Volume 5 - CH 11

Chapter 11 – Cigar*tte 46 Rider and Strategy Meeting

The atmosphere on board the ship heading to Lucca is not pleasant. Is there any better way to get there? Is Lucca safe? There was impatience and anxiety floating around the ship.

I thought about it a lot, and I wondered if it would be possible to escape. I came up with the idea that we might be able to escape. The question was, would it be doable? Even if we could, where would we take the people who escaped? I was not sure about the future.

We discussed this with the members of Girasole, but in the end, we came to the conclusion that without knowing the situation in Lucca, we would not be able to talk about it.

I want to lighten the somber atmosphere as much as possible. I heard that the port was under siege, so I decided to buy a new ship that might be useful. Even if it is not useful, it will relieve some stress.

The price is 81 gold coins or 81 million yen for a powerboat. I will buy a Cigar*tte 46 Rider. If I can drive it well, I will buy two more boats of the same type. If I buy a different one, it might cause trouble…

The Cigar*tte 46 Rider is a powerboat that can go up to 210 km/h on the surface of the water. There were other boats for racing that could do 300 km/h, but I stopped when I saw the numbers. I thought even 210 km/h was unbelievable, but 300 km/h was beyond me.

The port of Lucca is blockaded with warships. There are military ships and magic ships, right? If we can go 210 km/h, we can beat the hell out of a warship, and with this, we can at least scratch around. It can’t be wrong.

If we disguised it as a wooden structure, it would be fine in size, and it would draw attention with its speed, but it would be better than ramming it with the Fortress.

“Everyone, I got a new boat, and I’m going to practice on it. Could you please come out?”

“Master, is it a new boat?”

“Yes, it’s a great boat. I heard that the port of Lucca is closed. If we can master this boat, we can disperse the military ships that are blockading the port.”

“Really? Wataru-san!!”

“Whoa, calm down, Alessia-san.”

“Eh? I’m sorry, Wataru-san.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll summon it, and we’ll give it a try.”

Alessia-san and the others look different from usual. I’m sure they are anxious about it.

“That’s so cool.”

“I think so too, Ines.”

It’s a different color, though

White hull, silver lines. The cockpit is cool, too, like a spaceship? It has a unique coolness. The seats are also black and white, how do you say, racey? But it stands out, so I’ll disguise it as a wooden ship.

“It’s definitely faster than any ship you’ve ever seen, so brace yourself.”

We were divided into two groups, and I taught them how to steer the Cigar*tte 46 Rider. Everyone was surprised at the unprecedented speed. But secretly, I was the one who was the most scared. I was seriously scared.

I teach the four people who like to steer the ship how to steer the Cigar*tte 46 Rider. At the same time, the four who don’t steer the ship are practicing their attacks at speed.

Everyone is ready to sink an Imperial warship. If they attack using the ship I summoned, will I be an accomplice too? I guess I will be, well, I can’t help it.

It seemed okay, so I bought two more boats and re-issued the tickets. By the way, I bought three boats for two white gold coins and 43 gold coins. The level of ship summoning did not go up. I think the amount of money I bought will be covered by the rewards from Girasole, so it should be fine.

The name of the Cigre*tte 46 riders are… I’d prefer the Raider already, but it seems kind of dangerous, so I’m not going to do it… Hmm, name… I guess I’ll go with “Galette,” as it sounds better. It’s the “Galette.”

From that day on, we usually use the Galette when we go on and head for Lucca while training. When we take a break or drive at night, we use the Lutto.

The atmosphere on board softened a little as if everyone in Girasole was distracted by the training. As a result of the blast-off on the Garrett, Lucca came into sight, having shortened the trip from 22 days to eight.

I summoned the Lutto for a strategy meeting in the living room.

“I can’t say for sure since I only saw it from a distance, but there were a lot of ships blockading the bay, weren’t there?”

“I think Wataru-san was right. That means Lucca hasn’t fallen yet.”

A look of relief comes over the members of Girasole. In the meantime, we’re no longer occupied about didn’t arrive in time when we got there.

“We made it in time, but what do we do now? Is it alright if I take charge of it?”

“Yes, Wataru-san is probably calmer since he is not directly involved with Lucca, so I would appreciate it.”

I’m glad to hear that. The current members of Girasole are going to come up with a crazy suicide plan if they are in charge of it. We have a contract that they can’t force me to do anything I don’t want to do, but it’s easier mentally to avoid being the divider than to deny a summarized opinion.

