Volume 6 -B Chapter 25 (1/2)
Chapter 25: Cheerful Girls Making Preparations[edit]
Before a battle
You do not take a breather
You take a breath to bring everything in order
Point Allocation (Worry)
There was a large wheat field below the summer sun
It was a vast area A forest created a dark shadow beyond the distant horizon and mountains rose from beyond even that
The field contained so very much wheat
The shadows of ays occasionally cut across its green surface
And a few giant forms were stopped on that vast wheat field
They were aerial shi+ps
The red and black shi+ps dotted the plain from south to north
Countless black transport shi+ps iant shi+ps and traveled to and from the north
To the north was the silhouette of ahorizontal wall that surrounded a city
Occasionally, so around that city wall
They were clearly larger than the wall itself
“Those are the reinforceon unit?”
A voice spoke in the center of the wheat field
A solidly-built figure stood in that expanse of green He was a le horn on his head He was…
“I, Miyoshi+ Seikai, cannot help but reons Goodness gracious” He pulled out a tanzaku and jotted so doith a portable brush “ ‘In the distance / below the suon and man are no different / ah / just like the tranquil days of yore’ ”
He nodded
“Yes, objective and vibrant None of themore”
With that, he looked ahead
There was a giant shi+p there
It was not nearby It was a long ay, but its great size threw off his sense of distance
“To me it appears so distant But to the Azuchi, I must appear so close”
Transport shi+ps werearound the Azuchi
While loaded with cargo, those black shi+ps flew incessantly northward before returning once more
There were more than just a few of thereater than a hundred
A closer look showedfrom the south
The cargo on the southern shi+ps was brought here and that cargo was then carried from here to Paris
Seikai placed a hand on his forehead as he viewed them
“Are those carrying the materials needed to flood Paris?”
This is a ht Seikai
But Paris was a large city Flooding it would be difficult without going to this extent
And he knehat to be most impressed with
…The fact that Hashi+ba has the power to pull it off
A single coe an entire city in a short period of time
That le coescale construction needed to surround an entire city
For Hashi+ba, creating or destroying a city would likely be a simple task
“I see…”
Seikai and the others had viewed the battle at Magdeburg from the Musashi+
Hashi+ba had fought to destroy an entire city there
…They were not done with that and that was not all they could do
They had flooded Magdeburg by da up the river with transport shi+ps
They would likely do that again here, but the construction of the eer scale
That way no one could find fault with their history recreation
They hadup trust, connections, and ement techniques
“Why?”through the sky “Why don’t they sinore the history recreation when they have so much power?”
Hashi+ba’s policy here seemed clear
“They will not allow anyone to find fault in their actions”
That hy they followed the Testament and did not hesitate to accept losses
But, thought Seikai Why are they so insistent on that?
“Because…”
Sweat dripped froht cheek as he said that
It was hot
Because it was su earth retained some of its chill
But that would not last er The earth would soon heat up and the temperature would quickly rise
Besides, he thought as he viewed the vast wheat field
…The wheat really should have been harvested by now
Since it had sosummer, it had to be the second crop of the year But since it was a little too early for a second crop…
“Hexagone Française is working to mass-produce food, aren’t they?” said Seikai “They are a powerful nation, after all”
…So to the future like this
No,that Even the s several steps ahead in order to survive
But so seemed off about Hashi+ba They strictly followed the history recreation and they did not hesitate to accept losses
“They are ensuring no one can find fault in the ahead to with that?”
Seikai nodded
And he finally wiped the sweat from his brow
“They may not be all that different from us…”
The Ten Braves were currently enemies of Hashi+ba
But they would eventually side with Hashi+ba and fight the 2nd Siege of Ueda and the Osaka Can
So they could not simply face Hashi+ba as an enemy However…
“Here I, Seikai, aone Française”
He had effectively fled from Sanada This could easily cost him his inherited name
But he had a reason for it
…This is the reason we are Unneeded
They had once planned to work directly for Hashi+ba
They had been the 7 elites chosen as Hashi+ba’s Seven Spears Including the others around them, there had been 10 in all They had attempted to inherit those names, but they had failed
They had fought the current Ten Spears and been defeated
After that, they had wandered and been accepted by Sanada
They had taken the Celestial Dragons as their teachers in order to inherit new names
It was that past that made them who they were now
But there was one question that had to be on all of their minds
“What would happen if we fought the Ten Spears now?”
…Now, then… It is not like s
But their Great Teacher had joined Hexagone Française’s forces as if taking the lead for them
As if he intended to strike back at the people who had robbed his students of their future
…Only failed students would allow him to do this alone
And Seikai was the oldest of them
So if anyone was to do this, it had to be him
So here he was And…
“Taking this shi+p on would not be fun”
He looked up at one shi+p of the Azuchi and breathed in And then…
“I should probably do soift for our Great Teacher”
With that, he vanished
There was nothing in that vast wheat field to hide him and none of the wheat was pushed out of the way However…
“————”
A hu voice with the rhyth west, toward the Azuchi’s lead shi+p
“Um, fukushi+ma-sama?”
