第９１５堀：船団の行方 (Part1)
**Chapter 915: The Fleet’s Whereabouts**
**Side: Kagura**
*Scratch, scratch…*
The only sound echoing through the quiet office is the scratching of pens against paper. It is the same office, the same routine as any other day.
“...Why are we stuck doing paperwork here when our wedding is just around the corner?”
Something is wrong. Something is definitely off. I, Kagura Kamishiro, am supposed to be marrying my beloved Yuki in just a few days and building a warm, happy home.
“...Ugh, I want to be lovey-dovey with Yuki-sensei.”
I mutter this alongside Mikos, who is sitting next to me, grumbling while somehow managing to keep working. Since my best friend Mikos is also marrying the same man, I have no anxiety, and traveling between our homelands and our families—which should be far away—is easy enough.
Yes, I am a bride-to-be with a rosy, happy future waiting just ahead, so why must we be stuck here doing work at a time like this?
“Well, well, we’ll be finished soon, so let’s do our best,” Solo says, trying to encourage us, but my motivation is nowhere to be found.
After all, the work itself is the problem.
“...This progress report from the Kingdom of Sea-Saifo? It reeks of trouble no matter how you look at it.”
“You’re right. It’s painful that we won’t be able to relax right after the wedding.”
“But we can’t just ignore it. We received these documents officially from Diplomat Menou.”
Indeed, this task comes from Diplomat Menou. In other words, it concerns the Kingdom of Sea-Saifo.
“Normally, we wouldn’t be handling business at a time like this…”
After all, this is our own wedding, and it’s a major main event synchronized with the Intercontinental Exchange Conference. It is a wedding meant to show the world—both inside and outside our borders—that the continents are setting aside their differences and moving forward hand-in-hand, so it is quite different from an ordinary ceremony.
To prepare for it, we even stationed a specialized liaison in the Kingdom of Sea-Saifo, keeping in close contact with the home country while remaining here in Weed. We had finally reached the point where the event was just days away, and yet…
“Well, it can’t be helped. The Kingdom of Sea-Saifo’s fleet has stopped sending communications, after all…”
“Exactly. We secured the safety of the waters off Sea-Saifo, but this time, the regular contact from the fleet that went to check on the Kingdom of Gusdo has been severed.”
As Mikos and Solo say, we are drafting a report regarding the loss of contact with the Sea-Saifo fleet. Until recently, the Kingdom of Sea-Saifo had been suffering from attacks by marine monsters caused by Magic Gear dumped into the ocean, resulting in devastating damage to their fleet.
It was a national crisis, and we intervened after they requested our cooperation—though, in truth, it was mostly Yuki who did the heavy lifting. As a result, the marine monsters were eliminated, and the safety of Sea-Saifo’s waters was supposedly secured, leaving us in a state of monitoring.
While the request was fulfilled and the issue resolved for Weed and Haiden, the Kingdom of Sea-Saifo still faced the problem of their trade relationship with the Kingdom of Gusdo—located across the Great Mountain Range—being stalled due to the monster incident. To improve that situation, they dispatched a fleet to Gusdo to explain the circumstances, but… it seems contact with that fleet has been lost.
“...Wait, what happened to the plan for Viria’s aircraft carrier to accompany them as an escort?”
“That was scrapped because it would have made the Kingdom of Gusdo extremely wary. The plan was for Sea-Saifo to go with their own envoy ship and escort vessels first, remember?”
“That’s right.”
“Was it? …Oh, you’re right.”
It is written right there in the progress report. In other words, Sea-Saifo took action as planned, but the envoy fleet has gone silent.
“But even if contact is lost, it’s only been a month, right? Isn’t that nothing to worry about? They don’t have wireless radios like Yuki’s group that allow for instant communication, anyway.”
It isn’t strange for communication from a distant place to be temporarily interrupted. Unless you are one of Yuki’s subordinates, there is no way to communicate instantly over long distances. If you go a bit far, a month of silence is common.
However, Mikos continues.
“Well, that’s true, but according to Menou-san, this visit to the Kingdom of Gusdo was to report that the monster damage had ended. The fleet isn’t just a regular merchant convoy.”
“Yes. According to the schedule, they should have sent a regular report by now, no matter how delayed they were…”
“And that report never came. Which means something likely happened to the envoy fleet. That’s why they went out of their way to contact us. But there’s no concrete information.”
Exactly. We only know that the regular contact stopped; there is no other information.
“Still, they marked this as a top priority during a time when we have the Intercontinental Exchange Conference coming up. They must have something urgent they want to discuss with you, Mikos-chan.”
“I suppose so. So, where is the person who sent this report? It would be faster to hear the details directly.”
A report with such vague content won’t get us anywhere. It’s better to hear it straight from the source.
“Let me see… Diplomat Menou is supposed to be inspecting shops in Weemall today.”
“Ugh. The Princess is there too, isn’t she?”
“...It’s not just the Princess. Dignitaries from every country are gathered there. Important figures from major powers are all together in Weemall, having discussions.”
*Sigh.* My motivation drops even further. To think I have to go all the way out there…
Still, it must be done. The problems of the Kingdom of Sea-Saifo are the problems of our entire New Continent group. If a major disaster occurs, our participation in the Intercontinental Exchange Conference could be wiped clean. That is the one thing we absolutely must avoid! If that happens, the wedding will be canceled too!
“Alright, I know we don’t want to do this, but we need to hear the story. By the way, do you think Yuki and the others already know about this?”
“Who knows? I’m not sure.”
“In that case, contact them first, Mikos. This isn’t something we should decide to handle on our own.”
“Understood. Leave it to me.”
When it comes to maritime trouble in the Kingdom of Sea-Saifo, Weed’s aircraft carrier is the most effective asset. While we have contributed by providing magic instruction and support to Sea-Saifo, Weed’s cooperation is indispensable for resolving problems when they arise. Besides, there is a possibility that Magic Gear has been brought into the Kingdom of Gusdo.
“Solo, contact the Princess. We need to have her return from the shops and report this. Depending on the situation, we may need to move immediately.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll confirm and contact the aircraft carrier while we wait for the Princess to return.”
With that, I reached out to Steve’s subordinates stationed on the carrier and to Shi-chan the Sea Dragon, but as expected, I heard no news of the envoy fleet returning or any word from them.
“So, there is no information on the envoy fleet that headed to the Kingdom of Gusdo…”
At this point, should we assume the worst, as Menou-san suggested? Just as I was thinking that…
“My apologies. Especially at a time like this.”
“Not at all. Sea-Saifo’s problems are the problems of the entire New Continent.”
“And it would be foolish to put it off and let the damage spread.”
As they spoke, Menou-san, Princess Carrie, and Yuki arrived as a group.