Vol 4 Chapter 01 (1/2)

Chapter 1: Anticipaters of Unseen Footing

Even if your footing is uncertain

You are fine as long as the horizontal remains level

Point Allocation (Restraint)

The afternoon sun was artificially created in a certain place

That place was the vast interior of the Ariake The h that the four walls looked hazy in the distance

It was longer lengthwise than ise and eight docks were carved into it On the docks sat er than the cranes; and each one contained a shi+p bearing the name “Musashi+” followed by an individual nan fra the ceiling, walls, and around the docks Artificial environht based on the time of day outside was created by lamp spells

As the Musashi+ was reht of an early su

Most of the sounds inside were froplace between the canopies covering parts of the shi+ps or inside the wooden prefab construction buildings

There were sounds of ha set down or dragged There were also the occasional cheers when some piece of as completed

But another sound was added in

It came from the rear of Okuta its surface Musashi+ Ariadust Acade

It was already past ti the shi+p that it was now 5:00 PM

The artificial light illuan to dim, but the sounds of work continued No one went horabbed an early dinner If anyone did leave, it was to buy so with

They all stubbornly reot a in at one of the work sites Even if no one said “yes”, the person would continue as if asking themselves

“We can win once we finish this, can’t we?”

They would receive a few different answers, but thetwo:

“Of course we can What are you talking about?”

“Stop thinking about that and just do your duty”

Sometimes the other person would reply with a silent bitter smile or try to avoid the issue with a joke, but it always ended in the saret it later”

“Yeah”

Then, they would begin to chat They would distract themselves from what lay ahead and what future awaited thes in the corner of their vision

Once a certain place started chatting, people found it hard to leave; so they all ended up chatting cheerfully

“Hey, did Sato in?”

“I always thought we had the sa”

“I-I didn’tcrazy accusations in a plot to steal my AsaShoots collection!?”

“Hey, could you two quit drawing swords on each other and help carry these materials?”

As that conversation played out on Takao’s surface, a light God of War activated

“Okay, East shi+p Teao!”

They all followed the God of War and climbed from its tail ballast to its head

“Hey”

Their conversations always started with that word

“The Satoreat, isn’t she?”

“What!? You aren’t overlooking the perfection in glasses that’s a year older and maybe even flatter, are you!?”

“But Naoine division so ot to the point of a class change I’ve been playing this ame in between trips to carry supplies to her unit This Musashi+ re and playing, but it never ends”

“Chief! Everyone but erous!”

But once they arrived on top of the dock, they all looked around

The Musashi+’s shi+ps rose higher than the dock’s floor, but…

“About twenty percent to go …We need to hurry up and stuff everything inside”

They were definitelyand they could hear sounds of construction even now, but…

“We’re gradually focusing more on the most important parts Is this what you call the last spurt?”

So…

“What do we do?”

“Yeah, what do we do once the reure that out pretty soon”

As soon as someone said that, two objects passed by far overhead They were people

“The Tachibana couple? They go for a run while fighting each other every , don’t they?

Recently, Tachibana Muneshi+ge had decided to eat dinner outside

Their residence in Musashi+ was on Taround floor That was a part of the student dorround nature district The English Queen and the 1st Special Duty Officer lived nearby, so they got along with the neighbors well enough

…It is such a nice place

But they had so to do besides spend their ti It was a forhty meters up from the dock’s floor off the starboard side of Musashi+no, Musashi+’s front central shi+p

Muneshi+ge was going through rehabilitation with Gin’s help He checked the feel of his legs as he ran on the reinforced wooden deck, clashed pieces ofas sparks flew

But as he ran alongside and exchanged attacks with Gin, Muneshi+ge consciously held back his body that wanted to test his full strength

He had not fully recovered yet His muscles had not returned to their pre-Mikawa levels If he tried to use his full strength now, the discrepancy between his memories and the present reality would place an unnecessary burden on him and confuse him So…

…I will hold back!

I hi himself If he could control himself, recovery would be a simple task

He ran He jumped over one of Gin’s attacks, flipped to avoid it, and sent out his own attack

Even if they were only going for a run, Gin showed no restraint in her attacks If he let his guard down for even a h to leave him with a new injury would fly accurately into the places where he kneeak

She only did so because she trusted hi to rid him of his weaknesses

…And because she wants me to…

She wanted to return him to his position as the Peerless in the West

And because he understood that, he did not go easy on her

With each and every step, his footsteps traveled up his entire body and he spoke the words that came most naturally to hie?”

“Compared to when I could barely move, I am incredibly happy now”

“You have not recovered yet You still have a stiffness in your step”

“Oops”

He made sure to step rather than just let his foot drop And as soon as he took a leap, a metal sword pierced the spot in which his foot had been

“My attack was too slow because I warned you first,” Gin was entirely expressionless “I have room for iave a sree that this is a happy tireement, avoided an attack to his head, and reminded himself that victory was the only option from now on After all…

…This is the Far East and Musashi+’s last chance

Musashi+ lost so ht Muneshi+ge

Hashi+ba had sent Azuchi Castle to Kantou and it was still sitting above Edo and Satoed to the sa southern Kantou while receiving supplies froami

…You could probably say it’s in top form

Meanwhile, the Musashi+ sat above the territory belonging to 5th Special Duty Officer Mitotsudaira’s clan It was inside the Ariake, a giant dock designed specifically for the Musashi+ that had created a stealth defense barrier around itself

