Episode 63: Delegation to the Forest Country
The departure ceremony for the delegation to the East Gate City was a grand affair.
The fact that it was the first delegation to another city in several years was significant, but the addition of ＜Paraiso＞ escorts was especially noteworthy.
The area in front of the Telek Port City gate was packed with people.
The head of the delegation was Agritend Ruvannia, a member of the General Assembly. There were nine other attendants, making a total of ten people. They boarded carriages and horses, waving as they passed through the gate.
Following behind them were two Multi-legged Tanks as escort vehicles, and one Multi-legged Ground Carrier. The tanks were 10 meters in length, and the Ground Carrier was a massive machine measuring 25 meters in length.
The sight of them moving silently on their six Legs inspired both awe and a sense of security in the onlookers.
Their movements were smooth and deliberate, without any unnecessary noise, and the massive clubs held by their front Legs remained perfectly steady.
Although the main Cannons on their backs were what they would actually use in combat, the residents of this fantasy world seemed to prefer the easily understandable, massive weapons.
“Are the Communicator Dolls being directly controlled?”
“Yes, Ma’am. While they can switch to autonomous operation during travel, I will primarily control them during important moments. Due to time lag, I cannot fully control them, so I will only be issuing instructions.”
Accompanying the delegation were three Communicator Dolls. They were currently sticking their upper bodies out of the Ground Carrier’s hatch, waving to the surrounding crowd.
“Hmm, even so. Being able to operate tanks without worrying about refueling is nice. Is it the Coherence type?”
“Yes, Ma’am. To be precise, it’s a Microwave Power Supply system that utilizes spatial Coherence. Olive perfected it.”
The Microwave Power Supply facility, which was constructed with the highest priority in Fortress Two, was operating without any issues. The Microwave Relay Drones deployed at the same time were also fully demonstrating their capabilities at an Altitude of 20km.
Microwaves were transmitted from the transmitting antennas distributed on the ground to multiple relay Drones. The relay Drones reflected the received microwaves and irradiated them to arbitrary points.
Basically, they aimed directly, but if there were obstacles, they selected a route to avoid them. If there was a spatial opening, they would deliver the microwaves by calculating the reflection and diffraction of Electromagnetic Waves.
In addition, by irradiating pinpoint from multiple transmission points, energy was generated at arbitrary points using the principle of wave superposition.
By dispersing the transmission points, the output of each irradiated microwave was suppressed, and the impact on the surrounding environment was minimized.
The loss was considerable, but they couldn’t afford to evaporate the moisture in the irradiation range. They considered it a necessary expense.
“I need to think of some kind of reward for Olive… Well, that’s beside the point.”
She displayed the Afrasia United Kingdom’s already explored map on the aerial monitor. This map had already been released to Telek Port City.
The chairman of the Telek Port City Chamber of Commerce, Kullavia Telek, had a strained expression when she first saw the map, but well, that was a minor problem.
“640km in a straight line. The length of the road is about 1,000km. Assuming the carriage’s speed is 15km per hour?”
“Yes, Ma’am. I estimate the journey will take about 15 to 20 days. The Multi-legged Tank (MLT-E-01) can repair the road to some extent. At worst, it can pull the carriage.”
Preparing the delegation was a very difficult problem, as it was hard to decide what and how much to provide. If ＜The Tree＞ provided everything, the delegation would become a representative of ＜Paraiso＞, and Telek Port City would significantly lower its status.
However, if they left it to Telek Port City, the technical level would be too low, and the journey would be extremely dangerous. After various considerations, they finally decided to provide the carriage and escort.
The Telek Port City delegation would ride in a six-wheeled carriage manufactured by ＜The Tree＞.
The chassis was made of composition-adjusted hollow steel, and the structurally designed and further strengthened material was output and manufactured by a molecular printer.
Independent suspension was incorporated into the six wheels, and bearings were used on the axles to achieve a smooth ride.
In addition, the tires were set to be hard to reduce rolling resistance.
Originally, a long-distance delegation would need to move as a caravan, but by loading various items onto the Multi-legged Ground Carrier and having the Multi-legged Tanks provide escort, the number of people could be kept to a minimum.
In that sense, it would be possible with just two representatives, but considering appearances, the combination was two representatives, two caretakers, two coachmen, and four guards.
The coachmen took turns, spending 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon traveling. The caretakers took care of the horses and prepared meals and bedding. The guards were four people, two riding horses and two resting in the carriage. The two representatives didn’t have any particular work, but they couldn’t just sit there doing nothing, so they had things to do, such as talking to the coachmen and helping prepare meals.
It was a journey that would take more than 15 days, and being bored was the most difficult thing.
The Communicator Dolls didn’t have any particular problems because they were sleeping when they didn’t have anything to do. They tried to communicate during meals, though.
“Well, I knew it would be, but it’s a boring journey…”
“Yes, Ma’am. There are almost no threatening carnivores, and the bandits have been wiped out. The danger will increase to some extent as you get closer to the northern town, but 80% of the journey will be safe.”
“That’s right. Let me know if anything happens. I’m, well, busy!”
“Yes, Ma’am. I’m rooting for you.”
She was now redesigning the Charged Particle Cannon-equipped ship that she had previously shelved. The realization of the Microwave Power Receiving System made her feel like the energy problem had been solved.
However, reality was not so kind.
She simulated the Microwave Power Receiving System to see if she could send the energy to operate the Charged Particle Cannon, but it turned out that the receiving equipment would melt because it couldn’t withstand the amount of power transmitted.
The conversion efficiency of the received power was not sufficient. It was something that could be ignored for Railguns, though.
Therefore, she was trying to figure out how to improve the receiving equipment.
＜Ringo＞ could probably do something about it, but she was doing it as a hobby, so she didn’t intend to hand it over.
By the way, it was unknown what would happen if a Charged Particle Cannon was fired in the atmosphere, as it had not yet been simulated, but ＜Ringo＞ assumed that the result would not be very pleasant.
She wouldn’t bother to warn her, though. It was a hobby, after all.
“Ma’am. There’s a problem with the delegation.”
“… … Hmm!? The delegation!?”
The report was made about seven days after departure, after passing through Iron Town. It was around the time Commander (Eve) was starting to forget about their existence.
“Multi-legged Tank (MLT-E-01) Unit 1 detected suspicious ground vibrations. After having the Multi-legged Ground Carrier (GMS-E-01) conduct a detailed search, it was found that they were being tracked from underground by something large.”
“…Underground?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Underground. Probably a large Worm.”
The local video was displayed on the projection monitor. A carriage, and the guards scattered around it to protect it.
In addition, the Multi-legged Tanks and Multi-legged Ground Carrier were extending their Legs and standing guard, wary of attacks from underground.
The three Communicator Dolls were standing by on top of the Ground Carrier, ready to move at any time.
“I was careless because I haven’t been able to conduct a detailed survey of this area. If you give me permission, I’ll have a Drone fly from the Ground Carrier to monitor the situation.”
“Hmm… I see. Understood. It’s pointless to hold back and have sacrifices. I authorize the use of all weapons.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”