Chapter 39: The Führer and the Navy in Another World

Now that the meeting is over.

Let’s go to the Ministry of the Navy.

I considered heading to the Ministry of the Army first, but as expected, I want to go to the Navy.

The Ministry of the Navy of our Empire is a stylish red-brick building located a few minutes drives from the Führer’s Palace.
It is my personal favorite building because it gives the feeling of a mixture of Western and Japanese architecture of the Meiji period.

If it were any other season, I would love to paint it on canvas, but…The current season is winter.

It wasn’t so bad when I was on the warm southern Beastvania peninsula, but it’s snowing season on the mainland.
And the roads are white with snow.

I don’t want to be outside much when it’s this cold.

“Your Excellency, we have been expecting you. Please come inside the building.”

“Mm. Thanks for welcoming us, Mr. Crewcut.”

We stop in front of the Ministry of the Navy, and from there Mr. Crewcut greets us and opens the door for us as we get off.

After all, it’s cold outside. My breath turns white and my bare thighs are so cold. I was wondering if I could warm up my thighs somehow…

“…You can’t do that, Eryu-san. Hiding your thighs is not allowed.”

I was warned by Ayame-san.

“Can’t you at least let me wear tights?”

I complained to her, but ……Ayame-san shakes her head. It seems gonna be useless, she won’t budge when she was determined.

That being said, I would like to get inside and out of the cold as soon as possible. I hurriedly rush to inside the Ministry of the Navy.

Heaters are there waiting for me.

“Don’t rush. You might slip and fall.”

But even Ayame-san is worried, but as expected, I know I am not very athletic……..

“Uwaah.”

“I told you already, are you okay?”

 ……I am not slipping, I didn’t fall, okay?

I was supported by Ayame-san just as I was about to slip… Let’s take Ayame-san’s warning more seriously.
 
 ……I mean, not that I’m afraid of falling, but Ayame-san, please hold my hand.

I entered the Ministry of the Navy while holding hands with Ayame, and we walked for a few minutes. Mr. Crewcut led us to what looked like a reception room.

 ……This room somewhat makes me unsettled.

And I know the reason why, see?

“Ayame-san, why is that picture displayed here?”

“Because it’s your painting, Eryu-san?”

Yup, that’s correct.
 
I have been doing a lot of paintings as a hobby lately. Especially the ones that depicting warships were displayed everywhere in this Ministry of the Navy… There are several of them in this reception room.

“Eryu-san’s paintings are national treasures, so it is only natural that they should be exhibited.

“I wasn’t very good at it, you know. My paintings.”

“No, no, I think it’s good enough for an ‘art college dropout.'”

 ……First of all, I didn’t fail art college. What, was that nickname well-known throughout the country?
 

Somehow, I’m wrapped up in a feeling of unconvincing…Yeah.

Ayame-san and I sit next to each other on the sofa.

Then, Mr. Crewcut prepared a blanket from somewhere and said, “Please, Your Excellency, have a blanket.”
Somehow, it is very touching. Seeing that I looked cold, he immediately prepared a blanket for me, how very gentlemanly of him.

I like that sort of thing.

“Thank you so much.”

“All for your sake, Führer.”

My goodness…

Ah, Ayame seems to be jealous. What, you want to warm me up with your body?… Please wait until after we get back home.

“So, I want to talk about the future of the Navy. How is the new construction plan…”

“Here is Plan#1 based on the idea of the ‘Mobile Fleet Doctrine’ that Your Excellency has devised.”

He quickly prepares the documents and places them on the table in front of me. As expected, an elite graduate of the Naval Academy certainly does his job well.

By the way, the Plan#1 project, refers to the first construction project in the different worlds.

Um, let me see, the ships that are to be built are…

“Four cruisers, four regular aircraft carriers, one experimental aircraft carrier, plus some other ships…”

“Yes, these ships will be built within three years.”

Mm, splendid. With all these ships, it would be possible to form a mobile aircraft carrier fleet.

Well, I have already mentioned that I would build an air force.

“I see that you are also quite enthusiastic about aircraft carriers. Mr. Navy.”

“The development of aircraft is a project that is at the forefront of Your Excellency’s mind, and the Navy will do its utmost to support it. Besides, considering our future strategic capabilities, we need to have the ability to hit inland areas with aircraft.”

I see, my Navy is certainly taking the matter seriously.

I thought the Navy was all about big ships and big artillery and romance.

You know, like some navies that love to fight naval fleet battles.

Needless to say, aircraft development is currently a top priority for the Army and Navy.

Since the only real threat is the flying monsters used by the elves on the western continent, the budget is heavily allocated to countermeasures against them…

“However, the budget for the capital ships has been cut somewhat to compensate for the large number of aircraft carriers being built.”

That was… Well, it can’t be helped. After all, the budget is not infinite.

