Horizon:Volume 9A Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Waiter at the Gathering Place

Still not here

Still not here

But still waiting

Point Allocation (Unaware)

●

Lake Biwa Azuchi is so busy today, thought Kiyomasa.

She was currently on the deck of the transport ship that had taken her here. Within Lake Biwa Azuchi’s stealth barrier, the ship was landing in the water-top port lit up by a long array of illumination spells.

Takenaka had sent word that, once they disembarked, it would be time to wait.

Thus, resupplying at the port would be handled by Asano, who specialized in that sort of management, and the other veterans who knew the place well. Katagiri had emerged as Lake Biwa Azuchi’s manager earlier. Asano had been in a hurry and, according to Katagiri, said something “without the appropriate gravity”, so he had driven her away with a super-concentrated lecture.

…Katagiri-kun has been weirdly mature lately.

Is that because Fukushima made a man out of him? That could also be why Hirano, who loves people who are a handful, has shifted to simply watching him grow.

Whatever the case, she would be meeting up with the others soon.

The Aki group was returning on the south end of Lake Biwa in order to avoid Musashi in Kyou.

After they regrouped with Kasuya, Hirano, and Sakon, they would have to decide whether or not to send out the Azuchi.

“Takenaka-sama will be the one to decide if we head out tonight. Will we be going to Honnouji or Shizugatake?”

●

…We’re in a tricky position.

Kiyomasa realized the supplies being transported to the port were for cold region combat. She also wondered how they had ended up in this position.

The plan had been to initially support the Honnouji Incident after arriving here.

The Testament said the Honnouji Incident occurred during Hashiba’s attack on Mouri. But they had already completed their attack on Mouri, which meant they were free. So…

“We were supposed to deter and hold back Musashi when they tried to intervene at Honnouji.”

They won as long as the Honnouji Incident happened.

The Genesis Project would be completed and the Apocalypse would end.

In other words, victory.

But those initial plans weren’t going to work anymore.

They hadn’t expected Akechi Mitsuhide to grant his name to the Musashi Chancellor.

Furthermore, the Shibata Team had suddenly sent a divine transmission that very nearly did just say “We’re doing the Battle of Shizugatake, so get on over here! You got that!?” How were they supposed to respond to that?

Without them and the Shibata Team, Honnouji wouldn’t have any additional defenders. The Shibata Team was an especially big problem because Shibata’s summons meant Sakuma and her people were no longer defending the east.

And the Hashiba Team was meant to battle Shibata.

The Hashiba Team had plenty of fighting power, but what would happen if it came to a clash here?

“There won’t be any effective defenders left for Honnouji and P.A. Oda’s forces will be greatly reduced.”

In the Testament, Hashiba wins the Battle of Shizugatake. Shibata and his wife Oichi take their own lives.

Was there any way to prevent that?

Takenaka and the rest of the Lake Biwa group would be considering all of that with the Honnouji group, but…

Kuro-Take: “Hm, if Shibata-san is serious about this, half measures aren’t going to cut it. He could end up chewing us up and spitting us out.”

Kiyo-Massive: “Would it be possible to guard Honnouji first and go to Shizugatake afterwards?”

If Shibata was going to mess with their plans, they could mess with his. But…

6: “He’s taken Kani hostage. And Fukushima will probably return to the Shibata Team without knowing what’s happened, so that will begin the fighting whether we like it or not.”

…Fukushima-sama!

Kiyo-Massive: “We cannot let that happen! B-but what do we do!?”

AnG: “Can’t we just assume that Fukushiman can take care of herself?”

Kimee: “We don’t actually know what her time in the mountains did for her. And I heard she was in a pretty sorry state before that.”

Kiyo-Massive: “Th-that is not true! Fukushima-sama is-”

Kiyomasa realized two things in the middle of her sentence.

First, did it really matter if that was true? And second, if it was true, why was Fukushima in such a sorry state?

●

“Okay.”

Kiyomasa clenched her fists and did not hesitate.

She was worried about Fukushima, but those worries weren’t going to fix anything.

The Shibata Team had taken action and Kani was their hostage. All the people here could do was decide how they would respond and worrying about a month-old problem wasn’t going to help.

