Into Battle -fleet-

It had been a day and a half since we saw Ooyamizuchi. I was standing

in front of the broadcast jewel we had brought to Kishun's mansion.

Projected on the simplified receiver placed slightly ahead of me was an

image of Liscia, currently at the secret arsenal on an island near Lagoon

City. We had one of our regular calls scheduled for today.

"How are Cian and Kazuha, Liscia? I'd like to see their faces," I asked

her, but she told me I was out of luck with a shrug.

"They're napping now. Carla's looking after them."

"That's too bad. Here I was, thinking I'd get to see their faces after far

too long."

"You only left the Kingdom a week ago, didn't you?"

"For a father, that's too long. What if they forget my face?"

"You're overprotective... I'm starting to wish you'd hurry up and have

babies with everyone else, too. It'd be better to have your attention divided

across a lot more children," Liscia said, sounding a little fed up with me. I

wasn't sure how to respond.

"So, you were going to show them the sea, right? How did they react?"

"They didn't really get it yet. They weren't particularly excited or

scared."

"Well, they're only a year old, after all."

"If they could walk a little better, and we weren't in the middle of

winter, I'd have let them play in a tidal pool, but... I think that's probably

too dangerous, so we just looked at it from a distance while I held them."

"That makes sense. When they're older, I'd like to go beachcombing as

a family."

"Hee hee, that might be nice. But we need the sea to be safe for that,

right?" she said with a smile. Seconds later, her face became serious and she

asked, "...You saw Ooyamizuchi, correct? How did it look?"

"Huge... Incredibly... huge."

For a moment, I considered making light of the situation so as not to

scare Liscia, but she'd already seen the reports, so that wouldn't work. I

decided to be honest.

"It was akin to a moving island, just like the witnesses said. It makes me

shudder to think something that massive could appear closer to the

Kingdom."

"I read the reports. That thing is way bigger than Naden or Ruby, right?

...Can you beat it?"

"We have to—for the sake of securing safety out at sea. Fortunately,

thanks to Ichiha's analysis, it should be easy to come up with

countermeasures. I've already sent his conclusions to the relevant parties,

so I'm sure they'll think of something that will work. We've got him going

through witness reports to figure out Ooyamizuchi's route now, too."

"Sounds like you're going to hit it with everything you've got. But

aren't you too focused on Ooyamizuchi? What about the Nine-Headed

Dragon Archipelago's fleet?"

"That's Excel's job. I'll leave it to the experts."

"That's so like you... but it must be frustrating not being able to do

anything about it yourself."

I could hear Liscia was itching to get involved, too. If the children were

a little bigger, she'd have been on a ship immediately.

I gave this gutsy mom a wry smile and said, "Look after the kids, okay?

Liscia."

"...Okay. Take care, Souma."

And with that, we terminated the call.

◇ ◇ ◇

Some days later, I decided to gather my companions in the living room

and explain what was going to happen.

"Excel's sent us an outline of the plan," I said, unfurling the map we had

been sent.

"Wh-What is this sea chart?!"

"Even the currents are indicated here. How does the Kingdom have a

chart like this...?"

Shabon and Kishun's eyes widened in shock when they saw it.

The chart only showed a portion of the Nine-Headed Dragon

Archipelago, but with enough careful detail to show the course from the

Kingdom to Nine-Headed Dragon Island.

With a wry smile, I told the two of them, "It means you're not our only

source of information inside the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago."

""......""

They were at a loss for words, which was expected, really, since us

having a sea chart like this proved we had other informants.

I ignored them and went on, "The Kingdom's fleet, which is gathered at

Lagoon City, will head southwards, making a close pass east of the Parent

and Child Islands before setting course for the port on the west side of

Nine-Headed Dragon Island."

The Parent and Child Islands, south of Lagoon City, were a pair of two

islands, much like the Twin Islands. Child Island was about the same size as

the Twin Islands, but Parent Island was much larger. This served as the

origin for its name.

Next, I pointed to the sea between Child Island and Nine-Headed

Dragon Island. "Here is where Excel expects our fleet to face the

archipelago's fleet."

"Huh?! You mean to fight there?!" Kishun cried out in surprise, having

come back to his senses. Continuing his thought he said, "It is certainly true

that this is the most direct course to the port on the west side of NineHeaded Dragon Island, but the area between Child Island and Nine-Headed

Dragon Island is filled with many small uninhabited landmasses. That will

make it difficult for the Kingdom to deploy its fleet, which I can only

assume contains many large warships, while the smaller boats used by the

archipelago will be able to move around more easily... The Nine-Headed

Dragon King may even be eagerly lying in wait."

