Ch.275The Road to Belka Archipelago (1)

“Can’t we just use a satellite to laser-zap them?”

Lucia asked me with half-open eyes.

“Satellite weapons are powerful, but they’re not all-purpose. It might have been possible during the Ancient Empire era. Back then, even civilian vessels would have had IFF devices.”

“Ah… so we can’t identify friend from foe?”

I nodded.

The sea is vast, but humanity is numerous.

Even if pirates raise their flags, they wouldn’t be clearly visible from space, and if we accidentally sink another nation’s warship, we’d immediately face diplomatic warfare.

“Even if IFF devices existed… after 51,202 years, they wouldn’t be compatible anyway. Besides, one of the pirates’ main sources of income is human trafficking. With a force of 30,000, they probably have all sorts of prisoners and kidnapped people aboard. Are you suggesting we blast them all with satellite weapons?”

“Ah… so we have to handle this ourselves…”

“That’s right. Just tough it out. This pilgrimage was your idea.”

“Sob sob…”

Realizing that there was no easy way out, Lucia made a tearful face and buried her head against her sister’s collarbone.

If they had larger breasts, one might have seen tears flowing between their cleavage… but unfortunately, the two elves weren’t blessed with such figures.

Oh, I have no right to judge.

“Even if we could identify friend from foe… this is an official request with Adventurer’s Guild involvement. Do you think satellite weapon destruction would easily count as our achievement? Of course, being the Sun’s Apostle, I could probably get it approved… but I am Luminator, the only Apostle of the Sun. I can’t give my political rivals the impression that I ‘cowardly took the easy way out with satellite weapons.'”

“This is quite the dilemma. Gaining control of the satellites is good, but actually using them is problematic…”

“It’s the same with relic control. If I use my free pass to enter and collect money… then what? What about the soldiers sleeping inside? Should I take them with me? Or help them reach enlightenment? There are plenty of relics that we know about but leave alone not for safety reasons but diplomatic ones. If I were to wake up all those relics, it would disrupt the balance. Who would accept me as Emperor if I went around spreading unnecessary hostility?”

When I said that, all party members nodded with somber expressions.

They were finally beginning to understand.

Just how troublesome, political, and diplomatic it was to embark on a pilgrimage with an Apostle.

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of abandoning you. You may lack expertise to become ministers, but I’ll at least ensure you can live comfortably for the rest of your lives.”

“Anyone listening would think you’ve already ascended the throne. So full of yourself, seriously.”

“I refuse to converse with someone whose hemoglobin carries alcohol instead of oxygen.”

“Hey!”

Excluding the alcohol-composed elf, we watched the soldiers who had enjoyed a week of sweet rest board the Sky Warden.

It was time to depart.

-All boarding confirmed. All soldiers stand by at your positions.-

-Sky Warden disconnection confirmed. Propulsion systems activated.-

“What good are satellites if we can’t use them?”

“At least they’re producing orichalcum ore. Have a drink.”

“You were just lecturing me about blood alcohol levels earlier!”

“You’re the same whether drunk or sober.”

I choked the increasingly luminous Lucia, cutting off her carotid artery, then left her to Kasia’s care.

Indeed, a ruler needs someone who acts so straightforwardly by their side.

To tighten discipline when hearts grow lax, so to speak.

In that sense, she was proving her value quite admirably.

*

“Damn. This will be difficult.”

“Well, we can’t expect much from a small coral island. At least we have somewhere to deploy troops, so that’s fortunate.”

We gathered in the conference room and began discussing with the staff how to best defend the Belka Archipelago.

The above was an assessment of the terrain, indicating that defense at Belka would be much more difficult than we had anticipated.

“We don’t know what’s inside the enemy vessels… from civilians to crude oil, fuel, or other chemicals. Even if we win the battle, we’d lose the war. A small community surrounded by polluted seawater couldn’t possibly be self-sufficient…”

“Can’t you adjust the output?”

“I’m talking about minimum output. At maximum output, it could completely melt and submerge land masses the size of the Belka Archipelago.”

