Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon

If you travel to a distant land

And decide to live there

Does it count as distant anymore?

Point Allocation (Location)

The morning sun filled a cla.s.sroom.

A woman wearing gla.s.ses and a nametag reading “Sanyou” stood in front of a blackboard.

“Anyway, during the middle ages, England and España were considered rural areas by the rest of Europe. England was originally populated by the Celtic fairies known as the Britons, but at about 54 BC, everyone’s beloved Caesar crossed the sea while invading Gaul.”

Sanyou drew a simple map of England and the northern coast of Hexagone Française on the blackboard and drew an arrow from the latter to the former.

…Caesar did a lot.

Caesar went on to conquer the western side of Hexagone Française which was known as Gaul at the time. He detected Rome planning to betray him out of fear of his growing power and popularity, so he advanced on Rome and became a dictator. As he did, he had to make the decision to cross the small river known as the Rubicon which acted as the borderline between Rome and Gaul. However, the soldiers knew what happened thanks to the Testament, so they got excited and began crossing the river ahead of Caesar. The way he frantically shouted “The die has been cast!!” and rushed after them was quite well known.

…All of this is so much fun, but I spent way too much time on it last year.

“At about 40 AD, Rome invaded England and it became a province of Rome. However, Rome’s rule was lax and they primarily viewed it as useful for what it produced. But after Rome’s fall, the Celtic fairies began fighting amongst each other for power.”

Sanyou checked the pace at which everyone was copying down the information on the board and wrote “king” above England.

“That was the age of Arthur Pendragon or King Arthur. He is a legendary figure and he is modeled on around three different people, so there were problems deciding who was the real one during the history recreation. They had no choice but to form a group known as B.W.T. and hold the Celtic Cup King Arthur Tournament, but that did not solve anything. They ultimately had no option but to take turns filling the role. That is why King Arthur has become a legendary figure known for being cheated on by his wife and…”

Sanyou trailed off and grew lost in thought at that last statement, but a student called out to her.

“Don’t worry! Don’t worry, sensei! If you cheat at the level of being acquaintances, it counts as an accident!”

Insurance pays out for an accident, but do you have to pay out of your own pocket otherwise? wondered Sanyou. Well, enough of that…

She took a breath.

“Anyway, he worked hard and kept the Germanic Saxons from invading. The weapon he used was Excalibur which is what blasted Musashi the other day. That sword awaited a king while stabbed into a rock and Arthur managed to pull it out. It defended England and confirmed him to be king. But…”

Sanyou stopped there. King Arthur was often used in video games, novels, and divine television dramas. There had recently been a retro boom in which ancient stories were brought back and the legend of King Arthur was no exception. The popular ongoing manga “Pendragon Ball – Super Knights of the Round Table” had introduced a new twist to the holy grail legend. When one gathered the seven holy grails, Merlin would appear and grant a single wish. In the current week’s chapter, King Arthur was being mocked by the Saxons for the death of his friend. Arthur had just shouted “Are you talking about Percival!?”and transformed into a Super Celt when the chapter ended.

Sanyou and Vice Princ.i.p.al Yoshinao would read the weekly magazines confiscated from students.

…Galahad’s Fairy King Fist x3 wasn’t any help at all.

At any rate, the lesson was approaching that sort of interesting topic.

She might end up straying off topic from here on out.

…But it may be necessary for them to remember the material.

To remember so much, the information needed impact and variety. They might not be able to remember every little detail right away, but remembering the important points would lead to remembering the smaller facts.

And so Sanyou decided what to say next.

“Do you know the mystery surrounding the two Excaliburs and Excalibur’s scabbard?”

Sanyou saw the students suddenly look up with interest.

They reacted well to objects commonly used in stories. It helped that they had recently been rattled by Excalibur. Sanyou had expected interest, but the strength of their gazes was more than she had antic.i.p.ated.

…Oh? Ohh? I-I need to live up to their expectations. Otherwise, they will lose faith in me as a teacher. But I need to keep this short or it will be Rome all over again. Getting off track to help them remember everything will be repeating the same mistake I made last year. I need to avoid doing that. S-so keep this short. Short, short, short!

“Th-the end!”

“That’s too fast, sensei!”

