As Yamato and Sayuri had predicted, what Solemn had prepared were iron ships equipped with weapons called cannons, numbering close to thirty.
Were they called battleships?
Normally, they would be a threat, but once you got close, their attack power turned against their allies.
That’s why, for me, who was flying around among the ships, there were only a handful of cannon shots fired at me.
Although, the power was less than I expected, so even if I were to be fired upon by all of them, I’m confident I could melt them all.
Yamato had told me before that cannons were difficult to aim, so if you moved quickly, you wouldn’t be an easy target, and that they couldn’t be aimed upwards due to structural issues, so attacking from above would render them useless, and it was truly as he said.
He also said that besides him and me, no one else could be a weak point.
I had already sunk over twenty ships by creating holes in them with Flare Penetrator and then launching Flare Needles from above.
Yamato had only sunk about fifteen ships because he had to salvage the ships, but even so, he was sinking them one after another using Niflheim and Ice Edge Javelin.
“I-Impossible! To think that the steam battleships secretly developed by our nation could be sunk so easily!”
“So it was a steamship. I thought as much since I saw smoke, but that’s amazing they managed to procure enough fuel to move so many ships.”
Yamato was astounded.
I don’t know what the fuel for these so-called steamships is, but since they are powered by fire, wood is a possibility, right?
However, Solemn’s territory is a desert, so wood is hard to come by.
That’s why Sayuri had also predicted that they would develop ships using iron.
“You know about steamships!? That is a top secret! Even Leonas doesn’t know, so how do you know, you insignificant being!?”
Wait a minute, did I just hear a name I couldn’t ignore?
Leonas, could it be the former second prince of Valentia, Leonas Forest Valiente?
“I see, the fuel source is Valentia. Prim, we’re taking him alive.”
“Please. I can’t hold back.”
“H-Release me! How dare you! Who do you think I am!?”
“Who knows? You’re just an invader.”
“Gyaaaaaaah!!”
With Yamato’s Lightning Band and Arresting, the man who screamed lost consciousness. Afterward, Yamato used the engraving magic Alfheim and Venus to suffocate the crew and then stored the ships in storage.
“That’s more or less finished.”
“Yes. A few managed to escape, but what should we do?”
“We’ll sink them. If we show mercy, Torencia will be in danger.”
“Even though Torencia is a country with no connection to Yamato?”
“There is a connection. Torencia is the mother country of Emperor Hildegard, who is close friends with Prim and Mana. More importantly, guests were involved in its founding. Someone from our homeland helped found it and protected it until death, so that’s enough for me.”
That would be about Kazushi and Yukari.
For Yamato, Sayuri is the only person from his homeland.
Therefore, Yamato respects Souya, who married the five Dragonewts including Kazushi and Yukari, who were involved in founding Torencia, and Shinichi, who was involved in founding the Bacion Empire.
At the same time, he will never forgive anyone who belittles them.
That’s why Yamato was quite angry with Solemn, who was attacking Torencia, a country founded by Kazushi and Yukari.
It’s unfortunate for Solemn to have angered Yamato, but I think we should just let them give up.
“This is the last one. There might be survivors, but it’s okay to ignore them at this point, right?”
“Yes. We don’t know how many there are, and even if we saved them, they would just be used to invade Torencia again.”
Besides, when Solemn occupied the city of Libertà, they massacred all the people in the city, so there’s no reason to save them.
“So, what will you do with him?”
“We’ll have to hand him over to Torencia. However, he definitely mentioned something about Leonas, so we need to find out about his connection to the Anti-Beast King Organization. Emperor Hildegard is there, so she might be able to provide information, right?”
“Yes.”
If Solemn truly has a connection with Leonas, the fall of Valentia might be imminent.
This needs to be reported to Brother Rai immediately, and depending on the situation, we may even have to consider joining forces with the Beast King.
I would rather not, but I still don’t want to see Valentia trampled by Solemn, so there’s no other choice…
“Hmm?”
“What’s wrong… what is that!?”
“The sky… is it cracking? No, it’s a hole!”
As I was thinking that, a part of the sky suddenly began to swirl, and a person appeared from within it.
Her hair is short, but judging from her physique, she’s a woman, right?
“Seriously!”
“Yamato!?”
Before the woman could be slammed into the sea, Yamato caught her with telekinetic magic, then switched to a bridal carry and let out a sigh of relief.