Kiyomasa was conscious of that now thanks to her discussions with Unno in Sanada. So…

“Fukushima-sama.”

Kiyomasa could see her again in Shizugatake. That was a good thing. All that excess mental noise was gone.

If she was going to worry, it wouldn’t be about the past.

…That’s right.

She had made up her mind. She could make her decision after meeting and speaking with Fukushima. Because she had learned her lesson and would no longer impose her own issues on someone else. And with that decided…

“Takenaka-sama, the Aki group has arrived.”

A large passage warning lernen figur opened in the southern sky before something entered through the stealth barrier. A black transport ship was guided in by Wakisaka’s schale besen.

“Kasuya, Hirano, and Shima are here.”

●

Passing through a stealth barrier by yourself takes a lot of guts, thought Wakisaka. Because it cut off all information.

Their schale besens were airtight and transport ships received airtight protection when passing through, but your body was not so lucky. It didn’t just go silent – there was nothing reaching any of your senses. You couldn’t even tell if your hair and such were still there.

The brief inability to tell up from down and left from right was enough to know how dangerous it would be over a longer period.

Was that what it felt like to die?

…Or maybe the “thinning out” of the Apocalypse system is like that.

Whatever the case, staying there for long caused your thoughts to fade as well.

So she built up enough speed to coast through on momentum and light burst into view ahead of her. She saw the ether light of a large passage warning lernen figur and…

“Lake Biwa Azuchi.”

She had only left briefly to guide in the ship, but everything looked a lot busier than when she had left.

…Maybe that’s because the Sanada group is back.

Kiyomasa had brought the 1st years on a training camp. Wakisaka hadn’t heard of any trouble there, so all of them, including that mechanical dragon transport ship, must have returned as a single fighting force.

“And now…”

She heard a burst of wind behind her. That was the transport ship. The Aki group had coasted through the stealth barrier with inertial cruising, but its greater mass meant it had slowed down a lot less. It was approaching her fast, so she turned to the bow and…

“Sorry. I’ll move out ahead.”

She hurriedly accelerated, slicing through the wind.

Kimee: “Angie, they didn’t run into you just now, did they?”

AnG: “Where are you, Kime-chan?”

Kimee: “Upper left.”

Wakisaka looked up to see a white schale besen soaring upwards. She’s so beautiful, she thought before the other transport ship guided by Yoshiaki broke through the stealth barrier.

That one was loaded with supplies from Aki. That included the Orei Metallo ether fuel which was purified at Aki, but…

…We’ll probably be using up a lot of that soon.

Kimee: “Now, what’s going to happen?”

About what?” asked Wakisaka.

Kimee: “Musashi’s actions were a surprise, but P.A. Oda isn’t giving us an easy night either.”

●

Takenaka was working to consolidate a few different thoughts.

She was in the 1st dining hall on the 3rd floor of the Azuchi Castle on the shore of Lake Biwa Azuchi.

The 12-story school building was home to Azuchi Academy and all the windows had been lit up even at night of late, but…

…I’m glad they could clear the biggest room for me when everything’s so busy.

She had just one reason to occupy this entire 180 square meter floor.

“Three Thousand Worlds.”

A massive amount of insha kotob opened and she would be selecting the best ones. She could of course do this in a smaller space, but that made it more difficult to grasp and expand on the information, which meant a time loss.

She was in a hurry, so she spread the information out in front of her, around her, and behind her.

“Three Thousand Worlds is using about 60 square meters, isn’t it?”

She massaged the top of her nose and took a breath. The cooks remained in the dining hall, cooking and stockpiling combat food for tonight, but…

“Takenaka-sama, you look tired, so have this rice ball.”

“What’s inside it?”

“It’s only rice flavored with soy sauce…and wasabi.”

That sounded like it would stimulate her hunger and wake her up nicely. But she felt like that would be a better choice for after she was done working and losing her focus. So she decided to eat it later.

“Could I get some carbonated water? With some ginger if possible.”

She had a feeling she would just puke it back up after drinking it, but it was better than having nothing on her stomach. A cook carried it over from a nearby table, but try as he might to nervously step around the Three Thousand Worlds insha kotob, he couldn’t manage it. Takenaka gestured for him to not worry about it, just in time for a new insha kotob to open.