Oh, no. I rushed to the conclusion too quickly, thought Sanyou with an embarra.s.sed smile.

“Um, okay. About the mysteries. King Arthur broke Excalibur once. That was because he left the path of chivalry by attacking from behind, but he received a new sword afterwards. Some stories say he got it from the wizard Merlin and some say it was from the Lady of the Lake. This was solved in the history recreation with a double inherited name.

“The new one was known as Ex. Caliburn and it came with a scabbard. That scabbard was a divine weapon and it held a protective power that prevented the wielder from losing any blood. This made the king of England, and therefore England itself, immortal. However, the scabbard was stolen by Arthur’s half-sister Morgan and Arthur died. Try to remember this part. And…”

And…

“There are some mysteries surrounding this story. The current sword, Ex. Caliburn, is known as the second Excalibur, so where did the original one, Ex. Collbrande, go? And where did the scabbard end up? There are a lot of strange aspects to this story. Ex. Caliburn appears to the king or queen of England just like the original Excalibur and it also carries out air defense, but where are the broken Ex. Collbrande and the lost scabbard of Ex. Caliburn? Those are two small mysteries concerning England’s history recreation.”

Sanyou looked around the cla.s.sroom.

She took a breath when she noticed the students were quietly staring back at her.

“Does anyone have a question?”

One girl raised her hand. She was a water spirit with damp hair. Sanyou’s student records said she was originally from Ireland. Musashi was currently floating in the sky south of England, so she could likely feel the air of her homeland.

Everyone turned toward the girl and she spoke once Sanyou gave an encouraging nod.

“Are the people of England descendants of King Arthur?”

Sanyou was unsure what to say. The water spirit girl’s question was not directly related to world history. It had more to do with ethnology.

However, she had to answer a student’s question in some way. That desire for an answer was something she had to encourage.

“That is a good question,” she said to indicate the value of asking questions.

Sanyou then began thinking about how to tie this question into world history. She thought and thought but could not think of anything.

…U-um…

“Th-th-th-th-the-the-the thing is… U-u-um-um-um-um, Arthur, Arthur, Arthur, Arthur…”

“S-sensei! Stop rapping and calm down!!”

…Shut up. I am calm. I only sounded a bit like a DJ because I’m fl.u.s.tered.

At any rate, Sanyou tapped on the map of England and Hexagone Française on the blackboard. She got chalk dust on her fingertips, but she did not care.

“To learn whether the British are descendants of King Arthur or not, we must look at England’s history from King Arthur to Fairy Queen Elizabeth. There are three major historical issues to focus on.”

First, Sanyou drew an arrow leading to England from the side.

“The first happened in the 11th century. The Duchy of Normandy, an area on the northern coast of France, crossed the ocean and invaded England from the south. They eventually conquered England. This was known as…”

Norman Conquest: England conquered by the Normans.

“The role of the Normans was played by French non-human races in the history recreation. What we commonly refer to simply as England was already split into four countries at the time. Wales, Scotland, and Ireland were primarily occupied by the Celtic fairies, but England was occupied by the Anglo-Saxons. In the history recreation, the non-human races (also known as Glossolalians) played that role. This included fairies, demons, beasts, and other races. This meant the Anglo-Saxons were racially similar to the French non-humans of the Normans, so the conquest progressed relatively smoothly. However, the other three blocks of the floating island refused to get along with England once it was ruled by those non-humans. Several times, England became involved with the French throne due to their French blood, but they lost the Hundred Years’ War, lost their land in Normandy, and England’s conquerors effectively left. You could say it became its own country again.”

So…

“This makes it difficult to say whether the people of England are descendants of King Arthur. England was ruled by the Normans, but the other regions were occupied by the Celts and Anglo-Saxons. However, just as the French claim to have authority as descendants of Charlemagne, the British raise their own morale by claiming to be descendants of King Arthur. In other words, he is treated the same way other countries treat their emperor or pope. He is a hero regardless of ethnicity. Now, if we continue forward in time…”

As the cla.s.s watched her and nodded, Sanyou held up two fingers on her right hand.

“The second issue comes in at 1485. In order to help England recover after the Hundred Years’ War and the Wars of the Roses, Henry VII began the Tudor dynasty. As a king from Wales, he claimed to be a descendant of King Arthur and the people supported him. As a king of the people, he suppressed the n.o.bles and paved the way to England’s absolute monarchy.”

