<strong>Chapter 21: The Rising Fleet of Peculiar Sailing Ships</strong>
Following the gship<em>Paraiso</em>, the second and third ships rolled out.
“There were no structural issues with<em>Paraiso</em>during its voyage, so we maintained almost the same design. The third ship, however, is equipped with a multi-barreled 20mm machine gun instead of a 150mm smoothbore cannon. Based on local observations, this armament might be more practical.”
“Oh… how magnificent!”
She leaned eagerly over the railing, her excitement clear on her face as she watched the two ships float side by side. One of the humanoid machinemunicators under Ringo’s control quickly grabbed her by the waist.
“Commander Mam, that’s dangerous.”
“I’m fine!”
She thought Ringo was being overly protective again. The deck height was only about two meters, and below was the calm sea. Even if she fell, she could be easily rescued. A little more freedom wouldn’t hurt.
Unaware of how overly enthusiastic and reckless she seemed to those around her, she continued to watch.
“With these ships, we’ll be able to start serious trading soon.”
“Yes, Commander Mam. Once we can secure a steady supply of iron products, stability will increase significantly, allowing us to constructrger vessels.”
At the mention ofrge ships, she turned her gaze toward the offshore area, where arge sailing ship was under construction.
“We don’t have enough steel yet, so we’re using duralumin, right?”
“Yes, Commander Mam. The main structuralponents are designed with duralumin or steel, while basic materials are cellulose-based. For high-stress areas, duralumin is still used. Once sufficient iron is secured, the n is to dismantle and recover the duralumin for aircraft use.”
“Duralumin is best saved for aircraft, after all.”
“Yes. Withrge flying boats, we could greatly increase deployment speed.”
Currently, the fortress<em>The Tree</em>only had a short runway that cut through its interior. Only nespatible with a catapultunch system could be operated, and the runway itself was small, limiting the use ofrger aircraft. However,rge seanes capable of taking off andnding on water could be built on arger scale. While they’d need a loading dock, it would be more feasible than constructing a full runway. That said, building such a dock would also require substantial resources.
“That’ll have to wait until we can secure a steady supply of iron…”
With sufficient iron, they could begin exchanging materials by the ton and build steel-based structures. Installingrge multi-purpose ship-building printers would also speed up construction significantly.
“I’ve prioritized gathering information on iron sources, so I expect to report back soon.”
“No worries, I trust you’ve got it covered.”
Asmander, she made a point of regrly reviewing Ringo’s activity logs to stay informed. Lately, Ringo had been scanning for exposed iron oxide deposits along the coast. If they could locate a ce for open-pit mining, they could deploy an excavation fleet rather than relying solely on trade.
“Also, we’re preparing to withdraw<em>Paraiso</em>. We’ve secured favorable trade terms and obtained various spices and foods.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful!”
After the raid on<em>Paraiso</em>, arge-scale cleanup operation had reportedly taken ce at the harbor. The guild that had meddled with<em>Paraiso</em>had been entirely wiped out. Ringo mentioned they could have pressed for more but had epted the harbor’s show of goodwill, which had been appreciated by the locals.
Still, as a show of force, they had destroyed the enemy guild’s building with a precisely calcted 150mm smoothbore cannon shot. Ringo had carefully aimed, and the explosive shell demolished only the target structure. Fortunately, a prior warning minimized any unintended casualties, leaving only the guild leader affected. Although she had thought it might be overkill, Ringo’s smug demeanor made her quickly brush off any concerns.
The merchant guild leader of Telek Harbor—essentially the city’s ruler—had promised to secure the requested quantity of iron ingots by the next trade. It was clear that “gunboat diplomacy” was highly effective. He’d be even more surprised next time, with their fleet now increased to three ships.
“Once we deploy therge transport ship, our cargo capacity will be three times thebined total of these three ships.”
Therge transport ship prioritized carrying capacity and stability, with a shallow and broad hull. While wind power would be its primary propulsion for now, they nned to switch to hydrogen gas turbines once resources were avable. The hydrogen fuel would be generated by electrolysis of seawater using sr panels.
“We’ll have a full trade fleet soon… and eventually, I’d love to build a battleship.”
“A battleship, Commander? What size?”
“Hm… I don’t know much about it, maybe around 300 meters?”
At her offhanded answer, Ringo paused in thought.
“Understood. We’ll continue<em>The Tree</em>project to make battleship construction possible.”
“Really? I look forward to it.”
Adding a massive battleship to the fleet had now be a goal.
About ten dayster,<em>Paraiso</em>returned safely.
While it didn’te back fully loaded, it carried a substantial haul of iron products, preserved foods, spices, various crafts, and precious metals.
“We secured about one ton of iron, not quite enough for an entire ship.”
“Better than nothing. And we’ll get even more next time, right?”
“Yes. We’ve ced the orders. This time we traded raw thread and cloth, but next time we’ll include dyed fabrics as well. We also obtained several patterns, so it would be ideal to showcase some fashion samples.”
Perhaps due to the ongoing war, their culture seemed somewhat underdeveloped. They had learned that textiles had a market in the capital city.
She mused over the list of clothing and crafts, wondering if this was what “cultural influence” looked like. Lacking any design sense herself, she had no furtherments on the aesthetics.
“Weapons, too, seem to have a high exchange rate. We acquired some of their weapons as well, so we’ll adjust the quality of what we offer ordingly. We told them what we traded this time was our best quality, so slightly above-average mass-produced items should be enough.”
“Yes, Commander. I’ll take care of it.”
At present, she was seated on a table set on the observation deck, receiving refreshments from Ringo. The recently rolled-out humanoid machinemunicators attended to her, creating a scene of leisurely dependence, though thankfully, she was blissfully unaware.
Watching themunicators unloading cargo, she sipped carbonated water through a straw, courtesy of Ringo.
“...Delicious!”
“I refined the sugar we acquired and made soda.”
“...It’s… the taste of civilization…”
As she contentedly mumbled nonsense, Ringo served her sugar-preserved fruit and continued gathering information through the bots, all in pursuit of expanding their menu.
Meanwhile, a fortified fleet set sail from the northern inds.@@novelbin@@
Their destination: the unexplored southern continent.
Though wooden sailing ships, they were optimized for long-distance voyages. Outfitted with thetest magic-powered paddle wheels as auxiliary propulsion, they primarily relied on sails. The fleet consisted of threerge ships, along with two battleships and four cruisers as escorts, totaling nine ships.
Their mission was to investigate the hegemonic nation on the southern continent, based on information from castaways. They hoped to establish peaceful rtions if possible. The inspection of seized vessels suggested that the technological gap wasn’t insurmountable, though the main concern was that their gship battleships couldn’t cover the required range.