第９３１堀：情報分析 (Part1)
### Chapter 931: Information Analysis
**Side: Yuki**
I am currently holding a meeting with only Seraria and my guard members. It’s quite late, after all; Taizo-san and the others have already turned in for the night.
The reason I’ve gathered everyone for a private discussion at this hour is simple:
"...So, the prisoners from the Zurabl Empire have finally started talking."
That’s right. We’ve finally succeeded in getting those Zurabl Empire soldiers to open their mouths. We are currently in the process of verifying the information we’ve gathered.
"I see. That’s good news... I suppose?"
Even though Mino-chan’s negotiations were successful and we’ve finally opened a channel to the Zurabl Empire, Seraria doesn’t seem particularly enthusiastic. I can understand her feelings. The disgust of knowing they were attacking innocent civilians makes it impossible to feel any joy.
However, such things happen often enough on modern Earth. There aren't actually that many armies that strictly uphold discipline and reason; it’s just that those things don't always make it into the media. That doesn't make attacking civilians any less inexcusable, though.
"Well, at least we no longer have to worry about the prospect of having to slaughter every single enemy soldier. Let’s be glad for that much."
"That’s true. According to the report, the Zurabl Empire has a total force of 600,000. It’s also significant that we learned they possess aerial capabilities via wyverns. If we had fought them without confirming that, it would have become quite troublesome."
Seraria’s frown softened, seemingly relieved that we wouldn't have to resort to total annihilation. As we predicted from the start, the commander of the Zurabl Empire’s 2nd Regional Army, Vol Wheeler, didn't reveal the exact numbers—which are high-level classified information—but we were able to confirm that each regional army possesses its own wyvern aerial force.
In other words, if the 2nd Regional Army has 80,000 troops and 50 wyverns, a rough calculation suggests about eight times that amount across the board—roughly 400 wyverns. It would be safer to assume there are nearly 500 when accounting for reserves.
For context, our own aerial force consists only of what Luna provided along with the aircraft carrier, which is fewer than 100 units. Furthermore, not all of them are suitable for air-to-air combat. We have ground-attack aircraft like the A-10, so the number of pure air-to-air fighters is less than half of that.
Well, against the wyverns and flying dragons of this world, any aircraft capable of subsonic flight could likely shoot them down. In fact, if we just sent Steve and his group out, they could easily take them down. But we lack the absolute numbers. If we were attacked from multiple directions, we wouldn't be able to cover everything, and we wouldn't be able to defend ourselves completely. We wouldn't lose, but the damage would inevitably be massive.
Besides...
"If we keep fighting like this, Weed will go bankrupt. Well, it would just mean our DP would be depleted, but still."
"That would be fatal. Eris was absolutely furious about it."
Exactly. The biggest reason we can't fight the Zurabl Empire head-on is that we can't afford to use modern weaponry. Or rather, we *could*, but it would drain all the DP we’ve accumulated so far.
"A single missile costs 100 million... well, in reality, it’s even more than that."
"...And fighter jets are even more expensive. If we keep replenishing things like that, our DP will vanish in the blink of an eye. If there’s one thing to be thankful for, it’s that Luna got carried away and gave us the carrier and the full set of supplies. Thanks to that, we don't have to worry about running out of supplies for a while."
"Yeah. I’m grateful for that particular whim of hers."
"I’d like to say that, but we can't have Weed’s emergency alarms blaring every time Luna has a whim like that."
That time, the harbor suffered collateral damage, after all...
"I really think I’m cursed by some god or another."
"That’s hard to deny. But this time, if we hadn't had that force, we couldn't have saved Aurelia Port. Let’s just consider that the silver lining. But we must never get carried away and rely on modern warfare for a sloppy fight. We’d be depleted in an instant. Well, if it comes to it, we could blow them away with magic, but that’s not an option either due to the magic depletion phenomenon, right?"
"Yeah, I’d like to avoid that. I don't mind if it's a last resort, though."
Right. There was the idea of using magic if weapons were off the table, but this is still an uninvestigated new world. If we start doing things like that before properly researching the magic depletion phenomenon, there would be no point in coming to this new world in the first place.
"...There are so many restrictions. Which means, brute force is definitely out of the question."
"Well, given the situation, yes. At worst, we’ll have to chip away at the enemy while advancing. For now, the Zurabl Empire’s troops aren't particularly high-level, so I think we can manage with that approach."
"It’s true that some of them are considered high-level by general standards, but that’s only about the level of an average high-level person on the Rogari Continent. Plus, they only have Magic Gear as an added bonus, so if we deploy the high-level forces Weed boasts, we won't lose."
"True, but the damage elsewhere would be massive. Numbers are a terrifying thing. Well, Mino-chan managed to work things out so it wouldn't come to that."
"I know that, but wasn't that just for his own self-preservation? It looked that way to me."
"Of course it was for self-preservation. They fought with numbers that should have guaranteed a win and still lost. If he goes back to the capital, he’d be lucky to just be stripped of his rank; usually, his head would be physically separated from his shoulders."
The failure of the Zurabl Empire’s operation this time was that fatal. That is precisely why the Zurabl soldiers didn't talk easily, even regarding their own affiliations.
"I suppose so. It’s a number of troops that shouldn't have lost. But as I said when we decided to go to war with the Zurabl Empire, I will never show mercy to those who harm the people. Don't forget that."
"I know. If they were the type of people who openly ignored human rights, I wouldn't even bother negotiating. If I established diplomatic relations with people like that, I can already see the mountain of trouble it would cause."
Just the coordination with the surrounding areas would double my workload.
"That’s true. My worries were unnecessary. Anyway, setting aside the weapons and budget, let’s get to the main point. Given the situation, an invasion relying on modern weaponry is extremely difficult. As Taizo said, we’ll have a delegation led by Mino-chan head to the Zurabl Empire’s capital to attempt negotiations. In parallel, we’ll gather information, and depending on the situation, we’ll strike the enemy’s vital point."
The enemy’s vital point. In this case, that means taking the Emperor’s head, but I’d like to avoid that if possible. The new world would be plunged into further chaos. If that happens, the burden of cleaning up the mess will fall on Weed.
"When you think about it, both the Rogari Continent and the If Continent were relatively stable."
"True. Both had multiple large nations of similar size existing in stability, keeping each other in check. Even if wars between major powers occurred, it was at most over border disputes. That was the case when we arrived on the If Continent."
Ah, come to think of it, that was the vibe on the If Continent. We emerged from a dungeon connected to a village ruin, and it was right in the middle of a looting spree.
"Luna told me it was a land of war, but when we got there, that was a story from the distant past."