The Hungry Fortress Wants to Build a Battleship in Another World – World of Sandbox
Vol 4. Chapter 2: Consulting on Espionage Activities

“What’s the situation looking like?”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. No particular issues. The fleet is charting a return route to the Northern Archipelago without entering visual range of <The Tree>.”

“Good, good. I was wondering what we’d do if they came our way, but it looks like they’ll avoid us.”

It had been over two years now. A fleet believed to have been dispatched from the Northern Archipelago—previously seized by military force—had finally made its way back, albeit with reduced numbers. From the documents retrieved aboard a previously secured derelict ship, it had been confirmed that it belonged to this very fleet.

“Still, I wonder just how far that fleet managed to travel?”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. Due to the long distance, the matter had been postponed, but there is a continent to the south. It lies more than 6,000 kilometers away, but it is highly likely that was their destination.”

“Hoh~. I’m surprised they managed to sail that far with just sailships... And they didn’t even have proper maps, right?”

Indeed, 6,000 kilometers wasn’t a distance even <The Tree> could cover lightly.

Well, in terms of sheer travel, it was possible—but due to the horizon problem, communication could not be maintained. Ideally, it was a distance best avoided for any deployment.

Nowadays, with mid-route relay drones prepped in advance, the coverage range could be expanded, but it was still an expanse of endless sea with nothing in between. Hence, the focus had remained on the Northern Continent.

“It’s likely they possessed some level of navigational technology. While they primarily move via wind power, their ships are equipped with rudimentary propulsion systems. Compared to Earth’s sailing vessels, their maritime capability and techniques are presumed to be incomparably superior.”

“I see...”

In that regard, the derelict ship had been thoroughly examined by <Ringo> and Olive, so their technical level had been fairly accurately assessed.

The ship itself had an oddly patchworked quality—some structures were evidently primitive new tech, while others were surprisingly refined.

It was likely that their technological advancement was evolving rapidly, day by day. For example, while the paddlewheel’s bearing structure was crude, it nonetheless used ball bearings.

Yet inside the ship, sliding bearings were also discovered alongside spare ball bearings.

This likely indicated the unreliability of their current bearing technology. Though according to <Ringo>, in terms of manufacturing difficulty, ball and sliding bearings were about the same—so it remained unclear which one counted as “unfinished” tech.

“Since we have a good opportunity here, let’s insert a spy-bot into this fleet. We’ll use high-altitude drone surveillance and wireless power transmission, and assign the submersible Orca to follow them underwater. Ultimately, the goal will be to infiltrate the Kingdom of Lepuitari with the spy-bot.”

“Right. Time to reach out in that direction too. ...Ah, it really is nice having access to resources.”

Around the United Kingdom of Aphrasia, several prominent nations had already been identified.

First was the Forest Kingdom of Levresta, a large eastern power that had, despite its reluctance, engaged in territorial annexation.

Then to the west lay the Wheat Country of Weizenland, a major agricultural producer.

Further southwest of Aphrasia and south of Weizenland was a collection of minor states. Not much information had come in from them, and they appeared to have little industrial significance, so there were no current plans to engage with them.

And beyond that western edge—stood the problem nation: the Kingdom of Lepuitari.

The Kingdom of Lepuitari was a peninsular state sharing a limited border with Weizenland—and a military powerhouse. It possessed an elite navy, and had established itself by unifying a peninsula that had previously been split into three nations. A relatively young nation, by the looks of it.

Well, “young” was relative. The original Lepuitari Kingdom had apparently existed for several hundred years.

Their successful annexation and governance of two neighboring nations, without major upheaval, was largely attributed to the internal revolution that occurred during the conquest wars. The old ruling systems had been completely purged.

That reset of entrenched interests likely resulted in the absence of major inequality in the newly conquered territories.

“As a nation, there are clearly still areas of immaturity, but the fact remains—they’re governing this rather vast peninsula quite well. At present, they’re the country we need to watch most closely.”

