Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon-Volume 5B, Chapter 29: Courter at an Unexpected Meeting

Which girl do you want?

I have decided on that girl.

Point Allocation (That’s Definitely Not Happening)

…Oh?

Horizon looked to Futayo. f𝗿e𝙚𝘸e𝐛𝚗𝐨𝙫𝚎𝙡.c𝒐𝐦

Similarly, Kimi behind her, Asama and Mitotsudaira next to her, and the others around her…

“Um.”

They all looked to Futayo who was entirely focused on eating.

She was eating an Asama Shrine kudzu leaf meal called Leafstyle and a large yakiniku meal abbreviated as the Large Yak from Mitotsudaira’s restaurant. The Blue Thunder and others had prepared enough for everyone present and more, but the manager had contacted them earlier and said the Blue Thunder’s food was not going to be ready in time.

…I have determined that is a slight disappointment.

At any rate, Futayo was tilting her head back to stuff more of the Leafstyle’s boiled leaves in her mouth. Then she kept her head tilted back as she poured the tea from the Large Yak in her mouth instead of the sake that came with the Leafstyle.

She used the drink to help swallow the boiled leaves.

“Ngah.”

With a sound halfway between a voice and a sigh, she faced forward and toward Horizon. Then…

“Do not worry. There is enough for everyone.”

“No, Futayo-sama, that is not the issue.” Horizon nodded. “I have some bad news and some unimportant news for you.”

“Then give them in order.”

“She sure is decisive…” commented a few people, but Horizon ignored it.

She sat down and spoke to Futayo.

“Futayo-sama…it seems the food from the Blue Thunder will not arrive.”

“My god…”

The empty container and the chopsticks slipped from Futayo’s hands.

Her mouth fell slightly open and her eyebrows wrinkled somewhat as she looked to Horizon. But…

“Unfortunately, this is reality,” said the automaton princess.

“…How unfortunate indeed.”

Futayo groaned, turned around, and ran off. 𝒇𝘳𝐞𝚎𝓌𝑒𝑏𝒏𝑜𝙫ℯl.c𝚘𝒎

Horizon and the others watched her leave. And after the span of a few breaths, Masazumi spoke up.

“Um, hey.”

“No, it is fine, Masazumi-sama. …Uh, Futayo-sama, I secretly brought your serving along with me.”

Horizon pulled a Blue Thunder paper bag from behind her back and waved it around. Futayo returned at full speed. Her feet screeched along the deck as she came to a stop and she fell to her knees.

“If it is a gift from you, Horizon-sama, I will eat it first!”

Futayo took the Blue Thunder paper bag and Horizon said “judge” and nodded a few times. Then Horizon spoke to the girl who was already splitting the baguette and making an extra-thick ham sandwich.

“As promised, I will now give you the unimportant news.”

“Judge. What is it, Horizon-sama?”

“Judge. Someone is saying they wish to wed Honda Tadakatsu-sama’s daughter in accordance with the Testament descriptions. …That’s them over there.”

Futayo looked in the direction she indicated.

Sanada Masayuki and Nobuyuki were there. Futayo viewed the two of them while chewing, but she finally audibly swallowed. And…

“Both of them do?”

“Papa! Were you planning on sharing my wife!?”

“Nobuyuki! How dare you be jealous of your father! Have you no shame!?”

“At least deny the accusation,” everyone muttered as Futayo tilted her head.

“So who do they want to wed?”

“Eh?” said Nobuyuki as his head fell forward. He seemed to be somewhat surprised, but he pointed at the Musashi group after a few moments.

His finger was clearly pointed at Futayo and Futayo looked at herself and then behind her.

“You were planning on inheriting my father’s daughter’s name…Hassan-dono?”

Hassan silently stepped to the right, revealing…

“Oh, it was Ohiroshiki-dono.”

“Eh!? Wh-what!? I-I was only checking my religion’s doctrines on the divine network! I certainly wasn’t doing anything wrong!”

“Ohiroshiki-sama.” Horizon gestured toward Nobuyuki. “He seems to wish to make you his wife.”

“Eh?”

