Nihonkoku Shoukan Chapter 17

Lots of references this time, including the one I hinted at last chapter heh.

Chapter 17 - Separate, Suffering

Great Eastern Conference—

A conference was convened to discuss the major events occurring around the world. The participants were all countries outside the civilized areas. Since the one proposing the conference was a "barbarian country," the superpower Papaldia Empire and the other countries in the Third Civilization chose not to attend, labeling the conference unnecessary and meaningless. Because of the lack of representation from the civilized areas, the participating countries talked relatively openly about their intentions, unlike previous conferences of this nature. Normally, the main topics of discussion all centered around the Papaldia Empire, but this time was different; the focus was on the sudden rise of the new country "Japan."

"We shall now begin the Great Eastern Conference."

Representatives from each country contributed any information they had about Japan. These were the main points of interest:

Japan is an emerging country that suddenly appeared in the Great East. By their own admission, they were suddenly transported to this world from a different world. However, there are no historical examples of this happening, only myths and legends. They were first encountered by a Rodenian farming nation, the Principality of Kua Toine, when one of their dragon riders spotted a Japanese iron dragon. Japan requested an enormous amount of food and offered to export national infrastructure improvements to Kua Toine in exchange. At that time, Rodenius's strongest country, the Kingdom of Rowlia, declared war on Kua Toine. Japan allied itself with Kua Toine and fought against Rowlia. In all likelihood, the impetus behind this decision was their food trade with Kua Toine. In the Great Naval Battle of Rodenius, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force only sent 8 ships, but they repelled Rowlia's fleet of 4,400 ships in addition to eliminating a large wing of wyverns. In the ground war, there was a battle west of the Kua Toinan castle town of Ejey where Japan's forces completely eliminated Rowlia's ground force, which essentially decided the war. According to many Kua Toinan citizens who witnessed this battle, their fearsome explosive magic caused "a volcano to erupt beneath the Rowlian camp." During the incident at the Kingdom of Fenn's Military Festival, Japan eliminated a squadron of wyvern lords sent by the Papaldian imperial oversight army's eastern fleet.

By the time this information was compiled, the heroic stories of Japan's feats were gradually becoming acknowledged as fact and not just hearsay.

"Because there are so many countries in attendance that have already formed diplomatic ties with Japan, we believe we have established a common perception that the country of Japan is tremendously strong."

"We would now like to confirm each country's views on the topic."

A representative from the Mao Kingdom raised his hand to speak. "My country has not opened diplomatic relations with Japan, but we believe this country is a threat. It is a fact that they defeated the Kingdom of Rowlia. Not only that, but it was an overwhelming victory; they wiped out Rowlia's main forces in a single battle. We have no idea when this destructive force will be turned towards our own countries. That makes them incredibly dangerous."

"I am from the Topa Kingdom. We do not believe Japan is dangerous. If their people are not harmed, they do not seek to fight. Furthermore, books about their advanced technology are sold in their country in normal bookstores, and they do not prevent us from purchasing them. Simply by associating with Japan, one can easily raise the level of their country's technology. They are even more advanced than the Papaldia Empire."

"I represent the Scios Kingdom. We agree with the Topa Kingdom. We have not attacked them, and they in kind have not attacked us. Unlike the Papaldia Empire, they do not lock their technology behind gifts of slaves or land. As for the case with the Kingdom of Rowlia, we believe it to be an exceptional case, since their people would have starved if food exports from Kua Toine were to have stopped.

"The other day, one of our diplomats was perusing a Japanese bookstore and found a book called 'The History of Weapons.' I would like to submit it for reference. In it, there are detailed descriptions of the 'flintlock musket' that is a cutting-edge weapon in the Papaldia Empire. The book says that this was developed over three hundred years ago and is now considered an antique in Japan. While I do not know the current structure of Japan's military force, if we only look at military technology, if the superpowers' newest weapons are considered hundreds of years old to them, they are terribly advanced."

The talks continued.

"…even so… I'll just say it. They can take down a superpower's wyvern lords. If they decided to attack us, we would have no choice but to fold. Even if we all banded together, we would still be weaker than Rowlia, and Rowlia was defeated without inflicting even a single casualty. It would be best to just get along with Japan."

