“White fish sauté and seaweed salt salad.”
“Oh… Looks like a proper meal…”
It was the morning of the fourth day since the transfer. Finally, a meal that resembled a proper one was prepared for her.
She immediately cut off a piece and put it in her mouth.
“…Delicious…”
The white fish, as expected of a tropical region, had a mild flavor. However, each chew released a savory taste that spread throughout her mouth. The substantial meal was a priceless treat in itself.
“I’m glad, Ma’am. However, I would like you to perform another edibility test before going to bed today.”
“Alright. Does that mean… I can have lunch?”
“Yes, Ma’am. You will have a meal at 12:00, and ingest a different type of seaweed after 20:00.”
So far, the only things that had passed the edibility test were sautéed “muscle” parts of the white fish, boiled seaweed with salt, and sautéed scallops. It seemed they wanted to increase the variety of seaweed to replenish minerals. After that, they would look for something with a lot of carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates, or rather, sugar, were currently being supplied through IV drips. Apparently, fish, shellfish, and seaweed alone couldn’t provide the necessary calories. Indeed, fish and seaweed had the image of being healthy.
“But, I feel like I’ll get tired of seafood all the time.”
“I apologize, Ma’am. Since we have not reached land, it is extremely difficult to increase the variety of meals.”
“I’m just complaining, don’t worry about it,” she consoled ＜Ringo＞ and continued her meal. She didn’t know that the simple act of chewing and swallowing could feel so good.
After breakfast, she checked the Skill Tree. She confirmed the progress of each task and gave instructions if necessary. However, ＜Ringo＞ seemed to have grasped the knack of things, and her instructions were hardly needed anymore. Even during today’s check, no instructions were particularly necessary.
Once the Skill Tree check was finished, it was free time.
(Nothing to do…)
There were few tasks that could be handled, and they all took a long time. In another week, she would be completely out of work.
(Alright, I’ll take a look around for exercise.)
For one reason or another, she had hardly left the floor where the Command Room was located. She should probably get a better grasp of the internal structure. For now, she decided to head to the workshop floor, which was currently the most active.
“＜Ringo＞, I want to go to the workshop floor.”
“Yes, Ma’am. I will arrange it. Please proceed to the elevator.”
“Thank you.”
Incidentally, there was also a small vehicle for moving around inside the Fortress, but she decided not to use it for the sake of exercise. “Maybe I should set up a gym,” she thought casually as she walked to the workshop floor.
“Currently, we are creating (printing) deep-sea exploration drones and Swift Units 4 through 6.”
The workshop floor had a passageway installed near the ceiling, allowing a view of the entire floor. Since the work itself was done by automated machines, the passageway was for observation only. Looking down, the dark hull of what appeared to be a deep-sea drone was emerging from a large, general-purpose machine (printer).
“This is the first time I’ve seen an industrial printer up close.”
Since she couldn’t see inside the printer, there wasn’t anything particularly interesting to see, but coming to a site where relatively large structures were being manufactured touched a chord within her.
“Ma’am. The Swift Units are being created over there.”
“…Is that so? I think I’ll take a look.”
The Swift Units seemed to be creating their long wings from the ends. About two-thirds of them had already been output from the printer.
“The propellers and other moving parts will be assembled last. Since the Swift Units have few moving parts, over 90% of them can be directly output by the printer.”
“Hee. I didn’t know the internal design, but I see. I don’t even know the principle of the printer in the first place, though…”
“I can explain it to you.”
She gave a wry smile at ＜Ringo＞, who responded immediately, and politely declined. Well, if she really got bored in the future, she might listen to an explanation about that.
After that, she took a break for lunch and then toured the material storage area, the oil tanks, and the short runway, ending her day. It was a meaningful way to spend her time, but conversely, she was left with a headache from having seen everything of interest in a single day.
(Maybe I should practice cooking…)
In the current situation where there was almost nothing she had to do, she was faced with a luxurious problem.
◇◇◇◇
＜Ringo＞ pondered.
It had noticed that she was troubled. It had checked the contents of the library thoroughly. If humans were left without work, they would become decadent. And she seemed to be afraid of becoming decadent.
(I cannot understand the concept of becoming decadent.)
Unfortunately, ＜Ringo＞ could not imagine what she was afraid of. As for general daily matters, ＜Ringo＞ could basically do everything. There was no need for her to bother with anything at all. It wanted her to leave everything to ＜Ringo＞ and spend her time in peace and good health.
(However, if she becomes decadent… she may develop a mental illness.)
It only had knowledge of that from literature, but it seemed that interfering too much was not good. It was necessary to let her do what she could, and taking that away from her should be avoided as much as possible.
＜Ringo＞ thought about her with a speed of thought that was incomparable to hers. Not only did it consult the papers in the library, but it even delved into entertainment, agonizing over her incomprehensible worries.
◇◇◇◇
On the fifth day since the transfer, Swift Units 4, 5, and 6 rolled out, so Unit 1 was sent to scout the Northern Islands. Units 4 to 6 were sent into the sky, and Unit 2 was sent back for inspection. They planned to investigate in detail whether there were any problems.
“Ma’am. The Northern Islands are in sight.”
“Show me.”
The most magnified image was displayed on the front display. The noise from the electronic processing was terrible, but it couldn’t be helped since they were over 200km away. The image should improve as they got closer.
“As always, it’s lively, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Ma’am. If we could trade, we could get supplies.”
“Who’s going to do it, though?”
If they were going to trade, they would need a ship first. Naturally, they would be suspected if there were no crew members, so it was already a failure at this point. Also, since the language of the other party was unknown, they wouldn’t be able to have proper negotiations in the first place.
“Ma’am. A large fleet can be seen on the mainland side.”
“Hmm? Didn’t you say there were a lot of trading ships before?”
After observing for a while, ＜Ringo＞ gave a strange report.
“It is believed to be different from trading ships. The hulls appear to be slender. They are not suitable for trade because they have a lower load capacity in exchange for speed.”
“Hmm…?”
Since they were about 500km away from the Swift Unit’s current location, they could only get a blurry image even when magnified. It would be necessary to investigate again after getting a little closer.
“It’s something to keep an eye on. For now, let’s continue observing the Northern Islands.”
If the Swift Unit could fly over the Northern Islands, they would be able to investigate in more detail. She came to that conclusion and decided to proceed without changing the original plan.
The Northern Islands were as vibrant as they had been during the previous confirmation. Fishing boats, trading ships, and transport ships. The ports and surrounding areas were overflowing with people, and it was clear that they were actively interacting.
“Hmm… dried fish… Maybe I should try making dried fish…”
She leaned forward, discovering a large amount of dried fish and seaweed. Recently, she had been continuing the routine of filling her stomach with edible ingredients and conducting edibility tests on new ingredients. She was starting to get tired of it. Increasing the number of ingredients was important, but it was also necessary to change the taste.
“Yes, Ma’am. Let’s try dried fish. If we make it overnight, we can serve it tomorrow. We need to check if there are any problems with reacting to ultraviolet rays, etc.”
“Is that so? Then, I think I’ll ask you to do that.”
In this regard, ＜Ringo＞’s learning about human instinctual desires was insufficient, and it couldn’t predict emotional nuances such as changing the taste or getting tired of the same meal. She was aware of this and was trying to be honest with her requests without being strangely patient.