第１９１０堀：船をどう使おうか？ (Part1)
"Ah, you're already here," I said, having been summoned by Yuki to the Weed military conference room.
However, it seemed I wasn't the first to arrive.
"I just got here myself, about a minute ago," replied Fiora. She wasn't part of Weed's military, but rather commanded the fortress on the southern front of the new continent.
"Is that so? But Stasia should be here soon too, right? I understand it's an important discussion to gather the military, but is it alright to leave your command?"
"Regarding the southern fortress, Tori is there, so it should be fine," Fiora said.
Hmm. Tori. Well, she is capable of command. It's easy to forget since she usually works as a police officer, but she's the type who can act as a general in times of crisis. So, yes, there shouldn't be any issues.
"In that case, I'm more worried about Stasia. It seems she has negotiations with the northern town as well."
"Yes. She shouldn't be able to leave easily..."
"Ah, that's not a problem."
Speak of the devil, Stasia entered the room. "Who is covering for you?"
"Enola. She's highly regarded by the demi-humans in the northern town. Plus, Eigil is back from his southern survey and is providing support, so it's fine."
"I see. But Eigil?" Fiora asked. "I heard this meeting was about explaining new weaponry, is that alright?"
As Fiora said, we were told that this gathering was to explain new weapons that Weed planned to handle. It was a bit strange that Eigil wasn't present for that.
"Regarding that, Eigil's role is primarily as a researcher for this matter, so the explanation will be at a later date. In fact, he's on the development side of the weaponry, so he won't be here."
"I understand." Indeed, Eigil's strengths lie more in research than as a general. He's definitely meant to be the one explaining, rather than receiving explanations with us.
As we were discussing this, the conference room door opened, and Yuki entered with her attendants, the Profs, and Narzia.
"Everyone's here. Sorry for being late."
"No, it's not time yet," I replied.
"Yes. You're right on time."
"We were just chatting, so no problem at all." We responded to Yuki's words. We didn't feel like we were actually late.
However...
"It's been a while since I've seen Lia helping out by Yuki's side like that."
"Right? But she's really useful."
"Yes, I can see that." The clumsy, flustered movements from when she first started were gone. Now, she was a capable aide supporting Yuki. Originally, she was assigned as a bodyguard using her specs as a hero, but through her experiences, she could now act as a general and handle some political interactions.
"You've become quite accomplished."
"You sound like a mother! Deryu is the same way."
"That's understandable. Lia was originally a village girl, you know? And now she's not only Yuki's secretary but also a bodyguard, a commander, and even handles political and management decisions." She might even have skills that surpass mine. That's how much she's grown.
"I know, right~. Lia was scared to even hold a sword at first~. I was worried if she could even use a gunsword~," Narzia said, placing her documents on the table. She had known Lia longer than I had. In fact, she knew her from when Narzia first came to Weed.
"Wait a minute. Anyone would be scared to wield Narzia's weapons, wouldn't they? Especially a novice," Lia protested.
" " "That's true." " " We all nodded. After all, they explode, don't they?
As we were chatting like this, Yuki seemed to have finished her preparations.
"Well then, let's get to the main topic," she said, gathering our attention. The preparations, with the Profs' help, were quickly done, and she had documents in hand.
"I told Jessica and the others it was about new weapons, but in detail, it's about the production of warships."
" " "Warships?" " " Stasia and Fiora's voices overlapped in surprise.
"Are the two aircraft carriers, destroyers, and Aegis ships we currently operate not enough?" Frankly, I thought we were already short on personnel to operate them.
"That's part of what we need to discuss and align our understanding on," Yuki explained. She began to explain why the decision was made to produce warships. The reason was quite simple.
"Now that you mention it, I completely overlooked maintenance and repairs," I admitted.
"And we didn't consider what would happen if we lost them," Fiora added.
"We just didn't think those warships could be sunk," as Fiora said, I didn't think those iron ships could sink so easily. Even for us, sinking them would be difficult. Especially with external attacks, even with the Narzia equipment we possess, it would be challenging. After all, all warships are equipped with magic barriers. They're impervious to ordinary attacks. Because of that, we believed those warships wouldn't sink.
However, ships can be lost for reasons other than combat. Storms, accidents – we know from knowledge that ships can be lost in such ways. Moreover, the Seedragon, who has become our ally, has testified that there are incredibly giant monsters in the sea. Honestly, it's on a level beyond my comprehension, but if such things exist, then no matter how much force we have, it's understandable that we need a place for production, not just maintenance.
"Well, it's flattering that you trust us that much," Yuki said.
"However, I have a question about what you just said. If this is about warship production, shouldn't we have spoken to the Navy first?" As Stasia said, it was natural to prioritize Dressa and the others who lead Weed's Navy over us for explanations about warship production.
"Ah, we've already spoken to them. And they've already begun selecting locations for warship development."
"I see. So Dressa and the others have already agreed and are taking action. And we are here for the explanation."
"Well, gathering all of Weed's generals carries a high risk," Yuki said. Indeed, while we weren't necessarily busy, it was natural that if those in command of various regions left their posts, there would be delays in response. It was natural to avoid that.