第１９４７堀：荒野試験開始 (Part1)
**Chapter 1947: The Wilderness Trial Begins**
**The Wilderness Trial Begins**
**Side: Hiiro**
"Uh... why, exactly?"
Hiiro couldn't help but mutter the words.
*“Why? Well, we’re operating a prototype warship, so naturally, we need a warship pilot, don’t we?”*
"No, yeah. Even Hiiro understands that, but..."
I thought I’d been summoned to the wilderness at Onii-sama’s request, only to find a land battleship sitting there, waiting for me to climb aboard and drive it. Anyone would react the same way.
"Even Hiiro thinks this is completely insane."
*“...I can’t exactly deny that. Still, you knew that if it were Firia and the others, they’d go through with it, didn’t you?”*
"Mmm. Honestly, I thought it would take much longer."
It was far too unexpected, even for me. Onii-sama had looked so grim, which just goes to show how much of a shock this development really was.
*“Me too. But the vessel is here, and we need to coordinate with the other two ships to gather data quickly and make adjustments. You heard the report, didn’t you? About the situation in the north, in Ioa.”*
"I heard. The monsters are pushing in harder than we anticipated. Though, it’s strange how they’re committing their forces in such a piecemeal fashion."
They taught us that trickling in your forces just leads to them being whittled away. Even so, it seems the interception efforts are succeeding for now. The real problem is just how vast the enemy's total strength actually is.
*“Exactly. If they wanted to break through, they could have gathered all the forces they’ve sent so far—even the ones we’ve confirmed exceed a thousand. And that’s not counting the ones that arrived before Viria and her group. If you consider that, there were probably ten thousand. It would have been much better for them to commit them all at once, but...”*
"Right. And since it would be bad if such a massive army actually showed up, that’s probably why they built these land battleships."
*“Indeed. A true battleship of the land. A moving fortress. You couldn't ask for a better ally.”*
Yeah, just as Dore-onee-sama said, once these land battleships are officially deployed, they’ll be able to kick the enemy to the curb. I only had to glance at the specs to realize that.
"...Though, it’s worrying that the onboard weaponry is still under construction."
*“That is... well, yes. Let’s just trust that Yuki and the others will keep things under control. And us, too.”*
"Hiiro can't control those Onee-samas."
I’m stating that for the record. You can’t stop those manufacturing-crazed maniacs.
As I was thinking that:
*“Um, excuse me for interrupting your chat. Why exactly am I the captain and helmsman?”*
A transmission came in from Yayui-onee-sama, who was stationed on the second ship.
Yeah, that’s right. For some reason—well, it’s appropriate, but still—Yayui-onee-sama had been put in charge of the second ship.
*“Yayui, you’re the best at driving this kind of vehicle, right? That’s why they want you to push it to its performance limits.”*
*“...Are you really going to make me do this?”*
That’s right. Yayui-onee-sama is scheduled to whip the land battleship around at near-maximum capacity. All for the sake of support and monitoring, of course.
*“Of course! With Yayui-san’s skills, I’m sure you could even make it fly!”*
*“No, Narjia-san. This is a land battleship, isn’t it?”*
*“It uses a magic barrier to hover, so you could say it’s already flying, but if you want to go higher, the engine output isn’t enough. So that part is up to you, Yayui-san!”*
Yeah, you really can’t stop Nar-onee-sama. Asking a 200-meter-long behemoth to fly? I’m pretty sure it would just break upon landing.
*“...Anyway, the test parameters have been sent to Yayui, so please prioritize completing those.”*
*“Yes. Understood.”*
*“And Narjia-san, please leave anything not on the list for later. And remember, safety comes first.”*
*“I know, I know. You don’t have to tell me—I’ve already taken that into account!”*
Nar-onee-sama replied lightly to Dore-onee-sama’s warning. I can’t trust her at all. I mean, she probably isn’t lying about the safety or the test parameters, but...
*“You all sound lively over there. Just don’t push yourselves too hard.”*
"Ah, Enola-onee-sama. Hey there. How’s your first time as captain going?"
A transmission came in from Enola-onee-sama, who was aboard the third ship. Why someone like her was on the ship, you ask...?
*“Nothing special. Though, I’d like to say that, but it’s nerve-wracking when you’re the one moving it. If I break it, who knows what will happen...”*
*“Ahaha, don’t worry about it, Enola. If anything, I’d almost want you to crash it. It’d serve as a durability test.”*
Ignoring Enola-onee-sama’s concerns, Agil-onee-sama, who was aboard with her, sounded just as excited as Nar-onee-sama. I’m sure she’s genuinely having fun.
*“Well, it’s impossible to tell you not to be nervous, but for Enola, the test is to see if an amateur can operate it. Whether the manual is adequate. And whether an amateur captain can fulfill the role. It wouldn’t do if you were too competent, you know?”*
Right. The test is to see if Enola-onee-sama can move it despite being a novice. And regarding the command of the ship—since Enola-onee-sama is one of the executives, she’ll have to take command in an emergency, so this is a test for that as well.
*“When people expect you to fail, it just makes you want to do it perfectly.”*
Yeah, I get that. When someone tells you to fail, you get stubborn and refuse to do so.
And so, we’re gathering data using Hiiro’s "veteran" status, Yayui-onee-sama’s genius, and Enola-onee-sama’s amateurism. Since the three of us have different skill levels, we should be able to get varied data even from the same tasks.
Though, usually, you’d run these tests hundreds or thousands of times to get accurate data, but it doesn’t look like we have that kind of time.
"That is fine as it is. Though, I suspect that since we are doing this so many times, failure is inevitable~."
And, supporting the two captains in their data collection—or rather, since the developers are here, they are naturally on the battleship as well. That would be...
*“You talk a big game, Firia. Just watch.”*
"I am watching~. This is important data. I’m looking forward to seeing Enola-onee-sama drive."
That’s right, Firia-onee-sama is aboard my ship. Dore-onee-sama is currently on standby at the port town of Glass, just in case something happens.
So, Hiiro and the others are taking turns, conducting driving lessons for the land battleship while simultaneously gathering data.
"I mean, being handed a thick instruction manual yesterday afternoon and told to memorize it for a field test today is just unreasonable, right?"
"It is fine. Whether or not you can operate it on such short notice is also part of the research."
It’s no use. It’s pointless to argue. She has that look on her face—the one that says she’s going to turn everything into fuel for her research.
"Well, Yayui-onee-sama already moved it to some extent at the shipyard’s test site, so we’ve confirmed that the basic operations are fine."
"In other words, if it doesn’t move, it’s Hiiro and the others' fault, huh?"