Let’s Create a Crew
Morning. A pleasant awakening. An early morning shower was exceptional, but the happiness of being able to relax in the hot spring bath first thing in the morning was very special.
"Aaaaahhh~ This is going to turn me into a good-for-nothing.... It's about time to face reality."
After the bath, I put my hands on my hips and chugged a can of coffee. I was lactose intolerant, so I tried to avoid dairy products as much as possible. Then I slipped my hand into the sleeve of black captain suit that had been prepared for me at some point, and then I noticed something.
"Which space female pirate am I...!?"
"*beep*.... After researching the culture of this world, I've prepared a suitable outfit for the current situation."
"So this is really what I think it is. Thanks, I guess. So, what's the situation outside?"
I asked Octa One while walking.
I’d like to enjoy my breakfast slowly, but I couldn't help but be worried about what's going on outside.
"*beep*.... Aircraft carriers and warships from all over the world are currently surrounding Ama no Murakumo. Please head to the bridge immediately."
"Seriously? How could this happen?"
Yesterday the US suddenly attacked us without warning. Now we are surrounded by military ships from all over the world. Ama no Murakumo can easily escape the encirclement through the sky, but if we leave the Japanese territorial waters in the current situation, there's no doubt that they will start attacking us.
Thinking about this and that, I arrived at the bridge and sat in the captain's seat.
"I guess this ship really needs a crew.... I wonder if I really can make golem or homonculus...."
"*beep*.... It's a simple matter with the level of your alchemy skill. If you are going to make them, I recommend creating magic-specialized golems or combat homunculi."
"Why?"
"So they can protect you in case of emergency."
"Oh, I see.... Well, let's put that aside for now. Can you pick up any audio or communications from the outside?"
"*beep*.... Yes."
"Then I'd like to talk to the Japanese side."
In a matter of seconds, Octa One picked up signals from Japan's secure communications line and succeeded in interfering with it.
"Test, test.... This is the Mobile Battleship Ama no Murakumo. We would like to inform the Japanese government that we have no intention of fighting. If you leave us alone, we will leave Japanese territory within a few days."
"This is the Japanese Ministry of Defense. What is your purpose of coming to our country? You speak Japanese fluently, so may I assume that you are Japanese?"
"We don't have any purpose yet. We simply materialized in this country due to a technical issue during the voyage. For your other question.... not only Japanese, I can understand and speak all of this world’s languages fluently."
How is that? I'm not lying. I suddenly found myself inside this battleship when I woke up, and I haven't decided about what I'm going to do next.
"China, which is located to the west of our country, has declared that your mobile battleship belong to them."
"That's a complete lie. This battleship doesn't belong to China or any other countries. If in the future any country engage in combat with us in an attempt to take the ownership of this battleship, we will fight back with all our might. However, we will not do anything as long as you don't lay your hands on us first. That's all. Please share this information with other countries."
"Understood. After consulting with the Japanese government, we will inform you of Japan's policy later. You may use this channel for communication going forward."
"Thank you for your cooperation."
That's the end of the story for now. Let's wait and see how they will respond to this, especially China. This is my mobile battleship. Don't go claiming ownership of it.
"Please continue to monitor their movements. If by any chance any country launches an attack, retaliate at a level that doesn't result in casualties.... Just teach them some lesson. Don't go all out, okay?"
"*beep*.... This is Truss One. I have accepted your orders, Captain."
"Good. Now then, let's have breakfast and then I’ll go somewhere open to try some alchemy."
Like yesterday, I had breakfast in the ship's cafeteria. The menu was a grilled salmon set meal with egg, five-grain rice, and miso soup with seaweed and tofu. It was a luxurious breakfast that could be called the golden combination.
It's been years since I've had a proper breakfast like this. I usually only eat granola or anpan (bread roll filled with sweet red bean paste) and canned coffee from the convenience store for breakfast.
"Phew~ This is the best. I've never thought that dying and coming back to life would save me from the life of a corporate slave. Still, it's kind of lonely to eat alone in this big cafeteria."
After finishing my breakfast, I left the tray of dishes in a designated place. They would be collected and washed automatically later.
Everything is automatic it makes me even more lonely....
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"Why, why did they publicly said that the battleship was not Chinese? Now other countries will also try to obtain it."
Chairman Ouyang shouted, his face was red with anger. Yesterday, when he received an intel saying that the US was going to launch an attack on the UFO under the US-Japan Security Treaty, he immediately called the US President to protest. He told him that it belonged to China and he should stop the operation at once. However, his claim was dismissed because there was no evidence.
Despite diplomatic sources continued to protest, there was no sign of the operation stopping. When the bombing started and the US Marine Corps began their incursion operation, Ouyang even ordered an emergency dispatch of fighter jets from an aircraft carrier in the East China Sea to Japan. However, before this order was carried out, it was reported the the US military operation had failed and the flying object was unscathed. Hearing that filled Ouyang’s heart with joy.
I want it....
With that kind of technology, my country, China, could rule the world.
The question is what should we do to obtain it?
Through the United Nations, as part of a peacekeeping operation, three Chinese warships were allowed to enter the Japanese territorial waters. However, all neighboring developed countries, including Russia, the United States, and even Australia, had also received the same permission. Most of them wanted to get their hands on the unknown technology.
"Chief Ouyang, the Japanese government has issued a new statement.”
“What!? Read it out loud!”
“Yes, sir....”