Horizon saw Ohiroshiki look to Nobuyuki. His eyes moved from the man’s feet up to his head.

“Y-you dare imply that is less than 10 years old!? Besides, who decided on this!?”

“The Testament.”

“The Testament!?”

“Yes, it was written in the Testament,” declared Horizon. “As it is part of the history recreation, Ohiroshiki-sama, you must become his wife. Now, you have two options: think of him as less than 10 and marry him, or ask Masazumi-sama or Toori-sama to rescue you. But you will not actually be lost if you are taken as his wife, so I must warn you that our Far Eastern forces will not be very motivated this time.”

“P-please save me! Flat Honda-kun!”

“You think I’ll save you when you call me that!?”

“W-wait!”

Someone interrupted. It was Sanada Nobuyuki. He was blushing and pointing at Ohiroshiki.

“I-I refuse!!”

“Too bad, Nobuyuki-sama. Ohiroshiki-sama refused first,” resolutely stated Horizon. “We win this round.”

“W-wait!”

“If we wait, then we win the second round, so are you sure you want that?”

“What kind of rules are those!?”

“The world of politics is cruel.”

Horizon opened a sign frame to check the time. She counted to 5, and…

“I waited 5 seconds. …We win the second round.”

Gold Mar: “Aren’t these rules actually extremely simple?”

Mal-Ga: “Yes. I thought that too last time.”

Vice President: “Aren’t any of you going to stop her?”

Almost Everyone: “Say that into a mirror!!”

Horizon saw Nobuyuki sweat bullets and shake his head.

“N-no, wait!”

“You pointed at Ohiroshiki-sama earlier. Are you saying you wish to defy the Testament?” she said. “The Testament is frightening. After all, if it names you, you must die. If it tells you to get married, you must do so. Of course, you can always die or marry without it telling you to.”

Sanyou had stepped out of the entranceway with some guest tea in hand, but she immediately stepped back inside and closed the door. Asama shouted over at her.

“Ah, Sanyou-sensei! Please at least leave the tea!”

“Tomo! Tomo! You’re really on fire today, aren’t you!?”

This place always has such a nice atmosphere, thought Horizon before speaking to Nobuyuki.

“Now, marry Ohiroshiki-sama.”

“D-do I have no rights here!?” asked Ohiroshiki.

“Th-that’s right, Musashi’s princess! Y-you need to respect his rights!”

“…I need to?”

“Please respect his rights!”

“Judge.” Horizon nodded several times. “Once you two are married, I will personally monitor the situation to ensure he is not a victim of rights-ignoring abuse.”

Nobuyuki’s face passed red and turned purple.

“We win the third round,” said Horizon.

“W-wait! I was pointing to the person in front of him!”

“Oh, so it was Hassan-sama.”

Hassan shrugged.

“I want to eat curry to forget all about this.”

Indeed, thought Horizon. And…

“Understood. There seems to have been a misunderstanding.”

“S-so you’ve finally gotten it into your thick hea-…I mean, you’ve finally been so kind as to understand!?”

“Judge,” concluded Horizon. “I have it all figured out: Hassan-sama, have some curry. Nobuyuki-sama, marry Ohiroshiki-sama and let the guards monitor you.”

“Listen to meeeeeee!!”

“She demoted him to the guards!” everyone shouted, but Horizon tilted her head.

“You leave me no choice. Could you explain this in a simpler fashion?”

Nobuyuki fell to his knees and spent half a minute or so regulating his breathing.

“U-um!”

Once he recovered, he pointed at Futayo who was reaching for her second croquette.

“I will marry that girl, Honda Futayo, as Honda Tadakatsu’s daughter!”

“Futayo-sama? Do you have anything to say about this?”

“Eh?” Futayo looked back and forth and then tilted her head again. “Unfortunately, I intend to inherit my father Tadakatsu’s name. I no longer feel like Tadakatsu’s daughter. I am more like an almost-Tadakatsu, so that would not work.”

“Wait!”

Nobuyuki shouted that word for the umpteenth time today.

…Wh-what is the meaning of this!?

He did not understand. It was all so crazy. Besides…

…The daughter will become the father!?

“Papa!? What is this!?”

