155. Search Operation 3
Then we headed for the rescue fleet whose position has been confirmed.
At this point, the position, course, and speed of the rescue fleet have already appeared on the radar screen, so it"s almost straightforward. Because it"s already straight ahead, I can transfer this plane to the expected position of the rescue fleet save some time.
"Warp!" (Mitsuha)
Although the position is slightly off, of course, there are no problem because the location of the 3 ships were shown on the radar.
The plane went over the fleet in the alt.i.tude where the engine sound can"t be heard from the surface.
"How"s state of the crow"s nest?" (Mitsuha) (Note: Crow"s nest)
"There seems to be one watchman" (the Lookout)
To my question, the lookout confirmed with a binocular and reported the state to me.
"Roger that. Proceed to phase 3!" (Mitsuha)
With that said, I reviewed the steps in my head.
Transfer to the crow"s nest, take the watchmen to the deck, transfer back to the crow"s nest. Do it quickly, before the watchmen have the chance to react.
Alright, let"s go!
Then I removed the headset, again.
"Transfer!" (Mitsuha)
"Uwaah!!" (the watchmen)
He was on the crow"s nest, but suddenly appeared on the deck. Of course he would be surprised.
And now I"m taking the place where he was in.
Right, the transfer was successful.
There"s no problem with the kinetic energy of the flying plane due to the inertial cancellation during the transfer. In other words, the transfer can be carried out without the need to counter that energy.
And it seems that I also can apply a certain amount of kinetic energy during the transfer. In other words, I can match the kinetic energy of the flying plane during the transfer so that I won"t be tossed around due the inertia difference between me and the plane.
…how does it work? I don"t know! The part of [it] is fused with my brain and directly reading my mind! The details are remained unknown…
I grabbed the megaphone after seeing the fl.u.s.tered watchmen on the deck. And…
[Hear me!] (Mitsuha)
Umu, the sudden appearance of the watchmen, who"s supposed to be on the crow"s nest, on the large, messy deck is not that noticeable, so it didn"t cause a fuss. But, if they heard the voice of an unfamiliar girl from the crow"s nest, echoing from one end of the ship to the other in a strong sea breeze, then the situation would be different.
A big fuss on the deck.
It"s troubling if I were to be mistaken as a monster or a devil and be shot by a gun, so let"s talk quickly.
[Brave sailors. I shall inform you that the crew of the 40-guns ship [Eras] are still alive! Go save your friends! Turn the course 13 degrees to the right!] (Mitsuha)
" " " " "Uooooo!!!" " " " " (sailors)
"It"s the G.o.ddess! The G.o.ddess has made her appearance to save the crew of [Eras]!" (the watchmen)
Umu.
The Watchmen is deeply religious.
A great power that cannot be compared to their own power.
Deep and mysterious sea. Storms. Underwater monsters. And battle with the enemy.
There"s no way they can bear the stress of dealing with such things every day without having a faith to rely on the existence of G.o.d. And praying to the G.o.d is free. Except for the donation money that the stiff church stretches.
Thus why, there"s nothing wrong with such beliefs. Above all, it is a good thing if it gives you peace of mind. And thus why, there are many religious sailors.
Besides, no matter how rustic a man is, he will be naturally religious if he stands on the watch and stares at the sea in the middle of the night.
The ocean that extends infinitely. The breaking waves. The pale light of the bioluminescent planktons.
An unimaginable fantastic beauty.
And the excitement you got from the hallucinations you occasionally see, the dream of dozing off during a lookout, and the reality you can"t discern even if you remember later.
It"s understandable if he"s this religious.
…or so it seems. I heard it from my brother.
In front of such sailors, a girl who suddenly appeared on the crow"s nest claims to be a [the G.o.ddess" envoy], and they think of her speech as a matter of fact…
Right, that"s how it is.
