure would be awkward if he only said it by accident.”

Novice: “Fine, you win! It was a mistake! But that’s a common mistake!”

Horizey: “But still a mistake. Try not to do it again.”

Novice: “Must you be so strict with me!? Even if this one was fair!”

Mitotsudaira had a question about the idea of a “motherless child”.

“Isn’t it possible this child truly had no mother?”

She directed the question at her mother who had been listening in silence this whole time.

Her mother was staring at the rotating meat, looking deadly serious.

…Oh, she’s after the same part as Narumi.

Mitotsudaira had secretly been after that too, but this increased the challenge. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to try and get them to split it or if she should go after the thigh roast, which she considered the 2nd best part. But that aside…

“Nate? Why do you think that?”

“Well, we know of people who are born without a mother. Automatons and spirits, for example.”

And…

“You have said Loup-Garous were originally born from people’s fear. Could this child be something similar?”

“Nate.” Her mother narrowed her eyes. “Earth gods, especially harvest ones, tend to be goddesses. Do you see my point?”

“Well…”

Not really, thought Mitotsudaira, but she noticed Asama leaning eagerly forward and giving her looks that urged her to answer.

“How about you answer?” she told Asama.

“Eh!? Oh, well, this feels indulgent, but, um, ancient cultures tended to think of the environment something was born from as its ‘mother’. So the mother earth goddess symbolized nature as a whole.”

“Testament. So you mean ancient cultures would have defined a ‘mother’ for any automatons or spirits that were born back then?”

So would that mean the concept of a motherless child wasn’t possible after all?

“But we see one depicted here.”

Mitotsudaira searched for some way that could be possible. Asama’s explanation and her mother’s thoughts were based on nature worship, or maybe environment worship better described it. But…

“What about beings like Ootani Yoshitsugu and Ishida Mitsunari who we have faced before?”

“We would have to start by debating whether they count as an artificial intelligence or a living being,” said Naomasa. “And whether or not they had that kind of technology back in the Age of Dawn.”

Mitotsudaira realized Naomasa was right. They were talking about ancient times, shortly after people had descended from the sky and lost most of their technology. So…

“Where would this faceless child’s mother be?”

Speaking it aloud led her to a realization.

…Oh?

If the “mother” was depicted in this image, what would it be? Going back to the idea of environmental worship…

“Could it be…this?”

She held up her sign frame and traced her finger around the image.

“Could it be that the people surrounding the child gave birth to it?”

Naruze immediately opened a few different images, including the ones taken below Novgorod and below Sanada. The surrounding people had survived in those reliefs.

“No, that’s not it. …Oh, I’m not saying Mitotsudaira is wrong here.”

She had learned something by comparing those underground reliefs.

“The surrounding people are different in each one. So instead of having a set image to work from, I bet the artists were given a description of the image they should make.”

“In that case…would it just be the environment?” asked Adele while looking at the image. “In other words, the image wasn’t meant to depict who it was that gave birth to this child.”

“Yes, which makes this more difficult. I mean, if this was made based on a description, that means the description went out of its way to specify the child had no face.”

What did that mean?

“Why provide that specific detail when everything else was more generally defined?”

“Could it be…well, you know?” The Reine des Garous tilted her head. “How should I put this? It’s, um, does anyone know what I mean?”

I would be impressed if anyone did, thought Naruze just before the daughter raised her right hand with her face staring straight down at the ground.

“What is it, Mitotsudaira?

“U-um, well, you know?”

Art-Ga: “The daughter is just as bad!”

Silver Wolf: “I-I am not! I was about to go on and explain!”

The wolf sucked in a breath, raised her head, and pointed at the meat over the fire.

“All of us – okay, some of us are probably thinking about which part of that meat we want to eat, but we generally don’t know which part we will be served, right? We can only wonder what we will end up with.”

“Mito, if you want the meat already, I can ask Toori-kun to-”

“This isn’t about that. Horizon, put your knife and fork down.”

Mitotsudaira cleared her throat and continued.

“Everyone creating the environment has differing opinions. This might seem contradictory, but what if there was no way to build a clear image of the child. Could that be why they couldn’t give the child a face?”