Also...

“If you think about it, you can see why the current Queen Elizabeth is known as the Fairy Queen. England’s royal family is surrounded by legends and they stand above the n.o.bles as kings and queens of the people. But…”

Sanyou wrote a few names on the blackboard.

After writing Henry VII, Henry VIII, Mary I, and Elizabeth, she stopped.

“Then we come to the third issue. Henry VII’s son, Henry VIII, changed the official religion of England from Catholicism to the Anglican Church. He did so to solve problems concerning an heir and as a countermeasure against interference from France. The former is easier to focus on, but the kings had a good reason to suppress the Catholic Church and n.o.bles connected to it. This prevented France and the pope from interfering via the church. Also, shutting down the Catholic monasteries forced them to hand over the private a.s.sets they had gained with the authority the Catholic Church granted them. Simply put, the Catholics within England were destroyed and forced to hand over their money.”

The cla.s.s held their breath.

“England itself switched to the Anglican Church, but the other three countries remained Catholic because they relied on Catholicism. France aided those three countries, so the three Catholic countries opposed England. After Henry VIII’s death, a conflict surrounding three women began.”

Sanyou drew a line between Henry VIII and Elizabeth’s names on the blackboard.

Mary Tudor: Previous queen. Also known as Mary I. Attempted to return England to Catholicism.

Elizabeth: Current queen. Showed tolerance by making the Anglican Church more Catholic.

Mary Stuart: Catholic queen of Scotland.

Once she finished writing all that, Sanyou took a breath and looked across the cla.s.s.

“Of the two Marys, Mary Tudor is known as b.l.o.o.d.y Mary due to slaughtering people connected to the Anglican Church. The other one, Mary Stuart, fled to England during a civil war in Scotland. In accordance with the Testament descriptions, she was imprisoned on the charge of attempting to a.s.sa.s.sinate Elizabeth and will be executed. Because two Marys exist in almost the same period of time, the history recreation gave Mary Stuart a double inherited name with Elizabeth’s half-sister, Mary Tudor. She has the Urban Name of Double b.l.o.o.d.y Mary and she became an obstacle and enemy of Elizabeth.”

Sanyou looked at her students. All of them were looking diligently back at her, so she slowly continued.

“Double b.l.o.o.d.y Mary is currently imprisoned in the Tower of London and she will wait there until the time comes for her execution. Essentially, the Fairy Queen who holds the blood of King Arthur in her veins gained a political victory. That sums up the situation in England leading from King Arthur to the Fairy Queen.

“I think the descendants of King Arthur in modern England would be those of Celtic descent, but he is the hero who forms the mental foundation of the entire kingdom. Just as Excalibur is stabbed into a ley line, I think everyone in England may have a sort of shared ancestry. In other words, if you honor the name of King Arthur and possess a just desire to protect England, then you are effectively his descendent.”

Sanyou let out a breath and realized something was wrong.

…Huh?

Silence was usually what one wanted from students.

…But this is different from usual.

She tried to realize what was different and finally figured it out.

“The next cla.s.s sure is quiet,” she muttered.

Everyone turned to the back of the cla.s.sroom.

The back wall contained a blackboard in the center. Either side of the blackboard was coated with fresh plaster, but the white plaster formed about seven overlapping human outlines.

…Oh, right.

Tres España had attacked, the transport ship had crashed, and England had not allowed those aboard the transport ship to return, so around half of Oriotorai’s cla.s.s plum was stuck in England.

Aoi Toori remained on Musashi, but he had been mostly ignored because he was of little use. Shirojiro had managed most everything and the representative committee had handled the actual work.

The 2nd-year committee and the other committees had made a lot of objections, but had changed little.

…Everyone has it tough.

However, a diplomatic ship was now allowed to land on England’s fourth level. A day for negotiations had yet to be set, but Oriotorai had likely taken the rest of cla.s.s plum to England now that they could land. That was why no noise was coming from the neighboring cla.s.sroom.

“It’s so peaceful without them.”

The entire cla.s.s nodded in response and Sanyou thought that was an appropriate reaction. But then she heard a shout from outside the window.

