The Captain’s Ground Office
As I was told, I opened the door at the back, revealing a large desk placed in front of a window, with a simple reception area in front.
This is more impressive than the fleet commander’s room I was shown when I was guided to the Third Patrol Fleet’s office.
Isn’t this a bit much?
“Nao, I can see the worry written all over your face. But don’t worry. This is Her Highness’s castle, and outsiders don’t come this far. You won’t hear any complaints from others. Feel free to use it.”
During our conversation, we heard a knock on the door.
“Yes?”
“Captain Nao has a visitor.”
Just as we were talking about it, a guest arrives.
“Who could it be?”
As I inquired about the visitor, Chief Sardar had already opened the door and entered.
“Sorry, am I interrupting?”
“No, it’s fine. What can I do for you, Chief Sardar?”
“Well, I actually have a favor to ask.”
“A request? I’ll help if I can. What is it?”
This person seems to have something similar to our Maria.
After all, even though we were supposed to be on the test voyage together, he never showed his face on the bridge during the entire journey, and we barely had any meaningful conversations.
Or rather, despite being in that cramped ship for a week, we hardly even saw each other.
Maria and the others said they often saw him around the work areas, asking questions everywhere, but it seems he’s the type who can’t see left or right when it comes to his own research.
A formal request from such a person is bound to be troublesome.
I still haven’t given up on dying in the line of duty, but I want to avoid getting caught up in troublesome matters at all costs.
Fortunately, Maki-neechan is next to me, and I’d like to somehow pass the trouble onto her.
“First, I’d like to know where you’re procuring the space torpedoes from. It’s been a while since they stopped making those in this country, right? They’re usually difficult weapons to obtain. If you don’t mind, could you tell me?”
This person said “first.”
Are there many requests?
I’ll run away with all my might if that’s the case.
…
But I can answer what he’s asking right now, so let’s just answer and be done with it.
“Yes, we got them from the dismantling dock that remodeled this ship,”
Maki-neechan answered for me.
“I see. Those torpedoes are useful. They can be launched reliably even in areas where radar doesn’t work, and their functionality as weapons hasn’t diminished at all. We’d like to research them too, and we want a good number of them. Is there any way to get them cheaply?”
“I think it’s possible, but how will you transport the torpedoes? They won’t ship them out. It’s more like they’ll tell you to take them yourself.”
“That would be problematic. We can’t move torpedoes as civilians. Is there any chance you could help us?”
“I can’t answer that on my own. Why don’t you talk to Her Highness? If Her Highness gives the order, we can move the ship, and moreover, we need to go to the dock anyway to prepare the seat for Her Highness that was mentioned earlier.”
“You’re right. Then I’ll meet with Her Highness again and…”
“My, my, what’s this about, Chief Sardar?”
Her Highness entered the room as he said this.
Everyone in the room stood up simultaneously and froze.
“I’m sorry. I heard you talking about me, so I wondered what it was about, Chief Sardar.”
Chief Sardar answered Her Highness’s question.
He desperately explained that he wanted cooperation for his research, to board the ship.
Just obtaining space torpedoes alone wouldn’t be enough for experiments.
If he can’t conduct various tests in space, it would be useless, so he’s pleading for cooperation.
“Why not? What do you think, Ferman?”
Her Highness is asking Ferman, who had followed her into the room.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
“Well, we also have the matter of the carrier-based aircraft we discussed earlier, and it might be good to get on good terms with the shipbuilding research institute. How about we launch a joint research project? For instance, we could start with a theme like reviewing the operation of space torpedoes.”
“Will the budget be alright? We’ve already used quite a lot, and we can’t use an unlimited budget, can we?”
“Yes, that’s why we should seek cooperation from the private sector as well. According to our investigation, the dock that remodeled the [Shunmin] is trustworthy. Moreover, they can supply the torpedoes needed for research at a very low cost, right, Captain?”
“Yes, we bought the torpedoes currently loaded on the ship for one gold each, at the dock’s request. Apparently, they have many torpedoes that need to be disposed of, and it’s under the pretext of cooperating with that disposal.”
“It’s not just a pretext, they were really struggling with the disposal. Even if we offered to take them all, they would gladly hand them over.”
“That’s great news. But if that’s the case, we might have a problem with storage space.”
“Yes, that’s why we only bought what we needed. However, now that our affiliation has changed, what will happen from now on? How much can be allocated for the operational costs of this ship?”
Maki-neechan is suddenly asking about the ship’s running costs, which will eventually become an issue.
Come to think of it, this organization is still in the process of being set up, and it seems they haven’t gotten around to dealing with various routine problems that normally arise.
Ferman answered Maki-neechan’s question on behalf of Her Highness.
It wasn’t particularly pleasant information.
For the first year, 40 billion gold was allocated from the royal palace’s reserve fund as expenses for launching the organization, but that’s being consumed by various costs such as recruiting people and office expenses.
They still need to bring in more people, but they’ve already used quite a lot, and honestly, it seems they don’t have much room in the budget.
In fact, this 40 billion gold budget is what remained from the 60 billion gold that was allocated for repairing the space frigate we had captured earlier. The royal palace had originally budgeted 100 billion gold as a reserve fund, but it was reduced due to various circumstances.
Her Highness spotted this and almost forcibly took it to launch this organization.
Therefore, there’s no prospect for next year’s budget.
If this organization doesn’t achieve proper results and get promoted from a preparatory office to an official government agency, there’s a possibility that no further budget will be allocated.
Her Highness thinks that results can be produced immediately and isn’t worried at all, but the people around him must be quite stressed about it.
In that sense, people like Ferman are looking at costs quite severely.
That’s why they’ve taken notice of the dock we’ve been dealing with.
Their costs are abnormal.
Even though they say they’re using second-hand materials, the costs are significantly lower than others used by the government.
From Ferman’s perspective, it seems like they’re managing with about 5% to 10% of the usual cost.
The reason Her Highness and the others came to this room was to discuss how to minimize the cost of modifying Her Highness’s seat on the [Shunmin].
If they can procure high-tech space torpedoes, albeit older models, for one gold each, they’re willing to provide them in kind to curry favor with the ship operation research institute.
As for various tests using the [Shunmin], they can kill two birds with one stone by conducting them during our operations, serving as training for the crew.
On top of that, they can get state-of-the-art carrier-based aircraft for free, even if they’re surplus and their use is unclear.
They’re certainly shrewd people.
I had thought that noble people would be more generous, but I’ve revised my perception – they have quite strict… or rather, solid ideas about money.
After various discussions, we decided to head back to the dock on Nihonium in the Yttrium star system tomorrow.
For some reason, perhaps because the [Shunmin] is fast, Her Highness will be joining us on the visit.
I wondered if it would be alright, as there aren’t even any security personnel, but Her Highness’s words were simply, “It’s fine.”
Her Highness, who is also my superior, seems to be beyond my common sense.
Would they decide to go to the dock the day after hearing yesterday’s report and discussing it?
We’re talking about royalty here.
Usually, a royal visit would require preparations starting a year in advance, but we’re moving the very next day after discussing it?
Even if it’s only a few hours’ distance in my ship, is this really okay?
Besides, there’s the issue of insufficient crew on my ship.
In the end, I find myself being dragged back to Nihonium by Her Highness.
It’s a distance that takes several hours even using interdimensional travel from the capital, Diamond.
It would take half a day by normal travel on a high-speed craft, so it’s not just a quick shopping trip. Yet here I am, heading to Nihonium with Her Highness on board.
The poll is open again, please vote!!!
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
Thank you for the treat.