Episode 4: Going to the Mainland

Side: Alex

Space Fortress Silvern was one of the largest man-made structures in Galaxy of Planets, boasting the same size as Earth’s moon. 

Within it was various facilities such as manufacturing plants for fully automated production of stuff like industrial machinery and agricultural products, as well as many docking stations for spaceships.  In addition, it also had a spaceport that can accommodate up to 500 spaceships and was at a level that can be said to be too much for a single individual to own. 

I had about 300 spaceships that are also capable of atmospheric flight.  Some of those ships were ones I personally built as a hobby, and some were bought for collection purposes.  

Silvern was currently located near Jupiter, in a spot where it wouldn’t have much of an effect on the Solar System.  It’s also a mobile fortress, so it was possible to move it from there. It wasn’t necessary to do so at present though. 

Currently, we’re conducting research there in order to further understand our current situation, and we’re also setting up a defense network around the fortress.  Additionally, we were also manufacturing products for trading on the Japanese mainland in order to procure funds for further activities. 

After discussing our current status with Elle, we decided that we would act as merchants.  In this era, the Ming Dynasty on the Chinese continent implemented a ban on private maritime activities, and a large smuggling group known as the Wakou became active in Kyuushuu and the continent’s coastal areas. That’s why we thought that it would be ideal to present ourselves as maritime merchants.  

Basically, we chose products that could be sold at reasonable prices for trading.  We made sure that they weren’t that precious, but would still be on demand.  In this era, stuff like saltpeter, silk fabric, and cotton fabric were often brought to the center of the Japanese mainland. 

「We’ll leave the rest to you all.」

The six members who will come to the Japanese mainland will be composed of me, Elle, Katie, Julia, Celes, Melty, and a robot soldier disguised as the sailing ship’s helmsman. 

Our ship was a black 500-ton galleon.  Its hull appears to have been coated with coal tar. It was a technology that didn’t exist yet in this era, but it’s said that it has the effect of extending a wooden hull’s life. 

It definitely increased the ship’s intimidating aura.  It looked like a really reliable ship. 

「Rising to a higher sea level. We will now set off toward the Kii peninsula by flying at a low altitude.  Destination: Tsushima port, Owari province.」

I’ll leave the command of the ship to Elle.  It would take about a week by sailboat to get from the Ogasawara islands to the Japanese mainland.  In order to shorten the travel time, we decided to lower the sails and fly low over the water’s surface until we neared the mainland. 

「By the way, is that cannon really useable?」

「Of course. Pirates called the Suigun are running rampant in the waters surrounding Japan in this era. We prepared it just in case we need to engage in combat.」

Even when out on the deck, I still felt pretty comfortable since I wasn’t getting buffeted by the wind even though we were moving at high speed. That’s because the ship had put up a barrier.  Now that I’d had a good look at the deck, there were apparently cannons that looked quite fitting for the era as well.  It looks like they prepared weapons other than that laser cannon. 

There wasn’t even a bit of the elegance of a sea voyage.  But all you can see around was water and even more water, so you’d probably get bored before you can even enjoy such an atmosphere.  It’s kinda similar to outer space, actually.

Oh, yeah. I and the rest were all wearing kimonos in order to match the look of the people in the present era.   They placed more emphasis on ease of movement and weren’t that fancy, but I think we also wouldn’t be a target of ridicule while wearing them.  Strictly speaking, there were some differences in the details of our kimonos and the ones used in this time period. 

But that’s fine since we decided that we wouldn’t present ourselves as people of Japan, or rather, Hinomoto, which was Japan’s name in this era.  Instead, we were frontier people hailing from the Ogasawara islands.  That’s basically it. 

I realized once again that we have been transported to the Sengoku period. 

I’ve been studying how to use a bow, spear, and swords in the last few days through sleep learning, but I don’t have much of a sense for them, so I don’t think I’ll be able to use them properly.  It seems they have made cannons and other weapons of the era.  I didn’t bring weapons of my own though. I mean, a katana or spear just wasn’t my thing.

***

Side: Julia

So this is the real world huh? I’ve gotten used to the physiological phenomena experienced by a living biological body.  I never thought I’d actually turn into a real living being and get transported to the real world.  We, who should have been nothing but data, had become alive. Truly alive.  Maybe miracles really do happen after all. 

For better or worse, we would just disappear if we returned to the virtual world.  At first, we thought that we would prioritize returning to the virtual space if Commander wanted to go back. 

However, Commander himself doesn’t seem to want to go back.  I don’t know if I can call that gutsy or if he simply has a few screws loose.  It’s way better than him breaking down and whining though.  

