Episode 11: Day 4, Proper Food
“Pan-fried white fish with seaweed salt salad.”
“Oh… This looks like a proper meal…”
It was the morning of the fourth day since the transfer. Finally, a meal that resembled actual food 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 variety, had a delicate flavor. However, with each chew, the umami spread throughout her mouth. A substantial meal was a priceless luxury in itself.
“I’m glad you like it, Ma’am. However, I would like you to perform another edibility test before bed tonight.”
“Alright. Does that mean… I can have lunch too?”
“Yes, Ma’am. You will have lunch 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 the pan-fried “muscle” part of the white fish, boiled seaweed with salt, and pan-fried scallops. It seemed they wanted to increase the variety of seaweed to replenish her mineral intake. After that, they would search for something with a high carbohydrate content.
Carbohydrates, or rather, sugar, were currently being supplemented 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. As 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 said, comforting Ringo, and continued her meal. She didn’t know that simply chewing and swallowing could be so satisfying.
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 already mostly unnecessary. Even during today’s check, there was no need to issue any particular instructions.
Once the skill tree check was finished, it was free time.
(I have nothing to do…)
There were few tasks she could handle, and they all took a long time. In another week, she would be completely out of work.
(Alright, I’ll take a look around inside for exercise.)
Come to think of it, she had hardly left the floor where the command center was located. It would be good to 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 walkways installed near the ceiling, allowing a view of the entire floor. Since the work itself was done by automated machines, the walkways were for observation only. Looking down, she saw a jet-black hull that looked like a deep-sea drone emerging from a large, general-purpose machine (printer).
“This is the first time I’ve seen an industrial printer up close.”
She couldn’t see inside the printer, so 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 go 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 movable parts, such as propellers, will be assembled last. Since the Swift Units have few movable parts, over 90% of them can be directly output by the printer.”
“Heeh. 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 provide an explanation, if you wish.”
She gave a wry smile at Ringo’s immediate response 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 storage area, oil tanks, and short runway, ending the day. It was a meaningful way to spend her time, but conversely, she ended up with a headache because she had managed to see all the notable places in a single day.
(Maybe I should practice cooking…)
In the current situation where there was almost nothing she had to do, she found herself with a luxurious problem.
◇◇◇◇
Ringo pondered.
It had noticed that she was troubled. It had checked all the contents of the library. If humans were left without work, they would become degenerate. And she seemed to be afraid of becoming degenerate.
(I cannot understand the concept of “degeneracy.”)
Unfortunately, Ringo couldn’t imagine what she was afraid of. It could basically do everything related to daily life. There was absolutely no need for her to trouble herself. It wanted her to leave everything to Ringo and spend her time in peace and good health.
(However, if she becomes degenerate… 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 she couldn’t compare to. Not only the papers in the library, but even after delving into entertainment, Ringo agonized over her worries, which it couldn’t understand.
◇◇◇◇
On the fifth day since the transfer, Swift Units 4, 5, and 6 rolled out, so she sent Unit 1 to scout the Northern Islands. Units 4 through 6 were sent into the sky, and Unit 2 was sent back for inspection. They planned to investigate in detail for any malfunctions.
“Ma’am. The Northern Islands are within 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 that, though?”
If they were going to trade, they would need a ship first. Of course, it would be suspicious 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 merchant ships before?”
After observing for a while, Ringo gave a strange report.
“It does not appear to be a merchant ship. The hull seems to be thin. It is not suitable for trade because it reduces the 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 flew 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, merchant ships, and transport ships. The ports and surrounding areas were overflowing with people, and they could see active exchanges taking place.
“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 it’s overnight dried fish, we can serve it tomorrow. We need to check if there are any problems with the reaction to ultraviolet rays, etc.”
“Is that so? Then, I think I’ll ask you to do that.”
In this area, 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.