第９５７堀：海洋調査の結果が溜まっています (Part1)
Chapter 957: The Results of the Ocean Survey Are Piling Up
Side: Dressa
“...Why? Why is Hiiro separated from Big Brother? My job is to be with Big Brother. Hiiro is Big Brother’s guard. So why am I sitting at a desk like this?”
Hiiro kept muttering the same thing over and over, on and on.
“Honestly. Please, just do your work! If you don’t finish it, you won’t be able to see Big Brother!”
“Uuuu...”
Vilia scolded her, but Hiiro’s movements remained sluggish.
...Well, I suppose I have no choice.
I uttered the magic words that would make Hiiro spring into action.
“Hiiro. I understand it’s tough, but Yuki surely dislikes spoiled girls who can’t even handle their own work, right?”
“Hiiro! Will do my best!”
Reacting to my words, Hiiro snapped back into her work with vigor.
It’s truly effective. I’m simply taking advantage of how Hiiro reacts excessively to the word "dislike." Vilia knows this too, but perhaps because she hates that word herself, she never says it. That’s why I say it for her.
Well, I’m also finishing my work at full speed, both to avoid being disliked by Yuki and to see him as soon as possible.
“Good grief. Still, there are surprisingly many reports. The aircraft carrier was supposed to be docked, right?”
“Yeah. It’s super weird. I thought there would only be a little bit of paperwork.”
“That’s not how it works. The moment you take an aircraft carrier outside of Weed, it requires a significant amount of bureaucratic procedure.”
It’s not as simple as just parking a boat at a harbor.
Every day, we have to listen to, summarize, and manage reports on everything: whether there are any troubles, reports on supply consumption, the physical condition of the crew, the status of operations, and so much more.
Therefore, just having the aircraft carrier operational means an enormous amount of paperwork.
That said, I was certainly surprised when I first saw the sheer volume of these documents. But once I looked at the contents, it made sense. Besides, we aren’t just entrusted with the maintenance and operation of the aircraft carrier.
“...And we have to process the reports from the Blue Hole as well, don’t we?”
“Isn’t that the job of the aircraft carrier *Luna*?”
“That’s not Hiiro and the others’ job, is it?”
“It is entrusted to the *Luna*, but we are also continuing our own investigation into the monsters from the Blue Hole. Therefore, we have to investigate the connection to the Blue Hole. Wait, both of you know about this, don’t you?”
Since Vilia and Hiiro are both officers of the aircraft carrier *Lilishe* and among those in charge, there is no way they could be unaware of this.
The investigation into the sea monsters emerging from that hole in the ocean—the Blue Hole. The *Lilishe* has been conducting this investigation since before arriving at Aurelia Port, and has continued to do so ever since.
“I’ve heard of it, but isn’t there nothing we can specifically help with?”
“Hiiro doesn’t understand anything about monsters.”
“Well, that’s true. But we still need to review the reports properly. As for the reports on the Blue Hole area, according to Comet’s observations, the frequency of wild monsters appearing is increasing.”
“That stands to reason. The protection of Lady Hairen that was in the Blue Hole area has vanished.”
“It’s only natural that monsters would come.”
Indeed. By turning the area around the Blue Hole into a dungeon, we ended up scraping away the barrier that Hairen had deployed to keep monsters at bay. It was fortunate that the entire barrier didn’t collapse, but monsters have started appearing in the area where the barrier is gone.
“Exactly. Saying ‘natural monsters are coming because the barrier is gone’ sounds like a matter of course to us, but gathering information on such environmental changes is very important. You know what the Sea Dragon said, right? There are things like that rotten fish monster, Leviathan, isn’t that it? We have to properly investigate what has changed and what has arrived.”
It might seem obvious, but if you observe carefully or change your perspective, it could become the key to unraveling a massive mystery.
Moreover, the existence of the monster Leviathan, as mentioned by the Sea Dragon. It is a threat that could potentially endanger even an aircraft carrier. We cannot simply operate our ships aimlessly without investigating a sea where such a thing might exist.
“So, even if the meaning is lost on us, we need to compile the reports properly, right?”
“That’s right. Because this will surely be of help to Yuki, I will look through them thoroughly and make sure at least the data is sent.”
“Setting aside the types of monsters, are things like edible fish and shellfish really necessary?”
“If anything, that might be more important than the monster investigation. It allows us to calculate the catch potential of Aurelia Port. Fresh fish that isn't from a dungeon. Wouldn’t you want to try it?”
““We want to eat it!””
Both of them answered immediately. Thanks to Yuki, we know the magnificence of eating delicious things. That is why we cannot afford to cut corners here.
Furthermore, thanks to the opening of the gates, not just us, but every country has deeply realized the wonder of seafood. Acquiring Aurelia Port will have a major impact not only on our relationship with the Zuraburu Great Empire but also on our relationship with the Intercontinental Exchange Alliance.
Moreover, it is the first port in the New Continent. There is a possibility of delicacies that the Intercontinental Exchange Alliance doesn’t even know about yet. In other words, it’s a mountain of treasure. Weed has acquired land that can be effectively utilized for magic power research, new national relations, trade hubs, and various other things.
However...
“So, let’s do our best! Is what I want to say, but we also have to carefully consider how the envoy from the Zuraburu Great Empire currently here will get involved in the governance of Aurelia Port.”
Yes, for various reasons, we are currently accepting what is called a "governance assistant"—which is really just surveillance—sent by the Zuraburu Great Empire to Aurelia Port. Under these circumstances, it is questionable whether we can begin large-scale trade of marine products.
“Interfering with governance... You mean that Great Imperial Hope, Shou-san, right?”
“Is that silver-haired big sister someone troublesome?”
“For now, we are still gauging the Zuraburu Great Empire’s next move, so if we take full control of Aurelia Port too openly, it will be problematic in various ways. If they think we still have plenty of spare capacity, they will be wary. And if we export large quantities to the Intercontinental Exchange Alliance from here, the movement of goods will surely reveal that we have the technology to transport massive supplies to remote areas. So, for the time being, we’ll just stare at these documents and look for some tasty fish.”
“I think that’s fine.”
“Yeah! We’ll find them and have Big Brother cook them!”
It seems as long as they can eat, they have no complaints.
Still, if things continue like this, the meaning of having Aurelia Port as our territory will be lost. Yuki is accepting assistance from the Zuraburu Great Empire precisely because of our current personnel shortage, but I wonder what he is thinking regarding future prospects?
I find myself thinking about such things while working on the documents.