It was from Hashiba. She was rushing down a 2nd-floor hallway and bowing to everyone who greeted her as she passed.

Monkey Girl: “U-um, Takenaka-sama? Do you have a plan yet?”

Kuro-Take: “Well, there are a few things I’m still not clear on, but for now, it seems going to Shizugatake would be the safer bet.”

Monkey Girl: “Safer…how?”

“Shaja,” she replied in accordance with the local custom. Because…

Kuro-Take: “The Shibata Team is serious about this. I really don’t think they would actually harm Kani-kun, who they’ve taken hostage, but…well, Kani-kun isn’t the type to just sit around and wait.”

The Shibata Team seemed to decide that anyone who did as they were told was harmless, but anyone who came at them was fun. Not to mention…

Kuro-Take: “If we don’t go to them, I suspect they will come to us. Shibata-san isn’t one to hold back there. He’s always been more about launching an attack than biding his time.”

That had been true at Novgorod too. During his time as M.H.R.R. Vice Chancellor, his general policy had been “attack”, including at Magdeburg. The Testament said the Battle of Shizugatake was a waiting battle, nearly a siege even, but…

…Shibata-san was given the Kitanosho Castle as his aerial ship.

That was a Jormungand-class 800m warship. Since it was the same class as the ironclad ships, it could be seen as small for the flagship of someone on Shibata’s level. But…

Kuro-Take: “Shibata-san is sure to be having the time of his life flying around showing off all his ships.”

Monkey Girl: “If this does turn into a fleet battle, you will need the Azuchi.”

Right? thought Takenaka, but what would happen if it came to that?

…The Shibata fleet will charge the Hashiba fleet and engage in an infiltration battle.

That meant Shibata troops boarding the Hashiba ships to fight.

The Hashiba fleet was primarily the Azuchi’s 6 ships. The rest were mainly transport ships, which had little combat experience.

Kuro-Take: “The Shibata fleet’s ships might be small, but they’re experienced and plentiful. The Azuchi isn’t enough to handle them all and then the damaged ships will ram into the Azuchi. And I can’t imagine a more annoying problem than Shibata-san using one of those ramming ships to board us himself.”

Oh, I’m going to vomit just thinking about it. No, wait, I held it in.

Monkey Girl: “Um, Shibata-sama would do that, wouldn’t he? He’s notorious for how easily he cut across Musashino after boarding the Musashi.”

Notorious? thought Takakane, but on second thought, he had done that for fun, not as part of a strategy.

If he tried that with Hashiba, could any of them stop him?

Kuro-Take: “Of those we have here, maybe Kiyomasa-san, Kasuya-san, or Sakon-san? Hm, they’d have a hard time of it.”

The Azuchi’s six ships were arranged in three rows: left, right, and center. If you were diving toward them from above, it would be less risky to aim for the front ships than the rear ones. That meant the front three ships were the best place for the defense personnel, but…

…We can’t expect a single person to stop Shibata-san.

Kuro-Take: “Maybe teams of two would work? We could have one person positioned on each of the front ships and one more in position to reach the ship Shibata-san lands on? But…”

Monkey Girl: “But what?”

Kuro-Take: “Shibata’s fleet will probably challenge us to a fleet battle when we are focused on Honnouji. Shibata-san is probably waiting for us to make our move.”

And…

Kuro-Take: “If Shibata’s fleet arrives behind us while we’re keeping Musashi away from Honnouji, the Azuchi won’t be able to fight Musashi very effectively even if we do win against Shibata’s fleet.”

Shibata had openly announcement the Battle of Shizugatake.

If Musashi knew about it too…

…Then we wouldn’t be able to trick Musashi into fighting Shibata-san’s group.

So should they go north? The preparations for that would be simple enough.

They would use the Azuchi to approach, but instead of beginning a fleet battle, they would lower their warriors for a ground battle. The only real problem would be…

…Shibata-san’s group could ascend during the battle, splitting our forces and changing the battlefield.

If they were expecting a ground battle, they would be in trouble if the enemy ascended and bombed them from above.

Takakane had to come up with ways to counteract and prevent that, but since they needed the Azuchi to carry them back afterwards, they had to defend it as well.

That meant a ground battle would be safer in the long run this time.