“As expected…”
“Could she be someone Yamato knows?”
For some reason, I instinctively thought so.
“No, I’ve never met her. But this clothing is from my world.”
“So, a guest?”
“Ah. However, I haven’t seen this design before, so I’ll confirm with Sayuri, but I’m almost certain.”
That’s good.
Still, to have a guest appear at this moment…
It was a coincidence that we happened to pass by at this time, but if not, this woman could have fallen into the hands of Solemn in the worst-case scenario.
Thinking about it sends a shiver down my spine, and as a woman, I can only sympathize with her fate. However, it is honest to say that she was lucky to appear before Yamato.
I’m curious about who this woman is, but first, we need to get back to the beast carriage.
Fly Wind can cause irreversible damage to the body if used continuously for a long time, leading to death in the worst case, so it’s difficult to use at times like these.
Being able to fly is grateful enough, but I can’t rely on engraving magic forever, so I should try reciting spells myself.
***
As Yamato
“I’ve never seen clothes with this design. Well, I don’t know all the designs, and I can’t check her belongings without permission, so I can’t be sure, but I don’t think it’s from my era. What about you, Yamato?”
“I haven’t seen it either. But there is something that bothers me.”
Yamato and Prim, carrying the woman, returned to the beast carriage and decided to quickly lay her down in an available VIP room.
Then, I asked Sayuri if she recognized the woman’s clothing, but unfortunately, she said she didn’t.
Oh, by the way, the Solemn soldiers we captured are being tied up and hung on the beast carriage for now.
“What bothers you?”
“About these clothes, the manufacturer’s design on the chest is from a famous manufacturer that sells engraving tools.”
“Is that so? I believe engraving tools became common over 50 years ago from your perspective, Yamato?”
“Yes. However, they used to be ordinary home appliance manufacturers, so it’s a bit difficult to judge.”
Engraving tools started to be widely distributed about 100 years ago.
“100 years is a bit ambiguous. So, it’s a manufacturer that emerged after the war?”
“Probably.”
There’s no other explanation.
This means she was definitely born after the war, but she lived around the same time as me. However, it’s confirmed that time shifts when transferring, so I have no idea what year she was born in.
“Regarding her, we’ll think about it after she wakes up. Ah, but she’ll definitely be confused when she wakes up, so it would be good to have a Human by her side if possible.”
“No, when you say Human, it’s just you, Sayuri, and Meena, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. In that case, Meena, I’m sorry to trouble you, but could you watch over her for a while?”
“Understood.”
“And Marisa, could you help Meena as well?”
“Certainly.”
That’s the only way.
Marisa is a High Vampire, but her ears are hidden by her hair, so she can pass as a pale-skinned woman with prominent fangs.
“Grandmother, can’t we leave this to the butler?”
“Not this time. You see, in our world, there are only Humans.”
“Ah, right. So if we suddenly saw Dragonewts like us or beast races like Prim, we’d panic?”
“That’s right. Or rather, would beast races panic for a different reason?”
“That would depend on the person, wouldn’t it?”
Apparently, there are also kemono fans, but I don’t know what would happen if they actually saw one.
“In any case, let’s continue in the living room.”
“Yes. Meena, Marisa, I’m sorry, but I’m counting on you.”
“Leave it to us.”
I feel bad for Meena, who puffs out her chest, but this time there’s no one else I can rely on.
“We’ll just have to wait for her to wake up. For now, let’s proceed with the Solemn discussion. Yamato, Prim, how was it?”
“It was definitely a battleship. And it was steam-powered, no doubt about it.”
“Steam battleship, huh. This has truly gone too far.”
I completely agree.
To begin with, even battleships were originally made of wood.
But to suddenly see iron ships, and steam-powered ones at that, is beyond the level of the Industrial Revolution.
“I agree. Also, I didn’t count precisely, but it seems there were around 30 cannons, with the larger ships having up to 40.”
“That’s fewer than expected.”
“From what I saw, they could have loaded up to 50 cannons, but they probably took up space for ammunition and fuel.”
There might also be the reason that cannon development hasn’t caught up.
“So? You brought back one prisoner?”
“A name, Leonas, came out of his mouth.”
“Leonas? Could it be Leonas Forest Valiente?”