“I see what you mean. If it had a face, then it would be someone’s child, or it wouldn’t match what someone was imagining.”

Margot had it right. But in that case…

“Would that mean everyone in that crowd wished for the child to be born?”

That led to another question.

“If so, why did someone go to so much trouble to keep the image a secret?”

“I feel like we have to ask whether the child or the parent came first here.”

Narumi was right, but if it came to that, they were stuck.

“It feels like we’re running in circles.”

“Oh, I have one thing to say,” said Neshinbara.

He crossed his legs and swung his shoulder, sending his sign frame soaring away from him.

He watched it fade into the shadowy forest. After the three full seconds it took to fully disappear into the distance, he opened a new one.

“Anyway.”

“Are you on a cheap contract that only allows a single main sign frame?” asked Naruze.

“Wh-what’s wrong with only having the one main one!?”

She hadn’t expected the reaction to come from Adele, but then Neshinbara laughed.

“Heh. Always choose your weapon with the utmost care.”

“Master Tenzou, do you only wear the one short sword?”

“No, I have three that I use in a rotation.”

“A-anyway, to get back on topic! We were discussing that child.” Neshinbara tapped the image from behind. “Since it is depicted with a physical form, we should assume it is some form of incarnation. It is not an undefined being.”

Silver Wolf: “What do mean an incarnation?”

Still Got It: “You have to ask, Nate!? That is the act of taking meat inside your body.”

Asama: “No, I don’t think that’s what it means. It means a being like humans who have a physical body. Or to put it another way, a being with a determined form.”

Still Got It: “Yes, exactly what I meant. Do you understand now, Nate?”

Silver Wolf: “How selfish can a parent be!?”

“But is it possible for a human to be born without a face? It sounds like something from a horror movie.”

Asama tilted her head at Adele’s question. There were faceless gods in Shinto and other mythologies. And since they had a visible form, you could say they were an incarnation. But…

“There are no records of anyone like that being born and worshiped. But,” she continued, comparing Neshinbara’s idea to the present situation. “I think a being like that may have been defined by how all the people at the time ‘perceived’ it.”

“Then what is this?” asked Masazumi.

Asama could only tilt her head at that. If she had to give some kind of answer at this point…

“Maybe they were trying to create a god like this? I couldn’t tell you how or why, but that would explain the imagery.”

“So is it possible that…the Princess is something like this too?”

“The Princess? Like this how?”

“Well. We know she is a mysterious phenomenon of unknown origin, but we see a certain humanity or personality in her based on what we know about her. Even though the messages left behind could just be quoting something else for all we know.”

And…

“And even if the phenomenon itself has no mind of its own…well, shrines and temples do see mysterious phenomena born from the molds at those places that write prayers and sutras all over the place. If you looked at the texts chosen at random by the mold, you could start to see a personality there as well. I can’t say for sure the Princess Disappearances work that way, but since we do not know who or what the Princess is, we kind of see her as faceless, don’t we?”

Everyone nodded in understanding, so Asama took a breath.

…This is all very complicated.

For example, if a mysterious phenomenon used the mold of a deceased person and abducted people, the abductees would see the personality of that deceased person in it. It could seem cruel, but the only course of action was to crush the mold along with the phenomenon.

They still did not know what the Princess Disappearances were. But…

“If an actual person were behind it…I feel like they could do something more with it. Simply abducting people seems so – well, childish isn’t quite the right word, but I think you get what I mean.”

In that case…

“We can’t reject the possibility that the being drawn in this picture is something similar. I just think we need to keep in mind that that option is out there.”

“Um, what are the odds this is the Princess?”

“This is much older than the Princess,” said Masazumi. “And why would everyone worship a phenomenon that spirited people away?”

Asama had to agree.

“Mysterious phenomena have their own molds, so what the Princess Disappearances are wouldn’t change. If this is the Princess, it would mean people were being abducted left and right ever since the Age of Dawn.”

“There are actually records of what seem like Princess Disappearances going back ages, but it isn’t clear when they started and they have been much more frequent in recent years,” said Neshinbara.

