Chapter 153 \nā€œEh… Why do you suddenlyā€ (Soldier-kun)\n
Whoops, was it too abrupt?
ā€œAh, no, I’m just wondering if it’s the ship that my friend’s dad is on or if the crews on the drifting ship have enough water and foodā€¦ā€ (Mitsuha)
ā€œMitsuha-chan is kindā€¦ā€ (Soldier-kun)
Easy. You’re too easy, soldier-kun!
Lightly claps both your hands and put them against your mouth, Kyarun (SFX), then show a concerned-like face, and he’s down! I didn’t even show him the ultimate move [Fake tears].
Umu, One of the [48 boy-killing secret arts] that the first-generation Mitchan has passed to me, the Double Knuckle Beam, is Omnipotent! (Note: Japan’s Mitchan)
And then, I squeezed every information soldier-kun told me.
Alright, that’s enough for today!
ā€œAh, umm, thank you for the present last timeā€¦ā€ (Soldier-kun)
Oh, now that you mention it, I gave him a present. I felt bad for always taking his time, so I gave him a folding knife as an apology…
ā€œThat item, can I get a few more?ā€ (Soldier-kun)
Eh?
ā€œā€¦ā€
ā€œā€¦ā€¦ā€
ā€œā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€
When I stared at him with a scornful eyes, Soldier-kun shaking his hands in front of his face in a hurry.\n
ā€œN-No, I’ll pay properly for it!ā€ (Soldier-kun)
And Soldier-kun rushed to explain.
Apparently, when soldier-kun using that knife for a little work, one of the officers who saw it got interested and said [Let me see a little bit], but because there was a possibility that it would be snatched if it went poorly, soldier-kun refused.
And the fleet commander also got interested…
ā€œI was told that he would give me 3 gold coins, but I refused it because it was an important present from Mitsuha-chan. And then he said [Can you get the same thing? Of course, I will pay you]ā€¦ā€ (Soldier-kun)
Ah~….
The impact was too big huh… that Gerber knife…
Well, it’s not like they can replicate the technology that has been cultivated over many years by just having one or two products. If someone could do that, by now, knife makers around the world should be able to make knives that are on par with Gerber, Loveless, Buck, Randall, G.Sakai, etc.
Also, knives aren’t the main weapon of war.
ā€œā€¦I got it. I’ll try to arrange themā€¦ā€ (Mitsuha)
Perhaps my annoyed expression came out on my face when I was thinking [How troublesome] and makes Soldier-kun tried to pull back his request. Well, it’s alright, if it’s just knives…
Or rather, the fact that there’s a commander means that the ship which Soldier-kun is on, the Leviathan, is the flagship of the fleet… tte, I mean, it’s a state-of-the-art ship, so I guess it’s natural.
…that’s right!
ā€œBut in return, I would like to ask one requestā€¦ā€ (Mitsuha)
I listened to that unreasonable request of yours, so you’ll have to hear my unreasonable request too!
He was wondering why I would ask for such a thing, but he said it wouldn’t be a problem.
Alright, operation started!\nā€œOh, it’s meā€ (Mitsuha)
I’ll have you know that It’s not the [It’s me] scam.
On the earth, I’m known as [Nanoha], but I don’t want to introduce myself using that name too often, so I try to avoid calling myself by that name. Well, it’s okay for others to call me that way though.
And now, I’m calling the diplomat of the country who lent me the air tanker for the air reconnaissance on the new continent last time.
ā€œYes, actually, there is a request again … Well, I’m glad the scholars rejoiced at the gift last time. I was worried that if that creature was the one who’s already exist on the earth. Yes. Right. And I have another request… Oh? I can leave everything to you? Thank you very much! Then, I would like to borrow something from the Navyā€¦ā€ (Mitsuha)
Alright, the search fleet has sailed… well then, shall we get started?
Transfer!
ā€œI look forward to working with youā€ (Mitsuha)
ā€œUwaah! Ah, E-excuse meā€¦ā€ (the diplomat)
Well, if you’re waiting in a desolate place and suddenly someone called you from behind, it can’t be helped if you’re surprised. Well, don’t think too deep about it!
And this time, using the diplomat’s car, we went to a naval base.
ā€œPlease welcome to our base, Your Royal Highness the Princessā€ (base commander)
Yup, the royal power is amazing in countries around here. Even the title of a princess from a country in the other world, which they don’t even know, has a great effect.
After the greeting with the base commander, we immediately proceed to the apron area on the runway.
…Right, Naval bases aren’t just ports. This is naval air base. And what parked in the apron is…
Anti-submarine patrol plane. (Note: åÆ¾ę½œå“Øęˆ’ę©Ÿ > Lit. = anti-submarine patrol plane, I’ll shorten it to ASW, but widely known as Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA))\n\nAt the start of my countdown, tension runs in the cabin.
ā€œ10 Seconds! …5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Warp!ā€ (Mitsuha)
Without any interesting effect, and of course, the clothes weren’t transparent, we have safely transferred.
ā€œAlter heading, toe, course. Mag. Heading, 293 degrees. Veering!ā€ (Mitsuha)
ā€œVeering, 293 degrees!ā€ (Pilot-san)
The aircraft tilted to the left and leveled again after some time.
ā€œKeep steady, 293 degrees!ā€ (Mitsuha)
ā€œKeeping steady~ā€ (Pilot-san)
First thing first, let’s head towards the search area.
There’s a chart that is based on the previous aerial image of the Kingdom of Vanel and the coastline around it. Of course, the one who made it was the people of the country who lent me this plane.
Naturally, there are the charts around this area that I got from the captured ships, but we can’t use it because it breaks the groundwork of the previous survey flight. And crews can feel more comfortable with charts they have made than charts with completely different projections, scales, etc. In any case, the terrain doesn’t matter at sea.
On the chart, there is a datum that I got from soldier-kun. Right, in return for getting the knives, I told him something like [I want to know the search center point of the distressed ship].
If this was related to battles, I wouldn’t be able to hear that much and soldier-kun would’ve refused too. But when it comes to rescue mission in peacetime, it’s nothing secretive. Even their adversaries will cooperate if they have to.
So, soldier-kun looks at the charts in the chart room on the stern deck and asks the officers about the distressed ship’s position while saying Ā [My friend and the instructor who took care of me are on board], and the officers told him without being suspicious. …And then, he passed the info to me.
Information on the distressed ship’s location were sent to all ships, no matter whether they depart for the search or not. They may be sailing nearby for other mission and find the remains by chance. In addition, it’s common sense that all ships should have a minimum amount of preparation and precaution, because it’s unknown when they will be dispatched to the search operation as additional forces. ……According to the information I heard from Soldier-kun and the old story from my brother.
Anyway, we converted the obtained position details into the azimuth distance for the chart of the earth and then we plotted the coordinates.
longitude latitude? Since I don’t know the size of this planet, so it doesn’t make sense. Anyway, beyond the rescue fleet, advance to the search area!