76 Episode 75 Weapons and Budget

After finishing my preparations to be away for the trip, I was waiting for the ship to arrive with a few other guild members.

I'm sure the general public hasn't been told that the ship will be arriving today, but judging from the number of spectators, word must have gotten out.

I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of ship it is.

After all, this is a ship that is said to have caused the country to collapse just because the development of one piece of equipment took longer than planned when it was built.

Her name is the Dragon Killer.

The name suggests that it can slay dragons, but in reality, it can only slay sub-dragons with the help of adventurers.

However, it is a ship that can take on dragons without the help of a strong adventurer, so it must be strong.

That's the extent of my knowledge of ships, but I wonder what kind of huge battleship it is.

As I looked at the sea with such expectations, I saw something that looked like a ship around the horizon.

Perhaps this planet is bigger than the Earth, but the horizon seems much farther away.

It looks like a ship is coming into view. Is that it?

"...... I can't see it yet. Colt, can you see it?

I'll ask the chief, but he doesn't seem to be able to see the ship yet.

He's old enough to know better.

Even my eyes can barely make out the ship.

I can't see it either.

No. It's still a long way off.

A young man, who seemed to be one of the higher-ups in the guild, could not see it either.

About 15 minutes later, Mr. Colt spoke up.

Oh, that's it. It's not every day you see a ship without sails that big.

Finally. ...... Do you have good eyesight too?

"Considering the time, I'd say you could see the ship 20 kilometers away. ......

I'm sure you'll be surprised to hear that.

Maybe it wasn't just his powers and magic, but his eyesight as well.

It was another fifteen minutes before the ship arrived.

By this time, people were calling out to each other, and the beach area was packed with people.

I could see the ship perfectly, but it was rather ...... small.

No, it's bigger than the size of a standard ship in this world, and the ship is actually anchored slightly outside the harbor because the harbor is not deep enough.

However, compared to the large warships of Earth, the ship seems small.

The length is probably about 70 meters, and the width is about the same.

Something like a large cylinder piercing the deck is conspicuous.

If that were the main gun, it would have a caliber of over one meter, but firing such a gun at a ship of this size would probably sink the ship itself.

It is still understandable that it is smaller than a battleship, but it is half the length of a modern warship, which has become smaller.

The metal parts that hold the guns in place seem to be far less durable than the turrets of battleships.

In addition, the deck is crammed with a variety of other equipment, and it looks extremely unstable.

If it is not careful, it might tip over just by turning.

It may be managed by magic, but it makes me worry about it.

...... Is that equipment enough?

It seems that my fears were unfounded.

After that, we got on the ship and received an explanation about the ship, and it seems that the ship is equipped with a high performance attitude control magic device.

As a result, the ship seems to be able to maintain its posture to the extent that it does not capsize even when it turns at an angle near the limit of its engines (or other magical devices).

On the contrary, it is said that the high turning ability is one of the strengths of this ship.

And now that the explanation was over, we were getting into the explanation of the anti-aircraft equipment.

There are many flying demons in the area we are going to, so they want to explain it to me.

I wonder if he needs to explain it to me.

"Look, this is the Dragon Killer's most powerful anti-aircraft equipment, the sixty-four anti-aircraft guns!　Its firing rate is 64 shots every 3 seconds, and it can take out most flying demons!　To make this continuous firing possible, an ancient magic tool is used. ......

I see.

And this is the anti-aircraft warding magic tool!　It is the most powerful warding that has never been broken!　Theoretically, it can only be broken by a sublime dragon or dragons.

Amazing. ......

And this is ......

There's some cool weapons here.

After that, six more anti-aircraft weapons alone were introduced.

It seems that the ship is strong and well equipped for anti-aircraft.

It made me feel bad that I had doubts about the specs of this ship until now.

Just as I thought the explanation of these weapons was over, the person who was giving the explanation started walking towards the front of the ship.

Is there more?

And this is the main anti-aircraft weapon of this expedition!　It is the largest of its kind currently in use. ......

"Oh.

It's a wand!　I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that we've got a lot more than just a few of these.

......

Wands?

What's with the wand?

I'm not sure if it has any special features or not.

Yes, it has the ability to super-accelerate magic!

That's just a long wand. ......

You might want to use something else.

Other equipment seems more powerful. Why the wand?

Well, ...... wands are strong too, you know.　In the event that you have a lot of time, you may want to take a look at the following tips. Sometimes you miss and they bombard you. ......

"Is the bombing of ...... going to be okay?

I'm fine.

Are you okay?

I wonder if there's a reason.

Do they just put up wards?