“If this is the Princess, wouldn’t there be some pretty clear records going way back?”

“I see what you mean.”

He crossed his arms, but tilted his head.

Asama understood why he kept that questioning pose. If this wasn’t the Princess, then what was the Princess and what was this? But…

“Anyway, that’s what I have.” Naruze signaled the end of her report and shrugged. “I can’t tell you what this might be, but maybe it can help as a jumping off point for searching through old texts and records. It could also act as a hint for how we view the Princess.”

“True,” said Masazumi. “Personally, I’m relieved the trail hadn’t actually gone cold there. I get the feeling we’ll learn a lot more by following this lead.”

Naruze snorted a proud laugh and everyone applauded. She nodded, put away her Magie Figur, and turned toward Asama.

“Okay, you’re up, Asama. What did you figure out about the Honnouji Incident’s date?”

Yes, it’s my turn, thought Asama. She took a breath.

“I’m going to be completely honest. This graph shows the ether consumption readings I have managed to get from P.A. Oda.”

Asama displayed a bar graph on her sign frame.

It showed P.A. Oda’s estimated ether consumption since the start of August. It was on the rise and rose in steps.

“It continues to rise even now. But…” She came out and said it. “I can’t make sense of it myself. That is, the rises don’t correspond to the lucky days or anything like that. So to be honest, I don’t know what it’s based on.”

When Asama said she didn’t know, Masazumi first looked to Futayo.

“Futayo, could you get your people moving if it turns out to be tonight?”

“I could. The Musashi is operating on the same schedule as us, so they are resting today. Some should have already traveled through the forest and entered Kyou.”

“Really?” asked Naruze and Crossunite nodded.

“Because P.A. Oda – or Hashiba really – applied divine transmission restrictions at Magdeburg. So any personnel with divine transmission expertise were sent in early this time. Some went undercover as tourists or merchants and others are hiding in the surrounding forest. The undercover group are being assisted by the various committees and are receiving instructions from the Representative Committee Head.”

“That explains why Ookubo was having fun joining our meetings.”

Nagaya-Stable: “That was for my job.”

…And you’re the type to enjoy your work. Like me.

Our underclassmen could stand to be more honest, thought Masazumi, but she still appreciated Ookubo commanding that undercover operation. That job required a special touch when war was brewing. She had been involved in a lot during the invasion of Satomi too, so this was probably similar.

She was doing what it took to make the mission a success.

That couldn’t be easy since it involved working with Crossunite, cooperating with the committees, and answering to such a unique Vice President. For that reason…

Vice President: “Thanks for everything, Ookubo.”

“Kanou-kun, th-the Vice President just said something really creepy. Is this a trap? It must be, right? She’s about to give me an even more impossible job than usual, isn’t she?”

“Milady, I prefer to believe this comes from legitimate kindness. Which means her guard is down and now is the time to rebel.”

“Barely back on the Musashi and you two aren’t holding back at all, are you?”

Masazumi held her right knee while seated on the log seat. She was only wearing a shirt draped over her swimsuit and the feeling of the wood against her butt was new to her. This wasn’t something she had a chance to experience on the Musashi. Did I ever at Mikawa? she wondered, but…

…Will we be using this as firewood later?

After the excitement with Mitotsudaira during the day, she got the feeling the Reine des Garous would be sending Aoi’s seat directly to the Musashi. She made a mental note to not to sit on it if it ended up at the Main Blue Thunder.

“So we just have to take action if it looks like they’re making their move. And since the Honnouji Incident involves Akechi Mitsuhide, it probably won’t be until after our meeting with him tomorrow night. Asama, we don’t need specifics. Are there any more general predictions you can give us?”

“Um, yes. First, look at this pattern.”

On her sign frame, P.A. Oda’s ether consumption rose in steps.

The peak line had settled down some since a few days before, but…

“As you can see, most of the biggest peaks were at the start of August. And it is hard to say if it will continue to rise. If they are pooling the ether in P.A. Oda, then that pool should be far greater than the previous peaks, but Honnouji hasn’t happened yet, we don’t know how much they have pooled, and we can’t predict what their limit is.”