"I'm from the Principality of Kua Toine. We have been receiving infrastructure improvements from them, and our standards of living have already improved dramatically. We also believe that they should be welcomed as a friendly country."

"This is the Awan Kingdom. We believe that us eastern countries should approach this more practically. Make use of Japan if possible, but instead focus on the threat of Papaldia running rampant. Over the last ten years or so, their actions have gone too far."

The main takeaways from the conference were:

Do not be hostile with Japan. Watch the Papaldia Empire carefully as circumstances develop.

After the Great Eastern Conference was over, the ambassador from the Topa Kingdom remembered the report to the king given by that military officer the previous month.

"Hohoho… Remembering it now still makes me laugh."

Last month's incident—

"Here is the battle report! The wyvern lords sent by the Papaldian oversight army's eastern fleet were shot out of the sky at Fenn's capital Amanoki by Japan's magic ships!!!"

"Are you making sport of me?! Do you understand how ridiculous that is, for someone to kill a superpower's wyvern lords?! For our country's entire army to take out even one wyvern lord is a feat deserving of a medal! And you're saying a no-name emerging country took out twenty-two of them…? Hahaha, you must've been reading too many fantasy stories. Are you overworked? You can take a vacation if you need."

No one believed the officer's report. In the end, they had to compare reports with other countries before finally realizing that this stunning event actually occurred. No one had believed the story in any of those other countries either. That was how crazy it was for a superpower to pay for their actions. They knew how advanced Japan's technology was, but they had no idea how large of a military presence they had. Should Papaldia decide to seriously attack them, could they actually fight back against them? It was necessary to determine this for sure.

"The world… may be starting to change now," the ambassador mused to himself.

Papaldia Empire, imperial oversight army eastern fleet, Special Class A Dragon Knight Reckmeyer

Reckmeyer was puzzled.

During the failed punitive strike on the Kingdom of Fenn, he fell off his wyvern into the ocean then was taken into custody by the Japan Coast Guard's patrol ship Inasa. Afterwards, he was brought to one of their giant ships and interrogated. He wasn't sure how it happened, but he was the only one who survived, all of his comrades got killed.

The interrogation officer wore bland clothes and just listened to him dispassionately. Damn barbarians. He tried to promote the empire's wonderful technology and convince them how much more advanced they were than the other civilized countries. Not to mention, for countries outside the civilized areas, their level of technology and the might of their military was simply incomparable, and the empire could easily support it all with its national power. Sometimes, emerging countries did not know the ways of the world, so telling them all this could improve the way they treated him. However, Japan's interrogation officer did nothing differently and just continued to listen with a blank face. He just didn't understand the compassion he was being shown from an educated imperial elite to a clueless barbarian soldier.

His attitude towards the Japanese began to change as they got closer to the country of Japan. The first surprise was when he watched the iron dragon take off from atop one of the giant ships. Rather than wyverns, they had iron dragons on their dragon carriers. It was surprising to see a non-civilized country with a dragon carrier, but… while the iron dragons were slower than wyvern lords, a lot of people could ride in one at once. If they controlled the airspace, these vehicles would be very useful. However, since they were so slow, in combat against the empire's wyvern lords, the empire would undoubtedly win. Once they conquered Japan, this iron dragon technology would be very important for the advancement of his country.

He was transferred to Japan's capital, Tokyo. He saw all kinds of unbelievable things here. Gigantic buildings that towered into the sky, iron land dragons crawling throughout the city, flying iron dragons that were faster and larger than wyvern lords. The scale of the technology here far surpassed that of the Papaldian capital, Esthirant.

"This country… is dangerous."

His opinion of Japan had completely reversed. How a country like this could suddenly emerge was a complete mystery, but, if the foreign affairs department approached them in their routine manner, they would find offense in some contrivance, declare that "the barbarians must be destroyed," and declare war. In this case, the oversight army's dragon rider squadron was eliminated, so there was no way that the prideful empire would stay quiet about it. He could easily imagine someone from foreign affairs screaming contemptuously at a Japanese diplomat.