No, we don't use warding as a rule, but the deck and weapons are quite sturdy.

You're assuming you're going to get hit!

Why don't you use the powerful weapons you have?　Why don't you use the powerful weapons you have?

No, it's a ...... budget problem. Basically, we don't want to use it unless it's an emergency. ......

I thought it was a money problem. ......

This ship is very important for our national defense, but we can't use our weapons because of money?

Why don't we get more money for it? There are no other ships that can compete with the Saryong, are there?　If we explain to them that we're in such a bad situation, they might be able to help us.

I'm sure you'll be able to find something that works for you. ...I'm sorry.

What!

The adventurers are the reason we can't move the armaments on this ship!

Don't these greedy adventurers know a little something about consideration?

No matter how much credit they take, the national defense budget is limited, and some adventurers must have taken advantage of it.

It's not your fault, .......

It's the adventurer's fault.

It's not me and it's not him.

...... I don't know why, but it hurts my heart.

It's not my fault.

It's not my fault by any means, but if the reason I can't use my weapon is because of what my peers have done, I'd like to at least make up for it.

Thank you very much.　We'll be entering a sea area full of flying demons in about 10 minutes, so please be ready. 　The flying demons are usually some kind of explosion, so be careful of invisible bombardment.

"Yes, sir. Is it okay if I try out a few shots?

It's a problem if you run out of magic power in the real thing, but I've heard that Kaede doesn't have that problem. There is not a single cost other than the magic power required for shooting, so feel free to test fire.

I understand.

After confirming that the commentator nodded, I immediately began to prepare.

The tip of the cane is placed next to a reclining chair or something like that.

I sat down in the chair and found that I could look up at the sky while keeping my neck in a comfortable position.

The cane was in a good position, and the environment for shooting seemed to be well prepared.

I couldn't find any equipment that would protect my seat from bombing, but I guess that meant I had to protect myself.

With this in mind, I tried firing one of the explosive shells into the sky.

I couldn't see the ...... bullet.

No, I could see it almost like an afterimage, but this is abnormal with my current kinetic vision.

While I'm thinking about this, a bird that looks like an Ixprondr comes into view.

I fired a shot at it, and almost at the same moment as the shot was fired, an explosion occurred around the bird's wings, and the bird fell toward the water.

The distance between us must have been farther than when we fought at Decibatore, but this time I didn't need to set up a barrage.

I wondered if the length of a staff could make such a difference.

A little while later, we seemed to have entered the demon dwellings in earnest, and I was averaging about ten demons per minute.

The number of targets is large, but the number of bullets I can fire is much larger than that, and they never miss.

I can't even call it a battle, it's more like a one-sided annihilation.

In the middle of the game, another wizard came to check on me, worried about the depletion of my magic power, but when he saw the demons being wiped out as soon as I entered his sight, he looked rather sorry for the demons and left.

After about half an hour of such work, the person who had first explained the ship to me walked towards me.

He said, "We're about to make a series of sharp turns, so please be careful. There are many islands in this area, so you may have to make some turns close to the limit.

"Careful of what?

I looked around and saw that there were indeed a lot of islands.

It's going to be hard to dodge them.

But we also have an attitude control system.

It's not like it's a cartoon where the ship is tilted to the point where people are rolling around on it.

The ship will tilt a lot, so don't fall off. Also, the island itself is home to flying demons, so there will be more attacks.

"Oh, you mean that? Then don't worry, I'm ready to go.

I have all my belongings stored in the item box, and there is no way the ship will tip over enough for me to fall.

For a ship of this size, even if it tilted, a plastic bottle would probably roll over at most.

I was so sure of this, but...

But when the island in front of us got a little closer, the boat tilted.

The angle was probably about 30 degrees.

Whoa.

I was unprepared and fell out of my chair.

Thirty degrees is about the angle of an escalator.

If it were a ski resort, it would be classified as an advanced course.

I quickly regrouped, sat back in my chair, and used magic to stabilize myself.

Judging from the fact that the inclination of the ship itself has not changed, the attitude control system must be working well.

I feel that the ship is turning at a huge angle, but I guess that's the way it is.

As expected of a ship whose main selling point is its turning ability, even in another world.

I remember seeing an Osumi-type transport ship on TV a long time ago, and it had an insane maneuver where it made a right-angle turn with almost no turning radius, but this is a turn that surpasses even that.

As I was shooting down the birds, thinking about the maneuverability of this ship, I suddenly felt a vibration in my body with a dull sound.

If my senses were correct, it was probably coming from below.

After a moment's delay, the slope of the ship increased dramatically.

Hey, could it be ......?