Large steamships were lined up along the long coastline. One of them departed with a trumpet-like sound. Since there had been no departing ships for several days, people's gazes concentrated on the ship's movent.
Tourists who ca to see the harbor, people who arrived in Sterling by ship, sailors and dock workers repeatedly loading and unloading cargo, drunkards wandering around thoroughly intoxicated since the afternoon.
The wind blew again. Esperanza's skirt also fluttered according to the wind's direction. The hem of the hood that thoroughly covered her steel wings swelled.
Esperanza installed dungeon detectors near a ship that had been docked for so long it seed almost abandoned. It didn't appear that anyone was trying to remove the ship, probably because they were paying docking fees rather than completely abandoning it, but it was an extrely old and rusted ship that no one had approached for hours.
Though she felt sorry about secretly installing it in soone else's space, it wasn't a machine that took up much room, and it would be better than the entire harbor collapsing from a dungeon's aftermath.
Having finished the installation, Esperanza flew as high as possible to avoid people's attention. At the end of Esperanza's gaze as she cut through air resistance and stood above the sea, a small island was visible.
If Cyrus's words were correct, it was probably that island. Even when she spread out the map she had picked up from the tourist information center at Sterling Central Station, the shape matched.
It was a distance that would take a full half day by ship from the harbor. Flying to that island would be difficult, but the weather was good so she could faintly see the island's shape. That island was exactly the one being used as a base by the Paolun ard independence group.
Esperanza took out a telescope from her inventory. The telescope made of mixed brass and wood had an antique form like a relic, but its performance was decent enough.
She could see ships lined up along the coastline. Though not clearly visible, there were also ships presud to be captured rchant vessels.
Considering the size of the ocean, it wasn't that far away, yet the fact that the Osdern navy couldn't conquer this single island at this distance was certainly suspicious. It was certain that Daria had helped.
Even if a dungeon occurred here, there was almost no possibility it would reach the Osdern mainland. Even in large-scale raids, they had never triggered a dungeon spanning dozens of kiloters.
'Because humans couldn't clear sothing like that.'
The difficulty had to be reasonable. And from an administrator's perspective, moderately controlling the scale was economical. It was better to save the magic power needed to open dungeons. If a dungeon occurred here right now, there would be no need to worry about difficulty adjustnt, but she would be concerned about magic power amounts.
Esperanza approached a bit closer to the island. Even so, it was still too far to be visible from the island. Not rembering how to use the telescope, she fumbled around a bit before finally touching the barrel to adjust the lens. The island in the narrow field of view gradually grew larger. The ship in the telescope that had been blurry while focusing beca clear once she finished adjusting the view.
Captured Osdern rchant ships, relatively old ships that appeared to be their own. Esperanza, who had been nodding, discovered one incongruous ship.
How was its structure designed? Even if one was a layperson about ships, they would know roughly what ships looked like. But that ship didn't resemble any ship from rafts to steamships. It looked more like a carriage. To the extent that one would wonder if such a thing could even float. While Esperanza pondered that ship's identity, a large shadow approached the beach.
It was a black-haired young man. A face that Esperanza herself knew very well.
'It's Cyrus.'
Cyrus from thirteen years ago, with immature and childish eyes remaining. His height was similar, but compared to the current sturdy hunter, he was boyishly slender. Relatively speaking, anyway.
A man who appeared to be Paolun followed him out. The two seed to be having so conversation, but it couldn't be heard at all from this distance. Esperanza tried straining her ears while deliberately ignoring the sound of waves, but it was hopeless. At a distance of several kiloters, even a hunter's developed senses couldn't possibly hear it.
Fortunately, after a brief conversation, Cyrus boarded the ship. That ship seed to be Cyrus's ship. Then its power source was understandable too.
Sure enough, magic power seed to be visibly rising. The ship that greedily devoured magic power and began trembling as if cheering soon left the harbor at trendous speed as if cutting through the sea. Esperanza left her position before that ship ca close.
Though she hadn't heard any of the conversation, knowing that Cyrus was in Sterling was sufficient harvest for today.
What else could she do next? Esperanza rested her chin in the air and blankly gazed at the peaceful sea.
They said the ship taken hostage was a warship. A warship.
She should visit the naval base.
Of course, she couldn't brazenly enter the base. But if she had trespassed into the royal palace, there was no reason she couldn't do the sa to a military base. And Esperanza had already visited Sterling City's naval base several tis while playing the ga.
Tracing faint mories, she crossed through the air above the sea.
??????°??☆????°??????
The base built along a round bay was shaped as if embracing the dock. The faintly visible base gradually drew closer. Esperanza descended to an unpopulated coastline.
"I wasn't spotted, was I...?"
Unlike quiet Avondale, Sterling was a city with many people. She had to be careful, and careful again. Esperanza folded her wings and put them in her inventory while surveying the surroundings.
Spreading the map tinted in sepia at one corner of her vision, she moved carefully to avoid patrols. Officers in naval uniforms passed by with disciplined steps. Esperanza headed toward the command building following the map.
In the old days, a commander who had run out almost barefoot would have greeted Esperanza, but she couldn't expect such a thing now.
Two soldiers were dozing off beside a gargoyle statue standing with sharp, gleaming eyes. Since the door wasn't even locked, there was the thod of knocking them unconscious and entering, but two sentries unconscious in front of the door would be too conspicuous. Esperanza climbed a tree and leaped up to the roof, then threw herself into an empty chimney. The black hood fluttered long behind her.