Kiyoht as she ran
They were near the Azuchi’s lead shi+p
The wheat had been harvested and the exposed ground had been packed down by the repeated landings of transport shi+ps The cargo had initially been loaded and unloaded with lifts in the LOLOthe RORO method
While that was carried out, Kiyo path marked out with rope
They were not in a hurry anywhere They were si to maintain their physical condition
They had already done this once in the early ed in the afternoon
During su temperature loosened their muscles
To adjust and tighten their muscles, they ran They could nor with spells and divine protections, but this was enemy territory
They wanted to familiarize themselves with the local weather
…Or is that a sign of hoorried I am?
Kiyoht with spoken words
“Unlike in the , the sun will shi+ne on us e move to starboard, so be careful”
Each of the Azuchi’s shi+ps was about a kilo a wide circle around it was a 2k two circuits at their own pace, but…
“fukushi+ma-sama?”
The other girl was not responding
Kiyo forward and a bit down as she ran
She was obviously lost in thought And…
…Oh?
The ground at her feet was shi+
The wavering light looked a lot like a heat haze and it was not an illusion
While she ran, fukushi+htly down on her ankles and have her toes cross from either side Each time, she attempted to activate Headfirst Fall, her acceleration spell
“—————”
But she would cancel it partway and it would vanish
That light shook the air and formed a heat haze in the shadow of the Azuchi
A large wagon carrying materials passed them by
It containedthat would be used to construct the walls for flooding Paris Metal bea path, so Kiyomasa moved out of the way
fukushi+ma, however, did not
She lightly twisted her body and continued facing forward
“…”
“fukushi+ma-sama!”
Kiyomasa was sure it would hit her
…Huh?
But then she saw so
fukushi+ material that stuck out to the side
It was not that it did not hit her
To Kiyo forward, hit the h” it
…Eh?
She did not understand, so…
“fukushi+ma-sama!?”
There was a sharp tone in her voice now
Just then, fukushi+ma’s shoulders shook
“What is it, Kiyo-dono!?”
Rapidly turning around was a mistake
She slammed the side of her head into a differentby behind her
With a dull sound, fukushi+ma crouched down The cart’s driver looked back
“Hm? …Huh? Did I hit you, 1st Spear!?”
He sounded so confused because that should never have happened
But Kiyomasa recalled what had happened just before that: fukushi+h” the beam
…What was that ?
This was not the time to analyze that
But she realized they were gathering even more attention
Noas not the ti everyone The Spears were the foundation of everyone’s attack and the core of their defense, so she bowed to them with a smile
“No, her hair just got tangled with mine a bit”
They all nodded in understanding
An elderlya cart with flowers to decorate the inside of the shi+p
“You’re just the epitorace, aren’t you!?”
The driver and everyone else laughed at that and fukushi+ma stood back up
“My apologies …Please continue working immediately”
“Testament!”
They all replied in unison and resu
Kiyo into the sky and sighed
“Um, fukushi+ma-sama?”
“Huh?”
“You dodged theby, didn’t you?”
fukushi+e to her expression
Her shapely eyes remained motionless for a few seconds, and then…
“…Huh?”
She looked troubled Also…
“I dodged a metal beam? …But I hit it”
“No, not that one You dodged the first one that was in front of you”
“Well, I do soe on reflex”
…Umm, that’s not what I meant…
Hoas she to explain this?
“You see…”
“What is it?”
Kiyomasa held her left arm up in front of her eyes
“Think of my arm as the metal beam”
“And what did it do?”
“Testament It approached your forehead like this”
Kiyoainst her forehead butthe arm out of the way
“You went like this and seeh it, so you ended up on the other side”
fukushi+ma watched as Kiyomasa pressed her arm to her forehead a few times
They were below the suiant shadow formed by the Azuchi And after a while…
“…Pff”
“Y-you don’t have to laugh at me”
Kiyo in her cheeks as she clenched her fists and protested
fukushi+ht hand to her mouth and raised her left hand to say “wait”
“N-no, Kiyo-dono, I am just not sure what thou mean by that…”
“I’ you because I don’t understand it myself”
“So thou did that because thou truly do not understand?”
That seemed to really tickle her funny bone She turned her back for a while, but eventually turned back around and took a breath
“My apologies I am really sorry about that I am sure thou only did that because thou are worried for me”
“Yes, yes That’s right, that’s right That’s the entire point of this, fukushi+ma-sama”
Kiyo and fukushi+ma cleared her throat
“Hize because I do not remember that at all”
“…It isn’t so?”
“Not intentionally, no”
fukushi+ma took two steps closer and then took Kiyomasa’s arm
“Was it…like this?”
She took the appropriate stance with Kiyomasa’s arm as the metal beam
They were facing each other with Kiyoirl
But she figured this would help explain it, so she did so
“Testah this arm…”
“H She was leaning forward a bit and she took a step forhile holding up Kiyomasa’s arm
“Oh?”
Her face ended up in Kiyomasa’s chest
Everyone working in the area turned back at once
6: “Work to port see behind …1 and 2, any idea why?”