The residential districts had been rearranged into transport shi+ps andat the land ports in Mito territory The eight shi+ps had been split up between the eight land ports, so…

…The people can’t set up a chain of dissatisfaction or plot to rebel

“But,” e to no one in particular as he ran and deflected Gin’s jab with the pommel of his sword “This is their last chance”

The same could be said of the members of Class Plu around busily, but each one of theh there was nothing to see there

Muneshi+ge had grown accustoht shi+ps that he hoped that was a sign of their will to fight Hashi+ba and not of their fear

But it was true this was their last chance And so they keptone hand before, but she finally moved her second to send out both her e deflected the as well

But even if they were , it was not actual movement Their current movements were preparations to ensure they won once they did take actual movement That hat they had to do now, so…

“Gin, pour on the killer intent”

“Judge”

Gin nodded, narrowed her eyes, and sent out constant attacks

These were not gentle attacks They were serious attacks that targeted his legs when he landed or the backs of his joints Muneshi+ge avoided or dealt with them all

“Nice killer intent, Gin!”

She smiled It was a cold sht Muneshi+ge He had not had many chances to see that look on her face since they had started living together, so he was truly glad they had moved to Musashi+

He felt real accomplishment as he ran, leaped, and moved his body This would continue even after they returned hoe coe weapons

…Yes, I am so thankful we have sothe Musashi+ were pursuing that, those supporting the first group were pursuing that, and those “keeping the Musashi+that

It all went back to three weeks prior

Muneshi+ge had seen soh he was not sure if it was a good thing or not

These were the people erethe current world, but he had seen thee had once been an inherited naer

Would he be able to beco like that or do soreater? He restrained his doubts with the sensation of his feet pressing against the ground

He used hisbody and he used his body to restrain his stewing mind And as he repeated that process…

“Gin”

“What is it?”

“I will grow even stronger than before Just like when I confessed to you”

“That was not so ive up until you won’”

“That had not occurred toit did not need to occur to you”

She nodded, suddenly put away her swords, and lined up alongside him She then opened the wicker basket attached to her waist hard point and showed hirass contained inside

“Master Muneshi+ge, it is about ti with her giant false arm

These were special rice balls She had not e had woken that inal arms and made them

She felt she should not hide those ariven them to her and she had used them in her battle with Musashi+’s Vice Chancellor The ar to feel less special to her, but…

…A oversensitive when I hesitate to use the up on their last chance, hesitating to use anything available to her would be dangerous So she was gradually trying to accustoe the part of her that still needed a reason to use thee

He made for the all-purpose excuse

…I would expect no less of Master Muneshi+ge

Currently, she used those false ar, but she felt that was evidence of the changing nature of all things All things and people would sometimes do what one expected and other times would not Her relationshi+p with him was a perfect exareatly changed with his interference and Musashi+’s interference, but…

“Today, Iand chicken ham rice balls you like sosupply is pretty lie Thank you very e” Gin nodded and glanced around the area “About what the 1st Special Duty Officer contacted us about…”

“Judge I wasn’t sure whether he should have told us about that …It sounds like things are finally beginning to ht for an unofficial ht in preparation Master Muneshi+ge, does thisour consent”

“I have a feeling those people think everyone is one of thehed because she could not understand that way of thinking

But as she recalled the infore had been gathering lately, she raised her head as emotion filled her face

“Oushuu had its foundation in Qing-Takeda’s power and in the stability Matsudaira will bring in the future, so they had completed their history recreations in a relatively peaceful manner that nearly qualifies as a ami clan in west Oushuu, Date in the east, and Sviet Rus have all stopped everything they were doing”

That had happened only a few days before As Gin ran, she looked up at the sign fraht

“That means Oushuu has cast aside its trust in Matsudaira’s future stability after the loss three weeks ago”

“ItStates era has arrived in Oushuu” Muneshi+ge sht was set in stone”

He had once done exactly that to her, so she could only trust him when he said that

Gin took a slow breath and nodded once to convince herself

“Then let us eat dinner”

With that, she placed the water bottle and ba on her false arh into the air ahead of her

Muneshi+ge saw his dinner hang in the air for an i time

The throw from Gin’s false arm refused to fall back down Meanwhile, he nodded her way

“Please go on ahead, Gin”

“Judge I have e I need to greet a few people afterwards, though”

When he spotted some sweat on her brow, he so on withouthow lucky I was to have moved here since it lets me see you so full of life, Gin”

She wrinkled her brow, but her ht wave Her cheeks also flushed

“I should have thrown it so high and far you couldn’t see it”

“Not to worry I have excellent eyesight”

“I wouldn’t know”

But then she nodded again and juht

She did not hesitate to throw herself into the air at a height of eighty ave aby

And then…

…Arcabuz Cruz

She fired blanks to launch her body through the air She directed herself to the thick rope passageway leading starboard to Taan to run

He did not use his full strength He focused on the soles of his feet and took each step with care First, he set his heel down, bent his knee, and pulled his body forward Then, as he tilted his balance forward, he would use the arch of his sole to stand on his tiptoe Fro toe on the floor and press down like he was tearing into the floor

He filled himself with reliable acceleration

Without rushi+ng or hurrying, Muneshi+ge si each and every step

He could see the transportation district on the port- and…

…It is falling off the edge of the shi+p

That was too far to reach and there were no thick rope passageways in the area

“I’ll have to go for so on this one I would expect no less of Gin”

He accelerated and leaped