Volume 6 -B Chapter 25 (2/2)

“We had thought the enemy would have their God of war unit on the front line, so ere planning to fortify our front line with spell barricades and have ourto the front line!”

…Ehhhhhhhhhhhh!?

Not only is this the first I’ve heard of that, but you’re not even playing fair here! he thought to no one in particular

Kuro Take: “Ohh… I think this is going to be even more brutal than I expected”

□□凸: “Please stopthis sound even worse than it is!”

Kimee: “Then let’s look at just the facts: without us to boht end up with a direct clash between both sides’ front lines”

Just the facts was bad enough

But he did have a thought about what he had heard

□□凸: “Is the situation really that bad?”

6: “Are you dumb?”

Tsurugi: “Koroku! Don’t say that about Katagiri-kun! His brain has been producing tons of anxiety-inducing chemicals!”

□□凸: “Do I have no rights as a hu!?”

But Kiyomasa took a breath and spoke

Kiyo-Massive: “We’re busy preparing for the flooding, so we haven’t given ht to how exactly ill attack Paris How ress have we made?”

6: “About 30 I’ll head out if need be …Genbu’s gravitational control can position and drive in the materials all at once”

“More importantly,” said Koroku

6: “3 and 4, things are looking pretty touchy where you are”

Koroku was referencing the situation in Kantou

…What does that mean?

The information on Kantou had not reached them yet, but there was a reason Koroku knew about it

6: “I was given administrative control over the transport shi+p fleet yesterday, so the high-level divine trans to those, the battles between Musashi+, Houjou, and Mouri will priht, Takenaka?”

Kuro Take: “Oh, drat… I was hoping to infors out a littleyou in the dark, Yoshi+aki-kun and Wakisaka-san”

Ki situation for us And that’s really all we need to know”

□□凸: “Um, what exactly does that mean?”

Katagiri tried asking

It was Angie who answered him

AnG: “It means Shouroku didn’t read the atmosphere…”

6: “I was just facing reality”

Kimee: “Oh? But people look to reality either because it’s fun or because it’s worrying”

6: “I’ to deny it”

After a pause, Koroku continued

6: “Thank you”

Kimee: “For what?”

6: “For not using e as an excuse to overlook that I failed to read the atmosphere”

AnG: “Now you’reme blush”

6: “I wasn’t talking to you…!”

fukushi+ur

“What happened here and what does it mean?”

“Umm…”

Hoas he supposed to explain this? While he tried to co, Kiyomasa smiled a little and did it for him

“Hachisuka-sa the at so because she is worried, Hachisuka-sa, but that rong”

…I’ht!

But fukushi+ma crossed her arms and nodded

“Koroku-dono is at a tricky age, isn’t she?”

It was a h to her, but she see

And as the Ten Spears’ negotiator, Katagiri wanted as et

“So what happened in Kantou?”

AnG: “Is Tsugy there? …Hey, did our connection just get a lot cleaner?”

6: “Genbu is anal”

AnG: “Way to go, Shouroku! You can eat the snacks in my room!”

6: “The key?”

AnG: “Let’s not go crazy Just give up already!!”

That exchange was borderline incoh, it made sense to those two

But the name Wakisaka had alluded to was one they kneell: Ootani Yoshi+tsugu

He was a data entity created froram and he was under Hashi+ba’s direct command That made him very similar to the Ten Spears who acted as Hashi+ba’s personal warriors, but he worked as a representative of the “Hashi+ba forces”

It was a lot like the Ten Spears were the Chancellor’s Officers and Ootani was a Committee Head

He had only had his official release recently, but circumstances hadperiod And…

Nari Nari Nari: “What was that about Ootani-kun?”

AnG: “Testament”

Wakisaka answered

AnG: “Kouy blasting off, causing the Keichou Can”

Super Justice: “Not true! How can you lie like that when I aht here!?”

AnG: “…Ki?”

Super Justice: “Indeed I ask that you o up to it and simply state the final result”

“If you insist,” sent Yoshi+aki

Kimee: “The final result was as follows: Ootani exploded in the sky, causing the Keichou Can”

Super Justice: “Not true…! No, that actually is true, but it is not a proper explanation!”