Further west, there was a coalition of nations united under a single religion. Due to their minimal interaction with Telek Port City, not much information had been gathered about them.

Still, it was at least known that they were an ambitious religious alliance, gradually expanding their influence.

“They’re pretty far from our position. For now, let’s keep a watchful distance.”

Since Commander Eve had made that call, <Ringo> had not been conducting active information-gathering on them.

That said, if relations with the Kingdom of Lepuitari deepened, then it would likely become necessary to gather intel on the religious coalition as well.

“We’ll attach the Orca submersible directly beneath the fleet’s flagship. Nighttime wireless power transmission will be handled via underwater antenna deployment. In effect, this gives us unlimited operating range. Our ultimate objective will be full infiltration into the Kingdom of Lepuitari and spy-bot deployment.”

“Sounds good. By the way, what’s the western side’s anti-air capability like? I recall we’ve been occasionally sending the solar-powered recon drone Swift in.”

“No signs of interceptive action at this time.

During the recent LRF-1 Vulture reconnaissance run, there was no visible reaction either.

We assess that, unlike the Forest Kingdom of Levresta, they do not possess weaponry capable of reaching high altitude.

That said, at an altitude of 20 km, it’s still possible to be seen—depending on who’s looking.

Vulture ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) also produces a fair bit of engine noise, so frequent deployment may eventually raise suspicion.”

“Yeah, true. I’d really like a satellite soon, but let’s be patient a bit longer. We’ll approach the Kingdom of Lepuitari slowly and carefully.

So—did the Vulture run yield anything useful?”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am.

Due to the vast scan range, analysis took some time, but it has been completed without issue.

For full accuracy, we’d like to conduct at least three more reconnaissance flights. However, there’s a risk of triggering suspicion, so I’ll discuss that separately.

We now have aerial photographs and laser-based topographic data of the Kingdom of Lepuitari’s entire territory.

Accuracy is above 98%.

From image analysis, we’ve been able to estimate their overall national capacity.

In particular, we’ve been able to pinpoint their military power—specifically their navy, which is most relevant to us.”

<Ringo> displayed a map of naval ship distributions around the Kingdom of Lepuitari.

“As you can see, the Kingdom of Lepuitari is a peninsular state, with only about 60 km of land connecting it to the continent—essentially surrounded by sea on all sides.

Military ports have been constructed across various locations, with a large number of warships stationed there.

Most are wooden-hulled ships lined with unarmored cannons—the so-called ships of the line. A considerable number have been deployed.

Based on aerial photos, we’ve identified 247 ships of the line.

Then, there are roughly 50 semi-metallic vessels equipped with basic rotating turrets.

These have larger caliber guns and seem to possess targeting systems, so in terms of overall combat capability, they likely outperform the ships of the line.

And likely forming the main fleet—eight battleships, metal-armored, all equipped with rotating turrets.

Taking the escort ships into account, the total combat strength surpasses that of the 297 previously mentioned ships.”

“...That's quite the mixed bag of ship types.”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am.

It’s presumed that some catalyst led to a rapid leap in their shipbuilding technology.

Especially around the capital, we’ve confirmed significant industrialization and numerous shipyards.

Multiple warships are under construction.

Even just from image analysis, there are significant performance differences among the eight battleships.

They appear to be integrating new technologies as they go, building in rapid succession.”

“So, like a full-blown industrial revolution?”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. Most likely.

There are clusters of factories that appear to be steelworks, linked by railroads.

A railway network connects the northern port cities with the industrial zones.

The transported cargo is likely iron ore.

The fuel source is still unclear, but no smoke has been observed—so it is presumed they are using fuelstone.”

Fuelstone—recently being mined near Telek Port City—is a type of stone that burns with magical energy.

At <The Tree>, it has no practical applications, so little research has been done on it. But compared to coal, it’s undoubtedly more convenient. Its lack of impurities likely makes it ideal for steel manufacturing.

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