“Don’t let it get to you, Nobuyuki!”

“Papa! Can we solve this if I don’t let it get to me!?”

“Yes! We can come up with a good idea if you don’t let it get to you! …And you, girl!”

His father pointed at the Honda girl who was eating some bread with vegetables and cheese between it.

“You say you intend to inherit the name of Lord Tadakatsu the Peerless in the East!? If that is why you are rejecting Nobuyuki’s marriage request, then first prove you are stronger than him!”

“Huh? So you want a duel?”

She stood up.

Seeing her casual stance, Nobuyuki took a defensive stance.

…What is this?

The title of Musashi Vice Chancellor isn’t just for show, thought Nobuyuki.

She was only standing there, but he sensed a presence that felt like an attack coming from somewhere…no, coming from everywhere. And he was overwhelmed by a desire to flee.

…Sh-she’s good!

But, he thought.

…I am Sanada’s Chancellor and President!

He knew ninja techniques and was trained in sword fighting. In a limited head-on battle, he was confident he could hold his own against the Ten Braves.

“In that case…”

Sanada Nobuyuki lowered his hips in a combat stance. He held his left arm out front and slightly raised, he reached his right arm toward the sword at his hip, and he leaned his body to the left.

“Let’s do this!”

A careless horizontal swing of the enemy’s spear caught him in the jaw from the left.

Unturning: “Oh, I didn’t know humans could make that noise.”

Flat Vassal: “Yeah, it sounded like it had to come from something else!”

Silver Wolf: “Also, he’s kind of flying away.”

Asama: “Oh, no. What do I do? He didn’t go through the immigration process, so he doesn’t have a contract and I can’t use any definite healing spells. …Masazumi, quit playing with Tsukinowa. Hey.”

“Hm,” said Futayo as she focused on the tactile feedback.

She had quickly reversed her grip on the spear and swung the bottom end. She had made it look like the attack would come from the right and then instantly switched to an attack from the left.

…To do that while standing requires anchoring your feet to the ground.

She was only able to pull this off after learning to create an axis line for her strength.

…I am gradually growing closer to my father’s level.

Meanwhile, Nobuyuki had been knocked away.

“D-…!”

He got up with his hand on his cheek.

“D-damn you! That was a surprise attack! Th-this isn’t over yet!”

She immediately hit him from the right.

Scarred: “Huh? It sounded different that time, didn’t it?”

10ZO: “Mary-dono, you don’t mind watching something like this?”

Scarred: “Eh? But when someone is demonstrating their resolve, you have to watch it through to the end. I see no meaning in feeling displeasure or disgust over something like that.”

10ZO: “Judge. I agree.”

Asama: “What!? What is this atmosphere!?”

Wise Sister: “You don’t know, Asama!? That lovey-dovey couple is using this to rise to their next stage! At the final stage, the air grows too thick to breathe! Here, use this oxygen mask! There’s one for you too, Mitotsudaira!”

Silver Wolf: “Why are you pushing up your breasts!?”

Flat Vassal: “Oh, it happened a third time.”

Masazumi watched Sanada’s Chancellor roll along the deck a third time.

He stopped while sprawled out on his back. Even an amateur like her could tell he was taking direct hits.

…Doesn’t that hurt?

Was this a sign of his pride, or was it something else? Whatever it was, Sanada’s Chancellor looked discouraged. He sat up while crying and with blood dripping from his mouth and nose.

“Papa! Papa! I can’t do it!! There’s no way I can win!”

“Argh! How weak-willed are you!? And you call yourself Sanada’s Chancellor and President!?”

With that final comment, Sanada’s Chancellor hopped to his feet.

Ohh, thought Masazumi as she grabbed Tsukinowa’s front paws and made the anteater dance.

…That brought back his motivation.

A fourth sound rang out.

Futayo thought:

…The Sanada Chancellor uses some odd combat techniques.

He left himself wide open and let her hit him.

That was all.

She wondered if he had strong defenses and was trying to wear her out, but that was not the case. She could feel the blows reaching his bones.

She wondered if he had some kind of plan, but after she sent him flying a fourth time, that seemed unlikely.