If the empire declared war with this country, they would suffer no small amount of losses. It could even be devastating enough to lose their status as a superpower. Dragon rider Reckmeyer feared for the future of his country.

"What is going on with this planet?!"

Professor Hoshino ruffled his hair in frustration. After making contact with the Principality of Kua Toine, Japan found out that magic existed in this world. Casting magic required using a source of magic, "mana," it seemed. Magic gems and magic tools could provide mana. But the scientific basis of mana was completely unknown. How was it detected? How did it activate? They knew nothing about it. It's not like it just came from nothing, so it probably adhered to some kind of natural logic, but…

In any case, there were just as many unknowns surrounding this planet. Based on the distance to the horizon, the planet had a circumference of about 100,000 km. However, the acceleration due to gravity was still 9.8065 m/s², about the same as Earth's, even though its gravitational force should be much greater. What was this planet made of? Could it be hollow?

Atmospheric pressure was also about 1015 hPa; the concentration of oxygen was a little bit higher, but overall it was the same as Earth's. The length of one day was still 24 hours, but one year was 365.5 days, so its revolution around the sun was a little longer. The distance from the sun was about 150 million km, also about the same as Earth's.

JAXA was launching a satellite soon, so they would finally be able to map the planet as a whole, but, for now, the only thing they knew was east of Japan was just… more ocean. The JMSDF accompanied a replenishment oiler as they explored the eastern sea, but they traveled about 10,000 km and still found nothing.

Another surprising discovery was the existence of a wide variety of humanoid races.

Goblins had low intelligence and could only communicate with one another. However, they were quite feral and behaved more like wild animals. The Ministry of Justice was unsure whether they should have basic human rights. Dwarves were short, but very strong. They appeared to like creating things, but… the other day, a dwarf faced off in a sumo wrestling match with a yokozuna, and apparently the yokozuna was completely powerless. Then, there were the elves, a very long-lived race. Perhaps if Japan could analyze their genetics, this could unlock a method to increase human longevity as well.

In some senses, this is a very interesting planet, thought Hoshino.

Kasumigaseki

"This matter also requires urgent legislation."

The National Police Agency and the Ministry of Justice's bureaucrats were discussing adjustments to laws. The current topic was "dragons." A crime that took place the other day included the use of a dragon. There was a conflict between two yakuza groups, the Kyuushuu Submarine Association and the Shikoku Ocean Group. The Kyuushuu association used a wyvern to shoot a fire blast at the Shikoku group's office building, burning it down. Everyone involved was arrested, but they needed to increase the punishments when animals that were essentially living attack helicopters were involved. That was why this meeting was called. It was against the law to privately own dragons, and the sentence for this crime had risen to over 10 years in prison.

"We have another matter that needs to be addressed…"

The bureaucrats all felt their heads ache at the constant work.

Second Civilization, superpower Mu

It was another sunny day with clear skies, few clouds, and good visibility. This time of year, the temperature rose day by day, birds sang gaily, and butterflies lazily danced through the air. Technical Officer Myrus was surprised to receive an urgent call from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs telling him to go to the Ainank Airport.

The superpower Mu had a private airport. They could only fly the wealthy, and only when the sun was bright and the weather was good, but they did indeed have a private airline. As far as he knew, private transportation by air was still limited to the highest ranking countries of the Holy Mirishial Empire and Mu, so it served as proof of their status.

Technical Officer Myrus used a vehicle with an internal combustion engine developed in Mu called a "car" to travel to the Ainank Airport air force base. But why was he being urgently summoned there in the first place? After idling in the waiting room for twenty minutes, clack… Two members of the military and a pair of diplomats entered the room.

"This is Technical Officer Myrus," the military staff introduced to the diplomats. "He is a technical officer in our army, and, although he is young, his mechanical skills are well-respected."

"Technical Officer Myrus, at your service," Myrus offered, smiling amiably at the diplomats.

"We apologize for the inconvenience."

Everyone sat down.

"How should we explain this… We called you to request an investigation of an unknown country and their technology."

"Are you talking about the Gra Valkas Empire?"