Especially because a ground battle gave them a better chance of regrouping with Fukushima. Her return would increase morale and she or Kiyomasa were about the only ones capable of directly facing fighters on Shibata or Oichi’s level.

With those two, they had around a 40% chance of defeating Shibata’s group.

So, she thought just before she heard Katagiri’s voice via divine transmission.

The Boy: “Musashi is on the move! The base hull parts purged from Musashi are being escorted south by the Tres España fleet!”

Oh, thought Takakane. The world has made a decision here. And in that case…

Kuro-Take: “I know what to do.”

Saying that was enough for her to make up her mind and get started.

Kuro-Take: “All Hashiba forces are to prepare for combat and board the Azuchi or your assigned ship. We will be traveling north to begin the Battle of Shizugatake.”

●

Katagiri used Hundred Crest Land Survey on the roof of the building being used as the port management office.

He was using reports from the outside to build up a picture of the area around Lake Biwa Azuchi and Hokuriku with the space between omitted, as well as the status of the Shibata fleet.

What seemed vague in mere words and reports could become clear when viewed visually.

He was sending Takenaka a digitized version of the model created by Hundred Crest Land Survey. Based on the image he could see…

“Tres España has sided with Musashi!”

They were working for Musashi as mercenaries. If Hashiba questioned them about it, Tres España was bound to produce a valid mercenary contract. They had in fact been working as mercenaries for Akechi Mitsuhide, after all.

But that was a problem at this moment in time.

…Now we can’t work with the Honnouji group to launch a pincer attack on Musashi while advancing the Battle of Shizugatake.

6: “I know it’s a little late, but I have to ask: do we have any forces in reserve?”

Black Wolf: “Oh, it’s great to hear your voice again. …As for your question, keep in mind that we can’t rely on the M.H.R.R. Catholics. After all, K.P.A. Italia wants a defense force because they are concerned about what happens after Honnouji. It sounds like the M.H.R.R. Catholics will be moving to their borders with the Protestants and Hexagone Française.”

Tsurugi: “Is that why they tried to stop us from leaving Aki? I thought they were going to demand we pay the food bill, so I rushed up onto the deck and waved goodbye.”

Kohime: “The food there was so good. I want to visit again sometime.”

Katagiri had a feeling these reinforcements were going to bolster the food bill more than anything. But…

6: “What about P.A. Oda forces?”

Kimee: “Do you want to know how many transport ships and warships we sent to the east?”

That was exactly it.

Sakuma and her people had been holding the east, so with them coming here, the east’s defenses would be thin. The original plan had been for Niwa or Takigawa to be waiting between the east and here, but Takigawa had retired before summer break and Niwa had joined with Shibata.

…It’s a scary thought when Musashi has been gathering the Kantou nations.

The north was a threat too. Northwest of the Shibata Team’s location was Sweden.

The marriage of Chancellor Christina had long been a concern for Sweden, but that had recently been solved using her Lady Nagaoka name and now they were waiting for their Chancellor and her husband to return. But Honnouji was preventing her return now that summer break had ended and it was possible Sweden would attack P.A. Oda for causing that delay.

…And the Testament does call Sweden the strongest nation in the Thirty Years’ War period.

P.A. Oda had its forces on the border of that region while they prepared for Honnouji.

And of course, they couldn’t ignore domestic matters either. The Honnouji Incident hinted at political upheaval, which had people worried. Also…

“We were supposed to stop the Apocalypse with the Genesis Project and declare victory. That would have solved everything. But…”

One group was interfering with that: Musashi.

The massive ship waiting above Kyou was currently directed north. Was that to avoid provoking Honnouji to the east, or had they simply not yet settled down internally?

Without Musashi, the Battle of Shizugatake wouldn’t have been a problem. They could have defended their borders with whatever forces they had to spare and no one would have interfered with Honnouji.

…If only Akechi-sama hadn’t given his name to Musashi.

Then Musashi wouldn’t have been able to interfere to this extent and Shibata probably wouldn’t have started the Battle of Shizugatake.

Yes. Katagiri felt like he understood this. Akechi and Shibata’s decisions hadn’t been rational and they flew in the face of the Genesis Project, but…

“It’s Musashi’s fault.”

