BXBX NOVEL Volume 3, 01: The Companions of the Closed Room
Volume 3, Chapter 01: The Companions of the Closed Room
What does it mean to be able to speak.
Without a guilty conscience."
Point Allocation (Composure)
Dragon Dog: “Milady.”
ANA: “What is it?”
Dragon Dog: “It appears that there is a situation in which I can go there. I think that it will turn into a situation where I will intrude on the co-operators. On the way, however, it seems that several kind souls will intermediate.”
ANA: “Yeah, I mostly understand, it is that old man… Ah, however if you are going over there, I want letters. One from my older brother, one from her and one from my friend. Handwritten, okay?”
Dragon Dog: “With an order of such degree, it should be done one way or another.”
ANA: “My my, you do not care about who the requested party is?”
Dragon Dog: “I am simply saying that I want what I want. I determined that it does not matter who other party is.”
ANA: “You are perfect.”
Dragon Dog: “It is an honour to be praised by you. Well then, milady, is it not about time for you to sleep?”
ANA: “Yeah…, however…”
Dragon Dog: “It is cold?”
ANA: “Perhaps that is right, I wonder?”
Dragon Dog: “In that case, please relax. During the next few days the sun should be visiting. For milady who has received the nickname “moon” in order to receive the sun, the time when the sun has arrived has come. I dare say.”
ANA: “Once the morning comes, the moon disappears you know? It is said.”
Dragon Dog: “No, milady, it is simply that it becomes impossible to see. It yields the light to the sun. There is no way that the moon disappears. It is a physical impossibility.”
ANA: “You are perfect.”
There was a classroom which was warmly accepting the light of the sun.
The window was open, with class being conducted among the incoming wind.
In front of the blackboard there was a female teacher with a nametag that said Sanyou, who while stretching her back was drawing a hexagon with chalk.
“Well now, Musashi is currently in Hexagone Fran?aise. I’m sorry that only after two weeks have passed since we have arrived here the scope of class has finally reached this part—”
Since England and after covering English history, things had livened up and she had been unable to catch up. While Sanyou was thinking that at this rate the second semester would be perilous, for the time being she completed drawing the hexagon.
“Okay, this is the shape of Hexagone Fran?aise. Originally during the era of the Roman Empire this area was the land of the barbarians. At the present moment, this might be difficult to believe; however at the time with regards to Europe, beyond the northern areas of Rome there was not a country but simply a deserted land in which several tribes came and went. That being the case, the Roman Empire called the part of this large land that would eventually become a part of Hexagone Fran?aise the Gaul region.”
Then…
“In order to suppress the threat of the barbarians, the Roman Empire dispatched Caesar. There in 511 B.C. Caesar conquered a large portion of Gaul. Caesar’s memoirs from this era are known today as ‘The Gallic War.’ ”
Sanyou thought to herself that Lord Caesar had accomplished a variety of different things.
With respect to the historical recreation, since Caesar’s invasion of Gaul was the keystone to the following territory segmentation, it was re-enacted through a detailed plan. However as a consequence of being too passionate, a rehearsal ended up being conducted and after the main event, Caesar ended up writing “I came again, I saw again, and I conquered again” in “The Gallic War”.
“Anyway, after the collapse of the Roman Empire, this land once again returned to being the lawless area it was. During the 8th and 9th centuries, this area was once again conquered and the individual who granted peace to this area was Charles the Great, known in French as Charlemagne. He put this region from present day Europe up to Tres Espa?a under his command; however after his death his ‘Carolingian Empire’ ended up being divided into three…”
On the right side of the hexagon, Sanyou drew a shape like an upside down shogi piece. Beneath both of these she drew a boot shaped diagram.
“One of these three, the one on the right side, was M.H.R.R. Another one of these, the one at the bottom, became K.P.A. Italia. Lastly, what was the old region of Gaul before became Hexagone Fran?aise.”
Well then…
“Do you know what part of Hexagone Fran?aise makes it weaker than M.H.R.R. and K.P.A. Italia?”
In response to that question, everyone looked around. When she indicated someone to answer, the blonde-haired student she pointed said.
“Ah, I’m sorry, my family is Catholic…”
Sanyou formed a wry smile. People do have a lot of circumstances after all, so after nodding in recognition she took a breath.