“Thank you, Alessia-san. So, once again, what shall we do now?”

“First, scouting?”

“Yes, that’s right. But it’s tough to scout in the light of day, so if we go, it will be in the middle of the night.”

“Marina and Ilma have good night vision.”

“In that case, divide the group into two groups, one for scouting and the other for standby. The scouting group will approach with two rubber boats and investigate. Marina-san, Ilma-san, and the rest of the people who will assist them. The standby group will stay on the Galette, and if one of us is discovered, we will go and pick up both.

“And the one who has not been found?”

“Yes, either way, we will pick them up on the Galette, and we have to get out of there. We can’t leave them behind.”

“That’s true.”

“You can leave the rubber boat behind. I can repatriate them from afar.”

“I understand.”

“Ines and I will be standing by. Felicia is said to have good night vision, so take her with you. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Understood.”

As a result of the discussion, it was decided that the scouting group would be made up of Alessia-san, Ilma-san, Carla-san, Dorothea-san, Marina-san, and Felicia-san. The standby group would be me, Ines, and Claretta-san.

“It’s mostly decided now, isn’t it? It is a little early, but let’s have dinner. Let’s take a nap and get up in the middle of the night.”

We all set out the food and began to eat. For the time being, everyone’s appetite has returned, perhaps because they are relieved that Lucca is safe for the moment. I seriously wondered if Carla-san had no appetite or if she was okay.

I ate enough food, took a shower, and took a nap.

“Master, it’s about time.”

“Hmm? Oh, okay, thank you, Felicia.”

I go to the living room and find everyone gathered there.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“No, it’s alright. Everyone just couldn’t wait.”

“Thank you very much. Shall we begin?”

Hidden behind the land, I summoned two rubber boats and one Galette. Repatriate the Lutto and summon the second Galette. It’s troublesome to summon a full limit.

“”Then we’ll be off.””

“Take care.”

It’s a rubber boat, so it’s quite a distance, and it’ll take a while. I hope they come back without being found.

“Master, do you think they’ll be alright?”

“I don’t know. It’s different from the usual scouting, so let’s keep an eye on them so we can pick them up when they’re discovered.”

“”Yes.””

How many hours did we wait? I hugged Rimu and Fuu-chan, petting them as I waited. When we got tired of waiting, Alessia-san’s group returned, and about 20 minutes later, Dorothea-san’s group also returned.

The rubber boat is repatriated, and the Lutto is summoned. We gather in the living room and listen to the results of the scouting.

“Alessia-san’s group will start, please. How did it go?”

“Well, there is one large magic ship, two medium-sized ones, and ten small ones. The rest were galleys and many sailing ships. Even at night, all the ships had several lights working, so there were many lookouts. It must be difficult to get through in a rubber boat without being spotted.”

“Well, it would have been nice if we could sneak through in a rubber boat, but I guess it would be difficult. How did Dorothea-san and the others fare?”

“Most of them are the same as Alessia’s group. The Empire was also on the lookout for ships trying to escape or infiltrate the port, and there were a few small magic boats patrolling the harbor area.”

“I see. It seems impossible to sneak in.”

“Yes, we could swim in, but we would be discovered on the way up to the harbor. It would be difficult.”

Eh? It’s impossible to swim, Alessia-san. Even if you had increased your physical strength with the level-up, it would be a daunting task to swim that distance while avoiding the warships.

“If we can’t sneak in, we’ll have to force our way through by ship?”

I wish we could have sneaked in. It’s going to be rough.

“Yes, I think it’s possible with Wataru-san’s ship.”

“May I have a word?”

“What is it? Dorothea-san.”

“Rather than forcefully breaking through, I think it would be better to sink the Imperial ship first. After a forceful breakthrough, the guards will be even more on high alert. And it is easy to be discovered because you have to move around the port and summon a ship to leave Lucca by boat. I think we should stay on the seaside and reduce the number of military vessels during the first round when our presence isn’t known.”

A more wild suggestion came up. What should we do about it? I should have read more war stuff.

“Can a warship be sunk? They seem to have some kind of barrier or something.”

“I don’t know about any other type of ship except for small boats. But if the small-boat-type magic ships, sailboats, and galleys can be sunk, the siege will not be possible. Replenishment may come, but it should take some time.”