Due to his weak position, he couldn't voice his opinion too strongly, but

it sounded like Kishun wanted us to reconsider. Shabon looked at him

uneasily.

I shrugged my shoulders at the two of them, saying, "But it's still the

shortest route, right? Excel must have chosen this course because she

determined that even if the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago's fleet is

waiting for her there, she can handle them. As king, all I can do is trust my

Commander-in-Chief."

"Are you certain you are not underestimating the Nine-Headed Dragon

King and the archipelago's fleet?"

"You say that, but are you sure you're not underestimating my fleet?" I

asked Kishun, who had a look on his face like he'd just bitten into

something unpleasant.

He seemed ready to press the issue, but Shabon tugged on his sleeve and

shook her head silently. In a quiet voice, she said, "Let us believe in them,

Kishun. We have placed our bets on Sir Souma and his people."

"Lady Shabon... I... I understand." Kishun backed down.

With that settled, I told everyone, "We've finished gathering

information. Now it's time to meet up with the fleet."

◇ ◇ ◇

Around the same time...

In the main room of Nine-Headed Dragon King Shana's mansion on

Nine-Headed Dragon Island, the chiefs of the largest islands had gathered to

prepare for an invasion by the Kingdom of Friedonia. They sat around a

map of the archipelago that had been unfurled on the wooden floor—with

frowns across all their faces.

"To think the Kingdom would attack when we're already menaced by

Ooyamizuchi..."

"He strikes when we're at our weakest. The King of Friedonia is a

cowardly scoundrel."

"He must have been awfully upset about our people fishing in the sea

near the Kingdom."

"The fishermen are desperate. For those who live with the sea, not being

able to go out to fish is like not being alive at all."

"It's a little much to ask him to understand that, though..."

As they each voiced their own opinions...

The man seated at the head of the group, listening in silence until now,

said, "People, that's hardly what we should be discussing now."

This was the ruler of the islands, Nine-Headed Dragon King Shana. He

belonged to the race of mermen, the same as Shabon, but unlike her, he had

a body that radiated strength, a topknot, and a stern expression. The picture

of a warrior.

Hearing the grave tones in the ruler of the rowdy Nine-Headed Dragon

Archipelago's voice, the island chiefs fell very quiet. King Shana looked to

each of them before speaking.

"Our spies report that the Kingdom's fleet has already set sail. They'll

be arriving within the week to invade us."

"What do you think their goal is? To take some island or another?" a

young island chief asked, but King Shana shook his head.

"Hardly. They can't possibly want to hold land where Ooyamizuchi

resides. It would be difficult for them to rule this region when we're so far

from the Kingdom, and so different culturally. Their more likely objective

is to deal a blow to our fleet. We have been using it to support our

fishermen in waters near the Kingdom, after all. Without escorts, it will be

impossible for them to go out that far."

"Damn it! They mean to trap our fishermen here—where that monster is

running rampant?"

A swarthy island chief who was a mountain of muscle punched the floor.

The other island chiefs nodded.

"If only Ooyamizuchi would move into the Kingdom's waters."

"You said it. Why does it stay here?"

"Why don't we ask the Kingdom for help slaying Ooyamizuchi? If we

could just get rid of it, the fish would return, and then we wouldn't have to

squabble over who can fish where, you know?" one of the young island

chiefs said, but an elderly island chief shook his head.

"Not possible. We're not even united on what should be done about

Ooyamizuchi ourselves. If not for this 'foreign threat,' there wouldn't even

be this many island chiefs gathered here."

The independent spirit of each of the islands in the Nine-Headed Dragon

Archipelago was the result of a long history of conflict over who would rule

the waves. Because of that, without any sort of impending foreign invasion,

the islands would never fight as one. Though Ooyamizuchi was a threat, it

was not an invader, so each island prepared for it independently, leading to

none of them joining forces to resolve the issue. That was one of the

reasons Shabon had gone to plead for the Kingdom to slay it.

"We can come together against the Kingdom, but not against a single

beast. Could you ask someone to fight with us when we act like this?"

"We've already provoked the Kingdom's ire, too..."