“Well, Hexagone Fran?aise does not have either a Holy Roman Empire or a Papacy. In other words, it is simply a country that has large amounts of territory. Therefore compared to the two other countries they possess a smaller amount of influence; and even when they proclaimed their own King he was not recognized either by M.H.R.R. or K.P.A. Italia. Conversely, it was something that was exploited. However…”
Sanyou drew multiple oblique lines on the interior of the hexagon and created a plane.
“Their central regions differ. In the case of M.H.R.R. these consist of a large number of mountains and forests, while in the case of K.P.A. Italia their landmass is scarce; so Hexagone Fran?aise with its rivers and large plains had an advantage when it came to production. Using the land as a foundation, by the time of the Crusades the Fran?aise has become a country which could be compared favorably to other nations. After that, there were the civil wars caused by the Hundred Years’ War and the religious revolution; however on the contrary these events were used to establish ‘Gallicanism,’ a Catholic style which was not controlled by the Pope. Then…”
Sanyou wrote “Emperor” in the center of the hexagon.
“After increasing national power and obtaining an original Catholic style, they also obtained their own Emperor. This was not like the Roman Emperor who was bound by Catholicism and history itself; it was an Emperor for the sake of Hexagone Fran?aise.”
“Among those emperors, the individual who led Hexagone Fran?aise to its peak was—”
There she took a breath. While looking over everyone, with her back hand she wrote on the blackboard.
“The current Chancellor, Louis Exiv.”
Tapping the blackboard and taking a look, at the end what was written on blackboard was just an illegible mess; so with that Sanyou suddenly halted her movements.
“…Well then.”
While thinking about the mystery of how the neighboring classroom had suddenly become quiet, Mary stood up from her chair.
Inside the silent classroom, she raised her right hand and there appeared a Shinto style sign frame.
It was a set with Tenzou.
The previous day, the confirmation for the contract has passed through Asama and using the setting “Hidden Tsirhc” she achieved a combination of Catholic and Shinto.
“—Mary? Can you give us your opinion? Is it all right?”
“—Eh? Um, Judge, my apologies teacher, I was just thinking about Master Tenzou.”
For some reason everybody straightened their posture and took a position to be able to strain their ears. By the window side, the wet man and his older sister were fanning each other with desk mats, and Musashi’s Princess was watching them. On the other side of the classroom, at the aisle seats…
“Master Muneshige… Just now I almost let my soul escape from my body.”
“Eh? What’s the matter, Gin? There’s nothing strange about thinking about your partner.”
While thinking that there were people here who understood what she was saying, Mary operated her sign frame. She thought that if Tenzou, who was next to her on her right hand side while staying silent and looking downward, was feeling unwell she would look after him later. Then she said:
“Well then, Hexagone Fran?aise which had gained Louis Exiv as its Emperor increased the size of its territory. It was a result of their shape becoming a hexagon that there was a trend for the Fran?aise to be called Hexagon. This was the origin of Hexagone. According to the history recreation, they will be one the victors of the Thirty Years’ War; so it is currently thought that they will become an existence which could be said to be the supreme ruler of the entirety of Europe.”
However…
“Louis Exiv decided to cooperate with the Mouri clan who governed the Far East side of the Hexagone Fran?aise. He had a student marriage with the current head of the Mouri clan, the woman who inherited the name of Mouri Terumoto.”
Mary thought that here is someone who is in a similar situation to herself.
She had come to the Far East by claiming the survival of England as her just cause, however that kind of thing also happened between the Mouri and Hexagone Fran?aise.
While Mary was thinking back on the knowledge of the Far East power balance that she had Tenzou teach her every night, she continued.
“Originally the Mouri family was a powerful regional clan with a small army; however during the generation of the enlightened monarch Mouri Motonari, they expanded the scale of their military force. At that time, the Amako family who was overseeing the Izumo region was brought down. However IZUMO, which was being overseen by the Amako, feared the intervention of Hexagone Fran?aise—”
Mary looked out the window so everyone else looked as well.
What was outside the window was the land and city floating in the sky.
It was a floating island, the place where events such as the construction of Musashi had occurred.
On the occasion of the large scale reconstruction that Musashi underwent ten years ago, she had come from England to see it together with her younger sister.