The Japanese government's statement was beyond imagination. It was said that they had spoken with the person in charge of the so-called Mobile Battleship Ama no Murakumo, who declared that the ship didn't belong to China or any other country. It was also said that although they had not yet decided on their next course of action, they came in peace and would not attack us unless we attacked them first.
"Keep an eye for any update.... I will contact the United Nations to schedule a Security Council meeting to decide what to do with that battleship.... If necessary, we are ready to send our military forces."
"Understood. I will also notify our warships that are in the contact zone to increase their surveillance."
Damn it! The prey is right under my nose, so why can't I catch it?
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"Hmm, so it’s something like that..."
I tried doing some alchemy at last.
First of all, let's start with what alchemy is.... well, to put it simply, alchemy is 'creating something' with magic.
The basics of alchemy can be divided into three techniques, namely Decomposition, Extraction, and Fusion, which are then complemented by five techniques, namely Transformation, Expansion, Reduction, Combination, and Magicization. The first three create the materials and ingredients, while the later five alter the nature of the matter itself. The later sounds more difficult? That’s how it is.
There are also two other techniques called Mass Production, a technique to increase the production of the completed product, and Elemental Transformation, a technique to rearrange the core elements of material.
Okay, that's enough with the theory. Let's make something simple like a golem for starters. There are three steps to make a golem:
1. Transform the materials into a golem body.
2. Make a magic core, which is the heart of the golem.
3. Put the magic core into the golem body, perform the magicization, and activate it.
Simple, right? Of these three steps, the most troublesome one is magicization. I need to engrave a magic formula into a transparent stone called high-purity magic crystal, but this is where it gets tricky.
If it’s a golem for manual labor, I just need to incorporate simple commands like grab or lift. However, what I want to create is an independently thinking golem. In other words, I have to incorporate human thought processes into a magic formula.
"Hmm.... am I actually a genius? No, it's different. Ever since I got this body, magic-related tasks have strangely become second nature to me."
That's right, this is the effect of the skills and blessings I got from the reincarnation bonus. They say we humans only use 10% of our brain capacity so that it won't interfere with our daily lives, but if we use 100% of our brain capacity, we are supposed to become superhumanly capable. Maybe this is the reason why it only took me a few hours to complete a magic core for independently thinking golem from scratch.
"Now then, I wonder what materials I should use for the golem body...."
"*beep*.... Captain, this is your first golem, the path to your glory. I've prepared orichalcum materials like the exterior of Ama no Murakumo."
A cart containing some kind of metal ingots had been prepared by Octa One before I knew it.
I just need to transform this, right?
"Okay, let's get started. Transformation.... 1.8m tall humanoid form, in knight-like full body armor...."
Slowly, little by little, the metal transformed into a humanoid form. Then, after repeating fine-tuning and sculpting, a knight in full body armor was completed an hour later.
"Next insert the magic core into the golem's chest.... and then once again, Transform.... For the last step, Magicization."
*rattle*
The magicized armored knight suddenly glowed and slowly rose to her feet.
"Hello. I'm Misaki, and I'll be your master. My orders are absolute, okay?"
*crash*
Perhaps she understood what I was saying, the armored knight crouched down on her knees, put her hands on her chest, and then bowed.
"Yes, my master. Please give me a name."
"You are my first female knight, so.... Brunhilde. You may introduce yourself as Brunhilde from now on."
"Yes, my master. Brunhilde is at your service. Please give me your order?"
Well, for now, should I make another six golems? No, hold on, if I make another magic core and mass produce it in advance, it will make things easier later, right?
"I will make a magic core, so Brunhilde.... no, Hilde, can you help me make copies of your body for your sisters?"
"Yes, my master. Please leave it to me."
"Please stop calling me 'my master'. Just call me Misaki."
"Then, may I call you Lady Misaki?"
"I guess that's fine. Feel free to call me Misaki, Miss Misaki, or Lady Misaki."
"Yes, Lady Misaki."
Things proceeded really fast from there. After lunch, I started mass-producing the magic cores, and by evening, 30 magical cores were completed. I inserted the magic core into the copies of Brunhilde and magicized them.
"This is the last one.... Rise up, Rosswiesse!"
The golem unit 'Valkyrie' with a total of nine members is completed with this. Starting with Brunnhilde, Gerhilde, Ortrinde, Valtraute, Schwertreite, Helmwige, Sieglune, Grimgarde, and Rosweisse, I have created a total of nine golems. That’s two more golems than what I had planned at the beginning.
Six o'clock in the evening, I headed to the hot springs to relax after registering Valkyrie to the system.
"I've worked really hard today. I hope this nightmare would end when I wake up tomorrow."
"*beep*.... I have a solution for this problem."
"Really!? What is that?"
"*beep*.... It's a declaration of statehood. In accordance with international law, we will establish a sovereign nation with the Mobile Battleship Ama no Murakumo as an island, in a location that is not crossed by general sea or air routes."
"Huh? Can we really do that? There are various strict conditions, aren't they?”
"*beep*.... There are four conditions to be met when declaring a statehood. The existence of permanent inhabitants, a defined territory, an independent government, and the capacity to interact with other sovereign states. But before that, I think we should leave Japan and move to the high seas first."
When I asked Octa One to elaborate it, she said so that we can make claims on our territorial waters.
"Territorial waters are 12 nautical miles or 22.2 km, right? That's not bad, but why has the conversation progressed to the point where I'm going to create a country for real?"
"*beep*.... It's for Captain's peace of mind. Please consider it."
"Okay, okay, I'll go soak in the hot spring and think about it."