6: “La in the sky… So lame…”

Super Justice: “It was an honorable explosion in the sky! We are discussing the moment in which justice failed, so how can you call it lame!?”

They’re having a tough tiiri

But fukushi+ma crossed her arms and spoke

Llaf: “In other words, Ootani-dono exploded on a table and that n?”

Kimee: “More or less”

Super Justice: “Less! Very much less! …Fine then I will send you the report I wrote, so please check that!”

Llaf: “How long is it?”

Super Justice: “Testa a piece of parches Even when accounting for I/O errors, you should be able to read it in about 5 seconds”

6: “To be polite as possible, are you stupid?”

Super Justice: “Heh It is illogical to call a program stupid What about me do you think is stupid?”

6: “Your very existence”

Super Justice: “N-no fair! Why a I have no control over!?”

He still isn’t used to hoe do things, realized Katagiri

But he sort of understood what Ootani was saying

…The ene to liberate Kantou?

□□凸: “Which nation is atten?”

Super Justice: “Testament …All three: Mouri, Houjou, and Musashi+ Too Conflict, the Siege of Odawara, and the Siege of bitchu Takamatsu Castle Also…”

Also…

Super Justice: “It seems ill be able to read the details of those duels before long, but after they coe or distribute the resultant benefits, I believe they intend to begin the Keichou Can”

Llaf: “What is the situation for Takigawa’s group?”

Kimee: “It doesn’t seem like she plans to contact us And it would be difficult to forcibly contact her while she’s in Houjou territory …We do know that three of the Sanada Ten Braves have joined her and they will be fighting the 2nd Siege of Ueda alongside the other battles”

Kiyo-Massive: “Hoill Yoshi+aki-sa part?”

Kuro Take: “That’s going to be a bit tricky… If the Keichou Caht be dangerous You aren’t equipped for back-to-back battles, are you?”

AnG: “Eh!? We have to head back that same day? But we haven’t had any fun yet!”

Ki some fun …Takenaka? It’s true we aren’t equipped for back-to-back battles We mostly have equipment for one-on-one battles and anti-surface weapons, so we aren’t prepared at all for the Keichou Ca into the Kantou Liberation We’re in shi+moda south of Odawara, so if it does come to back-to-back battles, would it be faster to fly over to Edo to swap out equipment?”

Kuro Take: “We didn’t take any Technohexen equipment to Edo…”

AnG: “We can e with some ether fuel Orei Metallo Technohexen can do ht have poor fuel efficiency, but there’s a lot we can do”

Kuro Take: “Then sending you to Edo would be an option I’ll ht”

Just as Katagiri saw those words on his lernen figur, a stir ran through the people transporting materials near the Azuchi

“Waaahhh! So from the sky!!”

□□凸: “What are you doing, Takenaka-san!?”

Kuro Take: “Oh, sorry, sorry I have so s to work out, so I stepped outside for soh up …Ah, sorry A little ht this time”

“Waaaahhh! Now the ero ero is falling this way!”

Kiyo-Massive: “Takenaka-san! Please stop sending it overboard! You’re surprising everyone!”

They were usually up on the deck and out of the way, but it was certainly panic-inducing while down below

The working students screamed and moved away from the shi+p

6: “Hey! You’re delaying the work on the port side! Stay near the shi+p!”

It ful through and through

But there was nothing they could do about it, so Katagiri decided to end the conversation for now and let Takenaka make her decision about Kantou However…

“Achoo!”

He had apparently grown chilled in the Azuchi’s shadow

He wanted to be manly, but his sneeze sounded awfully childish to him

…I need to pull ether

As he thought that, he saw Kiyomasa smile

“You should probably hurry into the sun There is so ould like to test out here”

“What you were doing before?”

“Thou could say that, yes”

“Waaaahhh! The ero ero is curving in the wind!”