No matter how I look at it, his fighting is entirely devoid of technique, she thought. He was the leader of a nation, making this a duel against a Chancellor and Student Council President. This had to be some kind of plan.

…But is there any strategic value to this method?

She was inexperienced, but could she come up with anything here?

“—————”

She could.

“Glasses boy! Is there anything to this!?”

“It isn’t often you see someone rely on others to that extent, Spear Honda-kun!”

He praised me. Then I need take pride in this.

“Judge. …Because thinking is a pain!”

“Don’t say that so loudly…” someone muttered, but she did not mind. The Secretary would answer her either way. As usual, he pushed his glasses up his nose first.

“This is…yes. Sanada’s Chancellor might be doing this to demonstrate that he will not lay a hand on you. He might be filling you with doubt, wondering why he won’t lay a hand on you.”

Four Eyes: “Did you hit your head? How about looking at reality every once in a while?”

That conflicting opinion has helped balance things out.

But, thought Futayo.

…This is about whether or not I question his actions?

Futayo started by questioning herself and quickly reached her conclusion:

“Thinking really is a pain.”

She could move her body though, so she hit him a fifth time as he got up.

This is just about over, thought Masazumi as she reached for Tsukinowa who was on the floor.

Tsukinowa was always on her shoulder, so he was still not used to the floor. She hoped to teach him how to walk on the floor so she could eventually go on walks with him. But for the moment…

“Okay, we have work to do, Tsukinowa.”

The quick rest and bit of fun seemed to have rid Tsukinowa of his sleepiness. So once on her shoulder…

“Maa.”

“Good, good.” Masazumi rubbed his head and turned to face Sanada’s Chancellor.

“I-I can’t! Papa! If I keep this up, something inside me is going to break!”

“Argh! You sound like a delusional middle schooler! And you call yourself Sanada’s leader!?”

But his father’s scolding did not work a second time. He only continued weeping.

“D-dammit! And I thought I could get a wife in this new land and make a comeback!”

Gold Mar: “Yeah. Guys have a way of including other people in their schedules without asking.”

Mal-Ga: “Well, girls have a way of including other people in their own worlds.”

Flat Vassal: “Yeah, that’s how doujinshis are made, isn’t it?”

Righteousness: “You people don’t hesitate to take swipes at each other, do you?”

Masazumi could not agree more.

But then Futayo sighed and Sanada’s Chancellor got down on his knees.

“Papa! I’ve had enough! I’ll live alone!”

“Argh! How can you say that after inheriting the name of Sanada Nobuyuki!? And you call yourself a man!?”

Futayo tilted her head at the Sanada father’s words.

“I intend to inherit the name of my father, Tadakatsu. Thus, I cannot marry you as Tadakatsu’s daughter, but if you do want to marry me, you just have to inherit the name of Tadakatsu’s wife.”

Asama: “I’m sorry. I’m not quite sure what she means there…”

That was hardly uncommon.

But then Sanada’s Chancellor gasped and turned toward his father.

“Th-that makes sense! Papa! I’m going to give up on being a man and become a woman!”

“Damn you!!”

Sticky King: “I think he would have trouble being a woman too…”

Marube-ya: “Eh? What are you talking about, Nenji! Being a woman is super useful! If your negotiations aren’t going well, you just have to scream and shout ‘molester’!”

Almost Everyone: “That’s blackmail, not a negotiation!”

We’ll have to establish a cutoff point when they’re arrested, carelessly thought Masazumi.

Then she asked Futayo a question.

“You’re not really thinking about getting married, right?”

“Judge. I have my hands full simply inheriting my father’s name. It would probably take some training for someone to become my mother or Kazuno-sama, but the Far East has bigger things to worry about right now. …Besides, even if marriage interviews are an option, it would probably be best if it was someone I already knew.”

“Then,” said Naruze as she wrote something on her crop mark frame Magie Figur. “If you were choosing someone from our class, who would it be?”

“Well,” said Futayo as she looked around and spotted the Tachibana Wife using her false arms to shield her husband.