"That doesn't mean we can just let them invade us!"

"Indeed. If they come, then we must crush them. We'll show them the

power of our maritime nation."

That earned an enthusiastic, "Yeah!" from the militaristic island chiefs,

but then a one-eyed island chief with an impressive physique and

magnificent black beard spoke, "Hmm, I respect your enthusiasm, at least."

His name was Shima Katsunaga. He was chief of Yaezu Island, the

second or third largest of the islands in the Nine-Headed Dragon

Archipelago. He was also the mononofu warrior who was renowned as the

greatest military man in the archipelago's history.

"However, we are the defenders. Not knowing where the enemy will

strike, we are forced to move second. Don't you think you're all

underestimating the Kingdom a little?"

"I would not have expected to hear such words from 'the greatest

military man in the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago,'" one chief scoffed.

"Do you suggest we would lose a battle at sea?"

"The Kingdom's navy has the masterful Excel Walter. They even say she

leads their entire military now. I can't imagine she would start a fight she

had no chance of winning. If she's coming despite knowing our advantage

at sea... does that not mean that the Kingdom has a chance?"

The island chiefs gulped at what Katsunaga said, but one young island

chief dispelled their fears with his energetic voice.

"Their new king has fought a land war before, but he shouldn't have any

experience with fighting at sea. Doesn't this just mean that Excel couldn't

stop the callow hothead?"

"...Entirely possible. But that may not be the case. In war, you always

have to consider the worst-case scenario," Katsunaga replied gravely.

The young island chief had no counter to his words.

King Shana spoke once more, "We know the course the Kingdom will

take," he said, pointing to the map with his fan. "Their fleet will almost

certainly pass between the Parent and Child Islands and Nine-Headed

Dragon Island, attempting to take the port on the west side of Nine-Headed

Dragon Island."

He had declared this so confidently that Katsunaga furrowed his brow.

"How can you be so certain?"

"The currents of our archipelago are swift and complicated, easily

sweeping iron ships away. There are many reefs, too. We can navigate them

with our many years of experience living here, but outsiders from the

Kingdom can't possibly do the same. That forces them to take a known

course."

"Known? You're saying that the Kingdom knows a safe course?"

Katsunaga asked, and King Shana gave him a big nod.

"Yes. The course I just mentioned was one I intentionally leaked to

them, after all."

"What?!" Katsunaga exclaimed, and then all of the other island chiefs

began grumbling. King Shana had leaked what might be called the greatest

of the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago's secrets, its sea routes, to the

Kingdom.

King Shana raised a hand to silence them. "I've only taught them a

course here, to Nine-Headed Dragon Island. Not to any of the other islands.

I'm sure they believe an insider leaked this information to them."

"...I see. And you're suggesting we could ambush them in an area that

works to our advantage?" Katsunaga pointed out.

"That's right," King Shana declared, slapping his knee. "The battle will

be joined over the rocky reefs between Nine-Headed Dragon Island and

Child Island. It will be hard for them to deploy many large ships because of

the many small islands there, and our more maneuverable fleet will have an

advantage. We'll aim to pull the Kingdom's fleet in and eliminate them in a

decisive battle."

"""Ohhh!"""

The island chiefs let out a cry of admiration, having heard King Shana's

careful plans for the coming battle.

"If we know the enemy's course, then how about we lay mines in the

area around the reefs?" a young island chief suggested, but King Shana

shook his head.

"Our mines can destroy wooden ships like the ones we use, but they lack

the power to have any real effect on iron ships pulled by sea dragons. Even

setting that aside, I expect they'll send out scouts. We risk them changing

course if they learn we're ready and waiting."

"I see... You've got a point there."

"If we can lure them in, they're as good as ours. If we send in fire ships

(unmanned ships loaded with a large quantity of gunpowder that collides

with, and explodes against, enemy vessels) from upstream to kill their sea

dragons, their fleet will be stranded."

"Hmm... It could work," Katsunaga gave an approving grunt. With the

greatest mononofu in the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago satisfied, the

rest were convinced of victory.

King Shana stood up and said to them, "We have the terrain on our side!

Now let's teach them a lesson for underestimating us!"

"""Yeah!"""

The island chiefs rose, crossing their arms in front of them.

They each left separately to prepare for war, leaving only King Shana

and Katsunaga in the room. Now that they were alone, Katsunaga let out a

sigh.