This IZUMO was…
“Prior to the Mouri invasion, the shrine and the central development area were floated. Furthermore, the surrounding ports, companies and workshops were also floated and were considered a neutral territory. There were many connections to the Amako clan in IZUMO…”
She had heard that Milton and Walter, who were of the Amako clan, had continued to battle against the Mouri even after overseeing the flotation of IZUMO. They were doing this as a preventive measure against Mouri and Hexagone Fran?aise who were trying to interfere with IZUMO.
It was two years ago when those two came to England. I wonder if it was because they had decided that IZUMO’s status as a neutral territory was stable.
On the inside, Mary happily thought that it was after she had departed from England that she had become able to think that way about them.
“There are quite a number of individuals currently in Musashi who were originally from IZUMO.”
The one who nodded in agreement was Oriotorai.
“That holds true for me, as well as Suzu’s father. Toori and Kimi’s mother’s family side were also from IZUMO. Also… Sanyou was as well.”
The one who nodded in agreement was Kimi.
“Haha, at IZUMO our grandmother was doing ether related… Now she would be an advisor I wonder? Anyway, it’s that type of thing right? If I can make the arrangements, I was considering visiting her today. However, foolish brother?”
In front of the dancing girl’s question, the wet man tilted his neck.
“Hmm… You’re planning to bring Horizon along with you right? Nah, I’m a little reluctant, so I’ll go afterward.”
“Is that so, Toori-sama? Why?”
In response to the Musashi’s princess’s question he scratched his hair with an um sound.
“Well, for some reason or another, I guess.”
Mary, who was thinking that there must be some circumstances behind that, looked towards the puzzled Horizon. After that, she continued.
“So about the Mouri family, right now they have a slightly difficult situation approaching them. That is because in the era of the current Mouri family head, Lady Terumoto, during the final battle deciding the rulership of the Far East, they become a representative of the Hashiba’s side, the Western Army, and battle with the Eastern Army of Matsudaira—”
She took a breath.
“—As a result they meet their defeat and lose a large amount of their military force.”
Nonetheless, in order to get across her words, Mary opened her mouth.
“However the Mouri clan prospered with Lord Motonari’s three sons, and they prepared for what was to come. Regarding the three, there is the story of the three arrows, a famous anecdote of Lord Motonari that was devised to show them they had to unite their abilities, right?”
This was knowledge that she had heard from Tenzou just the previous day.
Lord Motonari called his three sons together and began by handing a single arrow to his eldest son, who was asked to snap it.
After that he handed his next son two arrows, which he somehow managed to snap himself. However, when he handed his third son three arrows and he tried to break them on his own he was unable to do so.
The eldest and second sons were also unable to break the three arrows. The three men who were unable to break them suffered a trauma. Consequently Lord Motonari said.
“…You must not ostracise yourselves. You are to combine the skills of the three or will you suffer emotional damage otherwise…!”
Saying that, the three of them peacefully combined their abilities and overcame the difficult situation. It seemed to be that sort of teaching.
This was apparently something that nearly became inconsistent with how the history recreation was done; however that was apparently averted thanks to Lord Motonari’s praised ad-lib abilities.
Mary thought that the people of the Far East had high skills for performance.
“—Then Lord Motonari sent his second and third born sons into the East and West territories that Mouri was suppressing in order to solidify the defenses given the indirect rule that Mouri was conducting. However the first son who was to succeed the Mouri clan soon passed away. Consequently the child of the oldest son, the grandchild of Lord Motonari Terumoto, ended up becoming the young heir to the Mouri clan.”
However Lord Motonari, who was supporting this young ruler, also passed away some time later.
So this child, being supported by her two uncles who had gone to different families and the other uncles who were the children of Lord Motonari’s concubines, took command of the Mouri clan.
“However, afterwards they suffered the Hashiba invasion and surrendered, choosing to become incorporated into the organization as this was the path to keep Lord Terumoto alive. I wonder if it is because of this that it is said that Hexagone Fran?aise and the Mouri clan formed a close relationship in order to prevent the invasion from the Far Eastern side and their interference in Hexagone Fran?aise’s rule.”
Well then, Mary spoke. What was being displayed in her sign frame was Hexagone Fran?aise’s structure.
- Chancellor: Louis Exiv – Inherited the blood of the gods. Testamenta Arma user.
- President: Mouri Terumoto – Wife of Exiv. Also inherited the name of D’Artagnan. Testamenta Arma user.