“King! I’ve come to make a direct appeal! We’ve had enough of that idiot Toori! We want Masazumi-sensei back!”

Hearing the cry of a child, Sanyou glanced outside. For some reason, an elementary school boy was naked and had “b.a.s.t.a.r.d” and other derogatory words written on him in ink.

“Every single day, that idiot makes jokes, reads aggressive kamishibai, swipes our food during cooking cla.s.s, and makes bets with enemas as the punishment for losing! We haven’t been learning anything! Please do something as king! If that idiot keeps teaching us, our lives are over! Most of the boys in the cla.s.s have already been brainwashed! They’ve started the Nudist Church and the International Groping Alliance, and I have no idea what’s going on anymore!”

The boy held a bamboo pole with a written appeal to the king attached on the end. Meanwhile, Vice Princ.i.p.al and Musashi King Yoshinao wore agricultural work clothes.

“Hm. So that idiot is up to no good again. And this time he is tormenting our innocent boys and girls.”

“King! What do you mean ‘again’!? Has there been another victim!?”

That victim is standing right in front of you, thought Sanyou before calling out to Yoshinao from the window.

“Um, Vice Princ.i.p.al Yoshinao! The chancellor and the others are at England right now.”

“Yes, we were planning to stop by later with some vegetables, but Musashi is quite peaceful for the moment. More importantly, Vice President Honda-kun will be back soon. Listen, boy. We will use our authority to immediately bring peace and normalcy back to your lessons.”

You have no way of guaranteeing that, thought Sanyou as an adult, but the child seemed to believe him.

“R-really!? That idiot will be gone and Masazumi-sensei will be back!?”

Sanyou sighed as she saw the boy begin to cry tears of joy.

As she watched the king nodding to the boy, she realized he had changed quite a bit. His current outfit made that clear.

…I heard he’s helping with the farming and selective breeding of decorative plants.

His old land had been in a rural area, so she had heard he was knowledgeable about that kind of work. That knowledge would likely be very useful to Musashi in its current state.

…Once Makiko and the others meet up with those in England, will they be able to gather their own knowledge and learn what they did wrong in the attack?

Sanyou did not know the answer, but she turned back toward her cla.s.s.

“I wonder what the chancellor and the others are doing right now.”

An ocean jutted out from a cliff.

This shallow ocean continued for several kilometers past the sh.o.r.e and fell off into the sky after pa.s.sing over a few drops in height.

Fish swam in that ocean, but other forms could also be seen swimming under the water or appearing on the surface.

Most of these other forms were humanoid or b.e.s.t.i.a.l spirits and they were all currently looking up into the blue sky.

A ship was visible there. It was a large ship decorated with an outer sh.e.l.l. The side of the ship bore the crest of Musashi Ariadust Academy and the logo portion had been swapped out with Musashi’s crest. This was Musashi’s diplomatic ship.

The ship approached the sh.o.r.e which was made up of exposed rock.

Something rose from the ocean like a tower just in front of the sh.o.r.e. This was the transport ship which stood on end and had been thoroughly dented and smashed.

The diplomatic ship produced the sound of air being pushed out of the way as it approached the transport ship which had spray shooting up from its waterline.

Figures began to appear on the vertical deck of the transport ship, but a single figure suddenly began running toward the bow of the diplomatic ship.

“Horiiiiiizon! I’m coming!!”

The boy running atop the railing on the edge of the deck held up a hover charm.

“Toh!!”

They had yet to completely approach the transport ship, but he jumped forcefully toward it. He needed to clear about fifty meters to make the jump, but the hovering charm extended his jump time even if it did not increase his speed.

“First one aboard!!”

Those aboard the transport ship reacted as he leaped toward them with his lips puckered for a kiss.

A girl with a ponytail and spear and a girl wearing the coat of a male uniform appeared on the stern of the ship. They carried out a short but serious discussion, the one in the coat clearly pointed toward the idiot, and the one with the spear took action.

“Bind, Tonbokiri!”

She cut his hovering charm and he fell toward the ocean.

The two girls sent a semaph.o.r.e signal to the bow of the diplomatic ship and nodded toward the other students preparing for the approach of the ship. They all exchanged a nod.

“Continue your work!!”

That cry signaled the reunion of Musashi’s main forces after two weeks apart.