CH 327

“Th-This is……”

I blindfolded him, put him in a rental car, took him around for a while, then pulled his hand, walked for a while, then finally, we transferred.

When the blindfold was removed, the old ship engineer saw a sailing ship under construction.

The total length is around 20 meters.

In modern times, large container ships are over 300 meters long, and tankers are over 400 meters long. The Queen Mary 2 is 345 meters long, and the Battleship Yamato is 264 meters long.

Although smaller than those, it is still about the same size as the Santa Maria, the largest of the three ships used by Columbus.

…And even though it’s the same sailing ship, it’s pretty shabby compared to the 110-meter Nippon Maru II.

Still, it’s too big a hurdle for those who have built only something that resembles a fishing boat to build them, relying only on actual samples and the structural drawings of Earth’s sailing vessels that I brought with me.

Some survivors of the expedition fleet are shipwrights and became naturalized citizens of our country, but they only know about emergency repairs and are not involved in the design or construction of sailing ships.

That’s what I’m hoping this old former sailing ship engineer can do about it…

Oh, and blindfolding him and taking him around for a walk doesn’t really mean anything when transferring.

I just downplayed it as “transferring while moving around” to disguise my ability.

It’s one thing to be able to easily teleport from anywhere, and quite another to have to go to a specific place to do so.

When it comes to the latter, there are many possible patterns, such as the need for some kind of large-scale mechanical equipment to make the transition, or from a dimensional hole that was created by accident.

Well, if the talk goes well and they agree to come often, I’ll tell them I can transfer from anywhere with my ability because it’s troublesome to spend that much effort every time…

It’s better not to give out accurate information until they sign a non-disclosure agreement.

“……Please, this way.”

And so we went inside the large prototype sailing ship under construction.

“This is…”

From the words of the workers who approached me and my reply to them, he knew that the language spoken here was not the one he knew, and from the lack of electricity, power tools, lighting, the quality of the workers’ clothes, the tools they were using, and various other things, the old engineer seemed to have some idea of what was happening.

“…Are you for real? Not a wealthy country or local government using the current shipbuilding technology, but you’re seriously going to build it with this kind of knowledge and technology? Insanity. They’re making a sailing ship… with what they have… even risking their lives…

Ah, you can’t do it like that!

It’s fine if it were a smaller one, but with this size, it wouldn’t be strong enough!

You’re trying to make this kind of ship, yet you don’t even know the very basic things, that’s crazy!” (Old Man)

Ah~ well, yeah, it makes you wonder…

I’m sure he guessed that this is “not Earth” from what he’s seen so far…

“I’m using a captured enemy ship as a model and making a dead copy.

This country’s inherent technological capability is limited to building a wooden fishing boat with a total length of about 6 meters.

We have built one prototype small sailboat, but it’s an amateur’s work, with many defects and leaks.

I will take you on a tour of the prize ship that was used as a model and the small prototype ship later.” (Mitsuha)

“…Gufu…”

Eh? I have no plans to install a mobile suit, you know?

“Gufu fu, gufufufufu……, fu~a ~hahaha ~a!

Are you stupid? Are you all stupid? A bunch of amateurs suddenly decide to build a 20-meter class carrack ship!

Are you idiots? You’re all a bunch of fools!” (Old Man)

He went wild…

“Leave it to me…” (Old Man)

“Eh?” (Mitsuha)

“I’m telling you to leave it to me! Damn it! I’m already retired and have too much free time, yet you’re dangling this interesting-looking toy in front of me…

So, who can translate?” (Old Man)

“Ah, yeah, the local language here and the enemy language are different… The shipwrights and some of the workers are former crew members of the captured ship who are naturalized citizens of this country… and the only ones who understand English are me, one of my vassals, and Her Royal Highness the Third Princess of this country.” (Mitsuha)

“Bah… can you even make the princess interpret for the rough-and-tumble shipbuilders!?