Girls: “Ohhh…”

Next to Tenzou, Mary only said “oh, my” and held her hands to her cheeks. Narumi and Urquiaga silently ate their portable combat food.

Everyone responds differently, thought Masazumi before Futayo nodded.

“I am not worthy of Kimi-dono, so, well, if I had to choose…I suppose it would be Masazumi.”

Adele and everyone else took a step away from Masazumi.

Kimi played a mellow song from a sign frame while singing “Chalala~ Chala, lalalala, chalala~” and wiggling her hips, but Masazumi still turned back toward them all.

Vice President: “W-wait! What is that distance for!?”

Naruze and Naito pulled a long table and chairs from somewhere and sat down.

Naruze rested her elbow on the table and pointed at Masazumi with her pen.

“This is some top-tier material. You need to let me know what’s going on here.”

“And Asama-chi, how would this work?”

“Hmm, they’re both from Mikawa, so the contract situation might actually work out surprisingly well.”

Our class really doesn’t hold back at times like this, thought Adele as Futayo asked Masazumi a question.

“Masazumi, do you dislike me?”

“N-no, it isn’t that.”

Everyone immediately looked toward a certain person: Horizon.

Horizon opened a sign frame with the Blue Thunder mark on it and then faced the Sanada pair.

“Another case closed!”

“Horizon! Horizon! The Testament says that’s supposed to be my catch phrase!?”

“My apologies, Mitotsudaira-sama. But I thought I needed to say it until you historically began saying it, and I finally managed to do so here.”

Does that make it okay? wondered Adele as she looked to the Sanada group.

“Um, what do you have to say?” she asked.

“Kh…”

Nobuyuki faced Masazumi and took a combat stance.

“M-Musashi Vice President! I challenge you…!”

“Ah,” said Adele. “This could be dangerous.”

He was hit a sixth time.

Asama saw Futayo stand in front of Masazumi and speak in a dignified tone.

“You! Keep your hands off my wife!”

“Papa! Papa! I have no idea what’s going on anymore!”

Asama could not agree more, but she felt no sympathy whatsoever. Was that because she was on Musashi’s side?

…Umm, how is Masazumi?

Their Vice President had completely frozen and was not moving.

Meanwhile, Horizon had joined Naruze and Naito at the long table.

“Now, I am worried about Masazumi-sama’s decision.”

“Yes. If she makes the wrong decision here, it will really mess with our schedule.”

As the Technohexen agreed with Horizon, Futayo turned back toward Masazumi and asked a question.

“Masazumi, are you okay?”

“…Eh?”

Masazumi came back to her senses and Futayo said more.

“Despite what I said, I already have a lot on my plate these days. I apologize if I got your hopes up.”

“Eh? O-oh! Don’t worry, don’t worry! You didn’t get my hopes up and, um, we can put this on hold, okay?”

“O-of course you will!” someone shouted.

It was Sanada Masayuki. The veins were bulging from his temples as he pointed at Futayo and Masazumi.

“Two girls!? You dare violate the Testament so flagrantly!?”

“I was thinking nothing of the sort,” insisted Futayo.

Silver Wolf: “I kind of think she was.”

Righteousness: “Huh? I thought your rules said she wins as long as she says it.”

But someone glared sharply at Masayuki when he mentioned “two girls”.

…That would be Naruze…

Could this end badly? wondered Asama when she saw how intensely Naruze was glaring at Sanada Masayuki. She spun her pen in her hand.

“You there. What was that about two girls?”

But before Masayuki could answer, someone stopped Naruze.

It was Kimi. She had been behind Asama earlier, but she had circled behind Naruze on the right.

“No! You mustn’t, Naruze! You mustn’t give in to your thoughts that are shouting, ‘No~, I want to be with Margot~ Smoochy, smoochy~’! Yes! Certainly not with these lips here!”

“H-hey! Please don’t egg her on, Kimi! And Naruze, don’t let that moron get to you! Let’s calm down, okay!?”

When Asama worked at a smile and looked back, she saw Naruze hanging her head, opening her eyes wide, and sweating.

Asama: “Kimiiii!”

Wise Sister: “Eh? What?”

She was not listening. But Naruze did slowly lower her hips back into her chair.