And I don"t know if the captain ordered it or if it"s the helmsman"s arbitrary decision, but it felt like the ship had turned a little. A hand-held compa.s.s… the one for orienteering use. It"s not the magnetic needle one, it"s a disk-shaped thing floating in oil one, a cool-looking thing with something like a magnifying lens. (Note: Something like this)
Oh, Soldier-kun will be elated if I give this thing to him… tte, scratch it, it"s obviously no good, he"s going to ask 10 more of these thing…
When I check the compa.s.s, it looks like the direction is changing. They seem to trust me, for the time being.
Huh? They raised the signal flag…
Hmmm…. It seems that they trying to say [Follow Us], tte, the other 2 ships are moving in a row with this flagship, aren"t they supposed to accompany this ship until they reach the destination area?
Hmm, maybe they were happy that they received the G.o.ddess oracle and trying to convey [Everyone, follow me!], something like that?
Well, whatever.
Ah, if you"re wondering how can I read the signal flag, well, just how many Navy soldiers do you think I have talked to? Besides, that is also treated as a [Language].
Alright, with this the distressed ship [Eras] and the three ships in this rescue fleet, four in total, will be devoted to the [G.o.ddess]. And the fact that the rescue, which was almost hopeless, was successful and there are four ships worth of witnesses, the upper one has to admit this miracle.
Or rather, they would spread the fact that the G.o.ddess is protecting the Royal Navy of Vanel Kingdom and raise their national power. Well, it will be a powerful weapon against the people and other countries.
Perhaps, they can strengthen their position against the army and seizes more budget. Huh? Did I just do something unfavorable towards Marquis-sama and the army faction?
However, in the case of emergency, it is a steady sowing to increase the number of Navy soldiers who believe in the G.o.ddess" oracle and perhaps they can be my ally. Alright, let"s work hard and steady.
It"s not steady, you say? Well…
…tte, Aaaah!! If the navy has more influence than the army and they can get more budget, isn"t that means the Navy"s strength will be increased and the scale and frequency of overseas expansion, and eventually ocean exploration voyages will also be increased? Did I just speed up the return of the exploration fleet to our country? Aaaaaahh d.a.m.n it! what a blunder!
No no no no, it"s not the time to panic yet.
Hiiii~ Huuu~, Hiiii~ Huuu~…. (Inhale exhale SFX)
Alright, let"s prepare to withdraw!
[I will visit you again for the fine correction of the course. May it serve the mission to save you friend. Farewell!] (Mitsuha)
Alright, transfer!
This time, I was safely appeared on the seat without any incident. Let"s wear the headset right away…
"The mission is complete. As scheduled, we will conduct a research flight in the remaining time" (Mitsuha)
Then, after receiving the acknowledgment from the captain and the pilot, I transferred the plane.
Right, we will fly over the old continent with the remaining fuel. A different direction from the previous exploration. This way, I can go abroad for some business with ease.
Since the cruising speed is around 800 km/h, we can cover the distance that would take about 20 - 27 days for a carriage that can travel only 30 - 40 km per day in just one hour. With this, if we can fly for a few hours, it would be awesome….
Alright Go-Go!!
And we safely landed on the base.
"Thank you very much! Well then, I"ll see you the day after tomorrow" (Mitsuha)
“Yes, we are waiting for you” (the diplomat)
Right, because it may put too much trouble for them if we go every day, so I decided to go every other day.
Well then, I guess it"s enough for today.
It"s already at this late hour, so I"ll return using transfer from here.
The crew and scholars, the commanders, the flying squadrons, and the diplomats bowed down. Well then, transfer. Together with everything related to me, in other words I transferred my fallen hairs, the cell debris, etc. along with me. As far as my ability can cover… which is pretty wide, It can easily cover this whole base.
As a matter of fact, even when leaving the building that I pa.s.sed before I went to the plane, I instantaneously transferred everything in a way that everyone would not realize, so that I didn"t leave any trace, anywhere.
It"s simply common courtesy to clean up after yourself, no traces. Umu, it"s perfect!
"d.a.m.n it! Nothing can be detected! Not even one molecule attached!! Is she a real living person? What makes up her body!? Is she a fairy or something!?" (sneaky scholar)
On that day, in a certain laboratory, a wailing cry was heard.