Saving 80,000 Gold in an Another World for Retirement

Chapter 250

250 Reports

[……And that would be all.] Mitsuha

[Umu……] King

Ten days after the naval battle.

Currently, in a room in the royal palace.

The reason for the time difference is that it took a long time to move from Count Bozes’ territory. Since I already told them that <Transfer> cannot be used so many times in a row.

I mean, it usually takes that long to get around, so they didn’t have to say anything or even ask about it.

In a rather small room, there were seven people in attendance: myself, the King, the Prime Minister, Marquis Icebringer, the Crown Prince, the First Princess, and the Third Princess, Sabine. Count Bozes did not attend because he’s in his territory.

……While I understand why the Crown Prince is here. It’s meant to be a study for the future, and in case the King got injured or sick, it makes sense for the second-in-command of the country to keep track of everything.

Why are the First Princess and Sabine-chan here for? In case you haven’t noticed, this is a top-secret meeting of the state, you know?

The reason why the king didn’t make a fuss when he heard my report, saying something like <Mitsuha’s life force~>, is because when I was permitted to enter the war beforehand, I explained to him that <it is my duty as a noblewoman of this country>, and he agreed.

…..But I guess the real reason is that Sabine-chan, who was there to witness it, didn’t react to it in any way-…….

Yeah, there’s no way Sabine-chan would tolerate that.

So I think the King was probably aware of it the most…… Of course, the Prime Minister and Marquis Icebringer are also…… Conscious of it.

But no one is trying to bring it up. They know that if it gets out in the open, the nobles and the big merchants will make a big deal out of it.

[So, while we didn’t suffer any damage, we did consume a lot of ammunition……] King

[Yes. But the results were well worth it. A combat ship that has never seen combat is a tiger in disguise. A combat proof, combat ship is a must.] Mitsuha

Yeah, we had a few people on each ship who had been thoroughly trained in the timing of cannon-fire beforehand, and they were given hands-on training by the former crew members who acted as demonic instructors. This is probably the biggest achievement of this time.

……Of course, we were also able to gain a variety of other experiences, such as loading gunpowder and shells just fast enough not to cause an accidental explosion in a rocking ship. Although there was little danger of being hit by enemy shells this time, it was not uncommon for a hand to be crushed in the loading process or blown up in an explosion. There is no such thing as <absolute safety> on a ship in a middle of a battle.

[Anyway, it’s a bombardment battle with about 30 ships each from the enemy and the ally, for a total of over 60 ships. We didn’t care much about the results of the battle, we were just shooting from a relatively safe position……

And that’s just a short skirmish, not a final battle where the two countries get serious.] Mitsuha

[30 ships, each with 1.6 times the number of guns of the captured ship. And it’s just a skirmish?…….] King

Well, I say 1.6 times the number of guns, but only for the newest and largest of the participating ships. There were some ships with 40 guns and some with 32 guns, but there’s no need to mention that.

What I need to emphasize now is that <the enemy is powerful> and <there’s still time to prepare>.

If only the nations of this continent work together.

Then, within a few years, or at the latest within a decade, we will have enough forces to knock out the enemy fleet, exhausted from their ultra-long voyage, so that not a single ship will be able to return home.

……Even if I’m not there at the time.

After the construction of a prototype small sailing ship, the one currently being built is a copy of the captured ship.

After all, since we are inexperienced, the fastest way to make a product is to imitate the actual sample.

So, the hull is copied as is is. As for the sails, they will be ordered from Earth to incorporate the latest designs and use the best materials.

Sails are the lifeline of a sailing ship. Since the hull shape is almost the same, the performance of the sails will have a huge impact on the movement performance.

Of course, only the first ship will use Earth-made sails. From the second ship onward, we’ll make them here in this country. The design will be a copy of the first ship.

It’s no good unless it’s purely domestic. For the first one, though, I’m a little worried about the quality, so I’ll go with earth-made……

Also, when the hull is completed to a certain extent, we are planning to ask an expert from Earth to check the strength of the hull.

If I ask through the government of some other country, we can work it out.

And since that alone is not enough to compete with the ships of the countries of the new continent, they will have to be completed with better armaments.

A rotating turret was a pipe dream. Not only did we not have the power to build one, but we also didn’t even have the power to turn it on.

So, naturally, a fixed gun.

However, it should be a breech-loading cannon with a larger caliber and a solid shell, and it should have rifling in the barrel. The type of ammunition that would be used will mainly be high explosive ones. We don’t need to shoot wooden ships with armor-piercing shells.

……Back on earth, there are armor-piercing incendiary shells that are three times better than individual armor-piercing shells and incendiary shells, but they are a bit over-spec.