- Vice Chancellor: Lord Turenne – Due to the name inheritance being announced only recently, the details are unknown.
- Vice President: Luynes – Refers to the God of War Palais-Cardinal. Also inherited the name of the treasurer Mazarin.
- Secretary: Mouri Motokiyo – Hexagone Fran?aise’s automated doll Mouri-01. Terumoto’s adviser.
- Special Duties: The Three Musketeers (Henri, Armand, Isaac) – Combat model automatons under Terumoto.
“—That should sum it up. Since France had formed a relationship with the Mouri, it was then that they first began to exchange automatons as personnel. It is said that they are a part of Mouri’s side force replenishment; however, beyond that nothing was said about Turenne’s identity except that he is a first year from a different species, so this is a source of uncertainty.”
In front of Mary’s eyes, the glasses wearing boy who was close with Shakespeare nodded in agreement while he was pulling out a sign frame with the same contents as hers.
“It would seem that it was personally recommended by Louise Exiv’s younger sister, the former Provisional Chancellor and Student Council President Anne D’Autriche; who is currently undergoing treatment at a M.H.R.R. Protestant city for an incurable disease. However, according to hearsay this person apparently passed the test implemented in Hexagone Fran?aise by quite a narrow margin. It is said that they might be the possessor of some type of specialized ability or something.”
“Well, from what I hear, in other words it is an idiot?”
“No; after all there is no way that it is something so simple as we are talking about the Vice Chancellor class. We have to be cautious.”
The one who spoke in agreement was Oriotorai who was standing at the podium. She sent a smile of recognition their way while writing a summary of the words with chalk on the blackboard.
“Well, that should sum it up. Thank you for your opinion Mary, you did a good job.”
Being told that by the person who was in charge, made her feel relieved as she was becoming a member of the class.
“Thank you very much!”
“Judge. Well Mary, our class has this kind of atmosphere, okay? Um, the contents of your punishment are—”
She said ‘Judge,’ however Mary tilted her head. While everyone was questioning what exactly was occurring on her inside, she said.
“I think it was determined by majority so it turned like that… However, how does me kissing Master Tenzou constitute a punishment?”
Tenzou, who was next to her, hung his head, tilted it and fell onto his desk; and then Oriotorai, while still keeping her back facing that way, raised a strange noise with chalk on the blackboard.
Masazumi was reflexively taken aback at the ear-splitting noise which penetrated her ears to the core.
I’m really bad when it comes to this type of noise. Glancing around her surroundings, directly in front of her Mitotsudaira’s hair was completely standing on end and shivering.
“My my my! Nenji! You’re rippling!”
“Yeah! Shake my surface!!”
How noisy.
Nevertheless, in response to Mary, Oriotorai dragged the strange noise until she reached the edge of the chalkboard.
During that time, Masazumi was lightly clenching her teeth and shaking.
“Ah!”
The strange noises vanished, and at the same time that Oriotorai turned around the end of class bell began to slowly ring out.
Oh, well, Oriotorai checked the time, placed the chalk and paused for a moment.
“For now today’s class is finished. Then during HR we will discuss the preparations for the upcoming planned field trip. Well, currently Musashi has not yet decided where it is headed yet; when the situation is clear it is something that I want to be decided. Also the person who is going to Miriam’s place, please take the notes."
Hearing the words being she said, Masazumi suddenly thought.
Determining the situation of Musashi is my job, right?
Well, what should Musashi do for the current future? That plan had been mostly decided.
There Mitotsudaira, who was in front of her turned around and spoke.
“Masazumi? In approximately one week, Musashi’s repairs should be completed. If there is something that you haven’t decided upon, I am available for consultation you know? My hometown is in the skies of Hexagone Fran?aise after all.”
“Ah, in that case, I’ll have you accompany me after school for a bit. There is something that I wish to examine a little. I also wished to discuss with everyone where we should direct Musashi from here on out.”
With those words, everyone in the classroom turned around. Oriotorai also raised a smile and loudly clapped her hands.
“Okay, okay but for now, wait until after we have finished HR okay? Then you can do as you please.”
Judge, Masazumi exchanged nods with Mitotsudaira, then as if to convince herself Masazumi muttered:
“I have to keep being level-headed. Both for the future of Musashi and the Far East… First thing to do is HR. Once that is finished, it would be after school. That will be the start of my free time.”