episode_0280

In the chairman’s office, adorned with clean white and green interiors, Raihan restlessly tapped a pen on his desk.

“The captured Apostle, has its location been identified?”

The black-masked secretary operated the terminal he held, swiftly transmitting data from the Strategic Intelligence Office to the monitor in front of Raihan’s desk.

“We’ve narrowed down the probable facilities to about three, but access to their deeper sections is difficult for anyone outside of key personnel. Restraid has staunchly refused all contact with us. They’re even rejecting attempts at indirect access through the Foundation.”

“Damn old-fashioned nobles. It seems they intend to monopolize what will bring prosperity to the world.”

Raihan muttered. How could they claim such a precious thing all to themselves? It was *that* Apostle! It would be a monumental discovery that would shake the history of humanity, and even science itself.

To Raihan, who prided himself on leading the world’s progress, this was utterly intolerable.

It was utterly ridiculous and contemptible to see those antiquated monkeys try to monopolize and research it themselves.

Of course, the truth was Laflaxia’s rudeness in openly infiltrating spies into the clan to extract information, which had soured Restraid’s mood.

But to Raihan, who was currently excited by the discovery of the century, such minor issues were of no concern.

“Anyway, those old noble families, with their haughty talk of noble bloodlines, are impossible to reason with, aren’t they? What’s so great about tradition!”

He couldn’t understand why they kept bringing up the past, an incident from ages ago.

They spoke of saving the world and making sacrifices, yet they treated the dead bodies of their ancestors like treasures. How truly hypocritical.

If the heroes of the Great War could be cloned, how magnificent would it be to see the revived First Hunters walking the earth?

It would be an opportunity to turn the tide of the current battle against monsters!

The chairman fell into thought. Indeed, the only person in Rustroom who could be reasoned with was the Grand Archmage.

“Even so, Restraid are just tinkerers who handle metal. They’ll surely request cooperation from external research institutions. Track down everyone involved! By any means necessary! We absolutely must secure a sample of the Apostle. What is the Policy Cooperation Office doing?”

“As a matter of fact, I’ve brought the list of academic figures they are presumed to have recently tried to contact.”

Raihan’s eyes moved quickly as he scanned the latest updated data from the secretary.

First, the affiliated organization. It should be in a relatively neutral position, preferred by Restraid and the Federal Council faction.

The recent actions and academic standing of these individuals are also important, as are their specialized fields and talents. He would assess them, considering their known inclinations.

The most crucial factors were recent trends and the movements of other clans.

Combining the reports and analyses from below…

“…Good heavens, it’s you again?”

As the calculations concluded, the rapidly scrolling screen stopped at one point.

“Damn that woman, she’s lucky.”

The chairman’s face twisted with jealousy and envy.

**

Far to the west of Academy City, near the Karnak Archipelago, the first Violet Navy fleet review was held as a green sunrise emerged.

“Wow! It’s our fleet!”

The sight of five deep-sea fishing vessels and whaling ships leading a line of about twenty smaller fishing boats was magnificent.

On the decks, roughly welded machine gun mounts were set up, and occasionally, there were boats equipped with autocannons, missile launchers, or harpoon guns for hunting monsters.

All of this was the fruit of the Violet crewmen’s efforts.

They personally handled engines and various unfamiliar equipment, hiring crewmen to learn basic operation methods.

Of course, the Violets weren’t engineers or sailors with professional training, so they often failed to start the engines.

Because of this, several boats were broken. There were instances where the engines burned out, or something was mishandled, making them unable to be driven away for repairs.

Above all, the larger the ship, the more delicately and sensitively it had to be handled.

They thought it was just a matter of inserting a key and turning it, but in reality, a ship’s engine system was an orchestra composed of pipes, pumps, engines, generators, boilers, and hydraulic systems.

Although many ships had automated systems, the novice Violet commanders could barely master starting and stopping the engines.

“Huh! What’s this? Is it a valve?”

“No! If you pull that-”

-Hiss!

“The hydraulics are leaking!”

Therefore, it was safe to say that most of the ship’s functions were practically unusable. They could only move forward and backward.

They were diligently learning and getting used to it, but for now, just starting the engine was practically a miracle.

“The engineer said the air conditioning was here…”

“It’s fine! As long as we can drive it.”

Anyway, pulling these boats and lining them up, looking down from the sky, gave a sense of the fleet’s grandeur.

“The Violet Navy’s fleet review begins now!”

“Wow! Wow!”

But as they went on, there was something a bit awkward.

Perhaps because they were captured fishing boats and merchant ships, not warships, they looked rather shabby and clumsy up close.

People who didn’t know the situation would probably just think they were fishing boats working together.

“It looks less like a navy and more like a band of beggars…”

“This isn’t a navy!”

Thinking of the Federal Navy, flying around in airships, their current appearance seemed very insignificant.

The Violet crewmen looked around and became a little disheartened.