They gave an unexpected answer.

"No no, not them. They're a newly-emerged country. Earlier today, a white boat appeared in the ocean east of Mu. The navy was sent to receive it, and it appears there was a special envoy from Japan aboard requesting to open diplomatic relations with our country. While there is nothing rare about a country wanting to form ties with us, the concern was… their ship did not have any sails."

"Are you saying…"

"The magical detectors detected nothing, so it's not a magic-powered ship. We believe it's a ship powered by machinery."

"That was also I first thought…"

"It gets better. We requested a rendez-vous at our Ainank Airport, in order to show off our technology to them, and they requested permission to fly there as well. When we asked whether they would arrive on wyvern, in hopes of perhaps gleaning some information about the geography of their country, they responded that, if it was acceptable, they would come by aircraft."

"According to our aircraft in the lead, Japan's vehicle was traveling at 160 kilometers per hour, and it was too late for us to adjust our speed to match. I asked an air force pilot, hypothetically, what would happen if combat broke out with that machine, and he replied that our aircraft would certainly not lose to it. Well, either way, the simple fact that they have working aircraft is reason enough to be wary."

"However, their method of flight differs from ours. We've never seen a flying vehicle like it. So, Officer Myrus, that's where you come in."

"According to what they tell us, Japan is outside the civilized area, east of the Third Civilization's continent Fillades. But their aircraft's technology far surpasses what the Papaldia Empire has. Our diplomatic conference will be in one week, so you have been assigned to take care of them, bring them sightseeing and such. During that time, show them our level of technology, but also try to determine their level as well."

"Understood."

Technical Officer Myrus felt his machinist soul flare up for the first time in a long while. What exactly was this unknown flying machine? The diplomat who had made to leave suddenly turned around.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot, Japan's vehicle is currently parked on the east side of the airport, you should go take a look at it."

Five minutes later—

Myrus stood dumbfounded in front of the parked aircraft that the people from Japan rode… There was a propeller on top of it. Spinning it seemed to make it fly, but… Taking closer look, the propeller itself looked like a cross of airplane wings. When air hits the front of the "wing," it breaks apart to travel over and under the wing before joining together again. Since the top of the wing bulges out, the air on top has to travel a longer distance in the same amount of time as the bottom of the wing, meaning the flow of air is faster on top. This creates an air pressure difference between the top and bottom of the wing, generating lift.[1]

However… for this machine to fly, it would need an extremely powerful engine. In addition to that, when the propeller spins, they needed to address how the vehicle body tries to spin in the opposite direction. Maybe that is counteracted by the small propeller attached in the rear, but it should require a lot of fine output adjustments to reach equilibrium. All in all, this was a very complicated vehicle to construct.

"This technology is amazing!!!"

Myrus simply stared up, stock-still, at the helicopter in a cold sweat.

On his way to the reception area, Myrus's steps were heavy. Mu's engines weren't powerful enough for them to attempt to build Japan's flying machine, what was called a "helicopter." At the very least, he had to admit that Japan's engines were superior to theirs. But! Mu did have super tall 100-meter buildings, aircraft that could fly at 380 km/h, and many highly-skilled pilots. Not to mention their state-of-the-art warship, La Kasami.

"I wonder how this is going to go…" Myrus wondered as he reached the envoys' room and knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

He slowly opened the door. There were two men sitting on the sofa.

"Hello, I will be showing you around Mu for the next week until the conference. My name is Myrus."

The envoys stood up to greet him.

"I am Misono from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Thank you very much for taking care of us while we are in the country of Mu. We really appreciate it. This is my assistant, Saeki."

They were very polite. The diplomat was already prepared to leave.

"Well, the tour will begin tomorrow, since I am sure you are tired from your long journey. I will quickly show you around this airport then bring you to a hotel in the metropolitan area."

Myrus took the envoys to the airport's hangar. Inside the hangar, there was a biplane painted white with a blue stripe sporting two machine guns, fixed wheels, and a cover to reduce air resistance. From how shiny and polished it was, it was clear that this was a well-loved and maintained machine. Myrus launched into an explanation.