Military facilities of this era had pipes laid to transport magic power. Usually they were only used for heating and cooling, but in ergencies they were used for operating bunkers, powering warship departures, and even attacks to defend the base.
Anyway, since it was currently 'peaceti,' most were resting except for a few pipes used for heating. Esperanza passed through large pipes in a low posture, gauging temperature with the back of her leather-gloved hand.
Places where information might be found were either underground bunkers or high-ranking officers' offices. For finding military secrets, the bunker side would be more promising, but she wasn't confident she could penetrate such cutting-edge military facilities without breaking them. She'd have to go to the office side.
High-ranking officers' offices were generally on upper floors and connected to important facilities by elevator. Esperanza planned to approach officers' rooms through ventilation ducts. If an officer wasn't in his room, she could search it directly, and if he was in the room, she could knock him unconscious and then search.
Since the command structure was the sa as Esperanza's map, getting to the officers' rooms was no problem. But the ventilation ducts didn't have naplates, so she couldn't tell which room belonged to whom. Esperanza simply listened near ventilation ducts to conversations flowing out from inside rooms. Most were stories she neither knew nor cared about.
It was while passing several such rooms.
There was a room where the voices of a young officer and an elderly general alternated.
"I proposed a week for modifying reconnaissance automatons, and they said it was possible. Since the original was so good, modification seems to be quick too."
The young officer's voice was clearly audible. His pronunciation was familiar, seeming to be soone from Nine Holder. Reconnaissance. Her ears were imdiately drawn to that word. The elderly soldier burst into laughter and replied:
"Right, the original was good! Whose work is it? Good. Once the automaton is ready, we'll have to start reconnaissance imdiately. We've dragged this out too long against re Paolun riffraff. There's no doubt internal strife has broken out among them as the survivors said. They're a tribe that hardly knows cooperation. Isn't that right, Captain Duke?"
"You speak correctly, Commodore."
Esperanza surveyed the office through the ventilation duct gap. Clear purple eyes briefly captured the heavy wooden desk and the Osdern flag set up beside it before disappearing.
Thick files were inserted on the shelves, and in the fra placed in the empty space in the middle was a photo of a skinny young man wearing glasses holding a bizarre-looking trophy. He resembled the Commodore but didn't seem to be him.
dals were densely packed on a uniform hung on one wall. On the desk were a fountain pen and notebook, a globe, an unknown lever and pipes that seed to connect to other rooms, and a naplate.
Paoran smoke that the Commodore was smoking flowed into the ventilation duct. Esperanza covered her nose with one hand and waved the other to chase away the smoke while listening.
"They're very lowly tribes, but cunning. I can't even guess what thods they used."
The Commodore, who had risen from his seat, pressed his cigarette into the middle of the sea on a map showing all of Osdern and its nearby waters. With a sizzling sound, the map burned. The Commodore tapped ash onto the blackened point on the map and said:
"The waters where they're hijacking ships are estimated to be around here, but with ships that Osdern would have ridden only decades ago, they've stolen several of our warships. So now what we have to face isn't their junk ships but our warships. It's better to wait until new warships co from Nine Holder. Until then, we'll just do reconnaissance, just reconnaissance."
"That's true, but I'm worried it will look like we're admitting the great Osdern navy is being pushed back by re Paolun pirates."
At the spirited young officer's words, the Commodore burst into loud laughter.
"Pride doesn't bring victory. Soldiers must be prudent. Because being humiliated is always better than losing."
The Commodore, who had muttered plausibly, poked at harbors on the map with his cigarette tip while grinning wickedly. Wrinkles ford on his face tanned by the sun like a sailor's. Captain Duke inwardly thought 'Isn't he just not wanting to take responsibility?' but wisely remained silent.
"Well... that aside. What's Duke Dunbarton doing?"
Captain Duke, who had regained his composure, explained calmly:
"The caliber of people he's gathered is considerable. His advance into Nine Holder also seems to be a foregone conclusion. I'll prepare and submit a separate list of attendees."
"The mines are just an excuse? The old man used his head a bit."
"It would be killing two birds with one stone. But it was obvious he was focusing only on holding balls after quickly handling mine business. Such influential figures rarely gather secretly in Dunbarton. The Duke seed to be pushing his niece onto Count Avondale."
Avondale. The Commodore, who had snorted while repeating the na, took out a whiskey bottle from the cupboard and roughly opened the cork.
"Hmph, what was his reaction?"
"He didn't seem interested, but strangely, he seed to be acquainted with Count Sterling. Duke Dunbarton seed to be putting considerable effort into it. Perhaps a union of the two families might be possible..."
Having heard up to that part, Esperanza deliberately turned away.
'...I've heard everything I needed to hear anyway.'
A black hood fluttered past beyond the ventilation duct. Having instantly climbed through pipes and erged outside, Esperanza quickly left the naval base.
anwhile, the Commodore, completely unaware that soone had been listening to their conversation, filled his glass with liquor and said:
"If that were the case, Avondale wouldn't have accepted our commission and co to Sterling. Looks like another wasted effort."
The Commodore clicked his tongue and drained his glass completely.
Reviews
All reviews (0)