It seems not just Sayuri, but everyone’s expression changed.
I also didn’t expect to hear such a name here, so it’s only natural.
“I don’t know about that, but I thought the fuel for that ship might have been procured from Valentia, so I asked Yamato to capture him alive.”
“I see. And you were correct. Hilde, I’m sorry, but could I entrust the interrogation to you?”
“Yes, please leave it to me. If the Anti-Beast King Organization of Valentia is helping Solemn, it will be a major issue not only for our country but also for Amister.”
I truly believe that.
After all, Leonas would be relying on Solemn’s forces.
Leonas has no interest in the throne, but he is currently leading the Anti-Beast King Organization, advocating for revenge against his father king and elder prince.
Therefore, he has a just cause to overthrow the Beast King, but the problem is what he will do after overthrowing the Beast King.
Normally, Leonas would ascend to the throne, but there is doubt whether Leonas, who openly claims no interest, will take the throne, and Emperor Reinhardt also said so.
However, if Solemn is involved, it’s a different story.
The option of Leonas handing over Valentia to Solemn in exchange for cooperation in overthrowing the Beast King suddenly emerges.
If that happens, Amister will be sandwiched between Torencia in the north and Solemn in the west, surrounded by enemy countries.
“Seriously, Amister cannot ignore this. If Leonas is truly thinking of something like that, we must consider mobilizing the Order’s Guild immediately.”
“Indeed. Of course, it depends on the interrogation results of that man, but we must inform my elder brother about this immediately.”
“It’s a relief that we can use Alka.”
“Indeed. Yuri, once the discussion is settled, could you inform Rai first?”
“Understood.”
Although winter is approaching, for Amister, this is a matter that requires raising the alert level on the Valentian side immediately.
“In this situation, it’s a big deal for Amister that Yamato and Prim sank the battleship.”
“For Torencia, we are eternally grateful. I watched from above, and to be able to fire so many cannonballs at once, even with the elite of the Saber’s Guild, there would be no way to deal with it from the sea…”
In terms of area-of-effect attacks without magic, it’s currently the best in Helios Orb.
Moreover, it’s a weapon I’ve never seen or heard of before, so it will take time to establish a counter-measure, and there’s a possibility Torencia could fall during that time.
This is undoubtedly technology from Abarisia, but that country truly does nothing good.
“Regarding that, does Solemn know about it?”
“About what? That the steam battleship is technology from Abarisia?”
“Yes. One of the reasons Solemn aims for the unification of the Philia Continent is to counter Abarisia. Therefore, for Solemn, Abarisia is also an enemy country. Yet, to use technology originating from that country without shame…”
Ah, that’s what Lydia’s question is about.
There’s nothing strange about that, it’s quite natural.
“It’s not strange, depending on how they obtained the information.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes. We always gather information about enemy countries, and sometimes that includes information on new technologies. Even if a technology has already been developed in another country, if we can steal and use it, our national strength will increase. Especially since Solemn is a country that will do anything to win, right? I don’t think they have the nerve to feel ashamed of doing something like that.”
In fact, depending on the circumstances under which they learned about the steam battleship, they might even be celebrating having outmaneuvered Abarisia.
But speaking for myself, it’s possible that even the steam battleship is outdated for Abarisia, and I even suspect that they intentionally gave the information to Solemn.
“I agree. Yamato and Prim easily suppressed them, but as long as they can cross the sea, High Class could do something similar, couldn’t they?”
I thought so too.
High Class attacks can easily cut through and crush ordinary iron.
However, it’s a disadvantage against steam battleships because they float on the sea.
To counter them, we would have to send out ships as well, but in a fleet battle, you’d just become a target for the simultaneous bombardment of over 30 cannons, so even High Class couldn’t defend against all the cannonballs.
But if that could be somehow overcome, I think High Class’s attack power and mobility would be sufficient to sink steam battleships.
The most effective method for that would be flying, but even with Helios Orb, Winged Tribes can’t fly, so it’s an impossible task for ordinary humans without wings.
However, I have no intention of spreading Fly Wind, so it feels like we’re at a standstill for now.
Over 50 steam battleships have been sunk or captured, so it’s a major blow to Solemn, but it’s not like they can’t build replacements.
It will take time, of course, but they are probably building ships, so we can’t be too optimistic.
We need to find a way to deal with this as soon as possible.