It was a lot like a video game

“They all have such excellent observational skills”

“I’iri

It isn’t pleasant at all, he thought as he took a breath and resu

“I’ll go on ahead! After co a circuit, I think I’ll return to the shi+p and help Takenaka-san!”

“Things sure are lively there Let’s keep up our work here while staying in touch with Takenaka”

Yoshi+aki took a breath and looked ahead

There was a stone-paved slope leading doards before her eyes and wooden buildings lined either side of it She could see the ocean further down, but…

“With a na sea, but it isn’t that at all Right, Kime-chan?”

“They apparently suggested actually s town into the modern style, but they rejected the idea The other nations had to place their embassies here and the nonhu the ocean that way Because a lot of them are from cold areas”

“How do you know that?”

“Researching your destination is important, Ootani”

“Testament,” replied Ootani at their feet

He was in a Mouse form

Angie would so

“Could you stop that?” he would ask “I am not a toy”

It was ae and run away

They were currently in the diplomatic district of Atami

…This place is surrounded by defense barriers to make it a noncombat area for diplomatic relations with other nations But…

“There’s no one here”

“Kantou still hasn’t calmed down since our Hashi+ba forces arrived Diplomacy was always focusedtheir diplo …If there is any reason to do diplomacy with Houjou now, it would be to work out where Houjou’s assets will end up after Odawara…”

“It seems Houjou intends to transfer most of it to Matsudaira,” said Ootani

“It’s nice having an analyst who heard things on site”

They descended the slope Most of the buildings were recreations of the ruins using inally, but ates out front and functioned as embassies for the other nations

…Are they also used as sanatorius areas?

She saw the nae reservations

“There can’t be good turnaround with a bunch of sanatorius earlier”

“…They probably just think diplomacy is important even if Houjou is an enemy”

They would so the city

They were cale a boith the auto at hired a lot of them

“I hope Kanitama can make it”

“She can receive a map via divine transmission once she arrives in Atami, so she should be fine”

Angie seemed to be quite fond of that underclassman

Yoshi+aki thought that was a good thing because Angie could be quite shy

…She’s quick to categorize people into “like” and “dislike” categories

Yoshi+aki could not decide if she was jealous or not that Angie never noticed she was doing that But…

“We need to do e can too”

The ocean was visible at the bottom of the road

The e side to side and reinforced with stones

They sensed the scent of salt water as they walked along

“The ocean”

That dark blue expanse spread out horizontally

…It looked bluer when seeing it from above

But noas so dark And…

“We can see it”

From Atami in the north, they could see Odawara on the peninsula’s coast which was visible to the left

Odaas surrounded by walls

Angie viewed the walls that slowly rotated like a typhoon

That was likely where Odawara Castle was located Houjou and Mouri’s aerial fleets were gathered there

Those several hundred shi+ps hovered in the sky around Odawara and moved to and from the surface below That motion never ended and swapped out with other shi+ps

“The movement is slow, but it is a lot like a storm,” noted Ootani

“Angie, tiur “We saw this from the sky too, but it was so distant Let’s assess their forces as much as we can from this fixed viewpoint …Ootani”

“Just tell me what you need”

“A local specialty!”

Tsugy looked up at her for just a second, and…

“————”

“Ah, Tsugy! You ignored me, didn’t you!?”

“I do not want to talk about it, so leave ive me a command!”

“Testaave Ootani a command “A local specialty”

Tsugy took off running and dug down into the ground After a while, he ca up from an unexpected direction: behind them

“Here it is! The Stea the heat of a hot spring!”

“Yeah, isn’t there a rule that it can only be flipped over once? I bet you bought that from the Kansai embassy”

Angie and Yoshi+aki took the food wrapped in bamboo leaf and found it was fairly wargested it was from a Mediterranean nation

“Here, Tsugy”

“Unfortunately, I cannot eat solid objects,” he said with a bow “But I appreciate the thought”

“Okay, if you say so!”

“Angie, don’t talk with your mouth full”

“Testa an ether fuel snack

She took a breath

“Is there anything to do before Kanitaets here?”

