Noticing that person was a coincidence.No—ultimately I would have noticed, so in that sense it was inevitable.But the fact that I noticed now, at this timing, was unquestionably by chance.“The founding hero whose whereabouts were unknown is showing his face in the capital?”“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. This individual.”What came up on the screen was a man who could still pass for his twenties, with a keen, striking face.He wore a fine coat and was absently looking up at something; at a glance he looked like a well-born young heir.“…Wasn’t the founding more than thirty years ago?”“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ The peninsula was unified over approximately five years beginning thirty-eight years ago. Therefore, even if he had been in his twenties at the time, he would now be over sixty.”“He doesn’t look it at all…”Naturally, not only the local Strategic AI but also Ringo flagged the discrepancy and scrubbed the data thoroughly. The result: the man was unmistakably the hero himself, and he had stepped back from the front line, only to be summoned to the capital on this occasion.Why he hasn’t aged is unknown. But in a world where magic exists, it stands to reason he possesses some sort of skill.“According to the record, he was a baron at the start of the Unification War, but through military merit, wartime promotions, and entering the leadership after a successful coup, he ultimately settled into his current status as a hereditary duke. We’ve found nothing prior to that. Most likely the records were lost during the war.”“Hm… So there really are people who live that long. Whether that’s a racial trait or a fantasy-magic effect, I’d like to know.”“Kidnapping him would cause an uproar.”“Obviously!!”“Don’t you dare,” she warned Ringo. A clutch play.“Full name, Amagio Silverhead. He’s withdrawn to a manor he built on the frontier and retired from the front line. This time he appears to have shown himself at the leadership’s summons—or rather, entreaty. Whether he will appear in negotiations with Paraiso or be asked to work behind the scenes is unknown, but the navy’s top brass seem to place considerable trust in him.”The benefits Amagio Silverhead brought to the Kingdom of Lepuitari are immense. Evidence suggests he was involved from the early phase in the development of firearms and artillery.After that, he laid the path toward the present maritime great power and devoted himself to expanding the navy’s strength.However, that was up until roughly twenty years ago.Since then he has rarely appeared in public, apparently shutting himself away on the frontier.“In any case, he is a key figure for the Kingdom of Lepuitari. He appears to be the one pulling the kingdom’s technological conveyance as well, so from Paraiso’s standpoint we will need utmost caution to prevent technology leakage.”“Right… The one technology that would be truly bad to leak would be fusion, yes? If they started building nuclear-reaction weapons, that would be a genuine nuisance.”“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. Aside from that, it would essentially all be on an extension of Lepuitari’s existing technology system. There’s a possibility of advancing several decades at most, but it is not an existential threat. Foundational research into electricity also appears to be progressing; electric streetlights should appear within ten years.”That said, in practice, projecting the technological level and its rate of progress is extremely difficult. There is no history to reference.Coal and petroleum use have not advanced to speak of; instead they use a clean energy source called fuelstone tone-mag.“By the way, the lack of coal feels like a pretty big problem. How do they handle ironmaking?”“For now, charcoal seems to be mainstream. In the specific case of the Kingdom of Lepuitari, they are repeating cycles of logging and reforestation, so resource depletion is not an immediate issue.”Ironmaking can use hydrogen, but carbon is more energy-efficient. At this technology level they likely cannot handle hydrogen in any case.But if they lack coke derived from coal, steel output will hinge on the volume of charcoal, and by extension on forest area.“We’ve been planning to shape them into a resource-producing country. Are we fine on that front?”“It is not that coal does not exist. We should recommend exploiting it when the time is right.”There was also the question of whether to hand over the Haber–Bosch process.“‘Bread from air’ is quite the sales pitch…”“If we add chemical fertilizer to Paraiso’s export list, there will be no need to pass on the Haber–Bosch process for the time being.”It is a dream technology capable of dramatically raising the Kingdom of Lepuitari’s population ceiling.By reacting nitrogen from the air with hydrogen extracted from coal and the like, they can produce ammonia, the feedstock for ammonium sulfate chemical fertilizer.Once this is industrialized, production of wheat—the staple—will surge at once.“Rising national power translates directly into greater military strength, so for us it’s a mixed blessing.”“Over a long span, yes. But by then the former United Kingdom of Aphrasia will be something else entirely, won’t it?”No matter how rapidly the Kingdom of Lepuitari develops, it cannot catch up to The Tree, which can wield technology from the far future at full stride.That is Ringo’s current estimate—and Commander Eve’s view.Moreover, by denying them a proper path of national development and creating a distorted economic form through trade, they intend to control the direction of that growth. It is the devilish plan devised by Ringo—the one that made Commander Eve mutter only, “Cruel…”Without letting them realize it, the aim is to make them a de facto vassal.“How we engage other nations going forward will matter, but having a friendly country versus not having one changes the difficulty greatly. Especially if that country holds power.”“…Do it your way.”Seeing Commander Eve’s posture of not wanting to think about overly complicated things, Ringo nodded: Leave it to me.At the very least, unless Commander Eve changes her mind, Ringo will not launch into world conquest.◇◇◇◇At long last, the man made his way to the harbor.“So then—which ship is the one everyone’s fussing about?”Ordinarily, the capital Moar’s harbor often keeps the latest battleship berthed as a matter of national prestige. At present, however, the visiting fleet is in port, and to avoid friction the battleship appears to have been moved to another harbor.“Still, is there really the technological gulf they claim? Performance doesn’t leap ahead in one bound like that…”The man was an engineer—very likely the top engineer in the Kingdom of Lepuitari.He knew well the limits of technology, and he understood that progress was the accumulation of foundational research to a mind-numbing degree.From his vantage, even the advances of the past forty-odd years are astonishing.That there exists a counterpart surpassing that—he could not readily bring himself to believe it.“Oh—now this looks like a fair.”The area around the harbor was overflowing with people come to see the fleet. Given the length of their stay, it had evidently become a tourist attraction.Where people gather, business follows.Sharp-eyed merchants had set up food stalls, and some had even thrown up scaffolds to make impromptu viewing platforms.“Hm…”The man grunted and turned his gaze to the harbor watchtower standing nearby.“Then, Your Grace, please call for us when you depart!”“Mm. Good work.”Leveraging his power to the fullest, the man had gotten himself into the watchtower’s top floor. He pressed an eye to the mounted telescope and immediately began searching for the fleet.“…There. Without a point of comparison I can’t judge the size, but…”He worked the telescope and brought it into focus. Owing to the lens fabrication tolerances it didn’t come in razor-sharp, but it was better than the naked eye.“...You’re kidding me… Hey now, this is…”Watching, the man groaned.“Turrets… damn, can’t make it out clean… But what is that—those muzzles aren’t circular…? More like a shroud than a barrel…?And the length—ours can’t build that yet… and guns—machine guns, maybe?That shape—what is it?A device that looks unrelated to guns… piping, or could those be—no way—power cables…?”He studied the pure-white ship.“…Crew. Beastfolk…?”A watertight door on the bridge opened and a crew member poked out her head—“…!”The man’s eyes met hers.

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