“Okay, fine. So you refuse to accept two girls, do you?”

“Um, Naruze?”

Naruze ignored Asama and the Weiss Hexen raised her pen.

“Sanada’s Principal and Chancellor, I understand completely. …You say it can’t be two girls?”

“Th-that’s right! Marriage opportunity must be equal!”

Wouldn’t that mean two girls would be fine?

But Naruze simply nodded deeply a few times. And she stated her conclusion.

“Then I can only assume you’re okay with two guys.”

Almost Everyone: “Calm down!!”

“Shut up, all of you!”

Naruze pointed her pen at the Sanada pair.

“I made you into a doujinshi.”

She used the past tense.

“Hey! Guericke! What is this!? Your printing factory in the city is running at full capacity! Why are you running your business at night!?”

“Don’t be silly, Tomoe Gozen! This is nothing unusual! We received a request for a father-son forbidden love manga with a promise that they would use Hemisphere Printing exclusively for the summer event!”

“That’s plenty unusual!”

Asama saw Naruze sigh and sit down.

Asama: “Just out of curiosity, when did you draw that?”

Mal-Ga: “Eh? Oh, I was bored when they got here, so I drew it up. With them tripping, falling on their back, kneeling, and falling to all fours, I managed to snap some reference photos. And since the storyboard is important for this kind, I kept them mostly naked in the drawings.”

Is that how it works? She really is the master, thought Asama.

“Ah,” said Naito as she checked Naruze’s Magie Figur. “Ga-chan, I wasn’t doing my job, so look. You missed censoring it here.”

She held it out toward everyone while saying “See? See?”, so Asama quickly covered Suzu and Mary’s eyes.

“Y-you mustn’t look at this! If you do, you’ll fall in the Musashi caste system!”

“That’s right,” said Itoken. He glanced at the Magie Figur and nodded. “You mustn’t look at this, everyone! Everyone’s is different! And we wouldn’t want them feeling inadequate!”

“You’re not helping!”

As everyone shouted their tsukkomi, Masazumi sighed and tilted her head.

“That will get banned, you know?”

“Heh. Don’t be silly, Masazumi. We’ll censor it on site. Obviously.” Naruze sounded entirely disinterested. “Of course, I get the feeling we’ll forget to censor a few which will find their way out into the world. You will forever rue the day you made an enemy of Musashi’s Weiss Hexen.”

“Wait!!”

Both Sanada’s shouted the word this time, so Masazumi held out a hand, said “wait, I guess”, and stood up. She looked to Mitotsudaira and Horizon was the first to react.

Horizon left her chair and held a sign frame displaying the Blue Thunder mark to Mitotsudaira’s right. And…

Almost Everyone: “C’mon!”

Silver Wolf: “Eh!? Ehhh!?”

Masazumi and Kimi told her “Now! Do it now!” via eye contact.

Mitotsudaira finally lowered her shoulders in exasperation and breathed in.

“Another case closed!”

Everyone responded in accordance with the Testament.

“Yes, sir…!”

They bowed down toward Mitotsudaira.

Llaf: “Oh? It seems Musashi and Sanada have reached some kind of conclusion. …Kiyo-dono?”

Kiyo-Massive: “Eh? Oh, s-sorry. Nagayasu-sama is a bit upset.”

Tsurugi: “I-I am not upset! I’m just worried because Katagiri-kun won’t open a line with me!”

Katagiri had long felt some kind of “weight” in his chest, but now he felt it fading away.

…How can I be more aware of what it means to be a guy?

“You’re right.” He nodded to the Asama shrine maiden. “Because I was focusing on it so much, I was pursuing the ideal instead of focusing on my current situation. There is a lot I lack, but that’s just the way things are, so I think I’ll start by making up for the things I really need.”

“Hee hee. Yes, make steady progress and don’t rush things. …Everyone feels the same way, but we all start rushing things because we feel like we’re under pressure to pull ourselves together. You need to watch out for that.”

“Testament…!”

Katagiri agreed wholeheartedly and bowed.

On the lernen figur the shrine maiden smiled and waved.

When Katagiri smiled back, the shrine maiden leaned over.