Kiyo-Massive: “…Uhhh, not a clue No”
AnG: “Hey, the connection is back Wa-…”
Kiain? Well, whatever Am I connected?”
Llaf: “Ohh, welcome back But thy connection does seem unstable”
6: “Just do your work…”
Hachisuka-saht Kiyomasa
…But I reallythis time
It was only natural for that to happen if they were facing each other head on
fukushi+ma looked up at her
“Kiyo-dono, that would have been a disaster if thou had activated the Giant breasts Defense”
“Unfortunately, I don’t seem to have that skill…”
Kiyoside fukushi+irl’s face as if throwing a backhand blow
“Getting back to what happened before…I think it was like this”
“I see So the metal beam moved in from the front…and I moved forward”
fukushi+ her previous mistake because she did not move herself
Instead, Kiyomasa moved her arm toward fukushi+ma’s forehead
“The beam moved like this…”
She ht up to fukushi+ma’s forehead
It made contact
She held it there for a few seconds and noticed the sweat on their skin
“Well?”
She removed her arirl tilted her head
“—————”
fukushi+ma did not seem to understand, but Kiyomasa did not understand either
“Do you have any ideas?”
“…Eh? Oh, Kiyo-dono, can thou do it once more?”
“Testament …Like this?”
“No, um, with more force this time”
Wouldn’t that be dangerous? she thought as she swung her arm
She stopped at the last second
She hadof her arly at it as it stopped before her eyes
She was highly focused
After a while she nodded And…
“Kiyo-dono, please swing all the way through with that same force”
“Testaht?”
She plans to really do it, she realized while swinging her arm
She intended to swing her arh
So she went for it
And she indeed swung all the way through
…Eh!?
She heard the sound of bone being struck and felt an impact in her elbow
The hit caused fukushi+ive out below her
“Ow”
The problem was that Kiyomasa had not expected to actually hit The nerves of her elbow see raced up her arh her shoulder
They both crouched down and held their forehead or elbow for a few seconds
“K-Kiyo-dono, thou are more skilled in martial arts than I knew”
“N-no, I just train my arms a lot”
“U?”
Katagiri walked up
Katagiri had been going for a run
He lived a priht hith After all…
…I want to be manly…!
He knew a few days was not going toterer
By the tirown tall and built up so States period would be over Then he could go to Musashi+
…Or that was my plan anyway
“What are you doing?”
The two girls here hadtheir bodies, but they were crouched down on the ground
The two of theht an intense battle just the other day, so he wondered what had happened
“Have your injuries gotten worse?”
“N-no, that’s not it at all”
Kiyomasa stood up and rotated her arm so he could see Beyond her, fukushi+ma also stood up and fixed her collar And…
“Katagiri-dono, are thou out on a run?”
“Testaht I could start training my body”
“My, are you planning to fight on the front line?”
Katagiri thought about that one
…I have to get to the point where I can say I am
A boy needs to be able to show off, he thought as he answered Kiyomasa
“Testa to the front line if necessary”
As soon as he said that, a wave of chatter spread through their surroundings The voices quickly spread outwards in a game of telephone
“Hey! Katagiri-san says he’s going to the front line!”
“Ehh!? Katagiri-san is co with us to the front line!?”
“Yeah! Katagiri-san is co to the front!”
That exchange and cries of surprise made a full circuit of the area around the Azuchi
After a while, the wave of voices arrived back from the other side
Kuro Take: “Katagiri-kun? What is this I’ Mori-kun with lassi’? So?”
□□凸: “No! How did it end up like that!?”
“No” Kiyoht hand back and forth “This just iri-kun”
“I want to be the kind of guy people don’t have to be worried about!”
“Testaur “Takenaka-sao to the front line”
“Yay, super high daur
…Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?
This was the first he had heard of this Or rather, he had not said anything that definitive
And as Takenaka’s response about?
“W-wait just a second! What’s this about e!?”
“Eh?” said Takenaka “You promise you won’t run away if I tell you?”
…I don’t like the sound of that…!
But so an end to that conversation
It was fukushi+ma and she took a breath first
“Even if Katagiri-dono is showing so a little too far?”
“…R-right!? That’s going a bit too far, isn’t it!?”
“Testareed fukushi+ma She then placed a hand on her chin and looked at him “So try not to push thyself too hard and work to accoiri-dono”
“But I’?”
“Oh? You aren’t going?”
Kiyomasa looked and sounded truly surprised
Then she lowered the ends of her eyebrows
“U to the front line?”
Every part of Katagiri’s body and soul begged him to say “testament”, but…
…Kh
He held back
Because he had to be manly
A real man could not fall back from the front line just because Kiyomasa orried
Yes, there were ti That was his duty if he was to meet Musashi+’s lewd shrine maiden once more
So I need to fill my heart with lewd shrine maiden power
…There it is, there it is, there it is! It’s rising froination!
Okay, he thought while clenching his right fist in his heart
“No, you were not o to the front line!”
“Are thou serious, Katagiri-dono!?”
“I am!”