So, you and your vassal, the two of you…

…Wait, “My vassal”, you say?… What the… no way, Missy…” (Old Man)

“Yes, I’m a noble, in case you’re wondering… I am the lord of the Viscount territory, which is adjacent to the Marquis’s territory here.” (Mitsuha)

“Geh! Please forgive me for all the rudeness I’ve had up until now…” (Old Man)

“Ah, that’s fine, that kind of thing. Nobility is just a thing in this world.

Old man, the relationship between you and me is from the otherworld. In other words, it’s only ‘between civilians’, ‘an old man’s friend’, and ‘your granddaughter’s friend’!…” (Mitsuha)

“…Oh, oh. That would be a great help. Okay, let’s go with that.” (Old Man)

Yeah, he switched fast.

“Now then, I’d like you to sign a formal contract for a proper job. With a non-disclosure agreement.

Contract details will be discussed later. The work includes general supervision of the site, pointing out improvements, checking the design, and much more.

Especially when it comes to hull strength, stability, speed, and maneuverability. You can think of yourself as the chief executive and final decision maker.” (Mitsuha)

“…In other words, I can do whatever I want?” (Old Man)

“Yes.” (Mitsuha)

“……This is getting more interesting…

Say, Missy. There’s a couple of guys I’d like to talk to…” (Old Man)

“If you’re recommending them, they must be skilled, well-spoken, trustworthy people then, right?” (Mitsuha)

“Obviously!” (Old Man)

Are you the guy who’ll bring the three musketeers of shipbuilding?…

“Okay, approved!… Oh, do you have any contacts for where to get canvases? Also, non-electrical tools for shipbuilding and such…” (Mitsuha)

“Leave it to me!” (Old Man)

Alright, now we can move forward with the plan to build a new sailing ship.

No, there have been a lot of problems, and we’re way behind schedule.

No matter how many actual samples and earth documents were available, it was too much for a group of amateurs, indeed.

Let’s leave the rest to the three musketeers of shipbuilding.

I’m busy with a lot of things, so I guess I’ll have to leave most of the translation work to Colette-chan…

Kind of a bit too much work for a 9-year-old, I guess.

But, well, a child of that age is already counted as a splendid labor force around here…

If she’s a town kid, she might not be doing hard labor like helping with housework or family business, but in the countryside, she’s forced to do a pretty tough job.

As expected, even the lords can’t interfere that much. The town kids, rural kids, fishing village kids, and mountain village kids have different jobs…

As a feudal lord, the best I could do was send them to school but only in the morning once every two days.

Well, while the old man is talking to his acquaintances and arranging tools, the next step is to go to the new continent…

I’m really busy because I’m doing things here and there at the same time.

Compared to working for a black company in Japan, they might say I’m having it too easy…

On the other side of the New Continent, I’m doing many things, such as exchanges with nobles, businesses, and the Society, but all of these are just milestones, sowing the seeds for the future.

They think of my home country as a small, insignificant country, and consider my activities as a preparatory step before starting a trade as a country. They want to make a lot of money when they officially start trading. I am grateful to all the aristocrats and merchants who have been providing me with all kinds of favors.

Taking advantage of this, I slowly and steadily spread Viscount Yamano’s influence and established a route to obtain information.

And the wives and daughters of those at the center of the country are made into sympathizers of mine and Micchan’s by cosmetics, food, society group, juvenile group, etc.

The members of the society and the juvenile group are children who will become wives of high-ranking nobles and royalty in the future.

Considering the marriage ages of the nobles, it’s not surprising that by the time the next expedition fleet is planned, some of them will already be the wives of heirs. In fact, many of the children are already engaged.

I’ve made a lot of acquaintances and friends on the new continent, too.

Hopefully, we can start diplomatic relations on equal footing without a real war…

The fact that our country and the Vanell Kingdom are currently at war, but the people in this country don’t know that, so, well, it’s probably going to be okay, I guess.

However, in order to interact on an equal footing, equal power is necessary.

If a weak man wearing expensive jewelry approaches an outlaw saying, ‘Let’s get along’, he will get mugged and pushed off a cliff.

For countries to have equal relations with each other, they need equal national power and equal forces. In this kind of social level, in this kind of ethical level world.

Well, as long as I am alive and well, I will make it work.

Looking to the future, let’s take it easy…