“Does that mean Honnouji could happen at any time?”

“Yes,” confirmed Asama. “But it’s strange. These peaks have no relation to the lucky days. It seems so haphazard or scattered. But…”

She raised a different sign frame. It also displayed some peak lines, but the Date Vice Chancellor tilted her head when she saw the dates.

“Those are a few days earlier than P.A. Oda’s peaks. What are they?”

“The ether consumption at P.A. Oda’s Tsurugi Shrine. Since it is a major shrine and the Oda clan’s main shrine, I looked into it with some help from IZUMO and others.”

The way Crossunite nodded hinted at who the “others” were.

Everyone began whispering.

“So Tenzou actually did something useful?”

“I did notice him disappear for a while before we came here.”

“Was he enjoying himself so much here because he just got through working?”

“W-work is enjoyable too when I have a lunch from Mary-dono.”

“My,” said Mary, accelerating the whispering. As for Masazumi…

“He helped me out a lot too. So, Asama, what do these readings tell you?”

“That the Oda clan will be managing the ether output for Honnouji from the Tsurugi Shrine and they appear to be finished with testing. The later readings are a lot more stable and…”

Asama opened another similar sign frame. But this one’s readings were lower and dropping.

“These are the ether readings of Aki as observed from nearby locations.”

“That shows the opposite of the Tsurugi Shrine’s readings, so was the Tsurugi Shrine absorbing Aki’s ether fuel?”

“It looks that way. Based on visual confirmation and local information, Hirano Nagayasu, one of Hashiba’s Ten Spears and the Tsurugi Shrine Representative, has been traveling between Aki and the Tsurugi Shrine. And…”

And…

“She was at Aki when this stable period began. That may mean she made the final adjustments at Aki. Which would suggest they have fuel route established.”

“Could we destroy their Aki fuel route now?”

“Well, the fuel sent from Aki is being transferred using ley line divine transmissions.” Asama pressed her lips together and exasperation entered her voice. “They did the same thing during the battle at Novgorod. By inserting ether materials into the ley lines, they can extract a purified version from the ley lines at the destination. So you could say there is no ‘middle’ of the route.”

“Is it like sending water down an underground stream and having someone draw it out on the other side?” asked Gin.

Asama nodded.

“More or less. The same water can be drawn out at the destination since they have the appropriate mold, but it still requires a high level of control with the preservation of ether and such.”

And…

“Aki is currently submerged in the ocean and Honnouji is close to Lake Biwa. Water ley lines are highly fluid and that commonality may make the process easier.”

“So can they start at any time?” asked the Reine des Garous.

Asama nodded.

“Hashiba cannot take part in Honnouji. This is just one of their leaders working to control an external part of it in preparation. Now they should be able to do it whenever they want.” Asama tapped her sign frame. “But the adjustments we can see here entirely ignored the lucky days. If anything, I would guess it’s based some kind of operation schedule, such as one for P.A. Oda’s internal preparations. Since they don’t seem to care if it happens on Butsumetsu or anything else.”

Masazumi had a question about that.

“So what about today? Or tomorrow?”

“Today is Tomobiki, tomorrow is Senbu, and the day after that is Butsumetsu. It’s hard to say.” Asama tilted her head. “If P.A. Oda wants to view this as an Akechi Mitsuhide event, they won’t want it to fail and I doubt they would choose Senbu or Butsumetsu. On the other hand, if they think of it as Nobunaga’s death, then Butsumetsu would probably be better than Senbu.”

“So you could make an argument for anything,” said Naito and Asama nodded.

“The worst day for the ether consumption was Tomobiki, so I was actually worried about today. But given our meeting with Akechi Mitsuhide on the 2nd, that seems unlikely. The next Tomobiki is on the 7th. That puts it a week into the new term and it does seem like they’re ready to go, but then what do the stable peaks mean?”

Asama sighed and tilted her head.

“I tried to give you as much information as possible, but that’s really all I have.”

Asama was frustrated.

…Stupid foreign nations!

