Episode 145: The Kidnapping Plan
To the west of the Afrasia United Kingdom, several nations exist.
Among the countries sharing a border, the largest is the ＜Wheat Country (Weizenland)＞.
＜Weizenland＞, as its name suggests, is a massive agricultural nation that exports staple grains such as wheat to surrounding countries.
It possesses fertile land within its borders, producing large quantities of wheat, other grains, potatoes, beans, and more.
Far to the north, the Northern Mountain Range towers, and the abundant snowmelt flowing from it passes through ＜Weizenland＞ on its way to the sea, traversing a vast forest zone along the way.
During the annual rainy season, fertile sediment overflows from the forest zone, and ＜Weizenland＞ skillfully utilizes this for agriculture.
In addition, to the south of ＜Weizenland＞, there exists a group of small nations.
Some are city-states consisting of only one city, and the exact number of countries is unknown.
The number of cities belonging to each changes with the times, and power is often reshaped by wars. Therefore, probably no one accurately grasps the current situation.
The Afrasia United Kingdom borders a nation that maintains a certain size and power.
Even so, the rise and fall of some country seems to occur every few years.
Therefore, no documents recording the names of these small nations exist within the Afrasia United Kingdom.
“I get the feeling that these small nations aren’t even worth negotiating with?”
“Yes, Ma’am. They have little national power, and their ability to govern their regions is almost nonexistent. Rather, we will need to deal directly with the frontier villages near the border.”
According to aerial reconnaissance, there are currently 114 such frontier villages, which are essentially burnstone mining bases.
Savvy countries and lords invest in these frontier villages, recruit immigrants, and expand the scale of mining.
Others are impoverished, eking out a living by hand-digging burnstone and earning daily wages.
“It would be easiest to draw the border with military force, but what would happen to them?”
“Yes, Ma’am. They are basically poor people with no backing. If burnstone mining is prohibited, they will likely be wiped out immediately. They have nowhere else to go.”
Almost all frontier villages live off burnstone revenue.
Basically, the surrounding area is nothing but wasteland.
They have barely managed to secure water by digging wells, which is why people have gathered as villages.
Naturally, there is no vegetation in such places, and no wild animals live there.
Some villages seem to be trying to engage in agriculture and animal husbandry, aware of this crisis, but they generally do not succeed.
The environment is simply too harsh.
“Since we don’t have many citizens anyway, can we take care of them all?”
“Yes, Ma’am. If we dig wells and cultivate farmland, to some extent. We can supply chemical fertilizers and have them produce agricultural products.”
With the thought that it would be a shame to abandon them, the decision to attract citizens was made.
The other countries probably wouldn’t be thrilled.
“We need to find crops suitable for high-temperature environments. This area has an interesting geological formation where water comes out when you dig…”
“Yes, Ma’am. A large amount of groundwater flows through the voids in the lava layer.
It’s perfect for digging wells, but not a good environment for resource extraction.
Especially since they are digging by hand. If they accidentally dig into an underground water vein, it could be fatal.”
The Afrasia United Kingdom appears to be an endless wasteland.
However, the water veins themselves spread like a network beneath the surface. They are mostly not exposed above ground because they are covered in lava.
Therefore, if you dig to a certain depth, water will naturally spring forth.
There are many places where water springs from naturally formed cracks, forming lakes.
“Still, it’s an extremely long border… It would be almost impossible for a normal country to defend such a border.”
The Afrasia United Kingdom is bordered by other countries to the east and west.
The western side alone is well over 2,000 km long.
Because it is a harsh environment with endless wastelands, territorial issues are not very prominent.
Trying to properly manage the border would bankrupt the country.
“Constant monitoring by surveillance satellites, construction of observation towers, and regular patrols by security aircraft make it possible to manage the border. It is unlikely that disputes over the border will occur, but if there is too much trouble, we may establish a buffer zone.”
For example, if they agree to have a buffer zone of about 5 km between the provisional border and their own country, it may be possible to suppress unnecessary disputes.
Well, that’s assuming they can discuss it with the other country.
However, that being said.
With such a tremendous difference in military strength between them and the other countries, what is there to worry about?
“The rocket launch site will be completed soon. Launch tests will be possible immediately.
We are also proceeding with the manufacture of rockets for acquiring launch data in parallel.”
“Okay, okay. Once that’s done, space development will be just around the corner. Well… to be honest, I really doubt whether the sky is safe…”
In developing space, various hypotheses were considered.
Among them, the main topic raised by Asahi was the existence of monsters that fly in the sky.
“Not only the sea, but also the land is inhabited by such giant creatures! The possibility of large flying monsters existing is highly conceivable! With that Magic Stone-enhanced Body Structure Enhancement, large monsters with light, hard, and flexible bodies can easily maintain their lives!”
She argued with great enthusiasm.
The other daughters (AI) were reluctant, but Eve, the older sister who understood fantasy, agreed with Asahi’s claim.
“There are quite a few monsters that fly in the sky, aren’t there? We have to be careful.”
When she said that, ＜Ringo＞ had no choice but to allocate resources to guarding the sky.
However, no such monsters have been confirmed at this time.
They are also making inquiries in Telek Port City, but they have only picked up rumors that there are giant winged lizards, presumably dragons.
At least, they have never been confirmed within the Afrasia United Kingdom.
Asahi’s prediction is that either they don’t really exist, or there isn’t enough food for them to come out.
“I think the giant octopus (Kraken) is famous as a sea monster, but I wonder if they exist? I’m surprised that crocodiles live in the sea.”
Because Asahi was saying such things, ＜Ringo＞ didn’t rely much on Asahi’s predictions.
“The prototype aerial platform is also under construction smoothly. It should be able to make its first flight in a few days.”
“Oh, that’s amazing. Yeah, I mean, it’s kind of hard to believe that something so big can fly.”
The other thing is the aerial platform, which will be used to suppress the northern part of the Afrasia United Kingdom.
This is, in other words, a giant flying aircraft carrier.
It can be used as a mother ship for aircraft or as an aerial drop ship for tanks, and if cannons are installed, it can have its own attack capabilities.
The problem during operation is that its large size makes it difficult to maneuver, and its low mobility makes it vulnerable to guided weapons such as missiles.
This will require measures such as increasing the number of escort aircraft.
“The other thing is simply the energy problem.”
And the energy source to support the giant body.
To some extent, it can be covered by microwave power transmission. However, it is actually difficult to transmit everything with microwaves.
In the first place, the radius of action is too large, so it easily deviates from the power supply range.
Furthermore, the energy loss associated with high-power transmission and the heating problem of the power receiving equipment are no joke.
Therefore, an energy source using an internal combustion engine or nuclear power is required.
“The prototype is tentatively designed with a gas turbine as the main power source. However, the fuel efficiency is poor, so it will only be a prototype. Aerial refueling is also an option, but then it depends on the radius of action of the refueling aircraft itself, which is inefficient.
Ultimately, it will be equipped with a Fusion Reactor.”
A nuclear fusion reactor, not a nuclear fission reactor, is used because it is dangerous. The amount of radioactive waste produced is also extremely small.
Even if it crashes, the impact will be small. The mass of fuel required is also small, making it an extremely excellent energy reactor.