But to think he’d prioritize trying to see a historical figure in person instead of finding a way to go back home in this situation. Did he not have much of a sense of attachment to his former world? He was one of the most addicted players of Galaxy of Planets, and he didn’t manage to even get a girlfriend in real life. He apparently lived a free and easy bachelor’s life. 

I think it would have been better if he lived a happy life in reality. Instead, he saw us masses of data as family or even lovers in a sense.  Honestly, what a troublesome commander he was.

But perhaps due to a twist of fate, we ended up becoming real. 

What should we do from now on though? We had discussed the matter among ourselves a couple of times.  And the conclusion was that we would maintain the status quo for now.  However, we’ve also undergone changes in various ways due to becoming living beings.  We would have to think carefully about our future actions. 

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Men and women.  In the virtual space, there were restrictions on sexual activities between men and women, so it was practically impossible to deepen relationships more than necessary.  But it’s different now.

We are now being influenced by our instincts and the physiological phenomena experienced by living organisms.  There is a bunch of stuff to be concerned about.  Even Commander has gotten conscious about the sense of distance between us and him.  

But I’m against creating such a distance.  For some reason, Commander included a clause that he wanted to grant us freedom when we started living here. 

I do appreciate that. But I really don’t like behaving as if we’re strangers.  Either way, Commander and us share a common destiny.  So I think we need a chance to be completely honest with each other when the time is right. 

Well, I guess I’ll leave that matter to Melty.  It looks like she’s coming up with something. 

***

Side: Alex

The galleon continued its low-altitude flight just above the water’s surface and eventually landed in the waters near Japan’s mainland.  It looks like we’ll be sailing like a real galleon from here on out. 

The ship tended to sway a lot when it landed on the water.  Well, it’s the open sea, so I suppose that’s only natural. 

「Oh, I see it already.」

「So that’s the Kii peninsula. Historically, there was a lot of maritime activity in this area, including cargo ships and pirates.  It would be troublesome if we get spotted, so we’ll keep our distance from land and head straight for Owari.」

Should I say that I’m back? Or should I say that it’s actually my first time here? Well, I’m a tried-and-true country boy, so I’ve never actually been to the Kii peninsula or Aichi. 

Pirates huh? This was practically a lawless area. It’s that kind of era after all. It should be fine if they don’t spot us.  But we’ll win even if they did target us though. Even so, I don’t wanna get too involved with those kinds of folks if I can help it.

「There are no buildings or even a proper port. Even fishing ports in the countryside are nicer than this place.」

「I think that should be the Tsushima port in the province of Owari. It’s mainly a river port, but it’s still the best port in Owari.」

Luckily, we entered Ise bay without getting spotted by pirates and proceeded along the river until we arrived at the Tsushima port in Owari.  However, based on what I saw, even the countryside fishing ports back in the era I came from would be better than it. 

I was familiar with Tsushima port, of course. Oda Nobunaga’s clan ruled this place since his grandfather’s generation, and it was the trigger for the Oda clan’s rise as well. 

I also knew that Nobunaga’s father, Nobuhide, made a large donation to the imperial court and that the Oda clan was rather affluent.  But to be honest, Tsushima didn’t really look all that prosperous when viewed from the sea.

「Let’s land in a small boat.  We’ll sell some of our cargo and rent a house as our base here.」

「There seems to be quite a commotion going on at the port though. We aren’t gonna get attacked or arrested all of a sudden, are we?」

「It’s fine as long as they think we aren’t hostile. Galleon ships are quite rare in these parts after all.」

Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a place for the galleon to dock at Tsushima port.  We ended up dropping anchor offshore. For the time being, I, Elle, and Julia will go on land for negotiations.  

As we were getting off the boat, more and more people gathered at the port, and it seems we caused a bit of a commotion.  

「By the way, Julia. Isn’t that naginata a bit too flashy?」

「We don’t know what’s gonna be done to us if we get underestimated in this era you know?」

「I do get that, but–」

One needs to take care of oneself.  Well, this was also the case in my previous world. Fortunately, modern Japan was a relatively peaceful country, but you still had to lock your door, and crime prevention practices were commonly employed. 

However, I don’t think it’s good to seem like we’re looking for a fight right from the get-go.  We already came here in a pretty intimidating galleon after all.

Ah, it looks like all the people who were gathered at the port made themselves scarce while we were talking among ourselves.  It looks like most of them already ran away the moment we got off the boat. 

Now then, what should we do now?

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