She pushed up her breasts and moved her lips toward the screen while they shined with pink lipstick.

A light sticky kissing sound followed.

…Ah.

This was nothing. He saw lips and boobs all the time. And with boobs, he could even see bare ones in the ship’s bath. But…

“————”

Katagiri felt his heart pound extra hard in his chest.

For no reason, he felt his face grow warm as the shrine maiden pulled back from the screen.

…Wah.

He was worried she would notice his reaction, but that only made him blush more. So to distract her as she waved again…

“U-um, what’s your name…!?”

She laughed, but then moved off the right side of the lernen figur. And then the lernen figur closed.

“Ah…!”

He reflexively reached out toward the vanished image and his hand clawed at empty air.

Katagiri grabbed at nothing with his hand.

“Kh…”

And he pressed that hand to his chest.

…Huh?

This isn’t good.

“My pulse hasn’t settled down… D-did I eat something weird?”

Tsurugi: “Katagiri-kun!”

He trembled at the voice he heard from the lernen figur.

Tsurugi: “We have a request for you to continue the meeting!”

Oh, no, thought Katagiri.

If the meeting was with that shrine maiden…

…Wh-what do I do?

Just imagining it caused him to sweat like he was being steamed.

Tsurugi: “Um, Katagiri-kun!? You seem extremely nervous…”

□□凸: “Eh!? Y-you can tell!?”

Tsurugi: “Oh, yes. I’m monitoring your physical state, so I can see all the endorphins pumping through your brain. …This tends to happen at night once every three days, doesn’t it?”

□□凸: “Give me back my rights as a human being! Please stop this!”

But to distract himself, Katagiri instructed the PR Committee to open a lernen figur.

He would resume the meeting. But…

…U-um.

Would that shrine maiden appear again?

What if she did? She had just waved goodbye, so if he showed up again so soon, would she laugh at him? But if she did…

“Okay! As Musashi’s Student Council President and Chancellor, I think it’s high time I gave Hashiba’s Ten Spears a good groping!”

The lernen figur displayed a nudist pretending to grope something like a rod.

“Dammiiiiit!”

As Yoshiyasu left the medical room and arrived on the bridge in front of the academy, she heard a voice and saw motion.

A sign frame showed Katagiri of the Ten Spears putting his full body weight behind his arms as he beat on the screen.

…That boy is quite emotional.

But she also saw the idiot wiggling his hips back and forth until Musashi’s Vice President kicked him out of the way. The Vice President ignored the nudist as he rolled away and she spoke to Katagiri.

“Katagiri! State your position! If you lack the appropriate authority, this entire meeting might not be possible!”

“…Testament!”

Katagiri got up, put his headphones back on, and fixed his collar.

“I am M.H.R.R. PR Committee Foreign Relations Chief Katagiri Katsumoto! I request a continuation of the meeting with Musashi’s Vice President!”

That title sounded like trouble to Yoshiyasu.

…A PR role!?

Generally, only a Committee Head, Special Duty Officer, or higher had the authority to directly speak with a Vice President.

Lower than that, the custom was to get confirmation from their superior first. But…

Righteousness: “A foreign relations official can take independent action when it comes to receiving information from a foreign nation. So he can convey a message from another nation’s higher officers without going through a Committee Head.”

Wise Sister: “I think Flat Girl here is more useful than a certain nerd I could mention.”

Novice: “W-well, excuse me! My specialties are strategy and history!”

Be quiet. Or rather, I’m not done yet.

Then someone asked the perfect segue question.

Sticky King: “A PR official… But even with that position, can’t Masazumi shutdown all discussions even if there is a rank discrepancy?”

Righteousness: “Not this time.”

Yoshiyasu looked to Musashi’s Vice President who had clenched her right hand in preparation to make her decision.

Righteousness: “Katagiri took over in Hashiba’s place. That means he is a PR Chief acting as M.H.R.R. Vice President Hashiba’s replacement. So…”

“Understood.”

Musashi’s Vice President raised her right forearm.

And she spoke.

“I see M.H.R.R. as the current Testament Union representative. So let us continue discussions with their agent.”