第８０２堀：対策会議 (Part1)
Chapter 802: Countermeasure Meeting
Side: Yuki
"…And so, Weed has decided to provide support to the Sea-Saifo Kingdom."
After General Lake and his party had departed from Weed, I made this report in a room at my home.
The people I was reporting to were…
"I see. I thought it might be unexpected, but hearing the circumstances, it’s only natural."
"Yes. I agree."
"But isn't it tough to fight monsters lurking underwater from the surface? Besides, how have the people of the Sea-Saifo Kingdom been fighting them until now?"
Naturally, it was Taizo-san and the others.
For the time being, the future policy had been decided through discussions with General Lake and his team, but we still lacked any real know-how for this kind of combat.
To consult on such matters, there was no one better than people from my own homeland. Even if they didn't have specific expertise in maritime warfare, Taiki-kun had his own knowledge, and with the wisdom of age from Souta-san, and Taizo-san, who had lived through the Second World War, we had gathered the best possible team.
Many people from Earth might wonder why we were relying on our own limited knowledge, but there was a perfectly good reason for it. That is…
"Taiki-kun, listen and be amazed. Their current methods consist of shooting magic guns or arrows from the surface, or beating the monsters to a pulp if they happen to leap onto the deck. Oh, and they seem to have harpoons, too."
Be happy. This is a strategy that is absolutely useless.
Against opponents half the size of Shera-chan, they’re using ineffective magic guns, arrows, and finally, harpoons.
It sounds like nothing more than a suicide pact.
Honestly, I’m surprised the folks in the Sea-Saifo Kingdom have managed to survive this long.
The maritime tactics of this world are completely unreliable.
We’re faced with the grim reality that our own half-baked knowledge might actually be more dependable.
"Whoa…"
"That’s quite primitive, isn't it?"
"Though, even if we talk about the underwater warfare we know, are you planning to fire torpedoes or depth charges?"
"Well, it would be effective against large monsters, but it feels like it wouldn't be worth the cost."
"Yes. It wouldn't be worth it."
I nodded immediately, not bothering to deny it.
If I fired a torpedo at every five-meter-class fish, I’m confident I’d run out of funds and DP in the blink of an eye.
"I understand why Yuki-kun came to consult with us. You want to know if we have any clever ideas, right?"
"Yes. So, can you think of any way to break through this current situation?"
Exactly. With all four of us gathered, I was hoping at least one decent method might emerge.
As things stand, it’s not that we can’t hunt the monsters safely, but the costs would be astronomical.
In fact, the money would run out long before the monsters did, so it’s nonsense.
"Hmm. First, let me put this on the table, even though I know it’s not a solution: the thorough extermination of the monsters. The direct monitoring and elimination that the Sea-Saifo Kingdom is currently doing is the most straightforward approach. There is a limit to how many can be culled. Even so, if we’re lucky, the monsters might eventually recognize the waters around the Sea-Saifo Kingdom as dangerous."
"However, even if we exterminate the monsters every time we encounter them in such a vast ocean, it would be nothing more than the tip of the iceberg."
As Taizo-san said, maritime security and monster hunting are the most understandable methods, and they provide peace of mind to the general public.
After all, the physical evidence of the dead monsters is there.
But as Souta-san pointed out, it’s not a fundamental solution, and fundamentally, there is no end to it.
Well, there is a slim possibility that the monsters might recognize Sea-Saifo as a dangerous zone, but that’s probably hoping for too much.
"Right. So, we need a fundamental solution, but we can't just focus entirely on that, can we?"
"As Taiki-kun says. If the monster-infested areas expand further while we’re trying to find a fundamental solution, the Sea-Saifo Kingdom will likely face economic collapse. We have to do something before that happens."
Just as Taizo-san said, if their primary industry disappears, the economy will collapse. That, in turn, could easily lead to a combination of internal strife.
I really want to avoid that.
For the sake of stability in the surrounding nations, we must accept this request and produce results.
However, whether we are holding back the monsters, exterminating them, or erecting barriers, someone needs to investigate the cause and maintain the safety of the Sea-Saifo Kingdom’s waters.
"For that purpose, we have at least been granted permission to send reinforcements with Dressa as the person in charge."
"Eh? Dressa? No, surely that’s… no matter how much she is a former princess…"
Taiki-kun immediately expressed his disapproval.
Well, even though Dressa is a former princess, she is now just an ordinary citizen of Weed.
No, she does help us with many things, so she has more capabilities than the average Weed citizen.
But I understand why it seems unreasonable to send her to another country as the person in charge.
However, surprisingly, Taizo-san and Souta-san didn't deny it at all…
"No, it might actually be a good move, Taiki-kun."
"Eh?"
"Indeed. The Sea-Saifo Kingdom knows full well that Dressa is inexperienced. In fact, General Lake said it was to nurture young talent, didn't he?"
"Yes. That’s what he said. That we both want a place for our young people to grow."
"That means they will acknowledge it—or rather, they will act—in that direction."
"That’s right."
"Eh? What does that mean? It’s about training Dressa, right?"
It seemed Taiki-kun was the only one who hadn't caught on, so I decided to explain.
"The goal of training Dressa is certainly true, but it also means placing a permanent Weed garrison in the Sea-Saifo Kingdom."
"But even if it’s a standing army, wouldn't it be problematic if Dressa is the one in charge?"
"That’s the point, Taiki-kun. Knowing it’s for training the youth, there’s no way there wouldn't be a commanding officer present."
"Ah."
Told this by Taizo-san, Taiki-kun finally realized the logic.
Yes, there’s no way there wouldn't be a superior officer present for youth training.
Under the guise of supervising training, we can send members of Weed at any time.
In effect, we’ve gained the authority to enter and exit Sea-Saifo freely.
"In other words, we—no, Weed—has gained a base in Sea-Saifo? As a reward?"
Close.
Certainly, once free entry and exit to the Sea-Saifo Kingdom is recognized, it’s as good as having a base.
But that’s not all.
Before I could point out his misunderstanding, Souta-san took over the explanation.
"It’s a little different, but close. As for the rewards for Weed, the country doesn't want to pay unless we actually show results. Do you understand this, Taiki-kun?"
"Yes, I understand. No matter how famous Weed is, that’s only in the Rogali and If continents; our name hasn't spread that far in the New Continent, so we don't have any credibility yet, right?"
"Exactly. They can't just pay rewards to a country they don't know after being helped, only to have no real results to show for it. Or rather, as a nation, they would absolutely not want to pay in advance, would they?"
"I understand that, but surely it wouldn't go that far…"