“Observing Houjou and Mouri to analyze their forces And relaying divine transmissions between Edo and Hashi+ba’s unit We have to ith Edo to keep an eye on the ion”

“Is your aerial knowledge another reason you tere sent here?” asked Ootani

“Testament …After a while, we’ll fly to the west of the peninsula”

Angie peeled back the baht about Yoshi+aki’s words

…The other side of the peninsula…

“That’s a disputed region thanks to the fall of Takeda, right? Until the Tensho Jingo Conflict, anyway”

“Testa …Angie, you spotted a few bases on the way here, right?”

So she had noticed

That ie a little happy, but also bashful

“I was staring blankly down at the ground and I just happened to see sohts in the mountains and forests”

“Once the Siege of Odawara begins, those will be used to ion and wait for the chance to make their move So…”

Yoshi+aki opened a Magie Figur

It was a cahtness for use at night

“This is the compression type that Weiss Hexen excel at I’ll set these up in the sky, Angie, so you give me the locations I’ll make it look like I’m out on patrol as a mere precaution and activate them with a time delay so they won’t notice”

“We have so much to do”

“We do,” agreed Yoshi+aki And, “Ootani, you infiltrate the diplomatic district’s divine trans You don’t have to actually read the contents”

“Ohh, there’s actually a job for you, Tsugy! Now you can earn your keep!”

“I came here to work!”

“Wasn’t it for justice?”

“Y-yes, I alad to see you understand!”

The way he cleared his throat showed that even data entities were living beings

But then Yoshi+aki’s shoulders drooped

“Yeah, that’s probably about it”

Once she had jotted down notes on the jobs they had to do, she finally faced forward

The ocean was there, but a turn to the left showed the walls of Odawara along the coast

“Takigawa-san’s group is beyond that fleet …It doesn’t look like we’ll able to drop by to say hi”

“And yet we could fly that distance in just two minutes”

“Shall I make a visit?” asked Ootani

“You can’t The Kanie Castle is a Houjou shi+p Their divine transmission line uses the Houjou local God, so your infiltration would set off some alarms”

“Then e awa-san?”

Good question, thought Angie

…A this rate, it would probably be during the Keichou Can

Originally, they were supposed to intrude in the Siege of Odawara and support Takigawa there

But since they could not contact Takigawa, they could not arrange things in advance Since they did not know her intentions, their plan had been to let her fight as she wished while they supported her from the outside

“If we thought of it as a rescue operation, ould fly in fro in froht we could do it like that”

But things had changed

It was clear now that this would be e of Odawara

Fighting both the Siege of Odawara and the Keichou Can would require the appropriate preparations

And they had received further news about the Siege of Odawara they had hoped to force their way into:

“They’re planning to use duels…”

“Does thatwe discuss here could be entirely invalidated?”

“Testaawa-san Since Ootani already went and warned the to Musashi+ while they play Hashi+ba’s part …Perhaps we should make a complaint when they determine the rules for the duels”

“This is all because I failed to stop them when I intervened earlier…” said Ootani

“You take things too seriously, Tsugy Letting theh”

Despite what she said, Angie was not sure what they would do Then Yoshi+aki smiled and spoke

“Angie? At times like this, we have to find what it is we need to do Then we do whatever it is we can do And we keep doing it That’s the only way to change the situation”

“What if it changes for the worse?”

“Making sure that doesn’t happen is one of the things we need to do”

Yoshi+aki then shoved the contents of her bamboo leaf wrapper into her mouth

…She’s the composed type, but she’s actuallycalm

While Angie thought that, Yoshi+aki turned toward her again

“What is it, Angie?”

“Heh heh heh” Angie gave a nasal laugh and“Don’t talk with your mouth full”

Yoshi+aki’s bitter smiles were always so wonderful

Angie noticed a smile on her own lips as well And despite Ootani’s tilted head…

“I bet the others are saying things like this too”

Kiyohtly stretched her arms and her whole body

She filled her lungs with the summer afternoon air in the Azuchi’s shadow

“Okay, fukushi+ma-sama We never solved that iri-kun already went on ahead”

“Testament The battle is tomorrow, so we must not lose our focus”

My, ht Kiyomasa

…But you were distracted because you were too focused

However, she left that unsaid

The girl was not aware of it, so telling her would only make her hesitate further

So Kiyomasa remained silent and nodded back fukushi+side her

“————”

And they began to run They stepped forward to run next to thetransported

Their first few steps were slow, but they soon picked up speed to th of their paces

They passed through the people’s shadows once more and then fukushi+ma spoke

“Kiyo-dono”

“Testament What is it?”