"This iron dragon is a flying vehicle that we call an 'aircraft.' It is our latest combat model, the 'Marin.' It's faster than a wyvern lord at three hundred and eighty kilometers per hour, it has machine guns installed in front… umm, those are weapons that shoot metal using explosions of gunpowder. This plane can be operated by a single person. It has many other advantages over wyvern lords, you don't have to worry about flying while it's stressed, and no worry about feces or food expenses when they aren't being used. It's also more powerful than wyvern lords in aerial combat."

He was very confident in his explanation. The Japanese could only dumbly utter words of wonder. They must be completely taken aback!

"Hmm… so that's a biplane…" the diplomat Misono murmured in surprise.

"Wow, it's got a reciprocating engine… Those kinds of retro things are really neat."

The man named Saeki looked at the state-of-the-art combat plane and called it "retro." Myrus wondered what that meant.

"Is there any other option for an internal combustion engine other than the reciprocating engine? The steam engine is also a type of reciprocating engine, correct? Well, steam engines are too heavy and weak to power flying vehicles."

"In Japan, we have a compact, high-powered engine called a 'jet engine.' …Of course, the reciprocating engine is also a fine choice," Saeki answered.

!!!!!!!!!!! Japan really did have a high-performance engine! His investigation efforts were already paying off.

"Really… So Japan has a different type of engine suitable for aircraft? I would love to hear more about that."

"The design and principles are quite simple. If our countries form ties, you'll be able to purchase all the information you need from our bookstores. However, because of our New World Technology Outflow Prevention Act, the method to create materials to withstand the combustion temperature required for a high-powered engine cannot be publicized…"

"But the simple designs can still be obtained. How interesting! I personally hope that our countries can indeed become allies."

It appeared that Japan may have aircraft technology that far surpassed Mu's. Myrus continued prodding to confirm whether this was the case.

"How fast are Japan's aircraft able to go?"

The speed of an aircraft was of utmost importance. The faster the vehicle, the easier it was to attack and withdraw before being attacked back, so speed granted an overwhelming advantage. Misono and Saeki whispered between themselves.

(W-Well, contemporary warfare isn't concerned with speed at all, and the specs of various planes like the F-15 are widely available in our marketing materials. If we become allies, they'll find out about it anyway, so there's no need to hide it…)

"If you're asking about combat aircraft, the JASDF's main fighter plane is the F-15J, which can reach speeds of Mach two-point-five, or two and half times the speed of sound. For passenger aircraft, their cruising speed is about eight hundred and fifty kilometers an hour."

He was speechless… They… they… they can break the speed of sound?! Th-th-th-… that's impossible!!!!!!

"Hhha… I would sure love to see that… All right, here we are…"

Myrus led the envoys out of the airport. He was going to boast about Mu's cars, but he felt like that might just make him more depressed. There was a car parked outside of the airport waiting for the Japanese envoys. This vehicle, which used oil to power a miniaturized internal combustion engine, was the pinnacle of Mu's technology. The envoys simply got into the car without making any kind of fuss. The car started and began to move. They didn't seem particularly surprised or bothered at all. That confirmed it…

"Does… Japan also have cars?" asked Myrus.

"Yes; we last collected data three years ago, but back then there were about fifty-nine million passenger cars in active use in Japan."

"T… that many? Your roads must be completely clogged with cars…"

"In our previous world, there is what's called a 'traffic signal system'… If we establish relations with Mu, we would love to export the knowledge for that system."

Myrus was completely exhausted, mentally. They drove on the flat road and eventually reached a luxury hotel. The car stopped at the hotel entrance and everyone went inside.

"Tomorrow, I will go over my country's history then show you a part of our navy. I hope you have a good rest today," Myrus told the envoys before he left.

The next day

The Japanese envoys were brought to the Mu Museum of History. Myrus began to lecture them smoothly.

"Let me give you a brief overview of our history. First, while other countries do not believe this, our ancestors are not originally inhabitants of this planet."

"Huh?!"

The envoys both jumped and stared at him with their jaws hanging open. Myrus kept explaining.