“Then… why not use maximum output to melt everything including the chemicals before they arrive! Wouldn’t that prevent environmental pollution?”

“How do you plan to distinguish the enemies? Do you think pirates coming to raid will proudly wave pirate flags? Besides… the Belka Archipelago isn’t particularly isolated. It’s a bustling port city with hundreds of ships coming and going daily. And since lasers are heat weapons, firing near the densely forested Belka Archipelago would cause forest fires, exponentially increasing civilian casualties…”

One might ask if it wouldn’t be better to hire mercenaries or adventurers for help, but the problem is that we are those adventurers.

“Are there no weapons besides lasers? Missiles, perhaps…?”

“There are, but… do you really think explosive weapons that have been dormant for tens of thousands of years would function properly? Even with Imperial technology, dropping bombs and missiles that are over 50,000 years old is too unreliable.”

This is truly frustrating.

Having powerful firepower is good, but it’s too powerful to be useful—what kind of absurd logic is this?

Given the basic altitude difference between airships and naval vessels, we’re essentially attacking from above, so we can’t arbitrarily reduce penetration power. Even using less propellant wouldn’t reduce the warhead’s power, so that’s meaningless.

CIWS is originally for close defense, so it’s useless for long-range bombardment…

“Let’s just send down troops. That seems to be the most certain… the only method available.”

“You think so too? That’s what I think.”

“But why were you contemplating so much…?”

“Well… we have hundreds of millions of satellite weapons, yet not a single one we can use—does that make any sense…?”

When I spoke in a dejected voice, the staff nodded.

What is this, seriously…

It’s not like a broken car that only works at 0 or 100…

[This is all because descendants couldn’t maintain them properly…]

Please be quiet, you who only appointed an Apostle now and didn’t even produce more.

[…]

*

“Well, can’t be helped. The military exists for times like this… This will be good experience for the armored units after so long without real combat. Being coastal artillery should be a rare experience.”

“It’s fortunate that the elevation is high, so there’s no mud. Plus, with the wide tidal flats, they’ll have a hard time if they try a landing operation.”

“If they had transport pods, they could use those… but mere pirates couldn’t possibly have access to such things…”

Pirates are, fundamentally, vile criminals.

When such people gather and conspire, they’re not a single collective but merely a multitude of individuals.

In contrast, what about our Sun’s forces?

Under the sacred mission of fighting for the Sun’s divine authority, with generous pay and excellent welfare, even the most ignorant person can become an excellent soldier.

Fall into the short-term benefits of crime and get trapped in an inescapable quagmire, and you end up like those pirates.

“Still, it’s surprising that so many pirates have gathered. There must be someone with strong charisma among them.”

“More than that, I find it strange that they’re targeting Wood Elf communities. While Belka Archipelago is a bustling port, that’s only because it’s under the peaceful rule of the Wood Elves. If it became a pirate harbor, all that trade volume would disappear instantly. There’s no reason to attack, is there? It’s not like they’ve been actively hunting pirates.”

When the chief of staff said this, Lucia, who had been listening nearby, interjected as if she couldn’t bear it anymore.

“Really… this is why military types just don’t get it. You truly don’t understand why they’re attacking?”

“…I apologize. Could you share your insights?”

“Look at the map. It’s all forest. Pirates who lack the technology to manufacture metal ships need timber to build their fleet. Satellite images show cork trees, rubber trees, and some willows. Even as criminals, pirates make excellent use of such herbs. They cut cork bark to sell to third parties, collect rubber sap for waterproofing, and boil willow branches to make anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving medicines. They could become the top pirates in the region. Do you understand now?”

After Lucia shared her “insights,” the chief of staff and his subordinates all bowed their heads as if having a great realization.

Having lived thoroughly as soldiers, they sometimes lacked the insight of even a common adventurer when it came to predicting civilian demands or non-military operations.

I greatly praised Lucia, rewarding her with one gold coin and permission for unlimited drinking with her sister until we reached the archipelago. Lucia dashed out of the conference room at a speed slower than light.