Summoning Japan: Flights of the Fancy

Chapter 11 - The Lone Wolf Captain

"Then, even just maritime power..."

"The Japanese fleet has reportedly left the anchorage in Mu's territory. It seems to be coordinated with the movement of the Muish Army. If the sea is left empty, what happened in Leiforia will be repeated in every inch of Leifor as well."

"Then I don't understand the point of stalling for time, sir!"

The XO, who had been repeatedly denied, spoke with frustration. The captain grimaced and rechecked the telegram.

"...I can't believe it either, but the Foreign Ministry is reportedly attempting a separate peace treaty with Japan."

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Carsline Company, Ragna, Gra Valkas Empire

Arlie Trigger was tired from continuous overtime. However, the Carsline Company wasn't a particularly special black company. In the present-day Ragna, everywhere was dark.

What troubled Trigger was the new bomb to be loaded onto the bomber. The mock-up of the new bomb delivered under Siegs' orders was larger than the existing bombs that required modification of the bomb bay. Moreover, the new bomb seemed to be a precious commodity and wasn't possible to be mass-produced, so they couldn't fail in actual combat.

Trigger, carrying an unhealed stomach ache, worked on modifying the bomber.

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Off the coast of Irnetia Island

The Mangan-class magic ship Axe of the Holy Mirishial Empire's 4th Magic Fleet was standing by at the outermost end of the ring formation. The Mangan-class warship had a displacement of around 3.000 tons, too large for coastal defense forces and too small for fleet main forces. It served as an auxiliary vessel used in situations where the main force ships could not be deployed due to cost considerations. While the Gra Valkas Imperial Navy had torpedoes capable of sinking even large ships, the Mirishial Navy lacked such weapons, and the Mangan-class was unable to sink battleships. Therefore, the status of the Mangan-class in the Mirishial Navy was lower than Gra Valkas Navy destroyers and light cruisers.

Outside the Axe's bridge, a wolf beastman commanding officer of the ship named Roen was observing the sea around them. Such a scene was not uncommon, but the situation was different for the Axe. Roen was a wolf beastman.

Although the Holy Mirishial Empire is still effectively ruled by elves, it is a multi-ethnic and multi-racial nation. Citizenship was recognized for non-elf races, and there were many non-elf soldiers in the military (with the elf ratio increasing with higher ranks). Beastmen, including wolf beastmen, were no exception, but most served in the Army. The high physical abilities, a significant feature of beastmen, were most effectively demonstrated in infantry combat. While the large size, strength, and agility were advantages in naval service, they were not decisive factors. The navy required personnel who could skillfully operate warships, and ships were not so simple that they could be handled with brute strength alone. Most beastmen chose the army, where promotion prospects and survival rates were the highest. Roen, who chose the navy, was quite an outlier among beastmen.

"Captain, the sonar has been repaired. The fish finder is operational," the XO called out from the bridge.

"Speak of it as the sonar," Roen replied and returned to the bridge.

. . .

The Axe was an experimental ship equipped with a fish finder imported from Japan. However, it was not a dedicated test vessel like the JMSDF's Asuka. Instead, it had been chosen as a testbed simply because it happened to be in the dock for routine maintenance. Additionally, the Axe was not part of the magic fleet but belonged to a regional fleet as a multipurpose ship. Originally, there was no intention to involve the experimental ship in actual combat, so it was natural not to allocate ships from the magic fleet.