"I didn't say it in front of the others, but isn't this uncharacteristically

rushed for you?"

"...I am confident of the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago's victory."

"Well, I've known you for a long time. I know quite well you're a hard

man to fight, and a reliable ally." Katsunaga put a hand on his shoulder,

then spun his arm around. "I know you don't fight battles you can't win,

too. You have some other plan in the works, don't you?"

"Do I now?"

"Ha ha ha, I knew you wouldn't tell me. I'm a warrior, not a diplomat,

after all. I can only trust in you, my king, and fight my hardest."

"...I'll be counting on the strength of Yaezu Island's mononofu."

"And you'll have it," Katsunaga said, then left.

Now that King Shana was left on his own, a servant came in to deliver a

message.

"Lord Shana. Word has come in that everything has been prepared on

Ikatsuru Island."

"Yes. Very good, then."

"Um, shouldn't you have told the other island chiefs?"

King Shana smirked. "They say that to fool your enemies, you must fool

your friends first. The ultimate victory will belong to us."

"Yes, sire... and what would you have us do about Lady Shabon?"

The servant's question wiped King Shana's smile from his face, and he

turned away from the man and replied, "Let her go. She's a grown woman

now. She takes responsibility for her own decisions."

"...Yes, sire!"

The moment of confrontation drew closer by the hour.

◇ ◇ ◇

The weather was fine and the waves calm as thirty Friedonian warships

sailed across the sea. The sunlight reflecting off the water onto the steel

ships gave them a dull shine. Of this fleet, one was markedly larger than the

others. The Albert II, a similar model to the ship used against Red Dragon

City, would serve as the flagship carrying Excel and me in the coming

battle.

Naden had carried us back to the Kingdom. After dropping off the three

kids in Lagoon City, we changed into our uniforms and met up with the

ships. Excel, Castor, and the marines greeted us as Naden set down the

gondola on the deck of the Albert II.

Folding up her fan, Excel smiled and said, "Welcome to your fleet, Your

Majesty."

"Yeah. It's quite a sight seeing so many ships together like this," I

responded, looking around and taking it all in. It appealed to my masculine

soul seeing them all sailing aside the Albert II. The group even included the

island-type carrier Hiryuu.

I turned to the Hiryuu's captain, Castor, and asked, "I thought I put you

in charge of the Hiryuu? Is it all right for you to be here?"

Castor stood up straight and replied, "My XO is handling it now. I

wanted to be here to see you."

"Oh, yeah? The Hiryuu is going to be the star of this battle. I'm looking

forward to seeing your work."

"Yes, sir. I will give my all to meet your expectations, Your Majesty."

With that said, Castor saluted me, then returned to the Hiryuu.

It felt a bit stiff, but formalities were important. Turning to Excel, I

asked, "Have you explained the reasons for this deployment to the

marines?"

"I've handed written commands to each captain. They're under strict

orders to open them when you give the command to go into battle, sire. The

marines will hear the details from them, I'm sure," Excel said then gave me

an elegant bow. "However, before we go into battle, I would like you to

make a speech yourself. It would help to reconfirm our objectives, and to

improve morale."

"...Got it."

A speech, huh...? I thought. I've given so many now, but I still can't get

used to it. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Shabon and Kishun,

who we had brought with us, were staring at something in wide-eyed

disbelief.

"What is that, Kishun? That ship, the size of an island..."

"...I do not know. But Sir Souma seems to have absolute confidence in

his fleet. If that island-like ship is not the product of mere playfulness and

whimsy, then what secret power does it harbor...?"

"I find it startling that it moves without sea dragons to pull it, too.

How...?"

They were apparently surprised by the Hiryuu. Not having any concept

of what an aircraft carrier was, they couldn't hope to understand why it was

shaped the way that it was. It ought to scare the Nine-Headed Dragon

King's fleet senseless.

Next, they pointed to another ship.

"That ship is big, too. Though it does not appear to be armed."

"A transport ship, perhaps? It looks like it could carry tens of thousands

of men."

They were pointing at a ship that looked like a massive tanker. Like

Kishun had guessed, that was a newly constructed transport ship. It was

dubbed the King Souma.

Yep... It was named after me. I'd said before, "I don't want my name on

a warship. If you have to name a ship after me, make it a transport vessel."