"This happened twelve thousand years, when a phenomenon we now call the Great Continental Transference occurred. At that time, most of what is now known as the continent of Mu was transported to this world. We know this from the official records left by the monarchy that ruled back then. This is what our former planet looked like."

Myrus pointed to a world globe. Misono gasped at the familiar geographic patterns.

"Wha… wha… wha… this… this is…!!!"

Heheh, these Japanese, surprised over how our old planet was round.

"Our old world was round. This planet as well, even though the distance to the horizon is twice as long, it is also round."

"This is Earth!!!"

"What?"

"This is… is the axis slightly off? But… these land masses are definitely Earth's. Hmm? If Antarctica is here, then it must not have been covered in ice…"

For some reason, the Japanese were pointing at a continent and acting surprised. I suppose I can explain.

"That continent there was called Atlantis, after the country that ruled it, and they had enough power to control half of the world, with Mu dominating the other half. Now that Mu is no longer there, they probably rule the entire world. By the way…"

Myrus pointed to four large islands that were gathered near the supercontinent of Eurasia.

"This country here, Yamuto, was one of our former allies. However, after the Great Transference, they would have been torn apart by the event, so they were probably taken over by Atlantis…"

"Excuse me, if I may?" Misono cut in forcefully.

"Go ahead."

"I think it would be best if we explained Japan's circumstances first."

"Oh?"

"Japan was also transported here. While it's possible we came from… a different dimension, we think we also came from your former planet. The four islands you pointed to are actually… our country. Furthermore…"

Misono reached into his bag and pulled out a couple maps.

"This is a current map of Japan in this world, and this is a map of the world we came from."

Myrus was shown a map of Japan and a Mercator projection map. The projection map certainly looked similar to the globe, a map of their former world without the Mu continent on it. He was stunned… Misono continued speaking.

"In our old world, there was a legend of a continent that sank into the ocean twelve thousand years ago. The continent that you called 'Atlantis' appears to have become what we call Antarctica. Could this have happened because the axis of the planet shifted?"

"Hahaha… I doubt we just happened to stumble across a monumental historical discovery. I would certainly love to be on good terms with Japan, though. We can't… possibly have…… I will make sure to inform my superiors later."

Following that interruption, Myrus finished summarizing Mu's history. The confusion after being transported, conflict with neighboring countries, the discovery that they were inferior in magical capabilities, their decision to pursue machinery over magic, and finally becoming the second-most powerful country in the world. While it sounded like Mu suffered a lot after transferring, it was still amazing for a single country to independently develop cars and aircraft.

After the history lesson was over, the Japanese envoys were taken to one of the navy's bases. They were intent on showing off their power as a world superpower and as the strongest or second-strongest navy. Myrus remembered Japan's warship that was magically photographed in the Kingdom of Rowlia. Although its length was greater than Mu's newest battleship La Kasami, it was only equipped with a single rotary cannon that was only about 12 or 13 centimeters in caliber. In comparison, the La Kasami had two pairs of 30.5cm cannons. The firepower of a cannon was proportional to the cube of the caliber; if the two ships fought each other, it was clear which one would emerge victorious. Myrus was positive that the tour this time would go well.

The Mu navy's new battleship La Kasami was visible, anchored at the port.

"Mr. Misono, look over there! It's a battleship!!! Battleships truly are a man's romance, aren't they?!" Saeki exclaimed excitedly.

Odd—he understood the words Saeki was saying, but "battleships truly are a man's romance," what exactly did that… wait, hm? He knows what a battleship is?

"Mr. Saeki, you are far too excited right now. Except, that does look exactly like the memorialized battleship Mikasa…"

And now, Misono said it looked exactly like something else. There was no way… did Japan also have battleships? If that was the case, then why did their warship only have one cannon equipped on it? Myrus decided to try probing for the answer.

"So Japan also has battleships?"

"Ah, yes. Until the World War that took place about seventy years ago, Japan also had a splendid battleship. We were defeated in that war, then time passed and we have not built any new battleships since then…"

That explained it; after suffering a defeat in the war, Japan was no longer allowed to produce battleships. Then, since their world was at peace, there was no need for them, perhaps? And if a ship's purpose was solely coastal defense, it only needed a single gun? So, did that mean Japan still had the capability of building battleships?