“Hmm, I’m curious about the galleys; they are imperial vessels, so it’s likely that they are rowed by beast slaves. What do you think, Dorothea-san?”

“I think you are right, Wataru-san, but I would like to think about Lucca first. I am sorry for the slaves, but I can only hope that as many of them as possible will make it to land.”

“I see.”

Hmm, I’m curious, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I don’t know what kind of command to rescue them, and I guess it’s also no good if we don’t attack the galleys. Because the next time, they’ll be all lined up.

“For now, we have two options: force our way to the gate or attack the warships to reduce the number of ships. That’s the two ideas. Is there anything else?”

If possible, I’d like to see some ideas that we can slip in easily.

“”””””””…..””””””””

No?

“Well then, those are the two ideas. As for me, I prefer the forced entry, as long as all we have to do is ram it, but what are your opinions?”

“I think it is better to reduce the number of warships. Whether defending Lucca or escaping, it is that much easier to move if the port is open, even if we arrive at the gate with a forced breakthrough. It would take a long time to get inside. If the imperial army comes after us, it will be troublesome.”

The other members of the group seemed to agree with reducing the number of ships. We signed a contract that they wouldn’t force me to do anything I didn’t want to do, so I’ll just make a hard breakthrough. And I guess that’s okay. But it’s also troublesome to be chased to the gate. If the later is more advantageous, would the strategy of sinking the ship be better?

But, you know, if we sink the ship, the lord or something will definitely take notice of us. They might ask for unreasonable requests or something. And I’m wondering, don’t the members of Girasole intend to protecting Lucca with all their might?　

I would like to fulfill the requests of the Girasole members if I could. I don’t want to get involved in the war. I have to talk to them properly.

“Umm, I understand. Shall we go with the strategy of reducing the number of warships? But there is something I would like you all to hear. It seems to me that everyone’s purpose is to fight to protect Lucca.”

“Eh? Wataru-san, we want to protect Lucca, though.”

Oh? She is back to her normal Alessia-san. After what happened with Lucca, everyone was in work mode. It’s hard to relax, isn’t it?

“I understand that Alessia-san and the others want to protect Lucca. But the agreement is that if it is possible to defend, we will cooperate on the defensive. If not, then it was to help the people of Girasole, their families, and friends escape, wasn’t it? Am I wrong?”

“No, that’s what we asked you to do.”

“This mission will certainly be effective for both defense and escape, so I agreed to it. But it seems to me that you are deviating from your original promise.”

“Yes.”

“I am not capable of defending a major city. I can not repeat this difficult situation. If we reduce the number of warships in this operation, the lords will definitely take notice of us. I don’t want to be used to protect Lucca at that time. Please keep to the contract properly.”

“Yes, Wataru-san, I am sorry.”

I don’t like it. I’ve lowered the tension among the members of Girasole. But if I didn’t say it, I would have found myself stuck in a war, and I couldn’t help it.

“I’m sorry for interrupting the discussion. Shall we continue with the strategy meeting? We are going to be noticed anyway, so let’s aim for maximum effect.”

The strategy was decided surprisingly easily. At midnight tomorrow, we will each board one of the three Gallete boats. Taking advantage of the ineffectiveness of the other ship’s attack, we will approach the ships rapidly. By attacking the ships at close range, we will make a big hole in one ship and go to another ship.

The first target was decided to be a large magic ship. We can deal with the sailing ships and galleys later. I don’t know if we will be able to defeat them, but we will approach the large mage ship with all three of our boats and focus our maximum firepower on a single point.

If we could sink them, we would continue. If not, we will change the target to a medium-sized magic ship. The order of attack will be large, medium, small, and small boats, and finally, sailboats and galleys.

The groupings are.

Wataru group… me and Ines. Waiting on the Lutto.

Felicia’s group… Felicia and Carla-san.

Alessia’s group… Alessia-san and Claretta-san.

Dorothea’s group… Dorothea-san, Marina-san, and Ilma-san.

As for me, I chose the Gallete because I thought I could scratch around. All the others are going to sink the ship. I wonder if it’s the difference between the otherworlders and the Japanese or if I’m just soft in my thinking?

“Now that we’ve decided on a plan, let’s rest away from Lucca so that we won’t be found bypassing it.”

By the time we anchored at the place we had moved to, dawn had begun to break. We took turns taking showers and falling asleep, pushing away the anxiety of the battle.