“Later, thou will be using the shi+p’s pool for rehabilitation from thy injury, won’t thou?”

“Oh, yes I do things like create a platform on the water and balance on top of it”

“Testament I would like to spar with thee then …Lately, I have felt soth”

Kiyomasa smiled a bit that fukushi+ma had chosen now to reveal that she had lost confidence in herself after their defeat Because while they ran, Kiyomasa was the only one she could tell

Of course, Kiyomasa was also the only one with the skill to train properly with fukushi+ma However…

“I’, I’m more of a sword user”

“No, Kiyo-dono Thou are the more conventional one between us”

They argued over as more unconventional until they reached the bow

There they entered the sunlight Their bodies war transported

“Testament Then let us spar up top after this run”

“Testament I look forward to it Then we can take a break at the festival on the deck”

Just as fukushi+

…Oh?

A cart carrying side them But…

…That’s strange

They had made their way around the bow

The boas pointed toward Paris Since theof Paris, they should all have been bound for the bow

So why had these followed them all the way around the bow?

…Did we have anysent needlessly around like that?

Kiyomasa looked at the cart of materials

She recognized the person in the driver’s seat

It was a familiar face

But it had been so long that she could not recall the person’s name And she was afraid to be mistaken, so she asked the others

Kiyo-Massive: “Uroup of 10 that, uht a few years back?”

6: “Himeji’s Yakiniku Three Musketeers?”

Kiyo-Massive: “No, those were ad can characters for a yakiniku shop fukushi+ma-sama soloed them all and there were only 3 of them”

AnG: “Then do you ions?”

Kiyoht Wish Legions?’ and challenging them, but I don’t think that’s who I mean”

6: “Those were so hard to tell apart since their names were all ‘Fish-sama’, ‘Fish-shi+’, ‘Fish-san’, and so on”

Black Wolf: “I think it was just that we defeated them before we could hope to learn which hich…”

Kuro Take: “Uht Swordsmen of Roman History?”

Kiyo-Massive: “Their catchphrase e are dying to discover the best parts of Rome’, but they were discovered as corpses in some catacombs on the first day of the duels which made their catchphrase literally true”

Kimee: “Yeah, I doubt they meant it like that…”

That third one had even had an appropriate connection to Ro for here Also, they seeroups a lot Of course, they were one themselves

□□凸: “If it was soht, then wouldn’t it be the other candidates for the Seven Spears?”

Kiyo-Massive: “Testament! That’s it Thank you very much …I couldn’t think of it since we took that position for ourselves”

□□凸: “You’re welcome But, Kiyomasa-san, what about them?”

Kiyo-Massive: “Well, Miyoshi+ Seikai Nyuudou is right here next to us”

Almost Everyone: “…Then he’s an intruder!!”

Eh? thought Kiyomasa

Kiyo-Massive: “U-um, aren’t the Sanada Ten Braves on Hashi+ba’s side?”

Kuro Take: “But we didn’t call for them here”

6: “Why is he here?”

“Then,” said fukushi+ma outside the divine transmission “Why not ask him?”

“Good idea…”

Kiyo as she ran

“Um, Miyoshi+ Nyuudou?”

When she called out to him, he turned around in the driver’s seat

“Testament …What is it?”

It really is hiht to the point

“Why are you here?”

“…That would be a long story”

“Could you sum it up for me?”

“Fine then” He nodded “I arrived here to find two young girls confirht the scent of youth and decided to bask in that lively atmosphere”

Hearing that, Kiyomasa nodded once

Then she breathed in and shouted at the top of her lungs

“Intruder!!”