P.A. Oda was the Oda clan and the Tsurugi Shrine was up to something. That led her to suspect the Shinto lucky days would play a role.

But now she had a feeling P.A. Oda was being more practical and realistic about these things.

She knew that was an option, but…

“This is how Shinto and its divine protections work. The cycle of lucky days is based on the rotation of ley line activity, so it isn’t just superstition. There is real meaning there.”

“How much of a difference does it make?”

“Comparing times when it has an influence and when it doesn’t – it depends on the location, but the difference can be as much as 10%. If that builds up over a half-day period, it can create a powerful wave.”

“It waxes and wanes, doesn’t it?” suggested Mitotsudaira’s mother and Asama nodded.

The mention of waxing and waning led him and Horizon to look up at the evening moons.

“It feels a little chillier when the moons are out, doesn’t it?”

“How could it not when the moons are that beautiful?” said Asama, looking up to see the two moons. They were nearly full, forming a pair of almost complete circles.

“It reminds me of the Kantou Liberation,” said Mitotsudaira’s mother.

“W-wait, mother. Could you not go Loup-Garou and spew your forest all over the place?”

“Yes, that had a powerful effect on the ley-”

Asama trailed off in realization.

…Wait.

A question crept into her mind, but he was the one to voice it. He looked to Mitotsudaira’s mother.

“Maman, does the moon really play a role in that transformation?”

“No, when I was blasted and vaporized, my unstoppable womanly ocean happened to leak out. That’s all.”

“Do embodiments of fear not have to play by the rules, or what?”

“Well, you could say I had my restraint forcibly taken from me there.”

Hearing that, Asama got to work on a sign frame.

She had something to look up. Although she honestly knew the answer already.

“Asama-sama, you are looking pale.”

“Y-yes, um, I do think we managed to avoid the worst-case, but give me a second.”

Her hands were trembling, but the search didn’t take long.

“Um,” she began. “Can you all take a look at this? Based on a quick search…”

They all looked up wordlessly. They were ready and resolved, so they were telling her to come out and say it.

“I’ve figured it out. It was the phases of the moons!”

Muneshige was a fast typist. He had trained that skill back when he served as Tres España’s 1st Special Duty Officer.

So he could run a search just as fast as the Secretary or 1st Special Duty Officer.

What he found was a nonhuman support site.

“Some nonhumans transform based on the phases of the moons, so knowing the state of the moons is important for them.”

“Oh, I found the same sight as Mune Mune. I think.”

“Judge,” he nodded, discovering a certain fact on said site.

The Asama Shrine Representative continued speaking.

“It comes down to the phases of the moons. They influence the ley lines, making them more active, but while the cycle of lucky days affects the flow of the ley lines on the surface, the moons’ influence shines down from the heavens.”

There was a simple reason for this.

“It is said the moons are made of spirit stone. The 2nd moon in particular was refined during the Age of the Gods, so its light has a major effect on the surface.”

And…

“The last day of especially heavy ether consumption in P.A. Oda was August 3. That was August’s full moon.”

“Hold on! Then when’s September’s full moon?”

When Muneshige called out in accordance with this class’s rules, the Vicereine suddenly slapped the Chancellor.

“Owww! But I think I get where this is going, so I want to hear this!”

“You have already lost, Toori-sama! You have been Suzu-sama’s friend for more than a decade and you still don’t know not to shout unnecessarily!?”

“N-no…um, I don’t…mind.”

The Vicereine nodded toward the acting captain, clapped her hands, and spoke to the others.

“Very well, Suzu-sama says she does not mind, so we will end this conversation here. The end!”

“Y-you’ll find any reason to avoid apologizing, won’t you? And I just know you’ll do it again as soon as you find an opportunity.”

The Chancellor and Vicereine’s amore is rather complicated, but it is just as passionate.

Next to Muneshige, Gin tapped him on the shoulder and pointed toward the Asama Shrine Representative.

“Excuse me, Master Muneshige, but the Asama Shrine Representative is attempting to speak.”

“Oh,” said the Asama Shrine Representative, tilting her head and tapping her sign frame. “The next full moon is tomorrow.”