And so the engineers had done just that—slapping my name on a new

model of transport ship. From now on, transport ships of that model would

be referred to as Souma-class transport ships. Seriously? Well, there was no

fixing it now... Incidentally, the King Souma used a Little Susumu Mark V,

and could sail without sea dragons to pull it. A transport ship had plenty of

value even during peacetime, so we had prioritized funding and equipment

for the project.

As I was thinking about that, the jewel for the Jewel Voice Broadcast

was brought up on deck. Excel raised her hands up high and began

gathering a great amount of water from the sea to create a massive ball

above the Albert II.

"It's a little different from using freshwater, but... it'll do."

This was the same sort of ball of water as she had shown off at Altomura

during the war with the Principality. Once she had finished creating it,

Excel, who was sweating profusely, said, "Go on, sire. This takes a lot out

of me, so please keep it brief."

"Got it."

I stood in front of the broadcast jewel, swishing my cape, and thrusting

my fist into the air.

"This is an announcement for the soldiers of the National Naval Defense

Force. We will now head to the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago."

My voice emanated from the ball of water above so that the entire fleet

could hear it.

"We have but one mission—to bring stability to the seas. That is because

safe waters are required for the people who live on the coast to be able to

fish, and for stable trade with other countries. This must be done to protect

the nation's development and the people's livelihoods. To that end, there are

two targets we must deal with."

Raising my arm, I gestured my hand up with my index raised.

"The first is the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago's fleet. We will

subjugate this fleet which has aided and abetted illegal fishing in our

country's waters, and secure safety for our country's merchant vessels," I

said before raising my second finger. "The other target is Ooyamizuchi, said

to be rampaging around the archipelago. The creature has been strictly their

problem up until now, but we have no guarantee that it will not appear in

our own waters as well."

Curling my fingers into a fist, I then thrust it forward.

"I have shared the information we have on this Ooyamizuchi with you.

It's a creature far more massive than any rhinosaurus or dragon. I'd like to

designate it not as a 'monster'... but as a 'kaiju.' If a kaiju like this ever

attacked our kingdom, there's no telling how much damage it might cause.

In fact, there are even islands in the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago that

saw their population completely wiped out by the creature."

There were murmurs from the marines as my words reached them.

Though they had been given information on Ooyamizuchi, this report of the

actual damage it could cause must have made them tense. I kept speaking.

"Ooyamizuchi is more dangerous than the archipelago's fleet. In some

ways, we ought to prioritize slaying the beast over defeating them. Hear me

now! The goal of this expedition is not to invade the Nine-Headed Dragon

Archipelago! Our mission is to eliminate the threat of Ooyamizuchi, make

the illegal fishing ships leave the Kingdom's waters, and bring stability to

the sea! Who can call our actions unjust?! I call upon all of you to lend me

your power, and serve our country!"

As I raised my fist into the air, a war cry went up from the marines on

each ship. I gave Excel the signal, and she dispelled the ball of water. The

image of me projected in it vanished, and the light shining through the mist

it left behind made a rainbow.

"I think that was a good speech, Your Majesty," Juna said as she came

over to me. I just shook my head quietly.

"...No matter how many I give, I can never get used to it."

"Hee hee, that's not true at all."

As we were talking and smiling, Shabon and Kishun came over.

"Um... Sir Souma..."

"What is it, Madam Shabon?" I asked.

Shabon looked at me with eyes full of resolve. "Was it true what you

said just now, that 'invading the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago' is not

your goal here?"

She had broken ties with the Nine-Headed Dragon King and came to

work with me in order to bring down Ooyamizuchi. Slaying Ooyamizuchi

was in line with her hopes, but she must not have known what to make of

my denial to invade the islands. Our targets were Ooyamizuchi and the fleet

led by the Nine-Headed Dragon King, and we wouldn't be laying a hand on

the people of the archipelago, which is exactly what she was hoping for.

Though, it must have made her uneasy, wondering if such a thing were

really possible.

With a serious look on my face, I told her, "There was no lie in what I

said. I'd like for you to believe that."

"...Understood," Shabon said, then quietly withdrew.

Well, that was my preparation complete. Now... it's just a matter of

timing.

I glared at the sea ahead of us.

◇ ◇ ◇

If you were to ask future historians what naval battle had left the greatest

impression on them, the Battle of the Parent and Child Islands fought by

King Souma and King Shana was guaranteed to come up. This battle, which

went by many other names, was anything but normal.