第１９０９堀：色々ぶっ飛ぶ計画には大事な２人 (Part1)
Side: Ratz
My brother arrived, and after hearing his story…
"…Warships, battleships?"
"You're against it, then?"
"No, based on what you've told me, I understand the need for a shipyard. Right, Eris?"
"…Yes. Of course."
Eris, who was listening with me, didn't look much better than I did.
Well, it's only natural.
And my brother understands the reason why.
After all…
"Well, I understand how you feel. I can cover the steel and other material costs with DP, but it still uses DP, you know. I'll cover the labor costs, and I'll be releasing funds."
That's exactly right.
It's not something that can be done with a simple "yes, here you go" just because he said he'd do it.
It literally requires an enormous budget and resources.
At a time when I'm incredibly busy negotiating with this new continent.
No, it's necessary, isn't it?
If we're going to continue operating a fleet, it's absolutely essential.
We've only operated them locally until now, managing with just underwater maintenance.
Of course, he seemed to have been doing some level of automatic maintenance within his item box, but I knew it was impossible to operate solely with that.
So, his proposal feels like we're finally turning our attention to something we've been avoiding.
"The amount of money and resources involved made me hesitate a bit, but it's a necessary undertaking."
"Yes. I was surprised too, but it's necessary. However, we can't authorize this ourselves. You know that, right?"
That's right, just because we agree doesn't mean permission will be granted.
Well, when a matter is brought to us, it often means the higher-ups have already been consulted, so our approval might be enough…
"I know. This time, the scale is immense. I thought having Eris and Ratz's approval first would help push it through."
"As I thought. Well, I understand how you feel."
"Indeed. Even a rough estimate would easily blow away one-twentieth of the national treasury or DP reserves. Or rather, do you have the documents for the facility and other estimates?"
"Narjia is currently compiling them, and she wants us to omit anything strange."
"Ah."
I see. That's why you brought this to us first.
Narjia is arguably the best blacksmith and metallurgist in Weed, but when it comes to creating peculiar weapons… no, the finest weapons, she doesn't hold back on money or resources.
Well, the materials required for a single person are not that much, and since Narjia makes them almost single-handedly, it hasn't been much of a problem. However, with ships, especially warships, it's not just the materials, but also the blacksmiths, the people to handle miscellaneous tasks, and the various contractors involved.
Considering their labor costs, Narjia might come up with an absurd estimate.
She wouldn't normally do that, though.
"I understand what you're saying. I'll make sure Narjia doesn't indulge her personal tastes."
"Indeed. However, if there are things where it's difficult to determine necessity, I'll contact you."
"Ah, of course. Contact me anytime. Also, regarding the ship's structural explanations, Yayu is the most knowledgeable among us, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask Yayu."
"Eh?"
Yayu, who was suddenly mentioned, was surprised, but what was said was not wrong.
While she's an expert at operating ships, she's also thoroughly studied their structures.
Like Dressa and Hiiro, she's not only capable of repairing ships but has also memorized navigation methods.
"Ah, that's true. Yayu is indeed knowledgeable about ships."
"I'll be counting on you if anything comes up."
"Ah, yes. I'll do my best to help."
With that, we took a break and had some tea.
"However, I thought you, Yuki-san, had been avoiding producing modern weaponry until now."
Eris brought up the topic.
Indeed, up until now, all modern weapons, like guns, were produced from DP for their maintenance methods, tools, and the weapons themselves.
In other words, Weed hadn't been producing them on its own.
Well, to be precise, it was that they *couldn't* be produced.
Weapons requiring such precision couldn't be made.
The best we could do was matchlock firearms.
That's why at Sea Siphon, where Menou is, they've been replaced by magic guns.
They're convenient as simple weapons that anyone can use to cast magic.
The power of magic also offers more variety than a single lead ball.
But that's beside the point. As for my brother's thinking…
"This time, it's more about producing vehicles than weapons. The weapons mounted on the battleships will also be primarily Narjia's custom creations, not modern weapons."
"Oh, is that so?"
I had assumed they would be mounting cannons or something similar.
"So, their performance won't be as high as the aircraft carriers and destroyers you're currently using?"
"Well, that's probably true at first. However, we'll be improving them over time, and there are ships tailored to this world. While Earth's warships might have high performance, they aren't perfect against monsters. In fact, we're already installing systems that generate magic barriers."
"I see. High performance and usability in this world are different things, aren't they?"
"That's right. Many of the warships Luna gave me are linked to satellites. Interception and detection using radar are also limited to physical objects."
Hmm, hmm.
Indeed, hearing it now, there seems to be a lot of room for improvement.
However, their performance is enough to overcome such disadvantages.
"Before, and even now, there's been technological development suited to this world. Like the effective utilization of magic."
"I see. That's certainly true."
"Indeed. We can use electricity, but for versatility, magic is still superior."
After all, you don't need to prepare generators.
With magic stones or processed magic stones that can store magic, anyone can store and utilize magic.
Well, the condition of preparing generators is the same, but familiarity is different.
We have to consider those aspects as well.
However…
"I understand that magic is convenient, but does that mean you're abandoning the spread of electricity?"
"No, it's more like both. With magic, it depends on the individual. To compensate for that, electricity is still better."