Worshiper: “Try to give a revelation like that more gravity, Asama-kun!”

Wise Sister: “Heh heh heh. She takes everyone so seriously all the time and has even become something of a crybaby of late, but a major world event gets no gravity whatsoever.”

Gold Mar: “But as serious as their situation might seem, aren’t they all on course to be very happy – well, except for the Chancellor’s stamina?”

Novice: “Yes, we can sacrifice Aoi-kun’s stamina to level up Asama-kun! And remove Ariadust-kun’s annoyance and trouble from the field! Then we tap the arms and lock in Aoi-kun as their battery!”

Silver Wolf: “Then you can play me to recover my king’s stamina and end the turn!”

Art-Ga: “Unfortunately, your card can only be played upside-down at night and that absorbs twice the stamina.”

Still Got It: “I have no idea what you are talking about, but I think I got the gist of it.”

Asama: “Naruze, why are you drawing a card of me!? And why does it have such a high cost!?”

Adele had a thought while everyone made a fuss over this.

…They do put out an officers card game every year.

The expansion that had come out before the break had her support card as the main card. The expansion had a Kantou Liberation theme and a Crossing of Iga set was scheduled for release after the break. The fact that it wasn’t a Honnouji set showed the planning wasn’t quite in line with reality. But…

“Asama-san, why does your artillery version have the higher cost?”

“Eh? Wh-what are you talking about?”

If she wants some help, I can get us back on topic, decided Adele.

“If tomorrow is the full moon, does that mean the Honnouji Incident is happening tomorrow?”

“It’s entirely possible,” said the Date Vice Chancellor.

“Tomorrow is our meeting, after all.”

“Ha ha ha. Maybe he just wants to greet us by saying ‘and now I’m off to Honnouji’!” said the incubus.

She hated that she couldn’t deny that possibility.

But everyone turned to look at one person: the Vice President. She nodded and raised her right hand.

“We’re ready whenever it might happen. Tomorrow, I will go and hear what he has to say. And I will say what we want to say. Then we see what happens.”

“What if we find Kyou deserted and this was all a big diversion?”

“I highly doubt that would happen,” said the 1st Special Duty Officer and the Chancellor sat down in the same pose.

“I highly doubt that would happen. So says my ninja intuition.”

The 1st Special Duty Officer clenched his left fist, but was defeated when Mary laughed a little.

The Vice President also gave a snort of laughter.

“We are looking into it. Because something like that could happen. Also…Futayo.”

“If we need to go now, we could leave immediately. You say we are ready whenever it might happen, which means the battle has effectively already begun. So…”

So…

“Eating bathing, sleeping, and fighting. Those are already our everyday lives. We have transformed ourselves into embodiments of harassment in preparation for the Honnouji Incident.”

“Judge. For once I agree with you, Vice Chancellor.”

If Gin said so, it had to be true.

“Today we rest. Tomorrow we have the meeting starting in the evening, so I doubt we will lose our focus. We should get as much pre-battle rest as we can get until we leave early tomorrow morning,” said Gin. “In other words, act as if the battle is tomorrow.”

Everyone nodded.

“Judge!”

Gin was a little shaken by everyone’s response.

…Eh?

She had not meant to be giving orders before a major event. She had thought of that as something for the Vice President or Vice Chancellor to do, not her. But…

“Um.”

Asking if they were okay with her doing that would be weird at this point and the others were already preparing to eat anyway.

This had caught her off guard. And preventing her from asking anything about it just felt cruel. However…

“Gin.” Muneshige moved out in front of her and handed her a plate. “You did well commanding them.”

“Master Muneshige, that just establishes I really was doing that.”

But she felt the command she had given was the appropriate one.

Everyone had their role and they would all be working toward victory. So it didn’t really matter who made the command as long as it was appropriate.

…I can’t believe this.

These people, she started in her head, but too much time had already passed.

“Okay, let’s get this meat carved up.”

The Date Vice Chancellor gasped, but the 5th Special Duty Officer was more on the ball and slid into place with her plate at the ready. It was honestly impressive.

Gin ended up 7th in line. Right next to Muneshige.

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