“Fufufu. A large amount indeed.”
The Commander grinned as she displayed the resource stock in a graph. The amount of Iron Material in stock had increased dramatically in the last few days. Until recently, she had been looking at the same screen with a frown, so this change was naturally welcome.
“We will continue to focus on acquiring resources.”
“Is that so? I’m counting on you, ＜Ringo＞.”
She was in a good mood, even humming to herself, as she poked at the Skill Tree and scrolled through it. Many of the technology development commands, which had been mostly grayed out due to resource shortages, were now unlocked. What she was particularly happy about was being able to press the ship development and construction commands. Well, in reality, she leaves those decisions to ＜Ringo＞, so she doesn’t actually press them.
“Hmm hmm hmm, hmm. …Hmm, Destroyer, Cruiser, Battleship… What’s the classification around here? Role? Size?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Basically, they are classified by size, but even if the total length exceeds the standard length due to technology updates, the classification may be carried over as is, so it can only be said to be a custom.”
“I see… Is there any point in classifying them? In this area, it’s a term only used by ＜The Tree＞.”
She said, looking at the classification items for combat vessels. She thought that there was no point in being particular about it, but there was also no point in classifying them without meaning. Honestly, she wasn’t very interested in naval vessels. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that she was starting to become interested because naval vessels were now her lifeline. Originally, she liked spaceships more.
“Yes, Ma’am. No, in terms of classifying combat power, classification is important for grasping a rough overview of the whole picture. Ten Destroyers and ten Cruisers, the latter is overwhelmingly more threatening. If the technological level of the surrounding forces improves in the future, such classifications will naturally be made.”
“Hmm… So, that’s a classification for me to understand?”
“Yes, Ma’am, roughly. In the future, there will also be aspects for external announcements, but we assume that there will be no such negotiations for a while.”
“I see… Well, that’s true. If we’re going to have multiple ship types anyway, a rough classification is necessary. I don’t intend to stick to historical ships too much… or rather, I don’t even know them.”
The ship group on the Skill Tree was probably pulled from the library by ＜Ringo＞. When it comes to actually developing and building them, they will be redesigned to match the equipment level of ＜The Tree＞, so she had no intention of sticking to historical accuracy.
She was already operating a mysterious ship called the Light Trade Sailship (LST). It was too late to worry about that now.
“Hmm, but classifying them by total length is also troublesome. We won’t be building any large ships for a while, so will everything be a Destroyer?”
“Yes, Ma’am. That’s right.”
“Historically, is it classified by relative size? The main force is designated as Battleships, those one rank below are Cruisers, and the smaller ones are Destroyers? …Destroyers are ships to counter Torpedo Boats.”
“Ma’am, a supplement. Let’s assume that Destroyers have at least the ability to navigate the open ocean and a cruising range of about 5,000 km. Torpedo Boats are ships for coastal waters.”
“Ah… I see.”
Hmm, she nodded.
“It feels like classifying ships with expedition capabilities to some extent by size and role. Well, I guess that’s fine.”
“Let’s classify newly developed ships each time while consulting.”
“So,” she poked at a certain tree.
“Destroyers! Large transport ships are about to be completed, so next is a combat ship!”
Destroyer Tree. The initial ship is a small one equipped with 3 main Cannons and 6 anti-aircraft Cannons. The main engine is a diesel generator, with an all-motor drive system. One anti-ship missile can be installed as an option. If a missile is installed, it will replace one main Cannon.
“Hmm… What about Torpedoes?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Due to resource issues, development has been postponed. As of now, no submarines have been confirmed.”
As a result of analyzing the assumed enemy forces, it was determined that Torpedoes were excessive. They are just fragile ships that sink with a few Cannon Shells and don’t even have basic radar. For the time being, Torpedoes and missiles, which use a lot of precious electronic components that have no prospect of being replenished, are all being postponed. Missiles for aircraft were stockpiled, so they have been able to divert them to some extent.
“However, the recovery of rare metals from seawater is also in sight. Soon, it will be possible to increase the production of electronic components.”
“That’s right. We were able to secure the Iron Material to build the facilities… I want an Iron Ore mine as soon as possible.”
With the Iron Material obtained through this trade, the construction of the large-scale facilities that had been lacking was now in sight. By increasing the size and number of rare metal recovery facilities, it is expected that they will be able to operate at a practical level. With the current equipment, they could only recover a few grams in 24 hours.
＜Ringo＞ estimates that the next goal is to increase the production of ships for the time being.
“We have scanned about 1,000 km each of the east and west coastlines of the Northern Continent, but we have not found any promising resources. We considered obtaining lumber from the forest, but from the perspective of Cellulose production, it was estimated that expanding the seaweed beds would be more efficient because transportation would be costly.”
“I see… That’s right, transportation is costly.”
“Currently, we are expanding the scanning range inland.”
According to the information confirmed at Telek Port City, there seems to be an Iron Ore mine inland. This time, they transported a considerable amount of Iron from there. Although they were told that they could not turn over any more Iron because it was used as a material for weapons, it seems that it is possible to increase the production of Iron Ore. There seems to be a limit to the amount of refining. Apparently, the supply of Burnstone, which is used as fuel, is not sufficient.
Therefore, they are planning to purchase Iron Ore from next time. In the next voyage, a large transport ship is expected to be put into service, so there will be plenty of room in terms of volume. As Trade Goods, they will bring thread and cloth made from Seaweed Cellulose. Salt extracted from seawater. There are two types of salt: refined salt and seaweed salt, which has Seaweed added during the process. It seems that the refined salt was too strong due to the lack of impurities, so the seaweed salt was preferred, so they deliberately added it to the list of items. In addition, there is Drinking Water that has been sterilized and packed in Cellulose containers. Since preservation technology is underdeveloped, they are planning to load this as a Trade Good, thinking that it will sell well. Technically, they were able to manufacture reusable storage containers, but they are using packaging that requires destruction when used. This is a consideration to avoid giving as little civilizational impact as possible. The structure is designed to exhibit maximum strength when non-destructively, and to become brittle after destruction to reduce reusability. Cellulose cannot be plastically deformed by heating or the like, and can only be used as fuel. By the way, this was a Trade Good that was born from her answer, “Why don’t you just fill it with water?” to the problem that stability deteriorates when there is a lot of empty space on the outbound trip.
In addition, they are preparing gold leaf, gold thread, and silverware as handicrafts.
With these items, the next trade will be no problem.
“When are we leaving next?”
“Yes. If we go back and forth too often, it will be suspicious, so about a month later. Eventually, we are thinking of operating multiple convoys to continue trading continuously.”
“I see. I’d like to gradually improve the performance of the ships as well.”
“Yes, Ma’am. We’ll see how it goes.”
Although the efficiency is poor, it is very encouraging that Iron Material can be obtained continuously. For the time being, it will be possible to manufacture the flying boat that had been frozen. If the current Light Trade Sailship (LST) is dismantled and the Duralumin used is recovered, several boats should be able to be manufactured. If we prepare ships that can carry flying boats together, the radius of action will be greatly expanded. Responsiveness will also improve.
“Now then, what should I do?”
She started checking the Skill Tree, the planned production, and the consumed resources with excitement.
One way or another, this is probably the most enjoyable time.