Musashi had messed it all up. They had done this.

Musashi had given meaning to the act of protesting the only way to save the world.

We can’t let this go on, he thought. Because…

“Musashi still hasn’t found their own way to stop the Apocalypse.”

But they were still coming to stop the Genesis Project which was guaranteed to stop it. And yet…

The Boy: “Why would Akechi-sama and Shibata-sama help Musashi?”

●

It doesn’t make sense, thought Katagiri.

He understood what Shibata and the others were trying to say. They supported the Genesis Project, but…

The Boy: “They know it’s the right thing to do, but they think there may be a better way! They got cold feet!”

He had another reason for thinking this.

The Boy: “Thinking back, it’s been like this since Mikawa! Lord Motonobu revealed the Logismoi Oplo and said they could be used to influence the Apocalypse. But what sense does that make? Why would he be doing that when he was already working on the Genesis Project with us!?”

Kuro-Take: “Katagiri-kun.”

He took a breath instead of asking what Takenaka wanted and she continued regardless.

Kuro-Take: “Try making a joke once in a while.”

The Boy: “Eh?”

Kimee: “Don’t be like that, Takenaka. It’s nighttime right now and, from what I can see, he’s on top of a tall building. It’s the perfect setting for a teenage boy to get all worked up and blather on. Or is that something a long-lived wouldn’t understand? Go on, Katagiri. We won’t stop you, so let us see how cringe you can really be.”

Kuro-Take: “Was that dig at Katagiri-kun really just an elaborate dig at my age!? I’ll have you know I’m still quite young by long-lived standards!”

The Boy: “And nothing I said was ‘cringe’!”

Almost Everyone: “If you say so…”

What was that reaction supposed to mean? But just as his shoulders drooped, he heard another voice.

Monkey Girl: “Katagiri-kun, are you alright? Can I say something now?”

The Boy: “Um, testament! I’m fine!”

A Magie Figur appeared on his right, showing Wakisaka point at her head and then tilt her head. How rude. My brain is fine too, he thought, but he focused on Hashiba.

Monkey Girl: “Unfortunately, the Shibata Team is our enemy now.”

The Boy: “Testament. I know that. But we’re supposed to be an anti-Musashi unit! Sure, we fought all over the place for your history recreations, but this is supposed to be our crowning moment!”

Monkey Girl: “Testament. That is true. But you know what else is true? Without Nori-chan and Kani-san, we can’t withstand a pincer attack from the Shibata Team and Musashi.”

She didn’t say it would be dangerous or difficult – she said they couldn’t do it. And…

Monkey Girl: “I think Shibata-sama did this because he knows that.”

Then, thought Katagiri. Why would our allies betray us when we already have Musashi as an enemy? And he won’t be just any enemy – he’s one of the greatest forces in P.A. Oda.

The Boy: “Was everything we did a waste of time!? If we can’t stop Musashi here, what was the point of anything we did!?”

Monkey Girl: “Whether or not it was a waste of time depends on what you all choose to do next.”

“–––––”

Monkey Girl: “We considered a variety of scenarios when we planned everything out. We even considered the unlikely possibility of losing to Musashi. But we managed to take the shortest and least wasteful path to this point. Thanks to all of you.”

“But,” she said.

Monkey Girl: “Musashi took a much more roundabout path, which included plenty of waste, but they still made it here. In retrospect, they likely took the shortest possible roundabout path.”

The Boy: “Are you saying we’re going to-”

Monkey Girl: “No.”

She repeated herself.

Monkey Girl: “No, Katagiri-kun. From Shibata-sama’s perspective, we still haven’t defeated him. Whatever might be going on in the world, we have not defeated Shibata Katsuie. We are doing the right thing. We took the shortest route and we did not hesitate. But Shibata-sama still does not think we have defeated him. Which means we have not gained whatever we would gain from doing so. He and his people must not want to deprive us of that. Maybe he intends to leave the world in our hands and maybe not, but that is likely why he has started the Battle of Shizugatake now. Which means…”

Which means…

Monkey Girl: “If we defeat Shibata-sama and find the Genesis Project still has not been activated, that is when the Hashiba Team will attack Musashi as representatives of P.A. Oda. We will ensure the Genesis Project continues.”

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