“Can we really call this a navy?”

Number 1 encouraged the somewhat dejected Violets.

“Don’t worry, later we’ll make our own clan. And then we’ll buy an airship!”

The Violets nodded. It was a bit disappointing, but maybe if they gathered enough funds later, they could buy a proper warship.

After all, the main force of this world’s navy was airships.

“Let’s think positively, maybe it’s even better that they’re old boats? It provides camouflage!”

“Now that I think about it, you’re right.”

Our Violet Navy’s specialty, the wolfpack tactics, shines in close-range surprise attacks.

To make the enemy drop their guard and approach them on the open sea, it would be effective to put them at ease.

This fleet review was a type of practice drill for large-scale maneuvers.

Although it was uncertain how often they would actually lead all these boats into battle.

Just their existence made their hearts feel strong.

The practice was over, so it was time to look for new work.

“Another request has come in!”

This new request was a bit special.

“Is it another field trip?”

It was an academy they hadn’t heard of before, and the mission was to escort students on a marine monster observation and corrupted zone field trip.

Given that they hired them, it seemed to be a small institution.

In any case, escorting innocent students was clearly an excellent and wholesome task befitting a navy.

“Alright, let’s give it a try!”

The Violets accepted without hesitation.

**

Ten fishing boats and one whaling ship cut gracefully through the water. In the center of the formation, on a white marine research vessel, boys and girls in uniform with weapons gazed curiously at their surroundings.

“Hey! Look over there, it’s a monster!”

“No, that’s a dolphin.”

The clear, clean sea had, at some point, begun to take on a bizarre, inky black hue, as if drawn with a ruler.

A disgusting stickiness, like tar and blood.

As the exploration vessel dropped anchor near the islands and cast then pulled up its nets, strangely mutated fish, presumably influenced by magic, appeared.

“Most of the waters near Rustroom are safe, but the seas near western Cascadia are particularly affected by Aether, causing localized mutations in the marine ecosystem. This is due to the influence of a Gate. Because of this, it’s also a habitat for marine monsters. You can see that the fish look different from usual.”

The students nodded at the marine researcher’s explanation. The Violets, on escort duty, watched boredly, passing the time idly on the fishing boats.

“It’s not a monster, but we can’t eat it!”

“Ugh! I was going to eat it for lunch…”

The Violets, who had been secretly fishing, listened to the lecture and then tossed their catches back into the sea.

“Still, nothing major’s happening.”

There was really nothing for the Violets to do.

They were only supposed to warn and eliminate truly threatening monsters if they approached, but even though the islands west of Cascadia had a strange atmosphere, there didn’t seem to be any major dangers.

“Wait a minute, isn’t that an engine sound?”

The peace was short-lived; an unidentified armed vessel emerged from among the islands.

A suspicious flag with a strange pattern hoisted on its hull. Since they were ignoring public radio calls, perhaps they were pirates.

“Pirates!”

The Violets tensed.

They quickly grabbed their weapons, started their fishing boats, and immediately charged at full speed towards the pirate ship.

“Surround them! Don’t let them escape!”

The Violets encircled the unidentified ship from all directions.

“Stop! Stop! Identify yourselves!”

As they aimed their machine guns and glared at the bridge, demanding surrender, the crewmen looked terrified and didn’t know what to do.

“Run! We have to run! Now!”

“Wait, isn’t this strange? Are those guys really pirates?”

They captured a prisoner and immediately brought him aboard, but a Violet observing the situation raised a question.

At that moment, a radio message came in from the exploration vessel.

“Emergency! A giant, unidentified magical energy signature has been detected. We must withdraw immediately!”

And in that instant, a rusty ship surfaced from the sea with a loud splash.

-Splash!

What emerged from the water was a heavily rusted warship, but its hull was entangled with writhing tentacles and various carapaces.

At first glance, it looked like a gunboat from the Great War era.

“W-what is that?”

Someone shouted in surprise, and a person who seemed to be a teacher replied.

“It’s a monster! A relic machine combined with a monster! Why is such a hybrid here?!”

Ghoul-ified crewmen and crab-like monsters were riding atop the gunboat. More horrifyingly, the ship began to move, emitting smoke.

The gunboat’s round turret slowly rotated with a creaking sound.

-Boom!

Thanks to the rusted cannon’s accuracy, the strangely wobbling cannonball landed in an unexpected spot. However, the height of the water column that shot up with the explosion was enormous.

Horrifyingly, the monster-ified warship began approaching the central research vessel and unleashing a barrage of fire.

“Those guys, it seems they don’t even see us!”

“Are they ignoring us because we’re fishing boats?”

The Violets didn’t know whether to be happy or sad that their unintentional camouflage had worked.

There was no time.

“Charge!”

The Violet Navy turned and rushed towards the twisted Great War era warship.

“Let’s make the ocean clean!”

The Navy’s first battle had begun.