"Now that you have transferred to a new world, does Japan have any plans to launch any battleships in the future?"

The diplomat Misono let out a guffaw, answering, "What? Battleships?! No no, we have no plans to launch any of those at all."

They had no plans… so that means they weren't capable of building them, he supposed?

"This world operates on the tenets of 'survival of the fittest;' is there a reason not to build new battleships?"

"Hmm, I don't belong to the Ministry of Defense, so I cannot answer your question. Please forgive me."

"I see… by the way, you mentioned something about how this ship looked familiar, does Japan maybe have a similar-looking ship?"

"Ah, yes indeed, Japan had a battleship called the Mikasa. About a hundred and ten years ago, when Japan was known as the 'Empire of Japan,' the Mikasa was the flagship of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. That ship anchored there looks exactly like it…"

The battleship Mikasa was launched in 1900 and became the flagship of the Combined Fleet in 1903. In 1904, it joined the Russo-Japanese War, participating in the Battle of Port Arthur and the blockade of Port Arthur, as well as the Battle of the Yellow River. In 1905, in the famous Battle of Tsushima, it was a legendary ship that engaged with the Russian Navy's Baltic fleet, which was said to be the strongest in the world at the time.

"I see… a ship from a hundred and ten years ago…"

If Mu kept working on this ship for another one hundred and ten years, it would certainly undergo a dramatic evolution. He was loath to admit it, but Japan's technology was considerably more advanced than Mu's.

However, at this time, Japan had no battleships. He didn't believe that the ship with only one gun was stronger than the battleship. He was convinced they came from a peaceful world where there was no need for moneysinks like battleships. Iterative success was necessary for the advancement of technology. If they haven't made any for seventy years, in all likelihood battleships could be considered "lost technology" for them. It was really hard for him to say whether or not they could be a threat.

After Myrus finished showing off Mu's technology, he submitted a report to his superiors. While there were many details that were hard to swallow, overall the evaluation was that Japan was not hostile, and they had access to advanced technology. Because of the imminent threat of the Gra Valkas Empire, they had no reason to refuse Japan's request for friendship, so it was decided that Mu would open diplomatic relations with Japan.

Papaldia Empire, imperial capital Esthirant

The 1st foreign affairs department was in complete disarray over the recent events in western Central World. This was because the Second Civilization's western superpower, Leifor, had lost to the unknown country known as the Gra Valkas Empire. While the Papaldia Empire was much stronger than Leifor, their navies were very close in power (Papaldia's Tears of the Wind God were capable of better acceleration than Leifor's).

Even more unbelievable, Gra Valkas's super-dreadnought, the Grade Atlastar, single-handedly wiped out Leifor's entire navy, repelled their waves of wyvern lords, and decimated Leifor's capital city Leiforia, all that by itself. A ludicrously powerful country just appeared out of nowhere from the western ends of the world. The 1st department's head, Elto, did not like these findings. The 3rd department also recently sent the oversight army east on a failed punitive strike against the Kingdom of Fenn. If… Gra Valkas also had a hand in that, this would become a huge deal…

"In any case, gather more information!!!" Elto had ordered his men. Amidst that, a certain report reached him. "What is this…?"

As he read the report, Elto's wide-open eyes somehow strained open even wider. It was a letter from an observer, Varhal, who was sent to the Kingdom of Rowlia by the strategy team. His letter postulated that the oversight army's defeat was at the hands of a country called "Japan" that had participated in the Great Naval Battle of Rodenius. He wrote desperately that he only told them what he observed, yet the strategy team did not believe his battle report at all.

"Find out everything you can about this country called 'Japan'!!!"

The Papaldia Empire had finally begun to take Japan seriously.

[1]: The mechanism behind lift described here is what is known as the which is a demonstrably false theory. The correct theory behind lift is based on the Coandă effect and can also be explained using classical mechanical physics. If you'd like to watch a short video explaining it with simple diagrams, I recommend this one.

 —  — Chapter 18

Chapter end