“The original plan was for the new cruiser to be equipped with a newly developed 36cm gun. However, due to budget cuts, the ship ended up being equipped with a smaller 31cm gun.”

We redesigned it as a cruiser based on the armament layout of the large cruiser that Your Excellency painted, Mr. Crewcut continued.
 
The large cruiser I drew― I believe it was the Alaska-class. That painting must have been on display somewhere in the corridor of the Ministry of the Navy.

With a baseline displacement of 19,000 tons, it had three main guns, two 31 cm twin cannons in the front and one in the rear.
The anti-aircraft guns are in the same layout as the Alaska-class…

“…Well, it’s acceptable. What about the anti-aircraft guns?”

“It will be equipped with a 12.7 cm dual-purpose gun currently under development. This dual-purpose gun will also be used as the main gun of the new 6,000-ton cruisers.”

The 6,000-ton class cruiser.

The ship resembles a U.S. Navy Atlanta-class cruiser.

This cruiser will be the centerpiece of the aircraft carrier fleet’s air defense.

Of course, it is not only specialized in air defense.

A dual-purpose gun that doubles as an anti-aircraft gun would be powerful enough for the wooden ships that are common in this world and would even be more effective than a large-caliber gun, given its rapid-fire capability.

In this light, I think there is no need for cruiser battleships…You see, it’s a flagship thing. So we need an iconic ship for the Navy.

It’s a romance.

“Eryu-san sure loves ‘big things’…”
 
“What, is there something you want to say?”

“No, not really…”

Ayame-san keeps staring at me… I do not particularly mind whether Ayame-san’s boobs are small, you know? 

I don’t want a yandere problem, so I’ll just pamper Ayame-san by leaning on her and being spoiled by her.

It is these little things that keep Ayame-san in a good mood, as well as my peaceful daily life.
See, she’s in somewhat of a good mood, with just a little bit of pampering, “You’re quite a spoiled girl, aren’t you, Eryu-san?”

Hmm.

“What about the existing ships? Like the third and fourth Fuji-type ships.”
 
“It is scheduled to be in service by the end of this year. Once in service, we plan to deploy it along with four other similar ships as a fleet to defend the mainland.”

“What about the Eastern Continent?”

“Given the threat level, we have deployed the second fleet led by the Shikishima-class battleships to Ieneko Island. This alone should be enough to secure control of the seas in the eastern continent.”

Well, the countries of the Eastern Continent only have galley ships, I suppose.

The Empire will now sell Battlecruiser-style warships to friendly countries that do not use classified technology like ‘Steam Engines’ or ‘Breechloading Cannons’ or similar things for business purposes, but…

Even though it is an old pre-dreadnought class, it is not an opponent for a battleship.

“The greatest threat to our navy right now is the elves of the western continent. Their air forces are the only ones that pose a threat to us.”

“The man-eating bird, Maneater, if I remember correctly. What were its capabilities?”

“It has a wingspan of about 10 meters, about the size of a small airplane currently under development. With a maximum speed of 100 km/h, it has no projectile weapons, but it has sharp claws and could be a threat if it gets too close.”

“I see, so they don’t do aerial bombing, correct?”

“So far, no such weapons have been identified. However, if war breaks out, a number of our unexploded bombs will be scattered throughout the enemy’s country. It would only be a matter of time before they were dug up and used…”

 ……It can be a good substitute for a small aerial bomb, I suppose. It might not be able to sink a battleship, but it might be able to sink a cruiser.

Well, the battleships are also of World War I level, with flimsy pre-Jutland specifications for horizontal defense, so if a large unexploded bomb is dropped from above, there is a possibility that the ship will be sunk by a single explosion…

“Even in the absence of such an attack, the cruiser, which was sailing and scouting along the western continental coast, was attacked and several men were wounded. While there was no damage to the ship, which was protected by armor, the deck personnel were attacked by the monstrous bird…”

Well, I understand what happens next without you telling me.

As of now, the ships of my navy do not possess anti-aircraft equipment.

The mere fact that the other party is flying in the sky means that we are subjected to a one-sided attack, regardless of their performance.
This is not surprising since there was no air force in the game.

Even if they don’t drop a bomb on you, the big bird will just quickly swoop in and take you by surprise, then it’s farewell for your life.

As expected, the ability to defend against air forces will be essential.

“What about the aircraft development…”

“Please wait a little longer, Your Excellency, a new radial engine has just been developed.”

Oh, I see. Then, it seems like we can make it…

So much for talking with Mr. Navy, let’s head next to the Ministry of the Army.

=====

It seems that future ships of the Yamato Imperial Navy will have Japanese Empire-style hulls with United States of America-style armament layouts.
Since no known threat has been discovered at sea, an aircraft carrier escort with a high anti-air combat capability to protect the ship seems to be in high demand.

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