With that, we can even hit them like an octopus from outside of its range.

I don’t think we would lose a fight at close range if we approached them. Even if we were outnumbered in terms of guns, if our hit rate and destructive power were superior to them, they would be no match for us.

Perhaps sinking a third of their ships would be enough for a total victory.

And the distance between the Old Continent and the New Continent is too great to bring a large fleet.

If we’re just going to specialize in interception attacks and don’t intend to invade, why not use smaller ships?

No, no, no. A fleet that is clearly not capable of crossing the great ocean will only perish from the elements.

We can always go on the offensive, but the other side can’t come to us, so they will be ridiculed.

That’s why I had to send them a message, <I can come to you at any time and destroy your warships, merchant ships, and turn your port city into a sea of flames with my artillery fire, you know?>.

For that purpose, it would have to be about the size of a 40-gun ship.

So, I’m going to use the 40-gun ship design as our country’s first-class standard.

Later, we’ll consider a smaller ship that is easier to use.

The standard ship system inhibits the advancement of design technology, but our country is far from that level. It doesn’t matter that we are far from being able to design our own or even better ships.

For now, it is much more important to standardize the mass production of those ships with the same performance, which will improve the efficiency of construction, ease of fleet operations, and the ability of sailors to switch to any ship from the get-go, and many other advantages.

The <first-class standard ship> is a long and difficult word, so I’ll have to think of a ship class name……

A sailing ship.

An unsinkable ship that will stay afloat no matter what.

A suitable ship name for it is…….

……Yeah. It should be <Stan Class>! (TN: 『スタン級』sutan-kyū)

And the name of the first Stan ship has to be this one! The <Western Lariat>! (TN: 『ウエスタンラリアット号』uesutanrariatto-gō)

As for the gunboats to be built later, which are small ships with large-caliber guns, should they be called <Hulk-class>? (TN: 『ハルク級』Haruku-kyū)

And the first ship of the Hulk-class will be, the <Ax Bomber>. Objections will not be accepted! Keep it to yourselves! (TN: 『アックスボンバー号』akkusubonbā-gō)

Well, anyway, the naval development was designed to prepare for the worst, but what I’m doing to do was to avoid the worst. The <battle> itself, is my <so-called princess (tentative) strategy> in the new continent. The Rephilia trade, the partner stores in neighboring countries, and the Society, a gathering of noble girls, are all part of that strategy.

In a war, getting information and manipulating it, is very important in the game plan.

Information that is only a few lines of text can be more successful than losing 10,000 soldiers fighting to their death. Information warfare is very cost-effective. You can get the information you need, or you can use it…… to confuse the enemy by spreading false information.

[……Isn’t it about time?] Marquis Icebringer

[Eh, for what?] Mitsuha

Because he asked me so suddenly, I couldn’t help but reply somewhat rudely to Marquis Icebringer!

No, I can’t help it. That’s the way it is! It’s bad to ask someone so suddenly!

[For your delusion time to end, we should continue the discussion…] Marquis Icebringer

[Ah, yeah……] Mitsuha

Then, after talking about various things, the meeting was ended.

Well, this time, the purpose of this meeting is to give my report, not to discuss and decide something…… It’s also true that in this case, His Majesty the King, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and Her Royal Highness the Princess were called as <relatives>…… Well, it’s a place where information was to be shared among well-informed friends, and it’s neither a matter of debate nor dispute. So it’s natural that the meeting ended smoothly.

There will probably be another review meeting or conference based on this information at a later date.

……Of course, that’s between the great people of the country, not me, yeah.

I guess I’ll just leave the new continent alone for a while.

The Vanell Kingdom is in a bit of an uproar right now.

I think I should leave that one alone for a while and wait for the military, the royal court, and the social circles to calm things down……

Oh, of course, I’ll continue to deliver goods to the Rephilia trade and its partner stores in the surrounding countries and to hold tea parties for the Society. I don’t want to cause any trouble to others because of my personal agenda.

I have to fulfill my duty properly.

And the amount of time I get to stay in the new continent has been reduced, accordingly……

Yeah, I have to do the territory thing.

I should be thinking about the development of my territory and the happiness of my people first, but I have so many things on my plate – this country, the new continent, my relatives back in Japan, Wolf Fang, and the countries of the earth – and I haven’t been able to do much about my territory.

I’m sorry to all of the people in my territory.

And so, it’s time to run the territory!!

……There was a time when I used to think like that……

Author’s Note:

From August 28th, the <Rōkin> comic will start appearing on <Comic DAYS> (an online website)!

If you missed it on <Nico Nico Seiga>, you can catch up on it here. (^^)/ (TN: Links are not included, I’m too lazy for that.)